Voices… She heard voices, but they sounded scrambled, as if she was listening to a conversation through a thick wall. Letting out a pained squawk, Krys glanced around at her surroundings - trying desperately, she tried to recall what events had led to this point.

She was leading a sect of the Horde Offensive in Azsuna, taking the fight to the demons in the Southern regions. She took out the cannons laying waste to the Horde and Alliance forces in the valley below. And she was injured in the fight, the fel-infused fire of the warlock scorched and threatened to devour her - Krys winced slightly as another sharp jolt of pain shot through her side.

But after that? What happened…? Krys closed her eyes in thought, trying to recall. Suddenly, she opened them with a jolt as memories rushed into her mind. A strike of flame colliding with the crystal, an explosion throwing her into the abyss of the ocean below.

Glancing around, she took in the surroundings as she let her mind wander. She was remembering what happened, yet still questions flowed through her mind like the torrent of water that drug her further out into the ocean. Who did the flame belong to? And how did she end up in this cave?

She heard a rustling to her right. Wearily glancing in that direction, she noticed a figure standing in the maw of the cave. Vaguely, she resembled an elf, yet still he held his differences. Krys could have sworn she heard of this kind once before, in the reports from Azsuna…

Nightfallen, she recalled. Elves of Suramar that deformed when they were stripped of the source of energy. There was a small collection of them in Azsuna a few weeks earlier that sought to feed upon the leylines, one report stated. Was this a remnant of that sect? If so, why wasn't he trying to kill her? The reports stated they were hostile, didn't they?

"Ah, you're awake," the Nightfallen sighed quietly, speaking in a heavily accented form of Common. "Good. Tell me, can you understand this?"

Opening her beak to respond, Krys winced as she found herself unable to - her throat sore beyond measure. Mentally swearing, she resorted to nodding once to give her respond.

Seemingly satisfied with this response, the figure moved to grab a small vial. Handing it to the wounded arakkoa with a single nod, he moved to sit back against the rocky wall. Noticing her confusion, he chuckled quietly. "Drink it. This'll help with your throat."

Tensing slightly despite herself, she noticed him laugh humourlessly. "Not poison. If I was hostile, why didn't I do anything before you were awake?"

Thinking for a moment, Krys saw a bit of sense with that analysis. With a nearly silent grunt, she moved to drink the liquid as instructed. If he was hostile, there was little she could do to defend, poison or not. And if she was going to find out what is going on, she'd need her voice to do that.

"Now," the figure started, tilting his head slightly. "Relax. I have some questions for you, and you'll need your energy. Even with the potion, it'll still be sore to speak, so we might be here for a while. Answer me when you feel you're able. Who are you?"

For the next three hours, Krys and the Nightfallen - who she learnt was called Tyhir - conversed. She explained to him her story, starting from her introduction to the Horde in her birth home and explaining to the battle that nearly cost Krys her life.

In turn, Tyhir explained his story - about how he was forced into exile when he sought to steal some excess Arcwine to transport to those who were most at risk of Withering. He told her about the fate of his city in the Legion's command, and about how he had been surviving in the wilds to the best of his ability. The Nightfallen ended his story by explaining how he found Krys washed up on the beach, the threat of the Withered moving ever so closer to her.

Finishing his story, Tyhir let out a weary sigh as he reached for his waterskin. Using the pause in the conversation to ask a question of her own, Krys tilted her head curiously. "Why? Why did you decide to save me instead of letting the Withered have their way?"

The Nightfallen chuckled wryly as he closed his eyes for a few moments, falling silent. As moment after moment passed, Krys tried to refrain from feeling a bit of impatience. After a few more moments, Tyhir started to speak.

"You ask why?" he started, opening his eyes as he glanced towards the confused arakkoa. "I won't lie, I did consider my options. But, in the end, there was no real choice. You were injured, Krys. Everyone should have a chance at life - it is the beasts like those wretched demons that take this chance without a single thought.

"This is why I had to save you. I will not stoop to the same level as the demons, nor will I be like many of my people and simply look the other way. If we want to build a better life, then we must take the steps to do so, would you not agree?"

Krys sighed for a quiet moment. Taking the steps to build a better life, was that not she did herself and her comrades when she brought them to the Horde? Shaking it off, she let her gaze focus on the Nightfallen, contemplating for just a moment before opening her beak to speak. "You wish for aid in freeing your city from the Legion."

Tyhir let himself chuckle wryly for a brief moment, catching the lack of an inquisitive tone in her statement. "Yes, I won't lie. Aid would not be… discouraged. But above else, I would ask a single favour from you. What you do with your time next will be your choice, and your choice alone. I will not try to influence it."

"What is this favour, Tyhir?" she tilted her head in curiosity as she glanced around the room, taking in the scene. Given what he had here, there wasn't all too much she could think of that she could do to aid him in this present state. What could he want?

Tyhir got to his feet almost silently, a slight shake to his body, as he strode over to a small chest. Opening it, she saw a few Mana crystals within. Breaking it, he proceeded to drain the ancient energy within until the shaking ceased. With a sigh, he glanced to Krys with a nod. "What I need is aid in… reaching a location. Although it is still small, rumour has sparked of a rebellion growing in the recent weeks. Although the First Arcanist was killed when she tried to spark the last coup before the Legion could claim Suramar, it would seem that someone has taken up where she's left off.

"I wish to join this rebellion, Krys. On my own, I can do little but be a pest to the demonic forces. A gnat all they need to is swat off. But working as one with the other exiles… If we can get the support, we could potentially become a threat to their rule.

"Fortunately and unfortunately, their main headquarters is hidden well. I know the rough area of it, however. I've gathered that much in my own searches. But there are many, many Withered in the regions outside of this. I will need aid reaching this place, and defending myself from the Withered. Any spells I might cast would draw them light moths to the flame, and spell casting is one of my only strengths.

"If you will help defend me in my search for their headquarters, or in my search for one of their sentries, you will not only have my gratitude, but you will also have my support should you need it, once this war against the demons comes to an end." Shaking it off with a quiet sigh, he let himself glance to the land outside of the cavern they hid in. "What do you say, Krys?"

The wounded arakkoa let herself remain silent for a few moments as she closed her eyes in thought, taking in the request. Would she be able to in her present state? What of her own people? What of the Horde? Grunting quietly, she opened her eyes as she focused on the still waiting Nightfallen. "I will need a few more days at least to recover enough to travel. But I will help you, Tyhir." With a quiet, amused squawk, she added on, "Let's send the demons in this land flying back to the Twisting Nether before they can even see what is happening, hm…?"

Letting himself chuckle quietly, he sat back down - leaning back against the cool, rocky surface of the cave wall. "If only it were that easy. Regardless, I thank you. For now, rest. We will both need our strength in the days to come."