How Calindei Stole Winter's Veil

It's happy hour, the alcohol is flowing. It's time to pull up a tankard of ale, bottle of wine for the ladies and regail tales of heroism and grandeur.

Topic/Postby Kayora » 25 Nov 2013, 00:12

How Calindei Stole Winter's Veil

I still remember being delighted a few years ago with Tier's Christmas Special, http://forums.rnp-moonglade.net/showthread.php?t=23, The Night Before Christmas, starring Rinu. Since then I've always thought I ought to do my own, and because I'm now at the end of NaNoWriMo I decided to get my idea on paper: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Calindei of the Red Banner.
I'm about a month out, but I'm fully geared for Christmas already, this was incredibly fun to write, so I hope it's as much fun to read!




Calindei hated Winter's Veil.

It wasn’t the snow or the cheap festive ale,
nor even the tinsel and loathsome child’s tales,
In her mind it was quite the worst holiday -
than children's week, love week and their nauseous cliché.
For while then the Forsaken would rally and curse,
on Winter’s Veil, in her mind, the Undead were much worse,
For they did not mind their dark scum-coated walls
now smothered and plagued by bright lights and baubles,
The pine trees were cramped into each passageway,
while children ran wild, all merry and gay,
And while the smug goblins built up brick by brick,
the entire event made Cal want to be sick.
So that year she decided: Enough is enough!
I’m tired of this ‘peace’ ‘love’ and ‘happiness’ fluff.
I’m going to make children and goblin-kind wail,
for tonight is the night that I steal Winter’s Veil.

She flew to Orgrimmar just for this dark goal,
a city she usually left to dumb trolls.
Inside the young orcs tossed snowballs in the air,
laughing and playing in the streets without care,
A glowering Cal was soon caught in their fight,
as they whooped and cheered and ran with delight,
A snowball came flying and hit smack! In the face,
so to these young cretins Cal turned and gave chase,
She charged them, outraged, melted snow on her jaw,
and hurled down fel flames on the orange dirt floor.
A guard yelled to stop, so she let go her prey,
and the fireballs smouldered as she slunk away.

Her plan was quite cunning, or so she did think,
as she approached goblins whose greed did quite stink.
They asked her why she was eyeing up their gifts,
and that presents weren't due ‘til the twenty-fifth,
So she reached down and grinned as she said: That’s alright!
I have only this offering for the Winter’s Veil site:
She showed them a box, bent crooked and old,
which followed her round, filled with evil untold.
The box had been known to eat many a pet,
but on that these green idiots had not bet.
They thanked her and piled it upon all the rest,
at which point Cal knew she’d completed her quest.

The presents were tucked away safe under guard,
but t’was here her evil pet box was unbarred.
The crate awoke hungry, surrounded by gifts,
and with great excitement licked its wooden lips.
It began to eat every last chocolate and toy,
potions and mounts and tidings of joy.
The wrappings and tinsel and eggnog were best,
until by the end there was not one box left.
It demolished the tree down to one lonely stump,
‘til it’s casings and hinges were but one big fat lump.
Filled now at last with that large festive heap,
it burped and it yawned and it settled to sleep.

Cal waited ‘til Great-Father Winter arrived -
a feebler figure could not be contrived.
An orc in a dress: naught much sadder than that,
with his great winter beard and his great rolls of fat.
But the look on his face when a goblin ran swift,
to tell him that he could find not a single gift!
Calindei did howl and cackle with delight,
that they should despair on this Winter’s Veil night.

The goblins all spoke in their hushed urgent tones,
as Great-Father Winter looked on and bemoaned,
For sunrise was near and now all ‘cross the land,
the children woke thinking they had presents to hand,
The outcry would be awful, the children in tears,
‘less they could find some way to get back what was theirs,
Then up jumped a goblin, dressed in green and red,
she shouted: Don’t fear, friends! Not all hope is dead!
We’re not here for presents –
Or achievements! One said,
We’re not here for new mounts or fresh gingerbread –
Nor eggnog nor outfits nor a new winter’s sled,
So don’t fill your thoughts with depression and dread,
For the Veil is for friendship and laughter instead!
The goblins all cheered, Father Winter in tears,
and they waited for dawn to arrive.

Now Cal hadn’t seen this, for she’d left to sleep,
and she woke expecting to see a grown tauren weep,
But when she arose and came outside to hear,
she thought she heard singing and carols of cheer,
She strode down the streets to confirm she was wrong,
but all the streets thundered in rapturous song,
Goblins, Tauren, Orcs, Trolls and Undead,
together and singing in cloth green and red,
They stood arm in arm ‘round a single campfire,
as children threw snowballs by their great winter pyre,
And try as she might Cal could not understand,
how they stood there merry and sang hand in hand,
For they had no gifts, no lights and no tree,
nor baubles nor tinsel nor snowmen to see,
She’d taken their choppers, their gear and their pets,
their gold and their quest-lines including Old Metz,
And yet here they stood filled with brightness and cheer,
no anger or sorrow or imminent fear,
The scene was enough to bring Azeroth to awe,
and in the glow of their joy Calindei did roar:

Oh for #!$@’s sake – alt f4!



-
Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.
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Topic/Postby Tiermaya » 25 Nov 2013, 00:34

I knew that box was trouble!

Fun read and I liked the meta touch at the end.:E
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Topic/Postby Sigmard » 28 Nov 2013, 22:23

That is made of awesome. Pure utter awesome!

I miss Red Banner now. Certainly a fitting tale! The box could never eat it's own leash though. :Q
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Topic/Postby Kayora » 29 Nov 2013, 17:40

Thanks, both of you :) It was the lack of Red Banner I think that had me wondering what Cal would be up to. I do miss her continuous outrage.
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Topic/Postby Finna » 28 Feb 2014, 10:09

I love it! Especially the last sentence :)

So... what happened to Red Banner? I know my chars are still in it (or I haven't played them well enough to see the guild tag gone?)
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Topic/Postby Lilandris » 28 Feb 2014, 14:16

The guild still exists. But the project is permanently on ice now I believe. I ended up leveling my character to 90
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