Disclaimer: World of Warcraft belongs to Blizzard and co. The characters and the concept of this story belong to me.

"Text": Talking
"Text": Thinking
Any sentence without quotations:Flashback or imaginative scenario.

--Forbidden Fate--
-By: Veebs-

--Chapter One--

A light breeze blew through the multicolored trees. The smell of crisp, autumn air wafted through the village of Itana. It was a fairly small community that was settled along the outskirts of Stormwind, and it was surrounded by forests from all sides. For years it was secluded in its woody sanctuary, hidden from the cruel war that had spread itself throughout the land of Azeroth. The people were a peaceful folk; they wanted nothing to do with the war, and tried their best to avoid any confrontations with those that were affiliated with it.

"Goodnight father," Lorelei smiled, and kissed the top of his head. She had to swallow the lump in her throat, and take a small breath to stifle the sob that wanted to come out. Ever since her father returned from the war, everything started to turn from bad to worse. Her mother was diagnosed with a rare illness, and she passed away the day before he returned home. She remembered the day he came home. He was carried into their house on a stretcher. Cassandra, her best friend and also his comrade, was beside him and looking very worried. When she questioned what had happened, all she could remember was Cassandra saying that he was ambushed by the Horde. If given more time, she would have continued to think about that day, but the sound of her friend's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Come on. We need to let Cyrus rest."

"Alright, Cassandra. Um, would you mind telling me a story tonight? I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep on my own," Lorelei whispered. She watched the expression on her face turn into a smile. She grabbed her friend by the arm, and led her out of her father's room.

"Another story, Lorelei?"

Lorelei giggled. "But you're such a great storyteller, and it seems like forever since I last heard one from you. Remember when we used to exchange stories?"

Cassandra paused to look at her with a mischievous grin.

"I sure do! Remember when we exchanged scary stories, and you tried to frighten me with the tale of the swamp murloc? You ended up scaring yourself!"

Lorelei's face heated with an embarrassed blush, and two started to laugh with glee. Their laughter died down into stifled giggles when they looked at the closed door behind them.

"So, which story do you want me to tell you?"

"I would like to hear about the war. I never understood why they hate us," she whispered timidly.

"I suppose that is a good reason to hear the story. There will be no turning back though," she said with a small smile, as she tucked Lorelei in, and turned away to close the curtains. Cassandra opened the night dresser beside her bed, and took out a small box of matches. She struck it against the box a few times until she got a soft flame, and lit the candle. After she set the matches aside, she took a seat in the rocking chair, and folded her arms over her lap.

"The war that happened several years ago was between the humans and the trolls. Apparently, we had built our city Stormwind over sacred grounds. It has been rumored that underneath our city there's an ancient catacomb where troll chieftains were buried. The trolls got angry with us, and began to burn our villages, and taking young women to use them for ritual sacrifices to their god. Their god's name is unknown but the humans nicknamed it the "soul-eater" because it fed on living souls. Every day, the soul-eater would demand fresh souls to give it power and strength. No one knows if this god even exists, but it's been told that a few tribes still worship it. Eventually, the humans began to rise up against the trolls, and a war began. It lasted for several years. I was young when it began…," she trailed off, and looked a little distracted, almost as if she were lost in thought.

Lorelei looked at her with concern, and gently placed her hand on her shoulder.
"You don't have to finish the story. I can tell that it's bothering you." Cassandra let out a sigh, and wiped an unwanted tear from her eye. "I'll be fine. You have to know these things Lorelei. You have to know that there is danger lurking outside of the village's walls." She decided not to object, and settled back into her bed, resting her head on the pillow.

"Now where was I…," she tilted her head in thought, "Oh, that's right. I was young when the war began. I witnessed the horrible deaths and gruesome punishments of my family and friends for many years. As I matured, I decided to take control of my destiny. I trained for ten years with your father who happened to be the most powerful swordsman in the country. He wasn't easy on me." Cassandra paused to laugh a little, remembering the difficult time she had holding her sword and walking in the heavy armor.

"The day that I would fight in the war finally came. I was so set on avenging my fallen friends that I didn't realize that I was way out of my league. They were monsters… hell bent on slaughtering and maiming any human that stood in their path."

Lorelei arched a brow in curiosity, and clutched to her blanket. "W-what did they look like, Cassandra?"

Cassandra closed her eyes, as the images flashed through her mind. "Trolls are tall and thin with bad posture. They also have these large tusks that protrude from both sides of their mouth that they use for impaling their victims. Their ears are long, like an elf's, and their skin can vary from shades of green to blue. Sometimes, they wear war-paint on their faces to let others know that they're getting ready for an intense battle." Lorelei pulled her blanket a little closer to her body, and shivered. "They sound scary."

She jumped a little when she felt a pat on her head. Cassandra smiled down at her, and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"I think that's enough for tonight. I don't want you to get nightmares," she said, and pulled away to blow out the candle on her nightstand. "Goodnight Lorelei."

Cassandra walked out of her room, and pulled the door shut. She watched as her room darkened from the lack of light, and she shrank down beneath the safety of her blankets. She closed her eyes, and sighed. She was almost asleep when a creak from the outside of her window startled her. She shakily moved the blankets from her head, and slowly got out of her bed, her eyes glancing around the room until she spotted her training staff resting against the wall. She picked it up, and walked out of her room, sneaking past the two bedrooms that were adjacent to hers, and hurried down the stairs.

Lorelei stood outside of her front door, and looked out into the night sky. Although it was a beautiful night, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something terrible lurking just outside the village's steel-iron gates.

"Calm yourself. If anyone should try to come in here the guards will stop them," she reassured herself in her thoughts.

She brushed back a few strands of her auburn locks, and turned her eyes towards the gate. Even if someone should try and invade their village they'd have to get past the guards, and that was nearly impossible. She felt herself relax, and she leaned a little against the door. Lorelei had almost fallen asleep until she heard an uproar coming from the front gates. She felt instinct take over, as she grabbed her staff and ran in front of the gates. Something sharp hit her in the neck, but she assumed that it was just a mosquito bite, and began to focus on the current situation. Lorelei was ready to cast a spell, her face full of determination, but her bravery immediately turned to cowardice at the terrifying sight before her.

This was the first time she had seen them in person. She's only heard about them from Cassandra – and that was in a war scenario. She suddenly began to feel doubts in her abilities as a mage flood through her, and weigh her down. It made her shrink back, and she clutched her staff tightly against her. Lorelei was the weakest mage in the village, having only the basic abilities of fireball and frostbolt, and she knew that she wouldn't last five seconds against those gargantuan beasts.

They had teal skin, and long, muscular arms and legs. Their red eyes were narrowed with defiance and anger, and their tusks were large, thick, and covered in blood. She swallowed hard, and shakily threw a blaze of fire in the distance, hoping to drive them away from the helpless men. They turned their heads towards the fire streaking the sky, and quickly fled back into the bushes. She wasn't sure if the fire scared them away, or if they were just curious about it. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw one of the guards pinned in between the gate's railings. Concerned, she went over to help him. She gently grabbed his arm, and tried to wriggle him free from his prison.

"L...Lorelei...," the guard breathed out, "You have to get out of here. It's not safe..."

"I'm not leaving you here like this. You need help or you'll die."

He managed to place his hand over hers, and smiled weakly. She could see that he had a large hole in his abdomen, and a few smaller puncture marks around his chest and neck.
"No...go...you have to...before...," the rest of his words were slurred as his hand slipped away from hers.

"I'm sorry," she murmured low, as she looked out into the forest, her eyelids slowly beginning to droop. She felt herself getting weaker by the moment, and she was suddenly extremely tired. With a low moan, she collapsed to the ground.

--To be Continued...-