#ansrael

[loyallogic]

Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege?

In addition to the use of expert witness testimony at deposition and trial, many attorneys work with “consulting” experts who do not testify. Because the consulting expert’s participation and opinions can have a significant effect on the outcome of the case, it’s important to understand how attorney-client privilege rules apply even when an expert will not be asked to provide testimony.

Privilege and Consulting Witnesses: General Guidelines

Many lawyers remember being cautioned, as a first-year associate, that “anything you say to an expert is discoverable.” In addition, experts – even non-testifying experts – are third parties to the attorney-client relationship. The combination of these two facts often leads lawyers to presume that communications with consulting experts are not protected by privilege rules and are subject to discovery.

In practice, however, many courts have held that attorney-client privilege generally works to protect communications between the attorney and consultants when:

The communication occurs for the purposes of obtaining or dispensing legal advice, and

The non-testifying expert is understood to be working as an agent of either the client or the attorney.

See, e.g., U.S. v. Kovel, 296 F.2d 918, 922 (2nd Cir. 1961); Golden Trade v. Lee Ansrael Co., 143 F.R.D. 514, 518 (S.D.N.Y. 1992).

In addition, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(4)(D) distinguishes between testifying and non-testifying expert witnesses by indicating that facts or opinions from the latter are discoverable only upon a showing of “exceptional circumstances under which it is impracticable for the party to obtain facts or opinions on the same subject by other means.” These communications may still be discoverable, however, if the other party can show “substantial need” for the materials, per Rule 26(b)(3)(A)(ii).

Because Rule 26 protections for work product shared with non-testifying experts are more stringent than protections involving testifying experts, it is worthwhile to distinguish between testifying and non-testifying experts early in the investigation and discovery process.

Exceptions to the Rule: What is the Information For?

Although communications with consulting experts are generally protected by attorney-client privilege, a number of exceptions exist. For example, if the expert, an attorney, or the client disclose the expert’s opinion to a third party who lacks a common legal interest, a court may hold that the privilege no longer applies. (The privilege may still apply, however, if the information is disclosed to a third party who is also assisting with the case.)

Questions about whether consulting experts’ information is protected may also focus on what the information is and what it is for. Expert opinions rendered to help an attorney understand the case and provide better legal advice may receive stronger protection than mere facts.

Consider the court’s opinion in U.S. Postal Service v. Phelps Dodge Refining Corp., 852 F. Supp. 156 (E.D.N.Y. 1994). The case involved alleged failures by Phelps Dodge to clean up toxic waste on a property the company sold to the U.S. Postal Service, in violation of the terms of the sale agreement.

During discovery, both Phelps Dodge and the USPS withheld various documents, citing attorney-client privilege. Several of these documents included facts or information gathered by consulting experts, whom the parties claimed should be included under the attorney-client privilege.

The Phelps court stated that an expert’s communications may not be protected by attorney-client privilege when the expert’s purpose was “to collect information not obtainable directly from defendants.” The court also held that when an expert’s opinions are based on data the expert collected independently, rather than on information received from the attorney or client, the resulting opinions are not protected by attorney-client privilege – because once the expert is doing his or her own research, that expert is no longer acting as an “agent” of the client or the attorney.

Protecting Non-Testifying Experts: Key Points

The current state of case law and procedural rules governing non-testifying experts suggests several points for attorneys to consider when seeking to protect or exert attorney-client privilege over communications with these experts:

Specify as early as possible that the expert will not be testifying, but is working in a consulting capacity only.

Limit the use of consulting experts to seeking information for the purpose of providing legal advice.

Focus the consulting experts’ attention on the facts of the case and specific opinions that can be drawn from those facts.

Maintain confidentiality surrounding communications with the expert and with the client. Remind both experts and clients of the need to keep information confidential.

Generally speaking, attorneys will be able to protect a consulting expert’s work product by establishing that the information is provided to the attorney for the purposes of providing legal advice and by maintaining strict confidentiality procedures around the work itself.

The post Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege? appeared first on The Expert Institute.

Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege? published first on http://ift.tt/2gOI9L4

[legalseat]

Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege?

In addition to the use of expert witness testimony at deposition and trial, many attorneys work with “consulting” experts who do not testify. Because the consulting expert’s participation and opinions can have a significant effect on the outcome of the case, it’s important to understand how attorney-client privilege rules apply even when an expert will not be asked to provide testimony.

Privilege and Consulting Witnesses: General Guidelines

Many lawyers remember being cautioned, as a first-year associate, that “anything you say to an expert is discoverable.” In addition, experts – even non-testifying experts – are third parties to the attorney-client relationship. The combination of these two facts often leads lawyers to presume that communications with consulting experts are not protected by privilege rules and are subject to discovery.

In practice, however, many courts have held that attorney-client privilege generally works to protect communications between the attorney and consultants when:

The communication occurs for the purposes of obtaining or dispensing legal advice, and

The non-testifying expert is understood to be working as an agent of either the client or the attorney.

See, e.g., U.S. v. Kovel, 296 F.2d 918, 922 (2nd Cir. 1961); Golden Trade v. Lee Ansrael Co., 143 F.R.D. 514, 518 (S.D.N.Y. 1992).

In addition, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(4)(D) distinguishes between testifying and non-testifying expert witnesses by indicating that facts or opinions from the latter are discoverable only upon a showing of “exceptional circumstances under which it is impracticable for the party to obtain facts or opinions on the same subject by other means.” These communications may still be discoverable, however, if the other party can show “substantial need” for the materials, per Rule 26(b)(3)(A)(ii).

Because Rule 26 protections for work product shared with non-testifying experts are more stringent than protections involving testifying experts, it is worthwhile to distinguish between testifying and non-testifying experts early in the investigation and discovery process.

Exceptions to the Rule: What is the Information For?

Although communications with consulting experts are generally protected by attorney-client privilege, a number of exceptions exist. For example, if the expert, an attorney, or the client disclose the expert’s opinion to a third party who lacks a common legal interest, a court may hold that the privilege no longer applies. (The privilege may still apply, however, if the information is disclosed to a third party who is also assisting with the case.)

Questions about whether consulting experts’ information is protected may also focus on what the information is and what it is for. Expert opinions rendered to help an attorney understand the case and provide better legal advice may receive stronger protection than mere facts.

Consider the court’s opinion in U.S. Postal Service v. Phelps Dodge Refining Corp., 852 F. Supp. 156 (E.D.N.Y. 1994). The case involved alleged failures by Phelps Dodge to clean up toxic waste on a property the company sold to the U.S. Postal Service, in violation of the terms of the sale agreement.

During discovery, both Phelps Dodge and the USPS withheld various documents, citing attorney-client privilege. Several of these documents included facts or information gathered by consulting experts, whom the parties claimed should be included under the attorney-client privilege.

The Phelps court stated that an expert’s communications may not be protected by attorney-client privilege when the expert’s purpose was “to collect information not obtainable directly from defendants.” The court also held that when an expert’s opinions are based on data the expert collected independently, rather than on information received from the attorney or client, the resulting opinions are not protected by attorney-client privilege – because once the expert is doing his or her own research, that expert is no longer acting as an “agent” of the client or the attorney.

Protecting Non-Testifying Experts: Key Points

The current state of case law and procedural rules governing non-testifying experts suggests several points for attorneys to consider when seeking to protect or exert attorney-client privilege over communications with these experts:

Specify as early as possible that the expert will not be testifying, but is working in a consulting capacity only.

Limit the use of consulting experts to seeking information for the purpose of providing legal advice.

Focus the consulting experts’ attention on the facts of the case and specific opinions that can be drawn from those facts.

Maintain confidentiality surrounding communications with the expert and with the client. Remind both experts and clients of the need to keep information confidential.

Generally speaking, attorneys will be able to protect a consulting expert’s work product by establishing that the information is provided to the attorney for the purposes of providing legal advice and by maintaining strict confidentiality procedures around the work itself.

The post Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege? appeared first on The Expert Institute.

Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege? published first on http://ift.tt/2vSFQ3P

[legalroll]

Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege?

In addition to the use of expert witness testimony at deposition and trial, many attorneys work with “consulting” experts who do not testify. Because the consulting expert’s participation and opinions can have a significant effect on the outcome of the case, it’s important to understand how attorney-client privilege rules apply even when an expert will not be asked to provide testimony.

Privilege and Consulting Witnesses: General Guidelines

Many lawyers remember being cautioned, as a first-year associate, that “anything you say to an expert is discoverable.” In addition, experts – even non-testifying experts – are third parties to the attorney-client relationship. The combination of these two facts often leads lawyers to presume that communications with consulting experts are not protected by privilege rules and are subject to discovery.

In practice, however, many courts have held that attorney-client privilege generally works to protect communications between the attorney and consultants when:

The communication occurs for the purposes of obtaining or dispensing legal advice, and

The non-testifying expert is understood to be working as an agent of either the client or the attorney.

See, e.g., U.S. v. Kovel, 296 F.2d 918, 922 (2nd Cir. 1961); Golden Trade v. Lee Ansrael Co., 143 F.R.D. 514, 518 (S.D.N.Y. 1992).

In addition, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(4)(D) distinguishes between testifying and non-testifying expert witnesses by indicating that facts or opinions from the latter are discoverable only upon a showing of “exceptional circumstances under which it is impracticable for the party to obtain facts or opinions on the same subject by other means.” These communications may still be discoverable, however, if the other party can show “substantial need” for the materials, per Rule 26(b)(3)(A)(ii).

Because Rule 26 protections for work product shared with non-testifying experts are more stringent than protections involving testifying experts, it is worthwhile to distinguish between testifying and non-testifying experts early in the investigation and discovery process.

Exceptions to the Rule: What is the Information For?

Although communications with consulting experts are generally protected by attorney-client privilege, a number of exceptions exist. For example, if the expert, an attorney, or the client disclose the expert’s opinion to a third party who lacks a common legal interest, a court may hold that the privilege no longer applies. (The privilege may still apply, however, if the information is disclosed to a third party who is also assisting with the case.)

Questions about whether consulting experts’ information is protected may also focus on what the information is and what it is for. Expert opinions rendered to help an attorney understand the case and provide better legal advice may receive stronger protection than mere facts.

Consider the court’s opinion in U.S. Postal Service v. Phelps Dodge Refining Corp., 852 F. Supp. 156 (E.D.N.Y. 1994). The case involved alleged failures by Phelps Dodge to clean up toxic waste on a property the company sold to the U.S. Postal Service, in violation of the terms of the sale agreement.

During discovery, both Phelps Dodge and the USPS withheld various documents, citing attorney-client privilege. Several of these documents included facts or information gathered by consulting experts, whom the parties claimed should be included under the attorney-client privilege.

The Phelps court stated that an expert’s communications may not be protected by attorney-client privilege when the expert’s purpose was “to collect information not obtainable directly from defendants.” The court also held that when an expert’s opinions are based on data the expert collected independently, rather than on information received from the attorney or client, the resulting opinions are not protected by attorney-client privilege – because once the expert is doing his or her own research, that expert is no longer acting as an “agent” of the client or the attorney.

Protecting Non-Testifying Experts: Key Points

The current state of case law and procedural rules governing non-testifying experts suggests several points for attorneys to consider when seeking to protect or exert attorney-client privilege over communications with these experts:

Specify as early as possible that the expert will not be testifying, but is working in a consulting capacity only.

Limit the use of consulting experts to seeking information for the purpose of providing legal advice.

Focus the consulting experts’ attention on the facts of the case and specific opinions that can be drawn from those facts.

Maintain confidentiality surrounding communications with the expert and with the client. Remind both experts and clients of the need to keep information confidential.

Generally speaking, attorneys will be able to protect a consulting expert’s work product by establishing that the information is provided to the attorney for the purposes of providing legal advice and by maintaining strict confidentiality procedures around the work itself.

The post Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege? appeared first on The Expert Institute.

Are Non-Testifying Witnesses Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege? published first on http://ift.tt/2fPSFkQ

[daydreamingic]

Ansrael: Simple Character Sheet

Ansrael Nightbloom Kaldorei Druid (still training), combat healer, herbalist and fledgling alchemist.

Age: Adult

Gender: Female

Job/Profession: Ansrael currently tends a garden. She sells herbs and various potions that she creates. She spent many years as a combat medic and healer for the Alliance before she decided to pursue training in druidism. Her abilities have always been part of her but it was something she was expected to stifle as she grew up in a very traditional Kaldorei household. Her father was a druid and her mother was a ranger (as she was expected to be when she reached maturity). Physical Description: Average for Kaldorei. She moves with nimble, quiet movements and most do not notice her passing, despite her height and muscular stature. Bits of bark can be observed tangled in her hair, leaves caught in the seams and creases of her simple, mismatched leather armor. Both the fingertips of her gloves and her hands are stained from many moons spent working with plants and tinctures.

Personality Description: Quiet but friendly. She is reserved with most until she gets to know them. Estranged from her traditional family, she seeks deep connections with others to balance the void left by those broken ties... and I worry that when she finds companions that she will be loyal to a fault, even if those loyalties are questionable.

General Notes: She fell in love with a Draenei Mage while they fought the Burning Legion in Outland. Her partner fell in battle, in front of her, and Ansrael still wears a bit of her armor on a cord beneath her clothes. This is something that still haunts her and romantic relationships may not be possible for her (yes, I said ‘her armor’ -- Ansrael is queer and her lover was female).

Unusual Notes: Ansrael was born with an inherent ability to draw upon the healing powers of nature. Studying druidism wasn’t acceptable for females in Kaldorei culture, so she was forced to hide and stifle her abilities. Transformations can still go awry for her. She fought against the Nightmare after the Sundering and she doesn’t like the thought of returning to the Emerald Dream to train, but events during the Lunar Festival prompted her to consider formal training again.

Secrets: She considers transformations without reason to be irresponsible but she can’t resist flight. When she takes wing on the wind, all of her mortal thoughts fade and she flies. It’s a guilty pleasure.

History: When she joined the Alliance, her father was lost in the Emerald Dream and her mother stopped speaking to her. She doesn’t visit Darnassus often and has lost touch with those that grew up with her in the same village.

Current Going-On (if any): Considering her options now that the war in Draenor has begun to settle. She has many scholarly interests, particularly in the field of alchemy.

[daydreamingic]

[Ansrael, Entry #3] May the Stars Guide Me.

Stormwind again. I won’t bother with excuses. There is something comforting about the diversity and anonymity within the city walls. Ironforge lacks the open sky and I have little interest in returning to Kalimdor at present. There is a small gathering at the gazebo near the lake (and the tree) tonight. Tales will be told in celebration of the Lunar Festival. My excitement grows as does the crowd. It has been too long since I have sat and listened to tales spun with spoken words. I miss the warmth of a large campfire in the middle of a story circle, but this stone bench is comfortable enough.

Ah, the Festival.

I did not return to Darnassus but I have spent the past week with feathers to the wind, seeking Elders in the Eastern Kingdoms. I walked through the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale and spoke of the infinite wisdom above me, waiting for me to look up for guidance. I stared at the night sky until I was dizzy. Outlined in the stars, I saw a fierce protector rear up, head thrown back to roar, claws outstretched...

I thought the urge to visit with the Elders was whimsical, but Elune is my guide. I have no one to protect with the strength of the bear, but I know I require further training as a druid if I am to be of continued use to the Alliance. My path is clear: the bear has signaled to me during the Lunar Festival. I have an invitation to visit Moonglade in my satchel. I may never feel ready, but it is time.

(Her star was the tip of the bear’s nose.) While traveling I noted things in passing that merit attention (unaffected liferoot growing in the Plaguelands?). I did not take samples or risk distraction by exploration, lest I get distracted from my impromptu sabbatical, but I have always enjoyed the study of herbs and plants. There are many things I have seen on the battlefield that I would like to learn, that requires travel and discussion with others...

Someone has stood to speak. The event is beginning. ...

A gnome provided me with a small device that captures images. The images can be transferred to paper through mechanical means. I tested it during the readings tonight. Stormwind University hosted the Literary Conclave and it was quite enjoyable. Several tales, songs, and a quick, jaunty poem that left most with pink cheeks, even as they snickered. I left as the others began to disperse. Tonight I will rest by the lake and tomorrow... Tomorrow I take my tattered invitation and return to Moonglade. *** ((The event was Stormwind University’s Literary Conclave and both Ansrael and I thought it was great!))

[daydreamingic]

[Ansrael, Short #1] "At Least Dreams End."

“We must never intermingle with outsiders, Ansrael. They are not like us. We are born of the stars; they are born of the ground. Work alongside them, if you must. Times have changed, unfavorably for the Kaldorei. Never get caught up in their petty fights and ambitious wars. Stay here, at home with your own kind.” A medium fire burned in the middle of the large leather tent, and a wide gap where the leathers met above the fire allowed smoke to escape. The long halved logs that acted as benches were wet and sap-sticky, the makeshift camp thrown together the evening prior after a run-in with aggressive ravagers. She rubbed her fingers against her leathers in a vain attempt to remove the resin from her skin. The mottled Tauren shaman that accompanied the Tauren druids sat across from her, holding an intricately carved wooden pipe. The looped pattern was accented with bright red and white paint and he held it up to the firelight, eyeing it from different angles. Tamuul. His name was Tamuul. She sat across from him in that tent... years ago? Her mind was foggy, unable to focus on where or when she was at present. “My mate made this,” he said in broken common, words thick on his tongue. It’s beautiful, she wanted to say. Couldn’t. It felt like tendrils were snaking up through her chest, cutting off her air supply. One hand curled around the twisted bit of metallic shrapnel she had begun wearing on a sturdy leather cord around her neck. Ansrael swallowed. “We all feel your pain.” Tamuul picked a long, thick splinter off his bench. He leaned forward and held the tip of the splinter into the fire, flames licking around the shard of wood. “It radiates from you.” He used the flaming splinter to light his pipe, inhaling deeply. “You need to visit the dreaming?” Fragrant smoke accentuated his words. No. She wasn’t sure why the objection was so vehement, but her instinctive response insisted that visiting the Emerald Dream was a bad idea. Much like bad things do in dreams, the idea had already begun to take hold and the tendrils she felt in her throat grew fat and long, forcing themselves out through her mouth, her nose, suffocating her... Her heart pounded. She stood next to her mother, holding her first bow. She named it Willow’s Branch after the slender tree that gave her permission to remove one of its thick, sturdy bottom branches. She carved and cured the wood herself. Her mother let her pick the handspun silk bowstring from the outdoor market. Ansrael remembered the pride she felt that night, standing straight with her shoulders back, ready to go on patrol. She’d wanted to show her bow to the village, perhaps even her father. “He dreams to keep us safe. We hunt.” Her mother smiled down at her and Ansrael saw her mouth was full of sharp fangs. Fangs that twisted at the end, sharp points turning brown, like dying roots. Her mother turned away. A clever wild imp separated them in the woods and forced her mother to draw it away, leaving Ansrael alone. She remembered hiding in the trunk of a tree until dawn, when her mother found her, bow clutched tightly in her arms. But now she was running through the forest and the imp wasn’t there. Something dark crashed through the woods behind her, large body slamming against trees as it fumbled toward her. She saw the stone jutting from the ground too late. Her foot caught the edge and her world went sideways as she fell, slamming into the ground. She couldn’t draw breath and the forest spun as she forced numb limbs to move. With a limp heave, she sprawled on her back. The white light of Elune blazed through the treetops and she drew a gasping breath, lungs beginning to respond again. Elune disappeared as her vision filled with blazing fel green eyes and sharp teeth, the same curling teeth she’d seen in her mother’s mouth before, except now they reached for Ansrael, stretching into withered tentacles that lunged toward her face, and her vision turned brown... Brown like wet earth, thick and sticky. She stumbled back, feet caught in ankle-deep mud. So much mud. It had been raining for a moon cycle and the dam above the encampment had begun to groan as the weight of excess water overburdened its simple design. A village sat downstream and would suffer if the dam broke. Ansrael was one of nearly a dozen that formed a semicircle in front of the dam, chanting and lending their strength to the land as the rain refused to relent. The dam could only moan in response, wooden beams shifting and snapping as the water’s pressure built. Lightning struck. Their small hollow was illuminated by brilliant light, air turning sharp with the charge of electricity, and then the crash of thunder followed. Someone near her cried out, their concentration broke, and the dam shattered. Wood and metal split and water rushed at them, then over them, nature’s fury dragging everything under. She couldn’t see in the dirty water, current too strong to attempt swimming, couldn’t breathe, vision beginning to darken at the edges, and she felt tendrils slip around her ankles and yank her down, into the darkness... "I've lost everything I have ever known," the musical, lilting voice murmured against her skin, and long fingers slipped between her own. Squeezed. "Yet I am at peace, having known you." Her eyes weren’t open but she felt the warmth of the body against hers, the love and affection that her companion felt for her thick in the air. Her own love for the mage surged in return, growing in her chest until it felt like she might burst into bloom. The perfection of the memory was deceitful and she knew she couldn’t allow herself to drown, knew it was going to turn like the others, that the soft furs piled beneath them were an illusion, that the long line of hip she traced with her free hand didn’t exist. She would gladly have died in the memory, gone under permanently with the taste of someone else on her lips, but it was going to turn and she knew. No, Ansrael thought, desperate as the fingers between hers began to fade... Ansrael wasn’t far behind when the defensive line fell, some of their best combat units collapsing under the onslaught of Shattered Hand orcs. She pulled as much as she could from the land, ancient spells of regrowth spoken of their own accord in her voice. She felt her skin harden and split, like bark, and her form shifted as nature began to give back through her. A spear slammed into the Draenei mage standing a few feet away and Ansrael’s world jerked to a halt. Stricken eyes met her own and arcane energy sputtered between the mage’s outstretched hands, spell dissipating. The Draenei stumbled forward on her cloven feet. Ansrael turned before she could watch her lover fall, emotion stirring a storm inside, and she felt fangs grow as she bared her teeth toward the front line. She gave her emotion an outlet: the land beneath the orcs shuddered, a few of them falling as the earth below split with a mighty roar, enough land pulling apart to swallow the length small village. Orcs tumbled into the pit with cries of alarm and the soft ground shifted back into place, over them, silencing their yells deep beneath the surface. This time it opened beneath her, too, and she surrendered to the darkness. *** Ansrael woke in a tangle of tree limbs and feathers, caught in a warped transformation. It took all of her concentration to separate the partial shifts, allowing her to return safely to her elven form. She lay in the small bed at the inn, feet hanging over the edge, and clutched the piece of armor she still wore on a cord beneath her leathers, years later. She'd never heeded her mother's words and would never regret her decision. Her comrades thought the week she’d spent as a tree was grief, her green leaves shifting fully through brilliant hues before they died and fell. Her limbs were barren when she returned to herself. The forced hibernation replenished her physical form, as she'd taken on something far beyond her abilities. She didn’t tell them that she wouldn’t have minded if her consciousness had never returned. Tamuul, she thought as she recalled the vivid dream, had known that her formal training was limited. She didn't tell him that one experience with the Nightmare was enough to haunt her, Ysera’s dragonflight be damned. She reached beneath her pillow for the leather journal that she’d been using. Too much isolation wasn’t healthy, either. Maybe the reminder of the Emerald Dream was a sign, even as she resisted the thought. In her looping scrawl, heart heavy with the weight of her own nightmares, she wrote on a blank page, If you are the star Centered in my moonlit sky, Mortality is welcome.

My sun will one day set and Eternally beside you, I shall rise again. *** Prompt: dreaming

[daydreamingic]

[Ansrael, Entry #2] Limeade and Crunchy Frogs.

I spent a day resting beneath that pleasant tree in Stormwind, speaking with the occasional passerby, turning my journal over and over between my hands, wondering what to do with my newly acquired downtime. I dozed while the sun was out, content in the cool shade of the tree. Some suggested that I might find an inn comfortable, but I find the thought of small, squared-off quarters to be displeasing. It’s much nicer to rest in the open and feel the slow, steady lifepulse of this ancient land beating deep below the surface, lulling me to sleep... That evening a herald from the Darkmoon Faire stood beside the Auction House as I entered to sell my potions. He caught my eye as I ducked into the crowd and he was waiting when I exited the building, my pockets clinking with shiny gold. With a wink and a grin he shoved a booklet into my hand and offered a free portal. I’m resting on the beach now, away from the attractions. I can hear a few cheers but the Faire leaves soon and even the enthusiastic workers who have put on an excellent show are beginning to wear their exhaustion in their movements and expressions. The Faire is held on an island, surrounded by a forest that is dark and discontent. The island itself is moody, the week beginning with fair skies and warm winds that have now turned gray and thunderous, storms brewing along the southern horizon. It, too, is ready for the Faire to leave. My first impression of the Faire were the large tents, standing out from the surrounding forest with bright purple and white stripes, wooden posts topped with multicolored banners. When I crossed beneath the intricate arched entrance, various and intermingling smells consumed my senses: saltwater, gunpowder, frying oils, hay, sweat, manure... Then the noises. Cheers, catcalls, animals baying, game hosts wheedling as Faire-goers passed, token vendors shouting to get 'em while they were good. I tried everything. Gnoll whacking was the best game, followed by the shooting gallery, but I think I enjoyed the crunchy frogs most. I drank tart limeade to soothe the spiced food and indulged while observing the Horde and Alliance members keeping an unspoken truce while on the island, orcs and humans alike taking turns at the game tables. I spoke with a self-proclaimed companion battler named Joseph Feasel. He took interest in my dragon whelpling. I’ve cared for the thing since I found him while passing through the Badlands many moons ago, never once considering the dragon to be ‘mine.’ Feasel explained that it was possible to form battle teams with such critters and companions, that the battles were both challenging and rewarding for companions and their keepers. “A new pastime that crosses cultures and alliances,” he boasted. I felt ambivalent but the whelping was interested and darted over to Feasel’s small mechanical tank, inspecting gleaming cogs with sharp talons. I return to Stormwind tonight. There is a portal available until dusk or the storms come to land, whichever happens first. I don’t think I want to stay to find out. The week has been interesting but I am as restless as the Faire, ready to find a real adventure.

[daydreamingic]

[Ansrael, Entry #1] Another Beginning.

I'm in Stormwind again. The city has been forced upon the land with brick and mortar, yet there is something that draws me here when I have need of a town. A portal to Darnassus might be affordable, but I am in no hurry to leave the solace I have found among the bustle here: a quiet place near placid water, beneath a massive tree. The old tree is one of the few that weren't destroyed when the humans began to settle here. I lean back against its bark and I know the tree isn't necessarily happy but it is thankful to exist. It keeps growing, even with stifled rootspace. Roots can worm between bricks and force themselves down, into the smallest of spaces, after all. The tree understands that it feeds and houses many creatures, alive with something akin to a city of its own as insects cross tiny routes through split pieces of bark and birds and squirrels make homes among its branches. The cathedral bell is ringing. Five, six, seven, eight... Perhaps this tree and I have something in common. In a world that is changing so fast, so drastically, we are both alienated but doing our best to acclimate. There is no other choice, though many of my kind believe that the sort of mingling I am doing -- by visiting this city alone, never mind speaking to those outside of our race -- goes against the society we cultured for thousands of years. I cannot cling to such outdated notions. I have experienced devastating war and loss in recent years, with those so-called outsiders by my side. (Yes, if I am honest with myself, I am still angry. Heated words remain branded in my mind, “unconventional, contributing to the destruction of proper Kaldorei society, don’t belong, get out, get out, GET OUT,” but I do not wish to write about that.) The question, once I sell the satchel full of potions weighing heavily at my side, is what to do with this lull. The Alliance military forces are stable in Draenor. With no interest in returning to Darnassus just yet, I don't know whether I should memorize the alleys of Stormwind for a few weeks or take a handful of gold for my goods and leave this town with a map and the names of a few locations worth visiting on this continent. Not that staying or going matters; it’s the fact that I have a choice to make, one that does not require validation or confirmation. Just me.