The Waking Knight

I should be dead... I mean.. i was. But I’m not. I am no lich.. no undead forced into a decaying and broken body. I am here. I am whole, and I am as warm and breathing as any other. I don’t understand what’s happened but for months now I have been trying to rebuild everything I lost. Kiden, Malurra, a sense of honor and self worth. I have felt these things absent, but as the world turns I too must move on. I’d met a wonderful woman.. loved her.. married her. She was dead and gone within months of our vows. I’d found the Vigilant, and restored it, best I could.. only to be shot down and destroyed. I have a new plane now, a new life. I still have no house to serve, but all things change, every season rolls into the next. I don’t know what bright or dark days lay ahead of me, but so long as I have this new chance at a life otherwise taken from me somewhere out in the void... I will make the best of it.

You spend a coupla years as a corpse and...

I awoke outside the glade, my back had been resting on cool grasses and a chill breeze passed over me. I shivered. That was when I knew I was less dead than I had been a minute ago. I stood to look about for the Keep of Kiden, but it was no where to be found. I tried my comms... Nothing..  Where and when have I awoken... I hear a faint whisper in the back of my mind, It’s clearly Rebecca, my weapon, but I can’t make out where she is. This is disconcerting to say the least....

I’ll miss you all

Yeah, this post is OOC So...That’s it i guess...  Arrel was killed. No known shot at Resurrection. I apologize to folks who were waiting on seeing what happened next in other SL’s but.. Things happen to characters.  I will still RP in a limited capacity on other toons, but you may or may not see me around. Cheers Folks, RP well and I wish you happiness in all your endeavors. - Jason, The Rp’er of The late commander Arrel Warburn.

A long Long Day : Part 1

Morning over Dalaran wasn’t especially different than evening over Dalaran. The lights within the mage city kept night as bright as day, shops were open late, and there was always something going on. But today was only a little bit different.  When Arrel awoke, Aria, Rebecca, AND Karrista stood over his bed, shaking the bed... and not Arrel Directly gently. “Arrel?” Karrista had dropped her usual teasy and seductive demeanor for one more serious and if not panicked, then definitely worried. The reason for shaking his bed became evident as the man wheeled out of bed into a combative stance, fist already in mid-swing at nothing. This behavior an apparent parting gift from his Executor experience. “Wh-What?” He blinked and looked at each of the three women, all had similar looks of upset and concern. “Arrel.. are you actually awake?” Aria asked, the smokey voice tense. “I.. Yeah.. I think so..” He shook his head and inhaled, slowing the tumultuous thundering of his heart to a mere cacophony.  “Then.. How about you put on some clothes, if you want to fight evil today.” Rebecca quipped. Arrel’s nude state did nothing to abate the tension in the room, speaking novels about what he was likely to head next. He dressed, donning even his chestplate and made his way into the offices of the Kiden’s Joint Special Operations Command. He looked with some surprise to see not only the three regulars of his office, but also Sea’zel, who he’d known had been reassigned to him, but hadn’t heard she’d actually made it to her new quarters. He also saw Lord Niteblood of Igrayne. Lovely... Just what I need in my day today... him...

“Commander Warburn.. Good morning.” Arrel’s mirror image spoke. A few other Igraynians were with him, some he’d met only briefly during operations, but none he’d spoken with outside of that. Lord Niteblood Continued “ I hate to wake you, but the need is pressing. Several of my people.. Hirelings who handled some of the lower risk endeavors... were supposed to report in two days ago after taking survey of legion forces on the Broken Shores. I know that there’s plenty of Alliance and Horde forces there already, But I suspect they weren’t looking for the same indications as we were...” E’an trailed off. “Alright, What indications?” Arrel looked between his contemporaries and saw only blank faces. “I suspect the Legion, sensing defeat is pulling out all the stops, and not just pulling in all their forces from all the worlds at their disposal, but also from all the Sca-... Dimensions.. they have access to as well. Indications infer that they are looking to not just crush THIS Azeroth, but ALL Azeroths across all realities.” E’an spoke matter-of-factly, as if this sort of thing happened all the time. Arrel blanched, “Ok, so.. despite that sounding like a very Legion thing to do, Why are you here?” “I think, they plan to take THIS one first, using overwhelming forces and then from here, use what to an Igraynian, is called a Scale Gate to journey onward.” He inhaled and blew out his breath. “For what ever reason, this scale of reality.. this dimension, seems to be a confluence point between other realities and would make a damn good jumping off point for future expansion.” “Alright?” Arrel nodded understanding the words, but only something of the import. “So.. we stop them from taking OUR Azeroth to secure others, yes?” “Yes... But there’s more to it than that. Agasti Forbid, if we should fail in that task... The confluence must be destroyed. One world’s lost is a great concern.. but.. the loss of enumerable worlds.. is not something I can allow to happen.” E’an looked over at Arrel sternly. “And.. Neither can you.” Arrel sputtered. “So what.. if we don’t defeat the legion.. you’re gonna destroy the world?” “Do not scoff at things you don’t understand Arrel.” Rebecca warned gently. “The legion’s ability to move through dimensional space is a concern.. but pairing that with access to the scale - gates.. would be worse.” Arrel snapped, “Then blow up the damn gates!”  Karrista looked over at Arrel, obviously confused. “Scale-gates?” E’an fielded this question, “The way Igraynians... Move to where they are needed. It’s a nexus of conduits between worlds... between realities. It’s less crude and more reliable than the Legions dimensional rifts, and infinitely more predictable when jumping long distances or to not-immediately related realities. The problem becomes to what else they are connected.. which we shall not now discuss.” Aria turned pale. “The Forge...” She said without thinking. E’an nodded and exhaled. “The Forge, indeed.” Rebecca growled “You’re Buddy Sarius has to be LOVING this.” E’an’s eyebrows rose, “Oddly, I haven’t heard from any of Reikai’s followers, let alone Sarius. But, in honestly.. the Legion represents order. Well.. AN order. Oppressive and destructive, not the chaos of new-birth that Sarius seems to serve.” Karrista pursed her pretty lips and asked. “Sarius, Reikai? Too many things I don’t seem to know here.”  Arrel shrugged, un-helpfully. “If Igrayne represents balance and order in a way that preserves free will and the Cycle of Life and Death.. Sarius and the Followers of Reikai are the other side of that coin. They seek to disrupt the balance and bring about a new structure to the multi-verse through disrupting the one that exists now. Total chaos to invent a new system. Make sense?” Karrista shook her head, but said simply, “Sort of.” E’an interrupted the exchange. “A lot of this is Igraynian business, the reason we are here on your Azeroth, and as such needs to stay know only to a thin level to most of you. I’m sorry, that’s how it has to be.” He looked around the room, garnering nods from some, deep frowns from others. Arrel sat back in his chair, folded his arms. “Alright so.. What’s the ask here, Lord Niteblood?” E’an nodded. “To be very very succinct, to do exactly as you propose to go on. Destroy the Scale gates.. before they can be accessed by the legion. Rally your forces through the JSOC and help us make a hard push against the legion.. Perhaps into the Tomb itself.” Arrel lofted an eyebrow. “To get my people together, approval from Lochlyn ... or Malurra if Lochlyn is out of pocket, gather supplies, plan the attack.. We’re looking at .. Two Months, maybe? Thirty days if I push?” Arrel asked Karrista, who of late had taken over some of Rebecca’s clerical duties. “We push in Four Days, Arrel.” E’an said with the most stoic and cold tones Arrel’d ever heard of the man. Even Sea’zel blanched at this. “Four Days Lord Niteblood? This.. This is not possible!” “It has to be.. If we don’t give them a bloody nose, and set them back.. they could call in their additional warships and demons and simply overwhelm us as soon as next week.” E’an inhaled.

OOC: JSOC Operations

In an attempt to use Kiden’s JSOC as a bridge between RP and PVE / End game I have been trying to collect the needs of players who need leveling / Questing/ Gearing / Etc help.  The Idea being is the person in need is listed as a  “Team Leader” And JSOC Agents are then assigned to the mission under this team leader. This gives an opportunity for aspiring RP / PVE players to interact with new folks, bolster relationships with current acquaintances, all the while Tackling content without having to “Random Pug” which in my experience can be a trying thing. This is not limited to Kiden guild members or those loosely associated to Kiden. In fact, this “Service” is open to all players, all guilds, assuming you do understand that the intention is to add a little RP to your PVE experience.  Currently House Igrayne and Duchy of Kiden are largely hosting these  “Missions” but the purpose of the Joint Special Operations Command is to involve any and everyone who has a need. So, don’t be shy, let me know what you, your guild, your alt’s needs are and we are happy to oblige.

Nobody’s home...

Arrel set the com down and stared at it. He’d tried to avoid being a pest, only hailing Malurra twice. Once in the Morning, then again about noon. Sitting on the edge of the bed, knees apart, elbows resting upon them he sat motionless. What was the appropriate feeling? Should he be worried? Should he be upset that he was going unanswered? Should there be a mote of annoyance, or suspicion? He knew none of this was healthy or conducive to the behavior of a man who loved, trusted, and wished for the companionship of his fiancee. It still had been some time since he heard from her. And though Malurra was surely at task managing things for Fenris, or perhaps back at her tasks in Stormwind there was this little niggling doubt about what he should be doing to avoid losing her through neglect. He sat completely still, as if any action at all would be the wrong one. Again, it was Aria who slipped into the room, setting a cup of tea, some of the last Sunvien had sent upon his arrival at his post. “Still nothing?” She asked with a gentle voice. “She’s busy.” Arrel didn’t look away from the com. “She said as much?” Aria regarded Arrel with Soul-lit eyes. “No...” Arrel admitted, still unmoving.

“Go to the Keep, Arrel.” She huffed. “And What? Admit I am insecure?” He snorted. Aria cocked her head and gave her best maternal stare. “She knows you’re insecure, idiot. But is it that you’re insecure, or you just miss her?” Arrel narrowed his eyes at Aria. “Perception is reality, Dear... If I go, simply because I miss her, show up with posies in hand and a smile on my face. How will that look?” Aria frowned. “Depends on who’s watching.. yes, I get it.” Aria looked away a moment. “You know... I.. Kind of resonate with her.. Maybe I could go an-” Arrel cut her off sharply, “Arrel sent his Soul-weapon to spy on me! Can you believe all that! It’s like he doesn’t trust me to reach out to him when I can!” He imitated, poorly, the lilt and accent Mal slipped into when she was annoyed. “Then what are you going to do?” Aria had recoiled a little. Arrel stood up and set his features. “My Job.” He strode into the next room, seeing that no one had taken up the couple of notices he’d posted earlier in the week, then sat on his desk. “Prep for a fight... You, I, and Rebecca are going to see about these solo missions.. as soon as I write up these requests for teams.” Aria frowned. “Alright Arrel...”

Thinking of her...

    Arrel sat at his desk in the JSOC offices of Kiden. The day had been busier than expected with requests starting to finally filter in from some of the more prominent players in the Legionfall campaign. Dark eyes flitted to the messages board. Often Agents would come in at odd hours, or when he was away from his desk. Posted now were a couple of missions he’d hoped would be snatched off the board, indicating they were under effort.    He frowned in fact that the only people he’d seen that week were a dwarven Shaman from Igrayne, helpful as he was... and Karrista, who hadn’t stayed long after the JSOC meeting. The turnout had been otherwise lackluster. He rubbed his forehead feeling like weeks later he was still re-learning how to do his job. The Exécutor issue had more than muddied the waters of clear thought and made a mess of his confidence, but he would persevere. Arrel’s own inner voice tried to be his own best cheerleader, despite that same headspace also wracking him to failure. It was a matter of will. He knew it.  A cheerleader might be precisely what he needed. It’d been better than ten days since he saw or heard from Malurra. Knowing full well that she was likely up to her eyebrows in the day-to-day of Kiden Keep at Fenris, he still longed to hear from her. Arrel set down his quill, upon which the ink had long since dried from disuse, and moved to his bedroom attached directly to the modest office. Arrel opened the drawer where he’d left his picture of Malurra, the pretty one of her in a lovely blue dress, looking at the gnomish camera with a smile of promise on her face.

When his office had been riffled through, this was left untouched. in fact, now that he thought about it, he was certain his bedroom had remained unmolested. He flopped back and lightly brushed his thumb over the image of Malurra, hoping perhaps through skills of thaumaturgy that he did not possess, she would feel the caress. “I love you my Moon, you call to me as if I were the tide..Should i come to you, or like the passing of night into the morning will you set upon me and rest in my arms?” He puffed out a breath. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.” Aria said, standing tall and dark, seductive Ka’dorei posture accentuating hip and bust, as supported by her folded arms beneath her bust. The Soul-Weapon in her elven form leaned against the doorframe. “Yes you do, you’re typically in my head when you’re not walking about Dalaran ... or helping me gut the big nasties of Azeroth.” He spared only a cursory glance at her. “Why don’t you take a day... Rebecca and I can man the desk, maybe even scare up a few more victi- I mean agents for your nefarious plots for Legion Domination?” She smirked, soul-lit eyes twinkling in the dim lamp light. “Better recruitment through superior sexuality?” Arrel snorted. “Works for other operations,” She shrugged. “besides, when’s the last time you surprised Malurra, whisked her to bed, tended to her.. properly.. and left her distracted for the next few hours?” Arrel narrowed his eyes, the truth of that stung. It had been too long, but he wasn’t about to tell Aria that. “The last thing she needs is distraction. She’s manning the high seat in Kiden.” “I know.. but surely... A .. lunch break?” She said teasingly, but more gently than the tease would have warranted if truly intended to upset him. “I’ll ask her what her timetable looks like.. maybe I can at least share a meal..” Arrel trailed off. “Agasti’s Tears man.. just.. GO.” Aria shifted off the doorframe and shook her head.  “I respect her enough to not try and put myself before her other responsibilities. I will send to her.. Goodnight Aria.” Arrel glared. “Goodnight... Arrel.”

OOC: Where you been, man?

So, it may or may not have been noticed I have backed off Tumblr a bit in the last few weeks. There’s reasons. Mostly stress with IRL situations, work, etc. There’s other reasons too, I feel like I’ve sort of hit a wall with a couple of my characters. I also feel like the interest level I can generate has slipped a bit further than I can tow it back from. Not sure how I am going to resolve that in the moment. So hopefully I can regroup, catch a little RP and actually get inspired to write for my guys again.  Anyway, Not trying to sound like a sad-sack, just letting you all know I am not deaded.. just.. in a quandry.. I’ll get it sorted and start up again.

JSOC Weekly Report: Delayed

Duchess,

Forgive the lack of form for this report as it seems someone has broken into my office and made rather quite the mess. One has sent to the embassy for support and for investigation. Recent Combat operations included a joint Kiden / Igrayne strike-force engaging Legion hold-outs near the Eye of Aszhara. No casualties to report. The skill and resolve of the small tactics team lead to total victory in routing these hold out forces. Though, given the open nature of the engagement zone, further security sweeps are recommended on a routine basis. Darkheart Thicket: I joined a Igrayne operation to investigate new presence in the Darkheart Thicket. Many of these seemed allied or representative of those possessed of the Nightmare. Something however had changed. Previously unprepared foes created new challenges and forces were forced to withdraw and regroup. A new incursion is scheduled in the next few days to put down the Nightmare afflicted. Nighthold: While I was not part of this operation, we did provide the material support for a clean up of the Nighthold. An impostor posing as Gul’Dan had the alliance of many demonic entities and they employed strange new weapons and spells to repel the Igrayne Lead clean up team. This operation will be revisited. Humanitarian efforts continue in the form of supply and support for the Suramar Refugees, however that support seems to be less and less of critical import. We will continue material support until what time you see fit to ween that down. Exploration and Footholds. The JSOC office has sent some number of combatants to support Mage Khadgar’s efforts in the Broken Shore. A deal of this is exploration and the rousting of non-secure Legion friendly forces and entities. No major engagements at this time. Will appraise after conference with those in command of that landmass.

Oh.. Oh my...

Arrel grinned broadly as he flipped through his little collection of letters from Malurra. He noticed one envelope was a touch thicker than the others.. within was a picture he’d missed previously. He smiled, looking to her lovely eyes, gentle face and.. oh.. yes.. THAT slip. He might have starred at one of his more favorite features of his lover. Sure, he loved everything about her.. but..  “Hell am I doing?” He huffed realizing he was lusting after his fiancee like a man of no substance.  He flipped over the picture, on the back in her looping script he snickered feeling much better. “Something to remember me by, Soldier. And yes, they miss you too  - Your Moon” Arrel set the picture in his night stand drawer.

No! Stop the chilled out groove!

Arrel’s eyes opened wide, wider than should he have needed to see in the absolute dark. He dropped the letter with enclosed picture and half wretched into his waste bin. “Awe Fu-.. Seriously? You better hope this was a mis-ship from the couriers.. Otherwise you and me are going round and ro-...” Arrel stopped, grinning.  “Oh.. This is TOO good.. Rebecca... I need you to call that little clerical mage, we’re dropping copies of this ALL over Dalaran. Let’s include ~For a Good time use comm frequency 142.650, that’s his personal comm right?”