(2026-05-08) Two Young Druids in a Golden Vale

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Author:	Alli
Summary:	Florande and Kenelly run into one another in the Shrine of Seven Stars. They discuss the sha and other enemies in Pandaria, as well as what Cobalt might be able to do about it all. ~1500 words.
Rating:	T for Teen

It’s a sunny Friday afternoon in the Shrine of Seven Stars.

Florande leans against the red-painted railing, looking out over the golden vale. She's in elf form, her Cobalt tabard clearly visible.

Kenelly strolls up to the balcony near Florande, letting out a contented sigh. "Isn't it absolutely gorgeous? It's like a painting."

Florande looks up a touch nervously, and her ears raise a little as she looks over at Kenelly. "It is pretty. If only there were less mogu in it."

Kenelly sighs and nods. "They do make things difficult. It saddens me that a people capable of such art themselves," she gestures to the massive mogu statues in the distance, "are so obsessed with destruction and conquest."

As Florande looks her over, she spots the white wings on Kenelly's cape and relaxes slightly. She looks back at the Shrine and says, "Sometimes I think we should credit the pandaren with the beauty. The slaves that made it. And the mogu only with destruction."

Kenelly winces at the words. "It…didn't even occur to me it was pandaren slaves that made those. Oh, I feel foolish. You're right, of course. It seems that the mogu could only prosper through the subjugation of other peoples."

Florande nods. "They seem that way, to me, but I also may be wrong. You are Cobalt? I am too — I am Florande, a druid of the Circle. I do not think I have seen you in the Vale before."

Kenelly smiles brightly. "I've heard your name among the company. I am Lady Kenelly Ashewood," she bobs a little curtsey. "I'm also a druid of the Circle, actually!"

[Florande]: Oh really? *Florande's ears perk up* Even newer than I am, then. Now we have women and humans, too!

Kenelly beams and nods. "Yes, quite new by comparison, I'm sure. I've only been a member for a year or so. Ever since your people took mine in. I'm from Gilneas, you see."

[Florande]: Ohhh. *Florande nods* One of the people at the tree. *She probably means the Howling Oak in Darnassus* I have only been a member for a few years, myself. Are you here in Pandaria to help in the Vale?

[Kenelly]: "I wish I could. I originally came to investigate more about the Valley of the Four Winds and its remarkable agriculture. I'd hoped to bring that knowledge back to the Eastern Kingdoms to help places like Westfall and the Plaguelands thrive again. But my research indicates the properties of the soil would not transfer if transplanted. I think it has more to do with the water flowing from the Vale to the Valley. So I came here, and soon after I was asked to assist Blue Squad in the Townlong Steppes."

Florande nods along as Kenelly explains. "I worked some with Caspis Silvershade and others in the Plaguelands… if this would have been able to help, it would be great. But I think the lands are healing, little by little. If people will let them… and then you are on squad? I did that in the Krasarang Wilds, a few months ago. What is happening in the Townlong Steppes?”

[Kenelly]: "The yaungol there have been a constant threat. But they seem to be heavily under the influence of the Sha of Hatred. We're trying to help the Shado-Pan get to the root of the problem."

[Florande]: Hatred… *Florande blinks at Kenelly.* The one we fought in the Wilds was Despair. Do you… feel it? Does it touch you?

Kenelly's arms slowly wrap around herself. "Once. I connected with the land try to learn more about what was happening. But the Sha had infected everything. I felt…such a coldness. Like it pushed away all my other feelings, leaving room only for hate to fill it. It was horrible."

[Florande]: It seems like the feeling is… unnatural for you. *Florande says, reaching out casually to put a warm hand on her shoulder. "Some people, maybe it is harder for them to tell it comes from outside."

Kenelly gives Florande a grateful smile. "I'd be lying if I said I never felt dark thoughts toward anyone. But it's not a nice feeling. It's never made my life any better. What of you? You said you encountered the Sha before. Did it…ever reach you?"

[Florande]: Despair only, for me, *Florande says with a nod* I watched it creep through a whole village, made them all kind of… collapse on themselves. And Brannagen, he is usually so happy, but it… it darkened his light. I felt it sometimes, like sad things hit harder, made me feel lower than they would otherwise. I am used to sad feelings though, so I know how to wait and not wallow. How to let them pass like a rainstorm.

Kenelly's brow furrows sympethically. "That sounds awful. I don't know that I would handle that very well. I suppose all of this makes me admire the pandarens more. They live their whole lives coping with the presence of these Sha, and they thrive in spite of it
Kenelly."

[Florande]: Yes, it seems like that was one of the reasons for all the drinking? *Florande says, a touch uncertain.* That is not my way for serenity, but maybe theirs. Are you going to defeat the Sha of Hatred, do you think?

Kenelly cannot help but chuckle, but quickly sobers at the question. "I wish I could say with certainty. Can the Sha even be defeated? I think we need to gain a better understanding of what they are before we have a hope of destroying them."

[Florande]: We did something to the Despair in the Crane Temple. And the squad before, they did something to remove Doubt from the Jade Serpent. And then Violence, defeated in the monastery. I don't know if it will last forever, or if they will form back up…

[Kenelly]: I think that's my worry. What if they literally are just manifestations of collective emotion? Can such a thing be defeated? Or simply suppressed until conditions are right for it to rise up again?

[Florande]: There must be something that is making it happen here, though, not just people's feelings. Something about this place. And I don't know, I have seen no sha in the Vale. It feels… safer?

[Kenelly]: Wasn't the Vale protected by the Wild Gods here for centuries? Now that it's open, I would be worried that the Sha could come here. All the more reason to try to put an end to the threat before that can happen.

Florande shivers and nods. "Then what you are doing, you must keep the hatred up north, keep it from flowing here. Keep the yaungol away, and the sha, too."

Kenelly nods vehemently. "Yes, I agree. The Sha does seem to have some limits. I wonder if it can only be where it has infected people. If so, keeping the yaungol out might keep it from coming here."

[Florande]: That makes sense. And anyway, we have enough enemies here, the mogu and the mantid. The mantid are… maybe Fear? And I think the mogu are just mean, not sha.

[Kenelly]: I'm afraid I don't have much understanding of the mantid. I've seen how insects behave, and they are so very different from most other animals. If the mantid are at all like that, I'm not sure we're even capable of understanding how they think.

Florande shakes her head. "I do not know. I have fought them a little, here in the Vale, at the wall. But I do not understand them. There is so much in this land that is hard to understand. I think all we can do is try, yes?"

[Kenelly]: I've heard that White Squad has made a connection with some more friendly mantid. Perhaps there is hope for a diplomatic end to the hostilities.

[Florande]: Maybe. *Florande laughs* Maybe I should have more hope, and throw off despair. And understanding to push away hatred. I hope you will be safe, fighting such a thing. Keeping your heart closed to it.

Kenelly turns to Florande with a growing smile. "I like that. Understanding pushes away hatred. I think you're absolutely right. Maybe we need to learn more about the yaungol as well…and teach them more about us. Maybe understanding will save them from the Sha."

[Florande]: Maybe! *Florande's smile is bright* If I ever am up in the Steppes, I will try to learn. To stop them, but also to learn.

[Kenelly]: I would welcome your presence. Just be careful about opening yourself to the land itself.

[Florande]: I will be careful *Florande nods seriously* I am glad that you were safe, in the end.