A Drifter's Hymn
Chapter 3: Good Intentions to a Dark Will
A friend in need
Is a friend indeed.
But what of this friend?
Will he follow til morn's end?
Or will he fall to trust's fleeting image
Seeing my existence as damage
To all who walk this earth.
Or have I found a hearth?
A home to call my own
A place where love is shown.
But I sit and wonder still
Are these good intentionsto a dark will?
Could this be real? Am I once again dreaming? There must be an explanation. Why would a Tauren, though a Plane Drifter like me, greet me like a fellow neighbor. But could it be because I have these fell bracers that he welcomes me so? He did not see my bracers before he saw me attacked by that Void Hunter, so he must be truthful. Or is he?
"So you are a Plane Drifter?" I asked.
"That I am." said Rankar. "And you have a mission here."
"What would that be?" I wondered.
"You must save that boy you came here with." he said.
"How do you know of that boy?" I questioned. "And even if you do know him, he died with all the others back in Darkshore."
"That is where you are wrong." he said as he left the tent.
I followed behind him. I noticed we were situated on a hilltop, overlooking much of the land. But sad to say, I could not see any green or life along the horizon, only empty land. He stood at the edge of the cliff the tent looked over. I stood beside him, looking at the bleak sunset.
"He arrived at the same time as you." said Rankar. "I was out, looking for food, when I saw you and the boy. You two were laying on the ground. I looked at you and thought you were dead. But how could I tell? You are already dead!"
Rankar gave a hardy laugh. His bull-like mane shook with his laughter.
"But what became of the boy?" I asked in curiosity. "What happened to him. He was not beside me when I awoke."
"As I approached the boy, another approached." he said.
"The Void Hunter?" I chimed in.
"If the Void Hunter had found him it would be pointless to go looking for him. They are ruthless and brutal. They would kill women and children if it meant extinguishing all Plane Drifters from this world. It was the centaur that took the boy."
"Horse-men?" I said. "Why would they want the boy?"
"The centaur are a savage race." answered Rankar. "They often commit cannibalism if it means having a full stomach for the night."
"Why did you not take the boy?" I asked.
"If I had, they would have attacked." responded Rankar. "I am a Tauren. Though I am a Plane Drifter, I am not a dwarf tank. There were more then twenty centaur in that hunting party. If my guess is correct, they must be at their camp. It is a good hour's trek, but if we move now we can make it to their camp when the moon is high in the sky."
And so we began our journey. Rankar brought some supplies for himself but I required none. Halfway though the hike he pulled out some food and ate while I waited for him to finish.
"By and by." he said suddenly. "What is your name? Or do you undead even know your name?"
"Most of my kind know our mortal names, but I do not." I responded.
"Then what shall I call you?" he asked.
"Exile." he said.
"Somehow that is a fitting name for a drifter." commented Rankar. "I seem to like it."
After he ate his fill of water and an apple, we continued. I was relieved to know that I had a powerful ally to keep me from once again falling prey to that Void Hunter's sorcery. There seemed to be in a good mood for being in such a serious search and rescue mission. I also wondered that when this was over and we both survived if he would teach me anything. But that would have to wait, for soon we approached the centaur camp.
There were many tents scattered upon the open plain surrounded by water. The ferocious horse-men grunted in their own barbaric language, filling themselves with water and meat. After scouring the site, we both noticed the boy. He was locked in a crudely made cage of wood, huddled in a beetle position. He was absolutely horrified.
In instinct I was about to run to him and release him, but Rankar stopped me. Without a word he pointed to a freakishly huge centaur with an axe laying at his side by the feast. From the way the many other centaur were situated around him it was obvious that he was their chief.
"That there is Khan Grimage." whispered Rankar. "He is an infamous centaur known throughout the land for frequent pillaging and raiding along with killing more beasts then a normal centaur should, depriving the land of enough cattle for the other denizens."
"What should we do? We must help the boy before he is fed to those savages." said I.
"If there is one thing that I have learned after many years fighting these centaur is that Grimage does not assist the other centaur unless he feels like it. You and I both know... well, I know that I would not want to fight while on a full stomach, so neither would a selfish centaur like Grimage. If we can give the other centaur the impression that another centaur tribe is coming, they will leave the feast to fight. After this we will both rush in, kill Khan Grimage, and rescue the boy."
"But how will we manage to make them think there is another tribe?" I asked.
"As a tradition, all centaur signal their coming when approaching a rival tribe's camp." he answered. "We must signal them with a separate centaur tribe's horn. I just so happened to have picked this horn off a dead centaur from a tribe I know of just yesterday. It should be of use to us."
Rankar pulled from his pouch a horn. It was wooden and slightly battered, but still usable. Its marking were different from that of the horns I saw carried by the centaur at this camp.
"How will we manage to blow the horn away from the camp if we must both fight Grimage?" I asked.
"Leave that to me." said Rankar as he pointed to the east. "Just plant the horn about one hundred meters in that direction."
After I did so, I rejoined Rankar on the outskirts of the small stream that encircled the centaur camp. When Rankar gave me the signal, we dove into the stream. After swimming a small distance to the other side, we hide behind a large barrel full of water. We kept a close eye on the night elf boy and the centaur guarding his cage.
"What should we do now?" I whispered.
"Leave that to me." said Rankar as he waved his hand to the east.
Suddenly the war horn sounded and every centaur silenced from their quarreling and grunting. Once again Rankar waved his hand to the east, and once again the centaur stood silent. After the third time the centaur drew forth their spears, axes, and bows and marched away toward the sound. It occurred to me that Rankar was using the same method he had used to stop that Void Hunter from slaying me. He used the power of the wind to blow through the horn and make it blow.
Khan Grimage stood up, but did not join the others. He stood their greedily eying the boy, terrified inside his small, cramped cage. He drooled with hunger, obviously unable to control his hunger for his little 'dessert'. He trotted toward the boy, drawing his axe, ready to kill. Rankar and I then jumped from hiding and stood between Grimage and the boy. Having spoiled his meal, Grimage furiously swiped his axe at us, which missed because he was so blinded by rage. Grimage charged at us with great power, but he was halted when I grabbed him by the arms. He pushed me back to the point that I was bending backward toward the boy's cage. I finally let go of Grimage and he lifted his forelegs high in the air, ready to trample me.
Then Rankar waved his hand from his hip up to his face in haste. Wind was suddenly pushed from the ground to Grimage, causing him to rear up too far and toppling over backwards. Because of his horse-like lower body, this was a fatal blow to his legs. And because of his human-like torso, this was also a devastating blow to his neck With Grimage crippled and slain, we turned toward the boy. He remembered me from before, so his fear turned to joy.
"Thanks again, mister." he said with a relieved smile.
"'Mister'?" chuckled Rankar as he smiled at me. "I do believe he called you 'Mister'."
"Come kid." said I. "Let's get you out of here."
I picked the night elf boy. He held on to me tight, but held on even tighter when hooves were heard coming back in the direction of the camp. They were the same hooves belonging to the centaur who we fooled. We imaged they would not be at all happy to see two strangers in their home having killed their chieftain, so we fled. After we were out of the centaur's sight and back at Rankar's tent, we put the boy to bed, allowing him some rest after his traumatic experience with the centaur. The sun was rising and the night grew old. I sat upon the cliff where Rankar and I stood, planning on the boy's rescue. It was only moments until Rankar arose from the tent and sat beside me.
"So, when shall we begin?" he asked.
"Begin? What shall we begin?" I questioned in great curiosity.
"Your training!" he barked. "We must train you in the art of Plane Drifting soon. That Void Hunter will not be hiding for long. He will return. Most likely he will bring others."
"But then should we not flee?" I asked.
"Flee?" he laughed. "We will not flee. First I shall teach you the basics, then we shall embark on a journey to find the other Plane Drifters."
"It sounds like a plan." I said. "But where will we find them?"
"There is a Plane Drifter for each race of Azeroth." he answered. "There is a Plane Drifter of the night elves, humans, orcs, trolls, tauren, dwarves, gnomes, and just recently undead. We must look for each of them in their native lands."
"Where shall we begin?"
"I will think of that while I train you in the art of Plane Drifting." he said. "If we are to go on a more perilous journey then the one we just accomplished, you need to be ready. We cannot afford any more Darkshores. We will begin with your powers."
"Powers?"
"Yes." he said "in addition to being able to travel through portals at command, Plane Drifters, depending on their race, can each control a different element. For instance, I, a tauren, control the gusting might of the wind. What the other races control I am not sure. But first we must discover you element."
"How shall we do that?" I asked.
Then Rankar clenched his fists and sent a direct punch into my jaw. I fell to the ground and I felt no pain, but something did not seem right. Why was he hitting me?
"What was that for?" I asked.
"Under extreme instances of danger novice Plane Drifters tend to summon their powers to defend themselves without wishing to." he said.
Again he knocked me to the ground with a punch. Several times he did this, but to no avail. My painless flesh was not feeling a single bit of this pain, but it was not comforting to see a friend continue to pummel me. Eventually I might actually die... again.
"Come now. Fight back!" barked Rankar. "Or are you just going to let that boy down like you did last time!"
Something happened inside me. I felt strange. It was a new feeling that I had not even felt in my dreams or in Plane Drifting. It was painful in the region of my heart. Everything went red for me. Whatever it was, I did not like it.
"Now fight me you wimp!" he roared as he sent down another one of his fists toward my face.
This time I did not receive the blow. Kneeing on the ground, I was staring at the ground, but the fact that I was still kneeling and not on the ground again was astonishing. Between Rankar's fist and my face was a black barrier of pure shadow. I also noticed that my shadow had vanished, like it was what blocked Rankar's attack. And it was. Looking at Rankar, that dark feeling grew.
"I will not let him down!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
My shadow then separated into several shards of black and shot at Rankar. After each piercing at Rankar's hide, they each turned around and attacked over and over again. They were like gnats, constantly biting at Rankar.
"You hear me? I will never let him down!" I shouted.
Then the shards stabbed Rankar. This time, like normal shards of glass (black glass, anyway) they stuck in his skin. Then they exploded in a dark fury. After the dust settled, Rankar stood before me with a smile. He walked up to me and held out his hand. It became clear to me that this situation was not a good intention to a dark will, but a great intention to a greater will.
"Well done, Exile." he laughed. "Now your training may begin."