Ganked V 2.0

Chapter 2 The Green Eyed Stranger

Soliandrus Autumn Lightbringer, Blood Elf, found himself in the unlikely location of Elwynn Forest, kneeling by nameless river. He wore his jet black hair long, touching his shoulders. His skin was ruddy and tanned, on account of his travels. Weathered, dusky armor of a Warrior covered his aching muscles. It was slightly dented and scuffed from use. They desperately needed repair, but there was no one near to fix them. Deep in enemy territory, he was clandestine and hidden, spying on their lands for the past several months. His trial was almost over, however, and he was anxious for a short holiday at Booty Bay before making his long journey north to report his findings.

After Scourge destroyed his home, killing off his entire family, he'd vowed revenge. But revenge, as much as he yearned for it, was slow in coming. Not all Blood Elves had gone to the Outlands. A few Blood Elves stayed behind, and were tasked with spying on their enemies and winning back their lost lands. The fact that the schism with the high elves was not yet known, made their work easier. Small bands of Blood Elves were able to enter most areas without a problem. After all, to the rest of the world, they simply did not exist.

This mission is why Soliandrus, or Sol, as he preferred, was in Elwynn Forest. Of special concern were the beastmen. It was suspected that they were connected to several problems that plagued other lands, particularly with murlocks and harpies. There seemed to be malevolent force behind their sudden increase in numbers, and it was his job to find if such things had affected Alliance territories as well. He'd already traveled to Red Ridge Mountains, Duskwood and Westfall, leaving the easiest and most leisurely area for the last.

His companion was a young elven woman named Lucilin, a rogue, who helped with reconnaissance.

What they found, besides the murlocks and kobols, was more than interesting. The groups of beastmen were barely being constrained. The reason? It seemed the Defias Brotherhood were causing Stormwind a great deal of trouble, straining their resources thin. It was clear sign of weaknesses from the once proud human city. It was a weakness that could be exploited later.

At that moment, Sol sat at the riverbank next to some pumpkin farm. He was washing his hands and face. Lucilin was scouting the surrounding areas, making certain that no one had followed them. It had been a hot day and he was about to remove his chest plate for a dip, when suddenly a face appeared, reflected on the water beside him.

He turned around and looked up, at a girl who stared down at him with curiously.

"Are ya an adventurer?" she asked.

She was around twelve, if he judged human ages properly. Her wild brown hair was dirty and tousled. Her tanned, ruddy skin was covered in a black layer of dirt. But her blue eyes didn't have the dull, sad look he had seen in street urchin before. Rather, they were quick and piercing. As an elf, he recognized that look. It was the look of someone gifted with magic.

She sat on a ridge right above him, nearly four feet up. Had he been any good at herbalism, he would have noticed the earthroot that sprouted right above his head. It was that earthroot that had drawn her to the scene.

He looked at her curiously before replying.

"I am."

Sol, like the other Blood Elves left, spoke common, although it was rusty from lack of use. Long before the Scourge had changed things forever, they had been members of the Alliance. Sol had always been plagued by what his late father would lovingly refer to as "wanderlust." There were few places that he hadn't seen. In fact, this wasn't even his first trip to Elwynn Forest. It was part of the reason he was chosen for the task.

"Are ya 'n 'lf?" she asked.

He couldn't help but wince. She had the hardest Elwynn accent he'd heard. Besides that, there was something rather Dwarfish about it too. It didn't help.

"Yes."

"I didn't know 'igh 'lves adventured. Skinflint told me th'r was too few..."

"You talk too much, girl," he snapped.

"I'm sorry. I just 'aven't seen a 'igh 'lf before. I thought they was blue ey'd," she continued.

"And so they usually are," was his cautious reply. "Is there anyone else with you?"

She shook her head naively.

Good, he thought. All I have to do is knock her out and leave her here. She won't tell anyone then.

"Come down," he said lightly. "I will tell you of my adventures."

She smiled at the prospect.
"Ok! But let me git this 'ere earthroot before I come down."

He was just about to offer to do it for her, since it was only four feet up, and he could easily yank the weed, but she went to grab it first. As she leaned over, she slipped and slid down to the embankment. It wasn't too harsh of a drop, but she landed right on her wrist. Her weight pressed against it and he heard the tell-tale crunch of a break. Her wrist was broken. She yelled with pain and did not stop.

Sol panicked. The loud yelling would undoubtedly alert someone to their location and he would be discovered. Besides, she had seen him. Even though they could blend in, it would still be a curious thing for a High Elf to wander around Elwynn on his own. Questions would be asked.
No matter, he had several healing potions available. He knew what to do. After forcing her to gulp down a red drought, the swelling disappeared with the pain.
"There you go little girl, now be quiet and stop crying," he whispered, trying to keep his irritation from showing.

But the fall and the pain had been too much. Trials had taught her how to cry silently. So she could only follow half of his command, and she continued to cry.

This was no good.

"Shh... stop whimpering," he hissed.

He swiftly stood up and yanked the root and handed it to her.

"There, does that make you feel better?" he asked as he held it before her.

She smiled and wiped away a tear.

"I thank ya mightl'y sir, but it was 'em leaves I need. Now they're all torn."

The girl took it anyway and put the sample in a pack that was slung across her waist. He noticed that unlike the rest of her raiment, which was dirty and ragged, the herb pack was clean and well-preserved.

"Maybe I can fin' some use out o' 'em," she said.

"That is a very nice pack you have there," Sol observed.

She nodded and smiled.

"It belon'ed ta me Auntie Jill. It is tha only thin' I 'ave o' 'er left. Tha rest o' it..."

"I see. So you are an orphan," he mused.

She nodded gravely.

"I've always been 'n orphan. Me Auntie found me in a basket by tha river. 'n then tha knolls came 'n took 'er too. Now I live wi' Uncle Skinflint near tha Loggin' Camp," she explained.

There was little sadness in her voice, although the truth was very harsh. It was as though she was accustomed to it.

"Well, you are in good company then. The Scourge took my family. I am an orphan too, you see... Wait, Skinflint? What kind of human name is that?"

"Oh, 'e's not 'uman. 'e's a dwarf! 'n 'e is tha leader o' tha Elwynn Forest Militia!"

She grinned widely as she explained, pride oozing from every word.

That explains the accent, he thought ruefully.

"And yet you run around in dirty rags and messy hair," he jeered.

"Oh, 'e's always away. Besides, they tell me ta wash 'n bathe but I dunno pay 'em no mind. I'm just as good dirty as clean, says I."

Sol's lip twitched with an amused smile. But he had to do his best to keep from laughing.

"So this uncle of yours...where does he go?"

This girl, savage though she was, was giving him some valuable information. But he needed more than the leader of a local rag-tag militia.

"OH! I dunno. 'e goes ta some place in Stormwin' called SI:17. 'e says they 'ave ta investigate tha Defias 'cause they're tryin' ta bring down tha Noble 'ouses, 'n that's distractin' 'em from fightin' other 'ings. I don't really care fer any o' it, but 'e tells us these things 'cause Cyrus really wants ta know. 'e wants ta be a Warrior 'n work fer SI:17 one day."

"Well, that is all very fascinating," he continued, trying to egg her on. He was internally making notes.

"But that's all 'e ever says. I get bored with it anyway. I jest want ta take back me 'ome. I don't care 'bout some stupid Defias 'n Nobles. I am goin' ta destroy 'em one day, with fire, like they did ta us," she declared.

Just then her blue eyes flared, almost glowed, and hardened with determination. Her fists clenched at her side and she bore her teeth menacingly.

"And that is exactly how I feel," he affirmed. "Do you know how you're going to do it? This Cyrus, he wants to be a Warrior. Is that what you want?"
Nina shook her head.

"I dunno what I want."

"Well, little girl, let me tell you what I see. Despite your provincial accent and your shoddy attire, in your eyes I see magic."

"Magic? But they're so smart 'n fine. I dunno think I coul' do it."

"Here, let me give you something," he said as he reached into his pack.

Inside was a small copper necklace with a tear-drop shaped, malachite stone in the middle.

"It's green!" she exclaimed. "Like yer eyes they are."

He smiled at her coldly before setting it in her hand.

"This will help you dodge things quicker, which will aid you when you cast spells. You aren't strong enough to use it now, but it will serve you soon."

"Thank ye kindly sir! What's yer name, mister?"

Sol paused. He could not give her his name without compromising himself. Besides, he didn't like the idea of an Alliance girl being able to identify him. Still, he wasn't about to be rude.

"It is Autumn," he said, giving her his middle name.

"Autumn? Isn't tha' a girl's name?"

"We elves feel a kinship with nature. I don't think that my parents cared that it sounded girlish to human ears," he replied haughtily. "And what is yours?"

"Nina!"

That's when another elf materialized beside them. She wore leather armor and her face was covered with a red cloth. Nina became so startled she would have screamed had Sol not covered her mouth first.

"Lucilin, what are you doing?" He hissed in Thalassian.

"I should be asking you the same question. While you're here, having a chat with this dirty little girl, a dwarf and a few men are coming this way. You've been spotted!"

Her hair was, in Nina's eyes, very pretty. It shimmered in the sun a golden red, which contrasted beautifully with her flashing green eyes.

"How close?" he asked.

"They're at the bridge!"

He nodded quickly.

"Listen, Nina. I must be going now. But you must promise not to tell anyone we were here, you got it? And don't tell anyone bout the necklace. We are in a secret mission, you see, and if you blow our cover, we won't be able to get Defias and the knolls."

She nodded with understanding but then she reached into her pack and removed a flower.

"'ere, 'ave this. It's peacebloom. Just take that 'n some silverleaf 'n ya can make a simple potion. If ya ever get 'urt..."

Lucilin rolled her eyes with impatience.

"Oh for goodness' sake."

He swiftly took the flower.

"Goodbye," he said without feeling.

Nina's world went black in an instant. She didn't know it, but he had swiftly struck her head, at the base of the spine. The girl was so slight, it wasn't a difficult thing to reach behind her and hit her with the blunt end of a dagger. She collapsed face first in the water. Sol was sure to roll her over to the embankment before making a swift retreat with Lucilin, and not a moment too soon. Skinflint, Cyrus, now seventeen, and a few other men armed with crude weapons arrived moments later.

"They were 'ere alright, those Defias Scum!" Cyrus, who had also adopted Skinflint's accent, said. "I can see their footprints at tha bank. They're headin' for Duskwood!"

He wore his curly auburn hair long, tied in a loose pony-tail with a leather thong. His skin as tanned and just as dirty, if not more, than Nina's. His clothes, which consisted of a simple leather vest and pants, were weather worn and loose. The men followed Cyrus, trying to catch the two elves before they crossed the river. Skinflint did not follow, but knelt beside the unconscious girl instead.

"Fire 'n smoke! Nina! What 'ave they done ta ya lass? These Defias always sculkin' 'bout."

He knelt down and leaned over, pressing his ear against her chest.

"Well, at least they didn't kill ya. It seems like they tried ta knock ya out is all. Foolish lass gettin' 'erself all inta trouble..."

The rabble never caught up to them. By the time Cyrus had reached the shore, Sol and Lucilin had reached the other side, and were out of the water, hiding in the gloom, their armor and clothes dripping wet.

"Why did you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?" he snarled back.

"Let her live. She'll tell. You know she will."

Sol glared at her before replying.

"Listen to me very carefully, Lucilin, no one hates humans more than I. You know this. I was there when the humans betrayed us, locking us up in a dungeon and treating us worse than filth, despite the fact that our homes and families, land, everything that we held dear was taken from us. I hate them. All of them."

As he said those things, he noticed a boy at the other side of the river, glaring at them with impotent fury. It was a good thing that the men of Elwynn Forest were such cowards, or he would have followed them to the gloom. The fight would have ended with the boy dead, but Sol would have been discovered for sure.

That is someone to watch, he thought.

"And yet you let her live," she replied with skepticism, interrupting his thoughts.

"You don't see the difference?"

She shook her head.

"She may have been vermin, but she was a child. I would never harm a child, even as I hate her with all my being. Do you understand now, the difference between an elf and a man? Men kill without distinction, we elves do not! Now banish such human thoughts from your head Lucilin, they do not become you."

Lucilin glanced down at the ground, ashamed.

"Do we go to Booty Bay?"

"Yes," he replied. "But we should steer clear of the roads until the end to avoid detection. The creatures here are not too strong so we should have no problem with them."

And with that they entered the gloom of Duskwood, leaving the sunlit forests of Elwynn behind.

That night, Sol wrote a small entry in his journal. It wasn't a particularly personal journal, he simply used it to remember important information for missions. So that entry he simply wrote:

Elwynn Forest, Autumn - Day 13
Skinflint. Nina. Peacebloom.

He kept the peacebloom, pressing it against the pages of his journal. But once the journal was set down, the girl was quickly forgotten, even as the information she had unwittingly given him was not.

Meanwhile, Nina lay on the bed in Skinflint's cottage. Cyrus and Skinflint stood beside the bed, tending to her. At first, Skinflint could not divulge any information from her. She flatly refused ever seeing anyone. As for the injury? She had fallen down the small ridge trying to get an earthroot. It was not a lie, as far as she was concerned. But Skinflint foiled her lies by presenting the necklace.

"Now lassie, ya've never lied ta me 'ave ye! Ya need ta tell me tha truth."

Nina bit her lip apprehensively.

"But 'e said that if I did that it would be bad! That...they were in a secret mission tryin' ta get tha Defias!"

Cyrus sneered. "'n ya believed that? Ya really are a baby."

Nina's eyes watered. "But 'e was so nice!"

Skinflint sighed and shook his head.

"Now lass, I may 'ave left ya all alone fer too long! Whenever a grown up tells ya not ta tell anyone somethin', then ya know they're no good!"

She nodded with shame.

"Now be a good lass 'n tell me everyin'!"

And she did, except for the part about what she said about Skinflint. That would get her in trouble for sure.

"...'n then 'e gave me that necklace. 'e said it would 'elp me 'cause I 'ave magic 'n I would be a mage one day."

"Ya! A mage!" Cyrus declared incredulously. "What 'n ugly little troll o' a mage ya'd make."

"Ya shut it, Cy! Ya're tha only ugly troll I see 'ere 'bouts!" Nina yelled, pointing at the boy.

"Now ya two, arguin' like a pair of siblin's. I'm goin' out ta think o' what ya said. Ya two stay in 'ere!"

He left the small house closed the door with no small bit of force. Those two would be the end of him, he was sure of it. That very morning he found two new gray hairs on his luxurious beard. Those kids had no idea what it took to cultivate one!

Outside, waiting, was an imposing, bearded Night Elf with violet hair and ashen gray skin. He was tall, much taller than any of the men of the logging camp. He wore the elaborate Cenarion druid armor, complete with antlers and vines.

"Denevell, ma friend," Skinflint began. "Did ya 'ear all o' that? 'lves she said, wit' green eyes! I'd never 'eard of such a thin'."

"It is peculiar. Let me see the pendant."

Skinflint handed the elf the Malachite pendant. After a few minutes of examination, the elf handed it back to Skinflint.

"I see no malice in it. It is a simple malachite pendant. It should aid her in the future."

"'n what 'e said 'bout bein' a mage..."

"I should ascertain that, my old friend. Most importantly, we can never tell anyone that she spoke to these strange elves."

"There is na arguin' wit' ya on that account!" Skinflint exclaimed. "But I'll 'ave everyone on tha lookout fer this Autumn feller."

"If that is even his real name. At any rate, let me see her," Denevell said.

What an odd thing, he mused as he examined her. For an elf who took such great pains to stay hidden, to risk discovery like this... What an odd thing indeed.

On her twelfth birthday, she was tested by the Magi at the Tower of Azora, their confirmation of her magical gifts were merely a formality. A letter of recommendation was sent to Northshire Abbey. Her stay there lasted until her fifteenth birthday, after which she was experienced enough to join the Mages in Stormwind.

At the same time she left for Northshire, Cyrus, volunteered for military service. To his disappointment, he was stationed in Theramore. There he would apprentice for five years, learning the art of the sword.

His charges now grown, Skinflint felt at liberty to leave Elwynn Forest and seek adventure elsewhere. With Denevell, his friend, they traveled far into Kalimador.

It would be six years before they all would meet again. All the while, a certain Blood Elf was carving his way in the world, preparing for the return of his kin.

AN:

Thanks for the reviews.

I assume, due to the lack of information before the expansion, that most people in the world were not aware of Blood Elves before BC. Leaders of the various factions and those "in the know" may have been, but not the average individual. I don't remember any mention of them while playing as Undead or while conversing with High Elf NPCs before BC. They may have been mentioned in the books, but I haven't read them.

I think that the trauma of the Scourge made people concentrate on their own survival, rebuilding what they could. So a bunch of High Elves disappearing wouldn't have made too much of an impression. And since Silvermoon was given up as a lost cause, no one would look that way as it was being rebuilt. Blood Elves could remain hidden for the six or so years between the schism and BC.

But I can't see all of them staying up there. Part of reestablishing a country involves more than just killing off the Scourge and rebuilding. Gauging the relative strength of one's neighbors is vital, especially possible enemies.