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A Priestess Task

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A Priestess Task Empty A Priestess Task

Post by Eavya Morninglight Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:58 pm

2nd big story I wrote, a couple of years ago now...


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That morning I woke up with a smile on my face. I didn’t feel quite like leaving the bed yet so I turned around to the man next to me. His face was covered with hair and I brushed it away carefully. My touch made the corners of his mouth curl a bit, which made me smile again.
I sighed softly, rolled over again and slipped quietly out of the bed. The cold morning breeze made me shiver lightly and I quickly stepped in my robe and slipped on the sleeves. I just had to tighten some laces and the robe fitted perfectly around my body. I thanked Elune for the gifted tailors who crafted this powerful piece of cloth.

As I left the house, a gust of wind hit me again. This time I could smell the rain. I looked up and frowned at the clustering rain clouds. Sighing, I went back in to the house and put on a light cloak. The first raindrops started to fall down as I walked up the ramp to the Temple in Darnassus. Annoyed I fastened my pace and hurried to get inside before the rain really would start falling. I never really liked rain, especially not when wearing an expensive robe… I didn’t make it in time, I was soaking wet when I entered the temple.

I took a deep breath, mumbled something about that darn rain and tilted my head a bit. I was still wringing out my hair when I saw Alathea, one of the priest trainers, rushing my way. She had a very worrying look upon her face, and the way she rushed towards me gave me an uneasy feeling. Something told me this was not going to be an ordinary Temple-day…
I frowned as she pushed a piece of paper in my hands and started talking at the same time.

‘Glad to see you here Eavya. You have to leave immediately, this is an emergency. There is no one else I can send now, I am sorry, but this is very urgent.’ Her tone was as upset as her expression was and I took a quick look at the piece of paper she gave me. Alathea didn’t gave me the chance to read it though, she continued her speech.

‘This family is known by us, they live in Winterspring, Starfall village. A mother, a father and a daughter. It’s not the father this time though, he can’t be saved anymore. It’s the daughter now. She has come down with a strange but very aggressive illness and needs our immediate attention. A skilled healer is needed… And I think you’re just the person who can solve this matter.’ I nodded slightly and sighed… Winterspring, beautiful, but so cold…

‘Take only what you need and be swiftly, Eavya Morninglight, this girl’s life is in your hands.’ With her voice still in my ears I rushed back home. He had left, good… I really couldn’t use any delays. How many times did I hear that sentence…

‘A life is in your hands.’

How many lives had I saved? How many still to come? I couldn’t answer myself.

I slipped out of the expensive robe and into a much simpler but also a much warmer version. I might needed the energy that robe gave me, but I also needed something to keep me warm in the cold climate of Winterspring. I held the beautiful robe in my hands, letting the silky fabric glide trough my hands before folding it up neatly and putting it away. That robe certainly wouldn’t keep me warm. I also dug up a more sturdy cloak, wrapped myself in it and I pulled the hood up to cover my hair. The other, wet cloak I threw away in a corner. Frowning I looked around, pieces of clothing lying everywhere.

I needed to tidy up the place when I get back. I thought to myself.

Quickly I grabbed some bread and a flask of water and put them into a bag which I fastened to my belt. I didn’t care to check everything over once again and rushed outside.

As I left the house again I was glad to see the rain had lessened. Yet, as I passed the bank, there was no one to be seen. A quiet day for Darnassus… I rushed to the portal, stepped trough it and entered Rut’theran village. No more rain it seemed, as I pulled back my hood and looked at the now clear blue sky, frowning. Odd, those weather changes… I nodded and smiled a little to the hippogryph master as I bought my flight to Winterspring. The flight was a calm one, nothing special. I always loved these flights. Nothing to hear but the wind gently blowing around my ears, just peace and serenity. Above the landscape of Winterspring my breath became visible because of the dropping temperature in the air. I shivered and pulled my cloak a bit tighter around my body.

I had to smile as I stepped into the fresh, perfectly white snow and made my way to Starfall village. I entered the road towards the village without any troubles. The sky perfectly blue and the wind was nowhere to be noticed. It was cold, freezing actually, but I was dressed for the weather so that didn’t slow me down. When the sun hit his highest point of the day I reached Starfall Village. The roofs of the buildings sparkled as the rays of the low sun shone upon the collected snow. I took a peek at the paper Alathea gave me and found a little, crudely drawn map of Starfall Village on it. A cross pointed me towards the right house, which lay a bit secluded from the village, but not hard to find.

I knocked on the sturdy wooden door and a moment later I stood face to face with the woman who had written the message. She looked desperate. Her dark blue hair had lost his shine and had become dry and lifeless. Her eyes didn’t sparkle as they should and she had dark shades beneath them. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days and cried a lot. In the dark room behind her I could see a man lying on the bed. He looked deadly ill and I immediately started analyzing his situation in my mind, in preparation of a cure. Then I looked into the woman’s eyes again and realized it was not him I was here for. Alathea told me about this man, he couldn’t be saved anymore…

‘You must be the Priestess send from the Temple of Elune right?’ Her voice was nothing more then a whisper and sounded very tired. I noticed her eyes were already filling up with tears again.

I nodded. I felt a compassion for this poor woman, who seemed to have gone trough so much rough times, but I was here for her daughter. That had to be my priority.

‘Yes… Yes I am, now… Could you please lead me to your daughter?’

She stared at me, tears running down her already tearstained cheeks, opening her mouth, but not speaking to me. Then she pressed her lips together again, took a deep breath and then cried out:

‘She’s gone! She has left the house… You have to find her!’ She grabbed my arm in despair. ‘Find her, before it is to late!’

I looked at the woman, frowning, surprised a bit.

‘Miss, what do you mean. Your daughter was ill, correct? How could she leave the house?’

She grabbed hold of my arm even tighter, as if it could safe her life. She looked desperately into my eyes, pleading almost.

‘She got delusional… Once the fever got high she got delirious. I didn’t know what to do…’

Her eyes suddenly rolled backwards and she fell to the ground. My knees buckled as I tried to catch her. She had fainted.
Out of instinct I looked around for somebody to help me, but all there was, was the faint breathing of the dying man in the bed. I sighed and gently tried to shake the woman awake again. I needed her to talk, I needed her to tell me where, for Elune’s sake, her daughter was…
She slowly came to again, blinked with her eyes a bit and then stared at me. Finally she seemed to remember what happened and quickly got up her feet again. I grabbed her elbow and led the distressed woman to a bench in a corner of the room. I looked around, found a cup and some water and brought it back to her. She just held it in her hands and stared at it. A tear slowly rolled down her cheek and dripped into the water. I knelt down beside her and took the cup out of her shaking hands. With her hands in mine I started talking again…

‘Now… Please try to calm down a bit and tell me what happened. I can’t do anything before I know exactly what has happened here.’ She silently nodded at me, eyes full of tears.

‘She…’ Her voice broke again. Shivering she took a deep breath and tried to continue.
‘Ilissa became ill a few days ago. I had her stay home and she got mad at me. She told me some strange story about what her friends had told her. I wasn’t quite sure what it was about… Had something to do with Hyjal…’ She shook her head. ‘I didn’t understand what she was rambling about, I just urged her to stay in bed and get better.’ She fell silent, tears running on her cheeks, taking deep breaths. I could see she was struggling to keep her calm. I squeezed her hands a bit, looked in her eyes and nodded as an encouragement to go on.

‘Ilissa… She didn’t got better. The fever only got higher and she became unconscious. It was then that I wrote my letter to the Temple. Not long after I had send it, Ilissa woke up and she looked at me… No… she stared at me, with this odd look in her eyes. I remember I felt chills running down my back… It was like… she wasn’t really there. I figured she was still dreaming or something… Then she started mumbling to me… Or maybe to someone who wasn’t there… I think she mentioned some of her friends names… And then, then she suddenly shouted out about Hyjal…’ She stared off into the distant for a moment, as if she was trying to relive that day again, then shook her head and went on.

‘I had never seen her like that and I got frightened. She somehow managed to get hold of a dagger and threatened me with it… That is how she got away… She just walked out of the door, still talking and shouting irrational words and sentences… I didn’t know what to do, how to react… I think I couldn’t even move… And when I could again… She was gone. I ran down the road, I couldn’t see here anymore. I asked the Sentinels to go look for her. They couldn’t, a group of them had left that morning and the rest couldn’t leave their post. I panicked, and to make things worse, Nirthas got a fall back right then, I couldn’t leave him… I wouldn’t want him to die alone… So I went back home.’ She raised her face towards mine as she almost pierced her nails trough the skin of my hands.

‘You are my last hope Priestess! Please find my Ilissa!’

I gently tried to make the woman let go of my hands, which really started to get hurt by her hold on them. I felt shocked and surprised by her story but understood her reason for panic. I raised to my feet again and cupped her tearstained face with my hands.

‘Dear sister, I will do everything in my power to get your daughter back, rest assure. But I do need to know where she went… Hyjal is in ruins… and can’t be reached anymore… How and why would she want to go there?’

She let her head hang down, apparently glad there was finally somebody who was willing to help her out. She shrugged a little.

‘Her friends apparently mentioned the Darkwhisper Gorge, and I believe I heard her yelling something about that too…’

I looked at her with wide eyes.

Darkwhisper Gorge… I had heard about that, somewhere south… A home of demons… What was I getting myself into?

I left the sobbing woman with her husband in Starfall village. Hurrying, I made my way back to Everlook. Feverishly I tried to make some kind of plan of how to handle this situation. This girl, this Ilissa, was obviously not in a state to take care of herself and needed help badly. She already had a fast head start on me, and I knew I had to hurry, for it could already be to late. The sun was already starting its descent above the hills of Winterspring as I entered its main village. Sighing I stood still in the middle of the village, for a moment caught in my own despair of not knowing what to do. The odd sounds of the ridiculous machines of the goblins didn’t really help focus my thoughts. I suddenly felt really tired and rubbed my fingers over my temples.

Focus. I thought. Take one thing at the time, I need provisions, and then a mount to carry me to Darkwhisper Gorge…

The inn provided me with the provisions I needed and with the feeling I was finally getting somewhere I hurried to the stable master. Surely there I would find a mount that I could ride to the Gorge.
A few moments later I stood at the stable master, staring blankly at the little goblin, shaking his head.

‘Sorry miss, no can do. I am under no conditions letting my animals out today.’
‘What do you mean?’ I asked the man. Surely he must be mistaken, why would he want his animals inside, what could be wrong?
‘There is a storm coming miss, and I’d suggest you take cover before you get snowed in.’ He giggled a little with an annoying voice and started to turn away from me.
I reached out my hand and grabbed hold of his shoulder, shaking him roughly.
‘A storm?’ I cried out, trying to keep my voice under control. I looked up and pointed at the sky. ‘The sky is clear, there is no storm!’
‘Easy miss,’ the goblin said, now annoyed himself. ‘Mark my words, there is a storm coming, and you will not be taking any of my animals anywhere!’ He pointed a warning green dirty finger at me and trotted off. His little posture walking off, disgruntled as he was, would’ve been funny if I wasn’t so annoyed with this setback.

Without a mount, and at this time of the day, I would at least make one stop and spend the night under the cold stars of Winterspring. I shivered lightly. It wouldn’t have been the first time I had to do such a thing. Long ago my sisters, my mother and I have done it countless times. But then we always made a cozy fire, cuddled up together and told each other stories until we fell asleep. This time would be different though, I would be alone. No one to keep the cold of the night away, nobody to tell me stories. Sighing I looked down the road I didn’t want to go down at. Then the image of the desperate mother I had met this morning appeared in my mind, and her daughter, somewhere out there, in need of aid only I could give her. There was no time to send for any other help, I had no choice. I looked up at the bright sun and the sky around it as I set foot on the road that would lead me to Darkwhisper Gorge.

A storm, I thought cynical, Right… With this weather?

I felt sure of myself. This journey might be long without a mount, it wouldn’t be hard, not with this weather. Still I whispered a little prayer to Elune and started to walk the stones, glittering in the early afternoon sun.

A gently breeze pushed me forward as I walked along the road. I was actually starting to enjoy this little trip. I heard birds singing their song around me and the sun was shining his warmth upon my hair and shoulders. The road ahead was empty and no noise disturbed the calm woods of Winterspring. I held a steady and fast pace in order to reach at least half the distance I had to cover to Darkwhisper Gorge. I was already remembering my mother’s lessons about setting up camp in these winter like surroundings. I even smiled a little as memories passed my mind, happy memories of passed times I did not think of that often.

After a few hours walking I decided to take a little break. I was growing tired and some water and food would surely do me some good. As I sat down on a boulder heated by the sun’s rays I saw small clouds forming in de clear blue sky. The goblin’s words came suddenly to mind.

There is a storm coming miss.

I shook my head. Nonsense, I told myself.
While the sun got occasional got blocked out by the fast gathering clouds, I set foot again upon the road leading south. The wind had started to blow harder, making me aware of the cold climate. Shivering I put up the hood of my cloak and thanked Elune for it’s warmth. I kept my face turned downwards, to hide it from the now ice cold winds. It was not before the first snowflake fell upon my hands that I looked up and realized the goblin had been right. There was a storm coming, already forming above me. Instinctively I began scanning my surroundings for a sufficient cover. My mind on the other hand kept telling me it wasn’t that bad yet, and that I’d better kept moving, maybe the storm would lessen. Time was precious for the girl I was supposed to save, a little bit of wind shouldn’t hold me back and run for cover like a frightened little rabbit.
I started to become worried when the storm didn’t lessen, and the winds kept increasing, blowing the big, cold and wet snowflakes into my face. Already my hands were starting to get numb and I started to notice I couldn’t walk straight anymore, bowing forward in order to keep myself moving in the blistering winds. Just when I was about to start my frantic search for a good hiding place to sit out the storm the winds decreased. The sun even peeked trough the storm clouds, warming up my face a bit. I smiled to myself, I still couldn’t see more then a few feet in front of me and the winds were still blocking any sounds, I felt my spirit lifted a bit.

This feeling was shattered by the sound of something snapping, something whirling towards me ending in a blow that entered my shoulder and send waves of pain throughout my body, forcing me to my knees in the cold snow.

Time seemed to stand still as I watched a drop of blood slowly fall down the tip of the arrowhead that had pierced my shoulder. Amazed by the situation and numb with cold I couldn’t help but staring. It felt like eternity until I came to my senses again, slowly turning my head to see who was the owner of the arrow that had hit me. Through the raging snow I could barely make out the figure of a Tauren. Vaguely I could see the big crossbow he was holding, readying himself for another shot.

Hunter, I told myself, regaining my calm and trying to think. Which will mean there is a pet around as well

I turned my head again, seeing my hands, surrounded by all that cold snow. I closed my eyes as I couldn’t watch the terrible stain next to my hands, crimson and growing. I took a deep breath, readied myself and then stood up. A terrible pain raced trough my body and I almost lost my balance again. I turned to look at the hunter again on more time, and now I could also make out the outlines of a large catlike animal appearing beside him. I could see how the Tauren put out one hand, making a motion towards the pet, and it stood still, looked up at his master. Then the hunter lifted his other arm, with the crossbow on it and I watched in horror as he shot another arrow towards me. I was only a little surprised that this on didn’t hit me, just passed by me without harming me. I squinted my eyes and peered at him.

I am an unmoving target, why doesn’t he kill me now? I thought franticly, but then I got it… He wanted me to run, he wanted to hunt me down… A moment I stood there, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of that hunt, but then I figured that running would be the only chance I had of keeping myself alive, somehow. And I wanted to live, I had another girl’s live in my hands, people who loved me, I couldn’t give up just yet. And so I turned around again, put one foot before the other and started to run, one hand on my shoulder, trying to ignore the pain and stop the bleeding a bit…

I ran… I ran faster then I’d ever ran before in my life. I didn’t see where I was going, the storm had returned in all his glory and seemed to be determined to try and bring me down. The blistering snow and wind had caused my hood to fall down from my head and I was starting to loose feeling on my face. And yet I kept running, expecting anytime to be brought down by another arrow, this time in my back or right trough my heart.

At first I didn’t think at all, I just ran. But then the sensible voice in my mind started to reappear and looked over my good shoulder. There was nothing to see but the raging winds and the thickening snow. That didn’t mean the hunter wasn’t still pursuing me, or that he could appear anytime and kill me still… It did mean however, that if I couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see me, at the moment… I hoped… I started to look around, while running. I was running on my last breath now, I had to find a safe hiding place or else I would be done for. I noticed I had started to run uphill now, making my energy leaving my body even faster. Suddenly I tripped over a hidden root underneath the snow and fell face down in the snow. I didn’t feel pain anymore, no need to breath… For a split-second I just lay there and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep.

I didn’t… Somehow I got up again and managed to pick up a running pace again, leading me higher and higher up the hill. But I was so slow. A terrible fear inside me told me I would be too slow and the hunter would catch up with me again.
Blindly I stumbled forwards, always forwards until I was stopped. I had walked into a wall. Numbed and only a little surprised I managed to raise my head and looked at the obstacle that made me loose my pace. It was an old ruin, build by one of the earlier inhabitants of Winterspring. I looked back again. The winds were still raging, the snow was hiding every sight of my surroundings, still no sign of the hunter.

I lay my hand on the structure and rested against it for only a few moments, trying to regain some of my breath. Then I started moving again, around the building. When I cornered the wall I bumped up to I was surprised to feel the wind had lessened there. My eye fell upon a corner inside the ruins where there was almost no snow. My heart felt a little lighter by this sight. Maybe I could hide here, maybe the hunter would pass me by here… I managed to make my way up to the sheltered corner of the structure. I sighed of relieve and pain as I sat down and mumbled some words. The movement I had to make with my hands made the pain return in his full glory but my shield was up. The cold lessened, the wind seemed to have disappeared within the protective shield I had conjured from Elune’s powers. I put my good arm around my knees, wrapped my cloak around me and lay my head on my knees, huddling some more into the corner, trying to disappear there, fading into the shadows… Now I could do nothing more than wait, and hope the shield I had pulled up also covered my scent…

Sounds… or rather the absence of any kind of sound of all forced me out of my slumber. I blinked my eyes, a couple of seconds wondering where I was. I raised my head, the movement made my hood slowly slide down. I was numb with cold, even though the sun’s rays were penetrating the thick thunderclouds now, which seemed to be dispersing quickly. I raised my hand, my good hand, and wiped it across my eyes, in a futile attempt on getting the focus back into my vision. The movement hurt me, though not so severely as I remembered it from the crazy run.

I took a deep breath, shook the snow off my shoulders and leaned on one of the walls my little shelter existed of. With a great afford I managed to find myself standing again, feeling extremely dizzy and disorientated. I must have lost a great deal of blood to be feeling this way. I tried to look at my shoulder, not thinking of the pain. The tip of the arrow was sticking out trough a jagged wound clotted with dried up blood. I knew what had to be done, I’d done it before, just not on an arrow sticking out of -me-. Last time I had to perform such an action was when Lilyven accidentally shot Ryasha on a hunting trip.

I sighed, looked up in despair and uttered a prayer to Elune. With a quick snap I broke off the arrowhead, and in one smooth motion after that I yanked out the remaining bit of the arrow sticking out of my back. I nearly fainted as the blood started to gush out again. As I fell to my knees I put my hand across the wound and tried to focus every last bit of energy I had left to my healing power as I mumbled words of prayer to Elune. The familiar feeling started to rise from within me, making my skin tingle all the way up to my hand, covering the wound, lighting up and slowly but steadily healing the tear in my shoulder.

It took me some time to recover from this incident. I just sat on the ground, listening to all that was going on around me. The woods of Winterspring were very quiet, which felt disturbing. Yet there was no sign of the Tauren hunter that had been pursuing me. I should’ve felt relieved, but I couldn’t relax and I kept looking around me nervously. Luckily the weather seemed to be clearing up, but that also could be a disadvantage if the hunter was still out there, looking for me…

When I came out of my hiding place there was still no one to be seen. I walked cautiously towards the main road again, making sure to have checked my surroundings on every step I took. The absence of sounds seemed to be fading away a little. Little whispers of the wind, birds softly starting their song again. I fresh gush of the wind ran trough my hair, seemingly playing with it as I looked up and down the road. I don’t think I ever felt more nervous in my life before, expecting every second to be shot down by one of that hunter’s arrows.

As I walked down the path, the nervousness seemed to fade away gradually. There was no one after me anymore it seemed. I had lost precious time though. I didn’t know how long I had been sleeping, or been unconscious for that matter. What I did notice was that the sun was beginning it’s descent and that I would soon have to look for a decent shelter that could provide me for the cold night.

The afternoon was long gone before I finally found a suitable place to set up camp. A shallow nice between a couple of large boulders would fit me and a small fireplace. I cleared it out in the fading rays of the sun and put some dry pine branches on the floor to act as my bed. It was cold, but the fire kept the frost at bay and I wrapped my cloak around me to keep my body heat from fleeting away. It took me a long time to finally fall asleep. My mind kept wondering towards Darkwhisper Gorge, the place where demons walked and shadow magic crept the earth. Elune knows how badly I can stand the shadows…

Again I woke up in the cold. My fire had gone out, how could I’ve been so stupid, I should’ve been more careful… I might have never woken up. Luckily there was a clear blue sky, the sun shining brightly from it’s low spot just above the horizon. I quickly gathered the little possessions I had with me and set foot on the path south again.

No one was on the path that day, no hunters trying to kill me, nor friendly travellers to share a word with. I felt quite alone in the fastness that was Winterspring. Nothing but frozen trees and virgin snow to keep me company. I knew the forests were full of animals, yet I saw non. The only sign of animal life around here was the beautiful songs of the birds. There was no one, until I reached the Frostwhisper Gorge. I noticed the low trembling of the earth before I saw the huge ice bridge doom out of the icy fog. As I came closer to the bridge I looked down over the edge. Large shapes were walking around a good distance below my feet. With every step they took they shook the earth, they were giants, wondering around aimlessly and crushing everything that came beneath their feet.

I looked up at the sun as I put my first step upon the partly transparent ice bridge. It was passed noon, but I was making good time and I would definitely reach Darkwhisper Gorge soon. I was dreading the moment. The weather seemed to be against me still. A thick fog was now obstructing my sight any further than a few feet. I could still feel the warm rays of the sun, but my vision was completely useless it seemed. It made me feel odd, crossing the bridge over the Frostmaul giants, feeling their movement below my feet, but not seeing the distance I would fall if the bridge would crumble beneath my feet. I had great confidence it wouldn’t, it had been lying there for ages, it wouldn’t cave in underneath a pair of light Elven feet.

A couple of hours later a sharp sulphur scent reached my attention, the fog became a darker shade of grey or even brownish… I knew that I had now reached the Gorge… and somewhere in there was a helpless distressed young girl, needing my help, or maybe already far beyond.
The snow ended in a patch of dirt, molten snow and burned trees. Pillars of once great buildings stood crumbled beneath the falling embers of fires far away. Dark shades were walking in the distance, demons. I could feel the foul fel energy gulfing towards me, suffocating me with a burning fear I couldn’t explain. My hands were tingling and I clenched them into fists. I bit my lip and started walking into the thickening smoke.
I hadn’t even reached the end of the snow before my path was blocked by a giant Helderine slayer, a felguard kind of demon. His armor was rough, cracked and out of his back there were three giant spikes growing, like extensions of his spine. His horrifying face didn’t seem to have any eyes, and yet, I know he was looking at me. Thirty feet away, his gaze focused on my little being. I stood perfectly still, not daring to move a muscle. I had hoped to reach the start of the Gorge and make my way trough shadows unnoticed until I found the girl. My hopes were crushed for the time being now. I would have to fight this monster.

Just as I was thinking this, he already made his move. For a creature that big and heavy, he moved uncannily fast, raising his enormous axe. A charge right towards me would’ve killed me if I hadn’t raised my shield just in time, only to feel myself flying five feet trough the air, landing hard in the thinning snow, the breath knocked out of me. Dazed and my vision blurred I lay there for a second, even though I knew I had to get up as soon as possible. My shield was gone, and I knew it would take me time to conjure up a new one. As I looked at him, I slowly got up my feet again, walking backwards a little. He seemed surprised a bit by my actions, like he expected me to die instantly.
I bend my knees a little bit and started to bring my hands together, all very very slowly, hoping not to bring my actions to the attention of the demon. I focused my energy towards my hands as my lips started whispering prayers to my Goddess. As the energy of the Holy fire began to form in my hands the demon started moving again. Not a rushing charge, but a slow and confident walk, bringing his axe above his head again.
I released the Fire when it had reached it full potential. A mighty beam of pure light shot from the sky and engulfed the demon completely. Dust was spread everywhere as the light hit the ground and for a moment the whole area seemed to exist of pure light making every outline of everything near, fade away. I felt the presence of the Goddess very close and as always enjoyed the feeling of the Holy Fire leaving my hands. I was sure this hit would surely kill, or at least mortally wound the slayer, so I could continue my journey into the Gorge. No demon like that could withstand such a large quantity of Holy damage, such was taught in every temple around Kalimdor.

When the Holy Fire faded and outlines became clear again, I was horrified. My heart clenched with fear and panic started to take over my thoughts…

The demon stood there, unhurt, unharmed, raising his axe again as the last specks of Holy Fire crumbled away on his armor…

I blinked my eyes… Hoping that blinking my eyes would make the nightmare go away. Hoping that it would erase what I’d just seen. This surely was impossible.
But it was possible… The blinking didn’t help. The demon was still moving towards me, axe raised, ready to finish the job.
My mind was working feverishly. What could defeat a demon that seemed to be immune for my holy energies? I had only a few seconds to decide what my next move against this foul creature could be or I would be finished…
A thought flashed trough my mind, a seemingly illogical thought… then again, the whole situation was illogical… The only problem was that I was afraid to make it real… so very terrified, but it could save my life and it was the only thing I could think of.
I shifted my energy, focused on the other side of Elune’s power, closed my eyes and saw her before me. Cold, unforgiving, relentless…
Shadow energy had never been my strong point. Somehow, whenever I summoned it, my body responded to it, and not in a good way. It would make me feel the pain I caused… Maybe not the same physical pain my enemy would feel, but it still would cause me agony. My teachers had never been able to figure out why my body had such a strong reaction to the shadow side of Elune, not even my own mother. I had learned to live with it, stay far away from it whenever I could.
And now, it seemed like the only way out. So I summoned her now, her awful and painful side, and gathered all the energy from it that I could. I felt my veins grow cold, my hands were glowing painfully, engulfed in a black fire that felt like it was burning my skin. When I knew the energy I had gathered reached it’s top I spoke one word

Pain!

At the same time I wished it with all my being, I wished to cause the demon pain. The energy that had been collecting within my hands released upon the demon, clouding him for a split second in black dust. He seized his movements, inches from where I was. At the same time his cries of pain and agony split the silent Winterspring air I fell to my hands and knees, squinting my eyes to prevent tears from running down my face. I gasped out, nearly screaming as the remnants of the shadow energy ran trough my body as fire, burning me from the inside. It felt even worse than I had dreaded, and I know I wasn’t done. The demon was stopped for now, screaming wordlessly in pain, but he was not dead yet.
At least I had now figured out that this demon could in fact be hurt by shadow magic. It had also fell to his knees now, swinging his axe around him wildly as my Shadow Word Pain consumed his body, still screaming.
I struggled to get back on my feet again, disorientated and still in pain. I knew that if I was to kill this demon I had to summon more shadow energy, more powerful and thus more painful for me.
I felt something warm running down the palms of my hands and when I glanced down I saw two perfect handprints imbedded in the cold snow, crimson handprints. Dazed I held up my hands and stared at them. I couldn’t believe I was actually bleeding from this spell, it had never happened to me before. Suddenly I was even more terrified of what I had to do to be done with this Demon… If my body responded this heavily on a Shadow Word Pain how would it react to the full power of a Mind Blast… I didn’t had time to think of that. The blade of the Demon’s axe whooshed right over the top of my head as he also regained his footing. He was weakened, in pain but still immensely dangerous, and still coming at me.
I quickly took a few steps back, took a deep breath and closed my eyes again, focusing on my energy. Again my veins felt like there were tiny needles running trough them, cold burning needles, intensifying with every bit of energy I was gathering to conjure my Mind Blast. My sight began to falter and black spots began to swam before my eyes as the power between my hands grew and wave after wave of pain coursed trough my body.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I could release the gathered up energy, firing it at the Demon. The last thing I saw before all the black spots melted together into darkness was my Mind Blast engulfing the Demon, obliterating it…

Oh… How I hated the shadows…

Every muscle hurt, every tiny fibre of my body was in pain. The cold wasn’t bothering me anymore, that had stopped long ago. I blinked away snow before my eyes. I tried to move… and immediately stopped my tries while trying to muffle a cry…

For a few moments more I just lay in the snow, not moving, not caring. Again… I thought… again I was lying face down in the snow, close to giving up. I frowned, took a deep breath, shoved my hands underneath my chest and pushed myself up in one swift move… And I couldn’t help screaming out my agony. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much physical pain in my life before. It almost drove me down to the snow again, but somehow I remained on two feet, taking in deep shivering breaths.

Glancing down my garments I realised I must’ve looked like one big mess. Snow, dirt and blood stuck to every bit of clothing I had on me. I could only imagine what this day had done to my hair… It would give me one advantage though, it would provide some sort of camouflage, something I could make good use of for the next part of the trip down Darkwhisper Gorge.
Grinding my teeth with every step I set down in the snow, and later the ashes and dirt the Gorge was made of, I started walking towards the shadows. I had to make sure not to be spotted by any kind of demon, I just couldn’t put up another fight, my body wouldn’t let me, I was sure of that. So I tried to wrap myself in shadows as good as I could, a little trick I learned from my sister Nyrinde. She was a practiced rogue with the Ashenvale Sentinels. I wasn’t nearly as good as her, but if there were shadows, I made good use of them.
Darkwhisper Gorge was not a beautiful place. It was horrific, appalling, gruesome and suffocating. It felt like the air itself was burning. Ashes and glowing embers were spread everywhere, fires burned far and wide and with every breath I took I seemed to be breathing in more and more disgusting residue of whatever it was the demons were burning in here… I started to dread for the girl’s life I was supposed to save. I couldn’t imagine she somehow made it through this place unharmed and ended up at the locked gate to Hyjal. Walking here now, that seemed like an impossible task to do for a delirious and seriously ill girl. Surely a demon must’ve spotted her and done her harm, if not killed her. And so I rushed from burned tree stump to big boulder to caved in ruin, taking only little time to rest and drink some water from my flask, while scanning my surroundings for any sign of the girl Ilissa.

Time seemed absent in this place and yet night also seemed to fall more quickly. I knew I was running out of time… I somehow knew that if I wouldn’t find the girl before the sun had set behind the jagged mountaintops that surrounded the Gorge her life would be lost and I only would find her body, dead.
The only positive side I could imagine about being here was the fact I wasn’t cold anymore. The heat of the fires made sure the numbness in my body had disappeared and I could feel normally again. Though the further I sneaked into the Gorge, the hotter the air felt and I quickly revised my thinking, the heat was now horrible and I thought I’d rather be cold again.
Suddenly there it was… I somehow managed to find it, taking wrong turn after wrong turn, I actually found it… the cave that held the locked gate to Hyjal. I blinked and wiped my already dirty sleeve across my eyes to get rid of the accumulated ashes there. The air was thick with dust clouds, smoke and smouldering cinders, but there it was, only a hundred meters away or so.

I still couldn’t imagine Ilissa would be there, sick but unharmed, it seemed impossible to me, yet I had seen no sign of her anywhere else. Elune knew I had searched carefully everywhere I went. And so I calculated the best route to the cave, cautiously avoiding all patrolling fiends that occupied the area in front of it and started walking…
How I made those last few meters I don’t know… Being sure one of the demons had spotted me I crossed the last bit of area running for my life. Coughing loudly I literally dove into the cave and pulled up a shield immediately, closing my eyes shut. Seconds seemed to take eternity to pass, but after a while I dared to open my eyes again and stared into the area outside the cave. Nothing… I let out a shuddering breath and felt immensely relieved nothing had followed me.
Inside the cave it was considerably colder than outside, and also the air seemed fresher and felt better to breath. It was also very dark and I could hardly make out anything, let alone a sick young girl that was supposed to be here. At the end of the cave, a long way from the entrance, I saw a somewhat distorted light. I figured that had to be the gate to Hyjal. Getting up my feet again I slowly made my way to the back of the cave, Ilissa had to be there. Meanwhile I kept mumbling prayers to my Goddess, asking her to spare Ilissa’s life…

And there she was… lying in the pool of light created by the last few rays of sunlight coming trough the magically sealed bars that separated Mount Hyjal from the normal world, Ilissa seemed suspended out of time herself. She had light blue hair spread all around her, somehow unaffected by the ashes outside. Her arms and her legs showed scratches and burns though. Her clothing, absolutely not suited for the Winterspring climate, wasn’t in a better state. Her face, also mysteriously very clean, seemed to have a peaceful and very pale complexion. I rushed up towards her, holding my breath and dreading for her life. As I knelt down beside her, I put two fingers along her main artery along her neckline. Something very warm seemed to radiate from her into my fingers but then I saw her chest rise and fall in a slow but steady breath. I let out my own breath when I realised I was holding it. Relief spread through my body and I smiled. I made it… and she seemed to be safe.

Then something odd happened. At the same time Ilissa’s eyelashes moved and it seemed like the girl was waking up, a strange sensation started to creep up my hand. I looked at it in surprise but saw nothing. Then it started to hurt and I couldn’t stop myself from uttering a cry in surprise and pain. Ilissa shot up into a sitting position and looked at me, eyes clear and questioning my actions, apparently startled from a slumber.

‘Who are you? What’s wrong?’ she asked, and then seemed to realise her surroundings.

‘Where am I?’

I shook my head while grinding my teeth in pain. It felt like something was making it’s way up my arm, slowly but steadily, like a glove being rolled up over my skin, a very painful glove.

‘Just…. Give me a sec…’ I managed to say, squinting my eyes to prevent tears from falling.

Gasping for breath I struggled with whatever it was that tried to take over my body. In the back of my head I thought that this must’ve been what had taken over Ilissa and got her here in the first place and now somehow had found its way to me. But that wasn’t my concern right now. I had to get rid of it! If I would succumb to this evil, Ilissa certainly wasn’t better off than before and I could loose my own life.
It had made its way up all the way to my shoulder now and was steadily creeping onwards. I grasped my shoulder and desperately started to pray… Rapidly the words flew over my lips and my hand started to glow. The pain increased but the movement ceased at the same time. Through a haze of agony I saw Ilissa frowning at me worried. I could only imagine in what distress she might be, being in a strange environment, with no idea of how she got there, and the only person she could ask was suffering from something inexplicable. She started to reached out her hands to support me but I stopped her movement by crying out;

‘No…. Don’t.’ I had to stop, taking in a breath, muttering new prayers…
‘Do not touch me.’ I whispered then.

Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths and then concentrated heavily on the prayers… on Elune’s guidance to get me out of this predicament. The pain was excruciating, suffocating and nearly making me pass out. But I had to continue… I had to fight this off or it would destroy me for certain. Inch by inch the feeling subsided by the powers of my prayers. Down to my elbow it went, feeling like it was skinning me alive. I felt the blood trickle down from my shoulder but didn’t dare to look yet in fear of loosing my concentration. When it had finally made its way back into my fingers I gave it one final push, sending some holy energy after it just in case… and blacked out…

For the third time in so little time I regained consciousness. I was aware of a cold, but dirty hand across my forehead. Opening my eyes I saw Ilissa’s face hovering above mine.

‘Are you ok now?’ She asked in a scared voice.
‘You fell backwards and passed out… I didn’t know what to do.’

I blinked, moaned a bit in pain and sat up.

‘I am… fine… I think.’ In a quick matter I searched my body for any trace of the strange evil that had attacked me but couldn’t find anything. I stood up saying;

‘Yes, I am fine. We have to get out of here now, I am supposed to bring you home.’ I said in an unpleasant and annoyed voice, remnants of me being in so much pain, in this short a period. I looked down at her still sitting on her knees. She looked so young, so scared.
‘I am sorry Ilissa…’ I sighed.
‘I don’t know what happened to you, and then to me. I was send out to find and cure you and take you home. My name is Eavya Morninglight, Priestess from the Temple of Darnassus.’ I said then, in a more docile tone.

That seemed to work for Ilissa and she got up to. She wasn’t fully grown yet, so young, not yet reaching my shoulder and looked up at me.

‘Please,’ she whispered, while putting her hand in mine, ‘take me home.’

Up to today I still don’t quite remember how we actually managed to find our way back through the Gorge undetected. All I remember was how frightened Ilissa was and helping me forget my pain in the need to sooth her…
But we made it out of that place… We made it out, set up camp a good distance and slept into midday that next day…

I got her home safely, and in the arms of her mother. I couldn’t give her an explanation that would clarify what had happened to her daughter. I did not know myself what exactly it was that had caused her daughter to behave irrational and almost took over me.
All I knew that word had to reach Temple, so research could start. And so I made my way back from Starfall Village to Everlook, where I took the ride home…. Home… where I could finally fall to sleep in a real bed… Home, where he would be waiting for me…
Eavya Morninglight
Eavya Morninglight

Posts : 217
Join date : 2010-01-30
Age : 37
Location : Holland

Character sheet
Name: Eavya Morninglight
Title: Priestess of Elune

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A Priestess Task Empty Re: A Priestess Task

Post by Valerias Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:12 pm

After Rohwyn's meeting Eavya at the ball the other evening, I thought I'd sneak in and learn a little more about the character, and I am glad I did! This was quite the inventive story, and I really it enjoyed it -- pulled me right in and certainly gave me a lot of idea of what Eavya is like. A lovely read!
Valerias
Valerias

Posts : 1945
Join date : 2010-02-02
Age : 37

Character sheet
Name: 'Lady' Vale
Title: courtesan

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