THE OUTSKIRTS OF ZHU'S HOPE, KRASARANG WILDS
EVENING OF THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY
YALIA SAGEWHISPER
The moment Ken-Ken placed the mask on the sweating, nervous face of the Pandaren sentry was one that Yalia had prepared herself for. Thus when a roiling, shadowy figure swirled forth from the mask's 'eyes', she already had summoned a shield of pure energy to ward it away from Ken-Ken, who leaped away, hooting triumphantly. Ken-Ken hefted the mask and grabbed the stunned sentry by the neck, hauling the burly Pandaren bodily back towards the village. "Will leave ikk to you!"
"Looks like the legend works after all." Li-Hua Zhuo's teeth narrowed and a bolt of lightning gathered in her hands. "I'll get the best thunderstorm I can and zap them both!"
"A good plan." Yalia rolled to the right as the Sha, no longer concealed within the Pandaren, began lashing out, looking for the one that had driven it from the body it had possessed. The dark clouds it threw at her reeked of pure disgust and loathing, clouds of vile emotion making themselves manifest. A second Sha appeared moments later from where the first had attacked and missed. Or maybe it hadn't missed. Her staff grasped in one hand, Yalia eyed both of her opponents…making certain to draw the Sha to herself so that Li-Hua could channel the energy she needed. And it was working…
The first Sha smashed the ground. Yalia's eyes widened as black cracks spread through the ground, each spreading towards her. Clearly it meant to surround her with its own dark power and then isolate Yalia.
Except it wasn't dealing with a child. The Sha was facing a Shado-Pan, and the hissing breaths it uttered stank of its own fear. Trying to make yourself stronger, are you? I won't give you that chance. Moments before the ground beneath her could grow dark, Yalia summoned the shield of light once again and slammed it down. There was an incredible screech as the dark energy the Sha was controlling slammed solidly into resistance that it hadn't quite expected. Most importantly, the darkness failed to get past her barrier.
That was a temporary state of affairs at best, however. The darkness would surely reach about or find another way…
I know your weaknesses, Shado-Pan. Give yourself to me.
Yalia's eyes widened, but the shield remained. The second one must be trying to delude me. She was correct, but she still dared not take her attention off of the aggressor.
Zhuo is already ours. The village is ours. Give yourself to us.
"The first is a lie. As is the second. And the last will never happen!" Yalia sprinted at the light shield, kicking it down and lifting it from the ground where it had been anchored. It was an unconventional idea, to be certain, but it was better than continuing to retreat from the Sha and towards the jungle. She then threw herself into motion, and the shield did as Yalia had demanded of it. Her momentum carried it across the shadowy, dark earth…purifying it as she went.
Yalia was not unfamiliar with the concept of windsurfing. However, that was something that was almost always done on the ocean, and this was on dry land…land that begged for release from the hold of the Sha. Yalia's eyes narrowed to slits…and then the Master of the Omnia Discipline jumped from her shield, spinning to the side and kicking it towards the Sha that had attacked her. The second, which attempted to flank her, was not able to react in time…
Which meant that the light shield, no longer having to carry Yalia's weight, and now spurred on to faster motion by her kick, was on a collision course with the Sha. Forced to switch from offensive tactics to defensive ones, the Sha wailed and attempted to focus its own dark energies in an effort to create a barrier.
It didn't do so quickly enough. The light shield slashed cleanly through the Sha's defensive measures, cutting it in two pieces. Yalia didn't have time to gloat, however, as both pieces didn't vanish into dark clouds, but rather, re-gathered. And even if she'd had time to gloat, she'd have used that time preparing her next attack.
Using the light shield as a weapon was a very good idea, Yalia. She heard the voice of Wan Snowdrift speak in her mind, praising her initiative. It might not work the second time, so something else would be advisable.
From further away, Li-Hua slammed both palms together. The wispy clouds immediately above her began to gather into far darker ones, a change that the Omnia Master had braced for. Still…the darkness of the stormclouds that Li-Hua was gathering rivaled the Sha themselves…
Gu taught you well, Li-Hua. Do what you must.
Yalia hefted the staff just as her inner alarm sense spiked. The Sha that had been flanking her was now behind her, and she threw herself into a forward roll just in the nick of time. Shadowy claws slashed apart the bamboo that had been next to her to utter shreds.
"Get down, Master Sagewhisper!" Li-Hua bellowed. Yalia could smell everything in that moment, and she knew exactly where she was.
Not in the heart of a jungle, but in the heart of a thunderstorm. A storm about to strike, at that.
She rolled to the left, away from both Sha, and gave Li-Hua a clear field of vision.
"FIGHTING TECHNIQUE…DIVINE THUNDERSTORM!" Li-Hua bellowed once more, slamming both hands together over her chest. The clouds she had gathered reacted to the Stormbringer by lashing out, a devastating tendril of light that drowned out the darkness, making the Sha seem insignificant before its power.
Then the electricity that Li-Hua had summoned to herself responded to the Shado-Pan Stormbringer. Yalia winced as the lightning now crackled through the air. The energy took far less than a second for Li-Hua to expend it, blasting all three Sha with incredible power…power that made even their dark forms crackle, fizz, sputter as it coursed through every inch of their bodies and burned them…
And finally the power faded and the Sha, damaged beyond any ability to regenerate, seethed into nothingness. The storm having served its purpose, Li-Hua let loose a long sigh and fell to her knees, panting heavily.
Yalia stood upright and ran to her fellow Shado-Pan. Li-Hua looked up and met her eyes. "I'm all right, Master Sagewhisper. Guess the clouds have wanted to do that for a while, though." She held a hand to her snout and shook her head once again. "That was quite a bit more powerful than any storm I've wielded before."
Yalia looked towards Ken-Ken, who had watched the battle with wide eyes. "Let's fight smarter. Hui and Zabu'we?" Li-Hua nodded. "We could use their help. I'm guessing you'd rather not do that again."
"Give me five minutes and I can do that again, yes." Li-Hua stood to her feet and shook her head like a tiger trying to shake water from their face. "I know how much energy to pull in next time."
Yalia patted Li-Hua on the back. Ken-Ken drew closer and smiled, showing all of his teeth. "Good fight, good fight. You had good teachers?"
"The best." Li-Hua stated as she hugged Yalia, and the venerable Omnia Master accepted it with a squeeze of her own about Li-Hua's shoulders. "Though I must say I've never seen a holy shield used quite that way before."
Yalia felt a smile threaten to break her utterly cool veneer and cleared her throat. "It helps when you have a good student." Li-Hua released her and Yalia looked to Ken-ken, then back at the ground the Shado-Pan had left behind. "Ken-Ken, I think we're going to need you to use that mask again…"
They'd used the mask four more times in total, including on Li-Hua's Uncle (who'd been quite astonished out of his dozing when the mask was placed to his forehead and the Sha hiding within him had been driven out). Their efforts had drawn a grand total of eight Sha forth from their hosts, including the two that Li-Hua and Yalia felled. The frantic fights that followed tested every single combatant, both Sha and those that opposed them. Eventually, the battles had ended with the four women standing triumphant over a field of grass that had been cracked and desolate moments before, and the Sha they'd fought slowly sliding apart as the evil thoughts that had powered them were no longer sufficient considering the damage they'd suffered. Nor could they stand long in the face of the resolution the four women had carried into battle. A troll, her face resolute as she blasted away with a long rifle and her tiger mauled the Sha, her Pandaren friend who she'd accompanied and her broadsword that had scythed through the Sha like a scythe through fields that were ready to be harvested… Where the Sha had attempted to use the earth to boost their attacks, the corruption that had faded into the ground slowly faded away.
Ken-Ken had pitched in near the end of the battle. The hozen had hauled off each Pandaren sentry after placing the mask to their faces and ripping the Sha away, swinging some over his shoulders, dragging others by their collars until they were out of the fight or out of the Sha's reach. It was a risky strategy, but the hozen was happy to help. "Do what I can. Tian taught me that." He actually bowed to Yalia when the Shado-Pan Master complimented his efforts.
The grass was growing even as they walked back from the outskirts of the village towards the center of Zhu's Hope…which was when Yalia saw him. Yi-Mo Longbrow, the despondent young Pandaren that Hui Chang had described to her, staggered from his house and fell to his knees. "I…I tried to fight back, but it just gets in your head. How…how do you endure such things?" Yi-Mo grasped at his head, grunting and groaning. Yalia's blood ran cold. The darkness gathering underneath Yi-Mo rivaled the storm clouds that Li-Hua had used to smite the Sha.
"You remember who you are, and what you have done." Yalia spoke simply, standing before the rest. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins. A fight was in the offing, and she could only guess how powerful Sha presence that had concealed itself within Yi-Mo was. "And you do not lose sight of that." The burly young Pandaren, his hair a tangled mess over his shoulders, stood to his feet.
Yi-Mo met her eyes and took a few halting steps closer. "Is it that simple?"
Yalia shook her head. "No." She held up a hand before Yi-Mo could burst into tears. "But it is the first step of a much longer, more tortuous road. A road towards a rising sun."
Yi-Mo collapsed to his knees once again. "But…the sun is setting…"
She had to concede that point. The sun was glowing orange now, descending…which meant whatever she wanted to do was something that had to be done quickly. "It will return again tomorrow." Yalia held her head high. "And no matter how dark the day grows, or even how bright it is…there is the potential for tomorrow to be better."
Yi-Mo held both hands to his head. "Shado-Pan…please help me." His teeth gritted and his voice became strained by agony. "Please…"
Ken-Ken pounced then, closing the distance between himself and Yi-Mo and placing the mask on the desperate Pandaren male's face.
A dry, ragged scream left Yi-Mo's throat…and then a gigantic cloud of shadow poured forth from the wooden mask. The Sha g and forming into a form that Yalia Sagewhisper had only heard of in legend. The enormous form of the Sha coiled up like a serpent, coiling itself…and then spread arms of shadow wide, as though to absorb the evening sun.
"Ken-Ken, grab Yi-Mo and get him to safety!" Yalia commanded. "Zabu'we, give us support from range!" The hozen and the troll nodded; Zabu'we leveled her rifle at the Sha, taking the first shot as soon as she could. Given its great size, it was almost impossible to miss.
Li-Hua met Yalia's eyes and at once her head bobbed instinctively. Raising one hand to the sky, the Shado-Pan Stormbringer gathered the clouds and prepared her attack.
Hui Chang looked at the Sha, hefted her broadsword, and a strange light came to her eyes. "Let's bring this monster down, Master."
Yalia felt a grim smile come to her lips as the Huojin Pandaren warrior took a ready stance and charged the massive Sha. It raised multiple arms and attempted to smash the warrior as she flew in, but one of those arms snapped off and vanished into a cloud of flaming dust. Yalia saw Zabu'we's triumphant expression; whatever the troll huntress had wanted to do had clearly worked. And Hui had a clear path…
Then the Sha looked away from the warrior and many, many dusky eyes regarded Yalia…and then the Sha slammed the ground with one of its arms much as its fellows had earlier.
Yalia knew better than to remain where she was and rolled to the right…just as jet black spikes burst from the ground she'd vacated. Sharper than spears, had they connected with her skin at the speed the Sha had brought them into being, Yalia could only guess what they might have done to her. The tips of the spikes faded to a light green, very much like the energy roiling forth from the Sha's mouth.
The Sha was using tactics that no Shado-Pan record spoke of. Hui Chang was landing blow after blow with her broadsword, causing great gouts of dusty, black cloud to pour from the 'wounds' she was inflicting. But Sha were pure emotion made manifest…it wasn't blood, but it clearly couldn't take a lot of that.
"Hui, get back!" Yalia shouted as the Sha turned to the warrior, slamming its hands against the ground immediately next to it…at an attack range that was almost impossible to miss from.
Hui tucked her body into a ball and rolled behind the Sha, out of Yalia's sight. The massive being whirled about, much like a spider attempting to stop the wasp from inflicting a score of wounds…just as the clouds gathered about its head.
Yalia grimaced as the Sha pounded the ground, sending more spikes rocketing up almost directly beneath her and Zabu'we. We're killing it with bug bites. We wouldn't have a chance individually…but together, we are capable of bringing this down. As long as we keep it from being able to focus…
The scream that tore through the air when the Sha turned its attention back to Hui Chang caused Yalia to abandon her defensive posturing. She must have been hit. She summoned another light shield, but rather than attempt to heft it, she kicked this one, sending it spinning towards the base of the Sha.
"Give me covering fire, Zabu'we!" Yalia commanded as she ran about the Sha. Had Hui Chang been badly injured…she had to do something to help the Huojin Pandaren. Inaction was not an option.
Zabu'we replied, but her voice was a snarl. She'd heard the scream of her compatriot…but she remained focus. Two more rifle blasts tore through the air, and the Sha actually reeled from one of these and attempted to swat at its eyes. Yalia rolled underneath a flailing arm and saw Hui, her right leg having been slashed by several of those dark spikes.
Then she heard a similar screech to when her shield had stopped the earlier Sha attack in its tracks, and the spikes faded. Of course. The Sha tried to defend itself against the shield I threw at it, Zabu'we's shots, and keep Hui trapped. It could only do one of those things. Yalia realized, continuing her run to the injured Pandaren woman.
Hui Chang panted and tucked herself into a roll just as Yalia got to her. The Huojin warrior tried to stand on her good leg…
And then the world went dark. This was only for an instant; light brighter than the most intense midsummer sun replaced the darkness, making the Sha seem like a tiny silhouette. A pinprick, a mosquito against a hurricane.
"DIVINE THUNDERSTORM!" The voice of Li-Hua Zhuo tore through the air as Yalia threw herself on Hui, recognizing what was to happen at the last moment. The warrior grunted as Yalia tackled her to the ground, every scent imaginable seeming to drown Yalia's nose. Whatever angry reply Hui had on her lips died when she met Yalia's eyes.
Then the lightning struck. Yalia heard seven distinct discharges in all, colossal bangs that echoed through the jungle, one after the other.
Yes, she'd witnessed the power of Shado-Pan Stormbringers before, but she had usually observed such techniques from a distance when they were deployed against the mantid invasions along the Serpent's Spine. This was deafening, pure power at its greatest, the elements made manifest to strike at emotions run awry… It was the culmination of decades worth of learning. Li-Hua had at least two decades of Shado-Pan service under her belt, and this was what that experience had taught her to do.
No wonder they called Lei Shen the Thunder King. The thought that ran through Yalia's mind was not about the Sha that had almost destroyed her. Such an assault would terrify any who might ever muster the courage to stand against him…
The crackling, sputtering noises as excess energy was discharged from the Sha into the foliage were quite intense. Looking back over her shoulder, Yalia watched the Sha topple to the side, away from Hui and herself. There was a crash as the Sha's arm slammed into the ground, tensed…and then released its grip on the mortal world. The dark essences of the Sha sloughed into nothingness.
Beneath her, Hui Chang coughed and then summoned an impossible smile. "Well…that was fun." The Huojin warrior chuckled grimly and then winced.
Yalia Sagewhisper stood from the Huojin Warrior and produced several bandages from the pouch along her waist. The disapproving glance she cast the Pandaren woman from the Wandering Isle failed to suppress Hui's grin. "Stay still until I seal those wounds." She commanded. The Omnia Master checked Hui's pulse. She's lucid, and her pulse is stable.
She wrapped the bandages tightly about Hui's injured leg, blessing them with the Light she had used against the Sha. Hui relaxed and her pulse stabilized…and then the Huojin warrior pointed. At that moment, there was a quiet rumble of distant thunder…then rain began to fall from the sky.
But not rain like those that had fallen since the Shado-Pan had entered Krasarang, or those that had fallen uselessly outside of Zhu's Watch. That rain that had no life. The Sha had been vanquished, and the elemental spirits it had quashed for the past few weeks now rejoiced.
Hui smiled as a great fat raindrop fell clean into her mouth. "Thank you, Master Sagewhisper." She reached up and hugged the Omnia Master to herself.
Yalia froze for an instant…and then the ghost of a smile crept to her lips and she returned the hug. "You were so brave, Hui. Thank you."
From behind her, she heard the stomping of heavy feet through squishy ground and grass that was beginning to grow even now. Hui released Yalia from the hug, and the Shado-Pan looked back to see the seven sentries they'd freed of the Sha's influence and Yi-Mo Longbrow as well, all staring at the rain that fell…and at the women that had saved their village.
Li-Hua was panting, clearly tired from having focused such incredible energy for such a purpose, but she smiled when she caught sight of her Uncle. the Stormbringer ran to him and wrapped the burly Pandaren in a tight hug that sent them both spinning into the mud. Laughing with delight, Tao hugged her back in return.
For the first time in a very long while, Yalia Sagewhisper felt true happiness within her inmost self.
These are the people the Sha sought to dominate forever. People with good hearts and sturdy bodies, placed here by circumstance but grateful for every gift they could ever get…
Yi-Mo Longbrow kept walking towards Yalia and Hui, his heavy brow wrought with emotion. But no longer with grief or despair, as it had been before. Yalia felt a tug at her arm and looked down to Hui, who was still lying down. "Think I can stand up now?" Hui asked.
Yalia let loose a long breath and nodded. "Do not put too much weight on your good leg." She advised, helping Hui to her feet. The Huojin warrior winced once and leaned against Yalia, the Omnia Master providing her with support.
"Hui Chang…" Yi-Mo began, his breaths tired, shuddering ones. Then he wrapped the Huojin woman in a tight embrace, sobbing into her neck and chest. She stood slightly taller than he, even wounded as she was "To think that you've risked your life twice now…to save my life, and I've only rewarded you with disdain…"
Hui wrapped her free arm about Yi-Mo's broad back and lowered her head onto his neck. "Don't apologize for that, Yi-Mo. You…weren't yourself." There was a slight hiccup in Hui's voice as she spoke. Yalia didn't disentangle herself from the awkward hug that had formed right next to her, instead breathing evenly.
"I am ashamed beyond…beyond comprehension." Yi-Mo shook his head, his dark ear rubbing against Yalia's arm. "My mind wasn't my own. I am…" He sobbed once more. "I am extremely grateful to you. I owe you and your friends my life." He lifted his head slightly, meeting Yalia's eyes. "And the Shado-Pan, too. You both arrived in this place's hour of need."
"Perhaps we were guided by the hand of fate." Yalia offered, now taking Yi-Mo into a hug of her own. He is still so young. It is very good the Sha was removed from him before it could do him any further harm…
Yi-Mo nodded twice. Tao and Li-Hua Zhuo joined the three, followed by Zabu'we and a young Pandaren man about the height of Yalia's chest who'd basically attached himself to her arm. The troll huntress smiled. "Nothing to it. Helping others be a good way of life. Fighting monsters, too." Zabu'we then lifted the Pandaren man into the air and he laughed with delight at her show of strength.
Yalia nodded, suppressing her smile at what the tall troll woman could do.. "So long as you strive to leave places like this in better condition than you found them…I do not think we will have many disagreements in the days to come." She addressed this to Hui and Zabu'we.
Hui released Yi-Mo from her hug and stood on her own, but her leg was still not something she wanted to test based on her posture. "Before you arrived, Zabu'we and I realized what we fight for." Zabu'we lowered the Pandaren on her arm to the ground.
Yalia offered a small smile. "Good." Before Hui could offer an explanation as to what it was that the two from the Horde fought for, Yalia held up a hand. "It is enough that you know, and that you never lose sight of that."
Hui and Zabu'we exchanged a glance, and then both nodded in turn. "Ya point be a good one, Shado-Pan." Zabu'we bowed as much as she could, considering the Pandaren. "But we wanted ya to know."
Hui bowed as well. "Master Sagewhisper…thank you."
Now Yalia wrapped her arms about Hui and drew the Huojin woman into an embrace. "You can certainly yell when you need to, Hui Chang." Yalia teased. She felt Hui's laugh into her shoulder.
"Right, well…not exactly my choice. Getting slashed by spears generally isn't a good time to keep quiet."
"Ya worried me, too!" Zabu'we stomped over, the Pandaren dangling from her arm, his own wrapped about hers. "Hui, ya great fool!"
Before Hui could make any attempt to get away from the Darkspear woman, the troll had swept her up with both arms and positioned the warrior on her back. Laughing with delight, Hui allowed herself to be carried off. The two headed back towards the village, their voices and their laughter mingling…and the Pandaren male that had been wrapped about Zabu'we's arm running after them, his voice high with excitement.
Their swift departure left Tao, Li-Hua, and Yalia smiling…or in the case of Yalia, trying not to smile as best she could. Yi-Mo seemed stunned by what had just occurred and he fidgeted in place a moment. Yalia looked at him and bowed a moment later. "Is there anything else we can do while we're here, Yi-Mo?"
The young Pandaren shifted his feet a little and pondered. "We'd invite you to spend the night here, Honored Shado-Pan." He looked to Tao.
Tao nodded and a grin creased his kindly features. "I'd be happy to have you both stay the night in my house." Li-Hua huddled against him, and he ruffled her hair with a muddy paw. "Besides…you don't plan on hitting a Krasarang road at this hour, or in this sort of weather, do you?"
"We have comrades that headed along the coastal road to the South." Yalia answered, her tone a tad uncertain. Then again…given all that had happened, she dared not dismiss the hospitality of these people. "We'd be honored to accept your hospitality, but we have to be on the road by first light."
"So short!" Tao sighed, hugging his niece to him. "But we'll be glad to have you."
The smile that wreathed Li-Hua's features only brought more warmth to Yalia's heart.
Author's Notes: I have a very distinct idea for the background music that should accompany Li-Hua's efforts each time she unloads the power of a thunderstorm (or prepares to), and it is the following: www youtube com/watch?v=B3tlJeTf7kg
As I understand them, the Stormbringers are among the heaviest hitters the Shado-Pan have at their command. They still require time to build the necessary energy and then direct that energy at their adversaries. This is why Yalia must run interference (normally she's a healer – though I'm sure she could tank, I don't think Holy Priests are generally well suited to that role…)