A/N

Here's a longer chapter, hope you enjoy! R&R

-Fay

The Inn was crowded with life as always. Astranaar was a hub for most of the goblins that traded with Auberdine. You could always find goblins, and once in a while an ogre or two. A large party of the little green men had monopolized the center of the inn's tables, squabbling over a card game.

"Faylaria!" A happy voice called from one of the corner tables. I moved to the figure of my friend of the last year.

"Terral! How was your mission to Mystral Lake?" I sat down across from the jolly priest to find a glass of wine already waiting for me. I started nursing it as I listened to his story.

"You remember that I was going with that draenei shaman to try to calm the spirits right?" I nodded at him "Well it was going well. She was in a trance talking to the lake or something when this orc and troll come out of the blue and attacked us! Thankfully Shra'la- that was the shamans name- was still very aware of what was going on and asked the lake to help her remove the Horde." I nodded at him to encourage him to continue, not that I needed to. When Terral got talking, little less than an infernal could stop his mouth. "So this huge hand of water comes out of the lake and just picks up the Troll and whisked him under the water, then water elementals come plopping out of the waves and tackled the orc. They dragged him down into the depths with his friend." Terral stopped to take a quick drink before finishing. "He was being dragged across the ground screaming and clawing at the earth. I feel bad for the way that they died but not that they did die, I mean they were going to try to kill us, so." He trailed off looking into the distance as he remembered what he had seen.

"Did you manage to help the lake spirits?" I asked him trying to stir him from his thoughts.

"Sadly after the lake helped us it went a little kill-happy. We had to get out of there to save ourselves from the spirits pouring out of the lake." A shout from the bar made Terral get up to go get some food he must have ordered. Coming back with a fish platter he placed it on the table, and started talking through mouthfuls of food. "But thats not the best part! I was on my way back here when I met the most charming fellow! I can't remember his name but he told me about his time in the outlands. He was on his way back to give a book to Darnassus's herbalist and his apprentice. He happened to drop the said apprentice's name. Shizue." A smug look came over his face as he looked at me with intent.

"Damn it all!" I moaned slamming down my utensils. "I just agreed to go to Desolace and help with the Magram centaurs in the area. Nijel's point is under heavy harassment from them." I slumped in my chair feeling a little childish. "Now I will have to deal with that before I can go find Shizue." After waiting so long to find her I didn't want to wait another second.

"Well what a coincidence! I just took the same job when I got back in town." Terral's smile was always good at cheering me up, and we did make a good duo in battle. When my sword was blessed with the power of Elune, I was almost unbeatable in battle. I smiled to myself, thinking of a fight we had gotten into with a batch of horde caster close to the border to The Barrens.

"Good." I said picking my utensils back up and digging in to my fish once more. "This will be a fast mission with us together." Terral's smile intensified.

"Everything is always better with you."

"Hush, I'm eating." He had started flirted with me over the last year. After I saved us from the shaman attack at Starbreeze he had started being more and more friendly. Soon it had grown into more than friendship on his side. While I liked Terral, his years on me made me tentative to start anything. I realized while I was deep in thought that Terral had said something to me. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I was just saying that I was thinking about turning in, and that I had reserved a hippogriff to take us to Nijel's point in the morning."

I nodded my head "I will see you at dawn then. What do I owe you for the ride?" While it was faster to take a flying mount to places it was very expensive for a traveler like me to pay for such extravagances. I was no stranger to walking.

"I got a very good deal. I can cover the whole ride." I didn't know a lot about Terral's past, but I was sure that a priests wage was not that large. I also knew it was pointless to try to convince him to let me pay half.

'Thank you." I said begrudgingly. "I'm going to finish up here and then retire as well." I smiled at him as he walked out of the inn to wherever he had gotten accommodations. I rested my head in my hands. "I found you." I whispered "By Elune I found you."

The hippogriff ride was a silent one as there was no way for us to hear each other on the back of the beast. The view on the other hand was breathtaking. The Stonetalon Mountains, after living in a tree and forests, was so new and existing. I drank in the land under me. Rolling plains and tall crags where the wyverns roost and feed. I could also see the tip of the Mulgore valley in the distance. While I had never seen a Tauren up close, I had always wanted to visit their people - the other side of the druid coin. They were so entwined with the earth and it's children.

Soon we made it to Nijel's point in north Desolace. It was a small night elf town that

sat up in the hills. A small path led down into a desert- the main body of the region. When we landed Terral and I made it to the local inn to look for the man that had our orders. After a quick bite to eat we found Captain Pentigast. He was young for what I would think a human captain would be. He was about twenty from what I could guess of a humans age. Long golden hair cascaded down his head making him look like the lion depicted on the Alliance standard.

"Are you Terral and Faylyaria? From the Astranaar dispatch?" Pentigast looked a little pained, as if something was eating him from the inside.

"We are. When do we depart to deal with the centaurs?" I was eager to get out of here to find Shizue

"Within the hour." He said bluntly. "There was a satyr spotting. One of our members went to investigate. She will be back soon. Then we will depart. Please wait by the road."

"Very well." I said saluting him. "We will take a fast nap before we depart." I had always hated working for the other races. The day and night flipping was trying on me. With the dawn the humans seem to spring out of the earth, but all the dawn did for me was make me sleepy. My body was screaming at me to sleep for the day, but duty called and a mere nap would have to suffice.

After only a few minutes sleep we had left Nijel's point and made our way south. Thankfully we had been given mounts to take us there. We would be there and back by tomorrow if the attack went as smooth as we wanted, and after the experience of my other missions, I knew that only happened on paper.

The ride was spent in silence as we moved through the desert. Buzzards flew high, lizards laid on rocks, and kodos roamed in the distance. I was so very out of my element with all the heat and sun. The sun was always a thing I liked, but not here where there was so much of it.

After most of the day Pentigast ordered a halt and to break camp. It was nice to not be in a saddle, that I relished the chance to set up a tent. Terral was almost the same way, but never the less he was cheery. I wanted to punch him out of his good mood. Soon food was passed out and we slept for the night. Thankfully the captain had a brain and let Terral and I sleep all we wanted, as we had to pull an all dayer to be alert for the upcoming fight. Sleep took me within seconds.

I slipped into a dream that I had most nights. I was standing in the charred clearing in Starbreeze looking at the bodies of all the things I had killed. Beasts piled around me with furbolgs sprinkled on top. Another mound had Murlocs, Naga and demons I had killed in Demon Fall Canyon. Then I would feel what I always feared, but knew was coming. A tug at my hand. I would look down and see the small Kaldorei I had come to realize was my inner child. She was always pale and looked ill, blood splatters covered her. She would look at me with a sad look and ask me why I killed them. Why I wanted to end their lives. Why I wanted them to bleed.

The child's sad eyes filled me with such pain and hurt. Then the worst part would happen. I would reach down screaming at myself to stop and I would grab the child's neck twisting it to a sharp angle and throw her onto the pile of bodies. I always woke up after I watched her sad eyes go dark, and close, a tear sliding down her cheek.

The same dream had me now but it was different. There was a new corpse I could not recall. A Night Elf woman in plain cloths that reminded me of something the towns folk at Starbreeze would wear. The child was crouched next to the woman shaking her with all her might. "Get up!" She yelled at the body, crying and pounding it with small fists. I moved to move the child from the horrid sight when I got a glimpse of the dead woman's face. Shizue. The child then looked at me. "Why did you kill her? Why did you do it! She was only trying to live her own life and you killed her for it!" I tried to tell the girl I didn't kill my friend that I had just gotten here, but as I raised my hands to protest I saw a dagger covered with blood in my hand. The blood made the blade look as if it was made of ruby. The shine was transfixing. I looked again at my dead friend, her hands rested on her abdomen like she was trying to hold herself inside. The wounds there made me sick, gruesome and jagged, without remorse.

"No." I whispered. I couldn't believe what was before me. I turned, letting the dagger fall from my hand. I needed to get out of here. I couldn't handle what I was seeing. As I turned I ran into a dark figure. His presence was so overwhelming all I could do was sink down and cower in front of him. I closed my eyes and started crying.

"Wake up." It was Terrals voice. I opened my eyes and saw a pool of Elune's blessed moonlight next to me. Thanking the goddess I crawled into it and opened my eyes.

It was morning and Terral was shaking me. "Get up, it's time to attack the horse men. A sandstorm is coming as well so we need to move fast." His face had no hint of a smile so I knew the news was grim.

"I've had an omen from the goddess that I need you to help me sort though after all this." I said bluntly. This was not the time for talk and I needed a peaceful place to ponder the dream.

"An omen? Are you certain?" Terrals looked at me with concern, but I saw the fear in his eyes as well.

"Yes. Now lets move quickly. I do not wish to dally here." With that I got up and started on the task of packing my tent. It was fast work, but by the time the party started to move on it's journey once more the sandstorm was upon us. It was not long before I could see nothing more than the horse in front of me. The sand was flying and my eyes burned no matter what I did. Soon I was blind and I knew the horse was as well. The howling wind blew a violent headwind, slowing our progress more than the sand. Soon I heard a shout for a halt.

After everyone was accounted for Pentigast started speaking. "There is a goblin trader over the rise to the south west." The wind picked up and I lost most of what he said next. "We'll... with the... give us shelter." The goblins of Ratchet; while not the nicest people, would help someone in a pinch.

The party headed south staying on the road. I assumed that we would head west when the captain called for it. After almost two hours there was a call for the group to head west. The change in terrain made the trek even slower, but thankfully after another hour the storm lessened it's rage, letting me see farther than the back of my horse's head.

The sight of something other than flying sand overjoyed me until I realized that there was just sand. No one was around me, Terral and the others and vanished. I was alone in a desert with little food or water and only a vague idea of how to get back to Nijel's point. One of the best things about the human tongue was it's fantastic array of curse words. I used them all.

The storm had lessened more, but still the sun was hidden from me. I didn't know where I was headed but I knew I needed to find some sort of shelter so I could find my bearings. After what felt like an eternity, the mouth of a canyon came into view. Pushing the tired animal forward, we entered. Once we had crossed the threshold the storm evaporated like it had never happened, but looking behind me I could still see it rage. A minute or two down the canyon I found a small oasis that couldn't have filled a bath for a gnome, but I led the horse to it so he could drink.

I decided to wait for nightfall when I could follow the stars back to Nijel's point. Setting the horse to graze what it could from the wasteland I turned to find a small crag and hid there for a nap. After only a moment's work, I found what I was looking for behind a small boulder. While my pack was not the best pillow in the world, it felt like heaven. I was asleep before my eye had even fully closed.

I awoke suddenly. Night had fallen, the moon was just starting to peek overhead. The murmuring of voices pricked my ears. Shaking the last haze of sleep, I listened intently to find out who was out in this wasteland. Could Pentigast and Terral have found me?

"I don't care where it came from, it will be needed. Frank's horse died last night from that sting anyway." A gruff human voice said from only a little ways away. I got up and peeped over the edge of the rock that was my hiding place. Two human men in robes stood next to my horse, mages perhaps? We had no mage types in our group other than Terral.

"Lets have a look around anyway, maybe the rider is still about. I hope it's a fat noble, I could use some gold. One more corpse won't change anything." I still had my weapons but my go to two-handed sword would not do me any good. I would have to play the assassin and dispatch the two quietly. Pulling my dagger out, I waited in the shadows, all but invisible. Soon one of the men found my hiding place. Spying my pack he crouched to investigate. I reached down.

Thankfully my pack was of good leather and cleaning blood off of it was easy. I silently moved from the body to get a better look at the floor of the canyon. The other man was returning from the far wall. I was going to have to strike fast and with precision. If there were others around I didn't want to alert them to my presence anymore than I already had. Again not wanting the glint of my blade to alert the man I kept my dagger in hand.

The man was aggravatingly slow in his return. He was almost in range for me to charge him with easy when he stopped and looked back down the canyon. Another two men were coming towards him. Both wore the same robe as the original two men.

"Where is Lionel? And what's with the horse?" One of the men asked after reaching the man.

"Me and Lionel were going out here to try to find some bones to practice with when we found this horse." He said nodding his head towards the beast. "We decided to look around, and now I seemed to have lost Lionel." The man shrugged like he didn't think much of the entire situation. Why did they need bones to practice on? Did I stumble upon a nest of necromancers? What are these men doing here?

"You lost him?" Demanded the other man. "When did you lose him!" Anger radiated from him. "Go find him. Now!" He barked that order to both the other men. Once more I played the role of the hunted as the men searched the canyon. For a tense half hour they searched for their companion, but to no avail. They took my horse and moved back down the canyon talking about starting fresh in the morning.

I couldn't make it back to Nijel's point without a mount of some sort and that horse was the only one I knew about. Knowing I was more than likely dead either way I trailed the robed men back to their camp. It was a short trip with many twists and turns, but soon we came into a large ravine where the men had made camp. I looked at my surroundings. The walls looked odd, there was a smoothness to the rock that shouldn't have been there. The Pattern to the smoothness of the rock disturbed me, but I couldn't place why.

Shaking the feeling off, I inspected the human's camp. There was a post with six horses tied to it. Two tents faced the post, and a campfire sat in the middle. The three men I saw before were not talking to a pair of females. They seemed to be in a heated argument about the missing man. I crept closer to listen in.

"We need Lionel to finish the circle!" one of the women yelled "Without him we will not have the power to raise the giants!"

"We will find him, and we will have to power to raise the giants. With or without him." this comment from one of the men hushed the group.

"You better be right Seth." Said the other woman whose voice was old and dry. "Or Araj will have our heads. Failure is never met will with him."

"If you can call it a him" Said one of the men.

"Hush!" The crone snarled at him "Do not talk of our lord lich is such a manner!" Lich? One of the undead scourge elite? And what giants are they trying to raise? I gazed off trying to think of where giants lived in this land. As my gazes hovered over the canyon wall the smoothness of the walls relieved their true selves to me. Bones. Huge Naga like creatures embedded in the walls. Two massive destructive brutes just waiting for necromancers to come give them new life. I could not let the coven's dark plan come to fruition. I needed a plan to root the vile magic users out of this canyon before it was too late.

Hours passed as I waiting for the time to strike. The two women waited outside for the dead companions return but soon they tired of that, and left to their tent for the night. I waited for a night watch to happen, but none showed up. Scoffing at their lack of defense, I crept into camp. I moved to the tent that the women shared. I did not relish the idea of killing two sleeping women but their evil sealed their fate.

Sneaking into the tent, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the increased darkness of the canopy. Two sleeping forms slowly came into my vision. The inside of the tent was more cramped than I had thought. A table sat to one side covered in dark colored gems and wicked looking items. I pulled my dagger from my belt and cept to the first form. I waited for her to breath out and then struck. Stabbing her in the neck and out the side as fast as I could so her screams would be nothing more than air rushing from the side of her neck. Without a seconds hesitation I moved to do the same to the second body. With the grim deed done, I left the gasping women to their fate.

As I turned to leave I saw a sweeping mist in one of the stones on the table. Knowing of warlocks ability to bind their soul to a gem I lifted my dagger and brought it down the the gem shattering it. The sound was too sharp in the stillness of the night. I could hear the grunting sound of someone being awoken suddenly and the scuffling of people getting up. Knowing I had to act, fast I threw stealth to the wind and rushed out of the camp to where I had hidden my great two handed sword near by. It knew I had to keep the attack up while sleep still muddled their mind. I turned back to the camp and surveyed of the men stood outside looking around for the source of the sound. Another one was looking into the female's tent. "They're still asleep, still as the dead in fact." The man moved into the tent more. I quickly burst from my hiding place and charged the first man. He saw me coming but only had time to raise his hand before I lobbed it, and his head clean off. "Tina and the crone are dead!" said the same man as he poked his head out of the tent. Taking one hand off my blade, I reached for my dagger and threw it with all my might at the man. Not expecting me, the man was not defending himself and the dagger slid into his chest with a small thud. The man gasped and fell backwards into the tent. I knew there was a man behind me, so I tilted, letting my body fall back a small amount before using the momentum to feed a spin with my sword into the man. True as ever, my blade sliced through his shoulder and chest. The cut was deep and the man looked shocked to see me. "Who..." He gasped before falling.

Two lay dead before me and another three in the tent. Where was the last? I crouched into a defensive position looking for the man in question. Was he still asleep even after the sounds of the battle, quite as it was? I didn't believe it. I slowly moved to the tent where the men slept. I slightly parted the opening to gaze inside. The man was sitting in the middle of the floor, his eye rolled into the back of his head. I could feel the power now rolling off him in waves. I had to stop him before he did whatever he was doing. I hefted my sword in my hand like a javelin and threw it will all my might. The blade sliced through the air with a small hissing sound and hit the man in his abdomen. The force of the blow knocked him back and pinned him into the ground behind me. I felt the power fade and I was sure I had won.

"Who are you. Who sent you?" The man was not dead as I had thought.

"I am the justice of Elune, brought here to put a stop to your evil before you could ravage this land!" As I spoke I reached down and twisted the neck of the dying man. I would not let him taunt me from his grave.

After retrieving my sword from his corpse I left the tent to check the others. The man I had thrown my dagger at was also still alive and had climbed out of the tent and was trying to run away from the camp. Sighing, I trotted after him. I soon overtook him and with ease and knocked him over.

"Why did you come here foul necromancer." I said to him holding my sword over his heart. "I want answers!"

"Araj sent us!" The man had started to cry. "Please don't kill me, Please don't!"

"Who is Araj! Talk!" I pushed my blade, parting the skin over his heart.

"He is the lich lord of Andorhal! Please don't! Oh light please don't!" Andorhal? That was in the Eastern kingdoms. A human once told me of the land they had lost to the Forsaken and Scourge.

"What is your name." I asked him.

"Why do you need to know?" He said bewilderedly.

"So I know what to write on your tombstone."

"Please no! I'm only a initiate! Please let me live, I promise to stop working for the cult please! Don't! please!" I was tired of death, and this man, no boy, looked no more than sixteen. Seeing him like this made me think of him as a weak nothing and not an evil cultist. I looked down at the wound I had given him and saw that it was shallow. my dagger had not hit as true as I thought. If I left him he would just be killed by the beast that roamed this region of the world.

"I will not kill you." I sighed. "Now tell me your name."

"Oh thank you! My name is Neral" The boy said trying to fight back the tears of panic. Something twanged inside me as I looked at this sad kid and I realized he was only a few years younger than me. I felt a need to help this child find the right path. To make sure he walked the path of light and not the path of death, but he had to be willing.

"I will let you live Neral on one condition." The boys eyes filled with fear again as I spoke. "You are a cultist; therefore, I can not trust you to roam free. I'm going to take you prisoner and figure out what to do with you after we reach Nijel's point." I put my sword back into it's strap. "Lets move." After the boy had stood I grabbed him by the shoulder and we moved back to camp. After a quick stop at my pack for some rope, I tied Neral's hands and feet and left him sitting in the middle of the camp. "Try to get away and I'll kill you." The boy didn't make a peep as I searched the camp for supplies. I had not carried much food from NIjel's point, and Terral had carried it for me. Damn him and his constant need to be helpful! Thankfully after only a small, search I found the necromancers food cache. It was mostly hard tack, but it would have to do.

I quickly packed the horses and moved them a small distance from the camp. Leaving the bound Neral with the beasts, I returned to the camp. If I was dealing with masters in death magic I would not leave it to chance whether or not they could revive themselves somehow. I moved the corpses of the two I had slain inside one of the tents and switched to a grim task. Taking my sword I beheaded them all. I didn't want to, but the magic they weld was too unknown to me to take chances. After I had finished, I collected some of the dried plant life around me. Stacking it around the tent, I set it all on fire, and left with the horses before they spooked.

"Why did you do that?" asked the boy as I undid his leg binding so he could ride.

"I did it so they could not rise again and continue with their vile plans." After I tied him to the saddle I continued to rope all six of the horses together. I would not leave the beasts to be eaten by the creatures of this desert.

Soon we had left the canyon behind us. With the veil of night upon us I was able to find the way back to Nijel's point. I knew I needed to make the entire trek back in one stretch as I didn't trust the boy to not just slip away in the day while I slept. My horse had also gotten very little sleep the last few days. I couldn't push them as well as I wanted, but we would have to if we were going to make it back before the next nightfall.

The journey was dull and uneventful. Around mid afternoon we came to the small path that lead up into Nijel's point. Relieved and ready to drop, I spurred the horses on. The rest of what happened was a blur. I remember telling an official looking solder that the boy was my prisoner and I need to talk to someone about necromancers, but not before I had eaten and slept. When I awoke the next evening I found that Terral and the others had returned while I was down. "Faylaria!" I stood from my finished meal to see Terral hustling toward me. He ran up to me and embraced me. "I was so worried." I had no energy to berate him for his public display, but no one in the tavern seem to take notice... After the hug had lasted for too long I spoke.

"Are you done yet? I need to report to Pentighast." Stepping back Terral gave me a sheepish look.

"Yes, and I am very interested in what happend." at that moment the Captain and another human that looked like a paladin came over to me.

"Report soldier. I hear tale that you come back talking of necromancers. I've already talked to the boy Neral and he told me quite a tale, but I want to know your side of all this." I told him what happened to me as of when the storm hit. Looking grim Pentighast turned to his companion. "Is Azore in town? I believe the Argent Dawn should know of this."

"Yes I believe he is. I will get him at once." The men left with haste.

"Who is Azore? And what is the Argent Dawn?" I asked with an inquisitive look on my face. I had heard of the argent dawn but was not sure what they did.

"Azore is a mage from the Argent Dawn. They are a group that fights the scourge in the plage lands of the eastern kingdoms."

"Fay, may I have a word with you before you get wrapped up in something?" Terral said touching my arm for emphasis.

"Very well. Please excuse us for a moment Captain." He nodded and we turned to walk a small ways away. "What do you want to speak about?" I inquired.

"I was also present when Pentighast integrated the child, and I sensed a strong dark energy inside him. I believe he is destined to work in dark magics." I groaned. If he indeed had this darkness, he was sure to be executed before he could harness this power for evil deeds. "Remember that the moon is also bathed in darkness but is also of the light." Terral Interjected to my sound of displeasure. "If what he says is true, I think we should send him to work with the Sisters of Elune back in Darnassus. I believe that with training he will become a mighty shadow priest and that Elune will guide him to his place in the world." I had forgotten the darker side the priests' carried around inside them. I had never seen Terral use any of that magic, but we had once talked about it. He said he had used the power once, and he never wanted to use it again.

"Have you told anyone else of the dark power?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"No, but there was a paladin that also felt it. They decided to wait for you to tell us what you knew before judging him."

I nodded. "I'll see what I can do." As I spoke, a man in the long robes of a mage walked into the room. Terral opened his mouth to talk but I cut him off. "We will talk later." I walked back to Pentighast to meet the new man.

"Azore. We have some news that we believe the Argent dawn needs to know." As Pentighast filled him in Azore kept looking at me with sharp glances. After the Captain was done he spoke to me.

"You killed five cultists in seconds?"

"No. I had a few hours of waiting before I could make my move."

"But the battle only took seconds?" he asked again.

"Yes."

The robed man looked at me with another sharp look. As if he was looking at something a goblin was trying to sell. "I want you to come with me when I go to tell this situation to the Argent dawn. We could use someone like you on the front lines." I had no love for the undead, but I also had just found my best friend again and wanted to see her desperately. A small flash back of my dream hit and me I felt ill. "I will on one condition." I turned to Pentighast. "I want that boy sent to the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus to learn to become a shadow priest. I would hate to have dragged him all the way here to be killed." He thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"I will see what I can do. I don't like the idea of killing the boy, and he seems to have just gotten mixed up in something that was completely out of his control." I nodded at him

"Thank you."

"I would like to come as well." This sudden outburst came from Terral "I was at the battle of Hyjal. The Legion used our dead to bolster their ranks. I hate them more than most people do."

"Good." Azore said. "We always need more to join us! When will you be ready to leave?"

"I'll be ready to leave as soon as I collect my pack, and some supplies for the journey." I felt oddly calm, like this was where I was supposed to be.

"Same for me." Chimed in Terral.

"Don't bother getting supplies. I plan on making this a fast trip. Meet me outside in a few minutes." Confused, I moved to get my things. Terral disappeared as well so I assumed he was doing the same. Soon I was ready. Leaving the, inn I quickly found the mage and Terral just outside.

"Good you're here. Lets get going." Clapping his hands together the mage slowly started to part them. As he did a small tear open in between them and started to widen. Soon a large portal opened up. I could see a small stone building standing on a small sickly looking hill. "Lets go. This is harder to do then you would think." Azore said with a hint of strain in his voice. Whispering a small goodbye to the friend I almost found I stepped through the portal leaving my home behind, and into the land of the dead.