#barirnshadowwind

just wait until you remember that nobody in Cali can drive in the rain

“How’s that paperwork coming along?”

“How’s studying for that midterm coming along?”

"Where is she?!"

Barirn had started the search for Diore in Ardenweald. It seems to be the realm that most night of souls traveled to after death. A land of nature and rebirth. But as soon as he arrived he hit a road block, as not a single creature recognized her name. There were so many seeds, and some of them were lost to the Drust that were invading these lands. So he decided to go grove by grove, interrogating each keeper until he had gone through all of them, and some of those were masked, under the power of those ancient, mystical Kul Tirians. But luck was not on his side.

"The Drust shall rule all." The keeper responded.

"That is not what I asked! Tell me!"

His fist slammed into the grove keeper, sending a jolt of cold throughout it's body.

“Augh! I do not know the name Diore! Now suffer!” The death knight snorted, as a dagger of ice formed in his hand, aimed at the neck of the possessed creature.

“Father.”

A voice spoke out behind Barirn, stopping him in his tracks. He dropped the sylvan, giving it the chance to scurry away as the Night Elf turned around, his gaze shifting onto the voice behind him. It came from a fox, ethereal in its form, though a moment later it would change into that of a Night Elf woman. One Barirn knew very well...

“...Igone...my child...”

________________________________________

They sat in the forest, next to a small stream, doing nothing but talking. Catching it. It had been so many years since that one fateful day, when their lives were taken forcefully. They spoke about the time they spent since. Igone was the oldest of his children, and always had an affinity for nature, so when she died her soul joined the others in animal form within the forest of Ardenweald. She spoke of the drought, how it had affected the land. Barirn spoke of his time reborn as a Death Knight. What he had done, who he had met. Time passed as they spoke, until finally the question was brought up.

“Igone, I must ask, what of the others? Of Agini or your mother? Have you seen heads or tails of them?”

Igone shook her head, a mournful look forming on her face. “No, I have not. If they crossed over, then they were assigned to different realms. Neither of them reside in Ardenweald, however.”

Barirn nods, then stands up. “Then I must look for them, in the time that I do have. Thank you, Igone.” He leans over and places a kiss on the top of his daughter’s head, just how he had done so when they were alive, every night before he tucked her into bed. “I miss you, every day, my little silverleaf.”

Barirn stood in the center of Oribos, looking at one of the five portals that circled the upper tier. His obligations to the Ebon Blade brought him to the Shadowlands, a part of Highlord Fordragon's contingency to help secure a position in the lands of the dead. Never did he think, however, that he would discover a truth much like the one within this realm. His mind flashed back to the past, to times when he was alive, with a family. Happier times. Oh how the world had changed him. But there was always one thing in his mind, that pushed h forward, that dictated the path he took. And now...maybe he could soothe that part of his being, for good. As he looked out, words trickled out of his mouth, in such a light tone that they were barely.even a whisper.

Barirn stands in front of the run-down building, looking it over. He was sent over to kill a prisoner on the orders of the Lich King. A slaughter was to come, and there was to be nothing that could slow the legion of Death Knights down. And so he was here, runeblade in hand.

The door creaks as the Night Elf opens it, revealing a mostly barren room. He looks around until he finds his target, a female of the same race, curled up in a ball on the ground. She looks over at the noise, then lets out a sigh. “Come to finish the job, have you?” The woman shifts, starting to stand up, the Death Knight approaching her slowly. “I would like to stand for...” She stops after she rises, a look of shock crawling over her face as she truly sees Barirn for the first time.

“Barirn? Barirn, I’d recognize your face anywhere...” The Night Elf reaches out to touch his face, only for the Death Knight to knock her hand away. “...What...What have they done to you, Barirn?” A tear rolls down her face. “You don’t remember me? We played together when we were children, we grew up together, became life mates, raised our daughters together. You are my mate! Blasted Scourge...What have they done to you, Barirn? You must remember the splendor of life, my love! You were a champion for your family! This isn’t you!” She stops speaking suddenly, looking over at the door as chatter is heard. She looks back at Barirn, his blank face revealing nothing, though his hand has not moved to commit the act he should have done minutes ago.

“There...there’s no more time for me. I’m done for. Finish me off, Barirn.” Her hands grip his, cupping the hilt of his blade. “Do it, or they will kill us both. Barirn...” Her voice changes from the pain of seeing her loved one, steeling itself for the moment that was to come. “Remember your family. This world is worth saving.” She pauses and waits, but feels nothing. No blade piercing her flesh. The woman screams. “Do it, Barirn! Put me out of my...!” The scream stops, as the sword finally pieces through her breast, through her heart. She smiles as she looks at her partner in life one more time. “I...love...” She then slides off the sword and collapses onto the ground, dead. The Death Knight looks at the corpse, a tear sliding down his cheek, his face changing to one of pain, as he says a single word.

Barirn whistles as he walks through the underbrush of Feralas, axe over one shoulder and his bow on his back. With his youngest daughter getting bigger every day, he would soon have to build her own bed for her to sleep in, and with autumn starting to come in, there will be a need to expand the wood pile. Thus it was a day of collecting logs and branches to achieve both objectives. The night elf walks through the brush, whistling a tune, clearly either oblivious of the dangers held within the forest, or confident enough in his ability to handle whatever crossed his path.

A sound suddenly causes Barirn to stop in his tracks. A low growling sound, close to his current position. The bow comes off his back, arrow already nocked in the movement, his axe taking the bow’s place in his harness, as he crouches down and moves towards the stop. After a minute, he stops, melding into the shadows as he looks through the bushes and sees a bear prodding at…something. The Kal’dorei was not sure quite what it was, as the figure of the bear was in the way. No problem, however. An arrow flew, harmless past the bear, off into the forest, but enough to distract the creature, causing it to look up at where the arrow went. It quickly ambled off to see what caused the commotion, allowing Barirn to approach what it was inspecting. As he looked down, an eyebrow arched, as he saw the form of a female elf…no, not an elf. The skin was wrong, more of a chocolate color than the normal greens or blues of his people. And the ears…they were rounded, and smaller than his own wife’s. The creature wore clothes, though they were barely in a state to be called as such, showing off more skin than what would be considered decent. But the thing that stood out to Barirn the most were the marks on her wrists. Red loops wrapped around the creature’s wrists. Even he, who lived mostly in isolation with his family, knew what kind of marks shackles would leave. This woman was clearly a prisoner…or a slave. He looked up as he heard a sound. The bear was coming back. Without a second thought, he took the creature and cradled her, bow moved to hang across his shoulders, before moving a safe distance away. Once he was sure they would not be mauled by rough, furry claws, he set her down for a moment, before reaching into a pouch at his side and pulling out a small stone. A gift from his in-laws, who said it was made by a creature called a ‘gnome’. A magical communication device. He tapped it twice, then spoke into it. “Diore, prepare Mikikara’s bed with medical supplies. We are going to have an unexpected visitor.”

In a small cabin on a ship, Barirn laid down on a bed, traveling to Boralus to meet to Lady North. He does not sleep. Undeath removed his need for rest, but he stayed in his cabin at night after the first night when he accidentally disturbed some of the other passengers. He rested on it naked, his armor off to the side, due to the bed not being able to support all that weight. He was not meant to travel by ship, and yet here he was. The night elf sighs as he lies there, his mind starting to wander...

Barirn opens his eyes. He was in bed, but no longer on the ship. He was back home, in Ashenvale. He turned to his left and saw a gorgeous Kal’dorei woman next to him, her silver hair covering her face as quiet snores escaped through her lips. Diore. His wife. A soft smile formed on his lips, as he leans over and places a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes flutter open, a smile appearing on her face when she saw him. “Well good morning there, handsome. Shouldn’t you be making us breakfast?” They both laugh at the statement, as Barirn scoots closer to Diore. “Depends.” he says. “Do you want a meal of burnt toast and over cooked eggs?” He then pulls Diore on top of him, causing her to squeak. They giggles more, then nuzzle their noses together. “I love you, Diore.” “I love you too, Barirn.”

CREAK!

They both look, and see a small girl at the door, no older than three or four. Igone, their oldest daughter, though they would not know this yet in this memory of his. It would be another year before Mikikara was conceived, and another seven before Agini. “Mommy, Daddy.” Igone speaks “Someone is at the door.” A sigh escapes Barirn’s lips at this news, then slides out of bed, grabbing a shirt and pants on his way to the door. He opens it, and outside is a hooded figure. A familiar figure...

A scream is suddenly heard behind him. His head turns...and he is now in that day. That fateful day. The corpses of Igone and Agini laying on the ground. His wife, in the other room, screaming. The blade sliding into his body. The figure...a tauren...someone familiar, but he can’t place...

CREAK!

Barirn sits up and looks around. He had drifted, gotten lost in his memories. The ship creaking as it rocked back and forth amongst the waves. But there was another creak. The door was slightly open, a Night Elf female poking her head in. He recognized her as one of the sailors of the ship. He blinks when he sees her. He could have sworn her hair shown silver for a moment...but now, it was clearly a forest green color. Her cheeks were flushed, which he quickly realized was due to his nakedness. Not that he cared. “Sir, is everything alright?” The sailor inquires. “We heard a shout, and wanted to check in.” Barirn sighs, and nods his head. “Yes, I am fine, just some old memories. How far out are we, still?” The woman thinks for a moment. “We have another day before we reach the harbor. Saturday, to be exact. Now if you excuse me...” And with that, she was gone. Saturday. He would be in Kul Tiras on Saturday, and soon after would be meeting with the Lady North. Hopefully Monisha would be safe without him for several days...

Barirn doesn’t sleep. He is a Death Knight, after all. He still has a morning routine, however, as he does serve as Monisha D’Angelo’s bodyguard. Depending on Monisha’s orders, he will stand either inside or outside of her room, next to her door, as she sleeps. At eight forty-five in the morning, he steps into the bathroom and silently starts a bath for her. He would wake Monisha up at exactly nine a.m., if she was not up already, and allow the maids to enter the room. Barirn stands outside the bathroom as Monisha has one of her maids wash and dress her. He stands behind and to the left of Monisha during breakfast, the same spot he stands for all of her meals. After she finishes, he swaps out with another guard for an hour, one of the only times in the morning where he does this, so he can take a cold shower and use soaps and shampoos that keep him clean and prevent bacteria from collecting and causing him to decay. He would be back at her side by eleven thirty exactly to continues his duties in service of D’Angelo for the rest of the day.