Araatris didn’t run forward anymore. There was no hurry to the fight. Simply skill. There was no point in circling him. He would see her no matter what. She needed to find a way to make herself invisible to him. Natural terrain didn’t help against felsight. It would seek out the demon within her.

But perhaps… she could mask it. Use the terrain to her advantage. Araatris held back the grin she felt. It wouldn’t do to show that she had an idea. She turned her back on him and ran up the hill near the Site of Lessons. He followed and as he crested the hill behind her, Araatris spun on him. She dropped to her knee and swung her leg out in his path.

Despite a slight hesitation, Tharion avoided it. His blade swung down and she parried it with her knife. Her arm trembled with the force of the hit. She rolled to the opposing side to give herself a chance to get on her feet.

They watched each other. Against her better judgment, she thrust her sword at him as a test of his guard. Unlikely, but she hoped that it would create and an opening. Much to her dismay he side stepped to her left and grabbed her dagger hand with his free left hand. It took very little to twist the arm behind her. He placed his sword against her neck.

“Yield.”

“No.” Araatris growled.

The sword pressed more firmly against her neck, creating a thin line of red. “Yield.”

She’d been listening to her demon too much and not paying enough attention to her own openings. It was hard to balance the listening with doing. She tensed and Tharion shifted so that his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pinned her right arm to her side. He simply lifted her off the ground as he stood to his full height. “Hey!”

“Yield.”

“Owww! Watch the arm!” Araatris wiggled as her arm was pressed up slightly causing her to drop the dagger as she flailed.

“What purpose does this serve?”

“Fine!”

Silence.

“I yield, I yield!”

Tharion set her back on the ground and released her. She felt embarrassed and foolish. She wondered if any other demon hunters had ever felt quite so… silly. Her Other was even laughing. Lot of help he’d been.

Araatris sheathed her weapons and rubbed at her sore left arm. “I feel like I’m doing worse than I did to begin with.” She frowned and stared away from Tharion down at the Site of Lessons.

“You are improving.” He stepped up next to her.

A hard jerk on her arm caused it to pop. She glanced at him even though she didn’t need to and snorted with disbelief. “If you say so, I still feel like a five year old fighting an adult.”

The mask twitched, a definite grin. “I am… older.”

Araatris turned to Tharion and looked up at him as if trying to divine his age, “What, a few hundred years?”

“Several thousand.”

She gaped.

“We were immortal once. No longer now.”

Tharion did not turn towards her and the grin was long gone.

Araatris turned back towards the Site and the grin was a bit sadder. “I truly am a child. Always will be to something like that. And Kharendos?”

“Indeed.”

“And I am human.”

He turned towards her finally. “Yes, you are.” Her smile faded, and she thought about how she wouldn’t live to make as much of a difference as they ever would. “But you are also a Demon Hunter.” She glanced over at him in surprise. “It is… interesting what changes that will cause.”

Araatris smiled brightly. “I’ll just have to make the best of it, won’t I?”

“Indeed.” His hand gently patted her head.

She was changing. Soon she was sure that she would no longer recognize herself. Yet, the demon cajoled her in a strange way. His barking tone, “What did you expect, brat? We’re attached. Of course you’re going to change. It’s the way you humans adapt.”

It was true. If she truly looked at it, there were points in her life that great changes had occurred. Losing her parents. Meeting Tharion. And now… a demon. Yet, she knew that if she truly thought she was becoming dangerous what she would have to do. She would not be hunted. She would go quietly and with honor.

Araatris walked about the Site of Lessons. It was quiet in the morning light. Her fingers brushed against the books on the shelves, the familiar furniture. It had truly become a home to her. Finally, she stopped circling at the privacy screen and rummaged through her backpack. It took her a few moments, but she finally pulled it out.

She had not told Tharion about this keepsake, but hadn’t thought it truly mattered. However, she knew now that she was not the same person she had been upon entering this place. A child’s purple shirt was grasped in her fingers. She couldn’t see the color now, but she’d remembered buying this shirt with her mother. They’d been so exasperated with her fondness for the purple garment. She remembered sitting with her mother as she sewn on the patch on the upper left front of the shirt. It was the symbol of their family.

An orange and black tiger wound about a shield emblazoned with red and yellow sections, its head peeking out from the left and the tail from the right. Her fingers gently traced over the design. “A goodbye too long waiting. I’m sorry, mama… papa.” The Other was quiet. At times, he seemed to almost rest himself or perhaps he was lost in his own thoughts.

It mattered not. She eased a dagger from her side. It was time. Now, while the demon was quiet. Araatris gripped the dagger firmly. Today, she would bury the Valryss. She firmly thrust the dagger in with a grunt.

“Brat! What are you-” The voice cut off as suddenly as it’d begun.

She wanted no distractions. Araatris drug the knife with care, making a careful cut. Gritting her teeth, she wanted to look away, but she knew she couldn’t. She needed to finish the task she’d started. It would be more painful to do otherwise. Imaginary tears stung at her eyes, and she, now more than ever, wanted a comforting hug. But no was around to ease this pain.

It was almost done. She focused entirely on the task at hand. A few moments later, she pulled the knife away and viewed her handiwork. It would do. Araatris tossed the purple shirt onto the fire. In her hand, she held the removed family emblem. She slid the dagger into its sheath and stood.

Araatris had bought a shovel just for this task and she gathered it on the way out. She travelled to a sunny tree quite a ways from the Site. Far from the demons. Looking up, she smiled. “This looked like a spot that you would like to rest. It made me think of you and I came here often when Tharion wasn’t around.” She began digging. “I know you wouldn’t approve of what I’ve done and the risks I’ve taken, but… he’s really tried to prepare me for them.”

She continued digging; wanting to make sure it was deep enough that a stray animal wouldn’t accidently dig it up. “And I know that I haven’t exactly chosen a Valryss path, but I’m going to make you proud of me.” Wiping at some sweat on her forehead, she paused and looked at the tree. “But… I’ll never be the Valryss you wanted. I can’t. Maybe I never could, but rather than sully your name… I’m going to take on a new one some day. For now, I’ll just be Araatris.”

The patch was gently set into the bottom of the several feet deep hole. It was simple work covering it back up and packing the dirt down. Araatris’ fingers caressed the trunk of the tree. “Goodbye Mama. Goodbye Papa. I’ll always be your daughter, not matter the name I carry.” She glanced down at the two flowers she’d quickly transplanted there. Two beautiful purple flowers. She’d been here often enough, to know those flowers were indeed purple, even if she couldn’t see it now.

With a lightened heart, Araatris made her way slowly back to the Site of Lessons. Inside, she could feel the demon mumble a certain amount of approval. Perhaps, he’d had other thoughts about how this day would end. Perhaps, and just perhaps, those thoughts had passed through her mind, but they were fleeting and did not stay.

“You are human.

You are young.

Is not everything annoying?”

The words had struck more home than she had time to realize when he said that. Tharion was right. But it wasn’t fair, just because he was a night elf and older shouldn’t mean that it was easier for him. Her hands clenched until the knuckles were white. It hurt… reality hurt. Her shoulders shook, but she knew tears would be denied to her. Araatris had made her choice and the pressure of the blindfold and burning in her eyes was a constant reminder.

“I hate you…,” Apparently, she wasn’t denied a stuffy nose as she sniffled.

“No…” The demonic presence in her mind shifted slipped into her thoughts.

Araatris’ head snapped up. In her horrid embarrassment and melancholy, she’d forgotten about him. She berated herself, but didn’t directly respond to the demon.

“You don’t hate him.” The voice sounded disinterested.

“Yes, I do. It’s his fault!” There was a scurry of creatures as she shouted out to the forest.

“I know you. You don’t hate him.” If a voice could shrug, then that’s what the presence did.

Araatris frowned. It was messing with her again. “What? Because he’s -pretty-?” She tried to glare inside her mind.

“Perhaps, but mostly because you know he never made you do this. If it’s anyone’s fault… it’s yours.” The voice was horridly blunt.

“It’s… It’s… not my fault.” Her shoulders began to shake again.

“Do you want to die?” The voice was sharp, and very intense.

Araatris found a similarity in Tharion’s question when she said that it was easier to not speak with the demon manipulating her thoughts. He’d asked, “Will you be mute?” She wasn’t ready to give up, but it hurt. She sniffled again. “N-no.”

Malorin was silent for several moments. “You aren’t sure.” It was not a question.

The thought made Araatris’ heart skip. Was she really unsure about living? The thought terrified her. She trembled. “I’m… I’m sure.”

“Then why do you hide?” Malorin’s voice had relaxed into a mild disinterest again.

“I’m not…” Araatris paused. “I don’t know…” She glowered. “Why are you being nice?”

“I’m not. I’m simply protecting myself.” He growled, “Without you I no longer exist.”

Ah. So there had been an ulterior motive. “So, you’re lying?”

Malorin huffed, “What good would that do, brat? Then, for all I know you’d just get depressed and commit suicide.”

“So, you don’t know me as well as you think you do.” Araatris grinned slightly through the sniffles.

Malorin grumbled, “I know you as well as you know yourself, which isn’t very good. In your current state, you’re worthless. If you don’t know yourself, then you will never be able to master me. Not that I think you’re capable anyway.”

Araatris stared out of the tree hollow. “Maybe you’re right… maybe you’re wrong. If you have access to me, then I should have access to you. Argh! But he said that there was no you and me… this hurts my head.” She shifted and pressed her fingers into her forehead.

He shrugged, “Not my problem. Anyway, how long are you going to sit here and cry, brat? You’re starting to annoy me.”

She twitched, “Good. Now you know how I feel.”

“And stop talking out loud. You echo enough in this empty place without it.” Malorin grinned amused.

“Shut up!” Araatris fumed.

A deep laughter echoed throughout her mind, “That’s it, brat. Fight!”

Araatris paused and slipped out into the rain from the crevice. “You know what, Malorin… I think I will.” Taking off across the damp grass, Araatris’ feet lead her to the satyr village. Malorin’s malicious laughter echoed through her mind in response.

Yet, killing it hadn’t brought her joy. Just a simple release. Araatris held it up into the moonlight and felt an odd feeling she couldn’t explain run through her. It was as if for just a moment, she had been seeing through someone else’s eyes. She yanked the gemstone back down. She honestly had better things to be doing than staring at it.

She could be working about the Site or training, but instead she’d felt the need to be alone. A desperate need to meditate about her path and this gem. A deep shaky breath was taken as Araatris shifted her location.

It was a small moonbeam that reached the forest floor, but would serve her purposes. She sat herself cross-legged and placed the precious stone in her palm. It hummed and vibrated in her hand. It had begun doing this soon after she took possession of it. It was unclear whether it was normal and she’d not had a chance to ask. Araatris wasn’t sure if what she was doing was even a good idea. The crystal certainly didn’t feel pleasant.

Araatris fought the tremble in her arms as she raised it into the moonbeam. A shock ran through her body and froze it as the crystal began screaming. She felt her own mouth echoing the words that she couldn’t understand. Terrified, she was unable to react as she seemed to synchronize with the gemstone.

“You are the one that killed me.” It snarled and seemed to snap within its prison.

“You are mine now.” Araatris tried to sound confident, but her voice cracked in this guttural language.

“A child. Is this what finally did killed me?”

She could hear the sneer in its voice. “I claim you. You will answer to me.”

“Why?”

She sensed it wanted to find out more about her and that seemed dangerous. “You are trapped. You have no choice but to submit.”

It smiled; a gruesome thing that forced itself into her mind. “There is always a choice. You know that. I can sense it. We are alike, you and I.”

“No.” She shook violently.

“I will use you.”

The world shimmered and shook and Araatris found herself lying bereft of dignity. She sprawled on the ground ungainly and a clawed hand grasped her chin. It yanked her head up so that she looked into the eyes of her adversary. The satyr was just as he had been in life and still she found the traces of his previous life fascinating. It spoke plainly with its accompanying grin. “You are helpless, child.”

Her heart pounded, but she forced herself to stare into his eyes. They were mesmerizing, but she focused on the last time she’d seen such eyes up close. She’d thrown herself at that demon and had been blindly trying to kill it. She knew much more now. Her lips curled menacingly.

Without concern for herself, she grasped the demon’s wrist firmly. He seemed amused until Araatris used that as leverage to swing a leg up into his chin. He reeled slightly from the impact, but wasn’t disoriented. A thin scratch marred her cheek. The satyr grinned at the trickle of blood and licked his lips. “So, you want to play?”

Araatris crouched ready for combat, even knowing that there was a chance she might lose without her weapons. She was ready tear him apart with her bare hands if that was what it took. Without warning, the vile creature blurred and disappeared from her sight. It was without warning that that a hoof came crashing into her backside.

She flattened, but rolled aside before he could recover for another blow. Leaping to her feet, Araatris took the offensive, but her blows bounced off his skin until her knuckles and shins were raw. He was really playing with her.

It was easy enough to back off. He was too amused by her attempts and enjoying drawing the fight out. She watched him. This was a dreamscape. Tharion had told her as much about these. And this was as much her dreamscape as his, but… if she gave in. It would be no game, she wouldn’t get out. She hadn’t intended to take it this far, but now that it was the case she had no choice.

The straight forward attacks didn’t work. She needed to find a weak spot. Araatris leapt forward and feinted, a mild look of surprise crossed the satyr’s face as she slipped behind him and punched where his spine was. The hit didn’t connect as he twisted away. His snarl trembled through her body and she stayed firm.

It’d been so simple the entire time. He’d just been protecting his back. It was a pity that she hadn’t connected as now he was on to her plan. He knew she would keep trying for it. Her body tensed and waited for him to attack.

After a moment, the great hoofed creature simply straightened and smiled. “Do you really think it’s going to be that easy?

Araatris smiled. “Not at all, Red. I expect you to fight tooth and claw.”

He walked forward and Araatris held her ground. “It’s a pity you have no claws to fight with.” He shimmed and she felt the presence behind her this time. He leapt upon her like lightning, his blows cuffing her and she saw once again the claws headed towards her face.

“No!” Outside of the dream world, Araatris regained control of her limbs and firmly grasped the gem in her right hand.

Within the dream world, Araatris thrust up her hands and a blade appeared to block the clawed strike. “I have my own claws, monster.” She growled and snarled up at him. Araatris threw him off of her with a boost of strength. “I will not submit to you. Not now… not ever!”

The demon wiped at a small stream of blood from the corner of his mouth. He laughed, “Now this is more like it. Perhaps you are more woman than child!” He stood and gathered himself proudly. “Fight me, woman!”

“Gladly!” Araatris threw herself forward and found herself matching the demon’s pace and footwork. They weaved around the empty landscape like ballroom dancers. Their blows were rhythmic in time as they tested their openings, parried and thrust, dodged and moved. The openings were too far and too little and she could feel herself wearing down. The game had to end.

The creature had slipped up again. Perhaps he tired as well. It was a perfect opening as Araatris slipped under his arm and knocked his hooves out from under him. He was slower to recover than he had been previously and she crouched over his torso. Her blade tip pressed at the base of his neck until it drew blood. He heaved tiredly, but relented as she pressed harder.

The hum quieted as did the voice. She snarled at the crystal, “No… I will use you and your powers to quiet your kind. I will hunt them in the silence and they will not see their death coming. You are mine. Tell to me your true name, demon, so that I might bind you.”

It was soft and carried on the wind, “Malorin Shadowclaw.”

In a voice that Araatris didn’t recognize as her own, and in a musical language she did not speak, her voice rang out. The words they both understood. “I bind thee, Maloris Shadowclaw, by the blood that I have spilt. Thou will obey my call and commands at all times. Do you understand?”

“I understand… Mistress.”

Araatris’ heart pounded in her rib cage as her vision cleared as she stared at the crystal. Her voice was raw from the foreign languages of the demon. It no longer seemed wrong in her hands, but more like an old companion she could call upon. There was no doubt about the path she would follow now. She lowered the gemstone and placed it in a pouch, feeling none of earlier compulsion to hold onto it. She knew that when it was time and she was ready, then it would be as well.

Demon touched
Tainted by the Legion
Our life is such
That we stand our ground

Unseen, Uncared,
Outcast, Ignored
A danger shared
We stand alone

Sacrifice the fright
Sacrifice the Sight
Sacrifice the light
Fel warrior of the night

Who are you to judge us
We stand for you
We ask only for trust
Instead hatred you pursue

Sacrifice the fright
Sacrifice the Sight
Sacrifice the light
Fel warrior of the night

Blinded by ignorance
You fail to see
Blinded by Fel
We choose to fight

Ashamed of our burdens
You outcast your own
Burdered with demons
We find strength

Who is truly lost?

We fight until the end.

Until the Legion’s end.

Until we end.

We are the Netherbane.

Sacrifice the fright
Sacrifice the Sight
Sacrifice the light
Fel warrior of the night

I’m a casual gamer. Do you want to know why I’m a casual gamer? Because I would drive myself insane otherwise. I’m a perfectionist. I don’t like to fail. So, every time some kills me in a game, I fail to kill something, or, in the case of my priest, I fail to keep someone alive… it irks me. A LOT.

I’m no innocent on vent either. I grumble, I curse, but when it’s all over I’m ready to try again unless I’m exhausted and I try to be optimistic. As someone who has been playing computer games since they were too young to remember it on a Commodore 64, I think I may have a bit of pride just because I’ve been playing games that long.

After all, I’m a girl gamer. I want to be taken seriously and not like a bit of fluff. So, I don’t like to be told I’m doing something wrong. I like to learn things myself and figure out my own style. It was part of the reason I’d avoided healing mods and blogs for the longest time. However, I realized that I don’t need to do all of that. I can be proud of how I play no matter what. It’s gotten me this far. It doesn’t matter how I do it.

I have a Nostromo page for my left hand. I have it set up differently that anyone else I know. I use all the buttons on my keypad for abilities. I scroll to select different sets of abilities (the different color sets for the device). By now, I bet you’re wondering how I move. I use the thumb-stick… (waits for explosion).

I use my mouse to turn, but I use my scroll wheel forward to auto-run, scroll back to jump. And I still mouse click some things. I also use Heal-Bot so I have a lot of spell bound onto all of my mouse buttons… and I don’t have Alt, Ctrl, or Shift bound even though I have keys bound to them.

Speaking of which… does anyone regularly re-evaluate how they’re playing to see if they need to redo things? I tend to have a spring cleaning where I evaluate how my current setup has been working and what I’d like to do to make it quicker and better.

I’m half-way tempted to just grab clique and get rid of Heal-Bot, but I’m not sure yet.

Just playing with ideas. I’ve gotten side-tracked, but really what I want to say is that we can all be proud of our gaming accomplishments no matter how we play. That goes for @geekgirldiva and many others out there.

Rock on and play hard!

1) Skill
Skill is something you only get from experience. Sometimes it’s just a certain fight or with your class and abilities. I dual spec and I know that there are times that I’m not using my abilities to their utmost. I would love to say that I react perfectly every time, but I’m only human. You know that Desperate Prayer button. It sits under my left ring finger for fight after fight and guess what? When I actually need it, I still forget to press it. I’m constantly working to improve myself and my skill to use more and more of my abilities to their fullest.

2) Spec
I’m dual spec. One’s Holy and the other is Disc. Again, I’m pretty sure they’re not perfect and when I get a moment, I’ll research and update them. It happens, especially when they update talents and suddenly one talent is more useful than another. Again, this is something as a player I work on.

I know there are several people who have asked me why I dual spec’ed healing if I’m not always raiding. First, if I want to DPS… I’ll hop on my mage. It’s much more satisfying for me. *grins* Second, I find that certain fights can require a different style of healing. I’m particularly attached to Disc, but I find Holy can be very useful when I lot of people are taking damage.

3) Gear
No matter my skill. No matter if I have the latest uber spec. There are times when my gear is just not up to snuff for the job. And I have thrown myself at that wall desperately to try and get my group through a fight… and sometimes I scrape by through luck. Luck, is just that, luck. You want to be able to make it through a fight consistently through hard work, not just luck.

I recognize that. I have accepted that. Last week, I struggled with some of the Heroic ICC 5 mans. I failed at 10 man TOC. So, I looked at my slightly better than Naxx gear and said, “You aren’t doing it for me anymore.” I took a serious step back and realized that if I really wanted to main heal for my tank, then I needed to up my gear to be able to handle what was dished out to him.

I still have more upgrades to go, but after a week of gearing up through our local PUG finder and hitting certain heroics for upgrades, I’m starting to not dread the Heroic ICC 5 mans. I’ve worked hard to get my reputations up and I can now get great helm and shoulder enchants. I’m starting to look forward to seeing what I can do in 10 man TOC.

I’m not confident. After all, you succeed or fail as a team. I know now that I’m doing my best for my group. I can make flasks for them. I can drop down a fish feast. I can give out enchants through my alt for those who need them. I’m doing my best to give my group the best chance we have… and if we do well, maybe we can start looking at doing the 10 man ICC. So, here’s to hoping.

Good luck to all you casual raiders out there that have similar goals!

A real GM has their Name <GM> (unless they changed it while I wasn’t looking). Any other way and I would count it as suspicious. Also, you wouldn’t still be in game if you were actually suspended. Also, you can’t right click and Report Spam on a GM. I suggest you use that ability if you’re suspicious.

This particular scam sends you to account5.com. DO NOT GO THERE. My husband luckily had something that blocked suspicious webpages, but this is not an official Blizzard page.

Please be careful clicking any links that you receive in game. Also check and see if the source is creditable.

Be careful and happy playing!

I’m here doing my fishing daily and a guy on a mage runs up behind me as says “rawr” in say. No punctuation. No capitalization. Not done as an emote. This doesn’t say to me RPer, however, I decided in the end to emote back. I wanted to see how he would react.

“Lannia glances over her shoulder and turns back to fishing.” Not as friendly as I normally am, but I didn’t really expect a response. What I got was a surprise as he hopped off his mount and emoted.

“X frowns, ‘That’s no way to greet someone.’” By the way, neither is rawr.

I try to respond, but the mage is blinking about and going invisible and against my normal reaction I look about for him and ask if he wants to speak with me. He acts a bit flighty, but not too bad. Finally, as I get tired of waiting for him to come back I start to walk back to the pier and he pops next to me and starts talking.

He was a rather nice guy. And in the end, it was fun. My first impression of the guy was less than pleasant though. If you’re trying to test the waters and see if someone wants to RP, please try to avoid some of the things that griefers do. Like getting in your face and saying random stuff like rawr.

Instead, do what you might in real life to get someone’s attention. “Hey Miss! Do you have a moment?” or “Would you like some company?” are much more RP friendly ways to start a conversation. So, just think for a moment, how would you react to a simple “rawr” in say?

I’ve been a gamer and an RPer for longer than the internet as we know it today has existed. That means that I was playing Dungeons and Dragons and games on the original home computers. What does that matter?

I have 23 years of experience in both (and no… that’s not my age, I’m 28). I’ve also been writing since then. I was 5 years old. Sure, I was a terrible gamer, RPer, and writer back then, and I’m still improving now. The most important thing is my love for them.

I played the original Warcraft games for hours. Funny enough… I refused to play Alliance. The Horde was so much for much with their dragons and ogres and trolls. I played against my friends mostly. The game was simple enough in those incarnations and I’d moved on to other games like Quake by the time that Warcraft 3 came out.

It wasn’t until years later that my nostalgia was reawakened by my friends after college. I heard that a friend of a friend was playing a Warcraft MMO. I’d never been interested in most games like that. They seemed to be glorified chat boxes or looked like crud to me, but it was Warcraft.

And that friend of a friend… he’s one of my best friends now. Tharion Greyseer, aka Richard Powell, who runs Lorecrafted, Madness and Insanity, and Raptor13. He is also the Guild Master, Shan’do, of the Netherbane.

I find myself still playing the game years later. Despite times that I got fustrated and didn’t want to, I’m still here. And I still love the game. I haven’t done any great achievements in game. I haven’t raided the newest content. I don’t even really PVP. But the story keeps me and my characters alive.

I love learning about all of the angles of the world. From the story to the design, Blizzard has created a remarkable experience. Some day, I want to be able to experience all their classes, lead a raid, and enjoy all the content. For now, though, I simply enjoy the story as I go. I look for the neat little things that have been added for fun. WoW has many possibilities for me to still enjoy and many goals that I can reach for.

Lannia Winterstorm is my first WoW character and an icon for me. She will always be the first on my list to work with because of that. Perhaps, I’m emotionally invested in her. But, should I ever step away permanently, I will miss my characters. They are representations of the time that I have spent enjoying the game and the people.

To those of you I’ve met on Twitter because of WoW, I want to say a heartfelt thank you. I never imagined that I would like Twitter at all, but all of you make it an enjoyable place for me.

Thank you for reading. May Elune look kindly upon your WoW endeavors. *grins*