[Lordaeron] Chronicles of the Templars

[CeruleanSnow]

(As written by Brennen Moonback during his stay in the various taverns and campsites of Azeroth. This will be considered an in character thing where Moonback takes the time to write various short stories about his adventures in and out of the guild. The title of each entry will be where he originally wrote it, but it will always be mailed to every tavern owner he knows. Whenever you read these please put it in your mind that you did so are various taverns, as they wouldn't be for sale there, but they would be available for reading if you happened to ask for them. The reputation of the Templars is expanding, so welcome to it!)

☼ Abandoned Campsite in Tanaris - Southeast of Gadgetzan ☼

Aye before you get to reading this I have to make one thing very clear to every single one of you lot, I am a dwarf who grew up in the cold land of Dun Morogh even if I do not always sound like one. I must stress this because over the many years I have been a Paladin most people I've studied under were humans, and to cross the language barrier I had to speak with a clearer voice and without any of my dwarven charm. I still sound like an Ironforged dwarf when I speak in my native language though, so don't be too harsh on me. I should have started this much sooner in order to help people understand when the Templars of Ironforge were founded, why I started this order, and who I am to begin with, but that will be a story for later as the thought was but a stone that didn't roll for me. Now that I have more time to sit down and enjoy myself every now and then, I'll be trying to keep the various people of Azeroth as informed as ever regardless. One more thing before I get started, I've made deals with every dwarven tavern and encampment I've come across as well as many human and elven settlements in order to allow these books to be given away to anyone who wishes to read them. Consider them adventure logs, short stories, books, whatever you would like to call them, I just need to get some things off my shoulders every now and then.

Today I'm writing from a tiny abandoned shelter I found next to a hill full of ore in Tanaris. I can see many people of all races coming and going from here as well; with my back and western side relatively covered by the hill I can avoid most of the harsh winds that brew around here, giving me a chance to just relax and enjoy the sounds of the sands whirling and twirling in the distance. I wanted to talk about the reputation of my order known as the Templars of Ironforge however, and how I'm still amazed that despite our small numbers that we've grown so much in such a little time. Since I began my travels as a paladin in Coldridge Valley I've realized that the teachings of the Light and even the Earthen overall hasn't reached the eyes and ears of most; even other paladins and dwarves simply ignored it, stones throw to them I said as a child but as an adult I felt different about the matter. I walked a cold and lonely path for many months when I first started on my quest to gain experience and knowledge, to spread the word and love of the Light, but as I grew so did the fire in me to continue. I wanted to prove that I had the strength to carry on forward, to take on new challenges with the pride of a true dwarf, to make everyone in my home village of Brewnall proud! Once reaching a certain point in my quest I found myself in Stormwind, where many people of all races sat around telling stories of glory and battle, spewing nonsense into the wind, and generally acting like damned ignorantss while ignoring the littler and weaker people. It was a chaotic mess that did not sit well in my stomach at the time, so I tried to communicate and join various guilds for a short term period in order to see just what life was like for the poor but honest person. The short version is that it wasn't something I'd like to go through again, by the damned Light it was as if no one cared about you. Many days I spent drinking in Goldshire at the Lion's Pride Inn trying to mull over my notes and figure out what to do next, and then it hit me.

"Why don't you start your own order?"

It was as if the Light itself told me what to do, giving me a vision of many happy dwarven and gnomeish people sitting around a fire, laughing, sharing stories, drinking a hot or cold mug of ale or mead, enjoying the company of friends and companions! It was a dream of a world where people actually cared about one another, one where I had control over an entire guild no an order of like minded people, who believed in helping the little, poorer, lonely fellows out. So I went to the nearest scribe to acquire a registry list for my newly thought up guild and sought out many signatures from helpful people in order to make it official. I ended up having to use what little gold I had made for myself to do this, and with a little help of a charitable person whose name escapes my mind, I ended up having the funds to pay many greedy souls to sign my charter. As if to say thank you once I had the signatures I paid each person an extra piece of gold above what I had promised; some more as I believed they were genuine individuals just looking for a decent paying job, call me a drunkin fool if you want but I'm nice. This is where the main point of this chapter of the story begins; I want to thank these people whom have helped the guild out from the beginning till now, people who I would trust to have my back, people I consider friends..

Here is where I met a friendly elf by the name of Velianel.. I want to take a brief moment before I continue to show you a letter she wrote to me after the guild was formed and after I had contacted her with all the care in my heart.



This is where the Templars of Ironforge were, pun intended, forged right then and right there. An order of dwarves and gnomes, paladins and priests, and even warriors if they were so inclined to believe in our cause, that is what we started as… or rather what I started as. The guild was empty and void of life for several months after this; I had tried my best to set up flyers in the various taverns I came across and help people along the way in my quest, but nothing happened and no one answered the call. It took a while but finally I received a letter in the mail from someone whom actually wanted to join, they went by the name Azgalorth, a dwarven priest of all people whom had seen one of my postings in Coldridge Valley and decided to contact me. With a smile they also contacted one of their allies and despite being young and inexperienced, they were able to donate a substantial amount of equipment and gold to the guild itself. This enabled us to gain our first large vault within the various banks of Azeroth! The next person I'd like to speak of is another mysterious figure from a very well known order that escapes my mind, the name of the person however is Aledian, a fellow believer of the Light…



With their influence and experience (as well as a rather large wallet) they were able to donate a massive lump some of seven hundred and fifty gold to the order! With this I could expand our influence and our vaults by acquiring two more large rooms for us to store gold and equipment in! I instantly dropped everything I had going on, went over to Stonefire Tavern in Ironforge, and spent days writing out thank you letters and balancing the gold in order to buy what I needed to enhance the guild overall.

Now we come to my current standing; I have done some research while here in Tanaris and have found my order though small does have a very small reputation, everywhere I walk I hear at least two people talking about us, or me in particular… Good deeds carry themselves, so I'm continuing to do them with no expectations aside from the damned people to be kind to others in the future. I hear the guards calling for aid in the near by city, so I'll finish this up by saying there is one last person whom I might add who did join the guild, but has been very quiet as of late. Their name is Edoleen a young priestess who was hesitant to travel down the path of healing, fear of being alone and the challenges that the environment had to offer for someone as frail as that. I met her some time after she joined via the mail, and found her in Loch Modan, struggling to hunt a dangerous ogre that had been pissing off the locals to say the least. There we partnered up with one another and a fellow dwarf and even a draenei in order to challenge the ogre tribe there. I did not fight myself but I did provide them with encouragement and healing while they fought through to the very end of their quest. I watched them, instructed them how to best combat the evil here with their chosen paths, and made sure they survived no matter what. Edoleen grew quite a bit within those few hours of traveling I might add; she struggled at first with her healing magic and how to properly time when to recover someone and when to join in the fight, but with some tutoring she worked it out rapidly.

With all of this under my belt it's time I finish up this chapter of my story and hope that the local tavern keep will give you a copy to enjoy. If you ever need anything and are of good nature all you need to do is find the Templars of Ironforge, we will always be there to help you. Walk with peace and may the Light protect you.

- Brennen Moonback