[Alliance] Chapter Four: Session Five

Appearing Characters: Alleria Windrunner, Aramar Thorne, Astalor Bloodsworn, Asya, Broll Bearmantle, Elissa Cross, Gonk, Kael'thas Sunstrider, Kel'Thuzad, Loti, Makasa Flintwill, Raava, Rai, Remnii, Riff, Rommath Pyrewing, Ruya, Samaara, Seria, Syeori Sunwalker, Tae'shara Sunwatcher, Tansu, Tol'vas Moonshadow, Uther Menethil, Velameestra Windrunner, Vol'jin, Wulf, Yenniku

May 29th

Remnii had trained her eyes on Vel upon them all seeing "Gil", who was wide eyed for a moment, but then her eyes narrowed as she came to the realization it wasn’t actually Gil.

At that moment, the announcer calls out the next match, and Uther, Tol’vas, and Aramar step out to face the massive, crystalline salt golem.

Tol’vas promptly casts bloodlust on Uther, pulling the scythe out.

Uther gets the distinct smell of fresh meat, and his focus is iron clad, and his adrenaline is pumping through his veins.

Tol’vas then lays down a bear totem, and Aramar casts bless on all of them. A glyph appears over his head, like Remnii’s, but it’s actually just an A in common.

The salt golem closes and reels back its arm in anticipation to attack them. Uther moves forward with a howl, and the golem swings its arm around, but Uther blocks the blow. He swings his hammer around and his light blasts through the golem, his eyes align with holy Light, a chunk flying off, but slat, stand, and stone flys into his face. Uther covers his face and swings again, and with another crack, another chunk is blown off. He shields his face again, blocking the salt again. He swings his hammer again, and more salt crumbles. And then Uther quickens a green-flame blade and swings a fourth time, leaving nothing but a pile of salt.

Tol'vas puts a hand on Uther’s shoulder.

He then lifts his hammer up and sends out a war cry. The crowd loses it, and then Tol’vas removes the bloodlust. As the group looks around, they see Tansu’s sister, Ruya, looking shocked and angry.

Tansu gets up completely shouting and screaming in triumph. She pours whatever she was drinking all in her mouth and spikes it onto the ground.

The three champions are led out into the caves that would be their housing, and it seems this fight was the final one of the evening.

She grabs another drink, and all the girls are given drinks as well. Remnii takes a courtesy sip. It’s very strong.

Tansu goes off and Asya approaches the group.

The celebration is in full force. There are strange foods, wrestling, and races, as well as betting of different sorts. There is a game with an inflated, overgrown bladder, and other such things. It seems like the young centaur, both men and women, are allowed to intermingle.

Meanwhile, in the warrior caverns, one of the centaur warriors approaches the group and speaks to them, unfortunately none of them can understand. There appears to be twelve people that have been brought together into a single side cavern. Three of the individuals are Ruya’s champions, but the others are all centaur.

Ruya's champions see the group, and Not-Gil looks at Uther, but then immediately looks away.

Aramar also looks and blinks.

The centaur that was speaking demands shouts at them.

Not-Gil looks at them and nods with a finger up to his mouth. Not-Gil speaks to his own group briefly, and the human and bear go to sit down. However, Not-Gil comes over.

It’s not Gil’s voice.

Not-Gil lingers for a second, but then turns.

At that moment, Elissa and Vel arrive, along with Remnii.

Not-Gil stands straight up.

Vel looks straight at the individual wearing her brother’s face, her arms crossed.

Not-Gil freezes and his mouth flaps.

She quickly gathers the group aside, and her illusion is briefly dropped on her face.

She gestures back to the human barbarian and the massive bear she had been fighting with.

Vel looks at her, deadpan.

Syeori raises a finger.

She puts her hands out to the side, trying to deflect the blame. Vel’s eyebrow raises.

Syeori looks Tol’vas up and down.

Tol’vas nods.

Syeori then looks at Remnii.

Everyone looks at each other.

Syeori busts out laughing.

Vel looks over to Remnii.

Syeori thinks for a moment.

Remnii leans down very politely and folds her arms in front of her.

Syeori falters again, chewing on her finger for a moment.

Tol’vas frowns.

Remnii looks down to Syeori.

Vel opens her mouth.

Syeori laughs.

Her eyes bounce over to Elissa.

Syeori shakes Elissa’s hand, and Elissa gives Vel a side glance, which she returns.

Syeori shakes Tol’vas and Uther’s hands, and she heads back over the human and massive bear. During that conversation, Wulf had been shooting a death glare at the group, but as Syeori walks back over, he shifts his death glare over to her, and thus arises the question of whether or not that’s the only face he has.

Vel watches Syeori walk away, and as she turns her back, she takes a small sip of the mug of alcohol she had just been respectfully carrying around. Just the one sip. Because she needed it.

Tol'vas noticed that the bear had antlers, which is a bit strange. The centaurs, however, are primarily ignoring the group.

Aramar goes over to Vel, who is clearly not going to finish her drink.

Aramar takes the drink and starts to kick it back.

It was a moment too late, and Aramar starts to sputter.

He also offers it to Uther, who takes a drink.

They take their boys out, as the ladies count as supervision, and at one point Vel casts identify on one of the crystals. It’s giving off the same signature as the meteorite they had found.

They wait until sundown, and then they go to the caves to meet Asya. She greets them with a small torch, and she leads them inside to a small cave.

She looks to Uther.

As far as Remnii and Tol’vas can tell, Asya seems to be genuine. There’s a reason she wants the boon herself, but she genuinely wants the group to benefit, and she believes this is the best way for them both to come out of this well.

Asya nods.

There does not seem to be, and Asya bows.

Asya leaves the group to their own discussions.

Vel gestures to their group.

Remnii nods in agreement.

Elissa seems to be a bit grumpy.

She looks at Uther with a degree of sympathy.

Vel sighs.

Remnii grimaces.

There is a bit more debate before Tae’shara pipes up.

Samaara nods.

Makasa shrugs in acknowledgement.

Vel mutters something about hats clipped to hair under her breath.

Remnii nods.

At that moment, Vel gets a sending from Alleria.

Elissa looks over to Vel.

The group agrees that they should just head to rest for the night, and Elissa suggested she may make some signs to cheer the fighting group on.

That night, as Vel is finishing up her spell that she had been working on, she hears Riff’s voice.

Vel’s ear twitches and she looks over, noting Riff peeking into the side of the tent she was staying in.

Vel fully looks over to the child that is now peeking eagerly into her tent. Riff creeps in and sits down on the floor next to her, clearly interested in what she’s doing.

Vel chuffs in slight amusement, realizing that Riff had, in fact, caught her red-handed.

Riff’s eyes light up.

Vel considers for a moment and then proceeds to do her best to explain some of the intricacies of spellwork to an individual who was little more than a child. Riff listens eagerly, nodding along like he understands.

Riff nods eagerly, and a long feathery tail wags and wiggles behind him in excitement.

Vel hums to herself, her eyes following the trajectory of Riff’s tail as it flips back and forth.

He holds out a hand to her, which Vel accepts, and they shake on it.

Vel sighs, but there’s a faint smirk as she pulls out a vial of her own blood. Riff is watching eagerly as she holds the vial up, and her eyes illuminate. The glow flows down her arm and into the vial, shifting to a bright magenta hue as it enters the vial. There is a faint sizzling sound, before the glow disperses, leaving the vial empty.

Riff looks at the vial, and then back to Vel.

Riff’s mouth opens in surprise.

Vel smiles faintly.

Riff sits there for a second.

He laughs.

Riff waves goodnight and slips out of the tent, and Vel exchanges a look with Arkha’din.

Arkha’din makes a hissing noise of affirmation and curls closer to Vel’s wand of arcane missile.

Riff meanwhile goes back to Seria.

He goes to bed a bit eager. In the middle of the night, however, Seria--who is resting--finds herself coming to an abrupt amount of consciousness. She sees a beautiful dreamscape that is similar to Hakkar’s realm but… nicer.

Suddenly, Riff tears through the area, dragging someone by the arm: Rai.

Riff stops himself, and Rai nearly trips.

Rai looks to Seria apologetically.

Seria nods.

Riff sinks his shoulders, because he knows.

They play together for a bit before Rai needs to wake up, and Riff and Seria wake up a few hours later.

May 30th

In the morning, Vel goes to find Remnii. Remnii is meditating, and Vel stands there somewhat awkwardly, unsure if she should interrupt. Before too long, Remnii’s eyes crack open as she realizes that a set of footsteps had stopped and not started again.

Remnii nods and pats the ground next to her. Vel approaches and sits down next to her.

Her words falter for a moment.

Remnii shifts on her own weight.

Remnii fidgets, clearly concerned.

Remnii exhales, and delicately places her hand on Vel’s shoulder and squeezes.

Remnii puts a hand over her mouth.

She laughs nervously, and the pair stands up.

However, just at that moment, Seria and Riff show up as Remnii and Vel exit the tent Remnii was using.

Seria looks at Vel.

Vel blinks.

Remnii gives a small duck of her head and leaves the trio to their talk.

Vel’s eyebrow raises slightly.

She holds her hand out for the ring, and Seria places it in her palm.

Vel’s mouth opens as she looks up from channeling her magics into the ring.

Seria shakes her head.

Riff darts off after Remnii, calling for her, and he quickly catches up. She turns on her hoof, interrupted from her thoughts.

She folds her hands in front of her.

There is a poignant pause as Remnii looks up to the sky.

Remnii follows the beaming Riff back to his mother. She looks a bit bewildered.

Seria nods. Vel hands Seria her ring back.

Vel leaves Remnii and Seria alone.

Remnii shifts onto one hoof, canting her hips.

Seria looks bewildered, as this was just how she had done things.

Seria nods. Remnii gives her a sad look, and then leaves to disseminate to the group.

Vel goes to inform Elissa she is leaving, who gives her a hug and opts to go with her to wherever she is going to leave from. Vel alsos tells Uther she’s leaving, who tells her to be safe.

Aramar had been trying to get to know Uther and Tol’vas, and Uther spends some time gushing about Vittoria after Aramar asked him about his betrothed. Aramar asks Tol’vas if he had a lady or man friend.

Aramar glances at Uther with a smile.

He points at the brooding human, who chuffs and goes back to brooding. One of the centaur approaches the group and in very broken common, speaks. He has a regal demeanor, and he looks not too much older than Uther. His hair is pulled back in a long braid.

He thumps his hand on his chest. Uther returns the gesture and nods. The centaur nods.

He seems to be wishing them luck.

In the meanwhile, Seria is looking for a tree. She finds Asya.

She points up to a nearby ledge.

Seria nods, thanks her, and then turns into a bird and flies away. Asya’s eyes widen as she watches her flit away. Riff transforms into a bird and flies after her after waving to Asya.

Seria finds the twisting trees Asya was talking about, and many are too small, but after about an hour she finds one that is rather sizeable.

They land, and Riff looks to Seria.

Seria nods.

Seria pulls Riff into a hug.

He hugs Seria again.

He spins around and turns into a little girl troll.

Seria smiles.

Riff pokes Seria’s cheek.

Seria then sends Rai to make sure he’s ready, and he assures her that he is. Seria then scrys on him. She peers into the bowl, and gets her first glimpse of where she’s going to go. It’s a beautiful jungle, and the trees are all massive.

She sees Rai, looking at a large tree, musing that it looks like a good size. Then he starts to look for someone.

He jumps forward, and blushes, and there’s the sound of giggling.

At that moment, she sees another troll appear, her arms wrapped around Rai, and her pinkish red hair tied up in a bun. She is nearly twice Rai’s size, and she giggles. She’s rather curvy.

Rai looks around, waiting for Seria, as does the zandalari troll woman. Seria moves over to the tree on her side, and she begins to cast transport via plants, visualizing the tree near Rai. She passes through the bark, and she sinks into the tree, passing through the Emerald Dream itself.

She steps forward, and then she finds herself stepping out of the large tree she had seen.

She sees Rai and his companion.

Shortly after Vel and Elissa see Seria fly away from Asya, they also approach the somewhat shocked centaur.

She points at the disappearing forms of Seria and Riff in their bird forms.

She shakes her head and turns back to Vel and Elissa.

Vel looks down the canyon.

Asya nods.

Asya nods and lets them go on their way. Elissa and Vel mount up on Daisy and head down the canyon. It was only a 10 minute ride, and they see the bones of centaurs both new and old. The inexperienced eye may mistake it for a battlefield, but the bodies were not interred haphazardly. There was a certain systematic way to how they were placed that implied a certain degree of reverence.

The sun is bright in the basin, and the bodies are clearly exposed to the sky.

There are some vultures nearby participating in the decomposition of the bodies, and the closest fly away at their arrival, though the furthest simply regard the pair warily.

She taps into her sending stone, targeting her aunt.

Alleria likely nods in response, not being used to sending.

Vel uses disguise self to alter her appearance into that of a red-haired elven woman and looks to Elissa.

Elissa seems to deflate in relief.

Vel nods and gives Elissa a hug, which the half-elf returns tightly.

Elissa immediately covers her mouth, realizing the comment might have been way too on the nose.

Elissa doesn’t say anything, but she nods. Vel then turns and walks into the center of the burial ground and starts to cast grave stride. She can almost feel a graven energy waft through the area, and it starts to take hold. As she steps into the center of it, she almost feels a suffocating source of magic wash over her, as if the ground beneath her upends itself, and she does a complete 360, seemingly sending her into the earth. Everything goes dark, but then as she rights herself, she is on the deck of the Wintercroft, and the cool breeze of Northrend wafting over her. There is a dark pall of night around the ship, covering the otherwise daylit sky.

Vel dusts herself off and takes stock of her surroundings just in time to see Alleria board. They make eye contact, and she offers a nod, and Vel approaches her.

The massive ship is being manned, and they acknowledge Vel’s presence, but ultimately do not bother her as if she arrived here, she was likely supposed to be here--especially as the disguised elf approaches the ranger-captain.

Vel pauses to consider how to best summarize what was presently happening.

She continues to make small talk as they walk through Vengeance Landing. The day is overcast, preventing the sun’s rays from directly savaging the vampyrs in the small settlement.

Alleria nods.

Alleria nods again.

Alleria nods once more and there is a hesitation in the way she moves as she goes to leave Vel. Her gaze lingers on her niece for a bit longer than it otherwise would, her mind on what is going to be happening soon, before she disappears to head towards the outskirts of Vengeance Landing.

Vel makes her way towards the arcane sanctum she had been staying in. As she enters, she sees the diagrams she had made with major image when she was here before. They have since been added to with additional details that have been uncovered about the anatomy of the vampyric elves. She also sees the imperious-looking form of Astalor, his nose in a book and one arm under his elbow.

He looks over to Vel, not realizing who she is beneath her disguise, and he claps the book closed.

Vel allows the disguise to drop, revealing her true form beneath. Astalor claps his hands.

Vel hesitates, debating how to proceed.

Vel explains the analyze blood spell, which she had just completed the night prior.

Vel hesitates, seeing her opening.

Astalor covers his mouth in shock and excitement.

Upon closer inspection, Vel notes Astalor’s own golden mana wyrm vegging out in the nearby illusion. It’s sleeping, its little tail twitching as it just basks in the ambient magic, much like a cat would bask in front of a vent.

Vel casts an amused sideways glance at the creature.

Pio'belore's eye opens and she hisses softly with a contented wiggle.

Vel chews on her lip.

Astalor stops, realization clicking into place.

Astalor is quiet for a long moment, tapping a manicured fingernail on his chin as he paces back and forth.

Vel stands in silence for a moment, considering.

Astalor’s lips curl inwards and he doesn’t answer, but he does all the same.

Astalor waves a hand.

Astalor nods in agreement, and Vel’s eyes flicker over to his mana wyrm, who is still soaking in the illusion.

Astalor raises a finger and wags it for a second, and his mouth opens to rebut, but then he curls his finger back and bites the edge of his knuckle.

Kel’Thuzad snickers in the back of Vel’s head, understanding the notion considering his own relationship with Mr. Bigglesworth.

Arkha’din, who Vel had summoned while Astalor was considering, had taken to drifting around the sanctum. He had approached Pio to bother her, but she is completely ignoring him.

Vel nods as she drops a few things in the corner near where she was staying.

Astalor smiles and Arkha’din hisses in acknowledgement.

He opens his book back up.

He then gestures to Arkha’din and conjures a mote of magic, which immediately peaks the mana wyrm’s attention as he slithers over and starts nipping at the dancing lights. Astalor watches Vel as she puts her disguise back on and leaves.

As she starts to make her way to meet up with Alleria, she makes note that more of the "giant" individuals that she had observed before present. Originally, it had just been one woman that looked similar to Thrud, but now there were small groups. One of the groups is conversing in a language Vel doesn’t understand, and there are now men and women present.

One of them is sparring with a number of elves, wielding a mace twice the size of a typical weapon, and seems to be enjoying the fight.

Another small group is sitting on a cart full of crates, and there appears to be a magister and two other soldiers talking to them.

When she reaches the outskirts, she notes a handful of hawkstriders. Rommath and Kael’thas are already astride their mounts, and Alleria is holding the reigns of two more.

Vel approaches, and Kael’thas looks down to her.

Vel mounts the hawkstrider that was prepared for her, which does not like her being nearby, but it accepts her as a rider. It’s a very solemn journey, as if someone was making their way to their execution, but inversed. There are no crowds, just looming trees.

Before long, they find the spot that Vel had previously selected. It looks to be a large, old tree, twisting off of a cliff side with its roots spidering over rocks and boulders to make a sheltered hollow beneath it.

They approach through the glade, and Alleria looks up at the massive tree and the roots spidering down like thousands of tiny fingers.

Kael’thas, Rommath, and Vel dismount, and with a flick of his wrist, Kael’thas ties the reigns of the hawkstriders to some of the nearby trees. He gives his own a pat on the neck and slips him a small treat before looking at Vel.

He gestures to the cavern beneath the tree, and Alleria looks to Vel and nods.

Vel nods back and walks into the darkness of the hollow beneath the tree. Alleria moves in after her, and Rommath takes position nearby so he can see Vel clearly, and Kael'thas stands in the entrance of the little alcove.

There is a moment that goes on forever as Alleria looks at Vel. She reaches out and takes Vel’s hand in the darkness.

Vel gives Alleria’s hand a small squeeze, and she starts to pull the veil of white hair away from her neck, revealing the bare flesh beneath. Still holding Vel’s hand, Alleria pulls her into a hug, her arms around her niece.

For a moment, there is only silence except for Vel’s own breathing and just her own breathing. Alleria’s hands grip onto Vel’s back, and she feels a small pressure on the side of her neck.

Upon feeling the presence of Alleria’s fangs, Vel’s eyes lock on Kael’thas.

As the words leave her lips, the pain bites into her flesh. It was a feeling she felt before--the experience of being fed upon by a vampyr--but never so intensely. Alleria’s fangs buried themselves into one of her most vital bloodstreams, and the pain strikes through her like a knife.

Instinctively, she grips onto Alleria’s back, and Alleria holds her tighter. Vel feels waves of pain that come in rhythm with her heartbeat; each beat the stab of a knife that steadily came slower and slower.

Her limbs started to grow heavy, her life blood drained drop by drop. The agonizing pain numbs into almost a euphoria, as painful as it is liberating. Her sight starts to grow foggy, and she feels Alleria cup the back of her head.

Vel can still see people around her, and things moving, but it steadily grows darker. As she feels her breath escape her, a shadow creeps over her.

She senses movement, and a commotion, but her senses are dulled.

And then there’s just darkness.

She feels an all-consuming shadow envelop her like a curtain. Any semblance of up or down or sense at all is gone, and all she feels is terror. She can hear the sound of weeping. A dozen voices.

She looks around, but she has no body. She can see everything, and feels nothing but the crushing darkness. She recognizes one of the voices. It’s her mother’s. Her mother was crying somewhere in the darkness.

She has no lips to speak, and yet the words were out and spread out in every direction, but they are swallowed up as she is drawn deeper into the darkness. She hears her own sobbing. Was it actually her? Was it a memory? It was hard to say.

Then suddenly, there’s a break. The darkness shatters, and for a moment, blood red fills the sky above her. She has no body, and no eyes to see, and yet it pierces her vision as the sky--the void she was standing in--was broken free. There’s the sound of screaming. Screaming of a thousand voices.

One was her’s.

One was her mothers.

Vel felt herself torn from the darkness. Spindly threads of red grab her and yank her free of it. Down below her, she sees a roiling mass of screaming faces. Was one her mother’s? She reaches out, trying to reach for the faces, but the threads tie her formless, shapeless soul back.

And then they were gone.

She was in a limbo. She could see nothing but threads of red circling around her. They were constricting her, and her thoughts. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was perhaps not as bad as whatever she was experiencing.

Then she hears a voice. A voice she recognizes: the grand magister’s. It emanates from everywhere, and nowhere. Perhaps from the thread that was binding her, the endless space above, or from her own head.

Vel feels like she might not want to answer that question, but she has no choice. She feels a compelling nature to his words.

There’s a long pause. She doesn’t know how long, nor how short.

It seems like Vel spends an eternity in that limbo--that endless cage. She felt weak, then strong. Safe, and then at more risk than she ever felt before. Vulnerable, and yet protected.

Suddenly, after a thousand years, or perhaps a moment, it’s dark.

Vel feels waves of pain, as for the first time in perhaps since the dawn of time, or when she was born, she feels everything once more. Her eyes, her ears, but she can’t move. But she was there, and she feels a pain beyond anything she imagined. She is thrust into the heart into what she is becoming. Like two surgeons’ hands rearranging her insides, shoving things apart, and tearing them out and replacing them, she feels an agonizing pain. She wants to scream, but she has no mouth to scream with, no mouth to speak with, and no one would hear it. She feels waves of exhaustion, and pain, pulse through every fiber of her being--nebulous as it is--the tips of her fingers aflame, and her organs burning to ash, only to be reborn again.

There’s a hunger of a thousand skipped meals, and a parchment of a year in the desert, which washes over her in waves. She starts to feel, and then her eyes open. She sees only darkness. Instinctively, she realizes she didn’t take a breath. She does, only to realize she doesn’t need it. She doesn’t need air, but she needs to get out. She needed to escape, and she needed to eat. She had never eaten or drank in her life.

She needed to find her master. She needed her. She needed her strong.

Without realizing it, Vel started to tear at the earth, screaming and clawing, her hands digging through the dirt, soil wedging beneath her nails. She rips and tears through with every fiber of her being.

Her hand breaks the surface. She tears through again, and again. She keeps going. Using all her strength. All her malformed strength. Her exhausted muscles ache.

She tears herself from the earth, and she finds herself in the cavern beneath the tree. The one she died in. Her blood was still soaking the ground. There is rain, like a thousand drops of blood. Her pulse quickens, and she sees Alleria.

Her sire.

There are others there, but they don’t matter. Not right now. Only Alleria matters.

Vel tries to form words and stand, but she can’t.

Alleria catches her.

Vel feels comfort, but she’s weak.

Alleria pulls her hair back

Vel moves closer to her, and as she bids, she sinks her own fangs into Alleria’s neck. They dig deep, as she wished, and she feels Alleria’s essence flow through her, and with it, she begins to feel the aches and pains of her body grow and ebb all the same. Like someone drowning finally being pulled from an ocean of hunger and thirst. Vel didn’t know know how long she fed, but she blinks, and suddenly she’s aware, and her conscious emotions start to beat back the animalistic feralness.

Her fatigue hits her like a wave, and she draws away, instinctively gasping as the weight of everything that had just happened hits her like a thousand tons of bricks from every direction, but Alleria--her aunt--catches her.

Vel blinks, and there are others there.

Did they ever leave?

It was raining outside. Rommath is standing there, his arms crossed, and Kael’thas stands in the entrance, a small smile on his face.

As she speaks, she becomes acutely aware of the blood on her face, and the fangs in her mouth.

She looks at Alleria, and then hugs her. Alleria holds her for a time, the rain falling. Rommath and Kael’thas exit the cavern to give the pair the moment. After some time, Alleria whispers.

Vel nods into her hair, and she staggers back but she can barely stand up. Alleria supports her.

The pair emerges into the rain, and Rommath and Kael’thas stand waiting.

Vel nods at him, her exhaustion settling into her limbs.

Alleria gets the satchel--Vel’s satchel--that had been left with her, and extracts one of the vial of blood Vel had collected and holds it out. Vel takes it and immediately gulps it down.

Alleria looks down to her niece, who she is still supporting.

He holds up his fingers and whistles. There is the sound of wingbeats overhead. Overhead, there is a shadow in the rain. A massive creature soars overhead, and then spirals downward between the tall pines.

As the creature lands, its wingbeats blow the dirt and grime back, flinging beads of water in every direction. There is the sound of sizzling, like the rain was connecting with something hot.

It’s Al’ar. The phoenix. He was different from what he was before, but he was still here. He was almost partially translucent, embering and burning remains of what was left of him forming into an avian entity made of burning coals and ash. Chains cross his flesh, almost searing as if superheated, and as water hits them, the liquid evaporates immediately.

Vel is just staring at Al’ar, somewhat dumbfounded as her tired mind struggles to process the creature in front of her. Wordlessly, she nods.

Alleria looks at Vel and then looks at the phoenix. For a moment, her grip tenses around Vel’s shoulders, but then she releases her.

Vel takes a cautious step forward, and Kael’thas reaches out to take her hand. The pair of them levitate upward, and Kael’thas guides Vel onto the phoenix. The creature’s ashen, flaming form does not burn her.

Instinctively, Vel wraps her arms around Kael’thas, as there is nothing else to hold onto.

Al’ar starts to beat his wings once more and takes off into the sky, Rommath and Alleria watching the pair ascend. Rommath grabs the reigns of the two other hawkstriders with them, and he and Alleria ride back into the thick trees beyond the grove.

Even as exhausted and bleary eyed as she is, Vel looks down over the trees. In the far distance, there is the lapping of the waves, and she sees a patrol of elves winding their way up the cliff face. Vengeance Landing stands far in the distance.

She is still staring down at the trees below.

There is a soft chuff from Kael’thas.

Vel nods into his back, but then realizes he’s not looking at her.

As they fly, some of the clouds suddenly open. Small beams of light trickle down from overhead. One of them opens directly in front of them.

Kael’thas arcs to avoid the beam, but some of it falls upon them, and Vel squints, mentally preparing herself for the worst. The sun’s rays beat upon her and the king.

But she feels no pain.

There is concern in Kael’thas’s voice. Vel is staring at her arm, where she most definitely was certain the sun had hit.

He holds up a hand, glancing back to his passenger.

Vel continues just staring at her arm, which by all rights should have started to burn. The sun didn’t feel good--like the feeling of skin just before it acquired a sunburn--and it was far too bright, but there was no actual damage.

He laughs.

They continue flying down to Vengeance Landing.

Seria had appeared on the other side of the tree with Rai and Raava. She is in the jungle, and humidity washes into her lungs. Rai turns to her.

Rai throws his arms around Seria. Raava smiles warmly at Seria, waiting as the pair embrace.

Seria nods, having not heard of Raava at all.

Seria looks at Rai, who is looking at Raava and kind of giggles, kind of dumb, before he looks back to Seria.

Raava blushes and waves her hand.

Seria nods and shoots Rai another look, inquiring.

Raava starts to cast a spell, but then another voice is heard in the trees.

Another zandalari trolls appears, tall and grumpy looking. She pushes some bushes aside with a staff, and then sticks the staff in the ground.

Both Raava and Rai immediately shrink.

She looms over Seria, looking down at her.

She looks Seria up and down.

There’s a long pause.

She leans into Seria’s face.

She looks at Raava

The more Loti gets in her face, the more mad Seria is getting. Seria shape shifts into a bear and roars back in Loti’s face. Spittle splashes Loti’s face, and she grins.

Loti pushes her away, and her form shifts. The war druid transforms into a massive ravasaur and roars back in Seria’s face, and then starts to sprint off into the jungle.

Seria starts to run as hard as she can after the war druid. Rai and Raava shout at them to wait as they start to run after the duo. She’s struggling to keep up.

The path leads Seria into a patch of sharp vines, which she runs straight into. She roars, and breaks free, tumbling down the small waterfall.

Loti makes a hissing sound which was probably laughter before she runs off again.

Seria gets mad and takes off after Loti again. She is starting to gain on her again, and she gets Loti in her sights. Loti starts to leap across platforms and vines, hopping up a cliff. She sneers down at Seria, before darting into the foliage again.

Seria leaps into the cliff, digging her claws into as she climbs after Loti. Upon reaching the top, she sees Loti slice a vine, which releases a hive, but Seria dodges out of the way, but some sting her.

Loti keeps running, but Seria is gaining on her. She senses magic, and Loti starts to cast a spell in her animal form. The air flickers around Seria, and two dinosaurs--sabertusks--appear out of nothing. The dinosaurs come at Seria, trying to grapple her, but she is able to bat them away.

She is gaining hard on Loti. She reaches forward and tries to pounce on her. Loti spins with Seria, and Seria lands on top of her, but Loti kicks up with her raptor feel and sends her sailing.

Loti jumps on top of Seria and roars in her face, and then she starts to laugh and shifts into her humanoid form.

She gives Seria a good pat before she rolls off and back to her feet.

There is a deep, reverberating voice.

Seria looks around and shifts out of her bear form, and Loti offers a hand, which Seria takes. Loti heaves her up.

Loti spins Seria around and pats her on her back, before pushing her forward gently.

They are not alone in the grove. They are at the edge of some sort of cave with beautiful jungle flowers. There are vines draped down like curtains.

There are a bunch of raptors and ravasaurs who are sitting down and laying about what appears to be soft flowers. Her attention is drawn to the biggest one.

There is a massive ravasaur looking directly at Seria. He seems to be grinning, and his body is covered in ornamental metal and jewelry. He stands to his full height, tapping a large claw on the ground.

It’s Gonk. The Loa of shapes. The one that taught Zentabra. Seria immediately shows her respect. Gonk hums, satisfied.

He wags a claw in Seria’s direction.

Seria nods, eagerly.

Gonk hums, satisfied, and he reaches out a claw. He presses it against Seria’s forehead, and there’s a pulse of nature magic. Seria blinks.

Seria feels something within her. A power, that was there before, but in the presence of Gonk, it was unlocked.

Gonk smiles.

At that moment, both Rai and Raava come through the edge of the clearing.

They look up and see Gonk, and their jaws drop, and they drop to their knees. Gonk laughs.

Loti puts a hand on Seria’s shoulder and squeezes it.

Loti winks.

Loti looks to Raava and Rai.

She looks back to Seria.

She holds a hand out, and her staff appears from the ground, and she turns into a pterodactyl and disappears into the sky. Gonk looks to Seria and settles back in amongst the gathered raptors. She feels a bit of a kinship with them. As they make clicking noises, she can understand what they are saying.

They are speaking about the group, mentioning how curious the situation is.

Seria feels a strength within her, as if she can call upon it any time she wants. Gonk is looking at her.

Seria closes her eyes and taps into that power, and she can feel her body shift. It’s similar to her taking the form of a beast, and when she looks down, she sees she’s a full troll. She has troll feet, she has larger tusks, a larger nose. She’s bigger than Rai now.

Seria gets onto her knee again and thanks him.

Seria gets up, and Raava and Rai bow before leaving with Seria. There’s silence for a second, but the further they get with the grove, the more Seria can sense Raava’s desire to ask questions.

Seria shrugs, trying to process the questions. Raava continues to buzz about the fact they can go see the City of Gold now.

She starts to run, but slows.

After a bit, they start to see the massive, towering pyramids in the distance.

Seria is in a bit of a daze, and they very quickly find themselves stepping within the expansive ziggurats of the city. It’s a beautiful scene. There are tiers that rise overhead, and trolls of every shape and size wander the streets. No one is giving her side glances, at least not as much as she would receive as a half-troll.

There are other beings too. There are curious turtle-like folk. One of them greets Rai happily. There is a small collection of very short creatures that seem to be bartering wares with passerbys. They appear to be no more than three feet tall, and they appear fox-like.

There is also some of the giants, keeping to themselves--the same type that she had observed her father fighting in the scrying bowl.

It’s almost too much to take in.

Raava buys the group some food, and she offers to buy Seria some outfits if she wants. At some point, Rai approaches her.

Seria nods.

They head off, and their calves are burning from the climbing. As they are walking, something catches Seria’s eye. Down one of the alleyways, she sees a strike of red hair. She double-takes.

She sees an older jungle troll down one of the busy, crowded streets. He fades in and out through the massive bodies. He looks back at Seria.

It’s Vol’jin. He turns, and then he’s gone.

Seria had started to walk in that direction.

Raava and Rai follows after Seria.

Seria looks at Rai for a second.

Seria points in the direction she had seen Vol'jin, and the trio takes off.

Seria sees Vol'jin again. He keeps dipping in and out of view. Vol'jin turns and looks at them, and then disappears into the edge of a building.

They turn and see a jungle troll. He’s youngish, maybe in his late 20s or early 30s. He looks somewhat bored, and has greenish blue hair. He is dressed simply.

He sees Rai.

The troll sighs.

A voice shouts for Yenniku, and the troll sighs and heads in. Rai and Seria puts some distance between themselves and the embassy, but they no longer see Vol’jin.

Raava catches up to them.

Seria looks at Rai.

She goes back to the embassy and steps in. She doesn’t see Vol’jin anywhere. She sees Yenniku, and he sees her.

Yenniku looks around and he points at a red-haired troll that seemed to be scribing something on a document.

Seria looks around once more, but then relents that Vol’jin doesn’t seem to be there.

Yenniku welcomes her and tells her to stay away from the upper echelons, and that she should leave before he gets in the trouble. At that moment, he gets a call, and Yenniku rolls his eyes.

He goes into the back, and Seria leaves.

Seria shakes her head and Rai’s shoulders sink.

They head towards the embassy.

This page was last edited on March 17, 2021, at 09:02 PM

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