Chapter 1

The grass was a mix of sharp and soft on the palms of his hands and through the off white woolen breaches that he wore, as the green clad, elven figure felt his awareness return to him.

What happened? Did Epona throw me? Thoughts raced through the young man's mind. That's not like her at all.

He opened his sapphire blue eyes groggily. His reddish, dark blond head pounded as though someone had hit it with a sledgehammer (it wouldn't have been the first time). Reflexively, he began to clench and unclench his gauntleted hands, testing his fingers as his senses returned to him.

The chain mail shirt he wore under his green tunic felt like it was twice as heavy as usual as he slowly pushed himself up off the ground and onto his knees. Pain shot through his arms and chest as he did so, but not the kind of pain he would have felt had anything been broken. He knew that pain all too well. But his arms and torso had definitely taken a beating of some kind.

What had happened?

He searched his mind for the last thing he could remember. In his mind's eye he saw a girl, a young blond woman with high pointed ears like himself, and similar blue eyes wearing a pink and silver top with a royal crest emblazoned on it and woolen riding pants. It had been a warm summer day, and they had been out riding near the castle. Or, more accurately rather, she had decided to go riding, and he had gone with her for her own protection, not that he had minded.

But where is she? He asked himself. If Epona had thrown him, she wouldn't have just ridden off and left him there in the grass. Then that thought led to darker ones…

I have to find her! He tried to stand, but fell back to his backside on the grass. His legs refused to take the strain of his weight just yet. Panic began to set in as he fought with his reeling senses to look around and get the lay of the land around himself.

His eyes took in the sights around him. He was sitting in a grassy, manicured lawn. Okay, so not Hyrule Field, he realized as his mind reluctantly processed the images his eyes were feeding him.

The sky above him was clear, and the sun shone freely. Not far from where he sat he could see a line of trees which marked the beginning of… an orchard? Woods? He couldn't tell from this distance. His keen ears picked up the sounds of water running nearby. A river? A stream? In the distance, but not too distant, jagged hills rose like barrier walls around the valley that he realized he was in. He turned his head to the right and to the left trying to identify where he was, but none of it registered as being familiar.

"Do you need help, friend?" A kind, masculine voice asked from behind him. "Your landing looked kind of hard."

The broad shouldered elf turned his head and body around painfully to see who was speaking to him, using his hands and knees to support himself. The long blue and gold sword scabbard hanging beneath a blue, gold, and red crested shield on his back dragged in the ground, obstructing his movements.

When he was able to turn and see, there was an older, Ordonian man with a graying beard, balding head, and kind eyes bending over slightly with an outstretched hand. He wore a white robe with gold trim as though a Sage or someone whose profession was religious in nature.

"Was it your first trip by portal, my son?" The man asked, his hand remaining outstretched. "You look like you hit pretty hard when you appeared."

The young elven man took the outstretched hand that was offered and allowed the elder religious man to help him to his feet. The man was stronger than he appeared to be.

"Thank you." The green clad elf responded shakily, still feeling dazed and off balance. "I'm not… I'm not sure what happened or where I am."

"Overshot Eversong a little perhaps? Well, no matter, the Light calls all as its children regardless of their race... or politics." The man responded, placing a steadying hand at his back, "I am called Brother Garen. And your name, friend elf?"

A warmth spread from the man's hand throughout the elf's body and the aches and pains he felt began to fade and disappear. Soon, he felt stronger and more steady.

"Eversong?" The elf repeated. The name meant nothing to him. The elf searched his mind for the memory, surprisingly it took several seconds before he was able to get a word out, "Link. I'm called Link." Then, after a minute he asked, "Where am I?"

"You're in the grounds of Northshire Abbey in Elwyn Forest, Link." Brother Garen replied. "And that places you in a bit of a pickle if you try and leave here on foot, friend. Stormwind hasn't been friendly with Silvermoon for many years as I'm sure you know."

"Stormwind? Silvermoon? I don't understand." Link responded as he continued to look around. "I don't recognize this place at all. I was riding with..." he paused, realizing he ought to be careful as to how much he said, "a girl like myself. Blond hair, blue eyes, wearing a pink and silver tunic and riding breeches."

"I'm sorry, friend, but you are the only elf to appear today." Garen replied.

Link continued to look around him, but the princess who had been his charge was nowhere in sight. "I need to get back to her."

Near them stood a stately stone building with a bell tower, gabels and arches which Link recognized as being meant for some kind of religious purpose. Blue banners with a golden lion image emblazoned on them hung from its walls. Standing near the blue painted double doors of the entry were a man and woman dressed in full plate armor with blue and white tabards displaying the same lion crest.

Other people, similarly dressed to Brother Garen, went about their business around the well tended grounds. Some stood watching him with looks of concern on their faces. Others, men and women of various dress and occupation seemed to pay the religious man and he no mind as though this might be a regular occurrence for them.

Brother Garen looked at his face, studying him as though studying a puzzle needing solving. "Where are you from, Link?"

"Castle Town... in Hyrule." Link responded. That was true enough, though he hadn't grown up there it had become his home.

"Hyrule..." Brother Garen repeated, trailing off the word thoughtfully. "I can't say I know for certain where that is, though it sounds vaguely familiar. I'm afraid my knowledge of geography isn't as good as it should be. I'm not as well traveled as some of my brethren. Is it in Kalimdor? Or Northrend perhaps? In any case, there is a mage from Dalaran staying here at the Abbey who may be able to open a portal to send you back before too much of an incident may be caused."

"Incident?" Link asked becoming wary. "I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"

"You really don't understand, do you my friend?" Brother Garen asked. "A 'Blood Elf' as your people call themselves now, here in Elwyn Forest? That can't remain quiet for long. We here at the Abbey may offer sanctuary, but only for so long."

"My people call themselves Hylians, after the goddess Hylia." Link responded, growing increasingly on his guard. He then asked, "Where is this 'mage' you spoke of?"

"Inside the abbey, the last I saw him." Brother Garen's face wore a skeptical look as he viewed Northshire's new visitor. "He's probably in the library perusing our shelves." He then said and turned, gesturing towards the white stone and blue trimmed structure. "We have a good collection of obscure volumes here, many of which were rescued from Alterac and Stromgarde in the north before their fall. Many scholars come here from all across the Alliance to study our works." There was a note of pride in the elder man's voice.

More names that means nothing to me, Link thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Please, would you take me to him?"

"Of course, my son." Brother Garen replied, and began to lead Link towards the Abbey doors.

As they approached the fully armored guards standing near the doors, one of them, seeing Link's sharp ears more clearly, stepped towards him and drew a broadsword which Link could tell was well honed. "Stop!" The guard announced in a decidely self-important tone, "You're under arrest, Horde scum!"

"Peace, Garrett!" Brother Garen batted the guard's sword to the side without a thought. "I have invoked sanctuary. This young man is under the protection of the Abbey for now regardless of his race or politics. He is obviously here by a simple portal mishap, not a Horde invasion. We're going to see our resident mage to send him home as soon as possible. Please, stand aside."

"But he's a Blood Elf! And he's armed!" Garrett protested. "He could be a spy!"

"Not according to him." Garen responded. "Stand aside so we can straighten this mess out, or I can take it up with Marshall McBride… and inform him of your late night at the Lion's Pride in Goldshire with a certain young lady..."

Garrett stiffened and backed away. "How…?" He asked in a hoarse whisper under the face plate of his helmet.

"The innkeeper and I have known each other for a long time." Brother Garen replied innocently. "So, are there any more objections?"

Garrett backed up against the stone wall of the abbey and quickly shook his head.

"No? Good. I would hate to see you removed from Northshire to a less amiable posting." Brother Garen continued, though his gaze shifted wordlessly to the other, female guard who had remained silent throughout the encounter.

Not waiting for another response, Brother Garen led Link through the Abbey doors. As he did, he remarked to the female guard, "Please give your father my best when you see him, Lucinda."

Link could hear a distinct "huff" (and an armored foot stomp?) as he and his escort passed through the doorway.

The two went in and around a defensive barrier wall into the main hall. He then led him through another hallway off the main hall which opened up onto a spacious room lined with bookshelves. A staircase lined one wall leading up to a second level. Brother Garen headed for the stairs.

"Khelden Bremen is usually to be found among the shelves upstairs. There is a particular kind of magic that the mages of Alterac used to specialize in which he is researching, though I haven't the skill in arcanery to understand exactly what or why." The religious man explained. "My studies were devoted to holy pursuits."

"Is he an Ordonian like yourself?" Link asked. He had never seen an Ordonian skilled in the use of magic before.

"Ordonian?" Garen asked, confused. "Now it is my turn to be confused. What do you mean by that?"

Link then pointed to his own ears, and then to Garen's which were clearly rounded and much smaller than Link's own.

"Is he human, do you mean? Yes, he's human." Garen chuckled. "You tend to find a lot of us here in Elwyn now," then his voice took on a more melancholic note, "especially since we're the last human kingdom left."

There was such a resigned sorrow to the older man's voice, Link could only respond, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

The old man stopped on the stairs and turned to look at the elven man behind him.

"No," Garen replied seeing the sincerity in Link's eyes, "I believe you didn't." After pausing for another minute, he turned and continued up the stairs saying, "Come, my son. Let's get you back to where you belong. If Khelden Bremen doesn't know how to get you back, he almost certainly will know who does."

They emerged from the top of the stairs and made a right along a railing and into another chamber of the library. Like the one they had just exited, it too was lined with bookshelves. On the far wall stained glass windows let the bright daylight in in various colors, though not enough to bring light to the whole chamber on their own. Several candles in various holders around the room played that role. In the middle of the room stood a large rough hewn wooden table with a few equally rough hewn, but well used chairs positioned around it.

One of those chairs was occupied by a dark haired man in azure blue robes. He was hunched over a large, red, leather bound volume on the table with yellowed vellum pages. He appeared to have taken no notice of the two intruders, though the sound of Link's boots on the wood and stone floor echoed through the room.

"Maester Bremen?" Brother Garen asked aloud, though respectful of intruding on the man's solitude.

If the mage had heard him, he gave no indication of it. Instead, Link could hear a quiet whispering coming from the table, though he couldn't make out the words being said.

"Maester Bremen?" The religious man asked again, a little louder.

The whispering stopped, though the man still gave no other indication of having heard. But this seemed sufficient for Brother Garen as he continued. "There's a young man here who has more need of your skills than of mine. It appears there was a portal mishap."

"Indeed." The mage responded. "And this was important enough to interrupt my research… why?"

"Because the longer he stays here, the more of a problem his presence may become." Brother Garen replied.

"So, send him packing then, and leave me to my work." The mage replied, still not looking up from his book.

"Yes, well there are special circumstances involved regarding the shape of his ears." Brother Garen replied, some bit of sarcasm creeping into his voice.

"The shape of his what?" The mage finally looked up and away from his book to face the two intruders. Link could see then that he was also, in fact, "human" like Garen, and wore a large mustache which seemed to be trying to become a full beard, but the man's chin wouldn't cooperate.

"I see now what you mean." The mage then said as he took in the green clad young elven man. "Yes, I'm sure young Garrett outside was thrilled to meet our new guest."

"So..." Brother Garen began again, intending to explain Link's situation to the mage. He never got the chance to form the words. The clanging of the Abbey's bells ensured that.

Suddenly the mage jumped to his feet, an alarmed look in his eyes, and Brother Garen's expression became very serious as he said in a whisper, "No… Not now."

"What?" Link asked looking around again. "Why are the bells ringing like that?"

"Because we're under attack." Brother Garen replied.

"Careful there now, elf girl." A kind, yet raspy, matronly voice said gently. "You shouldn't move too much just yet."

Pain shot through the lithe young woman's body as consciousness returned to her mind. It jolted her as she attempted to move her fingers and open her eyes. She wanted to cry out for the pain, but found that she couldn't. She slowly willed her bright, royal blue eyes open to a somewhat blurry world.

"You landed hard, girl. Shaggara is surprised that you survived it at all. It will take some time." The voice said again.

The young elf woman slowly tried to turn her blond head towards the direction of the voice. But all she saw was a blur of brownish green in a somewhat distorted Hylian, or maybe Gerudo form. She opened her mouth to try and speak and found the words hard and whispered,

"Wh..." It hurt so badly just to say that much, but she had to force herself to continue. "Wh… where am… am… I?" It came out as a harsh, quiet whisper, but it was coherent enough.

"You're lying in Shaggara's bed in her home after she found you face down in her swine pen all battered and bruised. Shaggara didn't know a Blood Elf could turn such colors." The voice chuckled slightly.

"Wh… Who… are… are you?" The young woman asked, her mind confused and hazy. She thought she heard the woman call her a "Blood Elf."

"Shaggara thought that was obvious young one. It is her house after all." Shaggara replied.

The young woman then heard the sound of glass, or maybe ceramic vessels being used and jostled. "Now that you're awake, perhaps Shaggara can help ease some of your pain." Shaggara said kindly. "Shaggara is no healer, but she was taught by a great shaman once how to brew a simple healing potion from herbs that grow around her house. Drink, girl."

The young woman could feel a smooth vessel being pressed up against her lips and she parted them as best she could to allow the liquid to flow into her mouth. Instantly the pain in her head began to recede, and as the liquid flowed through her mouth and down into her throat, the healing spread throughout her body and she could feel the ability to move more freely again, even if she was still a little sore.

The young woman's vision cleared, and she looked again into the face of her benefactress. It was like no face she had ever seen. The woman's skin was a brownish green, taut and muscled, with only a few wrinkles here and there to indicate maybe middle age? Her eyes were small and inset to her face, and they were a blue like the deepest part of the sea. As she looked into those eyes she saw a fierceness, a passion, and a depth of wisdom she knew in few others, as well as compassion. Her nose was short and squat, and the woman sported small yellowed tusks from her bottom jaw. Her head was shaved bald except for a warrior's braid of black hair streaked with gray she sported from the back of her head. Shaggara's ears were pointed, though not as long as the young woman's own. She was both beautiful and monstrous, compassionate and ferocious all at once. She wore a leather tunic over a muscled, athletic build, and rough leather breeches.

"How do you feel now, girl?" Shaggara asked.

"Better, thank you." The young woman replied, her voice steadier and more confident.

"Good. Shaggara has used that potion many times. It saved her life more than once in battle." Shaggara told her as she turned to return the used bottle to a shelf on her wall. "Now, Shaggara would like to know who you are, and how you landed in her swine pen."

A name came to the young elf woman's mind, and she said it aloud, "Zelda, my name is Zelda." In spite of the potion, her mind still felt hazy, as though her memories were trapped in a fog.

"Zelda is it? Strange name for one of the Sindorei, but then Shaggara thinks all elf names to be strange." The woman smiled as she turned back to her charge, revealing rows of sharp yellowed teeth.

"Sindorei?" Zelda asked in confusion. "Who are the Sindorei?"

"You must have landed harder than Shaggara thought. Perhaps your head needs stronger potion than Shaggara can brew." Shaggara said with some concern. "Sindorei is what you are, girl. Though many of your kind now call themselves Blood Elves in honor of all of your kin who were murdered by the Scourge."

No, that didn't sound right to Zelda at all. She searched her hazy memory but came up with nothing. Instead, another word to describe her people surfaced, "Hylian," she said. "My people are called Hylians. My land is called Hyrule."

"Hyrule?" Now it was Shaggara's turn to be confused. "Shaggara's travelled from one end of this world to the other. Shaggara has even traveled to her ancestral home in the Outland and spent time with her Mag'har kinsmen. Shaggara has never seen or heard of any land called 'Hyrule'."

Zelda slowly propped herself up with her arms. She was still sore and stiff, but her body was no longer screaming at her. Her mind began to race and whir at this news. If she wasn't in Hyrule or anywhere near, then where was she?

"Shaggara, what is this land called?" She asked her host.

"You're in Durotar girl, a day's ride south of Orgrimmar." Shaggara responded. Then seeing the blank look of non-recognition in Zelda's eyes, she said, "in Kalimdor." Still seeing no look of recognition, she then said, "This world's called Azeroth by most; but judging by your expression, Shaggara can see that you don't know that name either."

"No." Zelda responded.

Shaggara studied Zelda's face for some time. Then she said, "You don't know how you got here, do you girl?"

"No." Zelda said again. "The last thing I remember was riding my horse in Hyrule Field with… with my bodyguard. The next thing was waking up in pain here."

Shaggara took a seat cross-legged on her floor next to the sleeping mats and furs Zelda had been laying on which she had generously called a bed. "Shaggara thought you were noble born, even for an elf your shirt is finely tailored, and the crest sewn into it reeks of royalty. Shaggara has little experience with magic herself, but she knows it when she sees or hears of it. And this stinks of powerful, dark magic. Perhaps some sorceror tried to take you and something went wrong? Or maybe something went right for you, because you came to Shaggara and not to the sorceror? Perhaps what gods or powerful forces there may be are watching over you, Zelda of Hyrule."

"Perhaps they are." Zelda replied quietly as she reasoned through Shaggara's logic and found it sound. Except, as her mind began to clear, she had a piece of the puzzle Shaggara did not. A piece which might explain the "why" of the attempted abduction. And if that was true, then her "bodyguard" might have also been dragged here as well. Whether the third bearer was… She didn't know if that was even possible. His prison was outside of normal time and space. But it was finding Link, if he was truly here as well, that would be the most pressing matter.

"My bodyguard, Link. He may have been pulled here as well. It's important that I know for certain. He and I share… a certain bond."

A look of thoughtful understanding passed over Shaggara's face, though she said nothing for several minutes.

Then Shaggara spoke up again after some musing of her own. "Shaggara knows of a mage in Orgrimmar who may be able to help you find your friend, and a way back to this "Hyrule" you speak of, Zelda Noble Born. A mage Shaggara would trust with her life. Shaggara would take you there, if that is where you wish to go."

"That is generous, Shaggara, but you have done so much for me already." Zelda told her reflexively, though she knew it wasn't the wisest response. She was in a foreign land with no reference points to speak of.

Shaggara smiled a half smile, "So, Zelda knows her way around Shaggara's world without help now? You have all the gold and supplies you need to find this 'friend' of yours?"

Not giving Zelda time to answer, Shaggara said, "Shaggara thinks not. It would be Shaggara's shame to let you wander this land on your own. Too many honorless orcs these days who would take advantage of a pretty one such as you. No. On Shaggara's honor, she will accompany you and see you safe."

Zelda looked into Shaggara's eyes and saw a determination there and thought she understood. Shaggara had been given a responsibility, a quest, whether she asked for it or not, and she was going to see it through regardless of the cost. Her personal honor demanded it of her. She nodded in acknowledgment, seeing any further argument would offend the proud warrior woman.

"Yes, Shaggara will keep you safe in her land, Zelda Noble Born. She will see you home." The Orc woman told her with a finality to her voice.