Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Blizzard (though it would be nice ^_^;), and I am no making any profit from writing this. I'm writing this because 1) Warcraft III owns me, and 2) for fun, of course. ^_^
Chapter 2
Torvin awoke, the afternoon sun glaring down at him. He snapped his eyes shut and turned away. He took a deep breath, the musky scent of the Ashenvale forest filling his nose. His mind registered the different scents, one of them he recognized as prey. His ears pricked up and his eyes opened immediately. The scent made his stomach growl in hunger. He slowly got up, his front leg still sore from the slash. Even though the slash was sealed shut, healing didn't do much to internal damage.
"Be still, young one."
Torvin's instincts had taken him over, making him unaware of Silvitas & Aeslanda. "I'm hungry…" Torvin said.
"Then Silvitas will get the food for you," Aeslanda said. "Do no strain that wound of yours, Torvin. It will heal faster if you get the proper rest. Now, Silvitas, if you will…"
Silvitas nodded and stalked off into the woods.
Aeslanda & Torvin watched Silvitas leave. "I am sure that you know what's going on, Torvin," Aeslanda said.
"Yes," Torvin said. "I guess so. Those were orcs, weren't they?"
"Indeed," Aeslanda said.
"But what I don't get is why they're here," Torvin said. "Those vile beasts, they cut down many trees and slew the nearby night elf encampments."
Aeslanda closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them. "Nobody from across the seas has set foot in our lands and done harm such as this for many years…do you know what this means?"
Torvin thought for a moment. "Demons…"
"Yes…" Aeslanda said. "I trust that I have taught you well enough on this matter."
Torvin nodded grimly.
"Silvitas will be back soon. For now, rest my son."
Torvin limped over under a tree, where he lied down. He sat there, awake, pondering the invasion. He hated the idea of invaders on the sacred lands—he preferred living in seclusion, like the night elves. He and his clan were well aware of the night elf's ancient presence, and the night elf's were also aware of the wolves' presence. But they rarely made contact, only stumbling upon each other while hunting. Whenever the time came by, they would only stare at each other for a couple of seconds, and continue their separate ways.
Torvin shifted his weight and let out a sigh. Slowly sleep was claiming him, ebbing away his thoughts. Finally he fell in a fitful sleep.
* * *
Silvitas fell down on her knees, after spotting a lone stag. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.
"Anoro stru-tlan…Wolf Mother Spir-Alan aid me in this hunt," Silvitas whispered, reciting the Hunting Prayer. She opened her eyes and got back up, crouching down with her bow ready and loaded.
The stag, unaware of Silvitas, broke out into open land, grazing on the deep grass. Silvitas warily followed the animal in the shadows, watching her steps.
There was a slight breeze from the south. The stag looked up, suddenly aware of its surroundings. Its nose twitched; its purplish ears swiveled back and forth. It stood, tensed, ready to scurry off at any moment.
Silvitas knew that the stag had caught her scent. She still walked, cool and calculating. She almost reached the opening, when the stag suddenly darted off, its long legs pounding against the soft earth.
There's nothing to lose, Silvitas told herself, and she jolted forward with a yell. She pulled her bow string back and let the arrow loose. It whizzed by the panicked stag's shoulder, grazing it. It barely discouraged the stag as it continued to sprint through the opening.
Suddenly Silvitas became more aware of her own surroundings. She found herself covered in a shadow. She looked up and saw a hippogryph and its rider flying towards the direction of the stag.
There must be another battle going on… Silvitas thought. She still continued following the stag. The stag was getting away from her, but it was still within distance of her arrow. Loading her bow once again, she aimed and fired. She heard the stag as it continued to flee. Then she heard a cry out in the distance. Her arrow had hit its mark!
Silvitas slowed her pace. She didn't see the stag anywhere, and she doubted that her arrow was able to travel such a distance. She found another clearing ahead, and a strangely familiar sound--barking. Curious, she inched a bit closer, stepping gingerly on the forest floor.
Even with her careful steps, more barking still arose. She told herself not to come any closer, but she wanted to know what the strange wolf was doing. The trees gradually thinned away, and Silvitas knelt down warily, observing the outlandish wolf that anxiously paced back and forth, giving out an occasionally bark and whine. She strained her eyes further. The wolf was smaller than the timber wolves that resided in the forest, but it looked bulkier. Creeping closer, she realized that a greenskinned thing—an orc—mounted the wolf.
The orc that sat atop the wolf looked annoyed with the wolf. He was blissfully unaware of anyone watching him, and felt no need to be edgy. The wolf began to sniff around. Then it froze, ready to spring up at any moment. It let out a growl, and the orc got the message that someone was there.
"Go get 'em!" the orc hollered. The wolf sprang forward, and Silvitas leaped out of the way. She heard the sound of snapping jaws near her, and she shuddered at the thought of the wolf's powerful jaws sinking its teeth into her neck. Normally she wouldn't attack a fellow wolf, but a wolf that sided with the orcs unacceptable!
Silvitas took the chance to load her bow and aim while the wolf started to recover from the attack. She aimed it at the wolf and concentrated her energies into the bow. The familiar warmth of magic flowed from her chest to her arms, then exited. Small wisps of flame encircled her arrow. The wisps grew larger and larger, becoming more apparent at a quick pace. In just a second, billowing flames enveloped the entire arrow, even covering Silvitas's hands. The fire didn't bother her; after all, she was part of the Firestorm clan, whose fixed element was fire, and Aeslanda had taught her various spells. She let go of the flaming arrow. Her aim was fatal; it struck the wolf's belly. The wolf let out a high-pitched cry and fell to the ground. The orc cursed and hopped off the wolf. He let out a cry and he charged at Silvitas, who had just began loading her bow again.
"Aah!" the gigantic blade cut through Silvatas's pelt and pierced her abdomen. She teetered out of the way before the blade could go any deeper. She figured the orc was too close to use her bow on. She tossed her bow to the side and unsheathed her dagger.
The orc laughed at what looked like a petty attempt to defend herself, but determination flared in her eyes as she stood, staring the him down.
"Yahh!" Silvitas cried out as she sprinted towards the orc. She jumped up high, dagger put forth as she approached the unsuspecting Raider. Her dagger made a clean cut through his hand. He howled in pain, grasping the unsightly wound. His sword fell to the ground, and Silvitas took the chance to attack. She charged forward, dagger held in the air as she brought it down in one fluent motion. The blade met the unprotected chest of the orc. He let out a death cry, his face contorted with pain and shock as he fell to the ground.
Silvitas pulled her dagger out of the dead orc's chest. Her breathing came in short and ragged. The heat of the battle no longer filled her thoughts, and the pain of her wound made her weak. She clutched the bleeding cut, wincing. The thought of the stag came back to her again, and she looked around for it. She saw teeth marks on the stag's throat, and she knew it was the wolf that had killed it, not her bow. She couldn't ignore it, though. She had to bring the food back to Torvin, even if she felt like she lacked the strength to carry it back. She walked painfully over to the carcass and grab the stag's black horns.
Silvitas heard footsteps. It was the last thing she wanted to hear. She looked up, and saw other orcs approaching; some like the one she had just killed, and others that walked on foot with large axes. Silvitas knew by their looks that they knew that she was there. A huge boulder came crashing down, knocking away any trees that might've covered Silvitas.
She gasped at what she saw. Not only were there many orcs surrounding her, but also outlandish structures that were part of a camp that stretched for several trees' lengths. She snapped herself out of her awe as she heard a loud, booming voice.
"Who dares defile these ancient lands? Who dares the wrath of Cenarius and the night elves?"
A/N: Okay, I finished the second chapter now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. ^_^; Not really much to do with the storyline, but I guess it was just nice to have some action in there. Thanks for the reviews; I'll be sure to keep on writing. ^^;