10 June 2013

For the Horde? [guest post!!]

Mengxi's letter caused a stir in the village. Having left to join the Horde only a few months ago, they hadn't heard from him since his arrival in Orgrimmar. Now everyone gathered to hear all about his adventures. In a loud, clear voice, the village Elder read from the tattered scroll...

As you know, I joined the Huojin when they declared their allegiance to the Horde. While I have met many brave, loyal and friendly people here, I am sorry to say that being a part of the Horde is not anything like I thought it would be. I am alive, where many are not, and that is the best of my situation, I fear.

The ceremony with the Horde leader, Garrosh Hellscream, was my first clue that what was ahead of me would not be pleasant. It is telling that the title for the Horde's leader is Warchief. He cared nothing for our culture, our history. The first, last, and only thing he wanted from us was our ability to serve the military aims of the Horde.

We Huojin were split up and assigned to various fronts in Horde territory. I was sent to the Eastern Kingdoms, to serve under the leadership of the Forsaken and their Banshee Queen, Sylvanas Windrunner. The Forsaken, they...I...they are corpses, infused with the souls of the dead! From what I understand, they were killed by a monstrous army of reanimated corpses controlled by a figure they call the Lich King. Then they were similarly raised and enslaved to his will, forced to kill their friends and loved ones in turn. At some point Lady Sylvanas broke free of her enslavement and managed to free these Forsaken as well. Such horror they have witnessed!

It seems that this Lich King was defeated a few years ago, so the Forsaken have had their revenge. But their hate remains. It is hard to tell where that hate is directed now, but I have been around them long enough to know, it is strong and it is their driving force. I am not familiar enough with the politics of the outside world to understand why exactly the Forsaken are willing to be a part of the Horde, nor why the Horde is willing to accept them. Many times I have had the impression that the other peoples of the Horde view Forsaken with distrust, wariness, and maybe even fear. And now, after months of service with them, I think I understand why. But I get ahead of myself.

I will send you more details of my journey when I next find time to write. Until then, please, I beg of you to not follow me into this hell that is the Horde...

Please give my love to everyone.
  • Mengxi

The Elder looked at the silent, worried faces, and shrugged slightly. "I guess we can only wait." Moving to Mengxi's parents, who were clutching each other in fear, he placed a comforting hand on their shoulder. "He is alive. He can still come back to us. Our thoughts are with him, too."

3 comments:

  1. A letter home to the Wandering Isle!
    That first meeting with Garrosh is a really rude awakening, indeed. And the Forsaken outlook on (un)life is pretty much the polar opposite of the Pandaren outlook on life. But did *any* of the Wandering Isle pandaren, Huojin or Tushui alike, really know what they were getting into when they chose to leave?

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    1. Exactly! I've been leveling a monk up in Navimie's guild, and since I haven't actually quested through the old zones since Cata, I chose the northern Eastern Kingdoms to explore. In Silverpine the storyline started off as intruiging, but then more and more disturbing quests made me feel uncomfortable. Then - since Aka and I had been discussing the character development of Weipon, I realised that viewing the questlines through the eyes of a Pandaren, would be quite different to the rest of the Horde races.

      So this series of letters will explore that experience. :D

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