A long dark hallway greeted the death knights once they arrived atop the final landing. However, they had no trouble seeing into the darkness, though were not really impressed with the state the en suite halls were in. None of the lights here worked, save for a single room far at the end of the hall. The great hall was quiet except for the crunching of broken glass and debris with every step they took, echoing off the dilapidated walls.
As they walked in silence, Illanna went through her mental checklist of the others they were here to meet. The rest of the Nethari siblings were sisters. The twins, Aeri and Runa, which she recalled were a few years older than Jassan at 22 years, and then the eldest, Brisa, which should have been roughly around 24 years old. Each followed a different martial discipline and they had all played off each other's weaknesses and strengths. However, during the fourth war, it seemed there had been a falling out amongst the Nethari siblings and she wasn't sure how they would all agree to take on this grand quest. But she trusted Tragique, being their kin, and hoped it would all work out in the end.
Illanna's thoughts were interrupted as Tragique approached the lit doorway at the end of the hall. It was just an empty door frame really, its actual door splintered and decaying a few yards away. Unlike the cold hallway they had come from, the warm light inside this room was soft and inviting and something smelled good, like sizzling meat and vegetables on an open grill. The en suite was enormous, possibly the size of a small house, just without all the dividing walls. The light came from several lit sconces, cleaned out, and re-spelled by someone. Before they could go any further, a loud and menacing voice suddenly yelled in a deep voice, "The penalty for trespassing is death, prepare yourselves, intruders!"
In a flash, both Tragique and Illanna held their weapons in hand, which was just as well, as suddenly a massive Wrathguard demon appeared several feet in front of them, a wickedly shaped two-handed axe pointed right at both of them. The demon's unusually thick gray skin was covered in elaborate plate armor, two glowing green eyes staring with brimming hatred from underneath its helm. As it roared a wild war cry and started to charge at the death knights, a woman's voice screamed with utter annoyance from within the room, "Oh my gods, Mosser, will you just shut up!" As if time had stopped completely, the massive Wrathguard's entire body went stiff and all hatred had completely disappeared from his gnarled face, replaced with confused surprise (which may have just been disappointment). It slowly lowered its massive two-handed axe. "Just get back in here, it's your turn anyway," said the voice again, so impassive it was almost like the abrupt confrontation never even occurred. "Yes, mistress, as you command," Mosser said, swallowing his pride as he lumbered down in the middle of the room.
The twins, Aeri Netherlight and Runa Shadowflame sat atop mismatching chairs, using a splintering wardrobe as a make-shift table, and sat across facing each other. Due to his size, Mosser sat with them on the floor, his head well past the height of the table. They appeared to be playing some sort of card game; which one that was was as good a guess as any, Illanna thought. Mosser sighed as he took the deck of cards and started shuffling them then passing them out to the twins. Sheathing their weapons, both Tragique and Illanna walked in, a bit less unsure about their situation. The sounds of cooking had been coming from a corner with an open window, where Jassan stood flipping some kind of meat over a make-shift grill out a sink and a slab of metal. His back had been turned to the death knights, apparently unfazed by the commotion.
The twins were two stunning women, with flawless light skin, high cheekbones, cute turned-up noses, and delicately shaped elongated ears. However, other than their biological looks, their appearances couldn't have been more different. Aeri, on the left, wore a lively and colorful form-fitting summer dress which accentuated her femininity and modest curves, dressed in blues, whites, and yellows. Golden hoops hung from her ears, neck, and around her arms, while her golden blond hair was worn in two adorable boar tails down her delicate neckline. Her deep blue glowing eyes were focused intently on the cards in front of her as she bit lightly on her lower lip.
Runa, on the right, could have been Aeri's shadow mirror image. Opting for much darker colors, Runa was dressed in a gothic lacy dress, with black and dark green frills, which matched with her dark glowing green eyes. Her fingernails were painted black, while white pearls dangled from her ears and down her neckline, the dress plunging low to reveal her ample bosom, which was only enhanced by her black corset. A lacy umbrella rested next to her chair. She was staring with a twisted smile at her sister, enjoying watching her struggle.
"Greetings, ladies, it's been a while. Might I introduce..." Tragique started, before Runa held up a finger to her lips, responding with a soft, "Shhhhhhhhhh". Her green eyes slowly went from staring at them over to her Aeri, who was absorbed in thought, still trying to work out a move. The sound of sizzling meat filled the room again, Illanna readjusted her bag awkwardly and shuffled her feet. "No no no," Aeri muttered under her breath, "that's not right. How can I..."
"Take all the time you need, love," cooed Runa, her smile widening under heavy-lidded eyes. The demon, Mosser, sat impatiently, his own cards dwarfed by the size of his enormous blunt fingers. "Master," he tried saying to Runa a whisper, "when do I put the other card down. You know, the one you gave me?" At this, Aeri's mood erupted, then slammed her cards on the table. "I knew it! I knew you were cheating!" she screamed at her sister. Runa immediately started laughing out loud, and tried saying over each breath, "Oh, my love, you're just so gullible, I couldn't help myself!" At this, Runa started laughing even harder and both twin's faces were so completely different, with Aeri scowling and Runa laughing. It was almost like polar opposites. "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for this idiot," pointing at Mosser, who looked completely dejected for this blunder. "Never again, I won't do it. I won't." pouted Aeri, calming down a little. She sat back down and closed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Fine, fine. Next time you get to pick the game," chided Runa, collecting the cards into a neat stack in the middle of their table. "Mosser, you can go back now dear. You were dreadful," said Runa, not looking at the summoned demon. "Oh thank the Fel," sighed Mosser, who suddenly vanished into a poof of swirling purple and green smoke, back into his fel realm, wherever that might be.
Aeri opened her eyes and was startled by their new guests. "Oh, Tragique, you're here!" she said in a bubbly tone and stood up over to greet the death knights, where were still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. "They've been here for a while, love," said Runa, tucking her cards away in a traveling bag. "Really, I didn't even notice!," continued Aeri. She gave Tragique a quick hug over his plate armor and then faced Illanna and said, "Oh, hello, and who might you be?" said Aeri, cupping both of Illanna's hands into her warm ones, giving a bright and cheery smile. Taken back by the sudden bubbly reception, Illanna smiled sheepishly and stammered, "oh, hello, um, I'm Illanna Dreadmoore, Archivist for the..." She didn't get to finish, as Aeri all at once embraced her in a gentle sisterly hug. "Oh, Illanna, what a wonderful name," said Aeri brightly, clasping her hands once again, "Tragique doesn't talk much about his friends at all, you're actually the first one! Can you believe it? And a girl at that. We don't know what kinds of adventures he goes about with and we're always so worried about our dear cousin. Please take good care of him." Her words spilled out so quickly, thought Illanna, it was hard to keep up with her energy.
Runa still sat on her chair, giving a curt nod to Illanna, as if Aeri had done enough introducing for the both of them. Tragique finally turned around and scanned the rest of the room, and then back to the twins. "Where is Brisa?" he said, wondering where the eldest Nethari sibling was. Aeri's mood suddenly changed, her eyes dropped a bit, then sat back down, this time right next to Runa. Jassan stopped cooking, starring out the window. Runa rested her head on Aeri's shoulder, while Aeri did leaned her Runa's head. "Well, what's with the mood here? I said where is your sister? Has she arrived? I need to know," continued Tragique. After a few more seconds, Tragique clenched his fists again and took a deep breath, clearly upset by their childish behaviors, but before he could scold at them, Illanna put a gentle hand around his plated arms and said, "I think what the Dreadlord is trying to say is, we are on urgent business, we did not arrange this meeting for pleasantries. Please understand, uniting ourselves is our only chance Azeroth surviving this. We need you all. Please tell us, what has become of your sister, Brisa."
Illanna firmly searched all three siblings for a response to justify their stubborn behavior. Jassan then sighed and said, "She's up in the conservatory if you want to talk to her. If you can get her to talk to you." He then continued to plate himself a great heap of food on a broken cabinet door he used as a plate. "Thank you, Jassan," said Tragique, and nodded to Illanna, grateful for her interjection. "I know my way, I shall return with the huntress in tow. Dreadmoore, please remain here while I make my way to the conservatory." With that, Tragique stomped out of the en suite and back into the dark hallway.
Illanna, still standing in the middle of the room holding on to her satchel, made her way to the space that the demon Mosser was sitting on earlier, pulled up a small crate, and sat down, smiling at the twins. Up close, Illanna could really appreciate just how pretty they both were, like little blood elf dolls. They were still so young, yet had been through so much in their short lives, she thought to herself as she opened her bag and placed several rolled up charts and strategies onto the table. Jassan brought his broken cabinet door of a plate he used and sat next to Illanna. Despite the strange choice of dishware, the food on top looked extremely delicious, as if made by a master chef. Grilled fish, generously herbed, sat in the middle, surrounded by delicately chopped local carrots, fried potatoes, served with a kind of lavender colored cream as a sauce. The boy could cook, she will give him that. One of his many skills, Illanna assumed. "Please, help yourselves, ladies," he said suavely, focused on Illanna. "Thank you," responded the twins in harmony, both picking up the veggies and started to nibble. Jassan picked up a piece of fish and smiled at his sisters.
What wonderful close relationship they all have, Illanna thought, staring at them sharing their food together. "May I ask, what happened between yourselves and Brisa?" said Illanna, unsure how to approach the subject. "I can't help but notice the tension when she is brought up." She looked around at them, then clasped her hands together and continued, "I'm sorry, that was rude of me to bring this up." Runa then spoke up and said softly, "Oh no, love. Don't be sorry. It's just..." she shifted uncomfortably, giving a slight sigh, "it's just, we did used to all be really close. We really did. Brisa is the eldest of us, and for our entire lives, we would follow her lead, went wherever she went." Aeri perked up, "She was our leader and our mentor," she said brightly, "Brisa was the one who kept us together during the Legion invasions, she always knew what to do." Jassan finished his fish, then licked his lips and said, "Brisa had always been the one calling the shots, her intuition was always just spot on."
The way they talked about her in past tense made it seem she was dead or something, Illanna thought. But her intel reports had confirmed that Brisa Arrowsong was in fact still alive, but she hadn't been seen for many months, ever since the ending of the fourth war. What had changed here? Why were they so sad when she was brought up in conversation? "Can I ask, what happened?" Illanna asked cautiously.
Seconds passed, then Jassan said quietly, with a subtle rage in his icy blue eyes, "what happened was Sylvanas Windrunner."
