Chapter 5 - Songs and Sacrifices

Dead elves laid to my left and my right, before me was chaos. Undead killing humans, humans killing undead, demons killing everything before them. Even the earth on which I stood was depoiled. Fouled by the presence of evil on this holiest of sites. I fought with all I had, but there were countless more foes before me.

One approached, an axe raised above his head, charging. His mouth was no longer attatched and what little flesh he had left was gangrenous and falling in diseased piles as he ran toward me. I ducked, and shifted my weight forward onto my hands, they burst with power as the sinew and muscle expanded in an instant. Hair bristled from skin and claws formed and dug into the earth, propelling me forward. I screamed a primal scream and my mouth jutted from my face, my jaw changing even as my scream turned to a rumbling below. The spirit of the bear flowed through me just as my foe and I met and with a mighty force I swung my forearms upward, knocking the foul creature's head from its neck. The body slumped backwards and the axe he once carried fell into his body as his arms went limp.

No time to admire the kill, 3 undead approached me from the rear and another from the left, I turned and growled and the three charging ahead of me faltered in thier steps, I ran to the one meant to flank me and caught him off guard. Mighty arms flung him into his comrades, bowling them over and knocking them down. Quickly changing back I concentrated on the earth, begging her for some of her last strength. Roots shot up from the ground, entagling and strangling the four foul creatures before me, as I turned I could hear the constricting roots cracking and crushing the ensared foes.

My arms flew out before me, unforowing unto large black wings, and I took to the sky for a moment to survey the battle below me. It was almost a costly mistake as above me ice drakes swooped in, nearly maiming me, but as a dived to avoid them I spotted an old friend. Moondris and her lioness were below me, fighting and surrounded by undead. Countless lay before her with arrows in them, but at a short distance she was forced to put them away in favor of her blades. I changed from crow to cat, and in an instant I fell atop one of her foes, breaking my short fall with its crushing bones.

Latlilan pounced another before her as she moved swiftly to the left, dispatching 2 undead with her blades too quick for normal eyes to see, even before they hit the ground both her blades were in a third, stopping it (un)dead in its tracks, eyes wide in disbelief and slack-jawed. I pouced again taking down one that meant to put a knife in her back and with powerful teeth on its throat I tore it to shreds. It tasted decrepid and I spent the next few seconds spitting the fetid flesh out and regretting the choice to use tooth and not claw.

As Moondris took out 2 more by vaulting over them, slashing them both swiftly in the back as they charged past where she had just stood, another made its way to me, slashing about with a lance. I changed back to my natural form and quickly rolled backwards, focussing all the while. The undead before me was suddenly struck by a pale beam of white light that burned his remaining flesh and stopped him in his tracks. Unable to see, he was able to snap out of his temporary blindness just in time to see a bear claw swinging towards his face.

Moving on from him I charged towards the last of the undead currently attacking Moondris. My lumbering bear form closing the distance just in time to see an arrow whiz by my ear, hitting the undead straight between the eyes. Its head rocked backwards violently and he slowly crumpled to the floor.

Just as I turned back from my bear form I suddenly felt a pair of strong arms grab me from behind, I panicked and before I could react I heard, "Thanks a ton Yoo-key!"

Relaxing my body, I turned around to see Moondris and Latilan smiling at me. It was odd to see her, smiling, in the middle of a battlefield, still covered in the congealed blood of the unholy attackers. Latilan wasn't any better off, her beatiful white fur was matted with blood and singed with small burns in places.

The pause lasted only for a moment though, as Moondris slapped my shoulder and said, "Well these things aren't gonna kill themselves, take care Yoo-key!", she turned and nocked another arrow and let it fly with the speed and precision of an expert hunter, running off in the direction of whatever the arrow had felled many yards off in the distance.

I turned and suddenly the smell of sulfur his my nostrils, looking to the right I saw a beast straight out of nightmare. Large and burning with an unholy yellow glow, the beast towered over me even as it moved slowly closer. I could barely make out a face beneath the flames, and its expression showed nothing but the purest hate. Impossibly large arms swung out before me and I vaulted backwards to avoid them. The smell of sulfur surrounded me and distorted my senses. Landing slightly off balance I fell backwards with a thud and scrambled backwards, my hands desperatly pulling me through ruined, blood soaked soil and fallen comrades and foes alike. It seemed to smile as it caught up to me, though maybe that was just my imaginiation. As it raised a foot to crush me I closed my eyes, my last image that of the girl, pure and beautiful, and I lamented not being able see her again or protect her.

Just as I should have been crushed I heard a thud, a familiar voice yelled at me as I opened my eyes.

"Get up!!", Leraar Siltwalker shouted from in front of me, his gold and black armor bearly holding up against an onslaught of yellow flames. He held a steel staff outstretched in both his hands above him, the only thing keeping the demon's firey foot from crushing us.

He screamed a feral scream and pushed upward with all his might. I thought his arms might break from the pressure, but the beast began to lean backwards and with one final push Leraar toppled the mighty foe over, it landing hard in the dirt, smoke rising from parts of its now extinguished body.

I scrambled to my feet and Leraar turned to me, a reprimanding look in his eye. He pointed at me and opened his mouth. The sound I heard was that of an explosion.

I was thrown backwards and my fall was broken by a comrade, one now crushed beneath my wait, I got up as fast as I could and noticed he had been killed just moments before by a dagger in his neck. his expression was painful and contorted. I turned from him and saw many more, enemy and friend, of all races and sizes, strewn out upon the floor dead. It was a horrible battle, and its images were terrifying.

I quickly turned to where Leraar had been and I looked on in horror to see only a smoldering crater in the exact spot he had been. Only scorched earch could be found as there was no sign of my teacher. A wave of neausea passed over me and I lost my footing. I fell backwards and sat staring in disbelief, could he really be dead? I heard other sounds, but they seemed like echos. I felt a great trembling of the earth and when I looked up I saw the mighty demon, the one so intent on destroying us, on taking from us our sources of magic and life, just to feed its insaitable hate. A light converged as he grabbed the mighty world tree and I thought it might be all over, but he painfully recoiled and I was blinded by a great flash of white light. I let myself fall onto my back and the white light was replaced suddenly by darkness.

---

I awoke a day later and was revlieved to see a familiar face standing over me. Moondris smiled and said softly, "Thought we losht ya there for a shec."

"...are you drunk", I said as I sat up slowly

"What if I yam huh? ...hic" she said, her face trying to suddenly turn serious, "I haf ta be, ta be able ta pull yer ash up and bring ya here ya know."

"Thank you Moondris.", I said as I leaned forward to hug her.

"Now thatsh more like it! Yer welcome Yoo-key!" she said as she returned the embrace, then she whispered into my ear, "Shides, if I didnt my shister would never fergive me."

I blushed and as I did suddenly a voice rang out through the camp singing an old kal'dorei song. It was so old I couldnt even understand most of the words, but I knew of it and it was basically a song about two lovers seperated by a war and great distance. The song caught on, and the few in the camp who knew the words began singing it too. Even some of those who didn't still hummed the tune providing a backround melody for the song that you could've sworn was played by a group of the most talented musicians you could find. Even Moondris began to sing the song, but to my astonishment one voice rose above all the rest. Lady Tyrande Whisperwind joined in and the high priestess of Elune sang with the grace of the goddess herself.

As the verses continued I remembered my near death experience. Anthra, the priestess of Elune who was now so dear to me that she would be the last thing I would see before nearly dying. I thought of my desire to protect her, could that have been why the elf in the song chose to fight? Druids have always fought to protect nature, and even before the demi-god Cenarius taught us the ways of druidism there were wars to protect our way of life, but I had never thought about it on such a personal level.

Then the final lines of the song were sung, lines that even I could understand. After I heard them I knew what I would do, I would go to her, I would go to Anthra and tell her how I felt. People waited around for a moment, still in awe at what had just happened, but eventually faces turned somber once more and everyone in the camp continued to go about their business. I looked to Moondris who was (unsurprisingly) passed out on the ground next to me. I put my blanket over her and whispered the last lines of the song to myself once more in Darnassian.

"For parting means to also reunite... and that is the nature of love"