Month: December 2014

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OOC – 2014 Year In Review


December 31st

Oh, it’s that time again to sit here and think about what has transpired in the last twelve months, isn’t it?

I’m still playing World of Warcraft, throw in a little bit of Sims3 and Sims4, plus, just added Skyrim for those times when the other three aren’t interesting for me.  It’s always fun to learn how to play a new game and find that you really aren’t “all that” when it comes to adapting to a new play style.  Being a keyboard turner and clicker doesn’t work that great with Skyrim, however, I’ll adapt if I play it more, I’m sure.

2014 really was kind of a rollercoaster ride for me in-game.  I did get all of the characters that I wanted to get boosted or old fashioned leveled to the cap before WoD dropped. Whew!  I didn’t plan on having quite as many 90s at the end of the expansion, however, 25 isn’t too shabby for a solo player, I suppose.  I did get two guilds to Level 25 finally and had a blast doing it even if it seemed like it was never ending battle on the Alliance side to get it all done because I’ve played Horde primarily for the last five years – added a bunch of achievements to the guilds too, which was kind of hard without  box-playing a few times.  I know that I just kind of frittered away a lot of time just by sitting in front of my computer and playing video games.

I think that I am in a Love/Hate relationship with World of Warcraft at the moment due to the fact that I am not all that thrilled with the majority of the things that came to pass with the new expansion.  I definitely didn’t care for the way that crafting was changed into a Facebook game with the advent of the Garrisons.  Oh, don’t’ get me wrong, I like my Garrison a whole lot on both factions, however, with everything being as gated as it currently exists right now has really rather offsetting.   Love the artwork in the new expansion, love the storylines and some of the Lore, hate the new “immersion” technique of grinding your brains out with quests while you’re riding around like we did in BC.  Still haven’t gotten my iLevel up high enough to even worry about doing the MC run before the “Corehound Mount” goes away and I’m not even upset about it.   Silver Proving grounds has been my bane due to the fact that I am a keyboard turner and clicker – add old age, physical impairments increasing with said age – I might make it yet, however, that’s not a big deal if I don’t.  There are days where I don’t feel all that motivated to even log in sometimes.  Thank heavens for alts and Old Content.

At one point, quite recently, I had eight active accounts in World of Warcraft to feed my altoholic addiction and I did end up letting several of them lapse for the time being.   I still enjoy the game to a certain extent, however, after ten years of playing almost non-stop I think that I am just getting stale with it.  I’m still waiting for that old magic feeling to show pack up with this expansion and it hasn’t arrived yet.  I hope that the folks that are enjoying the game continue to do so though, I don’t have a problem with that at all.

I was on the verge of actually starting to do other things rather than stay in front of the computer, however, that kind of went the way of the Great White Whale when my skylight decided to take a nose dive back in May – still isn’t fixed yet – so, my projects are still sitting on the backburner and will get resurrected in 2015, I hope.   I had such high hopes of actually making myself get back into drawing again and doing some graphic designs, however, without the skylight operational it is rather dark up here in the loft.  I am probably one of the only people in the world that feels like they are in the basement while sitting up in the loft right now, it’s so dark and I refuse to add more lighting because of the cost and the hope that the contractor will be able to install the new “custom” skylight in the middle of winter.  Oh, you have to deal with insurance companies on these lights because of the fact that they are rather expensive to replace – somewhere around $1500 before you add any of the extras like SPF factor tints.

I hope that everyone has a great and Happy New Year.  Drive safe and keep the shiny side up on the car and the wheels down when you’re driving.

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Visiting Friends…


December 29th

Dear Journal,

Well, I will have to admit that it has been quite pleasant to be back here in Thunder Bluff for the holidays.  I’ve missed some of my old friends and we are all having a wonderful time just visiting with them.  Lots of changes to the families that I can hear about too.

I didn’t realize how large our home was here in Thunder Bluff, however, it’s nice to be home even if I have spent a great deal of my time cleaning the place and getting the dust out of everything.  We haven’t been home for a couple of months and I am afraid that the house is showing the lack of attention.  I thought that Tahfal might have at least gotten someone to take care of things when he left home, however, it probably slipped his mind.  Oh well, a little hard work never really hurt anyone I suppose.  I do have the children here with me to help out too.  I think that while I’m here, I will see if I can get someone to stay here in the house while we’re gone, just to keep things in order and not neglected.

I know that it is nice to see the calves that I knew in the past that have all grown up to be nice strong Tauren and upholding a lot of the old traditions that us oldsters set such great store in.  It always a good thing for any tribe to keep up the traditions so that they won’t be lost in the sands of time.   I am listening to my old friends talk of their children and their grandchildren now and it makes me sad that none of my children have made me a Grandmother just yet, however, there is plenty of time.   I am sure that one of the younger boys or even Maha might let that happen someday.

I really feel bad for some of my neighbors in Halfhill right now because their families are being torn apart by this new threat in this place called Draenor.   I know that the blonde Blood Elf has gone back to do his duty and left his woman and little girl there and they seem kind of lonely.  I love the  little girl to pieces, even if she is a Blood Elf.  Her name is Mirrin and she calls me “Gram” sometimes.  It really is nice to see a little girl so well behaved and I can tell that her parents just dote on her.  I don’t think that they will let her turn into one of those Blood Elves that I have run into from Silvermoon either, they both seem to be rather realistic people and they both work very hard on their farm.   Of course, the Boss from Morningstar Enterprises has had to go back to the military too – poor man really didn’t seem like himself when I last saw him at his farm, I think he didn’t really want to leave either.  I feel sorry for any of them that aren’t able to spend time with their families at this time of year especially.  I know that I still miss my mate at this time of year because it was one of his favorite holidays and we have our own traditions that we used to celebrate, it isn’t like what the goblins have done to it.

I know that one of the things that I am going to do is to gather up as many of the pine nuts that I can while I am here and take them back to Halfhill.  I know that my children truly love them and I would like to be able to grow some on the farm or at least try to get them to grow.  I bet that they will take to farm just like I have.

I think that I am going to try to convince the children to stay here in the Bluff this week because the Faire will be here soon and we missed going this last month.  I’ve heard tell of some new things going on there and would like to see it all for myself.  No, I don’t think that I will ever be brave enough to try that canon thing though, that is just a bit too adventurous for a person of my age, you know.  Oh well, even if we don’t stay in the Bluff until the Faire, we can always make the added effort of coming back.

 

Mooma

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Life Goes On…


December 27th

Dear Journal,

I will admit that it is nice having the family gathered in Nagrand even if some of the more key members aren’t present due to the on-going conflict in Draenor.  The whole thing seems rather odd and while I understand the reasons for us all to be sent off to protect Azeroth from this latest incursion, it seems a bit forced on our part.  Oh well, it isn’t for me to understand the political ramifications that all of this entails, it just seems to be a war like all of the ones in the past – overcome the foe or foes and then rinse and repeat.

I know that I did enjoy having the family here and while some have already left to go back to their homes, there will be a few that will stay on until after the New Year, myself included.  I know that I truly missed having my Sindorei here with me because it was the first time that we have everyone at the new house in Nagrand.  I know that I chuckled more than a few times when some of the guests remarked on how similar some of the things and the design resembled the house in Dalaran – what they do seem to fail to realize is that the house in Dalaran was my Sindorei husband’s pride and joy.  Oh well, I know that we spent a great deal of time getting this house designed and decorated – the house in Nagrand is also more open than the floor plan was in Dalaran because we could make it larger.

I was very lucky in being able to delay my departure for Draenor by just saying that I had other responsibilities with my personal life and business that couldn’t’ be readily handed off.  I will be reporting in for duty with the Sentinels in Feathermoon just I have in the past. It’s funny how so many of us are doing the same thing – we all have grown older, the majority of us have families now and are less adventurous than we were when we were younger.

I know that I missed having Kal and Kae here this year too.   They were in hopes that they would be given the opportunity to join the rest of the family here, however, that doesn’t seem to have been made available to them.  I know that Kal was probably more than a little bit upset with the whole thing.  I know that I have received several letters from him telling me how beautiful some of the places that he has see are in Draenor and yet I felt like there was something that was bothering him about the whole thing.  I think his biggest problem is that he enjoys having his farm in Pandaria and having the freedom that he had taken away by having to report back into duty with the Sentinels.  I know that being a Scout isn’t the easiest thing for some of the men and Kal is no exception.

I know that Fnor’s two sisters were here for a while and I had some worries with the fact that they spent the majority of the time here trying not to talk to one another.  There still seems to be some tension between the two of them due to the youngest being so stubborn about her infatuation with that Dawnglory – he is rather nice to look at with all of that golden hair, however, he isn’t nearly as good looking as my husband in my eyes.  Oh well, I’m sure that the girls will work things out between them because it is something that I know my husband would want.  I guess Felaran is still very much attached to her Death Knight mate and can’t understand why Faendra won’t move on with her life. I guess that Dawnglory is in Draenor now anyway, we’ll see what happens with that side of the family.

Business is still booming in Shattrath and I hope that it keeps going that way because I know that we will definitely need the funds once this conflict is resolved – we always can use more money.  I know that my business interests have probably increased three fold since this new military issue opened up and we’re all busy trying to keep the army supplied with the things that they need from Azeroth – getting them shipped there has been a different kind of nightmare.  I think that this is worse than when we were going through the Rebellion on the Horde side of things.  Oh well, I’m sure that we will keep things going in a positive direction with Magdamia keeping a tight control on things in Stormwind.

I am sitting here laughing to myself a little it because I am just wondering how soon my love will start sending me ideas of opening up another warehouse in Draenor.  The man may be in the military, however, his mind always drifts back to his business interests rather quickly.  Since I haven’t ventured into the abyss yet, I have no idea what to really expect once I arrive there.  Of course, I would like to be able to see my Sindorei as soon as I get there, however, the political line is pretty well drawn in the sand already.  I don’t know if they are any more receptive to our relationship than they have been in the past – maybe we’ll just have to wait and see how this all pans out.  I do know that the only place that we can be together is in Outland and primarily in Shattrath where the people already know of our relationship from years past.  It still must seem strange to some of the newcomers that a Sentinel and Ranger can be together like we have for all of these years.

Oh well, it’s time for me to stop writing for a bit and get back to being the hostess for our guests that are still here.

Amyn

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OOC – More Adventures in Draenor and other game things…


December 23rd

I has been getting a bit difficult for me to stay in-game a whole lot at this time of year due to the holidays and I am sure that most of you are suffering with the same things.  There is so much to do in RL these days that you don’t have time to spent with your favorite hobby because it just interferes with your ability to spend more time shopping and spend time with the family.

I have decided with the advent of the new expansion, Warlords of Draenor, that I am not going to have as much time to spend on my alts for a while until I get the gist of what is actually required of me in the game now.  I have closed all but three of my accounts currently, not because I dislike the game as it currently is at the moment, however, it is because with the amount of time that you have to spend on each character taking care of their “chores” and leveling, there isn’t much time for the little guys.  No sense in paying for accounts that I won’t be using for a while, right?   Oh, that doesn’t mean that they won’t have the adventures that they usually do with my blogs, however, they won’t be actively progressing in the game for a while.

Whee!! I did finally get a character to 100 and have three more that are cruising close to at least the halfway point now.  Can’t say that I am geared out enough yet to do anything other than questing and managing my Garrisons at this time, however, I hope to get that iLevel up there in the next week or two.  I am rather doubtful at this point if I am going to be able to get into Molten Core and it really doesn’t bother me all that much because I am not sure that I have the stamina like I did in the old days of spending hours upon hours in the same dungeon for the thrill of it and the new mount and pet that are in there.  Can’t say that I care for the new mount all that much – just a big ass lava corehound to be almost as annoying as the Horde bike.

I will admit that I enjoy the questing and the storylines that are slowly immerging in the new expansion, I’m not real thrilled with the Garrisons stripping away my professions as much as it has.  I know that I used to be one of those people that really enjoyed working on the professions and grinding away at them until I got them capped and beyond.  Now, there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of use for them at the base level in Draenor.   I’m not a raider nor a dungeon crawler and PvP is something that I avoid for the time being, so, I’m pretty much in limbo as to where I am going to go in the game right now.  Who knows, I might actually get depressed enough with the current content and nerfs that I might just hang it up for a while  – I’ve been at this for roughly ten years now and some of the magic is gone and the fun factor in Draenor is well below my expectations at this point.

The one thing that I will have to say is that I miss the social aspects of the game although I did find some RP in and around Stormwind late last night that were not of the Goldshire variety and was definitely a pleasant surprise.  Random RP is much better than no RP on the Alliance side which is what I have been dealing with during the last year.  Hordeside, I always find RP going on there for the most part since I stay on the “Red” side more frequently because I tend to take in more of the RP events on that side.

I was surprised at the number of people that have opted out of the newest expansion too, however, that my change after Christmas too, you never really know what you might find under the tree.  One of the things that I have done with my fresh 90s and boosted characters is to “twink” them at 90 and will continue to play them in Pandaria to get rep grinds done as well as just enjoying all of the convenient abilities that I  have in Pandaria.  I will admit that I was dismayed at the waffling on the flying at level cap from Blizzard has really put me off the game a bit, not because I am lazy, it’s because that that ability was always out there in the expansions once we hit cap.  Oh well , I’ll play the way that Blizzard has designed the game even if I can’t do jumping puzzles very well and I can’t seem to jump through all of the hoops required to progress.   I do have the ability to unsub if I get too bored with what I am doing too.

Still plugging away on Silver Proving Grounds too – between gear levels and my inability to move fast enough, it might take some time.  I do have some medical issues that have left me somewhat physically impaired to do the darn thing, however, I’ll keep going until I get it done on at least one character, preferably two.   I have at least two years to get the thing figured out and completed.  I know that I know my class of character that I am trying to qualify because I have been playing the poor fellow for ten years and I’m not going to let some little technicality such as the PG to ruin the game for me.

Well, I do hope that all of you have a pleasant over the Holidays with your friends and families.  Spend some time in RL with the ones that really matter when all is said and done – remember video games aren’t the entire reason for being.  *smile*

Oh yeah, hit the magic 600 posts for this blog about four posts ago – sure doesn’t feel like I have written that many lately, however, after the years have gone by, I guess that I have done that much even if it’s sporadically done .  I hope people enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

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Shadowmoon Valley…


December 23rd

Dear Journal,

I will willingly admit that neither Kae nor I wanted to make this trip to Draenor, however, duty calls and there was no way that we could justify not serving.  A Sentinel is always a Sentinel and a Scout with the aforementioned Sentinel has no excuse not to go with them either.

I think that we had everything pretty much taken care of in Pandaria for the most part and I hope that Jogu will take care of the farm while we are gone too.  I have no great expectations on his abilities, however, he was the only one left that we could ask since the majority of our neighbors are also in the same situation of having to leave that pleasant lifestyle behind and we have to move forward with the rest.  Oh well, I am sure that we will be going back there for visits when we can and that first visit back will definitely be one that the two of us will definitely look forward too.

This whole Draenor thing is hard for me to wrap my head around and I am not going to worry about it because I will just go where we are ordered and do the job that I am supposed to do and be done with it eventually.  Oh, I understand all of the supposed reasons that we are here and will just have to accept that at face value because I have no other choice in the matter.  I guess that sums that up, right?

Kae and I did survive the initial onslaught into this strange land and we didn’t get injured too badly other than a few nicks here and there and a couple of interesting bruises that can come from just getting into close contact with someone, didn’t even have to be friend or foe either – it was as if we had joined in a full on mob assault and that’s just how it had to be in order for us to drive back the Iron Horde and to start our adventure in saving this land from itself.  Not as bad as all of the Sha influence in Pandaria but I honestly can’t tell that much difference – we’re here to right a wrong and that’s just the whole gist of what I understand.  It’s not for me to reason why, I’m here to do a job.

I will have to admit that after the initial shock and the landing on Draenor proper, we were pleasantly surprised by ending up in Shadowmoon Valley.  Oh, we had the family name long before we even knew of the existence of Shadowmoon, however, it always gives me a chuckle when I think about it.  One of these days I will have to ask my grandparents where the name actually came from, it definitely didn’t come from Outland, or maybe it did and I would almost believe that it didn’t come from this land either.

Shadowmoon Valley is so totally different from what I am used to in Azeroth, however, it is still somewhat familiar at the same time.  I don’t know how to explain that feeling of déjà vu that I have here.  Where the Shadowmoon Valley in Azeroth is full of demons, lava and other dangerous things, this Shadowmoon Valley has a different appearance as well as a whole new set of dangers.   Some of the mountains look familiar in so far as their location, however the rest of the landscape is totally alien to me.

This Shadowmoon Valley is rolling hills, mountains and very lush plains.  A lot of elekk roam the area as well as I’ve seen more Draeni here than I think I ever did even while I was living in Shattrath.  The Draeni that are native here on Draenor are similar to the Azeroth Draeni with the exception that there are more of them here than there was at home. The ones here don’t seem to be as aloof as the Draeni that I grew up with in Shattrath.

It’s a beautiful and yet dangerous territory that we have ventured into and I will have to admit that I do like it.  There is so much to see and so much to take in that it is really hard for me to explain the mixed emotions that I have about it.  Of course, Pandaria was my first military adventure and my first real time away from the family and the company, however, this even feels like it might be a step above that.

I know that Kae is constantly telling me to close my mouth because I am constantly amazed by all of the things that I am seeing here  and my mouth usually drops open making me look like an imbecile sometimes – things familiar and yet different from what I grew up with in our Outland.  How could a place so horrible and deadly in my home world be so beautiful and alluring as this Shadowmoon Valley currently is.  I guess what I am trying to say that I know that the things that Legion did before I was ever even born totally devastated the area and the people that were living in it.  While the old place is one that I never willingly spent much time in, this one just might be hard for me to pull myself away from it all at the same time.

Oh yes, the Iron Horde have left their mark on the area and we are still chasing after them as well as getting into the occasional skirmish with them when we chance upon them on our patrols.  It does remind me very much of the activity that we faced when we first hit Pandaria and the opposition that we had to overcome in the Jade Forest.   I know that there are a few strongholds here in the valley that the Iron Horde have built up, however, they are definitely a temporary roadblock for us, I’m sure.  I am proud to say that the Alliance is definitely showing their abilities to our advantage here – maybe all of those months in Pandaria have taught us all how to take this sort of thing in our stride.

At least Kae and I have a decent little house to stay in and it really kind of reminds me of some of the places that are on the outskirts of Stormwind.  Same kind of structures although they still smell very new – the smell of the freshly carpentered wood that was used to make the house is still very aromatic.  Yes, we do have to share the house with another couple, however, it is much better for us rather than being stuck in the barracks or the tents.  At least we have some privacy here and it is greatly appreciated.

Kae and I both miss our little house in Pandaria where we could be lazy and sit around in our robes if we felt like it and not have to be embarrassed by doing so.  I know that the couple we are sharing the place with are usually on opposite schedules than we are and we actually don’t spend that much time in their company, however, the time that we have spent with them has been very pleasant.

I know that my Father is up here in Draenor someplace however, I did hear that their landing area was a lot less inviting than where we ended up.  I know that my Dad probably isn’t too keen on spending all of this time in an icy cold area that almost looks like Northrend.  He always complained when we were in Northrend, not in Dalaran, that there wasn’t any way that you could ever get warm enough there on the coast and I have to agree with him on that matter.

At least I don’t have too many people looking at me as strangely as they did in Pandaria because we are all too busy staying alive.  I think that there must be some reason when they are so willing to accept a person of my heritage in this land than they were before in Azeroth.   I have to laugh because they may not have noticed it  either because the green in my eyes could very easily be a reflection from the surroundings and not a genetic thing after all, right?

At least our patrols aren’t as long as they were in Pandaria due to the vastness and the newness of the area.  It isn’t easy to stay on your toes for days on end when you’re patrolling the surrounding areas from our base.  We’ve just barely started getting into the interior of the land now and those patrols are pretty dangerous and have been given over to some of the more experienced Sentinels and Scouts.  It’s okay, I can accept that too because I think that Kae and I fall in the middle there somewhere on the experience level.  At least we didn’t get assigned to that idiot commander that we had in Pandaria this time because that would have been the final straw to break our backs after having to leave our happy little farm behind.   We’re with a totally different group that came out of Feathermoon in Kalimdor, they seem to be more about what we’re supposed to be doing and not willing to spend so much of the off time worrying about how people are living their lives when they aren’t on duty.  It’s a nice change and the kind of thing that I had always expected from the Sentinels.

Well, I am getting that look from my lovely lady that I need to put my things away and get ready to head back out on yet another patrol.  I wonder how long we will be in Draenor?  No one has actually said anything about that either.  I know that we still have forces stationed in and around Pandaria even after all of this time, however, I think that the hostilities may be of lesser importance there than they are here.  Well, we’re still chasing after that Horde Warchief that went insane and escaped after his capture – that’s why we’re here.  He did his level best to destroy Azeroth and I don’t think that he is going to have much of an opportunity to destroy this land too.

Kaldor Shadowmoon

 

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I Don’t Want To Be Here…


*Some language – if you’re easily offended by a few F bombs, please don’t read this.*

 

December 21st

Yo Book!

I know that I am going to be spending quite a bit of time writing in my journal these days since I couldn’t get that extra time that I was trying to get from our government.  I wonder how I can have it put in my record that I fucking didn’t want to go to Draenor, it’s not my problem to deal with, is it?

I know that I spent a small fortune trying to get out of going, not because of my lack of patriotism , it was due to the fact that I didn’t want to leave Romy and I didn’t want to leave my daughter behind in Pandaria.  I wanted to spend at least one more Winter Veil with my family before I had to report back into this madness.   I tried doing everything short of fucking maiming myself to keep from going back into the service.  I tried bribing, I tried threatening and I even tried to ignore the fact that I had letters that said I needed to report for duty and assignment, however, I kept getting letters.

One thing that I did get from all of it is that I do get to go back to Pandaria for a few days after the initial assault  and getting things set up for the duration there.  I know that I have seen Fnor and he isn’t happy with the way that things are going either because it just doesn’t make sense for us to have a full scale army in the place when all we really need is a group of people tracking the idiot Garrosh down and giving him the justice that he deserved.   Oh well, I suppose there are other underlying things that I don’t know about yet that are forcing this assault – it’s not my concern how other things are dealt with because I don’t fucking want to be here.

I know Romy was none too pleased with the idea that I had to leave her and Mirrin in Halfhill and go off on this new assignment and I hope that she doesn’t really blame me for the changes.  I didn’t want to go and I sure as hell didn’t want to go at this time of year either.  This is the time of year when you want to spend it with your damned family, not running through the snow in some foreign country doing the things that you were trained to do to protect your own homeland.

I know that Romy and I have spent more time making love to each other as if there may not be another tomorrow, there may not be – there are no guarantees in war.  I just know that I didn’t want to leave my woman behind and I didn’t want to leave my daughter behind to fend for themselves.  I know that Romy will keep things safe for the two of them, however, I have the constant fear that she will get called up and what will happen with Mirrin then?  I have more concerns about my family than I do about my military obligations at this point.   Part of me hopes that we’ve made another baby because that would keep Romy out of the fighting for a while and it would give Mirrin a sibling to grow up with – something that I don’t regret having when Felessa and I were small either – there was still a feeling of family there.

I wish that we had gotten married before I left, that is weighing heavily on my mind and my heart.  I wanted to get married, however, the amount of time that I was given to get prepared to leave and get my ass here just didn’t give enough time for us to do that.  Maybe Romy can pull something together before I get back to where we can get married before I have to come back here.

It’s bloody cold, this garrison that I am supposedly in charge of is a real dump as far as I am concerned.  As far as encampments go, it was a poor choice of location.  Supplies are hard to come by and I am surrounded constantly by fucking Orcs. It’s not their fault, however, it sure doesn’t make me enjoy things more by being outnumbered by the people that I know really have no respect for the Sindorei.  Yes, we’re part of the Horde and yes, we will do our duty, however, I just get the feeling that the Orcs just tolerate us to have us take the brunt of the fighting.  Our people are just now starting to recover our population from the wars previously and to have to sacrifice more of my people now is just asinine.

When I am not on duty, I try to get away from the garrison as much as possible.  I have no privacy there to start with and the smell of the barracks is enough to make you want to gag.  At least we had tents that were aired frequently and we had our own bunks – not these shared hammocks that I know the previous occupants were not real keen on cleanliness.   I am supposed to be a person of some rank here, however, that doesn’t seem to mean anything if I am treated like just another peon.  Rank be damned, it’s a fucking joke.

I give out orders, send out patrols and hope to hell they aren’t stupid and make their way back to the garrison in one piece.   No, I would much rather be out there on patrols so that I can see what is going on in this damned place and possibly get an idea of why we are all here  – I just have to wonder what my superiors are thinking all of the time.   There is nothing clearly defined as far as I can tell right now and it is very confusing not having a true sense of direction.  I know that this is the first time that I have felt like I was at a total loss as to what all of this really means to me, to my countrymen and for Azeroth.

Yes, we’re here to help pull this place back into order and to curb the influence of the Iron Horde, however, when it is all said and done – what difference will it really make?

Oh well, I’m just fucking ranting here and I can feel myself getting angrier and angrier at the circumstances.  I think that it’s time that Dawn and I took off and did some hunting and fishing for a few hours so that I can get my fucking emotions in check.

Fnar Dawnglory

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In Draenor…


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

December 16th

Dear Journal,

Yes, I am still stuck in this place called Draenor and on the frozen tundra in charge of a Garrison that I had no desire to take over nor feel the need to grow attached too.  So far it appears as though I am one of the few Rangers here and that is rather disappointing because with what is going on in this land would be ideal for Rangers because of the way that we have been trained to fight all of these years.  I have put in request after request to have more Rangers put under my command, however, that seems to be falling on deaf ears.

I spend more time out in the field actually working, which is the one thing that I can say that I enjoy about this new command.  The micromanaging of the day to day functions should be passed off to an adjutant  and not placed solely upon my shoulders because there are other things that need my attention.  Of course, it is required that I visit the mines, stables, barns, forge and herb gardens daily to make my presence known because that is what I have been ordered to do, not that it is actually needed because my people do seem to know what they are doing.  I guess what the higher ups are thinking is that my presence is supposed to keep my soldiers’ morale up or something of that nature.  I suppose it does because I feel like we are definitely overstepping our resources at this point.

Here it is Winter Veil again and it appears doubtful that we will have the family gathering as we had planned in Nagrand this year – our Nagrand, not this Nagrand in this place.  I know that I have always looked forward to gathering friends and family in one area for the holidays so that we can at least act like a family.  I know that from the message that I finally got from Kal is that he and Kae will be here in Draenor in the next few weeks and they are making all of the preparations for that.   I just wish that we could stop everything for a little while, just to rest, relax and enjoy our families because you have no idea if that will be the same next year.

I think that I am getting too old for this stuff.  I know that I feel both mentally and physically weary to the point that all I want to do when I stop for the day is to fall into bed and sleep.  I long for those long luxurious days when I could stay in bed if I wanted too, read a book, have breakfast in bed with my wife – yes, just having my wife in my bed would e a plus here in Draenor.  I’m just not feeling the compelling urge to get up and head out to fight for something that should have never been in the first place.  I know we’re protecting Azeroth by being here and my big question is, who is taking care of Azeroth while we’re here in this land, this place and this time?

I know that it probably sounds rather odd to say, however, I am actually getting homesick for the things that I used to absolutely hate.  I miss Silvermoon and I miss the people that I have working for me back home.  I do miss Agatha, I miss those conversations that we used to have when she knew that I was having a particularly rough time dealing with a few things.  She was my rock in a lot of ways with just her daily presence.  Now, there is no Agatha here in Draenor and I’m not sure that she has returned to her post in Silvermoon yet after taking her leave.

I definitely miss the chattering of Zippie and the way that she always seemed to see the brighter side of things more often than not.  She does work magic with our accounts and I will definitely have to take some time to spend with her when I can get a leave from this place.

I know that I am going to put in for a leave here soon because I do need a break from this constant upheaval  that seems to be the norm here.  I know that I have been in the military for most of my life, however, I don’t think that I have ever been in this kind of situation before where none of us really know or really understands exactly what we’re doing here.  Yes, we stopped the Iron Orcs from invading Azeroth and now we’re doing a holding action as well as trying to level out the playing field a bit more with the Draeni – some are allies and some are not, it’s always a guessing game when you approach an encampment that you’ve not visited before.  Yes, Draenor is a savage land and the people in it are just as savage sometimes.  It’s just another war that I have no idea why we are truly fighting it – are we here again to take the resources that these people have for the Horde’s selfish gains or are we truly trying to help these people as we try to protect what we hold dear in this life?

I know that I have actually patrolled as far as Nagrand and it is just as beautiful to me now as it was in my own home world.  The similarities are very noticeable to me and I have no trouble navigating through the area although I will admit that it feels very déjà vu  at times.  I found where Amyn and I have our house in Outland and here it is a fortress near the lake that keeps everything away.  I know that our house is right next to the lake and if it were here, we’d be having a rough time with the enemies at the fortress – too close for comfort I’d say.   I know that I will always have a special place in my heart for Nagrand because I have known some of my happiest times there in my world – I don’t know about this particular Nagrand yet – I am still scouting the area to see what else is out there that I haven’t seen before.

Pan and I are definitely enjoying the time that we have to go hunting and fishing when we have the chance.  The game is very plentiful and the fishing is just interesting.  Some of these fish I have never seen before – some look similar to what we had back on Azeroth and some are  just too strange.  They taste good when cooked properly though.  Pan is constantly by my side these days because I think that he feels uneasy with this assignment, as do I, however, I can’t remember him being as clingy as he is here since we were in Northrend before I left the service.

One of the things that I can look forward too is having Dawnglory show up here soon.  I know that I have put in the request that he be assigned to me and I will just have to wait it out to see if it happens.  If it doesn’t happen, then, I will definitely throw my political weight around a bit to make it so.  I know that I have all of these people surrounding me all of the time and I have to admit that I have never felt so isolated and lonely in my life.

Fnor Morningstar

 

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OOC – What’s Happening in My World of Warcraft…


December 15th

Well, it’s been a bit over a month since WoD dropped and I finally got one of my characters to 100, however, I’m still fleshing him out with gear and such so that I can pass the Silver Proving grounds that I did in MoP.  Oh well,  the problem that I am having is that I’m not geared up enough yet even though some people say that it scales down to what you do have – I don’t think so.  Everything that I have read and from what I have seen, you have to have at least iLevel 615 to stand a chance at passing it.  Anyway, I’ll keep plugging away at it until I pass.  I’m only going to do it on the characters that I might think about raiding on because it is kind of frustrating to do – I’ve been playing hunters for ten years and it just seems kind of weird to have to pass this particular test yet again.

Still having a great time playing in WoD, still not getting a whole lot done since I tend to run around chase after the shinies a lot. Still  gathering the mats that I need to start to even try to craft anything yet with my leatherworking too, which would help my iLevel if the stats turn out to be what I need to have.  I hate that gamble, kind of reminds me of some of the random crap we’d have to go through in Cataclysm  when we were crafting gear and I wasn’t overly fond of it then, even less now.

I don’t know where people are coming from when they say that they don’t have anything to do in the game now either.  I’m still plodding along doing quests, archeology as well as doing quite a few quests that are still out there.  I will be the first to admit that I didn’t jump ahead in the zones to level faster either, I’m finishing every single zone before I move on.   Getting the bang for my buck, so to speak.

Oh, finally got the stables and barn for my Garrison and really had the shock when I saw my Seahorse just hanging around like it should be there, floating.  It did make me giggle especially since I am a real mount collector and I have seen more of my old mounts that I haven’t  seen in a while show up.  Love some of the quests that come from them too, it’s just fun.

I am missing some of the things with professions, however if I do all of the things that I want to do in Draenor, I head back to the Old Content and fulfill that particular need.  I am one of those people that could farm mats for hours on end and found it relaxing.   I am laughing here because if I am supposed to be the Commander/General or whatever, why is it that I am working my behind off to fill these quests?  Seems kind of funny in a lot of ways.

One of the things that I am doing differently this time for this expansion is that I have “twinked” the majority of my 90s that are still in Pandaria because I want to do some more of the rep grinding in that expansion before moving up to Pandaria.   For those of you that don’t know what “twinking” actually is. It  is to stop earning leveling points at a set level.    There are still some of the things that I want to get before moving on, a few recipes for my tailor and some of the black smith recipes that I hadn’t gotten too yet and  they are all behind reps.  Also to earn more gold before taking them up to Draenor too, those Garrisons and upgrades are rather costly and I have yet seen anything that was lucrative to earn gold up there yet.  I know that I am duplicating some of the achievements in Pandaria on some of my characters anyway, however, it is something that I like to do sometimes and it ‘s how I enjoy the game. One of the things that I am going to be doing is getting back to some of my lowbies and leveling them – as much as I enjoy the current content, we’re going to be having it for a very long time and I actually don’t want to get totally burned out on it so that I won’t be able to play it for a while.

I really had wanted to catch a screenshot of when I made 100 but I was in the middle of a quest and battling away at the time when I dinged.  I know that I couldn’t top what I was doing at the time to get the shot that I wanted, so, maybe next time on one of my alts, I might get lucky.

Here it is again, the Holidays and we’re all getting pulled in lots of directions.  The usual shopping thing as well as trying to figure out what would be the best thing to buy for someone as a gift.  It’s always something this time of year.  I’ll admit that I am not getting out into the crowds and I’m not experiencing any of the added fun that goes with that because I have to rely on my ability to order things on-line since my spouse is the one that drives and they hate shopping.  Of course, we don’t have any little ones still living at home, so, that has taken some of the joy out of it.  I do miss that added excitement that you get when you have little guys at the house that are all full of excitement about Santa coming to visit and helping with the Christmas decorations.

I sincerely hope that everyone is having a good time with the new expansion or just the game now too.  If I don’t write anything between now and Christmas, it might mean that I am playing more or that I have just gotten distracted by other things – that happens sometimes.   So, all of you, Have a Great Holiday Season and A Happy New Year.

 

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A Time For Change…


December 9th

Dear Journal,

Well, I guess that our peaceful times in Pandaria are drawing quickly to a close because I’ve just been informed that I need to report back to Stormwind for assignment.  Kae also got a letter to report back too, at least, we might get assigned together. That sure didn’t take long did it?  I suppose that it’s not unexpected considering the amount of noise the rumors had been making and now, we have the issues going on in the Blasted Lands.   There truly was a reason that they called this place “The Blasted Lands” to start with because it was adjacent to the Dark Portal where the battles were fought in Outland with the Dark Legion.  This was all written up in the history books that I’m sure that the majority of us have read and yet, it never truly went away did it.

I know that I was one of those people that thought that with the defeat and the capture of the Warchief would have been the end of things for a while, however, there doesn’t seem to be much of a respite is there?  I was not present in Pandaria for this so-called trial that was held there and possibly it is a  good thing that I wasn’t because it may not have ended well. I know that the news coming from the Temple set us all reeling – Garrosh had escaped.  What with all of the security in place not only furnished by all of the known leaders in the world of Azeroth, there were also security put into place by the Pandaren and the Celestials.  One would have thought that all of the bases were covered, however, that was not to be because the infiltrator was staunchly already installed in the controlling area. What a horrific outcome to such an emotionally charged historical event.

I wish it were possible for me to just step away and make myself believe that none of this actually happened and that things were just as they were.  I can make myself deny just about anything, however, I don’t think that I can even pull this off.  Sure, you can lie to other people, if you so desire, however, the one person that you can’t lie too is yourself.  Lying to oneself and then forcing yourself to believe that lie is something that I’m sure that books have been written about.  Making your fantasy into your reality is a hard-fought  goal in life, however, if that goal was started off as lie – then everything that you have done in your life is false, regardless if you have reached that goal.

I think that I understand why my Father is the way that he is because his entire life has been involved in the politics of Azeroth and the military, even if, he didn’t want it to be.   Yes, he told me years ago that I had better enjoy any respites that came my way between the conflicts of the factions because there truly was never any real long-lasting peace between the Horde and the Alliance.  I wish that things were different and I thought the fight we were waging in Pandaria might have taught us all something – that the anger and the hatred that we have felt for each of the factions has done nothing except to breed more evil in the world.  I think that I was a fool for having that kind of hope or dream because it definitely hasn’t come to pass.

I had noticed that a lot of the farms that we had in the area are being turned back over to the Pandaren and thought possibly that some of the owners had been reassigned to other regions, however, I now know that all of the rumors were real and I just kept burying my head in the sand.  The few civilians that are left here in Pandaria are all getting rather anxious because it is as if we’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop.    I know that it isn’t often that I have had to change my plans in my life, however, this is the price you pay for being an adult in this world.  It’s time for me to put away my youthful dreams and to face the realities of this world.

I know that Kae and I have worked ourselves to death to get this farm the way that we wanted it and now it appears as if we are going to have to hand it over to someone to care for us while we are away.  We’re not selling the farm, I will never sell the farm because it is truly the very first thing that I have ever truly owned.  I know that Kae feels the same way because she isn’t very happy about being uprooted and told that she has to move again.  She’s never really had a home like I have and this is the first time that she had ever felt comfortable enough to put down roots.  Now, all of that is for naught and we both have to say our farewells to the people that we have befriended and have come to love over time.

I wish we had more time before we have to report to Stormwind because I would like to roam around in some of my favorite spots in Pandaria and just memorize everything  so that I will have something to look back on when I need it.  Yes, I think we all have memories that we have to cling too sometimes to keep our sanity in times of stress, in times of war, in times of losing out dreams.

I suppose I had better finish pack up my things that need to take so that Kae and I can make the journey to Stormwind.  I’m sure that my Mother is already well aware of the things that have been going on and is already making her preparations to rejoin the Sentinels if needed.

May Elune guide our steps in our future endeavors to guard our families and homes.

Kaldor Shadowmoon