#((just some generic writing from Ril's perspective during the attempts to save Chromie))

[chronomatic-workshop]

[Exerpt from the journal of Rilgon Arcsinh]

Wyrmrest Temple, Day 7

"It has been a week since Khadgar off-handedly mentioned that Chromie's life was in danger. I was aware of rumors of such - the Unseen Path's information gatherers are some of the best, and being Huntmaster Jezriyah's right hand meant that I was basically privy to everything she was aware of (and had a habit of being dispatched to resolve the more mundane things, to boot), and when she initially let me know that there were whispers of assassins beyond time, well... let's say that it took some considerable restraint on my part to not immediately fly out to Wyrmrest to see if anything was amiss.

"Obviously, this was far more difficult - to the point that I could not restrain myself - when Khadgar confirmed what was going on.

"My 'unretirement', as it were, has been a very polarizing time for my own perception of my skills. There are times where I have joined strike forces for the invasion of the Nighthold that I've felt as good about my aptitude as I did in the glory days of assaulting Icecrown Citadel, watching Arthas himself fall under a hail of my arrows. Then there are days like today, where Chromie and I have made little progress in our attempts to save her life. Even with the power granted to me by our acceleration into my near-future, I find myself struggling to kill things in a timely manner.

"Chromie remains as optimistic as she ever is - frankly, I am unsure if she can be shaken or her resolve diminished. Given that she has a Bronze's insight into the future, this makes sense - even if it takes us weeks to succeed, if there is success on the horizon, there's no need to be discouraged. But I lack this insight, and furthermore, there is... emotional attachment at play here.

"The letter that I sent to her after my second day here at Wyrmrest was returned to me by the postmasters, and I burned it out of frustration and shame. Seeing as it was still sealed, I can only assume that delivery to Chromie was not possible, but still... I cannot help but have a twinge of fear that perhaps my affections are one-sided.

"That is, of course, all unrelated to my reason for being here. We have roughly figured out the internal workings of the various chronoportals that we have unearthed. Two of them are fairly straight forward - the time portals to Hyjal and the Well of Eternity are easy enough to deal with, assuming that the demons in the Well cooperate. The same cannot be said for the portal to Andorhal - a portal that has a fair deal of emotional connection to me, seeing as that was where we first met - or the portal to Stratholme. During one attempt, I received what Chromie called a 'keepsake box', and inside it contained a tool to bypass the entirety of the approach to the demon Grolethax in the Well timeline - perhaps similar tools exist for every other portal? She didn't seem to know, and this is the first time that the Sands have revealed one of these boxes, so I guess it's something that time will tell.

"Tomorrow, we have plans to thoroughly plot out the areas around the Dragonshrines. A couple of times, I've noticed time chests that contained additional Sands of Time - having access to more of these timeline-altering rewards could perhaps help us turn the tides? Chromie pointed out that she could learn how to detect these treasure chests, but we instead elected to focus on altering the Sands of Time's ebb and flow, eliciting greater help from her kin.

"There is a small part of me that worries that I am not good enough to resolve this paradox, but I dare not voice this concern. Glossing over entirely what Chromie would think of such a statement, I worry even more about how Jez would react to me thinking a challenge is beyond my capacity.

"I hope that she is at least aware that I am well - I have asked Kalecgos to send a message to either her or Khadgar and let them know that, in spite of the time that I have been here, I am safe. After all, I spent enough time in the halls set aside for resting adventurers back when Jezriyah and I first met, after our lessons for the day had concluded.

"Regardless, I will throw myself at this with all that I am. After all, if I can't save the life of one of the most important people on this planet, why am I even here, and why did I even end my retirement? The Light and Time will guide me, as they do in all things."