Month: February 2013

by

Uldum – Panderia Is Getting Closer


February 28th

Dear Journal,

All I can think about right now is the heat and the sand.  I am also extremely tired at this point as well because I am getting back into the Sentinel routines more and more.  With the heat being a deterrent to a lot of the things that we are doing – patrolling and the scouting, we all have been doing most of this at night.

I will admit that my Sindorei told me how beautiful the moonlight was in Uldum and he didn’t exaggerate the beauty.  The stars seem brighter here and the moons shining in the sky are almost as good as having the sun without the direct heat.

I think that the Cultists haven’t dealt with Sentinels or Night Elves that much because they seem to relax at night when they think that the danger is at a lesser point for them.  Oh, they have guards placed around the perimeters of their camps, however, the light from their fires just pinpoints them for us so that we can take them as easily as one would remove a pie from an open window that had been placed there by some unsuspecting cook.  Easy is the one word that I can use for our night patrols – stealth is something that we’re known for as well as our ferocity.

We all try to sleep as much as we can during the day in our camp, however, the heat, the insects and the constant sand blowing isn’t very conducive to sleep.  So, we take short naps, which is going to get awfully fatiguing if we are here for very long. 

I am still amazed at the animals here.  Insects bigger than my mount and the crocs are very treacherous.  I can see why Fnar and Dawnglory liked to come down here – the game is plentiful and a challenge at the same time.  I know that when I don’t have duty to scout or go out on patrol, I pass my time with some fishing and hunting, just like my Sindorei would do. I know that the hides that I have been sending back to Stormwind have been plentiful and even managed to procure some pristine hides that will sell at a higher price than the usual ones.

Sleep!  I wish I could sleep today, however, my mind is busy with thoughts of my family and with the thoughts of how long it seems to take to get permission to transfer to a unit that is already stationed in Panderia.  That is where I want to go, that is where my heart is – my husband and my son are already there and I am sure that they are being careful.  I keep putting in my requests for transfer almost weekly and I still haven’t made the cut yet.

I am trying to get a couple of days off so that I can go to Dolonaar to see my parents and the little ones.  I keep calling them that and they aren’t so little anymore.  I did get a letter from Vashlan telling me that the boys are being their “usual” selves and that worries me.  My parents are pretty strict disciplinarians and I am sure that the boys are learning the rules of the house very quickly.

I did get a letter from Kal and it seems that he has been in Stormwind for a while and has gone back to Panderia already.  I wish I had known that he was going to be in the city because I would have wanted to see him, even if it meant only for a little while.  I’ve been very lucky so far with writing to him and slipping in a note for his Father and no one seems to have caught onto that yet.

Oh, the girls like to sit around and talk about some of their conquests here in Uldum and I just sit there nodding my head like some less intelligent being.  Of course, there are several women that are considered couples here and that I am used too, however, I think that I will continue on as a party of one until I can get back to my husband.

No, I don’t miss the domestic bliss that Fnor had in mind for me in Shattrath.  I think that I would have gone slowly out of my mind.  There was nothing there that I could get my teeth into.  How exciting is laundry and going out to buy bread in the Lower City.  Yes, we have friends that are there, however, I haven’t seen them since we immigrated from Dalaran.  That’s a much nicer word, immigrated, not the refugee although that’s exactly what we are.

I wonder if Lalli has had her baby yet?  She should have or is just about to have it.  I’m sure that she and Raleth are very excited at the prospects of having a baby. I wish I had had an opportunity to get to know them both better, however, we all had very busy lives in Dalaran.   Lalli and I had a lot in common with the fact that we were some of the few Kaldorei that have linked our lives with Sindorei males – add children to the mix and it is as permanent as it can be.  I hope that they are okay.

I’m really not making that many friends amongst the Sentinels that I am stationed with because I don’t want to get too friendly with anyone.  Who knows how nosey a friend can get?  Anyway, I don’t talk about my personal life around them except for the fact that I have sons in Dolonaar.  It’s not like I am ashamed of my Sindorei and the older boys, I would like to be able to talk about them sometimes, however, that would mean the death of me and how well I know it.  It does get lonely for me, however, when it does, Lumina and I head out for some fishing and hunting – that usually drives that loneliness away very quickly.

I keep hearing the tales of Panderia even here in Uldum.  How beautiful and exotic it is and how the Horde are committing more atrocities.  I wonder how much people even discuss what happened in Dalaran – that seems to be the subject that everyone seems to try to stay away from.   I guess it must be okay for that Jaina to do what she did and kill the people that get in her way.  I think the whole thing of having a neutral city was the glue that was holding Northrend together.  Now, you just wander into Dalaran, when the opportunity presents itself and leave as quickly and quietly as you arrived. 

The Horde!! I would much rather be fighting that war instead of having to fight a bunch of religious zealots.  I know that it has to be done to maintain the safety of Azeroth, however, I think that safety would be a guaranteed thing if we could kill off Hellscream.

I’m not making much sense here.  I was hoping that writing in my journal would let me relax some today – the morning coolness is quickly dissipating and I haven’t closed my eyes since we got back from our detail last night.  I did end up with some nice loot from pillaging a corpse of a mage – a nice staff for Vashlan – it doesn’t even look that used.

Okay, Amyn, stop dawdling in your book – take your sleeping potion and sleep for at least four hours or some Cultist might be taking my bow as a trophy tonight.

Amyn

 

by

Good Days And Bad…


February 27th

Ever had one of those days where you thought things were just going along swimmingly and then it takes a swirly dive down the toilet? 

Kind of like Fnar’s adventures with his outhouse.  I had a dental appointment yesterday that was supposed to be fairly easy – a crown replacement for one that was older than most of you are.  Everything was going along just great until I hear the dentist groan and say “Oh Shoot!”

You guessed it, the tooth that was to have received the new “crown” literally shattered.  This was not a good or inexpensive thing to have happen.  So, emergency dental surgery it was and I will have to admit that I am still not feeling all that great this morning.  So, if I seem a bit out of it, I am today more than usual.  I sincerely apologize for any bad grammar and punctuation in anything I write today.

I’ve gone to this dentist for years and I’ve never experienced anything like this happening before.

So, all of my big plans of working on various characters in-game yesterday kind of hit the curb real fast.  I did manage to get one through most of his dailies, however, not much else.  I felt better sitting up and concentrating heavily on getting some things done than I did when I tried to lay down.  What pain medication?  Nope, had to tough it out because of the other medications that I have to take.

Oh well, hopefully, later today I will start feeling more like myself and be a bit more social than I have been since my trip to the dentist.

by

Is Farming The Life For Me?


*Language is a bit harsh – don’t read this if you’re easily offended – especially if you don’t like F bombs*

February 27th

Yo Book!

Not a whole lot going on except the I think I need to get someone to help me on the farm.  Wonder if Kal would mind lending out that Sentinel of his?  No, only kidding, I think I might end up looking like Sindorei pin cushion chocked full of arrows if I even attempted that one. She’d probably shoot me before he did, or that’s the impression I’m getting, although, she does wave and smile at me when I see her out in the fields.

I’ve talked to several of these furry Pandas and they all insist that you have to be best friends with them before they will even consider working on the farm with me.  Well, shit!! I have several buddies but no real “Best Friends” yet, however, I am going to be doing some major ass kissing here in the next few days.  I can’t afford to blow off my duties to get this farm to where it should be.  Damn it!! Okay, I agreed to help this Dude out with his farm, however, I didn’t plan on it being a full fucking-time job on top of everything else.

Dawn and I are both getting fed up with the rain in Halfhill.  If I wanted rain, I’d stay at the main camp where it seems like that is all it does.  If we didn’t leave every now and then,  I bet we’d all be moldy and our armor would be just some tarnished mess of rust.  I am sick of rain – sit in your tent and even your skivvies feel like their wet.  Go to the farm to escape the camp, noise, dirt and constant bitching – you get rain dropping down on your head when you throw your blanket down in the house to catch some sleep. 

Okay, I fixed the door with the hinges and that seems to working okay for the time being providing that shit doesn’t rust too.  Okay, go out to use the outhouse, book in hand because I might want to take longer than a standing piss which I can do anywhere I choose.  Sitting on the seat and reading away – I heard a noise and let’s just say the pucker process got shut down big time.  Was it a snake?  Was it an animal that had somehow fallen in – maybe one of those giant Rabbit things.  Oh hell no!! It’s a virmen stuck in there and trying to jump up and grab my junk to pull himself out – I’m fucking happy his aim was off.

Now, I have to rebuild the outhouse.  I guess I kind of lost my temper and had some firebombs in my pack left over from my last patrol that I didn’t use – let’s be honest, I used the bombs to blow the fish out of the water when I’m in a hurry to get fish.   Let’s just say I overestimated how many to drop down there.  I thought that one might not be enough to kill the little bastard, so, three should do the trick.  I got stupid and dropped the bombs in the hole, slammed the door and propped up against it to hold it shut.  Well, me and the fucking door ended up out in the middle of the yard and there was nothing left of the outhouse except for a smoldering hole and some shattered wood.

Let’s just say, I have to clean my armor because the bomb blew out more than just that damned vermin.  It wasn’t bad enough that I blew up my outhouse, it was the fact that Fnor was walking up the path to my farm and he was just standing there with his mouth open and his ears standing straight up until he started laughing.  Of course, he’s laughing so hard that he can’t even speak – just laughing.  I guess that the noise was pretty loud because pretty soon there was a small crowd gathered there – no one even asked me if I was fucking okay, they were all just standing there laughing at me trying to get up from under the almost whole door.  It’s kind of a half door now, I have no clue where the other half went although I think some of it kind of blew up the road a bit further – there was an angry looking Panderian standing there looking at me.

Let’s just say that my day at the farm has started pretty shitty – literally.  That damned farmer keeps telling me he’s a “city paw” – well, do I look like I pack my boots with fertilizer to make me taller?  I’m beginning to wonder if this farming shit is all it’s cracked up to be. Man-eating Weeds!! Vermin that try to rip off your manhood without any warning or provocation by hiding in the dirt and leaping out at you when you’re trying to gather your crops.

I know I was pissed off with everyone just staring and laughing at me, so, I thought I would just go in the house to get out of sight and maybe they would leave.  I guess Fnor finally stopped laughing long enough to get everyone to leave.  He finally did ask me if I was okay and I told him that yeah, I’d survive.  Then he tells me that I need a bath.

Called my mount in and all she would do is snort and back away from me.  Not a good day for Dawnglory!!  I went back in the house threw all of the crap-covered armor in a bag there and went back out to the mount and she would finally let me mount her.  So, now, I’m sitting by the Jade Temple, staring at the bag of shit-covered armor, washing my clothes or trying too before I start on my armor.

Nope, don’t think I’ll get  a whole lot done at the farm today. Now, I have to dig another hole and build another outhouse, plus, see if I can get some thatching for my roof.  Farming – how in the hell do these people do this without going just bug-shit crazy?

Fnar Dawnglory

 

 

by

DO NOT DRINK WITH DWARVES – I should know better


February 26th

Dear Journal,

I woke up for a little while when Kae left this morning and I will admit that it is nice to be back in Panderia, things seem less complicated here.  I am still kind of confused about what actually happened in Stormwind – totally oblivious to what might have happened in Ironforge.

I met Josie in Stormwind and we agreed to be “friends” – okay, that’s fine, I don’t mind being friends and we both promised that we would write one another, however, through my past experience, Josie isn’t all that great in the letter writing thing.  I mean, she can write, however, it’s almost as infrequent as when I get to see her.  We shall see.  Yes, maybe we were moving too fast, I have no idea what it is she wants from me – I’m not ready to get married by a long shot.

As for Ironforge. I should know better than to get into a drinking bout with a bunch of dwarves, however, I did it anyway.  I only know that when I woke up the next morning, if it was morning even, I had three female dwarves in bed with me, all I had on was my loincloth and a boot.  What really woke me up was the one laying on my chest and snoring into my ear – she was kind of cute, however, I have no idea who she was. I was flat on my back with a dwarf under each arm.  Oh, Elune, I hope that I didn’t do anything that I should be ashamed of but I have no idea what was going on.  Of course, Andrew was laughing like a hyena when I went downstairs after slipping out of the bed and not even waking the one on my chest, just kind of slid her off there.

Naturally, he gave me some “hair of the dog” as he puts it the minute I sat down and I thought that I was going to throw up when he told me he put a wee bit of gun powder in it to give it a kick.  Gets rid of the hangover he says. 

His eyes were just gleaming when he told me that the girls had taken me upstairs for some fun and the racket that went on sounded like they were having a good time.  I wanted to crawl under the table and possibly all the way back to Panderia.  So far, in the past, I supposedly puked in the fountain pool at the mage quarter, now, I’ve committed some kind of weird acts with a bunch of female dwarves or supposedly.   I honestly don’t remember and my body doesn’t tell me that it had a good time like that.

Now, the big thing is that he said that they had a gnomish camera up there and they would be sending me pictures when they were developed – Oh Elune!! How am I going to explain that? One would think that I would remember if I did something like that with that many women at one time.  My head was still kind of spinning and foggy when I left Ironforge.  Yeah,  I promised that I would be back for a visit soon, however, I think I’m going to avoid the booze and the women – in that order.

Of course, I made a quick stop in Stormwind at the apartment so I could get cleaned up and changed clothes.  I didn’t want to go to Dolonaar just reeking of alcohol.  I didn’t want that “tsk tsk” that I would get from Grandmother and the “evil” wink from Grandfather.

I did get to see the little guys and they are growing like weeds.  My grandparents tell me that my Mom hasn’t visited in a while, however, they did hear from her.  She’s been in Deepholm with the Sentinels.  Knowing my Mother, she probably hated that place as much as I did.  I used to get sent down there for basilisk hides and I hated the closeness and darkness of the place with a passion.  I did try to get some hides from other places to substitute, however, that didn’t work.  Darn basilisks have crystals in their hides down there that make the leather kind of sparkle when it’s tanned.  Not to mention, I got my butt chewed out by my Mother for trying a stunt like that.  I hope she’s okay.

I will admit that I did have a bit of a hangover while I was there and my Grandfather took me outside and gave me some of his own homemade brew to see if that would help.  My Grandmother insisted that I take some herbs to help – oh, they helped a whole lot – I think that I heaved the entire contents of my stomach of anything that I had eaten in the last two days.   I really have to make a note to myself that I shouldn’t  drink with dwarves and I shouldn’t take my Grandmother’s herbs.

The farm looked so good when I got back to Panderia and Halfhill.  I just had to go out and look at things and to clear my head from traveling so quickly to get back here.  It was nice to see Kae again, it was almost like being able to relax completely when I saw her.  Naturally, she wanted to cook something for me to eat and I had to tell her that I wasn’t hungry and the only thing that I wanted to do was to go to bed and get some sleep.

Kae had made me some food before she left this morning and I will admit that I was hungry for some food that wasn’t something I could have eaten in Stormwind or Ironforge.  Why she made soup before she left has me amazed, however, the beef broth and the veggies just settled my stomach right down. 

I’m sure that we will have a nice time talking about my leave when she gets back today, however, I think I am going to go back to bed, I’m exhausted.

Kal

 

 

 

by

A Woman’s Mind – It’s Complicated


February 26th 

Dear Journal,  

Kal finally got back late last night and I am assuming that he had a good time in Stormwind and Ironforge. He has told me of some of his adventures with the dwarves from Ironforge and from the way he looked when he got home, they weren’t disappointing this time. At least he doesn’t have to report back to camp until tomorrow morning – this morning would not have been a good time for him. 

I definitely headed back to the farm as quickly as I could after a quick recon of the area that we were supposed to patrol, it was very light duty today, which I find rather odd, however, I’m sure that our commanders know what they are doing.  They keep talking about setting something up where we can patrol for so many hours and then have so many hours down time because there appears to be more going on that we are going to need all of our energy for.  I have a feeling that this may just mean that we are getting ready for another full on assault against the Horde. 

We have a board at the camp that shows how many kills we’ve made – so many Orcs, so many Sindorei, so many Tauren, so many Trolls and goblins.  We all kind of laugh a little bit because you have to kill more goblins for one point than any of the others – I think it should be the other way around, they do throw explosives and traps – harder to kill if you ask me.  If you kill an officer, you get so many bonus hours for leave.  Kal and I both have accumulated quite a few points between us.  Maybe I will talk him into taking some time off so that we can explore some more of Panderia before the Horde tries to take over everything.  Greedy buggers that they are.  I would be willing to bet that Kal doesn’t discuss this kind of thing with his Father. 

I had to laugh at him when he got back to the farm last night because he just kind of dropped his things at the door before he went out to check the fields.  Of course, he gave me a nice huge hug and a kiss on the cheek before he went off on this tour of his.  I put his one bag back outside because it smelled horrible with the reek of ale.  I would say that he had himself quite the drinking bout with those Bitterbeers, however, he hasn’t said what all they did.  I hope they didn’t have another naked race through the middle of Ironforge like they have done in the past.  No wonder those little dwarf women are all aglow when he comes to visit – that is a lot of man to take in at a glance. 

It’s pretty bad when a fellow goes off on leave and then has to sleep the first day that he is back in Panderia to recover from the leave.  Oh well, he has to have some time to sow his wild oats and kick up his heels somewhere because he knows that he is being closely watched here most of the time.   I am really surprised at how comfortable and how easily he seems to move amongst these people that would normally kill him because of his heritage, however, I think that he has ways to keep that at bay sometimes.  I know that I don’t notice the green in his eyes as much sometimes unless he is angry about something or if he’s got other things on his mind – they seem to glow green. 

I think that what makes him safer these days is the fact that he always has a Sentinel sigil on.  That does signify that he is the property of the Sentinel order which would protect him in most Alliance held areas anyway. There are times that I wonder if he really realizes what that really means. 

I want to ask him if he saw that human girl in Stormwind.  He’s not kidding me one iota, I know she’s a worgen even if he hasn’t come right out and told me.  She’s from Gilneas, what else comes from Gilneas other than the worgen with their Curse?  I know that there were a few people that escaped there without getting the Curse but they are a rarity.  Even the younglings may not show the Curse when they are small, however, I would be taking a good bit of gold from people that it will show up as they get older.  He has to know what she is, he’s not that naive. 

He’s laying on his bed all sprawled out like some huge meal presented on a platter.  He has no idea how tempting it is for me to get into that bed with him, however, I won’t.  I want too, mind you, however, until he is ready to drop this charade, I won’t.  I feel that the time is getting near to where he is going to make that next step in our relationship.  We’re friends, I want more than friendship from him and I think that he is starting to realize what my feelings might be even though I am trying my level best to hide it from him. 

I’ve seen Kal’s Father a couple of more times in the market and I keep watching him, trying to see the resemblance between the two of them.  So far, the biggest thing that I have noticed is the smile, they have the same smile – warm and friendly – it even shows up in his eyes, which tells me that it is sincere and not just a facial thing.  In watching his Father, I can see some of the same hand gestures when they talk and of course, Kal does have smaller ears.  I doubt that many people would notice the ears that much since there can be many reasons for a man to have shorter than normal ears other than their breeding.  

Of course, I’ve seen the blonde Sindorei with Kal’s Father a few times. He’s very attractive, even to other men it seems.  Of course, that doesn’t fit with his womanizing reputation that I have heard about.  I’ll admit that he kind of intrigues me like any forbidden fruit would be to a woman, however, I’d much rather be with the Kaldorei that I am living with. 

I wish that Kal would wake up so we could talk about his leave.  My curiosity is very peaked about his time in Stormwind.  He also brought back some gold that we got for our contracts that we filled with his Mother’s company.  He has some mail here from his Mother that he hasn’t even read yet and some from his grandparents.  I hope he did make an effort to go see his younger brothers in Dolonaar. 

I think that I’ll suggest that we go back to the Jade Temple when he wakes up so he can take care of that reeking bag of clothes and I think that I was almost successful with my little seduction ploy the last time we were there.  I haven’t been with another man for a very long time and I will admit that it is starting to cause me some issues as well.  I wonder if he was with that girl in Stormwind?  I hope not.

 

Kae

by

We Need More Troops


 

Written in very cursive script denoting the maturity and education of the author.

February 25th

Dear Journal,

I know I am sitting here at the farm again.  I’ve already done my duty at the command center this morning and dispatched my patrols out with much else to do other than to report back as to the encroachment of the Alliance soldiers into areas that we are already trying to hold. The Alliance seem to have a sizeable force that seems to be moving closer to our location in Krasarang Wilds.

As a Ranger, I prefer the hit and run tactics that we can use in this jungle area.  We’re able to blend into the surroundings quite easily and the only time that we have had any issues that have brought on dire circumstances is when we have collided with Sentinels.  The humans are unbelievably fast in their reactions to our patrols that have hit them with the wrath of the Light and have been caught off guard.

I am truly thinking that we are somewhat outnumbered in this War with the way that there always seem to be fresh reinforcements for the Alliance and we struggle to keep our ranks filled.  I suppose that there are fewer Sindorei these days or at least fewer Sindorei Rangers being sent out from Silvermoon.

Jungle fighting is pretty much the same as the tactics that we used in Northern Barrens years ago.  Hit and run – just keep moving.   I honestly don’t recall running into as many rogues in the opposing forces as I am here in Panderia.  Damn, the training they must have to have gotten before they sent them to Panderia must have been wondrous.  We actually caught a little gnome not more than twenty paces from the command tent yesterday – he didn’t live long enough to report anything that he might have overheard, however, it was rather unnerving.

I think that a large part of the problem is a number of us do not have our hearts in this war.  We’re also getting hit with unadulterated fatigue.  You can’t keep men out of the field for an indefinite period of time without some kind of relief – leaves are either cancelled or you have months to wait before you can get one approved.  Something is not right.  I know that when men are fatigued, their reaction times slow down and their brains aren’t as sharp as they could be – we need more reinforcements and we needed them yesterday.

I know that I am lucky if I can get two days away from the Command Post right now without someone coming to the farm to tell me I’m needed back at camp. At least I have a couple of people that were willing to help me with the farm because if it weren’t for their help, I’m afraid that the farm would go back to the wild without much trouble.  Not only are the Panderian extremely hospitable to the people invading their lands, they are also teaching us that there doesn’t need to be fighting all of the time.  I have to laugh at the constant “Slow Down” tactic that they use. 

Too bad our Warlord won’t heed those words because all he wants is more land, more resources – for what?  We only have so many ships coming in daily with a minimum of troops and we can only ship so much material back to Orgrimmar.

At the moment, I’m just sitting here in my house, drinking some coffee so that I will be able to keep my eyes open and then I might be able to go out and do something in the fields. 

I’ve sent several letters to Orgrimmar for Faendra and several to my wife without any responses yet.  It seems that mail services are being hindered.  I’ve even sent out several dispatches for replacements to Orgrimmar and Silvermoon and those have fallen on deaf ears as well.

Desertion rates are still climbing and as much as I hate the thought, I am going to have to start rounding some of these fellows up and bringing them back into the fold.  No, I won’t be sending them back to Orgrimmar in chains, I need their bodies on the lines with the rest of the group more than I need to see punishment being dealt out.   I may take the policy that once, you’re forgiven, twice and you’re shipped back to Orgrimmar regardless of how desperate we need them here.

I think that I am going to stay overnight here in Halfhill just to see if I can see any signs of Kal on his farm.  He hasn’t been there for several days that I can ascertain because all I have seen is that Sentinel that lives there with him.

Maybe I can convince Dawnglory that it’s time for the two of us to head out to his favorite spot near the Jade Temple for some much needed rest and relaxation.  I know that I can feel the tension n my back and neck right to where it is almost painful to pull a bow string.  I know soaking in those hot pools is more inviting to me at the moment than it should be – plus, it’s laundry time for me.   How in the heck is that I can’t get an orderly up here – I’ve had orderlies that took care of that sort of thing in the past, now, it’s every man for himself, it seems.

Light! I hope Amyn is safe.  She is constantly on my mind and the worry is adding that much more stress to my plate.  I don’t even know where she is right now and that causes me to worry even more.  Yes, she’s a Sentinel and, No, I wouldn’t want her stalking me up here in Panderia if that was what her duty was  – I’m just a worried husband.  I am a very tired and worried husband and Father.

 

Fnor Morningstar

by

Uldum – Going From Darkness to Light


February 25th

Dear Journal,

We all thought that Deepholm was the end of the World as we knew it, however, we survived or most of us did.  All I can say is that that is not a place that I plan on visiting frequently in the future.  Sure, we fought the fight and still had to give everything back because the Earthen Ring people were told to leave.  What ugly creatures live in that desolate place.  Living beings made up entirely of stone, yet, they are sentient beings.

I just thank Elune that we weren’t there as long as we could have been because the whole time I was there, I felt that there were things hiding in the darkness watching us with the thoughts that a Sentinel might be good to eat.  No, it wasn’t one of those places where you could relax your guard for even a moment.

No, I haven’t even had a chance to make it back to Dolonaar to see my parents or the little ones before we were reassigned to another area.  We go from cold and darkness surrounding us to the desert with heat and bright light.  At least we are out in the open and feel the desert wind across our faces – we are able to see trees in some of the oasis areas as well as plenty of water.  I never thought that I would miss seeing trees and water as much as I did in that hole in the ground.

We are currently working out of an area called Ramahken, which appears to be the capital of the area.  Such strange catlike creatures live here and they aren’t all that friendly to us, however, they appear to need our help in getting the Cultists out of their country.

I can remember my Sindorei talking about this place and I even have been here briefly to only sit in the city and watch the people pass by.  This is where Fnor came to recover from that cold and that awful potion that his best friend gave him for that – Naturally, being men, they got drunk and Dawnglory shot my Sindorei in a drunken stupor.  That’s the real reason that I was there – to take care of my mate. Naturally, I didn’t see much of anything other than the city back then and didn’t get out in the field to do any investigating.  It does seem like I am following in my Sindorei’s footsteps so that I can get assigned to duty in Panderia.

I know that the majority of the other Sentinels are happy to be here.  It’s all of the things that the last assignment wasn’t.  Naturally, there are dangers here that I had heard stories of – the sandstorms, the buried creatures that will pop out of a mound of Earth and attack you.  Naturally we are scouting out the areas where the Cultists have infiltrated for a future attack.

At least the hunting that we can do is profitable and we are able to feed ourselves some fare that we are more comfortable in eating, even if everything seems to have a fine coating of sand, no matter what precautions we attempt to take to avoid it.

The only thing that I am worried about right now is my lack of mail from my family.  With the luck that we all have been having, it’s probably in a sack back in that abysmal place that we just left as quickly as we could.   I have been told to watch some of my other Sentinels for any signs of emotional trauma that might cause them to do things that they might not normally do.  We lost a few due to the claustrophobia in Deepholm – it was hard to handle when all you’ve known your entire life is open spaces, sunlight and trees. We may be Sentinels, however, we have emotions just like any other person.

The fight was hard in Deepholm, I know that there were several times that the light would play tricks on your eyes and you couldn’t tell what direction you were going.  I know that I have always taken great pride in my sense of direction, however, I was used to using the stars to guide me most of the time.  In Deepholm, there are no stars, only blackness and even the air moving down there moved in a strange way. 

The Cultists seem to be a blight that is moving across Azeroth.  Religious Zealots following their beliefs even if it means that it would destroy the world.  Dragons leading people to their deaths seems to be their belief – they are to be saved, sacrificed and risen much like the old days of the Scourge.  I think the Cultists are far worse than the Scourge – until they start their chanting and ranting, they look like any other person.  Enemies that blend in with society that you can barely tell which are friends or foes.

I know a few of the Sentinels are starting to feel like it is okay to just kill everyone and hope that they were all cultists.  It has some merit, however, I worry about the collateral damage that may be occurring.  Yes, we’re warriors and it is our profession to protect our beliefs as much as the Cultists want to protect their own.

I know my sons probably would not recognize their Mother these days.  I am getting used to the rigors and the on-going training that we endure to be the best that we can be, no matter the location.  We’re definitely learning how to be desert fighters here and we’ve all had our turn at learning how to meld into our surroundings when we’re out on patrols.

I may feel more alive being with the Sentinels again, however, that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss some of my past life – I miss my family, I miss sleeping in a bed with clean sheets that doesn’t have a fine glazing of sand to rub harshly against your skin as you sleep.

I miss my husband most of all.  That is one of the main reasons that I am doing the things that I am doing right now.  I am not going to let a war or anything else keep me away from him.  We’ve sacrificed too much of our time in our lives to political strife and battles – we need to find a place in Azeroth where we can be together without fear of retribution.  Shattrath seems to be the only safe haven for us these days since we are no longer welcome in Dalaran.

I don’t think I will ever tell my Sindorei what I saw in Dalaran on my last visit. Our home is no longer recognizable as a dwelling that we once shared with our family.  With all the time and money that Fnor had invested in that place to make it a home was all for naught.  It’s not even a phantom of what it once was and it’s doubtful that I will be returning there in the near future.

The only thing that I am truly focusing on now is going through each assignment that we are giving alive because that will bring me one step closer to Panderia and my husband…and my eldest son.

Amyn

by

Snow And How To Deal With It


February 25th

 

After waking up this morning to over a foot of snow stacked outside my door- I think that this is a good time as any to rejoice in the fact that I am retired and I no longer “have to” go to a job by risking life and limb in these rather horrendous driving conditions.  However, I do have to call and cancel a dental appointment that I had for this afternoon due to road conditions – being older also means that your reaction time is not what it used to be when you were twenty-five or so.

 

One never knows how the road conditions are going to be when you have a wind-chill factor that has stayed around 0 degrees or lower.  I know that I was awakened rather early this morning, 4:00 a.m.,  with the sounds of people digging out their cars, scrapping windshields with the engines running to get their mechanical steeds ready for the trek to work.

 

This was definitely a record breaking snowstorm for this time of year in our fair city.  We usually get the real heavy and high snow-drop rated storms in March, along with the winds that make it even more of a blizzard than this current storm has been.

 

Naturally it was a two cat night in the bedroom last night since neither of the felines realize that there are other warmer places in the house other than curled up between my husband and I.  It would be so much nicer if they would curl up or even stretch out lengthwise on the bed, however, they both like to lay in the middle of the bed stretched out horizontally forcing both the sleeping people to sleep on the edges of the bed.  Bossy critters that they are.

 

Today will be another day for me to log into World of Warcraft, get rained on in Halfhill in Panderia whilst being attacked by the vermin hiding in the mounds of dirt with your plants.  At least the pixilated characters will be out there working away and they don’t have to look forward to going outside to shovel snow in the blustery wind.

 

Oh yes, totally missed one of the Sha of Anger raids put on by one of the guilds that I belong too due to the fact that these old bones decided that it was a good time to take a nap and get some extra warmth going.  Yesterday was a good day to just play some WoW, sleep a bit when the opportunity presented itself and just be lazy. 

 

Who knows, I may actually get an opportunity to write a few lines for my busy characters today, providing my brain will get over this fogginess of sleep.

by

A Step Into Nightmare…Deepholm


February 21st

Dear Journal,

I know that this is all going to be worth it someday when I am able to be with my beloved Sindorei in Panderia.   I know that things have been going rather well for us in Mount Hyjal or something got a lot worse somewhere else, however, my whole regiment has been moved to this place that is unbelievable.

I know that this all came about during the Shattering; however, I never realized that when Fnor talked about this place that it was completely underground.  I don’t know why I couldn’t think that way; I’m used to forests and trees, not being underground like some dwarf miner.

I feel so removed from the things that are even remotely familiar to me and yet, I know that there is a reason that we are here.  The Twilight Cultists have a stranglehold here and we need to eradicate in order to put the Earth Pillar back together again. If we fail to succeed in this mission, there will be no Azeroth, which means that everything will come to an end.

I know that we are all very nervous here, it’s our first day and we’re trying not to let the place spook us all that much.  I’m terrified of enclosed places like this even if it does appear to be vast from the steps of the Temple. Of course, we’ve heard the tales of where this place can go from the lava pools to ice pinnacles – yet, as far as my eyes can see, there doesn’t appear to be a single tree, blade of grass or even sparkling pools of water like we have grown accustomed to above ground.

I’m feeling very nervous here and I am wondering when or if I will ever get to see my parents or my sons at this point.   The creatures here mean nothing but harm to us from what I have seen so far.  There are so many elementals and so many creatures that seem to have escaped from a person’s nightmares to become reality in this place and time because it is the will of the Gods.  It’s an ugly place.  I know that I am not the only one that is feeling this way; there are others that are voicing their opinions rather loudly.  However, I will do as my orders have been given to me and I will do my duty for the Sentinels and for our world, as we know it.  All I can feel for the moment is a sense of foreboding; all of your senses are strained to make some kind of normalcy of this place – this underground abomination that holds the very structure of our world in its grasp.

Deepholm.  The name is most assuredly correct.  It’s like being buried alive and there is no way out except to fight for your life with the environment and the Cultists every step of the way.

I pray that Elune will guide our steps through this place, this abomination of a place that was possibly above ground.  I also pray that Elune will allow me to live through this and that I will be able to see my loved ones again.

Amyn

 

by

Staying At The Farm Alone Is Not Always Fun


February 20th

Dear Journal,

I will have to admit that the farm seems a bit lonely sometimes when Kal isn’t here, however, I always find plenty to keep me busy, what with all the animals and the crops.  I honestly think that blonde Blood Elf is throwing his weeds over the fence or that’s where my weed infestation seems to be the worst and I have to spend more time over in that area than I normally do.  Who knows, I’ll let Kal deal with that when he finally gets home from Stormwind.

I know why he went there, it wasn’t just to check on his friends and to see the dwarves in Iron Forge.  He wants to give that human girl one more try.  I don’t know what it is about her, however, he hasn’t totally given up.  Maybe after this trip he will be different and reconciled to the fact that that relationship was headed nowhere fast.

I did have a chance to talk with Phaendra about her behavior the last time she was invited over to visit and her answer was that she didn’t see any marks on the man that made him mine other than the fact that I was probably sleeping with him since I was living on the farm.  He was fair game as far as she was concerned and was betting with the other women that he could make love just like a Sindorei.  How would they know how a Sindorei takes a woman?  Besides, wasn’t he supposed to be servicing the women in our group?  If that was true, then, why was I keeping it all for myself.  There are a couple of other men that travel with us and they always seem to be occupied with their duties, Kal is the only one that seems to have avoided that so far.

Let’s just say that I asked for some time off before we got into a more physical altercation that what happened.  Yes, I did punch her right in the face and I hope I broke her nose too. No, I didn’t get into trouble but was reminded that it was part of my job to keep an eye on “him” and make sure he wasn’t collaborating with any of the Sindorei around Halfhill.  So, here I sit at Halfhill on the farm waiting for Kal to get back which should be any day now, as far as I am concerned.

I don’t know why Sentinels can be so hostile towards a man and then want him to meet their physical needs if they aren’t already aligned with someone.  Some of the girls like the way Kal is built and want to see more and possibly do more when they aren’t busy with each other.

I didn’t deny that I was sleeping with Kal even if we aren’t, there is always that possibility and I don’t think that I want to share him with the other women, no matter what my Commander said.   I know that I am probably being selfish, however, after all of the things that he and I have been through together, it would be different for us.  I don’t think that they would transfer him to another unit or anything if we got mated or got heavily involved, maybe they would.  I just don’t know what to do.

I just know that he makes me feel things that I never thought were possible before.  Oh yes, I have been with other Kaldorei men and I’m no innocent thing that just stepped out of the temple in Darnassus.  No matter what the rules are, if Kal and I do make that kind of commitment, even the Commander won’t step in, although she might decide that I need to stay in camp instead of coming home to the farm every chance that I get.  I think I just got the poor fellow in more hot water by having that argument with Phaendra. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens when he gets back to Panderia.

At least I have had the time to tan more of the leather that Kal and I gathered before he left to visit his family and friends in Stormwind.  We got some very nice pieces that should fetch us a nice price and I am shipping some of my herbs along as well since there was a contract for some of that in this last batch. 

I just want Kal to come home now.  I don’t want him getting more involved with this girl in Stormwind, it wouldn’t be a good thing for him if someone were to start blabbing around the city that there was a half-breed hiding in the population.

One thing I have noticed is that since he has grown his beard and let his hair grow out more, his eyes aren’t that noticeable.  Maybe he is safe in Stormwind.  He told me that he thought the green wasn’t quite as noticeable since he has gotten older, however, there isn’t much that can be done about his ears being shorter than a normal Kaldorei.   I just worry when he is away from Panderia because I know how crazy some people can be in the cities.

I did see Kal’s Father at the market in Halfhill, all dressed in his black and silver armor.  I guess that he had just gotten back in town and was picking up a few things before he went to his farm.  We’ve never really spoken, however, this time he glanced in my direction with a soft smile on his lips and he winked at me.  Kal must look like his Mother because his Father has that heavy long black hair that looks almost blue because it’s so dark – a touch of gray at the temples makes me think that he is even more handsome that the blonde fellow that lives next door to us.

Oh well, I suppose that I ought to go out and make the nightly rounds around the perimeter of the farm and make sure that we don’t have any surprises when Kal comes back.  I still want to do more than punch Phaendra in the nose though – I need to keep my temper in check.

Kae