Artwork commissioned from  mearr
The character, Solcarn Talonrend, belongs to me.

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“Again.”

Solcarn, legs half numb and half burning, summoned the strength to let another furious kick fly into the air. His chest heaved, his arms tight by his sides trembled and he barely remained standing after further exertion. Several breaths later, his eyes turned to the pandaren man standing beside him. A blank stare is all he received in return.

“Again.”

“Wh-what?” Sol sputtered.

The man’s brow furrowed. “I said ‘again.’”

A breeze wafted through the mountains of Kun-Lai, hitting Solcarn square in the chest with a chilly blast strong enough to fell the last domino of his strength and send him to the ground. The snowy ground disturbed him little, instead acting as a welcome contrast to the fires roaring through his sore muscles. For a moment he lay there, staring into the empty sky of a land he’d only known for a short time -- a land he’d come to think he may have been better not seeing. If he wanted to embarrass himself, he could easily continue doing so back in Highmountain.

The standing pandaren bent over and looked down at Solcarn, folding his hands behind his back. “Is that all, then?”

With a flustered huff, Solcarn hissed a pained breath through his teeth. “What’s that supposed to mean? We’ve been out here all day, Cheng-su. I --”

“That’s Master Cheng-su, to you, Solcarn.” The bear’s tone came stern and sharp, as though he might have told the other to obey a curfew in the same breath. “And I am well aware how long we have been training today. If you’re going to learn under me, then this is a schedule and regime you must adhere to. You know this by now, surely.”

Solcarn sighed. “That’s easy for you to say. Pandaren are built for this kind of training, aren’t they? They seem to do a lot better at it, anyway.”

Cheng-su huffed a little laugh before standing upright once more. “You are… half correct. My kin and I do have a natural affinity for the Ways. It is in our blood. However, that does not mean others, like yourself, cannot find success. Great success, even.” He paused a moment, taking a quick whiff of the mountain air as it blew by. “What is in your blood, Solcarn?”

“Honestly…?” The tauren in question pulled himself up into a sitting position, slumping forward as his strength to hold himself upright betrayed him. “I don’t know. I thought coming to Pandaria might give me some kind of an answer, but there still isn’t one.” Upon seeing the soft smirk dawned by Cheng-su, he cocked a brow. “What’s so funny?”

Cheng-su shook his head. “Forgive me, I am only… remembering. Remembering fondly, though at the time it was much less so. I too sought answers of who I was, what I was. But just because you have not found your answer yet does not mean it isn’t here.” He sat down gracefully in the snow next to Solcarn, grabbing the tauren’s shoulder to pull him up and straighten his back. “Let us go a bit deeper: who are you?”

Sol winced. “Solcarn Featherfall.” He slumped forward once more, pulling his knees close to his chest and resting his head on his knees.

A frown crossed Cheng-su’s older features. “And who is that?”

“Someone I wish I wasn’t. He’s weak, he’s stupid, and above all, he’s a failure.”

Nothing was said in reply for a time until Cheng-su breathed a heavy sigh. “I see.” His eyes studied the bull beside him a moment before he continued. “Well, there is nobody else we can be but ourselves. But you’ll find that who you are is determined by no one but yourself. So if you are weak and stupid as you say, you have already decided it.”

Sol’s head snapped up, mouth turned in a scowl directed at his offender. “Featherfall is an insult, Master Cheng-su. It’s a branding of my idiocy just like the mark on my nose! How can I not be those things?”

“And who gave you that brand?”

Sol snorted, confused. “My… family?”

“And where are they?” Silence answered Cheng-su. “Not here is the answer. You are here, away from those who would see you as you claim to be. This provides you with a unique opportunity -- one to start on the path of who you are, not who you’re told you are.” He looked at Sol, pausing to rest a finger on the deep gash across the tauren’s nose. “With this in mind, who do you see in yourself?”

Looking down the length of his snout at Cheng-su’s hand, Solcarn’s features twisted in thought.. The mark from the eagle was impossible to be rid of, but maybe it didn’t need to carry such an awful name, a name given out of spite. No, this was something else. “Talon… rend?”

“Talonrend?” Cheng-su asked, pulling his hand away to fold it neatly in his lap with the other. “Is that who you see?”

“Yes.” Sol nodded. “I think so. It feels better to say, at least.”

“That is what truly matters.” Cheng-su replied with a soft smile. After a moment he stood back up and offered a hand to Sol. “Then today marks the start of you living authentically -- as yourself.” With his offered hand accepted, he pulled Sol back to his hooves. “So, Solcarn Talonrend, I pose my previous question again: is that all, then?”

Something sparked within Sol’s chest. An ember, one that caught dormant kindling and soon built to a blaze. This warmth dwarfed the chill of the snowy mountains or the aching in his muscles. Returning to form, he let loose another firm kick into the air.

“Good, good,” said Cheng-su. “You might have what it takes to be a monk, yet..”

It was at that moment that Solcarn Featherfall died. But in his stead, a new tauren emerged, one far stronger and eager to begin forging his identity -- one he