Somehow, months had literally flown by. Haylan wasn't even sure on how much time had passed between his being ordered to the beach and his waking in the Gilnean district of Stormwind. He, and the rest of his team had been disbanded almost immediately after they docked at Stormwind Harbor. He would miss Anjanetta, of course, but he was just fine with the distance being a member of the Alliance's forces had created between DenJer and his own person. Being in Stormwind, even in the area built specifically for his fellow Gilneans, Haylan felt uncomfortable walking around in his Worgen form. The people beyond the official turf of Gilnean Embassy seemed to be slightly uncomfortable with the affliction the Gilneans carried. In fact, they openly referred to Haylan and his people as Worgen, despite the control they had over their more primal nature.

While the inhabitants were quickly able to accommodate the earliest arrivals from Gilneas, the later refugees had been forced to wait and continue battling the Forsaken who attacked day after day, relentlessly. Haylan had been impressed by the fact that if nothing else, the Horde was indeed persistent. Eventually, the Worgen District (as the denizens of Stormwind City itself had taken to calling it) was built and Haylan, along with a host of other refugees were sent from the battlefield that the bulk of their homeland had become, to live among their new allies. Truly, Stormwind and Gilneas had been allies once, that much he had learned from the history he had learned while attending the lower classes all Gilneans were required to take before pursuing any sort of mastery. Remembering the earliest lesson he had learned while in the chapel of Brookhaven, and looked himself over in the mirror. People unaffected by the Worgen curse would fear what he had dubbed his "in-combat" state. So, looking every bit a normal human, steel colored irises aside, Haylan ventured into the Trade District, clutching the small scrap of parchment in his hand with a tight grip, making his way to the Mage Quarter.

You are hereby ordered for induction into the Armed Forces of the Grand Alliance of the nations and kingdoms consisting of; Darnassus, Gnomeregan, Ironforge, The Exodar, Gilneas, and Stormwind, and to report to The Wizard's Sanctum, within the western portion of Stormwind City, two days from the arrival of this letter at dawn for forwarding to an Armed Forces Induction Station.

-Brigadier General Roy Mustang

"Hey! You there!"

Haylan sighed internally and braced himself for the onslaught of insults he knew would be coming. He was unsure of what it was, be it his gait, the odd color of his eyes (many people had gray eyes, but as far as he could tell, only people actually born looking like a Worgen had steel colored eyes), or something else, his first day in the city, he had inadvertently outed himself as a Gilnean, and therefore one of the "mangy man-beasts who would be better off put down than to walk around with the curse coursing through his veins, threatening normal folk, thank-you-very-much" as one of the busy body locals had stated. Who knew there was still racism alive and well even in these modern days? It was one thing to hate the Horde and the monsters who would creep about through the night, but something completely different to be prejudiced against innocent people like Haylan.

Or is it. I can't help what I was born as, but neither can Orcs, Trolls, or Tauren. Even the Forsaken, by extension are innocent. That realization shocked Haylan. Had he not just been forced from his home and training because of that very group? It's not like they banded together and made that decision. They have superior officers just like we do. Disobeying an order could spell death if you're under the wrong person, he thought with a shudder. Can a raised and rotted corpse die if it's already dead though?

"Oi! I'm talking to you!"

Haylan shook his head from side to side to clear his random thoughts. It certainly wouldn't do to dwell on the possible humanity of creatures who made heretical claims that the elven of the world devolved from them, monsters from the bowels of the twisting nether, reanimated zombies, and strangely sentient cow-persons. Haylan had developed a bad habit of blurting out whatever stray thought crossed his mind. Then he would be a traitor and a murderous wolf monster. He turned his head to locate the source of the voice, which in and of itself was odd after spending months being able to just turn his ears.

A boy roughly his age, though far larger than Haylan was, perked his eyebrows when Haylan actually looked at him and jogged over. From a distance, Haylan had misjudged him. He had thought the boy to be a human, but he was not. He was most certainly a Night Elf. Haylan smacked himself mentally. How had he missed those ears?! While the boy was dressed in typical clothing of a resident of Stormwind, he clearly was not human.

"Name's Talysus," said the elf, extending his right hand, "and you're..."

"Uh... Haylan."

"Good to meet you," said Talysus, "You looked a little lost, where are you trying to get."

"Um, the Mage Quarter?" Haylan looked back at his note, not because he didn't know where he was going, but more because he needed to collect his mind. Lately, he had been having an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he was unsure as to what it was. It made him slightly uncomfortable. His eyes and Talysus's own green ones meeting made the odd stirring in his belly happen and it was a bit unnerving for this stranger to have that affect on him.

"Oh, you're really close to it then," Talysus said as he peered over Haylan's shoulder, looking at the letter for himself. "So are you a mage or a warlock?"

Haylan jumped a little at the question. From what he had understood, the elves had only recently allowed their own to begin studying non-nature magic again. The fact that this one was being so helpful with pointing him in the right direction and casually asked whether he was more attuned to arcane or fel magic was a bit odd. Or at least it seemed like it. "I'm nowhere near being fully trained," he said, "but I am a mage. Or at least learning how to be one at any rate."

"Oh yeah?" Talysus said with a smile, "I'd been a merchant for some time, selling specialty elixirs, draughts, and , which I still do mind you, before I was called upon by a force I still don't quite understand."

"What force was that?" asked Haylan.

"Nature. I just recently decided to take up druidism."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, but it's kind of difficult trying to fit in. Having spent most of my life living among humans has somewhat alienated me from some of the others. They don't like how interspersed I am with you guys."

"Oh. I'm n--"

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Talysus dismissively, "I can handle just about anything if I shift into bear form. Who's going to pick on a bear?"

"No. I mean. I-"

"Oh that's cute," Talysus smirked, ruffling Haylan's rusty brown hair, "you're worried for me. Really. I'm plenty fine. Anyway, here we are. I better be getting back to The Park before they realize I've skived off from manning my station again."

Before Haylan could say anything more, Talysus had shifted effortlessly into a cheetah and dashed away.

That... that's one seriously odd person, even for an elf, Haylan thought as he pushed the door to the large tower open. An invisible wind swept over him as he crossed the threshold and stepped in.

"Good morning," a woman said, coming down the stairs. "I am Jennea Cannon." Haylan nodded to the woman before demonstrating the Magi's Bow. She smiled at him and returned the gesture. "Good to see that despite the troubles facing your country, the older customs are still being passed down."

"Yes ma'am, they are," said Haylan. "Master Ryken has been adamant that we be schooled in the basics before learning the flashy stuff."

"Ryken!? That old devil is still around!? Oh that's great!" Jennea exclaimed. "I had feared the worst when Greymane ordered Gilneas be shut off from the rest of the Alliance."

"He was off to assist in keeping the Burning Legion at bay in Outland last I heard," supplied Haylan.

"Ah, he always was a bit of a hothead with a flair for adventuring," Jennea said thoughtfully, "I bet he was just itching to get back out there into the mix of things. Enough of that though, I'll pick your brain later to quell my thirst of information regarding my old friend soon enough. Let's access your progression thus far. Come this way with me."

Haylan followed the woman into a small room off to the side. He was sure that the room would be unassailable if one were not accompanied by Jennea. He hadn't even noticed the room until she turned her attention to it.

Inside the room, there was a shimmer of magic in the air, and not much else. Assuming he would have to demonstrate his abilities as he had with Ginny and Arik in the cold room, Haylan quickly strode over to the other side of the room, transforming as he went. Not noticing Jennea's look of confusion, Haylan raised his arms and began casting his longtime favorite, the Frostbolt.

"Wait! Wait!" Jennea said as a visibly flurry of coldness settled on either of Haylan's upturned, wavering hands. Haylan stopped obediently, just as he was about to bring his hands together to send the Frostbolt flying toward the woman. "That damned Ryken!"

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" asked Haylan, immediately dropping back into his human form, cheeks flush with pink and embarrassment.

"It's not you. I forget that Ryken likes to do things far harder than strictly necessary. I presume you've spent a good portion of time practicing the same spells over and over?" At Haylan's silent nod, Jennea smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "There is a much easier way of going about your training. You're familiar with the sensation you get when it's time to learn a new spell or better the ones you currently know when the power you've amassed has grown some, yes?"

Haylan nodded.

"Alright, instead of being shown some long, tedious technique, there's a far simpler way. All you need to do is see a certified mage trainer. We'll look into your eyes to ensure that you've attained the necessary level of power, and implant the correct technique for casting new or improved spells. We've even broken down the preferred learning order of every spell our class is capable of along with all three specialization branches. Instead of wasting time and forcing you to unlock your own mind, we more or less open the door for you.

"That's not to say that we just give you full access to your potential. That would be foolish. You would most likely be ripped apart by such an exponential increase in power. Either that or you wouldn't have the internal power supply to adequately fuel the spells. So, like I said, we've devised a spell-by-level system along with a talent-tier to accompany it."

"Talent tier? Levels? Wait! Is that like dinging!?" Haylan said the last word with gusto, excited to have used the word he remembered either Ginny or Arik using.

"Let me find a better way to explain this..."

Nearly half an hour had passed before Jennea had sufficiently explained the leveling and talent specialization (spec for short) systems. Haylan was surprised to hear that just about everyone he would meet from that point on would have a predetermined level and or spec of their own. To prove her point, Jennea pulled a flow chart of sorts from her robe pockets. Haylan laughed to himself once he realized that he had indeed been going about things the hard way. He was thrilled to see that Ginny had been right about him though, he had indeed been subconsciously working his way to becoming a Frost Mage.

"Alright, now, to gauge your level," Jennea said. "Come over here, and just try to stand still for a second or so, okay? I could sense you from the canals, so you've got quite a bit of stored up experience that needs a place to go."

She closed her eyes and raised both hands to the sides of Haylan's face. He thought her hands smelled flowery, like his own when he had been out picking herbs for his inscription. In the time he had been in Stormwind before being told off by that one busybody for being a "Worgen mongrel," he had wandered into Catarina Stanford, the local inscription trainer and had somehow found himself more interested in making and discovering glyphs versus mixing up potions and elixirs.

"It feels like you should be around level twenty or so," Jennea announced, bringing Haylan back from the trance he seemed to frequently found himself in when he got to thinking. She casually tapped her foot on the ground, causing a portion behind her to rise. She switched positions with Haylan before forcing him to sit on the pillar. "It looks like you got stalled in your training somewhere around L7. I'm going to try to remove a handful of the blocks on your core and implant a few spells at the same time, okay?"

"Will it hurt?"

"If anything goes wrong, we'll both be greasy smears on the walls," she said seriously, "but at the same time, your walking around with such a large build up has essentially converted you into a Living Bomb, which is ironic given your affinity for Frost magics."

"Living bomb?" Haylan gulped and opened his eyes wide.

"Yeah, it's something the most educated Fire Mages are able to convert enemies into, so yeah... irony that you a-- I mean. It's really nothing to worry about. Just try to keep your eyes glued to mine and stay calm. This should be rather easy."

And just like that, Haylan found his mind crowded. He was actually surprised by the sensation of Jennea being in his mind with him. They stood in a narrow hall, six doors, spaced several feet from the one before it, stood open behind him, while the one in front of him remained closed. He looked at it, and started to reach for it, curiosity getting the better for it for a moment before he pulled back and looked at Jennea, or the mental projection of her in his mind. Either way, she nodded at him, and he turned the nob. Slowly, he pulled the door toward him and felt a great and sudden whoosh of an unbeknownst force flash through him. Thinking about it, he realized an intense pressure he had not noticed until it was slightly alleviated by being allowed to flow into the space behind the door he had just opened. A large, ragged looking book materialized a moment later. Jennea raised her hand and swiped her hand in front of it. An archaic form of writing trailed the path he hand had taken, three lines, each on top of the other. Haylan blinked rapidly, three times before the book slammed shut and vanished. The duo opened another dozen doors after that, with the book appearing after every other door, with Jennea swiping her hand each time it manifested and Haylan's eyes automatically blinking for each line of the ancient writing after they appeared, some overwriting previously established ones. After the book had vanished for the last time, Haylan stretched lazily and found the pressure that had been nearly unbearable when they had opened the first door was at a comfortable level, he smiled lopsidedly as he Jennea smirked and nodded at him before vanishing.

"Haylan?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head, bringing a hand up to rub his neck and shoulders. Without meaning to make it happen, the giant book appeared behind his eyelids. Haylan smiled as he realized what it was. It was his own personal book of spells. This book was the mental representation of every spell he had learned thus far. The front of the book detailed all of his natural skills, or at least the ones which existed outside of his being a mage. Then, looking beyond that, Haylan saw that his actual mage spells were arranged by which school of magic it came from. Tumbing through each section, he saw that he could now channel the raw force of arcane magic into what would appear in the material world as little missiles, summon a Blizzard, call up a pillar of flames to scorch the earth and those standing on it, make his mana actually manifest and form a shield of sorts, but the best thing, at least in his mind was that he could force some enemies into becoming other creatures, specifically docile little sheep, should he need to. In addition to the new spells, he had access to stronger Frostbolts, Fireballs, Fire Blasts, and conjured food and drink. He had learned a few other spells, but they didn't excite him nearly as much as the ones on the forefront of his mind.

"Haylan?" Haylan opened his eyes finally, blinking rapidly. "You had me worried for a moment. I thought I had actually succeeded in melting your mind or something equally horrible!"

"Sorry," Haylan said sheepishly (he mentally chuckled at that thought. Sheepish. Ha.), "I got a little wrapped up in the spellbook... is it okay to call it a spellbook?"

"That's exactly what it is!" said Jennea, guiding Haylan back to the main room, "It's surprising that you have had such unorthodox training, but your mind automatically latched on to the book concept. I've had to train more than my fair share of people to organize their minds into books rather than webs or spirals or whatever other strange system they keep dreaming up. Just last week I had—"

"Is this one of the newbies?"

Haylan and Jennea looked up the staircase. Haylan automatically went for the customary mage greeting while Jennea just rolled her eyes. "This is Haylan," she said.

"Yeah... like I care," snapped the man. "Newb, get your flea-bitten ass up to Purdue before--"

"Oh give it a rest already Jens!" yelled Jennea. "They're with us now, whether you like it or not, so just get over yourself."

"Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?!" roared the man apparently named Jens. "No matter how many of these bitches are deemed safe to be around us normal humans, they ARE NOT! They are filthy beasts now and if even Lady Proudmoore nor even The Council of Six combined can lift their curse, they are as damned as those taken by the plague! Why can you not see that?"

Haylan's cheeks visibly blanched and his mouth fell open. Is he SERIOUS!? he thought. He can't be. He can't possibly be that stupid...

Jennea threw her hands out and an explosion of purple and blue sprang from her fingertips and rippled across Jens's chest, sending the man flying backwards into a bookshelf, which toppled over onto him. "You. Me. Outside. NOW!" she barked, then turned to Haylan, the dangerous glint still in her eye, "You head on up to Purdue. She'll teach you how to properly teleport to from anywhere you may be right back to this very building."

Haylan nodded, wide eyed and practically flew up the stairs three at a time, only pausing long enough to see Jens cast what he suspected was the Arcane Explosion he had just learned to send the bookshelf and it's contents flying as he marched toward the door. Haylan was absolutely sure that Jens and Jennea were about to have an old fashioned duel. While he wanted to see one first hand, he continued upwards. There was absolutely NO WAY he was about to face Jennea in an act of defiance just to see this one. He was sure that there would be many duels to come in his future as long as prejudiced people like Jens were free to roam about. Haylan absently wondered how many people shared Jens's point of view on the matter of Gilneans and their newly reclaimed place within the Alliance.

"I take it Jens was foolish enough to let his tongue slip in front of Jennea again?"

Haylan mutely nodded. The room he had stepped into, via the odd portal at the top of an otherwise nowhere-bound staircase, was filled with a handful of magi. It was the woman nearest the portal on the opposite wall who had spoken when he had entered. Haylan turned and pointed at the portal behind him and cocked his head to the side in puzzlement.

"Master Portalmancer... the portal you just stepped through bars non-magi from entering this room from that side. I thought it prudent that if something should happen, we be able to hear a warning coming from the outside world so we'd not walk into an ambush when we really only needed to get some fresh air or use a real loo instead of making portal potties. We really haven't the time for people to be coming in and out asking us moronic questions. Or tampering with The Rift, so that's why non-magi are barred from entering..." Purdue sighed as Haylan blinked at her blankly. "What are they teaching the lower level these days? There is a whole world filled with stories of the past! I swear you lot are not being properly educated. Here... come here," she said, taking a firm grip of Haylan's chin with her hand. Her brown eyes peered into his, and in a much faster transaction than had transpired with Jennea downstairs, when she released him a moment later, Haylan found that he knew how to open a personal portal for himself which would bring him to this very room.

"What about this?" asked Haylan. He pulled his letter out of his robe, showing it to Purdue.

"Hmm, yes... well this can wait. I'll record that you've come in, but I think there is something more important for you to take care of. Visit the established Alliance cities, and seek out the Portalmancer in each. Maybe while you travel, you'll learn a thing or two about the history of Azeroth. It wasn't so long ago that the area known as Desolace was actually desolate and without much greenery. While you're at it, go find the Archaeologist and see if you can't learn something more during your travels."

"Um, okay. I mean," he performed the Magi's Bow, "yes ma'am."

"Once you've learned from all of the portalmancers, return here. Got it?" asked Purdue. Haylan nodded fervently. "Good. And here, take this portal. It wouldn't do to have you see what Jennea did to Jens. She never loses when she's righteously infuriated, even if it is on the behalf of another."

Haylan stepped into the portal. It was a different sensation from the other portals he had taken so far in his life. Ginny's were always cool and like riding a current of water while Arik's were steamy and like swimming through a hot spring on a hot summer day. This one felt like a giant hand had grabbed Haylan's spine and jerked him forward. It didn't exactly hurt, but it was far from comfortable. Thinking about it, Haylan smirked to himself. Each type of portal had a strong tie to the caster. Or at least that was what he had assumed. Ginny's was cool because she chose to spec (he liked the abbreviation he had learned from Jennea) Frost, Arik's was warm because he specced Fire, and he had to assume that from his understanding of arcane magic to be a simple force, was what was wrapped around his spine at the moment. Just as the pressure neared becoming uncomfortable, Haylan landed.

He blinked and looked around, trying to get his bearings. He was back in his room, in the Gilnean section of Stormwind. Without hesitation, Haylan moved to pack his bags. He was more than ready to get out of Stormwind. It was a nice place and all, but the abundance of ignorance regarding him and his countrymen was getting to him. Absently spelling the last of his things into his pack, Haylan grabbed a quill and parchment. Recently, he felt as though his memory was slipping, so he made a list of things he needed to do before heading out to find all of the other capital cities.

The first thing on his list was to grab a few of the basic provisions he would need. Food and drink weren't on the list. He could now conjure a delicious bit of purified water and a fresh loaf or two of bread. On second thought, maybe I can spare a few silver to get some sort of cheese... Bread and water is so... Yeah. Cheese, he thought, adding it to his list. Nearly an hour later, Haylan was headed back to the Mage Quarter. He figured he may as well go ahead and get the reagent he would need to be able to teleport himself about once he had learned all of the specific spells to bop from place to place.

"Hey! Haylan!"

Haylan started and Blinked before looked around. A powerful cat slunk up beside him, slipping out of the shadows Haylan had not noticed. The beast poofed (that was the best way he could describe it) with a puff of white smoke and a small crack right before Haylan's eyes. He thought to Blink again, but his body wasn't ready for that just yet. Instead, Haylan threw his arms out and closed his eyes. He fired the first spell that had come to mind, and when he opened his eyes again, he burst into laughter. Before him stood a surprised looking Talysus. A shock of white, curly hair had replaced his own, which was naturally violet and straight. He ran a hand through it and burst into laughter.

"Oh! Sorry!" Haylan cried, " you just scared me and I wasn't sure of what to do, and it was the first spell that I could think of that wouldn't actually hurt you but would maybe stop you and then I... I'm sorry," he finished lamely.

"Okay, I won't be sneaking up on you again any time soon," he said. "But... um... you should probably switch back before someone sees you."

Haylan gasped and let his Worgen guise fall away, leaving the more pleasing, human one in its place.

"So where are you off to? Did you get your assignment already?" Talysus asked.

"Sort of," Haylan said, "I've been told to go to each of the capital cities and learn the teleportation spell from the portalmancer. That's all, really."

"Ah, well they must have given you a lot of time then, that's quite a task."

"Actually," Haylan said, thoughtfully scrunching his face to one side, "I don't believe they gave me a time limit."

"Great, that means you can come with me," said Talysus.

"Um, come with you where?" asked Haylan.

"Well I was sent over to The Stockade, we heard an explosion over at The Park, to see what was going on," Talysus explained while Haylan purchased a few more of the provisions he would need for his trip, "and I was tasked with quelling the uprising."

"Good luck?" Haylan said, with his eyebrow raised. He dropped the runes into his pack and made for the door. He didn't quite see what he would be doing that could possibly help the druid. He knew the fabled prison about as well as anyone else did. He knew it was a place he certainly never wanted to go, for punishment or... punishment. No way could stepping into a mob of murderous lunatics be counted as an adventure.

"Well, I can't go in by myself," Talysus whispered as he caught Haylan's hand. Haylan tried to shake him off, but found that he was staring into the elf's eyes. There were really a pretty green...

Haylan slapped himself mentally.

Talysus said nothing else, but he kept his eyes locked on Haylan's and kept a firm grip on his hand.

Had he been able to, Haylan would have thrown his arms up and run away screaming like a madman. It was one thing to fight the Forsaken considering they were horrid, twisted undead minions of the scourge, it was something completely different to step into a prison filled with plotting and rebelling convicts who were most likely in there for a good reason and be on the OFFENSIVE portion of that particular conflict. To Haylan's dismay, before he knew what he was doing, he nodded slowly. Some other part of him, the adrenaline junkie within, had examined the challenge and accepted it without consulting him. He decided that part of him was a complete and total moron.

"Great!," Talysus said, giving the smaller boy a shoulder hug and steering him toward the path that would take them out to the canals,which would in turn take them to The Stockades.

"Hold on," Haylan said, trying to stop his legs from so willingly going along with his new companion, "I'm not exactly good at this offensive mage thing. I don't even know what to do. And what are we going to do if one of the convicts actually hurts one of us?"

"Oh don't worry about it," Talysus said dismissively, "there are five of us going in together. That should be more than enough. There's a human huntress going with us along with a Gilnean druid and priestess pair as well.

"Besides," he said, giving Haylan another shoulder squeeze and leaned in close to whisper into his ear as they rounded the corner and three people (clearly not of the Stormwind Guard) came into view, "I promise to keep you safe."

Haylan blushed from the tips of his toes to the start of his hairline. Before he could comment, a bestial roar sounded from the group of three.

Haylan froze.

DenJer's cool, steely eyes fell on Haylan, then Talysus, then the latter's arm, as it was still draped over the shoulder of the former.

"Uh-um. Hi?" stammered Haylan. He rolled his shoulders, causing Talysus's arm to slide off. He didn't know why he had done it. Really, there was nothing between him or either of the two other guys. Sure, he and DenJer had grown up together, but that didn't mean anything. He had grown up with Anjanetta as well, and she didn't act that way. Thinking of her, Haylan nodded mutely to her, realizing that she must have been the Gilnean priestess Talysus had mentioned on the walk over, then the human and her wolf companion.

"Good morning," DenJer growled through unparted teeth. The dangerous flash of yellow popped in and out of his eyes as he spoke, "I'm glad to see you've wasted no time... 'acquainting' yourself with our friend here."

"It's not like that," Haylan started.

"Yeah, we met in the dead of night some time ago, actually," Talysus said, the challenge put down and sealed with him putting his arm back up and around Haylan's shoulders.

"It's not like that!" Haylan cried, "I mean, it is, but not really. It's more like-"

"It's more like you keep picking everyone else above me," groused DenJer. "I was going to let you and Anjanetta's little trick slide. But since we've debarked the ship, it's like you're hiding from me, which makes me wonder how long you and Ashley had been planning out your little relationship. How long!?

"And when I came to talk to you about everything, you acted like you wanted to be all scared and hit me in the mouth with a fucking walking stick! Before the Forsaken, you were creeping around town hoping I wouldn't see you. I saw you. I saw you and the way you clung to him like the sun rose and set at his whim."

Haylan's mouth fell open and he stared at DenJer. What in the world was he going on and on about!? There had been nothing between him and Ash. Sure, they had quickly become the best of friends, but that was it. They may have shared a bed from time to time, but that was really only in the beginning when they were both scared out of their wits and had made the first of many very adult decisions. It was a comfort thing. Haylan himself had been sharing a room with DenJer since he was seven, and after eight years of sharing a room with someone, it was rather disconcerting to be all alone in a new and unfamiliar place. As for Ash, Haylan knew he had come from a large family and he and his two older brothers had all shared a room.

And this particular outburst had been the reason he had avoided DenJer for as long as he had. He knew him. He knew he would get wrapped up in his passions and explode. What Haylan still didn't know was how to handle this sort of thing. He really was only barely of age, and that was by the oldest of Gilnean customs as he was the only surviving member of his family. Out in the rest of the world, he would be looked at as a child still by most, especially with the way the elves practically never aged and were almost the oldest yet youngest creatures from the old stories, and how dwarves and gnomes didn't even seem to measure time the way normal humanoids did. He had only been accepted into the higher classes because he was considered to be somewhat intelligent, and thus a few years younger than both Anjanetta and DenJer.

"Hello!?" DenJer barked, snapping his fingers in Haylan's face.

"Sorry, what?"

"Well good. You've made your choice then," DenJer sniped. "Sorry, I'm out of here. I'm not about to sit here and be blatantly disrespected by the likes of either of you." He jabbed a finger toward Haylan and Talysus.

"DenJer..."

"No!"

"We all need to talk about this," said Anjanetta. She had initially seemed amused by DenJer putting on another public display of idiocy, but had quickly become annoyed once she saw how uncomfortable it Haylan had become.

"No, we don't. I'd be just fine never seeing or speaking to any of you ever again," he said.

"So you're just going to turn and run the other way, or maybe be rude and just stroll by without a word when you see us?" asked Talysus, putting a special emphasis on the last word. "Or, will you do the unwise thing of trying to cause a scene like you have now?"

"I've done no such thing," DenJer snarled.

"You have if you'll look around and notice the small audience we've attracted." Haylan looked around at Talysus's words, and it was true. They had definitely become a spectacle. "I would suggest you lower your tone before I assist you with that matter."

"Are you THREATENING ME!?" yelled DenJer.

"I'm promising with all sincerity, friend."

DenJer opened his mouth, then shut it again. He took a deep, calming breath. When Haylan shuddered, his face fell a little.

"I... I'll be requesting a transfer immediately." DenJer moved like he wanted to touch Haylan in some way, but when he saw the other boy flinch again, he dropped his eyes to the ground and walked away.

There was nothing he could say at that moment. His anger and hatred toward his friend had manifested in a way that he was quickly growing to regret. He would apologize later. Haylan saw all of that in the split second after he had automatically flinched under his longtime friend's gaze and the time it took said friend to look down abashedly. The long, awkward pause between DenJer's departure and someone speaking was the longest two seconds of Haylan's life thus far.

"So do we find someone else to go in with us, or just go with the four of us?" asked Anjanetta, though she corrected herself once the hunter's wolf barked.

"What do you need?" asked someone walking forward from the crowd.

"We'll need a heavy hitter," said Anjanetta, "I think it's best to have all of ." She looked back at Haylan and raised an eyebrow when she noticed the tall elf who had recruited her for this specific adventure still had an arm draped around him.

"Well, I'm Isai, nice to meet ya!" said the tentacles.

No! Stop that. Haylan thought to himself. It's not her fault she has tentacles on her face... it's kinda nasty though... I have to find something else about her to focus on.

"Pleased to meet you as well. I'm Talysus, this is Haylan, and that's Anjanetta, Arley, and Harry," he said, squeezing Haylan once again, and nodding to the Gilnean priestess, human hunter and his pet respectively.

"So where are we headed?" asked Isai, practically bouncing on the backs of her hooves.

Fifteen minutes later, Haylan was still very shaky about what he was about to do. He had spoken with the cowardly guard who was supposed to be in charge of Stormwind Stockade. He quickly promised gold and to spread good word about Haylan and his party should they succeed. When Haylan asked what would happen if they were in there too long, the guard laughed at them. That definitely didn't boost his confidence.

So now that he was standing at the bottom of the steps, Haylan shivered independently of the chill of the dank basement. He was somewhat perturbed by how they had only taken a few steps down and felt isolated from the outside world. It was like the dungeon they were in was the world. He didn't like that.

Haylan felt invisible thorns wrap around and protect his body and a bit of tougher. He felt a tiny bit more confident than he had upstairs, a little tougher. He looked at Talysus, who winked at him. They were going to have to have a little chat, in the mean time though, Haylan quickly cast Arcane intellect on everyone who had come downstairs and surrounded himself with Frost Armor.

"Are you sure I should be in here?" Haylan whispered to no one in particular.

"From what I've been told, there are going to be dozens and dozens of people too scared to get their own hands dirty and will ask you to go in their place," Anjanetta said, saying a quick prayer over each of her compatriots. "If nothing else, you'll get a good amount of experience and know what to expect from now on."

Oh... joy, he thought to himself.

Haylan summoned the cold of the dank basement to his person and began channeling a Frostbolt once he was sure Talysus had a good grip on the convicts littering that particular bit of hallway. He knew he had slipped into his Worgen form the moment he had called upon the chilly nature of the room to do his bidding. For once, he didn't particularly care. He just wanted to get out of the place alive.

Here we go...

He let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding and hurled the Frostbolt blindly into the crowd and grimaced as he waited to see if it would have any impact whatsoever.