Hello everyone.
My name is Gulefritz and I am bringing you the story of Tellana Ravenfire, a sentinel who fought during the Battle of Mount Hyjal and is about to receive her Nightsaber. We'll follow her story as we progress through WoW's story.
Hope you'll like it.
Today was the most important day for Tellana Ravenfire. Today was the day she would officially become a part of the huntress part of the sentinel army.
Tellana is a sentinel who has served for a thousand years. She had fought in the sentinel army, defending Kal'dorei lands for centuries, and one of her proudest moment where when she, alongside her sisters and brothers, fought against the undead forces besieging the World Tree atop Hyjal summit.
The Burning Legion's invasion had thinned their numbers when first the Warsong Clan invaded Ashenvale Forest where they killed Cenarius, followed by the undead invasion after the death of Mannoroth. She decided it was time she rose in the ranks, and for the last six years, she has trained and prepared to one day become one of the huntresses.
And today, that day had finally come. As of now, she was making her way from through Ashenvale forest, from Astranaar to the Silverwind Sentinel fortress of Silverwind Refuge, a fortress guarding the middle of Ashenvale Forest and the main road leading to Darkshore and Astranaar.
No more than two night's prior, the Nightsaber matriarch of Silverwind Refuge had given birth to a litter of six cubs. Four females and two males, and last night, she received a letter from the lead huntress of the Silverwind sentinels, that she had been hand-picked and one of these six cubs, would become her guardian.
And now she had come to meet her future guardian. She was on her way to meet her future companion.
Ever since the times of Asha'mane has Kal'dorei and Nightsaber formed a strong bond from early years to their final days. She defended them during the demon invasion, and they defender her children in times of struggle and great peril. Asha'mane leapt from tree to tree and the old ancient clawed and ripped several demons into chunks, and the Kal'dorei looked after her children, feed them and took them in as their own.
Each side was dependent on one another
And tonight, when she finally would make her way to Silverwind Refuge, would she be able to make her first and most important connection to the Nightsaber ancient, the first connection to one of her children.
Or so she hoped.
There were six cubs in the litter. All six of them had been chosen for military use as companion for the huntresses, both as mounts and hunting companions. But for these six cubs, seven sentinels had been picked as potential guardians of these young kittens.
If she got one cub, then she knew that one of the seven would not get one from this litter. Tellana did not know how the huntresses decided who got what cub, but she sure as hell was ready to figure it out.
Late in the evening, Tellana finally reaches the fortress. The sun went down an hour ago and Mother moon has taken its place, slowly moving across the star. The lack of sunlight did not affect the kal'dorei. They could see in the darkness just aswell as in the day. They could see the prowling predators, they could see the sleeping prey and they could see the demons or undeads, still lingering in the forests.
It was a skill they had adopted from Elune. She herself could see in the dark and now, her light allows them to see in the dark, just like her light helps the children of Asha'mane to hide in the moonlight.
Yes, it is true. The Nightsaber is known to be almost invisible during the night. During the full moon, a nightsaber could get so close their paws could rip open their opponents hide, without them noticing before the paw had hit and their teeth dug deep into its prey's flesh.
Tellana once saw that very thing happen to a human hunter once. The hunter had walked into their lands from the south, claiming to have been lost when on patrol. His story makes no sence, as he was clearly dressed to hunt animals, and the nearest human encampment lied in Dustwallow Marsh, which was on the other side of the great barrens.
Their suspicions about the human was right, as he one day knocked out the sentinels and made for the woods. They had searched his belongings and found the hides from several animals, a nightsaber included. The hunter knew he had provoked the wrath of the daughter's of Elune, but it would never be them to get their revenge on him.
It would be a daughter of Asha'mane.
She saw it with her own eyes. She had tracked him down and had raised her bow to fire the deadly shot, when she suddenly saw two yellow eyes in the moonlight. Those yellow eyes stared directly at her, and Tellana immediately knew what was going to happen. She lowered her bow and almost immediately she heard the scream of the human, as one of the biggest Nightsaber she had ever seen, pounced on the human.
The struggle was over before it began. Within mere seconds, the nightsaber had killed the hunter, having effectively destroyed his throat, and left him to die. Tellana looked after the big cat and followed it, immediately noticing that it was left alone, walking towards a den way bigger than a single cat, and it was then she had put the pieces together.
That hunter had killed that cat's mate. What most people do not know about nightsaber is, that they mate for life. When they find a mate, they stick to it forever. The only positive thing Tellana could imagine was that the nightsaber was at least in her older years and would likely have given birth to several litters, but it was still sad to know, this human had killed this cat's mate.
She watched over the nightsaber in the following days and the situation turned sadder. With time the old nightsaber stopped eating and barely left her den. Tellana saw as this mighty cat was reduced to bones and fur.
One night she decided to end this cat's suffering and bring it together with its mate. She came one day and raised her bow, aiming for the hearth of the great cat. Without hesitation she fired her arrow and killed the great cat immediately, giving the beast a quick and clean death.
She buried the remains of the Nightsaber in the den, allowing its final resting place to be where it used to live. She gave her blessings to the great cat, wishing for its spirit to join Elune and Asha'mane in the next life.
She knew not all humans were to be blamed for one human's action, but Tellana has never been able to look at humans with a positive view since then. She saw them as heroic and brave, as they had fought against overwhelming odds, at the battle of Mount Hyjal, but this. This was a backstab to her, and with it, Tellana Ravenfire lost all faith in humans and swore she would always protect the children of Asha'mane.
It was this event that had led her to this moment. She entered the fortress and did not have to wait long before someone talked to her. It was a strong and strict voice.
"Tellana Ravenfire I assume"
Tellana looked to the side and could only nod. Before her stood a huntress, armed with sword and full moon-steel armor, but what shocked her the most, was the Nightsaber right next to her. The cat was big with a very dark fur. She could make out some stripes in the fur, and fangs so great, the tip of the fangs were outside the mouth. She looked straight at the huntress when she spoke again.
"My name is Filenya Moonrunner. I am the commander of the Huntresses around here. You are to be transferred to my unit, put under my training, and follow my orders, if you are deemed worthy as a guardian for one of Asha'manes children, am I understood?"
Tellena nodded. Filenya simply returned the nod with a nod of her own, before motioning Tellana to follow.
"Follow me, the others are waiting by the stables, looking over the cubs. You are late, please, do not make a habit out of it"
Tellana opened her mouth to protest, to tell she was never late, but she was never able to, as she heard a growl from the huntress's nightsaber, seemingly prepared to defend its companions' words.
Tellana followed the commander until they reached a small stable next to the Refuge. By it were six other sentinels, all looking into the stable at something within, most likely the mother and her six cubs.
They reached the stable and she was right. Inside laid the Nightsaber matriarch on one side, while four of the six were feeding, while the two remaining, the two males, were playing, trying to catch each other's tails.
Tellana looked to her right as immediately Filenya spoke up for the entire group to hear.
"The Kal'dorei had domesticated the nightsaber for thousands of years. We rode them into battle during the War of the Ancients and before. We have found the strongest, fiercest and most loyal of the Nightsabers and breed them since then"
Filenya points at one of the small cubs, then to the mother.
"These are direct descendants of the ancient Asha'mane, the Nightsaber ancient who fought against the demons during the War of the Ancient. The ancient whose fangs has been missing for years without any of our druids finding any trace of their location. A shame, but we must carry on"
Filenya looks back at the group of huntress-aspirants, glaring at them.
"It takes great responsibility to become of the huntresses. You will raise these cats from kittenhood to adulthood. You will act as their mothers and guardians and with time, they will act as your guardian and companion. But note this sisters, if I see one kitten mistreated or in lack of care, you will be branded as a traitor of the Kal'dorei and have to answer for your crimes"
A loud growl can be heard from behind the sentinels. This growl come from the Nightsaber matriarch, growling at one of her cubs, as one of the males had missed his brother and landed on his mother's tail and by mistake bitten her tail instead.
"Fitting. Because it is not to me or the Priestess's you will answer to, but to her. And know, the wrath of a mother towards a person who harmed her child, is known to scare even the ugliest of demons. Now, any questions?"
Filenya looks over the group of sentinels, only six sentinels. Tellana raises her hand and receives a nod from Filenya.
"In the letter it said seven sentinels had been picked for potentially joining the huntresses, but I only spot six. Who and where is the seventh?"
Filenya sighed.
"We send out these letters well knowing not all of them will be answered. The seventh person, Anariala Rainmane was the seventh person. We send her the letter but no reply has been send back to us. We looked into the case and now we know that she has been send to Dustwallow Marsh. Seems there has been trouble concerning a human hunter in our lands, a human who originated from Theramore even"
Tellana nodded. She knew Anariala as she was the sentinel who helped her find the hunter, but she had not seen her since then. Seems I figured out why. Silence ensued, no more questions were asked and the huntress stepped aside, allowing the sentinels to enter the stable.
"Sisters, come and meet your kittens"
The sentinels walked into the den and immediately they noticed the change of the Nightsaber's attention. The two males stopped trying to catch eachother and looked at the six sentinels, while the four females also looked in their directions. The matriarch looked at the six before putting her head on the ground, she knew what was about to happen.
One of the males were the first to move forward towards the group, finding all six elves curious. Slowly he walked over to the nearest elf. The sentinel tried to move her hand to the cub, but it backfired, as the cub moved back and a growl could be heard from the matriarch.
The cub walked over to Tellana, finding interest in the elf. She smiled at the small kitten and knelt down in front of it. She reached out with her hand, not towards the cub, but half-way there, allowing him to sniff her hand, if he so decided.
The cub walked over to the hand and sniffed it, before giving it a lick with his rough tongue. Tellana could not stop but laugh as she felt the rough tongue run over her hand. It was exactly as she expected.
The cub put his forehead to her hand, and did this for some time, before rubbing it with his head, having clearly found a like to this sentinel. Tellana smiled again and moved her hand forward to pet the cub, an act that even made the small kitten purr.
"It seems you've found your kitten sister. But please remember, he is your guardian just like you are his. He is not a pet, you should be sure to remember this. Now, pick him up and take him with you to the sleeping quarter"
Tellana looked at the huntress with a curious look before looking over to the matriarch.
"Will she accept that? We are taking her cubs away from her afterall"
Filenya sighed as she herself looked at the matriarch.
"When we pick a nightsaber as mother, will we train them from start that they will be departed with their cubs. She does not make a close bond to them as she would in the wild, but the bond will remain. She knows, thanks to our druids, that her cubs serve Elune and Asha'mane, and she has accepted this, trusting that you, will protect her cubs, like she would in the wild"
Tellana nodded and looked down at the cub who was looking at her with a curious look. She smiled and picked up the cub, putting a hand below his belly and buttom, pressing him against her chest. She walked out of the stable, slightly petting the kitten, as she walked towards the barracks.
Tellana smiled as she looked down into the big yellow eyes of the cub in her hands. This was the day she made her bond to the her Nightsaber, this was the happiest day in her entire time.
And here we end chapter 1 of Tellana Ravenfire's story. Read and review, tell me what you liked, disliked and what should be improved/removed. Also, what should I call this Nightsaber? I got a few names on my mind but I'd like to hear your ideas aswell.