Anger

“Everybody, SHUT UP!”

A deafening wave of silence crashed through the muddle of Taurahe, Orcish, Common, Draenei and Zandalari that had flooded the room.  As three pairs of eyes centered on him, Matosawitko glanced back at each of them.  Two, he knew by heart.  The third...

“Who are you?”

Lith’atal spoke up from the corner, where she held the collar of a straining, growling leopard.  “Dad, this is Cuwixota Wildwind.  Cuwixota, my dad.”

The tall Tauren straightened his brown cloak and regarded Mato with cool interest.  “Matosawitko Plainhoof.  I know of you.  You’re a Browncoat, which is good.”  His lips almost curled into a smile that didn’t quite reach the rest of his face.  “You were at Camp Taurajo, at the end.  But of course, so was this...” he nodded toward Auryon and spit the final word.  “...’person’.  And now you dishonor our people with your continued friendship with her.”

Mato’s eyebrow quirked.  “Just as you now honor it by barging into a situation you do not understand?  By holding onto false memories of perceived wrong, and placing that wrong on those who were in no way involved?”  He appraised Cuwixota carefully.  “You were barely a cub on that day.  How is it that you think you know so much about what occurred?”

“I was nearly of age,” Cuwixota huffed, drawing himself to full height.  “I would have fought to the death to save my people.  My town.”  His face pinched.  “My family.  But the Alliance took all of that from me.”

“And yet you ran for the hills.”

“Do not judge me!”  The sudden roar shattered the quiet.  Lith jumped nervously, and barely kept control of the leopard as it surged forward.  “You cannot possibly know the pain, the loss I felt that day.  To watch in helpless anger and fear as my uncles, my father...”

“You do not want to have this conversation with me, young man.” Mato’s whisper cut through the young priest’s words.  “You blame the Alliance for their death.  But war always has two sides.  Usually more.  Intrigue upon intrigue.  So many layers, peeled back, that make you cry bitter tears at the fools we all were.”

“But she was there!  She murdered my people!”

“You saw her do this?”  He glanced up at Auryon.

“Well, no...”  Cuwixota shuffled nervously.  “But I saw her there, and that blasted cat.  I saw them attack you.  And I saw her enter the town and speak with the commander.”

Mato turned to Auryon and switched to Common, ignoring Cuwixota’s glare.  “Have you any idea what this is all about?”

She shook her head nervously.  “I caught a few isolated words, but that is all.  Lith said she was bringing a friend over; he came in the door, saw me and started shouting.  Before I could even figure out what was going on, you came in.”

“He is from Camp Taurajo.”  Her eyes widened, but he continued.  “He was a youngling who saw his family destroyed by the Alliance.  He has carried a burden of hatred and fear these long years for those involved.  When he saw you, he remembered your presence there, though he did not know the full truth.  Instead, he has jumped to a conclusion that you were directly involved in the murder of his family”

She shook her head sadly.  “We were pawns, all of us.  Can you tell him?”

“I pray to Mu’sha that he will listen.”

---

Cuwixota drained his mug and leaned back with a sigh.  After several moments he spoke up again.  “Do you think we will ever have peace?  Real, true peace?”

Mato frowned sadly.  “As much as I wish otherwise, I don’t see it happening in my lifetime.  There’s always a new broken trust, a new enemy, a new slight or insult.  No, the only peace will come when there is no one here to break it.  We fight with the Alliance, we fight amongst ourselves, we battle within our own families.  Even a close-knit group such as the Browncoats has our share of drama.”

“Have you been a Browncoat long?”

“No, not long.  Not in the grand scheme of things, at least.  It was in the final days of the Lich King that I met Quickhorn and several of the other Browncoats in Icecrown, and joined their ranks soon after.  Your cloak looks fairly new - I take it you’ve been a recent addition?”

The priest nodded.  “I’ve trailed along behind most of the recent events.  Lith introduced me to some of the other members, and I found myself envying the easy familial attitude they showed.  In a world where family is so scattered and torn by war and stupidity, it’s nice to know there’s still someone who’s got your back.”

The keg was nearly empty.  As the sun broke over the ridge,  Cuwixota traced the letters on the barrel head.  “Chen Stormstout?  Who is he?  That doesn’t sound like a Tauren name.”

Mato shook his head and pointed down the hill to Brewmaster Drohn’s hut.  “Drohn talked of him once.  He’s supposed to be a ‘pandaren’, whatever that is.  Most likely just a myth, though.”

A Memory Haunts

He threw open the door, glancing up and down the quiet street.  Ratchet was quiet, as usual.

"Darn kids - always playing pranks," he growled.

As he moved to close the door, a gravely throat cleared near his knee.  He glanced downward in surprise.

"Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Plainhoof, sir."  The goblin wore a mixture of black plate that had clearly seen better days and new gear that glistened with polish.  A large, glowing sword was slung across his back, nearly as tall as its owner.  "I bring news from... a mutual friend."

Matosawitko's eyebrow twitched.  "And just what friend might that be?" he asked.

The goblin glanced nervously up the street, then mumbled, "I'd rather not say in public, if you catch my meaning.  It's a rather long story, for one thing."

Mato stared at the goblin for a long moment, pondering how to respond to this tiny guest who had just invited himself inside.  Finally he opened the door fully, motioning him to enter.

"Mato, who is it?"  Auryon called from the back room.  She appeared in the doorway a moment later, wiping her hands on a towel.  "Oh, a guest?"

Other than a slight grin, the goblin seemed to be completely unphased by the sudden appearance of the Draenei girl.  Instead, he bowed politely and replied in flawless Common.  "A thousand apologies, my lady, for this intrusion upon your home."

Behind the goblin's back, Mato shrugged expressively.  Stepping to Auryon's side, he murmured in her ear.  "Could you bring us some drinks?  He wouldn't tell me what he wanted, but it sounded like it might take a little while."  As she left, he guided their unexpected guest to a chair.  "Now, then.  What business might bring a goblin death knight to my door?"

The goblin seemed not to notice the chilled reception.  He gathered his thoughts for a moment, then began.  "My name is Wisapa Goldthunder.  As you have so rightly deduced, I was a death knight in the service of the Lich King.  More recently, I have found myself under different employ.  However, that is not what brings me here today.  You are, I believe, familiar with the name 'Fomaru Windtotem'?"

Mato's hands gripped the arm of his chair tightly for a moment, then he nodded curtly.  Auryon entered with a tray of drinks and settled down beside him.

Wisapa continued.  "Fomaru was my battalion commander in Icecrown.  Although friendships among the troops were discouraged, we worked well together and established a bond that made us a formidable pair in battle.  We relied on one another completely."

"The war was going badly - enemy troops eventually surrounded the Citadel on every side.  Our numbers dwindled daily.  Yet Fomaru continued each day as if driven to survive - to conquer."

"One day, she called me aside.  We walked on the citadel wall, and she told me her darkest secret.  'I cannot continue this pretense any longer,' she said.  'As my lieutenant, it would fall to you to fill my role when I am gone.  So you should know what I am about to do, and why I must do it.'"

"'The King believes me to be a loyal soldier.  Yet I have been loyal only to the extent that it gave me opportunity to gain access to him.  The time has now come for me to break that loyalty, and my hope is to break the very back of the Scourge with it.'"

"I must have appeared confused, or alarmed, because she grabbed me and threatened to throw me from the wall if I told anyone what she had said.  After I managed to convince her that I felt more loyalty to her - as a person - than to any other command, she told me her plan."

"'Tomorrow, I have an audience with Arthas.  He intends to discuss the fortifications along the eastern wall.  However, I intend to open the discussion with this.'  She showed me a wicked dagger, with a blade that glowed a sickly green.  'It was through Arthas that my brother was taken from me, and I intend to finally have justice.'"

"'Why are you telling me this?' I asked.  'If you intend to strike the King, won't it place me in great danger to know your plan?  I cannot take your place if I am dead.'"

"She chuckled drily.  'Actually, my hope is that I will succeed and will be able to set you free from this hell.  However, I'm telling you all of this in case I don't survive.  The war will be over soon, and the Scourge will lose.  I want you to know the truth so that you can pass on my final message.  I have prepared letters for you, detailing various pieces of information that the Argent Dawn and Ebon Blade will find most useful.  Regardless of what happens tomorrow, it must be your last day in service to the Scourge.'"

"The following day, when her dead body crashed down in the courtyard with the dagger protruding from her chest, I wasted no time in stealing away.  I found a small group of adventurers who allowed me to live and who took me to Highlord Mograine.  I spent the remainder of the war working in close concert with the Knights of the Ebon Blade.  During those final weeks, the information that Fomaru had gathered and cataloged - and funneled through me - saved the lives of countless Horde and Alliance soldiers.  After the war, I was allowed to live.  Though, I'm finding that every day is a continual struggle just to live with myself."

"Fomaru gave me your name that night; she told me that you might not be willing to listen, but that she was sorry for the way in which you parted and that she hoped, at long last, you would understand."

Mato sat silently for a long moment, his head bowed.  Finally, he whispered, "Thank you."  He raised his head, eyes glistening.  "Thank you, Wisapa.  I always wondered - I was there, in Icecrown.  At the tournament.  I did what I could to fight, but I couldn't bring myself to...  I feared every day that I would see her across the battlefield.  That I would have to..."

"I understand.  I owe her everything - my life.  I wish I could have brought you this news sooner, but I had a hard time tracking you down."

Mato chuckled.  "I do tend to move around quite a bit.  If you had come sooner, I might not have been ready to hear."

All three of them raised their glasses in a silent salute.

Another Pathetic Lifeform

Matosawitko groaned and stretched, rubbing his saddle-weary legs.  He turned and smiled as Lith'atal dismounted just behind him.

"That's a long flight."

She nodded, stretching her own tired muscles.  "But it's still much faster than the zeppelin.  I hear that the Alliance have a high-speed tram between Ironforge and Stormwind.  Wonder if we could get the goblins to build one of those between Orgrimmar and Thunder Bluff?"

He shrugged.  "Seems like it would be cheaper just to pay a group of mages to provide portals between all the cities.  Then we could go to Undercity, Silvermoon or wherever.  Not that anybody ever goes to Silvermoon these days.  I think the blood elves like it that way."

"I've certainly never been there.  Let's go see if Tamashi is over at the paladin trainer before we head down to the inn.  It will give us a chance to work out these stiff muscles, too."

They walked slowly across the upper tier of the city, waving to friends and making small talk with the vendors as they passed.

"... so then Tamashi thought we should go to the Southern Barrens, but by then we were well on our way into Feralas and I didn't see much..."  She held up her hand.  "Do you hear someone... crying?"

They had reached the end of one of the long rope bridges that linked the central rise to Hunter Rise.  Lith glanced around, then rushed to the side of a blood elf who sat huddled against the wall of the building, sobbing piteously.

"What's the matter?  Are you okay?"

A cascade of black hair fell across the elf's shoulders as she raised her head, her brilliant green eyes sparkling with welled-up tears.  "I'm stuck...  trapped.  I need to go over to Hunter Rise, but...  I just can't.  The wind, and the gaps, and..."  She lowered her head onto her arms again as new sobs shook her slight frame.

"Aww, sweetie...  That's..."  Lith glanced up at Mato and mouthed silently, "We need to help her."

Mato rolled his eyes at her, then began to kneel beside the elf.  The bundle of black fur next to her immediately rose with a growl, large teeth bared.  Mato stepped back and eyed the large black lion, its hackles raised stiffly.  Then he waved a large hand at it and muttered a spell under his breath.  The lion immediately stopped growling and sank back to the floor, though it kept its eyes trained steadily on him.

"See, I'm not going to hurt her.  Or you, unless you give me reason."  He held out his hands cautiously until the lion rested its head on its paws and nestled against its owner's side once more.  Finally, Mato knelt beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder.  "I'm Matosawitko.  This is Lith'atal, my daughter."  Her surprised hiccup didn't interrupt him.  "We'll help you in any way we can."

After a moment her shoulders stopped trembling and her sobs drifted to an end.  She glanced up at them as she wiped away her tears on the corner of her long black cloak.  "I'm Arna, and this is Mor."  She cast a long look toward Lith, then continued.  "She is your daughter?"

Mato's rolling chuckle surprised Mor, who raised his head once again with a piercing stare.  "It's a long story. Maybe we can get you over to Hunter Rise, then to the inn and we'll tell you all about it."

She nodded.  "I came on foot - well, mounted of course - from the Southern Barrens.  The lift was bad enough, but then I reached the end of this bridge and just couldn't force myself to step onto it.  The wind is blowing so hard up here, and the gaps between those ropes - I'd never be able to stop myself flying right off the side."  She shuddered.  "I've never had a good head for heights."

All three of them thought quietly for a moment, then Lith spoke up.  "How about if you walk across between us?  We're both bigger than you are, so there's not as much danger of one of us falling through a gap.  And that way there's something for you to hang onto without going near the edge."

Arna indicated her approval of the plan and they started across the bridge, arms linked loosely together.  As they walked, Arna gave Lith'atal an appraising look.  "You don't sound or act much like most of the trolls I've met.  Not that I've really met all that many..."

Lith chuckled.  "I'm definitely not a typical troll.  I haven't lived in Sen'jin Village since I was very little.  I lived in the Orgrimmar orphanage for several years, and have lived with Mato - or out on my own - ever since."  She glanced sidelong at Arna.  "How about you?  What brings a blood elf huntress to Thunder Bluff?"

Arna glanced at the plank floor of the bridge before fixing her eyes on the far end once again.  "That's another long story.  I've wanted to be a ranger all my life - since I was old enough to hold a bow.  I grew up in the Ghostlands - the wild forests south of Silvermoon City.  Out there, one's skill with a bow meant the difference between life and death.  I suppose I would have liked to be a dark ranger for Sylvanas - she was my hero in life.  The only drawback to becoming a dark ranger, though, is the whole 'must be undead' requirement - I like being alive."

"However, the ranger lifestyle has fallen on hard times among the blood elves.  It's not seen as a 'refined' art like those practiced by the paladins and priests.  I was already considered pretty low on the social ladder just because I wasn't from the City.  Add my ordinary looks and my unpopular career choice, and I simply didn't fit into normal elven society."

Lith glanced sharply at the blood elf.  "You're not...  You're beautiful.  And people shouldn't judge you based on your career or your looks."

Arna shrugged.  "That's just how it is in elven society."  She smiled at Lith.  "But thank you.  Anyway, I always avoided the city.  One day I decided to just walk away from all of it - to get out, see the world.  Start fresh.  From the Undercity, I took the zeppelin to Orgrimmar.  I lived there for a while, but I just couldn't settle there.  It was too different, you know?  I missed the wild."

"I worked my way from Orgrimmar through the northern Barrens to Ashenvale.  It was beautiful - the parts that weren't deforested, of course.  But the hostility between the night elves and the orcs kept threatening to sweep me up in it.  More of the same in Stonetalon - I'm sure it was once beautiful, but Garrosh is letting the goblins loot and destroy the land rather than sustain and nurture new life and new growth."

"I escaped from there as soon as I could.  Aside from all of the environmental damage, I just couldn't get comfortable with the mountains.  I always felt like one wrong step would send me plummeting to my death.  I worked my way onward once again, this time along the western edge of the Barrens.  That was the first time I really experienced life among the tauren - I learned of their own love for the hunt, yet their supreme value for nature and their protection of it whenever possible.  To the tauren, the hunt and the kill is an act of worship."  She glanced hesitantly at Mato, who seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"Then, one day I came to a huge gate across a pass through the mountain ridge.  I could see Alliance forces in the distance, so I skirted around the gate and rode down into the most lush, beautiful valley I had ever seen.  Verdant green, dotted with trees, rolled as far as the eye could see.  Plains, not like the stark Barrens, but rich with grass and thick with animals of all kinds.  I wandered, almost in a trance, until I came to a tiny village nestled beside a lake.  I would have loved to stay there, but unfortunately none of their vendors carried any of the goods I needed.  They all pointed me toward Thunder Bluff - the 'city in the sky.'"

Mato grunted.  "Bloodhoof.  That was the name of the village.  The crown jewel of Mulgore.  I was born there.  And actually, Lith and I lived there for quite a while.  Well, here we are at the hunter trainers."

Arna looked around, surprised that they were no longer crossing the bridge.  "That was much easier than I expected, thanks to your help.  Wait here, and then I'll accompany you to the inn so you can tell me your tale."  She dashed into the building.

"Well, daddy, looks like you've found another woman for your growing harem."

Mato laughed gently.  "At least she's not blue."

OOC: A Brief Review of the RIFT Beta

Last week, I participated in the RIFT open beta and wanted to share my thoughts. My character was Lithatal, a Kelari ranger on the Faeblight shard. She reached level 16 during the week-long beta event.  Don't worry - there's a new story coming soon!  (TM?)

RIFT is a new fantasy MMORPG from Trion Worlds, scheduled for release March 1.  The open beta ran from Monday, Feb. 14 to Monday, Feb. 21.  RIFT has gained notice (notoriety?) lately for their ads on WoW-related sites and their associated tagline, "We're not in Azeroth anymore."

Regulos, the dragon god of extinction, has harnessed the powers of the elemental planes - fire, water, earth, air, death and life - and now wages war for the destruction of Telara.  As he prepares the final crushing blow, the Telaran scientists perfect the technologies to raise Ascended heroes and send them back through time to the beginning of the war against Regulos in an effort to turn the tide.

As an Ascended, you arrive in a distant past that has not yet seen the utter ravages of war.  In fact, the response of the local population is somewhat mixed.  However, Regulos is also active in this time, as rifts spawn with little warning and pour invaders across the land.  As you work to gain the trust of the local population and battle against the opposing faction for supremacy, you must also work together with your fellow adventurers to seal these rifts and destroy the invaders.

The Good

• If you're at all familiar with WoW or other MMO titles, this game should be pretty easy to pick up the basics.
• For the most part* the graphics are very good.
• The class system is both unique and interesting:
• To start out, you pick from one of four meta-classes, or "callings" - warrior, rogue, cleric or mage.
• As you adventure, you are able to learn various "souls".  At any time you can have up to three active souls.  Each soul has a talent tree that allows you to customize the talents and abilities of your character.
• Through a trainer, you can change your souls or redistribute skill points.
• This class system pretty much guarantees that no two characters will be exactly the same
• There is a wide variety of character customization available - everything from eye color and body size (height) to a variety of tattoos, hair styles, etc.
• Once an hour, you can use an ability called "Soul walk" when you die.  Rather than doing a spirit run and resurrect at the location of your body, this actually allows you to do two things:
• Move away from whatever killed you
• Resurrect immediately, without a run halfway across the zone
• Death also introduces another interesting mechanic, called "Vitality."  Rather than taking damage to your equipment, your life itself is affected.  Each time you die, your vitality drops by a certain percent.  When you reach 0, you get a stacking debuff with each death that reduces your character stats.  You can visit a healer at any time to restore this to 100%.
• On the one hand, for general questing it might be useful for this to start having an immediate effect, to encourage people to a) not die and b) stay healed up.  There's no immediate penalty for dying (equipment durability) so people can get in over their heads and get out with no penalty.
• On the other hand, there is a built-in grace period in scenarios like a dungeon where you don't have immediate access to a soul healer.  You can wipe a few times before you're in danger of losing stats.
• Quest rewards offer a good range of items.  If they're itemized for specific classes, there will normally be at least one item for each class.  However, the drawback of this (see "The Ugly" below...) is that at first everybody around you will be wearing and using the same equipment as you.
• Rifts and invasions can be an epic, spontaneous experience.
• I kited more mobs in one week than I did in the previous 3 months of WoW.

The Bad

• Other than purely as a game mechanic, there's little obvious point to the faction warfare.  Yes, it's "us vs. them", but there's no real explanation for why we hate them so much and why they hate us.  In fact, the factions seem to be a fairly recent development, lore-wise.
• Racially, there's not much diversity.  Elves, humans and dwarves are pretty much your choices.  (Yes, the Bahmi are descendants of the elementals, but...  they're really just tattooed humans, more or less.)  This will be covered further in a bit, but I frequently had to hover over people to even tell what race they were.
• There is very little guidance given for early decisions in the game.  You're asked to pick a "shard" - server or realm - and a faction.  You then pick your character's race, sex, calling, etc. and finally are able to customize them.  Other than some generic information for the calling choice, there's little information provided.
• Not sure if this has a significant impact on gameplay, but the shards didn't seem to indicate a timezone.  I ended up on a PST shard even though I'm in EST.
• They also need to provide an introduction to some of the unique features and terminology of the game.  "You have died.  Do you want to Soul Walk or Regenerate?"  Umm...  HI2K?  Is "Soul Walk" the same thing as "corpse run"?  Heh, guess not.
• Get ready to do a lot of running.  You can't train a mount until level 20 (unless you get the collector's edition - then you get a mount at level 1...) and there are no flight paths or teleports to move around the zones.  There is some kind of portal system that can apparently be used to move between capital cities, but I only ever found one.
• If there's not a reasonable-sized group around (5-10 people is ideal) to help close a rift, you're going to get swarmed and your face melted.  Some of the rifts are on a spawn timer, where if you don't take them down quick enough, even more mobs will spawn - probably right where you're standing.
• Some of the elites are just over the top crazy difficult.  In a "starter" zone of characters ranging from level 8 to 12, a level 20 elite spawned during one of the invasions.  And he wasn't even one of the invasion "bosses".  It took a group of 30 of us at least 5 minutes to whittle him down, and he was able to one- or two-shot pretty much anybody who had aggro.  Then we had to go find the actual "boss" for the invasion.  There were 60 or 70 of us in the area and it still took a few minutes to bring him down.  90% of the time this was just "pew-pew", unless you drew aggro from a patrolling mob.
• In at least one case, I encountered a rift that continually respawned.  We'd seal it and it would return within moments.  In general, the rift spawn rate felt too high - at times it was hard to get anything done, particularly if the rift spawned right over the area that contained the quest objectives you needed.  I realize that the rifts are a core game mechanic.  However, it feels like a solution looking for a problem.  You have to take down rifts to play the game, but they steal time away from character advancement to be able to take on more challenging content.
• In a lot of ways, they seemed to be trying to emulate WoW.  While that's not necessarily a bad thing, I noted one bug that has also amused me in WoW:  If you have a quest where the objective is to go talk to an NPC, this is marked as "Complete" in your quest log.
• Many actions seemed to take effect immediately, rather than waiting for the on-screen events to complete.  (I've actually seen something like this in WoW too, where some mobs aggro as soon as I fire the bow rather than when they are hit, even when I can still see the arrow flying toward them.)  For example, my pet had a "charge" ability that would daze the mob.  The mob would aggro on me, my pet would wander off to the left a few steps, the mob would stop and be dazed for a second, and then my pet would launch himself toward the mob.
• Following from the previous, my pet almost never took the direct route toward a mob.  He'd jump several feet forward and to the left, pause, THEN go for the mob.  I saw this rather consistently.
• There was some kind of bug related to the camera and movement.  If the camera was not directly behind my character when she started moving, the "swing" of the camera back into line behind her would sometimes cause her to wander to one side or the other and I'd have to turn slightly in the opposite direction to keep her going straight.  This was mainly an issue when using mouse-look and keyboard movement; moving with the mouse alone seemed to work fine, though of course the camera swing was not in play in that scenario.

The Ugly

• Character visuals are rather bland.  Everybody pretty much looks the same.  To some extent this is due to the extensively "blue" color palette of the game.  The cool lighting, etc. prevents brighter colors from showing very well.  Combine this with the relatively limited gear choices early on, and you can pretty much pick out every character's class just with a glance.
• At least on the Defiant side, all three races are average-sized humanoids with roughly similar features, coloration, etc.  It really doesn't impact gameplay, but it definitely contributes to the blandness.
• Certain character animations are rather odd.  Some characters are completely stiff.  For others, their running animation doesn't match the distance each step is covering.  Some of them actually look quite cartoony in that regard - running like mad with wide, exaggerated steps but really not going anywhere.
• I realize that this was mostly because of it being a beta, but it seemed like every time I logged in, there'd be a 5-minute restart warning shortly thereafter.

Conclusion

For the most part the beta was fun and interesting, but I'm not planning to switch from WoW to RIFT anytime soon.  I'd like to see some things mature first, and I'm still not sure that Trion were wise to set themselves up as the "WoW Alternative."  Time will tell, I suppose.

A Quiet Goodbye

The tap on the door did not intrude upon his reverie.  After a moment, Auryon left his side and cracked open the door.  Peeking through, she threw it wide to engulf Lith'atal in a large hug.  They exchanged fractured pleasantries in Common and Orcish.  After a moment, Auryon pushed Lith toward the fire, where Mato still sat in quiet contemplation.

"Dad?  What's going on?"

After a moment of silence, she turned to Auryon.  The Draenei woman shrugged and mumbled something in Common, then said in heavily accented Orcish, "Family...  sad."

Looking back toward her father, Lith noticed the parchment that lay on the floor beside him.  She knelt down and read the short message scrawled on it.

Greatmother Losi walks with our ancestors.  Please come soon.

She sat down beside him without speaking.  Auryon brought her a drink and then sat down on his other side.  After several minutes, he seemed to shake himself and notice their presence.

"Hi, Lith."  He sighed deeply.  "Sorry - I've got lots of jumbled thoughts right now."

"I think I understand.  Well, Auryon and I are here if you want to talk about it."

He smiled at her, then stared into the fire for a few more minutes before he spoke again, translating into Common for Auryon as well.

"Greatmother Losi actually wasn't my blood Greatmother.  My Greatmother Lomai passed over when I was very young - barely a calf.  I remember very little of her, other than that she was short and round, and she had such a joyful laugh.  After she died, Greatfather Rofalo...  he became very hard toward life.  Although he still had many years left, it seemed as though he would prefer to have crossed over as well, rather than continue without his lifelong partner.  I was scared of him, because I never knew what might set him off.  He never struck me, but his temper and angry words would tear me apart."

"After several years, he began to change.  He became a real person again - loving, gentle.  It was because of Losi.  She was from Feralas, though he had apparently known her for many years.  She had never married.  They began courting, and eventually were married.  She centered and completed him in a way that is so rare to see."

"Greatmother Losi was one of the best herbalists I know.  She used to take me on walks through the woods or gardens and teach me about the plants that grew there.  Others appreciated the plants for their use - the inks or chemicals they produced, or their medicinal properties.  She appreciated them for their existence."

"Greatmother also taught me a lot about myself and my role in the world.  During her time in Feralas she had rubbed shoulders with many different races and clans.  She taught me that most beings have a deep respect for honor, transcending race or culture.  That it is important to show honor to our friends, but even more to our enemies.  Not that she really had any enemies."

"Greatmother was one of the most influential factors in my decision to pursue becoming a druid.  I think she could have made an outstanding druid herself."  He chuckled.  "She could definitely be a bear if you crossed her.  Not literally, of course."

"I'm sad that neither of you had an opportunity to meet her.  I'm certain that she would have welcomed you both with open arms.  After Greatfather Rofalo died, she moved back to Feralas.  The creatures there would have torn you apart, Lith.  As for Auryon, the townsfolk would have done the same."

"I heard that she was sick, that her time was short.  I should have gone to visit during Winter Veil."  He shook his head sadly.

Lith patted his arm gently.  "Dad, I'm sad too that I never got to meet her.  It sounds like she was a wonderful person.  But it also sounds like she poured a lot of herself into you.  So I guess, in a way, it's like I have met her."

Mato translated this for Auryon, who agreed.  "She sounds like one of the main reasons we're together today - all three of us.  If she were not a Tauren, the way you have described her I could easily picture her as one of our Draenei elders."

He chuckled.  "I'm sure she would have been pleased by that."  He stood and retrieved a dusty bottle from the shelf.  "Before I get ready to go, how about a round of drinks to her memory?"

A Question of Morality

“Dad, where does our sense of right and wrong come from? How do you decide what is right or wrong? Or maybe I should ask a different question - why do different people end up with different answers to the same question?”

He glanced sharply at me as he pondered my questions. We were walking through the Drag in Orgrimmar. I waved at Matron Battlewail as we passed the orphanage, then looked back up at him as I waited for his response.

“First, a question of my own. Was there something in particular that prompted this? Has someone asked you recently to do something that you didn't think was right?”

“There have been different things. The one that made me aware of it, I think...” I lowered my voice and pointed with my chin. “Marogg, over there. He has asked Tamashi and me on a couple of occasions to go to the goblin slums and steal supplies from them.”

“It struck both of us as wrong, to steal from our fellow members of the Horde. They need it more than we do. Tamashi said that he has even asked her to steal from the trolls, too. He's never asked me, for what is probably a very obvious reason. Yet, at other times he's also asked us to stop people who were stealing his supplies. It doesn't seem right that you would steal from others but object when they steal – or steal back – from you.”

He chuckled. “This is a deep subject for a lazy Saturday morning. Mostly because there's not a clearly-defined answer. Or at least, not as clearly defined as you probably would like. The core term for what you're asking about is 'morality' – do the concepts of 'right' and 'wrong' even exist, and if so, how do they work out in daily life? In general, this tends to work out in one of two ways: 'might makes right' or 'do unto others'.”

“'Might makes right' basically means that, if you have the ability or power to do something, it is 'right' for you to do so. The danger of this approach is that can lead to despotism. I would imagine that Deathwing probably thought he was right to bring destruction across Azeroth, simply because he could. However, it also can lead to great good. In fact, most governments and many social organizations operate on this principle. It's a tricky proposition, however.”

“I've heard the 'do unto others' concept be called the 'golden rule.' I'm not sure where that comes from, and it's not to be confused with 'he who has the gold makes the rules'. The basic premise is that you should treat other people in the same way you would want them to treat you, were the situation reversed. What's interesting about that concept is that the response of the other person really doesn't come into play. It's not that you treat people in kind, in the same way they treat you. In other words, if you treat people according to this concept, regardless of their response, you have done what is 'right'. I suppose that this concept actually ties in with the concept of absolute truth as well - that the question of right and wrong is bigger than any individual.”

I grinned. “You were right – this is kind of a deep subject.”

He grinned back. “Warned you, didn't I? Now, to apply it. To some extent, different cultures value one approach over the other. I'd say that the Forsaken are staunchly in the 'might makes right' camp, as well as goblins to a lesser extent. Tauren tend toward the 'do unto others' side. The other races fall somewhere in the middle. But class choices can definitely make a difference too.”

“What about the Alliance?”

He frowned in thought. “I'm not sure – I don't really know anyone from some of the Alliance races. Of the ones I do know, I'd say that the Draenei tend to be very close to the Tauren in their philosophies. The others seem to fall closer to the middle – I'm not aware of any that go to the Forsaken extreme. Night elf druids tend toward that viewpoint a little more than we do, but they tend to do so for altruistic reasons - that the good of many outweighs the good of few.”

“The other thing to keep in mind is that it's hard to understand motives and underlying goals. For example, I have seen a number of situations where I helped someone because it seemed right, but the ultimate end turned out to be bad.”

I walked silently for a moment, watching the bustle of the city around us. Then I stopped. “I think I understand what you're saying. So, in the situation I mentioned, Marogg may be doing what he believes to be right in asking us to steal from the goblins – and they would not be particularly opposed to stealing the supplies back either. But if Tamashi and I believe that to be wrong, for us it is wrong to take part.”

He smiled. “I think you've got it.”

An Awakening (Epilogue)

Somewhere in southern Kalimdor:

She lay quietly, her head nuzzled against his neck as he stroked along her spine with a large hand. She mumbled into his neck, "You are so good to me."

"Mmm. You are so good to be good to."

After a moment, she raised up to look at him. "Not to derail the mood, but I wondered something..."

"Well, it's too late now – better finish the question. I'll answer it if I can." He grinned slyly at her.

"The other day, you hinted that you had been in a serious relationship before. What... happened?"

He sighed. "That is a long story – even longer than the story of Lith." He paused for a moment. "I'll see if I can break it down to a brief overview."

"We were intended for one another from a young age. Not an arranged marriage or anything – we just knew that we would be together. She was a Tauren from our village, a warrior. We spent every possible moment together."

"About the time that I ventured to the Moonglade for the first time, her brother was slain in a skirmish with the Scourge, somewhere in the Plaguelands. Fomaru was... she came unhinged after that. We started fighting over the most petty things, and she would stay away for days at a time."

"I eventually learned that she was spending a lot of time in the Undercity, and venturing out from there to the Plaguelands in search of her brother's killers. To me, one undead was no better or worse than another – not that you can tell the difference between them anyway. When she did come home, she chafed against home life and wanted to return to the battlefield. I was in druidic training with Hamuul Runetotem, and could not – did not want to – go halfway across the world on her personal crusade."

"This was in the early days of the Scourge, when people were still talking more of the Burning Legion than the new threat rising in the east. I don't think that many of us really understood what a massive threat they were, or would become."

"Fomaru became a mighty warrior, but she was driven by something... unnatural. We saw each other less and less, and it seemed that each time we left one another in an even worse state."

"Finally, about ten years ago, she did not return. I waited for news, but I knew that something awful must have happened. Eventually, I followed different clues and trails all the way to the Eastern Plaguelands, to Light's Hope Chapel, trying to find out what had happened."

He was silent for several minutes. She waited patiently. Eventually he continued. "She had become one of the death knights – one of the Lich King's personal army of warriors. I don't know how it happened, how she was turned. She remained loyal to the Lich King when the battle of Light's Hope Chapel resulted in the splintering of the death knight order. She ended up in Northrend, a staunch supporter of the Lich King and a leader of Scourge battalions in Icecrown. I never saw her again."

He paused in thought again. "Northrend was hard for me. I joined the Argent Crusade, eventually reaching the rank of Crusader. But every day I feared that I would see her across the battlefield. I knew what I must do if that happened, but I feared it. I didn't know if I could destroy my one-time lover, even though nothing of that person, the woman I had loved, existed any longer."

"I never set foot within the Citadel. I understood – felt – the vehement hatred toward the Lich King, but revenge... it was not in my destiny to bring it. Every day in Northrend, it felt like my soul froze just a little bit more." He shuddered. "That's why I spend so much time in Tanaris and Uldum now – they warm me up. They are regions that are as polar opposite to Icecrown as possible."

She kissed him gently on the nose. "Thank you."

He looked at her with unspoken questions in his eyes. For what?

"For telling me all of that. It says a lot about a person, that they can unburden their souls without being a burden."

"I think that's what led me to adopt Lith..."

"... a burden? I'll tell her you said that."

"No, you won't – I still have to translate between the two of you, remember? But, no, that wasn't what I meant. When I found Lith, she was about the same age as Fomaru was when we first met. She still had that wide-eyed innocence – that joy of discovery – that Fomaru did when we were young. I wanted to pour myself into her, to see her grow into the young woman that Fomaru could have been. Should have been. The wonderful young woman that Lith has become."

She sighed and snuggled back down against his chest.

"Speaking of being a burden..." He poked her gently in the ribs. She squealed and pushed his hand away. "I've told my story. What about yours?"

She groaned. "My story is so boring compared to yours. Boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl loves boy, boy leaves girl for girl's best friend whom he meets under a silvery moon that then explodes for no good reason."

"Did it fall on him?"

"No, more's the pity for that. I have not seen him in months, but he has not acknowledged my existence for years – pretty much since the day after we slept together. Oddly enough, his relationship with her didn't last any longer than with me. She went the other way from me, though – she has turned into an adrenaline and excitement junkie, always looking for her next conquest. I'd rather curl up by the fire with a good book and someone I love. Though now, I've got other ideas for what could be done in front of the fire."

She winked at him.

An Awakening (Part 5)

She spotted them as they walked up the dock from the ship, arm in arm. Damn! He does have a wife. A troll, too. I should have guessed – the way he blew me off. So I was just one of many interracial conquests. What a hustler. Damn!

She shrank back into the shadows of the alley, then ducked into a nearby store. Best not to give him the satisfaction of seeing me.

The little voice in the back of her head reminded her, But you were the one who pursued him. It's not fair for you to turn that around on him now. Maybe you should confront him – find out the truth.

Shut up.

---

Lith'atal looked around with wide eyes. This was her first visit to Booty Bay, and the entire setting was foreign. Her head felt like it was spinning, there were so many new things to see at once.

"I'm going to start at the inn, to see if anyone knows Auryon or has seen her recently. Why don't you go check out the shops? Just be careful, and don't trust anyone."

"Okay, daddy. It's a small town - I doubt I can get very lost."

---

Auryon glanced up as the shop bell jingled. It was his troll. She lowered her head and pretended to study the pottery more intently. From the corner of her eye, she watched the troll wander around the store, eyes wide. He must not let her out much. I'm surprised that he's letting her wander around on her own.

---

She started to brush past the tall Draenei woman who seemed so intent on the store wares. But something made her pause. That bow. Daddy had a bow like that. He said he gave it to...

"Auryon?"

The woman turned, a look of disdain on her face.

"Are you Auryon? I am Matosawitko's daughter, Lith'atal."

---

The troll knew her name? Had he bragged about his conquest to his own wife? That was low, even for an uncivilized Tauren. The only words that she recognized were "Auryon" and "Matosawitko", but the anxiety in the girl's voice was obvious. Did she harbor the same resentment that Auryon now felt springing up? Was she going to attack, unprovoked, in the middle of town? Auryon looked her up and down. Not much to be worried about, there.

Auryon replied in Draenei, "I'm sorry, I don't think I know what you're talking about." She stalked from the building.

---

Lith watched her go. It was Auryon – it had to be! Even if it wasn't, Daddy needed to know. If she wasn't Auryon, maybe she knew her.

She raced up the street toward the inn. "Daddy, daddy!"

He was talking to the innkeeper. The news apparently was negative. He turned as she burst into the room. "Daddy, I think I saw her! Hurry!"

---

She had reached the platform in front of the tunnel when she heard him calling her name from below. She stopped, but did not turn.

"Auryon, please! I've been looking for you."

"And you've found me. Talk fast, before I put arrows in you and your little hussy. You've got a lot of nerve coming here, much less to bring her along."

"I don't understand. I'm so glad to see you. I realize that we didn't part on the best terms. But I thought..."

"No, you didn't think. Tauren." She spit the word like a curse. "As if a bow could make up for the fact that you drove me away so that you could be with another woman. With her. Goodbye, Mato."

"What? I don't... Wait, where are you going? Auryon, come back!"

She was gone, running through the tunnel. His voice trailed off behind her. She felt tears stinging her eyes – tears of rage, self-pity and sadness rolled up together. How could he be so cruel? How could I have not seen it? I was such a fool to let him into my heart, and my bed.

For somebody who thinks her honor has been offended, you sure didn't give him an opportunity to defend his own.

Shut up.

---

"Daddy, what did she say? What happened?"

He stood silent in the middle of the street, mouth agape as he stared after her. What happened? Finally he turned to Lith'atal, his face tight against the tears.

"She's gone. I don't understand!"

"What did she say?"

"I... She said something about how I drove her away to be with another woman. But I haven't. She was the only woman I have had in... has it really been ten years? Where did she get the idea that I had another woman?"

He stood quietly for a moment, then he continued in a voice thick with anger and sadness. "This was a mistake. We should not have come. Clearly I mistook our relationship or assumed too much. Another woman?"

After a pause, Lith spoke in a small voice. "Daddy, when I saw her – I talked to her. I tried to tell her... I don't know any language that she would know. I spoke in... Orcish, probably. I don't remember. But I called her by name. I was nervous. Maybe she thought I was angry with her? I don't know."

Mato wrapped his arms around her. "Lith, it's not your fault. I was taken off guard by her hostility; maybe if I could have explained the situation – who you are – she might have understood."

A muffled voice came from near his chest. "Daddy, where does that tunnel go?"

"Nowhere in particular – it just opens up into the Stranglethorn jungle." He held her out at arm's length. "Why?"

"So... she can't have gone far. Daddy, you have to go after her!"

Hope dawned on his face again, then it fell. "But what about you? You can't follow me - the beasts here are too difficult for you to handle."

"I'll wait at the inn, or explore the town. Don't worry – I can take care of myself, Daddy."

---

The crumbled stones of Gurubashi Arena loomed through the jungle mist when he found her. She sat beside the road, head buried in her knees as sobs shook her body. Around her lay the corpses of a dozen trolls. He dismounted and started toward her.

"Stay away. Leave me alone. Haven't you hurt me enough already?"

"Auryon, I don't know what is going on. What happened to you? To... us?"

"Like you don't know. Showing up with that little troll woman of yours hanging on your arm, and then pretending like she doesn't matter. Like I don't matter. I don't want to share you. I can't..."

"Lith? What does she have to do with us?"

She looked up sharply. "Didn't you hear what I said? I can't be with you when you're already with..."

He sighed. "I see it now." He squatted down next to her, taking her hand. "Auryon, Lith'atal is my daughter."

His... "daughter?"

"Yes. It's... a long story." He smiled. "Come back to town with me – I want you to meet her. I'll tell you on the way."

"Oh, Mato – I've been such an idiot. I should have known that you..."

"No! Really, it has been my idiocy all along. I should have never sent you away. I should have told you about Lith. I should have..."

She laid her finger on his lips. "Clearly we have some communication issues to work out. Let's just both take equal blame and call it finished."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" He rummaged in his pack for a moment, then held up a bunch of flowers with an apologetic shrug. "They're kind of wilted now."

"They're beautiful." She buried her nose in them, then took his hand. "I'd like to go meet Lith'atal now. If she's anything like her father, she must be a wonderful person."

"As I understand it, she's got a lot in common with her future stepmother, too."

She giggled, wrapping her arm around his waist. "That's not good..."

An Awakening (Part 4)

Stomp stomp stomp stomp

Twang

Thump

Stomp stomp stomp stomp

Twang

Clatter

“You keep that up, we'll need to buy new target dummies. You know you're supposed to shoot the target, right?”

“Shut up.”

Stomp stomp stomp stomp

Twang

…

“Fel!”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“No.”

“Did something happen in Tanaris? I've never seen you so...”

“I said, shut up!”

Stomp stomp stomp stomp

Twang

Clatter

“FEL!”

“Guy trouble? Was that gnome bothering you again?”

“I swear, Nomaani, another word comes out of your mouth while I'm trying to take target practice, the next arrow goes through your throat.”

Stomp stomp stomp stomp

Twang

…

“That would be so much more threatening if you could hit anything. What's gotten into you? You're usually dead-eye.”

“A gut shot would be so much better for you? Oh, what's the point? He's probably got a wife in Thunder Bluff and another in Orgrimmar anyway.”

“... I'm going to just pretend that my fingers were in my ears, because I thought I heard you say 'Thunder Bluff' and 'Orgrimmar'? Of all the uncivilized...”

“As if you knew anything about being civilized. Those Neanderthals that hang around with you down at the inn, most of them barely have two brain cells to rub together.”

“Oh, this is suddenly about me now? Does my success with the men threaten you?”

“Success! The only thing more empty than your head is the hope of having a meaningful conversation with one of them. No, you just go right on giving them a little 'accidental' flash of alien boobs from time to time to keep them interested. I'd rather have a real conversation – a real relationship – with someone who's not a moron, who treats me like a woman, even if he is a Tauren.”

“Ooh, a Tauren! They have such big muscles! I bet he smells like a cow, though.”

“You're hopeless. I'm going back to Booty Bay. Or somewhere. Anywhere.”

Stomp stomp stomp

“Auryon, wait!”

“Fine... what?”

“You really like this... tauren?”

“... Yes, and I think he likes me. I just can't figure him out. He said that we couldn't be together, but he waved at the ship until we were out of sight. It's like he wants us to be together as much as I do, but something...”

“He's already married?”

“NO! No. It's not possible – I was joking about that. No, it's something else...”

“Well, then he's an idiot if he doesn't want to be with you.”

“I get it, though. He was right – it would be a hard life. But it's one I was willing to... I wanted him, not this stupid bow.”

“Let me see that. He gave you this?”

“Yes, right before I got on the boat. He said, 'use it often and think of me.'”

“Auryon, have you looked at this thing? It has to be as valuable as... I don't know. It's amazing!”

“Yeah, really nice. It obviously takes the place of my Tauren lover.”

“Auryon, don't be a fool. It's not a piece of vendor trash – this was a really special gift. He wouldn't give you something this valuable just to blow you off. Believe me, I know about cheesy gifts.”

“... Aargh! Why does this have to be so difficult? So what do I do now?”

“When he figures things out, he'll probably come looking for you. You took the boat to Booty Bay, right? So he will probably start there. That's what I would do – retrace your steps. Not that I've ever... stalked anyone, you know... Quit grinning, I'm serious. Even if he never shows up, it will be a nice vacation for you.”

“Thanks, Nomaani. You're a true friend. I need to go!”

“Have fun. And... good luck. I really do hope you find your... man. You could stand to get more action, if you know what...”

“Shut up.”

An Awakening (Part 3)

“...and then Tamashi and I got our belly-buttons pierced and I got a tattoo on my thigh and we stripped down to our skivvies and danced on the mailbox in front of the auction house until such a large crowd gathered that Garrosh Hellscream came out of the Hold and yelled at all of us to be quiet.”

Food wandered around his plate, never making it to his mouth.  “Mmhmm...  that's nice, dear.”

A petite blue hand slapped down on the table.  “Daddy, you haven't heard a word I said all evening!  What is going on in that thick skull of yours?”

His eyes focused on the hand, then up at his daughter for the first time since he had arrived home.  “Sorry, Lith.  I'm just...  kind of lost right now.”

“No kidding.”  She sat down beside him, leaning against his arm.  “So what has got my big, bad dad all lost in himself?”

“I'm not sure that you would understand.  Or, you probably would understand, but can't really help.”

“Try me.”

He sighed.  “You know how sometimes you make a hard decision and you think at the time that it is right?  But then, once you have a chance to think about it more, you question yourself and wish you could choose differently?  But by then the... opportunity... is gone.”

“Only all the time.  But there's more to it than that, isn't there?  What's her name?”

“Auryon.”  Then his mouth fell open.  “How did you know?”

“Dad, please.  You've been wandering around here all afternoon like a lost puppy.”  She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.  “Okay, tell me everything.”

He blushed.  “Well, most definitely not everything.”

When he had finished telling the story, she sat quietly, staring into the fire.  Then she giggled.  “You idiot.  You cute, impossible, loveable idiot!”

“Pardon?”

Her face was suddenly serious.  “Dad, when has what others thought, said or did ever stopped you from doing what you thought was right?  Look at me – when you brought me home to Bloodhoof Village, there were a few in town that were mad enough to spit.  Tamashi told me that her uncle Arlo actually tried to have us evicted.  But that wasn't enough; you then decided to allow me...  no, insist that I be allowed to enter druid training.  Me, a troll orphan from the slums of Orgrimmar!  It was fine when I was just a family member, they could ignore that.  But having me enter training – that brought us both to the attention of everyone in Mulgore, for good or bad.  If Gennia hadn't agreed with you to allow me to begin training, we could have been outcast completely.”

She paused for thought, then continued.  “You were right, the two of you won't be welcome in Orgrimmar or Stormwind anytime soon.  But I think she was more right – the two of you could find your own place in the world, together.  Daddy, you've been alone for as long as I've known you.”  She saw his glance, and held up her hand.  “You know what I mean – alone alone.  For once in your life, do something that is just for you, consequences be damned.  You'll at least have me on your side.  I'm sure Tamashi and Bookh would agree too.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his mouth open.  Then he shook his head in amazement.  “Thank you, Lith.  You're right – I'm an idiot.”  His eyes twinkled at her, then he continued soberly.  “But now I have a different problem – how will I find her again, and how will I win her back even if I do?  The last I saw, she was in tears on a boat to Booty Bay.  A short flight from there to Stormwind, and she could be anywhere in the world now, probably hating me with everything she's got.”

“Finding her might be the hard part.  Girls usually like flowers and poetry.  You're the best herbalist I know – you should have that part covered easily.  How's your skill at crafting verse?”

“You mean, something like:

Roses are red,

My daughter is blue

Violets aren't violet

But my girlfriend's blue too”

She snorted.  “Corny.  That wasn't exactly what I had in mind.  No, the point of poetry is to show that you've actually thought about her – that you can't get her off your mind.”

“For a young'un you sure seem to know about courting, or think you do.”

A voice from the doorway chimed in, “And yet, you'd do well to listen to her – she has a lot more wisdom than we did at that age.”

He turned toward the troll who stood there.  “Bookh!  How much of this have you overheard?”

“Enough to know that you're an idiot, and that you're wasting time sitting here talkin' when you should be out there lookin'.”  Her eyes twinkled back at him.

“Fel!  Why is it that all the women in my life are blue!?”  He stomped from the room.

She stalks the jungle

Of my heart

On hooves of light

Arrow on the string

Seeking a target

Blue arches surround

Her head in a

Crown of glory

Cat prowls beside her

Ready for the attack

Her tail engages in

A Dance of exquisite

Balance and grace

Her prey stands enthralled

By her fierce beauty

Horns, tail, hooves, heart -

Are we really so different

After all?

She fires!

I am pierced