#FictionFriday: Cassandra

This is part two of an ongoing story. Read part one first!

Everybody greeted Karuun into The Kingdom's Glory. Then Kalin, the gnome, and the druid all left the room and Cassandra stayed behind. "I bet you feel awfully out of place here in Ironforge in the company of people you don't know." she asked.

"I do, but it's not a new feeling for me." Karuun replied.

"I'll show you around. My name is Cassandra." They shook hands and walked out of the room. The Kingdom's Glory definitely one of the smaller guilds, and their base of operations showed it. "Kalin started The Kingdom's Glory after the Third War. That's when most guilds started. The world had found itself in a time where there was definite aggression between the Horde and the Alliance but there was no full out war. All these trained warriors and mages needed to apply their skills to something, and that's when guilds started to form." Cassandra explained as she was showing him around. She continued, "As you can see, we're not one of the big guilds who go out on the prestigious missions or get called on by King Wrynn to assist in the war effort. We tend to receive smaller work, usually assisting in matters that don't directly pertain to whatever conflict is happening. The guild does participate when there is an open call for guilds to assist, such as right after the Cataclysm and the world was in turmoil. They also went to Northrend to assist in the war against the Lich King, but they didn't do anything high profile. They stayed primarily in the eastern area of Northrend, fighting against Vrykul, furbolg, and trolls. I wasn't yet a member at the time for those campaigns, but knowing the guild's history is heavily emphasized."

"This is the kitchen. We typically eat lunch around noon and dinner around sundown. Kalin's wife, Martha, typically prepares the meals, although if you're not doing anything pressing, it's customary to assist her." Cassandra gestured around the kitchen as she spoke.

Karuun interrupted, asking, "I've noticed that your robes bear Gilnean symbols. Did you come here after the fall of the Greymane Wall?"

Cassandra stopped and leaned against the counter. She answered, "My brother, Brigham and I lived in Gilneas until the Cataclysm. We grew up in a rural area. After our parents died from food poisoning, I went to Gilneas city to study the priesthood and he stayed out on the country to study paganism and assist with the crops. After the worgen went from being a rumor to a confirmed problem, I went back out to the country to make sure he was ok." Cassandra took a brief pause before beginning again. "When I got to the farm where he worked, I found it empty and the crops unkept. That's when I saw my first worgen. It was running right for me, bearing down on all fours. I started to prepare a defense against the beast, but when it got close it just stopped. It was then that I could see its face. It was my brother. Shocked at finding each other, we didn't notice the other pack of worgen that was rapidly approaching."

This was a story that she had told before, he could tell. She seemed well steeled against the pain that must lie in the memories she was recalling. He started, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you survive?"

"In a way I didn't. Brigham helped me keep them at bay but there were too many and they overcame us. I became a worgen just as they had. When they started to round up worgen to administer the cure that would give us back control of ourselves, we were fortunately still both alive. After the attack by the Forsaken and the rescue provided by the elves, I took up my studies again and Brigham began training with the druids. He never has been able to calm his emotions enough to stay in his human form for very long. He tends to stay in an animal form almost all the time, even when he sleeps."

"That's horrible, I'm very sorry for what you and your brother have suffered. Your brother and I seem to have something in common, then. We are both held down by something that was forced upon us."

"That's true, and maybe you can help him. But don't feel too bad for us, It's not like you could have done anything, Gilneas had sealed itself away from the world." Standing back up from leaning against the counter, Cassandra suddenly began "Now, let me show you where everybody sleeps."

#FanfictionFriday: Karuun

I've never really done creative writing before, so I won't pretend to be a quality writer. I never would have considered myself to be a fanfiction writer, but you know how it is. A story just pops into your head and then you can't stop thinking about it and developing it so you have to put it down somewhere. I can't really say if this will become a thing that I do regularly, but it's a thing I'm doing now, so have of it what you will.

A grizzled dwarf with a bald head, a bright red beard, and wearing everyday clothes leads the draenei to a chair in the middle of the room. The dwarf, leader of this group, asks him to sit. Seated at a long table in front of him were three figures: the dwarf, Kalin, who brought him here, a middle-aged gnome male, a young human woman, and to the side of the table was a rather large bear. The gnome is wearing blue robes with red accents he sports a somewhat disheveled blond hair and the look one might expect of an academic. The human woman is wearing priestess robes with the Gilnean symbology and has long, pulled back, brown hair. The bear is sitting next to the woman and has an attentive pose. Once everyone is settled, Kalin asks, "So, Karuun, tell us about yourself. What's your story?"

Karuun begins, "I was born on Oshu'gun, between the time when my people fled Argus but before we settled on Draenor. I grew up in the light of the Naaru and trained as a paladin when I became of age. When the Burning Legion came and turned the orcs against us, I defended against their vicious attacks. My people were among those that fled on the Exodar, and after we crashed on Azeroth and found refuge within the Alliance, I returned to Draenor to help liberate and cleanse it of the Legion's taint. After Illidan fell, I joined up with the Shattered Sun Offensive to help repay may debt to the people Azeroth."

"I was in Stormwind when the Lich King attacked and fell in battle against a frost wyrm. The next thing I knew I had been raised as a Death Knight in service to the Lich King. After our leader, Darion Mograine, liberated us from the Lich King's control I served in Northrend with the Ebon Blade. While there, I spent my time in Icecrown, pushing back the scourge threat so an attack on Icecrown Citadel could be made. After the Lich King fell, I was really confronted with the reality of my situation. I had been a paladin for thousands of years, and then I was stripped, not only of my life but of the Light. I felt directionless and left the Ebon Blade. I wandered for a while and now I'm here."

After Karuun finishes his story, the human, Cassandra, speaks up, "So tell me, Karuun, why do you wish to join us in going back to Northrend?"

Karuun begins again, "After the death of the Lich King, I was not the only Death Knight who felt directionless. Many of them had trouble not only handling their undeath, but also their newfound immortality. Some killed themselves, others engaged in pointless bloodsport, many stayed with the Ebon Blade, and others joined guilds. None of these things initially appealed to me. As I said before, I wandered, exploring the world for a while; I had never really had a chance to take it all in after we arrived here. I was in Ironforge when I saw your flier advertising that you were going to Northrend. I knew that if I would find meaning to my life I would find it there, and so I contacted Kalin."

The bear suddenly spoke up and asked, "You know that we have been commisioned by the Argent Crusade to go to Northrend and aid in their efforts at containing and defeating the remaining Scourge?"

"Yes" replied Karuun.

The gnome looked at the others and then spoke, "Then let me be the first in welcoming you to The Kingdom's Glory!"