Of Claws and Totems

Chapter 3

Hold Out

Blackheart loped towards a couple of draenei who were doggedly pulling a few hastily downed trees in between two buildings to make a wall. Following him was a call from Valina, "The worgen, Blackheart, is a comrade. You WILL treat him as such!"

As he reached the newly made wall, the top log was being lifted into place by the two draenei, when one slipped and started to drop the heavy log. His comrade wasn't able to hold it and almost fell with him, but a set of black clawed hands caught the log and finished pushing it up onto the rampart with ease. Blackheart offered his hand to the downed draenei who slowly took it before being easily hefted to his feet. "I'm glad you are on our side," he said.

The place was a beehive of activity for the next few minutes, all of the battle hardened Hand of Argus members knowing their places with the rest of the draenei pitching in and doing as told. Blackheart was impressed at their level of cohesiveness. "Blackheart!" he heard called and turned to see Valina there. "I need you to scout for us. See where they are at and get another time estimate. Also… shake them up a bit if you can. I'm sure you can figure out how to do that." Saluting again, he set his sword and shield down against one of the walls and dropped to all fours for his top speed and was gone in a swirl of dust. A draenei watching him go merely said, "Light, he's fast."

Blackheart was only a few paces into the forest before he took to the trees. These trees were perfect for avoiding the notice of the floor: sturdy and old, the kind that didn't shake when you jumped from one to the other. A quarter of a league in he found them. They were still trying to stealthily sneak through the forest towards the encampment. Judging that they would be there in twenty minutes, he decided to do as Valina said and 'shake them up' a bit.

Once she was finished setting her totems up so she could get the most use out of harnessing the elements, Kalara had gone to the edge so she could keep a watch out for Blackheart. It was strange to her how safe she felt around him. Perhaps it was being saved by him in the first place, or her close shamanistic attunement to nature and his predatory side coming together, but whatever it was she could use all the friends she could get. Being a shaman was by far the least popular profession. They weren't shunned per se, but those that walked in the light, the paladins and priests, were almost always more recognized and well received. She was actually the only shaman in training at Azure Watch. The only two people who really interacted with her were her shaman trainer, Tuluun, and Exarch Milaro.

She was beginning to wonder where Blackheart was when she heard the howl pierce the air. The entire camp slowed and went silent then, some of the healers, the priests not used to combat, shivered as the howl came up from the forest again. The third howl was followed by what sounded like an explosion, and smoke could be seen rising out of the forest. A minute later Blackheart came barreling out of the forest towards the came. As he neared, Kalara let out a gasp; he was covered in blood and soot.

Valina was standing with her then, waiting for him to come up. He skidded to a halt, panting heavily before them. In between his quick breaths, Blackheart said, "They are perhaps ten minutes out now and…" he then flicked some of the blood off his claws, "a few short of what they were before now."

With a nod, Valina said, "Good work, now get your gear and prepare for the fight." She then turned and started issuing more orders. With concern, Kalara started to summon her healing magic, blue and green filled her palms, and the smell of bubbling creek on a fresh spring day filled Blackhearts nose. He gently closed her hands though, canceling the spell. When she looked at him questioningly he said, "The blood isn't mine. And I'm just a little singed, they really can't aim all that well. You will need your strength for later I'm afraid."

After retrieving his gear, Blackheart and Kalara made their way down to the entrance of the choke point facing the woods. The air was tense, the suspense and anticipation strong smells in his nose. A line of warriors and paladins were at the entrance of the choke point waiting, listening, watching.'

The forest grew unnaturally quiet. "They're here." Blackheart whispered. His ears twitched, straining for any sound. In a few seconds he heard whistling from the forest. "Arrows, take cover!" he yelled. He set his tower shield in the ground and knelt down behind it, making room for Kalara. The warriors and paladins around him did the same as a hail of arrows appeared out of the edge of the forest and rained down around them. Blackheart could hear them pinging off his and the others' shields, hear them burying into the ground, and hear the anguished sounds of some finding their marks.

Those that were taken down were pulled to safety and quickly replaced, priests or paladins walking the holy path tending to the wounded. A second rain of arrows came, then a third and fourth. Following the fourth a loud cry went up from the forest of 'selama ashal'anore' and the main company of blood elves charged. Vindicator Valina let loose a cry of "Stand ready. For the light!"

The horde of blood elves hit the line of draenei and all hell broke loose. Blackheart's senses were almost overloaded by the smells and sounds of the entire battlefield until he tuned it down to just him. He was standing a few lines back and the fighting hadn't reached him yet, but it would soon. The first line was pushed back and the second took its place soon, followed by the third line not too long after that. The method of rotating the soldiers caused high casualty but low fatality rate, the soldiers that were hauled past him were often bleeding, but not dead. Soon, it would be him and Kalara up on the front lines.

As the draenei in front of him went down to an expertly thrown dagger, Blackheart drug the draenei out of the fight and jumped into to fill the gap, letting loose as loud a roar as he could, giving the blood elves on the front line pause. He took advantage of this and hacked with abandon for a few seconds with his claymore, cutting one after another down. He was working in tandem well with the draenei around him covering their weaknesses with his shield and sword. As he was spilling their blood, he could sense the urge to let his anger take over welling up inside him. A red haze was settling over his vision.

A startled cry to the side drew his attention: a group of draenei had been cut off and surrounded. Surrounded usually meant defeated, especially when there was no healer in the group. They were only a short way away, and if the rest of the line could push through, they could rejoin and regroup. "Do you have anything to protect me?" he asked Kalara. Nodding she said "Stoneskin" as she began chanting, the smell of rocks and earth emanating from the brown glow in her hands. As she laid hands on him Blackheart could feel his skin tingling and becoming harder. He turned to her saying, "We are going to get them, stay behind me." She gave him a grim nod.

He backed up slightly to get a start and with a fierce howl he set his shield in front of him and charged into the fray, Kalara right behind him. The lithe blood elves scattered before Blackheart's charge. His tall shield being propelled by his powerful legs and his weight, at least three times that of a blood elf, plowed a path straight to the stranded draenei. Swords and knives harmlessly bounced off of his stoneskinned hide. The draenei saw him coming and opened up to accept him and Kalara.

"Kalara, heal!" he yelled and pushed his way to the backside of the group, where the draenei were in the most danger of being overrun. "Moved towards the line!" he rallied. Taking over the rear guard he kept most of the blood elves at bay with his extreme reach and vicious appearance. The more he fought, the harder it was to hold the haze, the anger, the recklessness back. Slowly the group made its way to rejoin the line; Blackheart protected the rear while Kalara was working as fast as she could to heal her comrades. There were just too many of them to hold this for long, and he was starting to take hits. The stone skin had worn off, and he was quickly gaining multiple cuts and slashes. This only served to anger him further.

A larger blood elf warrior attacked him then, wielding a large two handed sword. After sliding off the shield and being parried a few times, the blood elf came at him with a direct overhead chop. Blocking the sword had caused it to embed partially in the top of the shield, and Blackheart wrenched his shield backwards, tossing it, and the sword, behind him. The blood elf then pulled out a set of throwing knives with which he quickly sent sailing towards Blackheart. Nimbly dodging them, he avoided every missile. Kalara wasn't as lucky. One of the darts almost killed her, slashing across her cheek and bouncing off the bone. Her cry of pain sent Blackheart into a fury and he roared and charged. The blood elf started to back away but was unable to move his legs, impaled as he was up to the hilt of Blackheart's claymore. The smell of the dying elf's agony mixed with the blood pouring from his wound broke the hold that Blackheart had been maintaining on his sanity. The last sight the blood elf was treated to was that of Blackheart's eyes glowing an angry red as he ripped out the elf's throat with his teeth.

As the small group of draenei had rejoined the line, Kalara looked back for Blackheart and was horrified at the sight. He was attacking with reckless abandonment, hacking and slashing with sword, tooth, and claw becoming a whirlwind of death to all those unlucky enough to stand near him. This came at a mighty cost though, with much of the blood soaking his fur being his own. The blood elves, after losing many of their number to him, quickly backed away from him and he was running out of blood elves nearby to take his rage out on, which left the only other option: the draenei. She saw Blackheart turn towards the draenei line and saw the murderous look in his eyes. Taking two of the nearby draenei with her, she stepped in his path as he rushed, snarling, towards her.

The two draenei at her side went to intercept him but she stopped them short with a hand on each shoulder. "I've got this." she said. She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. Blackheart had rescued her before and came to her when she called, surely she could stop his rage and bring him back in. She stood passively in front of the charging worgen, waiting until he was almost upon her to hold up her hand and yell, "Blackheart! Stop!" Just before he reached her recognition sparked in his eyes and the rage faded, his sanity regained. As well as his fatigue and injuries. He tumbled to the dirt just in front of her.

"Get him back behind the lines, quickly!" she commanded the two draenei. They took a shoulder each and hoisted Blackheart up and drug him behind the line of conflict; Kalara trailed after them dragging the claymore to lay next to the shield that had been recovered. As Kalara approached Blackheart, who was collapsed against a building with ragged breaths, he weakly asked, "Are you ok?"

"Am I ok? There's not a spot on your body that isn't wounded and you are worried about me? I'm fine you silly wolf!" Kalara moved to kneel next to him, holding her hands over him. Blackheart could feel the power being drawn from her, smell the calming scent of water and spring that accompanied a shaman's healing and tried to stop her. In a pained voice he said, "Heal the others, and leave me be, I'll heal eventually."

"If you don't stop with that nonsense, Fergus won't be the only one with a hoofprint on his arse, now shut up and let me heal you." she said angrily. Blackheart felt the healing magic working on him. Each discipline of healing felt differently, and the shaman's felt like being bathed in cool, caressing waters on a hot day. He could feel his wounds closing, the fatigue working its way out of his muscles. It was one of the most amazing experiences he could remember. As she finished he opened his eyes to look up to her and she said, "Well, that ought to do it. Now to get to the oth..." trailing off the last statement, the smell of extreme fatigue hit him at the same time as she did, collapsing unconscious on him. Quickly checking her over, she had a steady pulse and breathing, but was otherwise out.

Blackheart picked her up and gently carried her over to where the priests were healing. At their questioning looks he merely said, "She exhausted herself and is ok, except for her cheek." Nodding, the priest pointed towards an empty pallet that lay on the ground. He gently laid her down on the pallet, and then retrieved his weapon and shield, dislodging the sword from his shield with some difficulty. He then went to rejoin the others, cursing his inability to control himself.

The battle was not going well; they had been pushed almost up into the city. Valina was now on the front lines swinging a glowing two handed mace with a vengeance, batting blood elves aside like bowling pins. As he neared her, the elves suddenly let loose a cry and retreated a few steps. The reason became apparent a few seconds alter when the area exploded in fiery wrath; draenei were hurled ten and fifteen paces. Valina was still there but down; she had called on her divine shielding to help protect her, but she was still gravely injured.

Valina lay there, badly burnt, and watched as the mage who had decimated their line walked up a few paces from her with a wicked smile on his face. He raised his hands and began chanting and she watched, helpless, as angry flame began to coalesce in his hands; she closed her eyes as the image of a dragon roared out of his hands and shot towards her. She felt a rush of movement and, when she realized she was not dead, she opened her eyes to see the flame licking around the edges of a tower shield with a very angry worgen behind it. The mage cursed, intensifying his magic. Blackheart was sliding backwards from the intensity of the blast, his clawed feet trying to find purchase in the dirt. His shield was getting white hot, and the air was filled with the smell of burning fur as his arm was starting to get singed.

Blackheart was on the point of being pushed over; the force against his shield was hotter and stronger than anything he had faced thus far. The mage once again renewed the onslaught and when the force hit he fell backwards. As he felt the flames licking at his feet something hit him in the back and pushed him upright. He heard a yell of "PUSH" from behind him and felt another solid impact. Two draenei had gotten behind him and were pushing with all their might with him against the fire. Once he was upright again, they quickly gathered momentum. He heard a scream as the red hot shield hit the mage's hands, then crushed the mage as the three fell as one on top of him.

As he righted himself from the charred and broken mage, the blood elves had surrounded them. They were about to close in when the sound of thunder rolled upon the battlefield and a blood elf cry was heard. Looking for the source of the disturbance Blackheart was awestruck by the sight of hundreds of war elekks charging into the side of the blood elf company; reinforcements from the Exodar had arrived. The arrival of reinforcements and the loss of their leader and most powerful mage broke the spirit of the small company. Many of them threw down their weapons while most of them retreated back to the woods. The day was won.

Blackheart quickly threw down his shield; it was still smoking hot, and carefully lifted an unconscious Valina to carry her towards the healers. The other two draenei went on to assist their comrades. The Exodar forces drove the blood elves into the forest and chased after them, while a contingent of priests and other healers rushed over the battlefield, triaging to the best of their abilities. A priest hesitantly came up to them, nervously eyeing Blackheart. She was startled slightly when he spoke. "She needs to be healed soon, she got hit by some kind of fireblast." He then lightly set her down and backed away; the priest got to work quickly.

Blackheart set off to find Kalara, but had to frequently wave off healers trying to fix his arm, telling them each time there were more hurt worse than him, he would be fine. He found Exarch Milaro first though, directing the triage as best as he could and seeing to the needs of the patients. When he caught sight of Blackheart he came quickly over. "There you are! I am glad to see you survived this encounter without a great deal of injury. You know, you are an outright hero now! You should be proud!"

"I would just like to find Kalara and rest right now, we can talk about heroics later."

"Right right, of course. She is resting in the shaman trainer's house," he pointed to the house, "I'm sure she'll be glad to see you when she awakes."

"Thank you Exarch." Blackheart set off towards the shaman trainer's house. As he neared it, an ancient looking form exited the small hut. He was similar to the draenei, but was not quite the same. He was a krokul, a broken that was part of a lineage once corrupted by demonic power. Now though, some of their race were trying to make amends, such as this one.

"You must be Blackheart that everyone has been talking about." the broken said at his approach. "I am Tuluun, a very old shaman. Don't ask me how old, my memory isn't that long." he said with a chuckle. "I suspect you wish to see Kalara, hmm? She's sleeping inside. If you can fit through the door, you are welcome to go in and sit with her, I was on my way to heal some of the other patients."

Bowing to the broken, Blackheart said, "Thank you Master Tuluun. I will watch over her." He then ducked down and went inside. The inside of the hut had a very strong herbal scent to it. Dried plants and roots hung from the ceiling in many places, and there were incense burning. He quickly picked out Kalara's scent and went through another door to the bedroom where she lay resting peacefully. Her scent was a very herby, natural scent. She smelled like a flower he had found once in the forest. It wasn't a strong smell, but it was extremely comforting. He had always picked them when he found them and placed them in the cave he sometimes used as shelter.

On one of the tables in the room he noticed two large piles of Peacebloom and Earthroot; excellent for use in a regenerative salve, like the kind used to heal burns. One of the things he knew came from his previous life was the ability to work with herbs for natural cures. It had helped him immensely, especially when wounded.

He made the salve and applied it gingerly to his scorched arm, and idly wondered if the hair would ever grow back the same. He chuckled; a silly thing to worry about when he had come close to dying and when some had. War never had a winner, only a side that suffered less.

Thankfully the draenei were also fairly large creatures and so the chair next to the big was large enough to hold him easily. He sat down and relaxed for the first time since he had seen Kalara that morning. Blackheart tried to make sense of everything that had happened. He had been readily accepted as part of a group of people, with a few exceptions, and had helped save a large group of these draenei. Aside from the occasional stare during his work to reinforce the town, they had generally just been happy to have an extra set of furry hands to help. Perhaps it was time to end living alone. He drifted off to sleep with these thoughts dancing through his head... and then the dreams came.