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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:12:56 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 31st
I've enchanted this journal I found yesterday with the strongest magics I know. Just... just in case it happens again. I don't even know if it will work, but if what I am beginning to suspect is true, then... well. At least it is somewhere to put my thoughts, without sounding insane to anyone but myself.
That is, of course, another possibility.
However, I am almost certain it is not. At first I thought it was simply a bizarre dream, caused by my excitement over the initiation into the Iron Order the day before. After all, when I performed the ritual and bound my first demon, it was not the same imp I had dreamed of. Not Jaktai, but Zepnik.
In a way, I was relieved. I was also slightly disappointed, but neither feeling is truly relevant. My father congratulated me on taking the first step towards continuing the family tradition of the study of fel magics. Then I left to take my first step outside as a true warlock, and not simply a student... I do not believe anymore that that was truly my first step.
That day was like a nightmare from hell.
Even more hellish was the fact that I had dreamed the same hell the night before. By the time I was sent to the cellar with the munitions, I was inwardly cringing in fear of what I had dreamt would happen. And when it happened, the nightmare became complete. I almost welcomed the oblivion of the curse when it overtook me.
And I was inwardly ungrateful when I was "rescued". I do not like admitting that, even to myself, but I have decided to be honest here, in the hope that... I do not actually know what I am hoping. Perhaps that is why I am writing.
As the weeks passed, I became apathetic. I knew what would happen, after all - or did I? I noticed little differences from my dream, here and there. The overall events were the same, but somehow I found myself growing hopeful that it had simply been a dream of a similar future that would not happen.
I was... truly disappointed when I summoned my voidwalker for the "first" time. He was not Jhazvhug. I knew he wouldn't be, and yet - I was still hoping that the binding pact I made with him in my dream was real in some fashion. Even to have the chance to make that pact again would have been better than the disappointment of seeing a voidwalker that was not him answer my call. I have grown accustomed to Nakky (as I have taken to calling him) but it truly did not occur to me that a voidwalker could be, well... simple. I cannot bring myself to call him Maknak, because it sounds so formal for a demon that is so delighted by everything - including destroying things, but then again, he is a demon.
Back to the point - with Nakky by my side I began working to regain the trust of the other Gilneans. I was delighted to find my brother, who had taken the name Ironfel upon joining the Order, had survived as well. He too had been afflicted by the curse, but was caught and dosed with alchemy much earlier than I had been. That had not been part of my dream. In the dream, I never heard of him again after that first day.
I still find myself shedding tears when I think how we found him, slain by the Forsaken. He was one of the first victims of their assault. I will admit that even his death made me feel glad that at least it was not the same future as my dream...
From there though, the differences ceased entirely. From the Forsaken assault to the drowning of Duskhaven to the attack on Gilneas City, it was all the same. This was the point when I began actively trying to change what I had dreamt. I... have not yet met with much success.
The single, major event of my dream that I have managed to change was my death. Upon reaching Redridge (again), after having tried my best to aid Westfall, I became cautious. The week that I would have died, I left Redridge for Duskwood. I am confident that the adventurers which often pass through that area can help them finish off the orcs before they invade (I know at least that I cannot).
Now though, I find that my foreknowledge is gone. I do not know if I will die tomorrow, or even today. I do not know what will happen to those around me, or to the world. It is strange living without that knowledge again.
When I first realized that my dream was so close as to be exact about future events, at first I thought it was mere happenstance - and then prophecy. I have begun to think it was something more. I think... I think I actually lived that dream. Was it a strange alternate future? Have I merely been given a second chance? Or am I doomed to wake again that first day should I die once more - for all eternity?
That last is why when I found this journal, I decided to see if I could... keep it. It is bound to me by stronger magics than even the pact I made with Jhazvhug. It cannot be left behind. At least if it survives, I will know that I am not insane. Or at the very least, not completely insane.
I miss Jhazvhug.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:14:04 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 31st
I have just finished rereading my first entry. It really does sound like the ramblings of a madman. Perhaps I am simply thinking too hard about all of this. A prophetic dream, yes – and now that I have avoided the fate it laid out for me, there is nothing left to worry about. I must simply be content with the voidwalker I have. After all, while he doesn’t understand much of what is happening, he is gleefully eager to help me in whatever way I require. (Using gleeful to describe a voidwalker just sounds so… odd.)
I think I will continue to keep this journal though. It did give me some peace of mind to get all my thoughts out somewhere that I could see them and make them coherent. At the very least, because of all of the enchantments no one will be able to steal it from me to see all of my idiotic notions.
So far, Stranglethorn Vale has been bizarrely calm compared to the rest of the world. Everywhere else that I have been, there are refugees, destroyed cities and villages. The remnants of some are so haunting I almost wish I could have seen them before the Cataclysm.
But here, here I find a group of soldiers and a lavish hunting camp. It is so disturbingly serene, I find myself jumping at shadows. It did serve me well earlier today though, when I was hunting tigers to prove myself to their tiger huntress, Ajeck Rouack. She had spoken of the legendary beast Sin’Dall, expounding upon its might and ferocity for quite some time. When I found that the lesser tigers were quite mortal, I determined that I would hunt the great tiger herself. She was just as ferocious as described, but Nakky was well able to stand up to her blows. Eventually, she lay defeated on the ground. But as I bent to claim her paw to prove my kill I was forced to hide as another, equally ferocious tiger appeared.
I had no idea that Sin’Dall had had a mate.
In the end, I was triumphant – although it was a close call for sure. I returned to their camp, only to be sent out again to hunt panthers and raptors. It seems I will need to be still more careful than I have been so far. I have no desire to find out whether or not my theories are truth or merely aimless speculation.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:15:18 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 32nd
It wasn’t too hard to kill the panthers that I’ve found so far. The raptors weren’t too bad either, although the way they clumped together made it difficult to get one alone. I am certainly not foolish enough to take on twenty raptors.
The soldiers asked for my aid in dealing with their insane comrades. It is unfortunate that there seems to be no cure, but I did as they asked and rescued a few of their people. It took most of the rest of last week but I managed to fulfill all the charges I was given and kill the leaders, as well as find the ingredient in their potions that was driving them insane. (I am hoping that they are not foolish enough to experiment with it after seeing what it did to the others.)
I ran a few errands for the folks I rescued after that – it seems they were here for research before the… issues. Not so calm here as I had first thought.
I am going to head back to Stormwind shortly to see the warlock organization there. I feel as though it has been long enough since I have studied any spells at all that I may start forgetting the ones I use regularly. I won’t, of course, but I do miss studying with my family. I have not heard of what happened to my Father – I wonder if he made it out alright?
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:16:13 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 34th
While I was away in Stormwind some idiot of an adventurer managed to resurrect this troll warlord. Mandokir, I think they called him. He’s apparently quite fearsome.
Things like this are precisely why the Iron Order has forbidden resurrection. Another example? Does the Scourge ring any bells? Ugh. It’s just so… stupid. Blithely prancing around looking for a way to resurrect some random troll skeleton. Surely nothing at all can go wrong!
I almost tore the page writing that last. I’m not even really that upset about it, but perhaps I should think about something else for a bit.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:18:49 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 35th
Something is happening with the trolls here in Stranglethorn. I’ve been running into them in places I am told they haven’t been seen for years. It’s not just the resurrection of Mandokir either; there are a lot of other dangerous warlords and witch doctors gathering. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it. I had a very close call just the other day where I accidentally stumbled upon a nest of… I am not sure if they were zombies or what, but they were under the control of a witch doctor of some sort.
I actually had to use the sacrifice spell on Nakky to escape. I felt so bad about it, but it’s not truly death, and I know that I shouldn’t get attached to my demons. (It appears that I am doomed to fail at detachment, since this is not the first time... although maybe it is. I still don’t know what that dream was about.) He behaves very much like some kind of overgrown dog though. A demon dog. That speaks.
…I am fairly certain there actually are demons like that out there. I don’t remember what they’re called though. Felhunters can’t talk, but perhaps there is a subspecies? I would look it up if I had the time.
Currently I am writing this from the Inn in the harbor town of Booty Bay. (The inn itself is a giant ship, and I had never even thought to see something like it.) It’s a trading town, run by goblins, and there are ships docking and offloading goods even as I watch. Stormwind had a harbor too, but it was really more for the fleet – although there was a certain amount of trading there for sure. This place though, is full of merchants hawking their wares from the shops lining the bay. It’s so busy, with so many things to see! They tell me that when the Cataclysm hit a giant tidal wave swept through here, but there’s hardly any damage. If I couldn’t see the high water mark, I wouldn’t believe them.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:20:06 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 36th
I mentioned Jhazvhug to Nakky yesterday – I don’t even remember why – and Nakky said something very interesting. He said he hadn’t seen him in a while. Now firstly, this means that Nakky knows Jhazvhug, and secondly, it means Jhazvhug actually exists. Of course, it could just be another demon with the same name, but I am still feeling rather… hopeful, perhaps? I will definitely have to see if I can keep Nakky’s attention long enough to find out more.
Other than that, the only really interesting thing that’s happened was when I ran across a group of pirates. I was out looking for Akiris reeds for the Explorer’s League outpost, and I think I surprised them. They attacked me of course, but they didn’t seem to be very good fighters and I took them down quickly enough. They were carrying a set of attack plans – for a raid on Booty Bay! Now, I haven’t been here that long, but I can say that I really do like this town. So I brought them back, and turned them in to the Baron Revilgaz.
He and his Fleet Master were very interested in them, although they did say that the plans didn’t make enough sense for them to be real. They concluded that these must be a decoy, and offered to hire me to go looking for the real ones. Their plan involved spying though, and I really don’t think I’m cut out for that sort of thing. I had to turn them down, which was a shame because it was a lot of money.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:21:31 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 37th
I’ve had no luck at getting anything further out of Nakky. He doesn’t seem to understand what I’m asking. I’ll have to be patient.
The Baron let me know that they found a spy to infiltrate the Bloodsail Buccaneers (that is apparently the name of these pirates). He said he’d like for me to stick around in case there actually is an attack, since I appear to be a decent fighter. I’ve been passing the time taking supplies out to the Explorers League and helping them with their research, since they’re fairly close to Booty Bay. It seems they ended up with the object causing the madness of the soldiers up north, and they’re trying to figure out what it is. I am glad to see they are taking some precautions with it at least.
From what I hear in the inn the trolls are still gathering, but so far they’ve done nothing other than look threatening.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:22:04 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 38th
The Bloodsail did attack. Our spy was able to give us some warning, as well as sabotage some of their equipment, but it was very short notice. They had two full fleets of ships – there was a Gilnean band of pirates working with them too. We eventually managed to fight them off, but we were fighting for most of a day, and the sun was setting by the time our cannons took out their flagship. Even once the pirates retreated we couldn’t stop to rest – we had to put out fires and tend to the injured.
I am horribly exhausted.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:23:09 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 40th
Booty Bay is back on her feet after the assault. There was a bit of mopping up to be done with the pirates that didn’t manage to escape, but other than that everything has settled down.
I’ve been called to aid the Alliance forces in what used to be the Western Plaguelands. It’s amazing to see what the Cenarion Circle has managed to do, when just across the river you can see what it must have looked like before. The Argent Crusade is working with the druids in this area to help clean things up too, and they’ve got plenty of forces in the area as well. I’ve run a few errands for them while I was nearby – it seems they’ve got some issues with gnolls at the moment.
I wasn’t sent here to help grow crops and fight gnolls though. The main conflict here seems to be that both the Forsaken and the Alliance want the ruins of Andorhal for themselves. Both sides have even started rebuilding opposite ends of the town, but the middle is constantly being fought over – and to make things worse there’s Scourge remnants fighting both sides as well. The Death Knight in charge of our side of the area seems far more concerned with the Scourge than the Forsaken, but from what I’ve seen, the Forsaken are almost – if not just – as bad. I will not argue with his orders though.
I haven’t had time to talk to Nakky again. I’m anxious to know what he meant, but I am not going to use valuable time for my own pursuits when there are clearly more important things going on.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:25:30 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 41st
I did not realize how precarious our position was until we lost it. Sylvanas has apparently recruited val’kyr into her ranks – I was told that these are the beings actually responsible for resurrection into undeath. In short, they raised our dead against us, and the more we fought, the more their numbers grew. We have been forced to abandon our half of Andorhal, which does not bode well for the nearby Alliance camp. We spent most of this week fighting, as well as much of the last. When the val’kyr showed up we were already worn down and tired – there was basically nothing we could do.
It is demoralizing. The mercenaries have scattered, and the remaining soldiers are heading back to try and regroup at Chillwind.
As for me, I am headed across the river – the Argent Crusade surely needs more help with their revitalization project.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:26:24 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 42nd
I have joined up with a tiny caravan. They are also headed for Light’s Hope Chapel, so it made sense to travel together – especially with all the undead about. Progress is slow, but I for one am glad to be able to sit back and take a breath. It’s been a near-constant whirlwind of disaster since even before Gilneas fell, and even if I remembered/knew/dreamed half of it beforehand, it didn’t make it any easier to deal with.
The spare time in the evenings after we camp has allowed me to pick Nakky’s brain for details on Jhazvhug. He didn’t actually know him, just knew of him – they served the same Void Lord, or something like that. From what I can tell, he vanished some time before I bound Nakky. I’d like to have a better idea of the time frame, but really what I’ve got so far is amazing, all things considered.
I have glimmerings of theories, but nothing concrete. I think I will need access to research materials before I can learn more.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:27:27 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 43rd
The damage that has been done to this area is horrific. There are patches of land that are beginning to heal, but corruption and death is still very much evident everywhere. It will take a lot of work to reclaim this land from the dead and the undead. It is work that has already begun, but it will be years before this land is truly habitable again.
The caravan has stopped for the time being at Crown Guard Tower, one of four guard towers manned by the Argent Crusade. Gidwin Goldbraids, one of the paladins traveling with us, is impatient to move on, but Fiona says that we need to restock our supplies and rest the horses. I have been keeping myself busy slaying undead and redeeming the ghosts of the fallen. Some of the stories they have told me are quite tragic – and unfortunately all too common.
One of the ghosts I found was a little girl. I don’t think she understands that she’s dead. I’ve been stopping by when I can, since she seems to be lonely… she says she’s waiting for her father to return. Perhaps I can find out what happened to him.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:28:35 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 44th
The ghost I wrote about in my last journal was Pamela Redpath, daughter of Captain Redpath, a hero who was corrupted and forced to serve the Scourge. With the aid of an odd gnome who was at Crown Guard, I was able to allow the ghosts of Darrowshire to reenact the battle that took place there – and then slay their corrupted forms, releasing them. Pamela was so glad to see her father again.
It makes me wonder what happened to my own. Perhaps I should look for him, but he always hated to receive help from others. (It should be no surprise that his children joined the Iron Order, I suppose. I have wondered from time to time if he himself was a member at some point.)
The caravan moved on to the next tower shortly after that event. We have taken on another passenger, the repairman for the Argent Towers. He was quite grateful not to have to walk. I think Fiona is planning to take him along to see all the towers, since he’s an old man and I think she was heading that way in the first place.
As for the paladins, they already left for Light’s Hope Chapel, since this is the closest the caravan will get. They invited me to come with them, but I was asked to check into a few things at Corin’s Crossing nearby, so I told them I would meet up with them after I was done here.
I also wanted to stay behind because one of the undead trolls from near the first tower has followed us all the way here. He doesn’t seem to be interested in hurting us, or he probably would have attacked already. Perhaps there is something I can do for him – I have discovered here that not all the undead are interested in killing. Some of them just want to be left alone, and some would return to death if they could.
It makes me wonder why the Forsaken have grown so cruel.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:30:42 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 45th
Every so often I can see someone out of the corner of my eye. I think Pamela might be following me, but I can’t be certain, because whenever I turn to look there’s no one there. If it is her, I am sure she was just lonely again.
The paladins and I have joined the Argent Crusade. That was not initially my intention, but I went with them for moral support when they asked to join, and I was also invited. We of course had to pass a test, but with the three of us working together it was not so difficult. It is an honor to be part of an organization that is such a force for good. (An odd thing for a warlock to say, perhaps, but I am not even going to touch upon the prejudices we face for our choice of magic.)
We spent the greater part of last week clearing out some of the nearby strongholds of the Scourge. It is depressing how strong they still are even after the death of the Lich King. After that the two paladins were sent to Northdale, and I was sent to help clear out the former stronghold of the Scarlet Crusade. At some point, they were all turned into undead, but they refused to give up – or to kill themselves, which is what I thought they would have done given their stated goals.
Currently I am on my way to join Tarenar and Gidwin. Given Tarenar’s tendency to dally, they probably haven’t made it to Northdale yet.
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Post by ironfear on Mar 2, 2012 13:31:28 GMT -5
2nd Life, Week the 46th
Gidwin’s impatience almost cost him his life. Suffice it to say he came very close to becoming one of the Scourge himself. It took a whole lot of work on our part to prevent that.
Other than that one scare though, there hasn’t been much worth writing about… just more dead, undead, and cultists. I think I may visit Stormwind again soon. I need to stay somewhere that’s not so depressing for a while, and I’d like to take a look at the arcane libraries there.
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