Rated M for later chapters.
Violence, language and suggestive themes.
I don't own Warcraft or any of the places mentioned or NPC's named. Original characters and plot are mine, however.
To my dearest daughters,
Happy Birthday, Arìs, Jae.
My dear Arìs, you are finally eighteen, a true ground breaking year. You've bloomed into a darling young woman. When you came into my life, the beginning of a new chapter was being written in the story of my existence. I dearly hope you've taken care of Jae, despite the troubles of the past. I knew that she would always look up to you, look to you for guidance while I am away. You mean so much to her, Arìs. I always knew that great things would come from you; you're so smart and intrigued about the world around you, you've always been since you were a toddler. (As dangerous as it can be sometimes.) Your mother would have been so proud to see you. You've always looked just like her, you've inherited her spirit and fire, the very thing that I loved about her. You're so very talented. When I saw your eyes grow alight at the gizmo's inside your tinker toys – why I knew, as dangerous as it is, that you would become an amazing craftsman. My, you are a true Paladin; honor the light with your grace and charisma. But personally – give 'em hell!
And to my lovely nymph child, Jae. Still a growing young girl, happy fifteenth birthday. Honey, you're so bright and charming. I truly hope your older sister has taken care of you since I left for the war. And to that, also, I apologize. As you will come to discover, war tears existence apart... But I'll leave that for another time. I can't imagine what you've gone through in your life, and again, I apologize. Aside from that, I knew that you would be raised well in the hands of the Horde with your sister. You belonged with your mother's people, they seemed... to be more excepting. I dearly hope that you have held your sisters hand in dark and uncertain times. I hardly know anything about you... and to that I am disheartened. I have heard, however, that you have taken up the darker arts of magic. I'm sure you're merely curious.. But careful, a warlock is borderline necromancer. And to that, I warn you. Someday I hope to meet you, to hug and kiss you, and maybe weep with you in my arms.
I think of you both every day of my life, when I face the reckless scourge demons with hellfire and chaos. My demon Chiinom keeps my company, when you both, or your mother cannot. She guides me every day – your mother. And to that, I am thankful.
With honest and sincere love,
Your father, Nicholas.
Southshore and the foothills of Hillsbrad had seen gloomier days, brighter of days. The sky held dark ominous clouds; a sky that glistened light on the evergreen pines during the summer, dropped snow onto the noses of the children as they played, and on days such as this – brightened the world though wails of agony echoed in the distance. Thoughts that loomed in the minds of two beings, breaking their hearts but opening the door to a new era in their existence. Acceptance and grief. But be fair warned, grief erodes the soul – destroying the two most important cores of a person. The heart and mind. Grief brings too many painful memories... Too much, too much... Don't fall to it... as tempting as her emptiness can bring.
But eyes were also awakened. When a door closes, another opens. Another chance... It's a hard thing to get over, nonetheless.
No, Hillsbrad had certainly seen far more horrible days, brighter days in it's time of existence since the dawn of creation. It had seen bloodshed, famine, plague and drought, and last but not least, murder. From the burning of the man of wood at Hallows Eve and the first cool day of fall, to the blooming of the orchards, their sweet scents and nectars that were sold worldwide around Azeroth. It was a land of beauty and grace, as well as treachery and misery. But no, don't let that take you down... Right?
One could say that the Undead, whether the Forsaken of Tarren Mill or beings of the Scourge, had been the cause of such... mishaps in the serene perfection of Hillsbrad. Despite the destruction that indeed the Scourge had brought, the Forsaken seemed to bring a contrast to the land. The small town proved to the many, to everyone, that nothing cannot have balance. A candle cannot light a dark path without the shadows following quietly along. Of course, despite these ideas, the truth of the matter is, the Undead did not cause such tragedies.
No, it was simply just the way things were. Again, a balance was obviously present. How humans could not understand this, I did not know. But there were several, several things that I do know. That people change over time; no one stays the same – nothing, nothing stays the same. People grow older, wiser... No, what a farce. Only some do. But how? How can some humans age, while others...well to say simply, fall behind. This was a known fact. People change when their environment changes. We adapt to the conditions, the circumstances when they arise. When we are faced with a problem, we fight it head on... or some of us, rather, become cowards. Challenges shape who we become. I can clearly state this as a fact. For I've faced many challenges, many trials over the ages. And for that, I have matured.
Quite simply, this land meant everything to me, and everything... to her. Why, so many things are tied up to the land. Gosh, it's truly the only thing that will never abandon you. Land – why, it's your home! The place where you can always find comfort, sanctuary, even in the darkest of times. Why, land is something worth fighting for. It can never leave you; it may dry and whither, but someday it will come back. Blood may spill, but the clay will be cleansed each time it rains. Whether it is something you prize or not, land is apart of us all, and therefore should be respected. It provides us with life – the very things we need to live! Why, what would the world be without a glorious landscape to gaze upon! Why, it would be nothing. Mere dust.
But to everything we had... Everything we could have had. If only I had known sooner, that things would end like this. I would have been such a better, more empathetic person, gosh... if I had been, things would have been entirely different. But that's life. You can't change the past, you can't change the world of yesterday, for it's already etched in stone. But what if... what if I could?
No, fate tends to twist and turn in countlessly unimaginable ways. Ways, that I never saw coming – No. Ways that neither of us saw coming.
As much as I despised her thirst for mana, the sole energy source of her race, her sarcasm and hypocrisy, somehow.. somehow we fell in love. Our love was mad, uncontrollable and somehow it twisted my heart to pieces when … No. Hillsbrad was more a land of elegance and nature's sheer beauty, that mankind had contorted with progress and destruction. It was a battlefield waiting to be ignited with passion and death. No one saw it coming. Why? No one really knows. It simply just happened.
If only we knew...