Lueran

Terrok led us onward, and I'll admit I was still shaking with rage. I couldn't believe how close we'd all been to dying. I'd almost seen Callow sliced to pieces right in front of me. And still, I had no idea the fate of my best friend. Those thoughts swirled in my mind as our group walked the path to Terrok's tiny island. To be honest, his forces there weren't that big. I remembered the questlines leading up to his death, and figured that probably was the reason why.

"How do we gain the aid of others in Outlands? Naturally the orcs aren't going to help us. Perhaps we can get the aid of the Sporegarr?" I asked. Oh, and maybe we could take a visit to Nagrand. I loved that place, it gave off good vibes! Perhaps I could see how amazing it was from a first person point of view. Sinthar peered at me curiously, giving a nod.

"We'll have a chance to gather an army. Illidan has one of his own, clearly. Our own forces will need to counter it. As for us...we might need to face Illidan ourselves while the battle rages. Are you ready for that?" he asked seriously. My eyes glinted as I gave a nodded.

"More ready than I'm going to be if we wait too much longer," I replied firmly. Callow hissed in agreement, initiating a smile from Sinthar.

"I never doubted that you were," he chuckled. Turning to Terrok, the night elf's gaze grew serious. "What do we have to work with so far, and what do you know of Illidan?" he asked in a growl.

Terrok's hard gaze turned on him. The large Arrakoa seemed almost translucent. I raised my eyebrows curiously, recalling that this was supposed to be a powerful entity. How'd he become so corrupted, I wondered? His voice reminded me of a pen scratching on parchment, so much so that I winced. "Illidan's darkness has spread past The Black Temple. He's taken over the entire Outlands, and killed off all who have resisted him. The forest is slowly falling to him as well, and even Nagrand's wide expanse of nature is falling ill to his corruption. I supported him once before--but the torment of my people has gone too far," he cawed. Giving a sigh, he turned away. "Even I can be wrong sometimes," he finished.

I felt a twinge of sympathy and knew now that perhaps not all was lost to Illidan. If Terrok could have a change of heart, perhaps others could as well. "Ok. So we are going to need more allies," I said. Sinthar nodded, and I began to pace. "Do you know of any other races that will help us? Like the spore people?" I asked hopefully. Terrok cringed but nodded. 

"You will need to be the ones to request an alliance, for they are our enemies," He squawed. I looked toward Sinthar and gave a small smile.

"Looks like we're going on another trip," I chuckled. Sinthar just groaned, and soon enough we were on our flying mounts toward Zangarmarsh. I examined the various fauna and flora, amazed at the colors. Sure, most of them were a dull blue, but the creatures and plants practically glowed. I blinked, tilting my head. "I wonder if there's any pets to capture here from pet battles," I thought aloud. Sinthar looked at me as though I was crazy.

We angled down toward the town of Sporegarr. Right away, I could tell something was off. The little spore people were rushing this way and that, all seeming to be in a panic. There was a commander in the center barking out orders to the various plant-looking people. I approached them while keeping Frostbite close by my side.

"We come in peace... what is the problem?" I asked, sick of there even being one. The commander stopped and seemed to stare at me. I couldn't really see his eyes, but I knew that he was fixing me in a venomous glare. 

"Elves! You elves are the problem! GET RID OF THEM!" He yelled. Suddenly, a mass of the people ran at us, brandishing weapons. 

"NOW WAIT A SECOND!" I yelled. My yell somehow got everyone to stop, and even got me a curious glance from Sinthar. With a frown, I pointed to the people. "Now listen. I said we came in peace, didn't I? I know of Illidan and his terror, and have nothing to do with blood elves attacking this city. I came to ask for your help--by helping me, you'll help yourselves. I am a force going against Illidan!" I exclaimed. The leader continued his stare, however didn't order another attack. "What's this about blood elves attacking yall?" I asked, exasperated.

The leader gave a sigh/growl and explained in a very low voice. "About a week ago, the attacks began. First, they were small in number. A blood elf scout sent to steal various foodstuffs. The crimes escalated quickly after that. We keep finding dead bodies of our people strewn across Zangarmarsh. The blood elf symbol is written clearly on their bodies--your people are to blame," he accused. I shook my head, annoyed.

"Just because a group of my race has attacked you doesn't mean I am planning to either. This is the work of Illidan, clearly. I know of many who work for him," I said. Truth was, I remembered the Black Temple raid from Burning Crusade. There were a couple of sections where tons of blood elves worked for Illidan. These same must be out and about to torment the rest of the Outlands right now. The spore people muttered among themselves, and I heard a cry of alarm.

"She brought them here!" called one. Confused, I saw fingers pointed behind us and turned slowly. My eyes laid upon a massive army of blood elves, all clad in black armor. Many were warlocks, I could tell because of their garb and minions. Eyes wide, I brought a hand to my mouth. 

"No I didn't! But I'll help you be rid of them!" I tried. The spore people ignored me and charged forward aggressively at the army. There was no strategy, just full out chaos. I guess that's pretty accurate in a war though. Anyways, I sensed something wasn't right. The spore people charged, sure, but then all stopped.

They had literally gone through the army--it was an illusion. And then came the explosion.

Sinthar

I watched the people rush in, and worried for Lueran's sake. If these ignorant people turned around to attack him, both of us could easily be overwhelmed. Luckily, they were too focused on the army ahead to deem us as a worthy threat. Soon enough, we realized that was no army--it was an illusion by someone...or something.

A roaring hit my ears as the entire world seemed to plunge into darkness. Screaming could be heard, clearly, and out from the ground rose several shadow-Aarakkoa. "The Legion is the waaay!" squawwed several. I slashed at them with my sword, turning to Lue to see if he was alright.

The blood elf was staring in disbelief at where the army had vanished. Suddenly, it began to rain; unfortunately, it wasn't a random event. The rain was a deep green, and to my horror, it was the blood of the spore people. A realization dawned on me--the demons' dark magic was ripping everything here against him apart bit by bit, and the amount of blood was so massive it rained from the atmosphere. Lueran looked about ready to rush in and attack the Arakkoa, but I yelled for him to stop. He halted and turned to me, surprised.

"It's a trap! Don't go!" I screamed. I mounted on my dragon and held a hand out for her to grab; we didn't have much time! I flew up and away from the city and sighed in relief. Just as we soared away from the carnage, an unmistakeable laugh sounded behind us.

"Where do you think you're going, demon fodder?!" yelled none other than Illidan. My dragon roared in pain and began to crash down to the ground. I realized that he'd been hit and gasped. We hit the ground hard, both Lueran and I were thrown from the dying dragon. We had no time to waste--Illidan himself landed in the center of the clearing and pointed his glaive at us.

"I've been waiting a while to finally corner you, outlander. You fell too easily to my trap!" Illidan laughed, his eyes an odd black. In fact, his entire aura was off, it was as if he was posessed. He appeared to be talking to Lueran, though. The blood elf appeared very, very confused. Illidan only smirked. "So naive. Well. It doesn't matter, you will be cut down here!" the demon lord snarled. He lunged for Lueran so suddenly that he gasped and rolled to narrowly avoid being sliced open.

There was no army to fight us, there was just Illidan. Something told me whatever was controlling him like a puppet was also losing power and desperate to end us here and now. That meant that we were a genuine threat... it was time to take things up a notch.

"You want to fight, demon, we'll give you one!" I screamed. I shifted into a azure panther and leaped at his wing. My jaws sunk in deep as I clung on tightly. Behind me I heard Lueran shooting at Illidan with his arrows.

Illidan's laugh rang through the air once again. "You really think  you mortals have the power to win? How pathetic. Let's see how you faire without your protector, Blood Elf!" he yelled. I felt myself being scruffed and was brought to Illidan's sneering face. Letting out a hiss, I could only wiggle in his grip as he brought the warglaive to my stomach. Searing pain filled my entire world as I was sliced open and thrown aside.

The last thing I heard before all faded to darkness was Lueran's shout turning into an insane hiss. It was the loudest thing I'd ever heard, and the most terrifying. He was so powerful in wrath that I knew he could do this without me.

"You get 'em Viper..." I whispered before laying my head down for good.