The wind played happily through the summer air, picking at the leaves and flowers as it went. A pile of loose wooden shavings shivered as the breeze danced around it, inciting it to join them in the sky.
Eteryn Stormarrow, night elf adventurer and hero of Azeroth, put down the bar of wood he was carving and closed his eyes as the wind washed over him, playing with his long hair and unkempt beard.
There is danger
Eteryn's eyes opened with a snap, his smile falling.
Dark forces come again. The cycle repeats.
Eteryn was no shaman, but he knew that when the wind spoke you listened. He got to his feet and threw the bar of wood in a bag hanging from his belt as he made his way through the shaded forest to his home in the green pastured hills of Elwynn. As he neared the wood and stone building he heard swearing and a looming dark figure come around the other side of the building.
"Ren," Eteryn said, walking to his friend to check on him. A head taller than the elf and several hands wider Renegade the draenei death knight growled and threw a bar of twisted lumped metal behind him.
"The latest batch of ghost iron somehow mixed with the saronite and clogged up two of the forges. Gonna take me a week to clean them."
"I think we have something bigger to worry about," Eteryn said, his friend just noticing the serious face.
"What's wrong?" Renegade asked, the tendrils growing from his face starting to twitch.
"The wind warned me of dark forces are coming, the cycle repeats," Eteryn answered, turning and heading to the front door. Ren followed. The Death Knight had long since learnt to listen to the elf's sixth sense as he called it. So far it had warned them about Deathwing's attack on Stormwind and the parting of the Pandarian mists, months before heroes of the Alliance made landfall on the lost continent.
The pair entered the house, making straight past the lounge room and the group sitting in front of the cold hearth. One of the group stood up and followed, shooting a 'stay here' to the others as he followed Eteryn and Renegade into the next room.
"What's wrong?" the human asked, sitting down in front of the large paper-covered desk as Eteryn sat behind it; Renegade opting for his favourite spot leaning against the wall besides the human.
"The wind gave me a warning Raphon. Said dark forces are coming again and the cycle repeats," was the elf's reply as he dug through the paper, looking for something. Raphon shot a concerned glance at Renegade before looking back to Eteryn.
"Is it the Legion?"
"The wind didn't say, only that the cycle repeats." Eteryn said as he pulled a large bound book from under the piles of paper and scrolls and opened it to a blank page. "But it's going on the list along with the Scourge."
"The Scourge is destroyed though," Ren said, holding up his hand. "Without Arthas they fell apart and died."
"According to the official story, which we all know isn't true." Raphon said as he grabbed a writing kit from a nearby table and laid it across his lap. "But I agree with Ren it can't be the Scourge. They don't have the strength to muster another attack on the world."
"Which leaves us with the legion," Eteryn agreed, jotting down the winds message in the book. "I think people with good eyes and ears around the world are-"
The hole in the world. The bridge to darkness.
Eteryn froze mid-word, looking up at the others. They both saw his gaze, Ren pushing himself off the wall as Raphon stopped preparing the kit.
"The wind again?" the human asked.
"What did it say?" the draenei followed.
Eteryn licked his lips and repeated the winds message, quickly jotting it down and leaning back in his chair to examine what he wrote.
"The Dark Portal?" he said after several minutes, cocking his head confused. "That thing's been quiet for years, so has Outland."
"Unless the Legion is preparing to inv-"
Raphon suddenly sat bolt-upright in his chair, dropping the writing kit as his face and eyes went white with shock.
"Dark forces come again. The cycle repeats. The hole in the world. The bridge to darkness," he whispered, fear heavy in his words. Eteryn leaned over the table and put his hand on his friends shoulder as Ren knealt down besides the human.
"Raphon, talk. What does this mean?"
"The First War. When the Orcs first invaded Azeroth from the Dark Portal. It is the only time in the history of this world where invaders have poured out from the Portal," The Human said quietly, swaying under the elf's hand.
"Hold on, what about when the Portal re-opened and demons poured out?"
"That was the first time actual demons came through. Before that it was Orcs, Ogres and all manner of creatures from Draenor."
"So what your saying another orc invasion is going to come from Outland?" Ren asked, sounding a little sceptical. Raphon bowed his head and shook it from side to side as if trying to clear something.
"It's the only thing that makes sense. Dark forces come again. The cycle repeats. The hole in the world. To me it sounds like the First War about to begin again."
"Ok look," Eteryn said, patting Raphon's shoulder. "The wind gave us a warning, but we don't know what it means at the moment. We know something bad is about to happen but maybe we have some time this time around."
Eteryn sat back in his chair and picked up another writing kit as Renegade started picking up the ink-stained wreck of the last one; Raphon just sat still in his chair, taking deep breaths.
"I'm going to send a message to some our friends with ears in the Earthen Ring, the Cenarion Circle and the Silver Hand, Blood Knights and Sunwalkers. Maybe they've got something I can't hear. I'm also going to send the winds words to some of the officials in Stormwind. Hopefully they can look into this further."
Just as Eteryn was about to put ink to paper the wind shouted in his ear.
They come! They come again! Blood Preceds them as they march upon us now!
Eteryn froze up, taking a sharp breath, before slowly putting the quill back in the inkwell and turning to face his friends.
"We're out of time so it seems. They're here."
Eteryn, Raphon and Renegade stormed out of the study, past their two friends scrambling out of their way. The trio stormed through the library to the armoury, Eteryn quickly unlocked the thick iron bound door and everyone rushed in.
"What's going on?" blurted out a young blood elf as she and the human women rushed into the armoury after the three, finding them grabbing weapons and armour. "Did you guys get a quest or something?"
"We're going to Stormwind, Eteryn got warnings of an invasion from the Dark Portal and we're going to investigate." Raphon replied as he slid his blue and gold trimmed warhammer from it's bed and leaned it against the table.
The blood elf shared concerned looks with her partner before rushed back through the library, disappearing through the double doors. The human women rushing into the armoury and started grabbing her weapons.
"Invasion by who?" asked the human women, pulling a staff and bag of powders and crystals from it's shelf. "The Legion?"
"No idea Emily, the wind was vague, then screaming they're here they're here," Eteryn replied as he slung his weapons belt over his head before rushing to help Raphon with his armour. "Whoever it is they've been here before. Raphon thinks it could be a repeat of the First War.
Emily froze where she was and turned on the human paladin, fear and shock in her eyes.
"A repeat of the First war?" Emily asked. "How is that even posibly?"
"I don't know, but I got a bad feeling," Raphon said as he slipped on his plated gauntlets and tied them tight. Raphon worked on the knots and straps across the paladins back; Renegade finishing loading himself and storming off, almost knocking down another night elf as he went.
"Why did I get rudely interrupted by Raphon's magic sucking ward barging through the second floor and why is Ren in such a foul mood today?"
"Azeroth may be in danger again brother," Eteryn replied as he finished up on Raphon's back and turned around to grab the humans shoulderpads. The night elf coldly leant against the door and watched his twin and the two humans run around.
"The world is always in trouble Eteryn, why should this be so special?" he asked in a flat coldy voice. Eteryn shot a nasty glare at his twin and finished up on Raphon's armour, stepping back as the Paladin reached for his hammer.
"Either grow a heart or fuck off Dyl! This is serious!"
Eteryn's twin rolled his eyes and pushed off the door, walking away without a word. Raphon shot a rude glare at the elf's back and turned to Eteryn.
"Remind me why we let the psychopathic death knight that tried to kill us a dozen or so times live in the attic?"
"Because I'd rather him live here where I know he is than be out there where I don't know where he is. There's enough spells on the grounds to tell me if he's here or not and keep him here if I need so." Eteryn said, stepping out of the armoury and taking a step to the side so Raphon and Emily could pass by.
"He still gives me the creeps," Emily said, rubbing her arms. "I just don't like the way he glares at everything. So cold, so meticulous, so-"
"Heartless," Eteryn finished for her as he leant in a picked up a large white and gold staff topped with a rounded cross. He passed the staff to Emily and quickly locked the iron-bound doors, pocketing the keys just as quickly.
"Emily can you open a portal to Stormwind?" Eteryn asked the human women, changing the subject as he marched out of the library. Renegade and the blood elf stood waiting on the large dark blue rune embedded in the floor. The death Knight turned as the three came in and threw several bags at them, all caught with each and tied to belts as the five came together on the rune.
"Sure can. I slim-lined the portals too, using the shards from the farm in-"
"Now please," Eteryn said, politely but forcefully. Emily blinked a few times, forgetting what she was doing, before remembering with a guilty smile.
"Uhm sure, one moment."
The mage closed her eyes and held her hands out, whispering under her breath as her fingers began to glow with dancing runes or purple and blue appearing around them. The others stepped behind her and watched as her hands began to glow brighter and brighter. The air in front of them began to waver and bulge, like looking through a distorted lens. Slowly the image began to swirl, until finally the centre caved in, turning the distorted air into a hole through space. A light wind screamed as it was sucked through the portal, however it did not register on the five as they quickly stepped through the portal and disappeared. Emily was the last one through, the portal snapping shut after she had, returning quiet to the house. From the stairs Eteryn's twin watched the whole thing, his cold face unchanged