Brakara's Journal of Beasts ((Very Image Heavy))

[Lupis]

Awesome, thanks Saturo! I'll get rep at 85 then, and Rutilus can grow up.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Roxie went out and did the dragon questline in Badlands as filler stuff to get to 50 because Tanaris just didn't cut it. That questline bout bloody made me cry. I also started part of Un'Goro which totally throws off my journal because it's going to pick up after the intro Un'Goro quests. >_>

I've learned my lesson, never try to hit 50 in Tanaris. XD

Anyway, totally looking forward to seeing little Rutilus grow.

[Lupis]

Journal Entry 10

There are a lot of black dragons in this world.

Upon arriving in Burning Steppes, I was told to report to an orc named Ariok. He was a Blackrock, and wanted me to kill other Blackrocks. A rebel, then. How he spoke of his kind made me understand why. They're traitors, cowards that fight without honor. They'd caged many young dragons and had black dragons on their side. Ariok asked me to kill the black dragons and free the others. Rutilus helped. I suppose he was taking revenge on the creatures that killed his mother, although I'll have to tell him at some point that she died trying to help his "enemies".



The dragonlings were very happy to be free, often telling us their names. Kozridormu the bronze and Indigosa the blue were the most friendly of the bunch. Rutilus was thrilled.



When I returned to Ariok, he asked me to gather supplies for some project that he never explained. Scorpion barbs and worg pelts - I felt almost at home while I was completing his tasks. This place is much more like Durotar than most of the other places I've been to.



Killing the worgs was regrettable, and as I skinned them I took some time to tell Rutilus about the Great Wolf Spirit, Lo'Gosh. He seemed fairly interested, though he kept trying to steal the meat in my pack while I wasn't looking.



Ariok had yet more gathering for me to do when I came back. He expressed the need for a glass orb, a pouch of some sort of sand, and a vial. Inevitably the reagents had been stolen by Blackrock warlocks and I would have to fight to get them. I should have expected it by this point - nothing is made easy for me. We killed our way through the warlocks to get each item.



He was very grateful, then asked that I go with him to the next town. Being an orc, he decided to take a detour through the enemy's camp. We left a trail of destruction and dead ogres in our wake.



We met up with his father when we arrived. I was in shock - Ariok's father was Eitrigg, a famous orc for his incredible sense of honor. He mentioned being part of the Argent Crusade. I don't know if I'd be able to do such a thing; I've seen far too much evil to ally with those that look like my life-long enemies. That's not something I'm particularly proud of.



They had a resident Thorium Brotherhood dwarf put together a costume for me, as I was to go undercover into Blackrock land. He fussed over it for ages before producing...



Oh, this'll work.
I'm already an orc, anyway. How stupid does he think Blackrocks are? They can't be that dense.

They accepted me without a second thought. I really hope I'm not related to these idiots. They didn't even suspect me when I went around assassinating all of their generals, making it look like an accident each time. I do admit I almost blew my cover when I cheered at the worgs as they ate their abusive master, though.



The Blackrock taskmaster there had a few menial tasks for me before I left. He didn't question me once. I returned to Ariok as a trusted member of the Blackrock workforce.
The dwarves at the town had a few tasks for me, too. Dark Iron dwarves had set up camp nearby, infesting some old ruins. I was to kill them, as well as their war golems. The golems I was supposed to salvage for parts.



Once the town's golems were upgraded with the parts I brought, I was tasked with fighting them. Apparently that would help them "learn" to fight. Regardless of how much they learned, they were easy to defeat. Somehow the dwarves were confident in their abilities, though.



Anyway. Ariok wasn't done with me, and had me don the "disguise" and report to the next Blackrock camp. They weren't so quick to trust me that time. It was still pathetic - they just forced me to fight a fire elemental.



Once it was dead, the general wouldn't stop spouting random praises about me. Just how useless is the rest of his army? Apparently, very. He next tasked me with going out to his army and hitting them over the head with a mace, just because. Some of them attacked and got beaten to death. What kind of general is he? At least I managed to kill a few of his lieutenants while nobody was looking.



Ariok told me before to meet him at a nearby cliffside cave. The first person to greet me was a rather distressed goblin, who asked me to - of all things - catch fireflies for him. I left that task to Rutilus, who had been eyeing the bugs earlier. He gleefully flew off to complete that task while I was sent to gather materials for Ariok's next plan. As usual, he didn't explain a thing. He just wanted worg meat and ash.



Before I could start collecting ash, Rutilustrasz returned. He was holding an ornate gold cage with a firefly captured within it, and managed to slowly explain that it was a reward from the goblin.



What a strange little bug. It was very friendly and flew right by my side, sometimes perching on my head to sleep. It didn't stray from battle, either, staying out of its cage while Lok'amon and I fought elementals to gather ash and killed Flamekin to gather their corpses.
I suppose I haven't written much about the bird. He's very quiet, mostly watching the dragons of the area. He's also very aggressive towards anything. Even the smallest of creatures are chased down and slain, despite how close they may be to enemies. It's gotten us into a bit of trouble before.



As eager to fight as ever, when I returned Ariok wanted to go out and kill dragons with me. With his power combined with mine, the Dragonspawn fell in droves.



We did a bit of leader-slaying as well, though I was disappointed in their lack of strength. I'm afraid I'll go soft with all these easy fights. Even killing their dragon leader was easy. The dragon-person was slightly more difficult to kill, but that's only because I was preoccupied by wondering what the fel it was.







Once all those leaders were dead, we stopped by a cave that was the home of what I believe was a red dragon. Rutilus was amazed at seeing another of his kind.



Eitrigg had a special task for us then, and it put into use the materials I had gathered before. The flamekin had been reanimated and put to sleep with the sand I had recovered, and they were delivered to an unsuspecting Blackrock leader. The glass orb was delivered to their leading warlock to replace the Orb of Domination that he was expecting. The worg meat was combined with the contents of the vial, which turned to be a powerful laxative. The Blackrock ogres wouldn't be happy after eating it.
The warlock, tricked, tried to summon a Pit Lord and control it with the orb. That didn't work at all.



Once most of the Blackrock forces were decimated, I mounted the red dragon - who had used the ash to turn his scales black - and killed the survivors.



He dropped me off at each cave to let me kill the leaders hiding within - Rutilus joined me, taking great glee in killing the Drake Master especially. He's going to be one ferocious dragon when he gets older.



And that, as they say, was that. All of the Blackrock leaders in Burning Steppes were dead, and the orcs Eitrigg and Ariok had nothing else for me to do. With their good wishes I departed, heading for what the resident goblin said was transport to Swamp of Sorrows.


((Continued))

[Lupis]

((Continued))

Of course. A rocket. Only goblins.



Even better, the town it dropped me off in was occupied by money-grubbing goblins of the worst sort. They were all so incredibly preoccupied with selling things that they hardly noticed me.



One or two did. One of them, who spoke using ridiculous goblin slang, told me that crabs had stolen his beer and he wanted it back. At first I was skeptical.



That's the strangest thing I've ever seen in my entire life.

They also had me kill local wildlife, crocolisks and tallstriders included. The tallstriders got Rutilus' interest - I think he wanted to eat them. I gave him a bit of the meat, but Lok'amon didn't want him eating directly off the corpses. He was probably worried about the dragon getting ill.





The goblin at the town then had me go to a nearby beach and kill Gilblins, goblins with gills. Once that was done, he wanted me to "talk to his son for transport to the ship". I should have seen it coming. I should have just swam to it and climbed up the hull. But no.



Launched out of a cannon. I hate goblins.
There were hordes of Gilblins on the ship, though Lok'amon and I didn't have a hard time killing them. We gathered the materials the goblin had wanted before looking for an escape.
And then I saw the only way off.



I hate Goblins.
He thanked me, payed me, and told me to get transport to another camp.



I. Hate. Goblins.
The goblin woman there was rather nice, at least, but naive. She asked me to investigate a cave that wildlife had been flocking to. She didn't think it was that dangerous.



Oh, that's not dangerous at all. I encounter massive, faceless, tentacle-covered monstrosities every day. It didn't do too much damage, but it managed to rip out some of Lok'amon's wing feathers. He was forced to perch on my shoulder on the way back to the camp as the lack of feathers was throwing off his balance. Needless to say my mood could have been better as I left the camp, promising to bring 'Amon back to Orgrimmar later.
Rutilus cheered me up a bit. He started dive-bombing turtles, landing on their shells and screeching to scare them into hiding in their shells. One of them had a very good humor about it, though - it looked up at Rutilus and smiled serenely before plodding over to me, as if wondering if I owned the dragon.



Swobu - as that's what I named the beast - seemed to be very fond of the dragon. He wasn't as overly protective as Lok'amon, but he was calm and observant. As Rutilus took his place at my shoulder again, the turtle took his place at my side. I suppose I've found a new traveling companion.



Until next time, then, journal.

[TygerDarkstorm]

I'm not gonna lie, a huge smile lit up my face as I saw mention of Indi in there. Pleasant read as always. I've been mauled twice by devilsaurs in Un'Goro on Roxíe.

[Kamalia]

Okay, in between Brakara's stunningly sneaky disguise and her thoughts on goblin transport... this update gave me quite the good chuckle. xD

[Lupis]

I'm glad you guys liked this one. xD Brakara's developing a bit of a sarcastic attitude. And she's developing an intense dislike of goblins and anything related to them. xD

[TygerDarkstorm]

I think Brakara's attitude is very suiting to her.

[Azunara]

Awww! Kozri reference! *grins and hugs the whelp.*

Seriously Blizz. Please, please, please PLEASE put a bronze whelpling pet in game. I don't care how long I'd grind. I WANT ONE.

[Lupis]

((UBER LONG JOURNAL INC. I got to 60, and I went through three zones to do it. xD))

Journal entry 11

It has been a very, very long day.

It started well. I was sent to find a man named Itharius at the entrance of the sunken trollish temple. After hearing his name, seeing him, and speaking briefly, I understood that he was in fact a green dragon. I seem to be meeting a lot of dragons. Rutilus was very curious, and I explained to Itharius how I had come about befriending the dragonling. I think he already knew about the purified black dragon egg, though - it seems like it's fairly important.



Regardless, he had tasks for me. He first asked me to find ancient trollish relics at the bottom of the lake so he could create an Oathstone, letting him speak in my mind and see through my eyes. At first I thought it'd be easy, but the surface of the water deceived me into thinking it'd be clear. I was wrong. Swobu didn't have any problem, but I was completely blind in all the muck and mud. He had to do most of the work.



When we finally gathered enough relics, Itharius created the Oathstone and bound it to me, then mentally instructed me to enter the temple. It was a cold, wet place that was as welcoming as a dragon's cave.



As I ventured through it, he told me about how the trolls were capturing his kin. He told me that the trolls would create a seed of evil within the dragons, then let it grow and harvest it by slaying the dragon. Understandably enraged, he asked me to kill each of the leaders of the trolls. First was a priestess - she had many followers, but they couldn't hurt Swobu. I easily picked them off one by one.



The next leader was the slaughterer of the dragons. His chamber was littered with bodies and skeletons, which greatly disturbed poor Rutilus. He hid his head in my cloak as I dealt with the troll, and I had to carry him out of the room before he'd fly on his own again. Swobu helped cheer him up by letting him ride on his shell.



Lastly we were to kill their true leader, a prophet. I was very unimpressed with his power until he suddenly created a shield around himself, taunting us before teleporting away. Itharius and I were extremely irritated by that.



He thanked me regardless, taking back the Oathstone and turning it into an enchanted amulet for me to keep. Then he redirected me to Stonard, telling me in a rather condescending way that the Horde was fighting the Alliance there. Apparently his kind is "above" these "mortal conflicts". I headed to Stonard while urging Goshlok to move quickly. When I arrived, I saw that I had underestimated the scale of the fighting.



The commander ordered me to kill humans. I gladly accepted that task, slaying any and all I came across. They, like the trolls, couldn't hurt Swobu at all. He simply deflected the blows with his shell and bit gaping wounds in their legs. They didn't stand a chance.



Some of my Orc brethren weren't so lucky, though. Many had died. I placed flags at each body to honor their memories, and perhaps to let the Alliance know that we don't shy from death.



When I returned to Stonard, I found it under attack. The commander yelled for me to fight them back. I did so, taking the humans down one by one. Our footmen held out and we managed to force them back.





The commander praised my efforts, then sent me to the west to find a tracker that needed help. That was the low point of my day. The tracker, Neeka, was kneeling over a wounded orc man, crying. She explained through her tears that he was her mate, and was dying after being attacked by humans.



There was nothing she could do to save him, but she asked me to go out and gather several items to ease his passing. First was flowers and silt - not the most heroic of tasks, but I completed them without argument. She deserved as much, at least.



She also asked me to kill his lifelong prize, a large panther named Duskfang, and bring back the pelt. Her reasoning was that if he died with the pelt of the prey in his hands, then he would be able to fight the panther in the world after and achieve his lifelong goal.



He didn't last long after I brought back the pelt. I sat by Neeka's side and watched him breathe his last. Even Rutilus watched.



We did not, of course, get time to stay long. The Blasted Lands waited for us, and before long I was on my way there, Swobu in tow. The orc town was under attack by ogres and I helped fend off an attack.



Seeing that I was rather experienced in killing ogres, they sent me to the ogre base nearby. I killed a great many of them before returning. Rutilus had a very good time watching the ogres puzzle over how they could attempt harming Swobu - they ended up just hurting their knuckles on his spiky shell.



They also wanted me to scout out a nearby Alliance-controlled mine and find their scout, Dane. Finding him was easy - he was surrounded by dead humans.



He explained the situation. The mine was too well defended to capture, and even if it could be captured, Nethergarde was too close for comfort. Instead, the Horde was intending to ruin the economy of the mine via tactical strikes. This meant killing their workers, as apparently it takes a great amount of gold to train each worker.



Dane was pleased with my work and told me to visit his troll friend nearby. The troll, too, was easy to find due to all the dead humans. These scouts aren't very well hidden.



He pointed at the workers in that part of the cave. They were all cowering in fear, babbling. He explained that they had probably dug up something that had scared them. A cockroach, maybe, or a spider, most likely. He wanted me to check it out.



Ah. That's a bit bigger than a spider. I think I understand why the workers were afraid now.

The troll was overall unimpressed. I suppose he's fought hundreds of massive, tentacle-clad, many-eyed, gaping-jawed demons. He was probably just trying to look tough in front of the only woman he'll ever meet. Hmph. He had the brains of a flee, too, coming up with the brilliant plan of hiding under a box and walking through the mine to stay safe.



Luckily, the humans there didn't even think twice about a walking box. If he has the brain of a flee, they have the brains of of a slug. It got the job done, though, and I managed to "sneak" all the way up to their leader and kill him.



When I returned to the orc stronghold, it was back to slaying ogres for me. Now they wanted me to fight through an ogre cave and find some blood elves camped out in the back. Apparently a demon hunter had passed by, mentioning the need for aid before going to visit the elves. I was to find the demon hunter.



The blood elves weren't doing a very good job of hiding, but nothing blood elves do is subtle. There was no sign of any demon hunters around.



They explained that they were Blood mages, and asked for help with several menial tasks - collecting food and blood. The food was Ashmane Boar steak. I was quite surprised to see the mild-mannered boars turning into spine-clad beasts after being attacked.


((Continued))

[Lupis]

((Continued from above))

The blood was easily taken from the local basilisks and hyenas, though Rutilus slowed me down by wondering if the bright red basilisks were somehow related to red dragons. I couldn't say much - I've never looked into the family line of dragons.



Once the elves had the supplies, they completed a ritual to find out where the demon hunter was. Just my luck, he was dead. Even better, he was dead and cut into three pieces. Of course I had to collect them all. Once I had each part of his body, I was to resurrect him at the Altar of Storms. It was vaguely disturbing, but in the end I achieved finding and talking to the night elf.



He made a very big deal about some demon being in the Blasted Lands, then sent me to the Dark Portal to talk to his goblin friend. It was an ominous sight, with Alliance and Horde working together - somewhat - in the face of the greater threat. I was very curious as to what was so terrible beyond the gate, but the orc there was more interested in seeing me kill a few demons.



There were three demons to kill. Two of them were fairly challenging to kill, a massive corehound and a winged creature. The corehound spewed so much fire that I was afraid he'd cook us all alive.



The winged creature, while not able to breathe flames on us, was still able to do damage simply because of his speed. He eventually fell as well, though - it's amazing how much damage a few well-aimed bolts can do.



The goblin had us collect demon blood, which was easily done. We returned with it to the Demon Hunter. He claimed to only need three more items until he could face the demon - three amulets. The first was in the hands of a cult nearby. Several of them were orcs, but I hold no love for cultists and traitors.



The second was hidden on a sunken ship. As I opened the chest that was supposed to hold it, I heard something yell from behind me. A spirit materialized, the ogre that had first killed the Demon Hunter. I swiftly dealt with him and recovered the amulet.



The last amulet was held by... a displaced murloc family? They were very friendly despite technically being enemies and asked that after I helped slay the demon I return to help their murloc tribe. I agreed, then quickly returned to the night elf.



He was very eager to start the fight against the demon. I headed out to a nearby cliff, and the sky literally turned red as the demon appeared. The demon hunter aided in the battle, help that I admittedly needed - the demon had a way of throwing us off the cliff and only the night elf's magic kept us from plummeting to our deaths. I was supposed to stab the demon with an enchanted blade when the time was right, but before I could, the demon started corrupting my ally.



Before I knew it, I was forced to fight him, instead. He demanded that I kill him using the dagger and died swearing that he'd keep the demon from returning to Azeroth. I'd never met nor heard much of demon hunters before today - I now harbor a great respect for them.



I couldn't tarry long, though. I had to help the murlocs, as strange as that sounds. I met up with their chieftain, who, regrettably, had died. He spoke to me as a spirit, asking me to kill the naga that had betrayed them.



It was a sad sight to see, all of the murlocs taking their tadpoles and their belongings to hide in a cave that was nothing but a trap. Naga surrounded them, striking them if they didn't move fast enough.



I took great pleasure in killing as many of the naga as I could find. Swobu did as well, slaying them with remarkable zest for such a serene turtle. I suppose he knew a few murlocs back in the swamp.



As I started to return to the chieftain, I found a box of belongings with several tadpoles sitting on it. It had been forgotten, and the tadpoles looked dehydrated and overall unwell. Seeing the sea not far away, I decided to take them out to the ocean. Maybe when they get older they'll restart the Rockpool tribe.





That was my last task in the Blasted Lands. I met up with the orcs at the Dark Portal and was told to meet the Horde representatives on the other side.



I don't know what I was expecting to see. Demons of course, but a land that wasn't so... barren? War torn? My first sight was one of multiple massive demons fighting a dwindling defense force.



I was told that help was needed at Thrallmar, a Horde camp nearby. There I met Nazgrel, a hero of the Horde, along with his advisors. He briefed us on the situation they were in. Rutilus was in awe of the entire land and stayed by my shoulder the entire time.



As I expected, we had killing to do. First it was to kill creatures called "Fel orcs". At first I was curious and intrigued as to what these odd orcs could be - now I simply hate them. Twisted, corrupted orcs with demon blood running through them, they're a disgrace to the Horde. Luckily, they had as hard a time trying to attack Swobu as the ogres did.



Obviously, demons were also prey. They swarmed the hills in great masses, ranging from the weakest imp to the most intimidating Dread Lord. I had to be very careful when fighting the infernals - with fists made of stone, I was worried they'd be able to crack Swobu's shell.



Then we were off to destroy demonic portals, which apparently let demons come in from the nether realm. Many demons guarded them, but unlike the infernals they proved no danger to brave, calm Swobu. We killed a great many of them before departing.



A very, very, very great many. I'd never seen them swarm quite like they did. They'd clamber up on the bodies of the dead to try and get an attack in.



Before too long, however, I found the true danger to Swobu - the heat. He was having trouble moving long distances and would spend minutes spread out, trying to cool down. I took pity on him and headed back to Orgrimmar to let him rest.
To my surprise, a tauren was waiting for me in Orgrimmar. He said he was a messenger from Thousand Needles, and he was leading a large green windrider by the reigns. He explained that the windrider was one of Heartrazor's cubs. I had almost forgotten about that great wyvern! The "cub" had grown up to be a strong and swift beast, and Heartrazor had let it be taken by the tauren watching over him so I could take care of it.



Cragtooth - the name he was given by Heartrazor - will be staying. I explained to him the dangers he would face, but he was determined to help me. Goshlok seemed to like the idea, probably tired and hoping for rest himself. With Swobu and Goshlok safely in the stables, I returned with Cragtooth and Rutilustrasz to Hellfire. There we took a bit of a test flight. While flying, I saw a lone beast, stranger than any I'd seen in the area before. It was roughly insectoid, quite large, and very alone. It seemed almost in distress, looking around wildly and screeching. I landed and approached. The beast looked like something that would haunt a human's dreams, but it ran up to me with a huge, dopey grin on its face and bobbed about happily.



Rutilus loved her - somehow, she seems like a female - immediately. She still vaguely disturbs me in how she moves and acts, but she's very used to this land, so I suppose there's no better pet to have. Besides, she's light weight enough to ride on Cragtooth's back, unlike Swobu.



I need sleep. A lot of sleep. Until next time, then, Journal.

[Lupis]

DOUBLE POST DEMONS! NOO!

Anyway. I think I'm going to start posting every other level or every level from now on, because these levels take a LOT of quests. I managed to remember them all, but these posts will get really, really long and boring if I don't split them up.

[Azunara]

((I really, really, really like Rutilus. xD))

[Lupis]

DERP. Missing a picture. I'll edit that in. (Fighting the demon with the demon hunter)

Edit- also, glad you like Rutilus, too. I adore that little dragon!

[Cerah]

Thanks for sharing the adventures of your newest hunter with us, Lupis! It's quite interesting to see someone else's WoW experiences in such a way, and your writing is improving with each new post.

Your characterization of your Orc heroine, Brakara, is quite interesting. I'm assuming she didn't do much before the Cataclysm, never experienced having Thrall as a Warchief, the battles in Outland and Northrend when they were relevant to in-game lore. I wonder what she would think of speaking to an older character, a "vetran" of eariler times.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing where Barkara goes next. Good luck with your quests!

[Lupis]

Thank you very much, Cerah.

Yeah, dealing with the timeline differences in different zones will be interesting... I'm not sure what the heck she'll do if she goes to Borean Tundra and has Garrosh as a quest giver. O.O
At the moment I'm just going to pretend that she's, er, killing the remaining demons in Outlands... or something... Seeing as, Lore wise, Illidan and Magtheridon are already dead.

I think Braka's pretty young, though. She's "new generation Horde", so most of her experience interacting with the outside world is after Garrosh became the Warchief. She was alive during Thrall's time, but she was too busy at the pig farm to pay much attention. Just herding pigs and listening to stories about humans being evil.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Not sure how I missed your most recent journal entry. It was a lovely read like always though--Rutilus is so darn cute, I think Indi would like him.

That ravager looks amazing with your hunter as well.

[Lupis]

I'm still thinking about some day having Daemon (my ravager) grow up. At the moment she's a Razorfang Hatchling, and I noticed that there are a bunch of Razorfang Ravagers around, presumably their adult appearance. So Daemon might end up "Molting" so to speak. (Luckily for me she'd molt into the only Elite Ravager skin I can stand. All the others have that goofy clown face. Ugh, cannot un-see.)

[TygerDarkstorm]

Having her grow up would be interesting.

I tried out and didn't like it. I hated that it *always* has a red glow on its body. And Spartan, my , would eat the face off anyone who told him he looks like a clown.

[Lupis]

*Whispers* Spartan, you have a clown face on your back. Sorry bud. *Flees*
Really though, if they didn't have that clown face, I'd LOVE the purple and green spiky ravagers. They're both beautiful. Color wise, the red is my least favorite. However, his overall dark back coloration hides his clown face pretty well.