Musings of an Azeroth Mage Book 5

Musings of an Azeroth Mage (Book 5)
:- by Archin
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==-14-==
The other day I stood face to face with a most hideous and unbecoming creature imaginable: a Troll. 
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<BR>Yumeko has grown quite fond of summoning Infernals in the middle of Goldshire, and then watching the subsequent terror that ensues. Though I am more guarded against such a practice, I will always stand by her side and make sure that upon the breaking of the enslavement spell, the creature falls before it can deal any permanent damage to my love. 
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<BR>A Warlock friend of my wifes that was still in training was brought along to view the mastery of the demon, however I am getting ahead of myself! Before we got to Goldshire, something else totally irksome had occurred. 
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<BR>Yumeko had awoken before I had, and she must have quietly left the bedroom in which we were sleeping to take care of some business. During this time, she met the aforementioned Warlock and the two of them were discussing matters in the Dwarven District in Stormwind. Upon my awakening, I quickly made my way to my sweet love to see how she was doing, and I was introduced to the Warlock. 
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<BR>After meeting the young woman, Yumeko made a request that nearly made my heart burst in my chest. She wanted to summon the Infernal in The Park of Stormwind, since it wouldnt be too crowded. 
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<BR>Had she forgotten all that I had asked of her? Had she ignored the fact that I want to try to LIVE to have grandchildren and have the time that I want to be her husband? Particularly with the prior knowledge that TWICE we were stopped in the Park of Stormwind by the Ordo and nearly taken care of, how could she even consider doing such a thing? 
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<BR>I was thrown, quite frankly, into a rage and my mood went from quite cordial to very, very sour. I felt bad for the young girl I had just met, for I was hardly in the mood to be nice anymore and she clearly got an impression of me that was negative, to say the least. It brings into question my wifes actions at any time Im not around just like that stupid Calithos incident. How, in the name of the Shadow, could she consider doing such a thing after nearly being killed the previous night?? 
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<BR>At first, I told her I was not going with her to wherever she would summon an Infernal (she had accepted summoning it in Goldshire after I reprimanded her) but she shot me a look that hit my heart hard, and I decided to join them. With Karkune on her back, we traveled to Goldshire and summoned the creature. 
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<BR>Once more the local animals burst into flame and died and several passerbys stood in awe and fear. The local shopkeepers ran away, screaming for guards, while Karkune clapped and smiled as if he had been given a brand new magic tome. The adept Warlock was very impressed at my wifes prowess, and after destroyed the enraged demon when the enslavement wore off, we were about to head back to Stormwind. 
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<BR>It was at this time that the Troll appeared. I do now know what this creatures name was [OOC: Vodouwizan] but he stood on the road to Stormwind like a fool and hopped around like an idiot. He merely reinforced my belief that the members of the Horde are simply idiots. 
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<BR>The idea that Yumeko wishes to realign with these creatures was fresh in my mind and seeing that I may have to lower myself to calling this cretin friend made my skin crawl. Oddly, however, something stayed my hand from destroying the animal right there in the road. Perhaps it was the fact that Yumeko was present, and undoubtedly a long, drawn out fight would occur had I melted him where he stood. 
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<BR>I did polymorph him repeatedly, and laughed as he ran around as a sheep. I even shrunk him occasionally with my shrink ray, but I did not lay a hand on him. Others that passed through attacked him, but many were too weak to damage his formidable armor. He was very friendly towards Yumeko, however, and she seemed so happy to be in his presence. 
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<BR>Nevertheless, I kept my distance and criticized him for what he was. Yumeko repeatedly, repeatedly defended the monster for being a sentient and feeling creature, and that because he smiled and had not tried to slaughter us, he truly must be intelligent. 
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<BR>Rubbish. Absolute rubbish if you ask me. 
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<BR>A debate of sorts erupted between two Night Elves and the Brey family, as to the racial tensions that have occurred between us, as well as the nature of magic. The tree hugging, animal loving, forest living Night Elves are so blinded by their leaves that they cannot even begin to fathom the untapped power of the Nether! Why, the mere thought of such a prospect, having the Nether at my fingertips, warms my chest and quickens my heart. 
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<BR>As we continued to study the Troll, however, Yumeko called the Alliance a piece of.. well, I dare not say the next word, but lets just say that its synonymous with offal. 
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<BR>Right then and there I took my leave and slowly walked back towards Stormwind. My wife and our child were so enamored with the Troll that she did not even notice that I had left! After passing by that idiot Wendall of the Crimson Hounds (who stupidly tried to recruit me) I made my way to the outside of the Slaughtered Lamb and sat quietly, contemplating just what to do. 
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<BR>I thought back to our relationship prior to our marriage, and prior to our coming together, and I see the type of a man that I was. A close-minded, overconfident, callous Mage that saw other opinions inferior to his own and his own assurances capable of eclipsing any other concerns. These traits, I believe, are what had made my beautiful wife hate me, and I still see these traits come out occasionally. But she does not help me! Embracing a troll in front of me and blatantly ignoring laws does not help ease the concerns and reservations that I have! 
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<BR>And her calling the Alliance a piece of filth, that is akin to calling my entire life filth. It is as if she calls the death of my family, my time in Dalaran, and my work with Daelin Proudmoore as nothing more than a black, seeping wound on the history of Azeroth, and that hurts. 
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<BR>I sat there, for a very long time, and I do not know if throughout that time she even noticed that I was gone. But finally, after what appeared to be an eternity, she came up behind me and quietly laid my son beside me. 
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<BR>She felt bad for hurting me and she said she wanted to study the Troll some more. I personally think she should have come and seen just what had angered her husband, but then again, she is a curious woman and I still dont know how she will react to certain situations. Nonetheless, she felt bad for what she had done to me though she continued to hammer home the wish to join the Horde. 
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<BR>Though she angers me and drives me crazy sometimes, I love her with all my being and I told her that shes all I have now. I dont have Dalaran, I dont have a family, I dont even have the Alliance anymore. All I have is my wife and our child and yet, I think that I will be content with that. 
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<BR>I fear that if we do realign with the Horde, I will be miserable, and I told her that. I do fear that I will succumb to despair and be unable to pull myself out of a depression but I suppose I am willing to take such a chance to better protect my family. 
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<BR>Ive lived forty-one years for myself and for the Alliance, I suppose I can live the rest of my life for someone else. 
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<BR>Needless to say, this was not the end of the evening, but rather the beginning. Though I grow tired of writing all these issues that Ive had to deal with have worn me out. However, following the conversation outside of the Lamb, I actually became a student and Yumeko became a teacher. 
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<BR>I was going to have my first infusion of Nether energy, be that as it may 
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<BR>and it felt so good. 
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<BR>Archin Brey <BR>
==-15-==
I suppose you could say Im a self-made man of sorts as I didnt have the luxury of being born into a Magocratic family. 
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<BR>My parents, may the Light love them and the Shadow guard them, were humble librarians in Stormwind Keep prior to the First War, and before them I do not remember any Mages ever being a part of my family. 
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<BR>At the age of six, the young age of six, I was enrolled in the classes with the Stormwind Conjurors, and it was there that I grasped my first strands of Nether. 
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<BR>I cannot help but feel sorry for the conjurors of the First War. They were so ill-equipped for battle, so unable to defend themselves against the onslaught of the Horde. Nevertheless I learned from them, but it was difficult. 
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<BR>You see, I dont have it in my body, I dont have it in my soul. The Nether, that is. Unlike a Mage that is born of other Mages, I had to learn from scratch. I had to work hard, dedicate myself, and commit myself to the studies at hand if I wanted to learn how to wield magic. 
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<BR>The Mages of Dalaran always held that over me. I wasnt a classically trained Mage, no, I was taught by the conjurors, who were not affiliated with the Kirin Tor at the time, and I wasnt born into the practice. 
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<BR>I chose it. 
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<BR>And through will and determination, I succeeded and rose, quite quickly in fact, through the ranks of Dalaran until I held the lofty station that I forsake when I left the Violet Citadel, but there is one fact that remains: The Nether is a malevolent force. 
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<BR>Those that do not dabble in magic may not know this, but the Nether, the source of magic, is a corrupting and evil force at its very core, and we must be careful when we use it, lest we go mad. The Highborne, those that were blessed with long, long life, lived so long a life that it was able to best them. Humans, with our shorter life spans, tend not to live long enough for the Nether to corrupt us so thoroughly though some exceptions do exist. Medivh comes to mind. 
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<BR>My distance with the Nether has always been far, as it does not flow through my veins, and I merely pull it from its source and use it, rather than process it. Therefore, Ive had the luxury of not being corrupted very thoroughly by its own malevolent nature. 
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<BR>But now, being around Yumeko, I hunger for it. I do. I admit it. Just as my heart races upon seeing her fair face, my heart races when her Infernal nears me or any of her demonic minions, for that matter. 
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<BR>And while we sat there outside of the Slaughtered Lamb, this issue came up. The fact that I was not a creature in which the Nether flowed through and how the Mages of Dalaran always held that over me. 
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<BR>Yumeko offered to help me. To teach me how to grow close to the Nether to teach me and to guide me. 
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<BR>Such a prospect, someone teaching ME something, is quite laughable. However, I knew that this was a subject, a situation, that I could not go through alone. It would take someone of considerable power, and of considerable aptitude, to achieve this secret end that Ive always longed for. 
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<BR>I want the Nether sliding through my veins I want that power. Considering how strong I am now, if I had the Nether bolstering me, I could conceivably smash anything that dared to stand in my way. 
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<BR>I accepted after careful thought. After all Im an intelligent and willful man. No matter how much of the Nether is infused with me, Ill be able to beat it. Nothing could drive Archin Brey mad, certainly nothing arcane. My mastery over the substance is far too vast for it to corrupt me. 
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<BR>Yumeko took my hand and squeezed it and asked if she could summon an Infernal in Stormwind. She said that the fear of the populace would enhance the experience and that it would help me focus on the Infernal. 
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<BR>I saw a glint in her eye that I wasnt totally sure of, but I accepted. I felt amazingly weak at that moment. I was excited at the prospect of being granted one of my deepest and darkest wishes, yet humbled by the fact that I did not have Nether in my blood. 
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<BR>Together, we walked to the Trade District of Stormwind. Yumeko knew to keep a low profile, and she summoned the beast and her and I distanced ourselves, merely letting the Infernal stand in the city and watched as fear gripped the citizens, and awe gripped the adventurers. 
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<BR>It was an awesome experience. 
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<BR>I stood and closed my eyes, letting my guard down, and feel the Nether energy crash against me it warmed my body, soothed my mind, and sent a tingle along my skin the likes of which I had never felt before. I felt power I felt pleasure I felt incredible. 
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<BR>When I opened my eyes again and looked at Yumeko she was staring at me, and clearly pleased with what she saw. When the enslaved demon finally reeled against her captor and attacked, we killed it and I was back to my original self. I missed the feeling of the Infernal, however I missed that euphoric pleasure that I had experienced. I wanted more. 
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<BR>So much has happened since then, its hard to keep track of all the events and the sequence in which they occurred. A sizeable portion of a night was spent working on a Warlock task with Yumeko, in which the ultimate reward was a considerably powerful scythe. 
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<BR>The adventure took us deep into the Sunken Temple, and we were reunited with an old friend of ours: A Night Elf named Lhoest. Lhoest, in my opinion, serves as one of the greatest reminders that not all Night Elves are hopelessly insane. 
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<BR>A dear friend, one in which I knew when he had just started to adventure, and then he rose meteorically through the ranks to become one of the finest warriors I have ever known, Lhoest joined us in the Sunken Temple and helped Yumeko complete her task, along with another Warlock and none other than Calithos himself. Im not going to go into detail about Calithos he is not worth the spent ink writing on him. 
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<BR>Also, during one afternoon while I was traveling alone, I was part of an expedition into the area of Stratholme that was under the protection of the Scarlet Crusade. 
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<BR>The findings of this expedition were staggering of which I dare not explain fully in my own writing. The group that I was with, many of whom were part of a Guild known as Final Empire, were fantastic individuals of courage and honor. They were helpful, giving, and patient with me, as I had never been to Stratholme before. 
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<BR>Immediately following the expedition, in which we were victorious, I traveled to Azshara to battle some Blood Elves and the most peculiar thing happened. 
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<BR>Felling one of the fallen Highborne, a strange trinket of sorts rolled out of his bag. After examining it, I came to learn that the item in question was known as Uthers Strength. 
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<BR>A symbol from Uther the Lightbringer, the greatest, truest Paladin the Alliance had ever known. Holding the small symbol in my hand, I could feel the Holy Light coursing through the item a form of the Light I no longer feel when I gaze upon Scarlet Crusaders, members of the Ordo Hereticus, or many Paladins that I meet nowadays. 
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<BR>The only Paladin in which I truly get a sense of this Light, the Light that Uther would have been proud of, comes in the form of a dear old friend of mine, Rogther, a grumpy old man (even by my standards) who tirelessly defended and helped myself and my friends in our time of need. 
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<BR>I felt as if this item, an item that the Lightbringer himself must have blessed, would bring me great fortune and protect me from harm. Slipping it into a pocket in my robe I hold it on my person today. 
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<BR>I admit, I am fearful of the Nether it feels so wonderful like a drug that I cannot have enough of, yet I am afraid could I go mad? Could I grow so hungry that it tries to destroy me? 
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<BR>I know that Yumeko would never sanction this item of the Lightbringer on my person in her presence. I know that she would see it as a grave transgression but I plan on secretly keeping it on me. 
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<BR>If it serves as the last vestige of the Light on my body and soul, so be it. 
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<BR>Im sure Ill be fine. 
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<BR>Archin Brey <BR>
==-16-==
Yumeko and I had a difficult night the other night, and I do have to say that I had nothing to do with it. I was not at fault. I was not in the wrong. 
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<BR>Nay, let it be known that I was the same Archin that Ive always been, the same man that she married, the same man that she rests with every night. And while I am sure, without a question, that I am in the right 
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<BR>I felt like Hell! 
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<BR>Where to begin where to begin?! 
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<BR>Every night we make it a point to summon an infernal within the walls of Stormwind. Generally we do so in the Trade District, where the most people possible can see its strength and beauty. 
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<BR>However, even by keeping a low profile, we still somehow manage to get into trouble, or at the very least, attract some attention. This time, however, it was attention that I wasnt expecting. It wasnt the Ordo, or the Crimson Hounds, or any member of the Alliance. Instead, it came in the guise of an Eye of Kilrogg, undoubtedly a Warlocks tool and I could tell that it wasnt cast from someone native to the Alliance. 
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<BR>Indeed, the floating orb flew straight up to myself and Yumeko as we stared at the Infernal and it blinked. I cut the nuisance down, but it came back. 
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<BR>Someone really was hoping to irritate me. 
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<BR>Yumeko and her Warlock friend, Elilla, were present at the time and just as I was about to handle this eye business, I saw my old friend Jaffar! 
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<BR>Jaffar Randal what a good man! I met the lad in Redridge probably half a year ago, and from that meeting grew a friendship that only the luckiest of individuals could experience. Quiet, calm, and fiercely loyal, Jaffar has protected me, and I him, through many different adventures. He was my best man at my first wedding, and he is always there to help me in a time of need. 
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<BR>I hadnt talked to my old friend in a while, so he and I chatted in the Trade District while Yumeko and her friend stole away silently. However, while talking to Jaffar, the words of the Demonic tongue hit my ears and I knew that it was those two women jabbering away in an outlawed language. 
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<BR>Irritated and annoyed, I bid Jaffar farewell and followed their voices. It was a building just near the entrance of Stormwind. Bounding up the stairs, I rounded the corner and came face to face with death itself. 
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<BR>No really a member of the Forsaken stood in his Warlocks robes staring at me, and standing between the two women. Fearing for my dear wifes life, I grabbed my sword, invoked my Mage Armor, and set forth to melt the creature to the ground. 
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<BR>Then Yumeko stood in his way. 
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<BR>I told her to move, I told her that it had to be destroyed. The impertinent girl told me no no! 
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<BR>At first the Forsaken armed himself, but then he lowered his weapon. Grudgingly, I lowered mine as well. But my argument wasnt over. I told Yumeko he should be killed, that he deserved to be killed, and that if the authorities of Stormwind were around, that we all could be killed. But she continued to defend him! She said he wasnt all that bad that his name was Razas. 
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<BR>What a horrendous name! Razas sounds like some sort of a bile movement. 
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<BR>He smelled like a corpse and his hair was matted and ratty. He looked like Hell and smelled even worse, and my wife was standing right in front of him! 
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<BR>I was outraged, I couldnt believe it. I turned on my heels and decided to leave. If my wife wants to argue with me over a member of the Forsaken 
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<BR>well she can just be left alone then! 
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<BR>As I started to march out of the building, she started YELLING in Demonic so that all of Stormwind could hear. She screamed If you dont come back Ill keep on yelling. 
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<BR>Horrified, I turned around and bounded back up the stairs, screaming for her to be quiet. 
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<BR>Yumeko brought up, right then and there, the fact that were trying to get closer to the Horde. All the while she conversed in Demonic to Elilla. I couldnt handle it Yumeko hugged him! 
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<BR>Shell hug a Forsaken, but shell be horrified that Id want to eradicate him! That defies all logic! 
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<BR>I told her I was going to kill him. And she replied, sure as ever, If you hurt him 
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<BR>What! I fired back at her, and I stared right into her face, challenging her. I asked her what she was going to do if I harmed him. 
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<BR>She said nothing. Elilla groaned and I stared right into her eyes. 
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<BR>Pivoting on my heels, I stormed out of the building. 
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<BR>Much like the Troll the previous night, Yumeko didnt bother to follow after me. She continued to be enthralled with the Forsaken. I dont understand that woman. Here I am upset, and shed rather have fun with something she cant even talk with. 
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<BR>I spent my time in the Jester, speaking with the lad Ilmare and getting him prepared for his training. After a brief altercation between myself, Eisenhorne, and Calithos, I decided to make my way back towards the building that housed the Forsaken. I feared that my wife was arrested or that something bad had happened. I readily admit it. 
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<BR>Entering the building, roughly an hour later, I saw a corpse on the ground floor. Running up to the top floor, there they stood, like little demonic ducks in a row, speaking in Demonic with two other unknown people standing around. 
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<BR>Speaking demonic in the presence of others! AND consorting with a member of the Forsaken. 
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<BR>Thrust into a rage I reprimanded Yumeko again. A Night Elf that was present had the audacity to butt in, and I shut him up soundly. I told Yumeko I was going to bed, and she could either join me, or stay with her newfound friends. Bidding goodnight to Elilla, I marched out of the building. Yumeko hugged Razas several times and then followed me quietly. Another Forsaken rushed past me and into the building, no doubt joining up with her cohort, and Yumeko turned like a child after a piece of candy and ran back inside to hug and love up on those creatures. 
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<BR>I continued walking. Clearly it only takes something dead for Yumeko to forget about me. 
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<BR>I walked to the small house we had rented out to sleep, but I couldnt rest. I sat in a chair instead and waited for Yumeko. 
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<BR>From there we got into our discussion, for it was not much of an argument. She feels guilty because I gave up so much to be with her and I dont expect her to owe me anything. However, I do expect her to be patient with me and to let me slowly get used to this change not throw me in a room with a member of the Forsaken and then expect me to be fine. Furthermore, not defend him and damn me, and then expect me to be happy with it. 
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<BR>She was distraught I was distraught. She very nearly made the proposal that we end our relationship if she was causing me so much trouble, but that isnt the problem. She brings me great happiness, but the lifestyle, it takes some time to get used to. 
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<BR>In the end, thankfully, we were in bed together in one anothers arms. Overriding this War, the prejudices, and whatnot, I love her. Ill always love her. 
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<BR>It is going to be an interesting couple of days for sure. 
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<BR>Archin Brey
End of Musings of an Azeroth Mage Book 5
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 [<--- Book 4] [Book 6 --->]
Category:Story