Hall of the Exalted - A collection of folklore.

[Karunzo]

Welcome, to the Hall of the Exalted.

Welcome to the hall of the Exalted. In these stone walls you will find a collection of ancient wisdom. For it is here that all sorts of tales about heroes, mythical creatures and legendary artifacts have been archived. These are tales of legend that have been told time and time again in one version or another. These are tales that all want to be told.

So, why don't you...

Stay a while and listen...

Thousands of years ago, when the humans were but a fresh new race wandering the face of Azeroth, they were disorganized but not without guidance. For we did not simply pop into existance, no. Though the story has been forgotten by us long ago, the Humans are said to have been created by what the ancient humans called, for lack of a better term; the Progenitors.

The Progenitors are said to have always looked after our noble race from the moment that they first created us. Though we no longer have any recollection of who fathered our race, there have been plenty of stories describing the meddling of these ancient deities with their own creation. Legendary heroes of old supposedly have descended directly from the fathers of our race themselves. Some very lucky men and women were granted the Progenitors' boon. They gained special powers that put them apart from the others of their time. They became known as heroes. This is a tale about one such hero Aggremar the Warrior.

Aggremar was never seen as an extraordinary member of his tribe. Apart from his size – the man was nearly a head taller than others of his tribe – the man really had no redeeming features that could grant him the title of hero. He was but an average that took great pride in defending his tribe from all manner of danger. There was of course plenty of danger in the days of the ancient, nomadic humans. The lands were still wild and untamed by civilization. Various strange creatures still roamed the land of Azeroth – having not yet been driven into extinction by countless of years of being hunted and eventually killed by the nomadic humans.

The nomadic humans were never too picky about what they had for dinner. As long as it had meat on its bones and wasn't too poisonous it was a good meal. With that in mind Aggremar and his tribesmen, lead by their tribe leader Kalgar, set out to search for anything edible. The experienced hunters quickly made their way through the thick woods of old Lordaeron with ease – having done so countless of times before. What they encountered however was not something the huntsmen had seen before.

There were various paths leading through the thick forest Aggremar and his tribe hunted in, larger clearings in the density of the forest where the trees parted from each other far enough to form a somewhat guiding passageway for the nomadic tribe of humans. Some of these clearings lead to larger clearings, where animals often resided. Kalgar guided his tribesmen through a path in the forest they hadn't taken before. The path lead them towards a large, circular glade in the forest.

The clearing was devoid of life save for the wildflowers that inhabited the area and the trees that surrounded it. Kalgar quickly urged his men onwards towards the path leading out of the glade that so lay almost directly ahead of them. They halted however upon reaching the treeline that guarded the forest passageway. They had found signs of an animal. Claw marks were carved deep into the bark of a couple of trees. The sheer size of these marks hinted at a large creature, something both Kalgar and the huntsmen were excited about. Aggremar however gained a sense of insecurity upon seeing the scratch marks on the trees.

All of the huntsmen were on guard as they made their way through the forest passageway. They grabbed their spears tightly and glanced around the area cautiously, ready to jump at any sign of the beast. It quickly grew darker as the men continued along the path, huge trees blocked out the radiant light of the sun. The darkness grew thicker and thicker as they neared the end of the path. The huntsmen soon found it harder and harder to see, a thick veil of black nothingness was being cast over their eyes. They were lost now. Aggremar and his clansmen had come across another clearing in the forest and now that their sight was clouded with darkness they were unable to find their way out.

A loud roar sounded from out the forest. It assaulted the huntsmen ears from almost every direction as it echoed through the forest bouncing from tree to tree in the circular glade. Another growl later the huntsmen found themselves staring at two large red eyes that floated in the thick darkness, a few feet above their heads. “Who daresss thread in my domain?!” a voice growled from the forest. The huntsmen turned to each other, expecting some answer from their fellow clansmen until they all turned to their leader. The answer however did not came from Kalgar as he had never had to deal with talking prey before and was confused and terrified. The answer came from Aggremar.

“We are man!” The tall warrior shouted at the nothingness. “And we are not afraid of anything!” He added, growling. The red eyes came nearer and nearer and a figure started to appear in the darkness. It was a man, a humongous man in fact but there was something incredibly alien about the man. His legs were curved like the hind legs of an animal. His face became increasingly beast-like as he stepped closer to the group of humans. The beast-man stood graciously before the tribesmen. His head was in fact that of a lion and instead of hands the man had claws.

“I can sssmell the fear in you pathetic beings.” With a roar he grabbed Kalgar, who stood in front of the group. His claws digged deep into the man's flesh and Kalgar screamed it out in pain. His spear dropped to the ground. The man was quickly thrown aside by the beast-man as if it already had grown bored of it's new toy. “Pathetic.” The beast growled. The tribal humans were at a loss at what to do, they cowered before the creature and scrambled backwards. Aggremar however, blessed with the Progenitor's boon, heard his calling. This was his moment.

As if his hands were guided by the gods themselves Aggremar threw his spear at the beast-man with incredible accuracy. The spearhead drove itself deep within the flesh of the creature and it roared out in pain. The fight, however, was far from over. He jumped for Kalgar's spear and lurched for the beast-man with it. He struck at the bewildered beast time and time again, hitting various spots on the creature's body. His opponent was tough however. It swung it's heavy arms at our hero and threw him into a tree.

The beast-man used his animal features to his advantage. With his mighty hind legs he leaped at the smaller human. His tiger head came close to biting off Aggremar's neck before our hero managed to drive the beast off with his incredible strength. Several more clashes between beast and man followed. Aggremar showed unbelievable might and skill with his spear, using it various times to drive the beast into a tight position. The beast-man in turn, with his animal ferocity, proved to be quite a match for the human champion.

In the end however, the strange, powerful creature had to bow down before the might of a son of the Progenitors. Bloodied and tired, Aggremar stood proudly above the corpse of the beast-man. He had succeed in driving Kalgar's spear through the creature's heart. His tribesmen celebrated his victory, and what a victory it had been. However it had come at a cost. In the corner of the dark glade rested the corpse of Kalgar, who had bled to death during Aggremar's struggle.

The men carried both of the corpses back to the rest of their tribe. A feast was held to commemorate the legendary victory and mourn the loss of their tribal leader. Aggremar was appointed the new chieftain of his tribe and he lead them well. For he was blessed by the Progenitors and they always look after their children.