It was quiet in the
deepest part of the night. The only sound beyond the crickets chirping
was the endless hiss of the breeze as it passed over and around
Thunderbluff. On Elder Rise, there was little activity, with most of the
citizens having long since gone to bed and only the night watch keeping
their lonely vigil, the braves silent in the darkness.
Along one of the rope bridges, a tauren brave stood silently looking out into the vast darkness of night over Mulgore. His watch had been uneventful so far, and with the night half over it was unlikely to get any more interesting. Even as the thought passed through the large tauren's mind, he caught sight of something strange. There, standing about one hundred yards from him, a pale looking Sin'dorei stood staring at him, her blue eyes faintly visible in the darkness even from the distance. Her gaze was unwavering, disturbing in its intensity, and the brave looked away for a moment.
When he looked back, the elf was gone.
He paused, rubbing his eyes. Perhaps he had imagined it? But the elf had seemed so real with her marble-pale skin and jet black hair. The intensity of her gaze....it made the large tauren shudder to recall it. He looked again, and blinked in surprise. There was a shadow now, standing half the distance away. It looked like the elf, but it couldn't be. It was transparent, a shadowy mockery of the form he'd seen. The tauren raised his spear, making a sign to ward off bad spirits. It had to be his imagination. He blinked again and it was gone.
The brave sighed with relief, looking down at his hooves. Shadows flowed from the ground, creeping up his body. It happened so quickly he had no time to call out, to think.
As the life was slowly choked from him, he wondered briefly what he had done to make his own shadow want to choke him to death.
**********************
The tent was quiet, the occupant sleeping soundly. peacefully. Through the half open flap, cool night air was able to flow in, and through that same slit one could see a head of golden blonde hair, resting gently on the furs that served as her bed.
Two pale blue eyes watched the sleeping form, their malice and hate growing minute by minute. In the darkness of night, Seluna seethed, her hated like blood flowing through her. She stood twenty paces from the tent opening, her porcelain skin almost glowing in the darkness, her form completely still despite the undercurrent of emotion within her.
Elunearia Moonblade slept on, unaware of the hatred being directed at her or the dire threat that lurked so close. Seluna sneered as she examined the living quarters of the priestess.
Such barbarism. How primitive you are to sleep in such a place. Then again, you were never one of us were you? You were never one of the Quel'dorei. You were always a savage dear little priestess, and we shall put your savage nature to good use now. You should never have left the shelter of Dayfire Spire. I could not reach you there, I could not raise a hand against you.
Now you are mine...
She glided forward, inky black shadows flowing along her arms and legs, her black dress trailing behind her as she drew nearer to her victim. The priestess would not even know what had happened; she would be rendered a mindless puppet without ever waking. She had dreamed her last dreams. Seluna's face took on a smile that might have been beautiful if not for the lack of light in her eyes.
She came closer, twenty paces....ten...each step one moment closer to her revenge on her wayward daughter.
Moonlight blazed around the tent entrance, and Seluna stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in shock. The priestess slept on, unseeing and unknowing as a glorious display of holy power surrounded her. A faint song could be heard, the soothing sounds of Elune's faithful singing her praises, and a warm breeze flowed across the top of the hill.
To anyone else, the sound, the light, the feeling of warmth would have been comforting and soothing. To Seluna it was like having boiling water thrown on her. She reeled back, her face a mask of agony as she futilely tried to shield her body from the warm glow of moonlight. A soft hiss escaped past her clenched teeth as the pain pounded into her mind. Her unclean flesh writhed, the contact with the basic goodness of Elunearia almost more than she could bear.
Seluna's eyes narrowed and her iron will descended, clamping down on the pain. She straightened her back until she stood stiffly, letting the light flow across her even though it brought with it searing agony. Pure hatred wove its way across her face as she cast a glare at Elunearia.
"So be it," she said in a deadly hushed tone. "If the Goddess shields you then we will simply have to use up all of your power, until you are just a broken empty shell, fit only to be used for my purposes. Sleep well little priestess, for your days of peace are numbered. This is not over, not yet."
She turned and walked away, the comforting shadows of night folding in around her.
***********************
The two Sin'dorei made their way along one of Thunderbluff's rope bridges, giggling to each other as they drunkenly tried to navigate the rather perilous crossing. The male Sin'dorei held out his hand, helping his female companion across the last of the tightly strung wooden beams that made up the bridge, both of them laughing.
As they turned to continue on their way, they stopped short, nearly bumping into the pale elf that stood in the path before them. She smiled at them, and despite their drunken state both of the Sin'dorei shivered; there was something utterly wrong about the elf and the way she looked at them.
"What a lovely evening for a stroll," Seluna purred. "You should be careful though, it can be dangerous in this place at night."
The male elf nodded cautiously and said with a slight slur, "Y-yesh, it iss lovely out! We'll be careful!"
Seluna's eyes glowed with a pale blue light as shadows slowly uncurled around her, tendrils of them floating in the air. "It's already too late for that..."
Her magic flowed outward, striking the female first. She gasped, her eyes growing wide and her body stiffening. She looked at Seluna with adoration. "Command me mistress!"
Seluna smirked and pointed. "Fly for me pet."
As her companion looked on in horror, the female Sin'dorei hurled herself from the edge of the bluff, her dress flapping in the wind of her passing as she went to her death. He whirled, his hand going to a dagger on his belt, but Seluna's power struck him next, and he shivered as he felt her invading his mind.
"C-command me mistress," He said, his voice dripping with desire.
Seluna smiled, walking closer to him and allowing her hand to brush across his face. Her other hand reached down to her belt, drawing a knife out. "I want you to hold so very still pet."
The elf didn't move an inch, looking at her with nothing but complete obedience. "As you wish mistress."
The blade flashed in the dark.
**********************
The next morning, the talk of Elder Rise would be of the death of the night watch, as well as two Sin'dorei found at the base of the bluff. One of them, the male, had had necromantic runes carved into his face. They were the kind used by some of the centaur clans of the nearby plains and in desolace, but how any of them could have made it to the top of the bluff and done such a thing was beyond anyone's understanding.
Elunearia Moonblade would hear of the fuss when she awoke in the morning, her horror at the murders overshadowed by the nagging feeling that the runes found on the one corpse meant something. Something that she had to find out before it was too late.
Along one of the rope bridges, a tauren brave stood silently looking out into the vast darkness of night over Mulgore. His watch had been uneventful so far, and with the night half over it was unlikely to get any more interesting. Even as the thought passed through the large tauren's mind, he caught sight of something strange. There, standing about one hundred yards from him, a pale looking Sin'dorei stood staring at him, her blue eyes faintly visible in the darkness even from the distance. Her gaze was unwavering, disturbing in its intensity, and the brave looked away for a moment.
When he looked back, the elf was gone.
He paused, rubbing his eyes. Perhaps he had imagined it? But the elf had seemed so real with her marble-pale skin and jet black hair. The intensity of her gaze....it made the large tauren shudder to recall it. He looked again, and blinked in surprise. There was a shadow now, standing half the distance away. It looked like the elf, but it couldn't be. It was transparent, a shadowy mockery of the form he'd seen. The tauren raised his spear, making a sign to ward off bad spirits. It had to be his imagination. He blinked again and it was gone.
The brave sighed with relief, looking down at his hooves. Shadows flowed from the ground, creeping up his body. It happened so quickly he had no time to call out, to think.
As the life was slowly choked from him, he wondered briefly what he had done to make his own shadow want to choke him to death.
**********************
The tent was quiet, the occupant sleeping soundly. peacefully. Through the half open flap, cool night air was able to flow in, and through that same slit one could see a head of golden blonde hair, resting gently on the furs that served as her bed.
Two pale blue eyes watched the sleeping form, their malice and hate growing minute by minute. In the darkness of night, Seluna seethed, her hated like blood flowing through her. She stood twenty paces from the tent opening, her porcelain skin almost glowing in the darkness, her form completely still despite the undercurrent of emotion within her.
Elunearia Moonblade slept on, unaware of the hatred being directed at her or the dire threat that lurked so close. Seluna sneered as she examined the living quarters of the priestess.
Such barbarism. How primitive you are to sleep in such a place. Then again, you were never one of us were you? You were never one of the Quel'dorei. You were always a savage dear little priestess, and we shall put your savage nature to good use now. You should never have left the shelter of Dayfire Spire. I could not reach you there, I could not raise a hand against you.
Now you are mine...
She glided forward, inky black shadows flowing along her arms and legs, her black dress trailing behind her as she drew nearer to her victim. The priestess would not even know what had happened; she would be rendered a mindless puppet without ever waking. She had dreamed her last dreams. Seluna's face took on a smile that might have been beautiful if not for the lack of light in her eyes.
She came closer, twenty paces....ten...each step one moment closer to her revenge on her wayward daughter.
Moonlight blazed around the tent entrance, and Seluna stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in shock. The priestess slept on, unseeing and unknowing as a glorious display of holy power surrounded her. A faint song could be heard, the soothing sounds of Elune's faithful singing her praises, and a warm breeze flowed across the top of the hill.
To anyone else, the sound, the light, the feeling of warmth would have been comforting and soothing. To Seluna it was like having boiling water thrown on her. She reeled back, her face a mask of agony as she futilely tried to shield her body from the warm glow of moonlight. A soft hiss escaped past her clenched teeth as the pain pounded into her mind. Her unclean flesh writhed, the contact with the basic goodness of Elunearia almost more than she could bear.
Seluna's eyes narrowed and her iron will descended, clamping down on the pain. She straightened her back until she stood stiffly, letting the light flow across her even though it brought with it searing agony. Pure hatred wove its way across her face as she cast a glare at Elunearia.
"So be it," she said in a deadly hushed tone. "If the Goddess shields you then we will simply have to use up all of your power, until you are just a broken empty shell, fit only to be used for my purposes. Sleep well little priestess, for your days of peace are numbered. This is not over, not yet."
She turned and walked away, the comforting shadows of night folding in around her.
***********************
The two Sin'dorei made their way along one of Thunderbluff's rope bridges, giggling to each other as they drunkenly tried to navigate the rather perilous crossing. The male Sin'dorei held out his hand, helping his female companion across the last of the tightly strung wooden beams that made up the bridge, both of them laughing.
As they turned to continue on their way, they stopped short, nearly bumping into the pale elf that stood in the path before them. She smiled at them, and despite their drunken state both of the Sin'dorei shivered; there was something utterly wrong about the elf and the way she looked at them.
"What a lovely evening for a stroll," Seluna purred. "You should be careful though, it can be dangerous in this place at night."
The male elf nodded cautiously and said with a slight slur, "Y-yesh, it iss lovely out! We'll be careful!"
Seluna's eyes glowed with a pale blue light as shadows slowly uncurled around her, tendrils of them floating in the air. "It's already too late for that..."
Her magic flowed outward, striking the female first. She gasped, her eyes growing wide and her body stiffening. She looked at Seluna with adoration. "Command me mistress!"
Seluna smirked and pointed. "Fly for me pet."
As her companion looked on in horror, the female Sin'dorei hurled herself from the edge of the bluff, her dress flapping in the wind of her passing as she went to her death. He whirled, his hand going to a dagger on his belt, but Seluna's power struck him next, and he shivered as he felt her invading his mind.
"C-command me mistress," He said, his voice dripping with desire.
Seluna smiled, walking closer to him and allowing her hand to brush across his face. Her other hand reached down to her belt, drawing a knife out. "I want you to hold so very still pet."
The elf didn't move an inch, looking at her with nothing but complete obedience. "As you wish mistress."
The blade flashed in the dark.
**********************
The next morning, the talk of Elder Rise would be of the death of the night watch, as well as two Sin'dorei found at the base of the bluff. One of them, the male, had had necromantic runes carved into his face. They were the kind used by some of the centaur clans of the nearby plains and in desolace, but how any of them could have made it to the top of the bluff and done such a thing was beyond anyone's understanding.
Elunearia Moonblade would hear of the fuss when she awoke in the morning, her horror at the murders overshadowed by the nagging feeling that the runes found on the one corpse meant something. Something that she had to find out before it was too late.
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