Story

[Rufus]

-Story-

This is a thread where I develop the story for the game.
If you want to help me or discuss the story, you can visit this thread.

Note: You can read the first piece of the story without spoiling anything of the story, as it is displayed to you instantly when you start the game.
All pieces of text after that though, may spoil the experience you will have in game.

Chapter 1 - Trouble in Paradise

Hidden

Introduction
This text is displayed as soon as the player starts the game, and serves as a mysterious interlude to the events to come.​

Long ago, in northern Kalimdor, the area that we today call Felwood was thriving and beautiful. Some say that it was the closest thing to a paradise to ever exist on Azeroth.

Starglade.

Starglade was adjacent to Mount Hyjal in the east, the mountain on which the first world tree, Nordrassil, was planted.
In the north-east, there was the cold and calm landscape of Winterspring, in the north there was Moonglade, and to the west, the ancient and ruined land of Darkshore protected the other regions from the unforgiving and endless sea.

Here, in the most beautiful place in the world, a sad and horrifying story took place long ago...

'No, no, no.'
'Too strong. Too loyal. Too smart.'
'We need to keep looking. One of them it is.'
'Decent strength, but very wise. He will not be fooled.'
'How about her then?'
'Pretty strong still. A warrior, but she is narrowminded and blind. This might work.'
'In love too? I think we found the one.'
'Take him.'

It was a wonderful day in Starglade. somewhere in the eastern parts, muffled noises from strong wind echoed between the trees.
'You almost got it!'
In an open field, a night elven huntress in a heavy cloak and armor stood, supporting herself with her hands on her knees.
Shalis caught her breath: 'Do I have to do it in this armor? It is tricky enough already.'
'You have already made a lot of progress without it, love. Also, I figured that practicing Wind Steps as you would use it in battle made sense.'
'I'd rather do it without armor, or any other clothing for that matter, Willow. That would make things a lot more entertaining for both of us.'
Willow blushed. He always considered himself awkward, and situtions like this was not easy to handle for him.
Shalis took a perfect Wind Step towards him. She hugged him, gave him an encouraging smile and said:
'Sorry, but you are just so adorable when you don't know what to say.'
She gently placed a rouge strand of hair behind his ear. An uncontrollable smile haunted Willows lips.
'Shalis Darkhunter...' he said with a dreamy look in his eyes. 'I..'
He got cut off. In the cornor of his eye, he saw a bush in the treeline on his right twitch. He turned his head, and looked towards the treeline. Shalis turned her head too. Trying to catch a glimpse of what he saw, she carefully scanned the treeline. Just before she gave up, she found himself staring into a pair of burning eyes, embedded in the bushes. The eye-contact lasted for half a second, then, a large hound leaped out, and charged at them. Shalis reached for her Moon Blade hanging from her waist. Willow placed his other hand on his staff. Shalis waited with risen blade as the hound got closer. Just as she began to see its demonic features, the blade suddenly felt heavy. The heavy sensation quickly spread to the rest of her body and she felt like the earth tried to swallow her. Trying to reposition her stance, she failed to find the balance in her right foot, which caused her to sidestep and collapse into Willow. He caught her, and turned his head to gaze into her eyes.
'Shalis!'
Limbless like a ragdoll she fell into a sitting position. Willow held her still, and she tried to focus on his eyes, but her vision was hazed, and she could barely keep her eyelids up. With enormous effort, she raised her hand to stroke his cheek... Then, she drifted away into deep sleep.

Shalis woke up a few minutes later with a pounding head and blurry vision. She blinked hard a few times, and extended a hand to massage her neck. What had happened? Her memory was dimmed. She remembered training the Wind Steps with Willow. A teasing joke. An embracement. A pair of eyes... Burning eyes. The hound! She spun on her heels to look about her. No hound, no blood, nothing, not even a handsome elven druid!
'Willow!'
No answer.
'Willow, answer me!'
A tree waved merrily in the distance. A bird sang a happy tune. No answer still. Shalis was worried. Willow would never just leave her there. Something must have happened to him. Almost panicing, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to keep calm and think straight. What needed to be done? She opened her eyes with determination.
'I need to go see Felore.'

Meeting Felore
This is the first time we see Felore. Shalis has just travled from her home to the Temple of Elune.​

Shalis charged into the temple of Elune. Felore flinched, and instinctively moved her hand to the quiver on her back. When she saw it was Shalis, she relaxed again.
'Elune-Adore, Shalis. What brings you here?'
'Felore, I need your help. Willow and I had an encounter with demons, and now he is missing.
'Demons? I sensed something foul lurking in those woods. What did they look like?'
'I only saw one of their hounds. I thought it was a lone left-behind by the legion, but it was not alone. As I prepared to gut the hound, another more potent demon must have put me to sleep from afar.'
'Really? That is not good.'
'What is not good?'
'You being put to sleep like that can only mean that we are dealing with a warlock.'
'A warlock?'
'It is a magic user of the demons. The ones possessing more potent magic are able to open small rifts to the Outland. It is possible for them to have brought Willow with them.'
'Why would they do that?'
'Who can tell?

Shalis charged into the temple of Elune. Felore flinched, and instinctively moved her hand to the quiver on her back. When she saw it was Shalis, she relaxed again.
'Elune-Adore, Shalis. What brings you here?'
'Felore, I need your help. Willow and I had an encounter with demons, and now...'
Felore interupted her:
'Demons? I sensed something foul lurking in those woods. What did they look like?'
'I only saw one of their hounds. I thought it was a lone left-behind by the legion, but it was not alone. As I prepared to gut the hound, another more potent demon must have put me to sleep from afar.'
'Put to sleep? That means we are dealing with a warlock. That might explain the magical sting earlier...'
Felore trailed on her words, and stared out into nothing. 'No...'
With fiery eyes, she looked directly into Shalis eyes.
'Where is Willow?'
'That is what I tried to tell you. He is missing!'
Felore swallowed hard. She couldn't look into Shalis' eyes anymore. Shalis noticed that something was not right.
'What's wrong, Felore?
'Shalis, I have to tell you something. The magical sting I felt earlier is common when a rift between this world and a place called the Outland is opened. As the veil between our worlds is broken, a pulse is sent out, and everyone close by can feel the magical energies stinging like a needle into our skin.'
Shalis did not like where this was going:
'Yes...?'
'As I told you before, we are probably dealing with a warlock. A warlock potent enough to put you to sleep without revealing himself to you. A more potent magic user like this being, is able to open small rifts through the veil between our worlds and step through...'
'What are you telling me Felore?'
'I think they have brought Willow to the Outland.'
Shalis felt like a hammer shattered her heart into a thousand pieces. The Outland? The ravaged and twisted land of foul magic and demons. She shook her head slowly. She could not believe it. Willow, a being of the woods and wind, was trapped in a place fire, void and death. She spoke as in trance:
'I must go there. I must go there and get him out.'
'Shalis...'
'There have got to be a way!'
'It is too dangerous...'
Shalis threw her moonblade to the ground. It cracked a tile and rattled with a horrible noise.
'I don't care!'
Everything went silent for a while. The birds sitting by the rooftops choked on their jolly tunes. Shalis could feel darkness cloud her eyes. She was trembling with rage. Felore aproached her. With tsome hesitation, she put her hand on Shalis' shoulder.
'Are you absolutely sure you want to pursuit the demons that took Willow? The Outland is a very dangerous place.'
'Yes, Felore. I will do anything to get Willow back.'
Felore placed her hand on her hip and leaned back in a sceptical manner. She seemed to consider the situation. She then sighed and spoke:
'Very well then, Shalis. I will help you get him back.'
'You have my eternal gratitude, Felore. Elune bless you!'
'And you, bravest of my sisters. This will not be easy, but we'll make it. I will need to be left alone to search my tomes for the proper preparations. You should go sharpen your skillset, so that you are powerful enough to last in the Outland.'
Shalis heavy heart started beating stronger again for the first time since she lost Willow to the Demons. There was a way! There was hope! She made her way to exit the temple when Felore stopped her:
'Shalis, remember to keep this to yourself. The use of magic is not popular since the Sundering, but we will have to use some in order to open a portal. If someone gets to know this, I'm not sure they will be as understanding as me.'

Neccesary Preparations
Here Shalis returns to Felore after leaving her to research the portal for a while.​

'Ah, Shalis, there you are!'
'Any progress?'
'Yes. I have revealed a big deal of knowledge regarding portals, and I have made the neccesary preparations. I have it all set up in my secret garden. Follow me!

'A portal reuires a great deal of magic to be opened. Normally, the greatest of the demons collected stones in the Outland wich have collected magicical energies over an eternity. Using five of those are enough to open a portal to let any being pass through. Obviously, we can't collect any of those stones, since they are all on the other side, but we can collect magical artifacts.'
'Leave that to me, Felore. You have done so much already.'
'As you wish, Shalis. I have already placed two objects from the temple into the circles, so only three more are needed.'
'What about the larger circle in the middle?'
'This is a problem. A page was missing in my book, so the object that must go there is unknown.'
'Don't worry though,' Felore added as she noticed how Shalis skin began to go pale. 'it must be around here somewhere. I'll search for it while you collect the rest of the magical objects.'
'How do I recognize a magical object?'
'Not very hard. Look closely, and you'll notice a faint glow around it. Some of our fellow villagers in the glade may have them, so see if you can trade them for something.'

Finding The Missing Page
Shalis stumbles upon the page close to the Temple of Elune, and read its content.​

Shalis stopped in her trails. By the side of the road, stuck in the grass waving merrily in the wind, was the page of an old book.
She picked it up, and realized that this must by the page Felore had lost, as she read through the text:
"The most important thing one needs to open a portal, is souls. In order to open a portal without suffering losing a piece ones own soul, a container for souls is needed. A container can be a crystal, a piece of jewelry or anything that has experienced enough death around it to start collecting the spirits of the fallen."
Even as Shalis read the last line of the page, she knew where an object like that could be found.
The druids to the north-east have been the guardians of the animal graveyard since the dawn of time. Deep inside their cave, a grand chamber holding the Soul Gem can be found. The Soul Gem is a natural crystal that the spirits of the animals found suitable as a beautiful home, and it has therefore absorbed uncountable souls over thousands of years.
Shalis knew that taking the gem would be a horrible crime, but taking it would be her only choice if she wanted to see Willow ever again. She decided not to return to Felore, as she would surely disuade her from doing it, and would instead sneak into the druids cave, and retrive the Soul Gem. The risk would be worth it in the end.

The Soul Gem
When Shalis found out about the final required component to create the portal, she knew where to find it and infiltrated the druids cave in order to retrive it.

Shalis approached the glowing light-blue crystal, which lit up the entire room with bright rays of light. It was loosly attached to a rock pillar in the middle of the room. It made a mild humming noise that echoed between the walls of the cave. Shalis stopped within an arms length of it and considered it for a moment: what a beautiful crystal. If you looked closely, you could see small silhouettes dancing and running around inside. Souls from countless fallen animals. Shalis took a deep breath, and placed her hand on the crystal. The crystal acknowledged her touch and her soul by sending out a pulse of darker blue light and then vibrated slightly. Shalis placed her other hand on the crystal, and tried to pry it free from the rock. She pushed away from the rock with one leg while pulling the Soul Gem towards her. It let go, and Shalis fell backwards onto the ground. An obtuse noise pulsed out from it and made the walls of the cave quake.

Everything was still for a few seconds, a numb silence filled the room. Then, in panic, robbed of their home, the wisps and silhouettes of the gem were quickly withdrawn from their sanctuary, bolting in all directions about it with great speed, and dissipated in a few blinks of an eye. The many agonized spirits sparkled around the gem with a fizzling noise, and was then lost forever into nothing. Shalis felt a big weight growing on her heart.

A quickly aproaching thump, thump, thumping noise sounded from the corridor leading to the cave of the soul gem. One of the brothers of the druid order came rushing into the room. With a mix of surprise and great fear in his eyes, he fixed his eyes upon Shalis.
'Shalis...'
Shalis noticed that his muscled flexed, readying himself for battle. He spoke again, in a concentrated and serious manner:
'What are you doing, Shalis?'
Shalis' lip twitched. She felt her eyes getting wet. Her voice was trembling:
'I have to, brother. They have Willow.'
'I do not know what has gotten into you, Shalis, but I can't let you leave with that crystal. You know this.'
'I know. But I will not let you stop me. I'm so sorry.'
The growl of a beast started gently somewhere deep inside the druid. The brother adressed Shalis with a warning voice:
'Don't do this.'
Shalis braced herself.
'I must.'

Righteous Rage
Shalis returns to Felore with the Soul Gem, and awaits her judgement.

'Welcome back Shalis! I'm sorry, but I hae not yet found the page. We'll have to keep looking. But don't worry, I can feel that it is close.'
Felore noticed Shalis' expressionless face.
'What happened to you, sister?'
Shalis reached inside her cloak and withdrew the Soul Gem. Felore took a step backwards when she recognized what it was. Her voice was infected with fear:
'Shalis, what have you done?'
'I had to do it. It was the only way I could find Willow.'
'At what cost!?'
Felore was no longer frightened, but angry. She stepped over to Shalis and pushed her hard in the chest.
'Have you lost your mind? All those souls... Lost.'
Shalis had nothing to say. She did not resent Felore for her reaction. This was the least she deserved.
Felore wiped away a tear from her cheek, and stared Shalis down with a mix of disgust and surprise in her eyes. She adressed Shalis with clenched teeth as she slowly shook her head:
'You really do love him, do you not?'
Shalis nodded shamefully. Felore sighed deeply.
'Well, the souls are already lost, and there is nothing we can do about it. We might aswell follow through rescuing Willow.'
Shalis did not expect this. She lifted her gaze from the ground to look at Felore. felore frowned and filled her voice with venom:
'Know that this is only for the sake of Willow. You will answer for your crimes when you bring him back safely.'
'Of course, sister! I will take my punishment.'
'You are no sister of mine! Don't speak to me unless spoken to. I will not share this with anyone else until you are back, as they might want to execute you right away. Hand me the Soul Gem.'
Shalis did so.
'As I suspected. The souls of the Druids was not enough to be of any use for a portal. You'll have to gather at least a few grander souls in order to open the portal.'
Felore lobbed the Soul Gem back to Shalis who flinched and caught it with both hands.
'Go to the south-east, and visit the ancients. I heard that they have a problem regarding a corrupted spirit in the Forest Temple. That spirit, along with a few others should be enough to open the portal.'
Shalis opened her mouth without knowing what to say. She was interrupted before she did though:
'Do not speak to me. Go, and do not come back until you have collected seven souls.'

Journey Beyond The World
Shalis retuns to Felore a final time after collecting enough potent Souls in the Soul Gem. Felore is angry and short with her.

'So you have come back. Have you brought the souls?'
'They are all in here, Felore.'
'Let's get this over with then. Follow me.'

'Stand in the middle circle whenever you are ready, and I will speak the incantation.'
Shalis did so.
'Kranikt, Zikrati, Criltak!'
The air trembled nervously around them. The fabric of the world was torn asunder right infront of Shalis' eyes. With a delayed cracking noise, a blurry, purple portal opened.
'Go through now! Come back with Willow or do not come back at all.'

Chapter 2 - Dark Revelations

Hidden

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 surface 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 of which the portal was made. 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 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 landscape 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 and kills.

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.

Shalis follows the creatures at a distance, sneaking through their patrols.

Ka, the elder sage of the village was interrupted in his meditation.
"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 trying to decieve 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 grant that freedom. 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 is 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.'

Shalis goes ahead and finds a voidcrosser, and rallies the dranei behind her to charge the prison.

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 critters, 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 his 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 almost 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 rolling mist, 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, 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 small group fihts for their lives, but falls one after another until only Shalis and Ka remains.

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. 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 touched 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 clothes 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, really. 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 your valor 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 intimidating 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 fights Nemiades.

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. She then swiftly made for the door.
'I'm so sorry.'

Shalis runs back to the portal and steps through, leaving the Outland.

Chapter 3 - Ravaged Remains(Note that my damn computer screwed my over as I wrote this, removing all my text about chapter 3 and 4. The things written here now may be elaborated once I find the energy to rewrite what I lost.)
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.​