(RP) Journeys, Part 9
This is, obviously, Part 9 in the series. To view previous posts please visit the table of contents, located here
Elainara awoke with a start, nearly leaping to her feet at the sound of a low growl nearby. Quickly she scanned the treeline, barely able to discern anything in the early morning fog. What little sun ever shone on Auberdine was still not visible, which meant dawn had not quite arrived, and the fire had long since died out. Slowly getting to her feet Elainara glanced toward where Byaghro slept, and noticed only an empty blanket crumpled on the ground. The growl could be heard again, closer this time. Elainara drew herself upright and cast a minor incantation to illuminate the campsite. As the light grew stronger she could make out two forms, both bears, the nearest of which was not even ten yards away. Something was different about the closest bear, though, and as Elainara watched closely for any sign of either bear attacking she noticed the markings.
“Byaghro,” she gasped, realizing finally what she was actually seeing.
Byaghro did not dare look away from the encroaching grizzly, but uttered a low growl to reassure Elainara that she was, indeed, correct. Relieved, Elainara focused her attention on the approaching grizzly. Suddenly it roared, the sound almost deafening Elainara, and charged. This was the moment Byaghro was waiting for, however, and she intercepted the grizzly with ease. The sound of massive beasts crashing into each other rang through the forest like a gunshot, echoing through the trees and startling a flock of small birds to the east.
Byaghro roared, the sound seeming to make the grizzly back down slightly in fear. Elainara seized her opening and sent a bolt of holy energy into the grizzly, causing it to let out a howl of pain before it stood up on its hind legs and swiped at Byaghro. The druid was faster, though, and managed to maul the grizzly and knock it off balance. Seeing another opening, Elainara cast another bolt of light into the bear, catching its throat for a fatal blow.
As the bear fell to the ground Byaghro transformed, almost instantaneously, back into her elven form and quietly stated, “The journey to the crystal may be more difficult than we thought…”
Whispering quietly, Elainara casts renew upon Byaghro before responding, “Why so?”
Byaghro sat down, letting the spell fill her with a comforting warmth as she replies, “The moonkin have grown in number. Something about that crystal is attracting them here, almost as though amassing an army in preparation for assaulting Auberdine.”
Elainara seems to think about the ramifications of such an attack for a moment, and then suddenly leaps to her feet in excitement and begins muttering to herself, “Of course, why didn’t I think of it sooner… you’d think I would be more intelligent… where did I…”
Byaghro sat back and waited for her to finish. Whatever it was Elainara had thought of apparently had her quite confident they would be able to reach the crystal easily, and although Byaghro was definitely curious what could spark such a reaction she knew Elainara would explain in time.
Across the world, in the city of Stormwind…
‘Imbeciles. The entire operation was botched as a result of that fool and they decide to do nothing about it!? This is an outrage. Damn the joint Alliance forces and their notion of an army, it is time to return to the old ways.’
Jeseth glances around before ducking into one of the alleyways in Old Town. He reaches up and pulls the Master Sergeant insignia from his cloak, glances at it for a moment as though remembering something joyful, and then tosses it to the ground as he pulls his hood up over his head.
‘I suppose I should start at Ravenholdt. The Order will be difficult to reform without some type of haven for meeting, and it is certainly one of the most remote places available to us. At the very least it should do until a proper location can be found.’
Jeseth stops by the city hall as he makes his way out of the city, purchasing a guild charter and slipping a few extra coins to the councilman to keep quiet about having seen him. Certain that no one had noticed his absence quite yet, Jeseth slips outside the city walls and starts his journey north into the Alterac Mountains. Once out of range of being seen by Stormwind’s city guard, Jeseth calls for his steed, a frostsaber with silver and green armor. The journey, although long and perilous, would certainly be swift upon her back.
Disclaimer: While the events in this series will be based upon the World of Warcraft universe in general, this is purely fiction and will certainly have a number of liberties taken that would not make sense if attempting to draw correlations to the actual in-game lore and events. This will also be an attempt to complete one RP series from start to finish instead of leaving a number of random, open series left unfinished. Also worth noting is that I am going back to the beginning, when Byaghro was created, and moving forward through “vanilla” WoW, through the Burning Crusade, and on into Wrath to tell her entire story. Starting with part nine I will be bringing in my other original character, Jeseth, and intertwining their stories as I see fit. Many details are vague in my memory at this point, and as a result I will be taking even more liberties with older content in bringing this story to fruition.
