It has now been a little over one week since Jag set out from the Ammen Vale in search of his family and the truth. The journey has taken Jag from Bloodymyst Isle into the alluring forests of Ashenvale, and then from there into the dark, haunted land called Duskwood.

His time in Duskwood had a depressing effect on him. He began to think about what a dreadful place it was, but also that it was admirable that in the midst of all the darkness and spooks, Darkshire's human inhabitants were banded together, living in and defending their one small safe haven of a town. There was a clear interdependent bond between each person and every other person. When complete understanding of Darkshire's circumstances hit Jag, he stopped, looked down at the cobblestone path on which he stood, and muttered, so quietly that he was sure no one else could hear him, "at least they're not enduring this alone."

Jag could not help but think about his own personal circumstances, how he was not alone, exactly, though it certainly felt that way most of the time. Sure, he had Serac and his friends, but they were off in distant lands, conquering far greater evils and battling personal demons and/or a series of unpleasant circumstances of their own. Jag rarely contacted any of them, for he didn't want to trouble them for something that surely he could handle or figure out himself. Moreso, he didn't want to become a nuisance. Then they probably would grow tired of and annoyed with him and drop him out of their alliance. Then he really would be alone. Totally and officially alone. Jag knew he had it in him to conquer most of the obstacles before him by the might of his own physical strength, the power of his shamanistic magic, and the wisdom that comes innately with age. Serac and his friends were a last resort, were things to get really bad or particularly tough. The last thing Jag wanted was to be a nuisance. But he also didn't want to be, or feel, alone.

And yet, Jag was still alone. Mangoni, his newfound younger brother, had not been seen or heard from by Jag since that infamous Monday. Jag tried through the week to get in touch with him through the mailing system, but alas, either Mangoni was not around or he was accepting the mail without responding back to the sender. Or maybe someone else was grabbing Mangoni's mail on his behalf. Maybe something bad happened to Mangoni. At the thought of this possibility, Jag snapped out of his quiet contemplation and wondered, "is there some kind of conspiracy going on?" Perhaps whatever happened to Jag is related to the disappearance of his family, and whatever may have happened to Mangoni could have been done by the same individuals responsible for what happened to him! "Perhaps these individuals don't want me to find out the truth and are determined to keep me in solitude, without new allies and friends and without a chance for any progress to be made in my search!" he thought aloud, "Perhaps these same individuals came after Serac and his friends, but they were able to overpower them or cause them to flee…while Mangoni was the one who was overtaken!" It was all groundless conjecture at this point, probably completely off the mark, but still a possibility. Jag wouldn't wave away its likelihood of actuality until Mangoni stepped back into the picture. Then, after an explanation of his absence, these newly generated worries could go away and Jag could go back to contending with his older worries, the ones he's had since the start.

But, in the meantime, Jag was still, for the most part, alone.

That is, until he got a letter from Serac. In it, Serac asked Jag how he was doing and if there had been any change in Duskwood. He also had sent along a coin pouch. When Jag opened it up, he was nearly blinded by the vibrant, golden-colored light reflecting off the coins within from the moon overhead. Inside, there was twenty gold and a small piece of parchment. On it, the message "We thought you could use a regular companion. I hear the elekks sold by the Exodar are reliable mounts. ;) " was written. So Serac and his friends were worried about him after all. They knew of his plight and once again had shown themselves to be extraordinary allies, particularly generous ones, at that. "Perhaps," Jag thought, "I should start making a sincere effort to become friends with these people, as opposed to seeing them as just allies." And then, with a smile on his face, he made the long trip from Darkshire to the Exodar, where he purchased a strong gray elekk from the breeder and paid for riding lessons. During the lessons, Jag fell off a few times at first, but mere moments after the last fall, Jag was looking like a natural.

Even though the day started out low enough, it was certainly now the best day Jag had had since the day he found out Mangoni was his brother. Because now, he was no longer alone.

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Big news! I got promoted in the guild yesterday! TWICE! It seems my RPing has earned me a small fanbase in my brother and his roommates/friends, and it also helps my cause that I'm a blue leveling rocket. I hit level 40 last night. I think I've only been playing for three weeks. I've shattered my previous record with my tauren shaman. I'm playing a shaman better, and smarter, and I just know that I'll be 70 within the next month and a half. How sick would that be, to hit 70 in about 1/3 the time it took me the last time around!

I spent a whole hour two nights ago coming up with what would happen to Jag from level 48-60. Of all things, I found myself having to explain a desire to go to the barber shop to remove Jag's sideburns (tentacles, apparently, are a type of Draenic facial hair...Why would a Draenei remove his own tentacles!? -_- ). It progresses Jag's story, concludes an arc, and sets up well for the next one, explaining why Jag runs through the Dark Portal. It really only gets better from here.