#Seliira

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember-Winter Veil Celebrations

This is a day late, but what the heck?  Also, the first one that I’m not actually following one of the prompts on as the original post said we could make up our own!  And what better for a day like this than some light fluffy fun and inebriation?

As always, special thanks to @mittensmcedgelord​ for letting me borrow some of their own WoW cast for this piece, even if it’s mostly just cameos.  Also, for the insane version of the carol that is sung in it.

-Previous Pieces:  Letter, Losing Someone, Memory and Dimensional Ship, Discovery, On a Mission, Feeling Left out and Facing a Fear, Working with The Horde, Family, Reunion With a Loved One, Relaxing,  Facing a Fear and Overcoming an Obstacle, Corruption and Regret  -

“I hate you so much right now,” Onyxien grumbled.

 “Well, you volunteered for this, so whose fault is that?” Vylia countered.  She carefully adjusted the strap for the single long fake horn that was now on the netherdrake’s head.  

 He reached up with a claw to tug at the horn, pulling it onto the side of his head.  Vylia quickly corrected it.  “I didn’t expect you to dress me up in a way that makes me look like the unholy offspring of a fel mutant and a talbuk.”

 “That’s for the part though!”  She smiled at him as she finished.  “Now quit clawing at the horn.”  The drake merely groaned and dug his claws into the stones of the Lower City of Shattrath. “So, what about your lines?”

 “Uhh…”

 “You did look at the script the matron gave us, did you?”

 “It may have…”

 “Onyxien…”  She folded her arms and looked down at him as he turned away slightly.

 “Hey, I can’t shift like some of my brethren,” he reminded her.  “Claws like this weren’t made for turning pages!”

 She sighed, running a hand through her hair.  “Alright, I’ll go get another copy from her then.  Maybe Ryant and the others will have finished some of the stage too.”

 “Hope the kids appreciate all the effort we went through too to get them actual snow and not just that conjured crap the Aldor and Scryers have thrown around here and there.”

 She smiled a little remembering some of the sights since they’d arrived again in Shattrath.  It’d only been a couple months since their raid on the Dragonmaw Fortress, but it had been a long few.  Everyone was looking forward to a little rest it seemed, even though everyone knew just what was on the horizon.  “They already do,” Vylia told him.  “I saw some of them having a snowball fight earlier.  And the orc boy and draenei girl made this snowman that looked like a two-headed ogre.  They called it Gol’Ragg.”

 That got a small chuckle out of Onyxien.  “Oh, good old Gol’Ragg.  He gave me and my clutchmates fresh ravager flesh whenever we dropped by.  And cookies.”

 “You know him?”

 “Yep.  He’d argue with himself over if he should give us any, but we all knew it was an act.  He’d always give us things from his shop.”  

 Vylia chuckled a little at the image in her head of several netherwing whelps pestering an ogre as he argued with himself over giving them scraps of meat.  “Alright.  Well, I’m gonna get us the script copy and see what the others are up to.”  She turned to go back into the old ruined building that was being used for the party.

 “Can I take this horn off at least?”

 She turned as she’d reached the doorway.  “Go show the kids.  They’ll love it!”

Inside, there were some locals, but she easily spotted members of The Dirty Dozen at work or taking breaks.  Guldel sat in red winter clothes that barely fit him at the bar next to the large bowl of egg nog.  Beldak, one of the orcs, was next to him.  At one of the tables the death knights Arran and Vylia’s sister, Seliira, sat playing a game of hearthstone, using coins as counters.  Chou was followed by a group of children as she walked past with a tray of cookies, stopping only to hand them out and warning them that they were still hot.  In the rafters was a massive snake, sliding about with holly behind it, carefully fixing it as he went.  For a moment, it shifted and changed with a flicker of magic into the troll Lor’raj to dangle over Guldel and Beldak with mistletoe in his hand.  The orc grabbed a fish off the bar and pressed its lips to the troll’s. Guldel laughed at the absurdity before Lor’raj fell from the ceiling into the tauren’s lap.  Beldak began to laugh in response as Vylia passed them.

 “On the twelth day of Winter Veil the Legion gave to meeeeeeeeeee!” an operatic voice sang. Vylia turned around to see the group’s warlock, Faelthos.  The former scryer took a long drink from his mug.  “Twelve heroes fleeing!  Eleven goblin cannons!  Ten orcs a-screaming!  Nine dreadlords scheming!”  Vylia had to laugh a little at the drunk blood elf as he belched far louder than she’d have thought possible.  “Eight mutant drakes!  Seven hellish portals!  Six Blackrock cultists!”  He took a deep breath and another drink.  “Fiiiiiiiiiiive tiiiiiiiime paradoxesssssssssssssss!”

 She turned away from him and headed towards the back, stopping only to glance at the game as Arran slid a box over to Seliira.  “Hey, you two seen the matron?” she asked quickly.

 “Nope,” her sister replied.

 “Think she was talking to Vad about something,” Arran replied as he dropped another minion on the board followed by a spell.  He grabbed a couple silvers from his wallet and dropped them on top of the minion to signify a buff.

 “Ugh, well played,” Seliira admitted, seeing the move.  She drew another card from her deck and grinned.

 “Uh-oh, I know that look.”

 “Alright, thanks,” Vylia said.  She turned from them as her sister played another card, eliciting a groan from Arran.

 “Four night elf hunters! Three dancing draenei!” Fael continued as Guldel pulled the bowl of egg nog away from him.  “Two trolling trolls…  And a demon lord named Saaaaaammmyyyyyyyy!”

 She pushed the door to the back rooms open, finding Vadralis talking briefly with Kagh’Gosh.  The orc gave a single grunt and hefted a massive bag before heading back into one of the other ones.  The night elf sighed as he folded his arms and reached up to rub his forehead.  He leaned back until he was against the wall.

 “Hey,” Vylia said, approaching him.  “Tired?”

 He turned his head towards her.  “Yeah, actually,” he said.  “Had some trouble sleeping recently.”

 “Mmm?”

 “Yeah.”  Vadralis looked away then, down on the floor. “Think some of it is still getting into the swing of all this.  Having trouble remembering some of the things I did.  And some trouble with hitting a target with my knives.”

 “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out.”  She moved next to him, slipping a hand on his shoulder.

 “You didn’t know.  I thought I was a goner in that blast too.”

 “Yeah…”  Vylia bowed her head a little then.  She’d still not told him of the couple days she’d spent trying to get back there to see if she could find proof he was dead or alive.    “Yeah, I know.”

 “Not the first time I’ve been captured.  Though I didn’t even know humans existed last time it happened.”

 She had to laugh slightly at it.  

 “I’ll bounce back. Just might take some time.”    He looked up at her then, eyes resting on her hand for a moment.  “Glad you didn’t forget about me though.”

 “How could I have?  I…”  She almost added to her thoughts, but kept from doing so, though it was a bit of a relief to see a small smile on his lips.  There was silence between them as they heard Fael out in the main room begin another song.  It sounded like Chou had joined him as well in singing.

  “Nice to have a Winter Veil party again,” he said finally.

 “Yeah,” Vylia agreed. “It’s Sel’s first too.  Nice to have family with me for once on one of these events.”  She almost let go of his shoulder, but noticing how he moved just a little closer made her keep her hand there.  “Any word from your sisters since we got you out?”

 “Got them a message from one of the Shattered Sun vets on his way back to Stormwind.  And just the other day I got a letter from one of them. Frankly relieved I was alive.  Kept telling her husband that I was too damn stubborn to die.”  They both laughed a little at it.  “The other one named her newborn son after me thinking I’d died in the line of duty about a month ago.  She’s probably heard the news now too.”  He smiled sadly a little, his eyes tearing slightly.  “Kinda wish I could go back and see them.  But we’ve got a lot to do here.”  He reached up then and slipped his fingers between hers.  “And I’m glad that I get to spend it free and with someone important to me.”

 “Vad…”  She bowed her head just a little as their eyes met and her lips curled into a soft smile.  “Thank you. This’ll be one to remember.  I’ll make sure of it.”

 “I’m sure it will be already.”  He smirked at her.  “Even if only because Onyxien is participating in a play of How The Greench Stole Winter Veil for the orphanage.  And Beldak spiking the egg nog because it was ‘too weak’ by his standards.”

 She snickered a bit at how the netherdrake would look with the horn she’d spent nearly twenty minutes fussing with and the ridiculous red nose they still had to put on his snout. “Yeah.  Hey, speaking of which.  Have you seen Matron Mercy?  Onyxien shredded the script she gave us with his claws.”

 Vadralis shook his head. “Last I saw she put her husband in charge of watching over the place while she went to get something from one of the Skettis Outcasts.  Think it’s for the feast that’s planned.”

 “Aaah.  Guess we’ll get it later then.”   She let go of his shoulder then and he unlaced his fingers from hers.  “So, while we wait then, wanna get a drink?  Before Fael has it all?”

 “Heh.  Yeah.”  They started back to the door, sound of singing growing louder.  Fael and Chou were standing on top of the bar now, arm in arm and singing carols in panderan while they each had drinks in their free hands. Beldak was laughing as he watched the two dance slightly even.  The goblins Kikri and Ryant were standing on a table chatting excitedly about some device they’d come up with while Seliira was unwrapping the box that Arran had given her earlier.  Neither saw what it was, but she practically jumped across the table startling the other death knight as they landed on the ground as she made a squeal of delight. And at the bar, Guldel merely grabbed the entire bowl of egg nog and put it to his lips after a long sigh.

  “I know I’ve only been here a few months,” Vadralis started, “but is this kind of…  Insanity normal?”

 “Oh, this is actually kinda tame,” Vylia admitted.  Something then dangled right in front of her face.  She waved a hand away and it was pulled out of reach.  Looking up was Lor’raj, in his snake shape in the rafters, dropping the mistletoe out of his mouth before slithering away.

 “And I see Lor is still pestering people with the mistletoe…”  He sighed. “No wonder Guldel is drinking like a naga.”

 Vylia laughed a little, biting her lower lip as he looked back at her.  She thought briefly about it, but ultimately decided there’d be no harm. Besides, the troll had been dangling it all night over people.  “Eh, what the hell?”  Her hands slipped onto Vadralis’ face and she gave him a soft kiss on the lips.  To her joy, he returned her affection before a loud crash grabbed their attention and they both turned back to the holiday mayhem.

#draecember #draecember2017 #Warcraft #Draenei #fanfic #Vylia #Vadralis #Seliira

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember-Prompts 7 and 8: Feeling Left out and Facing a Fear

It was so strange to become herself again.  Her first memory of being herself again was sliding down the side of a glacier in a thaw. She kept from falling into the sea below only by getting a hold of a tree.  She didn’t recognize her hands or face and when she slept, she saw the horrors of her time as a servant of The Scourge.  She didn’t even know her name.  What was stranger though was that she didn’t recognize this world or the strange pink-skinned individuals who walked it.

 The door creaked open then. She looked up to see a familiar face.  It felt like a lifetime since she’d seen one of her sisters.  Yet, seeing Vylia still felt like she was looking at a stranger. Maybe it was because of the heavy plate and furs she was wearing to keep warm.  Or the fact she no longer carried a pair of daggers and a small bow.  And in spite of the conditioning when she was turned into, she was afraid.  There was the chance that The Crusade would kill her and throw her on the pyres with the rest of the undead anyways.  

 “So,” Vylia said, folding her arms and remaining by the door.  “What is your name?”

 She slowly looked up. She could lie, but knew it might be just as bad if not worse than the truth.  “Seliira,” she replied.  “I’m your sister.”

 “Can you prove it?” Her face gave nothing away. “Because you look nothing like the sister I buried on Draenor.”

 “I know.  This doesn’t look…”  She shook her head and looked down.  “I remember…  The valley I grew up in.  I remember you me and Olisa and-“

 That got a reaction out of Vylia.  Her arms fell to her side as her lips parted.  Her eyes went wide.  She took a couple steps forward then.  “Do not mention that name,” she said coldly.  “Only one other person who came with me to The Hand knew that name and he died when we fled Draenor.”  Vylia looked for a chair and pulled it over then to sit down.  Seliira watched as did so.

 “What happened to us?”

 “What do you mean, ‘us’?”

 “On Draenor?  Selnir and Karog?”

 Vylia’s features softened. “You remember them?”

 “It’s…  It’s funny.  I can remember their faces and some things we did.   But…  But I can’t remember anything specific outside of just some moments.”  She began to take shorter and quicker breaths as she saw the faces of an orc they’d once known laughing with a male draenei.  She saw in her mind flickers of fighting and brawls as their small band wandered Draenor for the longest time.  “We were outcasts.  We just wanted to see the world.  Felt like we’d finally found a place from The Legion.  No more running.”

 “Things changed.  A lot’s changed.”

 “Where are we?”

 “Northrend.  Azeroth.”  Vylia got a confused look from the death knight.  “The Sergeant said your memory was shot full of holes to begin with. Sounding like you’ve missed a lot.”

 “So you believe me?”

 She nodded.  “A few people I’ve met since coming to this world know my past.  But not in the detail you’ve described.  Nor did they know we had another sister.”  Vylia looked down at her feet.  “This is going to take some time…”

Over an hour had passed before she left her sister.  Facing her family again had always been something she’d feared, even though she’d not expected it to be in quite these circumstances.  Her hear was still pounding like it would be in a fight.  Vylia stepped out, closing the door behind her gently.    She took a deep breath and reached up to rub a tear away from her eye.  It was Seliira, no question.  Even though she looked nothing like she had when she died on Draenor, she knew enough that she was convinced.  She even wore her hair in the same way with the slanted bangs over her face.  How this death knight was her sister though, Vylia still couldn’t completely reason unless she’d been made similarly to the original ones from The Second War.

 “How is she?” a guttural voice asked.

 She looked to her right to see one of The Dirty Dozen, Kagh’Gosh.  The strange orc was bundled in thick furs and leathers rather than the usual cloaks that completely covered him to fight Northrend’s harsh weather. Only his eyes were visible under his hood and scarf wrapped around him.  “Confused,” she admitted.  “Feeling alone and completely out of place and that is definitely not her original body. Her horns were not curled downward like that.  But it’s her. That is Seliira.  Guess I should count myself lucky.  Most soldiers facing loved ones who became undead usually have them either working for Sylvanas or interested in eating their intestines.”

 He grunted in response.  “Will she help us?”

 “I believe so.  We tell her what we’re up against and I’m sure she’ll jump at the opportunity.”

 The orc gave a single grunt, but Vylia knew he approved.

Special thanks to @mittensmcedgelord for letting me borrow their wandering orc, Kagh’Gosh for this one!  Prolly will have one or two soon that will not follow any prompts, but was even told we could choose our own themes.

Thanks for reading!

#draecember2017 #draecember #Draenei #Warcraft #Fanfic #Vylia #Seliira

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember Prompt-31: Thank You

And so we come to an end for this month’s posts!  It has been a lot of fun and I’ll have one more Draecember-related post listing everything and a couple other little bits of housekeeping!

Again, thank you to @mittensmcedgelord​ for letting me borrow their characters for cameos for this piece.

-Previous Pieces:  Letter, Losing Someone, Memory and Dimensional Ship, Discovery, On a Mission, Feeling Left out and Facing a Fear, Working with The Horde, Family, Reunion With a Loved One, Relaxing,  Facing a Fear and Overcoming an Obstacle, Corruption and Regret  Winterveil Celebrations, In Trouble, Back To School  -

It was dark when the Golganneth drifted near silently towards the Broken Shore. Runic marks danced across its hull, concealing it from the countless demonic eyes watching the skies for invaders. Legion ships floated above the ruined temple that was The Tomb of Sargerus.  That was The Dozen’s ultimate goal.  In a day, another assault would begin along the shore in an attempt to establish a foothold and begin the process of forcing The Legion back.  The disaster of the first assault weighed heavily on the crew’s mind, especially the ones of The Dozen.  They had been preparing and trying to delay The Legion’s return for as long as they could well before the first ill-fated battle. Under the airship, Onyxien glided quietly next to a bronze drake.  

 In the ship’s hold, Alliance and Horde soldiers loaded the cannons and prepared in case they needed to fight their way back.  Guldel stood in a briefing room going over orders with some of the soldiers and their own who would be involved in the assault.  Lor’raj was in a chair nearby, pipe in his hand as he watched and listened. Jolim was above deck, loading his repeater next to the night elf girl, Arque.  She handed him one of her inventions before going back to loading her own rifle.  He looked it over with a raised eyebrow and then asked her what it did.  On the other side of the deck was Fael, talking with Calveer about the coming battle.  The tauren druid Hahrana came over to them then and the three continued talking. Seliira was going through a book not far off at a table as Chou gently pushed a bowl of food towards her.  The panderan’s azure cloud serpent was perched on her shoulder watching the bowl inquisitively before turning its attention to the larger bowl that Chou was cooking with.  It darted off Chou’s shoulder to the edge of the bowl and plucked out a large piece of chicken with its claws.  Arran sat down next to Seliira then with a bowl of bugs.  Without looking up from her book, she took a few from it and dropped them into the one Chou had given her.  He laughed quietly as he noticed that the bowl had been filled with fried silkworm larva.

 At the bow, Vylia stood, leaning against the back and with her arms folded.  Across from her, Vadralis carefully inspected one of his knives. She looked down at their feet for a moment before back to him.  He nodded silently to her and waited for her to continue.  

 “Uh…  Yeah,” she said after a moment.  “That’s it kinda.”

 “Nothing else you want to discuss?” he asked.  “You don’t want to mention chipping off some of that topaz in Deepholm?  Or what happened after you, Guldel and Kalen dragged Doran and the plague sample he’d smuggled to Grim Batol?”

 “No.  I…”  She looked off the bow then, seeing the tomb in the distance.  Vylia took a deep breath then as she focused.  Still was hard to believe that they were a part of all this.  “I’ve got a lot I still want to talk about.  Done so much since I lost you and even before and during.  I think I covered what was bothering me the most though.”

 “Definitely been through a lot you and I.”  The knife vanished with a flick of his fingers.

 “Kinda worried this might be it.  For all of us.”  She slowly looked back at him.   “In like an hour, we’ll be down there.  Sabotaging Legion supplies and disrupting their forces so that Legionfall’s forces can establish a foothold.”

 “If it is, I wouldn’t want anyone else next to me.”

 She smiled a little at him. “Thanks for listening, Vad.  I’m just really worried about all this.  I mean…  Hell, it’s been so long since I even mentioned Olisa to anyone other than Sel.”

 “You’re worried we’re gonna see her again.”

 “That obvious?”

 “If we do, we can handle it. We’re all here.”

 “I just don’t want people knowing.  With Sel it’s, she’s family.  But with other people here…”  Vylia shook her head.  She felt his hand on her shoulder then and their eyes met.  When she did, she reached up and squeezed his wrist.

 “We can handle it.  We’ve all lost people to The Legion, Vy.  Some in other ways.  Everyone here has had them take something from them.”

 “Yeah.”  She took a deep breath then, clearing her head.  “Alright.”

 “I’ll be right next to you the whole time.  And if we do run into her, I’ll still be right there.”

 “Okay.”

 He leaned in and gave her a small peck on the cheek.  She squeezed his wrist in return before they both let go.  “Vad, thank you.  I was kinda worried with everything else going on that you wouldn’t have time for this.”

 “Anytime, Vy.”

  They both turned and looked to the shore of the island before them.  The Tomb of Sargerus towered over the entire island it seemed. What was once a temple to the goddess Elune was now a twisted shadow of its former glory.  Statues of ancient elves were bathed in fel green light. Stone islands with chained green stones floated around it as legion forces moved around its base.  Occasionally an infernal would fall from the skies into the earth near it, reinforcing what was already a near-impenetrable defense. Vylia took a deep breath, preparing for the battle to come.  As she did, she spotted Onyxien gliding upward in front of the ship and circling back around to land on the deck.  

 Vylia was ready for whatever now awaited them on the Broken Shores.

#draecember2017 #draecember #draenei #warcraft #Vylia #Seliira #Vadralis

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember-Prompt 12:  Family

The airship creaked as it glided silently over the waters as Vylia went below deck.  The past couple months had been odd to say the least as she settled in with The Dirty Dozen.  She had never once traveled with such a diverse and strange group.  The most normal of them all she felt was Guldel, who was in one of the rooms right now discussing plans with the troll.  

 The rest of the group seemed to all have things that made them outsiders, even among their own people. Some of it was by choice while others was because they felt they had no choice.  There was the disgraced panderan shaman Chou, who made sure everyone was well-fed but also healthy and made dumplings that Kagh’Gosh would stuff into his mouth even if they were too hot.  Ryant, whose airship they were using as a mobile base had been shunned by his cartel for his inventions being far and away outside the norms of goblin technology. There was also Arran, the night elf death knight who’d lost his lower half at The Wrathgate and had it replaced with clockwork legs.

 At the moment though, she was wondering how the newest member of their group was adjusting.  In the narrow corridors of the airship, she moved to the side as Chou quickly squeezed past her with a bag full of herbs.   Once she was gone, Vylia continued onward, closer to the bow where her room was.  It was now however also Seliira’s.  It still felt funny that her sister was here.  Not in her own body, but it was still her.  When she pushed the door open, she saw her sister sitting on a stool and staring out the porthole.  The hammocks were rolled and out of the way to give them room to move around.

 “Hey, Sel,” she said.

 Seliira turned her head to see her sister.  “Hey,” she replied.  She was out of her armor, wearing simple slacks and a knit shirt.

 “How’re you holding up?”

 She sighed.  “This is a lot of getting used-to still.  Talking to some of the others and hearing more of the history of this world.  And what happened to Draenor.”

 “Yeah, a lot has happened.” Vylia grabbed a stool of her own and pulled it over to sit down.  “Few weeks ago I thought I was the only one left of our family.  Now my sister’s back.”

 “What happened to the rest of our family?”

 She looked at the door for a moment, making sure it was shut.  “You know about our sister.  And I will not go back into that.”

 “Kind of wish I didn’t ask about that too.”

 “Yeah.”  Vylia ran her hand up through her hair, pushing some of it behind one of her horns.  “Our parents were killed in the valley by the orcs after they’d been corrupted by The Burning Legion.  Our uncle was killed in the defense of Shattrath.  Our aunt and her husband in the swamps we hid in away from The Horde. Our people were nearly wiped out by the fighting we were trying to avoid.”

 “So we are the last.”

 “If you think about it from just a blood perspective.”  She smiled sadly.  “There is Calveer.  He was the exarch who trained me and sponsored me when there were those who felt I shouldn’t become a paladin among the Hand of Argus.  There was a hunter I traveled with for a time and she was a great friend, and still is out there.  And then there’s the allies I’ve met within The Alliance.”  She chuckled a little then.  “Heck, you could argue The Dozen are becoming a weird, incredibly dysfunctional family to a degree.”

 “Sounding like our little group.”

 “Kind of.  Although I can’t recall Tesrilin being quite as… playful as Lor’raj.”  She laughed slightly as she looked down at her feet.  “And Guldel seems like the only one here completely out of place as the only one who seems to have a clean past.”

 “You could call him a brother almost.  We fought The Scourge together.  Met through The Argent Crusade.”  She glanced out the porthole.  “We’re not like that here.  But we know what’s at stake.  Only our old group was never asked to save the world back on Draenor.  We were just exploring.  Seeing what was out there in this big world.  Getting into trouble…”

 “And now we’re the only ones it seems right now doing anything about The Legion’s return.”

 “No, we’re not.  But it sure feels like that.  World’s still focused on everything else.  And old hatreds are flaring up.”

 “Seeing that a bit in the stuff we saw before we left Northrend.”  She was quiet for a moment, the sound of the airship creaking slightly. “Think we have a chance?”

 “Better than just waiting for The Legion to kill us all.”  She looked back at her sister then.  “So… Are you in?  We can have Ryant drop you off near Ashenvale and you can head north through Darkshore and get to The Exodar.  Tell Calveer I sent you and he’ll make sure you’re safe.”

 Seliira looked to the wall where her armor and frosty blades lay.  “Well,” she started.  “I was the one who said we should stop running and fight back on Draenor.  Be kinda a hypocrite if I didn’t here.”

Vylia smiled a little.  “I’ll let Guldel and the others know.  Sure Arran will be happy he’ll have someone to go eat grubs with too.”

And another one done!  Thanks for reading and thanks to @mittensmcedgelord for again letting me use/reference their WoW gang for this piece!

-Previous Pieces:  Letter, Losing Someone, Memory and Dimensional Ship, Discovery, On a Mission, Feeling Left out and Facing a Fear, Working with The Horde -

#draecember #draecember2017 #draenei #Warcraft #Fanfic #Vylia #Seliira

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember-Prompts 18 & 19:  Corrupted and Regret

These two just kinda meshed so well together when I was writing.  Also, huge thanks as always to the readers!  This entire event has been a lot of fun to do while editing the other one.

-Previous Pieces:  Letter, Losing Someone, Memory and Dimensional Ship, Discovery, On a Mission, Feeling Left out and Facing a Fear, Working with The Horde, Family, Reunion With a Loved One, Relaxing,  Facing a Fear and Overcoming an Obstacle -

She heard the clashing of steel and the splatter of blood on the snow.  Alliance soldiers fought and hacked at the ghouls and skeletons that mobbed them on the glacier.  Cannons from the airship above bombarded the undead swarm.  Death knights still loyal to their master cut through them one by one, pushing the attackers back.  Two ghouls were beaten back by a dwarf before getting ensnared by a crypt fiend’s webbing. He swung his axe in an arc, having it parried by a draenei death knight.  She retaliated by stabbing downward and into the dwarf’s chest.  In a swift move, the blade left their chest and she kicked them into the snow, moving to another target that was occupied by two ghouls.  With their back turned, she cut them down with ease, driving both of her swords into the sides of their stomach and tearing back through their armor.  Blood spurted out of the wounds before a blast of ice from the lich supporting them encased him.

 She turned then, silently seeing a vindicator, clad in plate and wielding a violet crystal hammer marching for her.  He swung for her, striking hard and knocking her into the snow before charging, hammer high above their head.  She rolled to the side, avoiding the strike and getting on their flank.  The warriors circled among the chaos before the vindicator thrust his hammer forward.  She was quicker though, avoiding the strike.  In the free seconds, she charged her energies, pale blue glowing from her hands and blades before stabbing furiously.  The vindicator blocked the strikes as best he could, swinging the hammer again.  She ducked, but the helmet she wore was knocked off.  Seeing her face exposed to the world, the vindicator lowered his hammer, shock on his face.  It was the moment she needed though to turn the tables and lunged for him.  The blades sank deep as she jumped on him, planting her hooves on his chest and knocking him into the snow.  Again and again she stabbed and slashed, blood flying as the vindicator merely wore the same look on his face as when he’d seen her.

Seliira collapsed out of the hammock onto the floor, gasping for air.  Her eyes were wide and darted about the dark.  She pulled the knife out of the bag on the floor and spun around, looking for any signs of trouble.  Her eyes spotted Vylia sitting up in her hammock from the commotion.  

 “You okay?” she asked. She didn’t hear her as she caught her breath.  “Sel.”

 She lowered the knife, pushing her fingers up through her bangs.  “I shouldn’t sleep,” she said finally.  “I don’t need it anymore being undead.  But sometimes I just feel like I have to, you know?”  she rambled in a shaky voice.  “Like...  like your brain tells you ‘you need to sleep or else you’ll die from exhaustion.’ Like the cold too.  There was a gnome that found me with the crusade patrol. She kept asking if I was cold.  I mean, you’ve seen my saronite. But...  But I didn’t feel the chill of the blizzard.  I could have been naked out there and... I. I felt it but I didn’t feel cold I guess?”

 “Well, knowing death knights...”

 “Vy,  no.  This.” She shook her head and slumped on the floor a little.  “Damnit. I see what I did.  When I had The Lich King in my head.  Like I can still hear him...  even now.  Even though I KNOW I am free.  Even though Chou and Lor’raj ran their little magic tests.”  She watched as Vylia turned in her hammock and had her legs hang out of it.  “I sometimes feel this sharp pain creeping up my spine.  Hear his voice.  I know it’s not him but.”  Just mentioning it out loud made her feel those pangs along her back, creeping up her neck.  She thought she could hear a growling whisper in her ear.  “But I know it’s not real,” she shuddered, placing her head in her hands. “I know it’s just in my head.  The voice telling me I’m meant to cleanse the living from the world.  That I was made to be the monster people fear.”

 Vylia stepped out of the hammock and walked over to her sister.  She knelt next to her, gently sliding a hand onto her back.  “That was on purpose by him.  I’m sure of it.”

 “What makes it worse though, Vy?” she started, looking up at her.  “I see faces I know.  And yet I know I don’t know them.   They’re the memories of the one who had this body.  Before.  Before everything.  I know these people.  She was a shaman.  She had a husband and a son.  Her father was a vindicator from The Exodar…”  Seliira bowed her head, looking at the floorboards.  “I killed them.  All of them in the north.”

 “Well, there were lots of reports of The Lich King doing things like that to ensure his death knights were completely under his control.”

 “I heard.  And...  And doesn’t make it easier.”

 “I know.”  Vylia gently rubbed her sister on the back then. The only sound they heard was the dull rumbling of the airship’s engines.  

  “I...  I sometimes feel like the world might be better if that damn frost never melted. I caused so much suffering.  So much death.”

  Vylia watched her sister for a moment, feeling the same pain to a degree as she saw the trauma and regret, even though Seliira had no choice in the matter.  “The Light does not abandon its champions.  Only they may choose to reject it. It never will.”

 Seliira slowly looked up at her, frowning.  “...I don’t need some sermon some old exarch gave you.”

 “Not a sermon,” she replied, shaking her head.  “It’s what Calveer told me when I was sure I was going to get kicked out of the order.” A small chuckle escaped her.  “Though I do admit he is both old and an exarch.”

 “Heh...”

 “We have our pasts. But we can’t let them define our futures.  We have a choice.”  Vylia smiled warmly, eyes tearing slightly.  “And from everything I’ve seen with you so far, I’m beyond thankful you’re here. And we know none of the death knights had a choice in the matter.”

 She could see the wisdom in her sister’s words.  It sounded like something she’d actually have said back on Draenor.  “Yeah.  I think I said that too one time to everyone.  Back in my original body.”

 “Probably.”  Vylia sniffled slightly and reached up to run her fingers through her own tendrils.  “Besides, you could take Arran’s approach too and work it in.”

  “Spite?”  

 She nodded, chuckling a little.  “Spite. Continue on and work in the world just to spite That bastard with his ass stuck on an ice-sculpted chair. ‘cause the moment you stop, you let him win.”

 It was worth a chuckle. Even if Arran had never said it, that was something right.  If nothing else, she did not want The Lich King to win.  Even if she’d heard from reliable sources that there was a new ruler of the damned on his Frozen Throne, she was free.  And nothing was going to change that.

 “And I can prove to you as well if you ever feel like some monster that you’re not one,” Vylia added.

 “How?” she asked.

 “Do you remember the temple? When we were shown the gifts the Naaru gave our people?’

 “I don’t think I still have it,” she said in a small voice.

 “Have you tried?”

 Seliira shook her head. “I mean, look at me.  Any sort if bleeding I had is-”

 “Try it,” her sister insisted.  “Right here.”

 Her lack of confidence was plain on her face, but Vylia seemed convinced Seliira could carry it out. She closed her eyes and focused, holding her hands open.  A glow started to flicker and the mark of the Naaru formed out of energies in her palm. It drifted upward until it floated above her forehead, illuminating the dark room.    “...it...” Her jaw was open and she couldn’t believe it.  She could still call upon their blessing, even if she was undead.

“See?”

 “How…?”

 “I have seen other draenei death knights use it still.  A vindicator who was turned may not be able to use their powers like they once did. But there is still that little bit in him as long as he chooses it.”

 “That...”  Seliira let herself give a small laugh of surprise. It shook a little in her throat, but was still so pleased.  “Wow.”

  “Feeling better?”

 Seliira nodded.  “A lot.  Still don’t think I should sleep a lot though...  and I know you need it.”

 Vylia held a hand up to keep her sister from going on.  “I can put it off a little especially if it helps you.  You want to play a couple rounds of hearthstone?  Ryant has one of those fancy boards we could use instead of using counters and all.”

 “Of what?”

 “Right.  You don’t know about that.”  She smiled a bit.  “Well, you’re in for a treat then.”

#draecember #draecember2017 #draenei #world of warcraft #fanfic #Vylia #Seliira

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember-Prompt 13: Reunion with a Loved One

Hooboy.  This got way longer than I thought.  That’s why the notes are at the top here rather than the bottom!  That said too, I am seriously tempted to turn this piece into a longer short story of the raid.

Again, a special thanks to @mittensmcedgelord​ for letting me borrow their members of The Dirty Dozen.  Most notably here, the panderan shaman, Chou.

-Previous Pieces:  Letter, Losing Someone, Memory and Dimensional Ship, Discovery, On a Mission, Feeling Left out and Facing a Fear, Working with The Horde, Family -

The broadside cannons of the airship belched smoke and fire into the Dragonmaw fortress.  Grapeshot and explosive rounds shredded the fel orcs on the towers as they desperately tried to mount a defense as their netherdrakes openly rebelled.  Guldel and his team fought fiercely in the middle of the chaos as they worked towards the fort’s heart.  Seliira, not far from the group, swept her blades in an arc and helped carve a path for them.  The doors were already barricaded as the tauren charged them, throwing his entire bulk as the others helped cover him from the other defenders.  A warlock prepared a spell to hit the group with just as Onyxien jumped them from behind and clamped his jaws around their body.  Another netherdrake howled as he grabbed one of the hapless orc’s legs and tore it off before throwing the body away.  In moments, he was hit by a firey bolt, knocking him down as two of the fel-infused handlers approached.  Sellira shrieked as a banshee as she jumped over the wounded drake, a billow of cold seeming to come from her cries.  The two orcs had ice form around their limbs, hindering their ability to block her blades.  Uninterrupted, Guldel slammed his bulk against the wooden door again, causing splinters to fly as it began to give.  Again, the cannons of Ryant’s airship opened fire and shattered one of the towers. Debris and defenders were thrown by the shockwave and explosions, some falling off into the ether that surrounded Outland.

  The sounds of the pandemonium were dulled to Vylia’s ears as she and the shaman Chou quickly moved through prison underneath, even if occasionally the roof shook with the impact of the shelling.  Behind them, two orcs, a dwarf and a human.  Each of them having been prisoners and now carrying weapons that had been confiscated from the guards.  They came to another cell.  In a flash, a lockpick was in her fingers and she worked the lock.

 “I didn’t know you could pick locks,” the shaman said.

 “You weren’t always a shaman,” she replied.  In a moment, she had finished it and pushed the door open.  “No one in this one.  Let’s move on.”  Vylia slipped the lockpick back away quickly before heading down to the next one.

 “Don’t know if we’ll find anyone,” the dwarf said.  “They started emptying them a week ago.”

 “We have to check though,” Chou answered.  “There could be people still in here.”  The ceiling quaked and dirt fell from it with another explosion of the airship’s cannons far above.  Looking over the lock, she glanced at Chou.  

 “This one’s all yours,” Vylia said.  “Break it down.”  Fire began to form in Chou’s hands as Vylia banged on the door.  “Get away from the door!” she shouted.  A second later she backed away as the panderan threw the fire into the metal.  Sparks and molten metal dripped from the lock until it burned through entirely.   Vylia pushed the door open then as they saw another figure huddled against the wall.

 “Only two more of them. Vylia, we’ll…”  Chou quieted as she saw the draenei slowly kneel down in front of the figure.  “Vylia?”

 Her jaw fell open.  In front of her was the last person she’d expected to see.  He was wearing tattered pants and lacked a shirt, like many of the prisoners, but had more cuts on his body than them.  She reached forward and pressed her hand to his face.  He turned slightly then, eyes moving to look to her.  “Vad?  Vad is that you?”

 “You know him?” Chou asked.

He coughed a little, smiling weakly as he realized who it was.  “What kept you?” he asked.  Vylia threw her arms around him then.  He winced. “Vy…  Armor.  Ow…”

 She let go then. “Sorry.  I…”  Vylia took a deep breath and fought the tears forming in her eyes.  She reached up and light glowed from her palm.  The Gift of the Naaru formed above her forehead as the energies mended his minor wounds.  “I saw the tower explode when me and Jo escaped.  And I couldn’t get back.  The…”

 “I thought I was a gonner too.”

 “Vylia, we need to get out of here,” Chou said.  Her voice was a little more urgent than earlier.

 “Who’s your friend?”

 Vylia looked back at the shaman.  “Chou,” she said.  “I’ll explain things later, but we need to get back to the Golganneth.”  She got to her feet and offered Vadralis a hand.  He took it and she pulled him to his feet.  The two started out of the cell.

 “We’ll need to get past the overseer still.”  He gritted his teeth.  “And I would really like to gut him.”

 “I don’t think you’re in any condition to fight, Vad.”

 “None of us are,” one of the orcs said.  “I’d like to see his head on a spike though.”  The other prisoners quickly spoke up as well.

 “Let’s get going then. Soon as we’re outside, Jo will signal Ryant to drop the ropes and we’ll all go meet the others.”  She started for the front with Vadralis next to her. Chou was behind them with the rest of the prisoners following.  They stopped at the last cell and Vylia began to pick the lock again.  The earth shook again from another shot above ground.  As she pushed the door open, Chou looked over the night elf, green magic floating in her palms, finishing the work that Vylia’s healing had not.  She got it open when they heard orcish shouting down the hall.

 “GET THAT BASTARD!” the dwarven prisoner shouted.  The others cried in agreement.  Vylia looked up to see a bulky fel orc at the other end, with an axe in one hand and a whip in the other.  He started for them as Chou prepared another burst of fire in her paws.  Before even one of the freed prisoners had reached the orc, the flare collided with them.  Vylia looked quickly to Vadralis as Chou moved closer to support the prisoners.

 “You wouldn’t happen to have anything I could use?’ he asked.  Vylia pulled a pair of knives out of a pouch on her belt.  One of them though caused him to take it slowly and look it over.  When he looked back up at her, a small smile on his face, she’d turned away, pulling her sword and shield from her back and heading into the melee.

 By the time she reached the orc, three other guards had joined the fight.  Vylia swung her shield in a punch at the nearest one, the edge slamming into the orc’s nose and knocking them into two of the escaped prisoners.  They quickly started stabbing and hacking with their stolen weapons.  The overseer’s whip lashed around one of them and tugged back. Chou swept her staff around and swiftly tripped another guard as she prepared another spell in her free hand. In an instant, the other prisoners were on top of him.  The dwarf prisoner jumped on the back of the overseer, holding onto one of his spikes jutting out of their spine.  While they were distracted, the draenei charged her blade with holy magic and slammed it into the earth.  White light erupted from out and filled the hallway.  The corrupted orcs began to burn as she moved to intercept the overseer. She parried a swing from their axe and kicked hard in his stomach, but failed to knock them off balance.  The dwarf on his back was grabbed and thrown away by another new guard arriving.

 In the middle of the chaos, she stood with her sword and shield ready, facing the overseer.  He shouted something in his language that Vylia didn’t catch and didn’t care about.  She smashed her shield into him again, stabbing for a weak point in the armor. The blade went through and dark blood spurted from the wound.  A bolt of lightning jumped from Chou’s paws, stunning them for a couple heartbeats. She took another swipe with her sword, having it get caught on their axe.  She disengaged the blade and blocked his strike.  Sparks jumped from the shield from the impact as the earth quaked above with another shot from the airship’s cannons.  Before Vylia though could deliver the killing blow, a knife flew into their eye, followed by the throwing knife she’d given Vadralis landing in their throat.  The overseer fell to the ground in a heap.  A couple of the other prisoners shouted and beat the body furiously with their weapons as Vylia turned her attention to see the last of the guards fleeing. Slowly she lowered her weapons and looked back at the rest of the group.

 “We need to get topside!” Chou shouted.  “They’ll have a response from the ledges here soon I’m sure.”  She helped the dwarf prisoner back to his feet and pulled a mana potion from her bag.

 “What’re we waiting for then?” one orc said, grabbing the dead overseer’s whip.  The others quickly started for the exit as Chou finished her potion and stuffed the bottle back in the bag.   Vylia steeled herself, readying sword and shield and starting to advance. A couple of the prisoners rushed past as Chou brought up the rear.  They rushed through the long hall and to the guard room.  It had been abandoned in the chaos, likely the guards having gone topside to aid in the defense.  One of the orcs reached the door and pushed against it, finding it not budging.  He checked the lock and pushed again.  The dwarf and another began to push to no avail.

 “Chou?” Vylia asked, sheathing her blade and shield on her back once more.

 “I got it,” she replied.   “Get away from the door, please!”   The prisoners quickly moved out of the way.  Fire flashed in her hands and she began to turn the door to ash and the metal to slag. The sounds of the cannons outside were far louder now.  Vylia quickly glanced around the guardroom, grabbing weapons and armor for the prisoners and passing it out.  Most of it was far too big for the group, but would help keep them alive for the run to the cover of the airship.

 “You kept the knife,” Vadralis said.

 She stopped in her footsteps and spun around.  He was looking at the throwing knife in his hand, expertly flicking it.  She felt her heart jump in her chest.  Vylia closed her eyes and bowed her head, looking to her right.  “Yes,” she said.  “I…  I did.”  She caught Chou glancing in their direction for a moment before looking back at the night elf.  He had a sad smile on his face as he watched her reach up to push her hair back behind one of her horns.  A shuttering breath escaped her lips.  “Can we do this later?  I…”

 “Of course, Vy.” Hearing the simple nickname with his voice again tugged at the corners of her lips for a moment.  “Better get up front with your friend.  We’ll need someone to lead the run out.  Probably a good idea for the one in the toughest armor.”

 “Yeah.”  She took a deep breath and looked back up at him. He looked serious once more, his own training showing through as he prepared for whatever was on the other side of that door.  Vylia turned and started to Chou as the door’s remains flew away, along with the simple barricade the defenders had placed to try and contain them.  The sword and shield left the paladin’s back and she charged out into the chaos with the freed prisoners and shaman behind her.

#draecember #draecember2017 #Warcraft #Fanfic #Draenei #Vylia #Seliira #Vadralis #Chou #Guldel

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember-Prompt 28:  In Trouble

Had a bit of fun with this one and had to take a playful poke at an old event I remember seeing every now and then when I used to play.

Special thanks to @mittensmcedgelord for letting me borrow Chou the panderan shaman again.

-Previous Pieces:  Letter, Losing Someone, Memory and Dimensional Ship, Discovery, On a Mission, Feeling Left out and Facing a Fear, Working with The Horde, Family, Reunion With a Loved One, Relaxing,  Facing a Fear and Overcoming an Obstacle, Corruption and Regret  Winterveil Celebrations  -

The cell in Stormwind was cold and damp, which was to be expected given the only light coming in was the dawn from the small barred window.  Vylia shivered as she pulled the scratchy and stained wool blanket around her body a little more.  A guard walked by followed by a very familiar night elf who said something quietly. The guard gave a nod and headed back out as Vadralis slipped the bag on his shoulder off.

 “So,” Vadralis began, folding his arms and smirking at the draenei that sat on the bunk.  “You want to tell me why the city guard arrested you for indecent exposure or am I gonna have to read the report?”

 “It was not what it looked like, Vad,” she replied.

 “From what I heard you had a little too much to drink.  But you have no evidence of a hangover unless you used the Gift of the Naaru to cleanse yourself of the effects.  And I know you love to dance, but you’re nowhere near that much of an exhibitionist.”

 She felt her cheeks grow hot even though she was glaring right at him.  “Just pass me my pants and shirt…  It’s freezing in this cell.  And this blanket is horrible.”

 Still smirking, he pushed the bag through the bars.  Vylia got to her feet and took it from him before sliding the blanket off her shoulders. She stood in just a strapless bra with a violet stone clasp in the middle of it and a matching pair of panties, cut for her tail.  Vylia grabbed her pants out of the bag and quickly slipped them on and her tail out the cut in its back.  If it was anyone other than Vadralis there, she’d have asked them to turn around, but they’d both seen far more of each other.  “So, what exactly happened that lead to you dancing on the top of a mailbox?”

 She slipped her shirt on then, carefully pulling the neck out and getting it on so she wouldn’t tear it with her horns.  It was always difficult with how they swept back rather than curled downward like how Seliira’s were now.  She smiled slightly at remembering how her dear sister had been the reason for all of this.  “It all started with waiting for Ryant to come pick us up…”

Vylia stood with her arms folded and leaning against the wall, waiting for the guard captain to actually speak with her about why they’d confiscated her sister’s swords.  She could think of several reasons for it, but they’d gone through all the protocol to ensure she was allowed to carry them. Maybe it was because she was still a ‘new’ death knight in their records, she thought…

  “Waitwaitwait,” Vadralis said, holding up a hand and interrupting her story.  “If that was all that was wrong, why’d you not just come find me?  I could’ve cleared the red tape easy.”

 Vylia slipped her tailcuff on before pulling out the small rings that would fit around her tendrils. “I did,” she replied, carefully slipping a ring onto her tendril.  She moved it up back near the base of it behind her ear before grabbing the next one. “You weren’t in your office and when I asked, you were at the keep.”

 “Ah…”  He looked down and shook his head.    “And knowing the guard captain last night…”

 She grabbed her belt out of the bag then and continued her tale.

 She thought the guard captain that night was a complete jackass.  He probably was wanting a small power fix and this was a reliable way to get it.  The door to the building opened and Chou came out, followed by Seliira who looked defeated.

 “No luck?” she asked.

 “None,” Chou said. “Jolim is still in there arguing with guy in there.  And her swords were already moved to the armory.”

 “Great.”

 “Maybe it would’ve been better if I stayed on the ship,” Seliira groaned.

 “But then you wouldn’t get any of the drinks!” Chou countered.  She looked at Vylia then.  “Any luck with Vadrails?”

 “He’s busy.  So no,” she replied.  “We can’t let them keep them though.  Even touching one of those blades bare-handed will give someone a nasty frostbite.”

 “You have a plan then?”

 “Yeah.”  She spotted Jolim emerge a moment later, grumbling. “No luck, huh?”

 “None,” the human said. He growled quietly.  “So, what do we do now?”

 “We’ll steal them back and I’ll get Vad to cover for us afterwards,” Vylia said.

 “So you hatched a plan to rob them.”

 “Pretty much, yeah.” She finished with the rings around her tendrils and grabbed her belt.  Once it was slipped in the loops around her waist, Vadralis opened the door for her and passed her boots in.  “Given everyone there was busy with watching after the craziness that happens with Brewfest, Chou hit on the idea of maybe bringing them some treats.”

 “Okay, these look good,” the panderan said.  “Now, we need to make sure -”

  “You were going to drug the guards?” Vadralis asked.

 Vylia shook her head. “No, the idea was she’d distract them with delicious food.  Not drug them at all.”  She finished pulling on one of her boots.  “I get you and other SI:7 guys get paid to think worst case scenario most of the time but remember who was organizing it!  Also Chou is way too nice to deliberately drug someone like those guards.”

  “Okay, these look good,” the panderan said.  “No, we just need to make sure they enjoy this meal.”  She carefully placed a lid on the container as steam billowed from the stew and gripped the handles with both hands.  Jolim moved out of the way so she could head back to the barracks. As they did, Vylia and Seliira crept along the dark and carefully to the side-wall.  Vylia gave her sister a boost up, who in return pulled her up the wall partially.  The sisters were then quickly looking around.  No one had caught them sneaking in.

 “Great, so which way to the armory?” Seliira asked.

 “This way,” Vylia replied, pointing.  “And careful with the stone floors.”

 “I know.”

  “So, how about we just skip ahead to when you got caught,” Vadralis said with a sigh.

 “You wanted details, Vad,” Vylia said as she finished pulling her boots on.  She stood back up and went to the door as he unlocked it.

 “Yes, but I can kinda figure that you snuck in, worked past the guards, got her swords and then got out. But you’re still here suggesting that someone caught you.”

 She walked through the doorway.  “Well… Had I realized it was Brewfest…”

  Her hooves clattered along the stone as she ran through the barracks.  The distraction gave Seliira enough time to slip down the other side of the wall, her swords on her hips once more where they belonged.  Chou shrieked in surprise as the draenei dashed past her and a couple soldiers enjoying her stew.  Thankfully they were too occupied with the panderan’s cooking to do much in the way of help their companions chase Vylia down.  She ran up the stairs to the wall and quickly climbed over it.  By the time the guards had caught up, she’d already landed on the other side and was running for the dwarven district.

 She soon found herself though among a pack of drunken partygoers in the heart of the district. People cheered and spilled drinks as music played.  Before she knew it, someone handed her a drink and no one realized she was wanted for having broken into the nearby guard barracks.  Vylia glanced back to see her pursuers were now combing the crowd. Her time from before becoming a paladin told her to blend in, so she took a drink and cheered with the crowd. The minutes passed as the soldiers soon gave up and left.

 Her instincts told her not to make a hasty retreat as it could very likely lead her into a trap, so she remained there for hours, participating in the celebrations until a faint beer buzz had taken hold.

  “Vy, I’ve seen you down some pretty potent stuff,” Vadralis said as they walked out of the prison cells. A guard saluted the night elf as they passed.  “Though in fairness, some of the stuff that they brought down from Ironforge this year would probably knock Guldel out even.”

 “I avoided those ones,” Vylia replied.  “At least… I think I did…”  She adjusted her belt and realized there was a tear in her pants she hadn’t noticed when putting them on…

  Though Vylia had no memory of it, she had indeed grabbed some of the strongest beer at the festival out of curiosity and was soon screaming with joy and swinging her shirt over her head as she swung her hips to the song that the band was playing.  A gnome danced on the top of a keg in his underwear and a single boot as he shouted at people to let their inhibitions go along with their clothes.  Her pants got caught on a nail as she went to get more to drink and with a shrug she pulled them off.

 “Brewmaster!” she cried, holding up her stein.  “Another!” The gnome cheered and sat down on the keg to reach down.  He opened it and promptly fell off head over heels onto the ground!  A couple people gasped in surprised but soon were laughing heartily as the gnome hopped back to his feet with a cheer before rushing off. With her cup filled once more, she fumbled with the spigot before returning to dancing.  In the middle of it, she felt herself get lifted off the ground. A shriek turned to laughter as she saw a draenei man plant her on a nearby mailbox and resumed dancing with the rest of the crowd.  For a moment, she wondered what was going on, but promptly shrugged, took a drink and began dancing once more, atop the mailbox.

   “Aaaaaaaand that’s when the regular city guard found me and hauled me off the mailbox,” she said, cheeks purple as she blushed.  “Was just trying to blend in and avoid the other guards.”

 Vadralis was chuckling as Vylia put her head in a hand.   “So you avoided all the trouble only to get caught by the regular patrol.”

 “Yeah...  Not exactly my proudest moment.”

 He gave her a pat on the shoulder.  “Well, could’ve been worse.  And I did clear everything for you.  The guard captain isn’t happy, but that’s his problem.”

 She smiled a little. “Thanks, Vad.”

 “You guys have room for me still on The Golganeth?”

 “Sure the other guys wouldn’t mind.”

#draecember #draecember2017 #draenei #Warcraft #Fanfic #Vylia #Vadralis

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember-Prompt 20: Back to School

Yeah, I’m kinda going all over for the prompts, but that’s how it goes.  One more tomorrow and it’ll be a quick one I think to close this out!  It has been an immense amount of fun and a nice break from my other fic.  And look at that too!  A piece under 2k!

-Previous Pieces:  Letter, Losing Someone, Memory and Dimensional Ship, Discovery, On a Mission, Feeling Left out and Facing a Fear, Working with The Horde, Family, Reunion With a Loved One, Relaxing,  Facing a Fear and Overcoming an Obstacle, Corruption and Regret  Winterveil Celebrations, In Trouble  -

Vylia twirled the sword in her hand as she followed her instructor’s movements.  Calveer held his own training blade pointing at her as they circled in the ring.  Around them other vindicators and recruits watched the two spar.  Carefully she watched his movements, keeping the blade raised.  She wished she had a shield, or a small knife in her other hand, but that’d defeat the purpose of the entire exercise.

 Calveer took a step forward, blade raised and brought it down.  She quickly parried it and lunged for an attempt to strike at his chest.  He backed up and knocked her sword.  Her grip remained on it as she backed away. She watched and saw a moment that he’d lowered his blade.  An opportunity!  She lunged forward.   Calveer swiftly raised the sword to parry.  She attempted two stabs, both deflected, followed by an attempted slice.  Again though, her teacher caught and blocked every strike, but didn’t carry a riposte.  

 Vylia remembered from her prior adventures with her sisters about how she’d look for openings and weak points to stab at, but her quarry those days was distracted by Seliira.  She felt a pain in her chest remembering the events that had led to her losing both her and Olisa.

 Calveer took another swing as she was distracted and it was over.  She was on the ground again, training sword out of her hand and looking up at the hooves of the others who had watched her failure.  A couple turned away, with one of the other instructors starting to speak quietly, likely on her mistakes.

 “Let’s take a break,” Calveer said.  When Vylia had turned over onto her back, she saw him offering a hand.  She took it and was pulled to her feet.  The two long tendrils on his chin dangled briefly before resting against his chest.  

 “No, I can do this,” Vylia grumbled.  She looked over to where her sword had fallen and slipped her hoof just enough under its blade to kick it up into the air.  Expertly, she caught the grip in her hand and spun back around to face Calveer.  He had already handed the training blade off to another.

 “You’re not thinking clearly, Vylia.  And you’re still far too aggressive.”

 “Thought you said that was a good thing.”  Her fingers coiled tighter around the sword’s grip.  

 “Sometimes, but you need to know when.  If you’re too aggressive in a fight, it may leave you overextended.  Which is what keeps happening.  You see an opening and over-commit, leaving yourself vulnerable.”

 “But we’re supposed to end a threat quickly.  Yes?”

 “Yes, but also to survive it.  We can’t serve The Light and our people if we die.  We may need to be ready to make that sacrifice, but we should not make it lightly.”

 “Right.”  She shook her head as they walked out of the training room.  They soon were outside and looking upon the massive mushrooms of Zangarmarsh.  The sounds of the wildlife filled her ears as she looked down from their hiding place from The Horde.  She leaned over the rail and watched as a spore walker in the distance strode through the swamp.

  “You are getting better though.”

 “Really?”

 “Yes.  Every time we do that drill, you last a little longer and are more deliberate in your strikes.  During sparing with the others I see you’re quicker to see openings against your opponents and take advantage of them.”  He folded his arms across his chest.  “You just need to stop being so aggressive in your attacks and leaving yourself open like that.”

 “Heh.”  She shook her head and looked back at her mentor.  “Maybe in a thousand years I’ll be a passable member of The Hand of Argus.”

 “You have all the qualities we are known for.  Obedient. Brave.  Intelligent and honorable.”

 Her brow rose at his words. “Really?  I don’t think anyone in my old group would’ve called me obedient. Or honorable.  I mean, most of the time I just stabbed people in the back while Seliira stabbed them in the front.”

 “You treat people fairly. You’re willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.  You comply to those orders and respect of those above you.”

 “Really?”  Her tone told him everything he needed.  “I think Exarch Salatim would disagree.”

 “Yes.  Even when you were questioning his orders the other day. You are obedient in the ideals and purpose.  Obedience to The Light does not mean blind faith.  It means obedient to the ideals.  It is good that you question orders you do not think conform to our teachings.  It may not always be appreciated, but it is important that we do not allow ourselves blinded by zeal or vengeance.”

 “So you’re saying by being disobedient at times I’m actually being obedient?”

 “To a degree.”

 “Heh…”  She laughed a little and shook her head, looking back on the marshes.    “Why’d you agree to take me?  None of the others wanted to.”

 “Because I saw potential from when we spoke.  And honesty. You are not happy about your past. And I can understand it with how you and your sisters explored Draenor before the rise of The Horde.  How you just wanted to explore and see the world but it would mean leaving the comfort of our people.  It would have been easy to lie to any of us, but you didn’t.  You admitted you did not wish to discuss the fate of your sisters.  Or your companions other than Tellos.  And yet, eventually you did with me.  But you never lied.”  He walked to the rail and leaned over it next to her.  “It will be long before they completely accept you.  It was like that for me when I joined them.  Back when we fled Argus.”

 “Oh?”  She’d never heard of Calveer’s past and was curious. With what he’d just said too, it sounded like maybe there was something there that had made her get chosen by him to be trained.

 “It is not something I wish to discuss in any detail, Vylia.  Just as you do not wish to discuss the events with Olisa.  And it was a very very long time ago.”  He bowed his head.  “It is not who I am anymore.  And we have a long time.”  He began to smile.  “How about we finish the day in the forge?  I know you have enjoyed the metallurgy and smithing as part of the regular maintenance of your armor and weapons.”

 She knew where he was going with it, but it did sound like a good way to end the day for training.  “Sure.”  She pushed off the rail and turned back.  “Maintenance or we actually going to make something other than smelting ingots?”

#draecember #draecember2017 #draenei #Warcraft #Fanfic #Vylia #Calveer

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember Prompts 2 and 4-A Memory and Life on a Dimensional Ship

“You doing alright?” she heard behind her.  “You’ve been staring at that island over there for twenty minutes.”

Vylia turned briefly to look over her shoulder at the netherdrake that was her near constant companion since they’d returned to Outland.  Of course, there were the others there, down the hill at their camp. But she’d wanted a little bit to herself.  Being here again, The Shadowmoon Valley, was difficult.  She looked back at the floating islands over the endless abyss and stars that came through the clouds and green glow of fel energies that corrupted the very earth.  “I haven’t been out here twenty minutes,” she replied.

 “Still, been a bit.” Onyxien paused as he stepped behind her.    “You okay?”

 “You just asked that.”

 “And you avoided the question.”

 She sighed as she closed her eyes.  “Just didn’t think our job would lead back here.”

 “You own an apartment in Shrattrath you’ve spent so much time here.  And that was before we even met.”

 “I meant the ledges. This one part of this literally thrice-damned valley.”  Vylia slowly looked back at the drake.  He had moved so he was lying on the earth and looking out on the floating islands covered in crystals.  Occasionally they could see other netherwing drakes and dragons flying around them. If they were enslaved to the Dragonmaw remnant there or were free, neither could tell from this far away. There had once been a great sea there. Vylia remembered swimming in it from time to time in her youth, and even thousands of years later.  But that was so long ago now.  Long before the war that had seen her entire race nearly wiped out. “I lost my sister here.  My home.  And just over those mountains, the first person in a thousand years I’d grown to love.” She almost pulled the throwing knife he’d given her from her belt to look it over again, but did not.  She didn’t want to relive those memories. Being in this place was enough to put her mind on them.    “And not like the ways when me and Seliira were with the others.  Like…” She scoffed and shook her head.

 “Not all bad memories here though,” the drake said, pointing a claw at one of the drifting rocks.  “Fought the Illidari and The Legion through these valleys.  Thought I’d actually never even leave Outland.”  

 “I remember having to talk you into it.”  She turned a little so she could face him with an aucsitory look.  “And you made a helluva stink about it until we were actually back in The Blasted Lands.”

 “Well, my entire flight is only as old as Outland itself!” he chuckled.  “Could you blame me for being cautious?”

 “Not really.  Big step out of that portal.  Might’ve well have been off a cliff for you.”  She looked back at the islands.  “Lotta old memories about this place.  A few of them I’m not really happy about too.”  Vylia smiled slightly as she looked back up at the stars. “A lot of Draenei remember our homeworld.  Argus. Not me though.  I was born on the ships that brought us here.  Grew up in this very valley before going out with my sister and a few other friends to just see the rest of this world.  Even if it got us labeled as outcasts and troublemakers.”

 “So you wouldn’t know what it’s like to live aboard one of those dimensional ships.”

 “Pfft.  No.  My only real experience with it was our flight from this place after everything with the blood elves.  We hid in the marshes for the longest time after the world shattered before we tried to flee this place in The Exodar.”  She looked back at him.  “And that ended with us crashing.”  She was silent then, closing her eyes for a minute.  After a moment of quiet, she got to her feet, plate clinking slightly as she stood.  “Should probably get back down to the others now though…  The scouts will be back soon.”  She looked back over the mountains.  “And I’m not looking forward to going back to that fortress.”

Originally was going to just do this as the memories one, but thought I could fit in a tiny bit of the other one too.

Previous Prompts:  Letter, Losing Someone

#draecember #draecember2017 #Draenei #Warcraft #Fanfic #Vylia