Chapter 1 - The Shadowglen Council

The young hunter approached the great tree in the center of the Shadowglen and took a deep breath, her midnight blue hair willowing softly in the breeze that was slowly swirling around. She knew the tree towering above her was nothing compared to the sheer size of the Giant Tree Teldrassil. However, that world was all that she knew. Having studied her entire life in the closure of the Shadowglen, Zinobeia had never been allowed to leave until Ayanna Everstride would grant permission. For years, Zinobeia had trained in the hopes of seeing the world outside Teldrassil, but repeatedly Ayenna would say that she was not strong enough. However, today had to be the day. Zinobeia hoped to Elune that it would be true.

The black nightsaber next to her stretched his spotted paws out in front of him and yawned lazily. He cared for nothing more than to have a nap after their latest training session in the forest of the Shadowglen. Zinobeia smilled as he put out a hand towards him, which he nuzzled against lovingly. "Good boy, Remiel," she said in a soothing voice. Ah, to have the worries a nightsaber had.

Looking back to the tree, Zinobeia noticed the winding branch that served as the path up to Ayanna's living area as she began to traverse it. It climbed about halfway up the tree before turning back on itself to finish its journey at the door of the Sladowglen Council's meeting area. It must be nice to lord over us from all the way up there, Zinobeia thought to herself. She had been living in a tent outside the tree's trunk. No doubt she wasn't the only one who noticed the caste system put in place by the Shadowglen Council? It mattered not to her. Her goal was to focus on leaving the glen and seeing the world beyond, the world which she had been sheltered from for so long.

Finally arriving at the door, Zinobeia reached for the beautifully crafted handle to give it a turn, allowing the door to swing open as she stepped inside. The Council was there, awaiting her arrival. Among them sat Ayenna. Seeing Zinobeia enter the room, Ayenna spoke up. "It is about time you arrived," she said coldly. "We could not have waited much longer before moving on to our next turn of business, young hunter."

Zinobeia bowed her head in respect, and then looked back up at Ayenna. "I do apologize," she said, a little tensely.

"It is no harm done," Ayenna replied. "Let us review your case." She pulled out a manila folder, opened it, and looked over its contents. "You've undergone a lot of training, Zinobeia. No doubt you are starting to reach your potential as a hunter."

Zinobeia only smiled to herself in reply. Maybe this was finally going somewhere good.

"However," Ayenna continued. "The Shadowglen Council feels that you are still not strong enough. To let you leave the Shadowglen could prove to be disastrous to your overall well-being. I apologize, but we cannot allow you to leave just yet."

Zinobeia scowled. That was not what she wanted to hear.

"Ayenna," she finally said, a rough tone to her voice. "You have personally overseen my training since the day of my birth. Repeatedly you say I am not strong enough to leave, but I feel I am ready to see the world outside Shadowglen."

"Which is why we bring such matters to the Shadowglen Council," Ayenna replied sternly. "We will not be responsible for your death should you happen to make a mistake in judgement."

"I will not stand by and allow you to dictate my actions any longer!" Zinobeia cried. "I am not some child to be babysat!"

Ayenna smiled. "Just like her mother," she murmured to herself. Directing her attention back to Zinobeia, she retained her stern tone. "You are not to leave the Shadowglen until you have furthered your training some more. You are dismissed." With that, Ayenna put away the folder and moved to call forth the next case while Zinobeia left, furious.

-----

"You think she's really still here?"

"I know she is. She's been here since birth and the Shadowglen Council won't allow her to leave unless she were ready."

"How do you know?"

The dark-skinned night elf glared at her companion, a paladin with long black hair tied into a short ponytail. "I don't need to explain the Shadowglen Council's actions to you, Jer." Looking down the winding path, her eyes narrowed. "I just hope we get there before -they- do."

"No problem," the paladin grinned. "If they -do- get there, I can just smite 'em to death, right?"

The night elf sighed. "I should have brought Ziuk. He's not as reckless as you are."

"It's because I'm reckless that you brought me."

"As long as you don't go insane with them, we should be fine. That's assuming that they even get there before us."

"What about the others? They're not just going to stand around, are they?"

"Of course not. They've been keeping an eye on her. No doubt they can handle anything that happened." The two finally approached the final bend in the road, beyond which lay the entrance to Shadowglen. "Good. It looks like we're here first. Let's hurry."

-----

Kaelyn looked over to Zinobeia as she began packing the items in her tent. "So, they're letting you leave, finally?"

"Yep," Zinobeia lied. "They said I was ready to go out and explore the world of Azeroth."

"It's too bad you misplaced the certificate they gave you already," Kaelyn sighed. She had been Zinobeia's friend for a few years now, and was training to follow the path of a druid. "What're you going to say to the guards?"

"I'll just tell them that it was buried too deep in my stuff to pull out," Zinobeia replied. "It's not like they haven't dealt with such situations before."

Kaelyn made a face. "I know you didn't get approved to leave yet, Zin. Why are you so anxious to leave?"

Zinobeia slammed her sleeping bag down. "Because I hate it here! No doubt you've seen how stupid their system is here! They get to rule over us from the comfort of the tree Aldrassil while the rest of us either sleep in the Inn, if there's room, or in tents to deal with the weather. You don't see anything wrong with that?!"

Kaelyn shrugged. "It's a roof over my head, one way or the other. Can you be serious about trying to leave? They'll just find you within a few days and bring you right back."

Zinobeia shook her head. "I won't let them. I'll show them. I'm ready for this, I've needed this for a long time."

At that moment, the call rang throughout the glen. "Tarindrella is here! The dryad has returned to the glen!"

Kaelyn turned to Zinobeia. "We should go see her, yeah? She might be able to help you with your problem."

Zinobeia rolled her eyes. "I doubt Tarindrella's here to hear my problems. She hasn't been here in a few hundred years or so, when I was a baby."

Moments later, Ayenna's voice rang throughout the glade. "Everyone, assemble at the moonwell!"

Zinobeia growled. "The far corner of Shadowglen. So much for leaving now."

Kaelyn stood and pulled Zinobeia to her feet. "Let's go. If Tarindrella's here and they're making a big deal of it, then it must be important."

Zinobeia looked back at Remiel, who was laying beside the tent, his feline eyes closed. His chest expanded and contracted slowly as he enjoyed peaceful slumber. Zinobeia tch'ed and followed Kaelyn to the moonwell.