The woman sat on the edge of the floating Isle known simply as "Illidari Redoubt". It wasn't a well-decorated space, but it served the Illidari Elves perfectly well as a teleportation pad to their actual base. She'd finally found them after so many years of tracking them down. Wondering how she would introduce herself, her mind wandered off into the distance. She could see the beautiful city that once belonged to her people. Suramar. Large buildings that out-scaled even the temple of the moon in Darnassus.
"Recruits!" A voice yelled from behind her. She quickly stood and made her way over to the group that was forming around the portal. The elf quickly looked them all over and then gestured towards the portal. One by one the elves filed through, but when it was her turn, she didn't budge. The elf looked down at her, his mouth in a scowl.
"Haven't seen you yet. You been recruited from elsewhere?" He asked roughly. She could imagine him glaring under that mask.
"Me? Recruited? You must be thinking of a different class." She scoffed proudly. "I honestly thought this to be a rehabilitation service, but I quickly learned that it's more of a self sacrifice kind of deal." The elf had stopped listening to her after the first few words and jabbed a finger towards the portal. Oh, this was just too easy.
"Just stop talking." He said, clearly in a bad mood. She could care less.
Either way, she did as instructed. When nearing the portal the woman didn't just walk through it, but she leaped through it instead. The feeling of your body distorting through the nether was never a comfortable one, so it was better to get it done quickly. Once she had snapped out of her temporal displacement issues, she looked around. The world was dark... and very, very green. Almost solemnly so. It wasn't the worst ship she'd ever stepped in, but definitely not the best. A little ways ahead she could hear the an official voice talking. Oops. She was already late to the briefing. Rather than join the recruits late and make a scene, she decided to stay above them, listening in to everything she needed to know. The Kaldorei officer speaking to the recruits looked very weathered. His body full of scars, and his hair sort of unkempt and messy. Like a grandfather, almost. He probably wasn't even aware of his appearance.
"...As some of you already know." He continued his speech. "We Illidari have sacrificed everything to protect this world. We have given up our bodies and even our souls for this fight against the Legion." He looked them all over, but didn't seem to notice the woman perched on the higher platform. He seemed almost disappointed at the group of twenty odd elves gathered there. "Now I will be honest with you. You will all be expected to give up your lives in a moments notice, so don't expect to survive long."
She felt a little bile gather in her throat at that but if she wasn't prepared to die she wouldn't have come. But evidently some of the recruits seemed squirmish as well. "That's even if you survive our ruthless training and your first taste of the fel." He paused to look around at them all again. She would describe his actions as a hawk circling for weak prey. "This speech is not meant to inspire you. You'll have your hatred of the legion for that. No. This is to remind you of the labour and cost that goes into this war. Now get to the lower deck and begin your training!" His voice was definitely commanding, as the whole batch of recruits scurried in different directions like rats. Once all the recruits were gone, she watched the officer shake his head and sigh. "They're doomed."
She really couldn't help herself at that point, and a large boisterous laugh escaped her. With the whole ship being sort of silent, all eyes were soon upon her. The serious officer sounded like he wanted them all to give up right then and there. Not an inspiring speech indeed! She hopped off the higher platform and onto the lower one a few feet below, then made her way over to the officer. She looked around but everyone in the room was still watching her. Was I really that loud? Or, wait. Maybe it was because they all look so incredibly grave. Looking over the grizzled Officer, she said nothing. Her aim was to annoy him with an act of silence.
The silence didn't last long as he looked her over. Well, if you could call it 'looking', since the Illidari didn't really have eyes. "Alright, what are you here for?" The man asked her. There was a certain emphasis on the 'you' that she didn't quite enjoy.
Not changing her amused expression the woman simply said. "I give myself to the cause. So, it was the lower deck, yes? That crowd looked very depressed. Not that I can blame them; your speech wasn't exactly a mood lifter." When that didn't illicit a response from him, she continued. "Perhaps you should hire a gnome at this establishment. You people could surely use a punching bag or something." Her eyes travelled to one of the many demons they had chained up around the edges of the ship. "Never mind. I see you have enough punching bags. Perhaps a comedian instead?" She offered.
His eyebrows raised with amusement rather than the anger she was seeking. "Well, since you want to join we have you for the role of comedian." Ow. "So, why don't you head down and cheer up your fellow recruits?" He did seem to be considering something. Probably the gnome punching bag; they were so awfully verbal.
Not disheartened, she smiled. "Perfect. However I do charge a flat rate of fifty gold per laugh I cause." She took her leave, and found her way to the lower decks. It did take her a few long moments to figure out the layout of the ship but she did find her way eventually. Once arriving at the location, she saw several of the recruits already sparring. And an odd creature observing the fights. It looked like a shrivelled up Draenei male. Except it had three golden-painted toes and the gauntest face she'd ever seen. Eyes of emotionless blue pierced through her as she stepped towards the creature. "Another recruit, eh?" It cackled and then made a rather rude comment. "You are sort of small for a Night Elf."
"And you're sort of shrivelled for a Draenei." The words spewed out of her mouth before she had the chance to even think about what she had just said. Three enemies in one day, I've done worse.
"I am an Ashtongue Broken." The creature corrected her, it's voice passive. "Now fight."
She looked around for someone to spar with. Most of them had already found partners so she decided to take on a different approach. In the middle of the lower floor, an oddly designed ceramic pot held some smelly green liquid in it. There was enough room on the edge of the pot to stand on, however. So that is what she did. "Alright, which one of you sorry bastards wants to fight me?!" She called out to the group of recruits. Most of them ignored her, but one Sindorei quickly took the bait.
"And who are you to deem us bastards?" He grumbled at her.
"An even sorrier bastard." She shrugged. "Not as sorry as you'll be though."
With that, their fight began. He wasn't so tough due to his slow speed. And so she deftly dodged his continuous blows; all aimed for either her head or gut. This went on for a few minutes before the Sindorei grew tired of her toying with him. He threw a final punch at her arm; succeeding the hit, but not dealing any damage to her. He was worn out from expending all his energy before. Upon seeing her satisfied face, he glared. The fight picked up a little more after that, with the Blood elf using sneakier blows to catch her off guard; none of them really succeeding though. He felt as though she was holding back against him. It continued until they were stopped by a sudden loud shout.
The ashtongue draenei raised his hand, and the recruits saw the officer who gave them the speech was now standing with the trainer. He said something to the trainer, a smug look adorned on his constant scowl. "Seems like our 'comedian' has some skill after all." The trainer quickly took off up the ramp. The sound of chains unlocking promptly followed. The clinks and clunks made her skin crawl in anticipation.
As the trainer came back, the recruits stared wide-eyed at a felguard demon being forced into the lower deck. The ashtongue yanked on the chains and quickly began to explain the situation. "Commander Narruen has been watching you all spar and was impressed with-" He pointed at the woman who was already glaring at the Commander. "-That one there. Your new training partner is Tal'Gath, here. You have two minutes. Either survive the time or kill the demon."
She was pissed. As her Sindorei sparring partner was distracted, she promptly kicked him in the family jewels. He crumpled to the floor with a groan of pain and a curse directed at her. She ignored it. Her cover as an idiot was over anyway. She didn't hesitate to collect two training glaives from a rack on the edge of the room. The dull metal probably wouldn't do much against the demon, but she had to try anyway. She raised them up, prepared for the worst. She gave the Commander a polite stare, but with the way it looked it could be described more so as a tame glare. "So, when does it start? You blow a whistle or something, Commander?"
"Now." He ordered. And with that, the chains were dropped and the demon released. The rest of the recruits ran off to safety, leaving the woman to face the angry raging beast alone.