Happy one year anniversary!

Today is October 7th, the anniversary of the first day I posted a chapter of In Our Nature. We're over 120,000 words now, and I think it's safe to say we've reached novel lengths here! I just wanted to take a little moment here to say thank you, to all of you. Whether you've been here since the beginning or joined up further down the road-heck, even if you started reading this today-thank you! Here's to 100 more! :D


Zami heard the sound of water trickling softly. He could smell damp soil and flowers. There was a faint magical hum in the air. It felt like he'd slept for a thousand years or something. He shifted, stretching out his limbs, and froze. His eye shot open and he sat up quickly. Blinking several times in confusion, he stared down at his hand with surprise dawning across his face. As if to test that it wasn't a mirage, he interlaced the fingers of both his hands. It was real, he concluded. His arm had regrown.

The faint sound of whispering broke Zami from marveling at his regrown arm, and he looked up, finally taking note of his surroundings. He was sitting at the top of a pair of stone steps, next to the largest pool of glowing blue water he'd ever seen. But that wasn't the impressive part. Not by a long shot. He was more fixated with the massive alabaster statue of a night elf. She was holding a bowl aloft, just like the little statue he'd found long ago. Except this one was several stories high, and blue water poured endlessly from her bowl into the pools below.

Wisps flew about, whispering as they passed, and it reminded him so much of Moonglade. His gaze moved past the immediate area to the wide archway ahead, from which a pale pink sunlight streamed. He suddenly felt some intense dread, seeing the small crowd of night elves staring at him from a distance. Some of them looked curious, others looked bewildered, and more than a few looked disgusted. They were being held back by some armored women, a couple of which were riding frostsabers.

Zami looked around for any sign of Mythene or the others, but his view was blocked. An unfamiliar night elf stepped in front of him. She wore a long flowing white robe with purple trim and her dark blue hair was wound in two thick braids over her shoulders. Her pink cheeks had no markings, and here eyes were gold.

"Hello there," The night elf smiled, speaking in Darnassian, "How are you feeling?"

Zami blinked at her, surprised by her rather neutral regard for him.

"Where's Mythene?" He asked, using Darnassian as well.

"She's speaking with Malfurion Stormrage at the moment," The night elf nodded, "Regarding your diplomatic immunity as a member of the Cenarion Circle."

"Well, when will she be back?" He asked, to which the night elf shrugged.

"I don't know, but likely soon. Please be patient."

"Where am I?" Zami asked, looking around, "Moonglade?"

"No, not Moonglade," The night elf shook her head, "This is the Temple of the Moon, in Darnassus."

"Darnassus?" Zami paused, "You mean… on Teldrassil?"

"Correct," The night elf nodded.

Zami frowned, suddenly feeling a bit woozy. Noting this, the night elf knelt beside him.

"Are you still feeling weak?" She asked, "You overexerted yourself magically, and briefly fell comatose. My sisters and I have healed you at the request of Archdruid Moonshadow, though we cannot allow you to leave the Temple at this time."

"What about Jazax and Syrise?" Zami asked as he looked around, "Where are they? With Mythene?"

"You refer to the sin'dorei and the goblin? I'm afraid we could not allow the blood elf passage into our lands. Our Sentinels are escorting her to Moonglade. She insisted upon taking the raptor with her."

Zami nodded, supposing it was good that Syrise took Aka. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was abandoning her again.

"And the goblin?" Zami asked.

The night elf looked slightly annoyed for a moment, but cleared her throat.

"As a member of the neutral Steamwheedle Cartel, he has been allowed into the city. Against the wishes of some. I believe he was last seen wandering about the Tradesmen's Terrace."

Zami snorted in amusement. Jazax was probably busy trying to con some poor night elf out of his last copper. Leave it to him to prioritize a few coins over the situation at hand. At least that meant he was probably fully recovered.

"I've heard a great deal about you, Zen'Zami," The night elf commented, making Zami perk an eyebrow, "A great deal indeed."

"Good things, I hope," He chuckled, feeling a little self-conscious at her words.

"Mythene wrote of you often," The night elf smiled, "I was so surprised when she said that she'd taken a student. She hasn't tried to teach since Enerion…"

Zami nodded, recalling the bits of the situation he knew. Mythene must've been teaching her little brother to be a druid, but he went feral after shapeshifting. She'd apparently had to kill him for it, and was clearly still feeling guilty about it.

"I wonder why she chose you," The night elf tapped a pink finger against her chin, "It seems so unlike her."

"She said she likes the challenge," Zami shrugged, recalling with a nostalgic smile.

"That she does," The night elf chuckled, "Oh, silly me. I neglected to introduce myself."

The night elf stood up, brushing the dirt from her dress, and extended a hand.

"My name is Desana Nightwing, a priestess of Elune. I wouldn't want to brag, but Mythene does happen to be my best friend."

"I guess you already know my name," Zami chuckled, shaking her hand awkwardly.

He paused a moment.

"Your name sounds familiar," He furrowed his brow, trying to recall where he'd heard it before.

"Oh, you're no doubt thinking of my brother, Daras," Desana smiled, "He's Mythene's beau. I'm sure she mentions him all the time. They're quite enamored."

Zami perked an eyebrow, remembering now. Wasn't that the guy Mythene had practically ran away from in Ashenvale? He was pretty sure Mythene wasn't as enamored as Desana seemed to think.

"Uh, yeah," He cleared his throat, "Sure…"

Desana went to say something else, but there was suddenly a commotion from the crowd at the archway. The two of them looked over to see the crowd part for a small group. Mythene was leading two other night elves through the crowd. One of them, a woman, looked quite regal. Her skin was pink, like Desana's, though her hair was light blue and her eyes were white with a blue tinge. All in all, she looked very much like a pretty standard night elf, though she carried herself in a conspicuously elegant way that almost seemed to inherently fit the temple around them.

Beside the regal night elf was a male. He couldn't have been more her opposite. The first thing Zami noticed was the antlers growing out of his green hair. The second thing Zami noticed was his massive green beard. Like the woman beside him, his skin was pink and his eyes were white. But that was where the similarities stopped. Zami couldn't quite explain it, but it felt almost as though the night elf carried the very essence of nature within himself.

It didn't take much for Zami to put two and two together to figured he must've been the Malfurion Stormrage he'd heard so much about. And if that was the case, then the woman beside him was no doubt Tyrande Whisperwind.

"High Priestess Whisperwind," Desana bowed her head as she skirted out of the way, "Forgive me, I didn't realize you would be here as well. Please, excuse my-"

"Be at peace, sister," Tyrande interrupted her as she held a hand towards Desana.

Zami almost didn't understand what she'd even said. Her accent was a bit strange. Different from Mythene's, or any other Darnassian he'd heard.

"So this is the curious Emerald Seer I've heard so much about from Keeper Remulos," Malfurion spoke up, his accent also a bit strange, "Might I see it?"

Zami blinked a moment, before realizing he must've been referring to his eye. He nodded quickly, reaching up and pulling off his eyepatch. Then he just stared up at the night elves as they peered down curiously.

"How extraordinary," Malfurion quipped, "And you say that you can see directly into the Emerald Dream with it?"

Zami nodded again.

"Remarkable," Malfurion again, "Would you care to recount for me how you obtained such a power?"

"Um, Shan'do," Mythene cleared her throat, "Would it not be prudent to first extend diplomatic immunity to my student, before his abilities are studied?"

"Hm? Oh, yes," Malfurion chuckled, "Forgive me, I am simply fascinated by that eye."

Malfurion then turned to look at Zami.

"As you are indeed a druid of the Cenarion Circle, you are most certainly welcome within our city."

At his words, Tyrande furrowed her brow slightly.

"Are you sure this is wise, my love?" She asked, glancing at Zami suspiciously, "The troll is a druid, yes, but it is still a troll. How can we trust it? It could be a spy for the Horde."

Malfurion nodded, listening to her speak, before turning to her.

"I understand your concerns, however Archdruid Moonshadow seems to trust him, and I trust her judgement."

"Even so, we cannot simply allow a member of the Horde to have free rein of our land. Perhaps we could restrict access to the Cenarion Enclave alone?"

"You are right to be wary. However, I believe such a restriction is unnecessary. Archdruid Moonshadow has ensured us that she will keep a close eye upon him."

Malfurion paused to gesture towards Zami.

"Keeper Remulos tells me that a great many of his people have joined ranks within the Cenarion Circle as of late. We are not so distrusting of our Tauren allies. It would foster a greater sense of harmony within the Circle to not treat his kind with any added suspicion."

Tyrande frowned.

"Yes, perhaps, but-"

Malfurion gently set a hand on her shoulder.

"I believe now would be a time for such a gesture of good faith, Tyrande," He explained to her, "You of all people know the importance of such. The return of Deathwing and the shattering of the land leave us in a precarious position, my love. It is now that the Circle needs all of the assistance it can gather, in order to heal the land. Now is not the time to let our petty differences divide us."

Zami watched with a sort of curiosity. It was kind of surprising how much this night elf's words reflected the ones he'd heard Vol'jin speak. Perhaps they weren't as different as they seemed. Meanwhile, Tyrande clenched her jaw, but conceded his point with a nod of her head.

"Very well, my love," She sighed, before turning to Mythene, "But the troll never leaves your sight. You will watch like a hawk."

"Of course," Mythene bowed her head respectfully, "Thank you for your counsel, High Priestess, Shan'do."

Then she turned to Zami, a relieved smile on her lips.

"Come then, thero'shan, and I will show you Darnassus."