I felt cold. The weather wasn't cold, not at all, actually, but that didn't stop me from shivering as I put on some black robes to get ready for Sanalla's funeral. Sylvanas was with me, not saying anything. She just watched me. I knew part of her was grieving, even if she didn't want to admit to me. I would have hugged her, but she would have rejected it, so I left her alone.

"So, I'm coming back to Undercity with you to get a few of my things, then I'll return here, is that all right?"

She didn't answer me immediately, seemingly lost in thought.

"Then I thought maybe you could step down as Banshee Queen and be my wife. You know, to give you a break from everything."

This time, she blinked, catching my eye, "Don't be ridiculous."

"The Lady speaks," I told her. I stepped towards her, seeing her stiffen. "Are you okay?"

"I'm about to bury my mother, Faith. How would you feel?"

I winced, "I didn't get to bury any of my family members, if you'll remember. I wish I could have, maybe it would have given me some closure."

"I think that we'll both get closure when we kill the Lich King." She looked me up and down, "Are you ready?"

"Do I look ready?"

"Black looks good on you," she told me, pushing herself away from the wall she'd been leaning on. We walked out of the room together, remaining close, our hands brushing against each other occasionally. Every time that happened, my heart skipped a beat. How could I feel like this about Sylvanas when we were about to cremate her mother's body and bury he ashes in the Silvermoon Cemetery?

Vereesa and Rhonin were waiting for us with the twins. When the little ones saw me, they called out "Aunt Faith!" and ran towards me, hugging my legs and climbing up my arms for a hug. I picked them both up and cuddled them for a short while.

"Aunt Faith?" asked Sylvanas, bemused.

"I keep telling you we should get married," I told her quietly, only half-joking.

She looked at me squarely, "No."

"You know I'll keep asking you until you say yes." I smiled a little at her and handed the boys back to their parents.

"Yes, I know." She didn't appear exactly pleased at the prospect as she looked at Rhonin, "Who started calling her that?"

"They did. They understand you're their aunt, and they assumed Faith was too."

"It doesn't mean anything, Sylvanas," I told her.

Lor'themar and Halduron walked in, both wearing funeral attire. Behind them, a group of mages was levitating Sanalla's body, which had been cleaned and wrapped in a gauzy white cloth. She looked peaceful that way.

We began to make our way towards the cemetery, which was located just outside the city. People watched as we walked by, inclining their heads respectfully. Most wore somber expressions, knowing who we were burying. I suppose Vereesa and Sylvanas being there solidified the notion for everyone. Someone cried out against the Scourge. Sylvanas stepped closer to me. Our hands touched, gripped each other. One squeeze.

A funeral pyre had been erected outside the cemetery, and the mages went there, gently putting Sanalla's body there. I looked around and saw that more than fifty people other than the Forsaken were there too. Rangers who had served under Sylvanas, and several Kirin Tor magisters.

"We are here today," said Lor'themar, "to say goodbye to Sanalla Windrunner, matriarch of the Windrunner family. We unfortunately do not know how she perished, but we have all surmised that she fell when the Scourge invaded. She was found, raised, at Windrunner Spire, and someone here with us now was kind enough to end her suffering and bring her body back to us. Thank you, Faith."

My lip trembled and I swallowed, struggling with everything I was feeling. Sylvanas slipped her hand in mine and I turned to her. She was staring ahead blankly, but the way her jaw was clenched tight told me that she was trying to contain a scream.

"Faith, could you, please?"

I looked at Lor'themar, realizing he was asking me to light the pyre. Tears spilled down my face as I raised a hand, conjuring flames that immediately caught upon the gauze and began to burn merrily.

Vereesa was crying. Rhonin held onto her, keeping a hand on the shoulder of one of his sons while the other one pressed himself against Vereesa's side.

I felt Sylvanas put an arm around me. She was really trying not to show it, but she looked stricken. Wordlessly, I rested my head against her shoulder and she held me, tight. We stayed that way, watching her mother's body being consumed by the fire until nothing was left but ash.

As one, the two sisters stepped forward and walked towards the pyre. Vereesa held an urn made of crystal, and with careful movements, Sylvanas swept the ashes into it, not spilling any of them. When it was full, Vereesa closed the urn and brought it into the cemetery before handing it to Sylvanas, who placed it gently in the grave that had been prepared in the area reserved for the Windrunners. I saw several names there that I knew: Sylvanas' grandfather and one of her cousins, amongst others.

Sylvanas turned to me and I went to her, using a spell to fill the grave with earth again. A headstone appeared, already engraved with Sanalla's name and date of birth, along with the year of her death.

The ceremony ended and people began to file away. Some of them stayed to offer their condolences to Vereesa and Sylvanas, who accepted them graciously. I stayed close, not wanting to leave Sylvanas' side if she had need of me, but she didn't call for me. After a while, we also began to leave, slowly walking back to Sunfury Spire, where portals would be waiting to take us home.

We bid Vereesa and her family goodbye. Vereesa said nothing to Sylvanas, who pretended her younger sister didn't exist, which hurt me to see. But the twins politely said goodbye to her, and she knelt in front of them, giving them a rare smile. "Take care of your parents for us, okay?"

They nodded and came to me, hugging me tightly and kissing my cheek. "Bye kids," I said to them. "I'll see you sometime in Dalaran."

"Yeah!" they cried.

Rhonin smiled, "You would both be welcome there."

"Thanks, Rhonin."

Vereesa hugged me, whispering that I should look after Sylvanas.

"Always," I said.

They all stepped through the portal and vanished. Sylvanas and I waited a little while for the mages to conjure up a portal to Undercity, while she spoke to Lor'themar about a meeting she had in Orgrimmar soon to discuss the Sin'dorei.

"I'll be there as well," he told her. "Faith, will you join us?"

"If you think we'll be able to get rid of the Scourge in the Ghostlands by then, I'd be happy to join you, but I'm afraid that's not going to happen."

"Where will you go first?" Sylvanas asked me.

"Windrunner Spire and Windrunner Village are my main priorities. We'll focus on them while the Tranquillien troops focus on Suncrown Village, and Goldenmist Village after that. If we're able to clear them, we'll be able to go to Deatholme, but I'll call you when we're ready to do that."

She looked at me, "You need me to hold your hand?"

"That would always be nice," I replied. "But I thought that you'd like to be there when Dar'Khan is killed. As a matter of fact, I thought you'd like to do the honors yourself."

"I would."

The portal to Undercity appeared, and Sylvanas stepped through it after saying goodbye to Lor'themar and Halduron, thanking them for everything. I followed her, landing almost on her feet.

We were alone. I was about to walk away from her when she grabbed my arm and pulled me into a long hug, burying her head in my neck for a bit. I hugged her back, wanting to say a hundred things to her that she probably didn't want to hear.

"I'm here for you," I said at last. "Whatever you need, I'm here."

"I know, Faith."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay a little? I don't want to leave you alone."

"I'm hardly alone." She gave me one last squeeze, and let me go. My arms felt empty the moment she stepped away from me. "You should probably hurry."

"I'll come and find you when I'm ready to go."

"Okay."

As it turned out, I didn't need to find her, because she stayed with me as I got some of my things from my room, mostly spellblades and potions, as well as a wand to increase my spellpower. I'd gotten the wand from Sylvanas. It was made of black wood, imbued with as much magic as possible and topped with a sapphire crystal, which was encased in twisted strands of the wood.

Once I was done gathering everything I needed, I turned to her. She was leaning against a large wooden chest at the foot of my bed, looking as though she were posing for a portrait.

"Come here," she said to me, pulling me to her. I put my hands on her shoulders, wishing she'd do something other than look at me and talk to me. "I want you to be careful."

"I'm always careful."

"No, you're not, that's why I'm telling you this. When it comes to the Scourge, you act on instinct, and I want you to think before you leap into a fray."

"I didn't leap when I went home."

"Good. Keep being smart. I don't want you to die, I've told you this."

"I won't die."

"You'd better not. I'll kill you if you do."

I smiled and looked into her red eyes and told her that I loved her. She rubbed my sides slowly, before letting me go. Within the hour, I was back in Silvermoon, feeling so lonely that I had to indulge in a cry to relieve the stress of the day.

We had a difficult few weeks after that, and more than once, I wished that I'd never agreed to stay in Quel'Thalas.

The days were dark as we fought the Scourge. It had always been the case, but I'd usually been able to count on seeing Sylvanas again at the end of my day. Now, I didn't have that. Day in and day out, we fought members of the Scourge on the Dead Scar before we were able to make it to Windrunner Spire.

I set up a team together of Forsaken and Sin'dorei numbering nearly two hundred mages, warriors, priests, and paladins. We set out towards Sylvanas' home, electing to go through the village first, although it was probably overrun as well.

"How bad do you think it's going to be?" Felicity asked me as we set up camp about a mile away from the village. Those of us who were alive needed sleep for the upcoming battle.

I smiled grimly, "Judging by the smell wafting from that direction, I'd say that it's very bad." I could definitely smell gargoyles, their dry and putrid stench nearly making it impossible for me to eat my dinner, despite the preventative measures I'd taken for those of us who were alive.

We didn't sleep, hearing screeches coming from every direction. The Dead Scar wasn't a problem where we were, but we were close to the beach, which meant that we were vulnerable to murloc attacks. I loathed the creatures, who could barely be reasoned with, but I didn't generally go after them unless I had a good motive to.

They left us alone, but the Scourge didn't. Just as I was finally closing my eyes, a cry louder than the rest told me that something was coming down on us fast.

The first gargoyle swept in on us and pulled up a ranger who didn't even have a chance to grab a sword. He screamed as the creature's claws sliced into his side, killing him almost instantly.

"Bring it down!" I cried, already casting one of my fire spells. I very nearly missed, only catching the gargoyle's foot. It was enough, however, for that thing to screech and drop its cargo. The ranger fell to the ground where he lay still. I ran to him and pulled off the identification bracelet he wore on his wrist. "I'm sorry," I whispered to him, setting his remains on fire.

I didn't have time to think about what had happened. Already, more gargoyles were diving at the camp from the sky. We brought several of them down and were able to keep everyone else alive, but it was obvious that something was waiting for us.

"Should we keep going?" asked Mavren, who was with us along with his band of warriors.

"I will not back down before the Scourge," I snarled. "Let's go face whatever's waiting for us in there."

"Good girl," he said, clapping me on the shoulder. "Let's go!"

We packed up the camp with magic and were ready to go minutes later, marching quickly over the mildly hilly terrain and avoiding spiders, lynxes, and bats as best we could.

What we saw at Windrunner Village was enough to make me gasp in horror. There were gargoyles, yes, at least three dozen of them, from what I could see. But a mild spell also showed that there were also several shades that couldn't really hurt us but were bothersome and nearly impossible to remove by magic. Finally, I saw skeletons, at least a hundred of them, with the Sunwell knew how many others hidden in the houses.

There was nothing else for it. We had to attack, and quickly.

"Fire attacks, go first. Focus on the gargoyles and bring them down as fast as you can. They'll screech, so someone try to silence them as quickly as possible." We spread out a little, Mavren staying next to me. The attack wasn't going to be a quiet one, and everything in the village would know that we were here. But I hoped that nothing would come from the spire to render them aid, or we'd be done quickly.

I gave the signal, and the attack began quickly. I conjured my black fire as fast as I could and brought down two gargoyles before the others had even understood what was going on. They took to the air, and the skeletons began running towards us, which was when I called out for the others to attack.

The battle was fierce. Twice, I came perilously close to losing my life, and I saw Felicity in trouble more than once, but on the whole, we managed to decimate the Scourge at the village. The shades remained, and we'd be able to send them back to wherever the hell they'd come from if we cared to do it, but they didn't hurt anything, so we created a magic field around the village to keep them from returning to their masters.

The shades had vague shapes of elves, rangers who had fallen to the Scourge and whose souls had been called forth to roam without a body. In a way, it was sadder than seeing the undead, who, for the most part, were soulless unless reanimated in a certain way. I had a difficult time believing that these creatures had once been living beings who had fallen here when the Scourge had attack.

"This is never going to end, is it?" I asked quietly, throwing skeletal remains into a huge bonfire we had made.

"We're here to make sure we can end it, Faith," Felicity told me.

"There were one million of us living here. Over ninety percent of my people died. That's over nine hundred thousand bodies for the Scourge to resurrect and use against us."

"We do the best we can, Faith. We were attacked just now, which means that we're doing something right."

I wasn't so sure about that. They'd probably seen us and attacked to try and discourage us from coming any closer. I didn't say anything.

"Why is that shade so close to you?" asked Mavren pointing at a spot behind my right shoulder with the sword he was cleaning.

I jumped and turned, seeing that there was indeed a shade hovering less than a foot away from me. It kept reaching for me, but, being a shade, it was unable to touch me. "I don't know. They're shades, it's a little hard to know what they're thinking."

The shade came closer to the fire, which allowed me to see its features a little better. I saw a distinctly elven face, but it was faded, so I couldn't even begin to guess who it had been. I shrugged, going back to throwing a skeleton into the fire.

But the shade wasn't so easily deterred. It made a low wailing noise, sounding like the wind blowing through a hollow tree and pointed at me again, before pointing in the direction I knew Everstone Village to be.

I frowned, "Wait… is it trying to… are you trying to tell me you're from my village?"

Slowly, the shade nodded, although it was hard for me to tell. It pointed at me again and again and wailed.

"Someone you used to know, maybe?" wondered Felicity.

"If it was a citizen of Everstone Village, then yes, I knew it when it was alive. But I thought they'd all been killed when I set the place on fire."

"Maybe some of them got out."

I didn't even want to consider the possibility of anybody I knew having gotten out of the black inferno I'd created before running away, but it was possible. I'd been inexperienced, and had gone through a bad shock, and my magic definitely hadn't been as strong then as it was now.

The shade wailed again pointing at me. It then made a strange gesture that transported me back to my childhood, when Taegan had smacked my forehead with the heel of his hand, to bully me into baking cookies for him, or just to annoy me.

"No." I said. "No!"

"Faith?"

"Taegan?"

The shade immediately calmed down and came to hover next to me.

"No, that's not possible. You can't be my brother!"

"Brother?" Mavren looked shocked. "It's nodding, I think."

"Oh, Faith… no." Felicity put a gloved hand over mine, "How can you be sure?"

I explained about the gesture. "But it can't be… we just found Sylvanas' mother, and now we're finding my brother here? He'd already been raised as an undead, and now he's a shade? How?"

"I've heard of that happening," said a Paladin by the name of Silveren. "Sometimes, if a body's damaged beyond repair, but is still alive by necromantic magic, whatever's left of its soul can be extracted and turned into a wraith or a shade. I saw it when I went to Northrend with Kael'thas' forces to fight the Lich King."

I ran a shaking hand over my eyes. My lover was a banshee, and my brother was a shade. I wanted to end this nightmare. I wanted to die all of a sudden. I couldn't deal with this. I didn't want to deal with it. I'd always heard that true shades had been raised by the Lich King himself, but the ones we had encountered here appeared a little different.

"Are you certain that it's your brother, though?" asked Silveren. "I mean, shades can sometimes appear as someone familiar."

"I wouldn't be, except for the way it's acting. Nobody knows about the fact that Taegan used to smack my forehead when he wanted something. Not like that." And the way he had done it had been so like him that I couldn't imagine it not being him.

"We should go back to Tranquillien then."

"Why? Because of him? It's not necessary."

"The priests there can find a way to release him into the afterlife, whatever it is."

"We need to retake Windrunner Spire before we do anything."

"We won't be able to retake it. Look." Silveren pointed between the trees that bordered the edge of the village. Through them, I saw something I had dreaded. More gargoyles were arriving from Deatholme. I counted two groups of twenty of them before I stopped trying to figure out how many there were.

"Damn. Combined with what's already there… we're going to need an experienced army in order to get there."

"And we'll probably have to attack Deatholme at the same time."

I didn't want to agree, but I knew he had a point. If we attacked Windrunner Spire and Deatholme separately, they'd be able to send each other aid. Attacking them at the same time would ensure us some kind of advantage.

"I'm going to need to talk to Sylvanas about this." She wouldn't be happy.

"What do we do about this village? If we leave, the Scourge will take it back."

"Can we put wards around it?" asked Felicity. "Something to keep the undead from returning?"

"If we do that, no Forsaken will be able to enter either until we remove the wards. It could be dangerous for you to even be close to it," I told them. "Not to mention that I've never cast such a spell before, so I could end up killing us all."

But I didn't want to leave Windrunner Village at the mercy of the Scourge. I couldn't. I asked all of the Forsaken to get back twenty yards, and had the elven mages and priests stay with me as we put protective crystals in key points within the village.

Then, placing ourselves in groups of two around the village, we began to chant in unison. We invoked the Light, watching it descend from the sky and create a dome around the area we wanted to protect. We invoked fire to burn anybody foolhardy enough to defy the ward. And finally, we invoked magic itself to signal anybody if fiends attempted to breach our defenses.

We stopped chanting, and the magical runes that had appeared between my fingers slowly faded away. The ward was nearly invisible, except for the air shimmering around the village, as though intense heat covered it. The shades were trapped within, except for Taegan, who had attached himself to me, somehow.

"I hope it works," I whispered as we walked away.

"It should. We might be able to have an elven settlement back in there if nothing happens to the ward."

I didn't really think that anybody would want to live in Windrunner Village anymore. Frankly, living in the Ghostlands was too depressing now. It was dark and dreary. Not at all the beautiful sanctuary I had called home.