(4) Darkshore

Days had passed since Rhia had blacked out in the forest. She remembered waking up in a very small tent, the purple of the cloth that marked the tent as being a Night Elf one being the first thing that she saw. From there, she saw the rest of the tent that would fit about two people in, including the wooden poles that kept the structure raised in it's thin, cone like shape, the silver symbols of the Goddess Elune inked into the cloth of the tent as well as the bed that she lay in. Moving her head around slightly, she could see the small table by the side of her, it being full with various items. A jug of water, some thread and a needle, two rolls of bandages, one of them having mostly been used up. Some kind of healing ailment was also on the table.

Raising her arm, she could see the fine marks of a healer who had stitched up her wounds carefully and precisely. Bandages, a little blood stained, also covered her upper left arm yet leaving her shoulder bare. She inspected the work, nodding slowly as she presumed that whoever had healed her was skilled in their craft, presumably a priestess of elune. Although she thought of it as being a miricle that she had lived and had been healed, it was still almost impossible for her to move about too much.

The entrance to the tent was brushed aside like a spiders web is in the morning, and in stepped a man. She had never seen anyone like this man though before, for he was no Night Elf. He was a humanoid, similar to a Kal'dorei like her, but he was much shorter, almost as short as herself. He had dark skin, a light brown colour with black, wiry hair that came down to his neck height before stopping, as if it was cut crudely with a knife. He lacked pointed ears, or the elongated eyebrows, and instead had small ears and eyebrows that were thick, but did not stretch past the eye. He was slim, with some lightly toned muscle that was covered by a tribal looking brown robe that was cut off at the sleeves, exposing his slightly aged skin.

She had heard of his kind before whilst studying back in Zin-Azshari. They were a nomadic kind of people, that usually stuck to the east of Kalimdor in small tribes, and they had descended from the Vrykul people that lived in the Northen lands. He was a Human, presumably a healer or a spiritual leader among his people. It then occurred to her that it was not only the Kal'dorei that we affected, but presumably the other races like the Tauren and the Earthen as well. How they were all coping she didn't know.

He looked at her with a smile, placing his hands together and bowing, a symbol of greeting and also one of peace. He quickly closed the tent, turning to face her and the medical equipment. The two people and the objects in the room dominated the space of the tent, leaving little room for movement. Picking up the jug of water, he looked over to her and began to lightly prod her whilst inspecting her injuries. A sharp his escaped her as he prodded her back, and he paused, peeling back her bandages. He quickly undid them whilst speaking in a voice that was higher pitched than a Night Elf mans, but quieter than her own or another woman's voice.

"This may hurt." He said, in almost fluent Elven. It shocked her how he had spent the time to learn her language, yet she had not done the same. She silently vowed that she would learn his crude language, common, one day in the future. However, her thoughts were interrupted when he started spreading the healing salve across her back along the right side. It began to hurt instantly, but soon it began to feel soothing, almost pleasant, though it still stung a while.

He continued to keep his hands over her wound. Slowly, closing his eyes and muttering a few words in his tongue, a faint green light began to envelop his hands and spread into her wound, helping to speed up the regenerative process. She had never felt anything like it before. It was as if the earth itself had rose up through him and flowed into her wound just to heal her. He sighed, taking his hand away from the wound, before quietly exiting the tent, closing it behind him.

Slowly, over the days with the help of the druid, she slowly began to heal, her strength returning to her. In the last day or two, she had managed to muster the strength to stand and walk short distances. She remembered when she had first exited the camp, she was stunned by the sheer number of refugees located in one camp along the shoreline. Tents coated the landscape, with Kal'dorei bustling around as well as the odd person or two from another race such as a Tauren or an Earthen.

She had gotten used to the refugees that were constantly streaming in, some in worse states than others. The worst had been a could with a dead young child in their arms, who had been half mauled to death by a demon. The parents were in a bad state themselves, but even with the healers working away the screams and wails of the young child echoed around the camp, disturbing all of the refugees until the childs unfortunate passing. More and more poured in still though, and the camp was swelling up. A shortage of food was beginning to start up, as well as a disease that was spreading through the camp.

Currently she was looking out into the sea that stretched out far into the distance, blanketing the world in it's fresh blue waves that radiated peacefulness and calm. Any other time, she would feel happy but the loss of everyone and everything that she knew weighed heavily upon her. How many times did she wake up from a nightmare of stabbing her brother, or seeing her home in flames, or watching her fail to save her best friend from a fel hound? Kicking and screaming, she shoot up into a sitting position, and she would cry for what seemed like hours, before going about her daily business of sitting around in a silent depression. She still hadn't spoken a word since arrival, even with Mikio the druid who had healed her.

It was now that he approached her, sitting down silently next to her. Neither of them spoke a word, but they often just sat like this for as much time that the druid could spare, for he was often occupied with healing and treating the patients in the refugee camp. However, he had a troubled look on his face which was unusual for him. Rhia raised an eyebrow at him, but summarized that he must have been treating one of the more pained patients, and that their wounded crimes must have made him disturbed.

He let out a sigh as he glanced at her, catching the look on her face. He replied with his own look which told her that she was correct. Turning back to face the sea, she did her best to block out the cries from the camp behind her. They always made her troubled, and she knew that she couldn't do anything to block them out. A darkness began to fall upon her now as she realized that none of this would have happened if the demons hadn't invaded. I was their fault, and they would all pay.

The darkness seemed to drain from her all of a sudden though. She saw Mikio with his hand laying on her shoulder, draining away her shroud of darkness. However, it swiftly returned as he removed his hand and as she looked over to him, a burning fury in her eyes. As per usual though, she did not speak. In fact, she did not remember speaking since she arrived here. She felt that she could express herself without the use of words, which she did now. Mikio sighed.

"You shouldn't hate these demons. They do what they do because it is in their nature. Should you hate something for doing what it is supposed to do?"

As per usual, Rhia didn't reply, turning to face the sea again, fury still coursing through her. If that was their nature, then they should we obliterated completely. How did Mikio not understand that?

Murmurs started spreading quickly through the camp, the refugees sharing troubled glances with each other. Rhia looked back over her shoulder, Mikio copying her. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it sounded like it was bad news, and that she wouldn't want to hear it. Mikio however, got up onto his feet and walked over to a refugee, a kaldorei man wearing simple travelers clothes with a small blade at his side, and questioned him on the rumors. Once he had figured out what it was after a few moments of conversation, he moved back to Rhia with a troubled look on his face.

"The demons are getting closer to the refugee camp. A scouting party of demons has been seen just a few miles away in Ashenvale, and they are calling upon every person that is able to work to build defenses. Those with fighting experience are to ride out and ambush the scouting party." He spoke quietly, his head down as if he knew what was about to happen. Rhia sprung up onto her feet, taking a step forward and preparing to go run towards what seemed to be a military looking person who was calling for people.

"Wait!" Mikio said, his voice louder now as he grabbed her ankle causing her to trip up into the sand of the beach. He quickly got up, taking a step or two towards the elf to help her up. She took his hand, pulling herself up onto her feet with his help but he did not let go.

"For an elf, you are too young to be fighting. You still need t-" He began, but was swiftly interrupted when Rhia placed one foot behind his feet and pushed him away from her, causing him to stumble back and trip over her leg. Before he could get up and stop her, she had already sprinted towards her 'tent', which was where Mikio had tended to her and had healed her back up to her full strength. Brushing the tent door aside, she took a step towards the small table, opening up one of the draws to reveal her hunting knife and her shortsword, both of which still had demonic blood coating them.

With her knife in her right hand and the blade in her left, she went to exit the tent, but Mikio's bulky figure blocked her path. She glared at him defiantly, raising her weapons slightly in a combat stance. Realizing that he might be killed in his friends fury, he stepped aside, allowing the elf to pass him, which she did in speed. He let out a sigh, heading off towards another tent to continue his healing work. Her fury would consume her in future, and he could only hope that something saved her from her own destruction.