Lannia bowed to the lady in front of her. “Matron, it was my pleasure to check on the little ones. I assure you that they’re quite healthy.”

The woman bowed down and her cheeks were flushed. “I’m so sorry that I pulled you off the street, it’s just that-.” Lannia waved her hand and cut off the woman gently. She felt a tug on her robe, but didn’t pay any mind to it.

“They are busy. Many have gone to Northrend. I’m sure they did not mean to overlook you.” At another tug on her robe, Lannia turned down and picked up a small boy. “Yes, Daniel?”

“Are you going away, lady?” Lannia nodded and watched the boy’s eyes tear up. “I don’t want you to go away. No one comes to see us!” Glacing at the nervous matron, Lannia sat in a nearby chair with the boy in her lap. He looked up at her surprised, “Are you going to stay?”

She smiled gently. “I cannot, little one, for many reasons. I can stop by to check on you though. I come through here often.”

A few other children cluster about her and clutch at her robes. The matron spoke softly to one of them, but Lannia interrupted, “Please let them stay. They need to understand. I take it no one has really explained to them?” The matron shook her head quickly.

“Gather close, little ones.” The children stared up at her. “I’m going to treat you like I would an adult and explain why people aren’t around as much. Don’t be scared when I tell you because that’s why people like I and the matron are here, to protect you.” Lannia shifted Daniel so that he can see her face.

“There are things outside of our control in this world. Some of them are good, and some are bad. Right now, a very bad man that we call the Lich King, is trying to do very bad things to all of us. Sometimes… we lose those we care about. In some cases your parents, and in others… our brothers and sisters and so on.” A few of the girls began to tear up.

“There is no need to cry, because even though they have been taken away from us, they did it to protect us and let us smile. It may be hard at times, but all of them want the best for us. The reason I have to leave is to go help fight the Lich King. I’m a priestess and I can heal and help protect other parents that may have children. I even have my own little daughter that I’m helping protect by not letting the Lich King do bad things.” The children seemed to be thinking hard. Lannia smiled comfortingly at the twitchy matron.

A boy finally spoke up, “So… you take care of the people who fight the bad man, right?” Lannia nodded. “Why did our parents go away then? Wasn’t someone able to save them?”

Perceptive boy. It becomes harder to hold the smile. “Try as I might, I cannot save everyone. There are things that are beyond my ability. I am sorry…” Her vision became slightly misty and Lannia closed her eyes.

“Don’t cry, lady!”
“We knows you tried!”
“We love you!”

Lannia opened her eyes to the hugs and worried faces of the children. “It’s alright. I miss those that we lose as well. Thank you all. You are wonderful.” She set her hands on the children closest to her and one took her hand in their smaller grasp.

“I will go, but be assured little ones, that I will come back if Elune wills it.” She ruffled Daniel’s hair. “I just want to protect you. Do you understand?” A few of the older children nod in response. “Good, I must be on my way. I have my own child to check on. I try to visit her often.” Lannia grinned and tickled Daniel before setting him on the floor.

With much laughter, Lannia slowly stood and said goodbye to them. Finally, she was at the door, and the children surround the Matron.

“Lady, you’ll be okay, right?” Lannia nodded and smiled at them.

“Kick his butt for us, okay?” This one earned a chuckle.

“Be well, littles ones.” A warm glow emanated the room and everyone seemed to relax and smile. With a gentle rustle of her robes, the woman exited, but was not forgotten. A gentle night elf, blessed priestess of Elune. The unnamed woman has returned many more times, but they were always as brief as a winter storm.

So, I’ve been thinking about the earthquakes more and if that’s the first step, then what’s next. So, I thought back to the last World Event that started an expansion which was Wrath of the Lich King.

Attacks began on Stormwind and there was a minor curable plague. As the days went on leading up to the expansion, the plague became harder and harder to cure until it wasn’t curable at all.

Blizzard likes escalating situations. We have earthquakes now and it’s safe to assume that since the continents sunder in some areas that they will only get worse. But what is the next stage of the disaster looming over us?

Here are some of the thoughts that I’ve had. This is pure speculation.

• NPCs will start mentioning the earthquakes and other events occurring.
• Desolace made begin to have green spots.
• In areas that are flooded, it may rain constantly and become marsh like.
• In areas that sunder cracks in the land, there may be a smaller crack and Deathwing’s minions may begin to emerge. There will be more as it leads up to the expansion.

I don’t know if they can do partial terrain updates in areas, but it was a thought I had. It’s actually a lot of work for something that would only show for a short period of time. NPC’s talking, constant rain, or cracked areas would probably be the easiest for a short term effect. I would like to see some of Deathwing’s minions crop up. I don’t think he’s alone.

The question is… we haven’t even heard when the expansion is going to release. How long of a lead up are we going to have? I don’t believe that any have started more than a month before release historically. Is Blizzard going to make this a slow change? If so, how are they going to handle a slow change where things are drastically changed, like the Barrens, Desolace, and the Auberdine area?

Only time will tell for sure, but I think Blizzard may have some surprises in store for us on this one. *grins*

Yes, I know… a second post in one day. Has the world gone crazy or just me? Yes, go ahead. I know you’re thinking it. It’s the world, isn’t it? *joke*

I’ve been thinking to myself. A dangerous thing, I know. When people say, “There’s no RP,” what are they really saying. Considering that I’ve never had a problem drudging up some RP when I wanted it, I think that they may not be fully explaining what they really want.

• I would really like to RP with X.
• I want to be a part of X with my RP.
• I’m really not comfortable finding random RP, I want to RP with people I know.

They don’t really mean that they just want RP. They mean that they want a specific thing in some cases. (Some people really do just want RP and they just don’t know how to do it.) Yet, sometimes people don’t come out and say it. It’s like saying, I can’t find chili, but you’re in a restaurant that has chili. What you may really mean is I can’t find a chili that fits my requirements/wants.

I was on Serephim last night and decided to hang out in Stormwind. You know Archmage Malin at the bottom of the mage tower? I decided to debate with him about something the Kirin Tor wanted Serephim wanted to do. No one had come up to me, so I wondered towards the main town square muttering. I pass through it on the way to old town and someone stopped me and began talking to me.

All I did was emote and walk through public areas and I found RP because I looked. Now, the RP wasn’t anything to squee about, but it was nice. I ended up talking to a farm boy trying to find his way in life. It was an interesting view on how the Lich King had managed to affect even the simple life. His friend had been turned to undead in the mines where they worked and he’d had to face him. How terrible, isn’t it?

A simple RP of just two people chatting because one caught the eye of the other. Nothing really special, but it fills out the world just a little bit more.

A few tiny tips when RPing just to remind those out there.

• Ask questions of the other person, RP is not a soliloquy.
• Use emotes, and not just the standard WoW emotes, to add flavor to your character.
• Make sure you have your story straight before you mention something, otherwise you might confuse the person you’re RPing with or it might seem disjointed.

To end this thought, I just want to say… communicate. Communicate clearly what you’re really looking for in RP and clearly communicate what you’re trying to portray with your character. No one can read minds, so we need to be straightforward and ask questions.

Examples are like:

• “Hey are you free this Thursday at 9? I really want to work on an RP storyline with you.”
• “Do you know when and where X is taking place? I’d really like to be a part of it.”

People work best with direct questions. Ask them when they’re available or even what they want to eat and a lot of people tend to just say whatever (at least the do from what I’ve seen). However, if you say I want to eat at Olive Garden at 8, then they can yay or nay it. Same deal with RP. It’s kind of weird, but I just wanted to bring up the thought.

May your RP be plenty! And your rewards great!