Seasons of Change ((Story-ish?))

((Posting this so it might give me some motivation to work on it and not have a project rot uncompleted for eternity, because I suck at finishing things. :V

Might post art too to fit with the story TwT))




Three months ago…


The chill of winter was heavy in the air. Snow was still carpeting the hills of Azsuna, but the melt of ice, as winter was past its peak, was clearly heard in the nearby streams.

In an uncommon sight, seeing the Stormchaser family ride as a group through northern Azsuna. Given the global situation it was not hard to find them in the same part of the world, and there was a rare moment of rest that overlapped for all of them.

Jaou rode upon Ganymede taking up the rear behind his siblings, Sundar and Ellarune, as their entourage, led by Valorra and Zherrus, travelled through northern Azsuna. This trip came from the news that their parents were looking to sell their cabin and land in Ashenvale in favour of a plot in the Broken Isles. It was a surprise for the siblings; for several thousand years they had used the cabin in Ashenvale, though their family also had sottages in Mount Hyjal and Winterspring, in addition to their home in Moonglade. It would make sense for them to sell one of properties instead of adding another to their assets, and it made more sense that Valorra and Zherrus would choose a location in the Broken Isles, the place of their childhood and early life.

“And this is where we would sneak off together when your mother wasn’t training and I wasn’t in my lessons,” Zherrus said, pointing to a hill that overlooked the meadow.

“In all fairness we met up there during our lessons from time to time as well,” Valorra added. It was a statement that drew some surprise from their children.

“Oh my, mom, what a rebel!” Ellarune exclaimed. “I’m not surprised that dad would play hookie, but you as well?”

“I mean some experiences are worth more than one in a class,” Sundar commented.

Jaou looked around their surroundings with wonderment, imagining what it would have been like over ten thousand years ago. “You have to wonder how much even the stars have changed since then,” the ranger said. “It was a different era.”

“A lot of things have changed, particularly when Queen Azshara found out that Prince Farondis would attempt to rebel against her,” Valorra recounted. “For the longest time after the Sundering, the Wardens would be the only ones to set foot in this land, deeming it to be cursed by the Queen. Not a lie, as you have seen, but we were ordered to deter and ensure these isles would be largely undisturbed. Given that Suramar was bereft of settlements, outside of the barrier that surrounded what we now know is the remains of Suramar City, and the heretofore hidden Moon Guard Stronghold, there was little reason most elves would want to traverse Azsuna.”

“Val’sharah was different, however we did have our own ways to reach it that circumvented Azsuna,” said Zherrus. “For our people, we turned it into a sacred land for the Kaldorei branch of druidism. Outside of that, we did not venture beyond that territory.”

“Are you considering Azsuna for a home away from home?” asked Ellarune, with excitement.

“It does hold many memories for you mother and I,” Zherrus answered. “We spent a good part of our youth here.”

“I remember you both mentioned that they lived here,” Sundar recalled. “They passed just prior to the War of the Ancients, right?”

“Yes,” affirmed Valorra. “They were soldiers guarding this land, and we’re not sure if they were caught in the aftermath of Azshara’s retribution, as there are conflicting reports on whether they were slain in battle or not. Though we’ve yet to find their spirits, we’re hopeful that we may find some trace of them.”

“And you were both in Val’sharah at that time?” Jaou followed up with another question.

“We were, close to Black Rook Hold then.”

“That would have been awfully close for our family line to have ended there,” Ellarune observed.

“Actually,” Zherrus started to say, drawing out the word. “I’m going to have to be honest with you, kids.” He bade his saber to stop, halting the troup as he turned to regard everyone. There was a nervous air around the elder druid, but Valorra nodded encouragingly to him. He smiled lightly and regarded his children. “Before we get deeper into exploring our roots, I have to tell you something. Ellaryn and Denthrius Stormchaser aren’t my parents by blood. I was adopted into the family, but not until I was an adolescent, fifteen summers of age.”

Already the looks on Jaou, Sundar and Ellarune’s faces were that of shock, but Zherrus continued. “I’m actually a member of a Highborne family, the House of Silverfang. The lord, my father, didn’t look kindly upon the progression of my friendship with your mother blossoming into a relationship. He threatened me with expulsion from the family if I didn’t break it off with Valorra; being the youngest of four, he had no need of me as an heir, but he was more interested that his bloodline has as much insurance as possible, and arranged for me to wed with another highborne family.

“Needless to say, I took the expulsion. I no longer had a home, but I still had Valorra, and our friends. When we were young children, we attended community-held lessons, ranging from combat, to the arcane, to history. These were led by volunteers of the community, scholars of no small renown, academics, soldiers, all to better the lives of those less fortunate than the highborne. To my blood-parent’s chagrin, I eschewed the tutors they had hired in favour of those held by the public. A pair of soldiers that trained us as younglings quickly became aware of my situation, and took me in. They were the Stormchasers.

“At first it was a bit awkward, and the atmosphere of the household was overly cautious. There was no telling if my family would retaliate against them for taking me in, and for a commoner family, being disgraced by a Highborne House can be costly. For them it would mean they would be expelled from duty if the Silverfangs fought for it. Still, even with such a threat, they didn’t abandon me, and fortunately nothing was heard of from my former House. With no children of their own, Ellaryn being unable to bear, they accepted me as their son, and I was honoured to carry on their name and family legacy as my own."

Then, in usual casual fashion, Zherrus ended off with, “So… surprise! You’re half-highborne!”

A moment of silence passed, Jaou, Sundar and Ellarune looked at Zherrus, flabbergasted by what they just heard.

“Wait, so you’re saying that our affinity to druidic magics isn’t from our grandparents?” clarified Sundar.

“Yes, it’s likely from the Silverfang line,” Zherrus said with a nod. “Many were the mages, and while arcane affinity is quite notable, druidic potential runs high in the family as well.”

“Talven commented on my ability to quickly learn the arcane lessons from training, and said it was a family trait,” Jaou recounted. “I thought it was a one off like yourself, prior to learning of this.”

“Wait, hold on!” Ellarune interjected. “So now we have an entire family line to discover and learn the history of? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!” she exclaimed with enthusiasm.

“The answer is quite simple,” spoke Valorra. “It was only some years ago that our society welcomed back those highborne that were still practicing mage-arts. Even still, those that had sworn off the arcane were persecuted against, and faced prejudices; it still happens to this day, Revar is a good indication of it. So for his and our family’s sake, your father had to hide the truth.”

“I did intend to tell you all, but the spate of highborne murders around the time of the Cataclysm gave me second thoughts. I didn’t want anyone in my family to fall victim to those crimes,” Zherrus explained. “From there, well, I just let it slide into the back of my mind. Now that we’re here in our old home though, I figured it would be a good time!

“In anycase, even though your bloodline is from the Silverfangs, without a doubt, you’re all still Stormchasers. We inherited the family line, and if you want to continue to carry it, it will be up to you.”

“This is a lot to take in…” Ellarune admitted. “But…”

The siblings looked at each other. The excitement in Ellarune’s eyes was plain to see. This was more history that she could delve into. Sundar was ever the one to go with the flow, and this was hardly something that would flip his world upside-down. He beamed a smile at his brother and sister. Jaou thought for a moment, taking in the news, and spoke next.

“The family that we choose to support is the family that matters,” Jaou stated. “We’re not bound by our bloodline, but by the legacy we choose to follow.”

“I’m interested in seeing our family tree in both blood and inheritance. It doesn’t change too much, afterall, we lived our lives as Stormchasers, I’m game to continue to do so,” said Ellarune.

“I think it’s unanimous, we’re proud to be Stormchasers,” Sundar declared.

"Ah, you kids are too good at warming the cockles of your old man’s heart," Zherrus said with exaggerated bashfulness. "Let us continue on to our destination!"

Zherrus recommenced the journey as the family fell back into formation. Jaou took up his spot in the rear again, but as they rode ahead, a sharp pain assaulted his head. He brought his hand to the affected area, holding his head as his mind throbbed.

‘What nonsense. ‘Blood doesn’t define who you are’ my arse,’ his inner demon repeated. ‘Your blood certainly defines what you are; face it, you’re a freak. And what happens when your family, chosen or not, leaves you? You know they will, one already has.’

Jaou internally rebuked with, ‘Silence, she needs time. Even if it were like that, she has the right to do so.'

‘Keep telling yourself that.’

Jaou shook his head, still feeling a dull pain around his eyes and temples. Thankfully, no one in the entourage noticed. The group was preoccupied with navigating their way through a dense forest. It was better that they didn’t notice, as they already regularly fuss over his well-being. While he understood why, and was grateful, it still made him even more self-conscious about his state of being.

I wonder if that’s also how she felt, Jaou wondered to himself.

Eventually they reached a clearing within the snow-topped trees in northern Azsuna. So close to the border of Val’sharah they were, that beyond the rows of trees they could see the still-verdant green forests and hills of the territory beyond the river running nearby, as if winter did not affect it. The siblings were enamoured by the scenery. They have been in their share of forested land, but, like the rest of Azsuna, there was something enchanting about the glade.

They rode further in, snow crunching under the paws of their sabers, and came upon a house. From what they could tell, it was made of white and blue. It was an older style building, matching with the same architecture as the surrounding ruins and still-standing structures, but it was still easy to see how similar it was to modern night elf architecture. It was elegantly decorated, with leafy designs trimmed and detailed in deep lavender, blues, and silver. Unlike the rest of the buildings in Azsuna, this appeared to be relatively well-kept.

“Here we are,” Zherrus announced to the family. “Welcome to your grandparent’s home.”

“Our grandparents? This is really where they lived?” Sundar asked of his father.

“The very same house.”

“In the years of the Long Vigil, I did a bit of upkeep, and some renovations with some of my sisters in the Wardens. Covertly, of course,” Valorra chimed in. “We need only move our belongings in, and it will feel like home again.”

“It’s well-guarded against the elements, and in a relatively hidden and undisturbed part of Azsuna,” Sundar commented on the location.

“I’m surprised that it’s remained intact and uninhabited,” Jaou said.

As he said those words, he heard a large rustle in the brush around the lot. And then a screech and a chattering. The family looked to the sounds, and found that the glade was not entirely uninhabited. A brown owlcat, an adult, revealed itself along with its cubs. In another corner, they noted a cluster of hippogryph roosts.

Jaou and Ellarune were uncertain whether their presence would be rebuffed by the local fauna. Zherrus dismounted and approached the owlcat, but stopped a good distance from them. He knelt down and held out a hand to the strange feline creature. The owlcat and her kittens slowly approached the druid. She tentatively sniffed his hand, before bunting her head into it. Before long, the sleeping hippogryphs also approached to greet the family.

“The creatures here helped to ward away any unintended visitors,” Valorra stated.

“The Stormchasers have long helped to rear hippogryphs, and the owlcats found a safe sanctuary near them,” revealed Zherrus. “They’ll view you as friends.”

“Historic, and environmentally sound,” an elated Ellarune said. “Do you think grandfather and grandmother would like us to use their home?”

"I'm certain they would be happy to know that their grandchildren can use their house," Valorra replied.

"Well, now that you've all seen it, what do you think? Shall we have our stuff moved?" suggested Zherrus.

Sundar and Ellarune voiced their approval, and Jaou nodded, though the eldest sibling started to get lost in his thoughts.

Moving. It's been a while since we moved. I know they say, 'home is where you make it, but I know these places so well, so many memories were made there.

Change is inevitable though, no matter how long or how short it's been…

"Jaou… Jaou?"

Jaou was shaken out of his thoughts by Ellarune calling out his name. "Yes?" he answered.

"Are you fine if we entrust to you anything Nia might have left behind?"

Jaou appeared surprised by such an assumption. He shook his head and smiled. "I'm sure she would appreciate any of her belongings to make it over here."

"If you're fine with it, then great!" Ellarune said, as she took out an organizer. "I'll arrange for our furnishings to be delivered here."

She might be a bit sad about not being involved in this decision… but this might be a nice surprise. Maybe.

As Ellarune talked about the logistics of moving, and the rest of his family discussed the history of the property, Jaou noted the sound of the melting snow, as it slipped from the coniferous branches and compacted upon the icing blanket that covered the ground.

It’s only been a month after I finished my training session with Talven, and it’s starting to get warmer again, he thought to himself. The ranger regarded the house, wondering what the future will hold. Spring is going to be here soon. It is the season for change.


Six weeks ago…


“I’m sure many of you may have heard of my deliberations over the past months about my place with the rangers. Today I am announcing my reassignment, effective immediately and until further notice.”

Jaou was announcing the change of leadership in the rangers to his unit. It was something he thought about for a long while, since he was training upon the Fel Hammer. When he had returned, unbeknownst to the others, he had filed for a reassignment, citing that he would likely be unfit to lead, and a risk to others were he to become unable to contain his new powers. He did not want to risk the safety of his colleagues. While he would have wanted to avoid this outcome, this is something that needed to be done, the right and responsible thing to do.

“This decision does not come lightly, and came upon much deliberation and reevaluation of my current state of being, and how it would affect the safety and efficacy of this unit.”

I can’t continue to put others at risk.

“Ranger Owlsage will take over my duties as commander,” Jaou said, gesturing to Irian. He then motioned to Mateus, and a tauren ranger that sat next to him. “Ranger Galeclaw and Ranger Summerhoof will take on the duties he held.”

This is the best way forward, the best outcome. They’ll be fine without me there. Afterall, this is only the second time... or is it third? My record was relatively immaculate before the Ashenvale incident, I was told.

“There are still vacancies to be filled for cartography, and for cataloguing.”

The past doesn’t matter, it’s now that matters. Right now, everyone needs stability, and security. They can’t very well fight the Legion if they have to worry about someone amongst their own ranks.

“I may still be assigned to missions with this unit, but it will be with the intention that I work in a solitary capacity, and that I will not have any troops under my command; the exception will be if I’m joined by a member of the Illidari. While I will no longer be in command, I will, however, remain as a liaison with this unit and the Illidari.”

I can still help at least… I should be glad, I’m lucky to still have a place after all of this.

“I know for the past years, I have had a number of absences, owing to the circumstances that I inexplicably find myself in, but the members of this unit have shown me great support throughout those trials. I ask that you give that same support to Rangers Owlsage, Galeclaw, and Summerhoof.”

I thought I was prepared for this, yet I still can’t help but feel sad that it’s happening.


Present...


Felblaze Ingress was rife with demons still, even after the past months of disruptions to their summoning by adventurers and the Illidari, they were still persistent as ever. The rangers were sent to help support the Illidari in battle. Skirmishes broke out across the fel-stained field, and the demons were being harried by the combined mortal forces. While it appeared that the Legion’s forces were struggling, they had other summoning portals active.

One such portal in the north was being readied to call in reinforcements. It was a race against time as a trio of man’ari eredar worked to hasten the opening of the gateway. Felguards and felstalkers normally patrolled the perimeter, while gan’arg and wyrmtongues ran supplies across the camp. With the on-going assault, there was more urgency than usual. The remaining guards were more skittish than usual as most of the fighting and manual labour forces were ordered to the frontlines. This was a last-ditch effort to turn the tide of the battle.

As the summoners continued with their demonic chants, there were but two felgards checking the perimeter for any disturbances. In the distance they could hear the clamour of battle inexorably creeping closer. Were the summoners not of higher rank, the felguard would have wanted to shout at them to cast their spell faster. Not that it would have done any good, the summoning took exactly as long as it had to. The felguard looked away from the perimeter and towards the main structure that stood towering over the field, but there would be no lasting quiet. The only disturbance in sight was an owl circling above them. Must have been hungry to soar over the demon encampment, or otherwise flying through.

Suddenly one of the man’ari found themselves imprisoned in an emerald field, generated by a set of black and gold conduits and a ring. Before another of the spellcasters could sound the alarm, a glaive, a demon hunter glaive, came flying at her, and impaled the demon through her abdomen. She let out a pained shriek as she fell to the ground, bleeding out her lifeblood.

“We’re under attack!” the remaining free man’ari shouted at the felguards. She readied an incantation as her cohort was ineffectively trying to break out of the energy field.

Their attacker soon revealed themselves. A night elf, hooded and masked, clad in dark leathers trimmed with emerald and armed with the matching glaive that stuck one of the summoners, rushed past the man’ari with a level of speed that came naturally to demon hunters. He quickly retrieved his other glaive, tearing a larger hole into the fallen man’ari, before pivoting and rushing back to attack the third of the summoners.

The free summoner set a ball of felfire against the elf as he readied a strike against her. The assailant, however, summoned a wreath of his own fel flames, which surrounded him and dissipated the incoming spell. He struck the summoner with his glaive, leaving a deep wound on her chest, but it would not be the last. He turned again, and with the same burst of speed he cut the man’ari down. The two felguards and a single felstalker had almost reached the lone kaldorei in the time he killed two of the three summoners.

The owl above called out once. There’s still time before the prison expires.

The night elf changed his stance from one that was ready for mobility to a position of stability. As he did, arcs of fel energy rippled across his body. Rather than wait for the demons to meet him, the elf leapt into the air as the three demons converged upon him. While midair, his form changed to that of a large demon, dusky in skin, a mane of felfire, spikes jutting out of his hide, and a left arm engulfed in a similar ethereal flame. With a large crash, the demon-elf landed upon the incoming demon trio, and green fire erupted from the shockwave. The demons staggered from the impact, and were scorched by the flames. The felstalker died, but the delguards were rebounding. Just as soon as the demonic form faded from the elf, the felguards regained their footing and swung their battleaxes down upon  him. The kaldorei brought up his glaives and blocked the axes, a glaive to each, with unnatural strength.

The owl called out two times.

“Illidari vermin!” one of the felguards spat in Eredun. “Die!”

The felguards pressured the elf, but one of the demonic brutes lifted his axe, and then swung at the elf from the side. The demon missed his mark, as the elf quickly leapt backwards, causing the other felguard to clumsily bury his axe into the ground.

Taking the opportunity, the night elf breathed deeply in, and instantaneously took on the hulking demonic form and breathed out a long and wide stream of felfire at the felguards. At first, the felguards attempted to shield themselves from the flames, but it was in vain as the fires scorched their bodies. The flames only lasted a handful of seconds, but it was enough to eliminate the demons. With his demonic form shed once more, he stood back to survey the damage, and heard a cry from the owl that flew above, this time cawing three times.

With time to spare, he thought to himself as he walked towards the conjured prison. The field generators dissolved away, and released the remaining man’ari at the portal site. The summoner, using the opportunity, began to cast a spell. The night elf was unperturbed by this, continuing stalking towards the demon, and instead held up a hand with his palm facing the man’ari. A turquoise light flowed for a moment from his hand as he clenched his fist, and he silenced the summoner. The demon was caught by surprise at the sudden loss of his voice, and struggled to form any words. The night elf was now within striking distance of the summoner, who gave him a hateful scowl and took a staff into his hands to strike down his assailant. Energy arced across the elf’s body again, and he swiftly beheaded the man’ari with his glaives.

The elf attached the glaives to his back, having succeeded in closing off the reinforcements from this portal. There were two other ones, they would be dealt with by his allies, he was certain of it, but he would meet up with them to be sure. He breathed in the scent of the spilled demon blood. His body craved it, as always now, but the life energy he freed from his slain foes would be sustenance enough. The owl flying above swooped down and perched upon his shoulder, fluffing her white, aqua, and lavender plumage. The owl nudged her head against his, and the night elf in return scratched behind her ear.

“Thanks for keeping my back, Falathir. Let’s see to the other sites, and we’ll hopefully have pushed them back. Then it’s back to the camp,” he said to the owl, who cooed back. There was a vibration in the kaldorei’s pouch. He took out the communication crystal that was shimmering with light, and held it in his palm and activated the communication pathway.

“Jaou, it’s Baelyth, are you finished with the gateway?”

“Only just,” Jaou replied.

“Excellent, slight change of plans, I’m afraid: we need you to help flank the Legion forces. Revar is still working on the central gateway, but it’s tightly guarded and has yet to fall, but the main forces can be pushed back if we can corner them. The other satellite gateways will be taken care of soon, and they’ll join you for a pincer movement. You’ll get support from the Court of Farondis.” Baeltyh explained.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” replied Jaou.

“Good hunting, and we’ll see you back at the camp.”

With the communication ended, Jaou let out a low whistle. In mere moments he was met with his riding saber, Ganymede, who was clad in battle armour. Jaou slipped onto the saddle and took the reins. “Let’s go, Gany!”

The saber growled with excitement, and dashed onward towards the south.

Izdazi muttered quietly under her breath as she let loose two arrows in rapid succession.  The two Felguard nearest the gateway fell without causing an alarm.  She could see the two gnomes slowly sneaking toward the humming platform.  Scintillating magic was radiating around the platform.  

“Two more felguards are moving in from the north,” Jast whispered as he readied his bow.   “I’ll take the left one.”  

“I have the right one,” Izdazi replied under her breath.   She pulled down the cloak over her head, allowing her thin dreadlocks to fall almost to her shoulders.   She readied the arrow, but movement to the periphery caught her attention.  “Hold.  Eredar moving in from the west.   And he sees the fallen felguard.   I’ll take the eredar.  Finish the felguard.”  

Jast grunted in response.   Together, the two night elves released their arrows.   The felguard and man’ari eredar fell without a warning.   Unfortunately, the surviving felguard ducked for cover before Jast could drop him and shouted an alarm.  

“Damnit,” she heard Jast nearly yell.  

“Keep calm.  We need to protect our sappers,” Izdazi whispered back.   She fired Jast a mischievous grin.  “But at least now we don’t have to be quiet about it.  Keep us covered.”  

He nodded and prepared to take aim.   As much as the huntress preferred to attack from afar with arrows, she wasn’t about to send her squad into the heart of danger without sharing the danger with them.  

“Keep the demons focussed on us,” Izdazi explained to the rest of her squad.  Give our sappers time to install their device.  Is that understood?”   The eclectic mix of night elves and taurens nodded.  Izdazi offered them a smirk.  “Enough tiptoeing.  Let’s make some noise.”

With a battlecry, her squad ran down the hill.  Just ahead of them, some of the druids and arcanist kept the spell casters busy while her squad fell upon a group of gan’arg and felstalkers.  

Despite being up in the battle, the huntress still used her archery skills until finally being forced to switch to a moonglaive.  The demons meanwhile fought with a desperation that revealed their desperation to reestablish a foothold in this region.    

Izdazi ducked low, as a felguard’s blade swept over head and buried her own glaive in his chest.   Around her, the rest of the squad seemed on the verge of being overwhelmed.   She felt the urge to call a retreat rising, especially when a trio of eredar were spotted racing for the gateway.  

“Ranger Shadowcreek.”  The huntress spun around to see the gnome sappers standing behind her.   Their ability to sneak about undetected was remarkable.   Their leader, Thistlespark, smiled as he stroked his brown mustache.  The other two were using their rifles to keep the demons at bay.  “The device is set.”

“Think it’ll work?” she asked, pulling her bow and firing another arrow at a felguard approaching.

“I calculate a 79.4% chance the device will work as intended,” the mechagnome teammate replied.  Izdazi noticed that he didn’t carry a rifle, but rather that his arm had transformed into a working rifle.  

“79% is not as high as I would have liked,” the she-elf replied dryly.   She whistled a fallback code and her squad began a fighting withdrawal.  

“Well, this is a test,” Thistlespark replied.  “We need to test it sometime.  If it doesn’t, there’s always the explosives we left on a timer that goes off in five minutes.  

“Works for me,” Izdazi said as she issued another loud whistle to order the team back.  

“They’re preparing to activate the portal,” the mechagnome announced.   His left eye had telescoped outward.   Sure enough three of the eredar were preparing a spell to bring in reinforcements through the gateway.  

Once her team climbed up the ridgeline and were able to observe the Legion camp below from an easily defended position Izdazi pulled out a small scope.   What she saw was that the gateway was starting to glow brighter and more rapidly.   Then, two felguards flashed into existence on the platform and stepped off.

“They’re bringing in reinforcements,” Izdazi growled.  “The device didn’t work.   We need to take out the eredar.”  She started to turn to order her archers to do just that when Thistlespark raised his hands to stop her.  

“Give it thirty more seconds,” he suggested.  

“In thirty seconds we’ll be overrun,” Izdazi protested.   But just as she again tried to issue the order, she was interrupted by a bright flash of light.  Grabbing the scope once more she studied the portal.  Yellow lightning was flashing around the platform.   A mo’arg engineer and various gan’arg fluttered around the gateway while the eredar were shouting for them to find what was wrong with the transporter.   Then, with another brilliant flash of light that caused the night elf to turn away and the gateway abruptly stopped humming.  

A moment later, thick black smoke poured out of the platform and all the vents.  

“That’s it?” Izdazi asked, perturbed by the anticlimactic finality.

“What do you mean, that’s it?” the gnome asked in defense.  

“I mean, no explosion,” the huntress explained, sounding disappointed.  

“Well, not all successes have to be measured by the size of the explosion.”

“That’s a myth,” Izdazi countered.  She looked past the gnome to her rangers, who were all holding bows with arrows knocked.   “Clean it up!”  

The sound of whistling filled the air as arrows began raining upon the camp.  

“You know.  There was an explosion,” Thistlespark finally confessed.  “We’re just too far to hear it.”

“That camp is about two hundreds yards away.”

“Oh.  We’re talking about the other gateway.  Wherever they were bringing their reinforcements from.  Our device sent an arcane feedback from this gateway to the other one,” Thistlespark explained proudly.

“The estimated explosion radius issuing from the companion gateway is 500 meters.” the mechagnome added.  

“I like those numbers,” Izdazi said with a smile.  “Excellent work.”   She retrieved the communication crystal from her pocket.  

“Western gateway has been disabled.  The test worked.    But for the record, I’m getting tired of redrawing these maps every time the Legion decides to get a foothold,” the she-elf announced.

“You volunteered to pick up Jaou’s cartography tasks,” Mateus replied through the crystal.  “Finish up there and make your way to the central gateway.”  

“Understood,” the huntress said, pocketing the crystal.   She sighed and wondered when these repeated skirmishes would finally end while the camp below erupted in explosions.

The battle continued to rage on near the main gateway. Demons clashed against members of the mortal races, and among the defending forces of Azsuna were the kaldroei ghosts that still resided there. The din of the fighting was only suppressed by the hum of the engines from the two Legion battleships above. As Ganymede ran onward, Jaou looked up and saw felbats being sent down to the field, being intercepted by hippogryph riders and chimaera riders. They had to keep the pressure going, lest the Legion gain yet another fotohold..

Ganymede’s path veered slightly west, and he brought Jaou over to a small hill overlooking the battle. The night elf quickly dismounted the sabre and took out a small emerald amulet and an emerald earring from his pouch. He looked to Falathir, still perched on his shoulder, and placed the amulet around her neck. “Cover me?” he asked.

The owl hooted in reply before taking off to the skies. Jaou coupled the earring to his right ear, and patted Ganymede behind the ear. “We’ll see each other after the battle,” Jaou said to Ganymede, to which the sabre chuffed.

Jaou unsheathed his warglaives, and, through the gaps in his armour, his large and leathery wings erupted from his back. His body shuddered as chills ran up his spine at the feeling of the wings growing out of his back; it would be a very long time before the feeling became natural.

Ganymede ran ahead, joining their main force from the rear, while Jaou took a few steps back. With a tentative deep breath, Jaou ran to the edge, and launched himself forward with wings outstretched. The dash helped propel him with a strong velocity, while his wings carried him further afield over the fighting masses, and closer to the middle of the fray. Amongst the demon company was a darkglare, a tentacled floating cyclopean demon similar to beholders and observers, occupied with firing fel beams at the mortal forces. It would make for as good of a landing spot as any.

Jaou willed his wings back into his being, and quickly descended upon the darkglare. The forceful and abrupt landing stunned the demon, and not leaving the chance for it to recover, Jaou dug in both tips of his warglaives into the back of its head and carved it open. With a gurgling cry, the darkglare fell lifelessly to the ground, with Jaou still on top.

He was able to keep his balance in the rocky landing, and jumped off quickly to join the melee. Jaou rushed to the closest foe, a wrathguard, and took the demon down at the hamstring. Jaou doubled back with another burst of speed, and eviscerated the wrathguard.

A felguard came charging towards Jaou from his side, but was stopped by a sphere of frostfire that knocked it back. Various spellcasters were supporting the front lines alongside the archers. Spells and arrows criss-crossed the air above, answered back by the Legion’s own spells and projectiles.

Another wrathguard ran forwards and attempted to skewer Jaou with a lance. Jaou parried the spear with his left warglaive, sending sparks flying. The elf then leapt up into the air to lop off the wrathguard’s head in a sweeping strike. As he landed, Jaou cut into an incoming fel stalker, and gutted the demon.

Just behind Jaou, a few more wrathguards were overwhelmed and subsequently swallowed by a writhing mound of roots and vines, with another wrathguard being thrown back from a mystery impact. Jaou looked to the source of the assault, and saw Sundar standing in fighting form, armed with fist weapons brimming with primal energy.

“Good to see you joining the party here!” Sundar shouted to Jaou with a grin.

“I couldn’t leave all of the heavy lifting to you guys,” Jaou quipped back, before he whipped around and cleaved a jailer in two.

Sundar, not to lag behind, took on the form of a maned and striped sabercat and pounced on a felguard and ravaged the demon’s torso. The brothers continued to cut a swathe through the Legion’s forces, but there was a sudden cry reverberating from Jaou’s emerald earring. Falathir called out from above, warning Jaou of a coming danger. The main gateway’s portal started to flare with energy. Something large was trying to exit through the portal.

“I think we’re about to have a new friend to play with!” Jaou yelled to Sundar.

“Let’s hope the strike unit can finish with shutting it down before whatever it is comes through!” Sundar answered back.


***


The fighting outside was raging on, but inside the fortress that made up the gateway’s structure, things were not so calm either. Wyrmtongues were frantically working to keep the large portal stable and open, while demonic eyes patrolled the open rooms and cabins. Fel stalkers loped around the corridors, patrolling in place of the fel guards that were sent to the front lines.

Ravenstar and a goblin rogue, Valixx, had split off from the other rogues and delved deeper into the fortress to lay their explosives. There was no precise map of the ship that they could obtain, but they had expected some variance between structures of the same model with the blueprints from another gateway. What was a surprise was the number of capacitors they had to sabotage, and the number of patrols that were left over.

“You reckon this is the last one?” Valixx asked Ravenstar, who kept an eye for patrols while the goblin set up the arcane bomb.

“It will have to be, seeing how that’s the last bomb we have,” Ravenstar quietly replied. “We’re already overstaying our projected time limit, and that’s not accounting for our escape.”

“If we had more time, I’m sure I could improvise another explosive!” Valixx quipped. He attached the runic explosive to the base of the capacitor, closer to the wall and out of sight. “That takes care of that, let’s beat it outta here!”

“The balcony we passed earlier in the hallway is the fastest way out," Ravenstar said. "The rest of the unit has made their exit, so it's just us now.”

Valixx nodded back to Ravenstar. Both snuck up to the entrance to the room and peeked out from the frame. A patrolling eye hovered into view, and started to make its way to the room they were in. Both rogues quickly retreated towards the back half of the capacitor, and waited for the eye to come into view. The floating eye hovered about the entrance for a moment, looking from side to side. Ravenstar and Valixx waited for the eye to continue moving. It felt like an interminably long time before the eye decided to move, but move it did, towards the centre of the room. It stayed there for another moment before moving to its left, hovering near the perimeter of the chamber, and moving along the wall towards the back.

Valixx, who had a clearer view of the eye now, signalled to Ravenstar that it was heading towards them. Ravenstar motioned for the goblin to follow him, going ahead of the eye as it made its circle. The two had quickly made it to the doorway and exited the room, leaving the eye to patrol the capacitor chamber.

The corridors were wide to accommodate larger demons, and well lit enough, making for an easier escape. An occasional incoming fel stalker would force them to hide against a supporting pillar against the wall, but otherwise their progress was smooth-going. Ravenstar and Valixx ducked into the nex room on the left, which led to an open balcony. The skies were being criss-crossed with Legion and mortal forces clashing, and the rumble of battle below. Unsurprisingly the balcony was guarded, kept watch by a pair of darkhounds. It would be a simple matter to dispatch them. Ravenstar and Valixx each picked a target and took a path around the room’s perimeter to eliminate them. About halfway through, the gateway shook, and energy flared in the sky. The large fluctuation meant a sizable reinforcement was crossing into the battlefield. They had to make their escape and detonate the bombs.

Ravenstar signalled to Valixx to quickly advance, as he did himself. Both rogues were within striking distance, and quickly slit the throats of the darkhounds. Their gurgling cries were being drowned out by the rumbling, luckily, but now it was the matter of leaving.

“Clear to detonate,” Ravenstar said to Valixx as they approached the edge of the balcony. The elf took out a strange egg, swirling with arcane energy, and set it down. Near instantly, a large arcane crow took shape, it’s form flitting with violet and blue energy, just stable enough to ferry the rogues to safety.

The goblin nodded and took out a runestone with a single rune engraved on it. “Ain’t no goblin tech, but I’ll hand it to the Kirin Tor for making explosions flashy.” He activated the rune stone, and just a moment later, the fortress started to rumble as explosions were set off from the arcane bombs.

Ravenstar and Valixx climbed onto the arcone avian’s back, and they flew away as fast as the crow could fly as the gateway sparked and cracked with arcane storms.

But not before the final demon crossed the threshold.


***


The gateway burst with both fel and violet sparks, and started to falter, but the portal yielded one last foe to reinforce the Legion forces. Only those closest to the gateway took pause from the battle to retreat.

A large spear came through the portal, and was soon followed by a scaled and clawed hand. The large tusks and a winged reptilian body squeezed through the portal. Just as the portal extinguished, the demon was ushered into the field, with his large tail slithering out.

An annihilan, a pitlord, had now joined the fray.

Her squadron crested a hill in time to see a flare of green light coming from the battlefield below. A low rumble radiated from the light and shook under their foot. Then, another. They watched a large spear rise out of the light, followed by the massive arm and then the even larger bulk of its body.

“What in the living fel is that?” Izdazi muttered all but gawked.

“I think ‘fel’ is the operative word,” Jast replied, his eyes wide at that.

“That is an Annihilan, also commonly known as a pitlord,” the mechagnome walking alongside them announced.

All around the pit lord, other felguards and demons were still fighting against Ravenstar’s forces. But, the massive and powerful pitlord was dominating the battlefield.

“Any thoughts on how to handle this?” Jast asked, studying the field below with his scope.

“We do not have any weapons or spell casters in our squadron powerful enough to inflict meaningful damage on a demon of this class,” the partially mechanical gnome replied.

“Even if we did, we’d probably need more,” Thistlespark added. “It’s a pity those catapults and siege tanks are so badly damaged.”

Izdazi borrowed Jast’s scope and studied the graveyard of Alliance tanks below. Thistlespark was right about their damage, but still, they needed to do something. Even if it was to divert the pitlord’s attention.

“Fourth tank from the fight. The one that’s on its side. Can we make that mobile again?” Izdazi asked, handing the scope to the gnome. He studied the wrecked tank and shrugged.

“The wheels and mechanics look good. But the turret is gone. There’s no weapon system.”

“What if we packed all the remaining artillery into that tank?” she asked.

“The turret is gone, Shadowcreek,” Jast replied. “What do you want to do? Deliver the explosives to the… by Elune. That’s exactly what you want to do.”

“What better way to get some attention,” the huntress quipped.

“That would be a suicide mission,” Thistlespark protested.

“Not when you and your team set up a timer,” she replied. She turned to her squadron and quickly pointed to the five tauren rangers. “Help Thistespark get that siege tank off its side. The rest of you, find all the artillery you can. Any explosives or incindiaries. Hell, if you can find the hot sauce Bayelth used in our dinner a few days ago that’d work.”

She garnered a few quiet chuckles out of that and immediately her group went to work. She joined the taurens and with some rocking, they were finally able to push the tank on its side. Izdazi climbed into the cramp interior, cursing the human and dwarven builders.

Flipping a few switches and pulling random levers, she was able to get the tank to rumble to life. Soon, the

“Jast!” she called out, climbing back out of the cramp interior. “Get the squad prepared to move out. Have them concentrate on fighting down the felguards and other lesser demons.”

“What about the pitlord?” Jast asked as he helped the others strap explosives to the outer hull of the tank.

“That, I think is Jaou’s problem. He’s our heavy hitter in this. We need to make sure he can get the job done. Keep our soldiers away from this tank.”

Jast frowned and stepped closer to her. “I don’t think you should be…”

“This is my crackpot idea,” she snapped. “If the timers don’t work, I need to be the one to hit the button. I can’t ask anyone else to.”

Jast leaned closer and glared at Izdazi darkly. “You’re the leader of this squadron. We can’t lose you. Anyone one of us would do it in a heartbeat.”

“Which is why it has to be me. I gave you orders. Get to it!” she snapped. The night elf stepped past Jast and turned to Thistlespark. “Where’s my timer?”

“Almost ready,” the gnomes said in unison as they continued tinkering with the device.

Jast watched as Izdazi walked away to grab her arrow and bags. At that moment, the gnomes finished the timer and wired it into the outer hull.

“It’s ready?” he asked.

“Just turn the timer and you have 20-30 seconds to get to a safe distance,” Thistespark said.

“Shiny,” Jast replied. He stepped into the siege tank, shut and locked the hatch. Then gunned it forward.

“Jast! Get the hell out of that tank!” Izdazi called out, banging on the machine, but he ignored her and gunned the tank forward.

* * *

“Jast!” Izdazi cried out, struggling to open the latch, but it was locked from the inside. The machine stuttered forward and then picked up speed. “Damn it it, Jast!”

The tank struck a tree and the impact caused the huntress to fall off. With another roar of its engine, it surged toward the pitlord.

Growling, the she-elf stood up and glared angrily at the distant tank. “Damn it, Jast,” Izdazi whispered. She looked back to see her rangers staring at her, unsure what to do next.

“Kill the lesser demons,” she ordered as she swung a quiver over her back. “Let’s hope Jast does his part. Let’s move it.”


* * *


Ten minutes later there was a massive explosion near the front left foot of the pitlord, throwing him back several meters. Bright green iridescent blood poured from his ruined front leg as it stumbled about and issued an angry roar.

The battle continued, even with the arrival of the annihilan, but those closest to the giant demon quickly cleared the area, demons and mortals alike. The pitlord started to lumber forward and immediately swept his spear across his path, mowing down enemies and allies alike.

The annilihan then lifted up his spear, and gathered fel energy around his spear. The demon released the gathered power before him, causing the ground to explode in a violent blast, and sending debris and bodies upward. The Legion’s forces rallied to the pitlord’s advance, and fought back with greater fervor.

Jaou and Sundar were luckily farther away from the pitlord when the fel blast was unleashed, but they were assailed by the demons with renewed energy. They had the demons on the backfoot before, but now the pitlord threatened to quickly turn their fortunes to naught.

Jaou cut a felguard in twain, with sparks flying as the demon’s pike grazed his prosthetic. A nearby inquisitor cast a fel bolt towards Jaou in the fray. He was late in noticing the spell, and attempted to block it, but it still struck him across the face. Fortunately his mask took the brunt of the hit, sustaining scorch marks. He shook off the minor daze it caused, and dashed towards the eyeless demon. The elf slashed downward in a crosswise fashion and summarily dispatched the inquisitor. “We need to take down that annihilan!” he shouted to Sundar.

Sundar was only a short distance from his brother, but he was engaged in skirmish with a pack of roving fel stalkers. The druid, in his sabercat form, pounced onto one of the demonic hounds, and bit down on the back of its neck with crushing force. The druid quickly leapt off of the hound and tackled another stalker to the ground. He quickly shifted into the form of a bear, and crushed the demon under his weight. With a swing of his paw, he knocked away the other two fel stalkers, leaving deep lacerations as they limped back in cowardice.

“All of these lesser demons are going to make us really work for it to get there,” Sundar growled. His tattoos glowed with druidic energy as he summoned roots to keep some of the demons from advancing towards them, as he led the charge and barreled into a fel guard, and flung the demon into the air.

Jaou followed suit and rushed forward to Sundar’s flank, dispatching demons with his glaives as he ran alongside his brother. They fell demons one by one, progressing towards the pitlord, but even so, and with others battling the Legion, it was too slow-going. There was no clear path to be found. At this rate, if the front received no support, the demonic general would have decimated their forward forces.

As the brothers pressed forward, a hail of arrows came from above, followed by spells of ice, fire, and arcane from their rear. In the sky were the hippogryph riders, each with an archer, and behind them were the ghostly mages from the Court of Farondis invoking more spells to barrage the enemy forces.

A voice rang through the communication crystals each of the brothers had. “Keep going, we’ll provide support!” It was Irian. Irian, atop a hippogryph, dove from the air ahead of Jaou and Sundar’s location and he let loose a series of shots from his bow. As they neared the ground, his hippogryph plucked a wrathguard from the field before ascending to the sky and dropping the soldier onto the field.

“Much appreciated!” Jaou answered back, as he sliced through another wrathguard.

Sundar continued on in his bear form, goring through a fel guard. Another fel guard charged in to strike the druid down with their axe, but was stopped in their tracks as bright green blood erupted from their jugular. Shifting out of the shadows was Valixx, holding onto his bloodied shivs. “Being small in a field of giants has its ups!” Valixx declared. The goblin rogue jumped off the dead felguard and scrambled downward to takedown a fel stalker.

It appeared that their wish for a clearer path was answered. With the aid, they were able to progress faster towards the pitlord. Now, however, they were running into more powerful entourages.

“Terrorguards!” Jaou announced to his allies.

A pair of winged demons charged forward, armed with scimitars and bringing it down upon the Stormchasers. Jaou dodged to the side, rolling away from the strike. Sundar bristled his fur, and took the hit, but the scimitar purchased no ground as the bear’s hide was iron-strong. Sundar let out a roar and brutally mauled the demon.

Jaou summoned fel flames and dashed towards his partner in battle. Striking quick, the night elf hacked away at the demon in rapid swings and spins. The terrorguard was beaten back as it attempted to block the strikes, but Jaou forcefully knocked the blade from his hand, and drove his glaives into the terrorgaurd’s secondary maw.

Another terrorguard moved in to strike at the brothers, along with a felguard. Before the fel guard could land a hit, its torso opened up from a large gaping wound, pouring fel blood everywhere. A puff of smoke appeared behind the terrorgaurd, and it felt something clinging onto its back. Ravenstar revealed himself, and not wasting the opportunity, quickly buried his long knives into its back. The terrorguard let out a roar before collapsing lifelessly to the ground, and Ravenstar joined his colleagues in carving out a way to the annihilan.

“We have your backs,” Ravenstar said to Jaou and Sundar. “Now go!”

Between the riders, the mages, and now the rogues, the way forward to the demon general was opening up. The pitlord loomed ahead and continued to strike at the combatants, while Jaou and Sundar tore through the demons as quickly as they could, leaving the reinforcements to their friends. Just on the edge of the skirmish, Sundar spotted something, rather, he heard it first approaching the pitlord. It was a large mechanical rattling that was racing towards the annihilan. But then it was quickly followed by an explosion, throwing down all in the immediate area.

It was blinding and near-deafening. The brothers were knocked down, along with the demons around them. Jaou quickly got up, his ears still ringing from the blast. Beyond the dust that was still in the air, he caught a glimpse of the pitlord. The demon general staggered back, with his front left limb now a bloodied stump. He let out an enraged roar, and bellowed, “Insignificant rats, you only delay your deaths!”

The explosion caught everyone off guard, but it now gave them a window of opportunity to attack the pitlord. Sundar stood up, shaking off the daze from the explosion. The two brothers nodded to each other, and charged towards the crippled pitlord.

As they made it to the pitlord, the Stormchaser brothers saw the remains of a dwarven tank strewn everywhere. There was, as of yet, little time to give it any more thought. Ludicrous as such a plan was, the tank granted them a chance to topple the demon, and it was a chance they would see go unwasted.

Sundar let out an ursine roar at the annihilan. The demon general turned his attention, though incredulously at the bear and the night elf that were charging towards him, while all others were retreating. The pitlord had half a mind to ignore them and continued onward. But Sundar was intent on keeping the demon lord’s focus. In a burst of speed and a quick empowering spell, the druid quickly closed the gap and slammed his body against the demon’s right front leg. The impact caught the pitlord off-balance, but was not nearly enough to topple the creature.

The annihilan regained his footing and attempted to strike the druid with his pike, but Sundar quickly shifted into his saber form and leapt back and away. The pike was buried into the ground, kicking up dust into the air. Cutting through the spray, Jaou dashed off from the ground and jumped onto the pitlord’s back. Jaou called forth a wreath of fel flames as he struck and slashed at the demon’s hide. The scales were as hard as Jaou expected them to be, but his blades were still able to bite into the demon. The demon tried to reach back and grab a hold of the elf with his free hand, but Jaou quickly retreated to just before the base of the tail, careful to not traverse the mane of fire that ran along the pitlord’s back.

Sundar had shifted back to his elven form to channel a spell. The tattoos on his body lit up as he called forth a mass of roots to shoot up and wrap themselves around the demon. The pitlord growled and as the roots started to coil around him, he thrashed and bucked, snapping some in the process. Sundar continued to call on more, but this was at least enough to slow down his movements. Focusing on the set of roots around the pitlord’s armed hand, the druid pulled one hand back with some effort, controlling the roots like strings on a puppet, and willed them back into the ground, causing the demon to be pulled down along with it.

Jaou slid down from the annihilan’s tail to assault his right hind leg. The elf quickly dashed back and forth with his glaives, slashing the limb with each pass. Jaou was able to draw blood, but it was only surface wounds thus far. Even still, he returned to keep up the assault while Sundar kept the demon arrested.

The explosion was massive and despite the distance, Izdazi and her squadron were buffeted by the intense blastwave. She shielded her face as burning wood and metal rained all around. But once the smoke started to clear and the ringing in their ears downed down, they were dismayed to see that the annihilan was still standing and waving his pike around in an effort to swat away Sundar and Jaou.

Swearing, the she-elf studied the battlefield. Several scorched and destroyed siege tanks were strewn about. A broken ballista was leaning on its side. Most of the equipment appeared too damaged to be used effectively. The siege vehicles were destroyed for sure, save for the one they had just destroyed. But the arms and the strings of the ballista appeared in good order. It couldn’t be moved but it might be able to be aimed.

Izdazi looked back at the burning battlefield and could faintly see Jaou swinging his glaives at pitlord. Squining, though, she couldn’t see Jast through the smoke and felt a spike of fear and worry that he may not have escaped the explosion.

“This was my half-baked idea, you idiot. I should have paid for this,” she muttered, trying to channel her anger at him for paying for this idiotic plan.

Most of her squad were busy battling the terrorguards and other lesser demons around. Turning, she pointed at three of the nearby tauren rangers and gestured at the ballista. “Let’s rotate this so we’re pointing at the evil lizard there,” she ordered. “Thistespark!”

“RIght here,” the gnome responded, surprising her that he’d been standing near her the whole time. “I want to use that ballista against that big demon. Do the math and make sure it can work.”

“Yes ma’am,” he replied. He scurried off with his team to start the calculations. The huntress appreciated that for once he didn’t regale her with how much would have to be calculated.

Izdazi looked back at the battlefield. Her attention wasn’t on her soldiers fighting, or even at the annihilan. She was still trying to find Jast and fighting against the suddenly unfamiliar emotions threatening to overwhelm her mind.

“Shadowcreek?”

She turned and pretended to brush the dreadlocks from her face to mask the tears.

“The ballista appears usable. We have it aimed and the gnomes are working on getting it ready,” one of the rangers reported.

“Good. That’s good,” she muttered quietly before shaking her head to clear her mind. “Find some rope. As long as possibe. I want it tied to one of the ballista’s bolts and the other end secured to several trees behind the ballista.”

“You want to harpoon the pitlord?” the tauren said with a smirk as he realized her plan.

“I want to nail this demon to the side of the mountain,” she growled, finally replacing her worry with anger. “Let’s go.”


* * *

With a heavy recoil, the ballista jumped and the bolt sailed into the air and lodged itself deep into the annihilan’s pike arm.

“Together now! Pull it down!” she commanded, taking hold of the thick rope. Together, she and her rangers began pulling the rope, dragging the pitlord’s arm down and restraining his reach.

Despite Jaou’s unrelenting attacks and Sundar keeping the pitlord bound, the large demon resisted with great might. The annihlan started to pull back on his bound arm, prompting Sundar to redouble his efforts in reinforcing the vines. Jaou was able to rend through the thick hide of the pitlord’s leg and saw sight of the underlying bone, but it soon became a moving target.

The demon-general pivoted around, stretching the vines to their limits, and meeting Jaou in front of him. They snapped under the tension, and the pitlord quickly switched his weapon to his free arm to strike at Jaou. The elf managed to launch backwards to avoid getting hit. Immediately, the pitlord swung his tail around and attempted to sweep away Sundar before he could summon more roots. Sundar narrowly escaped as he shifted into his saber form and dashed away.

Jaou tried to keep the annihilan distracted, and threw his glaive at the demon. The weapon dug itself into the pitlord's chest. The large demon turned his gaze to Jaou and attempted to smash the elf with his fist. This was enough to allow Sundar to shift out of his saber form and call upon more roots and vines to halt the oncoming fist. Sundar pulled back his hands, and directed the roots into the ground, pulling the demon’s arm down. Jaou took the opportunity to run up the arm and snatched the embedded warglaive back before jumping down to reinitiating his assault.

The annihilan attempted to charge his pike with energy, a large bolt came sailing through the sky and punctured the demon’s free arm. Attached to the bolt was a long rope, which soon became taut. Jaou’s eyes quickly traced the length of rope and found a squadron of rangers pulling the pitlord down. Between Sundar and the rangers, the pitlord was not caught in a game of tug-o’-war, with it as the rope.

“Now, Jaou! Now!” Sundar shouted to him.

Jaou quickly nodded, and channeled fel energies within him.

’Finally, we get to stretch our wings,’ his inner demon said.

The fel energy that surrounded Jaou swirled with great speed before erupting in a dark mist, revealing his winged demon form. Jaou dashed forward and struck with both of his warglaives in quick succession. He repeated the strikes, going faster and faster, dashing back and forth. As he did, the wounds grew on the arrested pitlord’s abdomen. What began as a trickle of blood soon became a waterfall. Jaou finished with an upward slash, opening a large wound on the demon-general. The pitlord let out a pained scream as his fel energy started to destabalize.

Jaou quickly yelled out to his comrades and threw his arm in a wide swing as a signal to flee. “Clear the area! He can’t contain his energy!”

The ranger squadron quickly dropped the rope and fled the area, and Sundar shifted into the form of a stag to gallop away. Jaou also took off to avoid the fount of energy erupting from the pitlord. As the battlefield became aware of what was happening, all of the combatants followed suit to get away from the pitlord’s proximity as fast as possible. Sundar however stopped as he quickly realized the blast could set off a catastrophic series of events and cause the gateway to collapse onto the field. The druid returned to his elven form and quickly weaved several roots and vines to encapsulate the dying pitlord in a orb of plants. Even as the orb was closed, Sundar summoned more roots to dampen the blast as much as possible. In a short amount of time, the demon-general in his death throes unleashed the chaotic energies in a large explosion from the open wound in his abdomen. The capsule of plants held together, with only a few narrow gaps to allow the energy to safely dissipate.

The annihilan’s death was safely reduced to a whimper. The demons, what remained of their invading forces, continued to flee. The rangers and their allies continued to cut them down, lest they suffer the fleeing Legion to return as part of another assault.

Jaou’s demonic form dissolved just as it came, in dark mists. He saw Sundar in the distance, and ran to check on him. Sundar had stopped his spellcasting, panting heavily, and fell back on his rear. Sitting down, he gathered his breath.

“Sundar! Are you alright?” Jaou said, running up to him and kneeling down.

The druid continued to be winded by his efforts, and looked up to Jaou, chuckling to himself. “I didn’t know how quickly and how long I could do that, but I think I’m game for a round of drinks after this.”

Jaou smiled and nodded. “I’ll second that.”

Despite the distance between the infirmary and the nearby tavern, thanks to her elven hearing, Izdazi had little trouble hearing the revelry coming from the latter. The huntress knew she should be sharing in their celebration. The rangers had performed admirably during the battle despite the incurred losses and injuries. But they deserved to celebrate. The Legion’s incursions into Azsuna had been halted, for now at least.

Izdazi looked across the wounded laid out around the infirmary. Another two large tents had been erected to house lesser wounded who still needed monitoring. The Legion may have been dealt a blow, but it was also taking a toll on their forces.

Azeroth, it seemed, was taking a toll on her inhabitants. Years ago, she would have been content in her little shop in Booty Bay. Her world was Stranglethorn Vale. Her denizens were the scum and villainy of the goblin town. Her foes were the cheats who didn’t pay her after guiding them into the depths of the jungle. Her foil was a fellow night elf who’d sold her off as a slave.

How the years have changed she pondered. Her foes, later friends, had helped her in so many more ways than she could imagine. The mother she’d struggled for so long to hate had died to set her free from the barrows. The elf she’d tried to assassinate had helped open a door to her career she had now. And the people she’d been ceaselessly annoyed by had somehow become friends.

From running a small outfitter in Booty Bay, to leading her own squadron of Rangers in Azsuna against the Burning Legion. If a soothsayer had claimed this as her future she’d have laughed in his face.

But, things were changing and Izdazi was once again feeling herself grow more alone. Jaou Stormchaser was spending more and more time in the Citadel and had left the Rangers to serve alongside the Illidari. How Izdazi had gone from wanting to kill him because he was satyr, to celebrating because he was once again an elf, to being grateful that he and his new demonic powers were helping them against the Legion.

Niashado had already left their gang months ago. She knew that Jaou still got letters from time to time, but it wasn’t the same. Izdazi still though the draenei to be naïve, but deep down, she missed Niashado’s optimism. But the Nia she remembered didn’t survive her imprisonment in Argus.

Though she’d never say it to anyone, Izdazi quietly hoped the draenei would find what she lost on her walkabout.

Sundar and Ravenstar were busy in their own tasks and she seldom saw them, much less worked with them, unless it was for special joint missions. Mateus Galeclaw had taken on much of Jaou’s former responsibilities.

That left Izdazi with her particular squad and she was proud of them. But they weren’t like her friends. She was their commanding officer and she was finding the leadership position… lonely.

That left Jast, her friend. Her lover.

She looked down at his bed as he slept. The top of his head was covered in bandages, as was his arms and one of legs. A kal’dorei priest was looking over him and gave her an encouraging nod as he stepped away. She nodded back and but didn’t share the hopefulness he carried.

Jast would recover completely from his injuries. But he wasn’t going to like what was coming next.

“Hey. What are you doing here? I thought you’d be out drinking and celebrating,” he rasped, interrupting her reverie. She shook her head and brushed some strands of her dreadlocks behind her ear.

“I didn’t feel like celebrating,” Izdazi replied. “How are you feeling.”

“Thanks to their healing, I should ready to be back in action by week’s end.”

“That’s good. You were lucky.”

Jast shook his head and scoffed. “I had plenty of time to get away. There was nothing to worry about. Any word on our next mission?”

“You’re being transferred out of the squadron,” Izdazi said. She’d been struggling to figure out how to break the news to him but opted to defer to her usual bluntness. Better to just pull the arrow out now.

Jast stared at her with his mouth agape. He tried to find the words but sputtered.

“Is… is this because I took the tank instead of you?” he asked, sitting upright.

“Partially,” the huntress replied quietly. “That was for me to do. No one else needed to be put at risk for that plan.”

“You’re our commanding officer,” Jast snapped. “We follow your plan to victory. That’s how this military thing works.”

Izdazi shook her head and pushed herself off the wall. “I can’t lead people to their death if I’m not willing to take that risk myself.”

“We all know you would do that. You don’t have to prove it,” Jast argued back. “But you’re our commanding officer. If you die, there’s confusion, and no matter how short that is until we figure it out, in the battlefield, that’s an eternity. And you’d transfer me out just for taking that choice from you? Are you that selfish?”

“No!” she snapped loudly. She quieted her voice as she continued. “I’m transferring you out because… because…. Damn it!”

She paced around the room seething at her own weakness.

“What is this about, Izdazi?” Jast asked. She stopped and turned to him. Swallowing the lump in her throat she continued.

“I do not waste lives. But if I have to send people into danger, I will. For the sake of the mission, I will,” she continued. “However, I can’t do that with you. It’s not fair to the others. It’s not fair to the mission. It’s not… right.”

“I’m a soldier, Izdazi. I fight. I defend our home and our people. That is what I do, and as my commanding officer it’s your right to do that,” Jast explained.

“I love you, Jast and I’m not strong enough to send you into danger. I can send anyone else, but not you,” the she elf explained.

“So, what does that mean? For us, I mean?” he asked.

“It means it’s over. All of it. Your being in this squad. You and me. It’s over.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” she confirmed softly.

Jast shook his head and laid back in the bed. When he didn’t respond for a long while Izdazi cleared her throat.

“Well?” she asked.

“Well what? It doesn’t seem like there’s much to say. You’ve made up your mind and I didn’t have say, which is completely your commanding officer prerogative,” he all but sneered.

“Do you think this was an easy choice for me?” she complained.

“Do you want me to say ‘I’m so sorry you had enough of a heart to worry for me after I saved your life and, oh, thank you for kicking me out of squad,’ thank you very much?” Jast sarcastically replied. “Relationships aren’t a switch in some gnome contraption. You can’t just turn them off and not expect pain.”

“I expect you to understand why I’m doing this.”

“Just leave me,” he finally stated. “If you want it over, please, just leave. If you want to work around his problem, we can talk. But if you want me to understand this, I can’t.”

“You know it’s not that simple.”

“Leave!” he yelled, causing her to startle.

Izdazi tried to find something to reply with, but finally she stormed out of the room and back into the streets. She rehearsed the conversation in her mind over and over and still wasn’t sure what could have been done differently. All she felt was more isolated.

You delivered the news bluntly. Why does it hurt that the response was blunt as well?

The ranger forces had largely filed back to their encampment. Those that were triumphant were welcomed back and accounted for. Those that fell were likewise tallied up, and taken for aftercare. The infirmary was full; additional tents had to be erected for further triaging. The medics and healers had their hands full, but the most critical of patients had been stabilized, and it was now the task to see to treating the less seriously wounded.

Jaou had checked in on the rest of the detachments earlier. While he was no longer their commanding officer, it was still a habit for him to see if all was well with the rangers and their well-being. It also gave him a chance to catch up with his colleagues. Though some with affable jest still called him ‘boss,’ Jaou knew it was different. While they were still his peers, he was effectively part of a different unit, a different team, a team that was essentially a solitary posting.

His was not the only situation that was in flux, as many of his friends and family saw a shift in their lives. From fulfilling new jobs to being sent to the farther-flung areas of the Broken Isles, change was the only constant.

Jaou, still dressed in his armour, but bereft of his scorched cowl and mask, was now tending to Ganymede and Falathir at the garrison stables with a hearty serving of stag meat, and rejuvenating spring water for both of his companions. The large saber cat was no worse for wear after the battle, and the stablehands were kind enough to take Ganymede’s armour for maintenance and repair. Ganymede took his meal with enthusiasm, as did Falathir. Jaou smiled at the two, patting Ganymede on the head as he ate, to which the saber chuffed as he rasped the flesh from bone.

Seeing his companions feast, Jaou was growing hungry as well, but fortunately it was only the physical hunger he would have to see to. The battle had given many enemies to slay, and thus many soul fragments to be shorn and consumed. That they were all demonic souls gave a more adequate level of satiation to the Inner Demon for some time to come.

To think I would be glad for that, Jaou thought to himself.

‘I heard that,’ his Inner Demon retorted in his mind.

Jaou winced slightly, bringing up a hand to this temple. It had been months since Jaou started on his journey to learn to live with a demon being housed within him, but it still caused mild discomfort when the Demon decided to forcefully interject.

‘Well, pardon me for being concerned about consuming demonic souls,’ Jaou fired back.

‘You’ll be fine,’ the Inner Demon said, dismissing Jaou’s concerns. ‘You elves are as malleable as they come, and it’s not like you take in nearly as much fel as the average demon hunter. Besides, you’re not the one getting subpar meals.’

‘And you’re not the one primarily dealing with the unwanted consequences.’

“Ah, there you are! I was wondering where you’d be,” a voice piped up behind

The sudden voice gave Jaou a startle as he jolted in reaction to it. He turned around to find a friend. “Baelyth, I wasn’t expecting you to be right behind me,” Jaou said to the high elf.

“Sorry for sneaking up on you, I do have to keep up my spymaster skills, especially these days. Though I wasn’t expecting to catch you by surprise.”

“Compliments to your training,” Jaou remarked.

“Thank you, though I think being able to sneak up on you has more to do with the fact that you were distracted.” Baelyth pointed out with a hand gesture to match his enlightened response, then looked to Jaou in a more focused fashion. “Now, are you ready for your appointment?”

Jaou cocked his head to the side for a moment in confusion. “Appointment?”

“Yes, you were supposed to see me before this mission,” Baelyth clarified. “And you won’t be going to the tavern for celebrations until the appointment is done.”

“Oh… right, sorry, I kind of forgot,” Jaou sheepishly replied.

The sharp pain returned to assault Jaou’s senses as his Inner Demon interjected again. ‘But you didn’t forget, you just didn’t want to come to the camp. Why don’t you tell him the truth?’ the Inner Demon asked, in a candid tone, strangely absent of his usual mockery.

‘I… I don’t want to say it,’ Jaou replied.

“Are you alright, Jaou?” Baelyth asked with concern.

“I-I’m fine. Sorry. Let’s go,” Jaou replied.

Baeltyh, not for the first time, wondered how forthcoming his friend was, but he would not pressure Jaou for an answer. The high elf shrugged. “Well, let’s go to my office, it won’t be too long of a recheck.”

The two elves proceeded to Baelyth’s office at the other side of the outpost in infirmary. The workflow for the medics and healers had slowed down to a more steady pace, likely the reason that Baelyth had time to seek out Jaou in the first place.

“I almost forgot, congratulations on a successful mission. I wish I could have seen it from the front lines,” said Baelyth.

“Thanks, but we couldn’t have done it without your organisation or knowledge of their base,” Jaou responded. Jaou looked around the camp and still spotted the injured making their way to the infirmary, and likewise with other members being discharged with less serious injuries. “With the casualties and wounded, your medical skills are valuable too.”

“That’s true, but I do miss the thrill of battle from time to time.” Baelyth pivoted and changed the subject. “Have you and Nia been keeping in touch?”

“We’ve been sending letters back and forth,” Jaou stated. “I hope she’s doing as well as she says in her letters. She can more than look after herself, but I still worry that she might be putting on a brave face to raise as little concern as possible.”

“You two do have both qualities in common,” Baelyth quietly muttered to himself.

“What?” Jaou said in a confused manner, not having heard what the high elf said.

“Oh, I’m sure she’s doing well. Like you said, she’s very capable, and I would view it as a sign that nothing of an emergent manner is happening!” Baelyth said, wagging his finger. “Glass half-full and all that, as humans would say.”

“Yes, you’re right. I just… I just want her to be alright, and not shoulder so much burden on herself. There’ve been times we would be apart for long periods, but this time just feels… I don’t know… different?”

“Change is but a trial for us to work through and overcome and integrate with. Everyone will grow from it, but we do our best to grow for the better.”

They had reached the infirmary and entered the building. There was a quiet and serious air as the workers continued attending to their patients. Only those that needed to speak did, and idle chatter was kept to a minimum. Only the most cursory of glances were given to Baelyth and Jaou; they were not wounded and still able-bodied, and they required no aid.

It did not take them long to make it to Baelyth’s office. The high elf opened the door and bade Jaou to enter. It was equipped like any other examination room: a table-bench for patients, a table laid out with various supplies and tools, a bookshelf of medical texts, and cabinets to further add to the medical inventory. Further in the back was Baelyth’s desk, with one chair on the far side and two on the near side, and two tall cabinet drawers in the corner.

“You know the drill!” Baelyth said to Jaou.

Jaou tentatively nodded. No matter how many times he would have gone, he still was not comfortable in an examination setting, not since the first time he was subject to Gazheel’s dark work.

The night elf sat upon the bench as Baelyth went to the tall cabinets in the back. He pulled out one of the lower drawers, and sifted through the documents before pulling out a record bound in a folder. Setting it down, Baelyth took out a notepad and flipped to the next blank page. Taking a pen from his desk, Baelyth began the short examination.

“Any changes in how you’re feeling compared to your last appointment, lethargy, soreness, nausea, vision disruptions?” Baelyth asked.

“It fluctuates. I feel the signs most about a week before energy intake, and least about a day or so after I had my fill. Vision is the same.” Jaou said.

“Did you experience this while on Mardum during your training periods?”

“To a lesser extent. There’s a more ready supply of demons to hunt, and less support to give everyone a break. Ambient fel is high.”

Baelyth nodded as he jotted down the notes. “Do you find that hunting non-demons helps, and how much?”

“It alleviates the signs adequately.”

“And the medications?”

“They seem to be holding over well. Paired with hunting for camps and communities, it’s usually fine.”

“Sleep?”

“On and off good.”

“I see,” Baelyth said as he finished off the note. “Alright, glove off, sleeve up, it’s time to get poked.”

As Baelyth gathered his supplies, Jaou undid the armour that covered his right arm and removed his glove before rolling up the sleeve of his undershirt. Baelyth turned back with a tourniquet in hand. Jaou held out his arm as the high elf tied the band around his bicep. In a dish, he had prepared gauze scrubs with alcohol and donned clean gloves to prepare for a blood draw.

As Baelyth cleaned the cubital fossa, Jaou’s heart rate sped up. He knew what was coming, and he knew there was no harm, but he could not help but feel a flood of memories come back to his time of torture. Almost as if sensing his apprehension, Baelyth offered his friend a smile, and said, “Happy thoughts, you’re among friends here, remember?”

Jaou nodded and took a deep breath. Baelyth finished with the scrub and took in hand a prepared and sterilized needle. He lightly palpated for Jaou’s cephalic vein. “Alright, gentle poke,” he warned the night elf. “Just breathe in and out.”

Jaou did just that, taking in deep and rhythmic breaths. Before he knew it, Baelyth had already inserted the needle and proceeded to fill the syringe with blood. “I think your pressures are good, it feels like it’s filling up nicely. Minimal resistance and I’m not collapsing your vein,” Baelyth commented. He had filled the syringe as far as it could go, and with his other hand, he took a small ball of clean cotton and placed it over the needle site. “Hold this over the needle while I undo the tourniquet, apple pressure when I take out the needle.”

Undoing the tight band, Baelyth quickly slipped the needle out. As Jaou held the needle site to allow it to clot and close, he watched as his friend filled up a number of test tubes with the blood before sealing it.

“It’s... a bit glowy, but it’s still in the normal range of purple that night elf blood should be, so that’s a good sign,” Baelyth declared. This was supposed to be a trough level for fel, but a peak level is still useful information to have.”

“Thanks for doing this,” Jaou said.

“Of course! This is a theoretical test, but if fel can be isolated in blood, I should be able to measure it like any other level. We just need you back for the trough level, before you take in any fel energy or any medication that has felweed. That said, if you needed to sate your friend inside, I would suggest maybe going for a community hunt for the butcher.”

“Understood,” Jaou said. He lifted the cotton ball and checked for any signs of bleeding or a hematoma. “Looks fine here.”

“Good! I’ll finish up with the notes and samples here. We’ll see you at the tavern later?”

“I’ll see you there,” Jaou replied with a light smile.

***

It was evening, and the tavern was brimming with customers. Once again manned by the Ranger’s resident chef, Rukarn, and his team, they were busy feeding and slinging drinks for their hungry and thirsty patrons, but also partook in the celebration themselves. Present in equal measure was merriment from the victory, and sombre eulogies to celebrate the lives and sacrifices of those that had fallen. Jaou celebrated with his friends and colleagues, catching up with each other. Irian and Mateus both shared their grievances and headaches with the leading and administration duties they had to pick up, jokingly (though perhaps half-serious) telling Jaou to come back.

There was much laughter and camaraderie to be had, though strangely absent were Izdazi and Jast. Even as the night rolled on and the celebrations continued, they were not present.

I know they said Jast was injured, maybe she opted to stay with him.

The celebration of victory had run for hours. While there were those in the ranger outpost and allied forces that celebrated into the morning, not everyone stayed awake to continue the revelry. Jaou had retired to rest several hours earlier, but, unfortunately he remained laying in his futon, gazing at the ceiling as sunbeams shone through the gap in the curtains of his private quarters in the ranger outpost.

It was not for want of more comfort, or the fact that the quarters were makeshift and actually a storage space for stationary that he could not sleep. On the contrary, he was tired, and he had thought that the feast of demonic energy and soul shards would have satiated his inner demon to the point of quiet. Yet every time Jaou felt himself on the verge of sleeping, his inner demon would chime in with small talk, which the elf suspected was done to simply irritate him. The night elf rebuffed every attempt at conversation, but it did not stop his demonic tenant.

’Oh, look, it’s morning,’ the inner demon cheekily said.

Jaou looked over to the window with a tired frown on his features, and sighed. ‘And thanks to you, that’s the third sleepless night.’

’Come now, the second night was from your nerves. And you had maybe about a forty minute nap here and there. I’m hardly to blame for that! Besides, your new state of being actually doesn't require as much sleep.'

'I want sleep. My mind feels like it needs sleep. I'm mentally exhausted and it's going to affect more than my mind if you keep this up.'

’Ugh, fine, I’ll leave you be next time.’

Jaou rubbed his eyes with his good hand. As much as he wanted to try and sleep, it was time for him to go back to the family home. The night elf stretched out the stiffness in his body. There was a warmth on his chest as he looked down to see that Falathir was nestled on top of his sheets above his chest, still asleep and unperturbed by his sudden movement.

As Jaou sat up, Falathir lazily rolled away and ruffled her feathers to stay as cozy as possible. “You can sleep for longer if you want,” Jaou said to his avian companion. “We’re not leaving immediately, but I’m going to need to put the bedding away.” Falathir let out a low hoot as she fluttered to the window sill and curled up harder to fall back asleep. Jaou sleepily dressed himself in civilian clothing of a pair of black pants, a loose gray shirt and leather boots, and then proceeded to roll up the futon. He picked up the futon and left for the camp washing station to freshen up and to drop off the borrowed bedding.


***


Baelyth was one of the earlier risers in the outpost. Though there was much merriment after the battle, there was still much work to be done. The High Elf was at the apothecary office and did a final count of the light green capsules that were prepared by Ravenstar, who worked next to him.

“This is enough for two weeks if Jaou takes this three times daily every day, are you trialing a new formulation soon?” Ravenstar asked Baelyth.

“That’s a possibility. We’ll see how he is and if the bloodwork is fruitful, since this in actuality is a low-dose of energy components,” replied Baelyth. He poured the medication into an envelope and folded it firmly before sealing the folds with wax. “Do we have more fel lotus, lifebloom, and mana thistle?”

“We have a shipment in two days. I’m expecting some of each in there,” Ravenstar confirmed to Baelyth.

“Excellent, because if this isn’t adequate stability for him, we’ll need to increase the dose.” There was a knock on the door to the office. “Either that is our dear head herbalist, or someone looking for a cure for a hangover,” Baelyth cheekily quipped.

Ravenstar stepped out from behind the counter and opened the door. To the surprise of both elves, it was Jaou, hair still wet from washing.

"Jaou, you're here early," Ravenstar commented. "You look exhausted."

"Good morning!" Baelyth said. "And oh dear, did you not sleep well after the party?"

“I don’t think whatever I did qualified as sleep,” Jaou tiredly replied as he walked into the office. “I know I said that I would leave in the afternoon, but I think I’m going to go now and see if a more private environment changes anything.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Baeltyh. “Did you want a prescription for sleeping aids?”

Jaou shook his head. “I’d rather not unless absolutely necessary.”

“Let us know and we can get that made for you,” Ravenstar added. “We’ll tell the others that you left early as well.”

“Sorry. I wanted to stay and catch up with everyone,” said Jaou.

“Don’t be sorry! Things like this happen, and I don’t think anyone is going to blame you,” Baelyth said reassuringly. He retrieved the packet of medication that he had finished and gave it to Jaou. “Remember, take this three times daily for the next two days, and then as needed until you feel your body feels at equilibrium. Discontinue your previous supplements. During this time, no hunting and no demon slaying; we want to be able to quantify the efficacy of the medication.”

“And I’ll come back in two weeks for blood?”

“Correct! And remember, if I don’t see you in two weeks exactly, I’m going to have you escorted to the camp,” Baelyth said, half in jest, but half in serious threat.

“Yeah, I’d rather he not be in a sour mood and have me recalled to play chaperone,” added Ravenstar.

Jaou snickered lightly at the possible scenario. “I’ll do my best to make sure I come on time.”

“I’ll hold you to that! Now, don’t hesitate to call on us if you need, and don’t be a stranger around here!” Baelyth chided.

“I promise I’ll visit more often, but maybe after the next appointment. I’ll limit the chances that I’ll get roped into something if I stay home.”

“That’s fair. Will you be alright heading back?”

“Gany knows the way back, I think I’ll be fine. I’ll see you in two weeks,” Jaou said with a wave as he exited the building.

A few moments passed after the door closed, Baelyth turned to Ravenstar and said, “Do you think he seems more withdrawn?”

Ravenstar crossed his arms, looking forward as if past the closed door. “He is, but I don’t think prodding him about it will get him to open up, it may just do the opposite.”

Baelyth placed a hand on his hip and sighed. “I suppose all we can do is keep an eye on him.”


***


Jaou walked towards the stables where Ganymede was kept and greeted the Dwarven stablemaster. “Good morning, Mistress Thandan.”

“Mornin’ to ye, laddie! What kin I do fer ye?” the Dwarf answered in a chipper manner.

“I’m here to get my saber and his battle armour. He’s black with white stripes.”

“Ah, I know just the one. Give me an’ the crew some time and he’ll be here in a jiffy!”

The stablemaster went farther into the paddock, gathering help from her assistants. While waiting, Jaou turned around and leaned against the high fencing. Despite having little to no sleep for the past days, he was perfectly awake now after having a second wind of energy. He wondered how long it would be until he could truly sleep.

About ten minutes later, the stablemaster came back with Ganymede in tow, dressed in his battle armour and with his saddle bags. “Sorry fer keepin’ ye waitin’. Anything else we can do fer ye?”

Jaou turned around to have Ganymede nearly knock him down with a forceful head bunt. The saber chuffed at seeing his friend again and weaved around to lean into the Night Elf. “I believe that is all,” Jaou said as he tried to coax Ganymede to stand straight and square. “Thank you.”

“Yer welcome! We look forward to bein’ of service again.”

Jaou and Mistress Thandan waved at each other before parting ways. Ganymede walked next to Jaou, as happy as he could be as they made their way to the armoury.

“We’ll pick up my armour, then we’ll get Falathir and the rest of my stuff and go home,” Jaou told Ganymede. The saber grumbled in agreement as they continued along.


***


It was close to mid-morning before Jaou made it back to his quarters. He opened the door and saw that Falathir was still sound asleep on the window sill. Jaou walked over to the window to retrieve his cloak, placing it over his shoulders once he swung his backpack on.

“Falathir, it’s time to go,” Jaou said as he gently petted her head. The snow-coloured owl let out a long and low hoot as she stirred. Yawning, Falathir fluttered to Jaou to perch on his shoulder. With a quick scan of the room, Jaou checked that everything was in clean and in order.

And now for the walk home.

Jaou turned about and exited the storage room. Outside was Ganymede sitting with his saddlebags packed with Jaou’s armour, weapons, and some supplies and items that the outpost sent with them. The weight proved to be of little hindrance to Ganymede, but Jaou opted to walk alongside his saber companion instead.

The camp was still relatively quiet. There were those on guard duty, and the medics seeing over the injured, but there was little activity as much of the camp was resting and recuperating.

It’s better to leave this way.

“Let’s go,” Jaou said to Ganymede, and started to walk towards the road that led to the outpost. Ganymede followed closely, and the trio soon left the ranger outpost with little fanfare, only seen out by those on guard duty.

Jaou, Falathir, and Ganymede made their way out and continued their way north. The new Stormchaser home was not far from the ranger outpost. After walking for nearly an hour and a half, they started to move slightly uphill through the forest, and the clearing where the homestead sat was starting to edge into sight.

Jaou was looking forward to relaxing in his own home and bed. Given the current events, the rest of his family were elsewhere, and while they too would be allowed time away from their work, they would not always be able to return at the same time as each other. For now, the home would only be occupied by Jaou.

Being alone at this time was a strange feeling for Jaou. Certainly Falathir and Ganymede helped to stave off the loneliness, but part of him did yearn to reach out to others. Another part of him though relished in being alone. Being alone meant he would be left in peace to his own thoughts, to relax.

But he was not truly alone. The inner demon interrupted his thoughts as they walked into the estate. ‘You wanted to say good-bye to the others, but you continue to run away from them. I know you want contact, but you make up excuses to avoid it,’ the inner demon observed.

‘That’s none of your concern,’ Jaou replied, clutching his head from the pain of the intrusion. Falathir and Ganymede looked to Jaou in a concerned manner, though they went on towards the front entrance of the home, stopping just outside of the door. Jaou placed a hand on the frame, activating the runes that were inscribed on the white and blue marble. They glowed a soft silvery light and an audible click came from the composite wood and metal door.

Jaou entered the home and let Ganymede come into the foyer which was receded into the ground to be lower than the rest of the house. Falathir flew off of Jaou’s shoulder and into another room as Jaou got everything settled. The interior of the house was lined and completed with ghostly silver oak panels and beams, combining old and modern architecture to the building. Valorra had mentioned that while the marble would keep the home cool during summer and the wood insulated heat during the colder seasons, she added a runic climate control system and other amenities to the infrastructure. He closed the door behind him, hearing the locking mechanism activate again.

Jaou hung his cloak and back pack, and quickly relieved Ganymede of his saddlebags and armour. Ganymede, once liberated from his burden, followed Falathir further into their home. Jaou turned left and went towards a room that was connected to the foyer. The walls and the door were reinforced in this part of the house, and was revealed to be the armoury. There Jaou carefully replaced his and Ganymede’s armour on the racks. Jaou picked up and carefully placed his warglaives onto heavy hooks on the wall. All in all the armoury was meant to hold various sets of equipment for both elf and their steeds, but it was currently empty save for what Jaou brought in.

Maybe one day there will be more.

For now Jaou moved his thoughts away from the future and set them on the present, and presently he wanted to wash up and attempt to sleep. Jaou took off his boots and went straight to the bathroom to draw a hot bath


***


Jaou came out of the bathroom and into the living room looking more relaxed, and wearing simple breeches and a loose shirt. He looked out of the window and noted the height of the sun. It was just past noon, and the sun beams helped to warm the house. He proceeded to one of the bedrooms on the other side of the living room. The room itself was simply furnished with a bed that was up against a window, and an armoire present in the corner of the room. The Night Elf found that Falathir and Ganymede had already made themselves at home, sleeping soundly at the side of the bed.

They seem to like this place just fine.

Jaou carefully approached his bed, stepping over Ganymede and between the bed with what little gap his saber had provided. He shut the curtains of the window, blocking out the light to the room, and crawled beneath the sheets. This was certainly more comfortable than the storage room at the outpost, and it was a more familiar environment for him to relax in. Jaou breathed in deeply, almost expecting the comfort to be interrupted, but so far it was quiet, peaceful.

He closed his eyes, and started to relax himself, and take in the cozy feeling of his bed.

Two weeks later


Izdazi drummed her fingers on the desktop as she studied the three rangers standing tensely at attention before her.   The night elf male, troll male and tauren female all looked very nervous.   All three sported cuts and bruises.   The night elf had a black eye.   The tauren had a cut on her snout.  

For more than a minute all four occupants of the office stood in silence.   She could feel the anxiety radiating from them.  

Good.   Izdazi wanted them to know how angry she was with them.   It’s part of the reason she wanted to discuss this in her office.  

She hated her office.   Her claustrophobia was always at its worse when she was here.   It made her feel like she was in the Barrows again.  And she wanted them to share in her ire.    

“What the fel happened out there?” she asked in a low, even voice that didn’t betray her frustration with being stuck in the office.  Her disappointment in them was more than enough to make up for the claustrophobia.  

No one volunteered to begin first, so she turned to the troll.  

“Pathul?”

“Well… ma’am,” he began contritely.  Izdazi narrowed her eyes.  “Ereros Darkbreeze was sayin some stuff about my kind.   I, overreacted when I struck him.”

“Yes.  You did.” Izdazi confirmed.  She turned to the tauren.  “Cheyanne Hillhoof?”

“I-I stepped up to defend Pathul when he and Ereros began fighting.  I heard what Eroros had said to Pathul and…”

“I don’t care,” Izdazi snapped at the tauren.   She turned to the fellow night elf.   “Well?”

“The troll threw the first punch.   I’m not sure why I’m here,” Ereros stated hotly.  He brushed a few twigs from his short purple hair and rubbed his bruised arm.  

“I see.  Well, clearly this is my fault,” Izdazi began.  The others looked at her quizzically.   “Apparently, I assumed at this camp, all of us rangers for the Cenarion Circle were going to be focusing our hostilities at the demons that threaten Azeroth.   But it seems that petty arguments are where some of my soldiers have decided their energies are better spent.”

The Pathul and Cheyanne looked at each momentarily before looking down.  Ereros merely sighed.  

“I didn’t start this fight.  Can I be-“

“Shut the fuck up!” Izdazi demanded of the night elf before turning her incensed countenance at the other two.  “Pathul.  Cheyanne.  Give me ten laps around the camp.   Now!”  

“Yes lieutenant!” the troll and tauren shouted before abruptly leaving.  

“So, is that it?   Can I go?” Ereros asked.  

“I didn’t hear myself dismiss you.   Nor do I remember giving you permission to speak,” Izdazi growled.  She stood up, brushed her dark blue dreads behind her shoulder and glared at her fellow night elf.  “What’s your problem, Ereros?”  

“I-I don’t have a problem, sir.”

“Bullshit.  You have a problem.  Several, in fact.  One of your problems is that thus far you’ve been blissfully floating in the calm seas of my patience,” the huntress explained smoothly.  “And I’ll excuse that ignorance because you’re new here with us, but please, let me assure you, that security you’re feeling is very fleeting.   Why don’t you ask me how fleeting it is, ranger.”

“What?”

“Ask me,” she demanded.  

“Ummmm.  How fleeting is your patience?”

“I’m glad you asked, Ereros.  It’s good to ask questions.  That’s how we learn,” Izdazi said smoothly, before pulling a folder out of her desk and flinging it at him.   The ranger clumsily caught it.   “Because my patience was gone after I got my first report about you.  And I was going to talk to you about the first but before I could, you somehow got two more reports.   So, those wonderful calm seas you’ve been floating in are gone.  

“Now, why are you instigating divisions among our rangers that hail from the Horde?”

The young elf turned from confusion to outright disbelief.  

“How can you ask that?  After what the Horde did to our people in Ashenvale?  How can you work alongside these Horde and demon hunter filth?” he very nearly spat.   “I asked to serve in your ranger unit because I knew how much you hated demons.   And now you work with the very demon you tried to kill.   What happened to you?”

Izdazi’s anger suddenly evaporated.   She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.   That he would chose to serve under her because of what she’d done years ago in going after the turned night elf satyrs.  

“You were right,” Ereros continued.  “Those night elf satyrs were powder kegs.  And they were.   Now we’re going to be ok with the demon hunters?”

The she-elf sighed.  

“We are associated with the Cenarion Circle.   We have had taurens within the ranks for thousands of years.   We have accepted the trolls and worgens among our fold because they strengthen us.   Alliance or Horde is irrelevant here.  We’re rangers.  We fight for Azeroth.”

“The Horde killed my wife at Silverwind!”

“And I lost my mother there as well!  You’re not the only person who has lost people to the conflicts of Azeroth.   I had to learn that,” Izdazi explained angrily.  “I need my soldiers fighting for Azeroth.   If you want to fight the Horde, I can get you transferred to the Sentinels.  But here, our diversity and unity are what gives us strength against a much larger threat.

“But you keep undermining that with your actions.   Pathul may have thrown the first punch, but you’ve been stoking the flames of that fight since you arrived three days ago.”  

“And I thought I’d find a kindred spirit here, instead of some demon lackey-“

The she-elf abruptly slammed her hands on the desktop interrupting him.   “I don’t recall giving you permission to speak freely!  If I were you, I’d sure as hell stop now.

“You weren’t here two weeks ago when we went against a pit lord,” Izdazi continued.  “The descriptions of pit lords do not do it justice.   We managed to kill it, but that was with a demon hunter’s help.   I’m sure we could have destroyed it without his help, but not without a great many more casualties.   We have gnome sappers, troll and tauren druids, along with our kind.   This is something I have come to respect from being a ranger.

“But you have no respect for that, Ereros. That’s why you can’t serve with us.  Pack your bags.   You are dismissed.”

The young night elf abruptly stood up and looked at her in confusion.  

“You can’t just kick me out.”

“Oh, I love it when people tell me I can’t do something,” Izdazi replied snarkly.   “You’re toxic, Ereros.  I can’t have you here sowing division when we need unity.  I’ll have your papers ready within the hour.   You are to remove your things from the barracks and find a room in the inn.   Dismissed.”  

The young night elf looked as if were to going to say something before he finally thought better of it and left the room.  

Izdazi ran her fingers through her dreadlocks and leaned back.   She wondered how long it’d be before this part of her past started catching up with her.  

Or if people like Ereros weren’t already among the rangers.

Jast unceremoniously tossed his rucksack on the cot and opened the footlocker. He glanced around the completely vacant barracks before starting to toss his clothing and equipment in the bag.

It was hard to believe that after five years in the Rangers, he’d be so quickly dismissed. Five years and it only took one rocky relationship to end it. He’d rehearsed the events that led him here and didn’t find much to regret.

Yet, he couldn’t help feeling that this was unfair.

He knew he could have gone to Mateus or even Ravenstar and argued against his dismissal, but that wasn’t his way. He was a go-with-flow kind of person. If this didn’t work out, he’d find his place somewhere else.

Besides, by now the superiors would surely know about his removal. If they hadn’t intervened by now, then perhaps it just was fate that he wasn’t to remain with the rangers.

His reminiscing was abruptly interrupted by a shadow in the doorway that blocked. He turned and noticed Izdazi standing there looking at him. She wore off-duty slacks and a sleeveless shirt. Her dreadlocks were tied back in a ponytail.

Jast felt a variety of emotions as they locked eyes. He still loved her, although he wasn’t sure why. Even though they shared the same feelings, she kept most of her feelings locked away.

Right now, he felt the attraction he had towards her tempered by his anger at how she’d ended his career with the Rangers. Especially after he’d risked his life to keep her safe.

“Come to see me off,” he asked. He almost succeeded at keeping the bitterness out of his voice. “After two weeks, you finally deign to visit me just as I’m packing.”

She stepped inside and closed the door.

“I didn’t file the paperwork,” Izdazi started. She waited for her words to sink in and he finally stopped packing.

“I-I thought you were kicking me out of-“

“I was. But, Baelyth and I discussed it and he made some good arguments on your behalf. I… overreacted,” she confessed. She averted her eyes from him and instead seemed to study the floor.

“Well, thank you for reconsidering,” Jast replied. “I have been cleared medically to return to full service. I suppose I should get find out where we’re going next.”

“About that,” the huntress replied, still speaking softly. “I need your help with something different.”

Jast was again taken aback by her contriteness. It was so atypical of her.

“Anything. You know I’m always willing to consider anything.”

“No,” Izdazi said, shaking her head. “Listen to what I’m planning and then decide whether you want to participate. You can say ‘no’ and there will be no repercussions if you refuse.”

“Alright. You have my attention, Commander,” he said, standing a little straighter.

“More than a few people know how I upset I was with you after that mess with the tank. Of course, soldiers will speculate, and I have heard mutterings that they believe I am going to dismiss you.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a few come by and ask why I intend to do next.”

Izdazi nodded slowly and took a deep breath as if to prepare herself for something she didn’t really want to say.

“There’s a growing cancer among the Rangers. I’ve been seeing increasing displays of racism within our ranks and I think someone, or a group is stocking these divisions. I have already had one person tell me how they admired me for almost managing to kill Jaou so many years ago.”

Jast took this in silence. From the few times she opened up with him, he knew Izdazi regretted some of her past choices. Trying to hunt down Jaou chief among those regrets. To hear someone applaud her for something like that must have hurt as much as a stabbing.

“You want me to infiltrate this group?”

“You have the perfect alibi. You’re a very popular soldier who was dismissed from the Rangers. A tauren has been covering for your duties since your injury. And, I’m continuing to work with an archdruid who’s brother is now a demon hunter while you have been dismissed for a heroic act,” Izdazi explained. “You’re the ideal candidate for this group.”

“How can you be so sure I’ll be a perfect match?” he asked.

“Because that’s how I got mixed with these groups in the first place,” she replied. “All the ills in your life can easily be blamed on someone else. It’s a playbook as old as time itself.”

“I see. So, I’m not leaving, but I’m not coming back here.”

“Only if you chose to take the assignment, Jast,” Izdazi quickly corrected.

“I’ll do it,” he said. “But only if you can do me on favor.”

Izdazi narrowed her eyes.

“And what would that be?” she asked suspiciously.

“Tell me you haven’t completely dismissed our friendship,” he asked. She took in a sharp breath and considered it a moment.

“I didn’t dismiss our relationship, Jast,” she said with a weak smile. “I just need a little time.”

“Fair enough,” he said with a grin. “Well, I suppose this is goodbye until later. I’m going to the tavern in town and drinking my feelings away.” He grabbed his bag, shot her a smirk before leaving the tavern.

Jast noticed how she almost succeeded in suppressing a grin.

((Forgot to mention, this post follows the events on this post from "Directions and Misdirections, https://newvienna.forumotion.com/t80-directions-and-misdirections-story-rp#744 ))

Jaou woke up for a moment, feeling like he had just landed from a long fall as his body jolted from an imagined stop. His heart was thrumming with such a force, it was the only thing that was in focus as he gathered his wits about him. He barely opened his eyes and looked up towards the ceiling. Jaou was unsure if he had actually fallen asleep, or if he imagined it. Maybe his mind just lost track of thought.

‘You’re awake, good, I was starting to tire of that ‘dream,’’ the inner demon quipped to Jaou.

‘Dream? So I did fall asleep,’ Jaou replied in realization.

‘Do you even remember what happened there?’

Jaou groaned as he became more awake. He thought about it, and though his mind wanted to draw a blank more than recalling the dream, he started to remember some details of it. It was all jumbled up, but Niashado was present and speaking to him and, oddly, his inner demon as if she were really there. How could that be? Niashado had told him that her abilities as a shaman were absent as of present, and yet, she was there.

‘Maybe it was a very good reconstruction of her,’ Jaou wondered.

‘Even still you doubt the veracity of her presence?’ the inner demon questioned Jaou. ‘I assure you, it was real.’

‘I can't be certain that it was,” Jaou replied as he sat up and looked out towards the window. There was still light coming through the small gap from the bottom of the curtains. He pondered the conversation in the dream, or what little he could lucidly recall. He then posed a strange question to the inner demon. ‘Do you remember ever having a name?’

The query had given the inner demon pause. Jaou had a sense that the creature was trying for a moment to search what memories they had. ‘I don’t recall any moniker that was given to me in the past. Even the clearest fragments of my memories are shadows. What has gotten you so interested in knowing?’

Jaou stretched and laid back in bed. ‘I was thinking, if we’re going to exist together, I should at least call you something. Referring to you as ‘the inner demon’ is probably getting tiresome to you.’

‘Hmph, do as you wish. Just don’t call me ‘Junior.’’

‘I won’t, you needn’t worry. I don’t want to imply that you’re some offspring of mine.’

‘Good, we are in agreement.’

A few minutes passed by as Jaou rested in bed in silence. The awkward silence was then broken by the inner demon. ‘So? What are you going to call me?’

‘Um… I was hoping that you would have an idea of what you want to be named.’

‘You’re the one that suggested this, I was expecting you to have come up with a cheeky moniker of some sort.’

Jaou pulled the sheets up to his chin as he struggled to think of a name. ‘I don’t know, I usually don’t have to come up with names for… people? Do I call you an adult? An autonomous individual?’

‘Well there’s a first time for everything, you’re more than ancient enough to know that.’

‘Hey!’ Jaou inwardly chided with a frown. ‘ I’m not that… well… alright, I am old, but it’s still not easy to come up with a name for you.’

‘Then perhaps you should sleep on it.’

Jaou raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. ‘Will you actually let me sleep?’

The inner demon let out an exaggerated sigh, ‘Yes, yes, I’m going to allow you to sleep. Lest I incur the ire of your girlfriend.’

‘Wait, what? I’m not sure I understand, but what does Nia have to do with this?’

‘By the Nether, it was one of the topics she talked to us about in your dream!’

‘I suppose that would be like her,’ Jaou pondered as he tried to recall the dream more.

‘Ugh… either way, how about we retire for the time being?’

‘Fiery as ever,’ Jaou replied. The elf then had a thoughtful moment. “Fiery…” he said aloud.

‘Hmm? What was that?’ the inner demon inquired.

‘It’s nothing. I’m going back to sleep before you change your mind.’

Jaou settled deeper into his bed for comfort, and closed his eyes. For several minutes, he kept expecting his inner demon to interrupt his sleep, to suddenly chime in and bring him back to full consciousness. But there was nothing. It appeared that the inner demon kept his word. Jaou felt the tendrils of sleep taking hold once more, and he was asleep before he knew it.

When Jaou woke up, he felt as though he was fully renewed. The Night Elf took in a deep breath, and stretched his arm, bringing it over his head on his pillow. He looked to the ceiling for several minutes, and said to himself, “I slept. I actually slept.” He could scarcely believe it. It had been the first fully uninterrupted period of sleep that he had gotten in what felt like ages.

Jaou sat up in his bed and bent forwards to stretch his back, and then sat back up to crack his neck. He looked around and towards the corners of his room. No headache, no blurred vision, no lethargy, no nausea. It seems my energy levels are holding up well. Though there was one that he wanted to hear the opinion of. Jaou closed his eyes and asked the inner demon, ‘Are you awake? How are you faring?’

‘Hmm… awake before I am, impressive. If you’re wondering about my appetite, I am still very well-satiated,’ he replied.

‘That’s good to hear.’ Jaou peeked over the edge of his bed, and saw that Ganymede and Falathir were still sound asleep. The sabercat was rolled up against the bedframe stomach-side up, and Falathir nestled on top of his chest.

Getting out of bed from the foot, I suppose. Before he left his bed, Jaou decided to peek behind the curtains of the window. It was snowing, though not heavily, and there was little wind. Though he was inside, air was comparatively chilly as he left his bed, and he could feel the patches of fur he retained from his metamorphosis bristle. On a cold night, a warm hearth and stew would be comforting to have.

As Jaou left his bed, the inner demon asked, ‘So, have you given my name any thought?’ Interestingly, there was no pain this time as the inner demon interjected into his thoughts. Was it only there if the inner demon wished it to be painful?

Jaou took a moment and sat back down onto the bed with his legs crossed. ‘I had a small inkling of an idea just before going back to sleep. What do you think of Vor’Falo?’

''Vor'Falo?' it sounds… not terrible. I take it the words mean something in your tongue, since it doesn't sound like Eredun.'

‘You would be correct: it’s Darnassian,’ Jaou confirmed to the inner demon. ‘And it roughly translates to ‘broken flame.’

'Souls can be described as flames, and you had mentioned that you were made from fragmented fel essences. I just… put the two together, I guess. I didn’t know if you would like the thought-process behind it or the meaning… We can go for someth–'

‘It’s fine,’ the inner demon interrupted.

‘What?’ Jaou was uncertain if he heard correctly.

‘The name, I think it’s fitting.’

‘Really? I… I was thinking that you would object to it.’

‘Granted the truth hurts, the name does speak accurately to my existence as a broken entity, but anything beats ‘Junior.’’

Jaou sat there, having to process what had just occurred. He did not ever imagine that his suggestion would go over that smoothly. ‘I really didn’t think you would take to the name. I’m shocked.’

‘Hmph, don’t give yourself too much credit for my low standards,’ the inner demon sneered.

‘Ah, there’s the vitriol I was expecting,’ Jaou replied with an almost bemused expression. As he got out of bed, Ganymede and Falathir woke up to greet Jaou, having finally sensed that he was awake and well-rested. Ganymede padded alongside of the Night Elf, chuffing as he went along, and Falathir perched upon Jaou’s shoulder and lightly ran her beak through this hair. “Well, you two are in a good mood tonight. How about I get you two some breakfast?” His companions sounded their delight at the idea.

Maybe the time off won’t be too bad, Jaou thought to himself. A chance to relax might just be the thing I need.


***


Thirteen days later…


Another day came to Azsuna, and much of the snow that was leftover from winter had melted. Occasionally the past nights were cold enough to turn the precipitation into snow, but no longer did it persist into the day.

Jaou sat hunched over on the couch in the living room, nursing a cup of tea that had long since gone cold. Falathir was on a perching stand that was situated near the couch, and Ganymede was quietly grooming his coat in the open area of the living room.

Jaou found himself to be lacking appetite, but perhaps it was not the worst thing as he was due to have blood work done again, and to have a recheck to ascertain the efficacy of his prescribed medication. He was suspecting that the fel supplements that Ravenstar compounded for him were insufficient in providing adequate levels of fel-satiation. He had followed Baelyth’s prescribed instructions on its use, but he found that reducing the frequency of the supplements caused a bout of withdrawal symptoms. It was only some hours since Jaou took a supplement, and by the time he made it to the camp, he would hopefully be at what Baelyth called a trough level for the blood draw.

I suppose I should leave now, he thought to himself.

Though he would be traveling light, Jaou had preemptively packed what pieces of armour that he would not be already wearing. While he was not expecting to run into trouble, he could never be too sure that there was no danger to be found when on the road. Jaou finished his tea, and brought the cup to the kitchen to wash it quickly before he set off to the ranger outpost.

A subtle sharpness hit Jaou’s temples as Vor’Falo spoke, ‘I do hope you’re getting new supplements, since the ones you have are a pale imitation of a proper meal.’

‘Yes, I will bring it up,’ Jaou said in mock appeasement to Vor’Falo. ‘It’s not like it’s easy to ignore the symptoms.’

‘I’m just reminding you.’

‘How very kind,’ Jaou inwardly said, with an audible sigh. He placed the cup on the drying rack by the water basin, and made his way towards the armoury. The elf retrieved his leather breastplate and harness from the rack, and strapped it over his torso. Having already packed the rest of his armour, Jaou fastened his cloak around his neck before taking his warglaives and sheathed them over his back..

I think that’s everything. Jaou took Ganymede’s saddle and walked to the foyer where he had placed the saddle bags. “Falathir, Gany, are you ready to head out?”

Ganymede stretched forward in typical feline fashion, and ambled to Jaou. Falathir likewise took flight and glided to land on the saber cat, opting to take a ride. Ganymede stood square and straight as Jaou placed the saddle on his back and buckled the straps over his underside. The Night Elf then attached the saddle bags to Ganymede’s side.

Jaou opened the door and allowed for Ganymede to step out first, with Falathir repositioning herself on the pommel of the saddle. Jaou followed outside, and closed the door behind him and locked it with the runic engravings on the doorframe. Once Jaou was certain that the door was locked, he climbed onto the saddle and Ganymede proceeded to trek towards the ranger outpost.

Sunbeams streaked through the forest canopy, dappling the ground before them. Judging from the angles they took, it was still early afternoon. Parts of the ground where shade was abundant still harboured patches of snow, remnants of larger snow drifts that escaped the light of the sun, but are now slowly and inexorably melting in the warmer weather. Despite this, the wildflowers were now blooming strongly through the previous year’s leafy detritus, and the grass started to grow tall in the various clearings.

Soon enough the trio reached one of the main roads, and the saber cat went into a canter. Within an hour, they could see the camp coming into view. The encampment kept with the name of the surrounding ruins that it was nestled in: Star’s Reach. The initial scouting party to survey possible encampment sites did manage to reach out to some of the friendlier spirits to entreat them for use of the land, and with good fortune they were granted permission.

As Jaou rode to the entrance, he bade Ganymede to slow his pace as the rangers, a Worgen and a Blood Elf, on watch duty took notice of their approach. Newer recruits by the fact that Jaou did not recognize them.

"A Night Elf with fel-green eyes and warglaives, a demon hunter? Name and purpose of your visit, if you would," the Blood Elf spoke. Both rangers appeared on alert.

Jaou offered them a salute and stated, "Field agent: Ranger-Commander Jaou Stormchaser, ranger liason to the Illidari. I have an appointment with Baelyth Sunbreeze."

The two guards appeared uncertain if they heard correctly, giving each other a quick glance. The Worgen sniffed the air around her, and then circled Jaou as she took in the scents. He kept calm, and encouraged Falathir and Ganymede to do the same.

"You smell well-to-do, a bit demon-y," the Worgen remarked on the scent. "But I don't smell a liar on this one. I thought they were pulling my leg when they said we had a demon hunter in the ranks."

"I wasn't sure what to expect, but you certainly weren't what I imagined to be when we were briefed about your arrival," the Blood Elven ranger replied.

"Hopefully that's a good thing," Jaou said with some concern.

"Erm, well, yes. Uh, you're free to enter… Sir!" the Blood Elf stammered out as both rangers saluted Jaou.

Jaou offered a salute back and directed Ganymede to proceed. As they rode into the camp, Jaou could overhear the conversation of the guards.

”He looked pretty normal for a demon hunter…”

”Not so loud, you idiot! Demon hunters are blind, not deaf!”

”I don’t think he was blind either though!”

Jaou withheld a sigh and kept his gaze forward. While demon hunters were more active now and not under harsh restrictions, they were still an uncommon sight. Though perhaps their incredulity was in the fact that he was a ranking ranger among them. As he rode towards Baeltyh’s office, Jaou could not help but shake the feeling that he was being watched.

It could be my imagination, or my nerves, but…

Ahead and to his right, he could spy a couple of young Night Elves, a male and a female, standing by a tree. They were unmistakably staring at him as he rode through the camp. New recruits, but this time none too friendly. Just pay them no heed. Just before Jaou was to ride past them, the two night elves started marching towards him and stepped abruptly in front of Ganymede. The saber growled, taking no liking to the elves in front of him.

Jaou looked curiously, but cautiously, at the two Night Elves that stood before him. “Can I help you with something?”

“What do you think you’re doing here, demon filth?” the female questioned with a sneered at Jaou.

“Excuse me?”

“What makes you think you can just ride through our camp? You don’t belong here, scum,” the male elf followed up with an accusatory tone.

How best to de-escalate this… Jaou took in a deep breath through his nose, and replied, “It may not seem like it, but I am a ranger and I have business here with–”

“Liar, we don’t have demon hunter trash in our ranks!” the she-elf spat.

Other rangers and workers that were previously minding their own business started to look their way as the two elves grilled Jaou, and some few started to rush over there. I really didn’t want to make a scene, but it seems I have no choice. Ganymede sensed the tension and raised his hackles, and Falathir screeched in agitation at the two young elves. They shot surprised looks at the owl and saber, not expecting them to be so defiant. They were soon met with an Orc and a Draenei. To Jaou’s relief, they were rangers that he recognized.

“Hey, Privates, what are you two doing?!” the draenei sternly asked.

“You’re speaking to a commanding officer, show some respect!” the orc added in.

The two elves looked incredulous at hearing the information, but they did not recant their stance. “No demon filth will get respect from me!” the male Night Elf proudly stated.

“Nor I!” the female Night Elf said. “There’s no way they would allow him to be here.”

“Jaou is our commander, and you will afford him the same respect that we expect you to give your colleagues,” the Draenei shot back.

“Was… the commander…” Jaou quietly reminded her, trailing off. He felt that he was no longer in the crosshairs of the argument, but it was no less awkward to be there. He could simply walk away now, but it would only exacerbate the current conflict. However, from the corner of his eye, Jaou spied a saving grace heading towards them

“You’re not our CO, we don’t have to listen to either of you!” the male elf shouted at the Draenei.

“What’s going on?” a sixth voice joined in. The four rangers before Jaou looked towards the newcomer, and stiffened up with salutes as Irian approached the group. He eyed everyone present, but particularly the Night Elven privates. “So, care to explain the situation?”

The younger Night Elves nodded, and the male spoke first. “Sir, we were just questioning this demon hunter that entered the camp.”

“By antagonizing him?”

The male elf shrunk back, and the female elf spoke next. “Sir, he was caught lying about his rank and place amongst the rangers, and these two were simply adding to the chaos,” she said, pointing at the Draenei and Orc.

“And you were shouting down your colleagues about this? Regardless of that, they explained to you that Ranger-Commander Stormchaser is indeed one of our esteemed officers, and you still refused to stand down,” Irian said, recounting the altercation. He looked at their surprised faces. “Come now, you were so loud, you could wake the dead with those voices. I want you two to report to my office.”

“But…!” both elves started to argue.

“My office. Now,” Irian sternly repeated.

The elves looked at each other, and felt the weight of defeat on their shoulders. As they walked towards the administrative building, they each shot a baleful look at Jaou, to which he shrugged off.

Irian let out a sigh, and relaxed slightly as he turned to Jaou. “Well then! Not quite how I wanted to say hi to you,” Irian said.

“Not the entrance I wanted to make either. Thanks,” Jaou said. “And thank you, Haleena, Tarook.”

“Our pleasure boss,” Tarook answered back witha thumbs-up. “New recruits these days…”

“Now now, we can’t attribute this to all newbies here,” Irian laughed. “Sorry, but I’ll also need to see you two at my desk. I need as much information as I can get before moving ahead with any disciplinary actions.”

“Yessir,” Haleena saluted.

Both Haleena and Tarook saluted Jaou as well, which he returned. It quickly faded into a casual wave amongst friends as they went on their way to Irian’s office.

Jaou regarded Irian. “I think it’s to be expected to draw some ire for my state.”

“I don’t think it should be,” Irian said. “I think we make it pretty clear that we work with various groups, Illidari included, and tell the new troops that you’re still a ranking officer here. But I shouldn’t keep you. You’re seeing Baelyth today, right? You wouldn’t want to be late for your appointment.”

“I suppose not. We’ll talk later?” Jaou asked.

“Of course! I’ll get the others as well. We’ll meet at your old office.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jaou replied back.

As a general rule, taverns in the morning were a far cry different from taverns in the evenings. Mornings were quiet. The food and coffee were inviting, but less jovial than the scents associated with mead, ale, wine and roasted meats.

There was no live music at this early hour and the suns golden glare shown from the windows, causing the night elf to squint and chose a seat with her back to the offending light.

Izdazi often found it strange that even in area predominately populated by night elves, taverns tended to be livelier in the evenings. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the tavern to be swinging when most elves are done with their daily activities?

Then again, though she wasn’t comfortable with it, she had long ago adapted to a more diurnal lifestyle. And it suited her just fine. While Irian, Ravenstar, Baelyth and the others tended to do most of the work nocturnally, this meant she could see that operations continued while they rested.

Izdazi once heard a human complain about working the ‘graveyard shift.’ It seemed morbid until she realized he was complaining about working the entire night while others got to party at the numerous taverns in Booty Bay or rest.

It seemed she was working a graveyard shift, even if it was daytime. But somebody had to make sure things were working well while the others rested. And it helped keep her away from frivolous interruptions.

Besides, night elves may enjoy working at night, but many of the other races were more diurnal and she felt it was important that she made effort to show them some solidarity.

So, she sat at the quiet tavern, nursing some Stranglethorn coffee with some cheese melting inside and a plate of honey coated bacon.

This wasn’t a tavern she usually went to. It was the farthest from the encampment. She had a hood drawn over her head, with her ears poking out through well placed holes. Her distinctive hair was carefully concealed within the cloak.

She barely looked up when Jast took a seat across from her. She’d heard his footsteps and knew his cadence well.

“Good morning,” he began, quickly stealing a strip of bacon from her plate. She allowed it without fuss, mostly because the bacon wasn’t really all that tasty, but also because she didn’t want to draw attention to their table.

“How are you doing?” she asked, looking up at him carefully, while making sure she remained unnoticeable by the handful of other patrons at the tavern.

“Well, I have nothing new to report,” he began, sounding a little contrite. “While I’ve become known to a small group of malcontents who aren’t happy with the social structure of the Rangers, they’re not really revealing much.”

“It has been nearly two weeks. Perhaps this is nothing more than a few troublemakers,” Izdazi quietly replied. She saw him frown and he passed a parchment to her. She unfolded it and frowned at the contents.

“What’s this?”

“It’s an invitation for a support group of night elves who have lost friends and family to past wars,” Jast explained. “But that’s just a front. I’ve been to two of these meetings and trust me, they’re not helping people move on from their losses. They’re laying it on heavy how the member races of the Horde are responsible for those losses and questing why we allow them to work with us. There’s even a little blame to pass on to the worgen and humans, for their reluctant support.”

“Well, that’s not helpful.”

“I guess it’s easier to blame greenskins rather they face how much we’ve mucked up Azeroth ourselves.”

Izdazi looked up sharply at Jast and frowned.

“What?” he asked, taken aback by her sudden sternness.

“I’ve never heard you describe an orc like that,” the huntress replied.

“Yeah. I shouldn’t have. I hear it all day, that I guess it’s slipping,” Jast said apologetically, although without actually apologizing for what he’d said. “I need to get some sleep. It was a busy day at the mill. I need a little extra time to try to get more intel.”

“We don’t have to continue this. We can pull you in.”

“Give me some more time. I’ll be fine,” Jast said, standing up. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

Izdazi watched him leave with an uncharacteristic feeling of concern filling her thoughts.


* * *


"I think we might need to pull Jast out," she announced at the meeting between the leaders of the camp. "I know we want some intel on what's causing this dissention, but this might be too much for him."

Mateus seems ponderous about the situation and sat back in his chair with arms across his chest. "Do we have more details on how deep this runs, and how strongly?"

"He reports that they're being very cagey about that. But their numbers are growing. There's even a community outreach, ostensibly to support people, but in reality, they're putting all the blame for their woes on anyone not kal'dorie."

"It's up to you," Mateus said. "If you think there's enough information to pull from the investigation as of now."

"What are his thoughts on this?" Ravenstar asked.

Izdazi sighed and regarded the two elves. "Jast wants to stay undercover. He thinks, and I agree, that we need more information. But I also know what it's like to be surrounded by people like that. And I'm worried about him."

"Let's elaborate on your worries," Mateus proposed. "What should be our goals to help these concerns?"

"Yes, if you feel that he should be recalled, then that's fine. If you want to continue this investigation, we will need to come up with solutions," Ravenstar added.

Izdazi shook her head. "I don't know. We need this intel. I suppose, maybe I'm just worried about him. I'm worried being around that much hate could cause us to lose him.

He seems confident enough to continue the mission, though. Let's, give him another week. "

"Does he need an additional ground?" Mateus offered.

The huntress brightened up. "That, might can work," she remarked. "However, it would need to be a night elf. It's a pity I can't ask Risa Hartford to help. She was wonderful on our last mission, but Jast says humans and worgans are getting as much blame as the Horde are."

"Does it need to be someone in our forces?" Mateus pondered. "Or would it be better for a trusted outside perspective to lower bias?"

"Well it can't be me or any of the leadership," Ravenstar pointed out. "Probably not the Stormchasers, considering their history."

“No. Definitely not the Stormchasers,” Izdazi said with a mirthless chuckle. She pondered it over and then sighed. “Or maybe, we should allow things to continue as they are for a little longer.”

She noted Mateus and Ravenstar beginning to protest but she raised her hand.

“I was one of these people. I didn’t like anyone not a night elf and don’t get me started on turned satyrs like Jaou was. But it only took me a few meetings with others for my distrust to turn to militant hatred,” the huntress explained. “Sending more people undercover may mean we risk losing two people rather than the possibility of one.

“I think our best strategy will be keeping an eye on our rangers and looking for these malcontents. We should increase the presence of non-night elf rangers in our community outreaches, while also upping their protection. We need to show these people that the Rangers and the Cenarion Circle transcend this pettiness,” Izdazi added. “What do you think?

Baelyth walked through the storeroom taking stock of the medical supplies in the infirmary, though his expression was less of focus and more of concern.

We're consuming supplies faster than we can get them made, he noted on his ledger. I'll have to see if production can be increased, but if not we'll have to stretch our supplies.

"Quite the quandary to have," Baelyth sighed to himself. There was no easy fix for the problem at hand. With the current conflict between Azeroth and the Burning Legion, demand had far outstripped supply. The HIgh Elf continued to count the inventory, but was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Baelyth quickly finished counting the current item he was focused on and then said, "Come in."

A Pandaren peeked her head in and handed a patient chart to Baelyth, "Your appointment is here; vitals have been taken, and an updated weight has been recorded. He'll be in your office when you are ready."

“Oh, he’s actually here, and on time,” Baelyth commented as he closed the ledger for the time being. The elf left the stockroom, walking past the Pandaren. “I’m almost done here, I’ll give you the stock order tomorrow once I compile the numbers,” he said to his colleague.

“Many thanks,” the Pandaren replied.

Baelyth, with ledger and chart in hand, walked further into the infirmary and entered his office. There he found Jaou sitting in the patient chair, though he sat slouched forward with his head in his hands. “Hello! It’s good to see you again, but are you feeling well?” he greeted Jaou. “Your complexion is also a bit off-colour.”

Jaou stood up and likewise greeted his friend with a feigned smile. “Hello, and worry not, it’s just some fatigue.”

“I would argue that it’s not ‘just some fatigue.’ It’s plainly written on your face that you’re more lethargic than during your last visit,” Baelyth observed. He placed his ledger down and went to his filing cabinet to take out Jaou’s chart.

“It’s not the worst,” Jaou insisted, but he suddenly winced as Vor’Falo interjected.

‘Would it kill you to just be honest? Because if that doesn’t, our shortfall of fel energy will start doing it,’ Vor’Falo seethed.

“Come now, Jaou, I know you’re one to hide the true state of your health,” Baelyth chided the Night Elf. He opened up Jaou’s file and attached the chart he obtained from his collegue to the next empty page in it. Baelyth gestured for Jaou to sit, as Baelyth took a seat by his desk to write his notes. “So, how are you feeling? And be truthful. We can’t very well treat you if you’re not telling the whole truth.”

Jaou sighed slightly as he took his seat again. Both Baelyth and Vor’Falo made salient points, and Jaou started to describe how his health was currently. “Alright, I won’t lie: I’ve been feeling more tired. My appetite is also lacking these past days, with no nausea involved. Vision is unchanged, and no soreness is present. I'm sleeping better, but it's not helping with my energy levels."

"I see," Baelyth acknowledged him while jotting down notes. "And do you think the medication is helping?”

Jaou thought to himself for a moment and then nodded his head. “I believe it does. The symptoms aren’t as intense as they could be.”

“Hmm, that’s good to hear. It means we’re making some progress, but we can certainly do better with managing your symptoms. You mentioned that your sleep was improving as well? From what you told me, the major factor in your disturbed sleeping pattern was your inner demon. What changed?”

Jaou’s expression became sheepish at the question. “Would you believe me if I told you I saw Nia in a dream and she convinced him to try and coexist with me peacefully?”

Baelyth blinked and continued writing his notes. “Given the world we live in and the people we know, I can’t be surprised by things like that. Was it truly as easy as you say it was?”

“She did bring up a good point on how we’re now intrinsically tied to each other’s existence, and that sleep deprivation can be fatal. Vor’Falo still has his moments and will still occasionally disturb my sleep, but it’s not nearly as much as before. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s a start,” Jaou admitted to the High Elf.

“Oh, interesting,” Baelyth commented as he continued taking his notes. A puzzled expression soon came over the medic’s features as he quickly reread his most recent lines. He then looked up at Jaou and asked, “Wait, who is Vor’Falo and how are they related to your sleeping patterns?”

“Oh… I… uh…” Jaou started to stammer. “He didn’t have a name, so I named him.”

“Is it wise to acknowledge its existence more than you have to? Wouldn’t that give it more of a foothold?”

“I don’t think it would give him a significant advantage. In order to have him respect me, I think it would help if I offered him the same in return rather than deny his existence and give him more reason to be antagonistic,” Jaou reasoned.

“That’s an interesting perspective to have. If you’re certain this is the best way forward, then I’ll support your choice,” said Baelyth as he added more notes to Jaou’s file. “I think we just need some blood from you. Do you still have doses left of your current fel supplements? I’ll be formulating new ones based on the results of this bloodwork. So you may need to wait for the new batch.”

“I believe I have about three doses left,” Jaou said.

“Would you be willing to stay the night? I should be able to have it done by tomorrow evening,” Baelyth suggested to Jaou.

The Night Elf shook his head. “I’m afraid I might have to decline that offer. My continued presence might cause trouble if my entrance into the camp on this trip is any indication.”

Baelyth appeared rather puzzled by Jaou’s words. “What trouble did you run into? Well, let us not delay your blood work first. Can you tell me what happened while I draw your blood?”

Jaou nodded and said, “Yes, of course.”


***


Ravenstar and Mateus considered Izdazi’s suggestion, and neither of them saw any obvious issues with the proposal.

“I think that would be a good start to fostering better relations amongst our populations,” Mateus said in agreement.

“We’ll ask for volunteers in all units to see who is up to the task. We’ll be in touch with liaisons in the townships to see if they would agree to this as well,” Ravenstar added.

A knock upon the office door interrupted their meeting. One of the pages opened the door and announced, “My apologies for the interruption, but Ranger Owlsage and Ranger Summerhoof are here.”

Irian walked in with their colleague, Megra and greeted those in the room after the page closed the door behind them. “Sorry we’re late. Something came up that I had to see to first.”

“And my mission ran slightly overlong,” Megra said. The tauren sighed. “I had to send some new recruits off for discipline for starting in-fighting. It was a shameful display.”

“Coincidentally, I also had to see to disciplining two new recruits just moments ago,” Irian said. “This time Jaou was the one that was harassed. If you need names, I can provide them.”

“And I as well,” Megra added. “It’s unfortunate to see divisions, especially during a time of crisis like this. It certainly brings to mind the group of orcs under Garrosh Hellscream that shared his purist views.”

“All groups and nations appear to share this problem, even throughout history,” Ravenstar commented.

“But the puzzling thing is that we outright advertise that our forces in particular are racially and culturally diverse. That they would come in as recruits to cause these issues…” Mateus wondered.

“We won’t be the first to admit it, but elves as a whole are ever wont to hate change and prefer to keep to their own, even within their own races,” Ravenstar pointed out. “I know I’ve dealt with prejudices as a Highborne throughout the years, and have seen renewed hatreds rise when they were recently openly welcomed back into society. It was not that long ago that the Cenarion Circle was made up solely of Night Elves. Maybe they want to bring back those days, as foolish of an endeavour that would be.”

“This view would be something I would expect an older generation to hold, but as Izdazi has pointed out, age isn’t a limiting factor,” Mateus added.

“Often in times of conflict there is neglect to society as we are focused on survival and war,” Megra commented. “Anything to find solidarity and a place to belong, even if their goals cause the opposite effect for others, is a tempting prospect for youths finding their way through this world.

“But what of Izdazi’s proposal?”

“She suggests having Jast remain the sole undercover agent in the operation, and that while we keep watch for more dissenters, we should also diversify our community operatives to build a stronger foundation for inter-racial relationships,” Mateus explained.

“I think that is a fine plan,” Megra replied.

Irian nodded in kind. “That sounds good to me. Iz, do we know what the numbers of this group look like? We should also reach out to those that have seen harassment from them, but be careful not to further ostracize those with such radical mindsets.”


***


“And that was what happened,” Jaou said to Baelyth, having explained what happened to him before he made his way to the infirmary.

Baeltyh had just finished collecting blood from Jaou, and was now storing the blood in a test tube. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that, I understand if you feel uneasy being here for extended periods of time.”

“It’s not the worst I’ve had thrown at me, but I really want to avoid causing an uproar just for being here,” Jaou said.

Baelyth placed the tube in a holding rack to allow the blood to clot and turned to Jaou. “Hey, you’re still one of us. You shouldn’t feel out of place here, and you have every right to stay just as any member of our forces do as well. It’s not my place to decide for you, but don’t let the bigotry win and drive you out.”

Jaou felt heartened at hearing that from his friend, and offered a smile. “Thank you for your support, Baelyth. But maybe I’ll take you up on that offer another time, I didn’t exactly pack for an extended stay.”

“Well, I figured I would give it a shot, but I still meant what I said about being one of us. We’ll get you some proper lodgings next time,” Baelyth said with a chuckle.

“The stationary storage wasn’t too bad, but I look forward to a more sound sleeping area.,” Jaou jested back. “I’ll plan to come back in the morning after tomorrow. There should be enough doses to tie me over until then.”

“Well, don’t forget that now that I have the peak-trough level from this blood draw, you can go back to hunting for energy sustenance,” Baelyth pointed out.

“That is true,” Jaou said. “Maybe I’ll do some hunting, but perhaps just game for now.”

“Just use your best judgment! In the meantime, I’ll be sure to expedite your bloodwork and your new prescription.”

Hearing that Megra Stonehoof and Irian Owlsage had a similar bout of insubordination among their Rangers as Izdazi had had only set her senses into higher alert. These acts were happening too suddenly and frequently to be coincidence. Something was setting these feelings alight.

She knew it was irrational, but in the back of her mind, Izdazi couldn’t help but to feel a little responsible for this. Years earlier she’d allowed someone to harness her bigotry to serve their needs. She replayed her conversation with Ereros a few days earlier and almost cringed. He requested joining her unit in the Rangers specifically because he idolized her hatred induced vendetta against the kal’dorie satyrs.

She perked up when she heard Irian speak up.

“Iz, do we know what the numbers of this group look like?” Irian asked. “We should also reach out to those that have seen harassment from them, but be careful not to further ostracize those with such radical mindsets.”

“They have been reluctant to give a number to Jast,” the huntress replied. “They’re large enough to organize group meetings, so I have a feeling we should assume this isn’t just a handful of malcontents.”

“What of the outreaches we can provide?” Megra asked.

“Well, we have refuges and I’m sure many are skilled in some fashion or way,” Izdazi responded. “Let’s find those with skills, like blacksmiths, boyers, mechanics, alchemists, etc. and hire them on. That way, our soldiers who are already doing those tasks can spend more in the field. And then, those who have been directly affected by the strife can see that here, we all pull our weight.”

“But, can we trust them to tend to our materiel?” Mateus added. “When our soldiers who know these trades work on our equipment, we know we can trust their craftsmanship. Can we say the same for people who may not like our inclusiveness?”

“We certainly don’t want them working unsupervised,” the tauren ranger said.

“Of course not,” Izdazi said. “Ultimately, the responsibility for the quality of our equipment will fall upon us. I’m just saying, perhaps we can provide some of these locals jobs that can benefit us and themselves. And maybe, they’ll see what we accomplish together while also shedding some of their pent up energy on something constructive, rather than stewing in boredom and malcontent.”

Jast grunted as he was thrown on the dirt floor.   Wiping the blood from his cheek, he brushed the violet hair from his face and stood up.  

“What is this about?” the ranger demanded, as he crouched, ready to charge the three masked night elves who’d stunned him and then dragged him to the back room the tavern.  

The trio responded by producing swords and pointing it square at his chest.    

Jast raised his hands and dropped his threatening composure.  He could see the silvery glow of their eyes peering through the owl shaped masks they wore.   The door behind them opened and they parted to give space to yet another masked person.

“You asked what this was about,” the newcomer replied in a voice that felt oddly close, yet distant.  “Call this an initiation.   You’ve been asking about us for the last few weeks.   Surely, you must understand the importance of our secrecy.   Those in power would rather ostracize us to remain in favor of the lesser outsiders we have an alliance with.  But the truth is, the kal’dorei nation has never needed anyone.”

Jast brushed the dust from his pants as he listened.   He’d heard this line before.  

“Years ago your girlfriend was prepared to give her life to destroy a demon.   More recently, she almost gave her life to save that very demon.  Do you see how insidious the corruption of the lesser races has changed us?   You got kicked from the Rangers in favor of Tauren.  We have fought the worgen corruption for centuries and now we welcome those dogs among us?” he continued.  “How does that make you feel?”

“Things are complicated,” Jast said after a long moment of considering.   “What doesn’t seem fair to me may seem something different to my commanding officer.”

The masked leader nodded.   “Spoken like a loyal soldier.  But to what end?  We were like you. Disposed of and replaced with the corrupt and impure.  What does a tauren know of night elf lives?  For that matter, what does a demon corrupted elf know of the pure ones around him.   And what happens when he loses control?   Have you ever seen what happens when a demon hunter loses control of the demon within him.  Others die.”  

“I have served with Jaou Stormchaser.  I may not like the demon in him, but he’s strong and loyal.”

“That’s what the draenei who was always with Jast said, until he attacked her in a demonic rage.   Where is she now?  Even she knows he’s a lost cause.”

Jast paused and considered it.  He knew of Niashado’s departure from Izdazi, who herself had been angry about it.  Jaou had returned from being taken by demons and now he was a demon hunter, infused with the essence of a demonic spirit within him.

“He’s a timebomb, but your leaders are ignoring that.  We don’t want to hurt anyone, but nor can we sit idly while they put in danger.”

Jast scoffed.  He was about wreck his undercover mission, but this was honestly going nowhere.  “Look.  Your little psychological trick isn’t going to work on me.   I have my concerns about demon hunters, but I also know Jaou Stormchaser.   And I don’t have a problem with the trolls and taurens.  It’s not as simple as you’re making it, and you can take the racially purity part and shove it up your ass.”

The mask elves looked at each other, momentarily taken aback.   Then, at a nod, the three guards dropped their swords and lunged at Jast, quickly restraining the ranger.   He cried out and managed to shove one of them off, but it didn’t take much longer for the others to hold him.  

The leader suddenly flashed as if in a shadow flame and brought his hand to Jast’s forehead.  

“Maybe, what your mind needs, is a little adjustment to see our reasons,” the leader said, before pouring the magic into Jast’s forehead.      

The ranger cried out.

As Jaou had hoped, he exited the outpost without much fanfare, and it was particularly a welcome feeling considering how he was ‘greeted’ past the gates. Before leaving, Baelyth had given Jaou a pill of ground lifebloom to help aid with his symptoms for the walk home. While they knew it would not be as effective as a fel supplement, it would perhaps help as a stop-gap, and to save the doses Jaou had left for the next day. He did not know when to expect to feel the effects of the pill, or if they would even provide any relief, but one thing he did know was that he was tired.

He did not anticipate being this tired; perhaps it was the withdrawal symptoms, or it was the altercation with the two Kaldorei privates, or the need to have to go out and socialize with others, or maybe it was a mix of all of those reasons. Whatever it may have been, Jaou was looking forward to a nice bath at home.

As Jaou rode along the trail, he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to meet with Irian and the others. The elf let out a sigh and placed his palm over his face, eliciting a look from Falathir, who quizzically tilted her feathered head at him.

“Oh don’t mind me, I’m just being stupid and forgot to do something,” Jaou said to the owl.

‘I wasn’t going to say it, but you already did,’ Vor’Falo quipped.

Jaou looked through his fingers in annoyance at the comment, inwardly replying, ‘Thank you for that. I didn’t require your agreement on this.’

‘Well, you’re getting it anyway. Aren’t you going to turn back?’

Jaou placed his hands back on Ganymede’s saddle and considered to himself about the choice of going back to the outpost, or continuing on his way towards home. Jaou shook his head and replied, ‘I think I’m going to just let them know I’ll be back tomorrow. I’m tired, and I don’t want to deal with the trouble that we ran into earlier. I think the most I’ll detour is to hunt and to take the kill to the local butcher.’

‘Ah, yes, sustenance. An inferior quality to fel, but satiating nonetheless.’

Falathir hooted and looked at Jaou emphatically, almost as if she were telling him that he should spend some time with his friends. The elf looked back at the owl and rubbed her behind her ear. “We’ll be going back tomorrow,” Jaou reassured her.

Falathir cooed lowly, expressing her disappointment, but perked up to remain watchful as the three of them rode along the trail towards their home. They were now roughly forty-five minutes into their trek back, and the trio came to a fork in the path, which Ganymede stopped at and chuffed loudly. It seemed that the saber also wished for the hunt and for some fresh meat.

“Hungry? Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to disappoint you and leave your appetite unsatisfied,” Jaou said to Ganymede, patting the saber cat on his shoulder. Ganymede however went from chuffing happily to holding steady, his ears swiveling around. Falathir swerved her head around in agitation, and Jaou could likewise sense something now that he was not as distracted.

Someone is following us?

‘I can’t imagine why, it’s not like you’re that interesting,’ Vor’Falo said with some modicum of mockery.

‘Very funny, but this is serious!’ Jaou chided the inner demon.

‘Is it a good time to tell you that you should have traded in your boring regular sight for spectral sight?’

‘No, no it’s not.’

Jaou kept his head forward. If they were being tailed, then he did not want to reveal they had that suspicion. Opting to continue on their way, Jaou nudged Ganymede forward towards the next settlement. With some hesitation, Ganymede plodded forward. Falathir turned her head around to face Jaou, and she let out a hoot.

“Did you want to go hunting? Stretch your wings a little?” he quietly said to the owl. He motioned his eyes to the left, almost signalling behind him. “We can meet up ahead.”

Falathir seemed puzzled at first, but she cooed and turned her head forward again. With a quick flutter, and barely a sound, she took off into the air, disappearing into the canopy. Ganymede was still ill-at-ease, but he did not stray from his direction.

‘Are you going to delay the hunt for this?’ Vor’Falo asked Jaou.

‘I’m going to have to,’ Jaou replied.

‘Are you going to kill them?’

‘Depends on whether they’re demons or not.’

‘With our lethargy and no guarantee that we’re going to be able to replenish our energy with this distraction, I think this is a bad idea,’ argued Vor’Falo.

‘This may be the best opportunity to catch them, and solve this problem early.’

‘And what makes you so sure you’ll catch them?’

As they rode on, Jaou strained to ascertain any signs that they were still being tailed. The faintest rustle, the gentlest of footfalls, anything to give away the calculated movements of their watchers. As careful as Jaou’s pursuers were, he knew they were nearby.

‘I’ve experience on my side,' Jaou simply replied to his inner demon.

Jaou focused his hearing to the trail and surrounding area behind them as they continued forward. It took much of his concentration to pick up on any unusual noises and disturbances coming from the vegetation. He had a feeling that the ones that were following them were experienced in staying hidden. There was a chance that he would not find his target, but Jaou refused to be followed to his home.

He picked up on a rustle, but stayed his hand. Any one of these sounds could have been from wildlife, but it would be seen if he heard it again, undiminished. They moved another dozen metres more, and again there was a rustle.

Jaou, as best as he could tell, wagered that the tracker, or trackers, were behind him to his left. The elf summoned forth a spectral glaive and quickly threw it back into the bushes. A startled shout was heard.

There you are.

Jaou directed Ganymede to turn about, and the saber cat went into a run at full speed. Two masked Night Elves leapt out from hiding and attempted a retreat. Jaou held out a hand, and summoned the imprisoning conduits around one of the elves, trapping them. The other elf kept running, not bothering to look back to their caught companion. Jaou wove another spell, and called forth a runic circle ahead of the other escapee. The elf ran through the circle just as it activated, and a set of chains encircled them and pulled them back to the rune. Jaou rode up to the entangled elf and knocked them unconscious with a quick strike to the back of their head. Jaou dismounted Ganymede and knelt down to inspect the elf. A male, and curiously, the armour they wore looked to be of standard ranger issue.

With a furrow upon his brow, Jaou took out a length of rope and bound the elf before throwing him over Ganymede’s saddle. Jaou led Ganymede back to the other captured elf, who was futilely banging on the ethereal prison. Just as Jaou thought, it was another ranger. She looked at Jaou as he walked up to the prison with a look of bewilderment.

“I don’t understand, how did you know we were there?” she stammered.

Jaou sighed and shook his head. “I’m one of the examiners and proctors for the field exam that new ranger recruits go through.” Jaou had another set of rope in his hands. “I suggest you don’t make this harder on yourself or your companion than neccessary.”

This was not what Jaou had in mind for a relaxing day. Falthir had returned to Jaou’s side as they were proceeding back to the camp. The trek back to the ranger outpost, even from just half way to his home, felt longer and more burdened this time around. Jaou led Ganymede by the reins towards the entrance of the outpost. The guards that had previously been present when Jaou left were still on duty. They both looked at Jaou with some confusion.

“Sir, welcome back,” one of them, a Night Elf, saluted Jaou. “What brings you back so soon?”

“Unforeseen circumstances: I was being followed on my travels to the next settlement, and have captured the culprits,” Jaou said evenly, saluting back to the sentries. “This requires Ranger-Commander Owlsage’s attention, and he’s already been informed to meet me outside of his office.”

The two guards looked at what Ganymede was carrying, and both had a look of surprise. They did not expect to see two rangers bound and brought before with such accusations. The captured rangers did not deign to respond to the sentries. The guards waved Jaou in, and he proceeded to Irian’s office.

Unlike his previous visits, this one garnered him more attention than he cared for. How could he be surprised? He was carrying two of their comrades through the camp under capture. Jaou walked up to the office and was greeted not only by Irian, but Mateus and Megra as well.

“Standard procedure for no other witnesses?” Jaou said to his colleagues.

Irian sighed, and shrugged. “I’ll call a druid to get Ganymede and Falathir’s testimony,” Irian said, as if fighting off a headache.

“This is proving to be a trying time for our tenure as leaders,” Megra commented with some concern.


***


The testimony was given in front of the leadership, as well as various squad and camp leaders to ensure fair adjudication at the office of the disciplinary panel. It was not often that such council would be held, but considering that Jaou was of equal standing to the leaders, this matter required more than just the disciplinary panel to review. Irian, Mateus, and Megra sat amongst the council with six other members of their camp, the Pale Briar. Jaou stood in front of the seated members on one side, and on the other were the captive rangers. Ganymede and Falathir, who was riding upon the sabre’s head, were standing by a troll druid at the side of the room, calmly waiting.

“Privates Stoneleaf and Dewsinger have been brought before us on charges of harassing Ranger-Commander Stormchaser,” a grizzled Night Elf ranger, Edel Fallbloom said as she read the opening statement of the investigation. As a member of the disciplinary panel, she was known to be direct and blunt, but was fair in her judgements. “Ranger-Commander Stormchaser, can you recount for us what had led to your interaction with the two privates?”

“I was on my way home, taking a fork to stop by the next town,” Jaou recounted his travels. “Truthfully, Ganymede was the first to notice that we were being followed and alerted me. I sensed the same as he did, and we caught them.”

“I see. Privates Stoneleaf and Dewsinger, what were you doing preceding your capture,” Edel asked the two younger rangers.

“We were in the area for unrelated business,” Private Stoneleaf answered back, motioning to her colleague, Private Dewsinger. “We were not following anyone, and were simply caught on suspicion, nothing more.”

“According to records, there was no order or request made to scout the area you were in. What was the reason for you to go there in your ranger garb?”

“We were out investigating our routes for danger,” Private Dewsinger answered back this time.

“Without telling your squad leader?”

The two privates fell silent. Edel looked at her fellow adjudicators and shrugged. “It’s an impasse just based on their statements: his words against theirs. Perhaps our other witnesses will shed some light on this problem.”

Edel looked towards the druid and motioned for her to proceed. The young troll nodded and proceeded to weave a spell of nature around Ganymede and Falathir. The aquamarine spell swirled around the two animals before dissipating into a glittering glow. “Dere, dey can speak now, for a short time,” the troll druid announced.

Edel wasted no time, and went straight to asking Ganymede and Falathir about their perspective. “Tell me of your encounter with these two privates.”

A baritone voice with a wispy and ethereal quality sounded from Ganymede. “They followed us. We caught them.”

“Yes, yes, I saw them spying on us!” Falathir ‘spoke’ in a lighter and more spirited voice as she flapped her wings.

The privates were about to speak up, but Edel held out a hand, signaling them to be silent. “Are you certain of their intent?”

“I flew above and saw them following us," said Falathir.

"The one known as Stoneleafasked how we knew they were there when they were caught," Ganymede added.

Edel nodded and looked at the two privates. “Anything you would like to add?”

“This is preposterous!” Private Dewsinger exclaimed. “You’re going to take the words of animals associated with a demon hunter?! What if he had tainted their minds?”

The elder ranger then turned her gaze to Jaou. Jaou’s expression was that of puzzlement, and he shrugged. “Demon hunters don’t have much aptitude in the purview of nature magics, and actually lose affinity with other schools of magic aside from fel and shadow. I also wasn’t very skilled in the druidic arts to begin with, and even if I were I wouldn’t coerce my companions into lying.”

“I think I know the answer, but Yana, can you confirm the veracity of their statements?” Edel said with a grumble.

“Da beasties be speakin’ da truth. Not a speck of lie on dere words,” Yana, the troll druid said.

“I believe we have enough for a verdict,” Edel stated. “Ranger-Commander Stormchaser, you and your companions are free to go. Guards, take the privates to the holding room while we discuss what actions will be taken.”

Falathir swooped over to Jaou, and found her preferred perch on his shoulder. Ganymede plodded over to Jaou, and nudged the Night Elf’s hand, to which Jaou patted the sabre’s head. Jaou was about to exit the room, but even though the investigation was in his favour, he still felt the need to speak up.

“If I may, Ranger Fallbloom,” Jaou said.

All eyes, including the elder ranger’s, were on Jaou. Edel looked at Jaou with some curiosity. “Yes, Ranger-Commander?”

“Don’t go too hard on them. I know my presence is a bit contentious, and many new members aren’t going to fully trust me as a colleague. I’m willing to look past this in good faith,” Jaou stated.

Edel was silent for a moment, but she considered his words. “We’ll keep your opinion in mind.”


***


Jaou had left the offices and made his way through the camp with Falathir and Ganymede. It was now well into the late evening. The Night Elf considered his choices of staying in the camp, or heading back to his home, but he recalled that Baelyth said his new prescription would not be ready until the next evening.

Home it is.

‘Home will be nice,’ Vor’Falo said in agreement. ‘But I think your wishes are a bit foolish if you think the sneaks that followed us should be subject to mercy.’

Jaou frowned as he continued walking. ‘They’re young, That a mistake like this should ruin their careers is harsh. The panel will decide what will happen to them in the end, but I think they deserve another chance. After all, this wouldn’t be the first time I made amends with someone that didn’t trust me.’

‘Ah, yes, that Shadowcreek elf. Well, don’t let me say ‘I told you so’ if the others don’t learn their lesson, and it turns into an even bigger problem.’

‘I really don’t think it will be a bigger problem than this.’

Falathir yawned and ruffled her feathers as they proceeded down the path. While it would be faster to have ridden on Ganymede, there was no urgency to getting back to their home. Given the hour, there was also no urgency to meet the butchers to offer his hunting services this evening. Though perhaps Jaou will still stop by to pick up a meal for Falathir and Ganymede.

The moon hung high in the star-studded sky, passing light through the canopy. Thankfully, this time there was no one that followed them on their way back. Jaou did not intend to cause any trouble, but he started to think that no matter what he did, trouble did invariably find him. On the other hand, the past two weeks have been overall uneventful, and gave him some much needed time to relax.

They were about half-way home when Jaou’s communication crystal activated. Jaou noticed the crystal and took it out of his pouch, and heard a familiar voice.

“Jaou, are you there?” a female voice sounded.

“Yes. Luxuria, is that you?” Jaou asked.

“It is,” the Shivarra answered back. “We would hope to find you under more agreeable circumstances, but we are short-handed, and your assistance with a mission is requested.”

“A mission?” Jaou asked as he walked onward.

“Yes, if you’ll meet us at the Illidari Stand in two days, we will give you the details.”

“I’ll be there, then,” Jaou replied with no hesitation.

“I will let the others know. Your aid is greatly appreciated.”

Luxuria ended the communication, and Jaou continued on his way back home. Vor’Falo did speak up in response to Jaou’s choice. ‘You were recommended to rest,’ he said to Jaou.

‘Yes, but there’s a need for help. We’re fighting a war, and sometimes there’s no rest for the weary. We have to carry on,’ Jaou replied.

Two days later…

Jaou rode upon Ganymede, with Falathir on his shoulder, towards Illidari Stand. As he agreed, he would meet with his allies in the Illidari there for a mission of some sort. Given Illidari Stand stood on the frontier to Faronaar, an island which was now infested by Burning Legion forces, Jaou could only surmise it was an effort into pushing the hostile forces out of the land. Not knowing what he would be walking into, the Night Elf was dressed and armed for battle. He also had taken the liberty of packing necessary provisions for a field mission for himself and his animal companions.

Much like many other invasion fronts, it had been a slow-going process, hindered by the endless flow of demons. They could not ignore the gains made in their efforts, but it was taking a toll on their forces and their resources. Considering the state of the area, and the fact the Illidari were asking for help. Jaou had to wonder if it was not as straightforward as being sent on a sortie. Answers would hopefully be given as he entered the Illidari Stand.

As Jaou rode into the camp, the demon hunters standing guard there cast their eyeless gaze on him, and waved him in. The outpost was based in one of the many Kaldorei ruins that dotted the land. It offered some shelter for the Illidari forces that were present, and for any other soldiers or adventurers that passed through to help.

Jaou was not certain where he was supposed to go, but as he scanned the area, he recognized a familiar looking Shivarra and Sindorei demon hunter standing at a war table that was sheltered under a marble pavilion that was situated on the close side of the camp, far from the frontlines. There was another demon hunter that was with them, a Night Elf with blue scaled skin and magenta hair. He seemed familiar to Jaou, but he had never formally met him before.

There she is.

Jaou dismounted Ganymede and proceeded to the pavilion on foot with his animal companions in tow. Arriving at one of the pillars of the structure, Jaou signalled for Ganymede to remain as he went on to greet his allies.

“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting for long, Luxuria,” Jaou said to the Shivarra. “And Marbeth, I didn’t know you were deployed here,” Jaou added as he approached the planning table.

“Luck of the draw,” Marbeth said, brushing away her chestnut locks from her shoulders. “But we’re gaining ground on different fronts, so we are converging on the more troublesome locations.”

“Troublesome isn’t quite the word I would use to describe Faronaar at this time,” Luxuria said with some frustration in her voice. “But we’ll get to the details of our pain points shortly. Jaou, this is Gelthes, he’s the logistics officer for our operation.”

“Pleasure to finally meet you,” said Gelthes, holding his hand out to shake.

Jaou took his hand in greeting, but he slightly cocked his head. “Likewise. I think I’ve seen you around the Fel Hammer since my first time there.”

“It makes sense, I was part of the recovery mission to Gazheel’s lab,” Gelthes explained. “We can speak about that later though. We should explain why we requested your help. Luxuria, can you highlight the map for us?”

Luxuria waved her hand over the planning table with a spell, causing the drawn lines and the figurines placed upon it to shimmer with an arcane light. “Your handiwork of drafting maps with ink mixed with arcane dust has worked wonders for our more ‘visually-impaired’ members,” stated Luxuria, to which Jaou smiled and nodded.

Gelthes took purple green war pieces from the sidelines and placed them on the map where the Illidari Stand was marked. “These represent the forces we had dedicated to Faronaar. On the outlook, things should have gone well with the resources we had allocated here, however,” Gelthes moved one war piece to the Broken Isles, and then another to the Isle of Wardens.

“More immediately pressing matters had come up. One would think a stronghold would be cause for more concern, but they are being well-contained enough in comparison to other invasion points, such as the Broken Isles,” Gelthes explained. “Like it or not, we require the aid of the Wardens as well, but we’re to help them take care of an internal problem first, so-to-speak. We now lack the resources to fully sweep the island and fully dismantle this stronghold.”

Gelthes took another war piece, this time in the shade of a dark green, and moved them over to Faronaar. “As you know, our enemy will not sit idle. While we held the line, and awaited more reinforcements to arrive, the Legion bolstered their contingent. We can but contain them here and bite at their ankles, butI fear for the endurance of our field operatives as we try to hold out. While our other missions wrap up, we have to make due.”

“Everyone is simply busy, and we have too many battles on the go,” Marbeth added with a shrug. “While this isn’t as high of a priority for territorial gain, withdrawing is not an option. Allowing the Legion to continue unabated here would be untenable for Azsuna as a whole.”

Jaou took in the information provided and looked at the map. “That is certainly an unenviable position to be in. What do you need me to do?”

“We need your eyes on the field. With limited troops, we have to play it smart and reallocate our resources,” explained Gelthes as he crossed his arms. “We have two agents reserved for a skeleton crew on scouting duty, but we need a third. We already had to weigh keeping two of our demon hunters off of the front to help surveil in the meantime, but we cannot spare a third and we still need information on what is happening on the field.

“Just one week surveying the island, that’s all we ask. Past that, we are expecting more Ashtongue reinforcements to take the scouting assignments. Just between our lack of forces and having to reassign the Ashtongue agents we do have now to heal our injured troops, we’re in quite the bind.”

“We all know the pressures of war, there’s no need to hesitate to contact me for help, particularly when I’m not already deployed.” Jaou stated to the Illidari. “I will help for as long as I am needed.”

“Thank you, Jaou! This will help us greatly,” Gelthes excitedly exclaimed. His boisterous response was rather uncharacteristic for the typical Illidari demon hunter, and caught Jaou by surprise. “We should go over the specific details.” Gelthes started to point to various parts of Faronaar. “As you might have surmised, I don’t expect you to traipse around the whole island for reconnaissance; not only would that be inefficient, but also would put you into needless peril! There are key vantage points on the island that we can use to survey the land. I would like to post you in the southern sector on this ridge; there will be remnants of some old ruins there among the ridge that should provide some shelter. You won’t exactly be posted alone there, I will be sending you with a warden owl to help. I take it you are acquainted with such familiars,” he said with a waving hand gesture.

Jaou nodded, noting the irony in the demon hunters employing warden surveillance techniques as part of their arsenal. “Can I have Falathir and Ganymede join me as well?” Jaou asked while gesturing to Falathir, who remained perched on his shoulder.

“I don’t see why not, your saber is likely to be as good at stealth missions as you are,” Gelthes replied. “If you need time to prepare–”

Jaou shook his head. “I’m ready to depart now.”

Gelthes took out a golden medallion and a communication crystal, and handed it to Jaou. “The medallion is for the warden owl. The communication crystal can be used to reach us and the other two scouts.”

“There is a path along the southern edge of the island that leads upwards. Are you fine to make it to the southern point?” Marbeth asked Jaou.

“I should be able to find my way,” Jaou replied with a nod, taking the instruments from Gelthes.

“I’ll instruct our forces to cover your route then,” Marbeth said. Immediately after, she excused herself and took to her communication crystal.

“Thank you, Jaou,” Gelthes said with an Illidari salute. “If you need back-up, just give us a shout.”

“And please come back in one piece,” Luxuria said in jest.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Jaou replied with a smile. The Night elf pocketed the items given to him and left for his mission. Jaou came back to Ganymede, who seemed pleased to have his companion return. Jaou rubbed Ganymede behind his ears, and said, “Are you ready for another mission? I promise to treat you to a prime cut of bear when we get home.”

The saber chuffed in reply, laying down for Jaou to climb upon the saddle. Once Jaou want mounted upon Ganymede, he led the saber in a trot towards the battlefront. Falathir elected to fly alongside of Jaou and Ganymede, but also to keep watch. Carefully, Jaou directed Ganymede to hug the southern edge of the coastline. Already he could see Marbeth’s order being carried out as the invading Legion forces were being routed from the south.

As they rode, Vor'Falo decided to make his presence known. ‘Do you often prefer work over rest? You risk yourself over a problem they can sort out themselves,' the inner demon stated.

‘There is no reason to deny aid if I am able to do something,’ Jaou answered back, steering Ganymede closer to the rocky shore. ‘And certainly not in a time of war.’

‘A strong argument, this time. Don’t wear yourself down, for both of our sakes.’

I don’t seek to, but we’re all being put to the test.

Their journey to the vantage point continued apace, with their path free of any conflict thanks to the efforts of the Illidari. Jaou also spied in the water the presence of the allied Coilskar naga, keeping the waters clear from other roving naga tribes and other marine threats. Soon, Jaou saw the path that Marbeth was speaking of; it was a vague parting of tall yellowed grasses that led up a rocky hillside. Jaou bade Falathir to fly ahead to help make their way to their destination, and warn them of any stumbling blocks they would come across.

The ground upward was a mix of stone with loose rocks and soil, but there was evidence of an old stone path that was carved and placed here by the Kaldorei many years ago. The vegetation that overgrew in the area, diseased and dying as it were under the current fel conditions, did offer additional structural integrity, and made it easier for Ganymede to find his footing.

Soon they were at the top of the rocky hillside, and the remains of the stone path faded into the soil. There were few trees, and what trees that remained were dry and dying. The ruins that Gelthes mentioned should be up ahead. Falathir circled back to Jaou, and let out a soft hoot and she flew ahead. Jaou directed Ganymede to trot forward and follow the owl. Where Falathir stopped was a timeworn crater, and bits of marble roofing and walls that had collapsed from whatever caused the impact. This must have been the spot that Gelthes described.

Not the worst posting I’ve done, but I’ll have to conceal ourselves a bit more before we get down to business, Jaou thought to himself. The Night Elf climbed off of Ganymede’s back and led him by one of the retaining walls that jutted from the ground. As Jaou looked into the saddle bags for his net and supplies to make a hide, he just remembered the golden medallion that Gelthes supplied him with.

Jaou took out the medallion and activated the trinket with a word of summon, as taught by his mother. The medallion shimmered with a pale green light and from it a ghostly turquoise owl materialised before him. Falathir cocked her head at the being that resembled her in form, but knew that it was not a real bird. Jaou gave Falathir a comforting pat before turning his attention to the Warden owl. “Be my eyes, and fly forth,” Jaou instructed the spectre.

The spectral owl, without any delay, took to the air and flew into the skies above the occupied island. In the distance, Jaou could faintly make out two other spectres fluttering about, and he surmised it was the two Warden owls employed by the scouts at the other locations.

Jaou also took out the communication crystal to report to his colleagues. “This is Jaou, I’ve arrived in position, and setting up,” he said into the crystal.

”This is Lioren, stationed in the west. Message received,” a male voice answered back.

”Hermena reporting from the north. Message received,” a female voice joined.

”This is Gelthes, your position is confirmed. Get yourself as comfortable as you can and keep us updated on enemy movements. Rest will be taken in turns with two scouts active and one resting at a time. Remember to call for support if you need it,” the demon hunter instructed.

“Understood,” Jaou answered back.

Pocketing the crystal, Jaou went back to setting up his hide.


—


Jaou had set up the net, embellished with soil and vegetation to obscure him and his companions. Ganymede laid curled up in comfort towards the back of the hide, while Jaou and Falathir looked over the hill edge at the Legion forces. It had not been long since he had gone to work, but Jaou was familiarising himself with the paths and traffic of the Legion’s activity. Thus far it was a trickling of troops to the front with no major movements, but he noted from his colleagues that adventurers, often as a last resort, would lend their aid in the area if their petition for help reached a high enough urgency, giving the survey more of a purpose. The island had a few caves, of which they had to send in their Warden owls, but between the three vantage points they were able to see most of the island past the battle front.

It was a slow start to the posting, but perhaps it was best that it remained as such for the Illidari. As much as they were being pressed for resources, the multiple fronts that the Legion had started began to show their strain on their own resources as the peoples of Azeroth rebuffed their advances.

Jaou spied a soul forge in the perimeter as well, a known landmark and a marked target. There had already been some assaults on the location, but the Legion’s forces worked to have the forge running again. It was a constant tug-of-war between disabling the forge, and the enemy repairing it, but it was a losing battle for the Legion that they refused to let go of. Jaou looked more closely at the forge, and saw that there was a line of gan’arg with supplies moving towards it. He took the communication to speak, and said “Jaou reporting in, a supply line is heading towards the forge from the scrapyard.”

”Lioren here, I can confirm this. Requesting an interception on the supply line,” Lioren replied back on the communication line.

A short moment later, Jaou and the other scouts heard a reply from the Illidari Stand. ”Marbeth speaking, we will send an agent in and update our petition to Dalaran for available bounties,” she responded.

“Understood,” Jaou replied. The Night Elf went back to observing the area for anything that would need to be reported to the Stand. His concentration was sidetracked with Vor’Falo, bringing his hand to his head as his inner demon spoke.

’It would be so much faster for you to go down there yourself to dispatch those demons, rather than have someone skulk about to do it,’ Vor’Falo said.

’We simply don’t have the resources to carry out such attacks. It will also give away my location, and we would lose a scouting point, Jaou reasoned with him. I know demon hunters aren’t quite suited for espionage, but, as Gelthes said, we have to manage until we have help. All we can do is harry our enemies.’

’Ugh, how irritating this situation is.

Jaou smiled with some empathy. 'Rest assured, everyone feels the same way, we just have to carry on.'

There are many negatives to job promotions.   Mostly, the extra responsibilities, dramas, and meetings she was forced to attend.   Confabs were never one of Izdazi’s strengths and she knew it.  Thankfully, so did most whom she worked with and they were good about only having her go to the meetings where she could provide constructive ideas.  

However, one of the unexpected benefits to a promotion was the sudden jump in the size of her new office.   While she’d never tell anyone, Jaou’s former office was huge and that did much to keep her claustrophobia at bay.   And the large windows could be opened wide, allowing the fresh forest breeze and sounds crickets and birds to fill her office.   There was light rain falling from the night sky and the sounds of rain drops hitting leaves added to the gentle sounds of the forest night.  

As far as being stuck indoors doing paperwork goes, this wasn’t half-bad and far cry from the tiny cell of an office she’d had a few weeks ago.  

Of course, the large office also came with additional responsibilities, namely Jaou’s old cartography job.   It was a challenge Izdazi relished.   With bluish lanterns arrayed around her office and above the large drafting table she was busying away drafting up a new map of a region near their position.   It’d taken her a week alone to survey the area and draw up the notes and now she was almost done with sheet number four.  

The speed of her work had little to do with her skills and more to do with taking her mind off of Jast, who had missed a check in last night and other troubling news brewing about.  That was along with problems coming from recruits and the huntress was finding it harder to keep her worry at bay.  

A gentle double knock at the open office door broke her from the intruding thoughts and Izdazi looked up from the map to find Mateus at the doorway.  

“I’m about to head down for a staff meeting.  Stonehoof and Ravenstar have some new details for troop patrols.   If you have anything to add to meeting you should join us,” Mateus offered.   The she elf shrugged and handed him three large rolls of maps.  

“I have these updated maps for three of the quadrants northeast of here,” Izdazi explained.  “I just finished them, and I should have the final quadrant ready by tomorrow.”  

“That was fast,” Mateus noted, shooting her skeptical glance.  He unrolled one of the maps and whistled.  “But the detail is nice.   I think you’re doing great with Jaou’s old job.”  

“Believe me, I wish I was half the artist Jaou is,” Izdazi replied with half a grin.  “He really did a great job illuminating his maps and the sketches of wildlife to be found were a nice touch.  I tend to be more mathematical about map making.”  

Mateus rolled up the maps and glanced at the one on her table.  

“In the end, accuracy is far more paramount then art.   Jaou just happened to be proficient at both.”  

There was a sudden ding and a large brass box in the corner of her office began trembling.   Being curious, Mateus slowly approached it as it shook and rattled, sometimes violently.  Gears and sprockets turned and a large light red bulb flashed seemingly randomly.  Then there was another ding and a long tape of paper rapidly began spitting out of the machine and onto the floor.   The ranger jumped back as more and more of the paper ejected from the slot of the machine and onto the floor.  

Finally, the bell rang once more from the brass box and it went completely inert.  

“What the hell is this?”   Mateus asked after a long pause of silence.   Izdazi approached and scooped up the long tape of paper, looking over the finely scribbled numbers arrayed on it.  

“This,” Izdazi said with exuberant flourish and a triumphant smirk, “is the RBM 100 series, courtesy of Thistlespark’s cousin in Gnomeregan.”   Mateus shot her sideway glance.

“What you just told me explained nothing,” he finally replied.  

“Realm Business Machines 100 series calculator,” Izdazi elaborated.  “There’s like ten of these in all of Azeroth.  Three are leased out to the Explorers’ League.  One is in Stormwind.   I don’t know where the others are but the point is, we were provided one thanks to good old fashion familial connections.”  

“And besides making noise, what does it do?” Mateus asked again, still trying to make out what the dials meant on top.  Izdazi went to her desk and held up a hard stock card.  There was grid drawn on the card and he noted where she’d been poking holes in it.  

“I take my field notes that I make while scoping a map location, and I copy the notes to this card by poking out holes on the grid.   All that gritty stuff like bearings, distances, elevations and coordinates. Then, I set the scale of the map I want to draw, along with coordinate information using the dials on the box and I insert the card.   Ten minutes later it finishes calculating and spits out the to the scale needed for the map I’m drawing.   This is stuff I would have had to do by hand and its tedious work.”

“So, instead of doing the math, you basically copy your notes to that card?”

“Yep.”  

“Is it accurate?” Mateus asked, looking skeptical.  

“So far, the only mistakes it has made are because I put the mistakes on the card to begin with.  I have done some spot checking from time to time just to verify its accuracy.  It hasn’t made a mistake.”

Mateus took a look at the roll of paper the machine spat out.   “And it wrote all this information down?”

“That it did,” Izdazi said.  “This machine is on loan, but if we were to buy it we could order other font modules.  I think this font is called New Times Stormwind.”

“Font?”

“Just a style of writing.  Think calligraphy for machines.”  

“But do you trust it?” Mateus asked, the doubt in his voice returning.  

“The Explorers’ League uses three of these things.  They have entire teams of people who’s only jobs are to punch these cards, verify they’re punched correctly and put them into the machines so their actual cartographers can simply concentrate on drafting the maps.

“Thistlespark says that RBM has a module that’s supposed to use sympathetic magic to read the original notes and produce the calculations without punch cards, but I’m not sure I trust magic that much.”

Mateus looked at the machine and shook his head.  “I’ll trust your judgement on this.  But if it works, it’ll be nice having a faster turn around time on maps.”  

“That’s what I was thinking,” Izdazi said.  “On another note.”  Her countenance turned more serious as she picked up a letter from her desk.  She turned to Mateus.

“One of my contacts reported a sighting of Niashado about a month ago.   Someone matching her name and description was seen working at an infirmary in Ratchet but that she abruptly disappeared.   Two other draenei were asking about her afterwards before they too disappeared.
“Given all the stress Jaou is going through, I’m not sure if its wise to tell him this news,” Izdazi explained.  “This is a month old after all.”  

Mateus frowned, thought it over.  “I’ll ask Irian and Ravenstar what they want to do.  Jaou is out working with the Illidari on an ops anyway.  But, thanks for putting some feelers out there.”  

“I just hope she’s not over her head on anything crazy.   But, she’s not the Niashado I remember five years ago.  She’s got a good head between her shoulders.”  

“Yeah, but she doesn’t have her magic to fall back on,” Mateus reminded her.  

“Some of us make our way in this world without magic,” the huntress replied dryly.   Mateus shot her a ‘you know what I mean,’ glare which Izdazi ignored.  

He straightened the rolls of maps and started to make his way out of the office when Izdazi called out.  

“Mateus.  Jast missed his last check-in.”  

The elder ranger paused a moment and then set the maps down.   He quietly closed the door to her office and turned to her.  

“I think we should pull him out.”

“Do you think he’s danger?” Mateus asked.    Izdazi thought it over and tried to find the right words.  After a long pause her shoulders sagged a little.  

“Yes.”  

Mateus nodded.  “Do you know where he is.”  

“No, sir,” she replied.  

Mateus sighed.   “I’ll ask Ravenstar if he has any leads.  Do you think they’ll harm him.”

“Radicalization is harm, Mateus,” Izdazi answered.  “There were signs in our last meeting that I tried to ignore, but the seeds are planted in him.”

“I’ll reach out to Ravenstar and I’ll tell you what I learn,” Mateus assured her.   Izdazi nodded worriedly.  

“We’re supposed to have a check-in every three days.   I’ll be trying again in a few days and hopefully he’ll be there,” Izdazi replied.  

Mateus nodded, took the maps and left her office.  Izdazi turned picked up her long cold mug of coffee and took a few sips before returning to the drafting table.

Five days later…

The surveying mission that Jaou accepted a few days ago was going apace, and was now in the latter half of his appointed stay. Any such postings were perhaps not the most stimulating for the Illidari demon hunters, but for Jaou, this was something he was quite familiar and comfortable with doing.

Jaou had taken the liberty of taking notes, and mapping (roughly) the land. He had been able to find a pattern in the sentry paths and times. The shipment and supply schedules were harder to delineate, but they were fortunately easy to spot and report, that is until recently.

They had found that the camp had a new resident scout itself, a man’ari Eredar that seemed to have put in a more cautious and erratic workflow into the outpost’s activity. Now more than ever, they had to be careful with what activity they did act on. Giving the enemy a pattern of attack to track would be a grave misstep, so they had to be selective with what to intervene in. For the time being, as decided between the scouts and the basecamp, they remained until they were sniffed out.

On top of that, a Legion cruiser had appeared in the skies over the battlefront two days earlier, and offloaded a fresh troop of felbat riders. The battleship had returned to dock over the demon camp in Faronaar to exchange supplies. For a mercy having developed amenable relations with the Court of Farondis, and sharing a common enemy paid off. The shades that inhabited Aszuna were able to send aerial aid to the Illidari in the form of spectral hippogryph riders, augmenting their own small force of felbats. With the increased intensity on the front, there was less opportunity to have strikes fulfilled at the demon camp. All they could do was appraise their allies of the activities at current until they received mercenary help.

For the time being, it was Jaou’s turn to rest. While he was occasionally restless, he resisted the urge to continue surveying during this time. Rest was well-needed for drawn out watches when it can be afforded, and Jaou took the opportunity to rest his eyes and mental faculties. Jaou laid resting up against Ganymede under the hide. Falathir nested on the edge of the hide to help keep vigil with her hearing, but, like her other companions, was taking a moment to herself.

It was odd to be resting in the middle of demon-held land. The scent of fel industrial warfare hung in the air, and the clamour of battle rang not far from their location. As testament to the change in the environment, though Jaou had missed some doses of his fel supplements, there was not as much of a detriment to his level of energy as he would have experienced otherwise.

Another bit of this world scarred by the Burning Legion, and so very quickly, Jaou thought to himself as he had his eyes closed, drifting in and out of sleep. If anything his time in Felwood had shown him, it was that there would be a chance for the land to heal, but it would be a long and hard process.

’Troubling yourself with a post-conflict task? You should set that aside for after the war is won,’ Vor’Falo said, intruding into Jaou’s thoughts.

’The goal of victory and survival isn’t mutually exclusive with the goal of recovering the environment,’ Jaou answered back. ’It’s just another reason that will fuel us to win.

’You’ll certainly be in need of that spirit and motivation. My fragmented memories show that the Legion is intent on bringing their full might to bear.’

Jaou could not argue with that; Vor’Falo’s words were as true as they were ominous if what he heard from the Illidari was accurate. Azeroth was proving a difficult prize for the Burning Legion to claim, and in turn it continued to vex them. Their seeming fixation was strange, but whatever their reason, they could not be suffered to continue with their invasions.

The Legion camp seemed to be in a holding pattern, but as his communication crystal was glowing, perhaps there would be some activity. Jaou activated the crystal, and heard Gelthes on the other end.

“Attention all scouts, we were able to rout some of the flying demons. Felbats will be retreating from the battlefield,” said Gelthes. “Accordingly there will be aerial activity over your posts. Do not engage them unless they make a landing at your location and attack. Hold your activity and positions for now; save your reports for when the skies clear.”

”Affirmative,” Lioren answered back.

”Orders received,” Hermena added.

“Understood,” Jaou said in reply.

Jaou felt Ganymede tense up, almost as if he knew what was to be expected. Likewise, Falathir scurried towards the rest of her companions, and Jaou gave her and Ganymede a signal to hold their positions.

“Meld into the shadows, Gany,” Jaou instructed his saber companion. Ganymede did just that, and Jaou followed suit as he melded into the shadows himself.

’Break time is over already?’ Vor’Falo, uncharacteristically, jested.

’It could be worse,’ Jaou answered back in his mind.

As they laid in hiding, Jaou could hear the screeches of felbats in the distance. With the placement of the ruins in his vantage point, he could scarcely see the battlefront, but the felbats and their riders quickly came into view. Soon enough, their screeches were as a cacophony above their heads, and they could even feel the reverberations in the air from their beating wings. As the commotion continued above, Falathir huddled closer to the back, while Ganymede had his ears pinned back as they all waited with Jaou for the activity to pass.

During Jaou’s time with the Illidari, he had learned that felbats have vision that allows for them to discern levels of magic and fel. If they flew too close to their hides, they would surely be discovered, shadowmeld or no. Thankfully, so far the felbats passed over the camp with no notice of the scouting hides.

There was a gradual decrease in aerial traffic, and it seemed like it was nearing its end. There was one more that Jaou could hear, straggling in the end. The wing beats were certainly that of a felbat, but they were asynchronous. Jaou could not see where it was coming from, and he dared not look for fear of giving himself away. There were ragged trills coming from the creature, lending credence to its struggles. Worryingly, the sounds only drew closer with time, much closer. There was a pained screech uncomfortably close to their hide, then a gust of wind that shook the top of the hide, followed by a large crashing skid into the dirt nearby and shaking the earth they were on. Jaou’s communication lit up mere moments later, and he quickly took it while there was still a chance to.

’This is Hermena reporting in. A felbat fell in Jaou’s area. Jaou, are you alright?’ his fellow scout asked through the crystal.

“I’m safe for the time being,” Jaou quietly answered back. “But I don’t believe the felbat will stay down for long.”

’Do what you need to stay hidden and safe,’ Gelthes chimed in. ’Only engage if you need to, and if you can, call for back-up if you need it.’

“I’ll do what I can,” Jaou said. He still held the crystal, but turned his attention to the crashed felbat. The creature groaned and let out a fatigued screech. It must have sustained some sort of injury to bring it down, but unfortunately not enough to send it back to the Twisting Nether.

’’Could be worse,’ you said?’ Vor’Falo commented.

’Could be better,’ Jaou replied back to his inner demon with some concern. He could somewhat make out the silhouette of the felbat and its location through the light gaps in his hide, but he erred on the side of caution and decided against getting a better vantage point. The felbat was close enough, and although disoriented at this time, it could have a chance to spot their little crew. However, if they left on from the side of the hide closest to the cliff’s edge, there was a chance they could withdraw to hiding down the hillside, and then return to their posting when the felbat left.

Just as Jaou was grappling with that decision, there was a sound that his ears caught. There was a moan in the distance, nearby where the felbat had fallen. Of course the rider survived, Jaou cursed inwardly. The Night Elf took a chance, giving Falathir the Warden owl medallion and bade her to fly from the hide back to the Illidari Stand in case of trouble, while their unwanted guests were still incapacitated. If any trouble came of it, at least the spectral owl could show it to his comrades.

The rider appeared to be starting to rouse, and Jaou heard a voice. He called out for someone, and soon he heard a feminine voice answer back, along with the continued chittering of the felbat. Great, there’s two riders… They were speaking in Eredun, and likely assessing their current situation, just as Jaou was doing.

Jaou looked to Ganymede and gave a flick of his head to his companion, bidding him to stalk away to a safe hiding distance. The saber cat was less willing to leave, but after a moment of hesitation, he followed Jaou’s instructions, slinking off and quietly hid down another side path on the hill. Now he had to consider if he too could slip away unnoticed,

A hiss came from the felbat as it looked towards the hide, and started to lumber towards it, to Jaou’s concern. The two riders were alerted to what their mount had sensed, and Jaou could hear them approach his location. If he chose to retreat now, he would only be revealing himself. Regardless, it appeared that conflict would be inevitable, and to that end, Jaou quietly took his warglaives in hand, still grasping his communication crystal.

As the riders got closer to the hide, they could see the setup of the hide. They both drew their blades and crept ever closer to the hide. “Show yourself, rat,” the female rider shouted from a distance. The other scout spoke in Eredun, now close enough or Jaou to hear him.

’If I did not mishear, I’m afraid our new friends have called for back-up,’ Vor’Falo said, translating the Eredun.

Jaou’s brow furrowed at the revelation; the last thing they needed was more enemies to contend with. He snuck a peek through a gap in the hide to see where his incoming assailants were, and surreptitiously called forth a sigil on the ground before them. He silently brought up the communication crystal to his lips and activated it. Speaking quietly, Jaou said, “This is Jaou. The enemy may have called for reinforcements, engaging shortly.”

The sigil activated with a low rumble, and the ground exploded in felfire, causing the riders and the felbat to scatter. Jaou pocketed the crystal and exited the hide, revealing himself to his assailants. Two man’ari, one felbat. Jaou immediately called forth another sigil beneath the felbat, and activated the glyph, pulling back and ensnaring the demon and buying Jaou some time. He then summoned an ethereal prison to arrest one of Eredar scouts in. The entrapped Eredar struggled with the prison, striking its black and gold conduits with all of his might, but for now the field would hold strong.

Fel energy danced over Jaou’s body as he prepared for quick melee combat, and with one of the Eredar imprisoned, Jaou rushed towards the free man’ari striking with his warglaive. The free Eredar brought her shortsword up to meet Jaou’s glaive, and parried the blow as sparks flew between their blades. These were more than just footsoldiers, and will be harder to cut down. The force and momentum of Jaou’s attack knocked the rider back, but she kept her footing well, and answered back with a quick thrust of her blade towards Jaou. He dodged to the side and swung his other glaive at the mar’ari, who ducked back, barely missing the blade’s edge. It was apparent that these riders were more than just Legion infantry.

The felbat, though injured with a broken wing from the crash, had been struggling against the fabricated chains, but the sigil’s power waned. The demon let out a screech and clambered upon the ground, and as the chains broke, the felbat broke into a gallop at Jaou. Jaou stopped mid-strike as he noticed the felbat barreling towards him. With such a short distance, the felbat tackled Jaou to the ground. Jaou was able to use the ground with his hands to flip and right himself on his feet.

The man’ari wasted no time to take the opportunity to strike at Jaou and lunged at him with an upward swing of her sword. At the same time, the felbat galloped towards Jaou and swiped at the elf with a clawed hand. Jaou dodged away from both attacks, sliding to the side, but the felbat screeched with a disorienting cry at Jaou. The Night Elf fell to a knee at the sonic attack, but fighting through the pain, Jaou threw a spectral glaive at the felbat. Like a boomerang, the blade flew towards and struck the felbat on the shoulder, causing the demon to reel and halt in its screeching.

The man’ari rider ducked down as the glaive came circling back before it dissapated. Jaou shook his head, still feeling the effects from the felbat’s screech. The trapped man’ari rider had broken out of his prison, and with blade in hand, joined his comrade’s side.

Three against one, not the worst odds I’ve faced, but I need to finish this quickly. Jaou regained his composure, in time for the two man’ari to lunge forward with an attack in unison. Jaou parried the blades with his warglaives, and forcefully pushed the Eredar back. As the riders took a tumble, the felbat lunged again, despite its injuries. Before the felbat could make contact, a bolt of black and silver fur tackled the felbat down. As the demon was knocked to the ground, Ganymede jumped off of the felbat, and quickly returned to Jaou’s side with fur bristling, and his lips pulled back in a snarl as he stood ready to attack.

“It’s good to have you here, Gany,” Jaou said to his feline companion. Jaou called upon the fel energies within him, and readied himself for another bout. “Let’s get this over with.” Jaou called upon a temporary wreath of felfire to surround him, and he rushed towards the two man’ari riders. Meanwhile, Ganymede broke into a gallop and pounced upon the still-recovering felbat, clawing and biting at the demon. The felbat screeched and started to buck against Ganymede’s attack.

Jaou swung his blades in unison in a downward and diagonal arc at the two man’ari Eredar. The male rider managed to step back, but the female man’ari tried to block the attack. Jaou was able to catch the sword in the botches of his warglaives, tearing it from the Eredar’s grip and tossing it aside. The Night Elf followed up with a swift upward swing that bit through the rider’s armour, leaving a jagged laceration on her torso. He then spun upon his foot and with a swing of his other glaive, took the Eredar’s head off of her shoulders.

Ganymede clung onto the felbat’s back, continuously biting the demon, causing the felbat to increasingly struggle in pain and panic. The bat tried to fling the sabercat off of its back, but only managed to have him readjust his grip on its hide. Ganymede was relentless in his assault, and clamped his jaws around the felbat’s wing, twisting it in its socket. With a quick motion of his head, the large feline tore the appendage from the demon’s back. The felbat shrieked and flailed about, bucking even more. In its struggles, the felbat ploughed through Jaou and the remaining Eredar, knocking them over. Ganymede only held on tighter as the felbat danced about in distress, even as they neared the edge of the hillside. The sabercat then made his move, and in a decisive strike, bit down through the mane and on the nape of the felbat’s neck. The felbat cried out, and tried to shake off Ganymede, but the cat only sank his fangs in deeper. In its death throes the felbat stumbled about, falling off the edge of the hill, with Ganymede still keeping his jaw in a vice-like grip.

“Gany!” Jaou shouted as he saw his sabercat companion fall. He had to finish off the last rider before he could see to aiding Ganymede. The male man’ari had recovered from his fall, and charged at Jaou with his sword. With his demon hunter speed, dodged to the side. The wreath of felflame was extinguished, but there was something else Jaou could use. The soul fragments he had liberated in this battle with his glaives had laid upon the field, and it was time to consume them. He gathered the latent energy into his being, and rushed towards the man’ari rider. He allowed for the energy to explode in a burst of flames, knocking the Eredar back. Jaou then lunged at the man’ari and drove his glaives into his adversary’s torso, and tore each side of it open, and slaying the remaining rider.

Jaou quickly looked over the remains of the fallen Legion riders, ensuring that they were dead, and that there were no other enemies he could see or hear. If the outpost didn’t know we were here before, they will now. I have to find Gany and hide before reinforcements arrive. Jaou sheathed his warglaives, and quickly and quietly went towards the edge of the southern side of the hill where he saw Ganymede and the felbat tumbled off from.

Jaou’s ear flickered. There was a noise that Jaou heard as he advanced to the edge, a soft rustle, but it was not coming from this side of the hill. No, the sound came from another part of the rise in the west. He had a distinct feeling that he was no longer alone. Jaou crouched low, and his body almost instinctively prepared for a more fortified stance as the fel energies rippled over his being again. Where are they? Jaou wondered about this new unwanted guest. He carefully looked around, keeping his guard up. Another rustle came from the east side of the hill. Jaou knew it was meant as a distraction, having employed such tactics numerous times. ’There’s a fifty-fifty chance that they are actually on the other side, and they’re less likely to move if I don’t take the bait. Jaou stood low, and started to advance towards the western part of the rise, and it was indeed bait.

Shortly after Jaou started to move, several knives whistled through the air, flying from the east towards him. He quickly ducked and rolled out of the way of the projectiles, and unsheathed his warglaives. Before Jaou could even fully stand, a cloud of black smoke erupted from behind him as a man’ari Eredar assassin leapt up with both daggers intent on driving them into the Elf’s back. Jaou quickly turned around to parry the blades, and swung his glaive with such force as to launch the assassin away.

This new assailant was able to land upon her hooves with little issue, dressed in dark leathers, and had a cowl and mask that covered her features. The man’ari wasted no time in her recovery, and swiftly shadowstepped back to Jaou. She attempted another attack as he was turned away, but Jaou faced to meet her again.

The Night Elf was able to block the attack, and retorted with a swing of his weapon. She ducked, bending back and dodging the attack. Jaou also ducked down, but swung a leg out to sweep the assassin from her hooves, to her surprise. The leg sweep was successful, forcing the Eredar to land on her back. She rolled away, just in time for her to dodge Jaou’s downward thrust of his blade.

She swiftly got up and stabbed one of her daggers down again, and again, Jaou parried the blow as he stood up. He then swung his other glaive, which the assassin parried in turn. Both traded blows, each parrying and dodging the other in a deadly dance. This proved to be fruitless, and the assassin, hoping for a quick kill, found herself in a frustratingly drawn out fight. She disengaged, and threw down a smoke bomb, vanishing into the shadows.

As the smoke dissipated from the breeze, Jaou found himself without a target, but he was not foolish enough to believe she had retreated. His eyes traced the area before him, only turning when he spotted nothing of note. It did not take long though to hear a hiss of smoke, and the assassin reappeared behind Jaou. He swung his glaive around, and was able to connect a blow, but the assassin seemed to have dissolved into thin air. A shadow?

The smoke appeared again in the distance to his front, to which he conjured a spectral warglaive and threw it at the reacquired target. The “assassin” that came from the smoke made no effort to dodge the blade, and faded like the prior shade. This time three pillars of smoke appeared, one each to Jaou’s left and right, and one behind him. Would all of them be a trick? Jaou wasted no time, and he summoned the fel energies within him to burst in a felfire blaze around him, dispersing the smoke and the shadows of the assassin. What he did not anticipate was a fourth pillar appearing a short distance behind his side, beyond his field of view, just as he called upon the flames.

Using the smoke and shadows as a cover, the man’ari assassin risked the flames and leapt towards Jaou. He noticed all too late what was happening, when the assassin caught him in a tight headlock from behind with her right arm. No! She raised her left hand, armed with her dagger, and plunged the blade into Jaou’s right eye, and quickly slit his throat with her other hand and dagger for good measure, with a gurgling gasp escaping Jaou’s lips. Despite this, the man’ari Eredar did not win this battle unscathed. In the time between the first and second of her decisive attack, Jaou was able to summon the fel energies in his body to suddenly grow long and jagged spikes from his back. For some seconds, the two adversaries were locked in a deadly embrace, with the assassin partially impaled on Jaou’s spikes, but as the life left his body, the dark spikes dissolved in fel energy. His body fell limp on its knees, before collapsing on its side, a pool of dimly glowing purple blood forming beneath him from the open wound in his neck.

The assassin fell back on her hands and knees, dropping her daggers, and panting heavily from the wounds. Her left shoulder and lower right abdomen suffered large and deep puncture wounds, revealing her fel-green blood. She propped herself on her knees and tried to stem the blood flow with her hands. “Demon hunter filth, I have to admit, you put up a good fight,” the man’ari assassin spat.

Keeping pressure on her wounds, she shakily got up on her hooves, and limped her way across the rise. She was in no fighting shape, and she had a mind to report this to command and to have the outpost labourers retrieve the body. The assassin did not make it far though. There was a sound of rapid padding as Ganymede climbed the side of the hill and back on the rise. With a snarl, Ganymede pounced with claws forward upon the assassin. A cry of surprise came from the man’ari as she was set upon by the large sabercat. Ganymede caught the helpless Eredar’s head and neck in his jaws, and promptly crushed her neck as he shook her like a ragdoll.

Ganymede dropped the deceased Eredar from his jaws, and padded over to Jaou. Against the reality of the situation, the sabercat gently nudged Jaou’s head with his snout, but there was no response. Ganymede used his front paw to lightly push on Jaou’s shoulder, but the glow in the Elf’s good eye had faded. The only company left in this corner of Faronaar for the feline was the spectral Warden owl in the skies above. Ganymede laid down next to Jaou’s body, and let out a low and long mournful grumble.

Marbeth rode upon her own felbat towards the Legion camp with as much speed as she could muster from the creature. The sortie on the front had died down after the Legion felbat riders were repelled. She had thought it would be a standard return to camp after the battle, but there was news from the scouts in the Legion camp.

Apparently a felbat and its riders landed at Jaou’s position, and he had engaged in battle. It was when Gelthes announced over the communication crystal that Jaou’s owl had returned to him with the Warden medallion, that they saw the outcome of his battle. When she heard this, Marbeth had immediately volunteered to retrieve, and convey his body back to the Illidari Stand.

This was not the first time she went to retrieve a dead comrade from the field. While it was not always possible or practical, it was a practice of honour she did not mind to do, for it seemed only right that they were laid to rest; a remnant of her morals from before her life as Illidari. There were other reasons for her to do this.

Jaou, though fully cooperating with the Illidari, was not an outright member of their organisation; they should try to do right by him, and try to return his body to his next of kin. The Legion camp in Faronaar had also in the past captured Illidari demon hunters, where some were lured to the side of the Burning Legion. Even a demon hunter corpse could be utilised by the Burning Legion, or otherwise desecrated. She only hoped to make it there before the minions of the Legion claimed his remains.

The hill that Jaou was posted at quickly came into view. Marbeth had her felbat descend to a lower altitude towards its south-facing side. They landed on the southern edge of the hill, and Marbeth slid off of her felbat. She immediately spotted Ganymede, Jaou’s sabercat, who had stood up on guard in front of Jaou, with his ears on alert. Marbeth also noted the corpse of a man’ari Eredar near the both of them. She slowly approached Ganymede with her hands gesturing for clam. “It’s alright, I’m here to help.”

Ganymede seemed to have relaxed, and stepped to the side of Jaou’s body. Marbeth walked towards them, and knelt down by Jaou to inspect the extent of the wounds he sustained. The ground was stained with his blood that flowed from the gash in his neck. Marbeth also noted what looked to be a stab wound where his right eye would have been. She looked to the nearby slain Eredar. Her garb was that of a Legion assassin’s, but it was ripped in two places around her torso revealing large puncture wounds. She went over to the man’ari corpse and roughly rolled her over to inspect her wounds, and noted the large wounds on her throat and neck.

That explains how the outcome came about, but it seems he was able to do some damage.

Marbeth looked at Ganymede, and said, “I suspect you had a hand in slaying this foe, too.” Ganymede replied with a huff, and sat down by Jaou’s body. “Yes, we’ll bring you both back to safety.”

Marbeth waved her felbat over, and it lumbered towards them, and laid down for Marbet to reach the saddle. Behind the saddle was a rolled tarp with lengths of rope, which the demon hunter took both of. “I’ll need to protect his body as we bring him back,” Marbeth told Ganymede. “We’ll go by foot. While my friend here carries Jaou, will you help carry his belongings, and guard us on the way back to camp?”

The large sabercat almost seemed to nod in agreement. “Let’s get you kitted up then,” Marbeth said to Ganymede.

Some time later…

The skies over Faronaar had been darkened for hours, and the clouds had released the rains it held, blanketing the land in chilled showers that were accompanied by frigid winds. Marbeth and Ganymede were caught in the rains before they were able to return to the Illidari Stand.

Marbeth had entrusted the care of Jaou’s body to some of the Ashtongue Broken healers while she and Ganymede had seen to their own care. Both were now taking shelter in one of the marble structures, and had been joined by Falathir who had flown out to meet them nearly as soon as they had arrived. She had towelled down Ganymede to dry him of the rain, and now the three of them waited by the brazier to warm up.

There was a noticeable pall of depression in the air around Ganymede and Falathir. The large cat laid with his head upon his paws, looking towards the building that Jaou’s remains were taken to. Falathir too had turned her attention to the building. She occasionally let out low hoots and coos, while looking between Marbeth and the building. While Marbeth did not know the history between Jaou and his animal companions, their concern and mourning spoke of the close bond they had with him. “You’ll be able to visit with him soon enough,” Marbeth reassured Ganymede and Falathir.

Several minutes passed, but they were then joined by Gelthes. He brushed off the rainwater from his being as he approached the others. “I didn’t take you for one to care for animals,” he said to Marbeth.

The Blood Elf leaned back on her arms as she sat, and said, “I feel sorry for them. I had a wolf companion before my time with the Illidari, and I always thought to myself what was best for her. They mourn like we do, but while we can talk about our grief, animals aren’t gifted with speech like we are, and they can get forgotten about.”

“That’s very considerate of you,” Gelthes replied as he regarded Ganymede and Falathir. “You’re kinder than you appear.”

Marbeth shrugged with a smirk. “I thought you’d be busy seeing to the rest of the scouts in the field.”

Gelthes crossed his arms. “Hermena and Lioren are playing it safe, they’ll withdraw at the first sight of trouble. Jaou was just unlucky to have been in the same place as a crash landing, and for an assassin to be sent there, but so far she’s the only one that outpost had, and he and his saber killed her.

“I sent a message to Talven,” Gelthes continued. “I wasn't expecting him to answer immediately, but he’s done with his mission, and he’ll come here next.”

“I see. He’ll likely be travelling as fast as he can, he took a liking to Jaou quite early on.”

“That he did,” Gelthes said, but then he chuckled. “But look at us, getting ahead of ourselves. We’ll probably hear from the healers soon.”

“Ah, yes,” Marbeth said. She turned her gaze to Ganymede and Falathir. “I do hope so. These two are eager to be by his side.”

Two days later…

Talven flew upon the back of a felbat towards the Illidari Stand, and was coming in for a landing. He had just finished his mission, but it was not another assignment that he was heading towards. He had been told that Jaou was killed on the front during a scouting mission, a run-in with a Burning Legion assassin. While he kept an even-keeled expression, he was eager to get to the outpost for more information.

The demon hunter reigned in his felbat, directing the demon to descend to a lower altitude, and to slow down its flight speed. There was less air traffic than in the past days, and thankfully, the landing zone in the camp was relatively quiet. As they approached the camp, the Illidari aerial guards came to meet Talven’s arrival on their own felbats: a precautionary measure for anyone flying into the camp. They quickly confirmed his identity, and allowed him to pass through the perimeter unimpeded. Talven’s felbat approached the landing area, and slowed its descent even more. The flying demon flapped its wings to buffet its landing, and with surprising finesse, touched down upon the ground by the outpost’s flightmaster.

Talven dismounted from the saddle of his felbat, and left its care to the flightmaster, a Broken, who saluted him. He turned to the flight and returned the salute, and asked, “I’m expecting my friends, both Night Elves, a warden and a druid. Have they arrived yet?”

The flightmaster nodded and pointed towards the building they had designated as a resting area for incoming and outgoing troops. "They are there, sir," she said. “I’ve let them know you were on the way when they arrived.”

“Have they been here for long?” Talven asked.

“For less than an hour,” the flightmaster replied.

“Not too long, at least. Thanks, I’ll head there right away. Send word for Marbeth to meet us at the holding room.” Talven immediately strode over to the resting area. The cylindrical building was not in the most pristine condition. There was structural damage to the roof, and an aspect of the wall, all being patched by wood and stone to prevent further deterioration. Nets made of vines were also erected to help break the fall of any bit of stone that could be dislodged from the building.

There were some members of the Illidari present in the resting area, both those that were stationed there, and others taking a brief respite. Travellers were not uncommon, but they were not numerous for the most part. With such a sparse crowd, it did not take Talven long to find the ones he was looking for. In the back, speaking to the Illidari proprietor, were the Night Elven pair Talven sought.

“Valorra, Zherrus,” Talven called out to the pair, as he walked towards them.

“Talven?” Valorra answered back. She bore her warden armour, and umbra crescents, but wore no helmet. She tapped on Zherrus’ arm, who likewise looked towards the demon hunter. He was dressed in gray fur-trimmed leathers, and a cloak of dark feathers that covered the shaft of the polearm he had sheathed. The couple quickly went to meet Talven in the middle of the resting area.

“Sorry for not being here already,” Talven said to Valorra, and Zherrus. “There were some delays on missions that had to be ironed out.”

“Worry not, my friend. We were also out in the field, and came as soon as we were able to,” Zherrus said to Talven.

“We were lucky to be afforded an opportunity to come, considering these troubled times,” Valorra added. Through her steely countenance, there was an expectant look in her eyes when she regarded the demon hunter. “Where is he right now?”

“I believe he’ll be in the holding room, by the healer’s ward. Follow me,” Talven said, with a wave, and led the Stormchaser couple towards the resting area. As they made their way, Talven said, as he looked to their destination, “I’m sorry this happened to him, and that I wasn’t there to help.”

Valorra shook her head, and replied, “You needn’t be sorry for not being present. While he is our child, he’s also an adult; he knew the risks of battle, as we all do in war, and he made the decision to go out into the field. We do what we can to carry out our duty, and to survive, but we all know that death can come to us at any time.”

“You’re rather stoic in light of this,” Talven commented.

“If you speak of my wrath, that is for the Legion to face, not you,” Valorra clarified with a corrective tone. “Make no mistake: he’s one of my dear children, and there will be time for retribution. Nonetheless,” Valorra said, growing calmer. “Thank you, Talven, for minding over Jaou.”

Zherrus offered Talven a warm smile as they continued walking. “Yes, thank you, Talven. You didn’t have to have to, but you’ve done a lot for our boy already. For that, you have our deepest gratitude.”

Talven let out a snicker. “In the beginning, it might have been because he was your guy’s kid; just doing a favour for old friends, perhaps. It only felt right that I gave him the best chance possible to cope with his situation.” The demon hunter let out a sigh, but in the corner of his lips cracked a smile. “What can I say? He quickly grew on me, he has mettle, and a good attitude, even if he’s a bit low on confidence. It’s like having a little brother.”

The three Elves arrived at the rectangular building that was repurposed into the healer’s ward. It would have been common in the past for such buildings to have an open entrance to the foyer. Since the Illidari have used this as an outpost, they had seen fit to erect a makeshift door at the entrance to keep out the elements, as it would be used for the injured to recover.

Talven opened the doors, and turned to his friends, “This way.” Talven led Valorra, and Zherrus to the left corridor, passing by several spots that were divided by curtains for patient treatments. They could hear various individuals in the treatment area, both patients, and attendants. There was no shortage of work, owing to a steady flow of patients coming in from the battle front. At the end of the corridor, there was a doorway covered by another curtain.

Zherrus sniffed at the air, noting a very particular odour. “Incense, but I also sense something else,” the druid said. “This is the holding room then?”

“Good nose,” Talven commented. He started to part the curtain, but there was suddenly a large figure bulging through the fabric of the curtain. The trio were caught off-guard by this sudden intrusion, but then there was a loud huffing sound, and oddly, some hoots coming from the other side. Talven, Valorra, and Zherrus looked at each other for a moment, before looking back at the curtain. From the side was a large obsidian-furred paw that moved the curtain to the side, and they were met with a large sabercat, with an owl perched on its head.

“If it isn’t Ganymede, and Falathir!” Zherrus exclaimed. “I hope you two are faring well, it must have been hard for you.” The druid offered Falathir a head pat with one hand, and he rubbed Ganymede’s ears with the other.

“You’ve been by his side all of this time?” Valorra gently asked of the saber, and the owl, to which Ganymede chuffed affirmatively to the warden. She let a small smile show, and said, “Thank you for keeping him company. I hope you weren’t troubling the attendants here too much.”

The Elves heard some footsteps approaching them, and they were met by a known voice. “They’ve been good for their whole stay,” the feminine voice stated. It was Marbeth, and she walked up to the others, and placed a hand on her hip as she spoke. “They spend every waking moment with him, barring nourishment, and other business of course.”

“Ah, Marbeth, you’re here now,” Talven said to his colleague. “Thanks for coming along. I wanted you to be present, since you were the one that retrieved him.”

“It’s no problem. Lux, and Gelthes are finishing up with their duties,” Marbeth said. “They said that they’ll catch up with you later.”

“That’s fine, we’re not sure how long we’ll be here,” Talven said. He then turned, and gestured to Valorra, and Zherrus. “Ah, but I haven’t introduced you. Marbeth, you remember Valorra, of course. This is Zherrus, her husband, and one of my old friends.”

Valorra offered a respectful nod to Marbeth, who in turn bowed to the couple, and said, “I’m sorry that we weren’t able to help him.”

Zherrus bowed back with a reply, “You brought his body back, that is more than enough.”

They were interrupted by a loud groaning coming from Ganymede. The large sabercat, while happy to have seen familiar faces come to the outpost, was growing impatient by them standing at the doorway. Falathir opted to fly over to Zherrus and perch upon his shoulder, and started to rub her beak against his ear.

“I think the kids would like for us to continue on,” Zherrus said of the owl, and her feline friend, in a somewhat amused tone.

“Alright, alright,” Talven said in a placating tone. “We’ll get going now.” Ganymede let out a low rumble, and retreated back into the room. Falathir swiftly took to the air, and followed the sabercat as the curtain closed back. Talven opened up the curtain again, and gestured for the others to keep following him.

In the room were various raised tables, many of which were empty at the moment. Further towards the back were tables that were occupied with what appeared to be bodies. Each of the occupied tables had a bed of blankets, and more than half of the occupants had another blanket fully covering their body, while the others were only partially covered.There was one Broken attendant in the back of the room facing one of the tables, and it was there that Ganymede, and Falathir eagerly waited for them to come. The attendant looked back to the entrance, and nodded to Talven in acknowledgement, to which Talven returned the nod to him.

“Fallen from battle I take it?” Valorra quietly asked, as they slowly passed by the tables. She looked ahead to the other tables thus far. “And they all look like demon hunters.”

“Yes, those whose bodies we were able to retrieve,” Marbeth said plainly. "We do our utmost to bring our fallen comrades back."

“Certainly admirable, and diligent of you all to undertake such a task, and during a war no less,” Zherrus commented sincerely. He then looked curiously at the bodies that they passed by, rubbing his chin with a hand as he pondered the state of the bodies. “So, this is a morgue, yet there’s something rather peculiar. Certainly I can sense the absence of life from all of the bodies, but oddly there are some of them that aren’t undergoing decay. Is there a procedure you have to halt that process?”

Valorra looked quizzically at the druid, and then the two demon hunters before returning her gaze to the bodies. She said nothing for the time being, but there was a hint of concern in her stern countenance. Marbeth looked towards Talven, and flicked her head to the table at the end, sensing that the discussion may be best continued there.

Talven nodded to his colleague, and then addressed Zherrus. “You can tell the state of their bodies, eh?” Talven asked with some interest. The demon hunter was genuinely interested in Zherrus’ ability to sense what state each body was in, but he withheld asking about it, and also avoided answering Zherrus’ own query for the time being.

“Well, we’re coming up to him,” Talven stated, pointing towards the last table in the back, where the Broken attendant was working, and where Ganymede, and Falathir were looking expectantly at the group. “We can answer your questions there.”

In an uncommon display, Valorra initiated taking Zherrus’ hand for a sense of support. The druid pensively nodded at his stalwart mate. Valorra gained determination from Zherrus’ grip, and breathed deeply with her eyes closed. Looking at Talven, and Marbeth, she said, “Show us our son.”