By the Horns

Disclaimer: All characters are 18 or older

Content warnings: Huge cock, impregnation, minor cumflation, furry (kinda), magic, rough sex, and monologuing.

Chapter 1: A New Quest

Enormous, titan-bronze double doors loomed in the archway, some thirty feet high and ancient beyond understanding, the perfectly smooth surface free of tarnish or flaw since before the sundering. Ruby-red flames danced in the tall braziers to either side of the looming gateway, shedding no heat but casting the looming archway in a flickering, almost ominous, crimson light. The figure standing before these monolithic doors looked tiny by comparison. From the bottom of his hooves, each as wide as a human's handspan, to the highest points of his ivory horns, each spike jutting a foot from the sides of his head before hooking up sharply at the ends, the tauren was more than eight feet tall, perhaps nine if he straightened up as much as he could. His broad, square-shouldered frame strained against a crimson silk robe, perhaps a size too small, his thick, powerfully muscled arms pulling the fabric tight around them. His fur was coal-black fur, hardly a shade of variation from head to hoof, even in the mane running back over his hump. His face was rugged, with a short snout and a long black beard gathered into a single thick braid, the loose end tied off around a sturdy golden ring. Perhaps it might even have been handsome were it not for the half-dozen scars that distracted from the features beneath, dark gray lines where no fur would grow, including a long, thin line that split one eyebrow and continued on the cheek below. Beneath his thick brows peered a pair of startlingly brilliant sapphire eyes, made all the more intense by the dark fur around them.

The tauren's gaze roamed up the doors for a long moment, hesitant. A smaller figure standing off to the side, an elf clad in similar crimson robes, turned to the tauren and gave a short, courteous bow. "I must leave you here. The queen wishes privacy for this meeting." He spoke, and before the tauren could respond, the elf had already spun on his heel and was striding off, back the way they'd come through the bronze halls of the temple. The tauren's gaze lingered on his retreating back for a moment before returning to the door. For a long moment, the room was silent but for the softly-fading echo of footsteps. Then the tauren set his jaw and stepped forward, planting one massive three-fingered hand on the door, and pushed. The looming gates swung with surprising ease, perfectly balanced on its hinges, opening wide enough for the tauren to step through, into the chamber.

The chamber was practically a cathedral. It was a huge, round room, ringed in titan-bronze pillars some thirty feet tall, supporting a looming dome inlaid with glittering constellations of light. From the peak of the dome hung a massive mechanical chandelier, a massive glowing orb in the center, orbited by slow-moving colorful spheres. The chamber itself was impressive, but the additions truly brought it the appropriate grandeur. Thick, crimson banners were loosely wound around each pillar, and at the top of each, a dozen such banners blossomed in all directions, wide strips of thin red material that draped from each pillar to every other pillar in a weblike pattern, filtering the massive orb's light into something more gentle and richly red.

Around the room there was a scattering of furniture, all of it beautiful and finely-crafted. A desk covered in paper, quills, and inkwells. A half-dozen bookshelves there, packed with books both ancient and new, and a collection of chairs positioned in front of them. A pair of paintings on the far wall, hung side by side, one depicting a massive, regal dragon, the other, a beautiful red-haired woman. Long, narrow planters, sprouting with tall red flowers, blossoms as big as a human's head. In the very center, the darkest place in the room, thanks to the crimson web of banners overhead, sat a huge, circular bed, tall wooden posts imitating those around the edge of the room, but on a smaller scale. An opaque, dark red canopy covered the top of the posts, thin red mesh curtains strung between them, parted and tied open.

Between the door and the bed stood a figure, immediately recognizable, yet unfamiliar to the tauren. The Dragon Queen, Aspect of the Red Dragonflight, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder. Her human form was even more beautiful and regal than he had imagined. She resembled a human woman at first glance, though significantly taller than most, standing a solid six feet tall. She was wrapped tightly in a robe very much like his own, a soft, crimson silk garment that hugged her body, cinched at the waist by a slender silk belt. Her figure was enchanting, even through the robe, and he couldn't help but take note of how her generous hips tapered down to a slender, toned waist, or how the lightweight fabric hugged her proud, firm breasts. Despite her casual dress, her features seemed just as noble and bewitching as they did in any painting he'd ever seen, narrow and refined, with intense golden eyes, accented by an expert application of makeup, and full, naturally red lips. A long mane of brilliant ruby-red hair cascaded back and down, over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. From that mane thrust four horns, the only obvious sign of her draconic nature, sweeping out and back with a gentle wave, the upper pair long, heavy, and thick, the lower pair much shorter. Apart from the robe, the only clothing she seemed to be wearing was her jewelry, bands of gold dangling with gems seated on her horns, a gem-studded band keeping her hair out of her face, and a necklace dangling with a purple stone as big as her fist

The dragon queen seemed relaxed, but certainly not passive. As the tauren stepped through the gap in the doors, he could feel her gaze upon him, inspecting him, but giving no reaction, her expression mysterious. As soon as he was through the massive titan-bronze gate, the door swung itself shut behind him, sealing the chamber off once again. The sound seemed to stir him from his hesitance. He straightened up, proudly, and strode forward, swiftly sinking to one knee at the feet of the queen, head bowed low in deepest respect. "Your Highness, I am Rhuno Sunheart, a humble sunwalker, and I am honored to come before you in answer to your call." He spoke, his voice deep and rumbling, like distant thunder. "I have traveled day and night since I received your summons, battling through storms, undead, wild beasts, and my own fatigue, all to reach you with the greatest haste. It would be my honor to serve the needs of the Life-Binder in any way I can. Command me, Your Highness, and I shall serve."

The dragon queen's expression remained unreadable, and she was silent for a moment, still inspecting the kneeling tauren with her eyes. "I greet you, Rhuno Sunheart, and I thank you for your haste. I have a quest of grave importance, a quest that requires immense strength. The fate of all dragonkind may rest upon it." She began, her voice firm, yet feminine.

"Your commander in the argent crusade has told me much about you. He told me how you tore the skull off a fallen frost wyrm and hurled it more than twenty yards to crush a vargul threatening your teammate. He told me how you channeled holy power through a crack in a crypt lord's shell until it's flesh burned away, leaving just an empty husk. It seems clear you have both strength of the body and strength of magic. Both are important, but there is another kind of strength you will need for this quest, sunwalker. Strength of heart. Your commander tells me you have this strength as well. But before I can charge you with this quest, I must be absolutely certain of this, I must know that I can trust you completely with this." She explained, her expression serious, eyes still watching him intently, watching for his reactions.

Rhuno glanced up momentarily as she finished, his mind whirring with uncertainty. He swallowed. "I... I pray I have the strength you seek, Your Highness." He offered simply.

Alexstrasza gave a nod. "As do I, sunwalker." She replied, gravely. Then her expression softened slightly, and she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Rise, Rhuno." Rhuno looked confused for a moment, before he did as commanded, rising to his hooves. She gestured for him to follow as she turned, padding across the bronze floor toward her bookshelves. He followed, somewhat unsure of what to do with himself now that her demeanor had shifted. She settled into one of the comfortable seats and gestured him to another. "Please, sit. Relax." She offered, and the sunwalker hesitantly settled his heavy bulk into the seat.

There was a moment of silence before the dragon queen let out a small sigh and began to speak. "Much better. Please relax, Rhuno." She encouraged. "It is not easy to see the strength of one's heart. One's motivation for a decision is often... fuzzy. Often even to the one making the decision. If I gave you a terrifying task, you might prove yourself brave... or overconfident. If I gave you an onerous task, you might prove yourself humble... or blindly loyal. If I gave you a dishonorable task to see you refuse it, you might prove yourself honorable... or rebellious. I find it is much easier to understand one's heart when they open it to another." She explained. "But one cannot truly open their heart to one who sits above them on a throne. So, for the moment, I urge you to relax, to speak freely. Speak to me as you would an equal. You may call me Alexstrasza, or Alex, if you prefer." She urged. Rhuno nodded, still somewhat uneasy.

She was silent for another moment before she spoke. "When your name first reached me, I looked into you, your history, to see if you could be the hero I seek. My sources have heard many whispers about you, Rhuno. They say you came to Thunder Bluff with nothing but the clothes on your back, seeking training as a sunwalker. They say you refused, and still refuse, to have your scars healed. They say you showed skill and experience in battle far beyond the other trainees, even the watchers who joined the order. They say you requested assignment in Northrend, a post most would consider a punishment. They say they have never heard of the Sunwalker clan, that they can find no records of the clan, and no elders who remember it."

"There are many theories about you whispered among the sunwalkers. Some say you were banished by some other clan, stripped of your name, and claim a false name, in defiance of tauren ways. Others say you use a false name to hide your identity while you spy upon the sunwalkers. Others believe you to be the last survivor of some long-forgotten lineage. Most don't truly care where you came from, and are simply glad to have you on their side. For the most part, I agree with them. Every record shows you are a credit to the crusade, and if they are to be believed, one of the finest sunwalkers I have ever met." She explained, then shook her head. "But if I am to trust the strength of your heart, I must know I can trust you entirely. This will be the test of your heart. Nothing you say will leave this chamber. Rhuno, I ask you: Who are you? Tell me your story. The truth of where you come from, and how you got the name Sunheart." She urged.

Rhuno's had sunk deep into his seat as she spoke, slumping forward, sapphire eyes staring somewhere far, far away. A pregnant pause hung in the air as he tried to gather his thoughts. He briefly considered lying, but swiftly dismissed it. She would know he was lying, and even if she didn't, lying would only prove the strength of his heart, if not to her, then to himself. He didn't have much of a choice. He would simply have to pray she would understand.

"I was born and raised among the Stonetalon Mountains." He began, recounting is his deep, rumbling voice. "It is an incredibly harsh land. The mountains rise as great, jagged peaks of red and orange rock, with steep, treacherous slopes. Much of the range is so rugged, so impenetrable, that even the most skilled climbers find it all but impossible to traverse. These reaches are often left to the monstrous creatures we share the land with, those that can climb or fly freely through the crags. Hippogryphs, wyverns, drakes, thunder lizards, monstrous spiders... Those not so mobile must walk the narrow passes and highland shelves that are flat enough to travel more freely."

"Among the peaks, disasters are never more than a few steps away, and often much, much closer. Setting aside the monsters and beasts that are happy to feast upon an unwary traveler, or the ever-present worry of a missed step or a crumbling handhold, there are avalanches, flash floods, rockslides, and mudslides, all capable of wiping an entire village from the mountainside. The soil is either poor or washed away, and spring floods drown any crops one tries to plant, forcing the people to hunt constantly to survive. In addition to watching out for your own life against drakes, wyverns, spiders, cougars, and great eagles, you must out-hunt them, as well. Return empty-handed, and the people starve. It is the kind of land that breeds a certain harshness into its people."

He looked almost wistful for a moment. "And yet... there is incredible beauty to be found among the peaks. From the summit of a mountain, you can see for miles in all directions. All around you, the earth mother's canvas is revealed, breathtaking shades of red, orange, and brown, lovingly sculpted into proud peaks, soaring cliffs, and rugged valleys. Look south, you can let your gaze roll across the green and gold seas of grass on the plains of Mulgore, even Thunder Bluff, rising proudly out of the valley. Look east, and watch the endless amber oceans of savannah grasses of the Barrens. On a clear day, you can see the herds of zhevra and the towering giraffes wading through the grass. Look north, and there stand the towering trees of Ashenvale, ancient trees, so tall they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the mountains themselves, and in the distance almost out of sight, Mount Hyjal looms. Look west, and see the ocean, endless and vast, the sunlight glittering and shimmering off each wave."

"They say from the summit of the highest peaks, the air is so still and quiet that if one can be truly silent they can hear the whispers of An'she and Mu'sha, the eyes of the earthmother. Perhaps most beautiful of all, with every single sunrise and every single sunset, the earth mother paints a symphony of color on the sky, every shade of blue, yellow, red, orange, purple, and pink, dancing and shifting until the sun sinks below the horizon."

He shook his horns momentarily, clearing away the dreamy visions in his mind's eye to focus on his tale. "There... there are a few smaller clans that call Stonetalon home. But only one truly dominates the mountains. The Grimtotem. They have fully embraced the harshness of their land, and honed themselves into the most ruthless, aggressive clan among the Shu'halo. Along the way, they made themselves into a weapon of brutal, relentless violence, a weapon now wielded in treachery, wielded by the deception of their elder crone, Magatha Grimtotem. And Magatha is a dark-souled woman."

"She believes the shu'halo are the only true heirs to Kalimdor, and her lies and deceptions have twisted the entire clan to serve her every word. She wields the clan with cruel efficiency, ordering attacks on any of the 'lesser races' that dare to settle upon Kalimdor. They strike with honorless tactics against any settlement within reach that dares to harbor 'lesser races' among them. Even the shu'halo are not safe, not if they allow other races to live among them, or try to oppose the Grimtotem. A Grimtotem attack is without mercy, and they kill everyone they can, even non-combatants and children. All of Stonetalon lives in fear of seeing the Grimtotem marching on them."

He was gritting his teeth by this point, seething. "I was born with the name Rhuno Grimtotem. I was born as one of them, in one of their smaller villages. I was raised as one of them, trained to accept their twisted doctrine as absolute fact and to hate lesser races with insane fury. I was trained as one of them, learning to fight and kill for the glory of the clan. I even fought as one of them, serving loyally for years without question until I became one of the most respected fighters in the clan. I was a berserker, one of the strongest, throwing myself into battle against the enemies of my clan, in blind fury for their audacity to exist. I was... very effective. Each one of my scars was a badge of honor, earned in the heat of battle against the enemies of my clan. I would brag of my accomplishments, swap tales with the others, until I memorized the story for each and every scar." He confessed, hanging his head as his anger drained away, replaced by heavy guilt.

"I remember the battle I saw what I was doing, what I really was. It was a night elf camp, in a small canyon. There were no significant defenses, so a quarter of the force remained in the pass, to cut off any possible escape. My squad was on the attack. The defenders were no trouble, and we broke through the line to assault the camp itself. No resistance. I took down one after another until I struck down an elven priestess and moved in for the kill. She threw up a hand, glowing with magic power, and I braced myself for impact. My blade struck true, and I was unharmed."

"But when I opened my eyes, my rage and my justifications had all faded away, and I saw, for the first time, what was really happening around me. I didn't see lesser races exterminated for the good of the clan. I saw innocents being slaughtered like animals.I saw the cooling corpse of an innocent woman, her blood still on my blade. I saw my brothers doing Magatha's work, I saw the thrill in their eyes, the eagerness for the slaughter. And I knew that I had been one of them."

"I tried everything to stop it. I tried to order them to stop, I tried to trick them into a retreat, I implored them to call it a victory and stop. I- I begged them to leave the children alive. When the last one fell, they cheered a job well done. That was when the rage came again, stronger than ever before, and the world turned red as I turned on my squad. I... I wish it was all a blur. They were monsters, I know that. But still... at the time, they were as close to me as brothers. They were all warriors nearly my equal, but I had the rage, and I had surprise. I cut down my second, Magatha's grandson, first. I was already swinging again while the rest turned. I remember the confusion on their faces as I took out another. Then confusion became fear, then anger... None but me left that canyon alive, and none left it unscathed."

"I was gravely injured, a traitor to my clan, and in the midst of a moral crisis. No settlement in Stonetalon would treat a wounded Grimtotem, and the Grimtotem would hunt me for my crimes. I roamed the mountains, lost in every sense of the word, for two days. I barely managed to keep myself in one piece with bandages as I stumbled my way downhill, out to the east, onto the Barrens. This was just before the Cataclysm, so the trip was much easier then. I just wandered, barely able to think from the pain and regret. Eventually, I passed out from heat stroke. I still don't know how long I was laying there in the grass, but while I was unconscious, I was shown a vision."

"I found myself floating in an endless black void. I floated alone, for what seemed an eternity. Then I saw a light. A tiny, distant point of unwavering light, like a star. The light grew stronger, until its brightness revealed it to be shining from the heart of a figure, the elven priestess I slew. Suddenly we were just a few feet apart, and she reached for me. As soon as we touched, her light went out, and she disappeared, but a light came to life at my own heart. Suddenly, I could see a thousand thousand other lights, the infinite space filled by endless points of light, each at the heart of another figure. They were of all different descriptions, every clan, every race, every species, every kind of sentient being. Some had weak, flickering heart-stars, others brilliant, almost-blinding ones. I marveled for a moment, before I felt something behind me, and I turned around."