Knights of Naren – Alinash

Fictober prompt #1

#1 – “It’s not too late, let’s go.”

Original Fiction/Knights of Naren

Rated G
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He couldn’t believe his bad luck lately. Yesterday, it had rained hard enough that the ditch that ran through the slums had overflowed, putting his shack and his neighbors in thick, putrid water that ran out from the sewer system from the city proper. And the city certainly wasn’t going to help with that. Then today, he and his neighbors worked to modify the ditch and set up sandbags to keep the water out of their living space, leaving him covered in thick, slimy, stinky mud by mid-afternoon. It was slick enough that he had slipped and – trying to catch his fall – had landed in a way that hurt his wrist.

“Stop fidgeting.”

Alinash’s ear twitched at the command and his brows drew down. “I’m missing out on work tonight, Angel.”

The woman binding his wrist looked him up and down. “It’ll take a week to get all the mud off you. Sitting still while I try to heal you isn’t going to make you miss any more work than you would have already.” She humphed and added, “Speak to me about missing work tonight. I had to cancel my 6 o’clock for you. If it weren’t for Sirena calling in a favor I owed her, you’d be on your own.”

She was right on both counts. He wasn’t going to fool any of the city people with the way he looked and smelled right now. To make things worse, the wastewater had contaminated their clean water so he was going to have to make a trek out to the river path to truly get clean. And his mother had been the one to get him in to see Angel. While there were a fair amount of rogue mages in the slums, Angel was one of the few who knew anything about healing magic. He tried to hold still as she finished binding his wrist.

The healing itself was the fast part. She said a few words and her hands glowed a warm light yellow as she moved them around his wrist. The pain subsided gradually, and her hands dimmed.

“That’s all I can do for now. It isn’t fully healed, and I recommend leaving it wrapped up for a few days and not doing anything too strenuous. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. I can bath with this on, right?”

She paused, taking a moment to give him a pointed look. “I really hope you do. The binding will get wet, but it’ll dry. Just don’t take it off for a few days. You can leave now. I need to air out the stench so my 7 o’clock doesn’t get ill from the smell.”

He twitched an ear again, sure that Angel, a human, probably didn’t pick up on obvious signs of elf irritation but did it anyway as it made him feel better. He got up and left without saying another word.

His next stop would have to be the river, but as the river went directly through the middle of the city, he had to take the path around to a spot outside the city. The sun was already dipping low in the sky, and he had to hurry. His daughter, Ruby, was old enough to take care of herself, but he wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone at night yet, especially not after the past two days. She was supposed to be working on cleaning up the sleeping areas in the shack. If she hadn’t finished, he’d be stuck doing that tonight.

And with that thought, he figured a shortcut through the city would be in his favor. It would involve climbing a wall and staying out of sight by moving across the rooftops. There was an added benefit of possibly being able to find clean clothes along the way so he’d be able to walk back in something dry. He glanced down at his wrist. It felt fine. He started climbing.

As he moved from one roof to the next, he lamented the fact that it absolutely was going to cut into his work time for a second day in a row and tonight had the potential to be especially lucrative. He and Ruby had been watching a few houses in one of the well-off areas of the city, and with it being a religious holiday, many of those homes would be empty tonight while the occupants attended services at the temple.

He paused when he noticed some clothing put out to dry on a balcony railing nearby. It looked to be about his size. He made his way closer, listening for a moment before dropping down quietly from the roof to the balcony. He paused again, waiting to hear any noise from inside. Nothing. He moved quickly, grabbing a pair of pants and a shirt before scrambling back up to the roof. He folded them under his arm and continued.

He reached the river just as the sun was setting. He bathed quickly and washed his old dirty clothes as well as he could in the dimming light before donning his freshly stolen shirt and pants and heading back.

It was dark when he finally arrived home. Ruby sat on a clean, dry crate next to another larger clean dry crate, eating some bread and cheese she must have found while she was out — all of which was a pleasant surprise.

She spoke first, “How’s your wrist?”

“Healed. Are the beds done?” he asked as he took a seat on one of the other two clean, dry crates and helped himself to some of the bread.

“Yeah, Tinman and Slink got some palettes from one of the farms a few miles out. I had managed to steal some extra food from the market earlier so I traded some of it. I couldn’t find any blankets though, so we’ll have to do with the ones we had. I washed them this morning using some water Sirena had left over from washing her things. She said she got it from the river. They should be dry by the time we go to bed, but I think they still smell a bit. We’ll probably have to find replacements. Maybe we can find some tonight.” She took another bite of her bread.

“It’s too late. By the time we get there, the services at the temples will be ending, and people will be headed back home.”

“But you said they had parties after.”

He had told her that – mostly because she still worried about getting caught. The services were usually only an hour long. He knew an hour was plenty of time to break in and snag a few valuables from a house, but Ruby was still learning. He had planned on getting her there and out with plenty of time to spare. The last thing he needed was her fretting about how much time they had left.

And they did have parties, but— He frowned and looked at Ruby, “There’s no way to tell who’s going to the parties and who isn’t.”

“What if we leave right now? We can still make it. They’ll still be doing their holiday worship thing. It’s not too late! Let’s go!” She put down her bread and started getting up.

“No, sit down.” He admired her enthusiasm. He’d also been like that when he was younger, but now — he looked around, his eyes finally resting on the food. “We have all we need tonight, Rubes. It’s been a big day for both of us, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Let’s take our time, eat, and get some rest. We’ll deal with the blankets tomorrow.”

WoW – Hethurin’s Notes

Summer is here, but things haven’t slowed down here at the school. The school year ended with the play that the kids from the general studies classes put on. This year, it was about dragons. I think Renner and Zayel secretly enjoyed it. The youngest students, Sorhorn’s class, were the green dragons, then Mr. Morningwood’s class was split so that half of them were bronze and the others were blue. Lali’s class was also split so that half were red dragons and the other half were black. They each talked about their flights and what they did and everyone had a made-up dragon name. It was cute. Brier also had her debut on piano at the play and the other kids sang a song about the flights.

The summer has been good so far. My mother still hasn’t tried showing up here, but I guess Bailas shows up at the clinic now and then with some issue or another. Lanthiriel said that the worst was when he scraped up his elbow pretty bad because he fell off a porch roof. But most of the time he’s fine and just asking stupid things. She wouldn’t tell me what those things were.

We had a party on the beach with swimming and food and a fire and some people put up a net and did some sport with a ball where they hit it over the net to another person but they don’t want that person to hit it back. I didn’t play, but my father did. I wish he’d keep his shirt on, but I couldn’t say anything because Ter took his shirt off too and I liked that.

We’re preparing for the new school year to start soon. Aeramin actually gave me his lesson plan before I even asked for it. Maybe he’s starting to take things more seriously. I don’t ask anyone else for lesson plans, just him because I know he’s not very organized, but maybe I don’t need to anymore. Zaelle will be starting as the teacher for the new students coming in this year. Sorhorn decided to stay with his current students until they’re old enough for Morningwood’s class, but by then a new class will be coming in so Zaelle and he will just be switching off taking the new students.

I’m both excited and sad about school starting this year. Narise will be going to Zaelle’s class. I remember the first time I held her when she was a baby and now she’s old enough to start going to school. I get the same feeling about Malwen sometimes though. She was only seven when she came to us and now she’s almost a teenager!

Also starting this year is Viessa who is Des’s and Perothis’s adopted daughter. They bought her a bunch of cute hats because her hair is really thin. Lanthiriel says she’s in perfect health. She just has thin hair naturally. She has lots of cute hats though, and I’ve made sure to tell Zaelle to let her wear her hats in the class. Zaelle will also have Lyorri, Zaeris, Zaren, and Telinda in her class.

I’ve given permission to Vallindra to pick up Lief and Zeavia from their classes. I guess she’s working with the ley-lines on the Scar and that’s near the school so it’s easier for her to get them since Felarius goes for classes a couple of times a week with Xanaroth. I’m a little anxious that she’ll be there. I think I’ll make sure I have the time to go and make sure that Narise, Dain, Syndra, Brier, Malwen, and Rhan all get home okay.

Galandil is the only one at home during the day now. I think I’ll be really sad when he goes to school.

WoW – Letter to Ithlarin

Dear Ithlarin,

It’s okay if you can’t stay awake for my patrol. I know you must be very busy during the day now, and when our patrol stops at the school, it’s well past midnight.

The gardens look like they are ready for spring! I think all we need are a couple of warm days, and everything will be in bloom. Would it be okay if I stopped by on a weekend during the day with Grug? He will probably be more interested in the insects than the flowers, but I can use it as an opportunity to try to teach him about both. Then perhaps we could have lunch together while he plays with some of the other kids there.

We’ll be doing the spider caves later this week. Grug was upset when he first heard about it, but I explained to him that we don’t kill ALL of the spider eggs, and if they were left alone, the forest would be full of huge spiders and no one would be safe to walk the paths. He wants one as a second pet, but I want to wait to make sure he’s taking proper care of his first one before allowing a second. So far, he seems to do well with it.

Haani should be able to help you with the language. Part of the reason she’s here is to get better in Thalassian, though I think she’s learning Taurahe too now. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind helping you.

The spring dance will be soon, won’t it? Will you go with me? I think your parties here are sort of the same as our parties except I think we dance a little more. Maybe it depends on the type of party, but here it seems that the only people who dance are those who have partners. The parties I went to in Shattrath were those where it was okay to dance alone or in a group. Do you have those sorts of parties here too?

And yes, chimes are very nice to fall asleep to. I miss the chimes in Shattrath sometimes. If I had my own place, I would put wind chimes near the windows. I have considered asking the Captain for a cabin now that I have Grug, but I also think it’s good for him at the ranger building. He gets to be around more people who speak the language he needs to speak for school. He is still learning Draenei but his Thalassian has improved a lot since starting school this year.

I hope you don’t think I talk too much about Grug, but I am rather proud of him. I wasn’t sure how it would work with him being an orc, but he continues to surprise me. He came off as a bit aggressive at first, but it turns out that he just needs help channeling all of his energy towards something positive. He’s smart and inquisitive, neither of which are adjectives I would have used to describe an orc before meeting him. He has asked questions about you, and I have explained to him that sometimes a boy likes girls, and sometimes a boy likes boys, and sometimes a draenei likes an elf, and that’s all okay.

My patrol starts soon, so I’ll end this here. I hope to see you again soon!

-Jamos

WoW – Hethurin’s Notes

Well, we’re back from Shattrath and we have two more kids. I really didn’t mean to do that, but I went with Xanaroth to the orphanage and he couldn’t take four because that’s too many so I HAD to take them! I’m just so glad I was able to convince Terellion to go meet them.

They’re twins! They’re seven-years-old and their names are Dain and Syndra and they’re so sweet. And they’re smart too! They made up this whole dice game on their own and I’m still learning the rules. They don’t look alike despite being twins. Dain has dark brownish red hair, a bit like mine except his is curly, and Syndra has lighter red hair that is a little curly, but less than her brother’s.

They have been settling in well, though we had to shuffle some rooms around. Narise is sleeping in the same room as Galandil now, and Dain and Syndra have to share a room, which they said they don’t mind, and it’s only temporary anyway. The other solution would have been to ask Syndra and Brier to share, but Brier was having a little trouble adjusting to having two new siblings so we dropped that idea without even bringing it up with her.

I did have to have a talk with Brier. We went for a walk, and I told her that she’s just as much loved as before. She was worried that we were bored with her or something and that’s why we adopted two more kids. I assured her that wasn’t the case, and I think she’s coming around now. Syndra has shown some interest in learning how to play instruments too, so maybe I can encourage them to play a duet at some point.

Maybe I need to get a second piano. Or maybe Syndra would prefer to learn a different instrument. I think she’s still deciding.

It’s starting to get warmer, so I’ll be meeting with Gaelardrim soon about the plans for the houses. I want them to start with my father’s and Ter’s mother’s house. They need a couple of rooms added. I know my father has already met with Gaelardrim, so I’m eager to see what they came up with. We’ll also need to discuss plans for six or seven houses, and I think Xanaroth might need a little extra space at his place too, so maybe I can let him borrow the builders for a couple of weeks.

I might need more builders.

Aranae will be getting her house first, but I think Kelzara and her three kids should be second. They’ve moved into Sorhorn’s old house and Sorhorn has moved in with Zaelle and Sorhorn’s daughter, Malora, is staying at the school for now. Anyway, Sorhorn’s old house isn’t very big and only has two bedrooms and that’s not enough for four people, so I think she should be second, then someone else could move into Sorhorn’s old house. Or maybe even two people. I think Summer still needs help adjusting to life off the Row, so maybe she could be Malora’s roommate or something. I’ll have to discuss it with them and see what they think.

Xanaroth’s new kids and our twins are all in Sorhorn’s class. I talked to him to make sure he was okay with four new students. His classroom doesn’t have any empty chairs now, but he said he could manage.

The ballroom has been closed off for the general studies students to start work on their sets for the end of year play. Malwen keeps reminding me that I’m not allowed to peek. I’m not going to, but I am curious about what they have planned this year.

WoW – Felarius’s Notes

We’ve been in Shattrath for our classes for the past couple of weeks. I kind of like it here, though we have to share rooms at the inn and I’ve been paired with Amor. He’s a little weird sometimes. He has this bright pink and yellow robe that he really likes to wear and he wears sunglasses when he doesn’t need to. I don’t really know him that well. He’s not in any of my classes, so it’s kind of strange to share a room with him. He seems okay despite how he dresses.

My father and Irael’s mother are both here so I’m worried if I take Irael on a date, that we’ll run into them. We’ve been going to eat at the restaurant that the headmaster paid in advance to feed us all while we’re here, which is kind of nice because we can order whatever we want without worrying about how much it costs. The restaurant is right next to the library so it’s convenient too. We’ve taken some walks and gone to the market as well. So far, we haven’t run into our parents.

Our classes have continued while we’re here. Arcane and frost theory is being taught in the library. They have some rooms on the upper floors where we go for that, so we can talk without disturbing anyone. Professor Firewind says he doesn’t like the library rooms, but he has a house here. Most of his classes have been out in front of his house, there’s a little space there that isn’t a lawn, but it’s not quite the sidewalk either. He sets up chairs every day. The one day it rained a little so we went inside and had the class in his sitting room which was a bit crowded but we didn’t get wet.

I’ve had my other classes too. Professor Embersun is here, but I don’t think that’s the only reason he came to Shattrath because now he has two more kids from the orphanage in addition to his own daughter, Elara. Maybe that’s why Professor Firewind was the one who took me to Hellfire to observe the voidlords, but they both went with me when it was time to bind a voidwalker. They don’t exactly get along, but Professor Firewind said that’s why he wants me to learn from both of us because they have different ideas and I’ll get a more complete education if I learn from both. I guess. I just don’t want to piss one off if I do something the other taught me.

Anyway, Professor Embersun wanted me to draw my circle on my own, and Professor Firewind wanted to check each step to make sure it was right. Summoning a random demon of any kind is a bit scary the first time. You have to make sure it’s going to be trapped and compelled to give its name. The most important part is making sure it’s trapped, but if you can’t get its name, then you’ve just wasted a bunch of time too.

Also, it’s random. Well, it’s a circle for a voidwalker, but you don’t know if it’s going to entice a powerful one or not. I was a bit worried when mine appeared and Professor Firewind said it was a bit small. Professor Embersun said it was good because it would grow in power as I did, and Professor Firewind agreed with that. I got its name, Xogloth, and bound it to me, so now I have a weak and tiny voidwalker to work with, which I guess is good? I really hope it does grow in power as I do.

WoW – Aeramin’s Notes

I’m not sure where to start with this. Things have been going okay. I mean, some things have been going great, but I don’t know. I think I might still be stressed by the extra work this past fall. Maerista is back now which is good because she made my lesson plan so I could give it to Hethurin. He’s always so insistent about getting one from me, but he never bothers anyone else about it. Maerista knows how I teach and what I teach, so she did a really good job, so I just copied it and turned it into him. I don’t care if I really wind up following it or not, and I don’t think Maerista cares either. Hethurin doesn’t seem to get that I know what I’m teaching, but don’t want to move on to the next lesson if someone hasn’t grasped the lesson we’re on. I can’t make a lesson plan based on guessing where they’re going to have trouble.

Anyway, that’s work. The classes are going well. Roderick is usually pretty quiet while I’m teaching, and I carry him in a sling while I teach because he can walk now and he’s curious enough that his mobility disturbs the class. He spends a little time in the baby room so that he can run around and play and explore for a bit, but most of the time at the school, he’s in the sling. The problem with that is he’s starting to get heavy. Imralion can still lift him in the air with one hand, but I’m not that strong. I want to suggest to Hethurin that he gets someone full-time for the baby room, but at the same time, after the lesson plan stuff, I don’t care to see Hethurin much right now. But it’s for Roderick, so I need to suck it up and try to see him during lunch or something this week.

Speaking of lunch, I’ve agreed to have lunch in the city every Sunday with my father. We went to eat supper at his place, and Im thought it might be good if I tried to spend some time with him. It just feels like a chore. The only people I really care to spend actual time with are Imralion, Marta, Roderick, and Tiros. Everyone else can go blow one. I mean, it’s okay to see him sometimes and know everything’s okay. Even when he was still drunk off his ass and living in the Row, I went to check up on him to make sure he had food and the rent was paid.

He apologized while we were doing the dishes after supper. I don’t like to dwell on what happened in the past with him. He’s a different person when he drinks – an angry, impatient person, but that’s not him now. I told him something to that effect, and that as long as he doesn’t become that different person again, I don’t care. I don’t need an apology for things he can’t even remember doing. I just hope he doesn’t bring it up every Sunday now.

He’s going on a trip with Anorelle soon to some weird pirate thing. We’ll be watching Tiros while they’re gone. Which I guess means I’ll have two toddlers in my classroom. I hope the lesson plan that Maerista did is light on actual teaching that week. I might have to assign reading to supplement the lessons. I hate assigning reading. Good students are going to read anyway. I always give them the relevant books and chapters for each lesson and leave it up to them if they feel like they need to read more on it.

Right after they get back, the whole school is going to Shattrath for two weeks. Marta’s class is only going to be meeting there for a week. I think the other week is going to be a vacation week for the general studies class. The magic students will have the full two weeks of classes in Shattrath. Hethurin and Raleth like having their classes in some of the upper rooms of the library, but I take my classes outside. I’ll have some extra work to do with Felarius there. I need to speak with Embersun about it before going.

After we get back from Shattrath, I’ll need to start building a little riding/combat training course for Marta and Prince. Imralion mentioned that she wanted to train on the horse because Prince is her steed. The problem is, she can’t see, so on the surface, that sounds like a bad idea, but I suggested that if the targets made some sort of noise and someone rode with her, it wouldn’t be as dangerous. I spoke to Lilithel and she said we could use the fenced-in area to build a little course for her. As long as Prince knows where he’s going, I’d even be okay with Marta trying it while riding alone, as long as someone’s close by to help. I’m sure she’s going to love it.

WoW – Letter to Braedra

Dear Braedra,

How are you? Have you had the twins yet? I hope everything goes well. It sounds like a lot of work, but I don’t know a lot about babies. I hope you don’t have to rest too much. That sounds boring.

I’ve been very busy lately because of the holiday season, but now things are slowing down again. I worked on some repairs and made some new clocks that sold before the gift-giving holiday so maybe one of my clocks was a gift. It’s fun to think anyway even if mine aren’t amazing like Harrier’s are. They work right, and that’s what matters most.

I spoke to a friend here about the decisions I might have to make. The way I see it, four things could happen. The first is they decide to stay here and I don’t have to make any hard decisions. Second, they decide to go to Gilneas and I go with them. I don’t know anything about Gilneas, but I’d be with friends. But I’d also have to leave other friends behind. Third, they decide to go to Gilneas, but I decide to stay. I’d probably wind up homeless and begging for cheese from my friend, but I’d have that friend, but everyone else would leave me. Fourth, I do my own thing and move to the Ghostlands to really try to find my father, if he’s still alive, or at least find out what happened to him. The problem is, in both situations three and four, I wouldn’t have any income, not that I make a lot now, but at least I’m able to contribute a little. I don’t like feeling useless.

Anyway, I think the fourth scenario is least likely, but you mentioned that you used to work at the Spire, so maybe you can help me. I had someone look into it before for me and it turns out my name isn’t even my real name. My name given at birth was Thal’inas Brightblade, but I guess the woman who took me in when she found me wandering about in the Row thought I said Alinash Brightblaze. I was three and already had an alias.

I just turned forty last month. My mother’s name was Cythril Daeras, and she was murdered. Her death certificate stated her cause of death was blunt force trauma combined with blood loss. My father, Beluar Brightblade, is a suspect in the case, but he went missing at the same time. I also went missing at the same time. I was three and a woman named Syrina found me in the Row but never checked to see if I was a missing person. I have a cousin in Eversong who doesn’t know that I still exist, but I don’t know her name, only that it’s a woman. I know that something happened when my mother married my father that caused my grandparents to write her out of the will, and it’s probably likely that they didn’t approve of the marriage. My father was a common blacksmith. The only thing I know about his work is that he specialized in carriage frames.

And that’s all I know. What I’d like to know is what happened to my father. I might have been present at the time that things happened but I don’t remember much. If I was in the Ghostlands now to investigate, I’d try to see if he had any friends or if he has any living family members besides me who might be able to tell me more about him. I’d also want to ask my cousin from my mother’s side of the family some questions as well – mostly about my mother’s parents but also about her marriage to my father.

I’d also check the newspaper archive at the library for the articles about the murder or maybe even find someone to talk to a guard who knows about the case for me. I know the murder happened at home though I’ve gone through the correspondence I received and can’t find where I was told that. I just know. I don’t know if home was in the city or in Eversong, so finding the articles might not be so easy. I was also not told what time of year it was, but I have a strong feeling that it was summer.

Anyway, if you want to help, I’d appreciate it, but I understand if you don’t want to.

As for my decision, I’m going to try not to worry about it until they make their decision. Maybe they’ll decide to stay here and I worried about it for nothing.

Again, I hope everything is going well with the twins!

– Alinash Brightblaze

WoW- Hethurin’s Notes

It’s the best time of the year, but I’m having one of my moods. I’ve been trying to hide it, but I think Ter’s noticed. It’s probably just stress, and in that way, my gift to him is more for both of us. I’ve booked two weeks at the islands in Pandaria – the ones where you get your own island when you stay there. I got one of the bigger ones. It has a small patch of jungle growing on it, and the house there has walls that slide to the side so it can be all open if you want. I think during the day that’ll be okay, but at night I’ll want them closed. Ter knows how to swim so I hope that if I watch him do that, he won’t mind watching me do a little fishing. Well, watching someone swim is probably a lot more exciting than watching someone fish. I’ll have to find another way to make it up to him.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the trip. The reservation is in another timeline, so we won’t have to worry about the kids because two weeks there will be just a few seconds here. We’ll miss them, but they won’t even notice we’re gone.

The past few weeks have been so busy. We’ve had the party to get ready for. Getting Brier something to wear for it was difficult because she doesn’t like many things. She wound up getting a smaller size of the fancy suit that Rhan wanted to get, which was mostly black, so I asked Brier to get a different accent color. Rhan got blue and Brier got yellow, which didn’t actually look that bad. Malwen got a fancy pink dress. I think she’s finally given up on Kiandris. She spends more time with the other girls now. Maybe having Kiandris in a different classroom helped. Narise has an adorable white and light blue dress, but she’ll get food on it almost immediately, I’m sure. She’s at the age where she could stay clean if she was being careful, but she doesn’t care to be careful. Galandil will be wearing a cute little suit. We have to watch him to make sure he doesn’t touch some of the food that’ll be there. Not because he’ll make a mess, but because some of the ingredients are things he can’t have.

I’ve also had individual meetings with each teacher to discuss any issues they might be having and ask if there was anything they felt they needed to help their students. As well, I wanted to get a good idea of how well the students in the other classes were fairing.

I spoke with Mr. Morningwood first. He’s teaching the 9-15 year olds – Nerine, Malwen, Zeno, Brier, Marta, and Eladrine, which makes his class one of the more diverse. He thinks things are going well. He spends some extra time helping Marta with her reading while the other kids are in their physical education class with Aranae. I plan to make a donation to the school for the blind in Silvermoon and get some more copies of books made for her with the raised letters so that she can read different things. I’ve also come up with the idea to send all of the general class teachers to a class in the summer in Silvermoon for teaching kids with special needs. Mr. Morningwood has been doing well with the books I gave him to help teach Marta, but maybe there are more things he could learn. He doesn’t report any problems with the class and everyone gets along okay in it. He’s been sticking to his lesson plan and the kids are learning everything.

I spoke to Sorhorn next. He has the younger class with Rylad, Naraleth, Iannor, Wyrran, Jilia, and Grug in it. I guess his class is pretty diverse too. Rylad still spends a lot of time being a cat, but he said he is able to get them all to settle down to learn. He has better luck with that in the morning, so he plans more learning-by-play things for the afternoon. The one student he’s having trouble with is Wyrran. He still doesn’t talk, and only wants to play with blocks, so he’s become another kid who doesn’t go to Aranae’s class as Sorhorn works with him and special sets of blocks while the other kids are at Aranae’s class or “having cat time”. It’s through the blocks that he’s teaching him colors and animals and letters. He said he’s introducing addition to him too. I may have to sit down with Sorhorn, Raleth, and Lali and make a plan for Wyrran. I don’t know how much they’re doing at home, but I think that it’s best if school and home reinforce each other.

I spoke with Lali too, but not about Wyrran. She teaches the older kids. Felarius, Irael, and Vaildor are all part-time in her class, but Kiandris, Rhan, Elthanni, Telaena, and Lukian are all full-time. I was worried that having both full and part time general education students in the same class could cause problems, but she says that she focuses on easier things on days when the part-time students aren’t there as they’re a little more advanced, except Vaildor, but he gets notes from Kiandris and actually approaches Lali if he doesn’t understand something he missed, so it’s good that it’s working out. We also talked about what we might do when Nerine is old enough to move up to her class. She’ll reach 15 before Marta does, but Lali said she’d like to see that decision left to Nerine herself.

For the general education students, I also spoke to Aranae. She said her classes were going well and that she was looking forward to the class being offered to the magic students as well.

I also discussed taking the general education students to Shattrath with their teachers. They’ll need to have permission slips signed, and I think it’s best if the younger classes don’t go for the full two weeks. Sorhorn suggested just two days for the youngest class, and Mr. Morningwood suggested a week for his. It’s tricky because some of the kids will be in Shattrath for the full two weeks, while others won’t, but as long as they all have permission, some of them will be there for a little bit, at least.

Later that week, I was able to catch Theronil at the end of his enchanting class. He doesn’t normally stay very long after as he also patrols the grounds, but he said that everything is going well and he’s been sticking to his lesson plan.

Then I talked to Raleth and Keyalenn at the same time. Their classes are also going well. No one is ready to take their tests in the city for frost.

I took Desdeyliri to lunch in the city to discuss her classes. We also did a little shopping for the holiday while we were there. We might have also went to the robe shop and enabled each other. She agrees with me that Kindroth is ready for his test, and I’ve finally managed to convince him. I’ve asked Des to do review with him and help him prepare for the actual test while we wait to know what day and time they schedule for him.

Lastly, I was able to catch up with Aeramin on the last day of school just before he left, then he had the nerve to try to tell me he didn’t have time. I told him he had to make time because it was for his students. He still hasn’t given me a lesson plan outline for the next year, and all he could say was that he couldn’t wait for Maerista to come back. Well, I guess she’s coming back after the holiday. I kind of can’t wait either because I took one of the beginning fire classes and a couple of the private lessons that I could fit in my schedule and Aeramin took the rest. And he’s been cranky since like it’s my fault or I should have taken more or something. Maybe I should talk to Imralion and make sure he’s taking his medication.

We had a little party on the last day for the general education classes and each kid got a new book for a present. I hope they like them!

Hmm, there’s not much else to say. My father and Braedra don’t have babies yet, and Ter doesn’t think they’re going to give me one anyway. Maybe that means it’s okay for us to go to the city and get another. But I also kind of want to wait until Galandil is a little bit older. Maybe when he’s old enough to question what’s in food before he eats it. Or maybe a little before that.

I’m excited about the winter ball. I hope everyone has a great time!

The Mask Party by Brier Fairsong

I had a good mask party, I guess. The theme was the forest, and at first, I told my dads that I wanted to be an orc, but they reminded me that there was a theme, so then I said a forest orc. No one can argue with that, and I really didn’t feel like wearing a mask. I just wanted the candy.

And wow did I ever get too much candy. I really hope that Mr. Morningwood doesn’t share these with anyone because I guess if I’m writing about the party, I should mention that Malwen brought back a whole bucket of candy to our rooms. She, Narise, and I ate so much of it! But then my tooth started aching, and Malwen said I should stop eating candy so it can heal.

It’s so hard not to eat sweet things! But then I noticed that it also hurts when I drink juice, so maybe I can blame it on that and no one will have to know about the candy. Malwen doesn’t want to get in trouble for taking a whole bucket, and I don’t want to get her in trouble because I think we’re just starting to be friends kind of, and I don’t want to mess that up.

I told Sorelle, and now I guess Mr. Morningwood is going to know because I have to write all these words for class. Don’t tell my dads, Mr. Morningwood! Anyway, Sorelle thought I should tell them, but Malwen begged me not to because it was her idea to bring up the candy. I guess I could wait and see if it heals by itself and if it doesn’t, I’ll just blame it on the juice.

People always told me that orcs aren’t supposed to like candy and sweets anyway, so maybe I just have bad orc teeth, even if they look human enough. In fact, ‘human teeth’ is one of the reasons I wasn’t adopted before. They took a full-blooded orc kid instead.

I’m trying to move past how I felt at the orphanage. I think I’m a lot more accepted here, and I’m learning how to sew with Sorelle and Telaena, and I’m learning how to play the piano with Hethurin. I know Thalassian really well now and understanding everyone is a lot easier now. I still don’t like calling my dads Ann’da and Arc’ann’da. It’s weird enough just referring to them as my dads, but then I never really had a dad before either, so I don’t know what’s normal really, but they’re elves and I’m not, but that’s also okay. Sorelle, Marta, and Roderick are the only humans I know out here, and I’m half-human so I guess that kind of counts.

It’s been suggested that I find a way to spend time with Marta but I think her dads are really overprotective or at least, one of them is. I asked Professor Firewind if Marta and I could go for a walk while waiting for his class to end and then he started asking all these questions like where we’d go (just on the estate grounds) and who we’d be going with (I thought it would be just us), and then I said we could stay in the lower gardens or on the beach if that was better, and then he just said no. Marta’s supposed to stay at the school until he’s done with his last class. I guess Nerine is here during that time anyway, so I don’t know why I really thought I could be friends with her.

I’m happy with Sorelle and Telaena as my friends anyway, and maybe Malwen is my friend too.

Anyway, that’s how the party was for me.

The End

WoW – A Letter to Braedra

Dear Braedra,

Hi! I hope you and your husband and your babies and your other kids are all doing good. Did you enjoy the rest of Brewfest? I couldn’t ride in the ram races, but I watched them for a while. I also had more beer which was probably not a good idea because I’m a lightweight. The guy I was there with and I stayed for a few days, so it was every day that way.

We were talking while eating sausage and cheese while drinking beer the day after I saw you. I guess there’s a chance that the shop might move to Gilneas. I’m not sure how I feel about it. The people at the shop aren’t the only people I know in Stormwind. If we move, I’ll be leaving other people behind, but if I don’t go, then they’ll go without me. I guess I don’t know? I don’t feel like I have much choice in the matter. It’s not my decision. I have to go if it happens, but it will be difficult to leave Stormwind.

I’ve been in this city for about five years now. Maybe it’s been longer. It’s the first place I’ve ever felt “at home”. I’m afraid if I leave I won’t be able to find that again. But if I don’t go, I might lose it too because I think feeling at home has a lot to do with the people a person spends the most time with. I guess that’s why I never felt at home in Silvermoon. I wasn’t with good people there. I was alone when I went to Dalaran and even more alone when I went to Orgrimmar. I guess I was alone when I first came to Stormwind too, but I wound up staying when I wasn’t alone anymore.

I’m rambling. I guess I’m just confused. I don’t know. I guess part of the problem is that I’m not sure how he feels about me. Maybe we’ll move and he’ll have the chance to have his own house and he’ll want the boss to live with him instead of me. I don’t know where that will leave me. I guess homeless in Gilneas with no one but Mr. McHoppers to keep me company. I guess most people my age are looking forward to freedom from their parents but it’s not easy being on your own.

I had someone look up records for me a couple of years ago and my name isn’t even my real name. I found out there’s no record of my father dying so I guess it’s possible he’s around somewhere. Sometimes I think about trying to find him, but then maybe he doesn’t want to be found. It seems like he would have looked for me when I needed him if he really cared, so I think looking for him will only lead to disappointment. That, or trouble. Or maybe he died and it just wasn’t put in the records. I expect there’s a lot of people who aren’t accounted for after the Scourge attack.

Anyway, I guess that’s all I have to say. I hope everything is well with you.

– Nash