My vision went black for a few seconds but I knew I was in the Blasted Lands, you couldn't mistake the burning heat and the dry air. The sand was blowing about me and getting down my throat as I inhaled, making me cough. When my sight returned, I was greeted by a soldier.

"Are you General Ravenblight?" He asked, sounding hopeful.

Oh yeah, I'm a General now.

"Yes, that's me."

"Excellent, your unit are waiting for you at the staging area. There is a gryphon standing by to take you there." He saluted me before turning on his heels and heading back to a table with a map spread across it.

I walked as quickly as I could, the strong wind only slightly hindering my progress, through the camp. I was just about to pass the tent on the edge of the camp, when someone came bursting out of it, colliding with me at such a force, we both ended up on the ground. I was about to have severe words with this imbecile, but when they had turned to apologize, I instead pulled her into a vise like hug. It was Dianne. I was so glad to see her, but very worried at her presence here. We released each other, grinning wildly. She got to her feet, then took my hand and helped me up too.

"What are you doing here?" She was joyous to see me, that made my smile grow into an almost creepy grin.

"I'm here on a mission, what are you doing here?"

Then it suddenly hit me, she was sent on a mission too. A mission to here. My face warped from one of utter happiness, to one of pure horror.

By the Light, don't let her be going to that cursed portal.

She must have read my face, for she shook her head violently and held up her hands as she spoke. "No, no. I'm not going to the Dark Portal, I'm not going anywhere near it, I'm here to work in the clinic tent."

Relief washed over me, I felt my body sag for a moment, I didn't realize I had tensed up so much.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me, I don't even want to think about you in the thick of battle."

"Are you doubting my capability, Tasha?" She sounded insulted.

"No, not at all. I just don't want to see you hurt, it would kill me."

"Well, rest assured. I'm not going anywhere near it, I'm just helping with the soldiers returning from Nethergarde Keep."

Nethergarde keep? I turned to see the fort in the distance, there was smoke and I could just make out figures fighting. Dianne followed my gaze, and answered my question before it even formed on my lips.

"The orcs have managed to push to Nethergarde, the soldiers fight every day, but more keep coming from the portal. It never stops."

It really is bad, Maraad was right.

Seeing it all now made me realize for the first time, that I was afraid.

"General Ravenblight!" The soldier that greeted me upon my arrival, was now marching over to us, frustration was plastered on his face.

"Time is of the essence, you need to get to the staging area, now!"

I looked back to my dear friend, she was visibly upset, but I couldn't let that effect me right now. I needed strength.

We just held one another's gaze for a short moment, then pulled each other into a fierce hug.

"Good luck." We said simultaneously, apprehension and fear was evident in both of us.

I turned to leave, I didn't look back, I couldn't look back. A single tear ran down my cheek as the possibility of never seeing her again entered my mind.

There was indeed a gryphon waiting for me, one of it's large wings was draped over its head, seemingly protecting it's eyes from the sand.

There was a young male elf standing next to the beast, he was holding onto it's reins and brushing his hand down it's feline body. When I approached, he gave me a nod and steadied the creature as I mounted it.

Once I was settled, as much as one can be on such a thing, he handed me the reins. I kicked my heels into the ribs of the gryphon, signaling that I was ready to depart.

As we took to the sky, I noticed several soldiers of both the Alliance and the Horde fighting what looked to be orcs, except these orcs were brown, Draenor orcs.

By the Light! It's true.

My heart started to pound as we neared the staging area, my fate was fast approaching. I saw the Dark Portal, only now it glowed a magnificent red, instead of green. Orcs and cannons were pouring from it. My mouth went dry, and my fear increased, causing my body to tremble slightly.

I could hear the ringing of metal clashing against metal, and the cries of the wounded or dying. I began to shake uncontrollably, my hands clenched tighter around the reins and my breathing increased.

I brought the beast around to land in a clearing, just behind the group of soldiers not far from the front line. I presumed this was the military unit I had been charged with, but why they were just standing there, and not fighting the waves of orcs with the rest of the small army, was besides me.

I spotted Maraad, he seemed to be shielding an elven woman, that was slicing away at the oncoming orcs with a massive arched blade. On the other side of Maraad stood an older man, he looked familiar. I remembered a painting I once saw, and immediately recognized him to be Khadgar. I had heard stories about him when I first arrived at Stormwind. I didn't know much about him, but I did know that he is a very powerful mage, and he seemed to be living up to that story now.

He was sending purple bolts of arcane energy in all directions, I saw fire sail into the orcs and wondered if that had come from Khadgar. My question was answered when I got closer. Go'el, the orc once known as Thrall and the savior of Azeroth, was hurling fire and lightning at the onslaught of orcs. It was only then, that I noticed the Horde had also heeded the call for Azeroth.

I spied a sin'dorei, and my jaw clenched. The fear I was feeling had now been replaced with absolute rage. I forgot everyone and everything around me, all I saw, was that elf. I gripped the handle of my sword, flexing my fingers around it as an image of my mother entered my mind, laying lifeless and cold on the floor.

I snapped back from the memory, my breathing had become labored, and my hand ached from gripping my sword too tight. I just stared at the elf, fighting with myself. Part of me wants to rip his damn head off, but the other part of me is screaming at me to focus on my task.

Lucky for the sin'dorei, I listened to the better half of my subconscious. I would have to keep my guard up though, I didn't trust them to not slaughter us once we had made it through the portal, after all, they are the Horde.

"Maraad!" I called to him, and he turned and smiled when he realized it was me.

"Glad you could make it my dear friend, are you ready for some fun?" He sounded enthusiastic, which for some reason, made me feel more confidant. I smirked up at him, and drew the long sword that I had my hand clasped around.

I turned to my men, and scanned their faces quickly, trying to commit them to memory as fast as I could.

"Soldiers of the Alliance!" My voice rang out with such authority, that at first, it didn't sound like my voice at all.

As one, they stood to attention. There were at least thirty soldiers here, most of them warriors, their armor giving them away. The lesser portion was made up of different magic weavers. Whether they were arcane, holy, nature or adept in necromancy, it did not matter to me. They're here, that's all that counts.

"The assignment we have been given, is a heavy one. The battle we must face, will be hard. Lives will be lost, but for every Alliance life that is taken, so too will a dozen orcs." They cheered briefly before I continued.

"We have been chosen! We are Azeroth's finest! We WILL protect our home!" I had my sword raised, the troops began pumping their weapons and fists in the air, the casters hands were crackling with energy.

My blood began to pump faster through my veins, adrenaline spiked as I opened my mouth and yelled out.

"For Azeroth!"

The soldiers gave out their various war cries as they charged past me.

I paused for a moment, focusing myself, I took a deep breath and I closed my eyes. I could feel the Light fill me, I could feel the energy it gave me, and the power coursing through my body. I opened my eyes, looking to the oncoming swarm of orcs, a small smile played on my lips and I charged straight in.

The mixture of the Light and adrenaline made me feel unstoppable. I cleaved and hacked at everything in my path, sending a few spells out to help my comrades. We managed to clear a large path to the portal, then Khadgar turned to us.

"This is our chance!" He cried out to everybody, even the Horde.

"Are you ready to face whatever's on the other side of that portal?"

The other side? We're going through?

I only hesitated for a second, the frenzy of bloodshed kept me steady.

We roared and screamed as we hoisted our weapons, readied our spells and ran through the portal.

We stumbled into a what appeared to be a jungle, there was various shrubbery everywhere. Not like the sun scorched wasteland that we had come to know as Hellfire Peninsula. The land here was lush and thriving, it was nature at it's wildest. I only had a second to take in the sights, for I couldn't believe what I was now seeing. Thousands of orcs were in formation, preparing to invade Azeroth.

We banded together and attacked any orc in our sight, careful not to attack the green ones. It was only then, that I noticed the brown orcs' eyes were pure, and not the gleaming red I had been expecting.

We were severely outnumbered. I watched as Khadgar and Thrall pummeled our enemies with spell after spell. It seemed like hours had passed and we were getting no further away from the portal.

I kept fighting, my energy levels were waning though. An orc managed to jump me, and send me falling from the plateau of the portal. I landed near what looked to be an entrance to a tunnel that ran beneath the portal. I scrambled in for a bit of cover, and a quick rest. Just as I was beginning to catch my breath, I heard whaling from deeper in the catacomb. I raised my sword, and made my way down the dark passage. I tried to cast a small light, but nothing happened, my energy levels were too low. The sounds got louder, and I began to see a little dim light at the bottom of the stairs. As I reached the last step, I shrieked in surprise at what I saw.

"No, its impossible." My voice wavered as fear gripped me. There were ghostly forms floating about everywhere, and in the center of the room, amidst swirling dark energy, was Gul'dan. I had read books about him and seen drawings, so I knew who was before me now.

"Give me my freedom, and the soul engine will be destroyed" His voice seemed to echo off the walls and penetrate deep into my bones.

I was frozen to the spot, I didn't know what to do. I was about to step towards him when I felt something hard hit my head, and I fell to the ground, the sound around me became muffled. I saw an orc coming towards me, with a sinister look on his face. Just as he was about to swing his weapon at me, a blinding light filled the room, blinding me. I tried to shield my eyes but I felt someone grab my arm and pull me to my feet, unconciousness was threatening to take me. I stumbled my way back up the catacombs with my saviour. When we reached the surface, I looked to see my rescuer was Maraad. He looked worried as he set me down on the ground, kneeling beside me. I gave a week smile as my eyes began to close.

The very last thing I saw was the portal shutting down, the swirling red gateway fading away like mist.

I opened my eyes with a start, sitting up abruptly.

Uh, my head, wh...what happened?

I looked around and saw Khadgar leaning against a tree, looking deep in thought. Cordana was surveying the area, I made to get up, but a hand pressed on my shoulder keeping me down. I turned and my eyes met Maraads.

"What happened? Where are we?" My words were laced with panic.

"The portal has been closed, you had passed out." He sounded concerned. He gripped my arms and helped me to my feet before cupping my face with one had. He looked right in to my eyes, I felt somewhat uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"You fought well dear one, I am proud of you" A smile tugged at his lips but only for a second, then he looked sad and before I knew it, he had pulled me into an iron hug. Momentarily startled, I was unsure of what to do. But I returned the hug and I heard him sigh with relief.

He pulled away from me, holding me at arms length and just looked me over. My cheeks started to redden under his wondering eyes.

"You've grown into a fine woman, Tasha, and a fine paladin" Pride emanated off him. I felt tears threaten but I held them back, I just swallowed and smiled at him.

Does he like me?

A part of me was thrilled at the possibility but the more dominant part of me was a little sad for him, I didn't know if I could return his feelings. I was still unsure of what they meant. I hoped I was jumping ahead of myself, he may just be concerned for me as we've known each other since I was a child.

"We must press on, the Iron Horde are not far behind us, and we have a battalion ahead of us." Khadgar motioned towards an encampment just down the hill from us.

"Iron Horde?" Does he mean the Horde from Azeroth?

I realized then, that the Horde from Azeroth were no longer with us.

Typical, I thought, I knew they were not to be trusted.

"That's what this new Horde is called." He looked at me sounding exasperated.

I felt a little annoyed. It wasn't my fault I was thrown into this without knowing all the facts, hell, as long as I keep killing Orcs what did it matter?

I was about to take a step towards him and put him straight, but Maraad held me back. I turned to him and he just shook his head. He was right, now is not the time for a confrontation, our fight was with this 'Iron Horde'.

Khadgar began looking over my soldiers, all of whom looked terrified. My gaze wondered to the edge of the crowd, where I saw a young night elf huddled and shaking uncontrollably. She was not part of my unit, I would have noticed an elf. She must have come through the portal with us, getting mixed up in the fray.

I felt sorry for her, she was not meant to be here.

I knelt before here, so we were eye level, and put my hand on her shoulder and I spoke as softly as I could. "Hey, it will be alright. We will get through this."

She turned her amber eyes to me, I realized then that she was not as young as I first thought. Her eyes held a wisdom in them that told me she was much, much older.

"What is your name?" I asked.

She squinted then swallowed before replying.

"Findessa Moonclaw" Her name rolled off her tongue, her voice like pure silk.

"Well, Findessa, my name is Tasha. I know we are in hell right now, but we need to move. Stick with me, we will make it through." I stood, holding out my hand for her to take, which she did. As she rose before me, I noticed the silver necklace she was wearing, it had a crescent moon at the base.

Druid.

She was still shaking but she seemed to be regaining her composure, I kept a hold of her hand and led her towards the rest of our forces.

"Tasha, you are to take ten of your soldiers and attempt to burn the tents down there." Khadgar pointed to several tents that were spaced out around the encampment.

"They may hold intelligence, so check them out first. Cordana and I will try to free the prisoners."

He walked over to Maraad. "You take the rest of the troops, make your way through the camp and wait for us on the other side."

We all nodded in unison.

I split my troops into two groups to cover the ground faster. Findessa was firmly by my side. We climbed down the steep bank and towards the encampment, stopping behind some brush just on the edge. We waited for our signal, then I heard the roars of the other soldiers, I closed my eyes and tried to steady by thumping heart.

I turned to the druid.

"Just stay close to us"

She still looked frightened, but agreed. And with that, we slowly made our way into the camp.

We slipped from tent to tent, searching for documents of any use, then the mage in my group would set it on fire. A couple of times I came close to death, both of which was because I was trying to protect Findessa. I became a little angry at her, she was making things difficult, but one look at her terrified face was enough to shut the anger down.

We only had one section of the camp to clear, Maraad and the other troops were ahead, cleaving every orc they saw. I ducked into a tent and started rifling around the paper work there, there was nothing of interest that I could see.

I heard a muffled scream from behind me and turned to see a giant orc had a hold of Findessa, she squirmed, trying to free herself but he was much stronger than her. I snarled as I charged him, channeling the Light into my sword, so that it created a white arc as I slashed at him. It wasn't enough, he was heavily armored, and when I hoisted my sword above my head for another strike, he stretched one giant hand out and grabbed me around the throat. He began to squeeze and I dropped my sword, bringing my hands to his fingers, trying to pry them apart. I looked at Findessa, his grip had loosened on her enough that she managed to free herself from him. My vision was starting to blur, and I could feel my life essence fading.

Light save me.

My struggle became less as my body started to give up, my limbs were being starved of oxygen.

I heard chanting to my left, in what sounded like Darnassian. A blue orb began to grow and get brighter between the druids hands, and then she released it. It hit the orc square in the chest, making him startle back and release his hold on me. I dropped to the floor, pain wracking my throat as I tried desperately to suck in precious air. I vaguely saw a bright yellow orb fly over me towards the orc, then he fell on his hands and knees in front of me. I turned to grab my sword, and mustered all my strength to raise it and drive it deep into his nape. His body fell lifelessly to the ground. I fell back on my rear and pushed myself away from him, choking and gasping.

Findessa came to me, worry was etched on her face.

"Are you alright, Tasha?"

I could only nod, my throat was on fire and my head began to throb, my pulse thumping in my ears. She lifted me up and flung my arm over her shoulder to help me out of the tent. Once we were outside, I noticed several draenei standing behind Khadgar, all dressed in rags and some had chains hanging from their wrists.

"All the imprisoned draenei are free, Maraad has cleared a path through the camp for us, come." Khadgar ordered as he began to run towards the rendezvous point.

Another soldier came and put my free arm around his shoulder too, so that I was now supported by both him, and Findessa. I could walk, but if I ran, I would probably feint, so I was glad for the help.

We had a short rest before we moved on up the hill and away from the camp, my throat still burned but I was able to support myself easier now. I was dripping with sweat, my body aching for sleep, but I knew we couldn't stop here for too long. Khadgar was talking with Cordana, the soldiers were sat on the ground, taking advantage of the short break. I looked around for Findessa, I needed to thank her.

She was tending to one of the soldiers, one of the warriors by the looks of him, his two massive weapons on his back giving his profession away. She was cleaning a cut above his eye when she turned to look at me, and smiled, so I smiled back. I went to her, and when she stood, I pulled her in and hugged her.

"Thank you, I owe you with my life."

She returned the hug and told me not to worry about it, Maraad was standing behind me when we released each other. I hugged him too, he buried his face in my neck and sighed deeply.

"I'm so glad you are okay, I was worried when I saw you being helped out of the camp." His voice was shaky. I gave him one last squeeze then I stepped back from his embrace, peering up at him. He cupped my cheek with one hand. I wanted to tell him about my tangle of feelings towards him, and ask him if he too, suffered as I did. But I couldn't.

"I'm fine, Findessa was there to save me." I turned and motioned for her to come closer.

The thought of being saved, yet again, bothered me. I had to be more careful, I was not weak and I will not be seen as such.

Maraad extended a hand to her, which she took, and tipped his head in thanks. He looked me over one more time then left us, going to tend to an injured soldier. I watched him walk away and just sighed.

My dear Maraad, I do love you, I'm just not sure what that means.

I turned back to the druid. "I'm glad to see you can fight, my friend. I was getting a little worried back there."

"Oh, I can fight alright." Her expression changed, she looked so sad all of a sudden.

"When you first came to me, I had just lost my sister. I wanted to come through the portal, she did not, but I pulled her through with me anyway. She went to run back through, to get away, but an orc of the Iron Horde got to her before she could flee. I saw her fall, and I just froze up, someone from your unit carried me away from the portal."

She began to tremble and I noticed a tear fall down her cheek. " Seeing her die like that..."

I wrapped my arms around her again, and just held her as she sobbed.

I understood her pain, I too have seen loved ones perish in unspeakable ways.

My vision filled with blood as a memory crept into my mind, blood and screams. My mothers screams...

"General, we're moving forward!" Shouted a soldier, snapping me back to the now.

Those were words I really didn't want to hear, but I knew we had to keep moving.

To where? I had no clue.