The paths of life are often laid out for us. We follow the rules, listen to our elders and move along in life like any normal person would. However, like any good nature trail, there are surprises everywhere. Little twists and turns and side paths that'll go on for miles just so you can reach the little hidden stream with the beautiful waterfall and the simple tranquility that was worth the hour hike down. That is the path of a Hero. We live our lives normal for a while but then we come across the choice. Do we make a difference? Or do we move through the motions?
"I'm sorry about the loss of your friends" Avia spoke, her tread was light and she was quiet as both her and the warrior walked away from the happenings of the battle. The warrior stared at the back of her head for a while, and she could feel his eyes borrowing into her skull. She was ok with this; it meant he was paying attention. She sighed and spoke again, quietly, reaching the outskirts of the city by Stillwhisper pond. "As you know, the world is changing. The quality of hero is degrading." The warrior shook his head "How can you say that? You lead them all to slaughter?!" Avia sat down in the grass, and watched the water. The brightly colored fish in the pond glinted in the little rays of light that peeked through the unrelenting canopy of trees. "You have spent your life, in a little box. Listening to the stammering words of an old grey man who's never seen battle, much less lifted up a sword." She titled her head and sighed. The warrior clenched his fists, who the hell was she to say anything about them? What did she know that they did not? Still, he kept his cool the best he could, still. It was bubbling under the surface.
"Heroes aren't meant to be raised in a box, warrior." She spoke quietly, now eyeing one of the apprentices across the way, stacking books that had been knocked over in the attack. "We thrive on the hunt, the kill, the feeling we get inside when we save a life." She took her attention from the books to the warrior. "You cannot get that in a box. At your age, I was doing quests. Out in the deep parts of the world. Away from the city of my birth." She took a deep breath and waited from the protest that would soon come. But nothing was said. The warrior had eased up some. She had a point; nothing he learned in books was ever relevant to his class. He didn't cast very many spells and had no way of healing. A warrior's strength comes from training and practice. Not books. Avia nodded and continued "I learned what the true meaning of being a death knight was from going out into the world, and making my name." She stood up and looked at the warrior who still glared with cold blue eyes. "As I've herd, you've already made a name for yourself, Wyrmhelm." She grinned and raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
The warrior tightened his jaw "A name?" he spoke through clenched teeth. The death knight nodded "A name, your name. There aren't many like you are there? And even less so, those of your kind who are even given an ounce of respect like you have." He shook his head; he knew this is what it was going to come down to. You could see it in his face, the sharp angled jaw of an elf but the rosy cheeks of a human. His ears at half the length, his mother's eyes and his father's looks. "You and I aren't so different though, Wyrmhelm. Take a look at me" She took a step back and opened her arms. "Do I look anything like your typical blood elf? Hell no." She shook her head "I'm furthest from any of your faction's kind, same as you. " The warrior took a step forward and narrowed his eyes. "What even gives you the authority to call yourself horde then? What gives you the right to speak to me like we have anything in common?" Avia sighed and shook her head. "Child, the same price your parents paid for your safety, was the same I paid for mine."
"OH! Hold still you little creature!" Fora's voice rang out amongst the hushed conversations at the inn. The little kitten she held so dear was now giving her such a fuss when trying to get a chunk of bone that had clung to her fur. The priest put the cat on the table, took a step back and placed her hands on her hips. Her brow furrowed in frustration. A hearty laugh came from the corner and Fora spun around to see who it was. "This is why I prefer dogs." The words came from one of the heroes that joined the fight, now resting in the inn with the other elites who showed up. Fora sighed "You can't carry around dogs, and if you can it doesn't deserve to be called a dog." She replied and another laugh came from the figure who had now stepped forward into the light. He was an Orc, green skinned, soft eyes and a cheerful smile. "Heavy!" The little priest squealed and literally jumped at the Orc, giving him a quick hug. "I didn't see you come in! When did you arrive?" The Orc sighed and grumbled "At the end, I had the drag the other druid through the portal by his tail." Fora raised a brow "But I had the druid in my group…" Heavy crossed his arms.
"Fora, there are two…" Fora's face flushed and she hit her hand to her forehead "DUH!" She joked and sighed. "Good to see you here though, are the others waiting to regroup?" Heavy nodded "Just waiting on that damned death knight" Fora rolled her eyes. "Avia is busy, she'll be here soon. I promise. " Heavy narrowed his eyes at the priest for a moment, and she did it right back, keeping eye contact for a whole two minutes before Fora began giggling like crazy. Heavy rolled his eyes and chuckled, walking over to the cat who had clearly been oblivious to all of it, but simply worrying about cat things like, weather its ears where clean or not. "One two and! Ah! *RWWWAARRRR* Got it!" The cat's ears had gone flat against its head and it shied away from the Orc who now held a small tuff f fur and a bone chip in-between his fingers. Fora covered her mouth for a moment and ran to the animal, grabbing it tight as it tried to get away from the both of them. "Shhh Bunny…its ok! Look! No more goobers!" She began to pet the animals belly and before long the angry cat turned into one of tranquility.
The warrior held silent, looking down at his helmet he had clutched between his fingers. A Faint, engraved crest shone brightly through the grime that had covered it up. 'My parents…' he thought and Avia cleared her throat. "I didn't bring you here to talk about the past; I came to offer you a future." She took a breath and waited for her words to sink in, as the warrior was clearly distracted. 'My parents….I promised, id make you proud…' He looked up from his hands and back to Avia, who was about a foot away now. "A future without a cage, without bars, without limits and rules. A future to guarantee what you were born for." The warriors face went back to stone "Ok…" he spoke, his body now relaxed and interested in the wretched woman's words. "Join us….Fora and I." She spoke, and he looked confused for a moment before Avia began again. "We belong to a group of….misfits shall I say. Those of the highest degree who rock the world, like it was our bitch." The warrior sighed, what a great pitch….'We make the world our bitch' doesn't say very much, but from what he had herd come from this woman's mouth, she wasn't one to sugar coat anything. "I need time" He spoke but not a moment later Avia shook her head. "This is a one chance offer, Wyrmhelm. You either take it or you don't."
The warriors began to open his mouth when they both herd the sound of Fora's giggles coming from the main gate. Behind her, was the crowd of what he thought were elites from orgimmar. He now saw that they looked nothing like city grunts. All different races from the horde, banded together in one formation and they got along…..He could hear the jokes being made back and forth between those in the crowd.
Two orc's, a shaman and what looked to be like another warrior making jokes about the troll rouge in front of them tanking, who looked extremely displeased and began to squeal in protest. The brightly colored hair on her head seemed to change hues and shades every few seconds. A druid, chasing after one of the Undead woman and a blood elf male running after the druid yelling something about "This is not the place for that!" What seemed even more odd was that one of the company they kept, was changing classes and races rapidly, and spoke in a very thick accent that made most of the group stop and ask just what he meant. "Hey!" Fora yelled and waved enthusiastically at Avia and the warrior. The warrior coughed and made no attempt to wave back but only to be elbowed by the death knight, who was waving back. "Fora is very persistent. If you don't wave back, she'll continue to bug you until you pay attention." The warrior sighed; he was right about this girl. Very distracting….Still, he lifted a hand and gave a halfhearted wave. It had apparently satisfied the priest because she went gallivanting off to her undead horse mount parked by the portal.
The group had taken light to the benches in the area and took a seat, apparently waiting for something or someone. Avia turned her eyes back to the Warrior. "Last chance, they're waiting, and Heavy gets cranky when things aren't done in a timely manner" She mumbled the last part, but the warrior heard it loud and clear. Avia waited a moment, staring at the warrior who clearly had gears turning in his head. 'They set me up at the school to do good….but what good is it doing really? Shouldn't I be out there? Shouldn't I be following their footsteps?' the questions turned in his head for a long while and the death knight had begun to walk away, Fora's eyes were ever present on them both, waiting excitedly for his decision. She always liked new people, and this one had a cute butt so you know, bonus! But taking the looks aside, he clearly had talent. Which was something they needed, desperately…..after the lich king had let loose his plague, there were many of them and now…only a few, diverse, strong remain.
A sad expression crossed her face, but she was taken back to the real world by the rouge that had begun shouting "I CAN TANK MON!" Fora giggled lightly. "Sure Tilli, let's go with that." She spoke and the rouge turned to look at her, her eyes fierce. Fora giggled and tried to make a tough face but it was hard when she was smiling. The rouge began to stomp off, playfully and she watched her fade. "Oh no! Where did Tilli go?!" She shrugged her shoulders, the little furry creature that had been mad a little bit ago now slept snug in the little hammock of Fora's shoulder pads, enchanted especially just for the little creature, so she couldn't fall off. "HERE MON!" The troll yelled and came out of the bushes, jumping on the Orc shaman who began to yell "Ah! Get off of me!" and flailed his arms frantically while the rouge held tight yelling "I GOT THE AGGRO! QUICK! TAKE HIME DOWN MON" Fora began to laugh hysterically, holding her gut as to not split the seams of her robe. The other Orc, Heavy, grabbed the back of the rouge and ripped her off. "That's enough from you. When you can keep up with me, THEN you can tank" He told her, and the lights in the trolls eyes lit up and she began to dance on spot, rumbling laughter came from the entire group.
"I'm gone for a moment and I miss all the fun!" Avia chimed in, and the group welcomed her back. "Not just me, gentlemen." She held up her hand and stepped out of the way, the warrior a few steps behind her. The group had quieted down. "Everyone, This is Lord Maximus Wyrmhelm." She put her hand on his shoulder, but almost instantly he shrugged it off. Avia rolled her eyes and Fora raised an eyebrow. "He'll be joining our ranks" Everyone went around and welcomed him, even one of the druids who had JUST NOW, stumbled out of the gates of Silvermoon in bear form, barely able to walk straight. "Whoa, too much to drink buddy?" The Orc shaman asked and the bear grunted. "Ah, I see….I want what your smoking" He grinned and the group snickered.
Occupied with picking on the barely lucid druid, the group had turned their attention, leaving Maximus and Fora by the portal, and waiting. Fora tilted her head at the Maximus who had seen her from the corner of his eye. "Yes?" He asked his voice quiet. The priest smiled "I don't think I thanked you for earlier." Maximus turned his gaze to her, his eyes soft and his expression less uptight. "You did, remember?" He pointed to the cheek Fora had pecked earlier. She blinked rapidly a few times a covered her mouth, her cheeks growing a brilliant rose shade. "Oh! I'm sorry if I was out of bounds, I just-"But Maximus held up a hand. "It's fine Fora" Fora's voice went very quiet for a moment. "Really?" Maximus nodded "Really" Fora smiled and dropped her hands slowly "Good, because to tell you the truth, I wouldn't be able to explain it to you if I tried" The warrior now looked confused at the priest. "Huh?" He asked, and Fora opened her mouth to speak but Heavy had stepped in the way.
"Welcome to the guild Maximus, I'm Heavy" The Orc held out his hand for a shake and Maximus shook it, cautiously but Heavy didn't seem to mind. "So, you're the other warrior." Maximus nodded and Heavy chuckled "Glad do have another one on the team, what level are you at in training?" Heavy's voice was deep, booming, but kind. "60" Maximus mumbled, half expecting to be taunted, but that was not the case. The Orc simply pet his beard and nodded, his expression puzzled like he had on last piece and couldn't find a place to put it. "You've got a ways to go kid, don't worry. We'll get you there." He patted him on the back and called the rest of the group. "To Dalaran!" He pointed to the purple portal and they cheered, heading straight for it and disappearing in a flash of light. "Dalaran?" Maximus spoke out loud, not meaning too but Fora was still there. "Mhmm, Dalaran. The city of mages. You'll be safe there." She held out her hand, in thinking he might not know how to use a portal. But this was not the case. He nodded and walked straight into it, bumping her hand. He was gone, and Fora was the only one there. She sighed and looked to the sleeping cat on her shoulders.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed hers through the portal and yanked her in. She had almost fell on the ground on the other side in Dalaran had it not been for Avia who had yanked her through. "And just what were you waiting for? Brewfest?" Fora rolled her eyes. "No! But let's go get drunk anyways" Fora giggled and Avia agreed, heading to the filthy animal for some good eats and a cold brew. "Anyone else coming?" Fora asked. A few of the guild members had already been going over there anyways, when Fora turned and asked Maximus. He blinked a few times at her words and she began to say them slower "Arrrreeeeee yooouuuuuu cooommmmiiiinnn-" Maximus sighed and put a hand on Fora's mouth, he hated being talked to like that, but he made sure he was gentle. Fora was fragile after all, he didn't want to break the healer on the first day. Fora put her hand on his hand moved it, still holding tight and frowned "Well then! Guess I'm dragging you there." She began to pull him in the inn's direction. He pulled his hand out of hers. "I can follow you there, you don't have to-"Fora's laugh caught him off guard. "Babysit you? Now you sound like Avia" His brow furrowed, how are she compare him to her, but this didn't seem to phase Fora. She was used to dealing with stubborn people. Going back to what Avia said, Fora was persistent, and she would get what she wanted one way or another. "Comon" Fora spoke gently and began to walk out of the landing and down the road. She took the now fully awake cat off her shoulder, her big golden eyes staring at her and she pets her softly. "Go on! Go play!" She giggled as the cat trotted over to the two large wolves at the entrance, and snuggled into the white ones tail and began to purr. The beast opened its eyes for a moment before closing them, not seeing the cat as any kind of a threat.
Fora turned to see if Maximus was following her, but when she didn't see him, she sighed and turned back around. "Oh!" She had bumped right into Maximus, bouncing right off his armor. Fora looked frazzled for a moment, the armor was spikey but she quickly recovered. "Ok" She spoke "First thing before you get a drink….get that repaired." She pointed to his chest plate, which had gained large dents and scratches from battle. Maximus looked down and sighed. "Where?" Fora grinned. "Now, if you can be polite, I'll show you the city." Maximus blinked a few times and nodded solemnly. Fora giggled and jumped up and down for a moment. "Come, follow me and try to keep up! wouldn't have to hold your hand now" She snickered and tossed her head back laughing. Maximus sighed, this woman was going to be a pain in his side he could see it.