Hello there everyone, and welcome to my first piece of work to date! I've always wanted to try my hand at this sort of thing, so I thought, "Why not?", and went right ahead with it. For this reason, I apologize for any stupid editing mistakes to come! This is only the first chapter, and starts off a bit slow. However, there should be more to enjoy later on.

So let's begin the tale of Gillian Koch.....

-Note: I do not own Warcraft, or any related places, ideas and characters


Chapter One: Humble Beginnings

Flames blazed, lights flashed, and vapors filled the air. In the middle of this symphony of sound and steam stood one man, his hands almost unseen in their swift movements. In front of him was a table, laden with every foodstuff known to man, and many more unknown. His face locked with determination, he swung his knife back and forth, mincing and dicing as it went. A bead of sweat formed on his head and as it fell, he caught it with his free hand. The recipe would be perfect, the epitome of culinary cuisine. Suddenly, with both hands he gathered the mass together and threw it all into the vapors above him. As they reached the height of their flight, he spun around and grab a plate from the table, turned back, and caught each and every morsel as it fell. Grinning now that his task was almost complete, he turned toward the oven at his side and placed his creation inside. Seconds went by, then minutes. To the man, it seemed like an eternity had passed. Finally, he leaned over and pulled his grand concoction from its cave and, after a moment's inspection, threw up both arms at held it in the air.

"At last!", he cried, tears of happiness and achievement running down his face, "It is finally completeཀ A feast like no other man has seen beforeཀ". To this, an invisible crowd began to clap and cheer, their eulogies echoing in the small room. The man began bowing and parading the dish around. This was the happiest moment of his life....

Through the boughs of trees and bushes on the ground, light illuminated the forest like a sea of gold as the sun rose up above the mountains. As the birds sang their waking songs and the life of day came back into the woods, a young man twisted in his bed then opened his eyes with a groan. Yet another night came and went, and with it came his recurring dream of greatness and grandeur. This had been the third time in two weeks he had the dream, and by now he found it quite strange. Shaking his head to rid himself of his weariness, he rose and began to dress for the day ahead.

Gillian Koch was a bright young man, with a head full of youthful dreams and inspiration. People found this strange, as he was already 23 and still believed the all the problems in the world could be solved if people just sat down and had a nice talk about it.

He was average height, five feet tall and close to six, but slimly built. His chestnut colored hair was reflected by his equally brown eyes, eyes that always seemed to be observing and searching. Gillian had an adventuring spirit, always wiling to try new things and explore new places. However, his real passion lay in the culinary arts, the craft of cooking. It had been his dream since he was a small lad to become a master chef and to know every recipe a man could ever conceive,

so to further himself towards his goal he became an apprentice cook at the Lion's Pride Inn at the age of 15.

Fully dressed in a modest pair of wool trousers and matching red shirt, Gillian left the cottage began walking down the path from his home on the outskirts of Goldshire so to begin the day's work. His family had since moved to Stormwind City, simply for the security they felt behind it's vast grey walls, but he had opted to stay behind to continue his work and watch over the house. Now alone on the path, his thoughts turned back to the dream from the previous night. Every other night it returned, and each time it seemed more and more as if he was really there, as if it were real. But last night, it was different. He had never the completed the dish before, and even now still did not know what he had achieved. That was the strangest part of it all, he decided. Not even knowing what it was or where he had been, he felt more proud of himself in the dream than any time when he had been awake. At this point, the small hamlet of Goldshire came into view, it's small buildings and smokestacks emerging from the tree line. Gillian cleared

any thoughts of the dream from his head and headed into the village.

Along the streets, citizens talked and gossiped while traders from the surrounding areas peddled their wares. Gillian, a veteran of their persistent persuading, passed most of them by. Before he could reach the end of the street though, a man he recognized stopped him and pulled him to the side. An older man with hair already greying and eyes like gimlets , Remy "Two Times" was known for his shady business dealing and reputation for repetition.

"Hey there Mr. Koch, got any gold dust for me today...for me today?", he said to Gillian, giving him a toothy grin. Gillian chuckled and patted the man on the shoulder, then shook his head.

"Sorry Remy, but not today. I'd love to chat for a while, but I really have to get to work.", he said apologetically. Remy stared at him for a moment, then gave Gillian a sad sigh.

"Such a shame....such a shame...". Giving him another small pat, Gillian walked away from the man and headed towards the inn.

The Lion's Pride Inn was the center of Goldshire culture, where all gossip, current events, and tellers of both eventually arrived. Its reputation as one of the best inn's around was well earned, and its hospitality was equally renowned. Gillian skipped in through the main entrance and wove his way through the crowd that had already formed inside, even though it was still early in the morning. He finally pushed through the throng of people and, pausing only to put on an apron that was previously hanging on the wall, headed into the kitchen. It was an old fashioned room with dark stone walls, furnished only with cupboards for storing knives and other cooking utensils, with stairs leading to the cellar where the food was kept. In the corner a fire roared under the chimney, while in front of it a tall, burlesque man patiently turned a spit over the flame. At the sound of another person entering his domain, the man turned and looked at Gillian.

"Gillian, my lad!", the man bellowed happily, "How are you?". He walked up to Gillian and smacked him playfully on the back. "Another night filled with dreams of dishes and cooking, I'm guessing?". Gillian smiled back at his mentor and nodded.

"Yup, another night, but this time I finished it!"

"Really? So what was the damned thing?"

"Well.... I don't know."

The man laughed at this and turned back to his work. Thomas was his name, and he was the head cook of the Lion's Pride. While not all his dishes were the most posh meals around, the villagers had long ago decided that by far they were the best. He was, in appearance and personality, a large man. His head covered with flaming red hair, Thomas had the same passion for cooking as Gillian, if slightly less ambitious. Now that his attention was fully returned to his work, Gillian started with his own. The morning passed quickly, filled with orders of food and the sounds of the kitchen, music to Gillian's ears.

When the sun had almost reached it's peak in the sky, Thomas turned away from his orders and gestured at Gillian, "Come here lad, I have an errand for you to run.". Gillian gave a quick nod, put down the knife he was using to cut a tomato, and gave his full attention to his mentor. "Now as you know, we have the best damned food anywhere, regardless of what anyone may say", he began. "However, even I run out of ideas sometimes, so it would seem I need to acquire some new recipes to try out. What I need you to do is just to take a short trip up to Stormwind, and check out the Auctions for any cookbooks or recipes that may seem interesting." Thomas stopped and looked down at his pupil. "You got all that, Gillian?".

Gillian, having done this more than once, smiled and simply said, "I'll be back in no time, sir."

Thomas laughed again, and gave Gillian another good thump on the back. "Great lad, I knew I could count on you. But really, enough of calling me 'sir'. I find it downright degrading.". The large man put a hand in his pocket and pulled from it a small bag of coins, which he then dropped in Gillian's open hand.

"Alright, hurry off now lad. Let's see what you can find before the dinner rushཀ"

Giving his mentor a large grin, Gillian gripped the purse and rushed outside and down the road to Stormwind.