Reuniting

Shar'tok finds Socio from the Arena floor. Covered in blood, arrows sticking from her back and ties. Big open wound on her back, sliced open.
Shar'tok doesn't explain how he is there, alive. Not yet. He tells Socio she has been away for days, Empire has been looking for him. He doesn't tell her, he has seen Socio from distance, sitting alone in middle of jungle, on back of Hakkar's raptor.
Shar'tok takes Socio away from the Arena, but Socio seems to be shocked. She isn't talking, she just stares into the distance and sometimes mumbles words of ancient troll language. Shar'tok feels helpless and doesn't know what to do. Socio gets fever. Her wounds get infected.
Finally Socio seems to get back a piece of her sanity, and she asks Shar'tok to take her away from the Vale. She has gone thinner already, and she looks pale and sick. Skin and bones, that's not her strong Socio. Socio's request is very unusual. Most of the members in the Empire don't tend to leave from the Vale unless they have to, and if they do they rarely go alone. But something in her voice, in her eyes tells Shar'tok he needs to act fast.
Shar'tok decides to take Socio to The Hinterlands. Forest trolls there have strong herbs wich can be used to care Socio's wounds. It's peaceful place, away from only human controlled areas. The trip will be long and exhausting, but what Shar'tok wouldn't do for his chosen one? He takes Sade and nessecary belongings, before carrying them to the goblin zeppelin wich flies them to the north.

Blood God

After shooting the arrow to Shar'tok's heart, Socio didn't get far to the jungle. She was tired and didn't pay attention to her surroundings. She had set Sade free just moment ago and Shadow was sleeping in her backbag.
Suddenly army of trolls on green and black raptors appeared. They weren't Empire, they were someting else. Socio didn't have time to react before she was violently pulled up to one of the raptors. Troll behind her knocked her out and after that everything went black.
Socio wake up inside some sort of temple. She was locked up into a cage, hands tied. It was dark, but she heard something or someone moving around the cage. Her head was aching and she was hungry. After listening a while she knew what shared the room with her. Cats, big cats, panthers or maybe tigers. The moistness and scent of the air told her she was still in Vale or at least she wasn't far from there. She tried the walls of the cage, but she was too weak to try anything to break free.
She had lost the track of time, when someone finally came, walking slowly with a flaming torch. The cage was opened and she was again pulled up violently. "Don't you try anything stupid" troll said, almost hissing. Socio didn't answer, just followed him. When they reached the doorway of the temple, troll pushed her to the path following right. "Hakkar himself wants to see you" the troll said and pushed her again to her back, this time more roughly. Socio felt her heart taking some extra beats, she felt sweat falling down on her skin. Hakkar, Blood God, she was in Zul'gurub, city that Empire has been trying to retake so long. She felt angry again, enraged. She knew what Hakkar wanted. He wanted her head, no doubt.
Now Socio didn't have Shar'tok on her mind. She had to get free. She seriously had to. But she had no weapons. She was wearing some silly ceremonial dress, wich wasn't hers. She was tied up and beaten up. She saw dried wounds on her hands and feet, and her body was aching. And there was guards. Lots of guards, emotioneless trolls who were carrying big axes. But did she want to give up without a fight?
All went blurry again. Socio remembers running, and falling to the ground, small rocks stratching her knees and hands. She remembers shouting around her, arrows passing from left and right. Pain in her back and legs, feeling of warm blood on her skin. She doesn't remember how she got out, she doesn't remember where she ran after that.

Reborn of Shar'tok

Socio and Shar'tok lived in furious, yet somehow balanced relationship in their own trollish way. They loved and fighted, even some blood was spilled time after time. They explored the Vale and surrounding areas together, or with the Empire. Fighted against trespassers and helped Emperor to get his slaves from nearby human-populated towns.
Suddenly Shar'tok started to be worried, wich ofcourse worried Socio too. Silence made her frustrated since Shar'tok didn't want to tell about the feelings he had inside. She tried to get Shar'tok to talk with her, but long he remained silent, just breaking his fingers while being in his toughts. Socio cried and begged, bited and hitted him with her wists.
After days, or even weeks pushing, Shar'tok finally was ready to talk with Socio. They were sitting at the small waterfall wich fell to the Great Sea. "Socio.." Shar'tok started, lowering his head. "Me been thinkin'.." he continued. Socio wanted to hit him, hit him hard. Like she wouldn't had noticed his absent mind, like she wouldn't have suffered. But she bited her tongue, and just nodded slowly. "I'm ol', Socio, me be dead soon. Me be many times yer age." Shar'tok sighed deeply. "But me no wantin' 'o die, Socio, me wantin' to be with 'ye". He took Socio's hands between of his and first time looked to her eyes in days. "Me been' thinkin'. Bu' me needin' ye help". Socio looked back to Shar'tok, not knowing what to say or think, not knowing what to wait from this conversation. Somehow she didn't feel good about it. She felt her stomach squeezing and twisting.
For a while they just stared the sea, Socio's hands in Shar'tok's. Finally Shar'tok took a deep breath and said "Me needin' ye to kill me". Great anger rised inside of Socio, she jumped up and shouted "What?! Why?! No, I won't be killin' da man me love!" Shar'tok hanged his head down again "Bu Socio.." Enraged Socio whistled to Sade and jumped to her back. "Socio 'ere no other way." Socio still didn't understand, why she'd need to kill Shar'tok. She was upset, afraid of loosing him. While she was confused and trying to figure the situation out, Shar'tok disappeared to the jungle with his raptor, disappointed and angry.
Socio paniced. Was Shar'tok going to kill himself now anyways? Socio ran around in the Vale with Sade, trying to find Shar'tok. Now she was crying, and unable to yell because the flow of tears. She doesn't know how long she had been running in moist air of Vale, when she finally saw Shar'tok from the northern river of the Vale. Border between trolls and humans.
Shar'tok was sitting on surface of the water, looking still angry. Socio took her form of ghost wolf and sneaked around the river, trying to think what she should do? How should she act? Suddenly Shar'tok yelld "I see ye' Socio, ye coward! I see ye'!!!" Socio just stood still, still not sure how she'd manage her way through the situation. "No, Shar'tok.." she cried silently. Shar'tok didn't seem to care, he just kept on yelling to Socio "ye' no good if ye can no kill me, take yer bow and shoot me, shoot me right 'ere!" Shar'tok ripped the upper part of his robe open and pointed his chest. "Shoot me!" He tried to enforce Socio. At this point Socio felt almost blind because of her tears. Breeze of wind blowing from the sea felt so cold. She didn't know if she could stand much longer, she felt so weak, and Shar'tok keept on yelling and mocking her.
After the situation went on and on without chaning Socio finally felt like giving up. She didn't want to fight anymore. She didn't want to loose Shar'tok. Tired and given in, Socio finally took her bow from her back and placed arrow carefully to its string. She didn't anymore recgonize the words Shar'tok was shouting, tho she noticed his voice started to be full of victory when he saw Socio taking her bow. With her blurry vision Socio stretched the string and aimed, her hands were shaky but she did her best to stabilize them. Socio aimed and set the arrow free. It seemed to fly forever towards Shar'tok, slowly, how can it fly without dropping to the ground? Finally Socio heard the arrow puncturing skin and flesh and saw Shar'tok falling to the water.
Instead of running to him, Socio just turned slowly around and headed to the jungle. She didn't know what was going to happen, she was too tired to think.

Shadow

Even when Socio studied hard to call elements, she spent more and more time with Shar'tok. Tho Shar'tok wasn't teaching her in shamanism, and Socio didn't know lot about his powers. She felt good, happy and safe with this troll. Noone had loved her before just because of her, and it was amazing. She had never loved anyone.
Today Socio woke up alone, wich wasn't that unusual. Sometimes Shar'tok was gone for days. Usually Socio didn't know where he was and what he was doing, but Socio always trusted him to come back. She didn't even want to think about the posibility, him disappearing.
When Socio was cleaning bones to her talismans in depths of jungle, Shar'tok suddenly ran to her, rushing through the bushes with his raptor. When Shar'tok appeared after his travels, it usually felt like he wouldn't been away more than hour or two. He smiled widely and gave a deep bow after jumping down from the back of his raptor. Socio smiled back and stood up to give him a hug. "Socio, I missed ya.. me have somethin' for ye'" Shar'tok whispered to her, sounding somehow shy, before pulling himself away from Socio. "Me know me been' away, so me gettin' ye 'is" Shar'tok continued and pulled another cat from insides of his pockets. The cat was black as night and hat bright yellow eyes, it was so tiny it easily fitted on to her palm. Socio grinned widely, clearly happy. "Shar'tok.." She started without knowing what to say. She gave a tight hug to her beloved one. "Me be callin' it Shadow".
After this day Shadow was always following Socio. He was hiding in bushes looking for food or shadow from burning sun of the Vale, but he always close. If he noticed Socio was planning to leave somewhere, it jumped to the back of Sade and travelled with them. It slept in Socio's backbag, sometimes gnawing the ears of cutted heads. If Socio was sleeping alone, he slept on her stomach, purring...

Two wolfs

Socio was exploring the Vale. She noticed jungle was much larger than she tought. There was lots of islands, hidden caves, small valleys and almost unnoticeable paths. Good places to hide things or be alone.
She was exploring mountain walls near Zul'Gurub when she noticed another ghost wolf. Socio looked around carefully, trying to decide should she hide herself from the stranger. While Socio tried to decide what to do, the other wolf already had noticed her and walked slowly towards. From close range Socio was able to see who the other shaman was, Kibo.
Socio was bit scared and reliefd at the same time. "What you doing here, recruit?" Kibo asked. "Just exploring.." Socio mumbled, not wanting to give any closer details since she wanted to keep the hiding spots on herself. The shaman nodded. After a some uncomfortable silence Kibo emoted Socio to follow him. "I'll show you something" he said with lazy voice.
Unaware, what was yet to come, Socio started to follow the shaman. Ofcourse she could trust to a fellow member of Empire? Soon Socio noticed Kibo was leading her towards Zul'Gurub. Socio shivered a bit, she didn't like the place. She didn't know much about it, just about Blood God and Empires plan to retrieve the city from Hakkar. Socio always avoided the walls of it, she didn't feel good near it.
Kibo seemed to notice Socio was nervous. "Just come.." he said with more calming voice this time. Socio and followed him through a small hole in the wall. She had a feeling Kibo didn't use the path in first time. Tho she didn't know if the hole was made on purpose, or was it just something that flow of time causes to buildings and such.
They sat down just inside, staying next to wall. Socio started to feel curious. She wasn't sure why Kibo brought her there, but she didn't ask. "Stay quiet and they won't notice you" Kibo almost whispered, then he pointed towards huge altar wich seemed to be almost on middle of the city. Socio didn't need to ask what or who lived inside.

The element: Fire

As a shaman Socio mastered the power of elements. She learned to communicate with the spirits and even call them to her side. She learned to call them when she needed something fight with her, called them to heal and cure, she called when she wanted rain. Sometimes she just layed herself down to the Vale floor, or climbed to the tree, listening the spirits.
The rituals involved heavy voodoo and even cannibalism. Sometimes she performed the rituals alone, sometimes with other shamans of Empire. She also sacrificed parts from trespassers of the Vale, to keep the spirits calm and friendly towards her. So Socio was often seen in Vale crafting talismans and jewels, or collecting and preparing materials for them.
Especially Socio was curious about fire. It was powerful, destroying and granted visions when used with powerful rituals. Calling the spirit was a challenge. Sometimes she amazed fresh recruits of the empre by playing with it. When they sat around fire, Socio drew tiny scraps of fire from bonfire towards her before blowing them off. She was able to call a hurling ball of fire to float over her hand and blast it towards an enemy or just throw it to the air when it blew up.
The feeling of love Socio had inside of her, love towards Shar'tok made her feel even more powerful, she wasn't afraid that much anymore. And the spirit of fire seemed to be more gracious towards her while she grew stronger and more selfconfident.

Jewels

It was a hot day in the Vale. Socio and Shar'tok had climbed up to a small hill to observe possible trespassers. There was no breeze of wind, birds weren't singing. It seemed to be too hot even for humans and gnomes, wich was a shame since Socio needed more heads to Sade.
It was too hot to even have a discussion about anything. Socio wiggled her toes bored and Shar'tok seemed to be more concentrated to his scarred hands than anything else.
Suddenly Shar'tok removed a ring from his hand and rolled it between his fingers. Socio had noticed the ring before. It seemed to be very dear to Shar'tok. It was made from some sort of white metal, and a figure of snake was carved to its surface. When Shar'tok was on his toughts he was running tip of his fingers on it, Socio had never seen him taking it off.
Now Shar'tok grinned and looked to Socio. "Socio, me wantin' to give ye' this" he said and took Socio's hand into his. "Me love ye' Socio, me not know how me showin' it, please take this" Shar'tok continued and slipped the ring to her finger. Socio smiled warmly and nodded. Silently she took off one of her necklaces and locked it around Shar'tok's neck. Shar'tok observed the tiny talisman closely, was it a some sort of ring too? "Me gettin' dat when me born, dat only thing me havin' left from Zul'Farrak" Socio explained. Shar'tok seemed to smile even wider before kissing Socio to her both cheeks while squeezing the talisman protectively inside his hand.
They didn't need any more words.