It happens that sometimes mates are separated due to their duties. Such is the way with Kharendos and Araatris. Try as they might, they often have their own training and travels that do not coincide. It is, therefore, a great pleasure and relief to see each other after being away.

In the presence of others they are calm and polite, but the way that they stay close speaks of their still newfound love. The embraces, the smiles, the gentle clasp of her tiny hand held so gently by his, the soft whispers between them, and on occasion… the gentle flush of Araatris’ cheeks.

Araatris is always eager to rest early of those nights; forgoing the rest of her normal training. They drank in each other’s presence in the privacy of their little tree den. They loved each other as only mates do with whispered words of devotion in the quiet night. When all is said and done though, they stay ever alert, for it would not do well to be caught unprepared in the most vulnerable of their moments.

Tonight Kharendos tugged Tris’ favorite attire in place, the warm fabric covering her skin from the slight breeze that eased in the entrance. The night was always pleasantly cool here. A fact that she was grateful for at this moment. Araatris snuggled back down into their bed and his embrace.

Her fingers played lightly at the buckle of his kilt for a moment before moving to wrap around him. Kharendos’ hand ran through her crimson tresses and she found what was left of the stresses from the week ease away. Araatris nuzzled into his chest sleepily. As her breathe slowly evened out into the sweet oblivion of sleep, Kharendos smiled gently at her.

He spoke softly, “I love you, Tris… much more than words can say.”

“I love you too, Khar.”

It was a sleepy mumble that barely reached his ears, but made him grin all the more. Kharendos listened intently one more time to check for trouble before he too let himself relax and fall asleep. There the two unlikely mates coiled in a tangled of limbs. A testament against the darkness that threatened to consume them.

Alright, alright. My 2 cents on Cataclysm. Some of it from an RP perspective and some from mechanics. It’s a bit of a rant, so it’s okay if you don’t feel like reading. These are all from my personal views and experiences and you may feel completely different. It’s perfectly valid to have different opinions based on gameplay. I would hate it if we all played the same, so I’m glad you have that different opinion. I just may not agree with it.

A few weeks into beta and Blizzard’s making some bold moves. This isn’t the first time they’ve done something so bold, but needless to say it always worries the community. We have a few more months. If you have worries, then people in the beta probably have the same concerns and are providing feedback already. If you get into beta, then provide constructive criticism once you’ve tried it.

Don’t knock til you try it.

Yeah, I’m worried about missing my Divine Spirit. Having been a Disc priest for so long, it’s going to be weird not having that buff. But, I want to try it before I worry about it. They say we don’t need it. We probably won’t. I am a bit concerned that they kept the Lightwell. Great spell in theory, but I rarely see it used. It requires two things: a group trained to use it and DPS having the opportunity to walk over and use it. In the AOE battles of today… it’s hard. It’s almost useless in some fights. I can’t even imagine using it on Marrowgar. However, I prefer my Disc spec.

I like condensing the talents. Looks like we’re going to still have plenty of room to move about. Locking us into one talent tree until we finish it? I don’t mind that so much. When I’m leveling a character I tend to do that anyway. Just like old days we’re going to have about 10 points to go into other trees. Same flexibility as vanilla in that respect. As long as we don’t have…”trash” talents that no one wants, then I think we’ll see variations in builds. It would be nice to see less “cookie cutter” builds. I’m not really going to comment on Mage or Rogue trees. I don’t raid with either one and I don’t feel I have the grasp of them to say anything.

I will comment on CC though. I love crowd control. I use it. I abuse it. Solo or not, I really, really like it. Leveling, I shackled, sheeped, and have sapped my way up. Maybe you can just beat it down with AOE, but I find the dynamics of crowd control much more fun.

I remember shackling through Scholo, Strat, and Naxx. Heck, I even shackled in ICC 5 mans. Why? It makes things easier. That means though that you have to move you AOE away from my shackle. That means you actually need to coordinate who you’re attacking. It means… OMG… you have to mark your targets. I played back in vanilla when you had to coordinate without AOE awesomesauce or having marks built into the game. I do not feel the current AOE design allows for the building of teamwork. It’s great for PUGs, but that’s about the only allowance I can make on it.

Cataclysm is supposed to bring that back. Blizzard, thank you. The number of times that a well-placed CC has saved my priest’s life is more than I can count. Especially when fade or shadowmeld was on cooldown. Most importantly, you’re giving purpose to these abilities again. I know that I hate having that spell on my bar that I never ever use. Or worse yet… you need it after nearly a year of not using it and you have to find the dang thing. To me, it’s important that the abilities that you give us have a purpose. Especially an entire category like CC, so I hope that you do bring them back. As much as I fussed about trying to heal and CC at the same time… it added an exciting dynamic and challenged me in a new way. We need those types of challenges.

Oh yeah… and fishing. Please, please, please change it! I fall asleep at my keyboard. I can’t believe that was ever your intention for fishing. PLEASE! Thanks! I hope I see changes in the later beta builds. Although I’ll have to rely on others for that information since I’m not in beta. ^_^;

Now, I said that I was going to touch on RP. Yeah, yeah. I know. This is an RP blog and I’ve been spouting mechanics for several paragraphs. Thanks for being patient if you’ve survived thus far. *grins* I think Cataclysm will be opening up tons of RP. After all, the entire world is changing. I’ll try not to be specific as I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone that doesn’t want it, but I can give some general ideas.

Guildhouses. Tons of RP guilds have an area that they hang out. You might want to have a backup plan/story/plot just in case yours isn’t there come Cataclysm. There’s a good chance that even if it’s there changes might have occurred. Be prepared. Where will you go? How will the loss of something affect you? Do you have RP memories associated with it?

Bosses coming back. For me, this is awesome. I love how this will affect one of my characters. Serephim despises one with a passion. It could put her in extreme danger. Will she become his unwilling minion? Will she stay his worst enemy? Are there any bosses that are going to affect your character? What about the new races? What about choices your faction/race is making? How does that make your character feel?

Every change is an RP opportunity. Look for them. Use them to your advantage. Let the world that Blizzard is changing influence your character. It’ll add a fun and new dynamic.

Most of all, realize that Cataclysm is still in beta. What we see now will not be the final product. There’s plenty of time for feedback and change. I know that I’m looking forward to see what Blizzard will do. And like most, I too am hitting refresh on my battle.net account and hoping to see the beta invite. Until then, I will have to rely on all of you for my information. Thank you!

Kill him.

Mal, I’m getting really tired of your advice. Why don’t you shut it?

You’re being a fool. He’s lying to you. He’s a threat.

He’s my father.

Let me put this in terms that you can understand, child, since you listen to him so well. He is keeping the truth from you, yes? See him as he is now, Araatris, and not as he was. Do not let your feelings cloud your judgment.

I told you to never do that.

Nonetheless, it has made my point. Wake up, child.

Araatris started as she sat up. She’d chosen a spot to rest since she hadn’t made it back to the Site of Lessons before she needed to rest. It was her fault for choosing a longer patrol, but after everything, she needed some time to herself. Patrols made it easier to think and she could train as she traveled. She purposely chose difficult paths that forced her to concentrate her sight to see the dangers. It had helped to sharpen her vision.

Honestly, everyone seemed like they were close to the breaking point. She was no exception. Her rest was short and often filled with vivid images or Malorin making himself known. There were times when it was difficult to tell if she was awake or dreaming. Only the physical sensation of other people or training grounded her.

The thought of her own father made her sick. Sick with fear and worry. Thoughts of Ryni made her breath catch and she wondered if it had been the right decision to support Ryni following Sedrai. She wondered if she was okay. Thoughts of Tharion made her worry as she watched more and more weight set upon his shoulders and there was nothing she could do. They kept meaning to meet and work on her training, but like most things, it seemed less important in the overall picture. So, she managed herself as best she could. She pushed herself and used what she could get out of Malorin. But she had to admit their training had been a bit sparser and shorter than it used to be.

It wasn’t his fault and Araatris didn’t mind in most ways. She was concerned that she was falling behind though. Next thing she’d know Ryni would be blinded and bound. Still, she felt she was making good progress. Immolation, while still challenging, was possible to use in combat now. It was still a bit… wild though. Additional control should come with practice.

Pausing along the path, Araatris turned slightly and headed towards Aszhara. No one would miss her if she took a detour for a bit in Aszhara. The demon hunter there left her mostly to her own business except when she had questions. She found a strange calmness there with him and his fel hound companions. She’d taken to meditating there at times. Perhaps, she would take advantage of its effect and try to sleep.

Sleep was something that eluded Araatris much of the time. Too many thoughts and being unable to close her eyes due to the felsight created a perfect environment for insomnia. It was one of the many things that she avoided mentioning to others. They had enough to worry about. When it got too bad, she’d drug herself to sleep for a day to rest. She always did it when Kharendos was nearby. She wasn’t sure if he’d realized what she was doing yet.

It was this lack of sleep that also allowed her to make stupid choices. What the hell had she been thinking offering herself as evidence in front of Tsunomi and Aneesh to the druid Feyldrinn? She’d hoped that he’d trade for the book. But Tsunomi had gotten at least part of what of the book back without the need of the offer.

And that priestess, Araatris knew that somehow she was the cause of the druid discomfort, but had been unable to find out anything. The only thing she got out of it was a memento. She wondered briefly if Tharion would know what they were and clutched the obsidian prayer beads hanging off her belt. The crescent moon in the center bounced off her thigh as she traveled.

The worst thing, her gut instinct was telling her to listen to both Tharion and Malorin. Araatris had a dark feeling that she wouldn’t like what she saw if she truly decided to look at her father. It was a terrible feeling, but his actions… his words… were already leaning towards something she didn’t want to believe. She would need to steel herself. She would have to meet with him again. It could be that when he answered, it may not be the answer she would want.