It all began when the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth for the first time. The mad titan Sargeras became attracted to Azeroth and sent his servants, the evil wicked creatures better known as demons, to conquer this world in his name.
Without a doubt, the inhabitants of Azeroth, in this case, the highborne and the night elves, did their best to defend their world from these corrupted creatures. Sargeras hungered after the power of the Well of Eternity which was protected by Nordrassil, the World Tree of the night elves.
In the end, the Burning Legion was defeated but not without great losses. A lot of highbornes and night elves died during the War of the Ancients and the World Tree and the Well of Eternity were destroyed.
Unfortunately, this invasion was not the only invasion the Burning Legion did over the time. The Burning Legion invaded two more times during the past thousand years. But three attempts were not enough for them. They were coming for the fourth time. But this time, the battle will be a lot harder than during the previous invasions.
The nations which lived on Azeroth had become weaker over time, especially because they had fought against each other instead of living in peace and getting prepared for the fight against a mutual enemy.
They had conquered territories which didn't belong to them, they had purloined goods from others and they had taken lives which shouldn't have been taken.
These nations had weakened each other so much that the Burning Legion had seen another chance to invade Azeroth again. Sargeras knew that the Alliance and the Horde were battling each other most of the time, so he knew that this age was the perfect point of time for another, this time, final invasion.
Sargeras had sent out his servants once again. Hundreds of thousands of demons had arrived on Azeroth months ago. The cooperation between the Alliance and the Horde was everything but perfect from the beginning.
This had allowed Sargeras' army to score a few victories in the first few months. But this had changed after the Alliance and the Horde had put their conflicts aside and had started to fight the Burning Legion together. They had won battle after battle, skirmish after skirmish but their numerous victories weren't enough to drive the Burning Legion out of Azeroth. Even after all these victories a lot of territories were still possessed by the Legion.
One of these territories was The Broken Shore. More than the half of this once beautiful island was possessed by demons while the rest belonged to the inhabitants of Azeroth which were fighting until the very end for their home. Except for a small base, the entire north half of the island belonged to the Burning Legion.
There was a little camp in which the only current enduring skirmish on this island was happening. The entire camp was devastated. The only survivors were a blood elf and an orc. They were surrounded by five dangerous demons but their superior number didn't impress them.
"Dammit" the blood elf hissed when he got hit by the back of a large demon hand. The slap was so forceful that the elf landed on the ground, a quite painful sound slipped out of his lips when his uncovered back came in contact with the uneven, with sharp little spikes covered, ground. He rolled away at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the sharp blade of the massive axe which would have cut him in halves. He got up and dodged the next attack at the last moment, then he jumped backwards to increase the distance between him and the wrathguard
The wrathguard's ugly lips formed a wide grin when he walked forward and regarded the terrified blood elf. The wrathguard enclosed his left hand around the axe's handle and stretched its other hand out after the blood elf, trying to grab him. The elf dodged the grabbing attack at the last moment. He reacted quickly and cut the demon's hand off, his lips formed a small smile when his ears recognized the loud roar and his eyes saw the demon's pain-distorted face. The demon's green eyes were narrowed and looked furiously at the elf who was keeping distance to him.
It charged forward, axe lifted above its head, ready to chop the elf in two halves. The elf with the blood-red dyed hair lifted his silver coloured shield, and held it in front of his body. The shield blocked the attack but it was shattered in the process.
The demon's facial features didn't change, even though the elf was looking at him with surprise and fear written over his face. He was too shocked to move, giving the demon the opportunity to lift his axe once again and prepare the next blow to end the elf's life. But the elf managed to break out of his state of shock and duck beneath the axe swing, thrusting his sharp sword in the demon's belly.
The wrathguard cried out in pain, a large amount of green blood flowed out the wound which dripped on the ground and onto the elf's silver shining armour. The elf thrust the sword deeper in the demon's body, causing that the demon's cries became louder. The elf used holy light to inflict more pain to his foe before he pulled the sword out of the demon's body. He jumped in the air and beheaded the demon which was at least three heads taller than him. The demon's head rolled off his shoulder, landing on the ground. The body followed quickly, dropping to the ground like a wet sack.
A sigh of relief escaped the elf's lips when he regarded the demon's body which dissolved quickly. The paladin was exhausted but he knew that he had not the time to make a pause because his comrade was busy dealing with the other demons. Only three of the once four demons remained because the orc had already killed a felhound while the elf had been busy fighting the wrathguard.
At this very moment, the female orc was fighting against a dreadlord, an inquisitor and a darkhound. The dreadlord was trying to hit her with his sharp claws while the faceless, pale skinned creature without eyes used fel magic against the orc. The shade of the orc's skin colour was a lot lighter than the shade of the icky dark green blood which stuck on her skin, her dark-red coloured armour and on the double blade of her massive axe.
She ducked beneath the dreadlord's massive claws, thrusting her axe in his left upper thigh. He cried out but didn't stop to attack her. One of his sharp fingernails brushed her face, leaving a long cut on her left cheek. A snarl escaped her lips. Her furious eyes were narrowed as she regarded the dreadlord closely. Even though she was observing his every move, she didn't fail to notice the movements of the inquisitor and its darkhound.
The darkhound looked like the evil and distorted version of a dog but it was a lot larger than an average hunting dog. It charged forward and approached the orc who dodged the dreadlord's next attack at his very moment, leaving her no room to react.
Fortunately for the orc, the blood elf reached her and chopped the hound's head off before it was able to bite the orc warrior. The muscular woman gave him a quick nod as she looked at him for a short moment before she turned back to the dreadlord who tried to hit her once again. She parried the attack, the dreadlord's fingernails scratched other axe's double blades. The dreadlord's eyes widened when he noticed that his long fingernails had been cut off by the sharp blades. The orc smiled widely when she saw the demon's shocked face.
The dreadlord bit his bottom lips hard, green blood flowed out of his burst lip, running over his chin and eventually dropping on the depleted ground. The colour of his green eyes became darker, his teeth became sharper than they already were and large wings came out of his body, which also grew in size.
"You will die, you miserable creature. Nobody will stop the Burning Legion" he cried out - his voice sounded raucous.
"We will see" responded the smirking orc and ducked beneath his next strike. She turned around and smashed her axe between the demon's legs. The demon cried out, his eyes threatened to pour out of his eye sockets. His voice was suddenly a lot thinner and sounded very high pitched as he began to curse in the demonic language.
The warrior pressed the axe deeper in the demon's body. She pulled it up with such force that she cut the demon in two almost equal parts. The demon's body was dissolved before it fell to the ground. The grin on the orc's lips became wider, as she stared at the spot where the dreadlord had been standing a few moments ago. The grin faded out of her face when she heard the loud screams of the blood elf.
She turned around immediately, spotting the elf who was lying on the ground and was writhing in pain. The inquisitor was floating above him. Its thin hand pointed at the elf's head. Its ugly mouth showed some sort of a disgusting smile. Green saliva dripped from the demon's deformed teeth. It turned its head when it heard the orc's loud stamping steps, even though it had no ears.
"Hold out Setai" the orc cried out and charged at the skinny demon, thrusting her axe in its chest. The demon's voice was shrill and very loud as it cried out in pain. Setai's body immediately stopped shaking and writhing in pain. The warrior shoved the axe deeper in the demon's upper body, a lot of blood splashed out of the deep wound onto the orc's face, skin and armour. She closed her eyes to prevent that any drops of it in would get in her eyes.
The demon's cries became louder, it tried hard but it was not able to defend itself. Its final move, before it died, was to cast a felbolt which hit the orc's left hip. The technique destroyed the piece of armour, which protected her left hip, with ease. It also brushed against her skin, leaving a deep ugly-looking wound. The orc gritted her teeth, preventing that a loud cry came out her throat. Instead, a dampened sound was hearable.
She used the sudden boost of anger to pull the axe out of the demon's body with such a force that the inquisitor's body was torn apart. Like the bodies of its defeated comrades, its body dissolved quickly and was pulled back in the Twisting Nether.
A loud cry of victory escaped the female's lips, as she held her axe above her head, lifting it up and down as if it was a barbell. She stopped celebrating when her ears recognized the painful sounds of the blood elf who was still lying a few feet away from her. She dropped her axe and rushed to the elf, carefully lifting his upper body a bit.
She scrutinized his body, noticing that the only injury he was having was the deep cut in his back. She had never fought against an inquisitor before but she was assuming that it had inflicted a lot of psychological pain to the elf. His eyes were widened and had trouble to focus on the same spot. His pale face was distorted in pain and his body was shaking. These signs confirmed Zatrea's assumption.
She said his name but he didn't answer. She shook him slightly, trying to get his attention somehow but he didn't react to any of her attempts. She took a flask from her belt, removed the fastening and pressed the opening against his lips. She tilted his head back, forcing him to drink the blue liquid. She knew that the liquid wasn't tasting good and was smelling pretty badly but Setai was not in the position to complain about anything.
Setai's body relaxed eventually. His eyelids closed, his breaths became slow and steady. A small smile appeared on the orc's lips when he fell asleep in her arms.
Setai awoke a few hours later. A painful cry escaped his lips when he lifted his upper body to quickly. He sunk back in the sleeping bag, relaxing as his back stopped hurting. He turned his head a little and spotted the orc after a few moments. Zatrea was sitting on a block of wood and was warming her hands on a little campfire made out of smaller blocks of wood and thick branches. She turned her head when she noticed him staring, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She returned his staring for a short moment, giving him a relieved smile before she looked back at the campfire.
"You are still alive" spoke the orc, her voice sounded hoarse.
"What happened, Zatrea?" asked Setai, lifting his upper body carefully so that he was able to look at her through a better angle. He wasn't able to remember much of the battle, only that he had killed two demons before he had lost his consciousness.
"A bunch of demons surprised us when we were erecting a small camp" responded Zatrea. She put a skinned rabbit on a stick and held it above the fire. She stared at the food she was about to prepare, not noticing that the elf kept staring at her.
"How many demons?"
"Eight dreadlords, seven wrathguards, three hounds, two inquisitors, and about twenty other demons"
"Who survived?"
"Just us" she responded quietly and glared sadly at the blood elf.
"Are you serious?" asked Setai. His eyes were widened in shock, his throat felt dry and his heart skipped a beat.
"I'm not joking about this"
He stared at her for a few minutes, not saying anything. "I see" he said eventually and looked at his feet, not knowing what to say in return.
"And the Alliance?" he asked quietly. As a member of the Horde, he was not a fan about working with the Alliance. But wasn't wishing for their deaths because he knew that the Horde needed their help against the Legion - even though he didn't want to admit it that the Horde required their aid. So, he was hoping that the members of the Alliance were still alive.
"They were the first victims of the surprise attack. All twelve night elves died in the first few hours. Even Commander Shandris Feathermoon's best friend Salia Moonwhisperer had not the smallest chance against their strongest dreadlord. After the demons had slaughtered the Alliance, they went for us. Dane Cooper's soul was torn out of his body by their Jailer and sucked in its cage" she explained.
"Damn it, he was the only mage of our group. It didn't like him at all, especially because he was a Forsaken, but he was the only one who could have brought us out of this miserable place"
"It seems that we have to find another way out of here. It would be pretty hard to get back to our base. We have lost our warlock and our demon hunter as well. They were the only ones who knew this area pretty well. Even our troll hunter Ze'than could have guided us because his hound could have tracked our footprints. Unfortunately, we lost him as well"
"This is not good"
"You are right, it doesn't look good for us"
"I see" he responded and made a small pause, looking at his fingers. "I think that my memory is returning slowly"
"What do you remember?" asked Zatrea, an eyebrow was raised in interest but also in worry.
"Vella's death" Setai responded with a sad sounding voice. His head hung low like his ears. Zatrea noticed that he was trying hard to hold tears back. His face was still pale, his bottom lip was burst because he had bitten on it since Zatrea had started explaining.
"I'm so sorry. I knew that she had meant a lot for you". She made a small pause and looked at her fingers as she continued to speak with a much quieter voice. "I know how it is to lose a really important person"
"Who did you lose?"
Zatrea didn't respond at first. She just stared at her gauntleted hands and figured out what she should say. She responded eventually after being silent for a few minutes. "My brother"
Setai's facial expression became sadder than it already was. He observed her carefully, almost overlooking the barely recognizable tear which ran down her cheek. She wiped it away and remained silent.
"You had a brother? We know each other since a few years but you never told me about your family" the paladin spoke quietly.
"It's hard to speak about his death" she sobbed and wiped another tear out of her face. He was surprised to see normally the strong and unshakable woman so vulnerable. He had thought until this very day that Zatrea was an emotionless warrior who killed only for glory and honour and gave a fuck about feelings. But now he was realizing that she was different. She was a real living being who had emotions just like everyone else.
"Do you want to talk about him?" asked Setai, showing sympathy.
"Not now"
Setai chuckled. "I don't think that we have much time left. I don't think that we will hold out more than a few days against those demons which are hiding in bordering areas"
"We have to believe and hold out as long as we can. We will slay as many of these bastards as we can. I will speak about my brother one day but not now"
"I will respect your decision" responded Setai and gave her a small smile.
"Anyways. I'm sorry about Vella. I have tried to save her but a wrathguard had blocked my way. I came too late, the dreadlord had finished her before I was able to reach her". Zatrea stood up and walked to the elf, sitting down next to him. She rested her hand on his left shoulder, tapping it softly. She gave him a weak smile, running her hand through her red dreadlocks.
"Are you hungry?" the orc asked and pointed at the roasted rabbit.
"Not at all"
"So, you wouldn't mind if I eat the whole rabbit?"
"I don't mind at all. The battle must have exhausted even you. You killed a lot of demons so you deserve it"
"You fought pretty well too. You deserve it as well"
Setai chuckled "If rolling over the floor also counts as fighting, then, of course, I did well". He put a lock of blood-red dyed hair behind his ear, smiling nervously.
"You should stop putting yourself down. You are a very skilled fighter. You have slain a lot of demons over the past months. I'm glad that we have fought together and protected each other over the past months" she responded and gave him a warm smile. She bit in the rabbit's back, tasting the delicious meat. Her brown eyes rested on him while she was eating her food.
"If you think so" he responded, receiving an eye-rolling from the muscular woman. He looked at her, noticing for the first time that a lot of blood stuck on her armour. He didn't know how much time had passed since he had lost his consciousness but it didn't seem that she had the time to clean her armour. His eyes trailed to the piece of bandage which covered her left hip.
"How is your wound?" he spoke and pointed at her hip.
"Better than it looks" she responded and pulled the bandage up a little, allowing Setai to see the burn wound which had been caused by the felbolt. Setai didn't need to look twice to know that meaning that this wound, which was as large as his hand, would never heal because the body cells had been totally destroyed by the fel.
"This doesn't look very good, Zatrea" he spoke, giving her a look of worry.
"I have suffered worse wounds" she responded and devoured the last piece of meat.
"Maybe, but these wounds have healed over time. You know as well that this wound will never heal not to mention that it will be visible forever.
"I'm a big girl. I can take it. Thrust me. I will get used to it" the brave orc responded and gave the elf a small, convincing smile.
"I hope you do. I'm worried that this wound will be in your way when we have to face more of these ugly creatures. They will come for us sooner or later if nobody rescues us"
"I don't think that someone will look for us. Our last reported has arrived in Orgrimmar a few weeks ago. We have been ordered to send a report every week. We haven't been able to send a report for two weeks. I'm pretty sure that the Banshee Queen assumes that we are dead. Nobody will come for us"
"I still have hope" the paladin responded. He removed one of his gauntlets and ran his fingers through his long hair.
"We will need more than just hope if we want to get out of this area alive" spoke Zatrea and stared in the fire, holding her hands above the flames to warm them.
"You are right. Luck and hope won't help us at all" he responded and looked around, noticing that night had already fallen. The shining moon was barely visible because the treetops covered it. The night was colder than the elf had expected. He was shivering even though he was directly sitting in front of the campfire.
He was wondering if Zatrea's armour was the reason why she wasn't shivering. He thought about it but came to the conclusion that the armour wouldn't warm her body. Maybe it was her orcish body which allowed her to bear the cold better than every other creature.
Setai remained silent. He was just looking at the warrior who was still warming her hands. She looked at him for short moments from time to time but other than that, she didn't pay attention to what he was doing. He leaned against a tree trunk with his side so that he was able to relax a little without causing that his back got hurt. He closed his eyes and opened them after a while, not knowing how much time had passed.
He looked at the orc, finding out that she was still sitting next to him. She looked a bit tired, covering her mouth with her hand whenever she yawned.
"You should get some rest, Zatrea. You have been up for a while. You need your well-deserved rest" he said and looked at the orc who was about to protest. But Setai was fast and spoke to her with a convincing and soft voice. "I have rested for a while but you haven't. You won't be able to fight the demons if you can barely keep your eyes open. Please, close your eyes and sleep for a few hours at least"
Her response sounded more like a groan than an actual agreement. She took her gauntlets off and put them behind the block of wood. She removed her upper body armour and put it on the same spot. Her muscular upper arms were revealed, only her torso was covered by clothing.
Even though she was sitting next to Setai, she didn't notice that he was staring at her. His gaze rested on her upper arms for a few moments before it shifted to her face. He had to admit that she looked very pretty for an orc. Although orc women weren't his type, he had to admit that he felt a slight attraction for her. Unlike his companion, he noticed that he was staring at her, so he turned his head away before he got any inappropriate ideas.
Zatrea continued to get ready for bed. She pulled the necklace with the symbol of the Horde over her head and stuffed it in one of her bag's side pockets. She laid her sleeping bag out slipped into it, resting her head on a soft little pillow. She looked at her companion one more time before she closed her eyes.
"Good night" she whispered and snuggled into the warm sleeping bag.
"Sleep tight" muttered the paladin and stared into the flames.
