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Rain had begun falling in small droplets onto Norivana's leather armor and into her hair as she circled the oblivious black-haired elf in front of her. He had shifted into his cat form at the start of the duel, but when he realized that they were both stealthing invisibly and it'd be a stalemate, he switched out and began calling down bolts of energy that crashed into the ground around him. This made it almost impossible for Norivana to get through to him without being hit, so she decided to wait it out.

He was turning in circles slowly, squinting his eyes at anything that moved in hopes of seeing his opponent. Norivana watched as his face held a cunning expression, the corners of his mouth turning up in a subtle smirk and his eyes flicking about sharply.

Aitto and the remaining two elves were both standing off to the side, watching Sarion perform his star-calling dance with amused expressions.

Norivana was having too much fun with it all. She sneaked around silently, just out of range of his spells, and watched him become more and more frustrated as each energy burst just hit the ground and fizzled out. He would throw a few wide-range spells out at random, then wait a bit to regain some power, and repeat the process. Norivana watched from afar. He'd eventually become fatigued enough that she could take him down much easier.

Rogue tactics for the win.

Every time she would get a step closer to Lucian, the amulet would buzz a little stronger, which actually was a little distracting. Not because it was in any way annoying, but because it served as a constant declaration of her proximity to him. Perhaps that was his intent.

As one of Sarion's spells fizzled to a stop, Norivana snapped into focus and finally decided to take action. With one swift step through the shadows she was standing behind him, and she grabbed both of her blades and slammed the hilts to the sides of Sarion's head, then kicked a foot forward that knocked him stumbling. He whipped around and, although he was prepared for another direct attack, he wasn't prepared for a fistful of dust straight to the eyes. And that's exactly what he got.

Norivana slowed a little when she realized that Sarion really hadn't been brought up a fighter. He'd learned Druid talents, yes, but for the most part those talents were probably for skills like hunting and providing. He'd fought off the occasional Horde patrol that wandered too far to the north, yes, but without his allies beside him, he wasn't nearly as skilled a fighter as she had expected.

Her hesitation, however, was exactly what he needed to get an equal hand, and before she realized what was happening, he had retreated at least ten steps and a massive collection of roots and vines had sprung up out of the ground and wrapped around her legs, effectively pinning her in place. She'd seen this spell before, but for some reason this one seemed very out-of-place, as if it wasn't quite...natural.

That thought was confirmed when the roots themselves began to wither and blacken almost just as they had emerged from the ground, and then, to Norivana's shock, they gave off a sickly cloud of noxious green and black gas which engulfed her completely, forcing its way into her nose and mouth and into her lungs.

She began choking, coughing hysterically in attempts to rid the acidic air from her lungs. After a few seconds, her head began to whirl dizzily and she collapsed to her knees as the roots around them gave way and withered completely into a pile of black ash underneath her.

Her mind was racing. She had a decent level of magical resistances, but nothing could have prepared her for this.

Muffled shouts carried faintly to her ears, but all Norivana could think about was how the air itself felt like razor blades to her throat. It felt uncannily like the torture that Krazak'Zul had so kindly bestowed to her back when she and Aitto had nearly met their deaths, and for a split-second, she lost sense of reason and became terrified that he was back.

There was no way a simple Druid could manage as deathly a spell as this, though. That was for sure.

She crawled as best as she could away from the pile of toxic ash and after a moment managed to take a single deep breath of sweet, pure air. It was one of the biggest reliefs of her life. Even so, though, she could feel how the acid had eaten away at her throat and left it raw and painful.

Although her eyes were a bit foggy and her hearing wasn't faring well either, she did sense two large arms lift her up from the rough grass she had collapsed in. She heard Sarion's deep voice to her left, and she thought it sounded worried, but she couldn't tell for sure. Lucian's voice was very close, and though she couldn't exactly understand what he was saying, he sounded angry. Sarion and Lucian spoke back and forth a little, but her brain was so foggy she couldn't comprehend anything. It was extremely strange for her.

As her eyes finally came into focus, she registered that Lucian was carrying her swiftly over to the side of the outer Stormwind walls, underneath the shade of a large oak that rested just beyond the little wooden fences that lined the road. He gingerly placed her down, setting her partially upright and allowing her back and head to rest against the large base of the tree. He knelt down in front of her and placed his hands on the sides of her face, lifting it up slightly and inspecting her eyes worriedly with his own, his brows creasing with concern.

She started to feel weak again, and her eyes fluttered shut. Each breath she took was still extremely painful, and she knew there was no way she'd be able to endure this for much longer.

"Vana, stay with me," Lucian murmured anxiously, taking a hand and brushing stray hairs from her face. "Come on, Norivana, breathe. Can you hear me? Can you speak? Can you tell me what hurts?"

His words brought her back a bit, but she couldn't yet answer. Sarion, Unaril, and Aitto stood a little too closely as well, peering over Lucian's shoulders to see if she was alright.

Sarion spoke up. "I honestly don't know what happened,-"

"Yes, you do," Aitto interrupted the elf sharply, glaring at him. "You know exactly what happened. Don't you dare try to deny it even now."

Sarion snapped his mouth shut, his expression immediately going from worried to provoked. "Oh? You claim to know what it is that caused this? Enlighten me, O mighty Paladin, for I am in the dark." His words were practically dripping with sarcasm.

"You truly want me to announce this," Aitto warned, "In front of everyone?"

Sarion paused, realization flashing across his features. "I..." He looked at Unaril almost accusingly. "Unaril?"

Unaril opened his mouth to speak for a second, then closed it, then opened it again. "I... I told him."

"You what?" Sarion's eyes flashed angrily.

Sensing hostility, Lucian turned his head and stood quickly. "Hold it, what is going on?"

Now having recovered to the point of where she could form coherent thoughts again, Norivana watched them all in an almost dazed stupor. What were they all fighting about?

Unaril looked like a trapped animal, but he appeared to be doing his best at pleading his case for whatever he did wrong. "Aitto could sense it. And he's legitimately worried for you, Sarion. He might be able to help you."

"I trusted you," Sarion spat, eyes burning furiously, now obviously flickering in between gold and green, "I can't believe I actually thought you would help me, you worthless, wretched bastard," he jammed a finger at Unaril, "You are no longer my brother." He had taken a step forward and was glaring murderously at his fairer twin, who wasn't handling this well.

Now extremely concerned, Lucian stepped in and placed a broad hand on Sarion's chest, pressing him to take a step back. "Sarion. Think about what you're saying for a moment. What's wrong? What is going on?"

"He is corrupted," Aitto butted in, glaring at the black-haired elf, "With a dark magic. Demonic energy. It's tainting him."

Everything finally clicked in Norivana's mind. The anger, the lashing out, the super mood swings. For someone as pure as a Night Elf, the fel energy was a bad, bad thing.

Lucian's eyes widened and his brows contorted in horror and concern, "What?" he almost whispered, "Sarion, how? How long?"

Sarion's lips twitched and he slowly and deliberately craned his neck to the sides, eliciting loud popping and cracking noises as the joints stretched. He raised one single brow, "A while now. It's all thanks to your new plaything," his eyes flicked down at Norivana. He had gone from apologetic to spiteful within mere moments.

Norivana, who was still sitting back on the ground, attempted to stand, bracing herself against the tree as support. The action made her head spin, but she managed to stay upright. "I'm sorry, but what the hell are you talking about?" she asked in raised octaves, eyes wide. Immediately after, though, she regretted it, because speaking made it feel like she was swallowing razors. That acidic cloud had seriously screwed with her entire respiratory system, and she was feeling the full effects.

Unaril butted in. "He doesn't mean it, Norivana. It's not your fault," he turned his attention to Aitto and Lucian, who were still watching Sarion warily, "He'll be okay, I promise. We just need a good healer or, because we're lucky, a good Paladin trained in the ways of the light." Unaril nodded toward Aitto.

Lucian had another matter to press, however. "You knew about this the whole time and you didn't think to tell us?" He questioned Unaril, speaking in a hushed tone.

"I promised him I wouldn't, that we would figure it out together,-"

"To hell with your fucking promises!" Sarion growled, anger returning tenfold, and all of them winced at his words. It was all Lucian could do to keep Sarion from launching himself at Unaril this time, and he placed his entire body between them, shoving a forearm against Sarion's chest.

Unaril stopped what he was saying and gave his twin an incredibly painful look. Norivana could tell it was Unaril's own personal hell having to watch Sarion act like this, to be a silent observer to his beloved brother's corruption.

"It will be difficult," Aitto spoke up, "But I can fix it. He's still early enough in the process that it won't affect him permanently yet, but we must hurry."

Lucian nodded swiftly while Sarion grumbled his own personal spiteful remarks, which brought even more painful looks from Unaril.

"Good. In the meantime, don't duel any more people, okay?" Lucian gave Sarion a look before returning his attention to Norivana, who was still taking deep, painful breaths in attempts to regain her composure.

He took a few steps closer to her and placed a hand under her jaw, raising her chin gently. His eyes searched hers. "Are you sure you're alright? That did not look like you should've come out of it alive, let alone standing."

"I'll be fine," she reassured both herself and the men around her. But even her voice sounded almost gravelly, and saying those three words elicited so much pain that tears pricked her eyes and she couldn't help but let a look of torment wash over her face.

Lucian creased his brows and let out a breath. "Shh," he almost cooed, rubbing her arms with his hands reassuringly, "Just give me one second. It'll be okay."

Although a little thrown off, Norivana just let him do his thing. It's not that she didn't like this overly-caring, gentle side of him, it was just unexpected.

Lucian took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and almost immediately his hands sprung to life, with all sorts of glowing swirls whirling around his fingertips. He opened his eyes slowly and locked onto her own intensely as he placed his hands back onto the sides of her face, down at the base of her jaw and ears.

The heal traveled into the ragged remainder of her throat and vocal cords, then down into her lungs, soothing the acid-eaten flesh and knitting it all back together. The pain ceased gradually, but she still felt like her lungs weighed a thousand pounds.

Lucian kept his worried look. "She's still pale," he observed, and he took a step back. "Aitto, can you use a cleansing spell? The magic has imprinted itself and your talents are best fit to detox."

Aitto took Lucian's place and gave Norivana a sympathetic smile before stepping a half step back and holding up his hands, clenching his jaw and summoning vivid rays of light into his hands that shone out the tips of his fingers. He then transferred all the energy to one hand and held it out straight in front of him, directing it toward her, and allowing the energy to transfer to her. The surge rid her lungs of any remaining toxins that had taken refuge there, and after a few more seconds she was finally able to take a full, clean breath.

"Thanks," she breathed, vowing to never again take a simple breath for granted.

Lucian gave her one last subtle concerned look before turning back to the others. "Sarion, Aitto knows how to cleanse fel energy. You need to understand that this will be good for you."

Sarion had calmed a little, but he did send Aitto a poisonous look. "Don't even think about taking your magic near me."

Aitto bristled. "You are sick, and I can fix it. But I need you to let me."

"I am not sick," Sarion hissed, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from Unaril, "Nor am I corrupted or infected or any other outlandish thing you people may come up with. This power is a gift."

"Gift?" Unaril watched his brother cautiously. "Listen to yourself, Sarion. This is dark magic, the magic of demons."

Sarion shook his head, ignoring Unaril, and he pointed a finger at Aitto, "I am not going to allow this man to take it away from me."

Unaril reached a hand out to place it on Sarion's arm, but Sarion jerked away, sending him a glare.

"And you," he hissed at Unaril, "I am finished with you. In fact," he glanced at all of them, "Consider this my resignation from the tribe, Silverpaw."

Norivana and the others all watched dumbly as Sarion turned and left, walking southward down the road. This had escalated so suddenly, none of them knew how to react.

After a long silence, Lucian cleared his throat. "Unaril,-"

"He'll be okay," Unaril seemed to be trying to convince himself more than anything else, "Let's just give him some time."

Lucian pressed his mouth shut, clenching his jaw and looking back down the road where Sarion had retreated. The rain was falling steadily now and although it was still afternoon, the sky had darkened from the oncoming storm. They were still in the shelter of the large tree, which was providing a surprising amount of protection against the rain.

"I suppose we should go after him, though," Unaril finally muttered, staring wistfully out at the rain. Norivana felt so bad for him. What Sarion was going through was horrible, both for him and his friends, but Unaril was probably feeling the worst of it. Sarion had clearly lost his old self, which was tearing Unaril apart. This was his twin brother, after all.

Lucian nodded somberly and took a step out into the rain, and the others followed him, walking down the path for a while. Because of the heavy woods, Norivana couldn't see too far of the path before it was too shaded to see further.

After a while they halted to a stop when they saw a terrified human girl, no more than thirteen, sprinting toward them, completely drenched from the rain and breathing heavily. She stopped right in front of Lucian and unexpectedly threw her arms around his waist, sobbing and forming incoherent words.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Lucian knelt down onto one knee, inspecting the poor girl and trying to calm her by speaking evenly, "Shh, are you hurt?"

The girl shook her head frantically. "Goldshire," she huffed, trying to get her words out amidst pants, "It's... It's..."

"What's happened?" Unaril spoke up behind them, turning his head to the side and giving the girl a worried look.

"They showed up out of the sky," she sobbed.

"Who did?" Lucian implored.

"Horde."

Lucian inhaled a sharp breath and tensed his shoulders, standing quickly. "Get to Stormwind. There are a lot of heroes lounging about outside the city. Round them up and bring them to Goldshire." The girl obeyed immediately.

"Sarion's there," Unaril whispered, then broke into a run before anyone could stop him.

"Unaril!" Lucian called, and when Unaril kept going, he glanced back at Aitto and Norivana. "Come on!"

Without a moment's hesitation Norivana followed him, and they all sprinted toward Goldshire, which was right around a bend in the road.

Right as they caught up with Unaril, they saw the town. There were at least two dozen Horde soldiers there, and all of whom were ruthlessly attacking the townspeople as well as the crowd of Alliance heroes who had taken to lounging around the town.

Norivana knew exactly whose army this was, and her blood boiled. Hellscream. He had sent a small handful of his best soldiers to attack a tiny, helpless town within Varian's home city limits. This would be taken as a direct invasion, she knew it. Hellscream was definitely getting crazier by the minute.

At the sight of so many innocents under attack, Lucian went into a defensive mode. Without another word, he leapt into range and began throwing out heals at all the gravely wounded people littering the ground, while Unaril, after not seeing his brother anywhere, joined Lucian's side and set to attacking with spells.

Aitto let out a roar and held up his large weapon threateningly, charging in and smashing into another Tauren. The other Tauren was obviously taken completely by surprise and fell down without much of a struggle before Aitto's mace made direct contact with the guy's head, knocking him face-down into the ground.

Norivana slid around and began darting between the soldiers, throwing a stab here and a slice there, cutting at pretty much any vulnerable spots in their armor. The soldiers turned their attention toward Lucian and Unaril and began advancing toward them, only to be flanked by Aitto and thrown back and stunned.

Although the four of them were managing to at least distract the mob of soldiers, Norivana knew there was no way they could actually dispose of all of them unless they focused on one at a time, and that was near-impossible.

Just when she had lost nearly all hope of actually defeating the group, she heard shouts behind her and saw that the young girl had recruited a large number of heroes to help, and it was now a much fairer fight.

People of every race and class came blundering in, with Mages shooting spells of frost and fire and Warriors clashing their swords against those of the Horde. Lucian continued to send out heals to everyone who required them, and a few other priests were doing the same. In short, they had definitely outnumbered their attackers in both skill and determination. Within minutes, it was obvious the Horde soldiers weren't going to succeed, as the Alliance fighters had gotten the extra bravery boost when it came to fighting for their homeland.

The rain had made it a little more difficult to quick-step around her opponents, but Norivana managed to utilize it by striking in such a way that would send them off-balance and cause them to slip around in the mud and fall, making them vulnerable.

Amidst the battle, one of the Horde Mages, a stout Orc in detailed armor, had retreated back behind the mob and shouted out to the rest of his comrades. "To me!" He bellowed, "To the portal!"

As the Alliance forces pushed, the Horde retreated back toward the portal that the Mage had created. When she finally saw it, Norivana recognized the sight that lay within the portal. It was Orgrimmar. The Orc had created an escape portal straight back into the city, and the soldiers were retreating through it fast.

She heard a familiar voice shout, and she turned to see Unaril running full speed at an Undead Horde soldier that had strayed outside the group. Although a little surprised at first as to why Unaril seemed so urgent to reach the Undead lady, Norivana finally saw it. The woman was running with her blade raised and her eyes locked onto Sarion, who must have appeared sometime within the last few minutes. Sarion was next to the portal, fighting off a few soldiers here and there who came after him while they reached it.

Just before the woman reached Sarion, Unaril slammed into her with a full tackle and knocked her to the side, letting her blade clatter to Sarion's feet. Unaril finished her off with a swift blow and stood, remaining beside his brother to get him out of harm's way. The two of them fought side-by-side, with Unaril using nature spells and Sarion having picked up the blade at his feet and using it against the soldiers.

The Horde forces continued to dwindle until there were only a few left, and as Norivana glanced at Sarion, she saw his eyes flickering between a gold-green color to completely green. That was the fel energy fighting to take over, she recognized it.

His eyes flicked toward the portal, which had been gradually growing smaller as time passed. Only ten seconds or so before it'd close, and for a moment Norivana thought Sarion might run into it as well, the way he was eyeing it.

And weirdly enough, that's exactly what he did.

As Sarion eyed the portal, Unaril had reached around his brother's side and sent a powerful blast of moonfire straight at the one remaining enemy. Sarion unexpectedly took off in a run toward the dimming portal, sword in hand, only to have Unaril run after him, grabbing at his arm.

"Sarion, no! Don't follow them there; they'll kill you!" Unaril shouted through the rain, trying to reason with Sarion, but it was too late.

Sarion's eyes glared a bright, intense green, and he whipped around to face Unaril with a murderous expression, then proceeded to stab the point of his sword straight into his blue-haired brother's chest.

Norivana watched numbly as Unaril stumbled backward and fell to his knees against the muddy ground, his golden eyes rapidly dimming. He slumped over to the side and collapsed onto the ground with the blade stuck deep into his heart, allowing the falling rain to mix into the steadily-growing pool of blood that seeped out from beneath his motionless form.

Smirking with one corner of his mouth and cocking his head disdainfully at his fallen twin, Sarion stepped backward straight through the portal moments before it vanished, leaving them all in an empty, shocked silence.