Hilde Leoma was collapsing. Internally the officers arguing and fighting.

Some of the people I was closest to—Charize, Sandrae, Tworf, Turina, Adrian, and Fenynix—had left and gone to their new guild, Entwined. Finshan, Greedie, and Shergahn had joined Kaine and Vixen in Smokin’ Horde.

I was still heartbroken over Ana and Sam and left too. Mainly for my hunter to lick her wounds. But also, I had rolled an alt priestess. Lao, or Aleskia as she is now called. More on that later.

With help from friends in Entwined and LFG, I was able to level her quickly to 40, and I had found my calling.

I was a better healer than I was a hunter.

Ana was parked in Feralas, all sad and moody.

And then, I discovered LFG.

The Looking for Group (LFG) channel in Warcraft was like stepping into a virtual bazaar where, instead of haggling over melons or spices, players were vying for tanks, healers, and DPS. It was a chaotic symphony of caps-locked cries for help: “LF1M Healer for SM Cath!” or “LFM Tank for Mara RUN.”

As a fresh priest, I quickly learned the golden rule: healers were in demand. I’d type “Priest LFG” and within seconds be bombarded with whispers, each more desperate than the last, all of them promising a smooth, no-wipe run. Spoiler: it was never a no-wipe run.

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The true comedy was in getting to the dungeon. Half the group would inevitably be lost, wandering aimlessly in the wrong zone, and someone would always, always forget to bring their flight path. If you were unlucky, someone would aggro half the zone before you even reached the dungeon entrance. Good times.

But once inside? That’s where the real fun began. Miscommunication was rampant. The mage would sheep the wrong mob, the rogue would stealth-pull a pack of elites, and your tank would decide to go AFK right before the boss fight. And when loot dropped? It was a free-for-all. Watching a hunter roll need on your priestly robe with “but it’s an upgrade for PvP!” was enough to drive any sane person mad.

Ah, LFG. It was chaos incarnate, but it was also where the best memories were made—epic fails, glorious victories, and friendships that lasted beyond the wipes.

It was in LFG that I met the most memorable people in my healing career. And as Entwined ground to a halt, we joined their guild, The Hidden Tree—Anthonius, a paladin; Kersey, a rogue; and Elandarial, a hunter. Real-life friends. Real-life jokers. More on them later.

I had finally, and very out of character, leveled Ana to 60. My hunter, who had been parked in Feralas for what felt like an eternity, was no longer gathering dust and staring mournfully at moonlit hills. After all the heartbreak, the slow leveling, the pause in my journey with her, I pushed through. I didn’t just stop at hitting the level cap—I ground the gold for her epic mount. Anyone who’s been there knows what a monumental grind that was. It wasn’t something you casually did on a whim.

I still remember the moment when the mount was finally mine, how I clicked on that gleaming icon in my bag, summoning my sleek new ride. It should have felt like a victory, like a massive accomplishment, but instead, it was bittersweet. There was a hollowness to it. All that time, effort, and gold, and yet something was missing.

Maybe it was because the Ana I had started leveling was not the same Ana I had parked in Feralas. The world around her had changed, and so had I. Sam was gone, Hilde Leoma had crumbled, and Entwined was a memory. Even though I was now riding high on my shiny new mount, I couldn’t shake the feeling that a chapter had closed.

But that’s Warcraft, isn’t it? You spend hours grinding for a moment that’s over in seconds. And sometimes, the real adventure isn’t reaching the destination—it’s the journey and the people you meet along the way.