Commander Braghaman Larethian

Sunlight streamed into the room through the crack of the curtains. Outside, the sounds of animals awakening began with the new day. The bells in the tower rang out.

Sabina opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes again, she raised her arms above her head and stretch in her bed, kicking the covers off as she did. Slowly, she relaxed her arms and legs and opened her eyes again, staring up at the ceiling. Finally, hearing the echo of the tower bells fading away, she kicked her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. She reached over and scratched her shoulder and looked around her little room in the abbey. 

And then she let out a startled scream. Soon after, there were footsteps outside the room and banging on the...

“Curse you, Percy the paladin!” Braghaman said in a gravely voice as he closed the book he’d been reading.

Looking down beside him, he saw Banagan curled up against his side with his eyes closed. Next to his son was Korissa, also curled up asleep though she was leaning against her mother. At the other end of the couch was Niviene. She rested her head against her arm on the back of the couch, her own eyes closed as well. All of them had a large quilt pulled over them as the paladin had read the children’s book.

Bragh smiled and gave a quiet chuckle. Carefully, he set the book down on the floor beside the couch and picked up the drink he’d set there earlier. Trying not to wake anyone, Bragh propped his feet up on the small...

Sabina Jensen shot upright in her bed. 

The room was dark and only a bit of moonlight was peeking in through the window. With her eyes wide, she frantically looked around the room as she tried to calm her breathing. Something had woken her up from a deep sleep and she couldn’t figure out what. Just as she was starting to calm down, she heard a piercing scream from outside.

Throwing her covers off, Sabina ran to the window of her room and pushed it open. Leaning out, she noticed the chill of the evening air as she was still only in her nightgown. Looking to the ground, she saw one of the sisters of Northshire Abbey standing below, holding a lantern high in the air. Just a few feet away, she saw the broken form of someone else laying...

Braghaman walked into his house, shutting the door securely behind him, and set his mace down on the floor just to the side. He held in his hands several envelopes that had collected during the family’s most recent trip to the lake, mail that thankfully had been gathered in the tavern in town while they were gone. Bragh stopped just inside and looked around. 

From the sounds of things, the kids were upstairs in their rooms unpacking their bags. Not seeing Niviene around, he assumed she was likewise emptying their bag in the bedroom. With a shrug, the paladin moved over to the kitchen and sat down at the table. Putting the mail down, he began to sort through it and see if anything important had come. There were a couple of letters...

“No chance that I can get you back to the city is there? You’re intent on living out here in the wilderness.”

Braghaman looked at Lord Shadowbreaker and his eyes contracted slightly.

“Wilderness! We have a fountain here, I’ll have you know.” Bragh smirked as he lifted his mug and took a drink.

“That you do, Larethian. That you do,” Shadowbreaker said with a chuckled.

“Did you get over to see the academy?”

“Sure did. Nice barracks you’ve got set up over there now.”

“We’re happy with it. But we just call it a dorm, not a barracks. Don’t want to give people ideas that a new fort is being built out here. Some people would take that as a sign that we’re the next target for the horde.”

“Fair...

Sabina had nodded off in the library of Northshire Abbey. Apparently the chair had been more comfortable than she was aware, for while she had a tall stack of books on the table in front of her she was unable to prevent the inevitable. The young lady’s head leaned to the side, resting against the back of the chair and she softly snored. 

Sister Anetta stepped through the doorway of the library and scanned the room. There were several students spaced around, some in quiet conversation and some leaning forward with their faces buried into wide tomes. When her eyes locked onto the student sleeping further in the room, she smiled to herself and slowly made her way to the table. Coming to Sabina’s side, she leaned over and gently laid...

The afternoon sky was turning towards evening for Darkshire. In the backyard of the Larethian household, there was a fire going in a pit that lit up the yard and the nearby buildings. Sitting on the ground around the fire were five young men and women and sitting in a chair with them was Braghaman.

“Does it always get dark this quickly here?” one of the young men asked.

“Usually,” Bragh answered. “The trees certainly help.”

“Do the worgen ever come up to your house?” one of the women asked.

“Rarely,” Braghaman answered with a smirk. “Usually, they get a whiff of Valiant or Temperance and then decide its not worth it.”

“That’s useful,” another of the paladins said with a...

Braghaman stepped inside the bakery and closed the door behind him. There were several customers already waiting to be served, so he started to look around at the pastries set up in cases around the room. After a few minutes, one of the employees walked through the crowd and walked up to the paladin.

“Good morning, sir. Is there something I could help you with?”

“I placed an order last week to be picked up today.”

“Of course. What name is it under?”

“Larethian.”

“Let me check on the order,” he said before making his way back behind the counters to the back room. Braghaman stepped up to the main counter and waited, glancing at the cupcakes that stood on a pedestal. 

“Here we go Mr. Larethian,” the employee...

It was late afternoon in Duskwood and the setting sun barely made it through the trees. Braghaman was on his way back from Raven Hill Cemetery as the sounds of the evening were starting to come alive. From time to time, Valiant would look into the woods as they traveled. At one point, a wolf pushed its way through the brush and bared its fangs. The winged lion stopped and looked directly at the wolf and let out a brief growl. The wolf, thinking better, turned its head and ducked back into the brush.

“You showed them,” Bragh said with a chuckle, patting Valiant on the back of the neck.

The paladin and his lion made their way to the crossroad, saying hello to the guards stationed there, and then continued on. They were more than...

Braghaman stood on the overlook, gazing down at the Stormwind docks below. Ships were steadily coming in and settling in as sailors and dockhands busied themselves with tying off the boats to the moorings on the docks. No sooner had a boat been secured than people started to disembark. There was a steady stream of people, mostly Kaldorei, walking on the docks and heading towards the ramp that led to the main parts of Stormwind.

The paladin hooked his thumbs on his belt and quietly started to count the people who were getting off the latest boat. Ultimately deciding that the number was too high, he shook his head and gave up. Reaching out, he rested his hand on the butt of the haft of his war hammer, which was sitting on the ground...

It was late at night and for the most part, the Cathedral was quiet. There were few people moving about the great hall, most were priests and priestesses with a paladin moving around on guard duty. The lights mounted around the hall gave off a soft light in the hall. And its emptiness only helped to accentuate the sounds of footsteps.

From the private quarters, a priestess came stumbling out of the hallway and into the great hall. She stumbled slightly and her hand went to the wall to steady herself. A moment later, she pushed off of the wall and started walking down the hall again. She had just made it to another doorway when a priest walked out and stopped.

“Good evening, Sister Tessa. How are you doing?”

The priestess started...

Braghaman heard his family out in the backyard and was walking in that direction when he heard a knock at the front door. Sitting on the floor next to the front door was a mace, which Bragh picked up and held behind his back as he reached for the doorknob. Opening the door, he found a young man dressed in armor and wearing the colors of Stormwind.

“Good afternoon,” Braghaman offered cautiously.

“Sir,” the young man said, offering a salute which Braghaman quickly returned. 

“What can I do for you?”

“I was sent with a message for you, sir.” They young man held up an envelope.

Braghaman took the envelope and turned it over. On the back was his name written in bold, black strokes. The paladin frowned slightly as he...

The Slaughtered Lamb was quiet. There were a couple of tables that were occupied, but those people spoke in hushed tones with each other. One table near the front was occupied by two individuals, both of whom were deep in a whispered conversation. 

On the one side sat a person in brown robes and mask which hid his features and muffled his voice. Across from him sat a woman dressed in robes of purple and gold with a hood that was pulled low to help conceal her face from anyone not directly in front of her. On the table was a bottle of noir and two glasses, but neither person seemed interested in drinking from it.

“Thank you for meeting me here,” the man said.

“Its not my preferred location for a meeting, but it does have its...

“What is the delay?” 

The death knight strode into the cave as the snowstorm behind him created a curtain over the opening. His metallic voice echoed into the deep cave, even though he hadn’t spoken loudly. The death knight’s boots rung as it stepped around the loose stones on the ground.

“I am trying, master,” a quiet voice answered. From the back of the cave, a forsaken wearing deep purple robes with a hood stepped forward.

“That is not good enough,” the death knight responded. He took off his helm and held it under his arm. His pale skin and dark hair seemed to glow in the light of the torches that were lit around the cave.

“The incantation has been difficult,” the undead warlock offered. “I have tried, but...

Banagan sat quietly in the library, but anyone who watched him for any length of time would have seen that he was uneasy. The young man would regularly look around the room, or would glance at people out of the corner of his eye as they walked by. But to the casual observer, he was just another neatly dressed person wearing a plain white tunic with a vest over top and plan leather trousers. 

Sitting on the table next to him were several books haphazardly stacked. As he finished his latest tome, he shut it quietly and set it on the stack. With a heavy sigh, he rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands.

“Nothing,” he muttered to himself. “Just a plain Cathedral crest.”

Banny looked at the few remaining books on the table...

“And once you finish your training in Northshire, you could come here to continue to learn in the ways of the life,” the older priestess said as she led the young lady into the great hall of the Cathedral.

“That would be nice, sister,” Sabina answered quietly as she followed along.

“And here we have Sister Tessa from Gilneas,” the priestess said, gesturing to another priestess who was crossing their path.

“Good morning, Sister Martha,” the Gilnean priestess replied. “Good morning, miss.”

“This is Sabina, Sister Tessa. She will be going to Northshire to start her studies.”

“That is wonderful,” Sister Tessa answered. She looked at Sabina for a moment. “I’m sure that you will find the experience...

“How are you doing this morning, Sabina?”

“I am doing better, sister,” the young lady answered quietly.

Sabina Jensen sat in her chair, her hands clasped together in her lap. Across from her sat an older priestess and in between was a low table. On the table were a set of cups as well as a pitcher of tea. A soft light filtered through the windows and lit the room.

“Sister Anetta says that you were planning to go to the abbey to study.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Is that still your intention?”

“I would like to, yes ma’am.”

“May I ask what convinced you to follow this path?” the sister asked.

“I guess..  I guess I just felt something calling to me.”

“Many people fell the pull of the Light,” the sister...

Erik watched as the last crate on the dock was picked up and loaded onto the ship. Moments later, the plank to the deck was pulled up and secured on the boat as men on the dock began untying the boat from the moorings. Eventually, he watched as the ship pulled away from the docks and slowly made its way out to sea. 

With the ship leaving, Erik turned from the water and started making his way back into Stormwind. His tunic rippled in the breeze as he moved up the ramp away from the docks, and his sword slapped against his thigh as he walked. Anyone watching him would’ve thought from his clothes that he was nothing more than a merchant seeing his shipment off.

As he reached the top of the ramp, Erik turned and followed the pathway...

“Captain?”

The captain of the Night Watch looked up from his desk as one of the men entered his office. He leaned back in his chair as the militiaman stepped forward with an envelope.

“What is it?”

“Medical report from Stormwind, sir. On the Jensens?”

“Open it up. What’s it say?”

The guard opened the envelope and took out the three papers from inside. Reading over the pages quickly, he turned from one to the next to the next before looking back to the captain.

“Preliminary is pretty much what we saw. He died of a stab wound. She died from loss of blood due to damage to her throat and neck.”

“They say anything about how that happened?”

“It says at first glance, it looks like Mr. Jensen did it. It says...

“Where is that blasted paladin?”

The death knight struck his gauntlet against the tree beside him causing pieces of bark to fly off. It kept its gaze on the darkened house that sat on the outskirts of Darkshire. No lamps shone through the windows to show that someone was present. The shelter behind the house was empty of those annoying felines, he thought. The home was dark and still.

“Where did he run off to?” the death knight seethed as he began to pace behind the trees that marked the border of the property. “How could he have known?” The death knight stopped and turned his back to the house. 

“He could probably smell you. Ya’ smell like death.”

“What?” the death knight asked incredulously, turning back...