In this story I attempt to breathe new life into some of the older areas of Warcraft which seem to have been forgotten over the years. It is not a time-travel experience but more a simple mark of respect for some zones which few bother with nowadays. Quite possibly some have either forgotten about them or due to the "power-ups" available now, do not even know of their existence. So, I hope you enjoy the little references and links to some old favourites and quest lines.

2 - Escape

Where am I?

What is this place?

Why is there so much noise?

These were questions running through my befuddled brain as I registered the desperate situation in which I found myself. I could not recall how I came to be where I was. All I knew at that precise moment, was that it was dark, dusty, cold and foreboding. My eyes had not yet adjusted to the inky blackness - but my hearing alerted me to danger.

Strange sounds, both familiar and at the same time utterly alien, boomed, echoed, receded and swept all around me. I shifted nervously, my head snapping round at each new location I heard noise. In one way I felt an uneasy reassurance. Whatever was making those diabolical sounds was separated from me by my somewhat unnatural enclosure. That small confidence was erased within moments.

An unsettling sensation filled the air. It emitted a prickling, unnerving and menacing ambience. At least, that is how I ascribed it being in my provisional dark and cold space. Miniscule rays of bright light filtered through the cracks of my enclosure. They bounced off the surface of what, by all accounts, looked like cracked stone or hardened clay, and danced on the floor near my feet. I hopped to get out of their way. They followed me. I jumped back again. My rectrices bunched as my body pressed up against one of the solid surfaces behind me. In panic, I spread my wings and tried to alight on a ledge at the opposite side, but the space above was restrictive and merely resulted in my crown colliding with yet more hardened matter. I crashed back down, my wings splayed over the floor and my beak digging a groove in the soft earth.

Now I could taste fear, dread. Not mine to begin with, but my own soon added to the tang. My heart was hammering, and the after shafts of my coverts started to prickle, making my feathers feel like they had static rippling through them.

Stones shifted directly above me causing a thin stream of powdered rock to spill over my back, sifting through my contours. I shook my body to rid me of the dusty substance, my feathers rapidly opening and closing from the vigorous movements.

A sharp wailing noise burst forth. I immediately shrank down, my chest brushing over the dust I had just shaken from my back. The noise hurt my ears. I shook my head, trying hard to rid the sound. I envisioned it penetrating my skull, skewering my brain. Such was its tenor. Other sounds joined it, these ones deeper, unambiguous and emphatic. The screeching one grew more frantic, the volume piercing my mind in...desperation.

Adjusted now to the gloom, my eyes could make out sharp stone edges, enormous boulders, metal and...something alive! That something was moving. Light flared mercilessly around me as a stone slab was moved, opening the way ahead. I shifted, craning my neck for a better view thinking I could get free at last. But then I saw there were still things obstructing my way. Metal spars, rocks, slabs. I had but a thin crevice to try and wriggle through. I knew it was impossible. There was no way out for me from this... tomb. I felt hopelessness as I watched the only available exit shrink from my view. My situation was dire. Final.

The live thing twitched and dug deep grooves in the ground. The unexpected movement made me flinch, my wings instinctively opening for flight. I ducked my head down, almost level with the ground and turned my head to the side so I could see through the sliver between the rocks. At this point, I realised it was a human appendage I was seeing, though quite how I deduced this was a mystery. It was reaching for something which was just outside my vision's periphery. It lurched forward. With a grunt, it clasped whatever it was it sought. Slowly, it started to pull back.

I pressed my eye closer to the erratic openings that afforded me the only view to the outside. The object it had coveted was nothing more than a long piece of carved wood. As it was steadily drawn into my view I noted a rather hideous carving of a bird at its tip - a raven perhaps and attached, it had a strip of - fabric? How did I know that? This fabric, although dusty was adorned with two feathers and some spherical objects clustered near the bird's feet. Near the loose end of the material, other objects dangled, like claws and more spheres. The human appendage continued moving away until I saw it in its entirety. I could just make out the human scrambling to its feet, the wooden object with the carved bird in its hand. Then it disappeared from my view completely. The wailing pitch above me suddenly changed, there was a hint of relief. "Roo, roo," it sounded. That too then moved away.

A moment later another resumed. Its desperate, sorrowful bleeting. "Caagaw! Caagaw!" was sending shivers down my spine. There was agony in that sound, a pain so profound, it reached out to me. It was strangely familiar; personal, yet how that was remotely possible, escaped me. It presented an enigma I could not even begin to diagnosticate while my fear was still rising. What manner of thing was it that produced such doleful sounds? Another human perhaps?

Earth-shattering noise rained down. Stone and metal jarred around me, scraping as if giant talons were dragging down a sheer slate surface, screeching, shifting, sliding. The sound was excruciating, tearing so viciously at my mind that I felt as if my skull was splitting open, exposing the soft flesh within. My beak chittered loudly as if from the cold. My body was being rendered limp from the intolerable noise and building pressure within my confinement. I had to get out of here - wherever here was. I knew it was all going to collapse, crash around me. On me.

A deeper, more throaty sound arrived. It seemed to communicate somehow with the wailing one. Was it protesting something? The unstable surroundings must have been a warning for my brain registered the screams and bellows of the creatures were retreating from outside my prison. I could just make out the one calling "Caagaw" repeatedly, fading into the distance.

The grinding, scraping around me intensified. I turned my head trying to locate an exit, drawn hopelessly to the light where the human had escaped. I could not squeeze through, could not reach it. Then, as the very ground beneath me shuddered and heaved, an opening appeared directly above me. In that same instant I saw another object, a pillar, falling, coming towards me. My mind played it in slow motion but I knew the reality. It was hurtling down through the air towards me with frightening velocity. I had to move. Now.

As I propelled myself up, the collapsing stone just clipped me and no more, knocking me sideways, but I regained my direction and within seconds, I was soaring. Free at last from my prison. Alive! I circled round just in time to see the enormous dust cloud erupt from the impact of the fallen pillar. Many others like me also flew over the area. I hovered, taking in what was below me. I saw movement. Figures were running away from where I had just escaped. I circled round and dove down for a closer look.

I could hear the wailing again, even more desperate than before and I searched for its source. I realised then, the majority of the figures were humanoids. Quite how I came to such a fixed conclusion eluded me again, but something in the back of my mind informed me that is what they were.

They were creatures of various appearances, colours and languages, none of which I could understand. Or could I? The wailing one had made sounds I had interpreted. They made no sense to me, but I had still formed their sound in my mind. I watched the wailer. Curious. It collapsed now and seemed inconsolable, distressed beyond respite. Another humanoid knelt down beside it. This one was peculiar. Protrusions from its head like huge horns and strange green markings on its body. It also had enormous wings, quite unlike mine. It's wings were more like hide, tough, opaque. If I looked closely enough, and I could, even from high up, I could see red thread-like veins running through the membrane. Its feet were like that of beasts on the plains - hooved. It seemed to be trying to comfort the wailer. Not very successfully, by the looks of it.

As my eyes scanned the ground, I saw many humanoids, wounded, bleeding, crying. What had happened to cause such devastation and sorrow? I soared again and turned back the way I came to see if I could gauge what the catastrophe had been.

Below, I saw what I assumed was once a great stone structure. Now it lay in ruins. I could see what looked like a head carved in stone lying amid the rubble. Metal rods and spars jutted out, some mangled and twisted with bits of stone clinging around them. Many bodies of various creatures were also nearby, some half buried under the rock and metal. I still did not understand the significance however, and once more soared back to where I had seen the wailer collapse to the ground.

The human was still crouched on the dry earth, making that awful noise. The winged humanoid had moved over to tend to others. It emitted a bright light which surrounded those nearby. As I glanced round, there were yet other humanoids doing a similar thing although their appearances were vastly different from the winged one. Some were more like the wailer, others, although tiny horns and hooves they had, were still very unlike the larger winged one. As I watched I saw that they were healing the injured!

And... I could not believe my eyes! There were even trees spouting bright light, and moving too! How was this possible? Trees were for the likes of me to roost in and the only movement they made, was that which was afforded by the wind through their branches. But these - these walked! I continued to watch in utter fascination and I dare say some horror, as some of these trees then started to change shape. My secondaries kicked in, allowing me to glide at a safe distance as I witnessed this strange phenomenon. A hypnotic swirl of green and golden light rose from the roots to the canopies and then dispersed leaving behind - another humanoid. How was it possible for something to change shape? And so extremely?

Many of the humans were encircled by strange lights and markings on the ground which pulsed and spun. As I hovered, I could see that these lights were somehow mending the creatures below. Wounds were disappearing or at least lessening and some of the beings were able to get up and move around.

"Caagaw! Caagaw!"

I looked down and saw the wailer pointing at me and making those strange sounds again. Was it trying to communicate with me? Why would a human want to do that, I wondered. Others came around it. They looked up too, but shook their heads. I don't know what made me do it, but I glided down a little further. The wailer became more agitated and again started making that odd sound, "Caagaw! Caagaw!"

I saw another human approach the wailer. It was the same one who had retrieved the long wooden pole with the bird carving. It grabbed the wailer and shook it, not roughly, but enough for to take its attention away from me. I could hear the noises the other one made too. "Nuh! E nuh caagaw."

The wailer stared at the humanoid in front of it and gradually calmed, or perhaps it was just exhaustion that had set in as its breathing was somewhat hitched and ragged. I dared fly a little closer. As I did, it looked directly at me. Somehow, I then knew this was a female. She looked at me for only a fleeting moment, but it seemed to last for an eon. I saw such interminable sorrow in her eyes. A look of utter loss, despondency and bewilderment. The strangest of sensations vibrated through my chest. A most peculiar feeling, almost akin to pain but I could not comprehend it. "Caagaw," she whimpered. Then she gulped and I saw water pour from her eyes. Rivulets trickled and spread over her face to her chin then dripped to the dry earth below her crumpled form. I knew not why, but I felt terribly sad. An insane emotion filled me just then. A need to comfort her, assure her, but why I felt so compelled I did not know.

Something skiffed me, just brushing my primaries and clipping my right metacarpe. Another object shot past me. The one who had shook the wailer was throwing things at me. It was trying to ward me off. Seemed I was not welcome amongst them. Instantly I soared then swerved away. Those missiles could have so easily rendered me flightless had they hit my scapulars.

As I climbed higher I kept an eye on the wailer and her companions. Many were back at the fallen stone pillars, digging out some of the rubble. Bodies were dragged out from under massive slabs, broken rock piles and sand. The majority of those bodies were lifeless. Whatever had happened here, was now passed, finished and only the clearing up and retrieving of companions seemed to be on the agenda. I flew out over the barren landscape leaving the injured and exhausted humans behind, letting them continue with healing and digging through the rubble to collect their dead. Yet, as I sailed south over the red, dry land towards the swamps, the cry of the wailer echoed in my mind.

"Caagaw ... Caagaw."

The image of her sad face stayed with me. Perhaps someone important to her had been one of the victims they were dragging out from the ruins. Whatever it was, I was haunted by her sorrow.