So so sorry for the delay in getting this out. Truuueee I have been playing around with my shiny new demon hunter and joining in some invasions, but also guild and irl stuff got in the way. Not to mention getting writer's block part way through, ugh. Anyway here we go, along with a couple of in-jokes for those people I used to RP with
Dear diary
It's been a long time since I last wrote here. Everything's been so hectic and strange the last while, between Garrosh's escape from Pandaria, following him -back in time to Draenor's past
- and otherwise setting up in and exploring the new world. It was fascinating seeing how it looked before it became the Outlands we know. That said I didn't get as much free time as I'd have liked, which is why I haven't been writing. I actually meant to write something a few days ago but I'll get into that later. I will never understand how a friend of mine managed to become commander of his own garrison on Draenor, much less how I got roped into being his tactician. All I did was correct a few orders he put out and suddenly our followers started listening to me more than him.
Not the best when you have difficulties dealing with other people.
But I digress. The reason I'm writing now is because the Legion is invading Azeroth! Even though a group of heroes* managed to bring down Archimonde in Hellfire Citadel before he could get out into Draenor, Gul'dan managed to escape and is using his power to summon the demons to our world. That's what I heard anyway. Dreanor is mostly safe now and the orcs and draenei can handle what's left so the rest of us came home.
*Vare may or may not have been one of those heroes.
It was pretty obvious what had happened in the time it took to get back. Swirling green fissures in the sky. Giant fel-green structures with demons pouring out of them. It was because of these invasions that I hadn't written when I wanted to, as I was forced onto a Horde ship to assist in assaulting the supposed source of the invasion on what are known as the Broken Isles. I'd have been excited to explore this new land if it hadn't been for the demons. What happened on the shore there... well. It was stressful. I'm lucky to be alive - I received a nasty gash on my right arm during the fight but it's healing nicely thanks to the priest I'd been with on the ship. The things I saw happen on the isle shook me hard. I hadn't the emotional strength to even take out my pen let alone write anything. And what happened after... It's a dire situation for all of us.
I left Orgrimmar as soon as I was able. I since travelled to Dalaran which is now above Deadwind Pass in the Eastern Kingdoms. It's probably the only safe place left. Apparently it's here because of Karazhan, a tower once owned by a powerful mage. People have been asked to go down and check for Legion presence before the magi do anything with the tower though, as a powerful eredar had been summoned there years ago. I was one of those people. Problem is, Karazhan is haunted with the ghosts of its previous inhabitants. You know how I feel about the undead. I told them about my fears but they wouldn't listen so I guess I'm going down soon.
[The writing here is scrawled and messy, probably written in haste. Or fear.]
I do not want to be here
I do not want to be here
I DO NOT WANT TO BE HERE
[The ink here seems to be fresher than the previous. It must have been written quite some time later.]
I did it. By the Light I managed to make myself go inside the abandoned tower. It wasn't easy. I had to imagine Sylvanas Windrunner standing nearby like she had on that accursed boat. [The next line had been crossed out and rewritten. Apparently the author had shuddered when adding it.]
I swear she had looked right at me at one point. Anyway I can safely confirm that there is no demon activity in Karazhan right now. Whatever happened here before is long gone. What had been presumed to be Legion was, in fact, a pack of demon hounds. Some of which suffered the same ghostly curse as the humans.

Much to my discomfort I'd been approached by a ghost. A human who used to be a servant within the tower, now cursed. He didn't seem to really know I was there yet asked me to help clear out some animals that had made their home in the Servant's Quarters. Now that I could handle. I'll take bats and spiders and hounds over ghosts and actual demons any day. "Demon" hounds after all are only called that by the way they look. That said they are still highly dangerous creatures. Surprisingly, after I finished herding out the pests, a large, red hound appeared as if from nowhere at the back of the room. He'd looked at me not with hostility but curiosity.

Oddly I found him sniffing at me. I'd thought he was going to attack when approached so I'd defended myself. Instead he licked my hands. Why would a demon hound be so interested in me? He didn't seem to be a threat and there's little a lone hound could do so I tried to leave him. Except he kept following me, even outside the tower. Seems I've made an unexpected friend.
End RP.
I really was surprised by the screenshots I managed to get of Rokar. Demon dogs aren't exactly the prettiest of pets after all. But this little guy showed his personality even before I started working with him. I named him Khalil, meaning "friend" in Arabic which I thought was fitting. Overall the demon dog model is fairly well done for the time it was made. The animations are fluid and suffer little to no clipping, except a bit while running. The standing animation is standard for a dog, stood straight and alert and alternating between standing still and panting. And then we have the famous doggy bounce where they jump back and bow down a little. Cute and playful! If you get past the fangs and horns.

Just... don't look at them from the front. At first it's unassuming and flat. Then they bounce and holy crap that mouth what the heck is that
When walking they put their heads down and seem to stalk about. Running shows a typical canine lope.



Fighting-wise they have three different attacks, two bites with one where they swing their heads to snap at the target and the other being a lunge. The last is a paw-swipe clawing move - this one's probably the worst to look at as all you see is the leg waving stiffly in front of it, unlike cats, for instance, where you can see the wrist bend.


Demon dogs are small and unobtrusive pets even at full size. Easy to lose in a raid situation but not an issue during solo or party content. For those of us who play with sounds on they're also very quiet, only going so far as to make a small growl when told to attack and are otherwise silent. Overall looks-wise as Rhyela mentioned with hers demon dogs are okay-looking pets (from the side *shiver*) but could benefit from an update - the textures for the most part work in showing off the musculature but it fails in the mane which is obviously pasted onto the skin save for the central, paper-thin "mohawk". That said it certainly isn't in as dire need of updating as other pet models.
As for colour the red skin is my favourite of the available looks with its complimentary yellow mane and black leg fur. I also have a red/orange/brown colour theme for Vare so this little guy fits in perfectly. This skin is exclusive both to Blackrock Depths as a common mob around the prison area or as one of three bosses from Karazhan's Servant Quarters. I can't tell exactly what causes each one to spawn but I think a timer is involved somewhere as I had the bat and spider spawn on separate previous attempts while taking shots of the other hounds. Thankfully you can reset the instance to try again if he doesn't show up.
All in all I might hang onto Khalil. Vare still feels a bit odd having a pet that could be considered demon or even undead to some especially considering where he found Khal. Demon dogs are so full of personality and make fun companions. Just... that face.
Sweet dreams