Chapter Ten

- The Gathering of Five -

With the blood-stained map in hand, given to me by poor Darwin, I rode off as quickly as Hope could carry me through the cold Borean Tundra. As the icy wind blew past us, I could feel my fingers becoming numb and my cheeks were as red as could be. The freezing temperatures would not hinder my resolve or weaken the warmth in my heart. My eyes were set and determined on the road ahead of me, glancing only at my surroundings for any other impending attacks.

The Borean Tundra was quite marvelous, I have to say. Had these been other circumstances and time was not of the essence, I would've loved to have been able to explore it further and see a region of Azeroth that I had only read about in storybooks. Every time I looked around, I could just see Conlan riding next to me, smiling as we rode off looking for adventure as we had always imagined when we were children. We were both a long way away from that life.

I rode along the main path drawn upon the map that would lead me to Dragonblight. To my right, I could see fields of grass that would have normally been green had the cold weather not frozen and burnt it to a muddy yellow color. The tall grass waved violently, as the wind coming from the sea that was just beneath the cliff blew through. There were native statues along the shoreline leading to a small village. I later found out that the village was inhabited by the Kalu'ak, a native race of Northrend looking like Walrus-humanoids.

Soon to my left I encountered a region of the tundra known as the Geyser Fields. It was quite a desolate area, composing of pools of warm water and geysers spewing more of it at certain intervals. I could also see mechanical equipment about as well as pipelines running through the area. It made me curious as to what it was all for.

I couldn't believe all of the new wildlife I was seeing. A group of mammoths gathered together with their young ones not too far from the road. I had never seen an animal so large before. It truly was incredible. There were even wooly Rhinos about. Their horns were enormous and they looked rather aggressive. I knew better than to approach them.

The more distance I traveled, the more snow I began to see across the fields that spanned the tundra. Soon enough, there was no grass to be seen, only a blanket of white snow that covered the entire eastern region of the tundra. I soon came to a small forest of trees whose leaves had not grown in a very long time it seemed. It was a bit scary, I must admit. The branches seemed so menacing, intertwining with one another.

I could tell that Hope needed to take a breather. I'm sure it was much harder for him to breathe in these conditions. I, too, felt the thinning of the air. The road ended in the forest, which meant I would need the assistance of the map to guide me through to cross into the Dragonblight border. I leapt off of Hope and walked for a while, holding on to his reigns as we approached one of the trees. I reached through my supply bag to grab my water pouch. I put out one of my hands in front of his face as I poured the water down into my palm with the other, allowing him to drink.

I soon dried my hands and stood against the nearby tree, beginning to unfold the map. "Okay…" I said to myself aloud, deciphering the map, "If I'm reading this correctly…we're here…so we need to find this triangular building and that will mark where we need to go."

As I continued the read the map, a single snowflake descended down from the sky, fluttering about and gently landing upon the map. I smiled for a moment, letting out a deep sigh. I had been under much stress in the recent weeks. It was important to take time, even if for a moment, to relax my body; although, it was very hard to do in these frigid conditions. Every time I would stop to take a break throughout this entire journey, I would always think of him. I would always reminisce on the memories of better days gone by.

I slid down onto the cold snow, leaning my back against the tree as I gazed out beyond the canopy of the small forest. I closed my eyes, allowing my mind to drift away to this memory that I held so dear.

I remembered the last conversation I had with Conlan before he left for Northrend almost a year ago. It was the night before the first warships departed from Stormwind.
I tried to sleep that night, but it was useless. The moment my eyes would close, my mind would be racing with thoughts. My heart would begin to beat rapidly and I felt it hard to breathe. The stress was more than I could take. I slid out of my bed, dressed in a white nightgown, and walked over towards the balcony overlooking Old Town.

There was a slight breeze that night and the air felt so clean. I took in a deep breath, hoping this gentle wind would help ease my worries. I gazed up towards the night sky, brushing my fingers through my hair to distract myself. The stars looked so bright on this night, I remember. Even with the lampposts lighting the streets below, they were no match for the stars that night.

I was surprised to see when I looked below on the street that Conlan was just arriving. He was about to enter the front door when he noticed me standing upon the balcony.

"Angie," he said softly, "What are you doing up this late?"

I leaned over the railing, smiling for a moment, "I could ask you the same thing."

"I…needed to go for a walk," he said hesitantly, always trying to mask what troubled him.

"I couldn't sleep either," I told him, "The sky is so beautiful tonight. I thought that perhaps it would help me relax."

"The stars seemed so much brighter in Goldshire, don't you think?" he asked.

I nodded, "Mm, you're right. There were no street lights…just the tranquility of the forest."

Conlan chuckled, "Remember, we used to climb on your rooftop from your bedroom window and look at them late at night?"

I giggled in return, "Yes, dreaming about adventures and the places we'd visit."

"Then Mrs. Lightwell would scream from her bedroom window because she could hear us."

I laughed, "That part is hard to forget."

Mentioning my mother kept us in silence for a moment. It was a reminder that she was no longer here. Neither of our families were here anymore.

"I wonder what she would say if she were here…" I began to say, fighting back the tears, "About everything that has happened. I'll be alone again…"

Conlan stepped towards the balcony, "No, you won't…! You won't. I am with you, no matter how far we are apart."

I turned away for a moment, wiping a tear that escaped from my eye.

"I am so sorry…" Conlan apologized, "You have been through so much…I never wanted any of this for you. This wasn't how things were supposed to be for us. I became a Paladin to protect the people, to protect you from being harmed, and yet…you're always crying."

I shook my head, turning back around to see him, "Please don't. Conlan, you are doing what you were destined to become. I would never want anything else for you."

"And you?" he asked, catching me off guard, "What is your destiny?"

I paused.

I never thought about that until he posed that question to me. It seemed that for so long my destiny was completely up in the air, forever changing. Every time I thought I had it figured out, something came to tear it apart.

"I'll let you know," I grinned.

"Promise me something then."

"Yes?"

"That when you figure it out…you'll tell me all about it," he said warmly, "I want to be a part of it."

I smiled, nodding to him in affirmation.

"Now, get some sleep," Conlan said, "The ship leaves early tomorrow morning…"

He was just about to enter the townhome when I blurted his name out, "Conlan!"

He stopped, looking to me in his oblivious way.

This was it. This had to be the moment. We were alone, no one to interrupt us. I knew that this had to be the time I told him how I truly felt. Just when I thought the words would simply fly from my lips, the nerves caused them to disappear and I was forced to say something else that meant just as much.

"I'll miss you."

Conlan smiled, "I will miss you."

I thought the tears that fell from my eyes would've frozen over upon my cheek as I sat down upon the cold snow. To think of such things was so torturing. It made me so happy to remember things about him: the way he smiled, his laugh, his eyes, and his voice. They were all the things I loved about him. Yet, with the joy of this thought, came the anguish of knowing that I may never get a chance to witness any of those things ever again.

Hope walked over to me, brushing his face against my own in comfort. It made me smile, as I held on to him.

"Thank you Hope."

Our moment was quickly interrupted when something came over Hope. He began to neigh wildly and stand up on his hind legs in what seemed like fear.

I stood up, grabbing on to his reigns to try to calm him down, "Hope! Calm down boy! What is it?!"

Soon enough, I began to feel it too.

"Darkness…enveloping…" I whispered, "Danger…"

From beneath me, the arm of a Scourge broke through the snow and grabbed on to my leg. I quickly reached for my staff, slicing the arm off of me.

"Hope, get out of here!" I told him as he rushed off into the forest.

I ran a few feet away to see ghouls climbing out of the ground where I had been standing. In a matter of moments, a few of them soon became a couple dozen. I looked around to see that I was surrounded by every one of them.

I twirled my staff above my head and pointed it at the grouping of Scourge, "Come on then!"

One by one they approached as I held on strongly to my staff, using every skill I've learned to bash away at them. I swiped one on my left, followed by another one on my right, plunging straight forward into another one, then sensing a fourth coming at me from behind as I spun around quickly, slicing through it simultaneously.

I knew that standing in one place would not allow me to escape. I had to make an opening through this crowding of Scourge if I was to make it to Dragonblight. I looked to the ground beneath me and had an idea. My hands began to emit the golden flames from my Holy Fire spell, but this time I quickly knelt onto the ground and placed both hands in the snow.

"Holy Fire!!"

The flames created a wave, permeating through the ground and hitting multiple ghouls, turning them to dust and allowing me to break through. I wasted no time in picking up the pace and running out towards a clearing in the forest. The ghouls were fast, however, and kept up with me. One managed to leap over and grab on to my foot, causing me to trip in the snow.

"Smite!"

I flung my hand towards him as the beam of light sliced straight through him. I looked up from the ground to see the remaining ghouls approaching. I rolled backwards on to my feet, holding my weapon tightly within my fingers. I tripped the first one that approached, plunging my staff straight into his chest as he hit the snow. With my staff still stuck in the ground, I leaped forward, holding on to the staff as I kicked the next oncoming ghoul who approached, pushing him and a few of his friends back a few feet.

"There's still so many…" I sighed.

I knew that I could perhaps use the same tactic against these that I did at Valiance Keep, but the Inner Focus spell was quite taxing physically. I might not be able to last afterwards or even destroy every single Scourge.

While I tried to figure out my next course of action, one of the ghouls attacked me from the side. I quickly pointed my palm at him, shouting, "Shackle!!" The shackles came up from beneath the ground and detained him. Another came at me from behind as I used the Smite spell to destroy it.

They were moving quicker now as another jumped straight at me, knocking me on to the floor. I used my staff as a shield as the ghoul tried to overpower me. I could see his lust for blood in those dark eyes as his green saliva dripped out from his jagged teeth. I didn't have the physical strength to hold him back for much longer. He began to push down on my staff and slowly inch closer to my face.

"Fireball!!"

I heard the magic spell being enchanted when a ball of magical fire shot straight through the ghoul that was on top of me, instantly causing him to combust into dust. I stood on to my feet, prepared to continue the fight when more of the ghouls began to approach me.

"Oh you stupid Scourge just never learn!" the voice yelled.

Before I could even blink, it was none other than Gidget who teleported in front of me. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Much time had passed since I saw Gidget last and she appeared to have grown stronger. Her magical robes were now completely different than before. Upon her shoulders were, what appeared to be, shards of blue ice that glowed intensely with power. Her robes were multi-colored in icy blue, dark blue, gray, and violet colors throughout. Her gloves, boots, and belt all matched the rest. As always, her bubbly pink hair was still just as I remembered.

Just as the ghouls approached closer, she pointed her arm forward, "Cone of Cold!!"

Out of her fingers, a wave of icy wind slowed them down. With the same arm pointed at the enemy, she called upon the next spell, "Arcane Missiles!" Bolts of violet arcane magic flung from her fingertips, destroying the first wave of enemies.

Gidget turned to wink at me, giving me a thumbs-up.

"Gidget!" I smiled emphatically.

Noticing our distraction, the remaining Scourge approached again. We both screamed like the girls we were as a bald eagle swooped down and clawed at the Scourge. It flew away, soon landing upon the shoulder of a nearby Dwarf Hunter.

The Hunter was the very same one I had seen during the council meeting back in Stormwind. This was the first time I actually was able to see his face without a helm. He was a bit older, with a scrounged up face like most male Dwarves. The top of his head was completely bald but he had black hair tied into a small ponytail on the back of his head. He had a medium-sized beard, with two strands braided at the ends.

He, too, had progressed in his training and wore a brand new suit of mail armor. The armor was of a copper-type color, with the armor wrapping around his shoulders as if it were the shell of some type of beetle or similar insect. There were violet gems encrusted throughout that shined with strength. His gloves and other accessories matched the motif. Sheathed at his sides were two small silver axes and a magnificent rifle in his hand. The rifle had two barreled with a large dagger protruding out from underneath each one attached to a wooden handle.

"Pay a little more attention, pipsqueak!" he shouted over at Gidget.

I could almost see the fumes coming out of Gidget's ears, "Khazros!!"

Khazros quickly pulled out his rifle, loaded it up, and began a flurry of bullets at all of the ghouls, "Rapid Fire!!" I had never seen anyone fire a weapon with so much ease and speed. He then aimed his rifle straight into the air, shouting, "Volley!"

Out of the barrels of his gun, two glowing bullets hurled off into the sky, soon turning into a multitude of magic arrows that rained down upon the ghouls, defeating several of them.

"Take that you ugly bastards!" he yelled. His disposition quickly changed when he noticed that more of the ghouls had appeared and were heading straight for him. "Time to go!" he said, "Aspect of the Cheetah!"

The Hunter ability gave him noticeably more speed as the horde of Scourge ran after him.

"Always getting himself into trouble," Gidget sighed in grief, "Stay here Angeni! I'll be right back!"

Gidget teleported away into the distance, running after her friend and into the heat of battle once more.

I couldn't believe my luck, to be rescued by two members of the Legendary Five. My feeling of being star struck was quickly interrupted as a few more ghouls sprung forth from the snow in front of me. I was prepared to fight them off when I was rescued once more. I heard the roar of a panther echo throughout the forest as a large, dark purple colored feline somersaulted down from the trees above and used its mighty claws to slice through a couple of the enemy group.

The panther-like creature, with interesting markings upon its legs, stood in front of me, growling at the ghouls. Before I knew it, the feline was surrounded in magical smoke that soon revealed a tall Night Elf man standing before me.

It was the Druid member of the Legendary Five. His emerald hair was brushed back behind his long ears with one braid. He wore glistening green robes that were hard to miss in the never-ending darkness of Northrend. They were lined with golden trims and hanging sashes from his shoulder pieces. He looked as if he had been pulled out of one of Conlan's childhood storybooks.

He didn't turn to face me, speaking rather arrogantly, "Children…"

The ghouls approached us as the Druid placed his palms apart in front of his chest, facing one another. Magically, the image of a full moon appeared in between his hands, glowing with power.

"Moonfire!" he shouted, thrusting both of his hands forward causing the moon to become a continuous beam of purple light. The Druid turned his body as the beam of light followed his movement so that he could dispose of all of the ghouls that stood before us.

Without even another word to me, he rushed off back into battle as more ghouls began to emerge.

I knew that I couldn't simply stand here and allow them to fight on their own. I was a Priestess now and this was what I was trained to do – to support my allies. Staff in hand, I ran after him but ended up once again surrounded by a few of the Scourge. They leaped straight at me as I held my staff up to protect me and bracing for impact.

I was stunned not to feel the Scourge's claws against my weapon. When I opened my eyes, I came to see what appeared to be a large shadow dawning over me. It was no shadow. It was the Draenei Warrior of the Legendary Five protecting me from the Scourge, holding them off with his two enormous great axes.

His armor was made of a dark steel that form-fitted every muscular part of his strong Draenei build. I could see his black braided hair now without his helm on. He had two big skull heads as his shoulder armor, breathing blue smoke. There were also skull heads on his boots to tie it all together.

"Stand…back…" he told me, struggling to keep the Scourge at bay. I did as I was told as he launched the group of ghouls straight into the air. He held on tightly to his two great axes, extending his arms and beginning to spin around violently like a cyclone.

"Whirlwind!!"

With superhuman speed, he spun around as his axes sliced through the majority of the group. When he stopped the attack he noticed the last few stragglers attempting to escape. He held both axes high above his head as they began to glow with power and mighty strength.

"Shockwave!!"

He flung his arms down as the two axes slammed into the snow, causing an eruption of power and earth to pulsate through the ground in the direction of the ghouls attempting to flee. The moment they were hit by the attack, they were no more.

The battle had been won.

The Draenei turned to greet me, his voice so deep and strong, "Are you alright my lady?"

For a moment I thought I was staring at a giant, "Y-Yes…I'm alright, thanks to you."

"Angeni!!" I heard Gidget's voice call out as she ported to my side in the blink of an eye.

The Hunter and the Druid joined us moments later.

I knelt down and hugged Gidget in gratitude, "It's so great to see you again. This is twice you've helped me."

She giggled in her infectious way.

I stood back up, bowing to the other members, "All of you…thank you. The Light has blessed me with your presence. In fact, I feel like I am in the presence of royalty."

The Draenei placed his hand upon my shoulder in comfort; his palm covered my entire shoulder, "My lady, you are practically family."

"That's right!" Khazros, the Hunter, chimed in, "Any friend of Conlan's is most definitely one of ours!"

"Wow, I can't believe it…" Gidget sighed, gawking at my robes, "You're a Priestess. The last time I saw you, you were just a farm girl."

I tried my best to smile in return, "A lot has changed…"

I let out a whistle as Hope came in galloping towards me from behind a shroud of dead bushes. I embraced his neck, happy to see that he was safe and sound.

"How were you able to find me?" I asked them.

"A reckless girl in the middle of Scourge-infested territory?" the Druid responded sarcastically, "It was not hard to miss."

"Alanel!" Gidget scolded him, "Don't pay any mind to the pointy-eared guy. He has a bit of an attitude problem. He's a bit of a know-it-all."

"We saw what you did back at Valiance Keep," the Draenei spoke, "It was incredible, inspiring. I had never witnessed such power from one Priestess."

"Khazros told us you were here before that," Alanel added.

"How did you…?" I began to ask.

"I knew you were one tough broad when I saw you at the inn, man-handling that drunk," Khazros laughed, "When I saw the ring upon your necklace, I knew who you were."

"You were the Dwarf at the bar!" I realized.

He nodded.

"Khazros told us you were getting information from Sergeant Darwin Heathcliff so once we saw you head out into the tundra, we followed you," Gidget told me.

"I'm glad we made it in time," the Draenei smiled, "Oh! How rude of me. I feel as if I already know you, and yet we have never met. I am Draco."

Khazros waved as he petted his eagle, "Khazros Darkhammer. A pleasure!"

"Alanel Eversong," Alanel bowed respectfully.

"I am so deeply honored to meet you all," I smiled, "Conlan…spoke so highly of every single one of you."

The mention of Conlan's name kept everyone silent for a moment.

"My lady…" Draco began to say.

"Please, Angeni." I corrected him.

"Angeni, what are you doing out here?" he asked.

Gidget was also curious, "What's going on Angeni? I mean, you're a long ways away from Stormwind."

I briefly told them my story. I told them how I went on a quest across Azeroth and the Outlands after I was told of Conlan's disappearance to become a full-fledged Priestess.

"A mind vision?" Khazros asked.

"You saw Conlan?" Draco inquired.

"Not…exactly," I replied, "I saw everything through his eyes. I could feel all of his senses."

"A mind vision…is that even reliable?" Alanel spoke up.

"Al, of course they are," Gidget answered, "Even the High Priestess Tyrande trusts her visions. That's how we were told of the Lich King's plans, remember?"

"So there is a chance…that our boy is still alive," Khazros stated hopefully.

"Yes, I believe that in my heart to be true," I said.

"You've come a long way," Draco commended me, "To have gone through all of this on your own is a testament of your inner strength."

"Although still reckless," Alanel said.

"I am so sorry that I have troubled you," I apologized, "I will leave you so that I may continue my quest."

"What? Are you crazy?" Gidget asked, "Angeni, you can't go on by yourself!"

"She's right," Khazros agreed, "It only gets worse from here on out."

"I don't have a choice," I replied, demonstrating my resolve, "I must save Conlan. That is why I am here."

"Then I will fight alongside you," Draco said valiantly, "Conlan was…is my best friend. If there is even a slither of hope that he is still alive, then I will fight to save him."

"Count me in!" Gidget smiled.

"Aye! I've been getting a little rusty as it is anyway," Khazros added.

Everyone turned to look at the Druid to hear his answer.

"Come on Al," Draco pleaded.

"She has no field training, no experience," he answered, "She could be a liability."

Draco walked over to reason with him, "She is a Priestess of the Light. Her holy magic is the strongest form of magic against the undead. She is an asset. We once had a member of the Light in our five, and now we have someone to replace him with for the time being. Conlan is your friend too, Al."

I could see it in Alanel's eyes that the mention of Conlan hurt him deeply. He remained silent for a few moments, contemplating his response.

"Agreed," he finally said.

"Then we ride on," Khazros said, "The evening is approaching quickly. The Scourge will be everywhere."

"Yes, we will need to find a safe area to camp for the night," Draco nodded.

"Thank you…everyone," I said softly.

Draco whistled loudly as three mounts ran towards the members of the Legendary Five.

Next to Draco was an Elekk covered in Exodar-designed armor.

Alongside Khazros was a gray-furred ram dressed in Ironforge accessories.

Finally, Gidget hopped on her white Mechanostrider that had its own unique noises.

"I will fly ahead and look for any impending danger that approaches," Alanel told us. He somersaulted high into the air as the same cloud of magical smoke that transformed him earlier returned, soon revealing him transformed into a magnificent multi-colored bird. He soared off into the horizon.

I wasted no time in climbing on top of Hope's back and heading through the remainder of the small forest with my new comrades closely behind me. My confidence grew even stronger now. I knew that with their help, Conlan and I would soon be reunited.