Disclaimer: Warcraft III does not belong to me, almost all the characters in here with the exception of Medivh (Who will be making an appearance) do belong to me as does the plot. This is set about ten years after the death of Archimonde. It will certainly have Night Elves in and it may have Blood Elves and humans, possibly even Orcs.
The Guardian of the Void
Chapter I: Vision of the Void
The man staggered through the barren rocks, his eagle-feather cloak wrapped tightly around him. He was parched, he had had no water for days, no food for weeks, he persevered only through consuming the blood of the few animals he found around him. His head rang; his body ached from the endless trek through the mountains. But he had found it at last, the place he had searched for, he had spent time beyond comprehension searching for this ancient temple, thousands, millions maybe even billions of years, while the world fought against orcs, the undead and their masters, the Burning Legion, he had been out here, fleeing from Medivh and the others. They had not approved of his quest, they did not approve of seeking out power. They assumed him to be dead now; millions of years ago they had given up their search. When he had heard it had been a relief, he no longer had to kill every raven, salmon, bear, cat or shark that he saw. The Guardian's mind was jumbled, it had been like that for thousands of years, the blazing sun and biting cold had blurred his motives, blurred his memories, ripped apart his very thoughts and drove their hissing whispers into his skull, he had felt like slicing open his head sometimes, just to stop the voices, and the visions and in case his objectives were in there somewhere, hiding. The man moved towards the temple, reflecting on how the other Guardians had been so foolish, they had all felt the burning shadow rising up, they had all felt its power, its claws stretching to every corner of Azeroth, but only he had the courage to seek out the army that could defeat the burning shadow, those of the void themselves, they possessed unlimited power, their world was a place where anything was possible, the void, nothing but darkness and magic. The man stepped up to the raised alter and began chanting, his voice causing the entire temple to tremble, his words bouncing off the pillars and the roof, all made of dark obsidian, the crystal obelisk, made of dark stone, but glowing with an inner blue light shattered, a meteorite coursing up and smashing through the roof of the temple, the temple collapsed around the Guardian, but he did not care, they would not harm him. The stars vanished as the night sky turned to a pool of complete darkness. People, no silhouettes fell down, crashing on the ground, they had no eyes or distinctive features, they were merely men and woman, made entirely of darkness. Children, standing at their feet, old people behind them. They had come from the void. The Guardian felt the power coursing through him, the power he had taken, he would summon more when the time had come but now he wanted nothing more than to defeat the burning legion and…he wasn't really sure what else…but he could not help feeling that maybe it was better if he just consigned everyone to the void. The Guardian beckoned to his army, rejuvenated and ready to sweep everything, every tree, every mountain and every person into the void.
Selene Starfeather opened her eyes sharply and stared out upon the forest, her crossbow clutched in one hand.
"Something is not right" She whispered, to nobody in particular.
"Really" A deep voice replied, she turned sharply to see a Warden approach, his dark hair falling freely down his back, a similar dark tunic offsetting his pale face. Selene smiled.
"Hello Tal, it is good to have you back in the grove" She said sincerely, the Warden beamed and joined her in staring out across the horizon. Tal Nightstalker was one of the grove's most able-bodied Wardens. He was not a pacifist by nature, and was shunned by many in the Grove for his ruthless ways.
"Hello old friend" Tal grinned "I actually came to tell you that there is a message waiting for you in the Tree of Eternity"
"Ah so you've become my maid now" Selene joked, Tal's eyes twinkled.
"If that's how you want to think of me" He replied, Selene raised an eyebrow.
"Do you know who the message is from, maid?" Selene asked, Tal nodded.
"The human city of New Dalaran" The young warden told her, Selene nodded and climbed on her Frostsaber, she waved goodbye to the warden and rode off.
Ten minutes later, she entered the imager chamber in the massive Tree of Eternity; Selene approached the circle in the centre of the small room, examining the small upraised patch it was on silently, running over it with her eyes, tracing the magnificent patterns on the top of it. She put out her hand onto the wooden pad and pressed it, watching calmly as a light ran over her hand and the circle erupted in a blast of green energy. A human, robed elaborately in blue rose up from the green fire.
"Selene Mooncrystal, we require your aid, this morning, a group of strange beings attacked our city, we beat them back but many were injured, we sensed something ancient about them, but we can find no records of them in our files, we request the knowledge and wisdom of a Night Elf to aid us, we hope you can come" The green fire swept the man up, before vanishing into the circle.
"You shall go, Selene" A voice commanded from the doorway, the Druid of the Grove; a son of Cenarius named Nandieb trotted in, standing next to her.
"My lord, I refuse to take my sentinels to some human city! This is a crucial outpost to beat back the last remnants of the Undead!" Selene demanded, Nandieb nodded.
"I agree, your sentinels must remain here, it is settled then, you shall go alone" The Druid smirked.
"No! I cannot!" Selene yelled, Nandieb raised his claw.
"Do not raise your voice with me" He said sharply "I shall go with you"
"You are going with me?" Selene said incredulously. The son of Cenarius nodded solemnly.
"Or you can go alone," Nandieb suggested, Selene shook her head.
"No, no I need all the help I can get" Selene sighed, the Druid smiled warmly.
"Good, good" He chuckled "You can leave at midnight, under the cover of darkness"
Selene lay down on the wooden bed, it had been a tiring day, and she had a sneaking suspicion that this was more than just human ignorance, she lay down and tried to slip to sleep, she would need it for the coming night. Slowly, she dropped off, snoring quietly…
The wind howled and whipped around the grass, straining the branches of the trees and ancients. Selene looked around, everything was so dark, and the wind was so strong. Her night vision enabled her to see the ancients, pulling against the gale, thousands of elves walking past her. She looked upwards, the sky hung above them, devoid of stars or the moon. Selene looked all around her; she knew something was not right.
"Nothing…not time, not space, not life or death" A voice whispered, Selene turned around to see the man, clothed in a brown robe, watching her.
"Go to New Dalaran, I will meet you there" He hissed and turned to walk away, Selene reached out for him.
"Who are you?!" She shrieked over the wailing of the gales.
"A legend of the past" He called back before vanishing into the darkness. The wind began to shake her roughly; she grabbed hold of a branch and held on tightly.
"It is unbecoming of a priestess to snore" A voice told her, she looked up into the face of Tal; it was him that had been shaking her.
"I quite agree" An older voice of Nandieb said from behind him "I still think you should use a bucket of water"
"No" Selene said quickly "I'm awake" Tal nodded and straightened his black tunic.
"Good, we're leaving in ten minutes" Tal told her, Selene rubbed her head.
"Don't tell me you are coming too" She asked, Tal nodded.
"Yes, I am" He told her, Selene scowled at the two.
"I'll have to arrange somebody to command the Sentinels while we're away" She told them
"Done!" Nandieb replied gleefully "Demon Hunter Semitur Flamekiller and that huntress, Alara Moonwatcher are commanding the grove and the Sentinels for now" Selene nodded wearily.
"Right then, I'll just get dressed" Selene told them, the Warden and Druid turned away sharply, dashing out of the room slightly too quickly. Selene grinned quietly and got dressed, climbing on her Frostsaber tiger outside and joining the two.
"Ready to go?" Tal asked enthusiastically.
"Of course" Selene smiled "I have no idea why you're going though"
"Curiosity" Tal replied, his eyes bright. Selene stared into his icy eyes for a moment before urging her tiger onwards and into the forest, leaving Tal and Nandieb trying to catch up.
"I wonder friend, why chose those three, three night elves... why not Thrall, Jaina or Furion, you cannot possibly wish for more toys, puppet master" The Guardian whispered "This is worthy of my attention, for these three are no more special than anybody else, true, they were on their way before you chose them, but I'm sure your toys would happily do anything for their prophet" He spat the last word contemptuously. He snarled and turned away, walking out into the forest "The board is set, puppet master, and you have moved the first pawn, and now, I will hammer you until you shriek for mercy. That is a promise"
Note: Well, please R&R and I'll have the next chapter up soon.