Wearing a jacket with the Horde symbol, a T-shirt, and black jeans, I appeared to be a serious gamer in my mind. Sure, I planned on sitting in Durotar all day and showing off pets... but that didn't matter. Excited to talk to all of my guy friends on World of Warcraft, I turned on my computer and started up the game. Perhaps tonight I could gear up for some Player versus Player to crush those cursed Alliance, or maybe do an old raid for a new mount. As a collector, I wanted something new to display all the time. What I really wanted was a Feldrake--but grinding the gold required to buy it off of the auction house was an obnoxious thought.

Anyway. There was a small difference when the "News" window popped up on my client. Instead of "Play", it said "Enter Azeroth". A pertinent detail that I ignored, unfortunately. With the click of a button, my world turned upside down.

A bright flash blinded me, causing me to gasp loudly and cover my eyes. Damn it, was my computer broken again? Suddenly, I was hit with a wave of so much fatigue that I had a hard time even keeping my eyes open. My eyes were shut tightly from how blinding the flash was. My body began to warm up as if under the light of a harsh sun. Sweat immediately began to bead upon my forehead as I  groaned and slowly allowed myself to look around again. The cracked ground and rough rock told me that I was in some sort of desert environment. Still laying on my back, I felt dry, sandy silt touch my palms. 

Where was I...? The sound of harsh footsteps met my ears as I tensed, that worrisome feeling of imminent danger creeping up upon me. My eyes fixed upon a humanoid creature with skin the color and texture of a cactus, without the spines of course. He was bulky with muscle, and at every step they rippled dangerously. A lower jaw jutted out to reveal dangerously sharp tusks like that of a boar. His nose was pig-like, and his eyes were small and gleaming with ferocity. Garbed in thick leather armor donning the colors of black and red, I began to realize one thing. I was staring at a live orc. This wasn't some cosplayer, my instincts told me that before my eyes was a creature that never existed before.

Spotting me, the orc's jaw dropped in both surprise in disgust. He hastily rushed toward me, brandishing a wicked looking axe that could no doubt cleave me in half. "Human! A whelp female vermin!" he snarled in a gravelly voice as he came within arms length of me. 

I gasped out in fear and cowered, my arms raised defensively as if they would magically save me from that axe. Without warning did I feel a sharp kick to the side, which sent me slamming into a rock nearby. Ah, the start of that scarring. Really though, one could assume that orcs had an extremely crippling kick. I spat out some blood, a dizzy feeling overwhelming me and forcing me to lay there in a daze. Stomping on over, the orc planted a foot on my chest and leaned down into my face.

"Well well, Alliance scum. Why are you wearing the honored symbol? And what cloth armor is that?! It won't save you from a scroll cut! I must admit, your faction is cruel for leaving such a youngin' here to die." He smirked at me, clearly amused. Tons of questions ran through my head at once. How did I get trapped in the actual world of Azeroth? How could I understand this orc if humans spoke different languages? Why wasn't I a blood elf, the race that I played in the game? And most importantly, was I destined to be slaughtered here?

"Uh... please, I'm not here to cause trouble. I just sort of woke up and poof! I'm here. So, er, please don't kill me?" I muttered in a small voice, some of my own blood trickling from my lip down to my chin. 

"I won't, whelp... but Warchief Garrosh might not be so kind to an Alliance pup, female or not." Why did that make a difference?! I had no idea to ask why, because he no doubt wasn't going to answer any further questions. A beefy hand lunged down and took a chunk of my shirt, hoisting me over his shoulder as he began walking down the cracked path. I could only remain frozen there in shock, a single tear gliding down my cheek from the realization that I could very well be about to die.

I was horrified as we passed through Durotar. Members of the horde, all races and classes, stared at me in surprise and hostility. A humanoid with elongated ears and white shaggy hair, some of which fell into his face, stalked over, following us as we walked. Since I was slung over the orc's shoulder like a sac, I could clearly see him. His eyes glowed completely an emerald green, and he sneered to revealed sharpened canines. A realization dawned upon me--he was a Blood Elf, and apparently had retained his fangs. He was darting closer and closer with a curious glint in his eyes that sent shivers down my spine. Well Eeri, we aren't on Earth anymore, I thought to myself. 

Frowning, I winced fearfully as he drew his knives and traced the air near my face with them. He provided a very unfriendly smile and made to slice at my flesh. He purposely missed, laughing as I flinched back as if stuck. Quickly I covered my face in fear, peering out from between two of my fingers. With a smirk, the blood elf rouge turned away to boast at his friends. Things weren't looking so great for my survival.

We entered the city, and to my dismay, the guards snarled and threw insults at me as we passed. "HUMAN FILTH!" "USELESS RUNT!" "BOAR BAIT!" "GARROSH'LL HAVE FUN CUTTING YOU TO PIECES!" It reminded me of the in-game curses that the guards sent on the incoming death knights. I had no relation to the scourge quite yet. That was about to drastically change.

Having enough, I slammed my hands over my ears and scrunched my eyes shut until we got to our objective. I was whipped off of the orc's shoulder and shoved to the ground in a kneeling position. Opening a single eye, I cringed as I spotted a huge monster looming over me. Warchief Garrosh might as well have been a demon sitting in wait to steal my soul. Gigantic bony shoulderguards decorated this orcs, something largely characteristic of him. His curve tusks were displayed as he provided me with a cruel grin, his amber eyes gleaming with fire as he stared me down. His burgundy skin was littered with slash and puncture scars from battle, and he looked about ready to rip me in half. 

"That'll do guard. Thanks for bringing this... child...to me," he growled in a deceptively calm voice, never taking his eyes off of me. By the gods, I'd been called whelp, small, and pitiful so much that I had to wonder if being 5' 2'' was extremely small for a human on Azeroth. I mean on Earth I was small, yes, but here it was small joke after small joke. 

Regardless, I blinked, knowing that I was in for hell. The guard left, and unfortunately I was alone with Garrosh, so I thought. He looked down at me, his expression one of disgust. Then, he began to pace, his deranged gaze set ahead as he rambled to himself. "A human, just a whelp? They sent a female here to spy. They thought we'd take pity on her, and let her in, hmmm..." he snarled, focusing upon me once more.

A meaty fist flew toward me suddenly, but not for a punch. His beefy hand wrapped around my throat as he lifted me like I weighed nothing. The strangulation forced me to choke and gasp out as my hands flew to my neck, trying to claw myself free or at least get him to loosen his grasp just a little. The only thing I could do otherwise was gurgle and allow my legs to just dangle there. "I refuse to allow this. No. I'll end your life here, child, without remorse," Garrosh laughed, his grip only tightening. I felt so dizzy, so out of it, and so on the verge of passing out.

Faintly, someone cleared his throat in the back of the room, alerting me to the fact that we weren't alone. A smooth but cold male voice cut through the air, sounding quite amused by this apparent show. "My lord, perhaps death isn't cruel enough for this alliance human? Exile to Northrend seems fit. The scourge has far worse methods of putting down the living." 

A man with thick, black plate armor slid into view, his long pointed ears flicking as cruel smirk remained plastered across his face. Down his back did long white hair fall, and his cold, gleaming lichfire gaze cut through my very soul like a knife. The stare was that similar of a wolf regarding prey. Garrosh dropped me as though I was just a pebble, and I immediately began to choke and gasp for the breaths that I was previously denied. A cheshire-cat-like grin spread across the orc's lips as he considered the Death Knight's words. 

"That might just work, General. Prepare a portal to Icecrown. The only shelter she'll have is the citadel, a place for a small one like her to perish via painful death. Seems fitting." He sharply turned his head to regard me and raised his fist, backhanding my skull. My entire being was overcome with searing pain, and my body went limp. This trauma nearly forced me to pass out.

The next event was a blur. The only thing I remember is a misty circle in front of me and a shove from behind. Suddenly, everything was so cold... and everything faded into darkness.

*****

I awoke to a large wet wolf nose sniffling loudly against my cheeks. The nose moved away from me to reveal a gigantic canine with saber fangs jutting out from his upper jaw. His fur was a brilliant cobalt, and electricity crackled through his it. The wolf's eyes glowed almost as if sadly when he stared me down, his tail swishing back and forth. Shaking out his thick fur coat, he provided me with a loud, guttural whimper.

"Loki...?" I gasped, realizing that this very well could be the hunter companion I fought alongside with in game. The wolf lunged forward and provided me with a soft lick on the cheek. Indeed, my assumption was right, here was my saber wolf in the flesh! He nudged me with his muzzle again, causing me to chuckle. Rapidly, however, did my smile fade into a worried frown as I felt the sweat on my body begin to freeze. 

"Hey bud... ow, my head... I'm glad you found me, but how...? I guess that doesn't matter now... it's so cold, we need to find shelter," I sighed miserably. As Icecrown's blizzard intensified, my body soon erupted with quakes and shivers. Loki leaned on me as I sat up, giving me some much-needed warmth. I smiled and hugged him tightly, for I'd always wanted to meet my special pet from World of Warcraft. Doesn't every hunter?

Eventually my eyes fell on a gigantic, castle-like building in the distance. Well, that was where Garrosh wanted me to go. Surely there wasn't any way I'd set foot in Icecrown Citadel just to perish. But wait, wasn't Arthas dead?

Feeling a vibration in my pocket, I yelped in surprise and took out my cellphone. I still had that thing here? How the hell was it still working? Unable to believe my luck, I opened the phone to see a World of Warcraft icon covering the whole screen. With a glance at Loki, I hesitantly pressed it.

"Welcome to Azeroth. You are here for a reason, Eerised." The words on my screen seemed to glow brighter than I thought possible. I studied the phone in awe until the words began to change.

"You are a level 90 Horde human hunter. That makes no sense now, but the thing you must understand is that neither faction will accept you."