Chapter 4 - War

Just as quickly as that horrible vision had passed I heard a great swooping above me. I looked up and before me landed Ysera.

"You no doubt sensed that", he said, his booming voice echoed all around me. I was honestly shocked, could he have had the same vision?

"Y-yes, I felt something malevolent."

"Indeed, something is amiss, to have effected our sacred mother in such a way. The time may come for you to leave the Emerald Dream early. When that time comes I will assist you, until then I will make sure no further evil touches this place." And just like that he was gone, already soaring away from me even though his voice lost none of its presence.

I spent the rest of my time in the Emerald Dream with trepidation but still determined to learn more from my slumber in it. One of the last lessons I learned was purification. Particularly useful in restoring corrupted forests you can commune your spirit with the tree, giving it some of your own life force for strength and taking from it the corruption, which you then purify out of your own body. Its something many druids were using on some of the despoiled forests created during the War of the Ancients.

I sat, communining with the Emerald Dream itself, sharing with it and in doing so unlocking even more potent knowledge from it. I felt at ease for the first time since the vision, but it was not to last.

A wave of startling energy washed over me. It was not evil, like the other had been, but still invasive. As suddenly as this happened Ysera's voice echoed in my thoughts again.

"Wake up dreamer, you are called forth by the Horn of Cenarius", and with that the world around me melted away to black and nothingness, the only sight or sound left was the last words of the Green Dragonflight, "Remember what you have learned, it will serve you well."

I awoke in the barrow dens, with a familiar face above me.

"Get up!" shouted Leraar towering above me, clad in an armor I had never seen before. It was gold chainmail with black tempered steel plates over his forearms, chest, legs, and thighs. Only his tabard, black and bearing the Feathermoon standard was familiar, and for a moment I wondered where he had procured such a foriegn set of armor.

"No time to think, come Ueki, there is much to tell you, much has happened while you slumbered, but there is little time to tell it. Proceed to Moonglade, you will be issued some armor there."

"Armor? would would I nee--"

"Go!"

I jumped up, and fought the dizziness from countless years of slumber. As I ran, Leraar gave me a rather short explanation of what was happenening. Lord Malfurion had awoken us from our slumber because of a great threat, a devourer of worlds, approached. His Burning Legion walked our forests already and turned to the world tree to use its vast energies and that of the well of eternity below it to cement their lords place in our world and his victory over its people.

The humans, sin'dorei, dwarves, and even the orc hordes had all begun to fight him, but the true power needed to defeat him belonged to the night elves. We were to wake the remaining Druid of the Claw in the Barrow Deeps and band together to banish the evil invading our world.

"Master, while I was in the Dream, a vision came to me, one of pain and suffering, was this their doing? Ysera could not explain it to me fully", I asked nearing the makeshift armory.

"Perhaps, but speak no more of it for the time being, more important things need your attention now, you are one of the very few Druid of the Claw to slumber in the Stormrage Barrow Dens, you will be needed to press forward and secure a safe path for the other druids as we proceed to the Barrow Deeps.", he answered plainly.

---

Our push to the Borrow Deeps was not without loss but we had reached them just in time to save them from a swarm of undead, ready to villiously murder them while they slumbered. It was a despicable tactic, but had it succeded it would have been a devistating blow to the followers of Elune.

While we regrouped at camp and wearily prepared for the coming battle Leraar took me aside behind the camp.

"Do you remember what I taught you?", he asked simply.

"Yes master, your tutlage has been an imense help to me as I--"

"Do NOT forget, attatchment means loss, and loss weakens you."

I was shocked at his abruptness, and for the topic he was currently addressing.

"But sir I--", I stammered only to be interrupted once more.

"DO NOT FORGET!", he shouted. The camp behind us grew quiet. There was no doubt in my mind many of them heard his reprimand. I could only look at him and nod. He walked away with a look that could only be described as as disgust and as he walked away I could have sworn I heard him use the word "...weakness..."

---

It was half a days march to the foot of Mount Hyjal where the battle was already raging before our eyes. Man, dwarves, gnomes, orc, troll, even a race of mintotaur-like people were all fighting the Burning Legion. Where there was sound there was chaos, and the land was engulfed but a cacouphony miles around. A short distance from where I stood an elf lay dying, his last breath pulling in arcane energy from our well. If nothing else we would fight to rid this holy site of all its intruders.

Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage appeared before us, saying only one thing, "For Elune!!" before running in, Tyrande behind him mounted on her nightsaber. My regiment began to charge, and with that the battle began.