Lueran

Sinthar stared at me like I'd grown another head. "So... your only mounts are cars? And...there's no magic? No druids? And what's this about no respect for animals?" the night elf asked, his brow furrowed. I let out a sigh and turned my gaze to the sky, watching as the sun began to set. I'd been talking throughout the day, and had answered most of his questions. There were still a few things that he just could not get.

"Humans there are just as greedy and violent as humans here. No, scratch that...probably more so. I only wish most of our evil dictators were like Arthas. At least then there would be a whole lot less suffering," I muttered. Sinthar gasped, surprised. 

"Worse than Arthas? That can't be," he muttered. I gave a sad smile and nodded. It was the reality of things, unfortunately. The real world was simply crueler than Azeroth. World of Warcraft was a computer game with a whole lot of corruption and evil, yes, but even that within didn't reflect how bad it was back home.

"Yep. Anyway, what is our plan? Do we need to travel to Shadowmoon Valley and face the demons in Black Temple?" I asked with some hesitation. The night elf druid seemed to focus on something in the distance as he thought. Slowly, he shook his head.

"Their base is here in Terrokar. The temple was destroyed after waves of our people tried to destroy it, but we never really had the chance. Azeroth history books lie--Illidan's not dead, and never will be. He's immortal, but if he's the one behind this, we can at least destroy his body and delay attacks further a bit."

I said nothing, just lapsed deeply into thought. If Illidan couldn't ever really be stopped, could the same be said for Arthas? Or even Garrosh? A thought dawned on me. Since this was a video game, bosses always respawned a little while after being killed. What would happen if I was killed? Certainly things couldn't be as simple as respawning.

Sinthar looked at my expression and determined that he needed to explain a few things. "If you're killed here, you do indeed die. There is a chance for revival a small time after death, but then that is it. You soul roams Azeroth forever, seeking the portal to the other world. What it is, no one knows quite yet. There is a way to always respawn, that is, immortality. A few, like Illidan, have achieved it.," he finished.

I gave a nod, because to me it sounded quite like real life, though I couldn't recall the ability to gain immortality. "Exactly why is Illidan supposedly destroying the Outlands?" I asked. Everything pointed to him currently, and I had no reason to think him innocent otherwise.

"I heard from various sources that wants to corrupt the entire world here and raise it as his own demonic dimension. He will corrupt and enslave all who live here, making a virtual hell," Sinthar muttered warily. I narrowed my eyes, shaking my head.

"Well. That doesn't really sound like accurate lore, but either way we'll make sure that won't happen then!" I exclaimed, feeling more and more into this mission. Suddenly, Callow looked up quickly and let out a hiss. I glanced over to him and frowned, wondering exactly what the problem was.

"Callow senses something a bit...off," I whispered, focusing all my attention on him. His tongue flicked out as he looked toward the growing shadows. A growl sounded from the blackness, forcing us three to freeze.

Out from the darkness emerged a canid demon. It was a Felhound, with no face and gaping jaws. Its body was covered in thick orange spines, and it had four legs with extremely long claws. It had two long arm-looking limbs coming out its side that had claws just as deadly as on its feet. Callow wasted no time. With a hiss, he launched at the demon.

Sinthar leaped at the demon as well, shifting in mid-air into a massive panther. His sharp front teeth ripped into the demon's spines and hit skin. The felhound let out a hellish roar and thrashed in his jaws. Meanwhile, Callow managed to rip out a chunk of flesh and spat it aside.

The felhound submitted right away, I could tell from how it went limp and just whimpered. It was surrendering, and despite being a demon, mercy might be our best bet here. "Hey, leave the dog alone!" I yelled. Sinthar let go and turned to look at me. His misty panther eyes held a glare of confusion. I shook my head and called for Callow, smiling as my serpent hurried to my side.

Sinthar shifted back to elven form and scowled, staring down at the felhound. It was bleeding from the side and was whimpering softly. I crossed my arms, more than annoyed. "Did it move to attack any of us?" I asked in a dangerous voice. Callow let out a hiss and shook his head, causing me to smile somewhat. "It's alright Callow. You don't know better, but Sinthar should!" I growled.

The druid rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. "For one, the serpent should know better if I should, no? And that thing is a demon!" he argued. I crossed my arms and shook my head, irritated.

"Which hadn't attacked us yet. Look, there could be more to this than what appears. Let's try talking to it, you can turn into beasts, well the damn thing is dog-like, so it's worth a shot," I suggested. Sinthar looked at me like I was insane, but bowed his head in defeat. 

"Fine." he muttered.

Sinthar

This hunter was insane. He was getting on my nerves, but I sorta liked it. No, I didn't know why. I needed his help against Illidan, but having him around was good as well. I was a little less lonesome this way. Perhaps reasonable as well, and as I stared at this felhound, I realized that perhaps it did need some compassion. But really, his idea wouldn't work, would it?

I shifted into panther form and growled, "State your business!" I really didn't expect an answer, so when the flehound uttered in broken canine, I was shocked.

"Sent here...by... Arakkoa..." it gasped. The raspy growls it uttered told me that canine was obviously not its first language. I didn't have to guess what its true language was, as demonic was something I assumed even beast-like demons could speak.

"Hostile?" I asked in another growl. This is where things got just a little interesting. 

"No...need...help!" came its growl. I sighed and shifted to elven form, casting my healing spell and closing up most of its wounds. Turning to Lueran, I sighed. 

"The Arakkoa of the forest seem in trouble. They were very hostile to our kind before, however times have changed enough so that both races are neutral. They must really need some help to send a felhound," I told her. Not to mention the fact that the bird-people rarely studied demonology since Illidan's escape of the Black Temple. Most demons tended to break control to join the ultimate demon. This was serious. 

"Alright. Let's help them then!" the hunter said simply. I blinked and glanced over to the felhound with worry. This could be a trap...but if a whole dying race was in need, well, I couldn't neglect them of our help. Besides, we could get some useful allies out of this.

"We can take a detour," I finally sighed. I shifted into a panther again and explained this to the felhound. It let out some overjoyed growls and turned to led us to the camps. Glancing at Lueran, I motioned him to follow and hoped for the best.

After walking for an hour or so in silence, we arrived to a camp. Lue's eyes widened as he took everything in. I was a bit worried despite the extravagant colors, admittedly. The camp was somewhat neglected. The trees, which held most of the wooden stairways and decks, seemed to be withering. The wood of the decks was worn and dirty, obviously unkempt. Feathers floated this way and that around the camp, and the previously colorful tents were stained in ash. I looked over to see a group of humanoids that were hunched over like vultures. Upon closer examination, I determined they were Arrakoa. Their normally purple feathers were a dark grey, and their eyes were fading. It was either lack of power or stress that seemed to be endangering the camp.

"You brought them, yes! We need your help, destruction has come on people--demonic power, oh no!" came the raspy voice of a bird-person. He was wearing the most colorful of cloaks, yet it still only had a mix of reds and blues. "Illidan's corruption is spreading! Many tribes have turned on one another!" he continued.

I listened intently, knowing Lueran was doing the same. I felt a dark energy here, and something definitely was amiss. I had no idea if it was coming from these humanoids, or just the environment around us. 

"We need someone to destroy the corrupted tribes! Yes, they are rich with demonic power, but we don't want to fall to Illidan like the rest, no!" he finished. I gave a nod and glanced to Lueram, who motioned for me to make a decision.

Letting out a sigh, I spoke. "We shall help you in your time of need, Arakkoa. What is your name?" I asked with some hesitation. 

"Grizzik is my name, yes, and we need your help," he responded with widened owl-like eyes. I stroked my chin; wasn't he the one who had led the alliance to victory in some way or another? Why had he returned here?

I had no time to ask my questions, for the other Arakkoa squalled in alarm. We all whirled to see an army of bird-people shrouded in black barreling right toward the camp. Grabbing my knives, I nodded to Lue... it was time to prove just how powerful we could be to these Arakkoa.