....are one hell of a way to prove your superiority in battle.

I spent quite a bit of time recently fighting in Warsong Gulch.  Sure, we lost a few times.  But not often.  The Horde dominated the battlefield.  Arash'Ethis was a creature to be reckoned with.  It felt good to unleash my rage upon the Alliance, especailly after all of the recent goings- on.   I spoke to a former Clansmen last night.  Apparently, the Thunderlords are falling apart.  I can't say that I am surprised, its part of the reason I left them.  I did get some heart-wrenching messages from a couple of my friends there, Twalktuleeni, Mortagus, and Jyogorr.  They remain my friends, I knew they would.  All three of them have noted a breakdown of the Clan's leadership.  I wonder if I could convince them to join me in Dawning Affinity...  :shrugs:

Anyways, I shall be back in the battlegrounds again this evening, but I think I'll be heading into Arathi Basin instead.  I'm nearing the proper strength to be able to ride a stronger mount.  Its only a matter of time.

I left the Thunderlords.

You heard right.  I.  Left.

It turns out that some of my former Clansmen were a little less than.... honorable.  When I was not allowed to go after a fellow hunter's assassin <i>when I had her in my sights</i>, I decided that my services- and my time- would be better suited elsewhere.  I was nearly hired by Ulian Andilien of House Rellen'thas.  But, frankly, the members of that House would not be able to handle me.  I am far too untamed for the likes of them.  They would have tried to control me.  And I do not take kindly to being controlled.  Just ask the Thunderlords.

For now, I am allied with the Hellhounds.  For now.  We shall see how long that remains.

Well, yesterday was an interesting day.  I managed to achieve 50th season after hours of hunting those damned diemetradons in Un'goro Crater, searching for Webbed Diemetradon Scales for that -goblin- at Marshal's Refuge.  By the Sun, I swear, I could not find 8 that fit Shizzle's meticulous needs.  But I did, finally.  Now, I can run off to Azshara and Felwood.  I have several tasks to accomplish in the Sunken Temple, as well.

Although I find, now, that I am having something of a personal problem.  I love my Clan- The Thunderlords are an amazing group of people- but I think I might have somehow grabbed someone's attention.  His name is Mortagus.  He is an Orc Warrior only 2 seasons higher than I, and I think he's getting ideas into his head about me.  Its not that I don't like him- Mort is there for me more often than anyone else, save his sister, Twalktuleeni- but I am not interested in a relationship with him that is more than strictly platonic.  There is also the fact that I am not interested in Orcs.  I don't want to seem

Oh, yes, I forgot- Mortagus is the Chieftain's grandson.  While I don't forsee this causing a problem, remember that I also did not forsee Arthas's march on Silvermoon.  So much for my skills of forsight.  

Anyways, its a situation I'm certain will be resolved soon.  I shall not worry.

Now, I shall rant about our clan's Wicth doctor, Zurven.  Normally, I have a lot of respect for that Troll.  But last night, he was uncharacteristically rude.  The Clan wanted to raid Westfall.  Raiding Alliance territory is all well and good, but there is not point in me going if most of the raiders are 70th season, while I am struggling to make my 50th.  They will outdamage me, to the point where anything I would attempt to do would be easily outdone or completely ignored.  I see very little point in raiding until I am strong enough to cross the Dark Portal, which I am not.  Well, I got invited to raid.  I was going to go, but I told the Witch doctor that I was going to make my 50th season before I made my way towards our designated meet up spot, Grom'Gol Base Camp.  He started ushing people to Stranglethorn Vale about 30 minutes before he wanted to raid.  I was sure I would be able to gain that boost of strength before then.  Alas... the damned diemetradons and pterrodaxes were not agreeing with me.  Eventually, Zurven demanded to know if I was going to come or not.  I told him I would be along as soon as I was finished, to which he promptly replied:

'We are leaving NOW, Aurasai.'

Fuming, I told him I would be unable to make it, if that was the case.  And I was forced out of the raid.

So be it, Witch Doctor.  You do not want me for an enemy.  You are one step closer to becoming just that.

Always a fun place to hunt.  So much to do there, so little time.

Soon, I shall be ready for Outland.  But, for now, I shall simply have to amuse myself by killing my Quel'dorei brethren.

Yes, you heard right.  Quel'dorei.  There are, indeed, a few of them left.  Not so many, but a few scattered throughout Azeroth.  I spent a considerable amount of time last night at the Highvale Outpost in the Hinterlands.  I know of at least one more camp of them, somewhere deep within the heart of the Plaguelands.  

Needless to say, many of them fell to my arrows.

According to my To Do list, I still have to finish up with the Silvermane wolves and the Owlkin just beyond the path leading down to Revantusk Village.  There is also the small matter of the Wildhammer Dwarves and their blasted gryphons.  I think I shall have to go and thin out their numbers.  And the turtles on the coast.  Apparently, the fishermen of Revantusk Village are suffering because the turtles are eating all of the fish, a plight I understand, being a fisherman myself, though not primarily.

My skill at picking herbs and brewing potions has improved.  Soon, I shall have to decide what to specialize in:  potions, elixirs, or transmutes.  I'm considering Potions or Elixirs, but I shall have to do some research before I decide. 

Well, yesterday I stepped into the infamous Zul'Farrak, patrolled heavily by the Sandscalp Tribe of Trolls.  THey warned me that the fallen Troll city was dangerous, that the Sandscalp chieftain was tough.

They must have been in jest.  It was almost... laughable.

I initially went in there to retrieve some items for the people of Gadgetzan:  Troll Temper for the Night Elf smith, Scarab Shells for one strange little goblin, and the Divino-matic Rod for the Chief Engineer.  My party included a Forsaken Priest, a forsaken Rogue, a Tauren Druid, and a Sin'Dorei Blood Knight.  

We, quite literally, blew through the Troll city like a maelstrom.  My companions were impressed by Naari's strength and stamina.  She singlehandedly took on Ruuzlu while the rest of us concentrated on the Chieftain, near killing him!  :cuddles Naari:  That's my girl.

I also managed to catch up on my professions, so that I can open up my own store one day.  All I have to truly work on now is fishing, mostly for Naari, since she loves fish.  I, personally, can't stand the stuff, but if it keeps her happy, then so be it.

Well, something rather spectacular happened last night in the verdant jungles of Ferelas.

Naari... changed.

I had noticed her acting strangely the day before.  She looked uncomfortable, and seemed to be quite paranoid.  She was chewing at her scales, not enough to draw blood (she does have a fairly impressive set of fangs) but enough to worry me.

Well last night, she was downright irritable.  That was when I realized that she was molting.  She does that on occasion, but not like this.  No, she was molting her blue scales right off.  I managed to get my hands on her (something she was not terribly happy about), rubbed some of the looser ones off, and saw that the scales beneath were not the same, iridescent blue.

They were a bloody crimson.

I let her go.  The magic was active again, and it was exacting a change in her, so I let it take place.  It would have been pointless for me to stop it.  Well, after a few minutes, Naari lept into the air and violently shed the rest of her blue scales, screeching in pain.  I was terrified for her.  The fear I felt rolling off of her was petrifying.  Finally, she collapsed to the dirt, her shiny new red and gold scales glowing.  I mended her as best I could, and in moments, she was back up and fluttering about.  

Something about her change made her a little wild, a little uncontrollable.  But she is calming down finally.

I think this is but the first of many changes she is going to go through.

Curiouskilla:  Night Elf  male Rogue, for the Hillsbrad Incidents.

Any and All Members of the clan <OG BLACKOUT>.

Dillias:  Human male Paladin, for the incident in Stanglethorn Vale, with the Nagas.

Mallius:  Night Elf male Rogue, for the incident in Stranglethorn Vale, with the Nagas.

Any and All Members of the clan <Phalanx of Honor> (henceforth known as <Phalanx of Losers>), for the Tarren Mill Incident.

Any and All Members of the clan <Imperium>, for being general pains in the arses.

Hamsword, Human male Warrior, for corpse camping in Booty Bay. 

EDIT:  13Aug- Any and all members of the Clan <Desolation Knights>, for general asshattery.

Naari here wasn't my first companion.  I bonded with a couple of other beasts before setting my sights on her.  My first was a Ghostclaw Lynx whom I called Ori.  Now, while Ori was a lovely creature, his temperment left something to be desired.  He had an independant streak a few clicks wide that didn't mesh well with my own independance.  In the end, I thought if would be best for us both id I let Ori return to the wild.  

Then there was Niko, a Plains Wolf Alpha from Mulgore.  Yes, I travelled all the way to Mulgore to befriend a wolf.  :laughs:  Niko was a lovely companion, and, while loyal, his kind really aren't meant to be bound to one person.  He was a wolf Alpha, he needed to be with a pack.  So, I let him return to the wild as well.

So, companionless as I was, I knew that neither of those two had been right for me.  I do have somthing of a taste for the exotic (my Sin'Dorei blood rings true, as always) and I knew there had to be something out there for me.  I was adventuring in the Barrens when a group of questers invited me along to clear out the infamous Wailing Caverns of its infestation of rather nasty Druids of the Fang and their Deviate minions.  I went along, mostly for the Hunt, but something inside of me knew that I would find my companion in there.  We spent a bit of time in there.  We had already reached- and defeated- Cobrahn, Anacondra, and Pythias, 3 of the 4 Fang Lords.  We were on our way to battle the last, Lord Serpentis, when I saw Naari.  Well, I didn't know that was her name at the time, but when I laid eyes on her, I *knew* she was the one I was searching for.  She was the perfect companion for me.  

Naari sensed me coming.  She must have, else she would not have been waiting where she was, by that cave wall.  She saved my life- and the life of my party- that day, for beyond her was a nook in the wall where 3 Druids of the Fang, hearing the commotion we had been making, had set up and ambush for us.  Naari warned me of their prescence, taking advantage of their misguided beliefs that she was still one of their creatures.  I, in turn, told my fellow adventurers, and we turned the tables against them, killing our would- be assassins.  Naari performed most admirably.  She followed my commands without hesitiation, like she could hear my thoughts and see my attack plan.  And when the battle was over, she settled herself around my shoulders, as she loves to do, and it was settled.  Naari and I were one.

She told me her name then.  No, I did not name her Naari.  In her sing-songy chirps, she told me her whole story:  how she was taken as a young whelp from the plains of the Suthern Barrens, to the caves, and how magic was used upon her to turn her scales from blood red to sapphire blue, how she grew up in those caves thinking that all but the foul Druids were enemies until she sense my presence within their lair.  In giving me her name, Naari gave me considerable insight into her life.  I know that her changes are far from complete.  The magic still works itself within her body, changing her.  It is mostly dormant now, affecting very little.  However, when we are finally strong enough to pass through the Dark Portal, it will emerge, and reactivate the series of changes that the Druids in the Caverns began.  

The hunt is the very foundation of life.  It is the ultimate test of balance as we attempt to interact with nature without trying to conquer it.  Using ranged weapons ensure that it does not become a test of strength or bravery or honor between the hunter and the hunted.  We must always embrace the hunt as a practical endeavor, a necessity to be done quickly and efficiently.  Companions provide a symbiotic relationship with nature.  The companion benefits from the hunter's generosity and wisdom, and the hunter benefits from the companion's protection and unwavering loyalty.  The hunter's power is undisputed and absolute, a gift from nature.  Question not my strength, or face a wrath born of nature's own fury.

After much work, and many long hours spent on the hunt, I have finally done it!  My strength is great enough to wear mail armor with comfort, and I am considered old enough to have my own Hawkstrider!  I insisted on the black male Hawkstrider, he was simply lovely.  His name is Saan'dar, and he's not nearly as skittish as Kaillech's is.  If you could see me right now, Kail, you'd see me laughing.  

I have also been rewarded within the Clan with a promotion.  So I am now officially a Thunderlord.  I have a certain amount of pride in that, I have worked very hard to get to where I am.  I know I have much work ahead of me, but it shall be worth it when I am at the top of the food chain.

Well, I must say, the past couple of days have been more than entertaining.

I spent a good part of the last few days hunting in Stranglethorn Vale.  And, as anyone who's ever been to that area knows, Stranglethorn Vale is full of beasts to be slain... not to mention members of the opposite faction.  Therefore, good times.  My strength grows daily, and it has been showing.  I taught a pathetic human arcanist a valuable lesson in messing with huntresses.  Rest assured, he will not interfere with my hunt again.

There are many things that need killing in the jungles, it seems.  Already I have collected ears from Trolls (while Naari found this amusing, I was not impressed.  Ears from smelly Trolls?  Who pays for such things?), as well as bloody bone necklaces (whose bones I do not wish to speculate on).  I have killed a water elemental naimed Naias.  I have slain tigers and panthers of all shapes and sizes by the dozens.  I have collected shrunken heads (again, who pays for such things?) and panther claws.  I have killed ogres and ogre mages.  And there is still so much to be done, so many things to hunt.

I was invited to assist in the clearing of the armory within the Scarlet Monastary, a sect of zealots dedicated to slaying the undead, Forsaken and Scourge.  For obvious reasons, these humans need to be eradicated.  So myself, a fellow Sin'dorei paladin and priest, and an Orc shamaness accepted the daunting task.  Typically, such a quest would be undertaken by more, but we felt confident that we could cull their numbers effectively, so we traveled deep into Tirisfal Glades where the Monastary sits like a cancer, corrupting the home of my Forsaken allies.  We were wildly successful.  Not even Herod could stand against our combined might.  Naari and I recieved many compliments on our skills.  How could we not?  We are a formidable team.

But now, I fear that I must leave behind the jongles for a time in search of new game.  I think our next destination is Shimmering Flats, in the mesa- strewn Thousand Needles.  A new challenge awaits us there.  Stranglethorn will simply have to await out return with baited breath.

Well, last night, I got invited into a clan.  The Thunderlord Clan.  Yes, the very same clan that came from Draenor and was very nearly wiped from existance by Ner'zhul and the Shadow Moon Clan.  I had given up on ever getting invited to join the Black Tooth Grin Clan, or House Rellen'thas.  I figured that if they were too preoccupied to even send me a letter, then they didn't deserve my companionship, or my loyalty.  So, my loyalty is to the Thunderlord Clan, and their ideals.

Not to say that my loyalty was for sale, but one can only accomplish so much alone.  And truthfully, I missed the companionship I had while I was still serving in the Ranger Corps.  Having someone to talk to every once in a while is terribly underrated, even for loners like me.  Naari, of course, has no opinion one way or the other, but that is her nature.  I have her loyalty, adn her friendship, and she has mine.  We both understand that, if it ever really came down to it, we'd have each other, if nothing else.  The benefit of having such a deep connection with the wild things of the world, I suppose.  There will always be someone to listen, at the very least.

Last night, after the invitation, I was invited to some squad training.  It was myself, Xibalba (a Troll shaman), Mort (an Orc warrior), Uji (another Troll shaman) and an Orc warlock who's name escapes me at the moment, and we went to clear out the Armory Branch of the Scarlet Monastary.  It went well, despite the Defenders and Myrmidons being several seasons older than I.  Naari performed spectacularly, as always, keeping the shaman safe, as they were healing us.  I am happy to announce that Herod met a gruesome fate at the hands of Mort, falling to the ground, his back bristling with arrowshafts.  I became stronger, as well.  I think that the squad training helped out quite a bit, it has been some time since I hunted with anyone other than Naari.  But now, I can use the Grim Reaper, a fabulous polearm that I had sitting in Undercity, waiting for me.  I had tried it out a couple of times before, but its heft was too much for me.  I am by no means delicate, but... you take my meaning.  

I am also getting the impression that there is some sort of rite I will be asked to perform for the Clan.  Proof of loyalty, I can only assume.  We shall see.  My loyalty, once fully given, is hard to lose.  However, it is equally tough to gain my complete loyalty.  Only time will tell. 

My tale begins back when Silvermoon was whole. Back before the addiction, and the war.  Back when my family was still alive.  Back before Arthas came with his legions and destroyed everything I loved.

And yet, somehow, I maintain this sunny demeanor.  The truth is stranger than fiction, and my life is stranger than both.  But I digress.  Let me tell you about my life before this point in time:

Yes, aren't I just a ray of sunshine?  

Again, the digression.  I'll move on to my choice of companions.

I started out with Niko.  Niko was a light brown wolf.  To tame Niko, I trekked all the way from Tranquillien to verdant fields of Mulgore.  And while he was a lovely companion, and loyal, he was not very versatile, and I could tell he longed to go back to the wild.  Being as attuned to the beasts as we Farstriders are, I couldn't, in good conscience, keep him around.  I released him, and I have it on good authority that he is happily prowling the fields of Mulgore once again.  

This left me with a problem.  I am much more effective with a companion  to occupy my game.  And one does not simply buy a suitable companion.  So, I had to find a creature that fit my personality, as well as my taste for the exotic.  You laugh.  I've had several friends tell me that Niko was not exotic.  Niko was, to me.  There are no wolves in the Ghostlands, and I had to travel very far to find him.  But anyways... my search for another appropriate companion led me to the Barrens.  Deep within the Wailing Caverns, amongst the Druids of the Fang, there were Dreadfangs:  beautiful blue and violet windserpents.  And I wanted one.  So, I gathered a party of adventurers and we delved into the dreaded caves.

By the sun, was that an adventure.  If I have to tell another warrior that 'I need the beast's attention to tame it,' so help me, I will hurt someone.  In the end, I did manage to tame my Dreadfang, a female I discovered, and named her Naari.  She has been with me since.

That's enough for now, I think.