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Gear is freed of his... ailment.

And he has planted a number of ideas in my mind that I now consider.

Bounty hunting? Where would a paladin fit into that? Maybe I should just return to my work before the Fellowship. Preaching. Confessions. Fighting.

"Mother Kel." How fitting.

Shackles wrapping tightly around his wrists, blood draining slowly down his short green arms, his body bloody and bruised... The Alliance dogs attempted to beat information from his tongue with might and magic alike, though Gear did not give the name of his employer. He did not speak at all, perhaps this was a mistake?..

Gear left Kel'tira's side abruptly in the graveyard near Brill, one of his many informants bringing to his attention that his target had been spotted. Reaching the Jade Forests of Pandaria Gear found his mind full of thoughts, that of Kel'tira and who he was in the days past. The events that caused his current line of work, the pain that he had felt those lonely nights in Northrend... All of this, a dire mistake. Gear reached the location that his target had been spotted in only a few short hours, and sure enough the man was there. And though his target was within' his gaze Gear continued to let himself be distracted, today was just another day at work... With his rifle perched upon a small boulder, his crosshairs on his target...

The shot echoed out throughout the Jade Forest, the shot making impact upon his target. Blood hit a nurse behind him and spattered across the earth below him. Brain matter upon the grass, there was no question the target had been taken out, all was well?.. There was a single issue, in his haste Gear had not checked his surroundings, he had not scoped out the possibility of enemies lurking near, he had not figured out a discrete escape route. No, his mind was too occupied with Kel and other irrelevant things. And such was his undoing, within' a matter of moments Gear was surrounded by the Alliance military, swords and rifles drawn... "Damn..." Were the only words he could muster before a single soldier stepped forward, slapping the blunt of his sword into the side of Gear's head.

The next twenty four hours were some of the most painful Gear had ever experienced.

Daggers, brands, pliers, scalpels, every device the Alliance could get their hands upon they used. And when it was not enough they turned to magic, at first they summoned Mages, magic that burned his very flesh, magic that made him feel as if he were back in Northrend, and magic that simply ravaged his mind. Warlocks next, and when their magic was not enough... They took his eyes, like brutes they scraped his eyes out and laughed as screams and curses escaped his lips, everything was dark... Blood running over the entirety of his body, from his eyes to his mouth the bitter taste of copper stinging at his tongue...

Gear would not break, he would not speak. This was simply who he was, no pain any mortal could inflict would move his tongue. No amount of mental or physical trauma would shake his resolve, and soon the Alliance dogs realized this... And as if taking his eyes was not enough they left him with one last parting gift. A curse... The likes of which Gear had never seen or heard of. As the Warlock spoke in his demonic tongue Gear felt the cold embrace of the dead wrapping around him, holding at his flesh as if the dead had risen and embraced him. Bloody and defeated the Alliance removed his shackles and dragged the small green figure across their courtyard, blood dripping from his empty sockets as if they were tears of blood.

Gear held his tongue, he did not speak, he kept his promise, and this was to be the end. No rescue attempt, no quick end from a close friend. He was truly alone, and as they tossed him down a small hill his body tumbling violently like a rag doll the only thoughts he could muster... Perhaps it was best this way? Maybe, just maybe this was the end that he had always hoped for. The Gods would not let him die in Northrend, they forced him to live in anguish and perhaps this was their form of mercy...

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"No!" Gear burst within' his mind as his frail body came to a halt, he would not fall here. He could not stand the thought of going out on terms that were not his own, he could not stand the thought of letting the bastards that took his eyes remain breathing. And so he laid alone, bleeding out upon the grassy earth. The sounds of different critters and animals slowly closing in, just waiting for him to drain of life so they could have another meal supplied by the Alliance.....

After what seemed like a lifetime of darkness and pain Gear heard footsteps, they were not the footsteps of an Alliance soldier, nor that of a Mage that thought too highly of himself... No... "Lavian?.." Gear spoke, his voice sounding ever so brittle. His throat so dry, and the taste of copper still stained his tongue, and though there was no vocal response Gear felt the top of a flask press against his lips, water rushing down his throat as he weakly grasped at the arm of whomever was present. "It is I old friend." The voice chimed quietly as he placed a reassuring hand upon Gear's shoulder, letting the Goblin drink for only a moment before pulling the flask away. "We must move." Gear did not respond with words, he simply nodded and did what he could to sit upright. The man known as Lavian hefted Gear upright and carefully placed him upon his large kodo mount.

The movement caused more blood to rush from Gear's open wounds and he found himself slowly losing consciousness, the voice of his friend Lavian slowly fading into only inaudible sounds.

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Gear woke to searing pain, he felt as if his entire body had been dipped in acid. Cries of anguish escaping his lips as he began to thrash about in attempts to knock away whatever had been attacking him. "Gear!" A female voice shouted as the pain slowly faded, Gear slumping back to the ground simply wished to curl up and die. "Will this !@#$ never end?.." His voice weak and trembling, he could feel every cut, every bruise, every injury those bastards had inflicted upon him. And on top of that, those that were his friends had done something to inflict a pain that he thought could not exist. "Gear?.." A hollow and etheral voice broke into his mind. "Gear?.. What is wrong?.. What did they do to you?.. I sense something is not right with your mind, a foul magic at play... You need to tell me what they did to you so that we can heal you." Gear let his mind and tongue hold their silence, unresponsive to Guillotine for a time. "There was a Warlock..." He finally spoke, his voice still shaking with pain. "That damn Warlock must have cursed me..." His anger overcoming the anger as he managed to sit upright, sharp pains shooting throughout his every fiber. He simply clenched his fists and grinded his teeth. "Guillotine... Lavian.... Elera...." His sentence interrupted by a harsh cough at the taste of blood upon his lips once more. "They will pay... All of them, I will drown them in their own blood!" Gear attempted to stand in his moment of anger and was greeted by a shaking snap. Shouting out once more in pain Gear fell to the ground and slammed a fist into the ground. "Fix this!" He demanded. And his surroundings fell silent for a moment, then footsteps. "Gear, we'll return with the aid of a Mage to remove this curse from your mind." Lavian's familiar voice whispered carefully to Gear. "They took my damn eyes Lavian... They have to pay..." And at this the sound of footsteps heard once more, and soon he was alone again. Pain riddled his bones, and fear ached in his heart as he realized he had no idea where he was. But the adrenaline that pumped through his veins kept him aware, not letting the fear overtake him Gear simply sat alone... Waiting...

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Another day in complete darkness had passed, Gear did not sleep. Running through different schematics and possibilities to bring his eyesight back keeping him awake and aware. "Gear." A whisper from around the corner. The voice that of Lavian.

"Did you bring good news Lavian?.." His question seemed to echo and the silence that fell after seemed to last forever, cutting at his thoughts like the blades used to cut into his flesh. "I see..." After another brief moment of silence Lavian spoke. "We will keep searching, but we need to find a Warlock that knows of this curse. It may take some time... You'll need to remain here, we'll come by soon to move you to a different location." Gear simply nodded and settled his head back against the stone behind him. "Do you want to see anyone?" Elera's voice chimed in, sweet and soft. "Sunblaze, bring Sunblaze..." His demand voiced calmly as he settled back into his thoughts as he awaited to see if Kel'tira Sunblaze would show.

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Left alone once more.
Only him and his thoughts.
Ideas to enhance his Retinal Optics.
How to bring his eyesight back.
Would it be possible?
Of course it was possible...

And when it was done...

Bloodshed.

A few sheets of parchment, and faded black ink

This new woman in my life never ceases to amaze me. After a few hours of running a few jobs for our Pandaren friends, and the Horde militia, we decided to turn in for the day and rest. We returned to Honeydew Village, as we are using this as our base of operations for the moment.

As we prepared to rest, I asked Karamia if I might lie beside her bed, just to be close to her. And she said "no", that I may lie beside her in the bed. For a moment my heart stopped, and I said "Really?". She said only for sleeping though. (Did I detect a sparkle in her eye?)

As we lay together, resting from our day, she snuggled a little closer, and I put my arm around her. I think we both sighed deeply as we fell asleep next to each other.

I feel like I'm falling in love all over again with the same woman. Is it wrong of me to find this exciting and romantic at the same time? Sometime in the middle of the night, I found myself awake, with her close, and as I leaned on my arm, I softly sang an old Sin'dorei lullabye to my sweet Karamia. And gently stroked her soft hair. The tears came, tears of joy, as I lay there looking at my angel laying beside me. I love her so.

I settled down beside her again to sleep, and made sure she was covered by the blanket, and placed my arm around her. She kicked the blankets off, but grabbed my arm and pulled it close to her, snuggling close to it and me. I am as close to heaven as I can possibly be.

Kreindis walked through the streets of Silvermoon, searching for two things: His love, and a jewelers shop, or any shop, really, that sold a ring like the one he had imagined he would buy for her, to propose to her with. So far, he had yet to.

Suddenly, a sign caught his eye. It read: "Silvermoon City Jewelers: Anything you wish for and more!" It was written in Thalassian, and purple letters. There was blue around it. Kreindis walked in, hoping this shop might have what he wanted. The man at the counter called, "Welcome, sir! How may I help you?" Kreindis moved to the counter. "I was looking for a ring. A purple one, to be precise." The man nodded, "I believe we have one. Follow me!" He led him through various displays, until they reached one at the end of the shop.

The ring inside was beautiful. Purple, with a mix of a silvery color, and a perfectly cut blue gem was placed on it. It was almost exactly what Kreindis had wanted, but it was close enough. "How much is it?" he asked, and the man replied, "Five-hundred gold, or something worth such." Kreindis thought over the price. He wasn't exactly the wealthiest Paladin, but it was exactly what he wanted. He would have to pay with gold, as he had nothing to trade otherwise. Finally he decided.

"I'll take it." He opened his coin bag and dug out the five-hundred coins asked for, handing them to the other man, who removed a small gold key from his pocket, which he unlocked the display with. He took the ring out, and handed it to Kreindis. "Anything else you wish to buy?" He had already begin to walk away. "No, thanks."

He exited the shop, and began running to his room at the inn. Once he got there, he began to think. "I have the ring... I know where I'm proposing... now I just need to find out what I'm going to say..."

Alenthis stood on the edge of the Zeppelin tower in Orgrimmar, patiently waiting for the arrival of his transportation back to Undercity, and in turn Silvermoon. He smiled pleasantly, thinking about how well the last month had gone. Kel'tira had admitted him back into the Fellowship, to redeem himself. And he would. He knew it. Lyrilia was doing well, abrasive, beautiful, and funny as always. Alenthis smiled, thinking about her. He hoped she was doing well right now.

The zeppelin pulled to a stop and tied off on the tower, and horde members began to step aboard. Alenthis nodded at several of them and headed below decks to the cabins. He sat down and waited for the Zeppelin to arrive and opened up his back pack. He pulled out a small black leather book with runes inscribed on the front. A journal. He opened it to the first page, and began to write.

Finally. I can begin to recover. No more Demons. No more witches. Viragona hasn't been heard of in some time. Perhaps she's gone...Hopefully, she's gone. Lyrilia. I'm so glad she's still with me in this time. I'm so glad I didn't hurt her when I wasn't myself. Things are beggining to look up, my brother-in-law, Azurick tells me that Pandaria is a strange place. Perhaps one day soon, I'll see this land for myself.

I'm back into my job, as a diplomat for the Forsaken. Hopefully, my job won't end once the war effort kicks into full gear.

((I was in the wrong journal, I apologize. Go to Journal #3 for your journal entries!))

A Leather Bound Diary

Today saw the beginning of my new life as a mercenary. After much thought, I’ve decided to leave the rangers again. There are many reasons for this decision; for one, it doesn’t pay much to be a defender of Quel’Thalas anymore. Once, Silvermoon’s coffers were bursting with gold, enough gold for its guardians to live in comfort, enjoying the many frivolities of my people. Now, I receive barely enough money to get by, so much that I must sacrifice meals sometimes in order to make ends meet. While work as a mercenary is dangerous and brutal, the pay is good if you know how to get it. But if it were only that, then I would see it as a selfish act to abandon my duties.

But it isn’t only that. Even now, I can feel the change in our beautiful lands. Everything is permeated by the taint of foul energies. First it was because of the Scourge; they befouled our home and tainted our Sunwell, forcing us to seal it off. But then it was because of us. Because of our crazed prince, who thought of channeling demonic energies to sate our thirst for magic. Our lands and people were once again changed, but now the change was much darker. I am not exempt of this; there were many occasions when I resorted to fel energies, thinking nothing of what it would cause in the long term. Even though the Sunwell is restored, now a fount of magic and holy power, I know that it will be long before my eyes will return to their serene blue from this foul green.

And then there’s my thirst for adventure. I never thought I’d be one of those who wish to explore the world. In my youth I was content to stay in Quel’Thalas for the rest of my days, but now I can think only of the lands beyond. I always go back to my time in the Wilderness with nothing but myself and strangers to protect me from the looming specter of death that held Quel’Thalas and Lordaeron in a stranglehold. But they weren’t strangers. They were and forever will be my friends. And him… I never told him, never even told myself, but now that my new life is begun I think it’s time to confess the secrets of my old one. I truly loved him with every part of me, and I still love him. But he chose another, and I owe it to him to let him live his own life.

So now I sit at the inn of Falconwing Square at the end of the day. The first day of my new life. It was rather eventful; I began with thinning the mana wyrm population of Sunstrider Isle, relearning many of the skills I’ve forgotten over time. I continued killing wildlife a bit later, slaying some of the local lynx population. Later I visited the Falthrien Academy to slay the Wretched man that dwelt there, using the help of a stranger to bring him down.

I was sent to a woman named Outrunner Elarion and was tasked to find one of her messengers. She had been slain by some of the nearby wretched, her body mangled and lying in the middle of the road. I saw the wretched that did it, patrolling some ruins a little ways from the road that looked like a gathering place for wretched. Tomorrow I will find him and kill him to avenge the slain woman.

But now the day is over. After a night’s rest I’ll go back out there and find that wretched man.

~Eleanor Dawnstrider