| Posted By WhatUrMuva on 9/27/03 @ 9:42:07 PM |
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Lady Rashadiel Starflower, a Priestess of the Moon, led her small band of warriors through the forest trail. She was weary from negotiations that had taken place with a Human warlord that day. One of her Huntress' walked her tiger up to Rashadiel. "Milady, I feel eyes watching us." She said, looking around the forest. Before Rashadiel could answer, Undead burst from the forest walls. The attack couldn't even be called a battle, more of a slaughter. Archers and Huntress' tried to fight back, but the Undead had them out gunned. Every time a Night Elf died, a necromancer resurrected her as a skeleton. Soon, Rashadiel was the only one left, fighting off as much as she could. Her silver tiger, Ururocco, swiped at them with his mighty paws, but that didn't help much. A Death Knight parted the attacking force and gloated over the severely wounded Priestess. "Well, well, well, what have we here? A lone Night Elf, all by herself in these dangerous woods?" the corrupted man smirked. Rashadiel spat in his face and knocked another arrow. "Go back to the Hell you came from, bastard." She loosed the arrow, which burst into a searing bolt of magic energy. The death knight dodged, and the bolt slammed into a necromancer's face. The bolt exploded and took the head with it. The knight looked back at Rashadiel and drew his sword. "I was going to let you have an honorable death, but now I think I'll let your tormented soul serve me for all time." "I don't think any of that will be happening." A new voice rose from behind the group. The death knight turned and his eyes widened in shock. A Demon Hunter stood in the trail, many Undead lay slain at his feet. His two double blades were dripping blood. The Death Knight turned and charged at the Demon Hunter. As he neared, the Hunter sidestepped and cut the undead horse out from under the knight. The knight fell to the ground, and was impaled on the Demon Hunter's blade before he could recover. Rashadiel watched the rogue Night Elf destroy the remaining undead with quickly fading vision. When the battle was done, the Demon Hunter calmly walked over to the down priestess and picked her up. Rashadiel made to resist but was silenced by the Hunter. "Save your strength. Your wounds are deep and if you aren't healed soon you may not make it." The Demon Hunter moved through the forest and eventually stopped. Rashadiel looked around and saw they were in a clearing. In the center of the clearing was a Moon Well. It was well known that Moon Wells held the power to heal those in need. The Demon Hunter laid Rashadiel down and removed her clothes. Despite being weak, the priestess protested this action. "WHAT in the name of Elune do you think your doing?!" she shrieked, blushing deeply and trying to cover herself. The Demon Hunter lifted her up and carried her into the well. "The healing powers will be more effective if you are unclothed, so calm down. This is for your own good. If you're worried about me peeking I'll be meditating while you heal. He placed her down and turned to leave the healing waters. Rashadiel was falling asleep because of the well's powers, but before she did, she called out to him. "At least give me your name!" the Demon Hunter paused. He turned and looked at the priestess. "Elyk Ragerunner." He turned again and left the well. As Rashadiel slipped into sleep, she mumbled one last sentence. "Elyk Ragerunner. I thank you, and am in your debt." _____________________________________________________________________ Elyk sat near the well, meditating. True to his word, he didn't peek at Rashadiel while she was asleep. She had been infected by the virus usually spread by Undead Meat Wagons and Abominations, so the well's powers would take longer then usual to heal her. He stood up and glanced toward the sleeping priestess. Her wounds were almost sealed up, but Elyk could still sense the virus within her. Elyk remembered the last time his travels had shown him a victim of the virus. It slowly ate away a person's flesh, and when they died, the soulless bodies rose to fight for the Undead Scourge. Elyk knew that the well would kill the virus before it became serious, so he wasn't worried. Elyk's eyes wandered over Rashadiel's form, taking in her traits (A/N: heh heh heh, damned hormones). He caught himself and turned away, blushing slightly. Several hours passed and Rashadiel still hadn't woken up, so Elyk decided to pass the time with a training session. He picked up his blades and began to perform something similar to a kata (A/N: for those who don't know, a kata is like a dance that martial artists use to stretch out muscles and limbs before a work out). After the kata, Elyk focused pulled 3 brown stone tokens a pouch near the well. He then tossed the three tokens around him and focused on the power locked within each one. After a second, the tokens turned into mud golems and attacked Elyk. He dodged the first one and jumped over the second, landing on the thirds shoulders. Bringing his right blade down in an arc, he sliced through the golem, taking the creatures head and right arm off. The Demon Hunter then pushed off the golem, causing it to lose its footing and fall down. Elyk performed a back flip and landing perfectly on his feet. The second golem turned and grabbed Elyk in a bear hug, while the other one winded up a punch. When the golem threw its fist at Elyk's face, the Demon Hunter sucked in his breath and slipped out of the second golem's grip. The punch landed solidly on the golem's face, smashing it in. Elyk crouched down and did a spin kick that knocked the first golem off its feet. While he was spinning, Elyk brought on of his blades into play and cut the legs off the golem that had been holding him, causing the creature to also fall to the ground. Elyk jumped to his feet and stabbed the remaining golem in the face, killing it. The Demon Hunter wasn't even breathing hard, so he concentrated on the dead piles of golem. Soon the three piles of remains began to tremor, and they rolled together into one massive pile, which grew into a stone golem. The creature attacked faster then Elyk thought it would, and it grabbed the Night Elf in both is fists and squeezed. Elyk grit his teeth in pain, but remained calm. He concentrated on his inner strength and burst into green flames. The golem dropped him and Elyk went berserk. When he was finish, pebbles remained from the monster. Elyk got his intended results, as he was breathing quite hard. He heard a clapping behind him and turned to see Rashadiel dressed and out of the well. "Immolation, very smart." Rashadiel said, petting Ururocco. Elyk felt annoyed at having a spectator, but something kept him from getting angry. He actually felt relieved that Rashadiel had healing fine. He sensed that the virus had been totally killed, and that made him happy. "I didn't think you'd be healed by now." Elyk said, walking over to the well and drinking out of its cool waters. The exercise had left his throat parched. Rashadiel laughed softly. "Well, they always said I was a survivor. Tell me, Elyk, what were you doing when you found me?" Rashadiel asked, absent mindedly scratching her tiger's ear. Ururocco leaned his head towards the side and purred, that was his favorite spot. "I was just wandering from Grove to Grove (A/N: a Grove is a Night Elf city, for those who are new to War3). Nobody would let me stay for more then a night at a time. They were too worried I would let myself be corrupted like Illidan was." Elyk stood and wiped his mouth. "I knew this would happen the day I became a Demon Hunter, but I was willing to accept the abuse and loneliness if it meant I could better protect our people." Rashadiel nodded and looked into Elyk's eyes. "That's noble of you. Sacrifice a happy life to save the rest of us. That's why I became a Priestess. It's no where near the sacrifice you made, but it wasn't what my parents wanted of me. If anything, they wanted me to be no more then an archer. I wanted to do so much more though, so I became a Priestess." Rashadiel continued to look into Elyk's eyes, and he soon lifted his head up until he was looking back at Rashadiel. The priestess felt a warmth in her chest, and remembered how he saved her life. "You know, I am in your debt, after what you did." She said, walking closer to the Demon Hunter. Elyk shrugged. "It was my duty that is what I have vowed to do." The Demon Hunter said, but Rashadiel didn't stop until she was right in front of him, almost touching. "That doesn't matter, I still feel I should repay you somehow. I'm sure this will make up for all you have done for me." With that, Rashadiel leaned in and kissed Elyk. Elyk was, needless to say, surprised by Rashadiel's action. His choice to sacrifice part of his soul and become a Demon Hunter had giving him the life of a loner. To have one of his own people showing affection like this was new to Elyk. When Rashadiel parted from him for air, she looked into his eyes, reading the confusion there. "W-why did you do that?" Elyk asked, still shocked by not only the priestess' kiss, but his reaction to it. Rashadiel read the confusion her kiss caused like a book. It occurred to her that the Demon Hunter may have never had any affection showed to him, and despite what Rashadiel had tried to tell herself, the Priestess knew the kiss was more then payment of a debt. "In truth, I'm not sure. I could have given you money for your travels, a band of warriors to aid you, even sanctuary in my Grove." Rashadiel heard herself say, knowing that the real reason focused on her growing feelings for the lone Elf. Elyk shook his head, not getting the answer to his question. "That doesn't answer anything!" Elyk said, sensing an emotion coming from both himself and Rashadiel that he couldn't identify. He was drawn to Rashadiel like a moth to a camp fire. //WHY?! What about her makes me feel this way?!\\ the Demon Hunter thought. Very similar thoughts were racing through the mind of Rashadiel. She finally came to a decision. "I think I love you." If anything could have shocked Elyk more then the kiss, this was it. His jaw dropped as he stood staring at Rashadiel. She couldn't help but laugh at his expression. When Elyk finally has enough sense to talk, the only thing that came out was babble. Finally he stopped, took a deep breath, and tried again. "You what?" it seemed he was still a little to shocked to actually say more then two syllables at a time. Rashadiel laughed and gave him another kiss, this time wrapping her arms around his neck. Elyk's hands automatically moved around her waist, and when she pulled away, Rashadiel saw the affection in his confused eyes. Ururocco growled impatiently, pawing the ground. "Alright, alright, I'm coming." Rashadiel looked back at her tiger for a second before returning her gaze to Elyk. "Would you like to come along? Just to let you know, this isn't a question. You are coming, whether you want to or not!" Rashadiel grinned at Elyk. "But." "I said you're COMING!" Rashadiel said, picking up the pouch next to the well and shoving Elyk over to Uru. "Get on." Elyk grinned as Rashadiel hopped into the saddle. "You know, I think I'll run next to you." Rashadiel gave him a 'what are you, stupid?' look. Elyk smirked and began to stretch. "I'm one of the faster Demon Hunters. I can easily keep up with Uru, probably even out run him. This time Rashadiel smirked as Elyk stood up. "Ok, go right ahead. Just keep in mind, if you get tired, just jump on the back, providing we're not to far ahead of you by then." Rashadiel bent down and whispered something to Uru. The tiger roared and broke off sprinting through the woods. Elyk charged after them, catching up to them in no time. Both Uru and Elyk displayed amazing agility dodging though the trees, narrowly avoiding collision for no other reason then they wanted a thrill. _____________________________________________________________________ Aisha Alluyn walked through the doors and into the gigantic library belonging to the Arch Mage Athius. Being only 16, Aisha was one of the youngest Arch Mages in the order. She was also in charge of leading the expedition to Kalimdor to meet with the Night Elves. The only reason she was in the library was to bid farewell to Athius, who was one of her teachers and most trusted friends. The old mage was sitting at his desk, studying a book at the moment. He looked up at the young mage and smiled. "My dear Aisha, come to say goodbye?" Aisha smiled at her teacher. "Yes, we leave for Kalimdor within the hour. I wanted to make sure I saw you before I left, to thank you for everything." Aisha said, remembering the years of hard training. Athius stood and went to a wall shelf, where he pulled out a scroll. He then walked over to Aisha and handed her the tattered parchment. "That, my dear, is a scroll of Mass Teleportation. It took me years to make, and now I wish to give it to you as a gift." "Sir, I couldn't take this! It can only be used once, why give it to me?" Athius laughed softly at his young student. "Aisha, I am much older then I appear to be. I don't really think I'll be here on this world for much longer." He sat back down at his desk, wheezing slightly. "In fact, I may be gone by the time you return." He looked up at Aisha and saw her eyes mist over. "No, you'll still be here. You still have so much to teach me!" Aisha said, trying to steady her nerves. Again, Athius chuckled. "Aisha, I will still be able to teach you, even n death. I have enchanted this room to remain locked to all others but you. Only you will be able to open those doors." The old mage said, motioning towards the great oak doors that covered the entrance to the library. "You will have access to this entire library for study and research." Athius stood again and walked over to the young mage. "I have another gift for you, come with me." The old mage lead Aisha to a side room that held a set of glistening silver armor, obviously crafted for a woman's form. "You're bound to run into dangers while you are in Kalimdor. This will help protect you. After I had it crafted, I enchanted and charmed it. Please accept it." Aisha could help herself as she hugged her mentor. Athius was surprised, but he hugged his best student back. "Thank you." Aisha said as she put the armor on. "I am sorry for the rushed good bye, but I really have to go." "It's ok, I understand. You take care, and be careful. The scourge is still our there, and no less dangerous then before." "Of course!" Aisha said as she walked out the doors. When she got to the court yard, where the rest of the expedition was gathered, she opened and read the scroll. After a flash of light, the expedition was gone. _____________________________________________________________________ Tanis Brokenhoof, a Tauren Chieftain, sat in the Master Tent, surrounded by the leadership of most of the Tauren tribes. He had been chosen to travel to Kalimdor and meet with the Night Elves. After about 2 hours of negotiating, things were finally ready to move. The leaders bid him fare well and he left. When he got outside, he looked at the Tauren warriors that were ready to move. Several Kodo beasts were already packed and ready to go, so Tanis signaled the group to move out. Thanks to the Endurance Aura given off by Tauren chieftains, the convoy made excellent time. Their time was so good that they got to the edge of the Kalimdor forest just after duck, just in time to watch the human expedition appear right in front of them. Some of the Kodo beasts were startled by the sudden appearance, and it took several minutes to calm them down. When things were calm again, Tanis confronted a Mountain King who seemed to be in charge. The argument soon became heated. "Look lad, we had no idea you stinking beasts would be showing up at the same time as us!" the Dwarf yelled, trying his best to get into the Tauren's face. "STINKING BEASTS! You had better watch yourself, Dwarf. One misplaced step and I would spend the next week trying to scrape you off my hoof!" if there was one thing you don't do, it was make fun of a Dwarf for being short. The mountain king swung his ax at Tanis, who easily batted the weapon away like it was nothing. Tanis was about to pummel the Dwarf when a feminine, yet commanding voice pierced through the air. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" both Tauren and Dwarf looked towards the yell, which came from Aisha. "Lady Aisha, this animal was trying to provoke a fight." Tanis winced at the Dwarf's insult, but remained calm. "Listen, we are here to talk to Night Elves, not go around pushing our chests into every creature that is taller then us, understand!?" Aisha yelled at the Mountain King, and Tanis had to chuckle at the jibe. Aisha raised her glance to look at the Chieftain. "I'm sorry, but Jelly has an unusual case of Dwarf Superiority Complex." Tanis outright laughed at that remark, and Jelly started to get his word in, but was silenced by Aisha. "What brings the Tauren to this wing of Kalimdor?" "We, to, are here to meet with the Night Elves." "Is that so?" Aisha raised an eyebrow at the Tauren. "What is your reason?" "Trade and we could use them as allies." Tanis said, leaning on his totem poll. "An alliance is the reason we came here too." Aisha said, smiling at the possibilities of an alliance with the Taurens as well as the Night Elves. Jelly snorted. "Right, like the Night Elves would ever ally with snorting, drooling beasts." After a snap of the fingers from Aisha and a puff of smoke, where Jelly stood was not a sheep (A/N: yeah, yeah, I know polymorph isn't an Arch Mage spell, but hell, they're ARCH Mages. I think they should be able to do pretty much what ever spells they please). Tanis laughed very hard at this, as did most of the Taurens and humans around him. Aisha grinned and shrugged. "Hey, I have a small anger problem. What can an innocent Arch Mage say?" Tanis regained some composure and clapped Aisha on the back. "You're all right, human. I think another alliance could come from this." "Yes, and alliance could be worked out, providing you ever get your procrastinating asses over to the Grove!" a new voice spoke up. Both convoys and one sheep looked over at the forest and saw a dozen huntresses, a Priestess of the Moon, and a Demon Hunter. The Demon Hunter was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest. Aisha and Tanis walked over to the Demon Hunter and Priestess. "How long have you been here?" Aisha asked, kicking her self in the head mentally for losing focus on the task at hand. "Oh, the entire time." The Demon Hunter said, smirking. He looked from the Arch Mage to the Tauren Chieftain, and gasped when he saw him up close. "Tanis? Tanis Brokenhoof, is that you?" Tanis looked closely at the Demon Hunter and recognized him. "Elyk Ragerunner! What are you doing in these parts?" Tanis said, lumbering forward and clapping Elyk on the back, almost knocking him down. "I'm here with Rashadiel." Elyk laughed. "With her, huh? Just what would you mean by 'with her'?" Tanis said, rubbing his chin. Rashadiel had dismounted from her tiger and came next to Elyk, who took her hand in his. "You tell me." Elyk said, grinning. Tanis chuckled lowly. "Good for you, lad, good for you. A nice choice, if I don't say so myself." Tanis continued laughing until he opened his eyes and saw Elyk's blade inches from his face. Elyk grinned at the old Tauren. "You will show Rashadiel respect, am I understood?" Rashadiel smiled at Elyk, already adapted to his new emotions. She put a hand on his arm and lowered the blade. "Now that we have made our hellos, I suggest we head back to the Grove. The undead have been becoming aggressive again, and they could be planning an attack. After some more organizing and struggling to get the Kodos moving again, the group moved further into the forest. After about a half hour, they started walking past trees with an eerie glow to them. Aisha recognized this as the tell tale sign that a wisp was in the tree and absorbing its energy to be used for the Grove. Soon enough, the trees they were walking past were larger, and had bridges laced around them. They larger trees had faces, and limbs that resembled arms. The largest tree, near a cave that was tangled in roots and branches, had wisps in its canopy. Rashadiel stopped the group in front of the tree and turned to face them. "Welcome to Cyrus Grove." The Humans and Taurens settled into their housing in the Grove, and Rashadiel and Elyk were walking through the Tree of Eternity, towards where the priestess stayed. "So, you've been a priestess how long?" Elyk asked waving his hand through a wisp that was floating above a branch. That irritated the hell out of the small spirit, but Elyk liked the tingling feeling it left on his hand. Rashadiel, who was walking in front, pushed a stray branch out of the way. "Ever since I was young enough to train. I found Uru in the forest, being attacked by some insane bears, so I helped him. Since then, we have been inseparable. What about you, what was the reason you became a Demon Hunter?" Elyk smirked to himself. He had lost count of how many times he had been asked that question. "To tell the truth, Love, I have no reason. All I know is I felt it was time for me to do something great, and the only way I could accomplish that was to become what I am today." Rashadiel came to a doorway covered in densely leafed branches. She reached out and touched a small stone that was suspended in the middle of the doorway. With a shudder, the branches moved out of the way and Rashadiel took Elyk's hand and led him into her room. Located at the center of the tree, the priestess could communicate with the massive entity with ease. This made the other Ancient's, wisps and the Grove in general much easier to manage. A large bed at the far wall from the door, and in the middle of the room looked to be a training floor of some kind. Elyk eyed the floor, noting it was designed for melee combat training. He gave Rashadiel a curious look. "You've trained yourself in melee combat as well as ranged?" the Demon Hunter asked, walked over to the floor and lying down on his stomach to check that the floor was level. Rashadiel smiled as she hung her bow and quiver up. "Yes, just something I do in my spare time. The sword is such an intriguing weapon. In the hands of a beginner, it is no more dangerous then a twig. Yet, to a master, the blade is more of an extension of the fighter's arm then it is a weapon. The deadly grace of a saber fight is awe inspiring." Rashadiel said as she reached next to her bow and pulled down a sword. Made of solid wood with an emerald embedded in the hilt, the sword glowed an eerie green when Rashadiel first picked it up. The Priestess walked on to the floor began a kata of her own. Elyk by then had stood back up and placed his things down over by one of the couches scattered across the room. He watched the agile women jump and twist in the acrobatic dance. When she was finished, Elyk picked up his blades and walked onto the training floor. He began a kata and soon, after watching and memorizing his movements, Rashadiel started another one. The two danced around the floor, jumping, crouching, twisting, until both landed and stood facing each other in the center of the floor. Elyk raised his head in a half nod, the challenge not needing to be spoken. Rashadiel gave a slight nod, her response equally silent. Elyk switched to a neutral stance, his body turned sideways, left foot further forward then the right. His right blade was held behind him and the left in front of him. Rashadiel took a similar stance, only her body was facing the opposite direction of Elyk's, and she held her sword across her front, both hands on the hilt. The two Elves stood that way for a few minutes, hardly breathing and not blinking; you're typical pre-spare stare down. Then Rashadiel spun around and attacked Elyk. The Demon Hunter dropped to his left knee and brought his right blade up to block. The impact occurred and not half a second later Rashadiel had brought the sword around for an attack to Elyk's unprotected side. Elyk saw the attack coming and rolled to the left, leaving the wooden sword to slice through the floor where he had been a second before. Rashadiel pulled the blade clear of the wooden boards and turned to face Elyk in a defensive stance, predicting that he would use this opportunity to attack. And attack he did. Elyk spun around with his right blade held out from him, parallel to the ground. Rashadiel had barely enough time to bring up her sword for the block, and was in no position to block the attack that sprung up next. Elyk had brought up his left blade in a vertical slash. The tip was on a crash coarse with her neck. In a second she reacted, not really planning and hoping her move worked. Rashadiel buckled her knees and dropped back into a backward somersault, recovering just as fast as she reacted. A slight stinging and the grin on Elyk's face told her she hadn't been totally fast enough. The blade had grazed her as she rolled, and there was a shallow cut running down the middle of her chin. She returned the grin and spun her sword around before lunging at the Demon Hunter. Elyk parried the chain of attacks, but with increasing effort. "You're very good. How long have you been training?" Elyk asked, grunting out the last word as he blocked a particularly strong blow. Rashadiel smirked, and pressed for another combo. "Roughly 100 years. Keeping in shape in between patrols is important to me. I took this seriously." She said. Sweat was beginning to bead in large clumps on Elyk's forehead. He started to pant as he looked to be losing stamina fast. Rashadiel smiled as she pressed on the offensive, not letting up in the tiring chain of attacks. Of course, she was beginning to wear out as well, but nowhere near the degree Elyk was. So close was the victory that Rashadiel felt something nagging at the back of her mind, something telling her that this shouldn't be this easy. Elyk stumbled finally and Rashadiel went for the finished blow. In the second before the blow struck, Rashadiel realized that the voice in her mind had been correct. Time seemed to pause as Elyk grinned, knowing his deception had been successful. Elyk copied Rashadiel as he did a backwards somersault, only this time bringing his legs into play and kicking Rashadiel over him. The momentum from this move kept Elyk rolling, and Rashadiel pressed her attack, hoping to make contact. The Demon Hunter caught her blade between his and they entered a blade lock. Rashadiel was lying on her back and Elyk was over her, and slowly pushing his blade down. Both combatants grit their teeth with the effort. Soon, Elyk's blade was pressed against Rashadiel's neck. The Demon Hunter grinned. "It seems I win this round, Love." Elyk panted out, truly out of breath from the strain to pin Rashadiel down. The Priestess only laughed slightly, a hard thing to do when you have a blade pinned to your neck. Elyk felt a sharp tip press against his jugular, and he closed his eyes and smiled. "Maybe we'll call it a draw, then?" Rashadiel said, smiling wickedly. Elyk grinned and leaned closer, forcing Rashadiel to withdraw her sword. "Well, that depends. I defiantly could have killed out at first, but because we were playing to submission, you got the pause to bring your sword into play." Elyk said. Rashadiel leaned towards him, causing him to lift his blade lest it slice out her throat. "I wouldn't be so sure, I had about a million chances to slice out your belly in that roll of yours." Rashadiel said, barely above a whisper. They were very close at this point. "Well, then I guess there's no denying it, the bout is a draw." Elyk whispered back. Rashadiel's response was to close the already small gap between them and kiss him. _____________________________________________________________________ Aisha walked through the Ancient of War set aside for the human expedition, making her last rounds before they called lights out for the troops. As she passed one room, she over heard the tail end of a discussion between a Dwarven Mortar Team. ". . . And that's how baby Dwarves are made." The larger one finished. The smaller of the two blanched. "Eergh!" the silver bearded Dwarf said, sitting down heavily on the nearest stool. Aisha chuckled at the two. Though they could sometimes be on the annoying side, Dwarves could be down right funny without even trying to be. She knocked on the wall next to the door as she walked by. "Get ready for lights out, you two. And unless you want to see what it feels like to be a sheep for a day, I suggest you stay CALM tonight, understood?" Aisha said sternly. The two snapped to attention. "Aye, Ma'am." The larger said. Aisha nodded and continued on her way. Once everything was set, she walked out of the tree to get a peak at the stars before she turned in. Aisha walked a short distance from the tree barracks, nearing a moon well. As she got closer, she noticed that Tanis was standing at the same well she was heading over to. The Ancient of War that was used as the Tauren barracks was right next to the Human's. The old Tauren looked over at Aisha as she arrived. "Came to watched the stars, I assume." Tanis said, looking back up at the twinkling lights. Aisha nodded as she set her things down, sitting down next to them. "Yes, they always seem to relax me, and today was sort of stressful for me." Aisha sighed, closing her eyes and letting the day's events drain away. Tanis looked down at the young human. "How so?" he asked. Aisha sighed. "An old master of mine is going to pass in a few days. He is basically like family to me, the only one I really have. My parents and brothers were killed when I was three, and I began my training as an arch mage soon after that. Originally I was to be a sorceress, but I displayed so much skill with magic at such a young age that they began training me as an arch mage." Aisha sighed again, caught up in a moment of nostalgia, shaking her head in a few seconds. "I'm sorry, I wandered off subject there. The point is with the traveling and the fact that my oldest friend will be dying soon sort of worn me down." The young girl finished, bringing her legs up to her chest and hugging her knees. People always said this made her look childish, but it was a nervous habit that Aisha had picked up shortly after her family was killed. Tanis looked down at the human, noting how much responsibility had been laid on her shoulders at such a young age. He to had been giving the burden of command at a young age. Though he was 350 years old, that was considered to be a teenager to the Taurens. He smirked as he looked back up at the stars. "I know where you're coming from. Though my family still lives, I have been handed the responsibility of command at a young age as well. It probably will lay heavily on us during times of battle or great need, but we need to always remain calm and confident. That way, the troops under us will not panic and do rash or stupid things." The young Tauren rumbled. Aisha sighed again and looked up at the stars as Tanis stood and picked up his totem poll. "I must turn in, now. Tomorrow will be the start of big things and we need rest. I will see you tomorrow, Aisha." Aisha waved back as the Tauren retreated to his Ancient, humming an old Tauren tune as he did. She only stayed at the well for a few more minutes before turning in for the night herself. _____________________________________________________________________ Rashadiel awoke to the sounds of fighting from outside the tree. She sat up, realizing Elyk wasn't in the room, but calmed when she saw his blades where still there and the door to a view balcony was open. She got out of bed, dressed, and walked over to the balcony. Elyk was leaning against the branch that served as a railing and watching two humans wrestling around with a crowd of human and Tauren gathered around, cheering the combatants on. She grinned and walked up next to Elyk, leaning against the branch. "Humans have the strangest way of dealing with boredom, no?" she said, watch the two men try to pin each other to the ground. Elyk smirked. "Yes that they do. Though the Taurens have strange methods of their own. They usually charge at each other and but heads. Who ever stays conscious the longest wins." Rashadiel laughed at Elyk's response. After recovering she stood and watched them a while longer before heading back into the room. "Elyk, we have things to do. You may stay here if you wish, but I've got to go wake some people up." Rashadiel said when Elyk came back from the balcony. She was strapping her sword to her belt and heading to where her bow was hanging on the wall. Elyk smiled at her. "So, the druids are going to be needed for this?" Elyk said, walking over to his things. Rashadiel picked up her bow and quiver and started towards the door. "Well, not all of them, only one. He is a good friend of mine, and I sort of promised I would wake him on this day." Rashadiel said, leaving the room with Elyk trailing behind her. Elyk raised an eyebrow at what she had said. "Not to pry, but why did he want to be awakened on this day?" Elyk asked, catching up the priestess. Rashadiel shrugged. "The hell if I know. All I know is that he was too lazy to stay awake after Archimond was defeated." She said causally. Elyk stopped in his tracks. "Too lazy to stay awake? By Elune, does this creature do anything on his own?" Elyk asked as he walked up next to Rashadiel again, who spent a second thinking about an answer to Elyk's question. "Well, he eats very well on his own, though he won't always get the food on his own. He can fight very well, to." She said, arriving at the top of a set of stairs that would lead to where Uru was kept during the night. She paused and turned to face Elyk. "Are you coming, Elyk?" "I'm sorry, love, but I won't be joining you this on this one. I've got some things that I need to talk to Tanis about, and they're sort of urgent. Try not to get yourself killed, this time." He said, grinning. Rashadiel gave him a playful punch before kissing him briefly and heading down the stairs. Elyk went and jumped off a limb to the ground. From there he headed back towards where Tanis was standing. _____________________________________________________________________ The ride to where Silent Thunder slept (Silent Thunder is her druid friend. I bet none of you can guess whose character this is) had been sort of boring. Uru had actually yawned a few times, not that Rashadiel hadn't let a few yawns go her self. //Damn that lazy druid! I could be doing other things right now, but no, he just HAS to let someone else worry about waking his sorry ass up.\\ Rashadiel though to her self, scowling slightly as she rode. //Well, you DID agree to wake him, so technically it's your fault that he's so lazy.\\ a voice echoed through her mind. Rashadiel looked up to see her owl, Arwen, gliding through the tree cover over to her (yeah, I know it's not the most original name, but it was the first to pop into my mind). Rashadiel smiled at the bird, her mere presence having a calming effect of the priestess. "I was beginning to worry that some Undead beast had gotten to you." Rashadiel said, holding out her arm for Arwen to land on. The owl landed and walked down her arm to the pommel of Uru's saddle. After hooting a small greeting to the tiger, Arwen looked back up at Rashadiel. //Hmph, you've forgotten how clever I am, then.\\ The owl said, looking away and preening the feathers on its left wing. "Well, I see you're as modest as ever." Rashadiel sniffed, the sarcasm dripping off her words. Arwen stopped her preening and looked back to the priestess, something of a smile reflected in her eyes. //It's good to see you again, to, Rashadiel.\\ Arwen cooed as she thought the words directly to the priestess. The familiar link between a priestess, or any huntress for that matter, and their owl companion allowed them to communicate telepathically. //I AM allowed to go do normal bird things every once in a while, aren't I?\\ Rashadiel responded by scratching behind and under the owl's neck. Arwen promptly returned to silence and enjoyed the treatment. After a few minutes, the three reached the shrine that Silent Thunder slept in. "Ok, stay out here, will you? There's not really a lot of room in there." Rashadiel said as she climbed off Uru. When she got no response, Rashadiel turned to see Arwen already sound asleep on the pommel. Grinning, the priestess walked in to the shrine and over to where her druid friend lay snoring happily. After a few jabs and pokes at his ribs with her sword, Rashadiel leaned over and shouted into the druid's ear. Still no response prompted the priestess to stand straight, take a deep breath, and kick the druid in the head about six or seven times. This managed to jar the lazy bear out of his slumber. "I'm awake! I'm awake." Thunder said, standing and stretching out stiff limbs. It seemed whatever movement he made prompted some cracking noise. "Rashadiel? Was all that totally necessary?" the druid said, stifling a yawn. The priestess only shook her head in frustration. "Look, not my fault you wouldn't wake up. And since you made it soooooooooo important to be woken up on this date, I had to make sure you weren't disappointed!" Rashadiel said as she started back towards the entrance. ""By the way, I've been placed in command of my own grove, am leading negotiations for alliance with both the humans AND the Taurens, and I've fallen in love. That pretty much covers the time you were asleep." Silent Thunder stood perfectly still, fully awake, and trying to process the information just given to him. after about thirty seconds, when a headache flared into existence, the druid decided he would think about it when he was a little more awake. //Correction, make that A LOT more awake!\\ he thought as the pain intensified. Rashadiel and Silent Thunder had two things on their minds at the current time. One of them was how far they had to run to get back to the grove. The other was how fast they had to go to beat the Scourge to it. Although Rashadiel had sent Arwen ahead, there was always the chance that something could happen to her, or that the Scourge was moving a lot faster then she had predicted. "Rashadiel, look ahead!" Thunder called as he bounded along next to Uru. "They're trying to head us off!" Looking ahead, Rashadiel noticed movement not too far ahead of them, though behind the trees. Without waiting to see what was behind the trees, the Priestess knocked and arrow, which began to glow. Several Banshees burst from the trees and launched their attacks at the Rashadiel, who only barely managed to dodge out of the way. She let her arrow fly and guided Uru into a pounce, which landed on a necromancer that had just entered their path. The banshee was banished by the magical energy in the exploding arrow, and the necromancer's chest caved in when Uru landed on him. Much to Rashadiel and Thunder's dismay, a dozen skeleton warriors, several ghouls, and a crypt fiend surrounded them. "Hey, Rashadiel, in case we don't make it out of this, let me ask you a question." Thunder said, looking at his soon-to-be victims. "Ask away, old friend." Rashadiel replied, knocking another arrow, but not yet taking aim. "This Demon Hunter you met, was he a nice guy?" The druid asked, a grin spreading across his face. After being asleep for as long as he was, a fight seemed like a good way to go out. A small smile spread over Rashadiel's face. "Ay, he is." She answered, mentally planning her attack as the Undead around them began to close in. "Good." Thunder said, then gave a mighty, earth-shaking roar, and transformed into his bear form. At the same time, he charged the crypt fiend while Rashadiel loosed her arrow on the gigantic arachnid. The fight for their survival was only beginning. Meanwhile, back at the grove, the Orc party had just arrived at the spot where Tanis and Elyk were standing. The Far Seer approached the two and dismounted his wolf. "Greetings, my name is Drago Hellbane, and my brethren and I have traveled to meet with the Night Elves and talk of restoring the old alliance." The wise Orc told them. Elyk nodded and responded. "I am Elyk Ragerunner, and you have met your journey's end. Not far from here is a grove, where we are already hosted alliance talks with the Humans. It seems that the old alliance is well on its way to being restored. Please, follow us." As he led the Orcs back to Cyprus Grove, Elyk told them about the Tauren and the Humans having already arrived to discuss the reviving of alliances. Drago listened intently, occasionally patting his wolf on its head. When the Demon Hunter Finished, Drago sighed. "So, it seems we were not alone in sensing the sudden surge of activity from the Scourge. Do you know what it means?" he asked. Elyk shook his head. "That I don't. I can only imagine the Lich King has set another plan into motion, one that doesn't involve the Burning Legion. If this is the case, then we should expect the worse, and depend on each other the way we did when Archimond lead the Scourge." Elyk finished as they reached the outer guard post. Elyk barked out a command in Elvish, and a female voice replied from somewhere in the trees. The trees that were blocking their path lowered arms to the ground and pushed themselves free from the soil of the forest floor. The Ancient Guardians lumbered out of the way, and Drago noticed that several archers were hiding on the branches of the Ancients. "I've never seen that before." He said to no one in particular. Elyk turned to face him. "Yes, it was Rashadiel's idea to station archers in the branches of the Ancient Guardians. It adds the element of protection for the archers and added firepower to the Ancients. Of course, now that you know that, you are expected to be on our side from now on." The look that flashed across Drago's face earned a grin from Elyk. "Don't worry, I was only fooling. And besides, we can't really risk trying to take on the Scourge without plenty of allies." "Now that, I can agree on, Demon Hunter." Drago said. Elyk led them further into Cyprus Grove, and was about to tell Drago where he and his men could rest when an owl came screeching from the trees. Elyk, Rashadiel sends a message! The telepathic voice of the owl echoed in Elyk's mind. He guessed in a second that this was Rashadiel's Familiar, since its voice sounded similar to her voice. "What is happening?" Elyk asked, holding out his arm for the owl to land on. Arwen landed quickly began telling Elyk why she was sent ahead. The Undead have sent a siege party this way, and Rashadiel and Silent Thunder intercepted them on the way here. Rashadiel sent me ahead to warn you and the others. The owl explained. "Very well, send word to the outer posts." He told the owl, who blinked and flew off. The Demon Hunter quickly decided what must be done. Turning to Tanis and the Orcs, he began spewing out orders. "Tanis, get the humans and the Taurens ready. Send them to the east walls. Take up defensive positions. When you see the undead, prepare for Meat Wagon attacks." Elyk barked. Tanis nodded and trotted off to get his group ready. Elyk turned to Drago. "Here is what I need you to do, Far Seer. Get your raiders and set up about a quarter mile away from the east wall. Make sure you are well hidden, for you cannot be seen until the last moment. "When you see the Meat Wagons, follow them until they are set up. Then, wait for me. I'll give you a signal, and that is when you send the Undead back to they hell from which they came. Attack the Meat Wagons with everything you've got. You'll have backup incase things get out of control." Elyk finished. Drago nodded and grinned. "It will be swift and merciless, I can assure you." The Seer said, and Elyk could hear pride in his voice. Elyk nodded to Drago before turning and running into the forest. He was determined to find Rashadiel and help her and Thunder out. “LETS MOVE, PEOPLE!" Aisha yelled as the squads of footmen and riflemen moved into position. The footmen were closest to the trees, standing in formation. The riflemen were behind them or hidden amongst the branches of the forest wall. Dwarven mortar teams were set up about 50 yards behind the front line, ready for artillery support. Tauren bellowed a war cry as he and his brethren lined up next to the humans. Tanis and Aisha walked up and down the lines, making sure they were set. They met next to each other and nodded, silently telling each other that the battle lines were ready to go. They then moved to their posts and awaited the oncoming attack party. It was sure to be one hell of a ride. |
| Posted By TEH.BETCHA on 10/04/03 @ 11:07:01 PM |
| aite thats chapter one muva, now rite chapter two |
| Posted By TEH.BETCHA on 10/05/03 @ 1:57:27 PM |
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Ok Muva since your not gonna write a cotinuation i will, i hope everyone likes it as much as yours. Undead war horns sounded in the distance, they echoed off the trees, and cliffs to the north. Drago and his raiders were waiting silently in the trees, being sure not to make a sound, they heard footsteps, through the trees they could see the huge lumberring forms of several abominations, walk past. Drago signalled for some raiders to move further foward, they did so, and crept quietly along the forest floor. The group sent ahead saw the meat wagons, far in the distance, at the back of the undead collumn, Drago could send his raiders further down the undead column and take out the wagons. However, he decided not to, as Elyk had not yet given the signal to attack. Back at Cyprus grove, the first assaults from the undead were coming, scouting parties only, a few raised skeletons. The archers and riflemen picked them off at a distance, not permiting them to advance on the frontline. Tanis, and his tauren warriors began chanting, and pounding thier totems on the ground in ritualistic fashion, the ground trembeled from the mighty pounding, as the taurens prepared for battle. Having prepared the first wave the undead charged, ghouls, crypt fiends and some abominations charged the front line. The foolish ghouls attacked the tauren's totems, getting thier claws stuck in them, and rendering the ghouls attack obsolete. The tauren slammed the ground knocking the ghouls to bits, thier rotten corpses fell to the ground. A heavy rain began to come down, as the battle picked up heat, turning the grassy soil into a thick rough mud, that made it hard to fight. Dirt was kicked up all about, making the warriors very dirty. Tanis and a few tauren charged into the undead collumn, dividing thier army making it easy for the artillery and ranged support to pick off undead. Priests came to the front line and frantically cast dispel, Aisha raised several water elementals (large beasts made of water) and ordered them to support the tauren and footmen on the frontlines. Tanis and the small group of tauren were in the middle of the undead forces, surrounded on all sides, by foul smelling skeletons and ghouls. Mud, sweat and blood had formed a grimey coating on the taurnes faces and skin. "BRING IT ON!", bellowed the tauren. Tanis lept into the air, and came crashing down, smashing both hooves into the ground, having cast war stomp many undead around him fell to the ground and died. _________________________________________________________________ Elyk and moutains giants crahsed through the trees, moving at all speed for where it was reported by Arwen that Rashadiel had began combat. Elyk slowed his pace, and saw that the meat wagons were already set up, he whistled, shortly after Drago and some raiders whislted back. "Charge the back of the column, destroy the siege engines before they can take out the defenses!" Elyk bellowed orders to Drago, and then picked up speed, heading for Rashadieal and Silent Thunder's last known position. Drago and the raiders chared towards the meat wagons, and took them out speedidly, then flanked the undead spell casters. Caught completely off gaurd, the obsidian statues, necromancers, and banshees were slaughtered with extreme prejiduce. _________________________________________________________________ Rashadiel fired off another arrow, as she moved back behind the corpses of many slain ghouls, Silent Thunder, cast another rejuvination on himself and continued to battle. "I don't think we can hold them much longer" Rashadiel cried, while she contiuned to fire arrows. "If we die now, let us make this battle one of rememberance, one such that is told in story or song." Replied Silent Thunder, as he crahsed through another pack of ghouls with his might claws. The force split, and a death knight charged foward, sword to his right side, his galloping, as fast as could be allowed. Silent Thunder stood on his hind legs, and was about to crash down on the death knight, but then he lept of his horse, and sliced deep into the belly of Silent, causing him to fall to the ground. The death knight landed on the horses back, and then headed for Rashadiel. Silent Thunder lay on the ground, motionless, a pool of blood formed around, and he reverted back to druid form. Rashadiel saw her friend, wounded severly, she held back tiers as she continued to fight. The trees at her back, she cast starfall, mighty waves of star energy rained from the sky, crashing into the ghouls, and skeletons, and on the death knight. The deathknight dismounted, and ran through the corpses, even killing his own men so that he could move fast. Rashadiel, stil channeling her spell could only watch in horror, as the death knight walked up to her, took an offensive stance, and rammed his sword into Rashadieal stomach. She gasped in pain, and immediatly stoped starfall, she fell foward onto the hilt of the sword. The death knight chuckled, and removed his sword from her gut, he held it above his head and prepared to strike the final blow. But then, a sickle shaped blade flew across the clearing, boomerang in nature, and sliced of the death knights arms. His arms fell to the ground, jolting and squirming as the last electircal impulses left them, his sword went into the air, and the sickle shaped blade broke the death knights sword to pieces as it returned to it owner. The death knight winced with pain as he looked up, he saw Elyk standing in a tree. Elyk jumped down and landed next to the death knight. Rashadiel was breathing heavily from he wounds, and was unable to move. She was trying to mutter some words. Elyk gestured for her to be quiet, "Save your strength, love, just remain calm, I'll handle this." Rashadiel, stayed quiet, even though she despereatly wanted to say something. The deathknight was crawling away, on his stumps of arms, blood was trailing from him, and he was paler than normal. "Muhahhahah, Muahahahah!" the death knight laughed evily. "Now just what do you think is so funny?" Elyk questioned, with a glint in his eye. "Ahhh, damnit, you have no idea how much this hurts. Hehe, you rushed here valiantly didnt you, you had a sinkin feeling in your heart, your anger growing. Rushing, Rushing, as fast as your legs would allow to save that which you love so deeply, unfortunatly for you, your efforts will be in vain." The death knight finished his speech and continued to laugh, green mist gathered around him, and an orb of energy was charged about him. A green/yellow bolt shot through the air, it was a death coil, it was the last bit of energy left in the souless knight, and it was headed straight for Rashadiel. A horrified look crept across Elyk's face, as he bolted across the clearing, he lept in the air, attempting to take the damage from the bolt, rather than hit Rashadiel. But he was too late, the bolt was already on it way, and it crashed into Rashadiel. Elyk tumbled across the ground, and came to a kneeling postion. Rashadiel screamed in pain, then fell silent. She lay motionless on the ground, beside Ururocco. Uru nudged her side with his snout, but she didnt react. Elyk slowy crept along the ground, and came to a kneeling position beside Rashadiel. Her limbs, were twisted and elongated, from the effects of a necromancers cripple. The rain was falling heavily hear too, a pool of blood and rain formed around both Elyk and Rashadiel. Rashadiels skin was charred from the searing heat of the death coil. Elyk, wrapped his arms around her, and her close to him. He wept. He would never be caught dead weeping as he was... But there was no other way for him to express his pain, and anguish. Silent Thunder, having recovered enough to cast a rejuvination on himself while Elyk talked with the death knight, stood behind Elyk. Silent was sad too, at what appeared to be the death of his friend, but he was not crying. Elyk ceased his crying, and stood up, as he lay Rashadiel carefully on the ground. The rain was coming down hard, and the water was building up in the clear. Uru's fir was drenched, but he didnt care, for he to was deeply hurt at the death of his master. Elyk's eyes turned from the pale yellow they normally were, to a deep red. The rain and water around him began to boil, and steam, as an immense heat came from Elyk. He transformed into his demon form, and charged off through the trees, knocking down the forest as he went. Silent starred as Elyk charged into the distance. Then he went to Rashadiel, picked her up, and placed her on Uru's back, they headed back to Cyprus grove, in hopes that the combined powers of elvish medicine, and human magic could revive Rashadiel. _________________________________________________________________ Not as long as muva's initial entry, but it does continue the story. |
| Posted By WhatUrMuva on 10/06/03 @ 12:54:58 PM |
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nide addition betcha...lol you can finish this one with your night elf sex or w/e cuz im writing the rest of the deathknight one....also im making one about 4 unlikely heros banning togethor to destroy everything the heros are Illidan , Grom Hellscream , Sylvannis Windrunner , and Kael |
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