iBullet's Story *Chapter one*

[iBullet]

CHAPTER ONE OF 7
new chapter released every week
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Characters

Irkis (Er-kiss) – Sandy haired, tall, lithe, broad shouldered, deep voice, human. Bird – Heather (female raven)

Calno (Call-no) – brown hair that frequently waves in eyes, sparkly blue eyes, tall, but not as tall as Irkis or Talone, commanding voice, human. Bird - Shingle (male raven)

Talone (Talon) – dark hair with a slightly bluish sheen, well muscled, taller than Irkis, long ears, green eyes, night elf – Bird - Crildor (male falcon)

Fenor (Fen-ore) – red-bearded dwarf, sometimes gets beard stuck in buttons, usually pot-bellied, much shorter than the humans or elves like the rest of his kin. Bird – Shale (male barn owl) Dog – Caron (female)

Dlak (De-lack) – dwarf with short, black beard, appears to be pale, always wears a leather cap over his head that frames his hazel brown eyes, same height as Fenor. Bird – Crystal (female barn owl)

Emrald (Em-rawled) – Thin woman with short, blonde hair and deep blue eyes, delights in shooting ice bolts, stands a head shorter than Irkis; the tallest human. Bird – Lily (female raven) Dog – Anya (female)

Saxxas (Sacks’s?) – Tall human (yeah a lot of them huh?) with spiky black hair, good drinker, petty thief, and sneaker who looses focus a lot. Bird – Web (male raven) Dog- Sapphire (female)

Ralia (Ral-lea) – Night elf woman with long, curly brown hair that ends just below her shoulder blades. Stands just a bit taller to Irkis’s annoyance, which she secretly delights in. She enjoys looking down at the dwarves, and has green, yellow tinted eyes. Bird – James (male phoenix)

Thalnor (Thal–nor) – Blood elf with red-brown hair that is always messy, black eyes, tan complexion, and a bit shorter than Calno (to Calno’s not-so-secret delight).

Camdu (Cam-doe) – Tauren with deep brown fur, bull horns, bad herbivore teeth, and the lowest voice of all of Illeria’s friends.

Crick (Cricket) – Wolf dog loyal to Illeria, with shaggy black fur. It seems to turn gray brown in some light. Crick is leader of the wolf dogs.

Crag – Speckled gray stallion with dark mane and tail with golden eyes and black nose. He has semi – fluffy black feet, and if he kicks you, you better be wearing armor – Beware!

　

　

　

Something Else - a Death Knight

My eyes opened to a dirty looking, dark gray ceiling. I wiggled my fingers; glad to know they could be moved. I stood, and dusted dirt off my Deckhand’s shirt and my azure pants riddled with holes. As I walked along the silent hall, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and leaped upward, grabbing onto something hanging from the ceiling, surprising myself. I saw a rotting ghoul walk jerkily under my feet, right where I had been standing. I looked up to see what I was hanging from. It was a cage with a dainty female troll inside, weeping. I expected this was because she thought that I was here to do the punishment or execution that they had in mind for her. I had a strange will to cause havoc to the troll, to do what they wanted. Whoever they were. I dropped to the dirty floor, bending my knees to absorb the shock. I pushed a ghoul out of the way with a strong push, and wiped my hand off on a nearby book with a disgusted face. It opened the book to some ancient text. I narrowed my eyes at the hard-to-read runes that lined the page like a Zhevra’s stripes.

  

"As I write this," I began reading aloud, " I am sure you do not know your own fate. Your new master is I, Arthas. You are my chosen one Knight. I enchanted this book to open only for you. Your will is never your own…" I finished, my eyes widening. I jerked up, hearing a battle ringing outside. I leaped to the nearest room, discovering it had armor and weapons inside. After choosing a red (Blood Elf colors) suit of armor made for females, I searched for a suitable weapon. I had always preferred one-handed weapons, but now, weighing a Claymore in my hands, I decided for a two-handed.

I found the hall outside rumbling with activity. Rotting ghouls, silvery ghosts, and Necromancers slaved away at their work, transporting things or making new undead workers. I stepped into the bustling hall and jogged down it. I erupted on top of what appeared to be a giant gate. I picked up a small bag on the floor, putting it my cloak's pocket to examine later. Giant skeletons patrolled on the huge gate, acting as bone sentinels. I ran to the edge of the gate and swung my head over the edge, expecting a 5-foot drop, and instead finding a 100-foot drop. Suddenly something grabbed me from behind, knocking the breath out of me. One of the giant bone sentinels had grabbed me and held its hand in the air, like it was waving to someone. A streamlined shape was hurtling through the air towards us. When it was close enough to see, I knew what it was. A dragon.

My heart should have been hammering. Suddenly I realized what my subconscious already knew. My heart wasn’t hammering. It was dead. Oh, Fel! I thought. How was I alive and dead? The dragon was completely skeletal, like the bone sentinels. It picked me up and flew off, heading for the battle. The eyes glowed an icy blueness, that, I suddenly realized as my reflection bounced off my Claymore, was just like mine. I examined my face, noting every other change. My cheekbones stuck out more, or I just didn’t remember I’d had them my whole life. Wait – did I have a life? As the dragon dropped me into a larger throng of undead, I saw a bullet whip towards me. I sidestepped out of the way, causing the bullet to smack into a ghoul. I relished the satisfying thwacking sound it made. I cackled. I leaped into the mingled Horde and Alliance army, after the owner of the bullet. Finding the Dwarf hunter, I swung my Claymore from its sheath and whacked the flat of the blade against his head, probably crushing his skull.

For some reason, the whole time, whenever I killed Horde it seemed to bother me a little. Alliance, though, almost made me giddy with glee. This did not bother me. Suddenly I realized we were losing. The Horde and Alliance were pushing them back. Everyone except me. I was totally surrounded by the living, on all sides.

Suddenly they were chaining me up, adding chains to my feet and arms. I let out a high pitched scream, trying to deafen them like a banshee. The men covered their ears. One yanked off my helmet and let out a surprised yell, "It’s a girl! Elune! What is Arthas doing with women in his Scourge?!" The other men uncovered their ears as they took in my face. I glared daggers at them, and reached my chained hands back to let down my hair.

I shed my armor as well as I could with chains on, only leaving on the plate leggings and the deckhands shirt, feeling that my body might not feel cold as much, but it would still be uncomfortable with all the holes of the azure pants. Some of the men looked away, while others just kept staring at my pale face. I could see it was Alliance that had chained me, not Horde. Suddenly someone shoved through the crowd.

A tall Night Elf, it looked like, took in my Blood Elf face. Then he looked at all the men and yelled in a hard, rough voice, "Quit staring like you’ve never seen a woman before! Get back to work before Splinterstone gets you all!" He glared at them all with dark, woodsy green eyes as he watched them go.

"Fenor, Dlak, and Calno, get over here!" He yelled again. He looked at a Dwarf and said, "Fenor, go get Dlak of your clan and tell him you two have guard duty." Fenor nodded and jogged out of the circle of Alliance. A Human appeared and walked over to the Night Elf. "What is it Talone?" he asked, addressing the Night Elf. "Calno," Talone began, "You are to join the guard duty with Fenor, Dlak, and me. Not to mention you never say my name right. Not Talony, Talon." Talone stared at Calno. Calno nodded and looked at me. "That’s the Knight they captured? A female?" Then he laughed, and I gritted my teeth. Talone nodded. "No one’s sure if it can talk," he said, smirking, then said under his breath (loud enough for the others to hear), "but we all know it can scream." Fenor ran into the circle with another Dwarf who I assumed was Dlak.

"Found him!" He said, panting. Then he doubled over and rested his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Dlak stared at me, taking on the same expression they all did when they saw me. Surprise. Calno had a light colored skin and bright blue eyes, with dark brown hair. Fenor had so little skin showing it was hard to tell. He had a long, red beard that went down to his belt. Like Fenor, Dlak had little to no skin showing, but his black beard was shorter and barely touched his collarbone. He was less potbellied than Fenor, and had a leather cap over his head that covered his ears.

After a few moments of silence someone decided to do something extremely dumb. A Gnome took out a long staff and tapped it against the small of my back. I whipped around and grabbed the staff. It was awkward because of the chains, but I managed to throw it to the crunchy snow. "What did you do that for!" I yelled in a voice I didn’t remember that was mine. Not that I remembered anything. My mouth clacked shut, far too late to stop the words.

A Human behind the gnome chuckled. I saw the boot bend back before he sent the gnome flying within my reach. I glared down at the little gnome, lying in the snow. He half smiled, then grimaced. I waited for an answer. "To get you to talk… It worked," he said, his voice high in terror.

Suddenly Fenor and Dlak yanked me back from my bent over condition. They had the expressions of two men deeply in concentration. Calno was suddenly behind me, guiding me through my back. Talone flanked him, making sure I did nothing. A frown settled on my face, making some of the men look away. My eyebrows furrowed together, creating the Bother-me-and-I’ll-bite-your-head-off look. Suddenly I heard wolves behind me and turned my head. My walk slowed, and I could tell my guards’ walk did the same. We stopped and turned to the approach of the Orcs.

They stopped their wolves next to us and examined me. The leader, an Orc, bared his long, pointed teeth. "She is of Horde breed," he said, almost growling it out (almost exactly like his wolf), "hand her over to us. She belongs with us, not Alliance." Calno shook his head. "We found it. I believe others would believe it’s an it not a she. The Alliance will keep it. We can learn much about the Lich King." The Orc leader shook his head. A Troll spoke up this time. "The Lich King came from the Alliance Mon, not Horde. We got more to learn, gotcha Mon?" He said, accidentally clacking his tusks together whenever he closed his mouth.

Talone spoke up. "Only Humans know of it, yet won’t speak of it." Here, he gave Calno a pointed glance; "We will send her to the Dwarves and Elves, not to mention the Draenei. We need this. We also did find her first," I was surprised when he used she instead of it. "We will give her to you when our studies are finished. If or when she proves herself, she can have her free will to stay with the Horde or Alliance." His speech seemed to satisfy everyone but a Blood Elf in the Orcs squad. He looked over his shoulder as they walked away, watching me.

We continued on. The Alliance slowly started to disintegrate back to their own business, except for the group that traveled with us. They were mostly Humans. There was Irkis, who was human but almost never said a word to anyone. He rode his white horse silently. Emrald and Ralia, who were the only women in the group besides me. Ralia was Night Elf, Emrald Human. They made quick friends and always rode together on their mounts. And Saxxas, a human who seemed almost shifty, yet couldn’t resist women or a drink, constantly flirting with Ralia and Emrald. I rode on a gray stallion that seemed to have taken a liking to me. I named him Crag, after he proved himself to be sharp witted and for his color. Fenor and Dlak seemed to never stop eyeing our horses with critical eyes, always seeming to be stroking their giant rams. Whenever we had to travel fast they held on the horns on their giant beasts, grinning as they were bounced around.

Talone and Ralia both had Sabre cats; Ralia’s a frosty white, Talone a dark black.

After a fortnight, we arrived at a town called Westguard Keep. It was a large Human town, which interested me. That night, we all went to the local Tavern, me included. After the two weeks we’d been together, they had started to trust me. My brown hair had finally gone back to its original black. It was down past my shoulders now, but I didn’t usually tie it up.

Saxxas had even bought me a drink that night, and I was the most sober of them all at the end. I went to where we had left their mounts and tied them all to Crag. I led them to the inn we were going to stay at, all of us anticipating a horrible headache the next day.

____ _____ ______ ______ _____ _____

The next day, we all felt dizzy, so Talone made the call to stay one more day. After our morning meal, Ralia, Emrald and I went out to buy us some traveling clothes. Our old ones were getting seriously beat up, all except my plate pants. We stepped into the nearest shop to find it was all dresses! We were pretty amazed at all the wonderful robes they had. We all grinned crazily, and laughed at each other when we tried on something lacy or pink. We tried the next store, filled with armor, pants, and shirts. I grabbed a black swashbuckler’s shirt, black Goblin style boots, and more comfortable than my plate pants – crimson Cenarion pants. We each grabbed an extra shirt so they didn’t wear out so quickly and left wearing our prizes.

We walked around town for a while, until we saw an eerie store near the edge of the water (Westguard Keep was a Harbor). "Strange place for a store, is it not? Not much business in a place out here. I wonder if it sells something King Wyrnn does not like." Emrald said in her crisp Human accent. I shrugged as we slowly walked forward. Ralia frowned. "There are runes on the sign. I can’t read them." She pointed at the sign. Emrald frowned as well. "Neither can I." She said.

They both slowly turned their faces to me. I could see the question burning in their eyes. One of Emrald’s eyebrows even arched upward, asking the silent question. I sighed. "Yes, I can read them." I glared daggers at the sign as I leaned in for a closer look.

 

I read aloud to them, "All ye who dare enter here, ye better already be dead! That or we give you a burial and a revival!" We all looked at each other. Their eyes both were wide and curious. "Are you not already dead, Illeria?" Ralia asked, looking at me. I nodded slowly and swallowed. I stepped to the door and opened it.

Who the Felreaver!?

I coughed as I breathed in the musty air of the shop. I hacked again and closed the door before it could get to Ralia and Emrald. I used my hand and waved it in front of me, trying to get the dust out of my face. I sputtered again and could finally see. The inside of the shop was gloomy, though I could see all sorts of things. There were books, dust, potions, dust, and… pets. It was a pet shop. I could see no one at the counter, and was surprised the animals were alive in these gloomy conditions.

I opened up a falcon’s cage, and she perched on my rock hard skin without causing me pain. I made my way over to the counter and rang the bell that sat there. I heard a plate break in the back, then some cursing. A man with a gray hair stumbled out of the back, pulling on a shirt as he went. "Who the Felreaver are you?" He asked in a grumpy voice.

"I’d like to buy all your birds." I said to him, gesturing to the cages. He looked at me, he face growing calm and nodded. "I also have to ask… Why does the sign out front say

 It was interesting." He looked up at me again, and his eyes widened. "It… It says that? I can talk runic, but not read. I’ll have to take it down at once!" He bustled out the door and returned with Ralia, Emrald, and the sign. He started to take the birds out and handed each of us an amount. Ralia carried 3, as well as I, and Emrald carried 2.
We left with the birds on our shoulders and heads and with gloves for all of us. "Looks like we overreacted that time huh Illeria?" Emrald asked, laughing. We all were still smirking as we reached the inn. Saxxas, Fenor, Dlak, Irkis, Calno, and Talone were waiting outside the inn, already on their mounts. Fenor, Dlak, and Talone all had worried faces, probably thinking I had jumped Ralia and Emrald. We let the birds decide whom to stay with. The falcon I had originally picked up chose me, and I named her Cybele.

We left to travel through the night, and decided that we would have watches. We tied our mounts together to travel and fell asleep except for Calno, whose watch it was.

At about midnight it was my shift, because that was when I could see best. The others had gladly let me have the watch, no one wanting to be awake then. I eyed the shadows, and let Cybele sleep on the saddle horn. A few hours before dawn we reached a small village. There I purchased two caravans.

I moved my sleeping comrades into them, waking some to tell them what I was doing. We stopped the caravans in the next village. Saxxas got out and told us he needed to get something.

　

Caravan List (each holds 6 people)

Caravan 1: Emrald, Ralia, Illeria,

Caravan 2: Talone, Fenor, Dlak, Calno, Saxxas, and Irkis

We sat around for about 2 hours, enjoying the peacefulness. I could tell it was beginning to get warmer. The spring seemed to be coming, finally. Irkis finally said something. "Let’s find some supplies for the caravans. Someone can stay here and tell Saxxas when he gets back. Let’s go in pairs." I volunteered to stay behind, since I had no idea what was good to eat and I was probably most capable of protecting the birds, mounts, and caravans.

Saxxas came back before the others, causing me to jump, startled. He had returned with four dogs on leashes, and was grinning wickedly. "Saxxas!" I cried, "Did you steal them or buy?" He chuckled at my outburst and replied, "Rest assured Illeria, I did not steal from a soul today." He mock bowed and handed me one of the leashes. "They are like the birds. They choose who to be with." He dropped the leashes. Two of the wolfish dogs didn’t move, while one jumped up on him and another trotted over to me. I smiled and rubbed the dog’s head. He grinned a toothy grin up at me and wagged his tail, thumping it against my leg. I smiled. "I suppose there’s no harm in keeping them, as long as the others are ok with it." I said to Saxxas, making him laugh.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Later, when the others returned, we let the other two dogs choose their people. One chose Fenor while the other, Emrald. I named my male Crick, after the crick in his tail and my seemingly tradition of naming my pets with C’s.

　

　

　

　

List of Bird Names

DWARVES

Fenor – Shale (Barn Owl) Male

Dlak – Crystal (Barn Owl) Female

HUMANS

Calno – Shingle (Raven) Male

Irkis – Heather (Raven) Female

Emrald – Lily (Raven) Female

Saxxas – Web (Raven) Male

ELVES

Ralia – James (Phoenix) Male

Talone – Crildor (Falcon) Male

Illeria – Cybele (Falcon) Female

List of Dogs/Wolves

Illeria – Crick (Male)

Emrald – Anya (Female)

Fenor – Caron (Female)

Saxxas – Sapphire (Female)

After everything had been settled, we cooked. It was the best meal we had had in weeks! Emrald and Ralia had found truffles, Irkis and Calno found other wild mushrooms, Fenor and Dlak had shot two small boars with their guns, and Talone had picked herbs to go with it all. I built a fire and held a boar over the fire with just my hands, occasionally joining in the conversation.

The boar meat was succulent and tender, better than the nibbles of food we could usually come up with. Fenor and Dlak started to prepare the leftover meat to travel with us, while Talone looked for more spices. I went deeper into the town and bought vials, jars, cheese cloth, and other neccessities for cooking and storing food.

Saxxas left while we were asleep in the night, and brought back a goat for milk. When Calno and Irkis arose to find a goat in their bunk, Emrald, Ralia and I could hear the started yelps of surprise they gave from the mens’ caravan.

When it was light enough to travel, we hooked up Emrald’s mount Ginger and Crag to our caravan, and Fenor and Dlak hooked up their rams to the mens’. The dogs Caron and Anya were sent to trail behind the caravan to protect the rest of the mounts that were tied up there. Talone and I were busy standing atop the caravan with Crildor and Cybele to catch birds when a call rose up from behind us. "Talone! Illeria! How do you keep such perfect balance on such a wobbly moving house?" Dlak called, sitting warily on the top of the men’s caravan behind us. Fenor was with him, sitting exactly in the middle, clutching at the roof. Shale and Crystal were with them, looking a little more alert as the sun was setting in it slow, steady way.

Talone and I laughed, and Talone replied, "We’re elves, master dwarf! While we were climbing trees in our youth, you and your brethren were learning the properties of rocks!" He finished his sentence with another laugh and leaped to the Dwarves, without any mistake. The Dwarves eyes widened as they saw how we could stand on top of the caravans like we could on solid ground.

After an hour or so Dlak and Fenor climbed down, and went into the caravan to look over the maps. About then, a line of mildly dark clouds showed upon the horizon. I pointed to the clouds and asked Talone, "Rain, or snow? I do not believe that the clouds would snow upon us in warmness such as this, but is it possible?" Talone shook his head no, but climbed down from the roof. "We better get off the roof, in case lightning decides to strike us. I believe we should also make sure there are no leaks in our caravans." He said to me, squinting his eyes up at me through the gloom. I nodded and sent Cybele into my caravan, while Talone went to search his own for leaks. I inspected the roof, finding nothing that caused me worry.

I crawled to the edge of my caravan and swung my legs down. I caught a board on the side and lowered myself halfway before dropping to the narrow walkway that went all around my caravan.

I stepped into it, and saw Ralia and Emrald playing a game. It required using small paper cards, and I could see Emrald was winning. After watching them for a minute, the looked up. "You should call Anya in, Emrald, it’s going to rain." I told her, nodding my head to the door. "It is?" She began, and stood up. "Anya!" She called from the door, "In here girl!" Anya came trotting in, some of the first drops of rain on her nose. I stepped out into the drizzle and drove the caravan under a natural roof of trees, keeping the mounts dry.

Shaking the water out of my hair I swung over the edge and took Crag and Emrald’s brown horse over to a tree, where I didn’t tie them. We all knew our horses wouldn’t leave to save themselves, and could defend themselves against predators. I took the rest of the mounts behind the caravans, leaving Fenor’s and Dlak’s rams because they would want to do it themselves.

I took some of the preserved meat from the other day and started to cook it, using salt and spices Talone had given me. I milked the goat, and gave the milk to Ralia and Emrald to make cheese. I watched them make it, so I could when it was needed. They worked hard, making sure it would last. When they were done they wrapped it in the cheesecloth I had bought, and handed it to me with satisfied looks on their faces.

I gave the job of cooking to Emrald and set upon myself an important task. I placed a bucket out in the rain, and when it was full, dragged it inside. I placed my hands on either side of the bucket and closed my eyes, concentrating. I could feel Emrald, Ralia, the dogs and birds watching me. My eyebrows furrowed together, and I could feel a frown forming on my face.

I was trying to freeze the water. I struggled for a minute with the magic in my mind, then sent it shooting through my fingers, freezing the water in the bucket. I heard the mouths of Emrald and Ralia pop open as I opened my eyes. I could see the dogs’ eyes bugging out, seeing something they never had before. Crick and Anya came over, and sniffed the ice. I shooed them away and turned the bucket over, dumping out the solid block.

I enchanted it so that it would only break or melt for certain purposes and took out a spoon. I carved away at it, trying to make a large hole inside. After I had made a big enough hole, I stuck anything perishable inside it, making a portable icehouse.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

The next morning I was up first, and stepped out of my caravan, looking for breakfast. After searching in a few trees, a found a pheasant’s nest on the ground. I waited patiently to see if the mother came back, and my patience was rewarded. I lunged forward and grabbed her, stuffing her under my arm. I reached for the bag in my cloak pocket and found it still there, tightly folded.

I shoved the pheasant between my legs and kneeled on the ground, unwrapping the bag. I struggled with it for a few moments, then opened it to its full size. I took the pheasant from between my legs and stowed her in the bag, tying it.

I looked at the six eggs that would soon become my caravan’s breakfast. I grinned as I picked up the whole nest, finding no other way to transport them. I made my way back to the camp without breaking any of the eggs or loosing the pheasant. Outside I could see the dogs tearing into a large, innocent hare that had wandered into camp. Well, they had to eat something, did they not? I opened the door of the caravan and set down the bag with the pheasant. Emrald and Ralia were up, apparently waiting for my return.

"You find something for us, Illeria?" Ralia asked at the same time as Emrald asked, "What’s moving in that bag?" Emrald’s short blond hair bobbed as she stretched her neck to see what I had in my hand. "I found a pheasant and her eggs!" I crowed enthusiastically. "Really? Both? That’s great!" Emrald yelled, radiating excitement. Ralia nodded, "We should keep the mother. We might get other eggs out of her." I took the pheasant out of the bag, holding it by the back of its neck and its legs. Emrald shook her head. "No, Ralia, that pheasant is old. She will not last long enough. This is probably her last brood. In the next village we can buy a chicken for more eggs." To which Ralia replied, "If you say so, but I will not slaughter it."

"Let the men do it," I agreed, "They seem to be able to do it without so much as a simple regret." We all nodded, pleased with our compromise.

We cooked the six eggs shortly, each getting two, then poked holes in the shell and sipped the egg white and yolk from inside. Anya and Crick trotted inside, licking their lips free of hare. I walked outside and knocked on the men’s caravans door, waiting to be let in. Irkis opened the door, his eyebrow arching upwards. "Yes?" he asked, his eyes flickering to the large bag. "I got a pheasant. Should be good food. We’re going to hook up the horses to the caravan now, I suggest you do the same," I replied, handing him the bag. Irkis nodded and moved aside to let the small Dwarves scamper out the door, headed for their rams. Dlak and Fenor were both holding saddles, apparently intending to ride their rams today.

I followed them off the caravan’s walkway and to a tree where their rams were bound. They set about strapping the saddles and harnesses in such complicated ways I did not dare to believe any other race could do it.

Fenor’s black ram seemed to be the wilder of the two, continuously head-butting trees and anything else he could reach. His horns where also curved back more, making me think he were older.

Still thinking, I didn’t notice Crag had trotted over until he nibbled my long elf ear with his soft horse lips. I giggled, and I saw Dlak and Fenor look up from their complicated knots. They smiled, and reached over pet Crag’s gray shoulder.

I left, leading Crag by placing my hand under his jaw and gently holding on. He did not seem to mind anything anyone did, too mellow to be spooked like others would. Leading him to the other horses, I could see that they were frisky that morning. I gave him a push, knowing if he had not wanted to move he wouldn’t have. The galloped to the other horses and was chased around. I grinned and walked back to the men’s caravan, intending to speak to Talone.

I jumped up the steps and raised my hand to knock on the door when Talone and Saxxas came out. Saxxas was holding the dead pheasant in his hand, and Talone was looking at with a weird expression. "Good job, Illeria," Saxxas said, "Caught us dinner tonight. How was your breakfast?" I held up one of the eggshells I had saved to brag and replied, "It was good to feel eggs in my stomach." Saxxas’s eyes bugged out as he saw the eggshell and mumbled, "You kept that for bragging did you not?" I nodded and grinned. I tossed the eggshell on the ground and tousled Saxxas’s spiky black hair

Today I decided I would ride Crag, since it had been maybe six days. I rode him bareback, wearing my soft, crimson Cenarion pants, instead of the hard plate leggings. I rode with Crick trotting beside me in his tireless lope. Sometimes he did get tired though, and he ran ahead about four feet to sit on the back walkway of my caravan. At lunch I rooted around in the ice block until I found some of the cheese Ralia and Emrald had made.

I set it on a low shelf and got my other ingredients. I grabbed some of the soft boar meat, saffron, truffles, and rosemary, and dumped them into a pot Dlak had brought. I took a spoon and stirred it all around, occasionally looking. I set the pot over the fire and got the cheese. I took slices of bread that had gone a tad stale and toasted them over the fire. Then I cut them in sections, making a sort of cracker-like thing. I took out a large plate and set my crackers and cheese on them. I sprinkled salt in my boar concoction and on my crackers.

Emrald and Saxxas came in, fixing to duel each other on the game of cards. They both battled hard, but in the end Emrald won again. Crying out in triumph, she told Saxxas "Good game." And continued to put away the cards.

Emrald sniffed. "That smells good Illeria, what are you making?" I showed her and checked it again. It was done. I walked out into the campsite between the caravans and set down the pot on a rock that seemed suited for it. I set down the plate next to it and walked to the men’s caravan to get them. As I knocked on the door I heard everyone inside scramble up to see what taste I had conjured up this time.

Irkis was at the door first, and I side stepped to let the raging herd of men by. Laughing at their expressions as they took their first bite, I tried it myself. The boar flavor had leaked into everything in the pot, making it delicious. The saffron and truffles had sort of been sucked up by the pieces of meat, making them more flavorful. Everyone wolfed theirs down until nothing was left. "Was that the pheasant Illeria?" Irkis asked, curious. "No," I replied, "The pheasant is tomorrow." The Dwarves licked their lips as they saw the plate of crackers and cheese.

I could hear the crunching of crackers as I walked away to my caravan, a bit tired. Emrald joined me silently as I yawned inside. "Good night Illeria. I’ll wake you up at midnight." She said to me, already half asleep.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

At midnight Emrald stayed true to her word and woke me. I could hear the steady drizzle of rain outside and I made sure both the dogs were inside before closing the door behind me. I climbed on to the top of the caravan and concentrated on not slipping. After I was satisfied with my position I looked around again. I could see Fenor and Dlak coming into view behind me, and I turned to greet them. My eyes widened as I took in their expressions, and the wolf that ran between them. On top of the wolf’s back was another Blood Elf, surprising me. I leaped to the men’s caravan in front and pulled the horses to a stop, making Crag and Ginger; Emrald’s mount, stop as well.
After bounding to the ground, I jogged over to the trio, flipping my dripping hair out of my eyes. "What is it? Why do you bring company?" I asked without taking my eyes off the Elf. Dlak answered my question, "We found him when we were looking for food for our rams. He was trailing behind us. I don’t know why. I don’t speak Elf." Dlak finished with a shrug. Fenor was stroking his beard in thought and directed a question to me this time. "You are an Elf, Illeria. Can you remember your language enough to speak it?" I shrugged and replied; "I think so. If not I bet Talone or Ralia could translate."

Fenor went to wake everyone while I tried to communicate with the elf. "Why are you following us?" I asked him sharply, not really expecting an answer. "I was sent to make sure that you reached the Alliance cities. I didn’t believe they’d give you freedom of all things. If Horde had caught you you’d be in chains!" He burst out at me, in perfect Common. "Why didn’t you speak to Dlak or Fenor if you can speak human?" I growled at him. He laughed and ignored it. "My name is Thalnor. And you are the strangest creature I have ever met or laid eyes upon. Not even kodo compare to you. I also have another question. May I dare ask if you have something to eat?"

　

　

　

　

Continued on next Page. Story is not over.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Stormwind with Poison

That was basically how Thalnor was introduced in our lives. Every offer to sleep inside the caravans was refused, as he preferred sleeping under the stars. I felt more cautious now, not sure how to behave around my own kind. James, Ralia’s phoenix, took a liking to Thalnor, sitting on his shoulder at times or singing happily when Thalnor walked past him.

About three more weeks went by when they reached Valiance Keep. Calno walked over to my shoulder and said to me, "Tomorrow we will be on one of those boats on the harbor," gesturing to the boats, "From here we are headed to Stormwind, where the King awaits us. Good luck, Illeria, and I hope you have your sea legs." I nodded my thanks and looked nervously at the giant ships that littered the harbor. I swallowed and crouched. Crick trotted over to me, wagging his tail. Cybele flew from my caravan and landed on Crick’s back, making him growl and his hackles stand on end. I chuckled at his surprised reaction and was glad my hard skin wasn’t soft enough to be punctured by her talons.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

When we awoke at dawn in the Harbor, we sold our caravans, loaded our mounts, and boarded one of the ships. The front was metal and shaped like the head of an eagle, and was refreshing to stand or sit on. Sitting on it the second day I thought about what I was. Thalnor had been right. I was a strange creature. Not really sure what it felt like to not be dead, I decided it wasn’t so bad. It appeared my strength was higher than most, and for that I was almost smug.

Cybele, Crildor, James, and the others liked to perch on the crow’s nest and spread their wings like they were flying. After the seagulls became accustomed to the birds of prey and ravens, they came to perch next to our birds every day and seemed to have conversations. James liked to sit on my shoulder as the sun set, as I was always closet to the sun setting on the horizon.

After a week on the ship, I met the captain. His name was Fred, though most of the self-respecting crew would call him Shark Bait. He never did become used to my presence on the ship, and once I was certain he didn’t like me, I stayed away from him.

At supper one night, I saw him slip something into my drink. Being dead and all, I didn’t believe poison would harm me. Yet as I sipped from the wine I felt dizzy. The half-empty goblet fell from my hands, clattering against the wood floor.

Talone, sitting next to me made a reflexive jerk towards me with his hands and caught me before I fell. I could feel my heart jerk inside of me, as if shocked. I could see Fred grinning across the table from me. That soon turned to horror as he saw how my body took it. Something inside of me snapped. An uncontrollable will took my fist and sent it swinging up into his chin. As his eyes rolled back into his head, Ralia raced over to Talone.

The last thing I heard was them talking in a language I had never heard.

When I became conscious again, I could feel pain across my face. As I opened my eyes I was looking up at Crick, who was standing over me protectively. I groaned, and he looked down. He whined and licked my face, making me remember the line of pain.

I pushed him away and sat up. The pain was from the top of my left eyebrow down to just below my cheekbone.

I could see Fred on the floor beside me, sitting as well. As he saw me awaken, I scuttled away from him backwards. Emrald rushed over to me and touched my shoulder. "Illeria, are you all right?" she asked, genuinely concerned. I nodded silently and touched my face, tracing the raised line. Emrald gave me a reflective piece of glass, and I saw the damage. It was a brilliant white scar that lined my face, and I wondered what had happened. Talone began to explain, "Fred’s poison is made to bring back past injuries. It didn’t do what it would do to a living person, but it gave you what I believe let Arthas capture you," he said, gesturing to the scar. As I stood, I gasped in pain as my shoulder blade complained.

I twisted around and pulled up my shirt, inspecting to jagged scar that went from the back of my neck to the end of my shoulder blade. I saw Talone shudder, and I wondered what was wrong. I turned to glare at Fred, when I saw what I had done. My rock hard flesh hadn’t been damaged at all when I let loose the powerful hit I had at Fred, but it had done worse to him. His whole jaw was purple and black, and some seemed to be turning green. His whole neck seemed to be swelled, and I could see he was regretting his decisions. I almost took pity on him until I remembered he had poisoned me. I glared at him, then looked to see if I had damaged anything else.

Almost everything I saw had appeared to escape my thrashing, yet I wasn’t sure how I was. I recalled the experience of my heart jumping suddenly. "My heart moved." I whispered, not to anyone particularly. "It was probably reliving the moments before your death. That was probably when you lost consciousness," Thalnor said, standing behind Fred. His face was hard, and he looked in disgust at Fred. I leaned over and hugged Crick, glad I survived.

Calno looked upset. He whispered something in a voice that I didn’t care to hear. When I was walking away I heard what he said to Fred. "What were you thinking! I don’t believe King Wyrnn would have been happy if the only friendly Death Knight in existence willing to cooperate was killed or damaged. You just about ruined everything all of us are working to do. You just about destroyed everyone here, Fred. What would have happened if she had lost control? Instead of her only hitting you, what if she had wrecked everything?" Calno growled at Fred. "He has a point," Irkis said quietly, "If she had lost control, there would have been nothing we could have done. I was there, at one of her slaughters at the battle. I saw the men that opposed her fall like flies. We’re all lucky to be here today. We are the survivors," he continued, turning to the rest. "We are the ones that lived, and we have to get that Blood Elf to safety before something, or someone else happens." Irkis finished his speech with a blaze in his eye, something I had not seen before.

Irkis was not the quiet, laid back footman I had believed him to be. He was a full blown, brave, heroic warrior. I was glowing inside with happiness, even if I was a killer, I had friends. They cared for me in a way I wasn’t sure I could back. I was proud to have gained their trust, and I would do whatever I would be able to do.

I curled into a ball on the front of the deck again, waiting for sunset. Cybele and James flew over to me, Crick following. As I petted his shaggy black fur, I used my other hand and delicately stroked Cybele’s feathers. She nibbled my finger with her razor sharp beak, and I sighed contently.

Suddenly I could see a line on the horizon. I could start to see trees when it hit me. Land. I leaped up, startling James from his doze. I sprinted to the others, ignoring the stiffness in my shoulder that was fading quickly.

"Land! There is land!" I cried out to the silent circle. I could visibly see all their faces light up. When I pointed it out to them, they looked confused. "Where is it? I don’t see it." Emrald asked, squinting. "Its right there! See the trees? And that dock?" I crowed impatiently. I could see an answer come to Fenor’s face before the others. "Oh!" He laughed, then said, "She can see farther and better than us remember? Someone just go ask Fred for a spyglass!" still chuckling, he waddled off. Dlak grinned as Ralia trotted off to look for a spyglass. When she returned, they took turns looking. When it was handed to me, I could see people standing on the shore. "Amazing…" I whispered, seeing how much detail it took in. I handed it off to Talone and went to look for something to eat.

As I stepped inside the dark pantry and rooted around for something to cook, I could sense Fred was standing at the door. "Why have you cornered me like a wolf, Fred?" I asked without looking up. He sounded nervous as he answered, "I… I wanted to apologize. I should not have tried to get rid of ye like that. I did not even know thee, yet tried to kill ye. I am sorry." I shook my head, not convinced. "No you are not Fred. You are apologizing to your King. I do not blame you for poisoning me, for if we had switched places I might’ve done the same. That does not mean I like you for it, nor that I am going to willingly forgive your rashness in the blink of an eye. But I will tell you this. I won’t hold it against you Fred. Now I suggest you get back to the wheel before we get caught on a reef." I told him, finally looking up at him.

I saw a new respect in his eyes, not the old hatred. Convinced I could get back to my cooking, I grabbed what I needed and stepped past the speechless Captain.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

When I woke the next dawn, I could see I was up first. Crick wagged his tail as he followed me out. I tested my shoulder, finding no stiffness. As I felt it, I could tell the scars would most likely never leave me. Haunted by a past I could not remember, I looked at the shoreline. We were at a dock, which led me to believe Fred had guided us there in the night.

Feeling well rested; I stretched again, cracking my fingers. I found some bread in the pantry and sat with my feet hanging over the edge of the ship. I saw a few other early risers on the dock as I finished my bread. Dlak walked up behind my shoulder and then sat next to me. "We are in the Stormwind Harbor. If I had my way, Menethil would still have the majority of ships so Ironforge, the Dwarf City, would have more business." He said to me. I could see the white walls of the great Human City in front of us.

Irkis came then and pointed to the walls, "That is where King Varian Wyrnn resides in the Keep. That is where we are headed.

When everyone had awoken and eaten, we led our mounts off the ship, said goodbye to Fred and the crew, and were off. Thalnor and I in the middle, the others formed a protective circle around us. As I took in the architecture of the great City, I could hear Ralia and Talone talking in the language I did not know.

As we walked along the canals, I could see that the Keep was just ahead. We all started to trot our mounts, impatient with our pace. Crag whinnied at Emrald’s horse as they bumped into each other. Crick leading, Anya, Caron, and Sapphire weaved through the perilous hooves of horses, keeping up well. Saxxas laughed as his Sapphire raced ahead then ran back and forth.

Inside the Keep, we slowed our horses.

When we neared the King, guards looked uneasily at Thalnor and me as we spread into a line. King Wyrnn stood. "Is it true then? I heard of rumors that a Death Knight had been captured and was being brought to me. Apparently you have succeeded. But why do you bring another Blood Elf in your company besides the Knight?" He asked in a deep voice. Calno stepped forward to speak, "Yes, King. We have traveled from Northrend to the Eastern Kingdoms, and we have a Blood Elf ambassador to boot." Varian nodded and studied my scarred face. "I thought Arthas repaired them in perfect condition…?" Varian finished with a question, his dark eyebrows arching upward.

"Yes," Irkis nodded, "He does. But someone poisoned her with Clark’s Fog. We believe its what happened to Illeria to let Arthas capture her." Varian seemed puzzled by the thin line that crossed my face. "Only that? Was there magic as well?" He questioned me.

"No," I spoke for the first time; "The crippling blow was to my back." I twisted around and pulled up my azure shirt and showed him the jagged scar that danced across my back. Ralia sucked in a shocked breath, for this was the first time she had seen it. Talone seemed distressed again, and busied himself picking a mat out of his sabre cat’s dark fur.

I let my shirt fall back down and looked at Varian’s reaction. He looked surprised. "You have my protection while you stay here. If anyone would like to leave your fellowship, now would be the time. I am sure the citizens will not be happy with my decision to let you stay here. But I believe that they will be grateful that you are willingly helping us. I will send a guard to show you your lodgings." Varian finished, and beckoned forward a guard. He told the guard where to go, then we left.

I could feel Varian’s eyes burning into my back as we walked away.

The next day, I stood and walked to my window. Crick stumbled from the bed to come sit by my legs, and he leaned against me as we looked out. My view was of the stable yard, where I could see Crag frisking around with Ginger, Emrald’s horse. The two seemed inseparable after the trip together, and were sharing an apple. Knowing the jump wouldn’t hurt me; I swung my legs out of the three-story window and grabbed Crick. He let out a surprised yelp, but didn’t struggle. Holding him in my arms, I dropped onto the cobblestone ground.

Crag whinnied as I walked past him and I gave him a pat on the neck. Walking out, I could see a few of the grooms arriving to do their business. Their eyes widened as they saw me but nodded politely back at me as I smiled at them.

Inside the Keep again, I could see the guards were surprised to see me come in. They had not seen me leave my quarters, which I believe puzzled them. I bowed to Varian, then went to look for Thalnor. I was sure of all people, Thalnor was the man to talk to in hostile territory. He was in the Library when I found him, intensely studying a book. When I sat next to him, Thalnor jumped nearly two feet in the air – sitting!

"Oh, hello, Illeria." He said after his heart rate slowed down. He looked a bit miffed that I had sneaked up without even trying. Reading over his shoulder, I could see what was so interesting.

　

　

　

　

　

　

    

After much discussion, Arthas vowed to himself to make his Death Knights perfect in body. There would be one though, his chosen one. Arthas was sure to make it female. She would leave his side, and make her way through the living world. Someday, maybe a century later, she would not be able to resist His will, and come back.
I shivered as I read the end of the page. I was an instrument of destruction. I never wanted to return to the life of no memory, friends, or even color! That world was always going to be black and white compared to this world. The moment that I could feel him taking over, I would tell my friends to chain me.

Thalnor interrupted my line of thoughts by roughly closing the book. Dust flew everywhere, sending us both into a coughing fit. Thalnor stood and shelved the book. "It tells what will happen. It’s a prophecy book." He growled, glaring at it. I answered, "I know… I can read ruins…" Thalnor’s eyes widened in horror. "It can be changed though! A simple decision can render a prophecy nonsense! We just need to find a way to take his will off you…" pacing around the room, he looked truly in a bad mood. Emrald walked gracefully into the room, and sat next to me. "Why is a tornado in the Library?" she asked, gesturing to Thalnor with her blond head. "He found a book on me. It wasn’t exactly… Promising. No details, but it…" I replied, looking at Thalnor again. "It tells us Illeria goes back to Him." Thalnor said in a calmer voice. "Who?" Saxxas asked as he walked into the room with Irkis. "ARTHAS!" We all shouted at him as one. "Elune! You are going to give the guards a heart attack! They’re all ready expecting Illeria to pull a fast one, they don’t need Arthas too of all people!" Saxxas cried. Fenor and Dlak walked into the room chuckling at Saxxas. Anya trotted in her tail wagging, leading Caron and Sapphire. As soon as they saw Crick they bounced over to him and licked his muzzle.

Crick looked up at me helplessly, the females all over him. The rubbed their heads against his, causing him to have a puzzled expression on his fuzzy face. I giggled, causing the others to notice the furry climb festival. Talone and Ralia walked in, Calno right behind, completing our circle. James sat on Ralia’s shoulder, his bright crimson feathers fluttering, nibbling her ear. As I saw this I could see the rest of the birds fly through the open window, Ravens in the lead. Cybele glided over to my shoulder, Crildor following with a few twigs in his mouth.

He looked like a sparrow, bobbing up and down with a twig, as if trying to show them to Cybele. Though she would have nothing to do with him, she would occasionally accidentally let out an encouraging call, crooning to him.

All the other birds were chirping and squeaking at each other, not to mention a major bouncing. Suddenly Crick shot out from underneath Anya, Caron, and Sapphire. He darted between my legs, where he stayed until I picked him up and sat him in my lap.

Dlak and Fenor chuckled as they saw the female dogs look at me sadly, then went to their owners.

Suddenly I could hear angry shouts beyond the Library windows, and I tensed. "Calno? Mind telling the King we might have visitors?" I said, gesturing to the windows. Irkis understood immediately and rushed away, Calno trailing behind. Then it hit the rest of them. Crick jumped off my lap and faced the door, bristling, and baring his teeth. Emrald frowned, her pretty face growing worried. Ralia leaped up and opened a window, then leaned out of it, trying to see.

"It is a riot, in case anyone is not yet clear on that point." She said, brushing her curly brown hair over her shoulder. I nodded. I jogged out of the Library, then darted through the various halls until I reached my quarters. Rushing inside, I pulled on the most ragged things I had. The rusty plate leggings from the battle and the deckhand shirt covered in grime.

I walked out of the keep, flanked by Calno and Talone. King Varian stood in front of us, trying to calm the mob. "We don’t wanna bloody Death Knight in our city! We want it dead!" Someone yelled out. Just then a young man stepped out, fully armed. "Let me duel it!" He yelled out, making the mob silent. I grinned. Varian turned around, looked at my smile, and said to the young man, "Be my guest." A guard handed me a small saber, and I took it out of its sheath. Suddenly the young man charged at me and swung his short sword around clumsily.

Only using the flat of the blade, I rapped his ribs, then blocked the swing he made at me. Suddenly I placed the saber on the cobblestone ground and made a dive at him. Catching him on the chest, he stumbled, falling to the ground. I bounced off him and stood over him.

He swung his short sword back at me from behind, and I grabbed the sharp end to keep it from slicing my back. Then I was seeing something that wasn’t where I was. I was standing in the same position, watching a sword swing from behind me.

It danced across my shoulder, right where my scar was. Gasping, I fell to the ground, blacking out.

When I woke up, I was still on the cobblestone ground. Emrald and Ralia stood over me. Emrald sighed with relief as I sat up, stilling gasping for air. I noticed the young man struggling to reach me, held back by the loyal guards. I could see Thalnor from a window, and I could tell he was dying to come out. I made a mental note to tell him of the sudden vision.

Varian, noticing me awake, strode over. "What happened, Illeria?" He asked me, his eyebrows furrowed. Not really wishing to ignore a king, I answered, "That was how I was killed. I had thought I was winning, but they got me behind…" Then I realized I probably looked a bit ridiculous. I felt the jagged scar on my back and traced it. It almost seemed bolder than the last time. I gestured to the man, then said, "We can continue the duel. I won’t kill em, but I wouldn’t put it past him to kill me." Varian nodded to the guards, and stepped aside as the man barreled past him at me.

Still getting up, the man brought the sword across my right arm. Suddenly I was filled with immense rage. I made another dive at him, but this time I kicked him in mid-air and sent him flying into the Keep’s outside wall. Charging at him, I grabbed him by the neck, then leaped out of the perimeter wall, dragging the man with me. "Learn your place, boy." I snarled, then threw the man into the canal. "I hope you can swim." I told him coldly. I bounded over the perimeter.

I walked stiffly through the mob and guards. They were all deathly silent. A young woman suddenly burst out of the crowd, heading for the canal. I stalked inside the Keep, then slid down the wall, sitting. I hugged my knees, waiting for Emrald and Ralia. I could hear the clicking of dog claws before Crick even walked around the corner. He had the pleasantly surprised look of a dog looking for someone. He bounced over to me, panting. He sat next to me just as Thalnor walked around the corner. "Following ol’ Crick?" I asked, chuckling. Thalnor nodded, then leaned against the wall, looking down at me.

"I saw what happened. Is that what set you off?" He asked, then nodded to the scratch on my arm. "Yes. I believe so…" I said a bit sheepishly.

Talone and Calno suddenly exploded inside from outside the Keep. "Oh good, I tho-thought..." Calno stumbled over his words, then let himself pant for a minute. Varian walked around the corner, cape flowing, flanked by Ralia and Emrald. Varian simply arched an eyebrow at me. Irkis walked around the corner, discussing something with a few guards.

The guards left as he stopped before us. "I heard something set Illeria off. Any news?" he asked us. Emrald explained what I had seen, and Thalnor and Irkis listened intensely. Fenor and Dlak rounded the corner. Ralia froze with her mouth open to speak just as Fenor said, "Ah, shh pretty elf. You wouldn’t believe the gossip in this city. Travels like wildfire, I’ll tell ye!" Dlak chuckled. I let out a little half-hearted laugh, then stood. Saxxas appeared and spoke quickly. "Varian has given us permission to travel to Ironforge. Stormwind is no longer safe, and it will put the citizens to rest if they see us go." We all spread in different directions, packing the little things we had. I put on my crimson Cenarion pants, my favorite leather boots, and my black swashbuckler’s shirt. Cybele fluttered over to me, and let out a shrill call. Crildor swooped in from the open window and landed on my other shoulder. Grabbing my small leather sack, I darted out the door, almost straight into Irkis. "What the fel are you doing, Irkis? Come we need to go!" Irkis nodded and I grabbed his wrist, pulling him behind me faster than he could run.

I slowed my pace as Emrald and Ralia appeared. Jogging next to them, I watched as Talone, Thalnor, Saxxas, Fenor, Calno, and Dlak appeared and kept up.

Bursting out of the Keep, we made a sharp turn for the courtyard. All the horse’s and sabre cats had already been saddled, and we swung up on them with practiced accuracy. Crag nickered to Ginger, and they galloped together through the streets. Avoiding Cathedral Square, we took our horses to the tram. "Illeria!" Saxxas called. "What is it?" I replied, a bit annoyed. Talone tossed me a long black cloak. "I didn’t think we’d need them, but I gave one to everyone. We don’t want to be recognized." Saxxas said as I put it on wordlessly. I walked in third, and sucked in my breath as we stepped in. The Gnome engineers had managed to create something no one else could have dreamed of. The air was damp and cool, and I could feel a slight breeze. The walls were a slight green from mold though, and I traced my hand on it, finding it slick like moss.

I dismounted, and walked to the others, sitting on the benches waiting for a tram. Just as I sat, a tram rolled to the boarding dock. We spread out on the cars, for on one car we contested with the mounts for space.

　

　

　

Ironforge and Worgen

The tram took about twenty minutes, short for what it would be on foot. Stepping off the tram, Crick stretched, and was buried by Anya, Caron, and Sapphire again. This time he wagged his tail and nipped Anya playfully. Web, Saxxas’s Raven, had taken a liking to Heather, Irkis’s Raven. They preened each other, unlike Cybele and Crildor. If Crildor started to preen her, Cybele would squawk, and would take a long stretch of time to finally just let him.

Emrald rode Ginger up to Crag and me, and frowned. "Illeria, can you hear anything? I’m afraid of getting another bad reception…" she looked really worried, so I tried as hard as I could and listened. Ralia and Thalnor walked over quietly and watched my face. "No. There is nothing that I can hear." I told them.

Walking through the door into Ironforge, I felt no difference in the air temperature. I pulled up the hood of my cloak and hid my face. We mounted, and set our mounts at a fast trot. Dwarves and Gnomes looked up at us, and I imagined what they saw of us. Tall, mysterious, dark cloaked riders on demon horses, menacing rams, and giant cats with teeth the size of a short gnome. Then Fenor’s hood slipped.

As soon as the hood slid down his head, someone recognized him. "Fenor!" cried a Dwarf woman, and she intercepted Fenor’s ram. Fenor’s ram slid to a stop right in front of the stout woman. The woman pulled herself up over the ram’s horns and tackled Fenor onto the ground. "Fenor! You rotten scum! I thought you were dead! You never once sent a letter! Never once told me what was happening! You bloody mud sweeper!" I slid off Crag and picked the woman off Fenor, who seemed to have shrunk. I set the woman down and help Fenor up. Dlak stumbled off his ram and fell to the ground, cackling with laughter. "Do you know her?" I said, gesturing to the pudgy woman. "He was my fiancée!" The Dwarf woman shouted out, curling her hands into balls.

Fenor looked slightly messy, his long beard frizzy with static. Dlak finally stopped rolling on the floor and concentrated on breathing. "Hi, Saral… How ye been doing?" Fenor asked in the tiniest voice possible. Then another Dwarf appeared. "Saral? Who is this?" He asked, his gray beard bobbing. "His name is Fenor. We are old acquaintances. Fenor, this is Bacnin." She said, her voice calmer. Suddenly a small, motorized, metal bird flew over my head, and I ducked in surprise. My hood fell back to my shoulders, exposing my long black hair and Blood Elf face, with my ice blue eyes. Saral cringed, and shrank into Bacnin, her shocked face staring at me.

Bacnin drew an axe and gently pushed Saral behind him. Saxxas and Calno dismounted and flanked me, while Crick and Cybele bristled their fur and feathers. Crick growled and snarled at the axe Bacnin brandished. It shimmered and glowed a dark blue. Bacnin suddenly swung it at me, frowning. "Horde! What do you do in our city!" I quickly shed my cloak, as did my companions.

Emrald handed me a small, delicate sword, and I blocked the swing from the axe. Saral took a small skinning knife from her robe, and dove at me. Fenor looked torn between his old fiancée and his duty to his friends, but looking at Bacnin, he tackled her in mid-air. Towering over the stout Bacnin, I easily blocked his hip-high attacks. A gnome then shouted the alarm, and guards swarmed around us. Everyone was fighting. The birds were aiming for eyes, noses, and heads. The dogs were no longer dogs; they were wolves, bringing down men together. The mounts understood they were in danger, and they kicked and rammed until guards gave them wide berth.

Each one of my friends was fighting almost five guards. We were hopelessly outnumbered. I never noticed. Then I saw Emrald fall, and rage coursed through me. I quickly swung Bacnin across the square, then kicked a guard trying to deliver a deathblow to Emrald. I bashed in helmets, shields, and armor. Any wounds on me only increased my rage, and I picked up Emrald and sat her on top of Ginger.

Crag immediately realized my plan. He led Ginger away, and then returned to help fight. Then we all saw something not one of us would forget. A werewolf had just crashed out of a two-story building. Seeing the bloody fight, he snarled and bit a guard. The guard immediately started to grow fur. Saxxas was the next closet to the Worg. The Worg stood on two legs, and it probably stood at seven feet when its back wasn’t bent. I grabbed Saxxas by the back of the shirt and pulled him back, just as the jaws of the Werewolf snapped shut where he had been.

The guards, forgetting the fight, scattered, seeing the Worg turn back to his prey to feed. I threw a small dagger into the dwarf, killing him so he didn’t have to die a slow and painful death. Emrald rode back into view, bandages on her wounds.

The Worg turned back to me; angered he could not feast on his prey alive. Then he leaped at me. Shoving Saxxas and Irkis out of the way, I raised my sword to kill the abomination. I forgot one thing though. I forgot he was as fast as I was. The world went in slow motion as he crashed into me, flattening me into the ground. He leaned off me, then bit me on the neck, a slow, deliberate bite.

A bite not meant to kill.

A bite to make a Worg.

I screamed as the poison went into my blood, flowing lazily only because I moved. I did not die from the bite, because my heart did not beat. I grabbed the sword from where it lay beside me. I stabbed through the Worg, then stood. I decapitated it.

I staggered over to Crag, who nibbled my ear, and supported me as I leaned against him. Crick limped over, one of his back legs raised. Picking him up, I found a small piece of metal imbedded in his paw. I pulled it out quickly, then tore a piece of cloth from my pants. I tied it around his soft, round paw and put him down again. Bacnin stood from where I had thrown him, and took in the circle of dead and dying guards, and the slain Worg. He rubbed his head gingerly, then sat on the ground, looking terribly confused. Fenor sat next to Saral, and I couldn’t make out if she was dead. My vision would fuzz, then would grow clearer than I had seen in the dark square.

Cybele glided over to me, looking messy. Her pretty gray feathers were covered in dried blood, and she had problems flying. Looking her over, I could see it wasn’t her blood. Crildor landed on the ground beside her, and started preening her. Cybele preened him back, and they busied themselves picking pieces of dried blood out of each other’s feathers. I smiled, but quickly grimaced. The bite on my neck was starting to heal, which was not good. I had read in the Stormwind Library that when Worg poison enters a persons system, the wound will heal very fast to keep it in.

Ralia darted to my side. As she watched the wound swiftly healing, the others formed a semicircle around Crag and me. Bacnin even pushed his way through as I slipped to the floor. "Is it dead? The Worg?" He finally asked, tearing his eyes away from me. I nodded, pretty sure I had. Suddenly I could smell much better. "Ah! Go! Take Crag and Crick and Cybele! I’ll find you if I am under control! Just-just go!" I cried out as I could feel myself going Worg.

They quickly did as I said, Fenor carrying Saral. I could feel fur rippling across my body, and I fell to the floor, waiting for it to be over. Then my vision changed. The reds became more defined, while brown and green more muted. They next change was a tail. Turning around, I held it in clawed hands. My fur was a clean white color, and I sniffed. I could smell meat, better than anything else in the smoky air of Ironforge.

I felt under control. After running on two feet for a few steps, I found four legs was faster and more balanced. Easily catching up with my companions, Crick was the first to see me coming. Yelping with surprise, he seemed torn between barking at me or looking for a hug. Then he came looking for a hug.

Thalnor turned around as I neared them, and I grinned. "Can anyone understand me? Or am I snarling?" I asked, bouncing up and down. Talone nearly fell off his dark sabre cat as he heard me talk.

Saral had just woken up, and had been filled in with what had happened as we neared the Throne Room of Magni Bronzebeard.

After walking inside and explaining to the guards the mess they had created, the others beckoned me in. I walked on two legs, and felt extremely tall. I looked down at King Magni and bowed my head. "I am Illeria. I am the Death Knight that was captured. I am sorry you must see me like this, but I was just bitten by the Worg I killed in the Tinker Town area." My voice sounded raspy, and I coughed in my throat. It ended up sounding like a scoff. Magni nodded silently.

King Bronzebeard stood. "While I stand fairly unhappy about my slain guards, I am grateful you have slain the Worg. He has haunted my halls for almost five decades. I am glad to be rid of him!" he said, his rough accent making him a tad hard to understand.

"I also believe the Dwarves could use you. We need all your help," he said, turning to the others, "The Lich King will not fall if we do not all join in on the effort. The Lich King won’t fall if we don’t have the information we need! Arthas will not fall if we don’t have the strength!" He finished, and pumped his fist up into the air. "Now…" he said thoughtfully, "We need ye all armor do we not? Especially if Illeria is going to change forms regularly. I’ll get the enchanters on it." Snapping his fingers, two stout men in purple robes jogged into the Throne room. "Make armor for each of them. Make sure the Death Knight’s armor will fit on Worg or Blood Elf!" Magni shouted out, and the men in purple robes jogged back out, and were tripping in their haste.

The next day, I woke up to be my normal self. Then I tried to experiment. Concentrating on trying to be Worg, I could feel the changes begin. When I concentrated on being Blood Elf, I slipped back to myself. I rolled off my bed, and nearly tripped on Crick as he stood up and pressed himself against my legs. Cybele glided over and landed on my shoulder, crooning in my ear. I wore a new purple silk shirt and azure pants like my old ones.

Stepping outside, I could see I was staying in a room just off the Throne room. The two guards outside my quarters nodded to me as I walked past and I nodded back. Pulling my hair out from inside where it was tucked in my shirt, I examined it. I stepped back into my room and grabbed a pair of wool shears that had been lying about. My hair had grown down to the small of my back, and I started to clip at it. When I was done, the curtain of hair now was just below my shoulder, and had regained its bouncyness.

Walking out again, I could see the thick eyebrows of the guards’ rise as they saw the change. Emrald walked out of a room next to mine, and squealed when she saw my new hair. "Oh Elune! Your hair looks so cute!" she gushed over it for a few minutes until Ralia came out and gushed, and thus the cycle was repeated. Irkis and Calno walked out of a room together, then Thalnor and Talone, then Saxxas, Fenor, and Dlak.

Crildor sailed over from Talone and landed on my opposite shoulder, and I shooed them off when they started squawking through my head. "Nice hair, Illeria." Saxxas commented. "I figured something out. I can switch whenever I want." I told them. "Switch? Switch what?" Irkis asked. "Switch forms. I can go Worg whenever I want. But I think I’ll wait for the enchanted armor first, eh?" I replied, chuckling. They chuckled along with me, and we continued walking across the Great Hall. Reaching where Magni sat, we all bowed, then stood. Anya, Caron, and Sapphire trotted up then, still acting like wolves in the way of leadership. They sat down behind Crick, as if waiting for directions.

Taking me in as my humanoid form, Magni sat silently. Suddenly five men in purple robes jogged in panting, holding piles of plate armor in their arms. I gladly took what looked like mine and examined it. The helm was intricately carved with all sorts of animals, and only sat on my forehead, not the back of my head. The rest of the armor was the same theme as the helm. As I tried it on, it shrunk to accommodate my size. "I’ll be right back," I said, slipping out of the armor.

In my quarters, I found that the armor had a soft coating underneath so that when other clothes wouldn’t fit me, I would be comfortable with just my armor. Placing on the armor, I jogged back to the others, and placed on my helm just as I reached them. The entire armor had a certain theme to it. While mine had a green tinge and was animalistic, Irkis and Thalnor had reddish armor with flames carved into the iron. Ralia and Talone had leaves like Calno did. Emrald and Saxxas had blue armor, with swirls in it like wind. Fenor and Dlak had the simplest armor. It was simple plate, was shined greatly so that they were hard to look at.

Standing in front of my friends and the King, I switched to Worg. The armor grew with me as I did, fitting perfectly. Magni spoke up then, "Illeria, we believe there are more Worgen in Ironforge. Guards disappear on patrol, and I would be most grateful if you went on patrol tonight." I nodded to him, still uncomfortable with the raspy, rough, and deadly Worg voice.

At night I walked silently, listening for other Worgen. When I reached the Military Ward, a group of four Worgen stepped out of a shadow between buildings. They looked me up and down, until the brown leader asked me a question, "How have you gotten your paws on that dwarf armor? You are a fox if you have stolen it." He growled at one of the Worgen getting to far ahead of him.

"I have not stolen. I have joined the service of Magni Bronzebeard. I was just bitten by the black one that resided near the Great Hall. He is now dead by my hand." The Worgens’ eyes widened as I told them about the black Worg I had killed. "Roof-Walker! Roof-Walker is dead! How? Us, the pack of Ironforge, could not kill Worg, RoofWalker. You have a great honor. Do you have a Worgen name yet?" A gray-muzzled Worg growled at me, shocked. "No, I do not. My humanoid name is Illeria, but I suppose that doesn’t count in this form," I said, gesturing to my white body.

The leader spoke up again, "You shall be Nightshade. Will you join our pack?" I nodded. "But you must not eat the residents of the city. I will bring you someplace you can eat what you want." The leader nodded, then said, "I am FirePelt." The gray muzzled Worg said his name was RamClaw, a delicate black female said hers was HartWind, and a small Worgen was just simply referred to as "Pup".

"Will we get free meat from the humanoids if we do not eat them?" FirePelt asked, licking his lips. I nodded. "Lead us to the King then, Nightshade." I loped on four legs, and realized my armor made no sound whatsoever. It was nice not to have to listen to the clanking noise armor makes. When we reached the gate to the Hall, I stopped. Turning to the pack, I quickly stated the rules. "Make a single move that’s threatening, there will be a dozen bullets in the back of your head. I don’t need your blood to mess up my fur." I growled at him. FirePelt snarled at me, "Do not tell me what to do, NightShade. I am your leader!" My fur bristled and I growled.

FirePelt swiped a clawed hand at me, and I dodged easily. Advancing on him, I backhanded his head, sending him to the floor. "You are living in my world now, FirePelt! If you are to stay in my presence you will obey the rules of this world! If you do not, I will personally send you six feet under with one hand!" I snarled at him. My armor seemed to glow red as I glared down at him.

"Fine, Nightshade! I will follow the rules of your humanoid pets! May the Worgen eat their hearts!" FirePelt shouted.

Using both hands to open the doors, I led the Worgen in. The guards next to the gate shuffled to the side a little, giving us wide berth. Thalnor walked toward us, dressed in his leafy armor. "Illeria." He greeted me and walked beside me, ignoring the Worgen looking hungrily at him. "Illeria?" HartWind asked, confused. "Are you not NightShade?" I chuckled then answered, "It is my humanoid name. I doubt NightShade will catch on." Thalnor laughed, then said thoughtfully, "I don’t know. I like it. Suits you I think." He looked up at my white face, and I gave him a toothy grin.

"Let’s see what Magni thinks of me bringing back four live Worgen, eh?" I stayed in my Worg form, in case the pack acted up. Cybele glided to my shoulder from nowhere, shortly followed by Crildor. RamClaw looked up at the birds intelligently. "Falcons? I have not seen one of them since I was a pup!" He chuckled and closed his eyes, remembering. Pup looked up at his tall Elder and looked admiring. "HartWind? Ever been out of Ironforge?" I asked, turning to HartWind. She shook her head. "You will be soon. You can finally see the daylight!" I cried out, and started to lope to Magni, eager to show him my prizes. "NightShade!" Pup squealed, panting heavily. I laughed, then scooped him up and placed him on my back. I could feel him bouncing up and down as I sprinted to the Throne.

I skidded to a stop in front of King Magni and bowed my head to him. I plopped Pup on the floor, and I stood on two legs. "Interesting, Illeria, Interesting. Now instead of one Worgen in my Hall, I have five. Now, how did that happen?" Bronzebeard said simply. He simply raised his thick eyebrows and waited for an answer. "Depends on how you look at it, Sire. Now, you could say I found them, but they also found me. Which would you conclude?" I gave him a toothy smile.

He nodded. Then he observed Thalnor beside me. "You’re dying to say something Thalnor. Please speak." Magni told him. "They call her Nightshade! Nightshade! This Elf just doesn’t stop earning names!" He smiled like there was no tomorrow, laughing. "What?" I cried, "I have more than one?" Thalnor nodded, his face red from laughing. "Let’s see… It, Knight, Strong Sword, Murderer, Water Walker (no idea how that one originated) and Falcon Tamer! Not to mention NightShade! Never heard that before!" HartWind and RamClaw looked amused, while FirePelt just looked grumpy.

"Pup?" I asked the young one, "I’m going to call you ThornFur. You left marks on my fur!" I chuckled, but ThornFur looked absolutely ecstatic at earning a name. Bouncing up and down, he appeared to grow suddenly. He was maturing at a fast speed, as if magic was making him the size he was supposed to. He grew sturdier, more muscled, and his black fur grew even darker. He was even bigger than I was, and I had to look up a bit.

"Thank you, Nightshade, it has been far too long. I’ve been waiting for this for two decades." He bowed his head to me and I smiled. Emrald appeared around the corner, in her blue armor. She had blue gloves on as well, and a small ball of fire was in one of her hands as she saw the Worgen around the Throne. Thalnor jumped up from behind me. "No! Emrald don’t shoot! That will blast all to shreds!"

The ball of fire sucked back into her hand, and she relaxed. "Oh. I thought there was something wrong." She shrugged and kept walking toward us. "Would you switch, for Elune’s sake?! I’m going to hurt my head trying to look at your faces! Felreaver…" She said aggressively, surprising the pack and me. They all had a taken aback look on their faces, not sure how to change. "I’m not sure they can Emrald," I told her. I changed though to make her happy. I saw FirePelt’s eyes flash as he saw how fragile I looked. "Don’t even try, Furball," I said, glaring at him ferociously.

He bared his teeth at me, but knew enough to back off.

Dlak and Fenor trotted around the corner. Fenor had become less potbellied after all the traveling and they looked like they were in good shape. Dlak actually had his leather cap off for once, replaced by the armor they both wore.

"Ah! Oh! Fenor! Dlak! Go get that armor a bit muddy, would ye?" Magni called out to the glimmering sheets of armor that were dwarves. Everyone chuckled except FirePelt, of course. Suddenly he lunged at me, his massive bulk about to crush into me. But there was someone with an even bigger bulk. ThornFur.

ThornFur let out a vengeful roar, and met FirePelt in mid-air. FirePelt had better momentum, but was surprised. They crashed to the floor, and started tearing into each other. I switched to Worg and joined in. When the pebbles, dust, and fur settled, FirePelt lay on the floor, dead. Blue blood seeped from wounds on his neck. RamClaw and HartWind sucked in a shocked breath, seeing their leader killed so suddenly. I could tell ThornFur felt avenged for all the years he had been nameless, and I felt smug. Grabbing FirePelt by the back of the neck, I dragged him down the Hall, headed for the door. Then I stopped. I believe ThornFur read my mind.

We took out his heart. Splitting it in two, we each swallowed it whole. Every humanoid in the room had a slightly disgusted look on their faces. In Worg form, I just didn’t care. We threw the dead FirePelt onto the street, for all the citizens and any Worgen left to see.

Back by the Throne, Magni looked at the two of us. "Will you join the Stormpike Army? We need fighters like you against the undead. All of you." I nodded. "Thorn?" I asked. He nodded, and the rest of the pack agreed. "We will round up any Worgen willing. Emrald? Will you get the rest? Tell them we’re leaving." I said, and went to humanoid form. I whistled, and I heard Crag galloping down the long hall before I saw him turn the corner. He slid to a stop next to me, the traction under his hooves giving out.

I mounted, and the others soon appeared. Not bothering with cloaks, we traveled to the Military Ward to catch the next motorized griffin to the Stormpike battlement in Northrend.

On the "plane" as the gnomes called it, everyone sat as fall away from the rickety doors as possible. Dogs sat between owner’s legs, and Worgen made themselves as small as possible. The hour-long flight felt like it took all day. When we finally stepped off, everyone stretched, cracking backs, necks, and fingers. The mounts even ran around, trying to flex stiff muscles.

I went Worg just as a Stormpike officer appeared and looked me up and down. He cringed when he saw the other Worgen, but regained his composure. We had come up with a plan on the plane. ThornFur, HartWind, RamClaw, and I would head to the forest to look for Worgen. Emrald, Irkis, Talone, and Saxxas would go into town. Thalnor, Ralia, Fenor, and Dlak would head to the farthest city, but have a short stay. We would all meet at the town Emrald and her crew would stay.

In the forest, we loped along until a Worg suddenly jumped from a tree. He landed in front of us. We all stood on our hind legs. "I am NightShade. They are ThornFur, HartWind, and RamClaw. We are looking for help." I said calmly to the gray Worg. He nodded. "I’m StoneCall. What do you need help with, may I ask?" His voice was gravelly, like the color of his coat. "We work with the humanoids. We are looking for help to face the Lich King. If the Lich King wins, Worgen will be hunted as the living. Worgen will not survive!" StoneCall nodded. He let out a howl that ripped through the sky, and suddenly Worgen were all around them. They looked at me with curious eyes, for I could see no others with white coats. I shed my armor, and placed it in a sack I was carrying.

"What is this?" A chocolate colored Worg asked, her high voice asking the question no one else spoke. "These Worgen are working for the humanoids. They come to offer a chance to live, a chance to be free of Arthas. We all know he will kill us as soon as humanoids are gone. If we die, let us die Worgen, not cowards!" StoneCall cried out, his fur bristling by the end.

A Worg as black as ThornFur stepped out, his eyes glowing. "My Pack will go to war. We will fight with the undead! We will be Worgen!" After that, it was a free for all. All the packs joined the cause, from three members to three dozen. StoneCall spoke up again, "Nightshade! You will lead us. Select your Generals, your Betas, and lead us to Victory!" I nodded then sprinted to the edge of the forest, leading the Worgen. "Thorn, you will be my Beta, hear? I trust you to assign Generals. We’re going to need organization. Worgen won’t like the humanoids, they won’t like us. And we are going to be in the crossfire. We’ll need to keep them together." I said to him, staring into his golden eyes.

Bounding out of the forest, I looked for the town. I placed my armor on again, since the Stormpike would be able to recognize me that way.

I walked on two legs, and watched as Cybele hunted above me. Diving at another bird, she caught one, and landed on a branch to eat it. She finished it quickly, and let it drop with a thud when she was done.

Reaching a road leading to the town, I stepped onto it. The frosty coating on the cobblestone made it a tad slippery to walk on, but I managed to do it without stumbling.

Eventually we reached the snow-covered town. Stormpike sentries stood outside the doors and their mouths popped open as they saw the huge quantities of Worgen pouring towards them. I nodded to them as the door opened and led the Worgen inside. Irkis walked outside of one of the houses and came an inch away from a Worgens furry chest. Irkis cried out in surprise and flung himself against the closed the door.

"Fel! For Elune’s sake where is Illeria?" He crowed, searching for a white Worgen. ThornFur stepped forward. "NightShade? She is busy organizing the ranks of the Worgen army. I will find her." He finished just as I tripped over to them. I turned humanoid and nearly fell because I lost my balance for a minute. "Elune, Illeria! Where the fel did you find all these?!" He burst out, gesturing to the four hundred Worgen crowded into the town.

Every one of the turned their wolf snouts to Irkis as he finished, regarding him curiously. StoneCall walked up, recognizing my scent out of Worgen form. "Nightshade, I believe a humanoid Stormpike is looking for you. A short Dwarf with terribly glaring armor." He said, gesturing with his head to where a brilliant shininess was showing through the Worgen.

"Fenor!" I called waving my sword over my head. Apparently he had seen, for he lumbered across the square, trying to avoid collisions with Worgen.

"Illeria! This is amazing! I wish Saral was here to see this, the frightened rabbit!" He crowed out. I grinned and switched. "I’m going up on the roof. I’m going to keep a lookout." I told Irkis, then grabbed on of the pipes sliding lazily around the building.

Using my back feet as much as my hands, I scuttled up the building. Grabbing on to the last pipe, it broke, rusted and brittle. The pipe bent, sending me closer to the ground. Grunting with the effort, I used my arms and hauled myself back up the pipe. As soon I stepped on the roof, the pipe broke and crashed to the ground with immense clanking. I cursed, then looked around. Suddenly Saxxas and Thalnor were crawling over the roof ledge, panting and coughing. "How did you two get up here?" I said, looking down at them. "There is- a- a ladder. Right-right there." Thalnor said, pointing to the rusty thing.

I chuckled, and Saxxas joined in. Thalnor was too busy breathing in the freezing air. Saxxas flexed with arms, then said, "Hey, this trip got me in shape! ‘Bout time!" He finished, inspecting his arms, and I had to grab the back of his swirly blue armor to keep him from sliding off the slippery roof. "Saxxas?" I asked him. "What?" he asked, calming himself. "Get a hold of your self and shut up!" Thalnor and I both yelled at him. "Jeez! Ok okay! Just stop yelling at me!"

Then I saw something outside the town.

There was a Death Knight outside the town’s wall.

And he was busting through it with his mace.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Worgen Prove A Worth

I howled out an alarm, which StoneCall took up, riling the Worgen. We rushed to save the Stormpike guards that were swarming around the Death Knight.

Snarling, growing, and roaring, a wave of Worgen rolled over buildings, across the streets, and over the wall, to the Knight. The Knight turned his Tauren face up at me, his face turning to horror as he looked into my toothy growl.

Roaring, we swarmed over him, peeling steel armor off to claw at him. Seeing armor on me, I suppose he assumed I was the leader. He was right. His mace, covered in hard crystals, swung towards me. I grabbed the pole it was on just before it whacked into my chest.

The mace wouldn’t be broken, but the handle would. As it snapped, I reached out and grabbed the outnumbered Tauren by the neck. His hooves flailed under him as I made a fantastically high leap back into town. Devoid of most of his armor, I could see the wounds that now covered his body. Only claw marks or swords Worgen had picked up. No Worg had wanted to turn this Knight.

After I had brought the Knight into the city hall, the humans, dwarves, and gnomes of the town flooded in. I kept HartWind, ThornFur, and StoneCall inside with me incase we needed to subdue the Knight.

"Order!" The Stormpike leader called out, silencing everyone. Suddenly the Knight jerked, trying to get out of my grasp. Immediately we were on top of him, snarling, scratching and growling. "Go on," I said pleasantly as soon as the Knight stopped struggling.

"I know you are all a tad upset by Worgen in our town, but they have proved their worth already. They have captured a Death Knight! Illeria will interrogate the Knight, and try to see what The Lich King’s plan is now." The Mayor said, trying to calm the crowd.

Suddenly a little brown hair boy ran over to me and looked up at my ferocious face. "How old are you?" He asked in an innocent voice. "I don’t know…" I told him truthfully, and he looked concerned. "Neither do I, my Father says no one needs to know their age.

I nodded. Then the Knight darted his hand out and grabbed the boy’s wrist. The boy let out a squeal of pain. I snapped. Using a clawed hand, I brought my hand across the Knight’s face. Three red lines immediately appeared. The Knight let go of the boy. Picking him up by the neck, I dragged him outside, all eyes on me. Holding both hands on his neck, I asked, "What did Arthas send you to get, scum?" I snarled at him, baring my teeth.

"I didn’t want to be with that dirt anymore. But who would let me into this town freely? I wasn’t planning on Worg eyes looking out for me. And I rather not be a Worg if you know what I mean!" He gasped. I loosened my grip on his neck. "Then why did you grab that boy?" I asked him, my eyes narrowed. "That boy, I swear I’ve seen em before. Not to mention he’s an Elf! A Blood Elf, that I know of. And in a Stormpike town!" Here he snorted and looked down at me from where I held him. "Mind not holding me like this? I know I don’t need to breathe but it’s essential to talking." He said to me, sounding a bit annoyed. Setting him down we walked back inside.

I explained to the Stormpike, who explained to the Mayor, who explained to the civilians, about the Death Knight. His name as a Death Knight had been Chaos, but we both agreed that didn’t suit his docile nature. For a few days we were dedicated to finding a name for him, until one day he burst in, pumping his fist in the air. "I have it! My name is now Camdu SpikeHorn!" I smiled, then said, "It suits you!" Just then, he caught his horn on the doorframe. "Ouch! A little help?" He said, his horn stuck. I grinned. I jogged over, my black hair swinging from side-to-side.

"You’re so clumsy for a Tauren!" I cried out as the horn was dislodged with a click. He chuckled, his brown fur vibrating. He probably had the deepest voice of everyone I knew, including ThornFur. Speaking of him, ThornFur, RamClaw, and HartWind walked into the room. The light black fur of HartWind was bristling. "We found a bitten Stormpike. We believe the biter was of the Sunset Pack. They are known for their tendencies to not resist… temptations." HartWind growled, then they walked outside. They came back in with the writhing guard. Tossing my black hair over my shoulder, I placed to fingers on his neck and checked his pulse. It was speeding. I checked him for the bite. "Where is the bite?" I asked, looking up.

"It’s gone. By the time we found him it had finished sealing. We only found dried blood where it had been." RamClaw said, his old voice cracking. I could feel my expression turn to horror. "Will he live?" I asked ThornFur, my eyes wide. "Probably, but I doubt he’ll ever be Elf again," he answered solemnly. They set the writhing Night Elf on the floor, and we waited silently for the change.

Suddenly my companions walked through the door and froze as they watched us sitting around the purple skinned Elf. Talone and Thalnor were first to reach us, just leaping over the wooden tables and chairs. Next were Saxxas, Emrald, Calno, and Irkis, shortly followed Dlak and Fenor. Crick, Anya, Caron, and Sapphire trotted into the room and spread out to their owners. Suddenly James came shooting into the room, cawing and screaming. Ralia burst in after him, tears streaming down her face. James fluttered into my arms, lying down. I rushed over to Ralia and we hugged him between us. I could feel tears streaming down my face, for the first time I could remember. Then James bright red feathers burst into flames, and I yelped in surprise. Though the flames licked Ralia’s and my skin, it didn’t hurt. We each let out sobs as the beautiful phoenix turned to ashes. No one moved as the ashes fell to the floor. One big lump stayed in my hands, but I froze when two brilliant golden eyes appeared from the ashes.

From there I could see James had burned. And he had returned as this featherless, bright-eyed chick. I grinned. Ralia let out a shocked gasp as I cleaned the ashes off James. Suddenly the Night Elf guard changed. Gray and brown fur rippled over him in waves, and Camdu’s nostrils flared alarmingly.

When the switch was over, the new Worgen stood. His eyes were an icy blue, like mine in humanoid form. He looked himself over, and then smiled. As he looked up, he placed his eyes on the living. And dove. "No!" I screeched, and switched in mid-air, hurtling forward to stop him. Inches from him, he turned to me. Seeing a Worg flying through the air towards him, he seemed to remember what he was doing. Catching himself on a chandelier, he hung from it, catching his breath. HartWind walked underneath the Worg. "Do you mind if I name you?" She asked, looking up at him. "Go ahead." The new one said in a smooth voice. "ClayTrap. I’m sure you’ll live up to it," HartWind said, her light black fur rippling.

ClayTrap nodded, then dropped from the chandelier. Hugging James to her chest, Ralia gasped for the third time. The sooty little chick was growing faster than I would have not thought possible had I not witnessed ThornFur’s amazing growth. His brilliant feathers were coming back, but a different color. The beautiful feathers were now golden, like his piercing, glorious eyes. And he kept growing. And growing. Soon he was bigger than he was originally. Then he grew a lion tail. "He’s becoming… a griffin!" Irkis burst out, and Emrald rushed forward. "James is older than we thought! When phoenix’s become three centuries old, they become…" Emrald trailed off. "Griffins…" Calno finished. I nodded.

Ralia had to drop him to avoid him crushing her. A minute later he was a full sized griffin. Camdu was looking more alarmed every second, with the big bird staring his piercing eagle eyes at everyone. Then we all jumped nearly four feet high. "What?" James squawked. Ralia even let out a little squeal of surprise, shortly followed by everyone else, even the Worgen. I switched to humanoid and approached him. "James! You talked!" I burst out, standing by his glorious head. "Of course! I have always talked, NightShade. Only, now I talk a language you can understand. I’m glad you can hear me now," He said, his deep voice sounding just as beautiful as when he was a phoenix. Ralia, and Emrald, their mouths hanging open suddenly both bolted forward and crashed into James, hugging him. He chuckled as Emrald squealed again.

Thalnor smiled, glad his old friend had returned. Even the alarmed Camdu grinned like a lunatic at this turn of events. And just for a minute, I was truly happy. Surrounded by friends, celebrating the rejuvenation of James, and then it just got better. All the birds flew in through the windows. All though they were closed, the Ravens used their talons to unlatch them. Swarming in, they twittered and twirped and sang, landing on any and all surfaces. The owls, and their deep bass, hooted loudly like drums, with the Falcons in a high soprano. Ravens were in the middle, and did tricks in the air as they sang, holding talons. They all sang in a beautiful tune, harmonizing perfectly. Then the Falcons and Barn Owls swooped off their perches, and did acrobatics with their partners. Everyone was grinning like loonies. Even James’s beak was curled upward, and his eyes were grinning.

ThornFur, HartWind, RamClaw, and ClayTrap suddenly burst out howling. Switching to my furry self, I joined them. ThornFur was the deepest, going up to RamClaw, ClayTrap, me then HartWind. Suddenly the birds swooped out the open door, and started singing outside. Everyone followed, and there the Worgen took up singing again. Soon all the Worgen in town were howling like their lives depended on it. I started to climb up the tall, snowy building, my pack following. Standing at the very tip of it, I called other Worgen in far away forests to come. < Come Worgen! We must defeat The Lich King before the humanoids fall! We will fight with them, in the strongest force yet of the histories! Come Worgen! Answer the Call! > I howled out, and ThornFur took up the call.

Worgen howled back, answering the Call. The Birds’ Song lasted throughout the cold day, and stopped as the sun set. I jumped down, my throat still completely clear even though I had howled for hours.

Suddenly a high pitched howl ripped through the silent night. < We come to fight. We come to defeat the Lich One! We will join our packs with yours, oh Caller! > The voice was feminine, and ThornFur turned to me, his golden eyes shining. "You did it, NightShade. I will find StoneCall and send him out with a welcoming pack. You have saved our race, NightShade. Thank you," His black fur waved as his powerful muscles rippled as he walked away.

The little brown hair boy from the town hall suddenly ran out of the shadows toward me, tears streaming down his face. "What is it?" I said, my humanoid voice appearing in Worgen form. "My Father… he chased me out… Said it was time I went to my kind. He told me to go to you. Are you my kind?" He said, his innocent face looking up at me. Brushing the hair away from his ears, I could see that his ears were just as pointy as mine were. "Yes," I said, pulling him to my furry chest, kneeling down. Talone walked out of an alley then, leading Emrald, Ralia, Saxxas, Camdu, Irkis, and James. Emrald, her face instantly morphing to terror as she saw me cuddling the little boy, a small ball of fire suddenly burst at me.

Gasping in horror, I shielded the elf boy from the fireball. It struck the shoulder with the jagged scar, and I yelped. Fenor and Dlak appeared from nowhere, shortly followed by Thalnor. The fireball didn’t set fire to my fur. It left a burn of a tattoo on my shoulder, and I sucked in air through my teeth. The boy ducked under my arms and ran around to my other side, examining my shoulder. Emrald let out a gasp as she saw I hadn’t been harming him. "Emrald! What did you do?" Talone called out, staring at the wolf-shaped tattoo on my shoulder. Ralia darted forward and grabbed my arm. "Illeria? Are you all right?" she asked me, gripping my arm with terrific force. "Um, if you let go of my arm I think I’ll recover," I said, gritting my teeth from the burn. HartWind walked out from the shadows, a wary look in her eyes. She looked ready to dart as soon as danger appeared. "NightShade? What is going on?" she said, leaving her mouth slightly open when she finished. Her tail was curled around her leg, looking tense. "Emrald just had a…" I said, trailing off. "Panic attack." Irkis said, looking grim. I let out a little cry of humor, then quickly stifled it. Everyone else was not so lucky. They burst out cackling, and after a minute, even HartWind and Camdu joined in. After the laughter died down, we all looked around, as if wondering what we had been doing. I turned back to the elf boy, turning humanoid. I smiled at him. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly. I nodded.

"NightShade, StoneCall has returned with the separate packs," HartWind said, still smiling. Camdu stepped forward. "I think I’ll come this time. I’d like to meet some of the Worgen," he said, his deep, docile voice sounding.

At the entrance of town, I switched to Worg and stepped out of the shadows. A white female Worgen like me, stepped out from behind StoneCall’s mid-sized frame. "NightShade, I am IceHolly. I have answered the Call. And I will fight."

As the sun showed its bright, red face, we were still organizing IceHolly’s pack into our battlement. I swished my tail back and forth, anxious. ThornFur was suddenly at my side. "What is it, NightShade?" he said, his deep voice soft. "Tomorrow we are going to fight. Somehow the Worgen outnumber the humanoids. Is it possible to hope we outnumber the undead?" I whispered, turning to his enormous midnight frame. ThornFur looked at the sky, returning to it’s blue after the night sky fled. He stared for a minute, then turned back to me. "We do outnumber the undead. We will slaughter them. They will fall!" ThornFur roared suddenly, and I grinned.

IceHolly walked up to us, flanked by HartWind and StoneCall. A speckled gray, male Worg trailed behind them, named WolfRam. His green eyes were nervous as he approached me. "I am from the Storm Pack. I am here to say we will fight. Will you accept us, NightShade?" he asked, he voice a bit high-pitched for one his size. I smiled and nodded. WolfRam looked a bit relieved. HartWind walked over and stood by my side. I looked behind us, at the tall building. And I grinned wickedly. Trotting over, I started to scale the building, hanging on to anything possible. My white fur waved in the harsh wind, although it didn’t bother me. Gripping on to pipes, windowsills, and ledges sticking out from the building. I grimaced as my burned shoulder exerted itself. Pulling myself to the top, I stood on the very top arch of the building. The wind buffeted me back and forth, and I was glad my paws stuck to the arch. I scooted over a little as IceHolly and ThornFur hauled themselves over the edge.

Looking off into the distance, I could see more packs arriving, and I grinned. After IceHolly and WolfRam had joined together with us, our numbers had swelled to just over 700 Worgen. I could see the Worgen had started to make camps outside of the town, feeling way to crowded inside it. As the days had grown colder, I could tell my fur was longer. Observing the weather-hardened Worgen that lived here, I could see theirs did the same. Looking off into the distance, I could see the very tip of the Wrath Gate – Our first battle.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

A War of Frosted Gates

As the sun rose, I looked into the town below. "Tell them that as soon as noon comes, we go to war." I said to ThornFur. He nodded, then leaped off the building, arms spread, keeping balance. His fur waved darkly as he landed on the icy ground like a feather. As the snow billowed around him with the impact, Stormpike made a point of looking over the golden-eyed Worg. StoneCall passed him in the streets, and gave a short nod to ThornFur as he said something. His gray, gravelly pelt sprinted inside the building I was in. He led out Emrald, Calno, Irkis, Talone, Dlak, Fenor, Thalnor, Ralia, and Saxxas. Dlak had taken off his leather cap for once. In place of this was armor. They all wore armor, and I fingered mine. Would it be strong enough against the undead axes? Would my friends fall as soon as the arrows and spears fell? Could I really lead a legion of Worgen? Would I? I grinned toothily.

Of course I would.

Watching my friends below place on their armor, I swished my tail back and forth. Suddenly a howl ripped through the air, causing me to jerk my head to the sound. The packs had reached town. I flung myself off the building, then ran along roofs and the town wall to reach outside of town. A cream colored male Worg stepped out from the throng. He had powerfully built shoulders and a wide head. His ears were set back farther along his head than mine, but they swiveled their own way as well. "I am SunShadow. I have come to offer my services to the undead war," he said, his voice deep and slurred. I believe he had trouble with the Common language. Before I could talk, WolfRam and IceHolly were at my sides, flanking me. They both had armor on, but luckily it wasn’t as shiny as Fenor’s and Dlak’s.

"I am NightShade," I said, bowing my head, "and this is IceHolly and WolfRam, leaders of the other packs," StoneCall suddenly leaped from the town wall, landing beside IceHolly. SunShadow turned to his pack. They were muscular in the shoulders as well, with the bigger heads. "We will fight! Set up camps, for in my belief we are meant to leave at high noon for the Wrath Gate!" He howled, his cream fur rippling in the wind. Two armored Worgen stepped out of his throng holding engraved armor. It was engraved with wolf heads, snarling and wrestling with each other.

They started to fit their leader with the wolf armor. StoneCall handed me skinny strips of black cloth, and I wrapped them around my furry ankles; there was no armor there. All the leaders did the same, and we stood in a circle. StoneCall and IceHolly stood next to me, while I looked across at SunShadow. Turning to the West, I saw the way to the Gate. We stood in a line. Gray, White, Golden, we were ready to face the dead. We all had a silent agreement we would not stop until we could no longer claw and bite, swing swords and stab daggers. We were ready to stain Northrend with red.

When we left town, I led with the other leaders. My crowd rode on their mounts behind us. They took Crag with them just in case I needed him. Crick, Caron, Anya, and Sapphire all loped beside the Worgen, happy to meet some wolves. The birds all flew overhead, leather cases covering parts of their heads or feet to assist them against wounds. Cybele let out a fierce falcon scream, and she and Crildor swooped upwards, looking out for us. I switched to humanoid in mid-air and landed on Crag’s back, patting his gray side. I adjusted my thin sword so as not to bump Crag, and pulled my black hood over my head.

Although the chilliness of Northrend did not bother me as a Worgen, it certainly did as an Elf. I remembered my time here as we rode along, remembered the days where I had been afraid when I woke, I would not wake with the living at my side. Hearing a rustling at the side of the thin trail, I stopped Crag suddenly. He snorted, releasing vapors into the winter air. Turning to the side, I stared. Something crashed into my back, then the side of my face. I saw Calno fall off his horse as I slid off Crag. Thumping to the cold mud and dirt, I felt squeamish. I tried to fight off the dark as I turned to see a face.

It was rotting and decayed, causing me to instinctively shove it away. It stumbled into a cloaked figure, then fell. What I saw next made no sense to me. A white cat leaped into the fray, then raked its claws across an enemy’s chest, pulling cloaked one towards it. Sinking sharp teeth into its neck, the giant beast screamed out its fury. Three bears shoved out of the dead brambles, roaring, then ramming through attackers. The darkness was coming on fast. I was swallowed by it just as Talone dragged Calno out of the fight.

When consciousness called me back, I was looking straight into the face of a lion. Fire lit half of his gray face, while the other half was covered in semi-darkness. ThornFur sat next to me, along with SunShadow and HartWind. My head spun, so I lay down again, groaning.

When I felt better, I spoke up my questions. "What… was… that?" I nearly let a startled squeal escape through my lips as the lion answered me. "Death Knights loyal to Arthas. They were searching for you. Arthas isn’t happy you ‘ran’ off. We had been tracking the knights for days when they led us to you," the gray-faced one growled. "Calno? I saw him fall…" I whispered, hoping what I thought wasn’t true. Seeing him laying across the fire from me, I crawled over to him. Emrald sat by him, along with Irkis and Dlak. "We don’t know, Illeria. I can’t recognize what was on their weapons. I don’t want anyone to touch it themselves, in case it’s an acid of some sort," Irkis whispered, a defeated expression beginning to settle on his features.

I rolled my eyes at him, then pushed him out of the way. He let out a grunt of protest, but let me look. Pulling the bandages out of the way, I saw it was green. "Aww, crap!" I moaned, then tore away the rest of the bandage. Pulling off my plate chest piece, I rolled up my sleeves.

The wound started at his right bottom rib, then twisted and stretched to from a grisly bridge from the rib to the back top rib. I muttered a word I swore to myself not to write. "Plague pike! They plagued him! Fel! Get me some salt," I grumbled to Fenor, and the poor red-bearded man waddled off in a hurry, then returned with a purse filled with salt. Nodding to him, I ripped it open with my teeth, then poured it all around, on, and in Calno’s jagged mark.

His eyes popped open as soon as I poured salt on it. He bit his lip, then burst out, "Ow! Illeria! Oh ~~" Here he started spouting words that should never reach the ears of civilized folk or truck drivers (I mean you no offense).

Once the purse was empty, I let it drop to the ground. Calno pushed himself up slowly, only to find everyone in the current vicinity push back down on his chest. "Stay," Emrald said firmly. Grimacing and lowering his eyebrows at us, Calno lay back down. Talone appeared suddenly, like us elves do (we take secret pride in scaring the snot out of our friends).

"It seems gallant RamClaw fell when the knights attacked this afternoon. I helped bury him, and took a feather from Crildor to bury with after his interest in falcons," Talone spoke, bowing his head to HartWind. She nodded to him, then stared into the dark shadows of the trees with a distant look.

"Hmm, I can see why you rather not have me on Arthas’s side, eh? Just a group of stupid ones manages to plague you, Calno! And you call yourself a soldier! Pshaw!" I giggled at Calno, teasing him. He smiled weakly, then lifted his head slightly to see his ugly wound. "Ow…" he said, "That’s why I fell of my horse…" The lion stood. "NightShade. My leader wishes to speak with you. Follow me." I whistled for Crag, and as he trotted into the firelight, I leaped onto him without a saddle. We followed the great beast, and he stopped in front of one of the three bears I had seen before blacking out. He was almost a deep purple color, and this caused me to laugh – internally that is. Swinging off Crag, I nodded to the bear. "You sent your… friend here to send for me, and thus I believe you will send me someplace to get someone, and of course it will be someone I know," I listed off boredly. The bear arched an eyebrow.

"You sound wiser than most undead, I shall grant you that, O’ Elf. Since you see my intentions, I will cut to the point. I need you to bring me Talone… I would prefer you come too." His voice was gravelly, sort of what I expected. I nodded and headed for out fire.

Talone riding on Crag’s hindquarters, we appeared before the bear. Sliding off Crag, the bear exploded over my head. Ducking and rolling out of the way, I turned around to eye a shocked Talone. "What did I tell you Talone?! I did NOT tell you to kill her! Look what you have done!" The bear roared, pinning Talone to the dirt. "She was going to kill me Splinterstone! I didn’t know what would happen! What were you expecting? The mission to go without a blip or bump? Are you crazy?!" She wasn’t stupid! She isn’t now! I only pulled that move on her to knock her off! It just ended differently!"

Then a sight before my eyes knocked me to my knees. In a vision hazed with red, I could see Talone’s face beneath me. As I turned in slow motion, his sword was swinging from behind me to slice across my back. Hearing myself scream in agony, I fell sideways off Talone, curling into a ball on dirt already laden with bodies. Screaming, I made dive at Talone. He grimaced and the tip of his sword found his way to my cheekbone. I was tossed to the ground, and in the pool of blood, saw my eyes. Through the anguish, exhaustion, and defeat, I finally knew what color my eyes had been. I was reliving the last moments of my life.

Like promised, the life flashed before my eyes, blocking the bloody reflection. I wanted to cry out in protest, until I saw my home. A sister I had never known, hawkstrider stables, going to the market in Silvermoon, and the simple life I had had before I had killed a human on my farm. Then a thirst for the Alliance’s blood drove me away from my sister and hawkstriders, to the war fronts.

I killed every enemy in front of me. One such battle something had been different though. They had tried to capture, not kill me. Bringing them down one by one, Talone had been the last one standing. I could now remember my history.

Pulled out of the vision, a choked sob was burst from me, and I found myself curled into a ball in the dirt, tears streaming down my face.

Dirt plastered to the side of my face, I sat up. Talone’s face was the picture of regret. Suddenly a ball of frost shot from the dark, and the snarling bear was thrown back. Saxxas leaped from behind the bear and caught a hold of the ridge of hair dancing along its back. Emrald stepped out into the firelight, another frost bolt ready in hand. Crag screamed and Cybele and Crildor called out. Anya, Caron, Crick, and Sapphire leaped into the clearing and howled loudly. Thalnor helped Talone up, and Irkis stood next to Emrald. Camdu charged from behind them, his nostrils flared. ThornFur and HartWind appeared teeth bared.

James let out angry sounds that I couldn’t describe. Lions and bears, cats and birds, all the druids came to watch. Suddenly the bear calmed. "Talone, you must be punished. I don’t care if you are under the King’s protection, I am ruled by another. You failed miserably and created Arthas’s weapon! How can you justify yourself?" the bear growled. "Did you punish the dead, Splinterstone? Could you? Or would they not speak of their failure? Could they not justify themselves? Elune help me! By killing her on accident sure, I created what could be our destruction, yet she helps us willingly. She has a mind, not a brain. She has control, not will. She isn’t a rotting corpse, she is an Elf! She can think, she can hear you speak, and think thoughts not of blood and death, but of the sky or a scroll that bewildered her. No matter what you think, I have not killed her to mold her into a mindless beast!" Talone looked surprisingly out of breath. Tears continued to stream down my face. My eyes had been a deep hazel. Now the cold ice ones I had cried for their first time. They remembered seeing my old ones. They wished they could have been such a pure color, not tainted by the Lich creators.

These eyes were also touched by Talone’s words. The tears these eyes let loose could not stop, could not hope. They streamed down my face, until my raven hair that fluttered onto my cheeks were stuck there. The tears cleared away trails of dirt, mud, and dead grass.

I felt as if there was no way out. As if the world had suddenly compressed in on me, until it had caged me in, left a bubble around me, that there wasn’t room to turn. Yet as Talone’s words sunk in, and as I could see my friends stand around protectively, could see Ralia patting me, even though I couldn’t feel it, could see Thalnor grimacing, could see Saxxas rodeo riding the bear; the cage split. It whooshed and zoomed away, suddenly leaving me free. I stood suddenly, surprising Ralia. The Worg inside of me snarled out, my white fur bristling.

I saw Calno ride into the tense circle of Us and Them, and I loped over to help. "Calno! Get back over there! Tell the other leaders to get ready to move out. We travel by dark!" I whispered urgently.

He nodded and spun his steed around. It bolted off at full gallop.

The bear threw Saxxas off and laughed. The lion from earlier leaped forward. "Splinterstone, may those who wish travel with the Worgen and Stormpike army to the Wrath Gate?" the lion rumbled. Splinterstone nodded and waved his paw. "Go, Talone of Sharp Words. Next time I see you I hope you to be a victor!" he chuckled, then turned and lumbered into the darkness. Druids wishing to go to the Wrath Gate with us stayed, while the others followed Splinterstone. Fenor chuckled, shortly followed by Dlak. "That was interesting, wasn’t it, eh? Can we hope to make it to the bloody Wrath Gate without interruptions?" Fenor rammed the shaft of his axe against the ground. Walking off together, Dlak shouted over his shoulder, "We’ll be getting our rams. Hurry up so we don’t have to be waitin’ fer you lot!"

Traveling again, the rest tied their mounts together in a line, then tied the rope to Crag, so that if they fell asleep, the danger off drifting off would be cancled out. I led the way through the dark forest, the Wrath Gate drawing ever closer, until it loomed above the trees.

Crazy Thoughts and the Mind of Enemies

I don’t understand Arthas. I’m not even positive Arthas understands Arthas. All I know is two things. One: Arthas wants me on his side, thus probably refrain from killing me. Two: His father must’ve been awfully disappointed, huh? Brooding on the King I couldn’t remember, I was feeling a bit put out. If I was so special, why hadn’t he been there when I had woken? Had I been just a normal Death Knight, only to be special when I awoke?
I just couldn’t answer my poorly placed questions. So I did the only thing that made me feel better. I pulled Crick onto Crag’s back and hugged him. After setting him down on the ground again, I reached into my bag for some Pinot Noir. That made me feel a lot better. Calno rode in front of me so I could keep an eye on him. It had taken a lot of salt – not to mention the coming weeks of healing ahead – to mend the giant gash on the man’s ribcage.

I sighed again.

ThornFur walked beside me, yet neither of us could start nor continue to keep a conversation going. Talone hadn’t spoken to me about last night. When the sun had risen over the gloomy trees, he had eaten his breakfast silently. I remembered the red vision, where my existence had been purely to serve the Horde. No longer was I united with them as strongly. Quite the opposite of my past occupation. I arched my eyebrow at myself. I shrugged; thinking At least it’s not raining. Looking up at the sky I expected it to snow however.

When the snow started coming down I grumbled to ThornFur, "I miss being Worgen already. That creeps me out a bit, huh? Say… where’s Dlak? I hear he’s carrying the food."

Thalnor rode beside me as I headed for Dlak’s ram. He was silent, his messy red-brown hair shifting slightly in the wind. We both rode stiffly hunched against the cold. "You know, the cold didn’t used to irritate me like this. My tolerance for it has vaporized to some unknown place… I wonder why…" I told him quietly. We both looked at each other. "I have a theory," he began, "I believe that with each passing vision – or say something else – that reveals your past, you become more… alive. I believe that although you may never loose immortality, you eventually will become a Blood Elf again, not what you started as – a lifeless shell," he kept staring straight ahead as he talked, but turned to look at me with his hard black eyes, his faced convinced. I nodded slowly, an eyebrow arched upwards.

We rode along silently once more, until Emrald and Ralia joined us. Ralia’s curly brown hair was tied into a knot, and Emrald’s short blond hair still bobbed along as she shifted on Ginger. Crag nuzzled Ginger, then continued steadily trudging onwards. "I miss the forests of Teldrassil. There the world sings and doses contended. Here these woods lie in wait of its next prey… I wonder whom the woods shall swallow before we leave this place. It’s inevitable to escape without leaving something behind…" Ralia whispered in a low monotone, as if the gloomy forest could hear her. I shivered suddenly, and although the fit passed within a few seconds, I knew it wasn’t the cold.


--
- iBullet

[JD]

Holy crap, this is long... I don't have the time to read it but cool that you're actually capable of writing something like this. I'm impressed.

JD

[iBullet]

Thankyou.

-Bullet

[AfterMidnight]

You should put it in a .PDF file, perhaps with some illustrations.

[iBullet]

Read the Story i made for this site guys.

---------- Post added at 05:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:28 PM ----------

Good Idea Midnight, my next chapter will have soem illustrations

---------- Post added at 05:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:29 PM ----------

BumpBumpBumpBumpBumpBumo

---------- Post added at 06:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:36 PM ----------

any1 read it?

[AfterMidnight]

A quad post if it weren't for a new feature in MMOwned, but regardless it bumps your thread - shame on you.

It's simply too big of a pain to read, dark gray blackground, gray text; wall of text too add to that.
Even regardless of this, what makes you think people here are interrested in reading your story?

"# MMOwned - World of Warcraft Exploits, Hacks, Bots and Guides" <= no story there.