Month: March 2013

by

A Very Close Call…


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

March 27th

Dear Journal,

Well, it appears as though that little Lt. Commander didn’t waste any time in getting his report to Orgrimmar about my conduct on the scouting patrol. Apparently, he has called my loyalty to the Horde into question and someone back there must have had an ear for that information.

Luckily or unluckily for me, I had made arrangements to be out of camp when the papers were delivered and Dawnglory retrieved them.  I was actually on my way to Orgrimmar to check up on things with Faendra and to get away from Pandaria for a while.  One longs to get away from things even if you love the area – I needed a change and was planning on spending the day with my sister, Faendra.

When Dawnglory handed me the sealed envelope and I saw the red seal unbroken, I will admit that I could feel my heart dropping to the bottom of my feet.  If I had been turned in and found guilty of treason, the guards here in Orgrimmar would definitely be watching for me.

What would treason mean for me and the rest of my family?  Well, for one thing, any properties that I owned and any monies that I have in my accounts would be remanded to the State – meaning in Garrosh’s coffer and any outstanding debts would be paid at his discretion, which means that they wouldn’t be paid and whomever was a survivor would be held libel.  There is a strong possibility that any of my family members could be arrested and/or possibly killed.

I know that I looked at both Dawnglory and Fae before excusing myself and going up the stairs into the apartment that we have there.  I know that my hands were shaking as I broke the seal on the envelope and actually had broken out into quite a sweat before I started even reading the official notice.

I’m sure that my laughter must have alarmed the people downstairs but it was almost hysterical laughter of relief on my part.  Apparently, I was being ordered to the Council to receive a commendation of some sort for services rendered on behalf of the Horde and was ordered to report to the Council Chambers. I handed the letter to Dawnglory with a wink and smile before I sat down at Fae’s desk to scribble off a reply.

Okay, this could have been a trap of some sort; it isn’t every day that a man in my position is arrested for treason, especially with the war going on.  So, off I went.

The Council members had gathered quickly once I sent word back that I would be attending the meeting this afternoon at their request, I had taken a day away from my duties to attend to some family matters in Orgrimmar and would be happy to attend.

Oh, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses at the meeting and the Lt. Commander had filed a formal letter to the Council that I be removed from my Command and investigated for treason.  I was very calm when this information was given to me and was asked for a response.

“Sirs, the reason for my behavior was called into question by a less experienced Ranger.  His reasoning behind his complaint is most assuredly unfounded.  I am a man of Silvermoon and therefore, some of the things that I honored that day in Kun’lai were some of the respect that I have often given to my enemies in the past.  A proper burial of the fallen is not unheard of – it was to honor not only the Kaldorei that were killed but as a salute to the Sentinel’s that had fought so bravely against my troops.

The young man in question is one of those young people that have not been steeped in the traditions as I have through the years.  This was an uncommon practice on my part and one that is not done with a great deal of frequency.  I understand that some of my men were calling my loyalty into question and you might be wondering why in regard to that.

Pure unadulterated greed, Sirs.  The Sentinels were well-equipped and some of the men have grown accustomed to defiling the bodies of the dead for sheer profit.  They were allowed to take gear and weapons of the fallen; however, the defiling of the bodies was something that I forbid that particular day out of respect for the Kaldorei for a battle well-fought. Scalps, ears and other unsavory items sell for a great deal of gold on the black market – some use them to show their friends what a courageous soldiers they have been with these trophies to display, some of these people have never left the confines of Silvermoon.

As for the Lt. Commander that has filed his grievances, with all due respect, I do wish that he had come to me with his concerns and I would have explained my reasons to him.  I will be more than happy to explain all of this too him upon my return to Pandaria in the morning. I will also ask him if he wishes to remain under my command due to his questioning my loyalty to the Horde or he may put in for a transfer.  If he chooses the transfer, I will order him back to Orgrimmar to await his reassignment.

No, if he is questioning my loyalty, it would be better that he be transferred to another unit, perhaps one more to his liking and sensibilities.  I don’t think that I could trust him to carry out my orders if he doesn’t trust me in all things.

As for any friendliness that may have been observed between myself and any of our foes in Halfhill – that is something that can be easily explained away.  Informants, Sir.  I have always gotten information from my foes in such a manner and it has never been called into question.  Not all informants are hidden away in some clandestine place to meet with me – Halfhill is an open community and we are constantly exposed to the Alliance there, what would be a better place to find out the information needed to advance our cause?

On that note, I have brought a small contribution to be added to the coffers to enable our war effort with a small financial token.  I have also brought another request for my release from service, my resignation.”

They didn’t even take very long in their deliberation of what I had said, which surprised me or the money actually made them just kind of soak it all in faster.  I don’t care, I’m not in jail, I’m not being stripped of my rank and I am not going to be executed for what some would have considered a traitorous act.  Instead, I was applauded for my deeds and sent on my way with another worthless ribbon and medal to add to my collection.

I’ll admit that I was nervous that they wouldn’t buy this whole thing, however, they took it hook, line and sinker…I think the fifty thousand gold might have helped a bit.  It’s doubtful that all of that money will find its way to the coffers for the war effort.  Pardon my language; the bastards refused my resignation because my experience was needed to enable the war effort to move forward with my leadership.

Now I am sitting upstairs in the apartment over the warehouse drinking myself into oblivion and giving my thanks to the Light, Elune and any other deity that may give a damn about what happens amongst these two legged animals.

I think that I have slipped through the fingers of Fate, yet again.

Fnor Morningstar

by

A Trip to Goldshire…


March 31st

Dear Journal,

You can definitely tell that the Spring season is upon this morning.  I awakened sneezing and woke up Oak.   We were going to stay in the Inn at Goldshire, just for fun; however, it was so crowded with people that that idea went quickly out the window as we pushed our way through the masses of people and other things.

We had left our home in Darnassus early yesterday morning to come to Stormwind for a visit.  It’s been a very long time since we have been here.  Well, not since Winter Veil at least.  We’ve been too busy with our pack and with our own hunting to do much of anything else.

I can’t believe all of these people here and around Goldshire.  We had thought that we would come in a couple of days early to check out the place before the celebration for Noble Garden started on the morrow.  Ah well, after looking things over, we’ve decided that it would be more of a effort in futility to try to gather those eggs as we have done in times past – so, we’re just going to spend a few days close to Stormwind. We have both enjoyed the hunt for those eggs in Gilneas before the changes – it was always fun and sometimes, you would find a few little treasures along with the eggs.

I have never seen anything quite like the Inn in Goldshire.  It’s as if the place had been invaded by demons and anyone that stayed within the confines of those walls for very long might become possessed and start doing lewd acts out in front of everyone without any care for decency at all.  I think that it embarrassed Oak too much to even ask for a room, he just grabbed my hand and we left.

We found an unoccupied cave, actually fairly close to Stormwind.  Well, it’s unoccupied now; the critters that were living in it have long since been vanquished since our arrival.  We both laughed as we started to unpack some of our bags to settle in for a while.  We had come for the celebration, primarily; however, we wanted to see how the packs were run in this area.

Oh, our little group is very good at what we do although we’re only number four and we have survived quite nicely in Kalimdor.  We just wanted to see how the other packs were around Stormwind and a few of the smaller towns in the area.  Of course, with the holiday and the masses of people that we have seen so far, we may have to go further afield to find any other worgen in their natural habitats. Oak is already aware of the fact that not all Alphas are male – we have been surprised a few times already.

What we’re hoping to do now is to return to Stormwind in our human forms and see how the other Gilnean are faring in that city.  It’s been wonderful in Darnassus for us, however, we want to see how many people may have survived the Curse and have fitted themselves in with the rest of the humans. Oh we heard that distinctive accent a few times as we traveled through the city; however, we were in the mind, at that time, to get settled in Goldshire and then return.

When we left Goldshire, I know that neither one of us spoke for a while.  I know that we both had to let what we had seen get filtered through our minds.  I’ve never seen the like and would have liked to stay a few minutes longer; however, Oak would have none of it.  He said he hadn’t ever seen so many naked people in his life anywhere and he had traveled quite a bit before we were shipped off to Darnassus with the elves.   I think that part of my wanting to linger was the fact that I hadn’t ever seen so many people acting as if they had lost their minds and their decency in one place before.  Maybe the Inn had been turned into a temporary asylum for the insane or something – it was all rather awful.

I had thought that Oak was going to lose control of his wolf when we were in there because he didn’t know what else to do or that the shock was so great that it shook him to his very soul.

Oh, my parents were probably rolling in the graves, if they could see what I saw in a brief period of time.  I was a lady and all of the decorum that could be mustered was always observed in our home.  My Mother probably would have fainted at the sight of all of that nudity and debauchery and my Father would have probably tried to ignore it as best he could while trying to get his bearings to find the exit back outside.

Oak and I were rather surprised that the guards were just standing outside as if nothing were going on.  Maybe this is a common occurrence in the village now?  Oh well, we’ve decided that we’re not going back there for any reason, celebration or not.  One would have thought that the King in Stormwind would have put a stop to this kind of activity that is almost on his doorstep.

Oh, I’m sure we would have had our hands if we had brought Sonshine and Abigayle with us. Sonshine might have wanted to linger more than just a little bit longer than Oak – he’s a bit wilder and bit more open for that kind of thing.  Abigayle would have wanted to stay with Sonshine because of their relationship and she’s the most innocent of us all.

Oh well, so much for that holiday that we had promised ourselves.  We’ll stay close to Stormwind and see what we can find out before we head back to Darnassus and the peace, sanity and quiet that we have come to enjoy there.

I made a suggestion to Oak that maybe we could take a jaunt to Ironforge, just to see it again and he shook his head.  I think he was so appalled by what we’ve seen so far that he just might want to cancel everything and head back to Darnassus in the morning.

I am very disappointed with our latest sojourn in search of some just plain “fun” and a celebration that we both grew up with as children.  Oh well, there are things that have changed for the worse and for the better – I think that we won’t be passing close to Goldshire again for a very long time.

I have to smile.  Abner just gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me that he would make it up to me that we’re not going to be able to go to the celebration as we had hoped.  I had even packed my best gown for the trip and now, I probably won’t even get an opportunity to put it on.  Or, maybe not, I think that we may be going into town for dinner tonight, which will be a nice change of pace and what a better way to meet people than to go to an Inn – not Goldshire.

Felley Fitzpatrick

by

Happiness Can Be Fleeting Moments In Time…


Kae was sitting quietly at the table in the house at their farm in Halfhill, gazing at the pages in her journal as she sharpens her quill and opens her bottle of ink.  So many thoughts racing through her head and so many doubts as to her own place in this house. With a soft sigh, she pulls a blanket over her shoulders to help keep the dawn chill from penetrating her shoulders too deeply.

Kal is sleeping soundly in their bed, his body stretched out full length with one arm over his head and the other holding on to a pillow that Kae had placed in a strategic location so that his sleeping mind might think she was still there – he did like to hold her when he slept and was extremely tired. He was almost like a small child with the way that he would hold onto her as if she were a stuffed animal that he held for some kind of security – she truly loved this huge man when he exhibited some of his childlike habits like this.

Gazing around the house, she could see all of the love that the two of them had put into it.  The way that each picture frame was set so that they could view them with just the natural light coming through the windows, the way that Kal had placed the statue of Elune next to the very tiny replica of the moonwell that they both loved.  It was a house that reflected the people that lived in it. This was a home, not just a place to sleep as so many others treated their abodes.

Lying on the table in front of her with the candlelight flickering was her journal, bottle of ink and a broken arrow – it was a Sindorei styled arrow, the fletching was rather intricate and some of the work put into making this arrow reminded her of the way that Kal would make his on occasion. There were tiny strands of silver wire wrapped around the notch, nothing that would weigh the arrow down nor inhibit the flight of the arrow as it was released from the bow.  Just someone’s unusual taste and care when they were making this arrow, someone that had a lot of experience with fletching. The black feathers were ruffled a bit from the handling they had received from the person that had retrieved the arrow from the battlefield in Kun’lai, however, she could still see the black feathers were neatly trimmed and placed in such a manner that would make it fly swiftly through the air – the black feathers were what concerned her the most.  She had only seen one quiver of arrows like this before in the market on the back of a man that she had admired – Kal’s Father.

There had apparently been a skirmish with a group of Rangers scouting the area outside of Binan Village shortly after she and Kal had passed through there. Sentinels had been killed and a few of the items retrieved after the battle was rather curious – this arrow was a prime example.  Allia had picked the arrow up whole, she had only wanted the silver tipped arrowhead so that she could sell it – she felt that it would be worth some money, more than your average arrowhead that would have been attached to another shaft and reused.

The other unusual thing that Kae heard the Sentinels talking about was the fact that the bodies of the fallen Kaldorei were laid out and covered with rocks, almost as if a burial ceremony had been held to honor the fallen.  The bodies had not been defiled in any way – which was very unusual with the Horde. No scalps or ears had been removed, the bodies were laid to rest as if there was some care involved and not left out to where the carrion could feed on them as per usual.

Kae knew that she and Kal had missed being a part of this skirmish by just a matter of minutes and they had taken another route due to the fact that they had seen so many Orcs in the village filtering out to the plains.  They had been very lucky.

She gazed over at the sleeping Kal and starts writing in her journal. A journal that she had only recently started keeping on any kind of regular basis because she felt comfortable with this man and knew that he would respect her privacy and not read it if he happened to find it.  He kept a journal too and admittedly, she hadn’t returned the courtesy of not reading it from time to time before they had had their disclosure talk – she was curious about the man and wanted to learn more things about him – the journal had proven to be a treasure trove of information.  It gave her a deeper insight into the man, his feelings, his wants, his desires, his dreams and most of all into the type of person he truly was, not the persona that he presents to those around him.

March 29th

Dear Journal,

I’m sitting here this morning starring at a broken arrow that one of the women had brought back to camp from a skirmish in Kun’lai.  Apparently there was a conflict within a matter of minutes after Kal and I had left the area, which we barely escaped being involved in.  Rangers versus Sentinels.  The women that were talking about it were not from our group; however, they stopped at our camp to let us know that they had defeated a large band of Rangers and to brag about it.

I actually suspect that their group ran into the usual band of Rangers that we’ve seen up there that could be counted out at about fifteen to twenty men spread out over a large area of ground.  No, it wasn’t the fifty men that they were bragging about.  If there had been fifty Rangers out there against the twenty Sentinels and their companions – there would have been more Kaldorei casualties.  I did notice that not one of these people were brandishing around any of the usual trophies that they take, the scalps and things that just turn my stomach when I see them. A few trinkets, a belt, a bow, some arrows and yes, even an empty money pouch that was decorated with simple jewels – not worth much if you sold it.

I know they were all full of themselves because they were bragging that the Sindorei fled in such haste that they didn’t have time to loot the corpses of the fallen like they normally do.  One of our senior Sentinels called foul on this and called them out for it.  The truth came out then, they had escaped from the encounter and went back to the area after the Rangers had left to find the four corpses of their comrades respectfully covered with rocks and marked so that they could be retrieved.  So, there really was no epic battle as they were trying to spin the tale for their own glory.

I’m glad that Kal wasn’t in camp last night; he had opted to stay at the farm rather than have to go into the camp and have to listen to the usual derision that usually greets him.  Questioning his manhood and his loyalties to the Alliance to inflict personal pain on him like the spiteful children that they are.  It gets old after a while, however, I will admit that it isn’t as harsh as it once was because I lied to our Commander and told her that we were, in fact, sleeping together and I am positive that she told a few of the women that, just to get the gossip curtailed.  Oh, I hear the remarks made about me – Horde lover, Horde whore and the like.  It hurts sometimes, if they only knew the truth, then, they would really be the fools, not I.

I saw one of the women in the other group with a few arrows sticking out of her quiver that weren’t the usual Kaldorei design and we started talking about what the differences were.  She and I had met a few times before when we first landed in Pandaria and were in Paw ‘don.  Her name is Allia Stormstrike, a few years younger than Kal and I.  She said that the fighting was pretty intense and was extremely happy that they had been able to withdraw with so few casualties.  I was admiring the arrows that she had retrieved – some were more for show than they were for damage, leave it to the Sindorei to add flair to a thing that should be more for utility than appearance.  I was looking at one arrow in particular, black feathers, black shaft and a black arrowhead with a tip covered in silver.  It was really beautiful.   I offered to buy it from her because I was curious about it and thought it would be a nice trophy to add to our growing collection at the farm.  She said that she wanted to sell the arrowhead because she needs the money from the small amount of silver that was there and quickly broke the arrow and handed me the rest.

I brought that broken arrow home with me and compared it to some of the arrows that Kal had made recently and almost started to cry.  Kal had made up a few “dress-up” arrows as he calls them to put in his quiver for when he went into town all dressed up – places like Stormwind and Darnassus. Yes, he does like to look the part and wants everything just so, that’s the Sindorei showing up in him.  Silly man.

I had wanted to show Kal the arrow to see if he thought the same thing that I did, however, he was already asleep.  Now, I don’t think that I am going to show him the arrow at all; I’ll just put it away where he won’t find it.  I know where his Father has been disappearing too now – am I going to report that we have this Sindorei neighbor that is a high ranking officer in the Rangers disappears frequently and is gone for several days and reappears?  Why would a Commander be out in the field like that, it’s not uncommon, however, one would think that he would have had a larger contingent of men with him than what was indicated once the truth came out.  No, I’m not saying anything to anyone – the Rangers are shifting their people around just like we are.

I know that some of the officers in camp have been talking about finding Horde officers and holding them hostage for either money or the release of captives.  Kal hasn’t heard that talk and I think that I am going to tell him about it so that he can warn his Father that there might be other dangers lurking here in Halfhill than what he might want to think about.  Halfhill is supposed to be a safe area for both factions, however, that doesn’t mean that things don’t happen because they do.

I just had to write all of this down so that I could clear my thoughts a bit.  I was torn as to what I should do.  Tell my officers about this fellow that lives next door, although, I’m sure they are already aware of him being here and to show Kal the arrow to prove that his Father wasn’t sitting in some base camp somewhere giving out orders from behind a desk.  His Father is out in the field just like we are.

I definitely don’t want Kal to start hesitating when we’re involved in a skirmish with any Rangers out there because one of them might be his Father.  That could be “death” very swiftly for the both of us.  I’m sure the thoughts flash through his mind anyway; however, I don’t want to feed those thoughts.

I already know that I am more than just falling in love with Kal and I don’t want to see either one of us inhibited by the thoughts of someone in his family might be on the receiving end of an arrow when we fire it.  Its war and we’re both aware of it; there will be casualties and death on both sides.   I wish that Kal’s Mother would hurry up and get to Halfhill or the base camp in Krasarang with her group of Sentinels.  If anything would happen to either of his parents, it would destroy the man that I love.  Why does there have to be a war right now? I have finally found a home and a man that I would be more than willing to call my mate.  Does he feel the same way?  I’m not sure.

Kae

 

 

 

 

 

 

by

Let’s Go That Way…


March 28th

Dear Journal,

Oh, I think we’re going to be slogging through this Jade Forest forever. I keep looking around and I think I have been going in circles because things are starting to look familiar to me.  I can see why the Rangers mounted up and ran through like they had their pants on fire.  Nope, I have to be one of the foot soldiers that gets the pleasure of seeing every inch of ground.  I am going to put a mark on one the trees near a path that seems to be well trod by these plate-shod feet of mine and if I pass that way again tomorrow, I’ll know it. Are we in some kind of holding pattern?  I know I have killed so many Alliance and Hozen that I know Stormwind has got to be a ghost town by now.

I think I’m grousing about stuff because I think that Ty and I want to move further afield and not see the same things every single day.  How many Hozen do I have to stomp to see the other side of that particular hill?  Besides, one would think that the Alliance would stop parking that big barge in the sky and having their people parachute in every single day if they know we’re just waiting down at the landing zone to stomp their butts?

I can see a big Temple off in the distance and I want to get there and see what the rest of it looks like – the spire is like a beacon for us to work towards.  Nope, we fight all day, get recalled back to the same village and we do it all over again.  Hello!  Are we going to spend the entire war in the Jade Forest?

Ty and I are both becoming rather disgruntled with the Inn at this point.  Okay, we have to share the sleeping accommodations with a lot of other people and to be honest, I never have been one to like the barracks life.  There is always some fool that has to put his stinky boots where the air hits them and the odor wafts under your nostrils all night long until all you can smell is “stinky freaking feet”.

Oh, we’re doing our jobs and we’re doing what we are told to do, however, I can see the rebellion building up in Ty as much as I feel it in myself.  We want more, we want to see more and we definitely want to get out of this village.  Oh, the people are wonderful, however, I am starting to recognize the kids because I think they wear the same clothes every day or maybe they are different kids with the same clothes.

I think the reason our group is stuck here is because the Orc that leads us is getting laid by the Innkeeper, that’s my thought and the ugly bugger hasn’t ever been laid that much in his life.  Nope, I’m not going to become a settler in this Valley – I want out!

I want out of Jade Forest – I want to see what we’ve been told about.  No, I’m not bored, I’m just pissed.

Oh, I have to say that Fuzzbutt is getting to be a real fixture with Ty.  He likes to sit outside at night and plays with her. I wanted to make sure that he has something to care about if something should ever happen to me.  We really have become quite dependent on one another and I would think that he would miss my sarcasm a lot if something went wrong.

Oh, Light be praised  or whatever.  We’re going to be going in a different direction tomorrow.  Woot! We have a new Orc leading us too, wonder what happened to the hump happy one that was here before?  Oh well, it’s not my job to question things – I’m just getting kind of all giggly inside to think that we might see something different and get to kill something different.  Oh yes, my Dooker has been well protected all of this time.

Great! Now we have a new group of grunts coming in to try to find a place to sleep.  Oh, this place smells to high heaven.  One more fart in the room and I’m lighting a match to see if the building blows up.

I have to laugh, I didn’t realize that I make noises when I’m writing and Ty just told me that the growling was start to grate on his nerves a bit before he reached over and gave me a peck on the cheek.  Well, that was nice.  You growl, I’ll give you a kiss, the kitten purrs, I’ll pat you some more.   He’s learning.

Fel

by

This Is War…


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

March 27th

Dear Journal,

Oh Dear Light!!  I think I almost gave myself a heart attack last night.  Yes, I was with some of the men in Kun’lai and we had been doing our scouting patrols as per usual and we happened to run into a group of Sentinels.  I don’t know if we were their target or not, however, the following confusion in the darkness was that we really couldn’t tell was friend or foe. The fighting was fierce and at times was totally in your face – close fighting is something we try to avoid, however, this time it was something that was bound to happen.

Each time I drew my bow and fired, my heart was in my throat.  Please don’t let any of these people be my wife or my son – it became a mantra for me as my heart pounded in my chest.  This was going to be a fight to the death and we all knew it.  The battle was fierce and swift on both sides and suddenly it stopped – not because of the fact that we were defeating the Kaldorei, they just melted away into the night like the ghosts that they can sometimes mimic.

What was so bizarre is the fact that we were nearing Binan Village to start our trip back to Krasarang to wind up this stint of scouting.  We usually stay out in the field for four days and then head back to report in on what we have found.  This had been a standard trip, we’d observed the troop movement of the Alliance and I am sure that they were watching ours as well – that’s why the Sentinels were up here.

We lost three men last, three men that we could ill afford to lose and we killed at least four Kaldorei, three women and one male.  Of course, the men were grieving the loss of their companions and I can understand that but one of the things that I have never condoned or tolerated is the mutilation of the corpses.  I know that the commander of the group was taken aback when I yelled out that the bodies would go untouched – no scalps were to be taken as trophies – nothing was to be touched.  Yes, gear they could have but there were not going to defile the Kaldorei corpses.

My real reason for this was that I feared in my heart that one of these bodies could belong to my wife or my son.  I know that my heart was in my throat when I carried a torch with me to visually check the slain.  The three Sentinels each had tattoos on their faces and I knew they weren’t my beloved – the male was a bit shorter than your average Kaldorei male or maybe it was just the way that he had fallen – I know that I could feel my chest tightening as I rolled his body over to see his face – he had the same color of hair as my son, that long mane of hair that looked so much like his Mother’s hair. Thank the Light it wasn’t Kal, it was a much older man that had long white goatee.

I know that several of the men were following me as I viewed the bodies and I could hear some of the comments as they were spoken. Sure, these men had heard about my friendliness with the Kaldorei in Halfhill and that my loyalties were in question, however, I was still their commanding officer.  If they wanted proof that I had mixed emotions about this war, they got their proof last night.  I’m sure that this young Lieutenant Commander will be firing off a letter to someone in Orgrimmar about my behavior, however, I think I have gotten to the point, after tonight, that I just don’t care.

I made arrangements to have the Kaldorei bodies covered with rocks so that the carrion would not make a feast of the remains.  I know that I caught myself whispering a prayer,  that Amyn had taught me a long time ago,  for the dead. We don’t usually do this for the foes that we have killed – another black mark against my name was noted, I’m sure.  We have stumbled upon some of our fallen in times past here in Pandaria that the corpses were mutilated almost beyond recognition. Scalps are taken as trophies, genitalia removed  – total obliteration of some bodies to where they weren’t even recognizable as sentient beings any longer.  We have two legged animals serving both the Alliance and the Horde with a total disregard for the humanities.

I checked the corpses of our lost men and made arrangements for them to be carried back to Krasarang. They were all young men that had their lives in front of them, some had wives and children.  I recognized one young fellow and could feel the tears welling in my eyes.  He had been one of the up and coming young fellows and a great Ranger – he had a love for the life of a Ranger that reminded me very much of how Dawnglory and I used to feel back in the day.  He will be sorely missed.

Now, it’s time for me to stop writing in my journal and start writing those letters of condolence that I hate so much. I’m just relieved that my wife and son were not amongst the fallen.

Yes, this is war, this is how it always will be in times of war.  Only this time, I have far more to lose when I pull back my bow – my wife and my son or my own life.

Amyn and I have faced one another many times over the years on a battlefield.  However, one trick that has never failed either one of us is drop down like we’ve been hit and our pets have been trained to follow us with the action. Keeping one eye open to make sure that one of “own” hasn’t taken up the cause in making sure that we are truly dead.  We’ve cheated death many times.

Fnor Morningstar

by

Insomnia..Children’s Story Included


March 27th

Dear Journal,

I am having one of those nights that you just can’t sleep through.  Kae is sound asleep and curled up in our bed and I can see just the top of her head showing out from under the covers. Somehow it just seems right and I can’t sleep.

I don’t know why my Father is on my mind so much tonight, it just has me in a quandary and I’m worried about him. Kae and I saw an awful lot of Rangers in Kun’lai when we were scouting and I hope that he isn’t with them.  We don’t have any idea what is going on but it does look like some kind of troop build-up is going to start happening in that area …soon.  They always send the Rangers out ahead to scout the land, just as the Sentinels will do, however, as we got closer to Binan Village we noticed more ground troops coming through the caves, the heavy weapons were a bit obvious and the number of Orcs was almost scary. At least they didn’t see us as we made our way around the village to make our trek back to the Krasarang Wilds to report our findings.

Tonight, for some unknown reason, my mind kept going back to when we lived in Shattrath.  It was more of a pleasant time and this was long before the two little guys came along – it was just Vashlan and I at the time. My Mother and Father used to go to the orphanage every couple of weeks with things that we had made for the orphans which the Matrons always appreciated.  Vash and I learned how to tan skins real early to help with this process too – I can remember my Mother and my Father both putting together all those little shoes and pants when the tanned leather was finished.  It was a family thing back then.

I remember my Father would always take the time to play with the kids and then, he would tell them stories and this one kept running through my mind tonight.

*************************************************************************************

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

“What do you hear when you hear the wind blow through the trees?  Why it’s the fairies gathering their kin together to celebrate the Light and Elune.”

“What do you see when you gaze into the starry skies at night?  It’s the Spirits of the Tauren and the love of the Earth Mother gazing down on the people they love.”

Oh, little Jack and his friends had heard all of this before and they thought that it was all just a tale, however, they were learning that these things were being told to them so that they would know that there is kindness in the world, even for orphan children.  There was always a kind Spirit that would always protect them.

Jack and his little brother Bobby had been in the orphanage for a very long time and every time there were potential parents visiting, they would be on their best behavior because they wanted to have real parents and a home.  Oh, the Matrons were kind and made sure that the children never wanted for anything – food, clothing, schooling and most of all, they had friends to play with all of the time.

After many years of waiting each Parent Day and being passed over, they watched as their friends were picked and went home with new parents.  They just couldn’t seem to catch a break, no matter how hard they tried to be noticed – they always made sure they had their hair washed and combed and that they had on their best clothes….Yes, they even showed the potential parents what good manners they had. Still, they were left behind.

Part of the problem could have been that Bobbie only had one good leg and he did limp when he walked, however, he was able to keep up with all of the other children when they were playing.  Jack only had one eye and was often clumsy when he moved too fast.  Between the two of them, there was one good body and they learned how to help each other with the games the children played.

One night when all of the others were asleep and the moon was high the sky the two brothers decided that the only way that they would ever be adopted was for them to be able to show how strong they were and how brave they were by doing some daring feats – they really wanted to go exploring without all of the other kids trying to tag along if the truth were known.

Jack and Bobby made their way out of the orphanage, the Lower City and started up the path to one of the tunnels leading from the city.  They were only stopped by the guard as they started to enter the tunnel.

“Hey, you kids, where do you think you’re going?” spoke the grizzled guard gruffly.

“Our parents are waiting on the other side of the Tunnel, sir, ” said Jack.  He thought he should be the one to speak out because Bobby was already frightened out of his wits – he had never done anything like this before.

The guard gazed at the two boys and nodded his head and motioned them to go ahead.  You see, the guard was an old man and he was used to all manner of refugees coming and going at all hours of the day and night when he was on duty. His shift was almost over this night and all he wanted to do was to go home to his wife and go to sleep.  He didn’t want to have to write a report about the boys or try to find out what they were “really” doing.

Bobby was already frightened when they reached the end of the tunnel and they gazed out into the woods. It was dark and scary, it seemed awfully big to a little crippled boy.  Jack, being the eldest chided his younger brother and told him to “grow-up” and come on.

The night seemed to be filled with all manner of things as they walked down the path – they saw some lightning bugs, a huge spider and a crocolisk – all of these things scared them but they thought that they would be safe if they stayed on the path.

They kept wandering down the path further and further into the woods.  They could hear all manner of noises in the woods.  One thing they kept hearing was the sound of giggling – the wind was blowing in the trees and they could see some tiny little things that darted amongst the branches.

All of sudden a tiny little creature darted in front of them, it’s tiny wings fluttering like a butterfly and it spoke to them “Follow me if you want to be free…follow me.” The two boys didn’t know whether they should run away or do as the tiny creature said.  Maybe it was one of the fairies that they had heard about – it was small, had tiny wings – it seemed friendly enough, however, they were very frightened.

Jack took Bobby’s hand and they followed the creature off the path and deeper into the woods.  They could hear the creatures in the night that were on the prowl for food, the growling sometimes sounded very close and the roars could be heard echoing through the night.  The only thing they could do was follow the fey creature and hope that they would be safe.

Pretty soon, the boys saw a clearing that had a small circle of mushrooms growing in it.  On each of the mushrooms sat a tiny little fairy, singing some kind of song  – the words and the language were unknown to the children.

“Come, come to the Circle and you will be free,” said the tiny little fairy in tiny voice.  The boys had followed this creature this far and it seemed to know what it was saying.  What did it mean by “free”, the boys were curious as to what this could mean.

Jack and Bobby were already tired from all of the walking and they were sure that the sun would be coming up soon.  They went into the circle and watched as the fairies continued their singing.  They were also very hungry.

“I’m hungry,” whimpered Bobby.  “I want to go home!”

“Shut up, there isn’t anything to eat here and I didn’t bring any food with me,” said Jack in his best “big boy” voice that he could muster.  He was hungry too and he was very frightened because he knew that they couldn’t find their way back to Shattrath, they were lost.

“My leg hurts,” Bobby wailed as he plopped down in the middle of the circle and only then did he notice that the fairies were singing and nodding their heads in time to the song.

“What are they singing?” whispered Bobby to Jack.  Jack just shook his head and rubbed his eye.  “I’m so sleepy that I can hardly see.”

Then the fairy that had led them to circle flew closer to them and it had a piece of mushroom in each of its hands. The fairy flew closer to the boys holding its hands out “Here eat this, it will make you wise.”

The boys were totally curious as to how eating a mushroom from a talking fairy would make them wise and they each nibbled politely.

“It tastes like Talbuk” said Jack.  “No, it tastes like that syrup stuff the Matrons let us have on our pancakes on Sundays, said Bobby.

“Well, I don’t care what it tastes like, I’m starving,” said Jack.  Bobby just kept munching at his piece of mushroom until it was gone.

“Sleep, sleep and you will see the world that we see ” sang their little fairy guide.

Both the boys were so tired that they needed very little time before they were curled up and fast asleep. They weren’t afraid, the fairies would protect them. When they fell asleep a soft noise was heard and a larger fairy appeared and gazed down on them with a smile

“What have you done, my children!” said the large fairy. “These are mortal children that you have lead to our most sacred of places, how could you do this?”

“I will have to undo this mess that you have created and return them to where they belong!  Did they ask for anything? Did they make a wish? said the large fairy.

“No, Majesty, they didn’t ask for anything, they are orphans from what we have seen – we’ve seen them before in the big city with all the other children the mortals leave behind, ” said the little fairy that had lead the boys there.

“We thought you would be pleased, we can make them like us… they will be happy and they will be a part of our family, don’t you see?”

“No, I don’t see and they can’t become one of the fey, silly girl!”

“All orphans want parents, only these seem to be wrong – they aren’t whole. See this one only has one eye and the other one only has one leg that works right – they are broken,” said the little fairy. “Majesty, we could fix that couldn’t we?”

“I will have to call upon the Powers that are greater than we are to see if they can help, this is beyond my powers…and stop calling me Majesty, my name is Althea.” said Althea in a very grouchy voice.

Althea bowed her head and you hear her voice as she spoke in counterpoint to the song being sung by the fairies seated on the mushrooms.  “I beg of you Elune, Earth Mother and the Light, please help me with these children that my subjects have led astray.”

Suddenly it seemed as the sky had gotten brighter – the moon seemed to move closer, the stars blinked brightly and a glowing light lit up the circle where the children slept. The boys slept soundly as the fairies continued to sing their song.

“What is it that you wish?” a chorus of voices sounded softly to Althea.

“I want these children to be returned to their home and unbroken, “replied Althea with a pleading sound in her voice. ” They will only come to harm here through no fault of their own.”

“What will you give us in return, Althea?” the chorus of voices asked together.  “What will your people give us to undo the harm that you have done?”

Althea looked very perplexed as she gazed around the circle of mushrooms, at the fairies singing and the children soundly sleeping “I will give you our song in exchange for the children’s safety.”

Suddenly the fairies stopped singing and they all looked at one another with shock in their eyes.  Their voices had been stilled by the bargain that was struck with the higher powers.

When Jack woke up in his bed at the orphanage the next morning, he knew it had all been a dream until he looked over at the next bed where Bobby slept.  The first thing that he noticed was that Bobby’s leg that had been much shorter than the other one seemed even to be the same size – he also noticed that his head was feeling a bit strange and his vision was a bit blurred.

He rubbed his eye and noticed that he could still see even when he had his eye covered up.  What was up with that? He shouldn’t be able to see when his good eye was covered – he now had two eyes. He started crying because he was like all of the other boys and girls, he had two eyes.

“Bobby, wake up! Get up!” screamed Jack.

Bobby started to crawl out of bed and stumbled as he swung his legs to the floor and started to smile.

“I don’t know what happened, it was a dream wasn’t it?”

“Boys, Jack and Bobby!!” said Matron Jones.  “Please get dressed, you have some visitors.”

Jack and Bobby had no idea what they were in for because this wasn’t Parent’s Day and they had never had visitors before.

A young Sindorei man and woman stood in the waiting room as the two boys were getting dressed and they acted rather nervous.

“Are you sure these two boys are what you want, Melody?” said the young man. “You do realize that they are both maimed in some fashion, one is a cripple and the other is blind in one eye – you do realize that?”

“Anthony, they are two little boys that need a home and they aren’t infants, they are almost grown – they won’t be any trouble to care for – this is what you wanted too, remember?” replied Melody in a rather melodious voice.

“Anthony, they will be able to work in the shop with the gnomes, no one will ever see them,” whispered Melody.  “We won’t have to pay them either, even if they have our name..no one will ever know.”

Jack and Bobby had rushed through getting dressed and they rushed to the waiting room and heard the conversation of the two adults in the room.

“Go in boys, these people want to adopt you both, isn’t that marvelous!” said Matron Jones with a huge smile on her face as she patted the coin pouch tucked neatly in her skirt.

“No, I don’t think that we want to meet them, Matron…we heard what they were saying,” replied Jack.

“There are worse things than being an orphan, Matron Jones and we don’t want to go with them…we heard what they said!” yelled Bobby at the top of his lungs as he sprinted on his two good legs out the door.

Bobby ran to the nearest guard that he could see and told the story of the couple that were trying to adopt them.  The guard turned out to be the same the same fellow that the boys had seen the night before.  The guard blew his whistle for help from the other guards as he entered the orphanage.

The end of the story is this – the couple were arrested along with the matron.

The two boys never were adopted even though they were made whole.  They grew up to be strong men and had families of their own.

What happened to the fairies, you ask?

Well, you can still see them in the dark of night out in the forest, however, they are silent creatures now, their voices had been taken as the bargain was made to protect our young heroes.  They won’t be able to lead people astray in the forest again. The mischief was done and the price was paid for the harm that they had done.

Some parents are good parents and some parents aren’t.  Be careful of what you wish for and make sure that is right.

*************************************************************************************

I don’t know why that story started going through my head. It wasn’t particularly one of his better ones, however, the key thing that stuck in my head was the fact that you should be very careful what you wish for – it might not be the right thing.

Oh, Elune, the sky is already starting to turn pink and I haven’t been to sleep yet.  I’m sure that Kae is going to give me a scolding with my staying up all night and writing in my journal.  “You’re just like your Father, Kaldor Shadowmoon!”  I can hear that in my head from my Mother.

Kal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by

Just an FYI – “Bugs” have struck my account again


 

March 26th

Just a quick note to let some of you know that I have been struck with a number of “bugs” lately in-game.  Oh, the missing mounts thing *knocks on wood* seems to have subsided for a while and I hope it stays that way.

One problem that I was wanting to point out is that a couple of months ago, I had people mysteriously disappear from my Battletag and RealID – finally figured it out when I knew some of the players were very active and weren’t showing up like they normally would.  No, they hadn’t removed me and I hadn’t removed them – it was another “bug”.  Luckily, I had saved some of their many character names off to my friend’s list – so, we were able to reconnect.

Recently, within the last week, I have had another round of “now they are gone” from my RealID again.  I have been able to recover some if not all of them.  No, I hadn’t removed them and I hope they hadn’t removed me for some reason or other.  I don’t normally post my Battletag out in public, however, I hate to lose contact with people that I have known for a long time – Jaxom#1569.  I had a few people that I had just started interacting with via this medium and if you were removed from list, I may not have made note of the character you were on at the time.  So, if you want to reconnect, please get in touch with me, if not, I’m sure you’ll be missed eventually if I can figure out who you were – I hate losing “acquaintances” like this.

I lost a few companion pets this time too, which makes me sad but they are recoverable in-game.  One thing I also found out the hard way – I had shared my Lucky Quilen Pet from the Deluxe MoP with all of my other accounts and, suddenly, he went “unshared” and was blocked from other accounts other than my main one.  Apparently, the pet was only to go with accounts that had the Deluxe version and that was changed for some reason.  Oh well, no biggie, just another surprise.

by

Seeing Another Side of Life…


 

March 26th

Dear Journal,

I am really happy that we decided to stop at One Keg the other night because it definitely gave me a look at another side of Kal.  He actually has a sense of humor and he really has friends from his days in Stormwind and beyond.  I’ve never seen him so relaxed and enjoying himself, he didn’t have that guarded and pensive look in his eyes.  I learned a lot about this man that I have befriended just by watching how he acted with those people.

Oh, it was really crowded in the Inn and I’ll admit that I felt a bit awkward being around all of those strangers as they related tales of Stormwind and their times here in Pandaria.  I caught myself laughing at some of the tales, especially the one where Kal had met some of them for the first time in the hills above Stormwind.  Exploding sheep – who’d have ever thought that something like that would have scared my big Kaldorei?  I guess he was still relatively new to Stormwind at the time and was looking for people to make friends with.

I know that I have never seen such a mixture of people that were just enjoying life.  They weren’t there on a mission of any kind that I could observe, they were just there enjoying everything they could.  Rogues, warriors, hunters and mixture of Paladins and priests – all there because they wanted to be there, not because they were ordered to be there.

If this is the kind of life that Kal had before he joined and was put with the Sentinels, I can see how happy he was.  That freedom to come and go as you would want and to make friends with anyone that you chose to do so.  I’m finding myself actually envious of that freedom.  All I have ever known is the Sentinels and you know how that can be, constant upheavals with a group of women.

Oh, we both drank entirely too much and I’ll admit that I haven’t laughed so hard in a very long time.  I know that I felt a little awkward when Kal introduced me as his partner, not girlfriend or roommate, partner.  Naturally, he wasn’t going to introduce me as Sentinel Nightshade – that would have put a damper on the evening right away. It was nice being able to drop that role for a while and just be one of the people.

I know I don’t have that many friends outside of the Sentinels and I wonder if they even realize what a wonderful life it could be to be away from that structured existence. Oh, there is the pride of being part of the organization and being a part of the structure, however,  I saw a side of the world that I had truly never realized existed. I know I liked it and I want to see more.

I know that you’re a Sentinel for life, however, you can walk away from it for a while.  Kal’s Mother did it and has a wonderful family from what I can understand.  I haven’t met them yet.  I’ve seen his Father and he is definitely good looking man for a Sindorei – come to think of it, I haven’t seen an ugly one ever – they must keep them in Silvermoon or something.  If the people I met at the Keg are a sample of how people outside of the organization, it isn’t such a bad life.

Some of them even talked about their families some and the children that they have.  I could see Kal laughing at the antics they described with their children and he shared tales about his siblings.  Oh, how I envy them having families like that.

I can see a little bit of how Kal is the way that he is.  That humor and the way that he lets things just roll off of his back if it is unpleasant – these are things that he learned by living out amongst the rest of the population.  I never realized how one-sided the view is from my world of just knowing the Sentinels.

Oh, I’m sure that there were more than a few lawbreakers in that group, I’m almost sure of it, however, that night wasn’t for duty, it was for fun. If our Commander at the base camp knew what Kal and I were doing with criminals and common folk, she would have a hissy fit.  No, I’m not reporting any of this back to her either.  What I do on my own time is none of her business.  Nothing was said or done that would indicate that these people were traitorous in any way – they were just enjoying the freedom to live their lives the way that they want.

I know that I will be thinking about taking some time away from the Sentinels when the time comes.  If Kal decides to leave after his enlistment is completed, I may just tag along to see what I can see.

Yes, things are a little awkward and tense with Kal and I right now, however, that is to be expected. We’re working our way through it and I think that we both have stronger feelings for one another because of the disclosures.  I know my feelings have grown much deeper for him than before.

Kal had such a hangover the next morning when we left One Keg that I knew we weren’t going to get very far with our scouting, which we didn’t.  Normally we will be moving and observing things until well into the night, however, we stopped and made camp fairly early in the afternoon.  I dug around in my packs until I found some potions that I thought would help his headache.  They did help the headache, however, they weren’t known for tasting good.  I’ll admit that I laughed out loud at the grimace he made when he swallowed the one down.

We are heading towards the Binan Village today and will start our trek back to our group to make our reports before we head home to the farm for a day or two.  I think that we are both tired and have seen enough Horde to last us a lifetime.  We were able to avoid a lot of confrontations just by sheer luck, I think.  There is a large build up of Rangers here in Kun’lai which kind of surprised us both.  Maybe that’s where Kal’s Father has been disappearing too when we haven’t seen him for days in Halfhill.

Kae

 

by

Political Ideas…


*Language – very blunt and swearing – if you are sensitive to that kind of material, please do not read this.*

 

March 25th

Yo Book,

I was sitting here this morning and contemplating things, the meaning of Life and all that shit – yeah, the outhouse is  nice place for those fucking thoughts, however, I left my journal in the house.

Okay, here we are in Pandaria, why are we here in Pandaria?  Well, some Blood Elves got their panties in a wad, created a bomb that the goblins were just tickled to death to carry it and drop it off on Theramore for a fucking price.  They’d probably do that on their own Mama if the price was right.  Okay, the bomb was a bad thing and I’ll never fucking say it wasn’t.  However, this caused that bitch Jaina Proudmore to get her panties in a bunch when she went back to Stormwind and wailed at Varian.

Well, in between all of that, you have exploratory parties sailing off on the ocean and they discovered a new continent.  Yeah, Bear Heaven.  Pandaria, supposedly shrouded in Mists for the millennia – what happened?  Did a whole bunch of Pandaren get together and farted and the mists took off?  No one has ever told me why that veil was lifted. The Alliance found it first, however, no, no, no, that would never do – The Horde had to have a cut of the action.  Now, we have a whole fucking war going on.

Now, that brings me back to this Jaina bitch.  Okay, I’ve heard the stories that she’s slept with everything that had two legs and a working dick – Thrall, even, or so I’ve heard. Well, it seems like we fucking killed off her last lay – come to find out he was really a dragon in disguise or some kind of bullshit, so, let’s just say that she’s slept with anything that would have her.

Okay, next thing we fucking know, this woman goes to Dalaran and decides that all of the Blood Elves have to get out of there because a select few of the race had been involved in the Theramore debacle.  Well, fuck, why didn’t she declare war on the goblins, dragons, birds of the air that used to shit on Theramore?  Now, she’s blaming one entire race for something only a few of us were involved in.  Now, we aren’t welcomed in a city where we have lived for years.   I think she’s really pissed because she’s not getting laid anymore or something.

We all heard the rumors of Varian trying to work out some kind of peace treaty with the Blood Elves and that bitch killed that idea off with her stunt in Dalaran.  Wonder if she’s tried out the King yet?  Anyway, as I see it from my perspective, even with the idiot Warchief that we have leading the Horde at the moment, all we have to do to end the war real fast is to bump off Jaina.  I think it’s a good idea, however, I haven’t voiced my opinion to anyone other than my journal.

Now we have the Black Prince trying to get everyone’s loyalty to swing towards him.  His Daddy was Deathwing – okay, I’m supposed to trust this guy that is the product of a whacked out dragon?  Hmm, no, I didn’t fall off the turnip wagon heading to market.  I’ll bide my time and see what this little bastard wants.  He has his fingers and his spies all over the damned place –  I don’t trust him.

Maybe I should just leave the political shit for guys like Fnor to deal with although I think my solution would be the fastest thing on two feet and we could all go home. I think I’m just tired of the war and really should start asking for a leave – I need a change of pace for a while.  Oh, don’t ever question my loyalty, I’m loyal to Silvermoon – that’s where I got my orders to report to Orgrimmar for assignment back in the Rangers.  I took an Oath to serve the Horde, however, in my mind, it has its limitations because what if that Orc bugger decided he didn’t like the Sindorei anymore and ordered us to attack our own people.  Guess which way I’d go?

Well, I wouldn’t go home to Silvermoon or Shattrath.  I’d just stay here in Pandaria and live on my farm and the rest of the world could go screw themselves.  It’s selfish, I know, however, it would be a good thing for me.

Oops, time for me to report back to camp and “get busy” with some of the paperwork that my best friend has told me is now my job to do.  He knows how I hate that shit.

Fnar Dawnglory

Owner of Plantation

Halfhill, Pandaria

 

 

by

Moving Onward…Two Steps Back – Reflections


March 25th

Dear Journal,

Days and days of scouting.  It seems as if we’re moving forward by inches and it is taking me forever to get to Halfhill. It may just be me and my anxiety in reaching that one destination because I feel like that is going to be the place that I will be able to find my Sindorei.

I know that Kal wrote me a quick letter to let me know that he has been on long range scouting missions with his Sentinel and that they aren’t in town that much these days, however, he told me how to find his farm.  I know his farm is next to his Father’s, so, that should narrow down my searching a bit, I hope.

While this is a beautiful country and I am falling in love with the philosophy of its people, it is still very dangerous. We’ve had a few injuries in our group due to people mistakenly thinking that a particular insect or beast was gentle and used to people being around.  I always smile and shake my head because some of these women have got to realize that because it’s cute and seems friendly, it’s still a wild thing.  Oh well, lessons learned the hard way are often never forgotten in the long run.  I’ve almost fallen prey to the same kind of absentmindedness a couple of times, however, my Lumina has been smart enough to protect me from myself.

Lumina really seems to like Pandaria and I have to admit that it has put some life back into her too.  We have been together for a very long time, much like my Sindorei and his Pan.  I have noticed that when we are in Dawn Blossom that she stays rather close to me as if she doesn’t quite trust the Pandaren yet although she loves the attention from the little ones, strange cat. I know that it must be from the size of the adults that she gets nervous – she was this way when we were in Uldum too.

I got a letter from my parents as well as Vashlan.  He, of course, wants to know if he could make some changes in the apartment and I told him “no” because I know that he has been wanting to take Kal’s room for a long time due to the view of the harbor.  No, he can’t take his older brother’s room just because he isn’t there to use it very often.  Besides, one would have thought that Vashlan would have been happy with the room he has, it does view the Mage Quarter where he spends most of his time anyway. Knowing Vashlan the way that I do, his room is probably cluttered and a mess and he wants Kal’s room to have more areas to put his “stuff” – I honestly don’t know where that boy feels like he has to have so many books and robes.  Well, yes I do, his Father is definitely a clothes horse and has always had an extensive home library at all of our houses that we’ve shared together.  Being half Sindorei may have not only brought out the Mage in Vashlan, it may have also fed the Sindorei need for the “finer” things.

It sounds like the little guys are still giving my parents fits and that means that I will have to go to Dolonaar sometime in the very near future and read the riot act on them again.  Honestly, these two boys make raising Kal and Vashlan seem like a walk in the park.  My Mother seems to think that the youngest one is going to be leaning towards druidism, which is fine by me, however, my Mother remembers the long periods of time that her own Father, my Grandfather, would disappear into the Dream. She’s trying her best to steer him towards the priesthood, however, I don’t know if that would work for him either, he has a certain wildness about him that by studying to become a Druid might appease that.  The older boy, well, he’s a puzzle, he seems to be drifting from studying one thing to the next and isn’t able to make up his mind.  I know that at one point, I thought he was going to follow in his Kaldorei Father’s footsteps and take up the bow, now, I’m not so sure.  I know the hunting accident that took his Father’s life did leave him traumatized for quite a while because he always felt and probably still feels that it was his fault.  

I’m definitely torn with my duties of a Sentinel and my responsibilities as a Mother.  There has to be a happy medium there somewhere.  Oh, my Sindorei knows how I feel about being domestic after all of these years and he hasn’t pressured me to give up my life for the children or our homes.  We have both had to make compromises in our lives to make sure that the children didn’t suffer from our choices, however, I was the one that stayed in Shattrath alone for a long time raising our two sons. I think the poor man is trying to make up for his lost time with the two youngest, not only because their biological Father was killed but because he is trying to make up for the lost time with his sons.

I look back at my life and have to frown and laugh at the same time.  I’ve had two loves in my life, my Sindorei being the first and my Kaldorei mate that I took when I thought that my Sindorei had abandoned his family.  I wonder what things would have been like if I had done things differently? Would I change anything?  I think my life would have been the same as it is right now, children, husband and extended families.  I don’t think that I would trade it for anything and this is the path that was chosen for me by Elune.

Oh well, it’s time for me to put this book away and get back to the business at hand.  I wonder how much closer we will get to Halfhill today?

Amyn