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| - Damn it. Why did he have to give that damned request, as he calls it – more like an order in my mind. Turns my entire world upside down. “The only one I can trust,” my ass. Damn it. He does have a point though. I look around me and see what we’ve become and it saddens me at the same time it sickens my soul. One thing my illness taught me over the last few years is how to survive and how to go inside myself for answers. The Sin’dorei as they call themselves after the fall all seem to view filling that never-ending hunger by taking it from something else. They are all addicts, but don’t want to admit it to themselves. Even the Ranger Corps have succumbed to the hunger. Maybe it was fate that cursed me at the fall of Silvermoon. I’ve never viewed myself as the lucky one – bedridden and having problems even breathing for these past few years. And now this. Just as I was making my way in the world again. My coughing fits only happened after a long hard run now. I wonder if he had waited for me to get back to this state of health before asking me? I had to give up Shindu Belore and Verdandi. They had both helped me in recovering my strength. I learned so much from them; we counted on each other – my guidance and their teeth and claws. After Ranger Lor’themar Theron (still can’t get over him being the Regent Lord), gave me his orders, I knew this was bigger than my own selfish desires and wants. I had to give up Shindu Belore, so I returned to the island far to the east of Auberdine. I let this creature from the Outlands back amongst its own kind. I imagine it is still there now ruling over its weaker brethren. I also released Verdandi back in Dun Morogh. I could feel her enjoyment in being back in the cold, blending back in with the snow. While I could never quite understand Shindu Belore’s mind, Verdandi was always a kind-hearted bear. I’ll never be able to thank them enough for their parts in my recovery. I returned after that to the Silvermoon and sent word to Regent Lord Theron as to where to find me. I meditated for countless hours until he was able to break away and join me at the Shrine of Dath’Remar. I found it fitting that we should be discussing what he wanted from me here of all places. He told me of his concerns, more in detail this time, and why he chose me. He told me what he had already figured out – I’m the last of the Quel’dorei in Silvermoon. The others have fled to their own areas or joined with those that call themselves the Alliance. The Alliance, my ass. I remember the treachery of their Grand Marshall. Their moniker is a joke, filled with backstabbing and other such deals. He spoke about how I haven’t succumbed to the addiction that everyone else has. And then he hit me with the mission. Since I’m the only one he knows who served beside him before the fall of the Sunwell who hasn’t become a “Sin’dorei,” he asked me to spy on our own people – especially anything about what Prince Kael’thalas is up to. I remember his words, “Trust our Horde allies before you trust a Sin’dorei.” He had already talked with Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing and informed him of my shifting within the ranks to a different specialty. I would report directly to the Ranger General, but with a code hidden within the normal reports. Those messages would be passed on to the Regent Lord himself. We discussed the code at length as sun grew long and began to settle itself before the night came. And that’s when he surprised me, the cheeky bastard. He told me to wait and headed back to main spire on Sunstrider Isle while I waited. That’s when he returned with a small cage and a smirk on his face. “This is for you – a companion to replace those you had to give up. I went through quite the trouble to obtain her for you. I’ve named her Shindu Belore, after your creature you gave up from the Draenei’s island. Quite a fitting name for what you are about to look into for me,” he said with something between a grin and a grimace. I opened the little cage to see a pair of green eyes staring at me. A tiny mew of sound preceded her dark grey, almost black head sticking out through the open door. “Learn from her, Ranger. As she accompanies you in your travels, you will have a great deal to learn from her as you scout out for the information we need.” He did choose the appropriate name for this little kitten – “Failing of the Sun” indeed.
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