Chapter Text
Cloud serpents are one of Pandaria's mightiest beasts, cherished and worshipped throughout villages and temples. Outsider eyes may see them as beasts pandaren tamed to serve as our flying mounts. However, if carved friezes at monastery catch their attention, they will notice cloud serpents are woven into Pandaria's history much more than simple beasts made to serve pandaren's needs.
Pandaren refer to some of them as god-like beings, ascendants of spirits they treasure so devotedly. One such cloud serpent was called Yun. He was a capricious being, hard to please, but pandaren never let him down. It was fourth month after the beginning of a new cycle, and land was drowning in ongoing rain. Pandaren asked Yun to fly up there and eat the clouds away, so the sun could touch the soil again. Yun, being of proud and acrimonious nature refused to help them unless they were to give him a sufficient offering. Pandaren obeyed and caught one of the strongest cranes that inhabitted the swamps in the very centre of Pandaria. Yun accepted the offering and flew up into the sky, gnawing at the clouds, swallowing gallons of rain and blowing mists away until sunlight fell upon land once again. However, when Yun prepared to feast upon crane's feathers and meat, he realised he could not. With a howl equal to winds howling between mountains he expressed pain that formed inside his jaws. Spaces between his sharp teeth were filled with bits of frost and snow, making every bite hurt like a rush of cold wind through traveler's skull.
At that point, crane realised he was free of burden of being an offering to a godly serpent. He could fly away, he thought as he already tasted sweetness of freedom below warm sun. However, once he set of flying above green, fertile lands of Pandaria and saw the earth will finally birth food for his starved stomach, a sense of gratitude and honour changed his wings' course. He returned to the unfortunate cloud serpent. Yun snapped his jaws at him, wishing the crane away to not mock his misery any longer, but the bird was persistent. He offered Yun to help him, proposing him to open his jaw and let him eat frost and snow between his teeth. After some time, Yun swallowed his pride and opened his jaws. Crane hopped in, avoiding sharp white peaks and began picking pebbles of ice.
Pandaren look at the sky today and see the sun. They pass the swamps and hear the cranes' calling. Neither of them died, nor Yun of starvation, nor crane was eaten by a cloud serpent. Why?