Hello! This is my first fiction so please be gentle. I am of course open to criticism and reviews, all that jazz.
I do not own World of Warcraft sadly, but I do own all of the original characters of this story.
I hope you enjoy it!
CHAPTER 1
He rode swiftly into the decrepit town. The bodies of the recently dead strewn across the streets. Gray eyes flicked from building to building before he dismounted with a resigned sigh.
Silently he unbuckled the large great-sword from his charger's side and motioned to the fifteen men behind him, who began to dismount and gather their own weapons. Without pause the troop of paladins began to behead the dead bodies of the villagers, blessing them softly as they went.
Their leader, a tall, broad shouldered man with salt and pepper hair, moved through the village with the motions indicative of one who had done this before. But despite his distaste he noted that it simply would not do for the village to rise as the slavering undead.
When the dead had all been tended to they were piled in the middle of the town and burned along with every building.
Only when the town had been razed to the ground did the soot and blood stained paladins begin to remount. And as he did the leader thought to himself how strange it was that none of the undead that had caused this massacre had stayed behind to feast upon the fresh corpses. When this thought passed through his mind his ears picked up the incoherent gibbering of ghouls.
Swinging himself into the saddle he kicked his charger into a gallop towards the outskirts of Corin's Crossing. His men followed suit, many of them hoisting their weapons high and murmuring prayers, their eyes lit with the prospect of vengeance. The troop burst from the ring of trees that had sheltered the little town, into a small clearing beside a lake. There they saw a large pile of slaughtered undead , most with their skulls crushed in. Three still stood, their wide mouths filled with sharp, broken teeth spouting strings of nonsense. Their clawed hands reaching for something obscured by a fiery pillar of light.
The older paladin was first to reach them, his sword decapitating one of the ghouls and slicing another in half with a backward swing. He raised his sword to cut down the last and a blur of motion from the light pillar caught the beast in the face, crumpling its' skull and sending it sprawling to the ground, its' already rotten brain spilling into the dirt.
Quickly the paladin retreated from the light and dismounted his horse, holding his blade ready for any trouble.
With a slight pulse the pillar disappeared, leaving a small panting child. The old paladin's eyes widened as he realized it was a little girl, no more than six. She was petite with pale white skin, long auburn hair, and bright blue eyes. Her facial features were small and her face, while round of cheek, was pulled into a fine point at her chin, there was also an unusual glow about her almond shaped eyes. In her tiny fist she clutched an enormous war-hammer, easily twice her weight.
"What is she?" Breathed a young paladin who had come up behind his commanding officer.
"I do not know." Stated the gray haired paladin as he took one uncertain step towards the child. Her eyes shot towards him and she took a step back, shaking her head vehemently and beginning to glow anew despite her exhaustion.
"I mean you no harm little one, I swear it." He raised his hand and it began to shine softly.
"You see, I am of the light. As you are." She narrowed her eyes in suspicion but stopped glowing.
"May I approach you young miss?" His tone was fatherly and he took another small step in her direction.
She allowed a small nod and began to fidget as he walked swiftly in her direction. He towered over her and when he was close enough he knelt before her, peering into her face with a welcoming stare.
"That was quite incredible little one. Where did you learn such things?"
She allowed her eyes to flick behind her and for the first time the man noticed the two bodies on the ground behind the child. One was a man of maybe thirty, he had close cropped auburn hair and a small, well kept beard. He wore the bright silver and gold plate of a paladin and was broad and tall of build, his face reflecting years of hard fought battles. Beside him sprawled a woman, a high elf woman. She was taller than most females of her race, and a slight bit more curvaceous. She too wore paladin armor, only hers was red and gold, a large shield and gilded mace were clutched in her hands. Her face was a lovely heart shape with a small nose and full mouth, surrounded by a short halo of golden hair. Both were dead. The paladin looked to the little girl who watched him curiously.
"Did they kill each other?" Asked one of the troop loudly.
The girl shot her a glare at the young woman that made her cringe.
"Mama and Daddy would never hurt each other." she hissed between her teeth and then looked at the man before her.
"They tried to protect me, and then they died." Tears shone in her wide eyes as she moved to push a wavy strand of hair from her face, revealing one long slender ear. Everyone held their breath and looked to their leader, half expecting him to strike down the half breed child where she stood. But instead he held out his hand to her.
"What is your name little one?"
She took his hand and shook it.
"Erin." his grin widened.
"My name is Tirion, and you are more than welcome to come with us."
Erin eyed him with suspicion but nodded and allowed him to take her hand.
"But what about Mama and Daddy?" She spared a meaningful glance at her parents.
"We will show them every respect due to great paladins, and we will ensure that they do not rise as the scourge." This seemed to satisfy her and she allowed herself to be lifted onto Tirion's charger, him placing her gently into his lap as he mounted behind her. He watched as four of his men wrapped the two dead paladins and tied them to the saddles of the two largest chargers. One of the paladins reverently gathered the shield and mace from the ground. Tirion again turned his eyes to the little girl who was watching the paladins handle her parents and their belongings with narrowed, critical eyes. She looked up to him expectantly.
"Mama's shield and hammer belong to me." Tirion's eyes widened at the brashness of the statement.
"Of course little one, but first we must get to hallowed ground. Then we will sort out your parents funeral and their effects."
She nodded curtly and allowed herself to lean back into his much larger frame, placing her small hands on the saddle horn.
"Hold on tight!" He nudged the horse into a gallop, and watched as the small child finally gave into her exhaustion and fell limp against his chest.
'What is she?' He wondered to himself as he and his soldiers made their way to Light's Hope Chapel, hoping that the raiding undead had not destroyed it.