Loving You Sunday Morning

I haven't got the slightest clue why this was unpublished. It wasn't even the final version, but I was sure I had already published this on the blog... Luckily I found the finished version on my backup drive. Oh yeah, I found my blog again, after three years. Three years seems to be the thing for me and this blog.

Heavy plate armour slamming against the paving made a mighty clang - one that was sure to wake up anyone who still slept in the purple, floating city of Dalaran. Raleigh had stepped into a couple of mage-made portals before, but since then his knowledge of the nether travels had indubitably rusted. Despite the rocky start, he got up, and after wiping his armour for any hints of dust, he made his way to A Hero's Welcome.

The tavern was still sleepy at the early hour. Nevertheless, its warm atmosphere had always been dear to Raleigh Croft - something that continued to face him with open arms - with a hero's welcome. Another warm welcome awaited him behind the shiny, freshly wiped counter. A young waitress turned to look at the still somewhat groggy paladin.
”Good morning, sir!” The waitress yelled joyfully. Her voice was of very high pitch, nearly child-like.
”A very fine morning to you as well, my fair lady,” the man said with a soft tone in his voice and a warm smile on his face, reaching all the way up to the corners of his eyes.
”How may I serve you today?” She chuckled with curved lips.
Raleigh had always been rather fond of her. It wasn't merely the extraordinarily voluptuous coffee that kept bringing him to the tavern over and over.
”I would take great pleasure in a cup or two of your special coffee. That, of course, should you have time for such trivial matters so early in the morning.”
The fair-haired, long-eared waitress began to conjure the drink with haste. Her graceful figure danced to the spell as her long fingers brushed through the air in peculiar motions. It almost appeared as if she was indulging the paladin in some sort of special treatment, but alas, it was probably just Raleigh's wishful thinking.

She slowly handed over a cup of coffee to him, following the mug with her gaze and thus ensuring the white ceramic mug would get keep its white colouring. As a sign of thankfulness, Raleigh leaned forward to bow at the waitress; yet the gesture came out rather clumsy as he spilled a sip-worth of coffee to the tavern floor. The half-elven waitress giggled at him, then made a minuscule roundish motion with her hand, one that wasn't visible to Raleigh as her hands were hidden beneath the counter.

As Raleigh climbed up the stairs leading to the balcony, he stopped at a mirror for a short moment. Within the golden lining stood a man with green eyes and red hair that didn't quite reach his shoulders. His nose and cheekbones were covered by freckles that could be spotted all over his face, but in greatly smaller amounts. The wrinkles around his eyes spoke of worries, which the emerald twinkle however seemed to not care about. His lips curved on a minor smile as he turned away from the mirror and continued to walk up the stairs.

. . .

A pair of glasses rested lazily on the bridge of his nose. Rough hands held a book, allowing the emerald eyes to devour it word by word. The book's red-ish cover was mildly stained – it had indubitably been soaked in drops of coffee more than once in its lifetime. But Sunday morning doesn't care about a stained book. It doesn't care about the dirt on your boots, nor is it bothered by ghosts of the past. Sunday morning knows no fear of loneliness or death. It laughs at the face of evil like an impertinent child. If a soul has no Sunday morning, it becomes an orphan.

Flipping the page, Raleigh allowed his hand to slide ever so slightly too far, nudging the coffee cup a tad too violently.
”Son of a...”
His cursing was interrupted by surprise, as the coffee didn't spill out of the cup. He playfully flipped the cup around. The coffee stuck to the bottom of the mug, refusing to leave it under any circumstances he could provide. Those mages really knew how to twist the laws of nature. Raleigh chuckled to himself as he resumed to read his book.

. . .

”Would you like more coffee, sir?” A chirpy voice appeared next to him, its host holding a warm can above his coffee mug.
Raleigh raised his gaze from the inky words, already smiling at the request.
”Certainly.”

Through Your Interface: 15 Days of Screenshots #14

See Saz's blog for more information regarding the challenge!

14. Place swap
If you could be any of your characters, who would you be and why?

As much love as I have for Nicasia, I'd have to choose Raleigh for this one. I feel that ginger and I share the most personality traits, but he also has some qualities that I'm really jealous of. I'm sure we'd enjoy spending time together considering his love for literature and all. He's a very peaceful soul, and manages to maintain his peace of mind and balanced view of himself in the universe despite the ghosts in his past.

Other than that, happy November to everyone (= the few that sometimes visit the blog). I hope you'll have a grand month.

PANDARIA IS NOT PREPARED!

First of all I'll say sorry for not posting anything for days! You know, this thing called Mists of Pandaria was released and it's not like awesome or anything like that... Yeah... Woaahaowou!
I could talk about the expansion itself endlessly, but I'll spare you for now and do that later sometimes. Instead, this post focuses on RP things. To me it's obvious who are the first of my characters to take on the war in Pandaria. Nicasia (who was the first one to get to 90), Raleigh and Vladan alike all travel to the long lost continent, but with different ambitions. I think I can pretty much promise we'll hear from each one as the expansion progresses. Here's a taste of where they started and are starting.

Nicasia, although not sure about her loyalty to the Alliance, joins the war, but most of all out of curiosity. Looking to expand her knowledge and power, she comes to the conclusion that the Alliance is her best bet at setting foot on Pandaria. It hasn't yet struck her that her endless curiosity and recklessness might cost her her life one day, so the Hex Machine continues to adventure alongside her loyal companion Reth'rek.

The ginger is taking Pandaria - in a retributive state of mind! Resulting from the attack on Theramore, Raleigh has experienced increasing rage and revulsion towards the Horde. Despite swearing he'd never pick up heavy weaponry again since he returned from the cold north, the ever so silent and calm paladin has decided to grab his emerald swo-- mace once more, and storm Pandaria. Known mostly for staying in the back rows, taking care of the injured and supporting the battle; how is the pissed medic going to make it in the unforgiving outback and jungles of Pandaria?
(P.S. He did get an actual, long desired emerald sword, too! More about that later.)

Vladan never fully "joined" the Alliance; his presence, like most death knights', is merely tolerated around Stormwind, and he remains aligned with the Knights of the Ebon Blade. However, due to his blacksmith background and therefore, his wide and deep knowledge of weaponry, combined with his unusually perfected combat skills, he was hired as a mercenary to aid the Alliance in the war in Pandaria.

My other characters will make their way to Pandaria later, too, but I'll be focusing on this trio intensively for the first months. As I get into my panda routines with Nicasia, I'll get to leveling the other two. See you in Pandaria!

Avenging wrath

This short story is set in the time before the fall of the Lich King. It's just a short encounter in the life of one of my characters. It's also the first novel sort of thing I've ever even attempted to write in English. Please do report any typos and nonsense grammar you find.
Soundtrack while writing: Human Fortress - The Wizard and the album 'Defenders of the Crown'

A young man let out a hacking cough, rapidly waking from a dream. Taking such a deep breath of air as cold as Icecrown's wasn't the best idea he had got. He sat on the snow, leaning against a conifer. The bloke's red hair was tied up on a ponytail. His silvery armour appeared ever so slightly too big for his fairly delicate body structure, his shield too heavy for his untrained arm. He was seemingly in his early twenties.

At first glance the man looked the same as any other Alliance soldier up north. What made a notable difference in his looks was his hair, as red as a flame, and his freckled face. Over his shoulder he held a satchel with a metallic badge on it, carved to read "Raleigh Croft." The young man stood up and looked around.

- Oliver? he popped a question with a rusty voice. He suffered from a cough caused by the weeks spent in the ice cold Northrend.

The horse known as Oliver was nowhere to be seen. He had been tied to a nearby twig, but all Raleigh could trace him by now were the vague hoofprints on the snow. Raleigh followed the trail leading to an open valley with little snow and more ice, not entirely unusual for Icecrown. Sunlight was blocked by a sharp-edged mountain for most part, leaving the area gloomy. Raleigh didn't hesitate taking steps deeper into the valley. His boots clacked against the icy ground as he walked along the trail of fresh hoofprints suddenly ending in a snowless patch. He peered around with a hint of frustration on his face.

The valley was silent - as was Raleigh. He gasped abruptly as a low snarl made its way to his ears. Young crusader Croft turned his gaze to his left, where the source of the sound appeared to be. He could tell it was no animal. The snarl sounded unnatural, far from a nature's creation. It was shortly followed by a dragging noise.

Raleigh was paralysed at the sight of the enormous flesh giant approaching him. Various rotting limbs and other body parts attached with chains and leather straps hanging from its body, it left a trail of hideous stench on its path. The paladin took a step back only to trip on an icy rock. The rough fall, however, accompanied by the rattling sound of heavy plate armour hitting the ground, startled him awake. The Scourge fiend swung its wooden mace towards the human, tiny next to the huge giant. Although losing in size, Raleigh beat the undead in agility, dodging the weapon swing by jumping backwards. The undead didn't wait to attack again and took another shot at the puny human. It was obvious Raleigh couldn't have avoided the attack. Instead he shielded himself with the piece of steel holding a blue painting of the head of a lion.

The swing was strong enough to knock him down to the ground. Raleigh climbed back on his feet as fast as he could, only to soon discover that he was no match for the flesh giant. Looking at the vicious Scourge creation, he grabbed his sword and pulled it out of its sheath made of thick leather.

Crusader's Glory was not a unique weapon. It was mass produced and given to most young soldiers before they were sent to fight the undead on the glaciers and in the frozen valleys. Raleigh held tight to the sword designed for a single hand. For the first time it felt fitting against his palm, his frostbitten fingers hugging its smooth surface.

Raleigh said a silent prayer in between breaths while trying his best to block the undead's attacks, yet running out of strength to do so. The flesh giant swung its mace on a spot not covered by the paladin's shield, hitting him hard on his side. Raleigh fell to the ground in agony. His vision got hazy and he felt his grip of the sword loosen. The giant gave him another hit, one that didn't feel as painful anymore. Crusader's Glory hit the ground with a clang. The paladin lay lifeless in front of the beast. His vision turned to black.

After what could have been ages, a flash of light cut through the darkness. Soft whispers of an unidentified language echoed in the numb mind, coursing through the veins and filling the body with life energy.

Raleigh opened his eyes. He peered at his surroundings for a brief moment, then swiftly lifted his cheek from the icy ground. He jumped up on his feet and grabbed his blade that had been lying next to him. Right by his side stood a familiar foe, staring at the resurrected paladin with rotten eyes, ready to squeeze any remainings of life from him. Raleigh gave the unholy creation one last look, then let his empowered sword cut through its leg. The magic steel shined, enchanted by the Light. It immediately stunned the undead, making it defenseless and weak. With a few more swings the abomination fell to the paladin's feet with a thump.
Raleigh collapsed down on his knees, closing his eyes for a moment of rest, leaning against the cadaver.

Something soft and warm rubbed against an algid man's cheek, stuffy breath warming his face. The man managed a smile, sealing his fingers around a rein.

Disclaimer: I do not own the World of Warcraft, Azeroth or anything in it, but it was me and not Blizzard that came up with the story of this character, whom I have created to breathe life into their world.

Blinded by the light

The time to introduce a second character has come. This time we have a ginger paladin in the spotlight. He's quite likely my most roleplayed character with the most text in his MyRolePlay profile.

His mainspec was holy all the way to level 85, but as the very power-yerning person I am (ahem!), I had to start tanking with him; so protection now serves as his more frequently used spec, despite holy having slightly better gear. The ginger was my best geared alt for a long while, until beaten by my death knight. He was the third character that I leveled to max level and he spent a moment doing arena at level 70.

Something that happened in Northrend changed Sir Raleigh Croft's thoughts of the Holy Light for good. Having spent his childhood and youth under the influence of a very religious father in the small town of Southshore, he acted more like a preacher man than a peasant.

Raleigh drifted away from Southshore to study with the Knights of the Silver Hand, but his studies were interrupted by the abrupt death of his father. Inspired by a newfound rage towards undead, he continued his studies and eventually did become a paladin. Just a couple of years later he left for Northrend, still unaware of what really caused his father to die. Unaware that he'd return as a completely different man.

Raleigh's protection transmog consists of the following items (and I'm not going to link them, because if you want to, you can search for them on Wowhead):

Pauldrons of Trembling Rage

Various pieces of the Turalyon set

Malevolent Girdle

Sabatons of Rapid Recovery

Crusader's Glory

Protector of Frigid Souls