World of Warcraft®

(( A temp title for this, but I needed something. This is the main story I have been working on for Rose (Formerly Fallenrose) for a very long time. It is still not finished and is always changing, but it is close to being finished so I figured I'd give it a shot and see what everyone thinks. I am not as skilled in writing like many here, but know that many of you inspired me to do this and have taken this character farther than I had ever thought possible. If I finish this, it will be the first and only story I have ever completed. So I do hope you enjoy what I have done so far and please mind the errors, there are many heh))

(( Part 1 ))

What have I done?

Rose could only stare into the fire she had caused with barely a thought. The blaze engulfed the schoolhouse within a matter of seconds and the heat caused by her spell could be felt even from where she stood. The fire began to raise high into the air as it gained strength.

Rose looked away while the others watched. There had been many buildings destroyed in the town of Moonbrook that day, but something about this empty school troubled her.

Then there came the screams…

Quickly Rose turned to the school again to see children being guided out of the burning school through a window by a badly hurt teacher. There were only a handful of them escaping from the heat of the fire.

Behind her there came a wicked laugh. Sheknee Tatarus had joined the cause around the same time as Rose. He left the light of Stormwind to join in the pursuit of different ideals. But something happened to change him, his thirst for power grew and his ideas no longer sought to help rebuild what was lost in the war. They only came to gain him power and put fear into the hearts of all who oppose.

Through his ambitions he gained the interest of VanCleef and was made one of his Lieutenants. With the gained rank he only grew in his ruthlessness, taking each mission beyond what was needed. Moonbrook was no exception.

The screams grew louder and Rose looked toward the school again. The teacher who had helped the children out of the building became trapped inside as the roof gave way. “No…what have I done?” Rose said out loud and she turned to Sheknee. “You said the building was empty, that no one would be hurt!”

“It matters not; they are in service to Stormwind and are as corrupt as all those in service of the weak child king.” Sheknee said with sneer. “What happens to these people is none of my concern and nor should it be yours Rose.” The words sunk deep into Roses heart. She looked back to the children as they ran across an open field towards the sea.

“I am not a murderer of children. This is not why I joined this cause.” Rose said as she turned back to Sheknee to face him.

“Not a murderer of children?” He asked with surprise in his voice. “What are you talking about? It was you who…” Sheknee paused shaking his head. “I don’t have time for this, there is still work left to be done here. I do not know what ideas have crept into your mind to give you such thoughts, but you would choose now to defy my orders?”

Rose turned to look over her shoulder to see the children escaping over the hills. Turning back she looked with confidence to Sheknee. “Yes.”

“Then what need do I have for a weak mage who cannot do a simple task?” With a snap of his fingers four stealthed guards appeared around Rose. “If you are too weak to do this, I will do it myself.” Sheknee began to walk in the direction of the children followed by two of his guards. “Kill her; this hunt will only take a moment”

“No! I won’t let this happen!” Rose screamed as she felt the power of arcane forces build up inside of her. With a scream of pain and power, an explosion of arcane power erupted around her sending her would be assassins flying through the air.

Fully charged, sparks could be seen dancing around Rose. Her eyes fully focused on Sheknee.

Sheknee felt the wave of arcane that came from behind and only met it with a smile. Standing with his back to Rose, Sheknee turned his head to look over his shoulder.

“You would dare challenge me? Poor girl, you are not even worth the scraps on my table that I would feed dogs with.” Sheknee said coldly. Snapping his fingers, he motioned the remaining two guards to attack.

Without a word or sound the guards leapt forward, dashing side to side of each other with daggers drawn and death in their eyes.

Rose knew she couldn’t let them slip into the shadows and had to act fast.

The ground around her became frozen as she summoned the elements of ice. Her hands became encrusted in ice as the spell began to take shape. With arms raised, she fired a massive ball of ice towards her targets. With luck, she caught the first of the guards as he tried to dodge it. The second fared better as he received the time needed and faded into nothing.

Not giving into panic, Rose continued her assault. Trying to keep track of her targets movement as she began another spell she stood her ground knowing the guard was nearby. As quickly as the guard disappeared he reappeared only a few feet in front of Rose. With a quick motion in his attack, his dagger was at Roses throat, but could go no farther. Unflinching, Rose had completed her spell with perfect timing.

From the cloud of smoke the guard emerged out and began eating grass. This is natural though for it is what sheep do. Rose chuckled for a moment, but regained her focus on Sheknee who remained where he was when the guards came.

“So it would seem you are not so weak. Perhaps you could stop me.” Sheknee said. “If you defeat me, you will have saved the children, but what then? You are still a murderer, still a traitor to Stormwind. You have no place to go, nowhere that you are safe. Not from me or the kingdom you now attempt to protect.”

Rose couldn’t help but realize his words rang true. “That may be, I may not outlive my sins, but I can redeem my soul with your destruction.” Rose replied as she began to channel the fire from within.

Sheknee began to walk over to Rose.

Building inside her was the great power of flame. The same great power that leveled so many buildings before began to build within her again. An aura of flame surrounded Rose as she gained strength. The ground around her turned to ash as the next spell was being prepared. With eyes of fire, Rose screamed out as she released her most powerful attack. The massive fireball streaked through the air towards its target.

Sheknee made no attempts to dodge it. He continued walking forward, directly in the path of the fireball. Just as it was about to connect, Sheknee raised his left arm. “HAAAAAA!” He cried as he blocked the attack with his hand, deflecting it away. The ball of flame struck the ground at his side causing a haze of smoke. After the dust and debree settled, Skeknee still moved forward with a smirk across his face.

The moment stunned Rose and she began to panic. Channeling all the power she could muster, she unleashed a wave of spells. Ice would not slow him, fire would not hurt him and the arcane that dispatched her assassins only seemed to bounce off his armor. Then she remembered the last guard.

It was her only hope, the last spell that could work. Her hands turned silver as the spell began. Sheknee, still at a walk, saw the spell and made no attempt to hurry his attack.

Now only a few feet away, the spell was complete and Sheknee was engulfed in the same smoke as the unfortunate guard. With a sigh, Rose relaxed for a moment, a moment she would regret.

Out of the smoke emerged a huge gauntlet hand that grasped her throat. The spell had failed and Sheknee had reached her while she was defenseless. Lifting her off the ground with one hand she came face to face with him.

“Did you really think you could harm me with your pathetic spells? I was trained by the best mages and warriors in the defense of such attacks. You could do nothing to me.”

His hand began to squeeze harder as he continued. “To think, with the power you have, you could have done so much for us in the future.” With his hand he forced Rose to look to her right back at the school. “You do great work” he said in a cold tone. As he turned her back to face him, she spat in his eye. Filled with rage, Sheknee brought his other hand across her face. The blow knocked her hard against the burning wall of the school house, scorching her back. With a cry of pain she tumbled forward. There, she is surrounded once again by more guards.

Sheknee bent down to pick up a flower that lay at his feet. Taking it to his nose, he took a breath in to smell its sweetness. Turning back to Rose he said. “When a Rose loses all of its petals, it loses its beauty. That is when it becomes a fallen rose and needs to be cut from the rest. Your time with the Defias is long over and you will be cut away from us…Fallenrose”

As Sheknee walked away, Rose knew her life was over unless she did something to stop it. Summoning the last bit of power she had, she released a wave of ice which held the guards in place. Knowing she only had a few moments; she struggled to her feet and began a teleportation spell. Just as the guards broke free she vanished into nothing.

“Find her; she doesn’t have much power left she couldn’t have gotten far!” Sheknee growled.

Appearing near a pond not far from Moonbrook, Rose struggled to move. Trying to stand all she could do was fall again. She could hear the sounds of an animal sniffing her hair. After all she went through and all that she has done, perhaps this was a fitting end to be eating by wild animals.

“Meatbag, knock that off. Leave her be!” Rose heard the gruff voice of a Dwarf and he came near.

“It would seem you are in a spot of trouble miss. Don’t move we’ll get you out of here.” Turning to the wolf, the hunter spoke in a serious tone. “MB, I need you to take her far from here, run as fast as you can. I’ll stay and set a few traps for our friends here.” The wolf whined at the request and hesitated as the Dwarf helped Rose onto his mount. “Don’t argue with me, I’ll join you at Sentinel Hill, Now GO!” With Rose on his back the large Ram galloped away leaving his master behind followed closely by the large white wolf.

((Ok, this might take long than I thought. I had no idea the kind of posting limits Blizz put on the forums. I reeeally didn't want to break these up into multiple posts like this. Three posts just for the first part and I have 7 more to go...))

I've seen this before, but I love it every time I read it. You've put a lot of thought and work into this character and story. Thank you for sharing this.

*hugs*

Gen

((Part 2))

Archmage Sarken stood in his study waiting for any news from the Stockades. Waiting only moments, a messenger appeared in the doorway. Out of breath, the messenger handed Sarken a crumpled letter. Upon looking at the letter, he looked up smiling as he laid the letter on his desk. The messenger, still waiting to be released, caught a glance at the note and he read only three words….

“She has entered….”

The Warden of the Stockades paced back and forth mumbling to himself. “How could I let this happen?” As he paced, he glanced every few chances at the entrance to the Stockade. That entrance, now fortified and heavily guarded is all that stopped the rioting prisoners from escaping into the city.

In an attempt to save face, he asked for help to any who was willing. The few that have been willing to quell the riot came at a high price. Warriors, Rogues and others seeking adventure or needed money answered the call. Many would go in and most would not return. Those that did were so badly hurt they would in time die from their wounds.

After all of these failed attempts, the Warden began to wonder what the Captain would do to him once he asked for assistance at his own prison. Then he received a note from the Mage Quarter responding to the call for aid. The note stated that they will be sending help as soon as possible and to not be concerned about payment or who was coming.

When she arrived at the Stockade gates, she came alone. Her hair was red and short with two slight rows that curled up around her head. She had the face of innocents but eyes that seemed to be filled with sadness. She was dressed in the standard robes of a Mage and armed with only a staff. Stopping only to say that the Mage Quarter had sent her, she continued on towards the steps leading into the prison.

Two hours had passed since she arrived and the Wardens pace began to quicken as he waited impatiently. “How could they be so foolish to send a single mage? What do they think she can accomplish where so many have failed?”

His thoughts are abruptly interrupted by commotion coming from the entrance to the Stockades. Walking over to see what was going on the Warden looked down the stairs and with straining eyes tried to see anything.

Just then the room began to shake.

An explosion erupted from within the Stockades and screams could be heard deep in the prison. Looking harder into the gate, the only thing they could see was darkness. Though they could not see anything, they only needed to listen to the cries of pain that came out of the blackness.

The explosions that shook the very foundation began to come closer to the gates. The disturbance reached as far as the Mage Tower where Archmage Sarken stayed in his study. The power that came from the Stockades startled him. Concentrating his arcane powers, he put himself into a dream state and traveled to the source. Using his vision he waited by the gate along with the guards and the nervous Warden. Not noticing his presence the guards remained focused on the gate.

Out of the darkness, there came two prisoners. In a panic they began screaming for the guards to protect them as they ran up the stairs. The first of the two prisoners burst into flames and stopped in his tracks while the second, seeing his companion fall, ran harder towards the guards. He would only make two more steps before being engulfed in smoke. When the smoke cleared, a sheep walked passed the guards towards the hay where the horses were kept. Finding an open spot, the sheep layed down and fell asleep.

Turning back to the gate the guards stood ready for anything that came out. Out of the darkness, the lone mage appeared where she stood at the bottom of the stairs. Smoke swirled around her as she looked up at the nervous guards. She walked up the stairs and passed the guards towards the Warden. Stopping, she turned to him and said with little emotion. “Your troubles are now over. The prison is yours again.”

Satisfied with what he has seen the Archmage returned to his study. Sitting in his chair, he turned to his window and looked out. Sensing the presence of someone behind him, Sarken continued to stare outside.

“She is ready for the task she has trained for these past two months. She will be stronger than before since the last time she faced Sheknee. Wouldn’t you agree, Vendo?” He said as he turned to face the stealthed figure in the corner.

Stepping out of the shadows, Vendo came forward and kneeled before Sarken. “Yes, but can she be trusted? One who has obtained so much power in such a short time may be turned to temptation.”

Nodding at the question Sarken replied “This is why I have called for you. I wish to use your skills to monitor her activities as well as those around her. This Dwarf that brought her to us, Wulfgrin, I know very little about him, keep an eye on him as well. If there is anything that even comes close to the hint of betrayal, you are to dispatch of her immediately.”

Turning back to the window he continued. “If she is able to defeat Sheknee, we will be one step closer to her true task. Even then she will need training and we Must continue to keep her in check. I cannot afford to have things fall apart now, is this understood?”

“Understood my Lord.” Vendo responded as he disappeared into the shadows.

Within the Dwarven District, Wulfgrin stared into the Archmage’s room with Eagle eyes, using the Hunters vision; he heard the conversation between the mage and rogue. Taking a sip of his ale, he looked over to his companion Meatbag. “Well my old friend, it would seem our work has become a little more complicated. This Sarken seems to know more about Rose than I do. For now we will play along, though we will need help in the future.”

“Come, the best place to start will be in Booty Bay.”

Grabbing his rifle and ale, they headed out of the door towards his destination.

((Part 3))

Standing in a field of corn, Rose fought her way to get clear. After exiting what seemed like endless rows of corn, she came upon a small village. As she came closer to the village, she began to smell the smell of burning wood. She quickened her pace into a run towards the town. When she arrived she found that the whole town had been burned to the ground.

A gust of wind blew passed her, revealing smoke from a building still burning. Worried, she ran to it. Once she passed the already burned buildings she turned the corner and found what was still burning. It was the towns School house. It was then Rose realised where she was, she was in Moonbrook.

Standing in the street she looked into the school. At first she saw nothing, but then she saw movement on the first floor as someone ran passed the window. She called out to them, but through the flames she could hear nothing. She cried out louder and again no one answered, not even a scream or a cry of pain. Rose couldn’t wait any longer, she had to help somehow.

Just as she was beginning to channel an ice spell, a massive ball of fire streaked pasted her destroying a portion of the building. The blast blew Rose back and knocked her to the ground. As she sat there, she felt the presence of someone next to her. Turning to her right she looked up and her eyes went wide. Standing next to her with complete confidence and calm was, Rose.

The Rose standing next to her turned and looked down to her with a wicked smile. Before she could say anything, the other Rose began to walk towards the burning school house. Without hesitation, the other Rose entered into the fire and walked to the second floor. Rose stood up and looked to see anything in the second floor.

There, standing in the center window was Sheknee and next to him was the other Rose. They stood together and looking down to Rose, smiled with evil intentions. A second explosion hit the school house, pushing Rose back again. Able to stand on her feet this time she looked again into the second floor. There were more people there now, only different.

Sheknee and the other Rose stood where they were, but those that stood beside them were smaller. Rose took a step closer and looked harder and what she saw was horrifying. Those that stood beside them were children. They showed no emotion at all, their eyes were shut and mouths open as if they were screaming, but no sounds came out. Then the children stepped closer to the windows and without making any noise, they all pointed as one at Rose.

Rose began to back away in fear, not knowing what it all meant. Turning, she again faced the school. She turned back again only to see the same school. Every turn she took, she was faced to the school. Falling to her knees she began to cry. All around her now where the children, mouths open and pointing while Sheknee and the other Rose stood by with mocking smiles.

The world began to spin, buildings and faces blended together spinning ever faster until everything turned black. Then after only a few moments, everything went black. She is startled by the sudden wetness that went across her cheek. Waking from her sleep, she found her assailant at the side of her resting place. It stared and wagged its tail in a playful motion, but whined in concern over the startled Rose.

It had been two weeks since Wulfgrin left for Booty Bay to seek help. Before leaving, he left one of his wolves to watch over Rose. The wolf he left was the youngest of the pack and the most light hearted. His fur glowed bright red at the top and faded into a lighter color as if the sun was rising on his back which earned him the name Dawnshadow.

The dreams were getting stronger and worse with each passing day. Dreams of not only Moonbrook, but of other things. Not knowing what any of them meant, they seem to come more frequent the closer she got to Sheknee. It had taken about a week to gather the information needed to track him and now it was only a matter of time till they faced each other once again.

Rose had spent the night in the cold darkness of Duskwood, lying in wait for any sign of Sheknee to appear. The information received had told her of a small Defias hideout in a farm that once belonged to a farmer named Sven. It was there that he was to appear.

From the camp there came more commotion than normal. Dawnshadow let out a low growl which told Rose her wait was over. Slowly crawling up the hill to get a look, she looked down to the farm. A shiver went down her spine as she saw him. After two months of preparing and waiting, now was the time she had waited for, now was…..

“You’ve been waiting so long for me, why down you come out and let me see your face.”

Startled by the sudden response to her presence, Rose didn’t know what to do.

“There is no point in hiding; I know you’re here Rose. Come out and face me if you dare or are you still the weak little mage I humiliated?” Sheknee called out in a laugh.

There was no point in hiding any longer, slowly Rose stood from where she was. Dawnshadow followed close behind. The moment she stood she began to take count of all that was before her. Ten, no fifteen foes stood between her and her target. She began to channel her magic, but held it low until the right moment.

“What is this you have with you? A wolf? Have you become so pathetic and weak that you need dogs to protect you?” He said with a laugh as he shook his head.

“I have been waiting for so long to see you again. Oh the things I have learned about you, I find it fascinating. We will have our chance to talk, but first, I want to see what they have taught you these few months and plus my men have been thirsting for a fight.” Sheknee said with a motion to his men.

Dawnshadow stood in front of Rose in a defensive stance, growling louder. “Stay with me” Rose said as she began to move forward. The Defias attackers began to run towards their prey. Rose’s walk turned into a run as she ran to meet them head on, Dawnshadow following close by.

A Defias mage that ran with the group sensed something was wrong and slowed his pace to let the others run ahead. The charging fighters let out a battle cry as the came closer and closer to Rose. With only a few feet separating them, it looked like it would be a swift kill for the Defias.

Just as they were about to collide, Rose cast the spell she held until now. Taking only a second to cast, she vanished before her attacker’s eyes. Not before releasing a second spell which encrusted them in ice, holding them in place. Not knowing what had happened, the Defias followers looked around and tried to get free. One noticed that Rose had somehow gotten behind them in a blink of an eye.

Once they realised where she was, it was already too late. The stunned fighters had given Rose enough time to complete a chain of spells she had prepared before the fight began. A cloud appeared over the trapped Defias and shards of ice began to pelt them. Faster and faster the shards rained on them, knocking out or killing most in a matter of seconds. After a minute the cloud disappeared and there was a moment of silence.

As Rose turned to face Sheknee, she was greeted by a fireball that hit her directly. The lone Defias mage that stayed behind had prepared an attack of his own. Satisfied with his successful attack the mage relaxed in confidence. Before he could turn, the smoke had cleared and Rose still stood, unharmed by the blast. The blast had been absorbed by a fire shield.

“Th-There wasn’t enough time, there’s no way you could have protected yourself so quickly.” The mage said in shock

Rose only smiled at him and motioned him to try again. The mage began to channel his power to create another fireball. Before the spell could be cast, Rose lifted her hand and countered it. The stunned mage began to run away and with a snap of her fingers he was turned into a sheep.

Sheknee let out a delighted laugh. “My, you have become stronger since the last time. You seem to have a thing for that sheep spell, it’s rather amusing.”

As he laughed, Sheknee stood and let out a whistle. “I have a few new friends I’d like you to meet. I think you will find them a bit more challenging.”

The woods behind Sheknee began to sound as though there were being torn apart. The ground thundered as four massive Ogres appeared beside Sheknee. Along with the Ogres there appeared ten more Defias fighters hidden in the woods.

One of the Ogres led out from the rest and charged towards Rose. Summoning the elements of ice she launched a bolt of ice in an attempt to slow his charge. The bolt hit its target and did nothing to slow his pace. As he charged, the Ogre raised his arm and swung with his massive club. Rose had little time to dodge out of the reach of the blow and was struck in the side. The hit knocked her into a daze which for a moment made her lose her focus on the Ogre.

Seeing his chance the Ogre pressed his attack and charged again. Raising his club once more, the Ogre brought the huge weapon down again. Before it could connect, Dawnshadow lunged at the arm causing the strike to miss. Crying in pain from the bite, the Ogre flung Dawnshadow towards a tree, knocking him out.

Regaining his concentration, the Ogre switched hands and began to raise his uninjured arm, only to stop midswing. His eyes were no longer on his target; they were focused on the lone Dwarf that sat on a boulder on the hill not far in front of him.

“Oh, hi there, don’t be minding me, I’m just watching the fight. To be honest though, so many against just one seems a tad unbalanced.” Wulfgrin said as he puffed on his pipe.

From behind the boulder where Wulfgrin sat, two warriors stepped forward. One taping his sword on his shield, the other warrior drew twin claymores as she made ready to charge. From the other side of the boulder the came a pair of deep growls. Climbing up beside Wulfgrin sat two wolves, one white as snow and the other dark as night itself.

“I’d like you to meet Lorix, a former soldier for Stormwind and Denava a fine warrior of her craft. The two wolves behind me are my old friends Meatbag and Darkpaw. That young one you sent to that tree is a member of their pack and I’m pretty sure they will want a piece of your Ogre friend” Wulfgrin said with a chuckle.

Both wolves gave cold stares at the Ogre standing over Rose, each growling with deep hate and slowly moving forward.

Then there came a high pitched laugh from within the woods. Out of the brush there came a small imp. Coming towards the Ogre at a skip, the little imp stopped at the Ogres feet and looked up. Sticking his tongue out, he kicked the Ogre in the leg. The Ogre clearly unimpressed swung at the imp causing him to run away. As soon as he reached the tree line he shouted upwards.

“Uh Boss, I’m gonna need help with this one.”

Looking up, the Ogre could see a human female standing high on a branch, leaning on the trunk of the tree. The Ogre smiled and in a quick motion brought his club down to strike Rose. Before it could land, the Warlock was in the path of the strike and gently put her hand on his arm.

“You are weak, your arms feel weak and that great strength given to you at birth is no more. You arms are like water and you can lift nothing as I cast this curse on you.” She said looking down.

The Ogre suddenly dropped his weapon and began to flop his limp arms and his eyes began to show of panic.

Looking up into the Ogres eyes she continued. “One of simple mind, look into my eyes and see your fate of a thousand deaths and you will know fear for all that it is in life.”

The Ogres eyes grew wide in terror as he let out a cry and ran back into the forest where he came.

Kneeling down beside Rose, the Warlock helped her up and tossed her some bandages. “Here, you can do this yourself, I’m not in the business of healing, they don’t pay enough.”

“And this here is Frozentears, Demon hunter by trade as well as a mercenary for hire.” Wulfgrin said.

Sheknee stood emotionless, showing little concern.

“Is this all? You think by helping Rose you will change anything?”

“Not in the slightest, I said we were here to add balance to this fight. Rose has you all to herself without interference.”

Sheknee laughed. “As you wish.”

As the two sides readied themselves for the fight to come, Rose readied herself for the fight she had trained for so long.

In the shadows high above the battleground, Vendo stood in silence observing the battle about to unfold. Focused on the mission alone and not concerned with the other players involved, he waits to see the outcome so he can report to the Archmage.

((Part 4))

“There are moments in time where an event or action can change the speed of time. In many battles this can occur, some fights can take as long as ten seconds or less. However in that moment in time the two combatants have no focus on time and the fight can seem to last forever. Between the two each move is calculated, thought out and executed. To those outside of the fight, all they see is the end result.

It is in this moment that you have your advantage to strike faster than that of a normal person.

Sheknee defeated you on the principle that he can stop direct attacks as long as he can see them. I will teach you how to strike in multiple places at once, thus not giving him time to focus his defenses. The one way to do this is to utilize the ability to Blink between places.”

Rose thought of the Archmage’s words as she dodged repeated attacks from Sheknees swift motions. The battle had raged for no more than a few minutes and as the Old Mage had said, it had seemed like an eternity. Firing a few shots of arcane magic as she moved to avoid his sword, Rose could see that her spells were having little effect on Sheknee.

The others were fairing better in their fight with Sheknees Defias fighters. Each fighting their own battle as if it was their own cause to do so even if the fight had nothing to do with them, they still fought on.

While watching the others fight so hard, Rose had forgotten her own battle for a moment and turned in time to dodge another attack that almost connected.

Cursing in frustration Sheknee yelled to Rose “Blast you! Is this all you can do? Fight me dammit or is this the best a puppet of Stormwind can muster?”

Rose stopped moving for a moment to look back to Sheknee “Fine, you shall have what you want” she said as flames began to circle around her.

“At last! Show me what your masters have taught you. Show me the strength that lies within you” Sheknee taunted.

Rose struggled to maintain the massive size of the ball of fire. After a few moments she released it towards her target. As before, Sheknee made no attempts to move and stood in place.

Closer and closer it came and Sheknee stood waiting, smiling. At the last moment, he raised his hand and caught the ball, only this time it began to push him back. Focusing all of his strength, Sheknee began to push back. Sheknee spent so much of his attention towards the fireball in his hands; he failed to notice that Rose was no longer in front of him. It was then he felt the heat of a second fireball coming from behind.

Releasing one hand from the fireball in the front, he caught the second fireball just in time. Crying in pain as the pressure from both fireballs began to weigh heavy in his arms. Just as the two fireballs were about to overcome him, Sheknee gave a desperate final push that stretched his arms. Using the two fireballs, Sheknee catapulted himself into the air leaving the two massive balls of fire to collide into each other. The explosion knocked everyone to the ground, causing all fighting to cease for an instant.

Landing on his feet and falling to one knee, Sheknee began to breath heavy as he took in this moment to rest. Searching through the smoke, he looked around to see where Rose was.

“Well done, they have defiantly trained you better than I had thought. You had better come up with a new strategy, for you will not catch me like that again.” Sheknee said as he stood again.

Emerging from the smoke Rose appeared at a distance in front of Sheknee.

“Ah, so there you are in all of your glory. It felt good did it not? To have me so close to death.” Sheknee said mockingly

“I can see it in your eyes, the bloodlust you once had. There is still a little bit of the old you still in there.” Sheknee smirked

“Tell me, Puppet, how are the dreams?” Sheknee said in a low laugh

Rose stood shocked, she stared at Sheknee with a puzzled look.

“Yes, I know of the dreams. Dreams of things long past. Dreams that make no sense to one who has forgotten their past. They are not dreams, they are memories. Memories of what you were before.”

Rose finally spoke, wanting to know more “What do you mean, what I was before?”

Sheknee chuckled as he came to his feet “It is a common side effect for when a Priest uses a powerful Mind Control spell on a subject. The subject loses all that they were and does the bidding of the controller becoming his or her puppet.”

“That’s not possible, I remember everything, everything I’ve done.” Rose said

“Do you really?” Sheknee said with a smirk.

“Do you remember anything before Moonbrook, before the school? It was you who helped set fire to those buildings and it was you who took pleasure in destroying them all. Then suddenly you stopped at the school and began to care. You destroyed many of those buildings without a care of who or what was in them. You think I’m the bad guy? There were times where your actions scared even me.” Sheknee said

Rose could not believe what she was hearing, could it be possible? Could the dream of the other Rose be actually be her?

Sheknee began to walk closer as he continued. “Do you remember how shocked I was when you said you weren’t a murderer of children? You knew full well there were kids in that school even after the second blast. They took you in that moment to stop you from harming them. They protected the children from You.” Sheknee laughed.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Rose didn’t know what to think. “Who are they? The ones you seem to know that did this to me?”

Sheknee stopped in his place. “Now now, you should know better than that. I can’t go and give away all I know just like that now can I? If you surrender and pledge loyalty to me and I will tell you all you want to know. Otherwise, you will have to defeat me to get it and I don’t see that happening

Looking up to Sheknee she said in a deep tone “I will never be drawn back into the Defias. I will defeat you and drag the truth out of you.”

Taking a mocking bow, Sheknee laughed “Believe what you will, puppet, the next time my hands are around your throat I will not waste time on words.” With that Sheknee broke out into a sprint towards Rose.

“I won’t give you the chance to harm me or anyone again. Your life ends here.” Rose said as she ran to meet him head on.

Once in range, Sheknee swung with his sword at Rose only to hit air. Suddenly she appeared to his right and he swung again, hitting nothing. Then she appeared to his left, again he swung at nothing.

Each time she appeared on his right or left she spoke two words.

At his left…”You Can’t…”

Swinging to his right…”You Can’t…”

She moved so fast Rose seemed to be on all sides at once. Swinging his sword in every direction, Sheknee began to tire, the words slowly driving him mad.

Bringing his sword down with all the force he could he struck out in front of him. Then in a soft whisper from behind he heard “You Can’t Touch Me…”

Before he could get his guard up it was too late, the dagger slipped quietly into his back and he knew it was over.

Staggering forward in disbelief, he dropped his sword and fell to his knees. The ground began to turn crimson as the blood from his wound poured out on the ground. Looking towards the sky, Sheknee seemed to stare at nothing even as Rose came into his view.

“Where magic fails, sometimes it is what you don’t expect that will work.”

Sheknee twisted his blank stare into a smile and looked at Rose. “Kera will be proud of you.” Sheknee laughed weakly.

“Who is Kera?” Rose asked

“Someone of your own blood. Ask the Dwarf, say her name and look into his eyes, he knows of whom I speak. She is your s s sis…..” Sheknee couldn’t finish the sentence and died, but what was said was all that was needed.

“I…I have a sister?” Rose asked to herself. Rose sat down beside her fallen foe, exhausted from all that took place.

The others came over after their battle had finished.

Wulfgrin came over beside Rose and saw the body of Sheknee and said to Rose “It is done then, there is but one task left to do.”

Looking up to Wulfgrin with tears she said “I have a sister. Her name is Kera. What does that mean?”

Wulfgrins eyes showed a spark of interest at the name, but looked away as he spoke.
“I-I don’t know, but I believe I know one who might. We will go to him and he will tell us what he knows by choice or by force.” Wulfgrin said helping Rose to her feet.

Staring into the trees high above, Wulfgrin knew someone was there.

Vendo, relising he had been seen, quietly left and headed towards Sarkens tower to turn in his report on the battle.

(( Part 5))

Vendo hurried faster and faster down the broken road that lead to the Archmage’s hidden tower. With the events unfolding in Duskwood, time was of the utmost importance. Kera was now apart of the picture and Vendo had to warn him. Coming upon a clearing, the tower came into view. It was a simple structure, much like the guard towers throughout the human lands.

There the Archmage waited in his study as usual. Sensing Vendo, Sarken stood waiting.

Trying to catch his breath, Vendo kneeled before Sarken, who motioned him to stand.

“You have traveled a long way in a hurry. I assume you have a message to travel at such a pace.” Sarken said

Rising to his feet, Vendo nodded and spoke.

“The battle is over; Sheknee has been slain by Rose.”

With a smile, Sarken nodded. “Good, with him out of the way we can proceed to…”

Vendo interrupted. “There’s more. Before dying he told Rose about the existence of her sister Kera.”

The previous smile on Sarkens face quickly evaporated. With a worried look he stood.

“It’s too soon; she is not ready to face her. Nor is she ready for the full truth of her past. Were any of the Dwarfs group nearby to hear this?”

Taking a second to answer Vendo said. “No, but Wulfgrin was and based on the information I have on him, there may be another matter to be concerned with.”

Sighing, Sarken looked over to Vendo. “What did you find?”

“Wulfgrin is the last survivor in an explorer clan under the name Shadow Wolves...”

Sarken looked puzzled; he had heard that name before. “Shadow Wolves? What do you know?”

“The Shadow Wolves were a small explorer group that worked exclusively with wolves in their party. They were not a very well known group by reputation, but what is known is what caused their near complete destruction save for one Dwarf, Wulfgrin Longhowl.” Vendo said.

“About six years ago, the Shadow Wolves were exploring around the Dark portal hoping to find treasures, but what they found instead would be death.”

Sarken thought hard and then looked up at Vendo. “Six years?” Sarken looked down again as what he said next made his voice crack. “Kera…”

Vendo continued. “Kera was there attempting to enter the Dark Portal but was interrupted by another. A battle followed which drew the attention of the Dwarves. The reports after are mixed, but after their arrival, the dwarves were destroyed and Kera and her opponent had fled the scene leaving a broken Wulfgrin for dead.”

“And now he wants revenge for his clan.” Sarken said in a sigh.

Looking over to Vendo, Sarken asked. “And what of the others?

“Lorix is nothing more than a deserter from his unit in Warsong Gulch who is in search for the family that took him in. They were believed to be taken by the Defias two years ago. With Wulfgrin, he hopes to mount a rescue to find them in the Deadmines. Denava is his sister who learned the sword from her father while Lorix was away. Frozentears, otherwise known as Fairuza Tearius is a medium level Warlock and part of a demon hunter squad hunting for the demon that killed her parents. Works also in part as a mercenary, she is here only for the money.”

“So Wulfgrin is the only direct link to Kera. Is he aware of what we have planned for her?” Sarken asked.

Before Vendo could speak, there came a rumble in room. From behind Sarken a portal opened and two blood elves emerged from the arcane doorway. Then a third figure stepped through the portal. Sensing the right moment, Vendo slipped into the shadows.

She stood in front of the portal, her long black hair blowing in the wind created by the force of the portal. Looking around the room, she drew her attention to Sarken who was stood frozen by the shear power that radiated from her.

“You know, you should really be more careful who you give these things to.” She said tossing the still smoking teleportation rune on the floor.

Looking at Sarken with a smirk she spoke. “You will no longer need to worry about what is important anymore. So, if you would please. Tell me where Rose is.”

Sarken, still frozen in fear, saw that her left hand began to glow ice blue and was growing in strength at a rapid pace.

“Kera, you know I can’t tel….”

Interrupting, Kera held her left hand up. “That’s not the answer I was looking for, but it is what I was hoping to hear from you.” Kera smiled as she launched an Ice Lance through Sarkens shoulder pinning him to the wall.

“Now, I’m going to ask politely only once more and please lie to me all you want, I do have all day for this.” Kera said as she powered a second Ice Lance. She paused in her casting and Sarken watched as her eyes shifted to her left. Smiling, she looked back to Sarken.

“It would seem I will not have to look far. Which does not bode well for you I’m afraid. Pity, I had hoped to chat longer with you.” Kera said.

(())

A child, no more than an toddler, could be heard crying the dark. The image of a women standing over the bed looking down at the small child came into view. A few moments later there is silence and then a shriek.

“Rose, wait; you don’t understand…” the woman’s voice is heard saying.

Then there is an extreme heat that is felt all around. Then a scream…

“Rose! Stop, please!”

Rose opened her eyes at that moment.

Dreams, nightmares, memories; they were one and the same, but still made no sense. Sheknee spoke of the dreams of the past as though he knew more than he said and now the revelation of a sister, one whom Rose could not remember.

As they rode side by side, Rose noticed Wulgrins silence during the trip to Sarkens tower. Something about the past fight troubled him. The moment Kera’s name was said she saw his mood change, just as Sheknee said. Rose couldn’t help but feel as though the hunter knew something, but wouldn’t speak.

He said nothing to the others as they continued on. Getting closer to Sarkens tower, answers to many questions for Rose were close at hand.

All of the things Sheknee spoke of during the fight worried Rose. The possibility of being Mind Controlled to stop her from killing those children in that school haunted her feelings.

She couldn’t believe that in her heart she would do something so horrible. But then she recalled that Sheknee said she showed the same bloodlust in her eyes as she had back then. Rose couldn’t help the fact that what he said was true. With each battle, she felt the need to unleash a power that had been held back.

A power that felt unnatural and somewhat refreshing. The thrill of releasing such power at will was becoming addictive, she wanted more. But after each fight that feeling would fade and a feeling of regret would take over.

Rose hated that feeling, the feeling of a thirst for power that was beyond her reach. She didn’t know what to expect when they reached the tower. Sarken was the one who trained her for those two months, he must have answers. Wulfgrin seems to know that he will.

As the tower came into view, Rose felt something, something powerful. Looking over to Wulfgrin and then the others, she noticed that Faruzia had the same look. Rose could tell she felt it as well.

The feeling was very familiar to Rose. It felt close, not in the same meaning as it would in terms of distance. No, it struck her heart.

Once they reached the base of the tower, Rose vanished from her mount and appeared in the doorway.

Wulfgrin, startled yelled out. “Rose! Wait!”

…”Rose, Wait!”…

These words rang in her ears as if church bells had struck next to her. Brushing the feeling aside, Rose continued on. Whatever was at the top of the tower had to be a connection to her.

Stopping at the door, Rose hesitated. Putting her hand on the door, she slowly pushed it open. The door seemed to take forever as the light in the room illuminated where Rose stood. The room had been destroyed. Furniture, papers and books lay broken and torn, scattered all over. There was a sense of calm in the room. In the face of such destruction, calm made Rose uneasy.

Then she saw her. Sitting on Archmage Sarkens desk was a woman; smiling with a slight smirk staring at Rose.

“It’s been awhile Rose, come here and give your big sister a hug.” She said with arms outstretched.

Trembling a little, Rose uttered. “…Kera?”

Confused at the question to whom she was, Kera walked closer to Rose. Now standing face to face, Kera looked over Rose as if inspecting her. Then she looked into her eyes and the stare was deep.

After a few moments, Kera stepped back and quietly asked. “You don’t know me, do you?”

Looking down ashamed, Rose replied. “No.”

Angrily, Kera walked back to the desk and shouted.

“What did you do?! Do you have any idea what problems this will cause?!”

Rose, unsure who she was yelling at, instinctively looked up. Taking a step back in surprise, she saw Sarken, pinned by multiple shards of ice on the ceiling.

Looking back at Kera, she found it hard to speak. Kera looking back, replied to the obvious question.

“Believe me, he had this coming and now that I know what he did I can say this is something you don’t understand.”

“…Don’t understand.”

More words from her dream struck as hard as before. Just then Wulfgrin and the others finally arrived next to Rose.

Wulfgrins face twisted to a look of pure hatred as he entered the room. Reaching for his rifle, he called out.

“Kera! I’ve waited six long years for this moment. You will not leave here this day.”

Taking aim at Kera, Wulfgrin was oblivious to anyone else around him, especially to the now frantic Rose.

Rose, now at the moment to get answers for everything, was about to see it fade away. She tries to yell to Wulfgrin.

“Wait, Wulfg…”

Wulfgrin fires.

((Part 6))

Time seemed to move slow as the air filled with such tension. The shot fired from Wulfgrins rifle sounded like a thousand cannons being fired at once. The bullet moved through the air in slow motion as it came closer and closer to its target.

There was no time to move, no chance to talk things over. A bullet with death written upon it soared towards Roses sister Kera. Kera herself did not move, she stood in place emotionless and focused.

Rose closed her eyes as the bullet struck home hitting its intended target. The bullet found its mark, but there was no cry of pain, no sound at all in the room. Only an eerie stillness.

Rose opened her eyes and looked towards Kera, who still stood in place. There was a small object floating only inches from her face. The bullet had stopped in its tracks and was incased in ice. The bullet fell to the floor and Kera let out a sigh as she looked towards Wulfgrin.

“Before you continue this display, you must know something. Regardless if you believe me or not, it was not I who killed your people. The one responsible is the same one who used you and Rose to get to me.” Kera said.

Wulfgrin snorted in disgust. “Your lies will not fool me. I know what I saw that day, I saw you there.” He said dropping his rifle.

Kera watched as Wulfgrin pulled a pair of claw weapons from his bag. “Yes, I was there, but I was not alone. You and your people had been defeated by another, one who came to stop me. He came to silence me and wanted no witnesses. I would say ask him yourself, but being dead limits that.” She said pointing to Sarken.

Wulfgrin, not changing his focus from Kera said nothing as he put on the claws.

“Look at him; you’ve seen his face before. Had he known you were alive that day, he surely would have killed you. Instead you brought him Rose and he saw an opportunity and that is the only reason you are still alive. He had planned to use both of you to get to me.”

Shaking his head, Wulfgrin readied himself. “Your vile tongue, so full of lies. I will not believe an ounce of your words. Whether you defend yourself is your choice, I’m coming anyway.

Wulfgrin put his hands together and spoke words in his Dwarven language. Once he finished speaking the words he dropped to his hands and knees. Looking up slightly he spoke. “Now learn what it means to be a hunter among the Shadow Wolves. We do not fight as master and pet, we fight as one, as a pack after prey. Our wolves are our family, considered brothers by blood.”

The words he spoke came as a deep growl grew from deep inside. Kera watched as the two wolves with him began to grow in size with a dark glow of red surrounding them. Biting and scratching at the ground as if in pain from the change in size. She then noticed their eyes; through the pain they remained focused on her. Their eyes had turned blood red and were filled with such hate.

Turning back to Wulfgrin, Kera saw he was going through a change as well. His size remained the same, but he glowed as the wolves did, his eyes filled with the same hate. Coming to his feet again, Wulfgrin stared at Kera calmly.

Wulfgrin turned to Rose. “Rose, I’m sorry.” Shifting to his right, he looked at the wolves. “Meatbag, Darkpaw…go.” He said softly.

Both wolves exploded into action, surging forward at such a speed, the ground they stood on broke into splinters.

Kera, surprised at the speed of the wolves now coming towards her, cast a shield of ice around herself. Her arms extended out to her sides as she closed her eyes. A few words could be heard under her breath as she stood there.

Both wolves, focused on their prey, continued on moving side to side of each other. As they came closer, Kera opened her eyes and in the same motion, brought her hands together in a clap. From that clap a blast of arcane shot towards the pair and began to expand as Kera slowly separated her hands forcing the shot to grow larger.

Seeing no chance to avoid it, the wolves lowered their heads and in a show of power, broke through the blast. Slowed only a moment, they pressed on, closing in on Kera.

Kera lowered her arms and sighed. “I see now.” She said to herself.

Her hands began to encrust in ice as she channeled the element of frost. Before she could begin her attack, she caught a glimpse of movement high to her left. Moving with the speed of a cheetah, Wulfgrin had somehow climbed high towards the ceiling and leapt off the wall down to where Kera stood. Kera cast a short teleport to avoid the blow as Wulfgrin came crashing down onto the desk reducing it to splinters.

Reappearing feet away, Kera turned to fire at Wulfgrin as he emerged from the rubble. Failing to notice she had teleported in the path of the charging wolves, Kera is rammed with such a force, it sends her slamming into a bookcase. The ice shield protecting her shattered as it froze the two wolves in place.

Climbing out of the bookcase, Kera spat blood on the ground. “Fine, I tried to go easy and tell you the truth. You had your chance.” She said nodding to her companions.

Coming to one knee, Kera began to draw a symbol on the ground. Taking her left hand, she placed her palm on the symbol. The room shook slightly and the air became cold and damp. Then from the symbol on the ground an elemental of water took form.

Faruzia, Denava and Lorix made their own preparations. Lorix stood ready with sword and shield, focused on the elves that came with Kera. Faruzia reached into her bag and tossed a crystal shard on the ground. “Father, protect me…Rise Zengresh!” She yelled and from the shard a Voidwalker appeared.

Kera looked up at the warlock as she yelled. “Did she say ‘father’? It can’t be…” She said to herself. Looking to her left, Kera motioned for the blood elf mage to attack.

As Faruzia and Lorix stepped forward to fight, they are intercepted by the young blood elf mage. Shaking her head as she stood before them, she spoke. “This is not your fight, leave…NOW!”

With her yell, the mages eyes burned with fire as a blast of fire came at them in a wave. Lorix braced himself with his shield as Denava stood behind him while Frozen stood in place, eyes looking at the fire coming to them. “F-father, help me.” She whispered.

The Voidwalker stood between her and the fire. Turning his back to the fire, he put his arms around Faruzia as the blast struck them. The blast forced both out of the entrance to Sarkens room.

As they gathered themselves, they could see through the door where the mage stood. In a playful smile, she waved to them as she fired another blast, destroying the entrance.

Through the commotion at the entrance, the elemental made its way to the immobilized wolves. The wolves seeing this began to frantically bite at the ice with their powerful jaws. Wulfgrin and Kera also continued to assault each other with all they had while Keras companions stood by the destroyed entrance.

All had forgotten Rose, who had been standing shaken by all that was taking place around her. Unsure what to do, she felt numb and out of focus to everything around her, until a blast of ice misplaced brushed past her head. The cold feeling woke her and the dream she though was not happening became all too real now.

She watched Wulfgrin and Kera continue fighting and deep inside Rose began to build in anger.

Kera using multiple teleports, moved quickly around the room firing blasts of ice at the slowing Hunter. Wulfgrins speed from the start began to slow as the spells used to increase his attacks were wearing off.

He dodged as much as he could until finally one of Keras blasts moved too fast for him and found its target. Wulfgrin fell to the ground and rolled to the center of the room. Rolling on his back, he looks up to see Kera standing over him with an ice lance formed and aimed at his head. Shifting his eyes left and right, Wulfgrin spotted his rifle within reach and in a quick motion, grabbed it as Keras lance missed.

Rolling on his back again, Wulfgrin aimed his rifle and pulled the hammer back to fire. As he pulled the trigger to fire, an object swiftly blocked his path and stood between him and Kera. Rose, with one hand in front of Kera and the second in the path of the rifle, stood before them. In one motion, she placed her left hand onto the muzzle of Wulfgrins rifle and froze it causing the gun to jam. Her right hand unleashed a cone of frost which blew Kera away from her.

Once the two had been separated, Rose turned her attention to Wulfgrin, who was still lying on his back. Rose waved both hands in a slicing motion on both sides causing a wall of fire to appear on each side, separating Rose and Wulfgrin from everyone else.

Looking up to Rose, Wulfgrin looked over Rose whose very presence was different from when they had first met. The Rose before him was not the same and he feared for his life. As their eyes met, Wulfgrin started to see an object begin to form above Rose. She leaned closer to him and spoke.

“Until now, I have followed you and trusted you because you had saved me. I trusted you when you said you would find answers I sought. Now, when all I want is at hand, you would without question attack the very thing that would answer everything. You would attack my Sister! I will not sit by and let you do this. I will kill you before you betray me and take away my family!”

As she stood again, Wulfgrin watched as the object above her head took the shape of a dragon. The eyes of the dragon shined brightly as it opened its mouth. Following in dragons motions, Rose also opened her mouth and took a deep breath. A glow from within her throat began to rise as she lend forward again towards Wulfgrin. Before the fire could escape her mouth, a wall of ice appeared in front of her absorbing the blast. Rose then felt a sharp object pressing on her neck as well as a hand on her shoulder.

“That’s quite enough Rose. I think he gets the point and there is no need to take this any farther.” Kera said quietly.

The dragon above Roses head began to disappear as well as the walls of fire in the room. Once the fire had died out, Rose fell to the floor unconscious. Lowering her hand, Kera breathed easy and let the ice lance fall to the floor as she turned to Wulfgrin.

“My, a Dragons Breath. A very nasty spell if she were to hit you with it, I’ll need to remember that next time. I think you and I need to talk before she wakes up again. I will tell you everything you want to know and what you need to know as you and those with you are now involved.” Kera said looking to Rose again.

“We have much to catch up on and I don’t think she will be able to handle some of what I will tell her, but there is no time now...” Kera said pausing.

“…Celesa is alive.”

((Part 7))

She stared into her hands, studying them thoroughly. They were small, delicate and fragile. They were hers and no one else’s and with them she could create such power that it excited her.

“Have you decided what you want to do?” A voice said coming into her room. The voice belonged to her father. Smiling, she looks up to him and her expression seemed to glow.

“Did you see? Did you see what I can do? It was so pretty, blue and red and even sparkle. I want to do it again, be just like Rose and Kera!” She said barely able to contain herself.

Marico smiled “And you will one day, but you must choose what you want to train as your sisters have. Rose has a talent for fire and Kera's strength lies in frost.”

“But I want to do all of them; I can already do this…” She said holding up her hands. For a moment nothing happened and Marico began to say something, but then noticed her how hard she was concentrating and then he saw it. It was small, but slowly growing in size, a small ball of arcane formed in her hands almost perfectly.

“T-that’s really wonderful! When did you…” He started to say, but to his amazement, he saw a flame form within the ball. His eyes grew wider as a ball of ice formed within and circled the flame. He then looked at her and she was perfectly calm.

“This is not possible, how are you doing this?” He asked with his voice cracking.

Dropping her hands, she looked up at Marico and smiled proudly. “I thought it would be hard, but I did what Rose and Kera did. I watched and watched and did the things they did while they trained. They would close their eyes real tight and a bright light would flash in their hands. I did that too, but all I got was the pretty white light. Rose got red and Kera got blue and I thought if I tried real hard I could get all three!”

Marico stood with frightened look on his face. Looking into his daughters eyes he could tell it was upsetting her. Giving an unsettled smile to comfort her, he placed his hands on her cheeks and gave her a light kiss on the forehead.

“You wonderful child, you have made me so very proud. That indeed was very pretty, now I must leave and tell your mother what you can do! I am so proud of you.” He said as he slowly closed the door to her room.

“My dear daughter, you are meant for great things. You will grow to be very powerful, grow up and be strong…

…Celesa.”

“…Lady Celesa?”

Celesa looked up from her hands. The night air hid them in darkness, hiding the burns and scars that now covered them. A reminder of her past, a night that would never leave her.
She hadn’t changed since the night of the fire, her body never ageing though she grew mentally. A side effect of the cursed experiment that tossed her into this world. The world that would see her physically as a child, the image left from the night she died in the fire. Though even in death, she had the power to cheat it as the experiment had given her a second chance. A chance to avenge herself and the other fallen children.

She looked to her companion Protius Lyrius, an old priest that had pulled her from that very fire and had been with her ever since.

Protius looked to her and smiled “We have arrived to the location of the battle, though it seems we are too late and she has left. The Defias apparently stood no chance against her.”

Celesa looked over the battlefield carefully, sniffing the air once and a while. “No, she did not do this alone, she had others with her.” She paused a moment sniffing again. “A Dwarf, smelly thing with a smell of dogs, no, wolves with him. A smell of metal from a pair of warriors and a familiar smell, one I cannot place, but has fel magic within. They fought these men, Rose fought alone against one.”

She scanned the area until her eyes fell upon the body of Sheknee. She smiled at the sight and skipped over playfully to it. Standing before the body, she knelt down and placed a hand on his head. Closing her eyes, she whispered words Protius could not understand.
Opening her eyes again, she smiled and stood pointing at the body.

“Yes, he will do nicely! I want this one brought back!” She said turning to Protius.

Protius frowned and looked at the body. “But he was beaten by her, what help could he provide if he cannot stand to Rose?”

Celesa paused a moment then looked up at the old priest. “You are bold to question my request, but I suppose it is fair.” She said looking back at the body.

“He knows her, more importantly, he knows about her and what we have gone through. He may not have the strength to face her, but he does have the ability to be a haunting reminder of her past. A devil in her ear that cannot be silenced or destroyed. If we give him that power, he could become a weapon not of power, but of the mind. Something right now she is unsure of and could easily be swayed. Yes, I want him, I want him now.”

Nodding with a slight bow, Protius walked slowly over to the body of Sheknee. Placing his hands on his head and back he spoke the words of the Light. A golden glow covered the body until it was too bright to see. After a few moments, Protius stopped speaking and slowly stood before the body. The light faded away and the darkness of Duskwood quickly took over again. Minutes pass with no movement from the body and the frustrated sighs from Celesa began to get louder.

Not wanting to provoke his master, Protius gave the body a swift kick in the ribs. “Get up blast you! We haven’t got all night!”

After the kick there came a cough, then a desperate gasp for air followed by a grown of pain from the kick to the ribs. Sitting up slowly, Sheknee looked around in amazement, his eyes finally seeing the old form of Protius. Slowly standing, Sheknee grabbed his sword to help him stand. Looking at the old priest, he smiled slightly.

“I suppose I have you to thank? What do I owe for such a service?”

Protius smiled and moved to stand next to Celesa. “Service is indeed what we seek. Your debt will be to serve your new master.”

Sheknee studied the priest carefully, taking in every feature. “You? Don’t make me laugh. You look like you are barely able to stand on your own. Besides I serve no one.”

Protius put his hands up in a dismissive manner. “You misunderstand; I am not to be your master…” He said pausing to point to the child next to him. “…She is.”

Sheknees eyes looked down to the priests left to see the child and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I serve no man and I most certainly do not babysit children. You who gave me life should at least know that much about me.” He said turning slowly.

His eyes filled with anger, Protius stepped forward. “You will not disrespect Lady Celesa, stand and obey!”

Stopping, Sheknee turned and lightly laughed again. “Lady Celesa you say? Your lady is nothing more than an infant and I am no child’s plaything to be danced around for their amusement. Now if there is no further business, I have a mage to hunt.” He said turning again away from the old priest only to have the child stand in front of him.

Giggling slightly she spoke. “And this is why I wanted you of all these fallen men. You are driven to one purpose, one goal. You seek the one called Rose do you not?”

Looking down at her he couldn’t understand what he was feeling, but there was something about this child that seemed unnatural.

“You speak quiet well for one of your age. How do you know Rose?” He said feeling uneasy.
Looking up at him she motioned him to lean closer for a whisper. Doing so, Sheknee knelt down and leaned closer.

In a hushed whisper she spoke. “I am much older than I look and Rose is my sister…”

Standing quickly, Sheknee backed away slowly making sure his sword was in reach. Regaining his senses he calmed down and faced her again. “And you believe that is supposed to unsettle me, scare me into serving you? You are still nothing more than a child.”

Shaking her head in disapproval, Celesa skipped over to Protius. “For someone who was just brought back to life through my kindness, you sure are ungrateful. You are mine now to control and I will control you. What I offer is power. Serve me and you will have power enough to destroy kingdoms. I have already given you a small portion as you no doubt felt already when you came near me. So long as I live you will have it and more should I wish you to have it. That is what you hunger for is it not? Rose killed you so easily, shamefully. Wouldn’t you like to return the favor?”

Picking up his sword, he rested the blade on his shoulder. “Power is what I seek, but I will not be a child’s pet to get it. You can keep your “power” and your crusty priest; I will do as I please.” He said walking away.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Celesa frowned. “You don’t seem to understand, but if you insist on defying me then I have no choice but to punish you.”

Sheknee slowed his pace as he began to feel that unnatural power that he felt earlier standing next to the child. Turning slowly, he faced them again and both the priest as well as the child were still there, only the child seemed to be changing.

The change was massive, Sheknee backed away slowly, unable to take his eyes off of her. In his many years of fighting he had gone so long without showing emotion that would affect his abilities. However, there was one emotion surfacing that he hadn’t felt in all of his life. Even as the shadow from the thing that stood before him now covered him, he tried to fight it. It was then in that moment he learned that this emotion would not be denied or hidden away. This one would dominate everything else in the presence of this, this “child”…

…Fear

The things that followed could not be seen by anyone other than those who were there as well as the ghosts that haunted the night. Even the screams that filled the air would draw no attention and would just be another sound of horror in the darkest forest in Azeroth, Duskwood.

((Part 8))

He sat quietly in the corner puffing on his pipe. His wolves at his feet licking their wounds from the day’s battles. The old dwarf stared across the room at the sisters. Rose still lay unconscious as Kera sat beside her with a look of concern. Feeling his gaze Kera looked over to Wulfgrin and moved to sit beside him, much to the displeasure of the wolves.

“Forgive them; they still do not trust you and I must say that even I need better convincing.” He said.

Sighing softly she looked toward Rose again. “I suppose I owe you that much, but this will have to start from the beginning.”

“Rose and I grew up in the farmlands of Westfall with our younger sister Celesa. Our parents weren’t wealthy, but we were well off. Father worked as an apprentice for a then unknown arch mage in the experiments department. This mages name would later be known as Sarken.” She said nodding to the body of the mage now on the floor.

“Working with him kept our father away for many days leaving us to train ourselves. I was able to apply to the mage academy in Stormwind where I was able to further my training in frost. What I learned I tried to teach Rose, but her control of her fire abilities was unstable and her concentration was lacking. She was still too young to fully understand her powers and her emotions still too immature. Much of her focus was to Celesa and the games they played. She adored her and their connection to each other was very strong. I suppose I should have understood that better back then as our father and I were always away and mother was too busy to spend time with them. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t gone to Stormwind and just stayed with them. Maybe some of this could have been avoided.” She said staring at Rose

“I don’t even think she will be able to remember who she even is.” She said sighing softly.
Looking back to Wulfgrin she continued.

“Months had passed at this pace, she learned what she could from me and though it was slow going, she did learn a lot. Then one day our father returned home after being gone for several weeks working with Sarken. He looked tired and pale as though he had been working without eating or even gifted with a glimpse of sunlight. He said they were working on an experiment funded by the nobles that required them to work in secret. They were in the final stages and the time had come for testing specific subjects. Ten families were chosen for the testing, but it was the children who would be tested. Thirteen in all, they would go one by one to take part in the experiment. Father assured us that there was no need for concern for our safety and that the test was very safe. Rose, Celesa and I were among those chosen for the experiment, though Celesa was far too young to do the test so she remained off the list. Or so we thought.”

Wulfgrin puffed on his pipe in thought. “There is no test that would be approved by nobles that would involve human trials. What kind of experiment was this?”

“You’re right, there isn’t a test they would approve for humans, at least if they were told it was being tested on animals. The nobles involved were misled into believing the tests were being done on large animals, but would not be allowed to view the progress. The experiment itself was to be a splicing of powers. I do not know the full details, but the goal was to take the powers of a fallen demon and combine it with the powers of those in tune with arcane. Mixing the powers of shadow and arcane could give birth to a new power, one controlled. Fel magic is wild and hard to control, warlocks spend their entire lives battling to control the powers they try to use and their power is just a fraction of the power of a true demon. Mix that power with the control of strong mage…” Kera pauses at the thought.
“And you get a weapon.” Wulfgrin said

Kera nodded and continued. “The tests began and one by one the children sent in came out unchanged. Some would have small changes, burns on their skin, hair changing color; some even either gained a small boost in their power or lost them completely.”

Before she continued, Wulfgrin interrupted. “Why were children chosen to begin with? I would think they would want those who were better trained and could handle the strain of such changes.”

“Because of the raw potential of the child, the power is there, but not yet in check. A younger generation tends to learn faster than their elders which unlock the chance to tap into that raw untamed power. The hope I believe, was that by mixing the powers at an early age increases the chance they would be more easily absorbed by the child. The mixed powers would then be treated as though they were always there and could be mastered normally. Trying to mix them to an adult would prove useless as the more refined training of the arcane would dominate the fel magic and not mix at all.