Greetings! This is just a place for me to say a few words about the history of the writing and the direction it is headed in. For those who wish to get straight to the story, please feel free to jump to the next chapter. For the small number that may remain, please pull up a chair.

I would like to take this opportunity, first, to sincerely thank you for reading my story. Every time I see the view count go up or get a notification that someone has added me to their favorites; well, it just brings me a whole hell of a lot of joy to know someone out there enjoyed my work. That's the whole reason I put these words on (digital) paper rather than keeping them locked up inside my head.

This story began life as my submission to Blizzard's Global Writing Contest 2010. Since I reside in a state that was ineligible to participate, there was no chance of me winning. Still, you never know what might happen and I submitted anyways. Hollywood would have you believe that someone at the company recognized the talent despite the disqualifying location and try to find someway to reward my perseverance, perhaps with a staff writing position. Well, Hollywood is a lying harpy. It was flagged for deletion before a pair of human eyes ever saw it.

Now, I will fully admit that I can be a vain and self-centered individual at times, especially when it comes to something I created. I felt the story deserved better than automatic erasure. Thankfully, the Internet has many, many sites dedicated to inflating the ego of the self-proclaimed literary genius. I posted the story on several separate locations and decided that would be the end of it.

It wasn't.

Many times when I write something, after I decide that it's over, it is very much over. But something peculiar happened with this story: the characters refused to leave me be. Calen was upset I glossed over such an obscene amount of time. Nessa continued to bully her way into other works under different names and dressings, but it was very clearly her. Torrick, in that pompously bombastic voice of his, would sanctimoniously tell me that he wasn't finished with me yet. Myrella had secrets she wished to share. A crowd of people, somehow at the same time familiar yet their faces foggy and indistinct, called to me from blank spaces between pages.

When paper speaks, you either listen or you double your meds. Well, I began jotting down notes and pretty soon, they began to dwarf the original script. As it stood, the original story's 7500 word limit made it a fairly succinct short-story which, I felt, wrapped up nicely. My quasi-legible notes for the supplemental material nearly equal that, and they're not done yet.

So, to sum up, things are going to be changing with this tale. Events merely hinted at will be expanded, locations mentioned in passing will be explored, old faces will reappear, and new faces will be introduced. I've received a number of messages asking if the end is truly the end. You would think, as the writer, I would know the answer to such questions. The problem is that this is the most organic story I've written in a long time. It has grown in the telling and taken on a life wholly of its own. Many times, I will be just as surprised as you by turns of events. However, I will say this much. Death is cheap in the Warcraft universe. To me, that fact is abhorrent and lessens the impact that death has. I strive to maintain the finality of things. Of course, you can strive all you want against a river, but eventually you must follow its course.

So, again, thanks to you, O, Intrepid Reader, for all the thoughtful comments, genuine criticisms, and heartfelt praise. I am truly humbled by the response this story has provoked and I hope that you will enjoy the further adventures that loom upon the horizon.