The Dangers of Ashenvale

Ti'Ran tore through the surface of the river water, panting desperately. The Southfury was a powerful river and it forcefully carried the belf-troll down between the boundaries of Azshara and Ashenvale. As luck would have it, the river managed to eventually push Ti'Ran onto Ashenvale's shore. Still shaken from her rocky flight, the belf troll trembled as she crawled up past the shore into the soft green grass.

"How deh HELL am I still alive!" She exclaimed as she checked herself for any major injuries. Miraculously, her body was unharmed, aside from a few tears in her dress robes and a couple of scratches. Although she had lost Captain Grunwald's head, she knew she had to find a way back to Valormok immediately.

(Dat way Zumie can…deh seals!)

Ti'Ran immediately searched her inner robe and sighed in relief when she found the small roll of fabric still tucked just above her waist belt. She turned to look up at the towering cliffs of Azshara across the mighty Southfury River. She knew she had no chance in climbing such a steep cliff side. She peered further upstream to see if the bridge was still visible but it seemed to have disappeared.

(Mustah crumbled from deh blast.)

Being that there was no prevalent way back to Azshara, Ti'Ran slowly turned to look up at the mass stretch of green and violet canopy behind her. She had heard too many times about inexperienced adventurers wandering into the contested homeland of the mystic night elves who had never returned. A young blood elf troll of the Horde had no business venturing into these lands for only danger lay ahead, but what choice did she really have?

Ti'Ran started up the hill and looked back at the cliffs of Azshara one last time.

"Zumie, please find me." As she continued to climb, she watched the green and magenta foliage begin to surround her. She recalled the night elf, Mariel mentioning a Horde base camp under siege near the area.

(Warsong Lumber Camp may be 'round heah…)

Surely enough, she began to hear the sounds of battle close by as she climbed yet another hill. When she reached the top of the hill, she looked down upon the Horde camp. The massive valley had been completely cleared of trees and an odd, dry heat filled the air. The smell was familiar enough.

(Death.) Bodies of both orc and night elf lay everywhere as those, living continued to fight. Ti'Ran raised a skeptical brow as she thought about the Horde's logic behind gaining this land. It was obvious why the night elves fought. They were simply defending their territory and their precious trees. What she couldn't understand was why the Horde needed so much lumber anyway? Her faction prided themselves on iron and steel and Orgrimmar was clearest example of that pride. So why cut down all the trees… to further instigate war? She quickly stopped her thread of thought.

(Hold on, girl! Jes' whose side ya on, anyway!)

Remembering her call of duty, Ti'Ran immediately ran down the hill towards the battle. Having lost her staff in the river, she quickly picked up an axe off a dead body and headed for the first night elf she spotted. The river-drenched Horde member attacked a night elf, who attempted to make a sneak attack on a fellow orc but before she could raise her weapon, a massively heavy object busted into her side and she was knocked to the ground. Ti'Ran struggled to roll over but when she managed to reach for her weapon, she looked up in utter shock. Another orc stood before her with his mace raised.

"DIE, NIGHT ELF SCUM!"

"No…" Ti'Ran barely uttered. Three arrows suddenly shot into the orc's chest and he fell back as a night elf pushed his bow behind him and whipped out a knife. He quickly slit the orc's thraoat and turned to Ti'Ran to give her a hand.

"Help us, little sister!" he called out in Darnassian. Ti'Ran backed away until she was up on her feet again. She turned and ran down into the valley at the center of the crossfire. Pain seared into her arm as she looked down to find an arrow planted there and yet she continued to run. Another orc came at her with their axe and she ducked at their attack.

"STOP THIS!" she shrieked in Orcish. "I…I am Horde!"

(Am I forgetting the Orchish language?) She thought suddenly as the orc swung again. Apparently, he was not listening either way.

"I'll crush you, night elf!" he shouted.

"I not…"

The orc was suddenly attacked from behind by two more night elves. As they took the orc down, another tugged at Ti'Ran's robes.

"Help me! Please young Druid, heal me!" the severely wounded night elf begged as she lie on the ground, covered in blood. Ti'Ran managed to get out of the female's grip and ran as fast as she could out of the Warsong battlefield.

Ti'Ran reached the outer perimeter and fell to her knees in the brush. She turned to her arm and broke the arrow before painfully withdrawing it. As she began to wrap her arm with strips of her wet robes, her ears pricked up at the sound of rustling leaves and a strange hissing. Her eyes quickly darted about but she saw nothing. She tended to her arm for only a moment when she noticed, the slightest movement from the corner of her eye. The foliage to her left had a sour green hue that seem unfitting to the rest of her view. She steadily came to her feet and backed away as a Giant Wildthorn Venomspitter came out of the shadows. Ti'Ran turned and ran three strides before losing ground and falling down a sharp hill into a small graveyard. The world spun for a moment as she watched the massive arachnid make its way down the hill.

(I'll be in dat grave if I don't MOVE!) She quickly picked back up and headed for a stone pathway up a hill. Outrunning the beast was an impossible feat, but she had to believe she could find a safe-way…somewhere… and soon! Luck came to her as she spotted a bridge crossing over a creek heading left on the road. She desperately bolted for the creek and reached halfway before a wet, heavy substance smacked into her back. The venom burned into her skin as the beast managed to reach out and scratch her back with one sharp talon. Ti'Ran ran beside the bridge and leapt into the creek. The waterway was far deeper than she thought and she remained sunken beneath the surface to watch and water. To her relief, the Venomspitter wanted no trouble with water and retreated back into the brush.

Ti'Ran smiled as she began to swim to the surface but she was stopped. Something grasped her foot and began to pull her further down into the water. She felt a sharp pain in her leg as she looked down to find a Shadethicket Barkripper sinking its teeth into her. She began to channel a druid spell of Wrath, but the power of nature would not yield to her. She watched a faint yellow glow of leaves appear and disappear quickly and she panicked as now she was running out of air. Using her other foot, she violently kicked the creature's face until it released her and she arose to the surface. Ti'Ran swam to shore and quickly stumbled out of the creek and up yet, another hill. The minute she reached the top, she froze, for yet another beast stood before her. The Shadowhorn Moonstag stared in fear for a short moment before nonchalantly returning to its grassy meal. Ti'Ran let out an exasperated sigh as she limped past the Stag and down the other side of the hill to another stone road… or perhaps the same one. Blood began to trickle down from her arrow wound and the bite on her leg. She grew nauseous and her sight grew blurry as the poisonous venom made its way through her blood stream.

The struggling blood elf troll traveled only a few yards down the road before she spotted another base with a familiar crest posted at the entrance. She smiled and limped a bit faster, relieved to be so close to another Horde camp. However, when she reached the small inlet leading down to the base, she came to find it under siege as well. Ti'Ran watched in astonishment as massive tree-like beasts launched boulders at the camp. The orcs and tauren fought back with weak defense and Ti'Ran immediately thought back to the orcs at Warsong.

(Dere ain't no way dey will know I'm an ally. To dem… I am deh enemy.) She rubbed her fingers over her upper arm where her Horde tattoo had been burnt off and the thought brought tears to the girl's eyes. She continued down the road.

Ti'Ran managed to limp nearly two miles down the winding road before she spotted two powerful looking orcs approaching on wolves. In a panic, she stumbled into the brush and climbed up the side of a rock face, away from the road.

"I'm runnin… from meh own faction." She laughed bitterly as tears of shame rolled down her cheeks. She found salvage on a grassy boulder, shaded by a tree that had sprouted from out of the rock face. She laid back and tried to channel her healing spell, but she could conjure nothing.

"Damn Druidism… if had I meh Shaman powers, I'd be healed by now." She cursed as she looked out beyond the rock face to a lovely valley divided by a river. High up on the hill, she was safe from the creatures that pranced and prowled below.

"Well… at least I'll die in a pretty place wit trees… an' flowers…" she gave a weak laugh. "Can't call on nature fo' spells fo' meh life… but I'll die in nature's embrace." The water from the creek had finally melted away the night elf makeup on her skin, revealing her lovely teal hue, once more. The water had also drained the violet dye from her hair, and it now streaked down her robes, mixed with blood.

"I nevah did have a place tah belong, heah on Azeroth, anyway…" She weakly reached into her inner robe and pulled out the roll of cloth. When she unrolled her father's seals and her mother's locks, she held them to her chest and looked up to the violet canopy.

(Now… I can be wit you… Pao… and Meme….) Ti'Ran closed her eyes.