Chapter 2

Weeks have gone by, and my brain felt well fed and full. Lorewalker Stonestep had been cautious in his teaching first, but slowly my persistence had broken him, and he turned into the excited, young…frankly jolly historian that I worked with since. My scrolls were piled around me, filled to the last inch of parchment with translations, depictions, information, and most importantly, maps. It was one of these maps that I was studying, one that was sadly only partially complete, as it was everything the Pandaren knew of the land beyond the Wall-the steppes and the Dread Wastes, home of the Mantid.

I felt her presence before I looked up and saw her, and when I did look up, she looked distressed, her mask flickering to reveal emerald glowing power beneath that caused my retinas to burn slightly.

"Jadearra, I must speak with you in private," Was all she said, before she turned with a great swoosh of deep hunter green robes.

I looked to the Lorewalker, who had been cleaning bookworms out of the rafters, and he merely nodded, acknowledging that he had been listening.

I left my research and jogged from the library, looking around for Yu'Lon.

"She is in her chambers, she sent me to escort you in."

I looked to my right and saw Priestess Flameheart, a deep burgundy red and white woman, with flowing markings like tears along her cheeks. She dressed in ornate plate metal, a helmet with a jade plume tucked under her arm. With a jut of her chin, she had turned on her heel and was walking away briskly. I struggled to keep up, grumbling about the deep green robes restricting me-temples meant robes, and robes meant discomfort.

She traced one clawed finger along the door in an intricately precise pattern, causing a smaller one to form and unlock. I was still staring slack jawed at the size of the original doors, when the Priestess coughed.

"The large doors are for Yu'Lon when she goes flying." Flameheart said, before turning and going through the smaller door.

With a shake of my head, I followed.

We stepped into a frankly cavernous room that was bathed in emerald light, and out of respect I averted my eyes to floor, feeling the sheer presence of Yu'Lon in all her truth. Wisdom bathed my senses.

"Yu'Lon, she has been retrieved."

"Excellent, there is much I must convey and we don't have much time,"

I felt her presence shrink and pull back, and when I looked up, she was a mirror of-

A mirror of a human.

My lips pulled back from my teeth in a bared smile, and she simply sighed.

"I understand your prejudice," It was her voice through the human male's mouth, "But this is the young boy who conveyed the message, and therefore it is the quickest way."

With that, her eyes rolled back in her head, and with a blink there were a brilliant burning blue, and the voice was no longer hers.

"Krasarang is compromised! Sha of Despair in the Red Crane's temple! Refugees being hunted by Saurok, Shado-Pan trying to contain violence and hatred in the north! Send help!"

I watched this with a vague suspicion-this human looks achingly familiar, but who the hell is he?

The voice left, and Yu'Lon returned, and the mask shifted to her Elvin choice, and she had the look of cold, detached fury that was so reminiscent of mother that I did a double take.

"You must go as quickly as you can, a kite master has a kite prepared for you, I sent a courier to the Lorewalker to have your research packed for you and waiting, and a harness has been brought up to allow Bandit safe transport." She shuddered, and the Priestess forced my head down.

Her presence exploded into being, green attacking the walls and her voice booming, "Go! Save the Southern Celestial! His hope will affect us all!"

The Priestess escorted me out again, her paw on my neck to keep my eyes down, until the door closed behind us.

"I apologize for the handling-she is not usually so distressed that her masks break."

Flameheart assured me, and I nodded, giving a quick bow before running to the room I had my clothes in.

They were all packed spare for my armor, and I slipped out of the robes, leaving them piled on the floor as I laced up my leather vest and cloth shirt, and pulled on the pants and boots I had left home in. I placed my royal band over my platinum hair, allowing it free of the strange braid the maidens had put it in. It poofed.

I grabbed the pack with my clothes in it as I pulled the door open, only to see Lorewalker Stonestep there with a pack of my many scrolls, and Bandit sitting beside him in a harness, looking grumpy.

"Thank you, Lorewalker." I took the bag from him, giving a deep bow of respect, and he patted my shoulder silently before walking away.

Bandit followed as I jogged out of the courtyard and through the grounds, to where the kite master was waiting. She had a young, brilliantly gold cloud serpent adolescent tied loosely to the front of the kite, and she was preparing the kite for takeoff.

"You ever done this before?" She asked, not looking at me while she took my bags and strapped them in, before grabbing Bandit by the harness and doing the same thing, glaring when he started to growl until it died off.

"Nope, can't be to hard, right?" I asked as she helped me onto the kite, quickly and nimbly tying the robes over my hands until I could hardly feel my fingers, and moving to my ankles.

"Never let go, or you'll plummet. Wind currents are your friends. My buddy here and I are gonna lead you into the southern stream and then let you off, should take you a good chunk of the way into Krasarang. From there you gotta find weaker ones to guide your descent. Got it?"

I nodded, settling into the crouch the ropes had left me in, and I felt her station the serpent behind the kite, and her hand grab the wooden side.

"Agara, breathe!"

The adolescent let out a wind so strong, that combined with the now lifting arm of the master, Bandit and I were flying upward. Wind burnt my eyes and made them water, and I was suddenly ripped southward.

The southern current.

Bandit was howling, offended and absolutely terrified, and I didn't blame him.

Heights aren't my thing.

I kept my eyes trained on the Horizon-I knew what to look for and when to drop. It was getting warmer quickly, and soon it was hot wind that scalded my skin.

Suddenly, the light was dimming, and I looked up, shocked to see the black and white swirling clouds that signified-

Oh Azeroth.

The wind blasted me from the side, sending the kite careening off, and I screeched, the sound stolen by wind. I heard Bandit howling.

We're spinning so quickly, we're going to die, Sunwell guide us we're going to die-

Lose hope, fall to your despair.

Without meaning to, the voice the penetrated my mind sounded of Thessali, and I remembered my dear sister with a bitter cry of pain, my eyes flashing between my death now and her death then.

Charging forward, raising my quiver to slow the broadsword, "Thessali!"

I was grabbed by the collar, ripped off my feet and away from her, as she turned from the

freshly slain ghoul and met the Shalamayne with a blade of her own.

"You are too valuable," Garrosh Hellscream whispered.

I was thrown backwards, and I screamed as my sister's head left her shoulders.

I slammed back into the present with the horrifying realization that the wind had stilled.

Completely.

I screamed, the sound high pitched and echoing as we plummeted, and I couldn't get my hands free of the kite.

"HELP!"

Give in to your despair.

"SUNWELL! YU'LON! THE-THESSALI!" My face was streaked with burning tears as I felt my composure die completely, my mind assaulted with horrible images, and I was sobbing as I screamed.

I watched the tree line come closer, and I screamed-every memory of pain, all of my hurt and anger and despair, leeching from me. My skin was fading to an ashy grey, and my vision was tunneled.

Suddenly, warm light enveloped me for a spare moment above the tree line, that washed it away momentarily, before my mind knew pain.

Crash, shatter, screaming. Out.

"She has to wake up…she's-she's-"

"Relax, Prince, do not let yourself feel. She is awake."

Ow. My head hurt, my eyes burned, and something was throbbing so horribly that I needed to scream. I pried my eyelashes apart, and I stared in dulled shock at my arm.

It was bent at an angle that wasn't anatomically possible, and it had blood and gore all over it-and it hurt.

"Thank the light you're awake,"

I realized that I wasn't alone, but I couldn't turn my head without piercing pain going through both of my shoulders and arms.

"My-my shou-shoulder-"

"I got you, breathe. Don't look, just breathe. This may sting."

Mumbling ensued, and warm, golden light-holy light-encased the mess of gore in front of me, and from what I felt, many other parts of my body. It was encasing me in warmth that felt like home, and I watched with amazement dulled by agony as my arm moved back to where it was supposed to go, and the wounds sealed over. I was still gory, but I felt much better.

I found that I could turn my head now, so with a little struggle I turned to see-

That's the Prince of Stormwind.

That's a human.

My heart rate went through the roof as I writhed, scrambling backwards against my body's request and clumsily taking a knife from my belt, holding it front of me and trying to ignore the twinging in my arm.

"Get-get away I-no go-Where's my wolf?" My other arm was struggling to find perch on the branch behind me, and my eyes were tunneling in on the looming human with little to no resemblance to his father in front of me.

"I have him, Jadearra. Stand down," That was Taran Zhu.

I didn't continue to flee, but I was entirely too stiff, and my knife arm was visibly shaking and so was the rest of me and I'm going to have a heart attack-

"Please, please calm down. I sent the message to Yu'Lon. I'm not here to hurt you,"

I did recognize him from the message I had received this morning. Same golden hair that waved around a tanned face, same cloth armor and staff, same enchanting eyes-

No. Never. Not for a human.

Not for her murderer's son.

"Please-back away, please," I was still shaky, and I felt the arm that was holding my weight trembling massively.

He did so, backing away in a crouch, as though he were afraid standing would set me off. He was right.

Pain tugged at my mind-physical and emotional-and I sagged pathetically against the branch, my arm wrapped around it, and I pressed my forehead to the damp wood and analyzed my surroundings.

It was definitely the Krasarang, humidity hung like a veil in the air, and was a sickly warmth that made me squirm. The clearing I was in had Taran Zhu kneeling not far away, Bandit restrained at his side and seemingly okay-The human healed him. Speaking of the human, he was still about two feet away, watching me with an intensity that made me wary, and staining him along his chest and shoulders was glittering blood-

"Get my blood off of you." I pushed it out in a breath, and he jumped, looking down at himself and seemingly realizing what he was covered in. He took a knife from his belt, and I curled inward, defenseless-

Only to watch him cleanly slice his sleeves off, leaving tanned, lightly muscled arms and hands. He threw the cloth into the woods.

"Better?" He asked, looking at me as one would a feral animal, and I nodded, panting again as I relaxed against the wood.

He wasn't horrible looking, and I suppose he did save me from living life without arms.

"Are you in fit shape to move? We need to get inside the refugee camp before dark, when the Saurok hunt." Taran Zhu said, and I glanced down at my legs-my pants seemed to have been cut away to leave very little covered, and what was left was covered in bruising and gore.

I tested it, trying to push myself up a little, and every nerve lit itself on fire.

"No," I rasped, pain starring my vision.

"Let the Prince carry you back, he can continue his healing on the way-"

"No." I looked at the human, baring my teeth as much as I could in an attempt to threaten. It didn't work.

"Please-your ladyship. Elves and humans allied once-let me help you," The boy was overly polite, and I felt my mind slipping from pain and fatigue.

I sighed, and nodded weakly, closing my eyes and resigning myself to my fate.

The toned arms wrapped around me, one behind my hurting knees and another around my mid back and arms, lifting me from the branch slowly, and cupping my head in one hand before slowly setting it on his shoulder, one arm behind his neck so that my position mirrored what I had done on the ground.

"I will try to walk slowly, so that you're not jarred. My magic may put you to sleep," he warned, and I nodded weakly, already feeling the warm pull of the light.

"Don't think…this…changes…anything…" I trailed off as the light filled me, along with the rumble of his chest as he laughed and the steady, if not overly calming beat of his heart. With that, I was out.

The battlefield, Light's Hope Chapel, the day of her death.

I turned as if in slow motion, my dagger going through a ghoul like cheese, and opened my mouth to scream.

I wasn't ripped away, why wasn't I ripped away?

Instead, I was forced to watch, unable to speak or move, as Shalamayne removed her head from her shoulders, and the High King of the Alliance turned to look at me, grinning as glittering red elf blood dripped from his broadsword. His eyes were hollow-

Sha fire, this is a dream.

Why can't I get out then?

"You shall fall to your despair, as Thessali fell to the blade," The voice that left Varian Wrynn was one of deep, terrible power.

"You're-you're wrong,"

But he was right. People that shouldn't have been there were there, and they were being cut down. Father took and arrow to the neck. Mother was ripped apart before my eyes. Elvira lost her ears and eyes and died without a tongue. Delevenia was eaten alive.

It kept going, one by one, all around me, and I realized I was screaming, "Stop it! Stop it!"

All the bodies rose, whether without body parts or still bleeding, and they all spoke, "It never stops. There is no end. There is only despair. Give up. Give in." They started closing in, chanting their final words, their eyes hollow with Sha fire, and I screamed and screamed and-

I shot upwards, where are they where am I what the bloody hell is happening-

"Jadearra!"

I whipped around, not even registering who it was before I jumped up into the nearest tree, my limbs working perfectly as I scrambled away, hiding away from one of them.

"Jadearra!"

"No!" my voice rasped and shook, and I was crying, "No! I will not watch it! No!"

"Jadearra."

I screamed, realizing the human was in the tree with me, and I squeezed away, pressing my back into the trunk and shrinking back as much as I was able. My heart was pounding in my ears and all I could see was that damned scene-

"Jade. Please, breathe. I got you, you're safe. You're not there anymore. You're safe."

The human inched closer, eyes burning hot enough to shine blue in the darkness, "You're safe."

I stopped screaming, staring at him in silent terror as I heard my own panting.

"You were attacked by the Sha, they-they play mind games. It's what brought you down off the kite. They force you to focus on your darkest memories, and they sift through your mind to twist them and make them so much worse. Please stop crying."

I realized with a jolt that my panting had actually been rasping sobs as my heart beat slowly came back to my chest and out of my ears.

"Did you see them too?" I asked, my voice small and weak. I was so overly compromised that I didn't care who or what he Was-I needed to know I wasn't alone.

"I…yes, the first night after Despair broke free," the human paused, collecting himself, "It was the memory of the stone mason's riot, where my mother died. I was…I was six."

I didn't respond, looking off over his shoulder in an attempt to compose myself.

"Can I heal you? You have scratches from your panic attack." The human asked, gesturing to my arm, and I held it up numbly, only watching his face when he began to mumble his incantation.

It lit up from the light swirling around his hand, which enveloped my arm in its glow. His eyes were utterly focused and passionate, and his face-

I forced my eyes away from his face, mumbling a thank you as he pulled away.

"Try to get some sleep alright? We have work to do tomorrow." With that, the human extracted himself from the tree and left me alone.

I studied my body-someone had pulled a fresh set of armor from my bag and replaced my destroyed clothes, and my skin was cleaner than before.

I slowly came down from the tree, crawling to where I had been laying originally- a mat with my bag of scrolls for a pillow. Bandit curled up beside me, helping to keep me warm, and I slipped back into a thankfully peaceful sleep.

"Jadearra, come. We must get to work."

I pried my eyes open, the skin of my face tight and my muscles stiff. I looked up into the face of Taran Zhu, backlit by the fiery black and grey sky. He was stern with an undertone of concern.

"You must control your emotions, or you will be feeding them. It has already taken a toll on you,"

I sat up slowly as he backed away, and I looked down to see that my skin had paled overnight, greying slightly, and my hair felt dryer, limper. My motivation was nearly non-existent, but I pressed on.

I stood from the mat and drew my frankly pathetic cloak about my shoulders, drawing the hood up and tucking my hair around my neck as chilled wind made me shiver. I had slept in my armor, boots and all. I walked to what I assumed was Taran Zhu's spot in the camp, grumbling inwardly upon seeing the human there.

"Morning," He said quietly, observing my face with a look of concern that made me gag a little. I merely jutted my chin out in acknowledgement, focusing on the plans that Taran Zhu was studying.

"We need to fortify the camp-walls, anything to block this wind," Taran Zhu said, using a dagger to stab a piece of parchment into the tree stump table as he spoke, the wind trying to rip it away.

"We need venom glands off the pythons in the river, they've bitten refugees crossing and they're in sore need of antidotes. We need the supply lines from the north secured. We need-"

"Lord Zhu," I spoke with weight, studying the map in front of him, "I can take the supply lines, Bandit can haul in whatever gets discovered, if his kite harness was recovered from the crash. The human is obviously a skilled healer, if he can temper with Elvin blood and not lose limbs. He can take the rivers." I said, grimacing at giving the human a complement, but the confused happiness that he now radiated was refreshing.

"No. No splitting up-we go in pairs or not at all. The Saurok are picking the refugees off like wolves to the stag. You must work with the human if you leave the camp," Taran Zhu said, and I growled low in my throat, a canine sound that unnerved most enemies and agitated Hawkstriders.

"Very well…. Human, take to the rivers and I will chop wood for fortifications along it, and send it back on Bandit. Efficiency is key here if we are to defend from Saurok and Sha. Lord Zhu, station your available Shado-pan…here, and here, along the main line. I assume they can hold their own until we collect from the river. Then we can go over and clean up," I said, feeling a commanding responsibility lower onto my shoulders with a resounding crush.

"I'll have them moving momentarily. The kite harness is hanging at the western border of the camp, we had it scrubbed clean of blood and mud, and it is drying."

"No skin touched the blood, did it?" I asked, and he shook his head, allowing me my relief.

"Now go, we haven't much time."

I turned without another word and loped over to the harness, taking it from the branch and running gloved fingers over it, examining it before kneeling and calling Bandit to me.

"Why am I skilled to have tempered with Elvin blood?" the human asked, having followed me.

I didn't look up, focusing on tightening straps and untangling ropes quickly, "Elvin blood is tainted with fel energy. It can be toxic if touched by skin that hasn't been enchanted previously, or by a non elf." I answered.

His sharp inhale answered my question of his knowledge, and I stood from my job on Bandit, nodding. I tightened my quiver strap, checked the taut bowstring of my bow, and walked on without a word.

"How long will you need to collect the glands?" I asked, stopping momentarily to check an axe that was laying around, testing the weight in a swing before continuing with it at my side.

"Given the currents today, not to long." The human kept step with me easily,

surprisingly, "Tell me more about the blood. What does it inflict?"

I left the camp and walked across the stones through the river, to the trees on the opposite side, while the human stayed on the opposite side, "It is similar to acid, with a mental component like that Orcish affliction." I put my bow over my shoulder and swung the axe, impaling the wood nearly half through the trunk.

"How is it similar to the Orcs? Service to the demons?" The human called, and I heard a gurgling hiss that told me he found a snake.

"Blood lust and strength. You get soaked in it, and for the probable...fives minutes you have to live, you'll be unstoppable. You won't even feel it as it strips away layers of skin and muscle, until you're just bones. Nasty business." I swung again, and the tree came down.

I hopped onto the trunk and walked along it, chopping off the stray branches and tossing them into a pile to the side-firewood.

Gurgle hiss number four sounded, "Does it affect Orcs? They had demon blood in their veins," the human asked, and I paused for a moment, concentrating.

"They last longer, and are far more coherent in combat, but in the end they die as well," I said, hopping down from the trunk and chopping the trunk into four chunks. I tied one of these to Bandit's harness by the ropes, and he dragged it forward, off to the camp.

I hauled the other chunks up, ordering them and preparing for delivery, while the human bagged glands.

"I think I have enough,"

"Get more, we have no idea how long they will be here, and it may be needed." I said, and silence ensued.

When we stopped speaking, stopped seeing, and merely worked, it…. Sunwell help me for saying this…was not horrible.