*Scroll 12*

It felt like days as she moved along the beach. Heading north along the coast trying to find something. Anything. Her wounds weren't healing, the curse on the land was preventing her from accessing all but her weakest of magics. Barely enough to keep the wounds from festering. She'd cut off the bottom half of her robes and tied them tightly around her abdomen. Exposure to the cold was better than her intestines spilling out.

Her moonsaber guide never left her side, serving as a glorified crutch and blanket when needed. The nights of Darkshore had always been chilly, being so close to the sea. Now, however, they were downright freezing. Frost coated the land every morning thus far, giving the once familiar area an alien feel. The trees were darker, angrier, than she'd ever seen them. Her people took pride in keeping their forests happy. Climbing the boughs and walking under their leaves, singing and weaving enchantments. Now it seemed like all the work had been undone.

A sharp pain in her abdomen had Luna grasping at her moonsaber friend as she tried to stay standing, her knees giving out at the sudden pain. She'd crossed her threshold days ago, leaving her mewling at even the slightest discomfort now. Her right leg had yet to be set, and she worried that the bone would never heal properly. The twig through her calf had broken when she'd fallen on it, fresh blood welled from the wound, burning a line down her leg. Her stomach was becoming hard, slightly distended, the pressure from her mediocre bandages wasn't doing a damn bit of good.

Growling to herself in anger she tried to stand, yanking on the fur of the moonsaber, who just hissed at her. She didn't even have the strength to haul herself up. A sense of hopeless-ness was pressing down on her, making it hard to breath. Clearing her throat she felt hot tears lining her eyes, and she was powerless to stop those too. They trickled down her cheeks, turning pinky brown before even having cleared her cheek bones. She tilted her head back to look at the sky, begging for sunlight, but the movement caught somthing in her gaze. A shock of white, half buried in the sand. Gasping, she moved towards it on her hands and knees, shuffling over to what appeared to be a person.

Upon reaching them she almost cried again. It was Gwennyth. She was battered and beaten, and barely clung to life. Her vison blurred with more tears as she pushed the sand off of her friend, suddenly desperate to free her from it. She jerked her hand back when Gwennyths eyes snapped open. They took a moment to focus but when they did, she smiled. She made a move to lift her arm but cried out in pain instead, before Luna grabbed her hand and gently lifted it to her cheek.

"I've missed you." Breathed Gwennyth, her cracked lips bled when she spoke. Tears ran thick down Lunas face when she responded,

"I missed you too." Gwennyths eyes widdened as she stared beyond Lunas shoulder, opening her mouth she gasped out,

"We earned our fate with our pride." Before she exhaled, and the light in her eyes faded. Luna felt her heart break, her chest ached for her friend, her tears burned for her. Letting out a gentle sob, she kissed Gwennyths hands before laying them on her chest.

"I'll always miss you." She whispered as she closed Gwens eyes. Her moonsaber was next to her again, a soft keening noise coming from his chest. He was sad. Luna lifted her hand to him and he came to her, helping her stand, before turning north to resume her trek.

'How did this happen?' Luna asked herself as she looked further north. More bodies spotted the sand, some mauled beyond any recognition, some bore no mark at all. Her breaths became labored gasps the farther she walked, a toxic combination of fatigue and heart ache. Luna had hated these people for banishing her, but as she gazed upon their lifeless faces she remembered why she'd loved them in the first place. The elves of Auberdine had brought a family to her brother and herself when theirs had been destroyed, but now it was dead too. Was there anyone left alive? What of her brother!

A vibrating rumble from her side sucked her back to the now, sharp clangs echoed from around the beach head. A few shouts in Darnassian. A surge of renewed hope fueled her next stupid decision as Luna lunged forward without her moonsaber companion, only to trip and fall in the thick sand. Spitting sand out of her mouth she looked back to see the great cat stepping backwards and sitting, as though to say he wouldn't go towards the unfamiliar elves. She almost growled at the saber, but she bit her tongue to stop herself.

"Thank you." She said simply. See, she could control her temper somtimes. She didn't bother attempting to stand, every earlier attempt ended in failure and fresh blood. So she instead raised herself to her knees and scuttled along the beach until she reached the top of a nearby knoll, only to gaze upon a most disturbing sight. Sentinals, looking worse for wear, were battling elementals coming from the sea. Even the ancients, which used to spend hours with their feet in the water conversing with the tides, were throwing punches at an elemental too large for the elves to take down.

Black spots appeared suddenly and blocked out much of her sight. Blinking and shaking her head, Luna opened her eyes again and saw a shock of purple a few yards to her side. Blood rushed through her ears, and all she saw was that purple. The rushing in her ears blocked her pain for a moment, enough to drag herself to the man. He was facedown, wearing yellow robes, his arm reached out as though asking for help.

Grasping at him desperately, she tried to roll him over but didn't have the strength. Tears and black spots flooded her vision again as she pushed at his shoulder with all her might, but as he rolled to his side his face was obscured by her own eyes. She couldn't see enough to tell! Panic brewed in her belly like a storm. Reaching out her hand she touched his chest, poking towards his face her hand brushed a necklace which she grasped instinctively. She felt a cresent moon rub against her fingers and began to sob uncontrollably. It was their mothers. He'd wanted Luna to have it but she didn't want anything to do with jewelry. Cerellean.

Sound rushed back to her with a pop, shouting off to her left was moving closer. She didn't care. Cerellean was here. His chest was barely moving, his heart was stopping as she sat there. So she did somthing she hadn't done in a long time. She prayed. With all her heart she begged and pleaded for Elune to save him. Give what life she had left to her brother. Take her and let him live!

As she felt her breath slow and steady she thought the goddess had listened. Hands pulled at her but she wouldn't budge. She had ahold of Cerelleans hand and wanted to hold it until she died. Fingers plucked at hers painfully but she didn't want to move! Shouting in her ears made her head ring but she couldn't hear what they said, and it didn't matter. A spark of red, she thought a fire had broken out.

'Then let the flames devour me.' She thought to herself. The hands grew stronger, more urgent against her, finally yanking her away with one herculian tug. She fought against her aggresor, clawing and kicking with what little she had left.

"Cerellean..." She breathed out, not having the breath to yell. She was being spirited away. She saw a handful of Sentinals reach Cerellean as she was carried away, and releif flooded her when she saw them begin to tend to him right there. One of them looked at her, a sentinal with eyes as purple as her hair. She saw those eyes recognize her, but she made no move to persue her. The black spots in her vision grew as she got farther away from her brother. After a while the only thing left was the heavy breathing of her spiritor. He'd long moved her from his shoulder and had her cradled against his chest, a painful relief for her abdominal wounds.

Black clouds crowded her eyes, a few snatches of light and fire here and there. The constant rhythm of running was steadying her heart. Her breathing became slow, coaxed by the thumping sound of feet on the grass. She felt herself blink, long and slow. It was hard to open her eyes again. They felt heavy like she was tired. So she let them rest. Lifting her hand to the chest of her captor, she felt his heart racing beneath their smooth skin, and for some reason it made her feel content. So she went to sleep.

Breathing came easily, and it was that single thought that woke her. Having been so long without comfort, it seemed odd now that she could breath without her chest aching.

But she'd always been comfortable.

No she hadn't, where was she? Looking around she saw nothing but beauty. An ever changing scenery made of gossamer silk that caressed her naked form. She was floating, her hair swirling around her like a cloud. But why was she naked?

She'd always been that way.

No she hadn't. What was going on? Looking towards to sky she saw a magical sight of clouds and sunshine rolling together. Waves of light and dark mixing together to make the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen! But how was that happening! No where in Azeroth or Outlands had a sky like that.

It had always been like that.

NO! Where were these thoughts coming from! She couldn't remember how she got here... Or where she was before. A twinkle on the edges of her sight caught her eye. A glittering figure moved towards her, causing her to relax the moment her gaze rested fully upon her. She had no features, her shape seemed ever changing, yet she was undoubtedly female. And she was the most beautiful thing Luna had ever seen. More lovely than the landscape and more striking than the roiling sky. A sense of love came from her. Of compassion and understanding.

The glittering shape of a dainty hand reached for her, brushing a stray lock of raven hair from Lunas face, she gasped when it began to turn white where she touched it. It felt cold for a moment, like white ink had been poured onto her scalp. Panic gripped her as her hair turned shining white, glittering like an opal in the sun. Her eyes were wide and her breath too fast, but warm hands on her cheeks had her instantly calm. She felt good.

Looking up, she felt the creature smile at her. It radiated a warmth that could be nothing else. She felt it lean towards her forehead and plant what seemed like a kiss there, before she was stabbed through her heart. Warmth left her, oozing from her chest and dripping past her toes. Her hand reached her chest before her eyes did, and felt a hand there. She tried to remove it before she looked down, and saw that dainty glittering hand shoved through her breast and into her heart. She felt that warm hand gripping her heart and caressing it, but she couldnt breath. The pain was too great. It overwhelmed her and left her unable to speak. Her strength was gone, having left with her warmth. She looked back up into that featureless face, and felt nothing. She radiated no love, hatred, or sorrow. And that more than anything brought tears to Lunaea's eyes.

The Grove of the Ancients was a sad place that evening. The altar in the center bore the cause. A woman lay there, her raven hair curling around her, her eyes closed. No one would mistake her for being asleep. Her chest and abdomen were a bloody ruin, her legs mangled. She had died a violent death that no one would envy, yet everyone would praise her for being so strong.

None of the inhabitants of the serene Grove knew her personally, yet all had heard of her. Her legendary feats in battle, her banishment. Only one heart truely broke for her that evening. A troll with hair like fire, knelt beside the altar grasped her hand and prayed. And cried. The elves had granted him safe haven until the dawn, and they would recall that he had knelt next to the woman until the last possible moment. But when the sun peaked above the trees, he vanished.

The ancients, many of whom she had made friends with, took her body deep into the forest. They told no living man where, yet they ensured she was enshrined in a safe place, until the proper time...