I can not stop thinking about this story. I love how it's written, and the characters are so intriguing! It's so raw and original. What really gets me though is your view of Zalazane and the horrors he put the Darkspear through. I'm already huge into troll lore, but it makes me look back and think about the struggles they probably faced during that time. It adds a new layer of depth to the trolls. I dearly hope you finish this story, it is honestly stunning to me. Keep up the great work!

omg you can't leave us hanging like this! we're so close! your story has sucked me in, great job! i would love to read the rest someday, hope you're doing well and thank you

And here we are, the last chapter before you updated most recently. It's been a while since I first read, going through it another time now.

SWEET MERCIFUL MOONBEAMS - how do you come up with the most original and hilarious freaking lines ever? Seriously, I have a huge dumb grin on my face now. Her whole manner of speaking, punctuating each word in a sentence, rising back up for another comment...Daryana rocks the casbah, seriously. This is on top of the serious dramatic, psychological content here.

omg Zentebra and Zanza's reaction to Daryana's sudden scholar in training monologue...she is cute, furious, intelligent, and now that her druidic powers are working, deadly. Yet somehow, she constantly ends up in embarrassing situations that make her even more sympathetic.

Wow, this ending...what Daryana realized about her mission in the previous chapter is finally coming to fruition. As much as this village of traumatized trolls is being helped by Daryana, they are also helping her right back by giving her professional purpose that also allows her to help people. It is so touching - you have to finish!

For those of us who also have babies (mine just turned 3, which I guess is a toddler and no longer a baby) it's understandable how projects can be sidelined. May your child grow up to be an awesome writer like mama, even if sometimes a one-year hiatus (it seems that now, the story is almost 5 years old) is necessary.

Wow...Zentebra is as distraught as one would imagine. The whole village is full of traumatized people. Daryana really was given such a significant task - she isn't just helping people learn skills. She is helping people who saw the true ugliness of the world - just like she did in the first chapter - move on.

But it makes sense - she is so strong that she moved on by herself. She accepted what happened with the tiger and made the choice not to allow her personal tragedy to destroy her. The trolls don't want to be destroyed either, but her strength is what allows her to show them the way. Even the fact that she could look at Zinta, given that he had tried to assault her, and then say "we're even" - that's pure, raw strength of character and moral compass. She is a person who has no evil or desire for vengeance in her (though she is willing to defend herself in the future if wronged, which is good).

Now, Zandali is usually protected by trolls in Warcraft lore and they don't like outsiders learning it...that Daryana now knows it shows that the troll druids - which were a big deal in the game - really do have a kind soul there to help them enter the hostile world and give them a gift she didn't have herself. Man, how will Maljin reconcile his actions with Daryana's forgiveness and understanding? He's going to feel like the most evil thing on Azeroth.

Anyway...thank you for writing this. It isn't just entertaining, it's inspiring.

Yes! Yes! This whole chapter rocks! You have no idea how much I liked this!

After seven chapters, it finally clicks - not only who these trolls are, their place in the world, and their desperation, but Daryana! Her! Her own self! She was a poor student but her memorizing of books and hanging out in the library had a purpose. SHE has a purpose, and now she is figuring it out.

You pull if off in such a logical, realistic, gradual way with all the philosophical and sympathetic soul searching during the funeral scene that it comes together in the best way it possibly could. Thank you for writing this.

This chapter here is really so important from more than one angle - you really did a wonderful job of laying it out here.

First, Daryana now realizes that she is not a failure but merely a late bloomer, and was even given the honor of being drawn into the Emerald Dream - she knows that she truly was chosen for something and despite how she felt during training, there is a purpose for her in the world.

Second, she saw how truly evil Zalazane was and how much these trolls suffered. She is allowed to peer into what led to their isolation and the horrors they faced. If she does believe in the philosophy you've developed here, perhaps her understanding of them can allow her to help them find peace. That could be the thing they need from her the most.

Whisperwind...is she from the same family is Tyrande?

I'm so glad you've taken up this story again, I've missed it. Daryanna has developed so much, and I hope things are getting better for the trolls soon. Zentabra's my favourite. :) Keep up the good work!

-AuntMetis

Thank you so much for choosing to continue - a lot of people have reviewed and enjoyed your story, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be happy to see how things turn out for this plucky, determined druid.

One thing I noticed: Zentebra says "There's fruit, unless you want some more of the Snake stew." Unless that's the specific name of a specialty dish, the S in snake ought to be in lower case.

Daryana is AWESOME. Not just for bouncing back after something so horrible, but for not being intimidated while in a foreign land surrounded by a culture she doesn't know. Now that she finally got her skills, and was succeeding, she really does seem thankful to Elune and her confidence comes fast. It's heartening to see someone who doesn't let the ugliness of the world keep them down.

I might add: the philosophy you add in here about understanding, then forgiveness and then peace is beautiful. The fact that Daryana lives it and means it (and Zentebra seems to get it even if she isn't conscious of it) it fascinating - hopefully she can pass that on to Maljin and the other abused villagers as well.

Ok reaching the end now...wait, not ready to listen to him apologize? For assaulting her in his hut? Or for...oh God did she figure it out?

Still can't get over the realistic presentation of the broken speech of two people using a language which is the native tongue of neither. The barriers help to build anticipation with the reader as well!

Daryana's braininess is quite cute as well, the way she lists facts to try and sort things out. Especially since she speaks out loud as well. I certainly hope that, whatever happens in the end, she does finally publish a book with her experiences in it for the rest of the druidic community to read!

This chapter is fascinating on so many levels. For those of us involved in interracial/intercultural relationships, its amusing to see things replayed. Daryana obviously isn't in a relationship with her new friend Mal here, but their interaction is cute and it does have a lot of the elements of two people on different wavelengths still trying to understand each other.

And while this is categorized as angst and drama...you put a lot of good humor in here too! I did actually laugh out loud at her hair standing up from her losing her lunch in part of it. It's sad and unfortunate, but somehow the way you describe it comes off perfectly. And what she "just totally" did at the end...well, given her situation, the insanity was appropriate. P.S. Finish!

The action in this chapter, while also unpleasant at first, is engaging and well-written. It both entertains the reader and shows the reader how Daryana is growing as a person, realizing the potential strength inside of her. The humor toward the end is well-placed despite the dire situation as well. Her inner monologue is a witty companion ("Best first impression EVER").

There is one thing I noticed, and to be honest I don't have a solution to this. But I noticed that both her flashbacks/memories of past experiences as well as her inner monologue are denoted by italic text. Visually, the difference would be more apparent with two separate visual markers. I'm not sure what else could be used as bold and underline would be too much, but it is something you could brainstorm about for future stories containing both flashbacks and inner monologues.

This is really original stuff. Some stories aren't so original and that's fine, but this one is fascinating. The way the language is used seems a lot like different creoles/pidgins I've heard as well. Their struggle to communicate is realistic, not sure if you've experienced using a second language with another non-native speaker of that language or not but it seems like you have.

Daryana's strength is admirable as well, as is the humanization of the troll when he realizes she not only survived but resolved to cope and move on with the pain when he can't. It really does make for an engaging story as the reader will want to know how the two interact and how she will adapt to the language and cultural barriers in the next seven days.

I must admit that the first chapter was difficult to finish reading, but a writer must be true to what they feel and whatever dark emotions you had set up what turned into a fascinating story. Daryana is endearing if a bit naïve at first and her determination to do good despite...well, you make the point yourself: forgive and understand even in the most awful of circumstances. It's a beautiful message told in an original (and Warcraft based) medium. Hope you don't mind if I comment on other chapters with some general observations; I hope the comments can provide some measure of insight and help so you can produce more great writing like this in the future. And please finish! This story is screaming to be complete!

Love this! :)

I hope this story hasn't been dropped... I really, reallllly want to see it finished, though I understand that every day is different and time isn't expendable (especially if you have a child). Not to mention that finishing a story can sometimes get.. complicated. All that being said, I love it thus far and look forward to the rest of it.