Chapter 1, Betrayal and Slaughter.
The moon in all its blazing glory shone down upon the dreadful night, screams where bounding from tree to tree. Fear was in the air; blood could be smelt in the breeze. Elyn Dawnheart crouched silently between two dead bushes. Her long elf ears seemed to bleed from being forced to listen, forced to suffer like the one who produced the awful sound.
"We have not yet received the signal to move." A male blood Elf suddenly was knelt beside Elyn.
"Must we sit and listen to them suffer Lolaen?" Her eyes did not falter from the village in the distance. Sun Crown a village once full of life, now not only had the blood of her kind on its floors, but the blood of humans as well.
"We must wait for command sister." He insisted. There bright glowing green eyes locked. His face illuminated by the moons glow. She saw their father in him. Just like hers his long gold hair was tucked under his dark red hood, laced with a gold trim. His large red metal shoulder amour gave him a larger appearance. his eyebrows like her own where strangely long and spiked so the tips reached into the air. His hands settled on his sharpened daggers that rested in his belt, his fingers gripped the hilts impatiently. A horn boomed through the dying forest, Elyn and her brother sprang to there feat. Her light amour aloud her to leave her brother behind. Her hood remained in place thanks to her ears, which where poked through two neatly fashioned holes. In the corner of her emerald eyes she could see others of her kin rushing towards the same destination. As soon as she set foot into the overgrown village a few memories flooded back, but she pushed them aside. She drew her daggers, a red gem sat in the hilt of each weapon. The small curved blade reflected the moonlight. She imbedded them into the skull of a rotting scourge. Its bandaged corpse like body had a strong stench of decay. Few strands of hair remained on its head, teeth seemed to fall out its mouth as she retrieved her blades. She had an erg to spit on what was left of its body as it fell dead once again. The dry neglected grass seemed to wrap round her boots, they cried out as she pulled away. Elyn returned one of her daggers to its place in her belt, and pulled one of her many silver throwing knifes from around her dark red leather belt. She turned suddenly whipping her short cloak around and lunched it into the already crumbling skull of another scourge stumbling towards her. Her eyes quickly darted to each of her fellow kin, her brother easily sliced through the scourge in seconds. The other blood elf's made quick work of the monsters. Elyn stood up straight, her eyes snapped to an unwelcome sight. The body's of slaughtered humans destroyed and deformed, scattered across the bloody ground. She found herself having to fight back tears, her nose pleaded for a new smell. Elyn could almost taste the blood. She pulled a golden strand of hair out her face and tucked it back in the hood. Her layered fringe only just kept out the way of her eyes. She accidently locked eyes with a wide eyed human woman, she clutched a dead child in her arms. Elyn didn't even see her bother jog over to her.
"Elyn, why don't you join the fight?" he asked, eager to assist his kin in killing off the rest of the scourge. He held his straight metal silver daggers, covered in black blood.
"We could have stopped this." Elyn took caution in the volume of her voice, she pointed with her own dagger to the humans bleeding out on the floor. Some bared the symbol of the alliance on there chest plate, the golden lion still seemed to beam with pride. others where innocent woman and children.
"We have assisted, have we not?"
"But to late, we are meant to be allied with the alliance. Fighting back the scourge population with them, not helping the scourge rip them apart."
Lolaen sighed, he reluctantly retuned his weapons to his belt. "The council was concerned with the large number of alliance on our doorstep."
"There here to help!"
"And what happens once they have done helping, once the scourge is gone and they are no longer a threat to them?" Elyn remained silent. An answer not coming to her lips. "They will turn of us, they will march up into Eversong and kill us all!" Lolaen took a deep breath, channelling his rage. "We are but mad dogs to them, once our use has expired they will put us down like the animals they think we are!" He pulled his dagger suddenly into the air and propelled it into a scourge who loomed from the building behind Elyn. It crumbled to the floor like the others.
"Lolaen, Elyn!" An armoured blood elf called, his face hidden under a bright red metal helmet.
"Speak." Elyn replied as her brother went and retrieved his cherished weapon.
"The Battle mages will be purging the area soon; I advise you retreat to the safety with the rest."
"Understood." Elyn replied. The blood elf hoisted his large sword onto his back, yellow light seemed to slightly eradiate from it. He nodded to her, and went on his way with the others back into the scarred woods. Elyn holstered her other dagger in her belt, she went to follow the blood elf as he ran of after the rest of there kin.
"Can you here that?" Elyn's brother suddenly asked, her ears heard nothing out of the usual. The creaking of the dying trees, the gentle breeze slipping over the tips of her pointed ears. Her brother pulled his dagger from the decaying mound on the floor. As Elyn approached him, her ears pricked at the sound her brother had mentioned. Curiosity lead her into the elven building, the magic that once had seeped through the place was long since gone. Make shift bedding and living space where a strange sight to her, the way the humans lived. There language, the way they interacted. All strange. Elyn followed the noise, she passed rotting book shelf's. A golden chandelier had fallen from the ceiling, shattered red gems littered the floor of the one room building. She slowly made her way up the spiralling ramp, dark green vines had creped their way through the open windows. The sound was louder now, unbearable. She pulled back the thin tattered bark blue curtains. She edged towards the round bed. Her brother close behind her. she peered into a basket. A human baby lay screaming and kicking, its arms thrashed around almost angrily. Its short dark blond hair seemed like a pile of fluff atop of its head. Its eyes where scrunched, its chubby face red. Elyn presented her gloved hand slowly in front of the child. Its hand latched on accidently to her index finger as it hit against it. The baby stopped crying. the moon shone into the darkness of the room, bathing them both in moon light. Elyn's eyes locked onto the bright blue diamonds that stared back. her brother came beside her, she failed to see the disgust in his eyes. She was to fixated on the baby that lay in the basket, a cream piece of fabric had been crafted into a nappy. It refused to let go of her finger as she gently tried to pull away. In a split second Elyn pulled a dagger form her belt with a free hand, she parried her brothers violent thrust of his own dagger towards the baby. She kicked him back, making his stumble.
"What are you doing?!" Elyn demanded. The baby sobbed, the sudden noise startled it. It wrapped its tiny pale fingers around her finger a little tighter.
"I should ask you the same?" Lolaen asked back, not seeing any wrong in his actions. Surprise defiantly in his voice.
"The baby does not need to die, we can return her to her kin."
"You don't understand; this was the only human settlement in the Ghostlands. The rest make there way from the Eastern Plaugelands to assist if needed."
"So our people are on our own now, we have just broken the treaty. The deal we had made?"
"With the scourge population much lower now, the council believes that we don't need there help anymore."
"So we just let them all die!?" She looked down at the baby, its tearful eyes brought her pain.
"It was the only way to make sure they left without attacking us, once they learn we never kept our word and protected this settlement. We will once again be killed on sight." Lolaen looked at the baby, he pulled his eyes away only seeing what she would become with time. "By the time we get the child to the Eastern Plaugelands they will already know of our betrayal."
"Then she will come with us." Elyn wrapped the baby in the dark blue blanket that its had kicked off itself. It seemed it be crafted form the blue curtains that surrounded them. She held the baby close to her armoured belly.
"What are you doing? she cannot return to Eversong with us." Lolaen went to make a move for the child, the tip of Elyn's dagger kissed her brothers chin. His hands slowly rose in surrender.
"We let her family die, I cannot kill this child in cold blood."
"Father wont accept her into the family." Lolaen told her as she pried back the curtains and went to leave.
"He will, she will be of use to him as well as the rest of the council. She will be our ticket back into the alliance favour, when we once again need there help. This will show them that we can care." Elyn paused. "Sometimes." She sighed.
The roar of flames was all that filled her ears, her brother had heard this to and did not linger in the house. The battle mages had been hard at work destroying what was left of the once beloved village, but it was needed to be done to prevent the dead from rising again. Even with the lich king dead, the scourge still lingered. The cataclysm seemed to bring them out in great numbers once again. She shielded the baby's face as she was forced to jump through a glistening flame. Her fingers shot to her lips as she reached the woods, as did her brothers. A beautiful sound sang from there lips. A whistle that could be heard for miles. An orange glow bathed the trees, everything that the physical flames had not yet touched where still be forced to watch it work. In a strange way it brought life back to the area, even though it was burning whatever remained to dust. Two large creatures suddenly emerged from the darkness in the distance. There feathers like the trees where forced to have an orange glow. With there ostrich like appearance they stood high and proud in front of there masters. There large long beaks lowered in a friendly way. Golden armour strapped across there chest, there flightless wings clung to there sides. Elyn's bright red feathered bird lowered itself slightly realizing what she carried. She mounted her animal with ease. Her brother did the same, his fingers brushed against its jet black feathers. It cawed excitedly. Trees where soon flying past, the orange glow of flames being left behind. The moon taking over once again. The trees silhouettes would bring fear to the untrained eye. The baby suddenly placed its hand on her bear chest, it gripped at the edge of her sleeveless amour. Her shoulder pads almost moulded exactly to her own, a gold trim ran through almost all the red dragon hawk skin amour. A smile creped across her face, joy brought to her by the life she held in her arms.