Finding Confidence in the Vale

[jawaa]

As Jayoba left, he whispered to Rizin that he and the spirits would be watching over her. Rizin had nodded at her hearthstone, then hid it in her bag. Jayoba wanted her to live in the wild for three days, as a way to build her confidence. When she asked for help... she didn't expect him to take her to the place of all her fears.

Rizin lay curled in an armor plated ball for hours after Jayoba left. Finally, she pulled out a blank book and a pencil she had been saving and started writing to pass the time.

Yesterday Jayoba told me I need to be more confident. I decided the best way for me to do that would be to ask Jayoba to give me a challenge to help me be more confident.today he gave me my challenge; to live in the wilds of Stranglethorn Vale for three days. He made me promise not to leave before it is time.

Now here I am, alone in a place Jayoba said was safe, afraid to do anything but knowing as part of the promise I must leave this spot at least once each day. I hope I can hold to this challenge, not just to be more confident, but so I do not disappoint Jayoba or my cousin.

Rizin snapped the book shut and tucked it in her bag. She sat up and hugged her knees, ignoring the plate armor biting into her skin. Looking out over the ledge Jayoba had left her on, Rizin sat still as the sun slowly began to light the sky aflame.

[jawaa]

The rain had started shortly after the sun began lighting up the sky as Rizin recalled as she opened her journal. She glanced at her dented and bloodied armor on the ground before writing.

The day started with a rainstorm that washed me down the slope into the water... my plate armor got dented up really bad on the way down... my helmet was stuck on my head. I got lost trying to get back to the ledge and found some naga. They didn't give me much of a problem.

Later after the rain stopped, Jayoba came.. we went to Zul'Kunda and killed Bloodscalp trolls. Two of them I recognized from the last time I was here. (several words have been scribbled out here) Jayoba asked me to badly wound one, and kill the other. I made sure both remembered who I was, and what they did to me.

Rizin stopped writing. The pages were wet in spots... she was crying. slowly she closed the book and wrapped it in a sheet of light leather to keep it dry. She curled up under a fern leaf and nodded off as the rain began falling.

[jawaa]

This is my last day of the challenge that Jayoba assigned me. I've realized that I don't have to be afraid of my past anymore. I don't have to be afraid of Stranglethorn Vale anymore. But Jayoba says that fear keeps us alive... which is good, because I am still afraid of a lot of things.

I've been on a few long walks, done some things for a few people... and fought a lot of things, intentionally and accidentally. Now I'm just waiting for Jayoba to tell me if I'm ready to go home or not. But I think I like it here, besides the heat... I'll likely be back when I leave.