Disclaimer: All non-original characters and places belong to Blizzard Entertainment. Original characters will be listed at the end of the chapter and are owned by me, the author : )

Fate IV: Damalia

Karoru left Stormfyre to the stable master, paid for a large, filling dinner of his favorite meats, and proceeded on foot to the tavern in the Trade District. The tables outside were as crowded as ever with people out for supper. She was glad to see that Garth had left his tankard and hopefully his brooding mood. She thought it was past time to move on and wish him better, more happy events in his life. The Rogue stepped inside the bustling pub and made her way to the bar to order her own hearty dinner.

When the sun had finally set and darkness had spread its fingertips across the land, Karoru reemerged to find the city as bustling as ever, as she knew it would. She made her way back to the stable master to have Stormfyre moved to the town of Southshore, then retired to her home in the Park for the night. Her last thoughts before sleep were of Tailia and the friends that would stand by her as she avenged her death and restored the last rightful honor she deserved to her name.

Morning dawned as bright and cheerful a day as those it followed that week. Karoru made it a point to rise with the city's early birds, striding across the dewy Park towards the Trade District just as the sun was peeking above the city walls. She ate a quick breakfast at the Gilded Rose, the local inn, then set off for the loft. There, the Flight Master greeted her cheerfully and asked for her destination before bringing her a mighty golden beast. The gryphon eyed her beadily as she mounted behind its magnificent wings. She thanked the Flight Master, paid for the ride, and faced the open blue sky. With a loud screech, the gryphon ran off the edge of the loft and soared majestically towards the clouds.

Karoru flew steadily north for the next few long hours. The quiet woods of Elwynn Forest sped by beneath her, giving way slowly to the black, lava-threaded mountains of the Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge. By noon, the massive impenetrable fortress of Ironforge loomed up before her amidst the white snowy peaks of Dun Morogh. The enormous structure was the world's most magnificent testimony of Dwarven engineering and architecture. As she soared above, she could feel a sense of strength and solidity emanating from the fortress that penetrated the very core of her heart. Below, stocky mountaineers climbed the path up to Ironforge and numerous specks of competitive fighters jumped and ran in front of the gates in battles of wit, strength, and skill. They and eventually the fortress itself disappeared amongst the snowy mountains.

Strange calls and running water met Karoru's ears when the gryphon descended one last peak and entered the Wetlands. A fog blanketed the area, not dense enough to cover the mossy, vine-laden trees. Here and there, bright splashes of color brought attention to exotic plants, and the flash of a darting bird could be seen every so often. In the distance, the solid walls of Menethil Harbor loomed out of the mist to the west. Knowing she would be heading there in only a matter of days, she continued onward through the marsh, over Thandol Span, and into the sunny Arathi Highlands. For another hour or so, the gryphon flew west across grassy fields and crumbling rock, eventually crossing Thoradin's Wall into the Hillsbrad Foothills.

Karoru was taken for about half an hour over an expanse of calm, cool hills and aromatic pines. The gryphon slowly turned south towards the coast. When they neared town, however, the sight that met her eyes immediately drove away the pleasant mood of the ride. Ahead, as she neared Southshore, a relatively large battle was taking place near the path into town. Armored guards were struggling to push back a group of massive intimidating Tauren, tall agile Trolls, large brawny Orcs, a number of clever Undead, and a few devious Blood Elves. Other fighters of the Alliance, some residents, some travelers, were trying to assist them in the defense of the town. It was not clear which side had the upper hand, but as soon as the gryphon soared right over the fighting and landed lightly by the Southshore Flight Master, Karoru jumped off and slipped into the shadows out of sight.

The Rogue moved about stealthily towards the battle, gloved hands gripped tightly around the handles of her drawn daggers. Her sharp silver eyes trained on a Blood Elf who was causing a small bit of mayhem with bursts of arcane energies. The skinny Mage was jumping back and forth, cackling madly at his opponents. Karoru positioned herself behind him, predicted his movements, then leaped at him at the precise moment his feet touched the ground. She buried the bright blades of her daggers right in his back, and the Mage fell without another sound. As soon as she freed them from his corpse, she braced herself for battle and chased after a burly Orc who ran past.

The fight continued for some time, with reinforcements coming in by gryphons every so often. It was not until the early evening when Karoru was able to sit herself down in a clean path of grass and catch her breath. A short Mage went about and distributed stacks of fresh, revitalizing croissants and spring water. She accepted them gratefully, sitting back and gazing up at the sky as she ate. The bright gold sun was slowly making its way down towards the horizon. She would have preferred to be done a lot earlier, but that was life.

Without warning, a deep, powerful roar cut through the air, pulling all attention to the stables by the inn. A few people around her had even leapt back to their feet, weapons drawn. A couple men and boy were attempting to restrain a massive blue-gray mistsaber as he tried to get back to her mistress, growling fiercely. The stable handlers did their best to avoid his enormous fangs and claws, though he was not intending them harm whatsoever. In only a matter of seconds, the mistsaber had broken past them and was pounding across the grass. A few of the guards and fighters jumped up to stop him, he shot past, finally pouncing on top of Karoru and rubbing his furry head enthusiastically on her belly.

The young Night Elf laughed from the ground and tried to push him off. "I'm alright! I'm alright! Okay, Stormfyre, I'm alright!"

The mistsaber let off just as the stable handlers came panting heavily up to them.

"That's a mighty loyal cat ya got there," said one of the men between breaths. "Started actin' up as soon as he spotted ya in that mess."

Karoru smiled and rubbed his furry head lovingly. "Sorry for the trouble. I hope he didn't hurt anyone."

"Oh no, the most harm that fella did was some gouge marks to the ground and a couple bruises when he bowled us over," said another.

She nodded gratefully at them. "Thank you for looking after him. Here's some coins for the trouble." She handed them a few silver pieces and mounted the now quiet mistsaber. "Take care now."

With that, she brought Stormfyre around to face the open green hills and urged him onward. The two of them raced off out of Southshore into the failing light. They journeyed northwest across the darkening landscape, over rocky foothills, and through swaying pines. They passed the fertile Hillsbrad Fields just as the sun touched the treetops on the horizon, and soon afterwards, a massive purple dome came into sight, an enormous shield of twisting arcane energy surrounded by the wreckage of some town. This was the remains of the once magnificent Magi city of Dalaran. Since its fall during the Third War, the sorcerers of the Kirin Tor had returned to the ruins of their beloved city and erected the impenetrable shield around most of the area. Rumor was that they were busy reconstructing the towering spires within, a great project to restore Dalaran to its grand, former glory.

As they neared the ruins remaining outside the shield, Stormfyre slowed his pace. Great tremoring earth elementals rumbled back and forth across the remnants at the direction of numerous Magi, leveling and rebuilding. Amongst all the sorcerers, Karoru was not the only misfit. Speaking to what looked like the overseer was a young female Night Elf in long glistening robes, the white raiments of a Priest.

Karoru dismounted Stormfyre and stood behind the Elf until she was noticed. The overseer's sharp eyes glanced at her over the Priest's shoulder, but he continued on with their light conversation. Eventually, the Mage thanked her one last time for a delivery that had been made and bid her farewell. When the Priest turned around to make her leave, she stopped in surprise at the sight of Karoru. After a second's pause, she wrapped her arms around her in a merry embrace, her face lighting up with a wide smile.

"Kar! It's so nice to see you!"

Karoru chuckled pleasantly. "Nice to see you too, Dama. How've you been?"

"I've been well," she said. "Trying to help out with the rebuilding of Dalaran as much as I can."

The Rogue grinned slightly in amusement. "I've always said you should've trained as a Mage. Everyone knows you have the intelligence."

Damalia laughed. "Ah well, ever since the Sundering, our race has been reluctant to delve into magic. I suppose we've rather lost our aptitude for it. But anyways, what brings you up here? You must've taken a long flight from Stormwind."

Karoru grew grim again. "I actually need your help with something."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Tailia, does it?" she said, looking at her sharply.

"But…how did you know?!" the Rogue responded with surprise.

Damalia let out a long sigh and took her arm. "Kar, come with me." She led her away from the dusty town ruins towards the refreshing pine trees. "Tai was my cousin, too, you know. I got the letter yesterday. Of course, in the SI:7 way, it told me hardly anything beyond the fact that she had been killed. And also knowing the nature of SI:7, I figured there was a lot more to it. Now, how long have we known each other?"

"Almost all our lives," Karoru said with a puzzled look at her cousin as if wondering the connection between the question and the subject of their conversation.

"See, I was never as close to Tailia as you were, but I know how you think and I know your skills at gathering information. I knew that once you figured out the real details of her death you would try to do something."

Karoru smiled and shook her head slowly. "I'm pretty much an open window to you, huh."

Damalia smiled in return. "Pretty much. Now are you going to tell me what you're up to or not?"

The Rogue nodded and sat herself down at the base of one of the trees. For the next few minutes she shared the entire story of what happened and her plans to set everything right. Damalia listened attentively at her side like the faithful cousin she has always been. Smart, wise, and understanding. That was what she was. Once Karoru finished, she wrapped her arms around her once again.

"Don't you worry, Kar. I'll be the first one there."

Karoru smiled brightly with appreciation. "Thank you so much, Dama."

"We're family," she said, smiling back. "We stick together." She stood up and brushed herself off. "Come on. Let's go see if we can't recruit Titus."

"Ah there you go reading my mind again," Karoru said with a grin, rising to her own feet.

Damalia laughed and turned to face the open air. She placed two fingers to her lips and whistled a high, clear note. Almost at once, a proud magnificent stallion trotted from out of the trees to her side. The Priest mounted the sleek palomino as Karoru slipped atop her loyal mistsaber. Together, they rode off through the hills back toward Southshore.

List of original characters:

Karoru -- Night Elf Rogue
Tyzaru -- Human Warrior
Stasya -- Human Paladin
Kylius -- Dwarf Paladin
Jeishiro -- Draenei Mage
Damalia -- Night Elf Priest
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Tailia -- Night Elf Rogue
Garth -- Night Elf Druid
Harley
Saruki