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Chapter 2 - Dark Revelations
Summary
After a long time of searching in the hostile and harsh envirment filled to the brim with eicked creatures, Shalis finally managed to locate Willow inside a Demonic temple. Successfully infilitrating it, she finds Willow in the middle of a grand room. As she approach him and thank Elune for her success, she realize that Willow is nothing but a shell of his former self, frozen in a standing pose. In his feet, countless nails have him fixed to the floor. As Shalis cries out in despair, the warlock responisble for Willows abduction appears. He mocks Shalis by stabbing Willow gently with a burning blade. Shalis lashes out at him, but before her blade reaches him, he disappears into nothing, and materializes behind her.
'He will suffer through eternity, ...and so shall you.'
Shalis fights him, and manages to get him on his back. Pleading for his life, the Warlock tells Shalis why Willow was taken away.
'It was all Felore! She ordered me to take him away, so that you would follow. She could not commit those crimes herself and get away with it safely, so she made you do it instead. But it is already too late now, you have already opened the portal between our worlds. As we speak, countless of my kind has already invaded your precious home.'
Shalis slits his thoat then and there, and the warlock melts away with a twisetd grin on his face. She turns to Willow and hesitates for a moment, before she does the same with him, giving him a quick death. With nothing left but rage in her heart, she returns to the portal, which is now heavily defended. Shalis manages to break the defences, and she gets through the portal, going home.
Dialogue
Shalis has just stepped into the portal in Starglade
SHalis explores the area bit until she runs into a small demonic hound which she fights.
Shalis follows the creatures (dranei) at a distance. Yet, somehow, teh Dranei manages to notice her.
"Something is following us."
"Make haste! We must warn Ka."
Shalis makes it to a village.
Shalis gets out of the tent, and finds her guide.
'Shalis, was it? Ka has asked me to lead you. Follow me.'
Akama, stay behind. We need someone to watch the outside.
Shalis' blade made yet another satisfying slash in the belly of Nemiades. With a shriek the great demon stumbled backwards, and fell half-sitting to his back. Ghastly wisps of yellow essence was steaming out of his open wounds.
'Spare me! Shalis, please!'
'Hand me your knife.'
'What? Why would you want...'
'Give it to me.'
Nemiades tossed his knife forward. It rattled over the tiles, and settled beside Shalis' boot. She bent to pick it up, and approached Nemiades.
'Now listen Shalis... Argh!'
Shalis had swiftly bent over Nemiades and buried the knife deep into the bricks beside him... Through his hand. She kept her face an inch from Nemiades'.
'Now, demon, you will tell me why this happened. What is the reason to why I stand here with a knife plunged through your hand? What is the reason to Willows abduction?'
Nemiades, breathing on top of his lungs from the pain in his hand answered:
'Mercy Shalis! It was not I who wanted this! I was hired by another! All I needed to do was to make sure you followed me here!
'Who?' Shalis was yelling now. 'Who hired you?'
Nemiades hesitated.
'I... I can't tell you. She told me she would kill me! Oh please understand!'
'Kill you? And you think I won't?'
Shalis turned the knife in his hand. He let out a cry of pain.
'Felore! It was Felore! Stop!'
Shalis froze. What? Felore? The demon was surely decieving her. She turned the knife again.
'Stop lying to me!'
'I'm not! Please believe me Shalis! Put that damn knife away and I'll tell you!'
Shalis stopped turning the knife, but kept it where it was.
'Tell me.'
Panting and flexing his healthy hand, Nemiades spoke:
'Felore wants power. I don't know what she plans to do with it, but a horde of demons sure are powerful. She knew that in order to do so, she needed to do two things: Open a portal, and defeat the ancient druids that were the only ones that could stop her.'
Shalis' head began to spin. Nemiades continued:
'She knew she could not do this by herself, so she needed someone... "motivated" enough to help her. She summoned me though a smaller rift to the Outland, and together we searched for a candidate to fit our needs. We looked at many, but decided to settle for you in the end. All we needed to do, was to get our hands on the weak Willow, and, with proper guidance from your friendly priestess, open a portal to where he could be found, and then bring a legion of demons back through it.'
Shalis shivered with a cold spite. Felore. It all made sense. She appoached the opening to the balcony and stepped out. She lcoated the portal, and saw an endless line of demons charging through it. She regarded it for a few seconds, and then turned back to Nemiades, with decisive steps. Nemiades sensed her anger and cowered.
'Shalis...'
No answer.
'Shalis! There is no need! Don't...'
Shalis dashed forward and decapitated Nemiades as she flew past him. His body melted into liquid shadows that disappeared between the heavy bricks.
Still trembling with rage from all that had been revealed, she turned to the door where she came from, and remembered that Willow was there. The fight and Felores horrible plans had made her forget about him for a moment. She approached him slowly, feeling the tears starting to burn behind her eyelids. Willow remained paralyzed, fixed in his agony. His eyes were filled with sorrow and trembled slightly, but remained fixed on Shalis. Shalis leaned forward to place her forehead on willows chest, resting it there for a few seconds while crying loudly.
'I'm so sorry, Willow.'
She steeled herself. She tightened the grip around her blade. She lifted her head to look into Willows eyes one last time. He seemed to accept her offer, and closed his eyes. Shalis lashed out with the moonblade across Willows neck, ending his life, and then swiftly ran to the door.
'I'm so sorry.'
Willow is dead. So is his kidnapper. All that remains now is vengence. Felore will pay dearly for this.
I must make it back through the portal and slay her.
(The player must locate the goblin village and get their help. They will provide an airship, providing that Shalis manages to get their kin out of Fae Forest)
(As the player clears Fae Forest, Salis can go to the prison island not far away. She finds Willow and his torturer, kills them both and try to go back through the portal. But now an enormous watcher hovers the air above it. Shalis must clear Hellfire Fortress in order to get weapons to defeat it with)
(Clearing Hellfire Fortress, the goblins mounts the weapons to Shalis' zeppelin, and she can fight the great guardian, defeat it and go back through the portal)
(Shalisconvinces the goblins to load the zeppelin with explosives. They ask why, and Shalis says that if she crashes she would die anyway, right? Goblins says that they like her style. We might follow it someday.)
Winning the Bossfight
In protest of its injuries, the great gargoyle flew up high, trying to escape Shalis' ever bombarding zeppelin. Shalis followed at a steep angle, firing at the abomination from below, nudging it this way and that, while all the time keeping an eye on the portal far beneath them. When she had it lined up perfectly
Shalis made the zeppelin go almost vertically in the air, making it go downwards at great speed. Far down there, she could see the portal and the corpse of the gargoyle, blocking path to the demonic temple and interrupting the never ending river of demons. She aimed straight for the great corpse, and then pulled the altitude levers towards her with her full strength. The zeppelin picked up some angle, and was adjusting its course towards the portal. Shalis took a deep breath for the travel through the void. With a perfect quarter circle motion, the zeppelin swooped into the portal with great precision and crashed and crumbled, without a sound, in the unseen floor of the white void beyond the portal. Shalis tumbled out of the gliding wreckage, using its momentum to propel herself out, and without breaking stride, continued running towards the waiting gateway back to Starglade. One second after SHalis had thrown herself through the gateway and rolled out into the glade once more, she heard a muffled explosion, and the portal collapsed into nothing behind her.
Chapter 3 - Ravaged Remains
As shalis returned home, she finds it utterly destructed. Demonic flames and chaos magic hangs heavy in the air. The trees are broken and reduced glowing piles of coal, the animals are slaughtered, beheaded and disgraced, and not a single Night Elf can be seen. Neither dead or alive ones. Shalis proceeds with stealth, avoiding as many demons as she can, as she inspects the area. She happens to find two Night Elven survivors, a skilled glaive thrower, and a warrior, with eyes burning with anger. Their names are naisha and Maiev.
All three of them begins to pick the demonic generals off, one after another. Before killing them, they demand the location of Felore, but none are saying much. Finally, they find a talkative one, that tells them that Felore brought her main party of demons, along with six great Demonic Contraptions wielding Ghostfire to the north, just over the border of Moonglade. They are scorching the ground, creating deep tunnels deep into the underground. They will create tunnels leading to all the cornors of the world! They slughtered the demon, located the tunnels entrance, and begun decending into the underground.
Chapter 4 - Path of Vengeance
Shalis, Maiev and Naisha travels deep underground. They find all their missing townsfolk, sleeping along the walls of the tunnels. They had not been killed, just cursed with magical sleep and relocated here. But why?
They proceed through the tunnels, and finds the heart of the nexus, where Felore seems to be waiting for them. She thanks Shalis for her assistance in bringing her to power, and asks her to hand over the Soul Gem. Felore intend to use the soul gem to trap the souls of all the Night Elven people in the tunnels, in order to fuel and open a new portal here.
Shalis, Maiev and Naisha engages her in a long fight, and miracolusly manages to overcome her. With Felore dead, nothing remains for Shalis. She orders her own execution, because despite of Felores deceit, it was still her that had carried out the horrible deeds she has done. Maiev, who respects Shalis deeply, takes the task upon herself to be Shalis' executioner, and proceeds to carry her armor and moonblade to honour her memory.
What happened next:
The Ghostfire Tunnels
The nexus ends up being named the Barrow Deeps, and was used by druids as a new, safe place to rest. When Illidan many years later is caught trying to create a new well of eternity, he is caught and lockedup in the magical heart of the great cave system. Maiev builds her prison around its center, and vows to be Illidans Warden for all eternity.
The Soul Gem
The Soul Gem is seen as an unholy reject by the Night Elven community, and they decide to drop it in the ocean, far off-shore. More than 10000 years later, after being washed around the oceanfloor, it was swallowed by a hungry fish, who got itself caught in a fishermans net. As the fisherman gutted the fish, he discovered the bright glowing crystal. The fisherman brought it as a sign of devotion to the kingdoms most powerful sorcoress, Jaina Proudmoore.
The Fate of Starglade
The inhabitants of the now corrupted and chaotic Starglade moved to the neighbouring regions, and never spoke of the tragic events that took place there. After a few centuries, when the forest and its wildlife managed to surpress the magic and start to regrow, its name was long forgotten, and the area was left unnamed for many years to come. The demonic magics remained deep beneath the roots of the new trees, and when the Skull of Gul'dan came along, the magic sprung up through the ground, and corrupted it all again.
Even before really touching the twisting portal, Shalis had felt a strange sideway gravitational pull. Impossible geometry
Something was watching her.
Weird prison, is it not? Where are all the cells with our bretheren?
(they walk into a room with loads of slaugthered dranei.
It was a great tragedy, of course, but SHalis remained indiffirent.
SHe kept her head cool, and saw what needed to be done. Shee took control of the great cannon in front of the blood gate.
Summary
After a long time of searching in the hostile and harsh envirment filled to the brim with eicked creatures, Shalis finally managed to locate Willow inside a Demonic temple. Successfully infilitrating it, she finds Willow in the middle of a grand room. As she approach him and thank Elune for her success, she realize that Willow is nothing but a shell of his former self, frozen in a standing pose. In his feet, countless nails have him fixed to the floor. As Shalis cries out in despair, the warlock responisble for Willows abduction appears. He mocks Shalis by stabbing Willow gently with a burning blade. Shalis lashes out at him, but before her blade reaches him, he disappears into nothing, and materializes behind her.
'He will suffer through eternity, ...and so shall you.'
Shalis fights him, and manages to get him on his back. Pleading for his life, the Warlock tells Shalis why Willow was taken away.
'It was all Felore! She ordered me to take him away, so that you would follow. She could not commit those crimes herself and get away with it safely, so she made you do it instead. But it is already too late now, you have already opened the portal between our worlds. As we speak, countless of my kind has already invaded your precious home.'
Shalis slits his thoat then and there, and the warlock melts away with a twisetd grin on his face. She turns to Willow and hesitates for a moment, before she does the same with him, giving him a quick death. With nothing left but rage in her heart, she returns to the portal, which is now heavily defended. Shalis manages to break the defences, and she gets through the portal, going home.
Dialogue
Shalis has just stepped into the portal in Starglade
Even before Shalis had dared placed a foot inside the glowing boundaries of the portal, she had felt a slight pulsing motion, that made the very fabric of reality ripple. As soon as her boot touched the alien surfacce on the other side of the portal, the pulsing sensation had grown immensly, and she could feel a tremble thoughout her body. Shalis extended a hand through the portal, and groped at the unseen emptyness behind the creamy purple substance which the portal was made of. Finding no obstacle, she closed her eyes tightly and held her breath, as if she was about to dive into a lake, and pushed her head through.
The first thing she noticed, was that there was almost no sound present.
There was no somber owl-tunes.
No leaves rustling in the wind.
No ambience from the many small critters of her home.
Nothing.
Listening hard, Shalis could only hear the soft beating of her own heart, and the blood pumping in her ears. It was an outstanding and serene sensation.
Next, she opened her eyes, and was blinded by endless whiteness. Half-closing them again, she spied around her, trying to find somthing to navigate by. Far away, she saw a floating dot, and an orange-red floating landsacpe within it. That must be the entrance to the Outland! All she had to do was to go there. She took a step forward, and noticed that her boot made no noise as it made contact with the uncertain ground beneath it.
To her irritation, she realized that she still held her breath from the suspense of stepping through the portal. She laughed silently at herself and inhaled sharply. There was no air to breathe! The serenity that had embraced her in the few short moments inside the portal was gone in less than a second. Panic rose within her at the speed of a shooting star. She clawed at her throat in desperate attemps to find something that blocked her airpipes, but with no success. She began to feel nausios and dizzy.
No time to lose. She needed to get to the Outland before she could no longer walk. At great speed, Shalis sprang towards the distant entrance, trying to somehow keep the little air she held within her. She felt like throwing up, and before long her legs grew weak and hard to control. Was this how she would meet her end? Suffocated in the void between worlds, while Felore and Willow still counted on her? A serene and silent place like this would not be the worst place to spend an eternity...
Focus! She would NOT die here. Willow would NOT be left alone in the Outland. She had to live. She could no longer keep her mouth shut. She let it hang open as if hoping to catch a wisp of air. The dot grew larger as she closed in on it, and she could now see that it was of oval shape, standing upright. There was no sound but the soft clicking of her armor, and her heartbeat pulsing in her ear...
Suddenly the edges of the oval gateway was within arms reach of Shalis. She stumbled through, drew for breath and caught it, and fell to her hands and knees, barely concious into the soft dirt beneath her.
After a lot of coughing and heavy breathing, Shalis managed to gain control of her lungs. She stood up, brushed the dirt form her armor and looked around.
The first thing she noticed, was that there was almost no sound present.
There was no somber owl-tunes.
No leaves rustling in the wind.
No ambience from the many small critters of her home.
Nothing.
Listening hard, Shalis could only hear the soft beating of her own heart, and the blood pumping in her ears. It was an outstanding and serene sensation.
Next, she opened her eyes, and was blinded by endless whiteness. Half-closing them again, she spied around her, trying to find somthing to navigate by. Far away, she saw a floating dot, and an orange-red floating landsacpe within it. That must be the entrance to the Outland! All she had to do was to go there. She took a step forward, and noticed that her boot made no noise as it made contact with the uncertain ground beneath it.
To her irritation, she realized that she still held her breath from the suspense of stepping through the portal. She laughed silently at herself and inhaled sharply. There was no air to breathe! The serenity that had embraced her in the few short moments inside the portal was gone in less than a second. Panic rose within her at the speed of a shooting star. She clawed at her throat in desperate attemps to find something that blocked her airpipes, but with no success. She began to feel nausios and dizzy.
No time to lose. She needed to get to the Outland before she could no longer walk. At great speed, Shalis sprang towards the distant entrance, trying to somehow keep the little air she held within her. She felt like throwing up, and before long her legs grew weak and hard to control. Was this how she would meet her end? Suffocated in the void between worlds, while Felore and Willow still counted on her? A serene and silent place like this would not be the worst place to spend an eternity...
Focus! She would NOT die here. Willow would NOT be left alone in the Outland. She had to live. She could no longer keep her mouth shut. She let it hang open as if hoping to catch a wisp of air. The dot grew larger as she closed in on it, and she could now see that it was of oval shape, standing upright. There was no sound but the soft clicking of her armor, and her heartbeat pulsing in her ear...
Suddenly the edges of the oval gateway was within arms reach of Shalis. She stumbled through, drew for breath and caught it, and fell to her hands and knees, barely concious into the soft dirt beneath her.
After a lot of coughing and heavy breathing, Shalis managed to gain control of her lungs. She stood up, brushed the dirt form her armor and looked around.
SHalis explores the area bit until she runs into a small demonic hound which she fights.
The small hound fell easily. Shalis wiped its blood from her blade over its back. Not far away, she could hear another one growling. Before she could take a step in the noises direction, thin voices joined it.
"Kill it quickly!"
"It's holding me down! Do something!"
"Take this!"
Shalis sneaked closer. From behind a rock, she spied a hound like the one she just had defeated herself and three strange hulking creatures with primitive weapons. Their faces were ugly, but not intimidating, and their clothes ragged and worn. She watched as they struggled with the hound; It was standing on top of one of the warriors, its jaws snapping at a pebbles distance from the warriors face. The second warrior sat on the hounds back, pulling its head backwards, saving his comrade from a nasty end. The third was hacking away at the hounds side, impaling it with his spiky weapon. After a few seconds, the hound began to go limb, and fell off the warrior to the side.
"Close call!"
"Close? My arm is nearly gnawed off!"
"Off? Hardly. But we better get you back to the village right away. Who knows in what other things it has buried its teeth in before you."
They picked themselves up and made their way to the ledge leading south. They continued to the the very edge it, and as they stepped off the ledge, a bridge of floating rocks formed under them, and they continued to a neighbouring island. Shalis got out of her hiding, and set off after them.
"Kill it quickly!"
"It's holding me down! Do something!"
"Take this!"
Shalis sneaked closer. From behind a rock, she spied a hound like the one she just had defeated herself and three strange hulking creatures with primitive weapons. Their faces were ugly, but not intimidating, and their clothes ragged and worn. She watched as they struggled with the hound; It was standing on top of one of the warriors, its jaws snapping at a pebbles distance from the warriors face. The second warrior sat on the hounds back, pulling its head backwards, saving his comrade from a nasty end. The third was hacking away at the hounds side, impaling it with his spiky weapon. After a few seconds, the hound began to go limb, and fell off the warrior to the side.
"Close call!"
"Close? My arm is nearly gnawed off!"
"Off? Hardly. But we better get you back to the village right away. Who knows in what other things it has buried its teeth in before you."
They picked themselves up and made their way to the ledge leading south. They continued to the the very edge it, and as they stepped off the ledge, a bridge of floating rocks formed under them, and they continued to a neighbouring island. Shalis got out of her hiding, and set off after them.
Shalis follows the creatures (dranei) at a distance. Yet, somehow, teh Dranei manages to notice her.
"Something is following us."
"Make haste! We must warn Ka."
Shalis makes it to a village.
"Sage Ka, our guardians has spotted something sneaking within the nexus! It is swift and stealthy, and tried to follow them here. What shall we do?"
"My brother, see to it that this creature is caught immidiatly. Rally the entire village. I shall join you shortly."
The warrior ran out of the sage's grove. Ka was pondering on what this could be.
The demons wouldn't push this far into the nexus. The crystals keep them at bay. This was something else. Something unknown. Just as he was about to rise from his chair, he heard a soft clinking noise and the cold prescence of steel pressed against his throat.
"Move, and I shall make sure you never take another breath." Shalis said.
Ka exhaled as calmly as he could.
"Who..."
"Silent. Hear me before you speak."
Ka swallowed hard. He glanced towards his weapon rack. Out of reach. He could yell, alerting the warriors outside. It would cost him his life, but then his tribe may live on.
"I wish you no harm, creature, I just need you to listen to me for a moment. Nod if you understand."
Ka hesitated. Was this creature tricking him? He nodded relucantly. Shalis continued:
"I need information about the demonic activity in this place. I wish to free someone important to me, and gut as many demons as possible on my way to do so. Tell me all you know, and I will be gone and never bather you again.
Ka remained silent. A few seconds passed.
"You... are not one of them?"
"No. You should have known that by now. Judging from the little I've seen of your relation to the demons, I doubt they would wait a moment to slit your throat."
The blade was withdrawn from Ka's throat. He rose from his chair and turned to look at the mysterious creature behind him. He massaged his throat were the blade had been as he regarded her with narrowed eyes.
"What are you? I've roamed those shattered lands all my life, but never have I laid eyes on beings such as you."
"I'm not of this world, but none of that is of importance now. You can call me Shalis."
Ka made a stiff bow, placing his hand on his chest, but kept his eyes fixed on Shalis while he did so.
"Greetings Shalis, I am Ka, elder of this our village. If you truly are here to kill demons, I will help you in whatever way I can."
"I thank you, Ka. Now, tell me what you know of the demons."
"You said you were looking for someone, no? I have suffered losses of my own people over time. Demons are caging them, and bring them to their prison north-west of here. With great probability, that's where the one you are searching for can be found."
"A prison? How does one get to this place?"
"You have to go there by Sky Machine."
"Right, where can I find that?"
"By the Hellfire Fortress."
"And then I fly to the prison."
"Yes, providing you get through to the fortress through the lava pool."
"Alright, and then..."
"And providing you manage to destroy the heavily guarded demonic sky cannons."
"That should not be a..."
"And providing you can defeat the enourmous juggernaut guarding the entrance to the prison."
"Well..."
"And then, there are of course a small legion of demons on the ground to get through aswell, if you even get there, that is."
Shalis did not attempt to speak again. She waited for Ka to finish. Just when the silence had hung over them for a little to long, Shalis spoke...
And was interrupted:
"All of that depends on if you even get to the fiery island at all."
Shalis clenched her fist tightly, resisting the urge to leave a deep nice wound in Ka's face.
"Now..." Ka said.
"Now you will listen to me, Ka." Shalis said abruptly. "There is no doubt I will do all those things, and, mark my words, I will not fail. Now tell me how I get to the fiery island. Do you have a transport of some kind to get around those shattered lands?"
"Yes. We have our Voidcrosser. However, one of our scholars has used it to get to a remote island. Luckily, you can travel there by foot, providing you are ready to face death on the journey there."
"I think I made it pretty clear that death is not something I fear, dear Ka." Shalis had no idea why she added the "dear", but it sounded nice and defiant.
"Well then. I shall arrange for a guide to meet you west of the village. Follow him, and he will show you the path to our scholar."
Shalis gave Ka a forced nod-bow, and made her way out of the tent.
"My brother, see to it that this creature is caught immidiatly. Rally the entire village. I shall join you shortly."
The warrior ran out of the sage's grove. Ka was pondering on what this could be.
The demons wouldn't push this far into the nexus. The crystals keep them at bay. This was something else. Something unknown. Just as he was about to rise from his chair, he heard a soft clinking noise and the cold prescence of steel pressed against his throat.
"Move, and I shall make sure you never take another breath." Shalis said.
Ka exhaled as calmly as he could.
"Who..."
"Silent. Hear me before you speak."
Ka swallowed hard. He glanced towards his weapon rack. Out of reach. He could yell, alerting the warriors outside. It would cost him his life, but then his tribe may live on.
"I wish you no harm, creature, I just need you to listen to me for a moment. Nod if you understand."
Ka hesitated. Was this creature tricking him? He nodded relucantly. Shalis continued:
"I need information about the demonic activity in this place. I wish to free someone important to me, and gut as many demons as possible on my way to do so. Tell me all you know, and I will be gone and never bather you again.
Ka remained silent. A few seconds passed.
"You... are not one of them?"
"No. You should have known that by now. Judging from the little I've seen of your relation to the demons, I doubt they would wait a moment to slit your throat."
The blade was withdrawn from Ka's throat. He rose from his chair and turned to look at the mysterious creature behind him. He massaged his throat were the blade had been as he regarded her with narrowed eyes.
"What are you? I've roamed those shattered lands all my life, but never have I laid eyes on beings such as you."
"I'm not of this world, but none of that is of importance now. You can call me Shalis."
Ka made a stiff bow, placing his hand on his chest, but kept his eyes fixed on Shalis while he did so.
"Greetings Shalis, I am Ka, elder of this our village. If you truly are here to kill demons, I will help you in whatever way I can."
"I thank you, Ka. Now, tell me what you know of the demons."
"You said you were looking for someone, no? I have suffered losses of my own people over time. Demons are caging them, and bring them to their prison north-west of here. With great probability, that's where the one you are searching for can be found."
"A prison? How does one get to this place?"
"You have to go there by Sky Machine."
"Right, where can I find that?"
"By the Hellfire Fortress."
"And then I fly to the prison."
"Yes, providing you get through to the fortress through the lava pool."
"Alright, and then..."
"And providing you manage to destroy the heavily guarded demonic sky cannons."
"That should not be a..."
"And providing you can defeat the enourmous juggernaut guarding the entrance to the prison."
"Well..."
"And then, there are of course a small legion of demons on the ground to get through aswell, if you even get there, that is."
Shalis did not attempt to speak again. She waited for Ka to finish. Just when the silence had hung over them for a little to long, Shalis spoke...
And was interrupted:
"All of that depends on if you even get to the fiery island at all."
Shalis clenched her fist tightly, resisting the urge to leave a deep nice wound in Ka's face.
"Now..." Ka said.
"Now you will listen to me, Ka." Shalis said abruptly. "There is no doubt I will do all those things, and, mark my words, I will not fail. Now tell me how I get to the fiery island. Do you have a transport of some kind to get around those shattered lands?"
"Yes. We have our Voidcrosser. However, one of our scholars has used it to get to a remote island. Luckily, you can travel there by foot, providing you are ready to face death on the journey there."
"I think I made it pretty clear that death is not something I fear, dear Ka." Shalis had no idea why she added the "dear", but it sounded nice and defiant.
"Well then. I shall arrange for a guide to meet you west of the village. Follow him, and he will show you the path to our scholar."
Shalis gave Ka a forced nod-bow, and made her way out of the tent.
Shalis gets out of the tent, and finds her guide.
'Shalis, was it? Ka has asked me to lead you. Follow me.'
Akama, stay behind. We need someone to watch the outside.
Shalis hurried along the narrow corridor, with Ka following closely. Their steps echoed between the massive walls. Unless there was rooms hidden behind them, those walls must have been more than thirty feet thick! the corridor took a sharp turn to the right, leading to a hazed room. Going slower now, Shalis stretched out her hand behind her, signaling the oncoming band of Dranei to slow down. There was a heavy fog hanging in the room, which had blocked her view just a few steps back, but now, she could see the room clearly. The floor of the room was littered with bodies. Burnt, skinned, chopped and ravaged bodies of demons and animals, but most of all, Dranei.
Shalis turned around to stop Ka and the others from entering, and flinched back when she noticed that he was already standing beside her. She looked upon him with eyes wide open. He showed little emotion, but Shalis could feel him trembling rage fill the air. His jaw started shaking, his grip around his curved sword made the leather of its handle squeak. Without warning, he threw his head back, and screamed. Shalis recoiled. This was the moment when she felt true dread for the first time. For the duration of her pursuit of Willow, she had surpressed her emotion in order to be effective and fearless, but this primal, high-pitched and almsot feral scream sent a cold shiver down her spine. Not knowing what to do, she waited for Ka to scream the air out of his lungs.
Even after Ka went silent, panting after air, Shalis could not take her eyes off of him. Not until a dark laughter was heard. It was not loud at first; just barely there in the background. Then it spread through the room like a disease, making everyone turn their heads to look for its source. The laugh was booming now, thundering throughout the room, and suddenly, the laugher could be seen. A big demon of humanoid shape stood on a small platform in front of a huge set of doors. It had a tail, strange thornlike horns in its face, a gilded plate armor and a heavy, rugged cape hung on its back. It regarded Shalis with horrible curiosity.
'Shalis Darkhunter...' A broad smile, displaying an impossible set of teeth, grew on the demons face.
'You've come at last.'
Shalis did not know what to say. Had it been expecting her?
'Your prize waits behind this door, little kaldorei. Come and claim it.'
Before Shalis had time to answer, the Demon turned and disappeared into the room beyond, the heavy doors closing behind it. Just before they closed, Shalis thought she saw something inside. A silhouette, could it be...?
The doors shut with a dull noise.
Shalis and the dranei stood dumbfounded fro a few moments. Then, as one, they made their way to the door. Halfway across the room, the shadowy parts near the walls stirred their wisps of darkness. Something was moving within. The dranei stopped, but Shalis continued to the top of the platform by the doors. There was a demonic cannon here, hopefully easy to use...
Standing in a semi-circle, the small group of dranei faced the darkness. A moment of silence passed. A demonic hound stepped out of the shadows, very similiar to the one Shalis had seen in the glade that fateful day. Without a word, they all prepared for battle.
Shalis turned around to stop Ka and the others from entering, and flinched back when she noticed that he was already standing beside her. She looked upon him with eyes wide open. He showed little emotion, but Shalis could feel him trembling rage fill the air. His jaw started shaking, his grip around his curved sword made the leather of its handle squeak. Without warning, he threw his head back, and screamed. Shalis recoiled. This was the moment when she felt true dread for the first time. For the duration of her pursuit of Willow, she had surpressed her emotion in order to be effective and fearless, but this primal, high-pitched and almsot feral scream sent a cold shiver down her spine. Not knowing what to do, she waited for Ka to scream the air out of his lungs.
Even after Ka went silent, panting after air, Shalis could not take her eyes off of him. Not until a dark laughter was heard. It was not loud at first; just barely there in the background. Then it spread through the room like a disease, making everyone turn their heads to look for its source. The laugh was booming now, thundering throughout the room, and suddenly, the laugher could be seen. A big demon of humanoid shape stood on a small platform in front of a huge set of doors. It had a tail, strange thornlike horns in its face, a gilded plate armor and a heavy, rugged cape hung on its back. It regarded Shalis with horrible curiosity.
'Shalis Darkhunter...' A broad smile, displaying an impossible set of teeth, grew on the demons face.
'You've come at last.'
Shalis did not know what to say. Had it been expecting her?
'Your prize waits behind this door, little kaldorei. Come and claim it.'
Before Shalis had time to answer, the Demon turned and disappeared into the room beyond, the heavy doors closing behind it. Just before they closed, Shalis thought she saw something inside. A silhouette, could it be...?
The doors shut with a dull noise.
Shalis and the dranei stood dumbfounded fro a few moments. Then, as one, they made their way to the door. Halfway across the room, the shadowy parts near the walls stirred their wisps of darkness. Something was moving within. The dranei stopped, but Shalis continued to the top of the platform by the doors. There was a demonic cannon here, hopefully easy to use...
Standing in a semi-circle, the small group of dranei faced the darkness. A moment of silence passed. A demonic hound stepped out of the shadows, very similiar to the one Shalis had seen in the glade that fateful day. Without a word, they all prepared for battle.
The hounds continued to spawn from the darkness without an end in sight. All the dranei but Ka was dead. Ka himself was fighting six hounds, and Shalis was unable to get them off him. Soon, Ka fell to the ground and was choking on his own blood. When he fell, the remaining hounds glanced at Shalis, but then turned, and retreated into the darkness. Behind her, she could hear the wailing of the heavy doors swinging open. Shalis swallowed hard, and turned around to face the inner room. She was left breathless. In a moment, Shalis had forgotten all about the great demon disappearing into the room. There, on the middle of the floor, a very familiar prescence stood, facing a big hole in the wall, displaying the endless void and its shattered island outside. It was his robes alright, and she recognized his green tinted hair aswell. Her heart skipped several beats as she slowly approached him. Only a few steps away now. She made her around, to stand in front of him.
It was him alright. Here he was. The man she had gone through hell for to get to. Willow stood with his eyes closed. Tears had made trails under his eyes, and he seemed weary, but whole and absolutely alive, judging from his breathing. Her limbs was shaking now. She reached out a hand and stroke his cheek. A second after she toched him, his eyelids flew open. Red, tortured and panicstruck eyes fixed on Shalis. Shalis flinched, but did not remove her hand. Willow said nothing, but his eyes told Shalis enough: something was defenitely wrong here. Willow did not open his mouth, but still let out a muffled cry. That's when Shalis saw it: His lips had been sewn together! Taking a step back in horror, she saw how Willow writhed where he stood, as if he was a prisoner within himself. His feet! A thousand tiny nails fixed his feet to the ground. Shalis could not believe how she could not have seen it before! As she watched, his clothed was torn and fell around him. She could now see the that he had been mounted on a metal skeleton, with the purpose of having him stand in a seemingly natural way. Shalis could do nothing but watch him in agony.
'Horrible isn't it?' A voice whispered right into her ear.
Shalis shivered from the sensation, but did not look away from her lover.
'The mouth is his own fault, rally. He wouldn't stop screaming when we fixed his feet to the floor.'
It seemed like the voice waited for some kind of reply. Not getting one, it continued with its soft, dark voice.
'You have come a long way, little nigt elf. An admirable feat for sure. Too bad it will be forgotten, as it dies with you and him.'
The rage inside Shalis bubbled. With a cry she lashed out with her moon blade behind her, and turned as she did. The big demon took a fluid step backwards.
'There we go! Some energy!'
Shalis swung the blade again, this time hitting the belly of the demon. It vanished into thin air.
'Oh, where are your manners, Shalis? Are you striking your lovers dear host?'
The voice came from behind.
Shalis spun around and faced it. The demon was standing just behind Willow, leaning over him, toying with a red-hot blade by his throat.
'What do you want?' Shalis screamed.
'I want you to calm down and listen.' the demon said. 'Listen to what I have to say.'
Reluctantly, Shalis resisted her urge to charge forward.
'Yes?' she said behind gritted teeth.
'Do you remember me? No? I am Nemiades. It was I that made you sleepy in outside your home not too long ago. Ah, you are pretty when you sleep. None of this... anger bubbling within you then! Ah, I miss that old you, I must say. And willow.. wow! What a catch! A real looker, is he not?'
Nemiades placed a clawed hand on Willows hair and combed it out of his face.
'The face of a god, surely, but I could see improvements back then already. See those scars here? He looks so much more dangerous now! I'll admit that the dried tracks of blood are not too tacky, but I think he will grow into it.'
Shalis took a step forward, opening her mouth to speak.
'No, no, no!' Nemiades said warningly, flourishng his knife by Willows throat. Shalis stopped dead in her tracks.
'Not that I want to do it anyway. It would mess up my infinity spell. A tricky one to cast, I'll tell you that. But, six hours of concentration was worth it! Now I have a toy for life! You see, this spell prevents him from dying unless he suffers some serious damage such as...' Here he stroke the dull side of the knife on Willows neck. '...maybe a a knife through the neck. Any other kind of torture can be used, isn't that great?'
'Shut up! You say you have a toy for life? Well, your life ends today!' Shalis was trembling with rage now. Blinded by hate, she did no longer care for Willows fate, as long as she could slay this demon. She swung her moonblade towards Nemiades, which once again vanished into thin air, this time appearing by the doors. Nemiades, suddenly not as joyful anymore, looked directly into Shalis' eyes for the first time.
'Is that so?'
'Fight me, you coward!'
Nemiades smirked. As he did so, the doors shut behind him, and he was disolved into wisps of darkness, rising towards the distant roof. His voice echoed throughout the room:
'He will suffer through eternity, ...and so shall you.'
It was him alright. Here he was. The man she had gone through hell for to get to. Willow stood with his eyes closed. Tears had made trails under his eyes, and he seemed weary, but whole and absolutely alive, judging from his breathing. Her limbs was shaking now. She reached out a hand and stroke his cheek. A second after she toched him, his eyelids flew open. Red, tortured and panicstruck eyes fixed on Shalis. Shalis flinched, but did not remove her hand. Willow said nothing, but his eyes told Shalis enough: something was defenitely wrong here. Willow did not open his mouth, but still let out a muffled cry. That's when Shalis saw it: His lips had been sewn together! Taking a step back in horror, she saw how Willow writhed where he stood, as if he was a prisoner within himself. His feet! A thousand tiny nails fixed his feet to the ground. Shalis could not believe how she could not have seen it before! As she watched, his clothed was torn and fell around him. She could now see the that he had been mounted on a metal skeleton, with the purpose of having him stand in a seemingly natural way. Shalis could do nothing but watch him in agony.
'Horrible isn't it?' A voice whispered right into her ear.
Shalis shivered from the sensation, but did not look away from her lover.
'The mouth is his own fault, rally. He wouldn't stop screaming when we fixed his feet to the floor.'
It seemed like the voice waited for some kind of reply. Not getting one, it continued with its soft, dark voice.
'You have come a long way, little nigt elf. An admirable feat for sure. Too bad it will be forgotten, as it dies with you and him.'
The rage inside Shalis bubbled. With a cry she lashed out with her moon blade behind her, and turned as she did. The big demon took a fluid step backwards.
'There we go! Some energy!'
Shalis swung the blade again, this time hitting the belly of the demon. It vanished into thin air.
'Oh, where are your manners, Shalis? Are you striking your lovers dear host?'
The voice came from behind.
Shalis spun around and faced it. The demon was standing just behind Willow, leaning over him, toying with a red-hot blade by his throat.
'What do you want?' Shalis screamed.
'I want you to calm down and listen.' the demon said. 'Listen to what I have to say.'
Reluctantly, Shalis resisted her urge to charge forward.
'Yes?' she said behind gritted teeth.
'Do you remember me? No? I am Nemiades. It was I that made you sleepy in outside your home not too long ago. Ah, you are pretty when you sleep. None of this... anger bubbling within you then! Ah, I miss that old you, I must say. And willow.. wow! What a catch! A real looker, is he not?'
Nemiades placed a clawed hand on Willows hair and combed it out of his face.
'The face of a god, surely, but I could see improvements back then already. See those scars here? He looks so much more dangerous now! I'll admit that the dried tracks of blood are not too tacky, but I think he will grow into it.'
Shalis took a step forward, opening her mouth to speak.
'No, no, no!' Nemiades said warningly, flourishng his knife by Willows throat. Shalis stopped dead in her tracks.
'Not that I want to do it anyway. It would mess up my infinity spell. A tricky one to cast, I'll tell you that. But, six hours of concentration was worth it! Now I have a toy for life! You see, this spell prevents him from dying unless he suffers some serious damage such as...' Here he stroke the dull side of the knife on Willows neck. '...maybe a a knife through the neck. Any other kind of torture can be used, isn't that great?'
'Shut up! You say you have a toy for life? Well, your life ends today!' Shalis was trembling with rage now. Blinded by hate, she did no longer care for Willows fate, as long as she could slay this demon. She swung her moonblade towards Nemiades, which once again vanished into thin air, this time appearing by the doors. Nemiades, suddenly not as joyful anymore, looked directly into Shalis' eyes for the first time.
'Is that so?'
'Fight me, you coward!'
Nemiades smirked. As he did so, the doors shut behind him, and he was disolved into wisps of darkness, rising towards the distant roof. His voice echoed throughout the room:
'He will suffer through eternity, ...and so shall you.'
Shalis' blade made yet another satisfying slash in the belly of Nemiades. With a shriek the great demon stumbled backwards, and fell half-sitting to his back. Ghastly wisps of yellow essence was steaming out of his open wounds.
'Spare me! Shalis, please!'
'Hand me your knife.'
'What? Why would you want...'
'Give it to me.'
Nemiades tossed his knife forward. It rattled over the tiles, and settled beside Shalis' boot. She bent to pick it up, and approached Nemiades.
'Now listen Shalis... Argh!'
Shalis had swiftly bent over Nemiades and buried the knife deep into the bricks beside him... Through his hand. She kept her face an inch from Nemiades'.
'Now, demon, you will tell me why this happened. What is the reason to why I stand here with a knife plunged through your hand? What is the reason to Willows abduction?'
Nemiades, breathing on top of his lungs from the pain in his hand answered:
'Mercy Shalis! It was not I who wanted this! I was hired by another! All I needed to do was to make sure you followed me here!
'Who?' Shalis was yelling now. 'Who hired you?'
Nemiades hesitated.
'I... I can't tell you. She told me she would kill me! Oh please understand!'
'Kill you? And you think I won't?'
Shalis turned the knife in his hand. He let out a cry of pain.
'Felore! It was Felore! Stop!'
Shalis froze. What? Felore? The demon was surely decieving her. She turned the knife again.
'Stop lying to me!'
'I'm not! Please believe me Shalis! Put that damn knife away and I'll tell you!'
Shalis stopped turning the knife, but kept it where it was.
'Tell me.'
Panting and flexing his healthy hand, Nemiades spoke:
'Felore wants power. I don't know what she plans to do with it, but a horde of demons sure are powerful. She knew that in order to do so, she needed to do two things: Open a portal, and defeat the ancient druids that were the only ones that could stop her.'
Shalis' head began to spin. Nemiades continued:
'She knew she could not do this by herself, so she needed someone... "motivated" enough to help her. She summoned me though a smaller rift to the Outland, and together we searched for a candidate to fit our needs. We looked at many, but decided to settle for you in the end. All we needed to do, was to get our hands on the weak Willow, and, with proper guidance from your friendly priestess, open a portal to where he could be found, and then bring a legion of demons back through it.'
Shalis shivered with a cold spite. Felore. It all made sense. She appoached the opening to the balcony and stepped out. She lcoated the portal, and saw an endless line of demons charging through it. She regarded it for a few seconds, and then turned back to Nemiades, with decisive steps. Nemiades sensed her anger and cowered.
'Shalis...'
No answer.
'Shalis! There is no need! Don't...'
Shalis dashed forward and decapitated Nemiades as she flew past him. His body melted into liquid shadows that disappeared between the heavy bricks.
Still trembling with rage from all that had been revealed, she turned to the door where she came from, and remembered that Willow was there. The fight and Felores horrible plans had made her forget about him for a moment. She approached him slowly, feeling the tears starting to burn behind her eyelids. Willow remained paralyzed, fixed in his agony. His eyes were filled with sorrow and trembled slightly, but remained fixed on Shalis. Shalis leaned forward to place her forehead on willows chest, resting it there for a few seconds while crying loudly.
'I'm so sorry, Willow.'
She steeled herself. She tightened the grip around her blade. She lifted her head to look into Willows eyes one last time. He seemed to accept her offer, and closed his eyes. Shalis lashed out with the moonblade across Willows neck, ending his life, and then swiftly ran to the door.
'I'm so sorry.'
Willow is dead. So is his kidnapper. All that remains now is vengence. Felore will pay dearly for this.
I must make it back through the portal and slay her.
(The player must locate the goblin village and get their help. They will provide an airship, providing that Shalis manages to get their kin out of Fae Forest)
(As the player clears Fae Forest, Salis can go to the prison island not far away. She finds Willow and his torturer, kills them both and try to go back through the portal. But now an enormous watcher hovers the air above it. Shalis must clear Hellfire Fortress in order to get weapons to defeat it with)
(Clearing Hellfire Fortress, the goblins mounts the weapons to Shalis' zeppelin, and she can fight the great guardian, defeat it and go back through the portal)
(Shalisconvinces the goblins to load the zeppelin with explosives. They ask why, and Shalis says that if she crashes she would die anyway, right? Goblins says that they like her style. We might follow it someday.)
Winning the Bossfight
In protest of its injuries, the great gargoyle flew up high, trying to escape Shalis' ever bombarding zeppelin. Shalis followed at a steep angle, firing at the abomination from below, nudging it this way and that, while all the time keeping an eye on the portal far beneath them. When she had it lined up perfectly
Shalis made the zeppelin go almost vertically in the air, making it go downwards at great speed. Far down there, she could see the portal and the corpse of the gargoyle, blocking path to the demonic temple and interrupting the never ending river of demons. She aimed straight for the great corpse, and then pulled the altitude levers towards her with her full strength. The zeppelin picked up some angle, and was adjusting its course towards the portal. Shalis took a deep breath for the travel through the void. With a perfect quarter circle motion, the zeppelin swooped into the portal with great precision and crashed and crumbled, without a sound, in the unseen floor of the white void beyond the portal. Shalis tumbled out of the gliding wreckage, using its momentum to propel herself out, and without breaking stride, continued running towards the waiting gateway back to Starglade. One second after SHalis had thrown herself through the gateway and rolled out into the glade once more, she heard a muffled explosion, and the portal collapsed into nothing behind her.
Chapter 3 - Ravaged Remains
As shalis returned home, she finds it utterly destructed. Demonic flames and chaos magic hangs heavy in the air. The trees are broken and reduced glowing piles of coal, the animals are slaughtered, beheaded and disgraced, and not a single Night Elf can be seen. Neither dead or alive ones. Shalis proceeds with stealth, avoiding as many demons as she can, as she inspects the area. She happens to find two Night Elven survivors, a skilled glaive thrower, and a warrior, with eyes burning with anger. Their names are naisha and Maiev.
All three of them begins to pick the demonic generals off, one after another. Before killing them, they demand the location of Felore, but none are saying much. Finally, they find a talkative one, that tells them that Felore brought her main party of demons, along with six great Demonic Contraptions wielding Ghostfire to the north, just over the border of Moonglade. They are scorching the ground, creating deep tunnels deep into the underground. They will create tunnels leading to all the cornors of the world! They slughtered the demon, located the tunnels entrance, and begun decending into the underground.
Chapter 4 - Path of Vengeance
Shalis, Maiev and Naisha travels deep underground. They find all their missing townsfolk, sleeping along the walls of the tunnels. They had not been killed, just cursed with magical sleep and relocated here. But why?
They proceed through the tunnels, and finds the heart of the nexus, where Felore seems to be waiting for them. She thanks Shalis for her assistance in bringing her to power, and asks her to hand over the Soul Gem. Felore intend to use the soul gem to trap the souls of all the Night Elven people in the tunnels, in order to fuel and open a new portal here.
Shalis, Maiev and Naisha engages her in a long fight, and miracolusly manages to overcome her. With Felore dead, nothing remains for Shalis. She orders her own execution, because despite of Felores deceit, it was still her that had carried out the horrible deeds she has done. Maiev, who respects Shalis deeply, takes the task upon herself to be Shalis' executioner, and proceeds to carry her armor and moonblade to honour her memory.
What happened next:
The Ghostfire Tunnels
The nexus ends up being named the Barrow Deeps, and was used by druids as a new, safe place to rest. When Illidan many years later is caught trying to create a new well of eternity, he is caught and lockedup in the magical heart of the great cave system. Maiev builds her prison around its center, and vows to be Illidans Warden for all eternity.
The Soul Gem
The Soul Gem is seen as an unholy reject by the Night Elven community, and they decide to drop it in the ocean, far off-shore. More than 10000 years later, after being washed around the oceanfloor, it was swallowed by a hungry fish, who got itself caught in a fishermans net. As the fisherman gutted the fish, he discovered the bright glowing crystal. The fisherman brought it as a sign of devotion to the kingdoms most powerful sorcoress, Jaina Proudmoore.
The Fate of Starglade
The inhabitants of the now corrupted and chaotic Starglade moved to the neighbouring regions, and never spoke of the tragic events that took place there. After a few centuries, when the forest and its wildlife managed to surpress the magic and start to regrow, its name was long forgotten, and the area was left unnamed for many years to come. The demonic magics remained deep beneath the roots of the new trees, and when the Skull of Gul'dan came along, the magic sprung up through the ground, and corrupted it all again.
Even before really touching the twisting portal, Shalis had felt a strange sideway gravitational pull. Impossible geometry
Something was watching her.
Weird prison, is it not? Where are all the cells with our bretheren?
(they walk into a room with loads of slaugthered dranei.
It was a great tragedy, of course, but SHalis remained indiffirent.
SHe kept her head cool, and saw what needed to be done. Shee took control of the great cannon in front of the blood gate.
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