Jolene?

  Dangermouse dear? I think you must know a different Jolene to the one I've met - she seems quite nice, not the type to steal your man (erm, I wasn't aware you had one, but, well...), though she says she's quite cold-blooded enough to suit any Forsaken. Being a warlock and all.

  She hasn't seen Cal, though. *sigh*

  (There was singing, if you're wondering what I'm talking about.)

Still looking...

  No sign of Calindrava. I'm getting really worried - nobody's seen him since just before the Scourge invasion! I checked all the places he sometimes leaves messages for people, too (not that he leaves messages for ANYONE very often, hmph!), and nothing.

  I keep telling myself I shouldn't panic. He may be my little brother, but he's been stronger than me for a while now... not that I'd ever admit it to him. But then I can't help thinking, "no matter how strong you are, there's always someone stronger..."

Oh dear.

  Is it safe to come out yet?

  I've been hiding in Silvermoon for... oh dear, it has been a while. There were Scourge! Everywhere! Not the Scourge you get down the Dead Scar, not Scourge like Knucklerot and Luzran, not even Scourge like Dar'Khan Drahir. Infectious Scourge!

  One of them hit me. I got away, long enough for some of the Silvermoon Guards to kill it, and I was able to cleanse the infection from my blood-- er, ichor-- but before I managed to cast the spell I heard something... whispering to me. And I think I remembered things. Things from before I woke up Forsaken. If those memories were real, I was Scourge. For a little while, at least.  If those memories were real... I truly did not want to go back to that.

  So I stayed in Silvermoon, and cleansed the new Scourge Plague from everyone I could, until it got stronger and my spells wouldn't affect it any more, and then I hid.

  (Did you know there's a basement underneath the tailor shop in Silvermoon City? The leper gnome workers are slightly creepy, but the succubus in charge is really very sweet.)

  Now the Scourge seem to be all gone, but there are strange new sort-of undead around, from every race, and their voices are awfully disturbing. They remind me of the whispers. They seem to be accepted, but hopefully they won't mind if I don't get too close to any of them just yet.

  ...Oh dear.

  I may have hidden too long.

  I can't find Calindrava!

Meet Ginnungagap!

  Another guildmember. Gin's perfectly sweet, but a little... how should I put this? Erm... slow. Now I know that a lot of people believe the stereotype that all trolls are, um, less than bright, but anyone who's actually talked to them knows it's wrong. Ginnungagap, however, could single-handedly validate that stereotype to thousands of bigots. The most common sentence I've heard from him is something along the lines of "Urrrr... wot?" That and asking about food. He likes food.

  Still, he's a very nice boy, and his cat Cam is a sweetie. You haven't lived until you've had a very large lynx try to sit in your lap and groom you.

Another guildmate

  This is Calvinn. He's... um... well, I think 'enthusiastic' would be the best description for him! He can laugh at just about anything, even when nobody else can see the funny side. I mean, I'm usually cheerful, but Calvinn outdoes me easily. I'm sure I'll like him once I get used to him, but right now he just bewilders me!

  Here he is with his pet scorpid Kleinn. I asked him if Kleinn's name meant anything, and he laughed, and then gave me several different reasons at once! First he said it went with his own name, and then he said something about bottles, and then he said something about 'a little night music', and -- well, I didn't get the joke. As scorpids go Kleinn is very pretty, though.

  (Calvinn has a very elegant tiger as a pet, too, but I haven't found out his name yet. It's probably another joke...)

Mal'jashi and his pet

See? Isn't she just the most adorably creepy darling?

We're in a guild!

  I've made a lot of friends in Silvermoon City as I pass through for training or to buy something at the auction house, and now Calindrava and I have been invited to a guild! It's very small, but it's nice to have a little conversation, and our guildmistress is lovely. She seems to spend all her time at the auction house and bank, but it means we have lots of gold to play with...

  I have pictures of a few of my guildmates! The dark-haired elf is Lady Celanoine, our guildmistress; the blond elf is Jhenova, a frost mage (she tries to act cold and aloof, but once you get to know her she's really sweet - and I think she has a crush on the guitarist from Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain!); and there's a troll named Mal'jashi, a hunter, who has the most adorably creepy pet ever!

What do they do with them?

Goodness, it's been a while.  I do apologise - my trainer insisted I had to pass an exam before he would teach me any more spells.  *sigh*

I'm back to helping out in Tranquillien again, and just today I went looking for Ranger Valanna.  She seems to be a very sweet girl, but... well... do try not to get on her bad side, hmm?  Before she would accept any help getting home (dragging her slightly-kooky Lieutenant by the scruff of the neck, no doubt), she insisted that I get her something.

Ears.  Troll ears, to be precise.  I believe she said something about making a necklace.  Far be it from me to criticise her taste in personal adornment, but I don't think it's going to go with her complexion.  Still, you could say that we Forsaken know a little bit about obsession and revenge, so I was happy to comply with her request.

That is, until I found out how long it was going to take.

I thought it was going to be easy!  She wanted six ears.  It seemed quite obvious that all I would need to do would be to kill three trolls, take two ears from each, and voila!  One rather icky necklace.  Perhaps four trolls, if one of them turned out to have suffered a tragic childhood accident and only had one.  But no!  Do those Zeb'Sora trolls chew each others' ears off as a game?  Do they practice strange ear-mutilation rituals as part of their religion?  About one in three had ONE ear.  And then there were the ones where I smote their ears off.  I wasn't aware Smite had the power to destroy ears.  I think I fried a couple off with my wand, too.  To add insult to injury, there were at least two perfectly good ears that I accidentally ruined when I tried to cut them off.  I'm a tailor, not a skinner, and scissors just don't do as good a job as a knife...

By the end of it I was tempted to sneak across westwards to An'telas, where I know there are plenty of night elves, all of which have two perfectly good ears.  Troll ears and night elf ears are very similar, as you may have noticed, and I thought it would be easier to harvest ears if everything I was killing started out with ears - the smiting and wanding and oops-chopped-that-one-in-half accidents couldn't slow things down too far then.  I decided not to in the end, because Valanna might have been able to tell (by the smell, if nothing else), and I didn't want her to decide that a couple of Forsaken ears would make a nice addition to her jewellery...

*giggle*

  Heeheehee. I don't know why Calindrava dear doesn't like his new outfit, honestly...

  I seem to have cheered up!

(Edit: I've added a picture for Ratshag dear to giggle at. See? Nothing wrong with it! Cal says he looks like a farm hick, but I say he looks absolutely *giggle* precious.)

Poor ghosts!

  *sigh* Nobody said doing the right thing was always fun.

  Undead scourge spider-thingies? I'm happy to kill them. Gargoyles and black wraiths? Most certainly.

  ...Lost, confused ghosts of high elves who don't even seem to realise that they're dead? I'm not so enthusiastic about that, really. Yes, it needed to be done, and yes, I can hope that death has released them to whatever afterlife high elves hope for, but what I really wanted to do was to find some way to wake them up... some way to give them back their free will so that they could join us, join the Forsaken, and fight back against the ones who killed them instead of mindlessly doing their bidding.

  I'm not happy tonight. Even the cute little spiders can't make me smile.

*Sigh*

  I really don't understand Calindrava sometimes. He sold the tuxedo. Sold it. Gloated about it, quite rudely I might add. And then... with the money he made from selling the tuxedo...

  ...he bought me all the patterns so that once I can sew well enough, I can make tuxedos. He can be such a brat one moment, and then so sweet!*

  I've begun working in Tranquillien now, and my goodness the Blood Elves do need help down here. They're working terribly hard themselves to try to clear the Scourge out of their lands - I'm pleased to note that everyone here is well aware of what needs to be done. It's one thing to refuse to be depressed by circumstances, and another to willfully ignore the true state of affairs the way some Blood Elves further north do. I met one young girl, living alone, who simply refused to believe that anything truly bad could have happened, and then there was that lord presiding over his never-ending party... In any case, everyone here in the Ghostlands is doing their part and refusing to despair.

  And oh, the Ghostlands! Oh my! The atmosphere! I get happy tingles up my spine whenever I look around at the clouded sky, the darkened scenery, the little scuttling spiders underfoot... it's beautiful! Once, in Stormwind - ah, back when I was alive, that is - I heard a gnome talking about "ideal environments" and "personal niches". I still don't understand everything she was talking about (what's "fung shway"?), but I think I've found my ideal environment!

* I'm still going to paddle his rear for selling the tuxedo. I don't care if he's a big scary warlock now, he's still my bratty little brother!

Happy Easter!

  The Easter Bunny delivers to the Horde!

  I was pottering around outside Silvermoon City and found the prettiest little egg.  In fact, I found lots of pretty little eggs. Actually, I may have gone just a teeny bit overboard looking for them...

  Apparently it's possible to find a beautiful pink dress in them While I didn't manage that, I did find a lovely tuxedo shirt and pants for Calindrava. He was so nice about sending me that Spider Web Robe, I thought I'd reciprocate. I got him to send me a picture, too.

  Er... I'd like to say "doesn't he look nice," but really, Cal, did you have to make THAT gesture?

Spider Web Robe

There.  I said it was lovely.  ^_^

Much better!

  Ahhhh, lovely.  The Solstice Robe is very pretty, shows off the *ahem* better preserved parts of my anatomy, and covers up the kneecaps.  Perfect!

  Plus my dear little brother Cal sent me a Spider Web Robe, which is absolutely lovely.  I must sketch it later.  (And he says he doesn't do anything nice...)

Dawn over the Dead Scar

  Now isn't this just beautiful?

  Er... ignore the knees.

Eversong Woods

  I haven't headed down into the Ghostlands just yet, though I plan to soon.  I want to get used to the blood elves first, in what you might call their 'own environment'.  They're a fascinating people, but my goodness some of them are just as dark and depressed as the sillier - er, I mean gloomier - Forsaken.  Their laughs are scarier than ours, too.  And have you heard male blood elves cry?  That little "Ho hum" at the end is a trifle worrying.

  "Remember the Sunwell."  All right, I will... but just what exactly am I supposed to remember about it?  The fact that it got blown up?  Done.  Well, that was easy enough.

  "We will have justice!"  Excellent.  So will we!  Just leave Melissa out of it.

  Well, it's certainly interesting here, and I'm enjoying myself.  Besides, I may be dead but I haven't gone into rigor mortis yet, if you know what I mean... the eye candy is definitely of superior quality here.  And since I got myself a lovely Solstice Robe (which shows off some of the, er, better preserved parts of my anatomy) I've seen quite a few of the men around here checking me out.  Equal opportunity flirting, heh!

Wonderful!

  I can't believe it!  My baby brother has joined us!

  Little Cal sent me a message from Deathknell last night.  After I died, he worked out what happened to me and decided to follow.  He says he caught the Undead Plague on purpose!  Now, that's the sort of focus and determination that we Forsaken need if you ask me...

  I'm a little far away now, up in Eversong Woods with the Blood Elves, but I was able to send him back a note and my best wishes.  He says he'll turn up some time when I'm least expecting it to say 'hi' in person and show off his new minions.  Turns out he has talent as a warlock, who would have guessed?

Moving on

  I haven't seen Melissa (my still-human friend) again, but then I haven't been hunting Scarlet Annoyances.  I think I may have found another reason why she joined them, though.  Jamie Nore, her cousin, is here in Brill.

  Hopefully Melissa has reconsidered her new career as a hunter of undead and gone home to Goldshire.  After all, Jamie and I don't need avenging!  I'm perfectly happy - if anything, I'm happier than I was when I was alive - and Jamie seems quite content working for Magistrate Sevren.

  In any case, I'll be leaving Tirisfal Glades soon.  Now that the Scourge infesting the Agamand Mills have been temporarily decimated (I have no illusions that the situation is stable), I'm told that I am needed elsewhere.  I don't really have anything better to do, so it's off to Silverpine Forest for me... for now, at least; I met a Blood Elf today, and her stories of how we Forsaken and her people are cooperating in the Ghostlands were fascinating!  (And the Ghostlands themselves sound like a home away from home!)

Fancy Meeting You Here...

  By rights, I should be feeling traumatised right now, but instead I seem to be merely amused.

  I met someone tonight who I used to know... when I was alive, that is.  She was actually quite a good friend of mine.  We did all the standard silly 'girl things' together as we grew up; traded clothes, did each other's hair, giggled over boys.  She's the one who taught me how to put my hair up in the neat little twist I still use.  I became a priest and she became a mage, and then I died.  I remember that she'd just completed her first month of apprenticeship when the Undead Plague reached our village.

  Despite the fact that I caught it and she obviously didn't, I suppose she must have found it far more traumatic than I did, since I can't imagine her joining the Scarlet Crusade otherwise.  Perhaps she joined them to 'avenge' my death?  That would be delightfully ironic, now wouldn't it?

  Whatever the reason, I looked up from looting a body... er... well I'd been ordered to kill them, hadn't I?  No sense in leaving their belongings behind if I can get some use out if them... and there she was, staring at me.  She obviously recognised me, since instead of charging up a firebolt she was just standing there with a horrified expression on her face.  (Note to self: undeath obviously makes one far more mentally resilient than the living.  All I wanted to do was laugh.)

  So I waved.  I would have said hello, but I've discovered that now that I'm dead I seem to be unable to speak or understand Common, which is an interesting change.  And she ran away.

  I find myself faced with a bit of a dilemma, now.  I don't seem to retain any strong emotional ties to my former life - obviously, or I wouldn't be enjoying my undeath as much as I am - but I do feel a sort of mild fondness towards my old friend.  I certainly don't plan to kill her myself, Scarlet Annoyance or no Scarlet Annoyance, and I think I'd be mildly distressed if I found out that someone else had disposed of her.  Perhaps I should put up some "Not Wanted" posters around Undercity?  Put an anti-bounty on her head, and pay for it to stay on her body?  I've made a little money from cooking recipes lately, I could afford a few silver at least...

  Perhaps I'll run into her again.  That would be nice.

Zzzz...

  Today's best discovery: coffins are surprisingly comfortable to sleep in.

Bony knees again.

  Oh dear.

  I did indeed learn some new tailoring patterns in time to replace the robe Dark Cleric Beryl gave me before it wore out completely, but... no robes.  It's back to the bony knees.

  Botheration.

  I'm actually rather embarrassed by the knees, which is silly.  Every other Forsaken in existence seems to have the same 'problem', my elbows don't really bother me, and I've accepted cannibalising corpses to heal myself without a flinch.  So why does the sight of my exposed patellas send me looking for new clothes, or at least a bush to hide them behind?

  Ah well.  At least I've also learned how to make a pretty blue kilt.  It's not very practical for adventuring purposes, but I'm darned well going to change into it every time I set foot in a town!

Undercity at last.

  I had to take a message to the Undercity, so I finally got to see our capital city.  Green slime running in the canals, shambling abominations patrolling the corridors, skulls carved everywhere... I felt immediately at home!

  I really like it here.  Of course, I'm sure my opinion would have been very different when I was alive, but I'm not any more, now am I?  Death has certainly worked some changes.  And why should I regret it?  I have a whole new unlife to enjoy and I'm doing it.  I don't see why more Forsaken don't.  If they would just loosen up and admit that being a free-willed undead is fun, there'd be a lot less drama and angst around!

  (Of course, very few people appreciate it when someone points out that their quiet little angst-fest is a tad overdone.  Must remember that.)

Scarlet Annoyances.

  Well, as expected, I'm being sent against the Scarlet Crusade now.  Honestly, some of them deserve to die.  They're trying to take Lordaeron back from us, they know they're a short walk from the Undercity and our main forces, they know that we're trying to hunt them from our land just as they're trying to get rid of us... and they still wander off alone.  Then, when I sneak up on them, they don't even try to run off and get their friends!

  Silly humans.

Pumpkins?!

  Pumpkins?

  I'm supposed to frighten humans by stealing their pumpkins?!  What do I have to do next, carve scary faces in them and put them back in the field?  Put one on my head and run around going "wooOOOoooOOOOoooo"?  Light preserve us, we're terrifying shambling undead monsters and missing pumpkins are the best threat we can come up with?!

  Later:

  Ah.  Well.  All right, the pumpkins did end up being scary.

Sigh.

  Oh dear.  Green blood AND terribly, terribly bony knees.  I didn't even realise until I changed into a vest after my thin old robe got too torn to keep.  Ah well, Cleric Beryl has given me a new robe, so they're properly covered up again... the knees are a reason to keep up with my sewing, I suppose.  I'll want to be able to make myself a new robe whenever my outfit needs replacing; I won't want to be left with nothing but what I can loot and find that everything I can loot is showing my superfluous joints.

  (Beryl.  What an odd name for a man!)

  And why is it that my knees (and elbows, I see) are nothing but bone?  I'm quite well-preserved elsewhere, I'm happy to say.  *ahem*

Yuck!

  I bleed GREEN now?!  Ugh!

  It didn't occur to me until after I was wounded to wonder if I would heal, or if I would need to turn my tailoring skills on myself and stitch things together.  I had a horrible moment, thinking that, but as it turns out I can heal myself.  I've never been so grateful for priestly spells.

  Green blood.  Ew.  Well, at least it's all back in my veins where it belongs, now.  But I don't think my heart is actually beating, so why hasn't it all clotted?

  Something to wonder about after I finish disposing of these Scourge, I suppose.

First steps.

  I've been given a task, to kill some Scourge, but there are so many others working on that and frankly I don't feel quite up to it yet.  I don't think anyone will mind if I do my part a little later.  I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm now one of the Forsaken.

  Forsaken.  I learnt that name by speaking to the others here in Deathknell.  I don't think humans - living humans - even realise that there's a difference between the Forsaken and the Scourge.  Of course, the Forsaken were Scourge, originally, but they're completely separate now.  Apparently a lot of undead now wake up Forsaken, free-willed, instead of being Scourge first and then breaking free.

  I don't think I was Scourge.  I'm not sure.  I'm told we don't always remember being Scourge.

  'We'.  'We' are undead.  'We' are Forsaken.  I am Forsaken.

  I'd better make up my mind to get used to the idea.  It's not as if I can just decide I don't like it here and move to Stormwind.

  I think I'll go have a look at those Scourge.

Awakening

  My goodness.

  I'm not dead.  --That is to say, I am dead, but I don't seem to have stopped.

  This is unexpected.