. . . in a leather knapsack on a traveler's back, upon which are scribed orcish runes in a steady hand.
Quote:I have never written something as this before. Uncle Tarakh has told me that it would be wise to record my thoughts as I begin my journey. Uncle Tarakh is wise, and so I have done so.
I do not like this paper. I am better to speak words than I am to scribble them, and so I feel constrained in my expression. I cannot tell as I truly feel, but I shall try. It is the best I can do.
I am writing this because I have done it. I have completed Om'riggor. I am a man.
My journey begins today.
Quote:I have spent the day walking in the sun. It turns out that walking is a far more tiresome way to spend a day than tending to the swine in mother's farm.
I huddle in the shade now, breathing deep. I have not exerted my arms in all the day's walking and yet I can barely lift them to write this page. It is a good feeling.
I rest in the Crossroads. Despite what I've been informed, my father, it appears, is not here.
I will find him. He must know that his son is not a failure as he predicted.
Quote:Splintertree Post. That is where I am headed.
The days become cooler the further north I go. It is pleasant up here, and I am not so tired. I see the forests beyond the hills ahead of me and I will reach them soon.
I have eaten from the body of a plainstrider. It struggled as I felled it. It died a good death.
The Rampart awaits.
Quote:I have passed out of the safety of the Horde's borders. I am in this strange woodland of eternal moonlight. It is not as frightening as I thought it would be. Rather, it is serene.
I quite like it here. I have not yet seen an elf, but then the grunts at the rampart told me that if they were to kill me, I would not see them.
I am watching my back, as I have been told to. It is exhilerating.
Splintertree Post cannot be far away.
Quote:Perhaps it can be. Or perhaps I have taken the wrong way. I have begun to fear that I have become lost in these woods, for I have lost sight of the road and am wandering without aid.
It is impossible to navigate here. The trees are too densely packed, and the eternal dusk means I cannot look to the placement of the sun to deduce the time of day, or tell east from west by the hour.
Moreover, I sense that I am being watched. Perhaps it is a predator. Perhaps it is an elf. Regardless, I will sleep lightly and with my bow and my arrow in easy reach.
I met a warband of my Horde-brothers today. Warsong, like my father. I asked them of his location and they told me they did not know him. It is odd - I had assumed they were a closely-knit group.
They were moving on the tree elf settlement called Astranaar. They invited me to join them, but changed their minds when they realised that I was unseasoned in battle.
I wished them luck and parted their company.
Quote:Today has been strange. It was a nightsaber, not an elf. I should be relieved. I suppose I am.
The nightsaber chased me directly into a small gathering of the creatures in the woods. This was not as lethal as I expected it to be.
When I was an inch away from besting it, the plants at my feet sprung up to envelope my ankles, my shins, my calves, thick vines acting as shackles. They watched the beast as it tried to tear my throat out and healed it as I did the same in turn.
I spoke to them, tersely at first, but then more freely. They were three - one of their Sentinel warriors, who threatened me throughout, a walking ancestor who spoke much wisdom and one of their tree-shamans.
I did not fight them, but I think I handled myself honourably. I told them to kill me if they wished and gave them every opportunity to do so. But they did not.
Perhaps they treated me honourably, as well. I had not thought the elves were capable of it.
The tree-shaman told me that the Warsong brothers I had ate and rested with yesterday had perished in their assault. I carry this news with me to Splintertree.
The walking ancestor spoke much wisdom to his colleagues.
The Sentinel escorted me back to the road and put me on the way to Splintertree. We spoke of battle and our peoples and I promised her a good death in honourable combat if we were to meet again.
My father would disapprove. Part of me hopes he is not at Splintertree so I will not have to tell him, but that part is weak and immature. I will silence it. When I find him, he will hear of my success in Om'riggor and of my travels so far.
Quote:Again, I have been disappointed. My father is not here. It is beginning to frustrate me.
The Warsongs here know of my father, but they do not speak particularly highly of him. Strange - mother had always told me he was an orc of great repute. Perhaps something recent has befallen him. Something that has besmirched his honour.
They have given me supplies and have arranged for a windrider to take me back to Orgimmmar.
It is an annoyance. My journey so far has been fruitless.
Quote:I met two brothers today, in the service of a Red Vanguard. Gok'tar Wolfson and Grazmot Windseeker. They are honourable, and they think me honourable. They commended me on my adherence to tradition and they believe that many honours await me in my future.
I told them I will not grow complacent in their praise, however. I will ensure that these honours are well-earned. I will make a good name for myself, one that my father will be proud of.
. . . I still don't know where he is.
Quote:It has been a curious day.
I met a sister by the name of Juna of the Wildhunt Clan. She is a farseer, and yet she is scarcely ten summers older than I. She is very wise. She spoke to me of our people's past and shared much wisdom with me, but she faced me with a difficult choice.
She invited me to fight alongside her in Nagrand against cultists who seek to defile what is left of our homeland. She claims that the broken Scourge and the beaten-back Legion are greater threats to our survival than the Alliance which encroaches upon our borders by the day.
We finished our chat with me inclined to believe her. It is an odd feeling to have one's beliefs challenged in such a way, but I learn from it.
She has given me money for supplies and told her to meet her in Nagrand. I will make the journey by foot. It will be difficult. I had told her that I feared that I would not be much of a boon to her cause.
If I survive this journey, I will have proven - perhaps to her, but definitely to myself - able to help.
Quote:Today, I booked passage on one of those goblin-made zeppelins. It is a curious contraption of wood and iron that stays afloat with air.
I make no pretensions of understanding it. But perhaps one day, I would like to. There is much wisdom to be found in those little creatures, I believe, despite their reputation.
My mother was visiting Razor Hill today for market and we spoke. She is impressed already by how I have grown on my journey.
I am not. I feel I have grown little. I yearn to know more and to experience more, and I yearn to fight alongside this Wildhunt Clan in the homeland.
The zeppelin leaves at dawn. The sunrise cannot come sooner.
Quote:I have just crossed the ocean in a boat that sails over air. I have arrived in Grom'gol.
I cannot stop laughing. The Grunts here regard me as a madman, I believe, and I cannot blame them. It is the simple absurdity of how I have reached this place that amuses me. I like these zeppelins.
I rest well and I eat well on the money Juna lent me. I have supplies enough to last for two weeks of travel.
Quote:This jungle is incredible. I have never seen anything like it, and perhaps outside of this jungle, I never will.
I killed a cat today. It was big and furry and powerful like the nightsaber that pursued me in Ashenvale, or the lion I slew for Om'riggor, but it was orange, striped with black. A tiger, I believe.
The trolls have a tiger god, one of their Loa spirits. This does not surprise me. It is a majestic creature and deserving of worship.
It tastes good, too, and the blanket I have made of its fur keeps the rain out well.
There is an arena not far from here. I will visit on my travels.