And when the night is cold and dark
You can see, you can see light
Cause no one can take away your right
To fight and to never surrender

~Never Surrender-Corey Hart~

Cordana limped across the cobblestones and stopped to rest at the fountain. The smell of blood and smoke and sulfur was thick in the air, people crying, children running about screaming for lost parents, and fires still burning randomly across the garrison.

The Warden was shaking with adrenaline that was slowly leaving her system, magnifying the terrible pain in her leg. The arm of the hand holding her umbral crescent was weak and she could barely move it. Her breath came in shallow gasps, a rending pain slicing through her with every breath. She scanned the area looking for the Commander, his wife, and Khadgar but she could see nothing but smoke and chaos.

At dawn, the Shadow Council had infiltrated and attacked the garrison. Cordana had not gone to Khadgar's bed to sleep that night, something inside her said that she would be better off outside his little pocket dimension. He didn't like it and argued with her a little but in the end he deferred to her. She had been unable to sleep, and wandered about outside the Tower for a good long while, wondering what was bothering her so much. She had given up on what she believed were her confused senses and was about to return indoors and join Khadgar in his bed when a garrison mage came running through the portal calling for the Archmage. The day had just barely begun to brighten.

Cordana had run to Khadgar's chambers and awakened him, helping him dress in his battle gear as swiftly as she could. She could not answer any of his questions, just that Jaaral was under attack and they needed to assist him immediately.

The battle had been terrible. The garrison housed many families, merchants and craftsmen. The barracks held a reserve of well seasoned soldiers, and the Lady Toriona had insisted they also carry a complement of battle mages. Although she had chosen a diplomatic path in life, she had attended the Mage Academy at Dalaran, and was accomplished in the field of magic. Because her focus had changed to the Diplomatic Corps, she had never developed a specialty to earn her the title of Archmage, although the rumors about her insisted she had all the skill necessary to earn the title. Khadgar had said it was a shame that she never continued her studies, as she could have been extremely powerful in time. The Lady Toriona had smiled when she heard that and said "well maybe in a parallel dimension, I did exactly that!".

However, when the battle broke out, she was not found hiding in the bunkers below ground with the other private citizens, but up on the parapets with her staff assisting the other mages.

Khadgar had thrown a protective ward on Cordana and wasted no time in attacking. She stayed close at his side, slashing with her umbral crescent and the blades on her cloak, stealthing at every opportunity between attacks. She had celerity, and could move at astonishing speeds from enemy to enemy, dropping them before they had a chance to glimpse her.

But the chaos of a battlefield never allows for any hard and fast planning. The citizens who became lost on their way to the bunkers, the children who were separated from parents, and those who were just too terrified to think clearly on what they needed to do, came between Khadgar and Cordana. A little boy of no more than 5, screaming for his father, ran into Khadgar and grabbed a hold of his hand. The Archmage, who had a weakness for children, scooped him up in his arms and turned to Cordana.

"Take this little one to the bunker Cordana!" he ordered.

She stepped back from him shaking her head and shouted that she could not.

"Do it now!" he yelled at her. "Do not worry about me, I can handle this!"

"I cannot take him, Khadgar!" she yelled back over the din. "The blades on my cloak will cut him!"

Khadgar realized she was right, and without another word turned and ran in the direction of the bunker, holding the terrified little boy protectively at his chest. Cordana made to follow but she was suddenly knocked off her feet and thrown.

The battle had attracted a wild Rylak, a monstrous creature with a sinewy body, forked tail, wings and two heads filled with deadly sharp teeth. Domesticated Rylaks were wonderful creatures, often used as flying mounts, and despite their horrific appearance were mild mannered and gentle. However the wild Rylaks were a different beast. Violent and bloodthirsty, they would pick up and chew on a person, tearing them apart, before tossing away the remains.

She leaped to her feet with a cry and swung her weapon in a wide arc, slicing into one of the necks. Enraged, the creature swung its tail at her, trying to catch her in the snapping forked end. She dodged and struck again, this time injuring one of the heads enough to put it out of commission. The beast spun and snapped with the remaining head, lashing its tail and flapping upwards. She noticed one of the wings were injured and it could not fly away, Jaaral had shown up and had hacked a large hole in the leathery membrane. Unable to escape, the Rylak became angrier, but soon enough its injuries did it in and it died.

Back to back with Jaaral, Cordana fought off wave after wave of shadow council assaults. Most were magical in nature, and all that was required was to get close enough to them to bring them down, then it was essential to take down the portal caster.

The Warden looked around for Khadgar. He would have gotten the child to safety by now, and she should have seen evidence of his powerful magic, but he was nowhere in sight. She could not afford to stop fighting to search for him but she needed desperately to find him if only to know he was alright.

She ran in the direction of the bunker and found a soldier about to fall, outnumbered by the three casters that had just come through a portal hidden in a storeroom. Cordana ran at them, slicing them open with the crescent, then throwing it at the caster who was holding the portal open. Thankfully, nothing else had come through yet.

Seeing no one else, she retrieved her weapon and ran.

The Lady Toriona nearly crashed into her as she rounded a corner. That lady's eyes were wide and she was breathless.

"Cordana! A demon has been summoned by the front gates! Where is the Archmage, we need him!"

"I do not know! We were separated earlier and I have not been able to locate him!"

Lady Toriona turned and ran for the front gate, Cordana behind her. There was no more time to look for Khadgar.

Elune, please let him be alright, she silently begged.

Jaaral was already engaging the demon in battle, his full plate armor making him look even more massive and fearsome than usual. His wife took cover behind a large boulder, and began casting. Shards of arcane energy flew from her hands towards the giant winged demon. Foot soldiers joined the fight, archers on the parapets and the battle mages turned their attention to it.

Cordana saw a portal hidden behind the blacksmith's shop, and a caster nearby. She threw her umbral crescent, decapitating them, and the portal faded and disappeared as the body fell to the ground. She turned her attention fully to the demon.

Rogue arrows glanced off her and she was glad that she wore plate beneath her cloak. She threw the crescent, slashed and stabbed with everything she had. Green Fel blood poured from its wounds but the demon was not going to give up without a fight, and he slammed her hard in her upper thigh with the edge of his hoof. Fortunately it was only a glancing blow; had it been a direct strike, Cordana had no doubt he would have shattered her leg completely. As it was, she was able to dive out of the way as his other hoof came down. She slashed his leg, severing one of the tendons, putting the creature off balance.

Jaaral was then able to leap onto its back and drive his sword into its skull. It thrashed in its death throes, and Cordana miscalculated where its huge tail would come down. It hit her shoulder hard, and she felt it dislocate. Its massive arm lashed out and slammed her mercilessly across the center of her body, knocking the wind out of her and throwing her against the fortress wall. Luckily the adrenaline in her system dulled the pain and allowed her to keep fighting.

They collectively brought the demon down, and made quick work of the leftover shadow council. The soldiers turned their attention to putting out the fires, and messengers were sent to find the healers to see to the wounded who were unable to make their way to the infirmary which was thankfully not on fire.

Animals housed in the stables had been turned loose, either by the enemy or by a well meaning stable hand in case of fire. The smell of blood and death terrified the creatures, and they were running wildly all over the garrison, often knocking people down and trampling them.

Cordana grabbed at a horse as it trotted past her. Her own animal companion, her Moonsabre cat, was safely housed at the Tower. Cordana was a good rider, and swung herself up onto the beasts back with her good arm, although her leg sent a sharp shard of pain through her. Gritting her teeth and doing her best to ignore it, she kicked the beast forward and it leapt. She hoped that it was trained well enough to steer without the benefit of a bit and bridle, its speed could get her around the garrison quicker to find Khadgar. She made it to the herbalist's cottage with no sign of him and wheeled the horse around, cantering back the way she had come. The horse tolerated her at first, but then, accidentally, the blades on her cloak jabbed it when the wind billowed it up. With a scream it spooked sideways and spun. Cordana, not expecting it, was thrown, landing with a loud thud on the cobblestones as the horse bolted away. In agonizing pain and exhausted, she struggled to her feet with difficulty.

Limping towards the center of town, she stopped to rest against the fountain, her breathing ragged.

The pain in her entire body was growing worse, and she tried to make her way to the infirmary. She wanted Khadgar and scanned the area for him, but her vision was beginning to blur, and she could no longer move her arm when the crescent fell from her hand with a loud clang. She retrieved it with a whimper and held it in her other hand, but her leg would now no longer bear any weight without sending an excruciating shard of pain through her. The demon's glancing blow must have landed harder then she originally surmised.

The infirmary, although only yards away, seemed like a journey of miles. Hopping and dragging her leg along, Cordana then had trouble drawing breath, the pain was agonizing, and as she reached the gate, darkness encroached on her vision and she collapsed.

Khadgar, having fought his own battles on the opposite side of the garrison, was unable to get to the demon at the front gate. His battle gear was singed in places, but as usual his magic had kept him from greater harm. He had just reached the town square from the other direction when he saw Cordana collapse at the Infirmary gate.

"Cordana!" he cried and magically blinked to her side.

He pulled off her helmet. Her eyes were closed, her face pale. He could not gauge her breathing. With a single word and gesture, he removed her entire encounter suit and crescent and sent it somewhere in the vicinity of the Tower. She looked so delicate and vulnerable lying there in her small clothes.

"Stay with me, Cordana!" he said, gathering her carefully in his arms and rushing her inside.

There were people running all over, healers and physicians trying to get the most injured into the available beds, the rest slumped against the walls moaning and crying, some too shell shocked to speak, staring mindlessly off into the distance. Volunteers tried to comfort family members and friends and see to the lesser injuries as best they could.

"Help, please!" Khadgar shouted. When no one paid him any mind, he grabbed a healer as he ran past.

"Please see to Cordana!" he entreated. "She is barely breathing, she collapsed outside!"

The healer looked behind the Archmage to the still form of a night elf on a bed, pale and not moving, a horrible bruise on her leg. She was most likely already dead, and there were injured living to attend to. The young man began to apologize and explain that he was needed for the most seriously injured, but Khadgar would have none of it. The Archmage had become used to people knowing who he was, and doing his bidding. To have someone dismiss him at the time he needed help the most was unfathomable to him, and his usually kind face darkened and his voice became hard edged.

"You will take care of her now, or face the consequences of your refusal!"

Not wanting to anger this strangely dressed mage with the raven headed staff further, the healer went to Cordana's side. He checked her eyes and her pulse, then gently palpated her ribcage and abdomen, then moved to examine her limbs.

Frowning, he called out a name and one of the physicians came jogging over.

"This night elf female has a broken leg, a dislocated shoulder, and several compromised ribs, but I fear she may have internal bleeding as well. We must see to her at once!"

Khadgar could feel himself trembling. He had fought every manner of demon and creature, faced some of the most terrible foes in battle, but none of them had awoken such fear as seeing his beloved Cordana broken and unmoving.

The physician turned to him, his voice calm and confident. "You are Archmage Khadgar, aren't you?" he asked. "Is this one of your mages?"

He shook his head as he looked at Cordana. "Her name is Cordana Felsong, and she is my protector, a Warden of the Enclave. But...also...she is my love...please...do whatever it takes to save her!"

The young healer, hearing who it was that he had nearly refused to assist, thanked the Light that the Archmage, who was reputed to be the most powerful living caster alive, had not turned him into a farm animal. He had already begun his work, straightening out Cordana's limbs gently. He lay a hand on her head. "I will take her pain away," he said. "It will not last forever, but it will allow us to work on her."

Khadgar couldn't watch. Resetting her dislocated shoulder looked so brutal, but she remained unconscious and pain free, kept there by the healer's skill. They assured him that she felt nothing, but Khadgar took a walk outside around the Infirmary while the worst of it was dealt with. Knitting the broken bones together took awhile, and greatly drained the young man's energy. The physician worked on relieving the pressure from the internal bleeding. It worried him, such injuries could take a person's life if not gotten under control. Cordana was greatly weakened and would not survive surgery if the healer could not manage to find and stop the bleeding.

Being scientific in nature, the physician had had trouble trusting the healers who plied their trade with prayers and incantations. He preferred the old tried and true methods and the help of apothecaries, but over time he had realized that the skill of those gifted by the Light were just as powerful if not more so than conventional medicine. He watched the young healer give of himself to save the Warden and was grateful.

The hours ticked by. Jaaral and his wife came in to help, to do what they could for the injured. Lady Toriona was beside herself when she saw Cordana. She told Khadgar how brilliant a warrior the Warden was, and detailed the battle with the demon.

"Jaaral could not have fought it on his own. He would have been lost without her."

Khadgar turned sad eyes towards Lady Toriona. "As I will be, if she does not pull through."

"She is strong, my friend," said Jaaral, resting a hand on the Archmage's shoulder. "Her love for you will make her fight even harder."

The healer located the source of the most serious damage and slowed and stopped the internal bleeding. He began the arduous task of repairing the tissues once the pressure had been relieved by the physician sufficiently.

Since Cordana's bed was the first one, there was a small space beside the wall. Khadgar slid down it and sat there, watching the healer work, staring at beautiful Cordana, begging the Light not to take her from him. He wanted to enfold her in his arms and hold her close and never let her go. He was angry at himself for the time they had not spoken to one another, for the wasted days and nights they could have had. He remembered every moment they had shared from the day they had first met, when she reported for duty. He had felt awkward and didn't understand why the Enclave, which was comprised entirely of Kaldorei, would have assigned one of their own to protect him, a human. He had not liked the idea at first, but he grew to enjoy having her around. She was extremely good at her assigned task, and when they were at leisure she proved to be a fine companion as well, quick of mind and well versed in many things. He had wondered if she felt any attraction to him, as he most certainly was attracted to her. And all this was before he even saw her beneath the encounter suit.

When their eyes had met across the fire in the ruins, Khadgar knew his life would never be the same again. As he watched the healer and the physician doing their best to save his love, Khadgar silently prayed that this was not the end for the two of them.