World of Warcraft®

Cyaer? Please answer me, Cyaer?

He slowly awoke from the darkness, he vaguely remembered that Karamia was asking for him.

"Oh, my head hurts, my body hurts, did someone get the number of the manure cart that ran me over? Mia, are you okay?", he whispered with some hesitancy.

He looked around, he was still in the same room, but he didn't see his Karamia anywhere. He was alone, or was he?

He softly whispered, "Mia? Where are you?" His eyes scanned the room, seeking her out, but did not find her.

He checked his scabbards, weapons still available, a quick check of himself showed he had everything equipped he had last Sunday. And lastly, he did another check of the room, quietly, and stealthed, just in case.

He sat and munched on a few bits of morsels that aided his agility and fortified his body. And took a quick gulp of the elixir he always used. And just as a precaution, read a scroll that again allowed his agilty to be fortified. He was as ready as he was ever going to be.

He took several long deep breaths, the air stale and musty but air never the less. He stretched and felt some bones crack, but otherwise he felt pretty good, and moved to the door. Something told him it was trapped or magically sealed, and he shook his head as he moved to one of the windows.

The sun was warm on the window side of the curtain, as he looked out onto the porch of the building he was being held in. He tried to lift the window, but it was locked, so he unlocked it, and silently lifted it up, and stepped out onto the porch.

His first impulse was to run, and get away from there as quickly and quietly as he could. Self presevation high on his mind. But he stopped, and thought about where he was, and what had happened. There was a rune in there that the Fellowship needed to twart Viragona's plot. He shook his head, then moved around the huge manor's porch, as he searched for another place to enter the house.

Alenthis Sunstrider sat quietly on the ground outside of the great tree. His eyes were closed in meditation. His mind rushed with thoughts, each trying to outdo the next. He thought of his late wife, his long gone daughter; how he missed them. He thought of the war against the Alliance. He grimaced as he thought of the present Warchief. The thoughts moved onto the fellowship. Of Cyaer lost and Auxilia kidnapped. His mind touched on Marl. The one person standing between Alenthis and Immortality. He curled a lip and shrugged. It was only a matter of time. He was 239 after-all. He could easily wait ten years. Alenthis thought of Detheroc and Nethecus, hard at work not thirty feet away. He hated their kind. His mind settled in a place if anger and bitterness. At his wife for dying. At Arthas for taking her from him. At his deal with the devil...all worth it if his wife could be brought back. Alenthis opened his eyes and smiled.
"Detheroc. Open a portal to Deatholme. I have to return to my work." Twenty minutes later, Alenthis entered Silvermoon City. As he walked, he stopped to check his mail and to his surprise there was a letter, recently delivered, a reply from the Dark Lady. He read the letter quickly. He grinned. Alenthis folded the letter into his pocket, and laughed to himself as he walked. "Gilneas...I should've guessed."

A fel green tome with traps and a seal of Shadow on the cover.

The paladin is practically walking in her sleep, I can see the weariness setting in. She will be no good in a battle. My demons are with me and I have a few ogres following. I see the manor house ahead. My imp tells me the rune is there. That crazy mage has it. I am hoping that Cyaer can distract them long enough for the work to be done.

I send the demons to storm the Manor house. They will burst in through the doors and ransack everything. Imps are so clever, they can pop in and out of phase and snatch things out from under their noses. The Felguards are good for causing damage. Just for fun I unleashed a doomguard and an infernal to really get things stirred up.

I will hang back and let my minions do their work. I am amazed the paladin is off to the side and seems to have fallen asleep. Does she dream of her lover I wonder? Ah such tasty lips he has, purhaps if he is here I will put him to work for me...

Tislina sat in the large library located in Sillvermoon. She was reading the kind of book that if someone looked at it and asked how much it weighed and why they made her read something so big for magical studies, she would reply she was reading it in her own time for fun. She seemed to be quite enjoying it too. It wasn't the usual book of spells, curses, enchantments, runes, or any other type of tome she usually used for her research. No, she had decided to take some time to herself and read a story. It was a good one too. She was laughing softly to herself when Milandra, the head librarian and a good friend to Tislina, strolled by with her arms full of books. "Liking it I take it. What part are you on?"

Tislina grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I love it! I just got to the part where Anora falls into the river."

Milandra nodded. "Glad you like it. You seem in a really good mood today."

"Yeah, I am. Things have been a bit easier."

"I'll see you later." Miranda walked off to go shelve books.

Tislina was, in fact, having a very good day. She had been told Camberon would be in the infirmary and that her classes had been cancelled. Without the extra stress of sword practice, the day was going great. She lauged again as she came to another funny part. Someone spoke on the guildstone and she muli-tasked, focusing mainly on her book, but also on the guild stone in case someone needed help. What she heard though, totally shattered her good day. She grabbed her bag and stood up. She left the book on the table and turned to exit the building. "No, no, no..... this is not happening. This can't be happening." She took off into the city, in search of the orc who called himself Duknai.

Alenthis Sunstrider stood on the command dais at the Forsaken Front. He ordered two squads to attack a hole in the Gilnean refugee's line. He watched quietly, smiling to himself, as the Forsaken War Machine marched ever forward. He turned as an undead scout came jogging up the path. Alenthis looked at the corpse.

"Did you find anything?"

The undead nodded excitedly. "He's being held captive inside old Greymane Manor. I'm almost certain that the kidnappers are still there."

Alenthis grinned and turned to the Dark Ranger next to him. "Push forward. I want those Worgen destroyed. We have to get to the Manor and rescue Cyaer, as well as capture the kidnappers if possible." The woman bowed and turned away. Alenthis turned to his second in command.

"Take control here. I'll return shortly." The undead saluted him. Alenthis saluted back and turned to his tent. He whipped the flap aside and stepped in. He pulled a small orb from his backpack and waved his hand over it, activating a direct communications line between him and the sister stone in the Tainted Forest. "Detheroc!" Alenthis waited patiently for a reply.

After a moment a dark voice echoed through the orb. "You called?"

Alenthis frowned. He hated conversing with the creatures. "Yes. I've found where Cyaer is being held but I'm not sure of how powerful this witch is...bring me one of the Dark Soulstones. That should tip the odds in my favor."

The voice was silent for a moment. "Prolonged exposure to that much fel magic could expose you for wha-"

"SILENCE DEMON! I know exactly what the orb does. Now, do you want my help or not? Because I can just as easily pledge myself to another cause."

A sigh echoed through the stone. "Be careful how you speak to us, young elf. The Nathrezim are not to be trifled with and while you may have struck a deal with our master, even that could not keep you safe from me if I decided to kill you... But we do need you help..." The voice was silent for a moment as if thinking. Alenthis held his breath. "I'll send Nethecus with a stone. Do not waste it."

Alenthis sighed and smiled. "Good. It will be much appreciated. I'll be expecting a report from you about Marl this evening. Alenthis out." Alenthis smiled and tucked the orb back into its place. He turned and exited the tent. He re-took his place on the Dais and watched happily. A green explosion in the distance caused Alenthis to laugh. He took his great polearm off of his back and readied himself. The other undead did the same. And they charged towards Gilneas...

As soon as the two had left the room, Krystala suddenly stopped, as if hearing something. Aseria, who had been following the Witch, turned to look the girl with a puzzled look “Everything alright, Lady Krystala?”. The Witch didn’t respond right away, she was detecting different presences, but all of them had one thing in common….the stench of Fel.

The small Witch suddenly grinned, wide and insane “Seems like Vira knows where we are now, prepare for an atta—BY SHADOWS!” she was interrupted as a Imp suddenly swiped the box from her hands and started to run for the door. Aseria swiftly stalked passed the Witch, blasting at the imp with her blue flames.

The imp, however, was to quick, and he was out the door with in moments. Krystala hissed “Blast it all, COME, we are going after it!” the two were making their ways down stairs before they were greeted by another sight….Fel Guards.

Each one of them branded an axe or a sword, hefted over their shoulders, they looked like they were prepared for battle and were ready to cut anything down that dared challenge them. Aseria turned to look at the Witch, who had been glaring with sure and utter hate at the demons that dared enter her new Manor.

“It seems I haven’t had a decent fight in a long while..” she said, pulling her hood over her head a sword being conjured from shadow magic being formed in her hand “If it’s a fight that they want….it’s a fight they are certainly going to get”

Aseria grinned, conjuring her blades and twirling them, arcane flame licking her arms as she prepared for a great battle. “Sadly…. I’m a bit lazy, so lets get call upon a few of my not so little friends…” she raised her hand shadows swirling around in her palm before she slapped it against the floor. Runes appeared around her, long claw like hands beginning to pop out and slam onto the carpet floor, void sentries, Shadow fiends and Void walkers had began to crawl out of the runes to answer Krystala’s call.

Now that the odds were some what tipped in their favour, Krystala gave the word to attack the creatures that she had summon rushing forward to meet their enemies head on. Once they had engaged the Fel Guards, they were about to rush into attack themselves before the roof was suddenly torn open by a raging infernal that crashed into the stairs.

Ash cursed wildling, Krytala simply watched as the creature crawled out of the small cavern that it had just made and letting out a fierce roar. “Now what?!” Aseria shouted over the sounds of battle behind them. Krystala waved her had dismissively “I have this covered, go fight”

Nodding, Aseria ran off, leaping into battle and hacking at demons left and right, Krystala took a few steps forward towards the fiery infernal “You know…..I had just gotten those stairs polished…you wouldn’t believe how many times I had to bug a Void walker to do it for me in exchange for some worgen” she raised her blade, taking a stance, she rushed forward to meet the infernal in what would be a interesting battle

((1/2))

Aseria had her hands full, ducking under axes, swords, even fists, she aimed for the weak spots that they had left wide open. Her job was to cripple them before killing them, so she stabbed their knees, their elbows, sometimes thrust her blades into what she would think would be their rib cage.

The sound of wings caught her attention; turning her gaze skyward, she noticed a doomguard had suddenly joined the fight “By the Sun…. what ELSE can that woman throw at us?” she muttered. Moving quickly, she jumped onto a Felguard’s head and used it to reach the second floor. She then ran towards the nearest wall and used momentum to get half way up before having to use fire magic to burst through the roof.

The doomguard turned to face his new opponent, but Aseria didn’t give him the chance, she was already rushing towards it, swords gleaming. It dodged her attack and had began to fly higher, but Ash hurled her swords at the doom guards wings, cutting through the webbing of one of them so that it would have to land to not risk falling to it’s death.

Growling, the thing threw Shadow bolts at her, Aseria quickly sidestepping to avoid them. Conjuring a blade in her right hand, and blue flames glowing in her left, she shot two fire bolts at it, one landing, and the other dodged. It was going to be a major clean up after this.


((2/2))

With one swift motion, Alenthis swung his weapon around the enemies parry and cut deeply into his side. The Worgen fell to the ground howling. A quick curb stomp silenced him. Alenthis glanced around. The battle was won. The worgen were in full retreat. He smiled wickedly. Footsteps hurried up behind him. He turned to find the same Forsaken scout who had given him Cyaer's location.

"Any knews?"

The small undead averted eye contact with Alenthis and spoke quietly. "Greymane Manor burns."

Alenthis stared at him for a moment gathering his thoughts. "What?" He hissed.

"A mighty warlock must be there. Hordes of demons are destroying it as we speak!"

"Demons?! Damnit! Viragona is there." Alenthis turned to his commander. "Take two squads and get there immediately! Scale the mountains if you have to! I'll follow shortly with a second wave. We'll cut them off at the roads." Alenthis motioned to the Dark Ranger. She turned and gestured at her troops and they formed up quickly. Alenthis turned to his commander and saluted. "Good luck."

"Same to you sir." The undead turned and led his troops towards the Manor. Alenthis motioned for his own forces to mount up. They were going to have to ride fast and hard. He turned to his Ranger General.

"We'll have to give the Capitol a wide birth. Another Worgen force could be waiting in ambush. Now ride out sons and daughters of Sylvanas!" The undead screeched in excitement and broke into gallops. Alenthis frowned slightly. I hope we can make it in time.

(change of pace to action))

Vira grinned as her Eye swept through the manor and saw the imp grab the rune's box and run with it. The Eye dancing around and dodging around the battle, following the Imp as it scampered out the door. Two Ogres flanked Vira, one with two heads as it seemed to be arguing with itself. "We stomp da puny elvzies?" said one head, while the other roared "Shadow bolts! Send them running with bolts of shadow!"

The ogre company behind them marched up the long winding hill to the Manor House, shaking the ground with their huge feet. Soon rocks began to fall down the steep mountainside and start a major landslide.

The road from the Forsaken front was now clogged with Ogres and falling rocks as Vira looked around. "Find that crazy mage and make her pay for stealing my rune!" She yelled at the Ogre champion as it headed for the Manorhouse.

"Me Stomp, Me smash elf mage!" he stomped up the Hill to the house and burst through the door. He saw Aseria going up to the roof and the Doomguard fighting her was having such a good time. Swooping down at Aseria he breathed fel fire on her in a huge gasp of green air. It stuck to everything and oozed down the stairways, it seemed to grow as it rolled, turning into oozlings that went after the Shadow witch and attempted to burn her alive with acid.

The Ogre roared and stomped up the stairs, sweeping away the shadow beasts as they clung to him , trying to stop the huge giant. They did manage to slow him down a bit, he roared in frustration as the ooze started coming down the steps. It burned his feet and he stomped on them as he continued up the stairway.

The eternal stomped and swung its huge fists at the shadowy priest but could hit nothing but wood and the walls of the manor house. Furniture and walls were soon smashed beyond recognition. Splinters of wood and chunks of plaster flew through the air everywhere. The void creatures had their hands full with the felguards, who were quite enjoying themselves. Spinning in circles with their axes and swords cutting swathes of fury around the rooms. Curtains tore and glass smashed and few in shards all over.

In all this noise and destruction, the imp with the box bounced gaily out the door and down the hill, dodging the ogres and rocks as he made directly for Vira. The warlock sat on her flaming steed and watched him come down the road. She was distracted by the sound of hooves rattling down the road and laughed in glee as she saw some of the Forsaken coming to do battle. "Ogres, to the rear and protect my back, I will soon be out of here, I do not need company."

Vira rode forward to see if she could spot Mia. The paladin had awoken and was looking for an opening to get to the Manor House amidst the Ogres and Demons. She screamed loudly, "Cyaer?!! Where are you? By the Light!" as she cast some protestive spells around herself she noticed the demons tearing apart the manor House and gasped in fear. She rode right up to the house and challenged some demons, using the Light to drive them back she swung with her two handed sword. The demons fell back with wounds on torsos and arms, bleeding freely. Their sickly green blood stained the floors of the Manor as Mia drove them back into the Hall.

"Where is my Cyaer? You heinous witch!! I will cut off your arms and legs and toss you into the raging sea behind us if you have harmed a hair of his head!" Mia was furious as she battled demons and tried to get closer to the shadowy priest. Using the Light she cast a Holy shock at the ghostly Krystala. Then a huge hammer of Justice slammed the ground where the shadow had just been.

Vira grinned as the imp made its way to her. The magical box was perfect for protecting the bearer of the rune from harm and she yelled up at the House. "My thanks, witch. How clever using a leaded box to store it in. I have to run now, so nice to have something to cover my retreat." with that the warlock rode off to the sea and a waiting boat. The sounds of battle were dimmer here, but rocks continued to bunce down the mountain. Dismissing her flaming steed, Vira got into the small boat and commanded the felguard to row for the ship anchored a short distance away. The box containing the rune was safely tucked into her pack.

The ship seemed to be empty and Vira made her way to the rudder. Summoning a portal to her hidden Keep in Redridge she used the deck as a cover for her actions. The imp and the Felguard who was her personal guard helped with the summoning. Vira stepped through the portal and vanished. The felguard and imp went with her. The dark shadowy closet shimmered out of view in a few moments.

The infernal roared and exploaded, Krystala sighed as she walked away from it, victorious. The felguards seemed to be enjoying themselves, her void creatures just hungered for their flesh. Sighing again, she placed her hand on the floor and muttered a few more dark words. Void tentacles sprouted around the demons and began to snare them, allowing the Void sentries and Void walkers to pick them off a bit more easier "That warlock sure is a pain..." she muttered. She had just taken notice of the Ozzes that crawled towards her, attempting to burn her flesh.

The Witch looked at them for a few moments before sighing and raising her sword in front of her and closing her eyes. Shadows would slowly begin to swirl around her, dark words escaping her lips as she spoke, with a sudden flick of her wrist, the shadows swirled violently around her in a small shadow storm, destroying the oozes before they had the chance to burn her.

She felt the ground begin to quake under her feet, and then felt the presence of what she knew was an Ogre. She watched as the two headed moron tried to take a swing at her, she barely had to move, all she needed to do was stand side ways to avoid the Ogre's feet before he fell through the glass window "Ogres....big..clumsy, stupid. That's all I need to say really....I'll kill him in a few moments"

Turning back to the fight between the Felguards and Void creatures, Krystala summoned another void creature, a Void Lord. It was said that one of these was in the Halls of Origination, summoning one took time. Luckly, a few Void Sentries that weren't busy killing demons came to assist, sacrificing themselves to hasten the spell. After about 3 Sentries, the Void Lord was complete "Finish of the Felguards and help my puppet with the Doomguard upstairs if she is not done killing it....I got an ogre to slay..."

With that, the Void Lord surged forward, Krystala turning around as the sound of demons death cries filled her ears "The sound of destruction....beautiful..." she muttered, walking towards the now shattered window, the Ogre climbing up to try and reach the Witch "Smash...Puny...Elf.." it growled, the fury that Krystala would see in a dragon in the orge's eyes.

It reached out to grab her, crushing her in it's large grasp, the Ogre smiled as he thought he had killed her, only to realize she was on his head "Nice try, but it'll take more than that if you wanna kill me, big fatty" she teased. The Ogre roared in fury, attempting to squish her on one of its heads. She simple leaped back and let it face palm itself "I think I'm done toying with you" she said, raising her blade and stabbing it in the ogre's meaty back.

-------------

The sound of the Ogre dieing indicated Ash that the Witch had it's hands full. The Doomguard was a tricky one, managing to heal itself and attempting to burn her. Twirling, blue flames trailed behind her hands to disperse the fel flame, she growled as the demon kept flying out of reach "Tricky bastard, come down here and fight like a--WOAH!" she was cut off as a shadow chain shot out from beside her, impaling the doomguard out of the air by the join where its wing connected to it's back and pulled it down.

It landed on the roof with a hard 'thud' Ash not wasting this moment of opportunity ran towards it and quickly impaled it's hands to the roof to prevent it from moving. It started to roar and growl at her, frustrated that he couldn't get up and kill the mortal. Ash, however, was grinning, a wide and insane grin that indicated that she knew the demon was helpless. Raising her hands, she snapped her fingers, a blue spark shooting towards the demon.

As soon as it made impact, it exploded, setting the demon alight in blue flames which had begun to spread across the roof of the manor. Letting out a sadistic laugh, Aseria kept snapping her fingers, explosion after explosion would have been heard miles away as the demon's death roar rang in her ears. After some time, the demon's corpse was nothing but a charred skeleton, Ash had beaten it.

((1/2))

--------A few moments later--------

Death, demons and Void creature corpses littered the floor. What void creature still remained was sent back into the void along with the Void Lord that Krystala had summoned, it was over. Krystala herself sat upon a armored Void walker, who she told to stay for a bit so she can use him as a seat, it hardly complained. Ash stood beside Krystala, inspecting her body for any wounds she might have received during her battle with the doomguard.

The Witch's eyes scanned the now destroyed Manor "Welp...so much for a great hide out. Looks like we will have to find another place to stay for now" she said, some what sad that they had to find a different place and due to the fact that she was just getting used to the Manor. Ash was more focused on the dead demons on the floor "And what about this mess?" she asked, gesturing to the bodies.

Krystala shrugged and patted her void walker "The void will take them, and feast" she hopped off the Void walker, who floated towards one felguard and grabbed it before creating a portal back into the void, dragging the body with it. A few more void walkers came to collect the bodies, and while they were doing that, Krystala looked up towards the ruined stairs "The Bed toy is here...she tried to have a swing at me on her way in, she is probably looking for the Nutter man"

"Isn't he locked in the room?" asked Ash, raising a brow. Krystala chuckled "Not anymore....come....lets be off before more company arrives....burn the place down before we go.." the Pyromancer nodded, shooting jets of blue flame to the most flammable areas of the Manor, soon enough, the Manor would start to burn, and it would only be a matter of time before the whole place would become nothing but a large bond fire.

Aseria then made a Portal, to somewhere in Azeroth, and both the Witch and herself, walked through it, leaving the Manor to burn.

((2/2))

Alenthis Sunstrider urged his horse as fast as it's unearthly legs could carry it. He and his Undead companions were due east of the Capitol and making their way south to the roads to cut off Viragona's escape. "Faster!" The ground thundered as the horses picked up speed.

Alenthis' lieutenant was the first to the top of the hill. He surveyed the ruined house and the demonic battle. He saw the Warlock with her back turned. He turned to his men. "CHARGE!" The first wave of Forsaken linemen charged the Warlock but she sensed them coming. With a wave of her hand a small army of ogres surrounded her backside and charged at the Forsaken troops. The two waves met in a clash of bone, fat, and steel.

An undead marksman lined up a shot at an ogre's head. He pulled the trigger. Boom. The ogre dropped dead. The undead smiled and then noticed the shadow over him. He looked up just in time to see an ogre's body sized fist crush him into nothing.

The small undead were no match for the massive ogre's even though they out numbered them. For every one ogre killed six undead troops were torn to shreds. The lieutenant watched the battle turn in favor of the ogre's. He turned to his right and nodded at his captain. "It's been an honor serving with you, sir. In life and in death."

The captain saluted. "Agreed."

The lieutenant motioned forward, "Shall we?" The captain smiled and charged forward with the lieutenant hot on his heels.

Alenthis' men were nearing the road when he heard a slight rustling. He opened his mouth and screamed, "AMBUSH!" Right as the word left his mouth the echo of gunshots cracked through the woods. The Undead, fell to pieces as mass rifle fire riddled their bodies. Alenthis banshee general cried out and fell from her horse. The rifle fire ceased. And immediately the Worgen were upon them. Tearing and ripping and howling. Alenthis dismounted his horse and drew his weapon. He cleaved the first worgen clean in two. He smiled. These Worgen weren't as smart as he thou-Boom

Alenthis looked down at the gaping hole in his chest. He whipped around and decapitated the Worgen with a single sweep and then dropped his polearm. He grasped at his chest in a vain attempt to pull his ribcage back togethor. Alenthis horse fell to the ground, it's skeletal head separated from its body. Alenthis looked around in wonderment as he fell to his knee's. A slave to the lich king. A decorated warrior of the Horde. And he was going to die here in the ruins of Gilneas by the hands of filthy Worgen. His mind was completely intact as his shattered body fell to the ground, his torso unable to remain upright. He stared up at the sky, furious at his underestimation of the Worgens forces. He had no doubt that the other half of his forces were dead. He had wasted two squads of valuable troops. The very troops the Dark Lady had granted him. He was disgusted with himself. What would Detheroc think? And Nethecus? Their co-conspirator, killed by disgusting mortal worgen. And what would Sar-His thoughts were interrupted as a winged form appeared in the sky. Alenthis frowned. Took him long enough. Two massive hooves slammed into the ground next to Alenthis. The Worgen general howled a retreat and the worgen ran for their pathetic lives. Alenthis rolled his head and glances up at the creature. "Ah, Nethecus, nice of you to finally join us."

Nethecus surveyed the battleground. "Sorry to disappoint, Alenthis but there is no one else. Your the only one left." The monster chuckled deeply. "And you don't seem to be in very good shape yourself."

Alenthis frowned at him. "Did you bring it?" Nethecus nodded and removed a crystalline orb from a pouch on his side. Alenthis snatched it from him and stared at it. He closed his eyes and concentrated, the Dark Soulstones power coursing through him. His chest slowly re-assembled itself and he felt his muscles reconnect inside him. The power the soulstone gave off. It was unimaginable. He stood and continued to drain the Soulstones energy. He felt his feet leave the ground as the pure fel energy coursed through his veins. His eyes turned from blue to red and his rotten muscles repaired themselves. Alenthis Sunstrider began to laugh. It started as a slight chuckle and rose to a maniacal cackle.

Finally, his hunger sated, he handed the stone back to the creature next to him. Nethecus spoke, calmly, "Alenthis, your eyes. We told you that exposure to the-"

Alenthis interrupted, "It isn't permanent, Dreadlord. It will have worn off long before I can even make it back to Silvermoon. Nethecus, return to the Tainted Forest and await further orders from me." The Demon rolled it's eyes and nodded. It flapped it's wings and was out of sight in a manner of seconds. Alenthis glanced up the mountain at where smoke poured from behind the tree line. "Damnit." He muttered. He broke into a sprint and snatched up his polearm as he ran. Perhaps he wasn't too late.

Lieutenant Harris Franklin lay on the ground. His legs several feet away from him. He was rather dissatisfied to go down like this. Two squads of undead butchered by unintelligent ogres. He wouldn't hear of it. He rolled over and searched for Captain Stutzka's body. He spotted it, not ten feet away, decapitated. Using his arms, he crawled forward towards the body. Several Ogre's began to take notice. Franklin reached the Captain and rolled his body onto it's stomach. Ever since the successful use of the Blight Bombs at Gilneas, the banshee queen had ordered every squad carry one. In case of an overwhelming defeat the squad leader had precise instructions: detonate the bomb and kill as many of the attackers as possible. Still strapped to Captain Stutzka's back was a blight bomb. The lieutenant smiled. "Damnit Stutzka. You don't ever seem to disappoint do you?" The lieutenant grabbed the bomb and lit it. A internal fifteen second timer began. By this time an ogre had reached the half-corpse. The Ogre picked up the lieutenant and growled at him. "Silly dead man! You no trick Ogre!" Harris Franklin merely winked at the Ogre.

"Too late sir. You've been had." He smiled and closed his eyes.

Alenthis was nearing the top of the hill. He glanced at himself in a puddle of water. He sighed with relief. His eyes had turned back to a solid blue. He looked up and took another step and in the distance a blight bomb exploded. Alenthis stopped cold. He glared at the distant green cloud forming. That could only mean one thing. The other one of his squads was gone. All of them. A wasted gift from the Dark Lady. She wouldn't be happy about that. He shook his head back to the present. Cyaer. He broke into a sprint for the mansion. Blight bombs weren't terribly large afterall. The mansion itself should be untouched...

This world is strange to me.

I have lived in it. I have fought on the forefront of the Bastion of Twilight. I have braved the inferno that is the Firelands. I have even been part of a specific summons to investigate and quell lingering undead within the Icecrown Citadel. And yet, bound to one simple curse, I have fallen from grace to begin anew. This wasn't my choice, and I can feel the fury of this... this! It burns... within me. I lust for blood now more than ever.

The longer I lay beneath the stars, the more I recall of what happened. Something... be it man or lich, bound me within a prison of ice. My armor, stripped and worthless. My blades, ripped away and hung like trophies. Oh my poor swords... My shield. I remember casting my shield aside in my own sorrow. No matter how hard I've tried to protect, I am merely an instrument of destruction. And yet, I will try again. A new shield, this time. And I shall smear the blood of my enemies upon its face. But to have so many relics of my past, present, and future, hung over hearth like a prize! I only wish I knew if I had slaughtered the poor bastard who has earned my eternal hatred.

My mind becomes increasingly clear, and I have hung this... stone upon my chest as I once hung my last calling card. A smaller one may yet be requred, this one is too large. If I cut it up small enough, it should suit my purposes. As long as I don't strike the core and leave enough stone to set in my armor, there won't be a problem. If there is a problem, then I will take another from them. This... Fellowship Angel adores. I know nothing of them. And I am too wary to speak now. If I am found, if any remembers my torment in a dark light, I would be easy prey. I must train more to rectify this situation. This existence which isn't in the least bit suitable.

Perhaps this Shadow I have encountered will do. Not that I expect he would be of any use, he has lived past my small expectations. He follows me, usually silent as I prefer to go. There is no point in talk when taking life, after all... But there is something honest about him, and... noble. Not the trash you find in Silvermoon, not those nobilities. But something that I had thought long since dead. Not even the Wardens, my fallen comrades, matched this level. They were supportive and... nice... and kind... Unless our leader felt like drinking or starting a fight. Then it was merely a matter of picking him back up out of his own puddle until he was right in the head again. The poor bastard.

Did I love him?

Did I love a Death Knight as well?

My memories are hazy once again, emotions stripped to leave me with nothing but the eternal ghosts of my past.

My leg is aching from all of this running. I only pray that Shadow doesn't take note of my increasingly frequent breaks to sit and relax. Soon, my companions will return to me, and I will travel in comfort once again. But, for now... I wait in patient impatience. If only the tides could turn in a more predictable manner.

If only I could see what lay before me.

~ Silver Truesong

Kreindis walked through Terokkar Forest, the only guide to him being the light from Shattrath City in the distance. He chose it to be his goal, as it seemed to be the closest place with wyverns that he could use to get home. He looked around, making sure nothing was hunting him. He caught a glimpse of white, black, and blue moving through some thick bushes. He knew what it was, and prayed it wasn't set on killing him. He broke into a run, attempting to put as much distance between the warpstalker and himself as he could. He broke through a thin bush and he saw it. Shattrath City. The only thing between him and his ticket home was the warpstalker, in the middle of the road, cold eyes staring. Kreindis drew the only weapon he had at his use, the Light. He fired a powerful bolt of it at the warpstalkers head, attempting to stun it long enough to let him pass. The warpstalker flew back, its back smashing into a tree. Kreindis broke into a run for the gate, not caring if the warpstalker followed him. "The guards can deal with it." he thought. He continued to run until he reached the flight master, and he asked for a wyvern to the Dark Portal. He called a wyvern down, and he mounted it. He thanked the flight master and flew off to the Portal.

Kreindis looked down to Outland from the incredible height that his Wyvern flew at. He had reached Hellfire Penninsula, so he knew that he was close to the Dark Portal. He planned to take the portal from there to Orgrimmar, and then take a Zeppelin to Tirisfal Glades where he would use the translocation orb to get home. His eyes scanned the all-out war beneath him, the one he once fought in and nearly died in. "Looks like those Fel Orc's dont give up once the leader dies." thinks Kreindis. The Dark Portal came into his sight, and he was glad. He was eager to be home, to be with Tislina again. To show her he wasnt dead in the middle of Terokkar somewhere.

His Wyvern landed in a couple of minutes of flying to it, and he ran to the portal for Orgrimmar. He looked down at his bandages, and saw his blood slowly soaking through them. "I have to hurry... I may not be standing much longer..." He stepped through the portal, and continued running. Within' minutes he was on the Zeppelin to Tirisfal Glades, rushing to get home before he bled to death. He sprinted down the circular steps of the Zeppelin tower in Tirisfal when the ship had arrived there, and ran even faster across the grass and stone steps of the Ruins. The Translocation orb came into his sight. "Finally, I'm here... home..." He walked to the orb, and just as his hands touched it, he fell to the ground, his bag crashing with him and its only four contents falling out. His blood began to form a small pool around him...

The Felguards and Shadow beasts fought each other with glee. Mia avoided the battle as much as she could. There was only one thing on her mind, Cyaer. Where was he? The building shook with explosions and fire. "Cyaer!!!?" she screamed out his name over and over as she searched.

The boom of thunder and the flash of lightning told her a storm was over head. She frantically went from room to room. The place was a shambles. Strangely there were no bodies...anywhere. There was a hissing sound as the rain began to fall, slow at first then a cloudburst as it washed down from the heavens. Drenching the burning building with sheets of water.

Finally she found a room off to one of the side halls, the door cracked and splintered under her axe. "Cyaer!!? Where are you?" the door was broken enough for her to go inside the room. There was a window and it was open, the wind sending rain inside to soak the room. On the floor was a discarded potion bottle. It looked familiar, could it be Cyaer's? She knelt to the floor next to the window, one hand on the sill as she looked for more clues.

The ground shook slightly and the building groaned with the strain of the battering it had taken. A chunk of plaster and a beam from the ceiling suddenly broke loose and fell. Mia scrambled to get out the window, but the plaster hit her head and the beam fell across her back. It had her pinned to the floor as more plaster rained down, the rubble covering her. One hand reached out the window in a silent plea for help. Glass had broken and her hand was cut, blood slowly seeping down the outside of the window on the wall.

Somehow the fall had triggered the guild stone and the crash of thunder and the pelting rain was pretty much all that was heard. The rain finally put out the fire and the building smoldered a little, mostly steam. The room where Mia was trapped was off to the side and not touched by the fire. As the storm passed gulls could be heard as they searched for food. If someone listened closely they could hear a faint heartbeat, the guildstone rested under her chest, pressed to her solar plexus. She was face down in some rubble with a beam across her back. A very heavy beam, though not crushing her, it held her fast.

Her long days of searching for Cyaer had left her exhausted and weak. Her mind confused and swimming with doubts and fears. She was trapped and the blessed unconciousness kept her silent. She dreamed...running on a beach, screaming his name. "Cyaer!! Where are you?" Rain poured down in her dream and she could hear the crash of surf, or was it thunder?

Would anyone find her? The steady beat of her heart was faint coming from the guildstone. The background of gulls screaming and the faint sound of the sea crashing on the rocks below the Manor. One hand still rested on the windowsill, dripping blood slowly.

Kel'tira Sunblaze

The woman looked exhausted, the darkened room lit only by the alter she knelt before, the candles burning peacefully, and the thick cobwebs in the room lending everything an antiquated feel. It was not a normal morning, for Kel'tira, she was tired, exhausted, her normally pale flesh and almost unhealthy shade of gray as she heaved herself to her feet and moved to sit heavily on the bed, the sheets relinquishing a puff of dust as she sat, heavily, on the hard mattress.

She produced a journal from a bag on the floor, sighing as she brought out her quill and ink and beginning to write slowly.

I am not a healer by nature, I am a protector, but as of late, I have been pestering the healers to teach me some of what they do, so I heal, and, day by day, I have gotten better. Yesterday, my skills were

Kel sets her pen down, reaching for the pouch that contains her guildstone, a faint rhythm emanating from the stone, and she taps it once, "Hello?"

"Is anyone there?"

I hid when I saw the army of various imps, and demons coming towards the manor. And I watched as the three of them (Aseria, the witch, and Viragona) had a power struggle to maintain the rune stone. But it looked as though Viragona had won out, as her imp handed her the box the witch had put the stone in.

I started to move, when the building began to shake and explode from the various fires, and combats that had occurred. But the one thing that caught my attention was a familiar voice yelling out my name...MIa! Mia was here somewhere, and I began to sneak around the manor, looking for her.

I came to the window I had escaped from an searched the grounds. As I came up to the windowsill my heart stopped...no, please, no.

I slipped past the window into the room, and saw my beautiful bride to be pinned by a timber and fallen plaster. And I saw her life's blood all around her. I sought out another timber, something just enough to lift the one pinning her, and began to lever the timber up and away from my wife to be.

I managed to move it enough that Karamia was no longer pinned, but was she still with me, could I save her?

"Mia, Mia, speak to me my love." I searched her eyes for any sign of life, and I began binding what wounds I could with the bandages I carried. I pulled a healing draught out and ready, but she was so still.

"Baby, baby, please, Mia...Mia..."

Kreindis lays in a bed in Brill, shifting in his sleep. He bolts upright, breathing heavily. "Another nightmare..." he thinks, before looking over at the sleeping Tislina beside him. He reaches one arm to the floor and pulls his journal and quill out from his bag, and slowly begins to write.

I made it back from Terokkar... and almost died. Again. The third time this week, I almost died. I have Kel'Tira and Tislina to thank for not doing so. I think I had reached the translocation orb to Silvermoon City in the Ruins of Lordaeron, but I was too wounded to make it through, and they found me bleeding to death on the stone infront of it. Kel healed me a little and took me to Brill, where Tislina, Kel, and I went upstairs in a building. She healed me more, and fell asleep exhausted in a corner. Tislina and I were both tired as well, and fell asleep beside eachother on the bed in the room. Its hard for me to sleep for a long period of time, though... I keep having nightmares. Like what if I had died on the stone in the Ruins of Lordaeron, or when that Arakkoa was about to finish me and Duknai came along. Or if I hadnt managed to escape at the camp when they were going to give me a mercy killing. Or even if it was a long time ago, like when Aseria had me, and the Fellowship didnt come and I was left to be tortured forever. I wonder if Tislina is sleeping well... I cant quite tell. I hope she is...

Kreindis yawned, and closed his journal, putting it back in his bag along with the quill. He closes his eyes again, hoping this time he doesnt open them to a nightmare.