Li Li blinked, standing up straight like a bamboo shoot, her eyes widened as the first signs of land came into sight. Rocky cliffs and trees she had never seen growing in number and size.
Yet she recognized them from drawings and descriptions sent by letters and followed in person. With them were hundreds of fantastical tales, many of which begged belief even for the teenage pandaren.
But if she were, anything would be adventurous, and she devoured such grand tales. Not blindly believed as said, Li Li was young and hopeful, but stupid she wasn't.
Be that as it may, there was never a moment when she thought it was false. For all Uncle Chen's eccentricities to the average pandare of the Wandering Island, creating falsehood wasn't remotely part of them.
She jumped down from the prow, causing one of the pirates they forcefully brought to reason to jump in shock, nearly falling into the frigid sea.
The young cub laughed, green eyes shining excitedly as she rushed to the upper cabin, "Uncle! The coast can be seen, wake up!"
There were no answers beyond the usual impossibly loud snores of the older two-toned ursine. Li Li's fur markings, where her eyebrows would be, as were her ears, twitched in irritation.
"I'm getting the fish drunk if you don't get up in one, two, thr-engh!" A clawed finger appeared over her lips, and she sealed them with a gentle touch of Chi that could as easily stop the heart of a dozen warriors.
Its owner immediately poofed in front of her in a grey smoke cloud with an alertness Li Li rarely saw. Briefly catching her by surprise.
"I'm awake! I'm awake! Why such a hurry, young one? Azshara won't approach any faster. Savor the moment for the memory will be all the sweeter." Chen said, freeing her lips.
"Weren't you the one excited about coming back here in the first place? You even went to Master Shang Xi to bring our people back to their roots. I never saw you with this much fervor." She said, jumping back to climb the closest fence, standing in perfect equilibrium over the waves.
It had been a surprise at the time.
Her Uncle going back to the Wandering Island alone was peculiar, but he tried to convince the Master Monk even more.
And he hadn't been entirely rebuked at that; he had grown more clever, almost manipulative in his approach, and had an edge of ruthlessness.
It was a fact that the junior of the Stormstout wasn't sure of how to take it, but outside, he was just as jolly, only able to switch to something sharper.
His words weren't received warmly, but the first signs of complications from the injuries Shen-zi Shu received against a rising following the fall of that goblin island erupting couldn't be ignored.
The efforts and attention of their greatest apothecaries to the old sea turtle were of invaluable help. But the gentle titan that had carried their very livelihood for more than ten millennia wasn't as spry as he used to be.
Turtles and tortoises lived long, even more pronounced for the Shen-zi Shu species. Even then, he was the exception, yet they weren't eternal.
And Shen-zi Shu was an ancient among ancient; his age was catching up, he was far from passing, but the signs of his long life were showing. It was nature, in beauty and cruelty.
These injuries to his plastron and fins that happened when he had been napping would have likely not even been of concern in the past millennia of written records.
Yet here they were, and the repercussions went beyond his health, of premier importance it may be. The giant sea turtle's life affected the entirety of the Wandering Island ecosystem, from wildlife to farmland.
Something needed to be done fast for the pandaren and their old guardian deity in all but name.
It was a crisis in the waiting, and for all the stubbornness of the people, they understood the implications.
They gave the chance to Chen and, by extension, to her–even if she left in secret, leading to a complex chain of events with a painful lesson that haunted many of her nights–to prove his proposition's worthiness.
There weren't many options, and the fact that a healer of legend seemingly existed in the dangerous and unknown world was a beacon of hope in the growing darkness of fear and uncertainty.
"I'm if you may call it that. I simply demonstrate my enthusiasm differently." Chen countered with an easy smile as the pair's friendly verbal trade continued.
Soon enough, they reached the coast, and the two pandaren, careful not to forget anything on board, took most of what would be used.
'Not like the pirates would need them, eh.' Li Li thought with a snicker, Chen had made it evident they had been spotted hours ago.
They had a 'welcoming party' that made itself known as people of species she had never looked at outside of illustrations in ancient scrolls, or entirely unknown appeared out of nature itself.
It was like they were part of the world and appeared from thin air. They weren't pointing blades, but it was clear they were ready for conflicts, tense and ready, but only reasonably.
That was until her Uncle strolled forward and clapped the right wooden pauldron of an oddly tall, large, and muscular pandaren of uniform brown fur.
A furbolg she recognized, and it had taken far too long for it to click in her mind. The first example was impressive, to be sure, more than she had imagined.
The species truly took more of the bear in appearance, from snout length and overall body shape, than what she used for pandaren. It would be exotic if she were to put it into words; she hoped it wouldn't be rude.
"How does Helea treat you, Bon, and your cub? She is what, four now?" The older Stormstout said smoothly in a language Li Li only barely grasped from a lesson done, Ursine.
From there, it moved fast, mind-bogglingly so in fact. They were warmly welcomed as friends, brought to an inn with warm water for a bath, delicious food, and a good night's rest.
Then they took a ride North of their temporary lodging in the bay of Aszarah.
What a ride it was, a giant centipede entirely out of the woods, the G.V.S., Great Velocity Scolopendra, and its function reminded Li Li of specific machineries she had heard the gnomes, dwarves, and goblins possessed.
For all intents and purposes, it was a train, only without needing metallurgy, rails, or any fuel. At least none that were flagrant.
And it probably wasn't any significantly slower while also stable enough that tea did not spill from a full cup.
It hadn't been the first; the village, Silverleaf, where they rested, had a number of such living wooden statues. Mostly, some were less vegetal, perturbing at first, but the usage of bones and flesh was reserved mainly for the inside.
Few found those traits aesthetically pleasing after all, and it was new even if already deeply entranced in every aspect of the Wild.
Bio-vehicles, that was how they were commonly called and used for tasks your regular beasts of burden would fail. Be it from a lack of strength, endurance, danger, or complexity.
Li Li didn't need a comprehensive lesson to immediately notice how incredible those were. Best of all, they were entirely modular; ingenuity and imagination were the only limits.
She didn't need to witness it for that either; Chen had a smaller version of one, a symbiote it was called.
And it could be anything her Uncle could come up with, a veritable nightmare in their many spars where he loved to ensnare her with and dangle her upside down.
More than they already were when the older pandaren stopped playing around. He was among the best monks alive, and in the best period.
And he was improving, training, sharpening claws and fangs. Talent and hard work alone were great, but together they were terrific.
Also, he wants to improve his 'shape' by using the pandaren's own words. Why? She didn't know; it was unusual, but a lot was unusual.
Regardless, Li Li wanted a treant symbiote too. Who wouldn't? It was both awesome and cool, while above and beyond good. It was like those legendary weapons.
But Huntianling wasn't a trophy to hoard or a tool to wield like a blunt stick; she was a companion, a friend, personally created by the same individual they were for.
She would have to ask him. And while the giant tree centipede did take a spot at what she learned was Blackmaw Hold, they didn't leave. The stop was far too short for that.
Foods and drinks, for the latter and former, cold and hot, were served, as were other amenities and more simple yet vital services tied to the internal plumbing. It wasn't necessary to leave for such eventualities.
A marvel. Still, to stay in one place wasn't her exact idea of enjoyment; there was little else to do on the G.V.S. It wasn't an attraction.
But she wasn't a petulant cub despite what many of her teachers may have believed.
So she waited, and the wooden centipede moved again with an influx of furbolgs passengers, of which the two pandaren attracted the attention of.
It destroyed some of the surprise her Uncle had hoped for, but that was never a serious consideration.
From what she heard, Hollowmaw had eyes and ears everywhere; none entered and exited the inviolable den capital unnoticed.
Luckily, the sight as they entered the tunnel made her eyes sparkle. It was beautiful, a tapestry of bioluminescence and colors, only to be beaten hours later by Hollowmaw itself.
It was breathtaking.
An impossibly large and inverted tree was at the center, with roots and branches blooming inward and outward. It formed a wild, sprawling capital above a small sea and under a scintillating night sky with its moon of moss and flowers.
It was a different world, one of impossible enchantments and nature. It put everything she had seen since she left by crane Wandering Island to complete shame.
The only thing that could possibly come close was the flying city Dalaran.
But she hadn't seen it outside of painting and the rare Arcane projectors.
The living giant insectoid vehicle caught her by surprise by coming to a halt halfway through on a particularly large branch.
"Terminus, we hope you had a pleasant experience. You may proceed and exit. Do not forget your belongings. Any loss would be brought to the storage room and may be asked," A feminine voice said in Ursine, then in Darnasian, continued in Taur-ahe, and didn't stop after.
"Li Li," There was a gentle tap on her shoulder, "It's pretty, isn't it? You've barely seen the surface; now come. We aren't meeting anyone."
So they left and moved fast, far faster than a city of this population and surface would lead one to believe. But elevators were omnipresent, and the entire area had grown smartly, not by addition.
It took thirty minutes for Chen and Li Li to arrive at the top of Undrassil, and the passage opened to them through a pendant gifted by the leader of this underground citadel.
"Ah… you have… arrived…" The slow, sonorous voice of Liande echoed; the Ancient of Lore's main body was absent but unnecessary for the current task.
"Good afternoon, Liande," Chen chirped, "I can expect that Ohto is free to see us? I have much to say, and I suppose so would he."
"Yes… the… Bear of Resilience… is waiting… for you… And you?" Liande paused, an eye of soft glowing green grew out of the ground, and she studied the smaller pandaren.
"Li Li! I'm Li Li Stormstout!" She said with a bit more haste than she liked, but honestly, this floating eye to a root was creeping her a bit.
"Heh, don't worry, Liande wouldn't hurt a mosquito, unless you truly deserve it. Is the big half-log in his personal laboratory?"
A frown could be almost heard from the Ancient of Lore, "Yes… he will… tell… you, there is a… war…"
At this, the atmosphere grew heavy, and Li, unwilling to continue any more seconds than it did, spoke up.
"Can we go?"
"Right. Let's, may your day be pleasant, friend." Chen let out, ears flicking.
"You… too…" Liande answered as the two left, Li Li trailing behind until they stopped at a solid wall of plants.
"Untianling, if you please." And the tip of his staff glowed green, swiftly followed by the earlier wall parting. This was repeated three times, each with a different set of doors.
"Your friend does love his defense." Li Li noted, and her Uncle lifted his shoulders unhelpfully.
"I cannot deny this statement… they also are good at dampening noise…" He trailed off, as did his eyes toward a large paw imprint on the wall. He very much remembered how and when it was made, just before he left.
Healing magic stopped the most embarrassing proof; a nearly broken coxis was problematic. Why the imprint remained was a mystery that the brewmaster found amusing, if nothing else.
The final door slid open, and the largest bear Li Li ever saw came into view, and at this, the realization of what this was.
It clicked at once, and her brain failed to fully process it.
"Li Li, this Ohto, Ohto, this is my niece, Li Li."
*
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