A/N - Dear WoWers, please, please understand that as much as I love the game, I know there are gaping wholes in my lore knowledge. I'm trying to be as accurate as I can but I'm attempting to tell one tiny story in a vast universe, so I may screw up from time to time or change certain things to better fit the plot. I'm not doing it to be annoying - I just genuinely need to get this story out (its been bugging me for weeks!) So if there is anything little not quite right, I apologise. If its something massive please let me know (kindly) and if its in my power, I'll amend the story slightly.

To my loyal Naruto FanFic readers - I'm sorry. I've been awful at updating lately and it has literally been this stories fault. I'll get back to it - I promise!

And finally, to my husband - thank you for introducing me to this awesome world ^^

DISCLAIMER - Obvs don't own Blizz, WoW or any NPC's that may pop up in the story.

Chapter 1 - The Rogue

Loriana Soulfire stood on her grand balcony, deep emerald eyes gazing over her island home of Quel-Danas. Her bedroom was situated high up in the northern most spire overlooking Suns Reach and out over the vast ocean. Originally she had been put in a south-facing room, but years of daily begging had finally swayed her father and he had allowed the move. She just couldn't stand looking out and seeing the jagged scar left in the earth by the Scourge of undead years ago. Nothing grew there anymore, despite the Elves best efforts, and it saddened her beyond reason.

It had been almost two years since she had swapped rooms and it had really only happened because Lor'themar Theron, the Regent Lord of Quel-Thalas, had overheard her pleading. Despite his fearsome appearance, decked out in all sorts of shining armour in the typical red her people preferred, he had been rather susceptible to her damsel-in-distress plight – something she instantly used to her advantage. Naturally, her father could hardly refuse the Regent, so she had ended up with this room.

The grand furnishings, precious silken robes hanging in the closet and eclectic collection of trinkets on the shelves and tables scattered around had also been courtesy of her Lord. It didn't take a genius to figure out she had somehow managed to gain his favour and for some reason, her general indifference towards him appeared to only strengthen his affection. Thankfully, he still hadn't attempted to pursue any kind of serious relationship with her. Well, she supposed he was kept quite busy in the Blood Elf Capitol of Silvermoon City, governing the Kingdom of Quel-Thalas and working hard to raise their people to glory.

She glanced in the direction of the Sunwell, the centre of Sin'dorei magic, and sighed heavily.

"Everything ok, Loriana?"

She turned away from the warm night to gaze over at the old mage lounging on a giant, crimson chair. She was one of the Dawnstar Village Elders and though ancient, still appeared youthful with her beautiful golden hair piled high on top of her head and her graceful, slender features.

Naravann Embershade had been watching over her since she was five. As a great mage, her father had enlisted her services to train his rebellious daughter into an upstanding and powerful practitioner of the arcane. It had backfired spectacularly. Barely three days in Naravann gave up. After realising Soulfire Sr only wanted his daughter to possess magic, she had to take it upon herself to discover the girl's true calling. Unsurprisingly, the life of a rogue had piqued the little troublemaker's interest and from that point on, Naravann's life had been a series of bail outs and constant reprimanding of the little orange-haired devil. The girl was stubborn and wilful, but her kindness won the mage over and once Loriana was older (and much less of a nuisance) the two had become firm friends. She was lucky to have such an influential member of Quel-Danas on her side as the majority of her Sin'dorei kin either ignored her or treated her like a pest. When accompanied by Naravann, however, they mostly let her be. Once Lor'themar had entered into the equation, she had become something of a celebrity and her fellow elves had begun trateing her with a cloyingly sickening sweetness she knew to be entirely fake. Knew, because nothing could be kept secret for long from a stealthed rogue. It was the norm for her to practise her skills of concealment and she often overheard many things whilst on the search for fine wines to take back to Naravann, who cleverly refrained from asking where the younger elf acquired the alcohol.

Loriana wished she could say she cared very little for the opinions of her brethren, but living the life of a rogue on an island practically full of mages (or the occasional paladin or warrior) was pretty lonely. She supposed that truthfully she could make more of an effort by sneaking around less, but that made being a rogue pretty pointless, really. For the most part, she was content with her one close friend. Being ignored by her father granted her liberties she wouldn't ordinarily have had (he was still quite bitter she wasn't a mage, even fifteen years later) and being favoured by Lor'themar meant she was basically free to do as she pleased without rebuttal. To her credit though, she rarely played the 'boyfriend' card - because technically he wasn't – preferring instead to rely on her own wit and wiles.

"You're worried about tomorrow, aren't you?" Naravann intruded on her reverie and she pouted at the old elf.

"No," she replied sulkily, which only seemed to affirm the mage's suspicion as the woman chuckled, green eyes sparkling through the dim, candlelit gloom. Those eyes were the only reason she sometimes wished she had become a mage. The green glow was, well – magical. Loriana had a connection with arcane, but nowhere near the level of a mage, so she had always thought her eyes fairly dull in comparison.

"Everyone is a little scared the first time they leave home," Naravann shrugged, taking a sip of mulled wine Loriana has recently liberated from a nearby tavern and smacking her lips together with a satisfied hum of approval. She glancedback at the younger elf, shooting her a wry smile. "Your father still appears to be under the impression I'm accompanying you."

Loriana chuckled. "I'm practically a child in the eyes of Elves, it makes sense to have an adult coming with me."

Naravann gave a derisive bark of laughter. "You're no child."

With a sly smirk, Loriana picked up a cup and poured herself some wine as well, breathing in the spiced liquid. "I'm bored here," she shrugged. "You are the only reason I stayed when I finished my training at sixteen. I would have missed you too much."

"Humph," the older woman snorted. "So what you're is, you're not going to miss me now?"

Loriana spared her an exasperated look. "Of course I am, but I do believe you were the one encouraging me to go." The young rogue raised her eyebrows pointedly and Naravann smiled.

The Regent Lord's invitation to join him in Silvermoon for a while had been well-timed. Loriana's original rogue trainer, Elara, would often stop in amidst her travels to test her abilities and share news from Azeroth regarding the ongoing battles between factions and against the Legion, as well as the Sin'dorei's constant war with the Scourge. At first, it had all sounded so fantastical, but the more she learned, the heavier her heart had become. She had been lamenting the woes of the world and her complete inability to help during Elara's last visit when the elf had revealed both news of the Grand Magistar Rommath's supposed plans to reconnect with their forgotten kin in the Outlands (much to Loriana's complete shock) and with Lor'themar's invitation. Naravann had pointed out Loriana's chance to actually be an influential player by speaking into the Regent's ear, so she had accepted.

She may know very little of the world outside the Isle of Quel-Danas, but one thing she had always been certain of was that if the Sin'dorei were ever truly going to achieve the glory they were all so keen on having, it was not going to be given to them by fel or arcane means. She had been mind-blown to find out that Naravann had agreed. Many discussions between the two had enabled her to realise a singularly important truth – they couldn't, as a race, fix everything on their own.

The revival of the Sunwell had seen them forge ahead, but every Blood Elf knew that if the Legion turned towards the again, they would fall. What the elves in power apparently failed to see, though, was that to survive, perhaps they need to seek help beyond the Horde. This thought in itself wasn't an uncommon one (Loriana had overheard plenty of shady conversations in her short life), however, fear kept her people in check. If they attempted to break away, every orc, troll and goblin would be thrown their way by Horde Warchief's and this time, far less than ten percent of the population would survive.

Loriana had realised her people were stuck. They needed an ally not only powerful enough to protect them, but honest enough to actually follow through on the promise. She had to find a way to King Wyrnn. Elara had spoken of the Human Monarch with a begrudging respect. When Loriana ventured the idea of approaching him to her father, however, she had been shot down in a bout of arrogant rage. The humans had turned on the Blood Elves once and apparently most of her people still held on quite tightly to that grudge. Moreover, the humans were in the Alliance with the Kaldorei and every Elven child knew their dark kin were the reason they had begun on this path of strife over ten thousand years ago.

Loriana had thought this to be a solid fact and blamed the Night Elves as acutely as the rest of her people, but Naravann was wise and had taught her to constantly challenge every truth she had ever known and eventually, a strange sense of acceptance had settled on her. Perhaps the Kaldorei had been right to cast their magically corrupted sisters and brothers aside. Most societies tend to fear what they don't understand and perhaps banishing those High Elves was the reason the Children of the Stars had been able to retain their affinity with nature.

Slowly, this thought had taken root in her mind and Loriana was convinced that somehow, that was where the answer lay. She knew her people would never let go of magic, but perhaps there was a way to reacquaint themselves with the natural powers in the world. Perhaps combining arcane and natural energies could somehow lead them to a peaceful future.

Unfortunately, the majority of Blood Elves regarded the Starborn with a burning, scornful hatred, so she had no idea where to begin. That was until Lor'themar's invite. To be in the city that was the heart and soul of Quel-Thalas with all the powerful leaders of her people – surely somehow, one little elf who refused to be beaten might be able to make a difference. Even if it took hundreds of years, even if she wasn't the one to find the eventual answer, she hoped that by just trying, she might be the tiny pebble that causes ripples to race across the surface of a pond. Perhaps one conversation heard by the right ears would lead to something bigger than riding around on the coattails of the Horde, waiting for the day the Alliance, Scourge or Legion came calling, only to find their so-called allies had left them to die in the dirt. There were so few Sin'dorei in Azeroth to truly matter anymore. The Horde were only really interested in their fel-ridden kin in the Outlands. Lor'themar's renouncement of the Sunstrider house and their corrupt Prince, though correct, had affectively nailed the lid to their coffin. The Horde had no real need of the Quel-Thalas Elves and the Alliance held no ties with them. When the Legion came, they would be on their own.

So, the once troublesome, carefree Loriana Soulfire had decided to try and take matters into her own hands. Arrogant? Perhaps, but her race was sort of known for it, after all.

Tomorrow, she would set out for Silvermoon, beyond that… Well the world was vast and a whole plethora of possibility awaited.

"Are you prepared?"

"Yes, father."

Vyarus Soulfire nodded, more to himself than anything, glancing at the trunks being loaded onto the sailing vessel. It wasn't quite a ship, but definitely larger than your average row boat. Loriana watched as a small frown furrowed his brow and discretely rolled her eyes. Here he goes again.

"I really don't understand why I can't just send you through a portal. Or why you don't simply take the bridge..."

Loriana sighed, but before she could explain for what had to be the hundredth time, Noravann cut her off. "Honestly, Vyarus, how to you expect her to hone her skills if she see's nothing of the world?"

"She's a rogue," he shrugged, "what's to hone?"

Loriana gave him a flat look before turning to pick up his pack. She really didn't want to get into an argument with him before leaving. Who knew when she's see him again.

"Farewell, father."

He tapped his staff lightly on the ground, a habit he'd had for as long as she could remember.

"Send word when you reach Silvermoon."

She nodded once before strolling across the gangplank and onto the wooden vessel. Glancing around, she decided to sit herself on the trunk containing her armour and weapons which she had snuck on board earlier that morning. Her father had felt that Naravann was the only protection Loriana was going to need. Truthfully, she agreed, but her father wasn't aware that the mage wasn't accompanying then the entire way. Besides, Lor'themar had also sent a guard of ten elves to join her on the journey to the great city, one that was actually taking them to a docking port in the Hinterlands so that they could travel through the mountains and back north to Silvermoon under the pretense she wanted to try her hand at hunting. Mostly, it was so Naravann would have a decent chance at slipping away. The Lord had also been confused as to why she didn't simply teleport, but at least he had accepted it and sent help instead of trying to dissuade her at least twice a day. Funnily enough, her father had been involved in her life more that week than he ever had before. Naravann insisted it was because he was saddened that his little girl was striking out on her own. They had never been that close, however, so Loriana believed it had more to do with hhim fearing the Regent Lord's wrath if she didn't make it. Unperturbed, she waved to him one last time as the boat pulled away from the harbour and began its journey south, before turning her eyes towards the ocean.

"Excited?" Naravann asked, coming to settle beside her.

Loriana grinned at her friend. "The whole world in opening to me."

Naravann chuckled, brushing a blonde strand of hair out of her eyes.

Loriana looked around conspiratorially to ensure they were out of ear shot. "Are you going to be ok?"

Naravann rolled her eyes. "Dear, who do you think you're talking to?"

Loriana smiled. The older woman had a point. "Besides, Mordenai sent for me personally."

Naravann had known this friend of hers for a very long time and when he had requested her help, she had agreed without hesitation. Her only problem had been finding the right opportunity to leave without arousing suspicion and Loriana's departure had been the perfect cover. The secrecy was all due to the fact that Mordenai resided in Shadowmoon Valley – the Outlands. Travelling there was heavily scrutinised and forbidden for most of them as their leaders were afraid of loosing more Blood Elves to Fel magic and corruption. Apparently, this Mordenai fellow had very little to do with the Horde or other elves and was simply there trying to protect a dwindling Drake population.

The sun was fully risen now and Loriana enjoyed the way it sparkled off the waves as the boat gently danced across the surface. She turned one last time to watch a shrinking Ques-Danas. She was moving further away from the only home she had ever known. It dawned on her that she may not see it again for a very long time and the strangest sadness settled on her. She never imagined she would miss it.

Naravann shifted beside her, obviously aware of what the younger elf was feeling. "Silvermoon is a grand city and a lot of the architecture is reminiscent of Quel-Danas. I'll admit it doesn't quite have the same tranquility but it will feel like home in no time."

Loriana smiled her thanks, appreciating her friend's words, before turning towards the gigantic land mass looming along the right-hand side and stretching on as far as she could see. A thrill of excitement chased any misgivings away ad she bounced to her feet, moving with the sway of the boat as she raced to the helm.

This was the start of something big – she could feel it…