As It Burns: One:
Alstromerea and Cryzanth: Mourning
.. WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD ..
Cryzanth's lava burst hollowed out the sentinal and for a moment, she just stared at the smouldering corpse of the ethereal creature. Nearby she heard other members of the Horde, attacking sentinals or putting down crazed Furbolgs that roamed the area. She looked up, scanning quickly for her sister. Nothing. She sighed, holstering her mace and walking towards the shoreline.
Her thoughts were set ablaze by the grunting, screeches and harsh sounds of weapons being drawn and set upon into flesh. She ignored the sentinals standing ready towards the small villages on the shoreline, instead scanning the area for her sister. The priest was nowhere to be seen however, and Cryzanth scowled, for a moment, allowing a slight panic to settle in the pit of her stomach. Alstromerea was a smart priest, but, as her nature suggested, was too kind. She would be gullible to say the least, and Cryzanth couldn't afford to lose another sibling to the Alliance.
Stepping back into the trees, she moved quickly North, keeping her eyes out of a sploth of golden yellow amongst the clay-brown earth. Plenty of reds. Plenty of blues too. No bright and sunny yellow priest. This was likely a good thing, she thought to herself, but in some ways, she couldn't see how. A few orc grunts ran past her, and she sidled close to a tree, waiting until their footsteps faded to continue. She wasn't interested in getting involved in whatever they were doing at the moment. She had only plans to find her sister and report back to the Commander of the East regiment, as required by their warchief.
The deep set panic burned at her appetite, though she hadn't eaten in almost a day. Why did she and 'Merea seperate anyway? She knew it was a foolish idea, but they'd both been so... upset. They'd spent weeks assisting the war effort to secure Darnassus, their hearts and heads grieving for what they'd both lost.
That would be a moot point if her sister died too.
"No- Stop!" Cryzanth spun around, recognizing her sister's panicked voice and immediately running to find her. She slid through the sand and found her, back to the ocean, hand in front of her face, useless artifact T'uure several feet from her. A tall sprucely Night Elf aimed an arrow for her heart, and Cryzanth wasted no time in summoning a bolt of lightening to meet hers instead. The Elf spun aroud at the crackling sound but it was already too late. The stream of lightening pulsed through her heart and she crumpled to the ground, dead. Alstromerea's eyes were wide and she had gashes along her arm and cheeks, her dress ragged and torn. Cryzanth ran to her sister, not even sparing a glance at the Elf she had just killed.
"Alstromerea, are you okay?" Her sister reached up and grasped her sister's arms, her eyes still wide like golden coins.
"I'm alright, I'm alive." Cryzanth scowled.
"What were you thinking?" Cryzanth hissed at her, pulling her sister in to embrace her. "I could have lost you. Why were you even trying to negotiate with her? She was going to kill you!" Alstromerea didn't answer, instead turning her face into her sister's chest and breathing slowly.
"It's okay." She said soothingly, wrapping her arms around her sister. "She didn't." She paused, feeling the shaman tense.
"I didn't want to kill her." Alstromerea admitted, her cheeks warming at the confession. "I was hoping she'd leave the shore and help her people evacuate the area... She either didn't understand me or didn't care."
"Dummy." Cryzanth replied, sighing deeply. "Next time leave the negotiations to me, alright?" This time Alstromerea scowled.
"Your negotiations don't end well."
Cryzanth was about to reply when a high keening sound was heard nearly a hundred meters from them. The catapults, parked just off the shoreline and facing the tree, had begun to fire. The two sisters watched as pieces of slag were hurled at the world tree, setting it ablaze in a brilliant inferno.
"No." Alstromerea whispered, covering her mouth. "No!"
In what seemed like mere seconds the entire tree was alight with flame, the smoke thickening the sky and darkening their surroundings. Ash fell from the clouds in plumes of gray and orange, and the screams could be heard from across the bay.
"What... what have they done?" Alstromerea asked her sister, tears streaming from her eyes.
"They set it on fire. It's burning to ash now." Alstromerea nuzzled her cheek into her sister's chest, unable to stop the tears from flowing from her eyes. The priest could think of nothing but the horrid screams emanating from the depths of the world tree, as everyone inside's fate was sealed by the ominous black smoke.
"Cryzanth, what have we-"
"Don't." The shaman chastized sternly, her expression all steel. She stared straight ahead, watching as the flames consumed the supple wooden home. "Don't start that. You'll never be able to recover from that."
"We're monsters, Cryzanth. We did this." She emphasized, the tears falling harder. "And for what?" Cryzanth's grip on her sister's shoulders hardened. Alstromerea looked up at her sister's face. The fire glittered in her eyes, and for a moment, Alstromerea saw that this battle had had an entirely different effect on the shaman.
"For Helix. For Nuzz. For our brothers, 'Merea." Alstromerea flinched. Yes... The rage she'd felt when she and Cryzanth had come across their murdered corpses in Silithus. They'd just become old enough to start work. Just this last month. Their parents were dead, but Alstromerea had taken in their three youngest siblings, fed them, clothed them, and kept them safe in Dalaran. For a time. What were they going to tell Lina? The youngest girl still remained in Dalaran, waiting for her brothers and sisters to come home. Oblivious to the impending war, to the destruction and deaths of her family.
But this...
This couldn't be revenge... This was horror. This was rage.
"Do you recall how it felt, sister?" Cryzanth said, her voice holding little to no inflection. As if she'd turned herself off to everything around her. Everything but her eyes, which harbored a rage more dangerous than the fire of the world tree. "To come across Helix's head sheared clean from his body? To see Nuzz's sweet smile permanently turned to agony, with stab wounds across his chest?" She paused, shaking her head. "The elements share my agony today. There are no winners in this battle. I can't shake this... rage I feel. But I can't bring myself to feel sorry for them either." Alstromerea hugged her sister tighter, turning her face away from the tree and closing her eyes. Cryzanth hummed under her breath, and sighed gently.
The tree burned on.
..
The first of a few to come! I will mostly be covering Horde POV, but I may have an alliance character or two to throw in there. Enjoy!