To anyone who is reading this:

This is the story of how I got here. This is the story of how I died. But it begins a long time ago and very far away, in the outskirts of Gilneas, during the civil war.

My name is Wilhelmine Spinel Adderly and I am the only one who's left of the old jewelcrafters' family. Both my brothers, Nathaniel and Edric fell victims to the war that raged higher and higher. We were all faithful royalists, but deep inside I knew this was a losing fight against Crowley's troops. They were well organized, trained and had ample supplies of weaponry, which they didn't hesitate to use. The worse part of it all came when the undead started to profit from our inner conflicts and put the small kingdom under heavy siege. I myself closed my shop and took a sword and a shield to help protect Gilneas from outer enemies so that the inhabitants could fight their own war in peace again.

Doesn't that sound crazy? Indeed it did, to me. But I wasn't surprised, and you shouldn't be either, dear reader. Gilneas was in the process of utter destruction. Though prosperous, the kingdom was never expansive. In our wisdom, we were overjoyed about having our beloved Greymane Wall, which would forever protect us, proud citizens of Gilneas, from the outer threats. Oh how foolish we all were.

The Greymane Wall did protect us for quite some time. Nevertheless, it became our doom when the Curse came. It started spreading among our people and because of the wall there was no escape. Even if there was, undead armies of decayed corpses which were suspiciously good with weapons kept waiting outside and slaughtered anyone who tried to run. I was positive there was no worse place on the whole Azeroth. And again, I was wrong.

But there were only a few ways out of this miserable situation. The first and the most probable was death. That easy. Plenty of ways to reach it. I could either try to cross the gates and be killed by our own soldiers or by the undead on the other side; or, I could run in the opposite direction and hurl myself off of a cliff. Or, I could as well wait until night falls, then go out in the streets without any escort. Soon I would see the glowing eyes of what used to be one of my fellow citizens, now a worgen. Yes, that was the Curse. No one was safe. You didn't need to get bit by a worgen to become one too, it just happened. One day you wake up and stretch your legs, the next day you wake up and stretch your paws. Beautiful. Actually, this was what I feared the most. Not being eaten by a worgen – I feared becoming one.

Suddenly, worgen were everywhere. They became a constant threat, because they were tall, muscular, had large sharp teeth and their claws were like bloody daggers. But worst of all, they were reckless, aggressive, well, they didn't hesitate to ravage, kill and eat their still human family members.

There were rumors among the soldiers that this fight could not be won, so our beloved King and Darius Crowley both agreed it would be better to leave the kingdom and evacuate all the citizens. Soon, these rumors were proved right. Magi started creating portals for the kingdom's nobility. Unfortunately, I, as a common soldier, did not get the opportunity to use such a portal, even though in the past I used to be rich. The only ones who would vouch for me were missing.

Carl Ripley was one of them.

Carl… My Carl. He used to be one of my employees, the only one who didn't leave after my brothers died. He was forced to leave though, when I shut down the jewelry and precious metals trade and closed the manufactory and the shop so that we could all join the fights. Disappointed by my decision he left, along with his girlfriend Joanna. Neither of them shared my patriotism. I didn't know where they had gone until they knocked on my door one night.

"Willie! Willie, open the damn door!" The beating on my heavy wooden door sounded desperate.

I was afraid, so I took a heavy sword and slowly approached the entrance. "Who's there?" I was ready to strike down anyone who would look just a little suspicious.

"It's me, Carl! I'm with Jo, she needs help! Now! Open, Willie, please!"

I don't think I've ever heard his voice this broken. I opened the door and as I glanced at Carl carrying Joanna on his scrawny shoulders, I knew I've done right to invite them inside. Carl lowered Jo's infirm body on the couch in the entrance hall. That's where I got curious.

"What happened? Were you attacked? Are you alright?" I tried to feel Joanna's pulse and it was surprisingly fast. I couldn't believe how that was possible, as she lay there passed out.

Carl rose from his crouched position next to Jo and started walking around the hall. "Listen, Willie. I need to tell you something. Just don't freak out…"

"Why should I..? Carl, you are my most trusted friend, there is no reason to…"

"I'm a worgen."

I stood there shocked for a while. Then I shook my head. "Can't be. Are you joking? Because it's not funny. Gilneas is bloody full of those beasts and they're lurking in every – bloody – shadow. I almost didn't let you two in so please don't…" The look in his eyes silenced me immediately.

"Willie, you have to believe me."

"But… but Carl, are you out of your mind? Hey, look." I reached for a silver-framed mirror and brought it to him. "You are not a worgen. Worgen look like wolverines. See? No fur on your face, no long muzzle, no claws, no… OH BLOODY HELL!"

His irises, usually blue, changed color to bright yellow in the mirror image I was looking at. I dropped it, and the mirror shattered to a thousand shards on the hardwood floor. Before I could do anything else Carl caught me by my shoulders and held me firmly in front of him, but his eyes were blue. "Sorry, man. I thought I saw…"

"Yeah, you saw right. Now listen to me. You don't have to be afraid of me, I can control it. There are some of us who can too, but the majority is still beasts. It looks like Jo is becoming a worgen too, but I can't say how intact her humanity will remain." He sighed heavily. "I still believe that there's a way to cure the insanity, if not the Curse itself. But you, you have to leave. It is not safe out there anymore."

Jo chose that moment to start changing into a worgen. I have never seen such a disgusting thing before.

She woke up with a scream so deep I couldn't believe it was her own voice. I could just imagine she was in terrible pain, as her limbs stretched and started misshaping. Huge claws grew quickly from the end of her fingers, and what used to be her toenails ripped through her leather boots and left them destroyed beyond any repair. Her brown hair formed a huge mane on the top of her now wolf-like head and on her light-toned skin a thick layer of brown pelt started growing very fast. She threw herself on all fours while shaking uncontrollably, her clothes tensing almost to the point of tearing. Joanna also grew in height. While her body was shifting into worgen form, she kept panting heavily, as if trying to suppress a pain never before experienced.

I thought I was going to toss my cookies, but then she looked at me and I saw rage in her eyes, the kind of rage only a very badly hurt person can feel.

Many things happened in the coming split-seconds.

One. Joanna was prepared to jump at me and tear me to shreds…

Two. Carl shifted shape and launched himself at raging Joanna.

Three. I saw nothing as couldn't manage to keep my eyes open.

Four. I heard Carl's rough, misplaced voice. "Jo! It's me, me! Don't you recognize me? Don't you remember? We… we talked about this…"

Five. I opened my eyes and saw two furry, fleshy monsters fighting in the entrance hall of my house.

Six. With Joanna pinned down on the floor, Carl kept panting heavily but he maintained eye-contact with her. She seemed calmer.

Yes, dear reader, Carl Ripley and Joanna Honeygold were among the first worgen able to think. I do not know where they ended up or if they still happen to be alive, but they deserve all honor. They showed me that it was possible to escape Gilneas alive. With their help, I managed to get on a journey that would later lead me to the glorious city of Stormwind.

*the page is concluded by a drawing of a styled lion and the crest of Stormwind.

A note from the author: Hello everyone.
This is the first page of the Memoirs of my WoW character Wilhelmine. It is not roleplay, just pure fiction. This first part is meant to be cryptic, especially the first three sentences. I dare you, dear reader, to guess what this story is going to be about, why it is in the form of a journal / live memories, and how it will end. A constructive review or ten will be much appreciated.

R&R & enjoy

Nioba