Hytharion had been walking for hours. His whole body ached, and his leg begged him to rest, but he had to keep moving. The thick canopy made the forest dim. If he took too long, nightfall would make navigation impossible, and night elves were, as their names suggested, superior fighters in the dark. He glanced around nervously. He could feel himself being watched. Stalked. Occasionally, he heard leaves rustling or the crack of a stick being stepped on. He put on a show of strength once, freezing a bush so cold its leaves shattered, sending a great ball of fire at another, leaving it a pile of ashes in only a second, and stripping a third of its leaves entirely with Arcane magic. He'd hoped that would discourage any stalkers, but he still heard the occasional sound, could've sworn he'd even heard whispering at one point, and the breeze that rustled the leaves wasn't helping. He didn't even really know where exactly he was. As he knelt to rest for a moment, he realized the tracker had disappeared. He frowned, confused. Its glow should be easy to see in the gloom. It should not have disappeared until it found its objective, and he did not see Falaria. Had he lost it? He stood up, squinting as he searched the area, but it was nowhere to be found.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and he leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the magic-wrapped arrow that landed where he had just been. He looked into the tree above him, but all he saw was a dark, nimble figure leap off a branch. He heard them land behind him and before he could react, there was a sword to his throat. He teleported away before they could follow up, then spun and flung a fireball toward the lithe elf. She easily rolled out of the way, and it hit a tree behind her. She tossed her sword aside and lifted her bow, another arrow nocked and aimed at him. Hytharion had another fireball ready, but as she paused and lowered her bow, he paused as well, hoping that perhaps he could talk his way out of this.
"Hythe?" Falaria removed her hood, her expression confused as she cocked her head at him.
"Sis," he said with a sigh of relief. He came closer so that he could see her face more clearly with his flame. Her long, blonde hair flowed over her shoulders, and as he came closer, she quickly brushed her bangs over the left side of her face to hide her scarred eye. Her red and gold armour was covered in blood, though aside from a few wounds on her arms, he could see that not much of it was her own. His flame glinted off of her spiralling golden armbands and necklace, jewelry that, like his earrings, had once belonged to their mother. She held a beautifully carved red and gold bow, the same bow she had used back when she was a Farstrider. A quiver full of arrows that matched the bow rested on her back, and she carried a sheath on her hip that must have contained the sword.
"Damn it, sis, you-" Her eyes widened, and she shook her head as she put a finger to her lips. He glanced around nervously. "You almost killed me," he continued quietly. "Do you not check to make sure it's actually an enemy you're attacking?" Falaria went to him and inspected the empty portion of his sleeve before looking up at his injured brow. She looked at him questioningly, a hint of worry in her eyes. "I'm fine, for the most part at least. I was-"
"You aren't supposed to be here," she interrupted. "Why are you here? The Kirin Tor is involved?" Her eyes widened. "The Kirin Tor aids the kaldorei?" she asked, looking panicked. "Sylvanas!" She looked around and looked ready to sprint, presumably in the direction of the main battle. He grabbed her shoulder to stop her, and she launched herself back like a terrified cat, an arrow aimed at him in a mere second.
"No, no, it's okay! The Kirin Tor isn't here," he said quickly, reaching out to her reassuringly.
It took a moment, but she finally untensed and put her arrow back in the quiver. "You know I don't like that. Don't do that again."
Something growled behind him. He froze, panicked, but as Falaria smiled slightly, he realized who it must have been. He turned to look at her companion, a beautiful, russet-furred lynx with intelligent green eyes. He remembered his first meeting with her. She had been protecting Falaria when he found her in the woods after the Scourge, and she had saved his life as well, holding off the ghoul that attacked him long enough for Baladir to find them. "Hello, Mira," he said with a smile. She growled warily as he offered his hand to her, but as she smelled it, she recognized him. She purred as he patted her head and nearly knocked him over as she headbutted his leg and rubbed against him. "Like I said, I'm fine," he assured Falaria as he turned back to her. "And don't worry, the Kirin Tor isn't here. I'm alone. Speaking of, why are you even out here? You're in the middle of nowhere, at least as far as I can tell."
"I'm scouting," she answered, glancing around alertly as she rested the tip of her bow on the ground. "No one else is supposed to be here. Besides, it's dim. It's not like I can see details... though I should have known with how noisy you are as you stomp through the bush with that clanky leg of yours."
"Hey, I'm not a rogue, silence isn't my specialty. You try making me a leg that doesn't make noise."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure someone else could have made it better. Enough of that, though. Why are you here?"
"Before I answer that," he said, heading to the arrow she had fired to pluck it out of the ground, "You're using Death magic now?" He shuddered as he ran a finger along the edge. He remembered studying Death magic thoroughly throughout the war in Northrend to understand the Scourge. He had almost given up halfway through a paper he was writing simply due to the terrible sense of dread that it gave him whenever he held it.
"By the sun, Hythe, I'm supposed to worry about you. I started training with the dark rangers, don't worry about it. Are you going to tell me why you're here or not?"
"Death magic is... Well, I suppose it's not dangerous, but I don't like the way it feels. It's the magic of the Scourge, it's not natural." He burned the arrow and let its ashes fall to the ground.
"You just wasted a perfectly good arrow."
"Like you don't have a hundred more in there."
"That's not-
"Did you want me to tell you why I'm here or not?" Falaria glared at him for several moments but finally clamped her mouth shut and looked at him expectantly. "Anyway, I'm here because Baladir asked me to-"
Falaria's eyes widened at the mention of her older brother's name. "That bastard is alive? Where is he?" she snarled. "I'm going to rip his leg off and beat him with it!" He stepped back slightly as she shoved her face in his. "Where?"
"Sis, chill your shit, he's not here," he said, gently pushing her away. "He's with the Argent Crusade. He said he's stationed at Light's Hope in the Plaguelands right now. He came to me to ask me to stop you from doing what he knows you'll regret. He saved me on Argus, so I kind of owe it to him."
Her expression remained unimpressed as she lifted one blonde eyebrow. "So he stopped being a useless ass long enough to rescue you but not come talk to me himself?"
"Look, I know how you feel. I'm not happy either, but he knew you wouldn't listen if he came to you himself. Bal sees Sylvanas as no different than the Lich King, and while I would like to disagree..." he sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, knowing what her reaction would be to his next words.
He didn't need to say anything more, though. Her eyes widened as she realized what he was saying, looking as if he had struck her. "How dare you?" She stepped closer again. "You think I'm some sort of Scourge monster?"
He blinked. 'What? No, of course not. You're misinterpreting-'
"Oh, so you think I'm stupid?"
"Damn it Sis, no, just listen for a second. I don't think you're a monster, and being stupid and acting stupidly isn't the same thing. I mean, come on, The Legion was defeated barely... what, two months ago? And now Sylvanas decides to attack the kaldorei? Why? Don't you think that's a little strange? She doesn't care about anyone, not even you. What difference is there between her and Arthas? She goes around raising the dead with those val'kyr of hers. Are you forgetting that those things used to serve the Lich King himself? Have you ever even questioned where they them from or why they serve her?"
"Yes, they used to serve him, but they don't anymore, do they?" He let out a frustrated sigh. This was where his conversations with her about Sylvanas usually led. She would cherry-pick only questions she knew she could answer and ignore all others. "Sylvanas cares for the Horde. She wants to get the jump on the Alliance and attack them before they attack us. It would be much harder for them to attack if there are if they have no presence in Kalimdor."
"Sis, the Alliance isn't going to war, not anytime soon. There were so many lives lost. Too many. I lost friends, and I know you have, too. Are you really willing to follow Sylvanas as she throws away the lives of more? I just... I don't understand you," he said softly. "You were fighting alongside the night elves mere months ago and now you're willing to murder them just like that? You've sat out every conflict between the Alliance and Horde that you could. You were a Farstrider back home. You were a ranger in the Unseen Path." He took her hand as he looked into her single emerald eye. She jumped slightly, glancing down at his hand for several moments before she looked back at him. "You're a defender, not a killer. Baladir and I both know that if it were anyone else giving the orders, you wouldn't be here. She's going down a dark path, one that we don't want to see you go down too. She's not your Ranger-General anymore. You don't have to follow her."
She shook her head vigorously as she slapped his hand away. "No! She's not going down any "dark path"! Are these your own words? Or are you just regurgitating the shit Baladir fed you?" Mira's ears twitched. She stood, sniffing the air as she looked past Hytharion.
"Honestly, a mix of both, but I'm not saying anything I don't agree with. I really can't see anything good coming out of this for you or the Horde. As much as King Anduin wants peace, if you win Teldrassil, the night elves will demand vengeance. The Alliance will hit back." Falaria looked as if she were about to say something but paused as she noticed Mira's movement and glanced behind him. Before he even knew what was happening, she tackled him to the ground. He didn't see but rather heard arrows whistle over them. He looked up as he heard several thuds and saw arrows embedded in the tree behind where he had been standing. Falaria leapt to her feet, and he quickly did the same
Several dark forms with faintly glowing eyes stood a few feet away. The wind kicked up, rustling the trees and opening up the canopy, allowing him to see that the night elves each had weapons of some sort drawn. "You're lucky, mage. That's the third time you've avoided death," the apparent leader called. "Surrender now or die."
"No. Let us go. I mean you no harm, and we'll cause no more trouble."
The commander scowled and shook her head. "You think me stupid? No. I don't have time for this. Surrender now and become my prisoners, or die. There are no other choices." Hytharion looked down, assessing his possible options. They would most likely fire as soon as he tried to cast a portal. He debated using his invisibility spell, but that would probably end the same way. "I don't have all day, sin'dorei!"
"I..." He sighed. His plan was crumbling. Not that it was really much of a plan in the first place. "My name is Archmage Hytharion. I'm with the Kirin Tor. I'm not here to fight."
The commander scoffed. "You expect me to believe that? A member of the Kirin Tor - an Archmage no less - here?"
Maybe I should've brought my tabard after all. Oh, I know! "Look at this!" he said eagerly, lifting his right arm. As soon as he did, he cringed, cursing himself out in his head. On the back of his prosthetic hand had been carved a rune in the shape of the sigil of the Kirin Tor. He heard an amused snort from Falaria and shot her a sharp glance.
"Oh, you're missing a hand. It's hard to notice, I'm sorry, you're free to go. What, are you expecting me to take pity?"
"I had a prosthetic that had proof," he said tensely, resenting her sarcastic tone. "It was destroyed in a fight." The commander narrowed her eyes for a moment before she began approaching them. Mira let out a low, menacing growl, watching her carefully. Falaria grabbed her bow, but before anyone could react, Hytharion pushed it down. "Stop," he muttered. "We might still get out of this peacefully." More quietly, he whispered, "But get ready to run." Falaria frowned as she glanced from him to the night elves. She did not put her bow back but simply lowered it, the wood creaking in her tense grip. The night elf, who had paused when Falaria drew her bow, resumed her pace, then stopped before them and looked into his eyes.
"I believe you," she said after several seconds. "You do not have the look of a liar. Was it you who my druid attacked?
"Yes. Why?"
"Because while you did nearly kill her, I saw the burns around her wounds. You also saved her life. You and the cat may go." She turned her gaze to Falaria. "She, however, must stay."
Falaria narrowed her eyes. "You have a death wish, night elf?"
Hytharion put himself between them as Falaria stepped toward her. "Stop! Just stop." He sighed as he looked at the night elf imploringly. "Listen, I know you're angry, and believe me when I say I know what you're going through, but killing one lone soldier out of the thousands here will make no difference. Please, just let us go. I promise you she'll cause no more harm."
"She's not just any soldier, though. She's an extremely dangerous one," the night elf said, her eyes still locked on Falaria. "We've been tracking her for days now. She must pay for her crimes! She follows the Banshee Queen, and that witch has killed hundreds of my people these last few days. I have no wish to kill you, Archmage, but if you choose to stand by her, then you are choosing to share her fate. Will you take my offer and leave now? Or will you die with her?"
He narrowed his eyes. It seemed there were few other options. Shoving the night elf away, he grabbed Falaria's arm and started running. "Belasa anu!" He, along with Falaria and Mira, turned invisible. He was worried she would be too caught off guard to run with him right away, but luckily, she only stumbled slightly before sprinting alongside him, Mira at her side. "He cast an invisibilty spell! Fire in all directions!" He heard them fire their arrows and tried to teleport himself and Falaria around as they ran in an attempt to avoid the arrows. As they dodged one arrow, though, he teleported them into the path of two others. One hit him and bounced harmlessly off of his armour. Falaria was not so lucky and another hit her leg. She let out a cry of pain as she fell to the ground, her invisibility fading.
"Falaria!" Skidding to a stop, he dismissed the spell and ran back to her.
She looked up at him as Mira nudged her and helped her to her knees. "Go! I'll hold them off!"
"No, I'm not leaving you!" He looked up. They hadn't gotten far enough. The night elves were preparing to fire again. He helped her stand up. The arrow had landed in her calf. She couldn't run now, and if they couldn't run, there was only one thing left they could do. "Split up," he whispered. She nodded and leapt out of the way as more arrows flew towards them. Hytharion teleported himself behind a tree, poking his head out to count ten elves and watch them as they split up as well. As he wondered how they were going to get out of their predicament alive, his mind flew back to that terrible day on Argus.
No. That's not going to happen again.