World of Warcraft®

((I just wanted to write some story about my character, something I've had in my head for a while. I hope you like it. It's supposed to happen between 5.1 and 5.2 times.))

"Kael? Wake up, Kael. It's morning already."

"Uh? Oh, right. I need to get back today." The paladin slowly stood up from his small bedroom in the almost lightless room, which had no windows except for a small shaft near the ceiling. He walked towards an armor rack where he had hanging and resting his newly forged armor. Like his previous one, this was made of lightforged gold, though this time it had mithril added and a couple of aquamarines on the shoulderpads and legplates. The helmet as well was very distinctive, a winged one of silver and gold trimmered.

When he had almost everything on except the helm, he turned to watch himself on a small mirror that hanged on one of the walls of the room. The Sha infection that threated to consume him was giving out, but it left its permanent marks on him. His hair was white now, and a bit of the infection could be seen on his left eye. He closed his eyes for a moment and then put on the helm, hiding almost completely that wound. Then he stepped out and walked down a small hallway until he was out, when the cold wind of Kun-Lai hit his face and filled his lungs.

How far he really was from his homeland! He could see all of the mesa that was Kun-Lai Summit from there, the Temple of the White Tiger. And how changed he was since he arrived there. Barely crawling, carried by his comrades from the Alliance Army, Kaeldanon suffered the insidious poisoning that was the Sha. But he could humbly say that he survived it, as he was now healed. Of sorts, as he instead of purging the infection he learned to live with it.

It was his latest master, Xio Windpaw, who taught him how to cope with such a malign disease. "As being infected with the Sha isn't a disease but a revelation", she said to him the first day, when he was unable to move and delirious of facing his negative emotions. "To feel the Sha is to get your deeper emotions up to your skin, to feel them like you never did. And they are negative, yes. Hatred, anger, doubt, despair, fear, violence... pride."

"And what should I do to live with them, then, master Xio?" Asked Kaledanon at the moment.

"Use your own emotions and balance them. Love, calmness, certainty. Humility. Learn to live in harmony, you are not demon or saint, Kael." The Pandaren woman told him when he was recovering, pointing her finger to his heart spot. "You are only a mortal, and that means that you are both. Your emotions are yours, and most important, they are yours to known."

As he walked towards the stables where his gryphon, Goldtalon, was waiting for him, he tried to replay the events of that fateful day on the ship when he got infected. He had answered hastily the call of king Varian to help stop Hellscream's forces advance on the Krasarang Wilds, in the operation called Shieldwall. Fighting again to defend a land that wasn't his own brought back the memories of his service at the Eastern Plaguelands and Icecrown Glacier. Even he found himself side by side with old comrades from the Stormwind Army and the Argent Crusade. It was like years ago, when he felt the close bond between comrades, brothers in arms.

Recalling the events of that day and the lessons of his master, he probably was open to the infection even before that day. With his squadron he was destined that morning to defend the newly arrived steamship that was resting near Lion's Landing. Nothing much happened until noon, when two Horde ships approached firing their cannons. The skyship was far enough to not be able to help inmediately, so it was up to them to protect their point. Kaeldanon noticed that most of the Horde warriors that tried to board the ship were Orcs or Forsaken, with no Trolls, Tauren or Blood Elves among the ranks. So different from the Alliance defense line, that had people from all the nations together.

But that didn't mattered that moment. Parrying most of the axe swings that were thrown at him and landing fierce blows of his sword, Kaeldanon opened his path towards the edge of the ship. Then he saw the opportunity he was looking for. With the metal clashing in the background, he sheathed his sword, put his shield on his back and climbed a rope towards the main sail, from where he swung down to the Horde ship that was near them.

Landing on deck, he thought that he could actually take the enemy by surprise and capture the ship. That would be a really sounding victory for the Alliance. So he tried to open his path, using sword and board, to reach the main deck.

But only a few steps closer it started to happen: first like a faint tingle on his left arm, but quickly it escalated. His vision turned blurry and without color; his legs lost strength and made him fall to his knees. Everything by his side was scarier. He felt like he had to kill everything. But the Light... probably that was what helped him, the Light in him, shielding his heart enough to not be completely infected. "The Sha... is taking... us all..." He murmured before falling down the deck and to the sea. The last thing he remembered was that he was dragged back to Lion's Landing by his comrades, a Draenei soldier and a Dwarf girl.

He woke up at the Temple of Xuen. He didn't know how he reached there, but was told that he was guided. Some others said that he was carried. Either way, his connection to the Light and the hastily help he received by the monks at the temple of the White Tiger helped stop the infection. But the healing was much up to himself, and that meant healing his mind.

So, he accepted the teachings of his new appointed master, Xio. During several days he learned how to meditate, to control his negative emotions. More than one night he woke up screaming, after nightmares of despair and doubt. And many times a day he had to stop and breath deeply, to relax and control his anger and keeping his hatred at bay.

"You won't be the same, Kael. Not anymore. And it's not only the physical changes on you." Master Xio was there with the paladin to say farewell. "You are not the same, I'm sure of that. Let's hope it's for better."

"I promise you, master, that it will be for better. You taught me that; emotions can't be surpassed but we can learn to live with them. We must live with them."

"Before you leave, I want you to have a gift." The Pandaren unwrapped an object, that turned out to be a very ancient looking sword, though it had a strong magic aura.

"This... this is a Quel'serrar. This kind of blade is draconic, and only given to the most worthy warriors. I can't accept it."

"Please. You have shown, with humility and enough wisdom, that you can hold it."

The paladin took the sword and looked at it, to then sheathe it by his side and hug his master warmly. "I will never forgive this kindness, master." Then he took flight with his gryphon.

"Don't forget what you have learnt here, Kael!" She shouted as the paladin flew away. "And if you can, help anyone that has to face your same trials."

"I will, master!" He answered as he looked to the north, heading towards his new assignment at the Island of Thunder. "And I'm pretty sure it will be sooner than I think."

((Thanks for sharing! Always nice to see the thought other people put into their characters, and how they've changed as they react to events.))

((Kael, thanks so much for sharing this story. It was a fun read. I love it when people take the time to write these adventures and share them with us.

Good job.))