Kalendil huffed as she used her staff to help her navigate the forest floor. Months of being practically cloistered up at the temple had not helped her stamina, and she was out of breath after mere minutes of walking. She looked at Sylvari and Mythralis. The two did not display any signs of fatigue, they were alert and looked ready to spring into action at any time.
"Long time since we were climbing trees near the grove, eh, Kali?" She heard Sylvari's voice, followed by the druid's usual subdued chuckle.
"Shush, you," she replied, between increasingly larger gulps of air. "It sounds like you two have been chasing this one for a while. What's the story?"
Mythralis took to answering the question. "I came across her a few months ago, in Feralas. I was sent to investigate strange happenings near Dream Bough. Although I do not know what her intent was, it was clear she was trying to do something to the dream portal. I thought I could handle her alone, but I barely escaped with my life." She cleared her throat, and adjusted the strap holding her bow in place. "The minions of the void are slippery, so I decided I needed help. Luckily, I came across Sylvari in Feathermoon Stronghold, and enlisted her help," she said, in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Imagine my surprise when I saw dear mother – whom I'd believed dead after Teldrassil – alive and well in Feralas, asking for my help, of all people," Sylvari said, interrupting her.
"Your rudeness does you no credit, daughter. In any event, the second attempt failed as well. She slipped through our fingers, using illusions and shadow magic to trick us. I kept an ear to the ground since, and then I heard about the void manifestations in Val'Sharah."
Kalendil shuddered. "To think one of our own would be capable of such a thing. I would never have imagined it." She frowned, and continued. "Is she Twilight's Hammer? I thought they were all vanquished."
"We found evidence in her camp that seemed to indicate that. Or at least a powerful devotion to the Old Gods," Sylvari replied.
"Goddess. Do you think she's trying the same thing here? Shala'nir is certainly close to the Dreamgrove." Kalendil bit her lip, breathlessness momentarily forgotten as she pondered their enemy's intentions.
"It's highly likely, yes," Sylvari said.
"I believe you will be the key to defeating her this time, Kalendil. A minion of the Old Gods is surely no match for the Goddess' light."
Kalendil exchanged a look with Sylvari. Some things never change, it seems, and the old sentinel's faith was one of them.
It was nighttime by the time they reached Shala'nir, and even later still when they finally pinpointed the void user's location. Sylvari scouted the enemy from above, her dark owl form much more suited to blend in. The cultist had reinforcements this time, in the form of three burly orcs, bearing the insignia of the Twilight's Hammer.
Their plan formulated, and prayers to the Goddess said, the three elves got into position, ready to leap into action at Mythralis' signal, a blessed arrow aimed at the twilight priestess' head.
Or at least that was the intended course of action. Kalendil cringed as the massive twig snapped under her foot, meters away from her desired vantage point on the little cliff above the enemy camp, also overlooking a large lake. She froze, and waited for the cultists' reaction.
"You there, see what that was." The order came from the elven cultist, momentarily distracted from her incessant chanting over the dilapidated altar in the center of their camp.
The orc closest to Kalendil obeyed, and started towards her. Kalendil made herself as small as possible, hoping the ruined wall she had managed to duck behind would provide enough cover, peeking through a crack in it to see what was happening. Was Mythralis still going to take the shot?
As if on cue, a glowing arrow flew from the opposite side of the encampment, headed straight for the shadow priestess' head. It was diverted at the last moment by a lash of her hand, which almost looked like a tentacle in the rush of movement.
The cultists exploded into action. The void priestess was suddenly engulfed by a shadowy aura, and the two remaining orcs picked up their massive axes, the one headed for Kalendil turning around to face the camp once more. He did not have a chance to react to the situation further, as a massive nightsaber leapt from the top of the wall Kalendil was hiding behind and tackled him to the ground, fangs immediately at his throat. He died quickly. As the nightsaber shifted to take the form of her green-haired friend, roots sprouted from the ground under the closest orc, effectively pinning him in place. Sylvari started summoning an orb of emerald magic, no doubt planning to deliver it onto the immobilized target.
Meanwhile, the third remaining orc yelped in pain, as Mythralis' massive frostsaber charged out from the bushes on that side of the camp and rammed full-speed into him. Although half his size, the saber's strength matched his own, toppling him. The orc managed to get the handle of his axe between them, using it to stave off the saber's sharp fangs. Kalendil emerged from her hiding spot and called on Elune's power to aid the frostsaber, and its next chomp tore through the wood, its fangs finally finding their way to the orc's head, crushing it in one gory bite.
Another glowing arrow flew towards the shadow priestess, this time sizzling into a cloud of smoke as it met her void shield. Mythralis finally left her hiding spot, and readied another one, just as Sylvari's spell hit the third orc square in the chest.
What happened next was entirely unexpected, however. Instead of slumping to the ground, its body a smoking pile of flesh, the orc took the brunt of it, a fresh gaping hole in the middle of his chest, his skin dappled with spots of void energy. The hole started to fill, shadowy tendrils slithering out from its smoking edges to meet in the middle. The orc grunted, his voice tinged with an eerie echo, and grew in size, almost a head taller than previously. Void tentacles sprouted from his back, and his legs tore through the roots holding them in place. A void behemoth now stood between Sylvari and the shadow priestess, the way blocked.
Watching the druid taking a step back, Kalendil's eyes widened, her lips all the while forming the words for a prayer to the Goddess. The result of this encounter was entirely in Her hands now.