Chapter 3
The Journey (Day 1)
Within the hour Matt had changed into new pants, a long ornate leather tunic and leather boots, complete with two dangerous looking daggers strapped to either side. A long brown cloak covered everything except his leather saddlebag that he kept his gym bag, phone and some food and water for the journey. He slung his guitar case over his shoulder and wore it on his back like a sword.
He looked at himself in the mirror almost giggling. "Well, I look awesome as fuck", he said out loud. He could still hardly believe that he was in this amazing fantasy world, but at least now he looked the part. Facing his reflection, he whispered to himself, "Time to go", and left his room.
He was brought outside the castle where he met Anduin and Valeera. After Anduin's lengthy goodbye and warnings to be safe, to learn what he could, and make sure to escape back to stormwind if they got into trouble, they were finally on their way.
Valeera led the way through the streets of Stormwind which eventually led to grass and trees.
She hadn't really said anything since they had left and he needed to break the silence. "Valeera, I hope I wasn't rude when I met you yesterday, I probably stared a bit. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable, this is all still so new to me"
She turned her head, "Don't worry Matthew, Anduin told me that there are no elves on your world." Thankfully, she didn't seem too bothered.
"So how long have you worked for Anduin?"
"I was loyal to his father and my friend, King Varian, before he died. When Anduin became king, I remained by his side."
"I'm sure that made him very happy."
She looked at him with a wry smile, "I hope that I'm a good friend to him if that's what you mean."
"Of course, yeah, that's what I meant", he blurted. And I'm back to pervert, he thought, wincing inwardly.
Quickly trying to change the subject, "So the night elves, are they different than you?"
"We're distant relatives, but to your eyes, they would look different. Taller and a different skin colour. The Kaldorei have different customs to us Sin'dorei."
"Interesting. Compared to Azeroth, my world seems so boring in comparison."
"What is your world like?", she asked seeming quite interested.
"Very different. Apart from only humans, magic doesn't exist there, we rely on technology."
Valeera looked at him like she didn't understand.
He continued, "For example, we get around from place to place using vehicles called cars. Flying vehicles called planes transport us around our world and we can communicate with anyone on the planet through a taking device called a phone."
Valeera looked amazed, "And none of it powered by magic?"
"No, it's all just human ingenuity."
"Gnomes and Goblins use technology too, they would be very interested in your world."
"I'm sure they would, considering we also created weapons that can wipe out entire cities, hell, even the world if we let loose", he said
"You make weapons that could destroy your own world, why would you create such a thing?", she asked, disgusted.
Matt shook his head, "I guess that's were our worlds are similar. Paranoia, fear, hatred, these things are all part of my world too. Wars have been fought for less."
She nodded in dismay, understanding his point nonetheless. "And now you are here in the middle of Azeroth's turmoil. I am sorry that this was thrust upon you Matthew Dawson."
Matt was slightly taken aback by her sadness, directed not only at him, but it was clear she hadn't had a rosy life herself. "Thank you", he replied honestly, "But you know, it could be worse, I could never make a fireball before yesterday". He looked at her with one eyebrow raised and a smug smile on his face, hoping for the right effect.
It worked as Valeera burst out laughing, a pretty, melodious sound. He was glad to have made her laugh and was reminded again of her stunning beauty as his pulse quickened.
"Well, keep the fireballs to yourself for the time being, but I'm glad that you can take some positives from this situation."
"There are other positives." He couldn't help himself as he glanced at her with a smile.
She tried to stifle her own smile, only partially succeeding. "We'll be stopping at an inn in a few hours, so you can relax a bit there. We'll get some food and if you would like to drink, you can partake."
"Drink!, Alcohol...as in Beer? You see Valeera, this trip is looking up already." Putting his hands together and raising his head to the sky, he joked, "Thank you God, thank you so much"
She allowed herself to laugh again, not remembering the last time that she felt so at ease, so quickly. She hoped that she could help keep him safe. She was a good judge of character and could feel that he was a good person, someone worth protecting.
"To the Beer!", Matt knelt on one knee and pointed dramatically in one direction.
She snorted laughter, "It's this way you fool of a champion", she pointed in the opposite direction.
Matt held out one arm and bowed comically,"Then lead the way my lady."
Brannad's Inn
Matt was glad that his goofy antics had lightened the mood. As they made their way to the destination for the night, he was able to get to know Valeera better. A few hours later, they reached the inn and he felt that they had a bit of a rapport going on. Thankfully, for such a serious demeanour when the situation called for it, he was happy to realize that she had a good sense of humour and seemed to get his too.
"So, Brannads Inn then?", he mused out loud.
"Yes, It's still in alliance territory, so we should be fine staying here for the night. When we meet the night elf party, we'll be camping in the open at night, so enjoy the bed while you have the chance."
"Cool... I mean okay. Let's head in then."
When they entered the inn, Valeera had gone straight over to the innkeeper that stood behind a large wooden bar surrounded by kegs and glasses. There was an intoxicating smell of food wafting around him and Matt surveyed his surroundings. It was a large enough place. Fairly simple wooden tables and boothes were spread out evenly and the place was more than half full already. Some people were eating and others just drinking, but his eyes stopped dead when he gazed past the other humans and came to a table with three...Dwarves! They were almost exactly what he expected a dwarf would look like. Short, brawny, large beards and long hair and they were loud. Just watching them, it looked like the more they drank, the louder they got, but they seemed to be having a good time. Valeera snapped him out of his immersion by putting a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll sit in that boothe in the corner. I have ordered us food and drink. I hope you like alliance ale."
"Valeera, you're a goddess, thank you", he replied jokingly.
She rolled her eyes playfully, "Let's sit down."
The wooden bench in the boothe was about as comfortable as you'd imagine, that is, not very comfortable at all, but as the food and drink flowed, Matt didn't care. Putting his guitar to the side, he reveled in the taste of alcohol again after so much had happened in so short a time. In a way it felt like he was back home.
"My god, this is so good!", he sighed, wiping the froth from his mouth after a long swig of ale.
"Aye, that it is lad!", a loud voice agreed.
Matt looked over and saw that one of the jovial dwarves was looking at him, nodding in satisfaction.
"Ye know yer ale lad, that's some o' the best dwarven stuff available.", the dwarf continued.
"Well, the dwarves sure as shit know how to make the finest ale then", Matt replied, more than a little tipsy at this point.
The three dwarves stopped simultaneously and looked at him. If this was a cowboy movie, he would have seen a tumbleweed blowing by and someone going for their gun. He gulped. Oh shit! I've been keeping my language in check because I haven't noticed many people cursing. Did I just offend the first dwarves I ever met? Damn fucking drink!
The dwarves suddenly burst out in laughter and clinked their glasses together. "The lad knows his stuff", said the first dwarf. "Aye, he does", "He knows how to appreciate a proper dwarven ale", the others agreed. Matt breathed a sigh of relief.
It didn't take long before the three dwarves were drinking with them, much to Valeera's annoyance, Matt noticed. The dwarves seemed to fawn over her and try to vie for her attention at first until her standoffish demeanour made them give up. She seemed to relax more when they did. Three drinks turned into four, four turned into five and soon it was like they had been friends all their lives. It turned out that they were merchants that had just delivered the dwarven ale to the inn and were staying the night, before they were to set off again in the morning. The first dwarf was called Ordal and the other two were Rugran and Telfin. Five drinks turned into six and soon more than a few humans had joined them. Matt and the dwarves had everyone in good spirits with their back and forth humour and even some stories, which he addmittedly ripped off from back home. At one point he noticed Valeera out of the corner of his eye smiling at him.
"Lad, what's that ye have there!", Telfin's eyes led his own to his guitar case.
"That's my guitar Telf, I'm a musician of sorts", he answered, almost drunk now.
"Yer a bard lad?", Ordal asked surprised.
"I suppose I am."
"Well why din' ya say so, play for us." The humans seemed to agree as a few cheers and whoops came out of nowhere. He glanced at Valeera and she laughed at him with a raised eyebrow as if to say, "You walked yourself into that one."
He was in such a good mood that he didn't care and when he opened his case and put the strap over his shoulder, the feel and the smell of the guitar put him instantly at ease. He remembered home and he remembered his father. He smiled to himself. I wonder what he'd think of all this.
Rugran cooed, "That's a fine lookin instrument lad. Never seen one like it."
He made sure it was in tune and began to strum. The tone itself made the memories flood back, flashes of his father, his friends, his life. A feeling of complete wonder, happiness and sadness mixed and broiled around inside him. He didn't even realise that he had closed his eyes, closed his mind to everything else. He was in his own world now. He could feel himself smiling sadly. Dad used to love this song. He loved the NIN original but they both loved Cash's version. Hurt, it seems so apt now. He began to play.
His fingers softly plucked the strings, each note both healing and rending his heart open at the same time. Time seemed to stand still, and he began to sing.
"I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel", his fingers slid smoothly along the bridge.
"Everyone I know, goes away in the end", his voice was steeped in emotion, but he hit every note.
He played for no one but himself and before he knew it, the song was ending.
"If I could start again, a million miles away, I would keep myself, I would find a way", he was playing to an audience of one, himself. He knew that his raw emotion poured into the song, but he still managed a smile as he plucked the last few beautifull notes. A lament for his father and a final farewell. The song ended and he slowly opened his eyes.
At first, he almost forgot where he was. He hadn't noticed that everyone's attention had been on him. He could have heard a pin drop. When he looked at Valeera, she awkwardly averted her gaze with glossy looking eyes. He heard a sniffle and looked over at the bar to see one of the barmaids crying, large wet tears streaming down her face. Noise started again as several people started to clap and soon everyone joined in, even the hardiest of the men looked slightly emotional.
Ordal cleared his throat, "Ahem lad, we asked ye te play, nay break our hearts"
Matt scratched his head slightly embarrassed, "Haha, sorry about that, didn't mean to bring everyone down"
One of the barmaids came over with tears in her eyes, "That was beautiful, I, I could feel your emotion, I could feel everything. It was as if you sent your pain and sadness and happiness all at once through that wonderfull song."
"Eh, thank you", he replied thinking that she was going overboard.
"Aye, ye have a gift lad.", Telfin agreed, "Now how about something a bit more upbeat?"
The night ended with a few accoustic rock classics and the crowd seemed to lap it up. By the end of the night, it was like he made thirty new friends. Saying goodnight to everyone, himself and Valeera went to their rooms, or in this case, room.
"There was only one room available, so we'll have to share", Valeera said as they entered. "You can take the bed, I have slept in worse conditions than the floor of an inn."
"Not on my watch. No lady is gonna sleep on the floor, while I sleep on a soft bed", Matt retorted drunkingly.
"I'm no weak young maiden you know", she argued with a wry smile.
He was belligerent. "I insist my lady", he slurred a little as he waved her over to the bed.
"Don't blame me if you have a sore back in the morning then"
"I've slept in far worse places too you know", and he basically collapsed on the floor.
When they were settled, Valeera spoke softly, "Matthew?"
"Hmm...", he said drowsily.
"Your song...it was...it was beautiful." and then she added, "I'm sorry for your loss."
His body froze. For a moment he couldn't answer. "Thank you", and he turned over and fell asleep.
Valeera found herself tossing and turning for much of the first hour. The bed was soft, but thoughts of this human kept swirling around in her head. His song...she couldn't remember the last time she had felt such deep sorrow, no, she could, but she didn't want to. Images of her dead parents, of Varian's death...and she knew then and there that his pain was the same. She knew that he didn't even realize that he was sending magical waves of energy to everyone in the room. His sorrow became their own. His performance was beautiful enough, but the magic tipped some over the edge. She heard him make a small noise in his sleep and turnred sideways to look at him. The moonlight lit the room and his face. She could see that the corners of his eyes were moist and a pang of unwanted emotion hit her. And for the first time in years, Valeera lay there and wept quietly...for her lost parents...for her dead friends...and for this human, Matthew Dawson.
The Journey (Day 2)
Matt awoke to hot sunshine beating down on him through the window. Rubbing his eyes, he rolled over and sat up.
"Ohhh shit...my back.", he groaned in pain and after moving too quickly, he grabbed his head in his hands, "Oh god...my head...I'm never gonna drink dwarven ale again."
"Hahaha, you fool, I warned you not to drink too much. That dwarven ale is strong stuff", a pretty voice derided him with glee.
He turned sideways to see Valeera already up and playfully mocking him. The morning light danced accross her attractive features.
"Well good morning to you too Valeera. I'll admit that I may have chosen to ignore your sound advice but the vision of your beauty is helping to wake me right up...Ahhhhh", he winced in abrupt pain again and understood that he still wasn't quite sober.
She smiled, rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at him. "You need to sober up champion. Get some breakfast and water, we'll be moving within the hour."
After eating and guzzling down a few pints of water, they were on their way again. The fresh air felt amazing against his skin and aided in waking him up properly.
"Those dwarves were good guys, I hope I meet them again sometime", said Matt.
"Yes, I could see right away that you four would be trouble together especially as drinking buddies", she sighed dramatically.
"Hey, I won't hear a bad word about Rug, Telf and Ordo. Besides, they were all a good bunch in that inn, the barmaids were really nice too. They kept giving me free ale you know."
"Yes...I noticed", Valeera said, "They were fluttereing their eyelashes at you all night."
Was that a hint of annoyance he sensed in her voice. Smiling inwardly, he took another stab. He had to make sure. "Well, I'm not gonna lie, I was flattered. I mean they were all very good looking"
"Hmph...If you say so", she replied flippantly.
He smiled, feeling ten feet tall. Does this stunning beauty actually like me? He decided not to try his luck any more right now and moved the conversation on. "So when will we be meeting these night elves?"
"Tommorrw, as long as we can keep a good pace", she said
"Well, I'm glad that Velen asked Anduin to let me take this journey. At first, I thought he was mad, but travelling this world, meeting the people and seeing Azeroth for myself was the right choice. I still don't even know what I'm supposed to do here, but with each passing day, I feel more of connection with this place...It's hard to describe", he said.
"You...are a mystery, I'll admit", she looked at him and continued, "but I'm glad that you feel that way"
"Well, it helps that I have an amazing guide", he grinned.
"Flattery will get you nowhere Matthew", she countered, threatening a smile.
"Oh, we'll see about that", he replied quietly, keeping his grin.
She didn't respond, but as she turned her head forward, she smiled to herself.
The Journey (Day 3)
The day before was almost a perfect day, at least Matt thought so anyway. The weather was perfect which made the travelling fun and he had to keep reminding himself of the incredible circumstances that he found himself in. He could still hardly believe that he was talking merrily to a beautiful elven woman on the way to see night elves, and keeping a low profile so that monsters wouldn't attack them, like it was the most normal thing in the world. It's incredible how quickly the mind adapts. Valeera and Matt had gotten to know each other better again and it seemed to him that she was excited to hear more about his world, especially when he tried to explain television, movies and the internet.
That was yesterday, but this morning he woke up with the same good weather. He'd learnt his lesson from Brannad's and last night they had stayed in a smaller inn and had an early night. It worked in his favour and he felt energized as he met Valeera for breakfast. They were to meet the night elves sometime in the afternoon and set off soon after they had eaten.
"So where are we meeting these night elves then Valeera?", Matt asked.
"In a few hours, we should meet them at the other side of this forest. They have been sent days ago to prepare for our arrival and our transport to Kalimdor.", Valeera replied.
"Transport?", he asked looking disappointed, "I thought we were travelling on foot?"
"Velen felt sure that you should experience Azeroth, that's true, but we can't walk over water now can we. Unless you can do that on your world?", she said with a wry smile.
"Unfortunately not... but I saw ships in the harbor in Stormwind, why didn't we just use one of those?"
"You mean apart from the fact that you would experience Azeroth from the confines of a ship?", she answered with a raised eyebrow, "There were too many possibilites of horde spies keeping an eye on the harbour. If Sylvanas wanted to find you, Stormwind harbor would be the first place she would look."
"Hmm...I take your point. So the night elves live in Kalimdor. What's it like?"
"Kalimdor... Anduin didn't tell you then?", she asked hesitantly.
"Tell me what?"
"The night elves lived mostly in Kalimdor, on an island off the coast. Their capital city Darnassus was housed in a world tree called Teldrassil. Not too long ago...Sylvanas ordered the tree to be destroyed to further the horde's attempts to win the war and break the alliance.", Valeera had a pained look on her face but continued. "We blood elves and the night elves are not exactly the best of friends, but what Sylvanas did was abhorrent. There were mostly only civilians left in the tree...countless men, women and children died that day...needlessly."
Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. He recalled his short meeting with Sylvanas. She had a darkness about her, but he also felt a sort of kinship with her. He felt comfortable with her. How could she have done such a thing when all he could feel was guilt and disgust.
"I...don't know what to say", was all he could manage, his enthusiasm drained away.
"After that tragedy, Stormwind and Azuremyst Isle took in most of the night elf refugees. Tyrande Whisperwind is the leader of the night elves and she is who you will be meeting. She had previously also been in Stormwind, but as you can imagine, she did not take what happened very well", she said
"Neither would I...neither would anyone", he replied sadly.
"Indeed. She has returned somewhere close to Teldrassil. Why, I do not know, but that is where she wanted to meet you. The night elves will take us to her."
"Why does she want to meet me at all?", he asked, "Velen and myself are both in the dark about my whole situation."
Valeera looked at him seriously now, "Matthew, I think Velen knows more than what he is saying, but if he feels that you are important, I don't doubt it."
He shook his head but changed the subject, "I notice you keep calling me Matthew instead of Matt."
"... I like it", was all she said.
For the next hour, they both walked in silence. The story about the night elf tree was sobering and it almost felt respectful to honor it with some pensive thought.
Valeera broke the silence. "We're almost there", was all she said.
For some reason, Matt felt nervous all of a sudden, and soon they had passed the treeline and came into a small clearing. He noticed Valeera raise a hand and make some sort of sign. What is she doing? he thought, when all of a sudden three...fucking giant purple elf women appeared.
He wasn't really prepared for them, he had realized. As they walked closer, he could make out more detail. The three female night elves had to have been at least seven foot tall but were all extremely beautiful. I guess it must be an elf thing. Two of them wore very little, a short metal armor corset exposing their cleavage and midriff and some type of leather skirt with metal plating, exposing their long shapely legs. Leather boots completed the ensemble. The third one was completely different. Unlike the two obviously warrior elves who wore their long green hair in a ponytail, this one wore her long blue hair down. She was wearing a white lacey dress that clung to her curvy but graceful figure. She was also clad tastefully in ornate gold and silver jewelery, both on her dress and and on her person, in the form of bracelets and necklaces. Even her extremely long ears were pierced multiple times. All three had glowing silver eyes he noticed, and had what was either a night elf genetic trait or a tattoo that started from their eyes and went down their face in a tribal claw like pattern. It looks pretty awesome.
Matt was blown away by the sheer impressiveness of these three elves, so he made a real effort not to look overawed or appear intimidated. They were, after all, part of the alliance.
He was glad that the first to speak was the one in the dress. She had a kind, serene look on her face as opposed to the warriors that had a stern look in their eyes.
"Greetings to you both, we have awaited your arrival and are glad to see that you have made it here safely. I am Thelenia, a priestess of the sisterhood of elune", she said smiling, "And these are Esora and Visstra, sentinels sent from the high priestess herself, Tyrande Whisperwind, to ensure your safe journey the rest of the way champion."
"Thank you very much, I'm honored", Matt replied nodding.
"The honor is mine champion", she nodded back with a disarming smile.
"His name is Matthew Dawson and he is still under my care until we make it back to Stormwind on King Wrynn's orders", Valeera stated matter of factly.
"Of course Valeera Sanguinar, we are all allies here", Thelenia also nodded to her politely.
One of the sentinels, Visstra, interjected, "We should move."
Matt felt her gaze on him and he got the feeling that she didn't like this human. Well I suppose I can't blame her. She's probably wondering why she had to come halfway across Azeroth to meet this nobody human...so called champion. I wish they'd stop calling me that, he cringed inside. He decided there and then to give her a wide berth. The other one, Esora, just nodded in agreement with her colleauge, but also looked like she would be happy when this assignment was over.
Thelenia looked at Valeera and said, "We will travel a few hours to the end of the forest and set up camp there for the night. The Hippogryphs are a few hours walk to the east of the campsite. We'll reach them tomorrow morning and they will take us to Kalimdor."
Valeera agreed and they all set off together at a moderate pace. Matt didn't really understand what a hippo...grif or whatever was, but he decided to ask Valeera later on.
The sentinels had bows and quivers full of arrows but the priestess carried nothing that he could see. "Matthew, we were told that you come from another world, I would be very interested in hearing about it while we walk, if you don't mind", Thelenia asked.
Valeera interjected before he could answer and keeping it brief, explained that he came from a human world and gave a few examples of earth that he had told her. Thelenia looked at him in surprise and even the sentinels glanced back at him, giving him another once over.
"So you have never seen other races before then...that must have been quite a surprise for you", Thelenia laughed softly and added, "We must look quite strange to you I suppose."
"Honestly, at first it was a shock, I won't deny that, but the more I see, the more amazing this world becomes. Valeera, the dwarves I met a couple of nights ago...and you three of course."
Thelenia smiled a pretty smile. Visstra turned her head back and in a cold voice said, "There is more than beauty and wonder in Azeroth champion, you would be wise to remember that. There is also pain, blood...and hatred." This last word, she spat in anger.
Matt remembered the story of their city that burned and instantly felt embarrassed. "Yeah... I was told about Teldrassil...I'm...so sorry for your terrible loss.", he knew that it might seem disingenuous, but what else could he say. He just hoped that his honest empathy would come across. Visstra just turned her head forward and continued walking.
"Thank you", Thelenia said, "It is still so fresh a wound for many of us. Grief can make some lash out...unfairly." Visstra clicked her tongue but didn't look back.
"I completely understand. Grief is something that everyone deals with differently. The ones left behind can almost feel like victims themselves. I can only imagine the hurt of such a tragedy.", he replied earnestly.
Thelenia's eyes crinkled as she looked at him and smiled a truly gentle smile. As if she were a mother praising her child, she said, "I am looking forward to Mistress Tyrande meeting you. Your power flows freely from you, but so too does your heart."
Again with people feeling magic power from me, but I don't feel anything...and yet I could create magic when I tried. He would muse on this point later, but feeling slightly better after Thelenia's comment, he replied, "I'm looking forward to meeting her too Thelenia."
Valeera stayed close to him for the rest of the trip to the campsite as they chatted between themselves and Thelenia. The two sentinels stayed to the front. Trying to get any conversation from them was like trying to get blood from a stone, especially Visstra, so Matt just gave up after a while. He begun to realize why Tyrande had sent Thelenia with them. They finally reached the camp as the sun began to go down. They sat around a small campfire and soon Thelenia was handing him a bowl of bean soup and some spice bread.
"This is delicious", Matt exclaimed happily. He didn't recognize how hungry he was until he had started eating.
"I'm glad you like it, it's simple night elf fare, but when we...", Thelenia began to answer when she suddenly stopped. She had made a strange sound and her eyes winced in something like shock, confusion...pain. Matt froze in both confusion and horror himself as his eyes finally registerd something shiny and sharp sticking out of her chest. He could feel something wet and sticky on his hands and face and understood what it was, when crimson blood began to flow from her chest down her flawless white dress. He blinked in horror. She had been shot with an arrow, right in front of him. He dropped his bowl and it smashed on the ground. Esora jumped to her feet and screamed, "We're under attack!" Valeera and Visstra sprang into action, but all Matt could do was hold Thelenia who had slumped against him. He could hear blood gurgling in her throat and a horrible, helpless feeling overtook him. Fear clung to him, disarming his ability to think straight. He stared at Thelenia's face, barely registering the chaos that now surrounded him. She stared back at him, her beautiful features wracked and twisted in fear and pain. "No,no,no,no,no", was all he could manage in a strained voice. What should I do? What can I do? And his fear turned quickly to anger.
Tameriel
Sylvanas had tasked the dark ranger with tracking the champion and Tameriel was not going to let her queen down. She had met with almost every horde spy in Stormwind, but not even one of them could tell her anything. She cursed each one of them. What was she to do now? If he was in the castle, it was going to be extremely difficult to escape with him. If she had been sent to kill him, it would have been so much easier. She cursed again. She ordered a couple of spies to keep an eye on the harbor just in case they decided to move him, but it was by pure luck that she happened to catch their scent. They almost eluded her, but while she was in her disguise, keeping close to the castle exit, two figures emerged. So many people had entered and exited that they almost didn't register with her, but then she noticed Valeera Sanguinar, the king's personal spy. She was walking with a man beside her in the opposite direction to the harbor. They had worn cloaks that not only covered them well but allowed them to blend in amongst the crowd. It was a pure stroke of luck for Tameriel that a gust of wind had blown the female elf's cloak for just a moment. Just enough time for Tameriel to see twin emerald blades, Valeera Sanguinar's blades to be exact. Valeera Sanguinar hiding in plain site, coming out of the castle with an unidentified human man. That had to be them. She didn't know why they were leaving the castle ,and she didn't know for sure that the man was the champion her queen desired, but she trusted her gut. Her gut told her that he was, and for the first time that day, Tameriel smiled.
She had kept a safe distance and she had not been noticed. Someone of her skill rarely was, but with Valeera Sanguinar, she couldn't take any chances. There were a few times that she had gotten close enough to hear their conversation and she knew that they were to meet some night elves, but she dared not be discovered yet and more often than not, pulled back. She knew that Valeera was extremely skilled, possibly more than herself, but the champion was an unknown. Her queen clearly thought highly of him which made both targets a difficult task for her alone. If she managed to kill Valeera, Just shoot an arrow into her neck from behind, how would the man react? She couldn't kill him under orders from her queen, so what if he decided to attack her? When, on the third day, the night elves joined the duo, Tameriel understood that she needed to formulate a plan quickly. She could use the hearthstone that she was given to travel instantly to her base in Orgrimmar. There, she would put together a small team, no, a large team. It was overkill but she wasn't going to take any chances. She would mark her position on the map and use a mage to teleport her and her troops back here where they would kill everyone except the champion. He would have no choice but to come with them even if she had to incapacitate him. She looked at him one last time, took the hearthstone in her hand, closed her eyes, and disappeared.
Her plan had come together quickly and she had arrived back with more dark rangers, orcs and a few trolls for good measure. Twenty in all. She went ahead and told them to wait for her signal. Quietly taking her place in a tree overlooking their camp, she saw that they were eating. The perfect time to spring her trap. She singled out the priestess. She would not only take the healer out of the action first, but she would put an arrow into her back, straight through her lung. It wouldn't kill her right away but it would sew a seed of indecision. Fight and leave her, or help her and die. She drew the bowstring back slowly...and fired.
Visstra
All hell had broken loose around them. Visstra and Esora had sprang into action and the blood elf had her twin blades gripped tightly, as an orc ran towards her at full speed. Visstra quickly nocked an arrow and fired at one of the dark rangers in the treeline. The arrow hit it's target, piercing the forsaken through the throat and into the tree bark behind her, black and crimson ichor spraying across the foliage. "Take cover", she screamed as she glanced at Thelenia. She lay on her side, on the ground now with the human on his knees just staring at her. Some champion. She seethed in anger, at him, at Thelenia helplessly dying in front of her, at this horde scum that destroyed their lives, at everything. She nocked another arrow and let it fly, piercing an oncoming troll in the shoulder as an arrow missed her head by a few inches. We're overun, We aren't going to make it out of this. I'll see you soon mother, father. She looked to Esora, who had put five arrows already into another oncoming, screaming orc, and only after the sixth, did he fall. Valeera had taken out an orc and a dark ranger who had gotten too close with her blades, but there had to be at least twelve to fifteen more rushing them. She knew it was over, but she would fight until her last breath. Visstra prepared to fire another arrow when her concentration was destroyed by an unmercifull, bloodcurdling scream. It was as if everyone in this one sided battle stood still then.
She looked to her right side and saw... the human... standing in front of a gigantic green skinned orc, holding out his hand in front of him. The orc's face was contorted in horror. At first she didn't know why, until she noticed that the orc's skin was literally melting from his bones. Large masses of flesh and muscle fell to the ground in a sickening slosh. Blood oozed from his eyes as the orbs themselves suddenly exploded in a disturbing pop, until he had no voicebox left to scream and an orc skeleton fell to the ground. The human turned his head to look at the rest and she could see his eyes blaze brightly in a pale blue light. She was sure that she could actually hear the light crackling with an immense power and it was like everyone on the battlefield could feel it too.
The rest of the battle occured in flashes of violence for Visstra and she couldn't keep her eyes off the human. He walked forward with his hands raised. Five balls of fire were released from his right hand and lightening crackled loudly and fired in the direction of the enemy with his left. Bodies were screaming and falling left and right. She witnessed a troll actually explode when hit with the lightening, sending body parts scattering over the battlefield. The human was covered in blood and sinew, but kept moving forward as if possessed. A dark ranger jumped from a tree and tried to escape. He raised one hand, and with a sweeping motion like he was swinging a sword, slashed at the air in front of him. Visstra gasped as the forsaken ranger fell onto her knees and her head and right shoulder slid diagonally from the rest of her body and she slumped to the ground. Dark blood gushed from the vicious wound in a pool around her. There was only one orc left, he grimaced at his enemy but stormed towards him nonetheless. She expected the human to use more of his terrifying magic, but what she did not expect, was what she witnessed next. He ran towards the orc taking his twin daggers from their sheaths. She realised then that the blue glow had disappeared from his eyes, his eyes were...black, a deep obsidian black.
The orc swung the axe at his head but the human slid on his knees and drove one of the daggers into his broad leg. The orc roared in pain and anger, but that was all he could do. The human quickly dislodged the blade and stuck both of them into his gut. Moving quickly, he slashed sideways and the orc's intestines fell from his stomach. The green giant fell to his knees and the human stabbed him in the neck, again and again and again. His fury left her in awe and scared her in that same moment. He began to stab the orc in the head, blood spewed everywhere until the blood elf screamed at him. She had her arms around him and Visstra could clearly see that Valeera was as shocked as she was herself. She turned to Esora and could see that she was gripped by this turn of events too. She was wrong about this human. This...Matthew. She was awestruck by his power and ferocity in battle, but why had his eyes turned black at the end. Her newfound respect at this moment outweighed her concerns. After all, he had saved them. Then it hit her, "Oh no, Thelenia!", she shouted.
Matt
He felt a soft, warm body press against his back, and arms around his, stopping them from moving. Long hair tickled his neck and he could hear yelling as if from far away. He felt as if he was suddenly snapped back to reality and could now hear Valeera's voice, a hoarse tone, pleading with him. "Matthew, stop, it's over...please...stop!"
He could remember standing up in anger and approaching an orc. A massive terrifying beast in front of him...Thelenia gasping for air, fighting for her life, another kind soul that he couldn't save...his father stabbed in front of him, his lifeforce slowly leaving his body, a mugger running away...anger crushing him, forcing him to act. It wasn't as if his soul left his body, he could remember everything that he had done. He could remember calmly disposing of every fucker in his way, every violent thought, every vengeful wish he imagined came to pass. And it grew and grew, until anger became pure bloodlust and he wanted to destroy every horde bastard that he could see. He could feel the bloodlust blinding him, until he wanted to kill with his own two hands. He still couldn't understand where this newfound skill had come from, he could only remember wanting to rend this last orc limb from limb with his blades. It was him, but it wasn't him, especially at the end.
Valeera shook him out of his pseudo reality and he looked down at her hands locked onto his wrists. "It's over", she said. He could hear a slight tremble in her voice. He looked at what was left of the orc and dropped his blades. He knew what to expect, he did the damage after all, but his stomach turned. Did he really do this?
"It's okay Valeera, I'm...okay now", he said
Her hands slowly moved off his wrists and without looking at her, he took one of her hands in his. Giving it a small squeeze, he spoke softly. "I'm sorry. I lost it there for a minute, but I'm okay now." He decided to face her. She stared back at him, her face running the gamut of emotions.
"It's...it's okay", she squeezed back, "You saved us, but you were lost there at the end. I can't explain it, but I could feel it."
"I know, I don't understand what ha...", he didn't get to finish when he heard a voice shout. He quickly got up and turned to see Visstra running towards Thelenia. " Oh shit, Thelenia", Matt exclaimed and they ran over to her.
The four of them surrounded Thelenia as she could barely gasp now in short, sharp breaths, each one making a gurgling sound.
"Her lungs are filling with blood, she won't be able to breathe soon", Esora said in desperation.
"We need to get the arrow out", Visstra said. "This is going to hurt Thelenia...I'm sorry." She cut the fletchings off the back of the arrow and quickly pulled it out from the front.
Thelenia shrieked in pain. Matt could feel his heart break a little, and looking around, he could see the others felt the same. Why did this have to happen to such a gentle, kind soul. He had only known her for less than a day, but she had treated him with nothing but goodwill. Life can be so fucking cruel.
They lay her on her back gently and Matt could have cried at that moment. She smiled at them. Even in her pain and her fear, it was as if she knew that she was dying and she smiled. Matt gritted his teeth and held her hand and Visstra held the other. Esora tried to patch the wound, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Her breathing became more and more shallow.
Thoughts kept swirling around in his head. She was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't save his father and now he couldn't save her. But he kept denying that he had any power from the moment he arrived in Azeroth. He kept denying it because he really didn't believe it. Why would he have power? Why even should he? Why was he here anyway? What the fuck was going on? Now he had to witness this magnificent night elf die in front of him. A being he thought only existed in a fantasy fairytale until a week ago. But he was wrong, for whatever reason, he did have power. He could deny it right up to the point that he put fourteen horde warriors in the fucking ground with barely a thought.
He made up his mind. He didn't want to say anything to the others. He didn't know what the scope of his powers were and he didn't want to get their hopes up just to be cruelly dashed. But he had to try. He took her hand in both of his now and he concentrated. He concentrated like he never had before. He thought of her kindness and he thought of Valeera. He thought of Anduin and Jaina and the dwarves he had met. He thought about the gushing barmaids and all the wonder and beauty that he had discovered since Azeroth had snatched him from his home. And finally, he thought of the times he had shared with his father, of the time they broke down laughing together, at the time he surprised him for his tenth birthday party, and the time when they got drunk together with his friends. He looked at Thelenia and smiled.
A pale blue light moved from his hands to her hand and continued to travel up her arm. It didn't take long before her entire body glowed blue.
"What's...what's happening?", Esora gasped in surprise.
Visstra looked at him instantly and he noticed in the corner of his eye, Valeera did the same. He didn't know what their expressions were and right now he didn't care. He kept squeezing Thelenia's hand and in his minds eye, he imagined giving her something like a blood transfusion. But instead of blood, he was sending her energy. He imagined the blood in her lungs draining away and the holes in her chest, lung and back closing up. He didn't know what the hell he was doing, he was just winging it and hoping for a miracle. She moved her head. Her breathing became less shallow and she squeezed his hand back. Holy shit, It's working. He was almost giddy now and Thelenia finally took a deep breath and then began to start breathing normally. She groaned a surprisingly cute sound and began to sit up.
"How is this possible?", Visstra cried and quickly looked at her back. "It's completely healed. Thelenia, thank the goddess. How do you feel?"
Thelenia looked at Matt and smiled her motherly smile again at him. "I feel lucky to be alive. I owe you my life child. It is a good time for you to meet Lady Tyrande after all. Thank you Matthew."
"I'm just so glad you're okay and that worked.", Matt replied ecstatic and drained at the same time. He instantly fell into his usual mode of trying to lighten the mood. "Although, I don't think calling me a child is very fair. I'm twenty seven and you look about my age.
It was the first time he heard her laugh so freely. "I suppose nobody told you yet then. I'm over ten thousand years old, as are many kaldorei. Most sin'dorei live several thousand years also. I do not mean any offense, especially to you."
Matt knew his mouth was agape but he didn't care. Ten...Thousand...years.
Visstra looked at him with a newfound respect and asked, "You were a healer as well as an acomplished mage and warrior. Why didn't you tell us?"
Valeera interjected. "Because he didn't know. This was his first battle and he didn't even know he could heal, let alone heal a wound that most healers wouldn't be able to." She looked at him with pride and smiled, "You brought her back from certain death."
Visstra looked incrediously at him. "That magnificent savagery was your first battle. There is more to you than meets the eye champion." Esora nodded in agreement.
He was glad that he earned the sentinels respect but he couldn't help but wince at the word, savagery.
Valeera looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said, "You really need to wash up though, you have a little something...", she raised her hand and then swirled it around, "...Everywhere."
Matt groaned, feeling sick, and both sentinels laughed at him.
"We'll move immediately, we shouldn't linger after that attack. You can find a place to clean up later", Visstra said.
Everyone agreed and as Matt threw his guitar over his shoulder, they set off. Nobody noticed a single, clever dark ranger still hidden away. Tameriel had witnessed everything and her queen would want to know. The Dark Lady may take her head afterwards but she had a duty to report her failure and how this champion is becoming more and more interesting. She used her hearthstone and disappeared.
Author's note
Hi, I have kept most of the basic Warcraft lore intact , but I have and will be changing certain things for the sake of the story. Pure lore junkies may not be happy with that, but I hope you can understand that any changes will be important to the story I'm trying to tell. This is the first story I've ever written, and I hope that I can improve, but I hope to keep it going. Most of all, I hope you enjoy it and thanks so much for reading.