Warcraft 1. Lost and forgotten

_Ysondra was walking on a beach at night, surrounded by a thick mist._

"_I'm dreaming" she thought._

_As she walked on the beach, the moon shining brightly, the waves began to come further up the beach. Frightened, Ysondra moved closer to the middle of the beach. But the waves continued to come. She ran for the middle of the beach, but the water was already there. She stood there, waiting for the waves to swallow her whole, but they stopped. Ysondra was now standing on a small speck of land. She looked down into the water to see her reflection. Her white hair and soft purple skin made her look like a ghost in the moon light._

_Suddenly, the reflection spoke._

"_Wake up, my daughter" it said "You must wake up!"_

_Slowly, the image around her began to fade._

Ysondra awoke, gasping for breath, on a sandy white beach. It was almost dawn, but the fading moon still casted some light.

"Where am I?" she thought "Who am I?"

All she could remember was her name and the dream. As she tried to stand she found herself unable to, and she looked to see a large gash on her right leg. When she tied to move the leg a sharp ripple of pain went up her spine, and she lay there instead. She looked down to see that she was wearing a light white cloth dress, that was somehow not wet, even thought she was right next to the water.

Ysondra tried to move again, but another ripple of pain went up her spine and she sat back down, deciding to wait for someone to find her instead.

As she looked around she noticed a large forest not too far away, and in the distance she thought she could see the outline of houses. Hope rose in her heart, and she began looking around for people.

As she looked around she thought she could see a large bird flying around up above, but the image became blurry and she began to get very tired. Her arms felt wobbly and she quickly lay back down, only to find a sticky liquid under her head. With a last burst of strength, she lifted her head to see a thick pool of blood coming out of the gash on her leg. She laid back down, and the last thing she remembered hearing was the loud caw of a bird before she went unconscious.

Ysondra slowly opened her eyes. Day light flooded in, partially blinding her, and she quickly closed them. She wasn't on the beach anymore, she knew, it felt like there was something soft underneath her. She relaxed slightly and remembered her leg. She moved it a little, and although it stung, the pain had lessened. She tensed as she heard approaching footsteps.

There were two people, from what she could tell. They walked a little ways and then stopped in front of her bed.

A woman whispered "No one's ever seen her before, who is she? What do we do with her?"

There was a long pause, and then a man spoke "I don't know, we'll have to wait for her to wake up. Maybe then she'll be able to tell us who she is"

The woman tapped her foot and then said "I guess we'll have to. I'll go check the other survivors; send a messenger to Tyrande and Malfurion to tell them about what happened. Make sure to mention her"

The man and woman walked away, and once Ysondra couldn't hear them, she slowly got up. She cringed slightly from her leg, but she managed to sit up. She slowly opened her eyes, and this time she allowed the light to sting. After a few seconds she regained her sight and she was a little surprised at what she saw.

She was in what seemed to be an inn, on one of the three beds in the room. The other two beds were empty, which she liked, and there was a small window in the room. In front of her there was a small stairway into which she did not know.

She slid the blanket that was on her off and began examining her leg. The gash had been below her knee, which was now bandaged tightly with white cloth. Ysondra tried to move it again and she found it easier to do so than before. She tried to stand, but received a sharp blast of pain and gave up. She felt back to where the blood had touched her back and felt nothing but smooth skin, someone had washed it off.

As she examined her leg again she heard voices and someone coming up the stairs.

"She'll never walk again" she heard "Her leg is too badly injured, I'm afraid"

Ysondra looked at the stairwell and saw two night elf women appear. One had short blue hair and the other had long mint green hair. They walked up the stairs and stopped when they saw that she was awake.

They looked at each other, and then to her, and the one with mint green hair approached her bed saying, "Hello. I am a sentinel, I work for the night elves" she paused, searched Ysondra's face for a reaction, and then went on "I found you on a beach, you were unconscious, and you had a very bad injury on your leg" she sat in a chair next to the bed and said "No one recognizes you, do you remember who you are?"

Ysondra paused then said "No, all I can remember is my name; Ysondra"

Ysondra expected the woman to look frustrated, but she just nodded "There were many people that got hurt in the incident. Your memory will come back in time, but for now you must rest. Priestess Dentaria will be able to explain more on what happened to your leg. I must go now, I have to help the others, but I will see how you are before sun set"

The woman stood, nodded in a farewell to Ysondra, and walked out of the room. Priestess Dentaria walked over to Ysondra and sat down in the chair.

She took a deep breath, and said "When sentinel Aynasha found you, the woman who was in here, you were bleeding greatly from your leg wound. When you were brought here, I healed it as best I could but it will take some time to heal properly" she paused and then said "All though it has been healed, you will probably not be able to walk again without assistance"

Ysondra was sad that she wouldn't be able to walk by herself, but it didn't really bother her, after all, she had no memory of walking before.

Instead she asked "You _healed _my leg? What do you mean?"

The priestess looked shocked but then she said "You probably wouldn't have any memory of magic. I used spells to help mend your leg and stop the bleeding"

Ysondra was still very confused about the whole prospect but she saved her questions for later, and asked for something to eat.

"Good" said the priestess "You have an appetite, now you can have some medicine herbs. Many of the others had a terrible illness, and even though we don't think you have it, it's best to be cautious"

"What do you mean the others?" asked Ysondra.

The priestess glanced at her and said "You were one of the survivors from Auberdine. It was a town, does that name sound familiar?"

Ysondra shook her head, and the priestess continued to organize her herbs, giving Ysondra time to think. Was she from Auberdine? If so, who was she? Where did she come from?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the priestess carrying a tray of herbs and putting it on her lap.

"Eat these; it's some black lotus, dream foil, sun grass, and fire bloom. They will help you regain your strength and ward off illnesses"

Ysondra picked some of the herbs up and put them in her mouth. They tasted bile, but she managed to swallow them. When she was done the priestess took the tray from her and sat in the chair again.

"Now we will do some exercises, for your leg" she said "Can you bend your knee?"

Ysondra took the covers off of her leg and slowly bended her leg. It didn't sting, but her leg cramped a bit.

"Good" said the priestess "Now, can you move your leg from side to side?"

Ysondra tried, but it stung, and she quickly stopped. The priestess looked concerned, but she said nothing.

"Can you move your leg up and down?" she asked.

Ysondra would have tried, but she already knew the answer.

"No" she said.

"I think I know what is going on with your leg" said the priestess "I don't think you broke it, you probably just cut into the muscle tissue a little. We're going to have to do some exercises every day until your leg can work as best as it can" she paused, and then said "Do you have any other injuries?"

Ysondra shook her head.

"That's good" she said "For now, I want you to rest. I will get you a brush before I leave"

Ysondra felt her hair. It was tangled and greasy and she desperately wanted a bath, but she knew her leg wouldn't allow that. The priestess returned with the hair brush and left. Ysondra began to carefully pull the brush through her white hair and eventually got all of the tangles out. She looked outside and saw that it was nearing sunset, so she lay down and took a short nap.

_Ysondra was on the beach again, only this time there was no mist. She looked around and realized that she was not on a beach, but rather, a small island of sand. When the water raced towards her this time, she did not run away. She stood and waited for it to stop, and once it did, she peered into the water again. She saw her reflection, but this time she looked different. Her hair looked nicer, her skin looked brighter, and she seemed to glow from the moon light._

"_Ysondra" said the voice "My daughter, I give you guidance this day. You are not of Auberdine. You are not of this land. If ever you are in trouble, listen to the moon, and it will guide you"_

_The reflection faded, and Ysondra could hear someone yelling. _

Ysondra awoke to Aynasha gently nudging her and telling her to wake up.

The sentinel smiled, and said "Good. Sleeping will give you strength. I have brought someone with me; she is an elder from Auberdine. She knows everyone from there; she can tell us who you are"

Ysondra looked past Aynasha to see an elderly night elf with long dark blue hair. The woman looked up, and gasped.

"What is it, Aluran?!" asked Aynasha "Do you recognize her?"

"No" said the elder "She is not of Auberdine" Aynasha was about to interrupt, but Aluran silenced her "She is not of this world!"

"What do you mean?" questioned Aynasha.

"Can you not see it?" asked Aluran "She is the image of the goddess Elune herself!"


	2. The storm of sorrow

"What do you mean?" asked Aynasha "How could she be the goddess?"

Aluran shook her head and said "She is a reflection of the goddess herself! The light purple skin, the soft white hair, how can you not see the goddess in her?!"

"Many people have white hair and light purple skin. How is she any different from them?" asked Aynasha.

"Look closer, sentinel!" said the elder "Look into her eyes!"

Aynasha stood there staring at Ysondra for a long time; so long that Ysondra wondered if she had turned into a statue.

But when she did move, she gasped and then said "Her eyes! I can see the moon in them! I can see the heavens themselves!"

Ysondra was even more confused now. Who was this goddess? What was wrong with her eyes? What was going on?

"She is the moon goddess herself!" said the elder.

"What are you talking about?!" asked Ysondra "Who is the moon goddess?!"

The elder gasped, and Aynasha looked slightly startled.

"The moon goddess!" screamed the elder "She doesn't know about the moon goddess!"

"Calm down Aluran!" said Aynasha "The girl is suffering from memory loss, she can't even remember her age! I think it is time for you to go back downstairs with the other patients again"

The elder reluctantly left, all the while looking back at Ysondra. Aynasha padded over to her and sat in the chair next to her.

"Who is the moon goddess?" asked Ysondra.

Aynasha began to comb through Ysondra's hair and said "The moon goddess Elune is the goddess of the moon. She is a great warrior spirit of which we night elves worship"

Ysondra understood slightly, but asked "So why did that elder think I was the moon goddess?"

Aynasha stopped brushing her hair, looked at her with great seriousness, and said "You look like the mirror image of the goddess. There is not a single difference between you two. And you have the powers of Elune with in your eyes"

Ysondra stayed silent, while Aynasha continued to brush her hair. By now it was dark outside, and a maid came up to light the candles. Another question occurred to Ysondra.

"Aynasha," she asked "How old am I?"

Aynasha stopped brushing and stared at her for a long time. She seemed to be studying Ysondra, looking at every inch of her face.

"It is hard to say" said Aynasha "You look like an eighteen year old, but there have been elves that look like you that are thousands of years old"

"_Thousands?" _asked Ysondra "How can that be?"

Aynasha sighed and said "A long time ago all of the night elves were immortal, and are powers were immense. Then an awful thing happened, a very awful thing. We lost our immortality. We tried to get it back, but so far we have failed" Aynasha paused to breath and then said "However, night elves can still live a very long time. It's possible that you are very old as well"

Ysondra thought about what she had said. Was it possible that she was very old, like Aynasha had said?

"Do you think I am really old, like the other elves?" she asked.

"I don't know" said Aynasha "There's really no way to tell. Perhaps when your memory comes back, you'll remember"

Ysondra was unsettled by the answer. In her mind, she knew her memory wouldn't come back. She didn't even know if there was a memory to come back. But she said nothing; she didn't want to upset Aynasha.

"When will Dentaria come? I want to make my leg better" asked Ysondra.

"She is working with the other patients right now" said Aynasha "Besides, it is getting dark. You should rest. Then your leg will be stronger and your exercises will be easier"

"Ok" said Ysondra.

Aynasha left, and once she was gone, Ysondra pulled her leg closer to examine it. It was still tightly bandaged, and when she moved it, it stung. But for the most part it felt better so she took Aynasha's advice and lay down to rest.

_This time it was cold in Ysondra's dream. The waves were crashing onto the beach, and Ysondra quickly ran towards the middle of the beach. The moon was not out; it was covered by thick clouds. But, as usual, the waves followed Ysondra to the middle of the beach and she stood on a small speck of land. But this time, there was no reflection to be seen. The water was thrashing around too much._

_Then, Ysondra began to feel herself sinking. She looked down to see that the sand beneath her was giving away. She tried to pull herself up, but was unable to. The sand around her blocked out her vision and the water began to flow over top of her._

Ysondra awoke, gasping for breath, in her bed. It was nearing dawn, and there was a thick mist outside of her window. She was sweating heavily and there was an aching pain in her leg. She threw of her covers and examined the wound. The bandages kept her from seeing what was wrong, so she angrily tore them off. She was surprised to see not a large gash but rather perfectly unflawed skin. There wasn't even a scar.

"I must be dreaming again" she thought, as she lay back down in her bed and went back to sleep.

The next time Ysondra awoke, it was late morning and the sun light was filling the room, there was no mist. She slowly got up and stretched her arms in a yawn. She looked around the room to see a small tray of herbs at the foot of her bed. She brought the tray to her lap and began eating.

The herbs were as bile as ever, and she was barely able to eat them without gagging. But she swallowed the last one and nudged the tray back to where it was before. She sat, there waiting, for Dentaria to come. She knew she was coming, she always came in the mornings for the other patients, she could hear walking around downstairs.

Ysondra was right; of course, in only five minutes priestess Dentaria had come up the stairs to see her.

""Hello, Ysondra" she said "How is your leg today? Any better?"

Ysondra nodded and said "Yes, it's a lot better. I barely feel any pain when I move it"

"Good" said the priestess "Sounds like the herbs are kicking in"

Dentaria went over and sat in the chair next to Ysondra while she propped up her injured leg for the exercises. Of course, it was still bandaged.

"Must have been dreaming" she thought as she remembered the dream she had where her leg had been healed.

"Ok" said the priestess "I'm going to bend your leg a little, tell me if it hurts"

Ysondra nodded and Dentaria began positioning Ysondra's leg. First she move it from side to side, then, when Ysondra didn't say anything, she bended the knee. She bended it as far as it would go and, when Ysondra stayed silent, put her leg back onto the bed.

"Interesting" said the priestess "I would never have guessed that you had a leg injury. Those herbs are really kicking in!"

Ysondra nodded and Dentaria went on with the exercises. She moved her ankle, she twisted her leg, she turned her leg, almost everything that you could do to your leg, Dentaria did to hers.

Finally Dentaria must have run out of ideas because she plopped Ysondra's leg on the bed and gave her a report "Your leg is doing extremely well! I may have miss diagnosed you, so another priestess and I will take of your bandages tomorrow and take a look at your leg"

Ysondra was glad that her leg was doing better, but her mind was on the dream she had had. Did that really happen?

"No" she thought "I wouldn't have the bandage on if it did happen"

Dentaria gave Ysondra some herbs and left. Ysondra didn't like it when she was left all alone. There was no one else in the room to talk to, she couldn't read the books because she didn't know the language, and all she did was sit around all day and wait for the maid to come and light the candles.

She looked out her window and saw dark clouds drifting over the sun. There would be a storm soon. Ysondra had heard tails of what storms were like. Of course, she didn't really know what they were like because she had no memory of them. She had heard patients downstairs talking about storms that had swallowed whole villages, but they were sick, so they might not have been completely accurate stories.

But she had heard about how water would fall from the sky, and she thought that must have been amazing. She had every right to think that way, after all, she couldn't even remember rain.

She got very excited when she heard the thunder, and she was partially scared when she saw the lightning. Before the rain began, Aynasha came to visit Ysondra.

"How is your leg?" she asked.

"Dentaria says it's doing a lot better; and that I might even be able to walk someday" said Ysondra.

"That's great!" exclaimed Aynasha, she looked out the window and then said "Looks like a storms coming. I hope it's not that bad"

Aynasha sat down beside Ysondra in the chair next to her bed and straitened her pillows.

"I'm excited about the storm" said Ysondra "I can't remember what storms were like, so I want to see"

"Of course, I forgot that you've never seen a storm before" said Aynasha "Yes, they can be beautiful, but they can also be deadly. I don't think this one will be harmful, though"

"Aynasha?" asked Ysondra "Did a storm destroy Auberdine?"

Aynasha sighed and said "No. something far worse was the cause of its destruction. We call it, the shattering"

Ysondra would have asked more, but she saw pain and hurt in Aynasha's eyes, so she stayed silent. The storm broke a few minutes later, and an icy wind blew through the inn. The rain looked beautiful and sad to Ysondra at the same time and, although she had never met them, she mourned for the people who died in Auberdine.


	3. The letter

_**Dear Readers: I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story; it has greatly helped me to improve my writing. By the way, does anyone have any tips to help me make the chapters longer? I want to make them a lot longer, but I'm not really good at that.**_

The rain eventually stopped, and Aynasha left, leaving Ysondra all alone. She usually disliked being alone, but this time she was okay with it. She wanted some time to think about everything that had happened to her, something she hadn't really done yet.

"Let's see" she thought "I have no memory of my entire life; a crazy elder thinks I'm some sort of goddess, and my leg is badly injured. Great"

She didn't like her situation at all, but she was glad that she at least had people like Aynasha to take care of her. She moved her leg around a little to see how it was doing.

"It's getting better" she thought "Maybe I will be able to walk, after all"

Ysondra would have tried, but she didn't want to risk injuring her leg anymore. Besides it was getting dark, and she was tired. So she lay down once again and slowly went to sleep.

_As usual, Ysondra was on the island. She looked up to see that the moon was out and there was no mist surrounding any part of the island. She was a little afraid that her dream would be a nightmare like the one before, but the waves were calm and they slowly climbed up the beach to where she was. When she looked into the water, she noticed something peculiar. The moon was not reflected in the water, even though it was directly above her. Then the image shifted to look like someone else. The person reflected in the water looked like Ysondra, but at the same time it didn't. The person reflected in the water looked…more important. She looked more beautiful than anyone Ysondra had ever seen._

_Then the image spoke "My daughter, I give you guidance this night. Near the tree where magic grows there is someone who can help you. Go to them. Go. Go. Go"_

_The image faded, and Ysondra began to drift out of sleep._

Ysondra awoke to the sun creeping in through the window, and Dentaria at the foot of her bed. Dentaria was carrying a tray of herbs, which she walked over and put into Ysondra's lap. Ysondra new the routine and she began to eat the herbs. They tasted bile as always, but Ysondra didn't notice.

As she at, Dentaria said "Another priestess and I will be taking a look at your leg in the afternoon. Has it been feeling any better?"

Ysondra swallowed the rest of her herbs and nodded "It feels as if it was never even injured"

First Dentaria looked confused, then alarmed, and she quickly asked "But you do have feeling in your leg, correct?"

Ysondra nodded and said "Yes, I still have feeling in my leg"

Dentaria relaxed her shoulders and said "Thank the goddess! Who knows how bad it would have been if you didn't"

Curious, Ysondra asked "Why? What would it mean if I had lost the feeling in it?"

"It would have meant complete awfulness" said Dentaria "If you did not have any feeling in your leg, it probably would mean that your leg was dead, and we would have to remove it"

Ysondra shuddered at the thought.

"Really?" she asked "You would have to remove my leg? You wouldn't be able to revive it with magic?"

Dentaria shook her head and said "I'm not that great of a priestess. Even magic has its limits, you know"

Suddenly Ysondra remembered what the voice had said in her dream "Near the tree where magic grows…" she muttered to herself.

"What?" asked Dentaria.

"Nothing" said Ysondra quickly "I was just muttering to myself"

Dentaria nodded, seeming convinced, and said "I will have to be leaving now, I must check on the other patients" she was about to leave, but she quickly stopped and said "Oh, and Aynasha will be her at noon. She has something important for you"

"What is it?" asked Ysondra.

The priestess casually shrugged and said "I'm not sure. I believe it was a letter, but I'm not sure who it was from. Perhaps your family has found you?"

Ysondra lit up and said "Maybe! I never even thought of that"

Dentaria gave her a hopeful smile and left.

"My family…" she thought "Do I even have a family?"

Ysondra was hoping that the letter would help explain some things, but she doubted it. If it was her family, if she even had one, wouldn't Aynasha have come as soon as she had received it?

"She is a sentinel, I'm sure she would be very busy" thought Ysondra hopefully.

But that little doubt was still in her mind, and she couldn't shake it off no matter what she did. It was always going to be there until she read that letter. And Ysondra found herself waiting for noon to come. This wasn't very fun, since she had absolutely nothing to do.

"Great" she thought sarcastically "I hope Aynasha has good news in that letter"

Then she began to wonder if it was bad news. What if they decided to kick her out of the inn? What would she do then?

"No" she told herself "Aynasha would have been here by now if that was the case"

She continued thinking about the subject until the maid came in, like she did every morning, and brought Ysondra fresh pillows and blankets.

As she propped up her head for the maid to put the pillows under she asked "What time is it?"

There were a few maids that came in, and this one was the very cranky human with long brown hair and a traditional innkeeper's robe.

"Around eleven" said the maid "Why do you care anyway? Are you going anywhere?"

The maid spoke as if she hadn't slept for days and if anyone even touched her she would flip out.

"I'm expecting someone" said Ysondra.

The maid nodded and left, in a very lazy slouch, which reminded her of the trolls that Aynasha had told Ysondra about.

When the maid was out of site Ysondra giggled to herself at the comparison.

"Maybe she's a troll in disguise" she thought.

She eventually stopped giggling and rested her head back on her soft fresh pillows.

"Only one more hour" she thought "Then I'll be able to see the letter"

As she stared out the window her thoughts drifted back to the dream and the tree that the voice had told her about.

"Maybe Aynasha would know" she thought "I'll ask her when she comes"

Then her thoughts drifted to the person the voice had mentioned that would be able to help her. Then it hit her. Maybe the letter was from that person! As Ysondra got excited she got even for anticipated for Aynasha's arrival. Seconds felt like minutes. Minutes felt like hours. By the time Aynasha had arrived, Ysondra felt as if she had been waiting for days.

Aynasha had her usual gentle smile and leather armor on, with her long mint green hair flowing freely behind her.

As always, the sentinel sat down in the chair next to Ysondra and asked her the usual questions: how are you feeling? How is your leg? Did Dentaria come?

Her lack of seriousness made Ysondra wonder if there even was a letter. Perhaps Dentaria was mistaken. But once Aynasha was finished with her questions, she pulled a small tan envelope from her tunic and opened it up. Ysondra's eyes lit up, and she was tempted to look over Aynasha's shoulder to see what it said.

"This is a letter from Tyrande" said Aynasha "She is the high priestess of the night elves, and she wrote this letter specifically for you"

She handed the letter to Ysondra and watched to see her reaction. Ysondra pulled the folded white paper out of the envelope and began to read it.

She took one look at it and frowned. The words on the paper looked like scribble to her.

"I can't read this" she said finally.

Aynasha thought for a few minutes and then took the letter, saying "I keep forgetting about your memory loss. You probably forgot. Never mind that though, I'll just read it to you"

Ysondra was a little embarrassed by the lack of the skill, but she ignored it once Aynasha began to speak.

"Dear child" she began "I have heard much talk about you from the sentinels. I understand that you have lost your memory and that you can't remember where you came from. As a fellow night elf, I offer you shelter in darkshore as you recover. I understand that your leg is badly injured, but I request that you come here to speak with me once you are able to. We have much to discuss in case your memory does not return"

Aynasha folded the envelope back up and handed it to Ysondra.

"We will see what Dentaria says about going to Tyrande this afternoon" said Aynasha.

"Where is Tyrande?" asked Ysondra.

"She resides in the city of Darnassus" said Aynasha "I will tell you more about the city when I come back this afternoon, I have to patrol the ruins again, troll infestation"

Ysondra nodded, and as Aynasha began to leave she stopped and turned back to say "We will see about you learning how to read and write, it will be a valuable skill if you go to the city"

Aynasha's head disappeared down the stair well and Ysondra began to wait for Dentaria, while thinking of the night elf Tyrande.

"Perhaps she can help me" she thought hopefully.


	4. Miracle magic

_**Dear Readers: Thank you for reading! I'm glad to see that more people have reviewed. This chapter would have come sooner, but my dang life came in the way. Life happens, so oh well.**_

Ysondra sat up in her bed, anxiously waiting for Dentaria to come. As she waited, the distracting thoughts of the letter from Tyrande kept her from losing her mind while waiting. The elf known as Tyrande interested her and for some reason the name sounded vaguely familiar from some other time, and a new hope of returning memory welled up inside of her.

She looked outside, the sun was beginning to dip down in the sky, and it had been a while since Aynasha had visited her. But there was still no sign of the night elf priestess. She sighed, and sat back on her soft silk pillows.

"She will surely be here soon" she thought, she chuckled slightly before thinking "Look at me, the only thing I look forward to is a priestess to come and tell me I will never walk again. I'm going mad from being stuck in here"

She looked around her room, and her eyes landed on the small brown piece of parchment on her night stand that was the letter from Tyrande. She reached over and grabbed it in her fingertips. The paper, worn from harsh winds, was rough against her skin. She carefully unfolded it as if it would crumble in her hands like a pile of sand. She had looked at it many times, trying to see if she could read or recognize anything in the letter. But every time she was greeted to a vast scribble of writing that she could not decipher even if her life depended on it.

And so it was this time. She looked at the jumbled curves of pen ink and wondered why anyone would choose such a way to write. It looked very confusing, and she began to doubt that she would ever learn how to write such a confusing language. After all, she couldn't remember how to write, which would make all the more hard. She quickly folded up the parchment and nearly flung it back onto the night stand beside her.

She looked outside again, the sun had set even more darkness began to settle not far from it. Daylight was ticking away, and Dentaria was sure to be there soon. She heard someone walking up the stairs and her heart leaped, but it was only the maid coming up to light the candles.

Dentaria should have been there by now. The maid lit the candles with a small spell which shot a small flame out of her fingertips. The candles were lit quickly, making the room light up, and the maid bustled down the steps again. Magic fascinated Ysondra; she thought it was so mysterious and wonderful. She often wondered if she would ever be able to learn any spells, but she always shrugged the thought off for later. Perhaps she would, perhaps she wouldn't.

She had heard many tails from the elders downstairs telling of magical people who could transform into animals, or the mages who could freeze you in place with a single spell. She also heard the tales of priests, like Dentaria, who could heal great wound but could also kill with a single spell.

These stories both fascinated and horrified Ysondra. Magic was amazing and it helped people in a lot of ways, but it also seemed against the laws of nature and of fact. Magic could do things for people that could never be done without it. True, it could be used for good, but also for evil. Many people often spoke of how it was good to kill the other races that were a part of some horde, but to this horde it was bad. And to the horde it was good to kill the night elves, but to the night elves it was bad.

So it really wasn't good in killing because it was bad to those being killed. There for, to Ysondra, if magic was used to kill people then it was bad, because it inevitably came out bad for someone. If magic was only used for good deeds, then Ysondra would be okay with it. But it wasn't, so she was against it. She was ok with the healing magic, though because it was used for good.

Ysondra peered out the window and saw the sun slowly sinking beneath the horizon. She sat up as she heard footsteps downstairs and eventually footsteps up the stairway. A head of blue hair popped up from the stairwell and Ysondra saw the familiar face of Dentaria. Following the priestess was an unfamiliar night elf with long dark purple hair. She was young, probably around Ysondra's age, and she wore a light blue robe and carried a long wooden staff in her right hand.

Dentaria, as always, walked over and sat next to Ysondra in the chair by the bed. The other girl stood awkwardly at the end of the bed.

"We're going to take off your cast today" started Dentaria "Excited?"

Ysondra thought for a second and then said "A little, as long as it's good news"

Dentaria nodded in understanding and looked over at the other girl "This is Navara; she is training to be a priestess so she will be here while I look at your leg"

Navara smiled and waved at Ysondra. Ysondra smiled back in a hello.

"Ok then" said Dentaria "Let's get started. First of all, how has your leg been?"

"It's been feeling very well" said Ysondra "Compared to how it was a few days ago"

Dentaria grinned and said "Wonderful, that will make any healing I do a lot easier"

Dentaria motioned for Navara to come and stand next to her as she positioned Ysondra's leg so she could unravel the bandages easily.

Once she was finished, Dentaria looked at Navara and said "This is Ysondra. She believe her to be a survivor from the incident in Auberdine, but she has no memory to say so herself. Her leg was badly injured, and it has been healing for a while" Dentaria paused to see if Navara had anything to say and then went on "We are going to take off her bandages today to see how it has healed"

Navara nodded; her face blank and expressionless.

Dentaria turned back to Ysondra and asked "Are you ready?"

Ysondra nodded and said "I've been waiting all day"

Dentaria chuckled and said "Well then, let's get started"

Using her magic, Dentaria began to unweaving the tightly woven bandages. The candle light was dim, and Ysondra wondered how Dentaria could see. Then she remembered how the night elves preferred to be active at night, and how they could see just as well at night as they could in the day. Ysondra looked over at Navara to see her closely studying Dentaria's movements.

The priestess was carefully whispering magic words so fast that Ysondra wondered how she managed to do it correctly. But one by one the bandages slowly became unraveled and they began to slide off the bed and pile up in a heap on the floor.

As the last knot was unraveled Dentaria sat back in her chair and breathed deeply. Ysondra hadn't realized how much energy magic took. Eventually Dentaria regained her breath and she knelt closer to Ysondra's leg.

"The last bandage" she whispered.

She grasped the bandage carefully and yanked it off. Dentaria gasped, and Ysondra feared that something was wrong with her leg. She leaned forward to peer over her knee caps. But what she saw was not the bloody gash she had expected, but smooth purple skin that didn't even have a knick in it. She held up her hand and ran her fingers across the smooth surface, amazed at what she was seeing.

Dentaria was still and shock and Navara had a puzzled look on her face. Then Ysondra realized something: she could walk now! So she plopped her feet on the ground, and slowly began to stand. She wobbled and fell at first, from her lack of walking in the past few days. She put her hand on the bed and lifted herself up. She wobbled and stumbled, but for the most part she was walking, walking!

She paced around the room for a few minutes, regaining her ability and rejoicing inside. She finally sat down on the end of the bed and began to kick her feet back and forth. She looked back at Dentaria and saw that she was beginning to come back to them. She finally shook her head and looked up at Ysondra, confusion clear in her eyes.

"I don't understand" she mumbled "You've… healed completely in a matter of days, without a scar or anything to mark it!"

Navara was still confused, but she seemed to understand some of what was going on.

"You healed yourself, somehow…" said Dentaria "I just… I just don't understand! Not even Tyrande herself could heal a wound like that so fast"

The mention of her name made Ysondra remember how Tyrande had wanted her to go to Darnassus and speak with her. At first she had thought it impossible, but now she could go! She lay back on her bed, happiness overwhelming her.

Dentaria stood; looking completely confused and said "I must consult my readings. Perhaps there is an answer to this. I will visit you tomorrow, Ysondra"

The priestess walked out, and Navara waved good bye to Ysondra before following as well. Ysondra was so happy, she didn't mind being alone. She could do things now, she could go places. She could… she could take a bath! She had wanted to for so long, but her leg had kept her from it, making her hair greasy and her body smell vile. She had her own personal bathroom, and she slowly got up and walked over to the room. She was still a little wobbly on her feet, but she was getting better.

The bathroom was a small tiny room with a blue tiled floor and light blue walls. There were candles near the door, which had been lit by the maid. There was a large white tub imbedded in the floor and a bar of soap next to it. Ysondra knelt down next to the tub and began to turn on the hot water. The water flooded through the pipes in large amounts, filling the bottom of the tub quickly. Ysondra stripped down and dipped her foot into the half-filled tub. It was hot, a relaxing hot. Ysondra submerged her body into the water and turned off the water as the tub filled.

Great amounts of dirt washed off of Ysondra and she was glad to get it off. She dipped her head under water quickly and soaked her hair to the roots. She came up to the surface, feeling clean and refreshed. She grabbed the soap and rubbed it all over her light purple skin, washing off any dirt that hadn't fallen off in the water. She let the water drain out and she climbed out of the tub and began drying herself off with one of the soft wool tails hanging on a rack. She wrapped the towel around herself and walked outside of the bathroom.

She then realized that she had no extra clothes, and she began to wonder what she should do. She looked around and saw the dresser lying there next to the wall. She walked over and pulled open one of the drawers to reveal an assortment of clothes. She picked out a light lace dress and put it on.

It was dark now, and Ysondra was extremely tired, so she climbed into her bed and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

_Ysondra was on the beach once again, but this time the waves had already surrounded her and she knelt down to stare into the water. This time, she was wearing a white dress decorated with diamonds, and a small silver tiara rested on her head. Her soft white hair was lightly curled and she felt more beautiful than ever._

_Finally the reflection spoke and it said "I have given you the gift of walking, my daughter. And it shall serve you well. Now, go to the woman who lives near the tree full of magic. Go, go, go"_


	5. Walking on her own

Ysondra awoke to the first rays of sunlight washing over her face. It was morning, and the sky was clear. Ysondra stretched her arms, and slowly got out of bed. She wobbled a little bit, still unused to walking, but was eventually able to balance herself. She walked over to the opened window, and looked outside. There was a warm breeze that hit her face that felt wonderful on her skin. Seagulls cawed in the distance, and she could hear the waves crashing onto the shore below.

She breathed in the scents of the outside and began to take note of what was out there. The inn was on the very edge of the land, and it was bordered with tall pine trees. There was a tower next to the inn where night elf rangers where shooting arrows at something Ysondra could not see. In the distance, far across the sea, Ysondra could see the outline of another island.

"That's where Tyrande is" she thought.

The island had what looked like a tall mountain. Ysondra couldn't see much of it because of how far away it was though. She leaned out of the window so that her whole body from her head to waist was hanging out. She looked out to where the sun was rising. It was beautiful, the sun was an orange yellow and the sky was a purple blue and the sunlight danced on the waves like diamonds.

Ysondra closed her eyes and breathed in the morning air. It was fresh, unlike the sickly smelling air inside the inn.

"So it's true"

Ysondra came back into the inn and turned around to see Aynasha standing at the top of the stairwell.

"They said you could walk" she said in a low voice "But I didn't think…"

The sentinel trailed off and walked over to Ysondra, giving her a tight hug. Ysondra hugged back, but Aynasha quickly let go of her, as if she hadn't realized what she was doing until then.

"You can walk!" she said joyously "Oh, how wonderful!"

The sentinel looked as if she wanted to cry tears of joy, but she restrained herself.

Ysondra only smiled and said "Yes, it's wonderful"

Then the sentinel's face turned serious and she asked "But how? How could you have healed so fast?"

Ysondra's grin faded and she said "I don't know. I just… did"

Aynasha looked suspicious, but she said nothing. She just grinned and brushed Ysondra's soft curly hair out of her face.

"Your hair is so soft" she said "Did you take a bath?"

Ysondra nodded and Aynasha said "You should get some new clothes as well. That robe is much to large"

Ysondra looked down at her attire and finally realized how baggy it was.

She looked up at Aynasha and asked "But how? I have no money"

Aynasha smiled and said "I will get you something. There are some new shipments coming in from Darnassus, I'm sure there will be something there for you"

Ysondra shook her head and said "You don't have to-"

Aynasha silenced her with a wave of her hand and said "Don't try and stop me. I would be happy to. Besides, if I don't, who will?"

Ysondra said nothing more. The sentinel was right, she needed new clothes and there was no one else who would get them for her.

Aynasha smiled and said "Now that you are better, we will have to make plans for what will happen to you. The innkeeper won't what you staying here much longer now that you don't need to"

Ysondra frowned. She didn't want to go somewhere else without Aynasha. She was one of the only people that she could actually talk to.

Aynasha smiled and rubbed her arm "Don't worry, I'll never be far. And you can always come here if you are ever in need"

Ysondra smiled. She liked that Aynasha would always be there to help her when she needed it. Then another thought came to her mind.

"Aynasha" she said "What about going to the priestess Tyrande? She said for me to come when I can. Does that mean I will soon?"

Aynasha thought for a few moments and said "It seems like you will. I will send a letter to Tyrande today; she is right across the sea so a response would come soon"

Ysondra nodded and Aynasha said "Now that I think about, some of the trainees priestess's will be going over there to complete their training in a couple days. Perhaps you can go with them"

As Aynasha thought about it Ysondra asked "Can I go outside? I can walk again, and I don't want to be stuck in this room any longer"

Aynasha frowned and said "I'm not sure. Your leg could still be very weak, and we wouldn't want to risk it"

Ysondra pouted and said "Please? I really don't like being in here. Nothing will happen to me, I'll be fine"

Aynasha was still frowning, but she said "Perhaps. If one of the trainees agrees to go with you, then I suppose it would be ok"

Ysondra's face lit up and she gratefully said "Thank you!" before quickly hugging the sentinel.

When she stepped back Aynasha was grinning and she said "You're welcome, Ysondra. I will see to the situation as soon as I can"

The sentinel walked back down the stairway leaving Ysondra still grinning in the middle of the room. Finally Ysondra moved to walk over to her dresser. If she was going to go out, she would wear something nice.

She opened the first drawer to reveal a pile of silk robes. She went through the stack and finally picked out a light blue strap dress. The second drawer had slippers in it. She picked out a pair of white slippers. She took the clothes and put them on, discarding her other clothes in a laundry basket next to the dresser. The dress fit perfectly as did the slippers, and she felt right. She brushed her long curly white hair and then sat down to wait for Aynasha's return.

She wished that she could just go out by herself, but she knew that Aynasha would not allow that. It was warm and sunny outside, and Ysondra wanted to leap up and run down the stairwell. She had recently learned to walk, and she wanted to use that ability. But she couldn't use it while being stuck in there, surely Aynasha realized that?

Ysondra sighed and pressed her face to her pillow so that she could look out her window in comfort. She looked out across the waves, to the mountainous land. But it didn't really look like mountains to her. They weren't gray or black, but rather a hazy brown. But Ysondra couldn't tell what they were since she was so far away.

She rolled over on her other side to face the wall. She had done this so many times it was only natural. Between visits this is what she would do, look at a wall. She was glad that was over. Soon she would be outside, running and jumping and seeing the rest of the world. She had never seen anything outside of the inn besides the beach she was found on, and that wasn't much.

She rolled over so she faced the window again. It was still morning and the sunlight still danced on the waves. She smiled at the sight, she found it extremely beautiful. The world seemed somewhat perfect at that moment. Her leg was fixed and she could walk, she would be able to get out of that room, and soon see would visit Tyrande, the elf she hoped would be able to help her.

Footsteps sounded up the stairwell and Ysondra sat up. Two heads appeared from the stairwell, one was Aynasha's, and the other Ysondra recognized as Navara's. She was surprised to see the young priestess; she didn't think they would see each other again. Aynasha was grinning as usual, and Navara was dragging behind.

"Navara said she would walk with you" said Aynasha as she reached the edge of the bed "She says you have met before, I hear that she was with Dentaria while they were looking at your leg"

Ysondra nodded as she got up and said "Yes, we know each other"

Navara said nothing, only smiled.

Aynasha looked worried but she said "Well then, don't stay out too long, I have many things to do so I will not be here until sunset. Have fun"

Aynasha dipped her head in a bow and ducked down into the stairwell. Navara was still silent, and Ysondra realized that she was probably shy. The priestess was wearing a long white robe that hid her feet and she carried her staff as well. Her long purple hair was down.

"Ready to go?" asked Ysondra.

Navara nodded and asked "Where would you like to go in darkshore? There are many interesting places"

Ysondra thought for a moment and then said "I'm not sure, I haven't actually been outside of the inn except for being on the beach. I'll decide when we get outside"

Navara dipped her head in agreement and the walked down the stairwell. Ysondra hadn't actually seen the second story, and it wasn't much different from the third. It had the same wooden beds with purple sheets and the same oak bookshelves. But there were no walls; you could look straight out at the sea. The beds were all filled, Ysondra guessed with other survivors.

Some of them waved at Navara, others looked suspiciously at Ysondra. They exited the second story and went down the first floor. The first floor was a lobby, and in front of the stair well was the desk where the innkeeper stood. There were openings on either side of the building as well as on both sides of the front desk.

There were many people there, some commoners some warriors. Most of them didn't notice Ysondra, but the ones that did made sure she knew it. Suspicious glances and raised eyebrows filled Ysondra's vision, and she was glad to leave the room of watchful elves.

When they were outside Ysondra was amazed. The ground was covered in grass besides a small dirt path, tents in the colors of dark blue and purple were scattered here and there. There were a few houses, but they were small. Ysondra also noticed that they were on an isle rather than part of the land. The only thing connecting them to the rest of the continent was two bridges.

As Ysondra gazed around in awe, Navara nudged her and said "Beyond this place is the forest. To the left are the troll filled ruins, and to the right are ghost inhabited ruins"

"Lots of ruins" said Ysondra "But let's keep to somewhere without evil creatures. How about we just go to the regular part of forest?"

"Sounds fine, but there might be bears" said Navara.

"I don't mind" said Ysondra.

Navara shrugged and said "Very well. Follow me then"

The priestess turned to the left and headed towards one of the bridges. As they were about to walk over, Ysondra noticed two very strange looking trees on either side of the bridge. When she took a closer look she saw that they had faces. She gasped in astonishment.

Navara looked at what she was looking at and said "Those are ancients. Don't worry, they protect the town. There sleep anyway, they only awaken when commanded"

Ysondra was still shocked, but Navara was already moving on and so she followed. At the end of the bridge was a small dirt pathway that led to different parts of the forest. There were also a few sentinels, and some of them were watching Ysondra and Navara carefully.

Navara turned left again, on to a path that had a steep cliff on one side and the thick forest on another. Ysondra looked up to see that the trees towered over them immensely, and she felt puny.

Navara kept on walking, though, and Ysondra followed at her side. She was still new at walking, but she didn't stumble that much. She was pretty well balanced, compared to yesterday that is. By now the sun was high above them, and Ysondra guessed that it was mid-day. She looked back to see that any hint of the village was far behind them, and there was not a night elf in sight.

All of a sudden Navara stopped, and Ysondra had to hit the brakes quickly in order to keep from running into her. They were at a fork in the road. Down the left Ysondra could see old crumbled buildings, and down the right was the forest.

"This is it" said Navara "Would you like to go to the ruins or continue on to the forest?"

"Let's stick to the forest" said Ysondra.

Navara nodded and she took the lead down the path, with Ysondra not far behind her. The trees became farther apart, and soon Ysondra could hear water not far off in the distance. The path ended, and Navara turned to look at Ysondra.

"This is the end" she said "Let's go back now"

Navara started to go back, but Ysondra stopped her, saying "Let's go into the woods for a little bit"


	6. The forest

Navara's eyes got larger and she looked shocked.

"Go into to the woods?" she exclaimed "There are bears and trolls in the woods! It's extremely dangerous!"

Ysondra would have been worried, but she was so excited about walking, that she didn't even care about what Navara was saying about the many dangers in the woods.

"So?" she argued "We probably won't encounter anything. Besides, even if we do, you can use your magic to save us"

Navara shook her head and said "No way. I'm only a novice anyway; I can't do much with my magic even now"

"Then we'll run" said Ysondra "If your magic can't save us, then we'll run. We're both rested, so I'm sure we can't out run anything that we come across"

Navara still looked unconvinced, so Ysondra added "Besides, I want to walk, I just learned to anyway. And Aynasha said that she would be going out hunting trolls today, so I'm sure we won't come across any"

"But there's still the bears" said Navara "What do we do about them? You can't out run the bears, no matter how hard you try"

"What about bears?" asked Navara "What do we do about them? You can't out run the bears, no matter how hard you try"

Ysondra thought for a second and then said "You can use some magic to keep them away, right? Besides, there can't be many bears around with all the fighting in the ruins. In fact, there are probably none"

"Maybe…" said Navara.

"So are we going or not?" asked Ysondra.

Navara thought for a moment and said "I still don't want to go, bears or none, it's still pretty dangerous"

Ysondra sighed and said "Please? I really want to walk today, and I would like to see the forest as well"

Navara shook her head and said "Then we can walk somewhere else, but the forest is a bad idea"

By now Ysondra was very frustrated. She knew there were bears, and she didn't care. She wanted to walk, and she would, weather Navara liked it or not.

"Well I'm going" said Ysondra, and she began to walk into the forest.

"What?!" exclaimed Navara and she grabbed Ysondra's arm, pulling her back "You can't go in there!"

"Yes I can" said Ysondra as she yanked her arm free "Watch"

Ysondra began to walk into the woods again; But Navara caught her by the wrist.

"You can't! Aynasha will kill me if I go back to the village without you!" exclaimed Navara.

"Then I guess you're going to be killed" said Ysondra, and she began to walk into the forest again.

Navara grabbed her firmly by the shoulder and yanked her back.

"Come on!" she said "You can't go somewhere without me, I'll get in big trouble!"

"Then I guess you'll have to come with me" said Ysondra.

Navara stood there, her forehead wrinkled from frustration and thinking. She stood there like that for a few minutes, but her forehead finally unwrinkled, and Ysondra waited for her decision.

Navara sighed and said "Fine, I'll go"

Ysondra smiled and said "Thank you!"

Navara only frowned and said "Let's just get this over with. The sooner were in, the sooner we're out"

Ysondra nodded, still smiling, and led the way off the path and into the forest. The forest was full of tall towering trees and the ground was soft from the dark green blanket of grass that grew there. Ysondra could see mountains in the distance, and there were many rats running around.

She looked back to see Navara reluctantly following her, banging her staff on the ground with irritation. She turned her head to look back at the forest, and she saw tracks in the dirt. They were larger, larger than night elf feet, but they belonged to someone who walked on two feet. She turned sharply, to avoid running into the creature that made the tracks and to make sure Navara didn't notice them.

She looked back at the priestess to see if she had noticed anything, but to her relief she was still trudging along, looking at something far ahead.

Ysondra turned back to look ahead of them and turned sharply to avoid running into a tree. When she turned, her gaze landed on a waterfall. It was pretty, for something that was moving so quickly it would kill you.

Ysondra turned to Navara, who was standing next to her with her head down, and asked "What is that over there?"

Navara snapped her head up and looked at the waterfall Ysondra was looking at.

"That's the place where the earth opened up during the shattering" said Navara "The water from the sea flowed in, making the rushing water. Further down is a whirl pool, so don't fall in"

Ysondra smiled and said "I'm going to take a closer look"

Before Navara could argue, Ysondra headed towards the end of the water, to where she assumed the whirlpool was. She didn't think it was really as dangerous as Navara had said, so she wasn't being especially careful.

Ysondra heard Navara sigh, and begin to follow her. Ysondra was half way towards the Cliffside when she saw the tracks again. She veered left, and went back to her original course. She looked back to see if Navara noticed anything, but it seemed that the priestess was too irritated to notice anything at all.

They reached the edge of the cliff in no time, and Ysondra peered down. She was surprised to see that hundreds of feet down the steep cliff were a swirling vortex of water that was swirling around at dangerously fast speeds. She began to get dizzy from looking at it, and she stepped back a few paces.

"Troubling, isn't it?" asked Navara.

Ysondra only stood and nodded, still staring down at the swirling vortex of doom. Navara stepped forward to stand next to her and looked down at the water.

"There was a night elf that fell down there once" she said "She was studying the moss that grew by the river bed, when the cliff broke away beneath her. She has never been seen since"

"That sounds awful" said Ysondra "Let's head back now, I don't want to be near here any longer"

Navara nodded, and they both turned around to walk back. But they didn't get very far. In front of them, only about a hundred yards away, was a troll. He was staring at them, studying them. Neither elf moved. The troll was forest green with a red Mohawk and two large tusks, and he carried two daggers.

Ysondra swallowed. He was the one who had made the tracks she had seen earlier. As she looked at the troll he smiled, and her stomach began to knot with worry. Beside her Navara readied her staff and began to chant something beneath her breath. Ysondra, however, had no weapon. All she had was her feet and fists, and they would have to do.

The troll clutched his daggers tight and began to run towards them. He had the same devilish smile on as he readied is weapons so that they would hit his target right on. Ysondra's head was spinning; she didn't have time to think about what to do.

Navara yelled something that Ysondra couldn't understand and a white ball of fire came shooting out of her hand heading straight towards the troll. He dodged it and kept on running, and Ysondra desperately began to think of what she should do.

The troll was only a few yards away when she dashed to the side, making the troll skid to a stop. He grunted, and ran towards her again. She dodged him again, and he turned towards her again. This time she wouldn't be fast enough to avoid him, and his dagger was headed for her stomach, so she stepped lightly to one side to avoid the dagger and got her fist ready.

She hit him hard in the jaw, and he staggered back. She rubbed her fist which was now hurting and prepared to hit another blow. But before she could Navara hit him with another blast of white fire and he fell to the ground.

But that wasn't enough, he got up and this time he ran to Navara. Navara began casting, but he dodged everything she gave him. So Ysondra ran towards the troll and knocked him over, making them both fall to the ground. Ysondra quickly recovered and stood quickly, only to see the troll towering over her.

She balled up the fist that wasn't hurt and punched him hard in the gut. He was hurt for a second, but he recovered and readied his daggers for another attack. But Ysondra was ready for him, and she knocked him hard in the temples. She could tell this hurt him, because he put a hand on either side of his head and let out an anguished cry of pain.

But he wasn't done yet, just angry. He grasped his weapons and ran toward Ysondra. They became a swirling ball of kicking and hitting, and a lot of the time Ysondra couldn't tell where they were even going. All she knew was that she was fighting the troll, and that she was winning.

With every hit he got slower, and with every blow she dodged she got faster. The troll was tired and was barely making an effort to fight, so she took the last bit of energy she had and hit him with both fists in the temples once again.

His eyes rolled back and he let go of his weapons, and he finally fell to the ground, defeated. Ysondra looked at the troll. He wasn't dead, just unconscious. She allowed herself a smile of victory and then looked up at Navara.

But the priestess wasn't looking at the troll, she was looking at something behind Ysondra, and she looked more terrified than when the troll had attacked them.

Ysondra was about to ask what was the matter, but cold steel was suddenly pressed against her throat and she felt someone's arms tighten around her, to ensure she didn't escape. She kicked her legs and flailed her arms but she was grasped to tight, and she could do nothing more without getting her neck sliced.

She looked to her sides to see to long tusks next to her. As she flailed around the knife pressed harder onto her skin, and she stopped.

In a heavy accent her capturer said "Don't be stupid, mon. you ain't be escapin any time soon"


	7. Trapped

Ysondra tried to struggle free again, but was only rewarded with the knife pressing even harder against her neck. She stopped moving and gave up, there was no way she would get free by doing that. She looked over at Navara to see her slowly stepping away from the troll, fright clear in her face. She gasped as she got to the edge of the cliff, and reluctantly stepped forward a little bit.

The troll let out a hardy laugh and then said "Little priest, you won't be escapin me. Come closer"

Navara shook her head, and Ysondra felt the knife tighten around her throat.

The troll grunted and said "I don mind killin' dis one, so yah better get over here"

Navara did nothing, and the troll said "Yah friend be gettin closer and closer to death by de secon. I would be walkin over here, if I was you"

Navara looked at Ysondra with great fear written across her face, and shook her head.

"Dis be yah friend's las chance, elf. Walk ova here" said the troll.

Navara looked at Ysondra one last time, and slowly walked forward.

"Dere we go now. Follow or she gets cut" said the troll.

The troll began to turn around, but then he looked down at the other troll who was unconscious and said "He can find his own way home"

He turned around and began to walk away from the cliff, Ysondra still tight in his grip. Ysondra heard footsteps behind her and she knew that Navara was following.

"Oh please let us get out of this ok" thought Ysondra.

She had no idea who she was telling this to, perhaps the person from her dreams, whoever she was, but it gave her hope. The trolls sag made her feet drag on the ground, and she could hear her slippers ripping. She wriggled her feet and kicked them off, deciding it would be more comfortable just to be barefoot.

The troll grunted at the movement, and Ysondra lay still again. Behind them she could hear Navara waling, but she could also just barely hear the soft whisper of her voice. The wind washed by and with it she could hear the familiar words that the priestess had used to cast spells.

She realized that the young night elf was beginning to cast a spell, and she prayed that she would help them to escape. She listened hard for the priestess's words, and she listened for any stop. But the priestess went on whispering her strange language, and Ysondra wondered if she really was casting a spell.

She was very uncomfortable being dragged by the troll, but any movement she made would cause the knife to cut into her throat. She grunted, and gave up. She was very close to the troll's body, and she could smell his appalling body odor. It made her gag, and she guessed that he probably had never even heard of a bath. She could also smell his breath, and she could tell that it had been a very long time since he had brushed his teeth, if he ever had at all.

She listened again for the soft whisper of Navara's voice, but all she heard was the wind washing by them. Perhaps, she thought, Navara had thought of a better plan and had decided to wait until later to use her magic. Ysondra, however, had realized that she was horrible at making plans. She could think of nothing that would get her free from the troll's strong grasp.

She began to look around to see if there was anything that would help her escape. She looked at the troll and saw that in his free hand he carried an axe, and that he was wearing a leather shirt and pants. His tusks were like a cage, keeping her head from moving too much.

She looked at his other arm, the one that was securing her neck, and saw that his muscles were bunched up from the stress of supporting her weight. She made a mental note that that could be a potential weak spot.

As she was dragged around the forest began to lessen, and she could see burning trees and ruins in the distance. Behind them she heard Navara swallow hard, and she guessed that she had also spotted the ruins. They indeed looked menacing, and she guessed that many trolls were there, and they would not be treating their arrival nicely.

The troll stopped for a second, and Ysondra heard him scratch something with his free hand, and then he also looked into the distance at the crumbling ruins. He mumbled something in trollish, and Ysondra made a mental not to learn the language one day. Then she remembered that she still needed to learn the elven language.

Then she heard Navara's crazy casting language, but this time it was fast and loud, and the troll spun around to face her. Ysondra saw a white orb forming in the priestess's hand, and the troll forgot all about Ysondra and dropped her to the ground, and began to rush towards the priestess.

But his attack did not make her confident expression waver, and she began to speak even faster. The orb got even larger, and she cast it at him mere seconds before he would collide with her. The orb knocked him back and he fell heavily to the ground.

"Run!" exclaimed Navara as she turned heel and fled from the scene.

It took Ysondra a little bit for her to react but soon enough she had turned around and was fleeing the scene as well. She glanced back only once, to see the troll slowly recovering. She ran even faster, with Navara right beside her, and soon she could see the road. She began to smile, thinking that soon the nightmare would be over and she would return to the village where Aynasha was.

But then she began to feel light headed, and her vision flickered back and forth. Her pace slowed as she began to lose all feeling in her legs. Then a dark fuzziness began to engulf her vision, and a blanket of darkness came over her as she collapsed to the ground.

_Ysondra opened her eyes slowly to see that she was once again on the familiar beach she had gone to many times during her unconsciousness. But she was lying flat on the beach, and the waves were soft and made no motion to come in and engulf her. She sat up slowly, aware that something was different. She could feel the change in the environment, and she looked around frantically for an explanation._

_She soon realized that the moon was shining brighter than it ever had before, and that there was not a cloud in the sky to threaten to cover it. The moonlight danced on the waves, in a trance like motion that threatened to keep Ysondra locked in place. But she looked away and down the beach, but there was only sand and ocean. There were no buildings or land in the distance, and she realized she was in the middle of the sea, with nowhere to escape._

_Then she heard the soft whispers of a female voice._

"_Ysondra," whispered the voice._

_It was the same voice she had heard many times before in her dreams, but this time it was much softer and compassionate. She looked around wildly for the speaker, but there was nothing except the beach and the sea and the bright elegant moon._

_The voice laughed and said "I am here, my daughter, I am always with you. You need but look into the sky to find me."_

_Ysondra looked up, half expecting to see someone floating in the air above her, but again all she saw was the moon._

"_I don't understand," she said "I look into the sky, yet all I see is the moon! Where are you?"_

_The voice laughed again and said "Silly child, I am the moon!"_

_Ysondra gasped, and the voice went on "I am Elune, the great goddess of the moon, child. I am here for you to speak to, as long as the stars shine bright and the moon shows I am here."_

_Ysondra shook her head, still not understanding what the woman was saying and asked "How could that be? I don't understand. Please, help me!"_

_The voice was calm and soft as it said "Dear child, do not fret. I am here, always. Whenever you are in need, I am here for you."_

"_Then please!" exclaimed Ysondra "Show yourself, and help me!"_

_The voice sighed and said "Very well, young one. I will show myself to you, just look into the sky."_

_Ysondra looked up into the sky, and at first only saw the bright moon, but then she saw a glowing white light in the shape of what looked to be a woman on a night saber. The woman began to descend down the sky and toward the beach, where Ysondra stood. As she got closer Ysondra could see the details on the woman's face more clearly. She was young and beautiful, yet her eyes shown the wisdom of many years in them. She also noticed with great surprise that the woman looked exactly like Ysondra, except for the fact that the woman glowed with the light of pure beauty._

_Ysondra also noticed the ghostly saber on which the woman rode. It was a ghostly white and it looked to be made of the stars themselves. The animal had two beautiful white fangs that shined in the bright moonlight, and it jumped down from the stars with as much grace as any mortal. It made her think that Ysondra was looking up at the stars, and she noticed that there were none in the sky at the time._

_The woman landed on the beach gracefully, and Ysondra noticed the soft and warm smile that was on the woman's face. She got off of her saber and walked over to Ysondra. Ysondra was very tall for her age but the woman towered two heads above her. As she strained her neck to look up at her the woman laughed. She noticed that the woman work a beautiful silk dress and a white crown that kept her long curly white hair out of her face._

"_Here I am my daughter." said the woman._

_Behind them the saber roared, and Ysondra had to keep herself from flinching. She stared wordlessly at the woman, who was still smiling down at her. But finally a questioned popped into her head, and she began to form how she would ask it in her head._

"_Elune?" she asked._

"_Yes?" answered the woman._

_Ysondra sighed and asked "You keep on calling me your daughter, but am I really? I know I'm not from Azeroth. I can tell from the way people look at me that I'm different. So who am I?"_

_The woman smiled, and said "That is a good question to ask, child. And I'm sure you have wanted to know for a while." Ysondra nodded and the woman went on "You are correct, you are not of the mortal world Azeroth."_

"_Then where am I from?" interrupted Ysondra._

"_You are from here, Ysondra, the realm of the moon. This is your home, you were created here, and you will always belong here."_

_Ysondra shook her head in confusion and asked "What do you mean? What is the realm of the moon?"_

_The woman hushed her with a wave of her hand and the saber roared behind them. The world got fuzzy around Ysondra, and she could feel herself waking up._

"_You will learn in good time, my child. But for now you are needed elsewhere" said Elune as she faded away._

_Ysondra's vision clouded, and everything went white._

Ysondra blinked her eyes open, adjusting to the bright sunlight around her. She tried to move her hands to wipe her eyes, but found herself unable to. She looked around, confused, and saw that her hands and feet were bound tightly with linen. She looked around quickly for an answer to all of this and saw that she was in a wooden hut. She heard sighs and oomph's coming from next to her and she turned her head to see Navara in a similar situation.

The priestess sighed as she saw that Ysondra was okay and began to look around for anything that would help them escape. Ysondra opened her mouth to speak but the words that came out were muffled and jumbled and she realized that he mouth was cover by linen as well. She looked at Navara to see that her mouth was covered as well.

There was a small opening in the hut, which Ysondra guessed was a door, and she strained her eyes to look outside. She saw what looked to be a camp, with many similar huts and many trolls and other unfamiliar creatures wondering about. Then she noticed a troll female coming their way carrying a long wooden staff in her right hand,

The troll ducked under the opening and came into the hut. She stood there looking at them both; with a sickening morbid happiness written on her face that made Ysondra want to puke with disgust.

"Oh good," said the woman "You're both awake. Now your torture can begin."


	8. Explanations and Escaping

Ysondra stared at the troll woman in front of her, studying her for weaknesses. She was a short troll, with a hunch in her back like the other trolls. She was a forest green and she had two small tusks coming out of either side of her mouth, and she had long red hair with part of it tied up in the back. She carried a long wooden staff with feathers on the top of it. The woman was well cleaned, but her clothes told the story of a peasant. She wore a long brown linen dress, and she had no shoes on her feet.

She still had the sick morbid grin on her face, and Ysondra frowned at her in disgust. Her teeth were a rotten yellow, plagued by the huge amounts of food she probably ate, and the lack of proper hygiene. Ysondra could smell her appalling body odor, which smelled of rancid meat, and she wondered if anyone in the camp even knew of the existence of baths.

"All right," said the woman "You will be given a choice of who gets to go first. Pick fast, or you will both go."

"I'll go." said Navara.

Ysondra looked at the priestess, who had a brave look on her face. But Ysondra could see that deep within her eyes lingered the familiar sight of fear, great fear. Ysondra was not afraid, she had been through much pain and she was sure that nothing they could do could scar her. Navara, however, would not be able to deal with such pain.

She looked at the priestess and firmly said "No," she looked back at the troll and said "I'll go."

Navara began to argue but Ysondra hushed her, saying "I am stronger, I've been through much pain; I can survive this better than you can. Just go with it and accept the favor I am giving you."

Navara looked as if she was about to argue, but she soon stopped and only nodded weakly in acceptance.

Ysondra looked at the troll again and said "Let's get this over with."

The troll smiled the same sick morbid smile from before and said "Good, let us begin."

The troll women bent down so that she was level with Ysondra and began to loosen her leg bindings slightly on order to make it easier for her to walk.

"Up." She said.

Ysondra pushed herself to her feet and stumbled over to where the troll stood. The troll grabbed her hard by the shoulder and began to drag her out of the hunt. Ysondra looked back to see Navara with a worried look on her face, and she hoped that the priestess would be okay until she returned.

The troll dragged her out into the camp, which was on the side of a large mountain. Huts were scattered across the clearing with a big fire in the center of the camp. There was a huge gate in the distance, and trolls and orcs wandered about the clearing, grunting at the night elf as they passed her.

The troll dragged her away from the center of the camp and towards the back of it, where another, smaller, gat stood. It was guarded by two trolls and two orcs, and Ysondra began to wonder what was beyond the gates. She knew that whatever it was, it would be used against her, and she swallowed a lump in her throat she tried not to be nervous, to stay strong and brave, but the butterflies began to fly in her stomach.

The troll dragged her through the back gate, muttering something in trollish to the guards. The trolls dipped their heads and the orcs grunted. She was dragged through the gate to see a large ruin arch, which hid whatever lay behind it. The fact that she couldn't see what would be torturing her made Ysondra's stomach lurch.

The troll continued to drag her, taking her under the arch. What Ysondra saw there horrified her. She was in a small glassy clearing with blood staining the grasses every once in a while. All around her the bodies of dead sentinels lay on the ground, thrown down as if their life had been meaningless. There were cages, too, but Ysondra couldn't tell whether or not anyone was in them. In the center of it all stood a tall troll man, with sun bleached green skin and two beady red eyes that looked like coals. His gray white hair told Ysondra that he was old, and she wondered if he was weakened by that.

She looked down at one of the dead night elves again and decided his old age probably wasn't a weakness, if he could break the mighty ranks of the sentinels. He grinned as they walked in, and his beady red eyes seemed to glow with a sick satisfaction that Ysondra hope she never saw again.

"Oh good," he said "I was running out of victims."

Both him and the she troll grinned evilly, and the she troll dropped Ysondra, making her land on her knees in front of the old troll. She looked up at him with bitter rage in her eyes, and he only laughed.

"Your friends," he said, nudging one of the bodies "Had a similar attitude when they first came here. But I quickly whipped that bad behavior out of them."

Ysondra didn't flinch at his words. He didn't scare her, and he never would. She would not end up like the ones that surrounded her, she would survive, somehow. But for now she would wait through the pain and hope for the best. All she could remember was Aynasha's worried face as she and the priestess had left.

"I should have stayed," she thought regretfully "I should have listened to Navara and Aynasha."

"Get up." grunted the troll.

"I didn't hear a please." said Ysondra.

The troll kicked her in her side, causing her to devil over in pain, and hissed "I said, get up."

Ysondra regained her strength and spat at his feet, glaring at him. The troll glared back, and kicked her again. She didn't devil over this time, despite the pain that surged through her most likely bruised side. She would not give in to this man, not even if it meant her life. Her life, at least what she could remember of it, had been short. But it didn't bother her, death that is; because she knew, somehow, that it would be all right.

"Let us begin," said the troll "I will ask you a simple question. Where is the night elf encampment?"

"I don't know." said Ysondra, which was the truth.

"Lies!" hissed the troll as he kicked Ysondra again.

Her side stung, but she showed no sign of pain to her torturer.

"Here's another question," said the troll "What are the night elf attack plans?"

Again, Ysondra did not know, and she simply said "I do not know."

She received another kick in her side, and she began to get used to the pain.

"Who's the leader of the attack?" asked the troll.

Ysondra did not know this either, and she just stayed silent, ready for the pain in her side she was sure she would receive.

But she didn't, instead she felt a painful sting go through her back, and she heard the sound of a whip striking through the air. She bit her lip hard, and she began to taste blood in her mouth. She could not give in; she could not betray the gentle night elves that had been so kind to her through her recovery.

"Where are the soldiers at?" asked the troll.

Ysondra shook her head, and gritted her teeth as the whip hit her hard again on her back. Her strength was dwindling, and she wondered just how much more she could take until death approached.

"Wrong answer." said the troll "It seems like I'll have to whip some respect in to you, maybe then you'll be smart and start to talk."

The whip hit her flesh again, and she heard the ripping of her dress. She didn't really care that it was ripping. It was grimy and stained and the soft touch of silk that it used to have had been replaced by the rough feel of dirt.

She bit her lip once again as the whip hit her on the side, and she could taste the blood coming out of her lip. But it helped ease the pain in her back, and it was a small sacrifice to make.

The troll continued doing this over and over again, like it was a game. And it was a game to him, a sick, twisted, game of pain, where only her won, and Ysondra always lost. But she prevailed through the pain, as her lip opened up from the force of her teeth, and she swallowed the blood that came out as if it were as familiar as water. Her back went numb, and she felt herself swaying slightly. She knew she had lost a lot of blood, and that the troll would only stop if she let out some secrets. But even then, as she began to feel the presence of death, she stayed loyal to the elves of the night.

She could feel the blood gashing down her bare back as the whip hit her again. She could hear her torturer laughing, laughing in pure joy of her pain. He was a sick man, she knew, but that was pure cruelty. He vision wavered, and he toes went numb, and she began to wonder if death was there for her yet. She would be ok with death; she would be at peace with her end. Then she lost control of her balance and she fell over in the mud. And her eyesight soon went black, and all she could remember hearing was the troll's sick, cruel, laughter thundering through her ears.

_Ysondra was lying down on the moonlit beach, her face in the sand. Her back didn't hurt here, and she slowly began to stand up, as if her back would suddenly hurt again if she stood too fast. As she stumbled to her feet she looked around, as if the lady and her tiger would appear at any moment._

_Then she heard a soft laugh and then she heard the women's soft voice say "I am here, my daughter, I am here."_

_Ysondra looked around, but saw nothing, so she simply asked "Where is here?"_

"_Why, the realm of the moon, your home." said the voice._

"_The realm of the moon?" asked Ysondra "What do you mean? Where are you?" _

"_I will come to you, my daughter, so that you may see me once again." Said the woman "But you must learn to see me without using your eyes."_

_Ysondra wondered what she meant by seeing her without using her eyes, but she saw a flash of white out of the corner of her eye and she looked up to see the tall night elf Elune, riding down from the sky on her glowing tiger mount. _

_The women landed on the beach in front of Ysondra swiftly, and the tiger roared. The woman got off and walked over to Ysondra, towering over her._

_The elf cupped Ysondra's face in her hand and said "You have died my daughter."_

_Ysondra raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked "What do you mean?"_

"_In your other life, you died." said Elune "So you were brought here, while your mortal body heals enough for you to live in it again."_

"_I don't understand." said Ysondra "If I'm dead, then how can I go back? This doesn't make any sense."_

"_You can never die when you are immortal." said Elune "You were created from the moon and the stars, and death will never claim you."_

"_What do you mean?" asked Ysondra "What do you mean I was created from the moon and stars? Please, tell me!"_

"_Oh my sweet child," said Elune softly "I created you, with the light of the moon and the stars, and I gave you a piece of my power."_

"_What do you mean? I don't understand." said Ysondra._

"_You are my daughter, child, and my power is within you. It is a mean of escapes from your prison, use It." said Elune._

_Ysondra's vision wavered, and the scene in front of her began to disappear as she lifted out of her deep trance of sleep._

Ysondra awoke, gasping for breath, on the muddy ground she had been on before. She realized that the torturer had probably assumed she was dead, and had left her there just like he had left the others there. She lifted herself off the ground to see that it was night, and that the full moon was shining bright above her. She cautiously looked around to see that there was no one else in the clearing besides her.

She sighed in relief, realizing that she had a chance to escape. But then she remembered Navara, and she realized she had to find a way to free the priestess. She would not abandon her friend; it was her fault they were in the mess anyway.

She spun around as she heard quite sobs behind her, and she saw a few cages lying a few yards from her. She looked at them, squinting, and realized that someone else was captured. As she thought this she wondered if it was Navara, and a new hope that her friend was still alive washed over her.

She began to walk over, but slowed down as she realized how weary and tired she was. Her muscles ached and her back stung with pain, and she remembered that Elune had said that she had died, and she guessed that having the life literally sucked out of you would probably leave you tired and weary.

She sighed and walked more slowly towards the cage she had heard the sobbing come from. As she walked closer the shape of a night elf became visible through the bars of the cage, but she realized quickly that it wasn't Navara. She sighed, sad that it wasn't her friend. But her sadness added away, at she would have help in escaping.

Dead leaves crunched under her wait, and the sobbing quickly stopped. As she stopped in front of the cage, she heard a rough voice hiss at her.

"I won't tell you anything, I told you! Now get away from me!" hissed a female voice.

With a flood of joy, Ysondra recognized the night elf women's voice, and she fell onto her knees.

"Aynasha!" she exclaimed in happiness "It's me, Ysondra!"

There was silence for a second, but then Aynasha spoke, saying "That can't be, I saw you die."

"It is me!" said Ysondra "I can't explain exactly how, but I'm alive!"

The sobbing began again, but this time Ysondra heard joy in it, and her eyes began to fill with warm tears of joy. But she quickly realized that they had to get out of there, and the tears that had once accumulated were now gone, and she studied Aynasha's cage.

Aynasha's sobs stopped, and she asked "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get this cage open," said Ysondra as she studied the cage.

The softness that had been in Aynasha's voice was hardened as she said "I saw them lock it, but the cage is made of wood. If you get something large like a rock, you can probably smash it open."

Ysondra nodded and got up, frantically beginning to search for something large and heavy like Aynasha had suggested. As she frantically searched she tripped and fell over something, face planting the mud and skinning her knee. She grunted, but quickly got up. In the bright moonlight she made out the shape of a large rock. It would do, and she squatted down and began to lift up the rock, straining her already aching muscles. But she managed to stumble over to the Aynasha's cage, and she began to smash it against the lock.

At first it didn't work, but the lock finally broke and Ysondra tossed the rock aside, heaving from the strength it had required. Aynasha crawled out, and stumbled to her feet. She briefly hugged Ysondra, but quickly let go and began to look around.

"How long have you been trapped?" asked Ysondra.

"They caught me this afternoon, I was looking for you." said Aynasha as she began to look around.

"We need to save Aynasha as well," said Ysondra.

Aynasha nodded, and she turned to her saying "We will need to sneak out. There are some docks near the camp, I snuck in through them. We will free Navara and leave. Now, follow me."

Aynasha began to swiftly jog through the shadows, and Ysondra followed close behind. Many thoughts and wonders wandered through her head about what Elune had said, but she ignored it then. She would free Navara, escape, and unravel the mysteries of the mysterious woman then, when everything was ok again.


	9. A Great Power

Ysondra ran through the shadows of the sleeping horde camp, wondering what was going on in Aynasha's mind. She wanted to know what her escape plan was, and how they would free Navara. She was sure that there would be someone there; they wouldn't leave their camp unguarded. And Ysondra was pretty sure that Aynasha was weaponless.

Ysondra found herself trying to think of different ways of escaping. She barely knew what the camp looked like, but according to Aynasha there was a dock. She liked the idea of escaping through the docks, but how would they rescue Navara? Was the priestess even still in the same tent? Was she taken away for torturing as well? Was she dead?  
The last thought troubled Ysondra, and she shook the thought out of her head. If she were dead, Aynasha would have seen her die. And Aynasha would have told her. She ran this thought through her mind over and over again, forcing herself to believe in it. But the doubt was still there, dwelling in the back of her mind, waiting to resurface whenever the smallest problem happen to them.

They ducked under an ancient ruin, and began to run again. Ysondra's stomach was a knotted pit of worry, threatening to take over. She didn't know what they would do when they got caught. Would they be killed? Would her short life end so abruptly? But she remembered Elune telling her that she was immortal, and she began to wonder if the goddess was right. She should have been dead. She should have been lying on that bloody grass, dead, like the others.

But she wasn't. She lived, she shouldn't have, but she did, and the others died. She couldn't help but feel that she too should have died there, defending her people. But they weren't even her people. She wasn't a real night elf; she was something else, like Elune had said. But she just didn't know what.

She wanted to sit down and think everything through, to try and discover just what exactly she was. She wanted to know what the moon goddess had meant; she wanted to understand who she was. She wanted desperately to know, to understand. She wanted to remember her life, if she had even had one before.

Elune's words echoed in her head: "You are the stars and the moon my daughter, and within you is some of my own power."

She wanted to know what that meant, to understand what had happened to her. To understand what she was. How could she be the stars and the moon? What power was she given from Elune? What was she?

Her head ached with the thoughts that ran through her head, and she found it increasingly harder to run. She remembered how Elune had told her that she could use her power to escape. What power? What was this that Elune had spoken of? Ysondra had never used magic before, what could she possibly do that was so special?

Her feet swerved as her head pounded and she tripped over an exposed tree root. She grunted as the bark scraped her already bruised skin and slowly got up. She was pulled up, and she looked up to see Aynasha's worrisome face staring down at her. She hefted herself up, and scraped some of the dirt off of her tattered and ripped dress.

She nodded to Aynasha to keep running and they continued on. Ysondra hadn't remembered the camp being so far away from the clearing, and she began to worry that they had gotten lost. But they passed the familiar sight of where two guards had been posted earlier, and her fear slowly dispersed. But it was only replaced by the fear that they would be caught.

She wanted to know what Aynasha's plan was, what they would do and how they would escape. Ysondra could think of nothing, her adrenaline was pumping too much for thinking, and she hoped that whatever Aynasha had in store would get them out of the camp safely.

She didn't want to be stuck in the inn for another week, and she couldn't bear to see Aynasha get hurt. She just wanted to be out of there and back in the tiny sea village. She wanted to see Navara walking, not tied up, and she wanted to things with her new friend. She wanted to be pestered to death by Aynasha, and she wanted to go across the sea and visit the woman who lived near the tree where magic grows.

She still had no idea who that woman was, but she had a few people in mind. She knew that somehow this woman would help her, that this woman would be able to give her knowledge of her past, even if it was only a little. She could feel the great power dwelling across the sea, and a deep hunger burned though her, the hunger to see the great power.

Aynasha began to slow to a stop in front of Ysondra, and she peered past the sentinel to see that they were only a few yards from the entrance to the camp. Ysondra could see a few small fires glowing in the distance, but besides that the camp was silent and motionless.

She looked at Aynasha and the sentinel whispered, "It's now or nothing, you'll have to lead the way to where Navara is."

Ysondra gulped; afraid that she would do something wrong to get them captured again, or worse, killed.

Aynasha must have seen the worry in her face because she reassuringly whispered, "Don't worry; I'll be right behind you. I'll keep watch in case anyone is out, which I bet there are."

Ysondra nodded, and without a word she silently strode forward, into the sleeping horde camp. She was afraid that someone from the shadows they had not seen would pounce on them, but there was no on to be seen.

She strode forward, trying to figure out where Navara's hut was in the dim light given off from the full moon. Every once in a while her mind would trick her and make her think she saw someone, but they were alone in the shadows of the night. There was no one to be seen in the camp, not even a guard.

Ysondra oddly enough found this even more nerve racking. She had expected to see at least some sign of horde, but the camp was like a ghost town. There wasn't even loud snoring from a tent or footprints in the mud; it was as if the place was deserted.

She looked around trying to find the familiar shape of the tent she and Navara had been in. her worry increased as she realized that nothing looked familiar, and as she got more panicked everything looked unfamiliar, and she began to wonder if this was all a trap, and that they had taken Navara somewhere else.

There was a hand on her shoulder and she instinctively flinched, but she looked to her side to see Aynasha looking at her. The sentinel smiled softly, and it reassured Ysondra a little bit.

"It's okay," she said "Just focus. You just need to look more closely, you'll recognize something."

Ysondra nodded and began to look around, biting her bottom lip out of habit. She looked around for something, anything, which looked familiar. But everything still looked as unfamiliar as if she had never even been in the place. Worry began to rise in her throat, but she quickly swallowed. She needed to be calm, like Aynasha had said.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember what she could about the tent. She remembered that it was small, too small to stand, and that it was cone shaped. She remembered that the tent had been cone shaped, and that it was covered with a brown, old, linen cover.

She opened her eyes, and tried to find anything that looked like that. The dim night time light made it harder, but she supposed that it was better that it was a full moon, rather than no moon.

There weren't that many tents around, and as far as she could tell none of them looked right. Panic began to rise in her throat again, but she shoved it down with a big gulp. She needed to stay calm, or else she would never find the right tent. She looked around, and thought that she could see what looked to be a small tent behind a large tree.

She motioned with her hand for Aynasha to follow, and began to walk towards the tent. But she was cut short as she tripped on her tattered dress and fell face first into the mud. She grunted, and stood up slowly. She spat the mud out and grunted again.

She looked down at the hem of her dress and saw that it was ripped, and she knelt down and began to rip it off.

As she threw the tattered cloth on the ground, Aynasha raised an eyebrow and whispered "What are you doing?"

Ysondra stood back up and whispered "This stupid dress is getting in my way! I'm never wearing one ever again!"

"I see," whispered Aynasha "We'll get you some proper armor when we get out of here."

_If we get out of here, _Ysondra silently added to herself.

She brushed off some mud and began walking again. They couldn't waist time, they had to get Navara and get out of there quickly. She didn't know where everyone was but she knew that someone would eventually come along, and she couldn't afford to be found.

She approached the small tent shape and began to relax slightly as the tattered tent began to look familiar. She just hoped that it was, and that they could get out of there.

"I'll stay out here," said Aynasha as they got to the entrance of the tent "It's best one of us stays out here and keeps watch."

Ysondra nodded and ducked down under the tent flap. She wasn't prepared for the dim light inside, and at first she couldn't see anything. But her eyes slowly adjusted and she began to look around for Navara, or a troll, in case it was the wrong tent.

But the light was still too dim to see much, and she slowly began to crawl around. As she walked around she heard a slight rustling, and she froze in place, fearing that there was a troll in there that had seen her. But she heard a quiet muffled cry, and she scurried over to where she had heard it.

She ran into Navara's body, and she could feel the priestess fidgeting in fear from the touch. Ysondra felt around and found the priestess's face, and pulled away her mouth cloth.

"It's me," she whispered "Ysondra. Aynasha is here, we're escaping, and I'm going to get you out of here."

At first there was a short pause but Ysondra could feel Navara's head weakly nodding up and down. She hurried to untie Navara's hand bounds, and she furiously began to tug and pull at the linen. It broke free, and she moved on to untie Navara's legs. But the priestess had beaten her to it, and had already begun to untie her own legs. Ysondra could hear the linen being ripped off and thrown out, and she began to guide Navara out of the tent.

She could hear the priestess trembling, and she began to wonder what had made her so weak. She should have guessed that they had tortured her, and she was glad that she had survived. She just hoped that whatever had happened to her wasn't too severe.

They crawled out of the tent and Ysondra began to lift Navara to her feet, and the priestess managed. Aynasha rushed to her aid, and Ysondra let go as Aynasha took over.

"We have to go," whispered Aynasha "Now."

Ysondra was confused, but she didn't argue. The urgency in Aynasha's voice was too great for her to stop and question her. She nodded, and they walked out as fast as they could with Navara being so weak.

Ysondra knew there was something wrong, but she only followed as they walked down a hill and a dock came into view. But she could hear something, it sounded like drums, and she looked back to see some trolls walking by the hill. One of them saw them, and she could hear them rushing down the slope, yelling war cries.

"They're coming!" hissed Ysondra.

"I know," said Aynasha "We have to try though."

"But they're gaining on us!" said Ysondra.

"There's nothing else we can do."

She was right, Ysondra knew, Navara was already panting and they were barely walking a trot. Ysondra glanced back to see them coming closer, and closer, and closer. They were going to be caught, killed, tortured, something.

They were making a tight circle around them, and they were forced to stop. They all had the same sickening smiled Ysondra had seen before, and it made her gag. They seemed to be holding back, waiting for something. Ysondra looked around, preparing for whatever would come next.

And then, a rock, a simple rock, hit her right in the temple. She fell to the ground, dizzy and feeling weak.

But as she hit the ground, instead of growing weaker, a warm heat of strength seemed to envelop her. Something overtook her, something powerful, and she felt as if her body was leaving her control slightly. The warmth started in her toes, and traveled up her entire body, and she sudden felt, enlightened.

She felt powerful, beyond powerful, like a god.

She looked down at herself to see that she was glowing. Her skin was a ghost white, and she felt taller. Her clothes were different too, she was wearing a white battle skirt that went down to her knees and she was wearing a white leather vest. Her air felt clean, soft, and full, and she pulled her hand through it and found that a metal head band held her hair up.

She had gloves too, they were white and metal and they covered her wrists and palms but left her fingers exposed. Her boots were quite the same; they were a white metal that left her toes uncovered and went up to her knees.

But she felt like she wasn't completely in control of her body, and she was right. Against her will she rose to her feet, and she saw an array of trolls staring at her, in both fear and awe. And, against her will, she spoke.

Her voice sounded like a thousand angles talking at once, yet she sounded firm.

"Foolish trolls," she said "Who dares to assault the power of the moon? I am the light that shines down, the stars that guide you all, I am the night its self!"

Some of the trolls trembled, and Ysondra wished she knew what was happening to her. She was in her body, yet she could not control it.

"You ignore the light," she said "You have made a big mistake. Feel the light, foolish children, and maybe you will not be blinded anymore."

Ysondra could feel a tingly sensation going through her whole body, and she felt immense power going through her. It was taking over her, threatening to consume her. But somehow, against her will, she could feel something controlling it. Something deep within her channeling the power.

And then the power was released. She was glowing, more than she had before, it was a bright white light that blinded everything around her, and she could hear cries of anguish all around her. She could feel the power slowly being released, slowly draining, and the white light began to disperse.

And, as soon as it had begun, the power was gone, and she fell to the ground, feeling weaker than she had felt when she had lost a life. The white light was gone, and she could feel whatever had been controlling her leaving. Her senses slowly returned to her, and she felt herself going back into her body and gaining control once again. But the world was fuzzy all around, and she could feel herself going into a deep trance of sleep.


	10. The Sea

Ysondra could see darkness all around her, and she realized she had been sleeping. Her back ached, and her eyelids felt heavy. She blinked them open, letting the bright sunlight stream in. she began to sit up but she received a sharp pain go up her back, and she quickly stopped. She heard a few seagulls caw, and she could hear the steady beats of waves. She looked to her side to see a short wooden wall, and she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

She looked back at the sky to see that it was a hazy orange yellow, and she guessed that it was either morning or sunset. As her sleepiness eased away, her senses began to come back to her. She could hear heavy panting, and what sounded to be wood against water. She began to sit up, ignoring the pain of soreness that went up her spine, and began to examine the situation.

Her vision blurred for a second, but it quickly cleared. They were in a small row boat, which Aynasha was rowing. Ysondra was on the bottom of the boat, while Navara was lying on a bench with a white cloth over her eyes. Ysondra feared the worst, but the slight up and down movement of the priestess's chest assured her that she was merely sleeping.

Aynasha was sitting on a bench in the front of the boat, with sweat covering her face and her eyes closed tight. Ysondra saw that they were far from land, with only a small mountain on the horizon to tell her that they weren't lost. She looked more closely at the position of the sun and saw that it was morning.

"Aynasha," she said, surprised that her voice came out hoarse and cracked.

The sentinel stopped paddling and opened her eyes immediately.

She sighed a breath of relief when she saw Ysondra and she softly said "You've been out for hours!"

Ysondra nodded slowly, her neck sore, and said "I… I have no idea what happened back there."

Aynasha slowly shook her head and softly, almost in a whisper, said, "Nor do I." she closed her eyes, as if she were in pain, but opened them again and said, with seriousness, "That does not matter now. What matters is getting home."

Ysondra looked around for anything familiar and then asked "Where are we, anyway?"

"We should be half way to Lor'danel; if not closer." said Aynasha "We should be home by noon, hopefully."

Ysondra looked back at Navara, who was still unconscious on the bench, and asked, "What happened to her?"

Aynasha shook her head sadly and said "When the bright light came, when you were glowing, she fell to the ground after letting out a horrible cry. She went unconscious, and she's been like that ever since."

Ysondra was immediately worried but she went on to another subject and asked, "Why is that cloth on her face?"

"She fell to the ground from the light, just as the troll's had." Said Aynasha "I figured that it might have to do with her eyes, but I'm not sure. It's just to be safe."

Ysondra nodded slowly, still taking in all of the information. The events of the night before were slowly coming back to her, and she began to wonder what had happened to her. She felt a great, almost overwhelming power, emanating from her. It was a power that existed in her that she had never known of, and it almost scared her to know what she was capable of doing, what she was capable of destroying. The words of a great power that Elune had spoken of whispered in her mind and a shudder went down her spine.

She looked back at Navara, who was still lying on the bench, the only sign of life being the steady up and down movement of her chest. Ysondra crawled over to her and sat next to her. Navara's hair was tangled, and her lips were chapped. She had a few bruises along her arms and legs, and she looked weak. Ysondra wanted to gag at what had happened to her. She knew that the bruises had come from some cruel torture of the trolls, and her frailness was even more proof of what had happened to her.

Ysondra looked at the towel which hid the girls face, and she edged closer. She realized that the cloth was damp, and she began to reach her hand out to pull it off. She was slightly reluctant, almost not wanting to see what had become of her friends face. But she reached forward and carefully pulled the cloth off.

At first she saw nothing wrong with the girl's face. But then she noticed how the skin around her eyes seemed slightly darker, and she could see no veins popping out in that area like she had before. She put the wet cloth back on her face and turned back to Aynasha. The sentinel was rowing again, and new beads of sweat began to cover her purple skin.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Ysondra.

"No," said Aynasha "Just rest, it will be good for you."

Ysondra nodded slowly, and then went back to the bench she had woken up on. She crawled onto and curled herself up. She was a little upset that she couldn't do anything to help, but she was also glad that she would have a chance to sleep. She was hoping that she would be able to speak to Elune, and that she would get some answers to the questions she had.

She closed her eyes, and awaited sleep to overtake her. She fell asleep quickly, and with a smile on her face.

Ysondra began to flutter her eyes open as something hit the boat. She looked around, trying to remember everything that had happened so far. The wooden floor of the boat felt hard against her skin, and she sat up. The sky was a dull gray now, and she could feel a storm brewing. She heard soft murmurs beside her, and she turned to see Navara tossing and turning on the bench she lay on.

Aynasha was still rowing, but she had slowed her pace, and she looked even more tired. Ysondra was slightly disappointed, she had expected to receive a message from Elune, but she had dreamed of nothing. All she could remember was darkness, never ending darkness.

Navara's murmuring got louder, and Ysondra crawled over so that she was next to Navara. The priestess was still asleep, but her face was scrunched up and she was frowning. She continued to toss and turn; Ysondra hoped that everything was okay.

"How long has she been doing that?" she asked.

Aynasha stopped rowing and looked up. The serious look that had usually plastered her face was replaced by a look of tiredness, and Ysondra could see that her usually perfect posture had turned into a tired slouch.

Aynasha shook her head, as if remembering was too hard, and said "I don't know, it's been a while though."

Ysondra noticed that the sentinel had tied up her long mint green hair into a high tail, and that bit and pieces of hair were hanging out.

Ysondra nodded and said "You should rest; you've been rowing the whole day."

Aynasha shook her head and said "You see that speck over there?" Ysondra looked at where she was pointing and saw a small speck of land. She nodded, and Aynasha went on, "That's Lor'danel. If we're lucky, we'll get there before the storm breaks."

Ysondra squinted at the tiny speck of land on the water, struggling to see it at all.

"But that could be miles away!" she exclaimed.

"Then so be It." said Aynasha "Navara needs medical attention. She's been asleep for far too long."

"But still," said Ysondra "Let me row. You need to rest."

Aynasha thought for a few moments and then said "You'll need to keep track of where you're going. We can't just sail in at any random village; many of them are infested with monsters since the shattering."

Ysondra shook her head, dismissing the sentinel's worries, and said, "I can handle it. You need to rest."

Aynasha thought for a minute and then said "All right, but I'm going to keep rowing for a while more. See if you can wake Navara."

Ysondra nodded, and crawled back over to where Navara was. The wet rag was still plastered against her face, and Ysondra moved her hand to take it off. By now the rag smelled awful, the stench of the sea clinging to it wildly.

"It needs to be soaked in fresh water," thought Ysondra as she re dipped it into the sea.

Before putting it back on Navara she examined her eyes again. This time the tinted color around the priestess's face had turned to a dark black, and there were no veins running through that area. Ysondra set the rag down and cautiously began to feel the dark area of skin. A chill went up her spine as she felt the skin. It was as cold as ice. It was as if there was no blood running through the area.

Ysondra quickly pulled her hand away. She grabbed the wet rag and gently put it back onto Navara's face. The priestess wriggled from the cold touch of the water, but she mostly remained silent. Ysondra noticed that she had stopped murmuring, and that her face had relaxed. Navara looked utterly peaceful, and Ysondra wondered what was happening to the young priestess.

Before she knew she had edged away from the priestess, and she was now looking out across the sea, at the speck that was supposedly Lor'danel. It was small; it looked more like an island than anything, and a thick mist shrouded most of it from view. She sighed heavily, wishing that they were back there. She wished she hadn't gone into the forest at all, but she had been so excited to walk that she had become blind to the dangers that lurked in the forest.

Navara had warned her countless times, yet she had failed to listen. She should have been more cautious. And now, Navara, her friend, was hurt, and it was all her fault. She could have prevented the entire situation if only she had listened. Her mind clouded with the feelings of guilt, and she began to feel a sickening feeling well up inside her.

She stayed like that, for a while, thinking of how much wrong she had caused by making the tiny mistake of going into the forest. But her senses eventually came back to her, and she began to focus on the tiny waves lapping at the underside of the boat. She began to lose herself to her endless thoughts, focusing on one thought in particular.

No matter what she did she always went back to thinking of the woman who lived near the tree full of magic. The prophecy had been given to her by Elune long ago, but the words echoed in her head as if she had only been told them mere seconds ago. She began to wonder about who the woman was, and what the tree full of magic was.

She felt a strong urge to go to this place, wherever it was. She was fairly sure that the place was the night elven city which was across the sea from Lor'danel, but she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she would need to find the tree full of magic, then the woman who lives near it. Her thoughts wandered to the woman Tyrande, who lived in the city. She began to wonder if the night elf Tyrande would be able to help her in her quest.

She had only been told a small amount about the night elf Tyrande. She knew that she was a night elf, and that she was the leader of the night elves. Besides that, she knew nothing. All she had heard was of the woman's power, great power, and her great abilities. What those abilities were, she had almost no clue.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the loud noise of thunder, and the beginning of the storm. Only a few seconds' later raindrops began to fall softly to the ground, and savored the feel of the cool, fresh, water on her dry, cracked, skin. Her clothes were muddy and tattered, and she guessed that she didn't smell to great either.

She heard a sigh of relief coming from her right and she looked over to see Aynasha, who had stopped rowing, looking up at the dull gray sky with a look of pure happiness. Ysondra smiled slightly, and she was glad that they were on their way home.

Home. Could she really call Lor'danel that? She didn't really have a home. She had been found on a beach, with no memory, and she had lived in Lor'danel since then. No, it wasn't really her home, it was merely a shelter. She would know what home was when she got there, and she knew that it was not Lor'danel.


	11. By the Light of Elune

Ysondra stared out into the sea. It was night, or at least it looked it, and the sea was blanketed with a thick layer of fog. She could see nothing through the fog, and she had no idea if they were near Lor'danel or if they had gotten lost. She was on the edge of the row boat, her chin resting on the edge, with her hand lazily dropped into the water. The fog had been like this for hours, and she was tired of not being able to see.

Aynasha had given up on rowing not long after the fog settled in, and she was asleep on the bottom of the boat, wrapped up in an uncomfortable looking position. Navara had been unconscious for a long time, not moving at all, except for the steady up and down movement of her breathing. At first Ysondra had been scared, but now she seemed to be stuck in a sense of uncaringness.

She looked out across the sea, trying to look past the thick fog to see if there was any land ahead of them. But there was nothing, no light, no land; nothing was visible through the fog. She sighed, and went back to looking at the black sea in front of her. She could see nothing through the black liquid, not even her own reflection. It seemed, dead, almost. Even the ripples of the waves seemed to have slowed.

Her hand was still lazily resting in the water, moving with the ripples of the waves going to shore. If there even was a shore for them to go to. Ysondra sighed, and looked away from the black water.

She turned her head to where Navara still laid, on the bench, with a cold we cloth over her eyes. The only sign that she was alive was the faintest movement of her chest. Ysondra had watched as the movement had become smaller and smaller over the long hours, and she wouldn't be surprised if it stopped all together. But somehow, she knew it wouldn't. She couldn't explain it, but something told her that Navara would not die, despite the signs of her growing weakness.

Ysondra herself had become very, unemotional, so to say. She felt hollow inside, as if something, or someone, had abandoned her. She didn't really care anymore if they made it back to land or not, she didn't really care if she fell in the water and drowned. There was a gnawing emptiness inside her, and she was uncaring to the outside world because of it.

Her thoughts were random inside of her head, but they all seemed to find their way back to Elune. Ysondra couldn't help but wonder why the goddess hadn't spoken to her in her dreams yet. She couldn't think of anything that she had done that would anger her, yet she had heard nothing from the mysterious woman.

Navara stirred in her sleep, and Ysondra jerked her attention back to the injured night elf. Navara mumbled a bit, then turned and fell off the bench. Ysondra was next to her in a second, already propping the night elf up against the boat. She was beginning to wake up, from what Ysondra could tell, and she quickly yanked the wet cloth off of the priestess's eyes.

At first she was murmuring; then she began to move around, tossing and turning. Ysondra looked at her, hoping that this was a good sign. For so long she had worried that her friend had died, but now she was beginning to think otherwise. But the dark outline of the flesh around Navara's eyes still worried Ysondra, and she hoped that it was nothing bad.

Then, Navara's eyelids snapped open, to reveal two ice blue eyes. Ysondra gasped, and fell backwards. Navara turned her head towards her and helped the shocked night elf up.

"Ysondra," murmured the priestess in a dry unused voice, "You look so tired. Where are we? All I see is darkness. Why are you glowing white?"

Ysondra was still shocked, but she managed to shakily reply "What do you mean? We're on the boat, heading towards Lor'danel. Can't you see that?"

Navara shook her head and said "All I see is you. You're glowing, you look like the moon." Navara began to frown and she asked "What happened that night, in the troll camp? You looked like the goddess Elune herself. The light, it was so… bright. You blinded them all, how could you do that?"

Ysondra sighed and said "I'm not really sure what happened. I felt power, lots of power. I felt like Elune, to know the truth. I felt like the world was in my hands, and that I could crush with a wave of my hand."

"That's troubling." said Navara "Why is everything so dark? I don't understand. Where's Aynasha?"

Worry began to form inside of Ysondra, and she wondered what had happened to Navara that night. Why couldn't she see? And more importantly, why could she only see Ysondra.

"Aynasha's right over there…" said Ysondra, pointing to her left where the sentinel left. "We're not in the dark; we're on a row boat in the sea."

Navara looked worried as she said "All I can see is you, glowing white." Her voice began to rise in panic as she said "I don't understand! Where's the light? All I see is darkness, never ending darkness…"

Ysondra went to sit beside Navara and put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder "I'm sure it's only temporary. Besides, once we get back, I'm sure the priestess's will be able to fix your sight. Don't worry, you won't be blind for long, I promise."

"Blind?!" shrieked Navara "I'm not blind! I can see you, just…" her voice began to quiet down to a whisper "…I can't see anything else. Oh, great goddess Elune, what have I done to deserve this? What have I done to make you curse me so?"

Ysondra watched sadly as tears streamed down her face, and Ysondra searched for words to comfort her friend. But she found none, and she could only sit by her friend and comfort her with her presence.

Navara's wails began to quite as she fell asleep, slowly but still quieting all the same. Ysondra yawned, and began to fell herself drift off into a restless sleep as well, making sure that Navara was safe and sound.

_Ysondra stood on the familiar moonlit beach, surrounded by gentle waves lapping at the sandy beach. Above, the moon shone brightly in the sky, surrounded by stars. Ysondra breathed in the warm air, feeling peaceful. Almost peaceful, that is. She had many questions for Elune, and not even the cool night breeze could rid her of her anxiety._

"_Elune!" she called "Elune! Where are you?"_

_A gust of wind went past her, and on it traveled the gentle yet firm voice of the goddess "My, daughter, I am proud of you." She said "You were very great in battle, but you did not stoop to kill. You have found your power, and soon you will begin your destiny."_

"_Elune, what is wrong with Navara? Why have you let her become blinded?" wailed Ysondra._

"_I would never do such a thing," said Elune through the wind "This is a part of her destiny, and someday, very soon, it will be a part of yours."_

"_How would her being blinded do anything good?" wailed Ysondra._

"_You will understand soon enough, my daughter." Whispered Elune, softly yet reassuringly "Your friend has received a great gift, and you will know of it soon enough."_

"_I don't understand!" wailed Ysondra "What's going to happen? Please, tell me!"_

_The goddess's voice was firm and final as she said "Go to the woman who leaves near the tree full of magic. She is your destiny. She is your helper. Go to her now, let the light of the moon guide your ship through the fog."_

_Before Ysondra could wail again, the beach began to disappear, and Ysondra felt her conscious drift out of her sleepy daze._

Ysondra opened her eyes to see that the fog had lifted, and that the bright full moon was shining down on her. She looked to her right and saw that Aynasha and Navara were sleeping away, in a deep sleep from the looks of it. The dream washed over her, and she remembered how Elune had told her that moonlight would guide her.

She jumped up from her crouch, careful not to wake Aynasha or Navara, and scurried over to where the rows of the boats were. She sat in between them, trying to remember how Aynasha had rowed. She grabbed the oars, and looked at the moon for a sign.

She looked and looked but nothing came, and she began to wonder if the goddess had forgotten. She sighed, and began to let go of the oars. But out of the corner of her eye she saw the moonlight reflecting on the water. She looked at it, hope soaring through her, and saw that it was a twisting path, and she knew that it must have been it.

She grabbed the oars and began to row along the path. She was upraised at the strength it required and the energy it took from her, and she wondered how Aynasha had been able to do this for so many long days. She ignored the strain though, and began to row the boat as quickly as she could.

She made many turns, and every once and a while she would look along the horizon to see if there was anything. But it seemed that the fog was blocking that area, and the moonlight could not penetrate it. Soon enough she was sweating, but she ignored her discomfort and rowed with all of the strength she had.

(On the docks of Rutheran Village)

Tyrande Whisperwind crouched on the red wood of the dock, trying to look through the fog that blocked her view of the sea. Her husband, Malfurion Stormrage, stood not far behind her. She looked at the moon, hoping for a sign from the great goddess Elune.

"Tyrande," said Malfurion as he walked over and crouched down next to her "Are you sure Elune told you to come here? The fog is too thick to see anything through it."

"I am certain, Mal," she said without looking up "The full moon is out at the wrong time. It is a sign from the goddess that something is meant to happen, something big. She told me to meet someone here. She said they needed me greatly."

They both looked up at the moon, finding the bright light almost hypnotizing.

"You're right," said Malfurion "I never doubt your ability to read the stars."

Tyrande nodded, her attention returned to the sea.

"There must be _somebody_ coming," she said "The goddess is never wrong. She would not have come to me herself I my dream if this wasn't important. I must find this person."

She looked out at the fog again, watching it like a doe would her fawn. She knew there was someone out there, coming here. She knew that someone would come, someone very important. The goddess had said so herself.

Suddenly, the fog began to shift in a certain area. It was a very small movement at first, but it was definitely moving. It moved away to form a pathway through the water, lit up by the light of the moon.

"By the light of Elune!" gasped Tyrande.

Malfurion followed her gaze and gasped. Then, a small brown shape began to appear on the path. Tyrande watched closely and realized that it was a tiny row boat, and it had people in it. They were headed towards the shore, and Tyrande abruptly stood and walked towards the shore, Malfurion following her closely.

(The Rowboat)

Ysondra was sweating heavily as she rowed that last few yards to the shore. She had been rowing for an hour, guided only by the light of the moon. The boat hit the bank with a thud, and she collapsed to the bottom of the boat, completely drained of her energy. She heard footsteps above her, and she managed to sit up and look around.

She saw a tall night elf woman, wearing a white robe with long blue hair pile dup on her head, and a tall man, with antlers and long green hair. She didn't even raise an eyebrow at the man's appearance, she was too tired. The man and woman reached the boat and began to pull the boat onto the sandy shore.

The man looked at the sleeping Aynasha and Navara, while the woman stared at Ysondra in utter awe and bewilderment.

"By the light of the stars and the moon!" she gasped, her white eyes full of awe, with confusion mixed in as well.

The woman crouched down so that she was face to face with Ysondra, and she stroked a lock of her wavy white hair. Ysondra stared back in confusion, feeling a strong bond between herself and the woman. She could already tell that this woman was very important.

The woman looked straight into her eyes or a long time, then gasped and said "By the light of Elune, you are the image of the goddess herself!"


	12. Rescued

Ysondra dropped the oars and gasped as they hit the beach. She was exhausted, she had no idea how Aynasha had managed to row the boat as long as she had. Ysondra had only been rowing for thirty minutes at the most, and she was already tired out.

Remembering Aynasha and Navara, she looked up to see that they were both beginning to stir from their slumber. Ysondra was surprised that they hadn't already awaken. She had been panting loudly the entire time, but they had stayed sound asleep for the entire journey. She supposed that was a good thing, though, since they both needed sleep.

Ysondra's breathing began to slow to its normal pace as she regained her strength. She had no idea where they were, she was just glad that they were on land. She couldn't take another minute out there on the sea, with no food or water. She was beginning to notice just how hungry she was.

Ysondra could feel weariness and exhaustion settling in her bones, and she struggled to keep her eyes open. She knew that there was still much to be done. They had to get out of the boat and look for shelter, where ever that might be. She desperately tried to stay up, but her reluctant muscles fought her. Finally she gave up, and collapsed onto the floor of the boat. She felt a little better, but her muscles were still sore. Her mind wanted to sleep, but she managed to keep herself awake.

She began to realize how tired she was. She was sore all over, and her eyelids felt heavy. She felt grimy and dirty, since she hadn't taken a bath in days. She wanted to sleep, but she knew she couldn't do that. She could hear Navara yawn softly, recognizing the softness the priestess had in her voice. She heard Aynasha groan, recognizing the firmness the sentinel had.

But the oddest thing she heard was footsteps. She knew that was what it was, she just had no idea who's they were. They couldn't be Aynasha's or Navara's, she could hear them yawning. She felt fear build up inside of her, fear that it was and enemy who would hurt them. Fear that her energy to get to the beach was wasted, and that they would be killed here.

Her mind began to fog, and she knew that she was going into an inevitable sleep. She could hear a voice, a woman's voice, soft and firm yelling in the wind. But the words were blurred and mashed together to Ysondra, and she had no idea what they were. She could hear fear and worry in them, along with fierce determination. She could hear Aynasha's voice, all though it was very voice. It was close to her ear, filled with worry.

Ysondra made one last effort to stay awake, but her efforts failed, and her eyelids smashed down.

_Ysondra's dream was blurred and rushed, filled with fear and torment. She felt hot, like there was some sort of fire burning within her. Images flashed across her mind, visions of night elves and some creature she didn't know of locked in battle. The creatures were awful looking, with black matted fur and yellow teeth. The night elves were losing, being cut down one by one. There were other people as well, races she didn't know of, fighting side by side with the night elves. But their efforts were useless, and they fell to the ground._

_Ysondra tried to help, she wanted to scream, but she found herself unable to. She felt trapped, unable to move as the people she loved most died off one by one. Just as she thought that she would burst with fury, the visions disappeared, replace with new, even more confusing ones._

_She saw a young woman, who was like a night elf, but at the same time not. She was sitting on the branch of a tree, looking up at the moon. Her skin was a dark orange, like a flame being fed with drift wood. Her hair was as black as coals, and she wore it in a long side braid. She had red markings, much like the ones every night elf had, tattooed on her face. She had long night elf ears, long and pointed._

_But her eyes were filled with despair and loss, and just as Ysondra was unraveling the elf's feelings, she jumped out of sight, and the vision began to vanish. _

_It was replaced with a vision of the moon goddess Elune, her face firm and serious. She looked beautiful, with long wavy locks of white hair and light purple skin. Ysondra had so many questions to ask, but again she found herself unable to speak._

"_Listen, and remember these words, for they will forever impact your future and the future of this world." said Elune, in a hard voice that shocked Ysondra "On the day of the rising tides, fire will come. Fire will be the savior of this world. Guide the fire, help the fire, do not let the flame extinguish, or all hope will be lost."_

_And the vision disappeared, leaving Ysondra in a dark, shadowy pit of nothingness._

Ysondra burst out of her sleep, panting heavily. She felt hot and sweaty, the fire still burning inside of her. She felt sick to her stomach, and for a second she thought that she would through up right then and there. But the fire began to ebb, and she felt slightly better. She regained her breath, and started to take notice of the things around her.

An ice cold cloth hit her forehead, making her headache feel better.

"Hush, child." She heard, in an unfamiliar voice that was both gentle and firm "You are all right now; you are safe here with us."

Her panting slowed into deep, calm breaths, and she felt the torment from her nightmare disappear. She let the cool cloth sooth her, until the only pain she felt was from her disappearing headache and her sore muscles. The cloth was removed from her head, and she could hear it being soaked into a basin of water.

She was on something soft, and she realized that it was a bed. She was covered in blankets, and she shoved them off, letting the cool night air wash over her. There was a small candle next to her bed, sitting on top off a small night stand. The flame flickered back and forth, and Ysondra was surprised that it didn't go out. Next to the candle was a basin of water, with a cloth in it. There was a night elf woman next to the basin, soaking the cloth.

The night elf was tall and regal, but there was wisdom in her glowing white eyes. The woman had long, blue hair, which she had tied up into a quick pony tail. The woman wore a white robe, with blue sapphires imbedded in it. Ysondra could tell that this woman was important, and she wondered how.

The woman blinked once and asked "Are you feeling well? You were very dehydrated when we found you three days ago."

"Three days ago?" gasped Ysondra.

"Yes," said the woman "You have been unconscious since then. Here, drink some water. It will help ease your weariness."

The woman handed Ysondra a glass of water and she gulped it down gratefully. She took the glass from her mouth, wiped her lip, and handed the glass back to the woman.

"Thank you," she said, slightly panting from how fast she had drunk the liquid.

The woman only nodded and put the glass on the table.

Ysondra waited for a few moments and then asked "How are Aynasha and Navara?"

The woman looked up and said "Aynasha is fine. She is still a little sore, but she'll heal." The woman bit her bottom lip, as if she didn't want to go on "Your friend, Navara, she will not recover from her injuries. She is permanently blind. I tried healing her sight myself, but I could do nothing." She sighed and said "But it seems that she can see, in a way. We believe that she has the power to see magic, in people and creatures. I haven't seen this gift in many, many years." She sighed again and went on "I'm sorry that I couldn't save her sight,"

Ysondra nodded and said "It's ok; I knew she couldn't be saved."

The woman raised an eyebrow and asked "How so?"

Ysondra smiled slightly and said "I was told by a very, very, wise person."

The woman looked as if she wanted to ask more, but she only nodded. She began to work with the cloth in the basin and Ysondra began to think.

She looked down at her clothes and saw that she was wearing a white night gown, the fabric so thin that you could see through it. The grimy feeling she had felt before had gone away, and she suspected that someone had bathed her during her sleep. She out a hand through her hair and was surprise to feel that it was as soft and wavy as ever.

She lay back on her pillows, glad to have the rest. Her muscles were sore, but they were better than they had been. Her head ache was nearly gone, and the fire that had burned her so deeply was but only a memory.

Then she remembered it. Fire. Elune had given her the message during her sleep. Fire would come, fire would seek help, and it was Ysondra's job to look after the fire. Fire would save her people, fire would protect the world. But what was this fire? How would fire save the world, and the people she so dearly loved?

She sighed, frustrated, and shook the thoughts from her mind. She would figure out the prophecy when she needed to, she told herself, but for now she would rest. There were plenty of questions she had.

She looked over at the night elf woman and saw that she was patiently looking at Ysondra, as if she had a question to ask her or something to tell her.

"Where am I?" asked Ysondra.

"You are in Darnassus." said the woman.

Ysondra repeated the name in her head. She had heard it before. She thought and thought until she remembered that it was the city that Aynasha had spoken so frequently of, the city where the woman Tyrande resided.

"Who are you?" asked Ysondra "Are you Tyrande?"

The woman nodded and said "I am indeed Tyrande." She blinked once, then asked "And are you Ysondra, the girl who was found in darkshore, who had no memory of her past?"

Ysondra nodded, and added silently to herself, "If I even had a past…"

"Welcome to Darnassus, Ysondra." said Tyrande "I was hoping that I would get to meet you. The goddess had sent me a message, she told me that someone special would come to our city, someone who would need my help," she sighed and shook her head slightly "Never mind that. That is a discussion for another time."

Tyrande looked at Ysondra, deep wisdom in her eyes. She seemed to be studying her, Ysondra thought. Ysondra stared back, studying the woman. The woman was wise and strong, but she had the hint of oldness in her. It was extreme, but Ysondra could tell that this woman had been around far longer than she looked.

A hazy dawn light entered the room, illuminating the things Ysondra wasn't able to see. Now she saw that she was in a small room, with a wall opened up to the rest of the world. Outside of her room was a short strip of land with a small pathway, followed by a large expanse of water. She could see the tree tops on the horizon, and other buildings like the one she was in not far from her.

Tyrande turned slowly to look at the slowly yellowing sky.

She turned back to Ysondra and said "I must be going now. I will be back in a few hours to see how you are doing, I will send a maid in to bring you breakfast. I will make sure your friends know that you are awake." She stood up, making Ysondra have to crane her neck in order to see the night elf's face "Make sure to rest. You need to build up your strength again. Drink lots of water, there will be a sentinel posted outside, so yell if you need anything. Remember, rest."

"I think I've had enough resting," said Ysondra.

Tyrande smiled, amused, and knelt down by Ysondra's bed "I will need to discuss a few thing s with you later on. I have a few questions for you, important ones."

Ysondra nodded, and Tyrande smiled again, satisfied. The priestess stood and left, leaving Ysondra with her own thoughts. She began to wonder about Tyrande mostly, and how she would affect her future. She knew this was the important woman; the one Elune had spoken of so many times over. But how so? What would this woman do for her that was so important?

She breathed in deeply. She could feel power within her, power she hadn't felt since the night she had escaped the troll camp. It was fresh, and plentiful. It filled her up, making her feel energized and strong. It was a great power, and she knew it. She suddenly felt more aware of her destiny than she had in a very, very, long time.

This power was given to her by the moon goddess herself, to protect her people and the land they lived on. She would be there to save these people, to save them from whatever darkness it was that dared to threaten them.

She smiled, an almost sick smile. She had the power of the gods in her soul, in her blood, and in her mind. And she would use it. she would protect these people with all of the strength she could muster.


	13. Meeting with the High Priestess

Ysondra walked along the cobblestone path through Darnassus, following a sentinel who walked only a few feet in front of her. She was headed to the temple of the moon, she had been requested by the high priestess Tyrande Whisperwind herself, all she had been told was that it was an urgent matter, one involving her life and what would happen to her place among the night elves now that she was completely healed.

She was excited, but she couldn't help but be a little nervous as well. Today the high priestess would decide her fate, and she would just have to hope that the night elves would continue to give her hospitality. She wouldn't blame them if they stopped providing for her, she was eating up their resources and giving them nothing in return. She would understand their reasoning, but she wouldn't be able to survive without their help. She had no way of getting food, she had no skills to work for money, and she had no shelter. Her fate was in the hands of the night elves, and their chose would forever affect her.

She owed the night elves greatly, they had provided for her during a time when she could not. And she still couldn't really, she was just healed now. If she was offered more hospitality, then she would work or do something for the night elves in return. She owed it to them.

As they entered the heart of the city, Ysondra couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful it was. The buildings were tall wooden structures, surrounded by all types of wildlife, making them appear to be apart of the forest. There were barely any walls on the buildings, the shops and stores were open to the outside, making everything inside of them visible. Ysondra could see other night elves far above her mingling in the buildings, working hard to make a profit. Some where making clothes, others were making weapons, but they were all doing something.

At every entrance to a store, two sentinels were posted, and each sentinel they passed watched them carefully, not with hostility or suspicion, but rather curiosity. Some even said hello to the night elf escorting Ysondra in a tongue she didn't know, and she reminded herself that she would have to learn these languages. Sooner or later she would have to speak to someone in one of those languages, and she would have to know it. She couldn't continue speaking common for the rest of her life.

As they went further down the road Ysondra began to hear a faint buzzing, and she raised and eyebrow in confusion. She had never heard a noise like it before.

The sentinel guiding her turned around and said "We are entering the craftsman's terrace, it is were all of our weapons and armor is manufactured. It is the last place we will be going through before we get to the temple."

Ysondra nodded, getting more excited by the minute. Soon she would be in front of the high priestess herself, and her fate would be decided. Her stomach was whirling with nervousness, but she managed to stay calm despite the situation. She had to stay calm, freaking out wouldn't help her one bit. Besides, calming herself down gave her something to focus on instead of the situation at hand.

As they went further, the buzzing noise got louder and louder. They walked through a stone platform that the sentinel said was the entrance to the city, and Ysondra marveled once again at the beautiful night elven architecture. As they walked through Ysondra caught glimpse of apprentices training on the left side of the platform. They were training by hitting training dummies, and Ysondra was surprised at how well some of the trainees could fight. She began to wonder if she would ever be able to fight as well as they could, or if she would ever even learn how to fight at all.

She saw many different types of fighting. some fought with daggers, others with swords and bows, and some with magic. it wasn't like the troll voodoo magic she had seen in the troll camps. The troll magic had been a dark purple, and it was used to cause pain, lots of pain. This magic was green and yellow, and was usually used for healing. There were also trainees who would transform into different animals, usually a cat, and fight with their new animal fighting skills. Ysondra thought that this was very interesting, and she began to watch them closely, wondering how they were able to do such things, even with the magic they had.

She asked the sentinel escorting her and she simply said "They are druids, they fight using the powers of nature to heal and to transform into the beasts of the forest. It is favored by the men of our race."

Ysondra only nodded, still fascinated by the abilities the druids had. she had never heard of being able to shape shift, but then again, she didn't really know much at all about fighting. but it was still a wonder to her as to how the were able to do this.

Before she knew it they were off of the platform, out of view of the druids, and back onto the cobblestone path to the temple of the moon. Ysondra wished she could have stayed longer and watched the druids, perhaps even learn how they were able to do the things they could, but she was pulled away by the urgency of the high priestess's request. She pushed the druids put of her mind, focusing on the task at hand. she needed to be focused when she met with the high priestess, not daydreaming about shape shifting night elves.

She took deep breaths, focusing only on going to the temple of the moon and talking to the high priestess. She had to be focused, otherwise she might not be able to stay with the night elves.

As they walked along the path they pasted many stores, and from each of them Ysondra could hear the deep buzzing of tools and clanking of metal on metal as armor was forged. She looked into the shops, trying to see what exactly the night elves were doing. She was curious as to how armor and weapons were forged. She was thinking of learning how to use a weapon of some sort, so she would at least have a skill in something, and that way she could defend herself and maybe even find a way to help the night elves as well.

She tried her best to see but she saw almost nothing. she was too far away to properly see how the blacksmiths forged the armor, and for the most part all she saw were the backs of night elf men and women working hard on their projects. She sighed, she would just have to see it another day. For now she had to go on.

Ahead of her she was able to see a tall white building with a dome shaped top not very far in the distance, and she guessed that it was the temple of the moon. It was made of a shiny white stone with ivy and other plants climbing up its sides, and it looked magnificent. She felt awed by the sight, and something in her told her that she was meant to go there. she felt like she was being called to that place, and she wondered what exactly was waiting for her inside the smooth stone walls of the temple.

As they got closer to the building, the deep humming of tools from the craftsman's terrace began to fade, and she was able to hear soft birdsong along the wind, and the flapping of a moth's wing as it flew through the air. She thought that this part of the city was truly beautiful, there was a large lake not far from the road and the air was warm from the spring weather. She was surrounded by wilderness, trees, animals, plants, flowers, it was all wild. there was barely any sign of mortals besides the tall stone buildings ahead of her.

But even those tall stone buildings appeared to be one with the wilderness. Ivy crawled up the tall walls, surrounding the white stone with a dark green, taking the building as it's own. It was as if the ivy were claiming the building as part of the wilderness, making it look as much like a tree or plant as it could. There was so much ivy that Ysondra could hardly tell that the building was actually white. She was only able to tell wants they were at the edge of the building, about to climb up onto a white platform.

A soft summer breeze went by, ruffling her white strap dress. the breeze carried with it the sweet fragrance of flowers, and she smiled in delight. She wondered if there was a garden anywhere, A place where she could sit and enjoy the beautiful spring day. She smoothed down her dress as the wind passed, wanting to look presentable in front of the high priestess.

She was not one to fuss over her beauty, but today she had. It had taken Both Aynasha and the sentinel's agreement for her to believe that she looked presentable. To the outside world she looked more than presentable, she looked beautiful. Her soft white hair was beautifully wavy, like the ripples in the water. Her white dress fit her form perfectly, make her stunning hourglass figure more noticeable. She was a true beauty, perhaps even as beautiful as a goddess.

Of course, she had noticed none of this. She didn't notice beauty that much, not even her own, even if she was a true goddess when it came to looks. No, she gave her attention to the task at hand, and moving forward in her life. She had made herself very pretty that day, but she had been aiming for presentable, and so she did not notice how goddess like she looked. And perhaps, for the time being, that was good thing.

They walked up a small wooden ramp which led them onto the terrace of the temple. She wanted to tremble with the nervousness she felt, but she forced herself to remain calm, as calm as she could be. She kept her posture in tack, making her look regal to the others around her. She was looking around, wondering what the moon temple was like inside. She felt even more drawn to this place now that she was closer to it, and she became more excited with every second she was there.

An entrance to the temple became visible as they went along the path, and Ysondra saw that there were two sentinels guarding the temple under the shade of a small roof held up by columns. The sentinel guiding her stopped in front of the entrance, looking at Ysondra with a wise look.

"I will be leaving you here, child," she said "I am not permitted in the temple as i am not a priestess. but you will find your way easily enough. there is a spiral staircase just inside, if you go up it you will have no trouble finding high priestess Tyrande Whisperwind."

As she said the priestess's name, the sentinel made an odd gesture with her hand. But Ysondra didn't bother to ask, knowing that she would probably find out sooner or later.

She bowed her head, a sign of respect, and said "Thank you, sentinel, for your help."

The sentinel dipped her head in return and said "It was my pleasure, lady Aynasha."

Ysondra smiled, then walked into the temple. As she walked in she was bathed in white light, and she felt as if she were in the presence of the moon. The light illuminated her skin and white hair, making her look almost ghostly. She looked around the temple, stunned by its beauty. There was a tall fountain in the middle of the room, with a statue of a night elf woman on it. the floor of the temple was a grass, soft and lush, and there were tall trees all through out the temple. there were many priests wondering about, training and what not and some seemed to be watching Ysondra curiously. But out of it all Ysondra was glad to see a spiral staircase in the back of the room, and she began to walk towards it.

As she did more and more people began t notice her, giving her peculiar looks. She had never thought that it would be so obvious to everyone else that she was not a priestess, but it was clear that she wasn't. All of the priests in training wore only a white robe and carried a tall wooden staff. She was wearing a beautiful dress, and she had no staff.

Even though the temple itself seemed to be watching her, no one came up to her and asked her what she was doing there. She guessed that it was night elf manners or something like that.

As she made her way across the room she began to feel different. She felt, calmer. As if being in the temple dedicated to Elune herself made her feel better, enlightened, one could say. She felt like the worries of the world no longer mattered to her, as if the world could fix itself and she would do whatever she pleased.

The air in the temple was cool, much like the air on a spring night, which was very different compared to the hot air outside. Ysondra came to the edge of the staircase and began to go up it, catching the attention of a few more priests. But for the most part everyone in the temple had already seen her, and everyone seemed to be going back to there daily routine of doing whatever it was that priests did.

She went up the spiral staircase, her body racked with nerves. She had been okay when she first came in, but now that the awe of the temple had left her, reality had struck and she was back to worrying about her future. But she forced herself to stay relatively calm, despite the large urge she had to shake. But she suppressed that urge, focusing on going up the stairs and meeting with the high priestess.

As she got to the top of the stairs she got off and began walking around in a circular walkway, looking out at the purple and green tree tops that she would now see from her height. She was also able to see the very top of the fountain, and she was surprised to see that it seemed to be glowing, it was very faint, but it looked to be glowing a bright white, similar to the light of the moon.

She went over to the edge of the walkway and peered down over the railing at the people below. She felt so far away, yet she could see everything very clearly. Priests walked about, doing their tasks, seeming to be calm. There was a small walkway wounding itself around the temple made of what looked to be tree stumps, but Ysondra couldn't tell. The fountain water sparkled, illuminated from the white light that shined down from above.

But Ysondra forced herself back to reality, and walked away from the railing. she had to speak with the high priestess, she couldn't be distracted by the things below her. She began to walk again along the stone path, and she wondered where exactly the high priestess was.

All she had been told to do was to climb the spiral staircase, so where was the high priestess? before she could over worry herself, she began to see the outline of the high priestess not far ahead of her, and she began to walk a little faster. She wanted this to be over with as soon as possible.

The high priestess watched Ysondra as she made her way along the path, with a welcoming smile upon her face. Ysondra smiled back, not wanting to seem rude. She had little knowledge on the culture of the night elves, so she was on her best behavior, which was hard for her, making sure she didn't do anything to offend the night elf leader.

Before she knew it she was standing in front of the high priestess, who was on a balcony type thing, with no one around her. The high priestess still had a warm smile on her face, and Ysondra found it easier to smile back, however lightly it was.

Ysondra dipped her head slightly saying "I have arrive, high priestess."

The high priestess dipped her head slightly as well in return and said "Very good, we have much to discuss." she looked around and then said "Would you like to go on a walk to discuss this urgent topic? It is a lovely day out, and i would hate to be stuck in here for the remainder of it."

Ysondra nodded, sightly confused and said "That would be nice,"

The high priestess smiled and beckoned with her hand for Ysondra to follow as they made there way out of the temple. Ysondra studied the high priestess carefully from behind. The high priestess looked elegant, but strong like a leader at the same time. She wore a white priest robe with sapphires imbedded in it, and she wore her ocean blue hair up, piled on top of her head in some crazy hair do Ysondra couldn't even begin to describe. She didn't carry a staff like the other priests, but rather a large bow, white and also imbedded with sapphires to match her robes. She looked quite beautiful to Ysondra, but she carried the spark of wisdom in her eyes.

They descended down the staircase quickly, entering the main room of the temple. As they made their way through the temple, they caught many stares, most directed to the high priestess, but some to the young elf following not far behind them. There eyes were wide with shock and curiosity, and Ysondra couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed.

There were out of the temple in no time, going onto the white walk way which surrounded the temple. Ysondra noticed a long white stone bridge, humongous in size, just outside of the entrance. It went over the water and to a small green island with a tree on it, and the high priestess headed in that direction. The warm summer breeze hit Ysondra unexpectedly, and she almost fell back from the impact. The heat had her like a wall after coming out of the nice and cool moon temple.

As they began to walk on the bridge Tyrande began to speak. "I understand that you have been in Lor'danel for a while, Ysondra, and also that you have no memory of where you came from... am I correct?" the high priestess asked.

Ysondra nodded. "Yes, that about sums it up. I have absolutely no memory of the past, except for my name of course. I suppose I've been in Lor'danel for a while, you could say." she said.

The high priestess nodded. "I also understand that you haven't begun any formal training, yes? Or have you another interest in cultural skills?" asked the high priestess, looking rather interested in the question.

Ysondra looked up at her shocked. "Why, no. I never thought that I would be able to, doesn't it cost money?" she asked.

The high priestess shook her head. "You are a guest, there for you will be treated like a citizen, as you will become one soon enough. I would look into what kind of training you would like to receive. Don't rush, it is a very important decision, one to be taken with complete seriousness." said the priestess.

"A citizen?" asked Ysondra "So I can stay here?"

"Why, of course!" said Tyrande, seeming shocked and possibly insulted at the fact that Ysondra though she might be kicked out "You are a very important person, and one of our race, and we would never refuse help to you when you need it! You will become a full citizen of Darnassus, and be trained by the best, that is, if you want to stay here."

"Of course I'll be staying here!" said Ysondra "It's the only place I've got to stay."

The high priestess smiled "I'm glad, you're a very important person, and I wouldn't enjoy seeing you leave." she paused, looking conflicted. "I have other things to discuss with you, ones about a certain deity, but it will have to wait for a time when have more privacy. For now though, that would be all, I'm afraid I have to return to the moon temple."

Ysondra nodded, understanding, and bowed her head in a gesture of respect. The high priestess quickly returned the gesture and hurried off back to the temple, leaving Ysondra standing in the middle of the bridge.

She contemplated going back to her room, but she decided not to waste the nice day, and she settled down at the edge of the bridge, swinging her legs over the edge of the rim. After all, she had nothing else to do. She might as well reflect on everything. And she did for a while. Until a rather pesky animal showed up.


	14. Love Bird

Ysondra sat on the edge of the bridge, looking out across the water and at the beautiful night elven city of Darnassus. She couldn't help but smile as a warm breeze went by, ruffling her hair. She had been sitting there for about thirty minutes, just watching the peaceful day go by as moths skimmed the surface of the water below her, making little ripples go through it.

She was almost entirely calm, which was very different from how worried she had felt earlier. She had been extremely worried this morning, but now it was if the earlier events had never occurred. Which was very good for her, because now she was able to properly enjoy the day. It was indeed a very nice day, with the temperature a nice mix of warm and cool and the birds were playing all of the right notes to fit the beautiful day.

Ysondra herself was taking advantage of this nice day, since she had nothing else to do. She was using her free time to reflect on all that had happened. Everything had changed in her life very fast, some of it recent and some of it from a while ago. She had somehow managed to become a night elf citizen of Darnassus, even though she wasn't entirely sure if she was a night elf.

As she reflected on all of the dreams she had received from Elune, the mystical goddess seemed to be trying to tell her that she wasn't a night elf, at least not entirely. The goddess had always said that she was born of the moon and stars, and had always referred to Ysondra as her daughter. But what did all of this mean? Was she Elune's daughter? How was she born of the moon and stars? Why was the goddess so secretive of this? What did her future hold, and how would it affect the night elves?

All of this was beginning to give Ysondra a headache, and she quickly went to thinking of something else, not wanting to ruin the nice day from a migraine she had caused. Her mind wandered to the latest dream she had received from Elune, the one where Elune had warned her of protecting fire, and nurturing fire. What on Azeroth could that mean? How was fire the key to saving the night elves? Fire destroyed, not protected.

But then Ysondra began to remember the vision of the strange woman, who was like a night elf, but not at the same time. She had red orange skin, and black soot hair. Who was this woman, and how was she related to the prophecy Elune had spoken of? Ysondra vaguely remembered the expression on the woman's face. it was one of loss and despair, as if she were lost in her life, unsure of what to do with her life. But there was something else, too. Ysondra couldn't be sure, but it seemed to be shame. But shame of what?

What had this mysterious woman lost that was ever so dear to her? What had happened to her? Ysondra knew that this woman had a secret, and she was pretty sure it was from her past. But what exactly was it? And how would it affect her in saving Azeroth?

All of these questions swirled through Ysondra's head, making her dizzy and worried. She shook the thoughts from her mind, determined to enjoy the peaceful day. She would have free time to think about everything later on.

She looked out across the sparkling light blue water below her and smiled, wishing that she could do this everyday. The warm spring air paired with the nature rich scenery made for the perfect day, and Ysondra felt as of she could sit there for ever, letting the breeze ruffle her wavy white locks until sundown, or maybe even past then.

As she sat there she listened to the sounds of the birds talking to each other, and the distant hum of grasshoppers and crickets hiding among the grass, hopping here and there. She was listening to a particular bird, one of which she didn't know of, that was sitting in a tree not far from the bridge, cooing softly.

She liked the sound of this particular bird. It was deep and smooth, and it came loud caws. She didn't know what the bird was called, but it was sleek and smooth, its feathers glossy in the light. It was colored the same as the sky during nightfall, a deep midnight black.

The bird seemed to be watching her as well. It's glowing yellow eyes were looking at her, and it's sharp black beak was pointed in her direction. She noticed that it was much larger than the other birds, weighing down the branch it was on. It's feathers were a deep gray around the eyes, and were more ruffled. But it seemed to maintain its elegance despite its ragged appearance, its sharp talons shining menacingly in the light.

This bird also seemed to have a glint of wisdom in its eyes, which surprised Ysondra, How could a bird be smart at all? It was an animal, it couldn't be very smart.

Every caw that it made seemed to sound like words to Ysondra with every passing second, slowly smoothing out into a translatable sentence. It seemed to be smiling at her to, its beak perked up slightly at the corners in a sort of grin. Bewildered, she strained her ears to hear the creature better, to see if it really was saying something.

It has a mischievous look in its eyes, as if it were trying to trick her some how, and she found herself listening even harder. As she did this its grin grew wider and its caws louder, as if it had been waiting for her to realize something.

It seemed to be saying, "Call me,"

She raised an eyebrow bewildered as to what it meant by that. what did 'call me' mean? How was she supposed to call the bird? This made no sense to her, and she found herself staring at the bird in utter bewilderment.

It seemed to be frustrated, as its grin faded into a thrown and its eyes narrowed to small yellow slits. It waved its feathered arms out, spreading them out widely and waving them frantically. It seemed to be trying to tell her to do something, but she couldn't make out what exactly it was. It seemed to let out a caw of frustration as she still didn't understand what she was supposed to do, and she tried to figure out what the bird was trying to tell her.

It seemed to give up, it stopped flapping its wings and just sat there, a frustrated look on its face, staring out across the water. It looked at her once and cawed, and it seemed to say 'figure it out on your own'.

She sighed, not really liking the birds impatient attitude. What did it want her to do? She went through everything it had done. It had been flapping its wings, they were each stretched out wide, and it had said 'call me'. But what did that mean? How was she supposed to call it?

As she recalled all of the events, and idea formed in hr head. It was a bit of a long shot, but she decided to try it. She raised her left arm straight out into the air like a branch sprouting from the tree, and waited. But the bird was looking out into the distance, not paying any more attention to her. She sighed in frustration, wishing the bird could just turn its head slightly.

She waited a few minutes to see if it would look at her, but it didn't. It continued to stare out into the distance at something Ysondra could not see, and she frowned in annoyance. Just what would it take to get this birds attention?

Another idea, another long shot, formed in her head, and she decided to try it out and see if it would work. She pursed her lips, putting them into the shape of a small circle, and began to blow. She was whistling out at the bird, making little clicks with her mouth like a bird would.

The bird snapped its attention to her and smiled. It cawed back at her, then spread its wings in preparation to fly. It leaped off of the branch, making the leaves on its branches shake, and soared down. At first it went far below Ysondra, down towards the water, but then it angled up and began to fly towards her outstretched arm. It landed softly on her arm, gripping it firmly with its claws.

It looked at her, smiling, and cawed, seeming to say 'finally'.

She smiled, knowing that it had taken her a while to figure out what the bird had wanted. It had a glint of amusement in its eyes, as if it found it funny at the fact that it had taken her so long to figure out the puzzle.

But this moment was abruptly interrupted by the sound of clapping to Ysondra's right, and both she and the bird snapped their heads in the direction of the noise. She saw a young night elf man emerging from the near by shrubbery, a smirk like grin on his face. He had long dark purple hair that fell over his shoulders, and broad shoulders to show how much muscle he had.

"Well done," he said in between his clapping.

He wore the simplest attire: A brown leather shirt and brown leather pants, no gloves, shoes, shoulder pads or a helmet. Ysondra found this slightly funny, but she pushed the thought away, focusing on the fact that he was coming closer to her.

The raven, who was still sitting on her outstretched arm, was looking at the night elf as well, a look of confusion on his face. Ysondra had a similar face, with one eyebrow raised in confusion as the man came towards her.

He walked over to stand at her left side, then sat down beside her in a similar way as she, with his legs hanging over the edge of the bridge. He had stopped clapping, but he still had a wicked grin on his face as he looked at her. She looked at him with a look of utter confusion, and the raven, which was still using her arm as a perch, cawed.

Ysondra put her arm down slightly and the raven jumped off quickly, landing beside her, still staring at the strange night elf man. As Ysondra looked at him she notice that he was young, barely over twenty at the most, with strange golden yellow eyes. he stared back at her for a few seconds, before clasping his hands together, catching her off guard.

"I have never seen someone who's not a druid communicate so well with animals," he said "Especially not a raven, those creatures are as stubborn as a satyr with its horns stuck in a thorn bush,"

As confused as Ysondra was, she couldn't help but giggle a little at the odd man's joke. The raven, who was still sitting next to her cawed at the man, seeming not to like his little joke.

"I hope you don't find this rude," she said "But who are you and why were you watching me from the bushes?"

He laughed, full out barreled over and laughed, a rich hearty laugh worthy of a sailor. But he managed to regain his composure, enough to sit u and hold his tongue.

"My name is Ramir," he said "I am a druid in training under Malfurion Stormrage. I was heading out of the city to get my lessons, but then I spotted you hanging out with that bird. So I decided to see what would happen."

"A rather nosy druid, I see," said Ysondra. She immediately blushed slightly afterwards. "I'm sorry, I bet that sounded pretty rude."

Ramir shook his head and dismissed the incident with the wave of his hand. "Don't worry, I can see where you thought it was nosy. A bad habit of mine, I guess."

"I can see that," said Ysondra. "So you're a druid? she asked.

Ramir nodded.

"What exactly is a druid?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You don't know? Are you sure you're a night elf?"

Ysondra smiled slightly. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure." she muttered to herself.

"What's that?" asked Ramir.

Ysondra shook her head. "Nothing," she said "Nothing. So what is this druid you speak of?"

He smiled and shook his head, seeming to be amused. "I still can't believe you don't know," he muttered "I am a druid, I can shape shift into different animal forms and I can also use nature magic."

Ysondra raised an eyebrow slightly. "Shape shift?" she asked "How on Azeroth could you do that?"

"Nature magic," said Ramir "It's all about the magic."

Ysondra rolled her eyes. "Because that is such a great explanation."

Ramir laughed slightly. "Yes, it is a little vague, but that is all I can really say. It has to do with nature and what not. I'm not exactly sure how it works, I just shape shift, I don't really work with the whole magic section of druidism. You should ask a balance druid about the magic stuff."

"I think I'm good," said Ysondra "I'm confused enough already."

Ramir smiled slightly. "Yes, druidism can be confusing at times."

Ysondra nodded. She looked to her left where the raven was and saw that it was glaring at Ramir. She raised an eyebrow at the bird, and the raven cawed at Ramir. Ramir took no notice of it, and the raven hopped onto Ysondra's lap and started cawing at Ramir. Ramir only stared down at the bird oddly. Then the raven began to nip at Ramir's nearby arm and the druid started to scoot away.

The raven began to chase Ramir to the end of the bridge, cawing and unfolding its wings in a menacing manner, and Ysondra could only sit and laugh as the raven kept Ramir from going back up the bridge.

As this whole thing was going on, Ysondra heard a soft familiar voice floating on the wind down the ramp. As it got closer she could make out the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer to her. There were to people coming, one of them arguing with the other.

She thought the one person was saying, "Honestly Aynasha, I'm fine. I'm blind not crippled."

Ysondra whirled her head around and saw that Navara was coming up the ramp, her head turned towards Aynasha, who was watching the young priestess very closely. She smiled, glad that her friend was coming this way.

But as Navara's head was turned, the raven chased Ramir towards her, and Ysondra watched as the two night elves collided, making them both fall to the ground. They both looked up, a bewildered expression upon there faces. But then they froze as they saw each other, and Ysondra was wondering what was happening.

Ysondra noticed that Navara looked quite beautiful today, her long purple hair was in a thick side braid, falling over her shoulder with the tip close to touching the ramp. She was wearing an orange strap dress, which complimented her purple hair and skin very well. The two night elves were smiling at each other, and Ramir began to help Navara up carefully.

"Hello," said Navara.

"Hi," said Ramir. Ysondra noticed that Navara seemed slightly flushed in the cheeks.

"I'm so sorry that I ran into you," said Navara "I'm blind, and I haven't really gotten used to walking around yet."

"It's fine," said Ramir "It was my fault, anyway. I wasn't looking."

"Don't worry," said Navara.

There was a small pause, and then Ramir asked, "Where are you headed to?"

Navara smiled and said "The temple of the moon, I'm a priestess."

"i was just heading there!" said Ramir he put an arm out and asked "Would you like to walk with me?"

Navara smiled and said "I would love to,"

Ysondra watched as the two night elves began to walk off of the ramp, chatting to each other as they made their way to the temple. Ysondra also noticed that the raven had been watching them from the side lines the entire time, smiling mischievously. She also noticed a confused Aynasha standing not far from her, bewildered.

Ysondra giggled slightly and walked over to the night elf, pulling her away from the scene and in the opposite direction of Navara and Ramir.

"Come on Aynasha," said Ysondra "Let us leave the two in peace."

The sentinel still seemed confused, but she nodded and let Ysondra guide them down the rode. Ysondra smiled to herself, finding the whole situation extremely amusing. As she walked down the rode, she faintly heard the sound of a raven cawing in the distance, and she smiled, wondering what the mysterious bird was up to now.

**Me1: Why haven't we updated?!**

**Me2:I'm sorry, we just haven't had the ti-**

**Me1: Don't you even! We have people waiting for this chapter.**

**Me2: (sighs guiltily) Yeah I know. I just got caught up.**

**Me1: You just got caught up?! (Puts hand up in front of Me2 and looks away) I can't speak to you.**

**Me2: (Sighs and looks at the waiting crowd) Sorry! I'll try to update sooner next time!**

**Me1: You better! (Pulls Me2 to the side and begins to yell)**


	15. Call of the Wild

Ysondra had gone on a rather long walk that evening with Aynasha, and they had discussed many things, mainly about Ysondra and her future among the night elves. But sundown had fallen fast, and Ysondra now found herself in her room, getting ready for bed. Aynasha had wished her good night and had headed off not long ago, leaving Ysondra all alone, except for the two sentinels that guarded her home out front.

There was no light in her room, for there was none needed with the full moon shining brightly in the sky. It illuminated everything, and Ysondra found herself staring at it, unable to sleep. Every once in a while she thought she could hear whispers in her mind, but she had always excused it as the wind whistling past her ears.

Her day had been a long one, she had done a lot, but she found herself unable to crawl into bed and fall asleep. The night seemed to be calling her, telling her to come and and do something, anything. But her ind told her to got to bed, that the night was the time for her to fall asleep. And so she found herself in a battle with the whispers and her mind.

But she could feel the whispers winning, telling her to go out and do something. She could feel the call of the wild running through her veins, making her energized, despite everything that she had done that day.

She looked out across the moon lit city, listening to the rustle of the leaves on the trees and the soft coos of the night owls that sat in there trees, watching over the night covered land. She let a gust of wind ruffle her hair, and with it she heard the whispers once again, this time more clearly. But the words were all jumbled up, and she found herself unable to decipher what they were saying.

As she looked out across the water in front of her home, which reflected a perfect image of the glowing white moon far above her head, she found that her legs wanted to move, and she had to use every ounce of he will to keep them from doing so. The wilderness seemed to be calling her towards the water, and the whispers seemed to be urging her to move forward.

She was able to hear the whispers very clearly now, and found that they were not whispers, but rather soft singing, and that they were in darnassian, the language she had not yet learned. But the words seemed to get through to her anyway, telling her arms and legs what to do instead of telling her what to do. It was like they were taking control of her, telling her mind how to react and her body what to do.

And as much as she forced her body into fighting it, she could feel her will breaking, and the whispers going through her body, making her energized. She could feel power in her, immense power. It was the power she had always felt and had, she had just yet to notice it until now. The whispers were feeding it, and seemed to be channeling it against her will.

The singing voices went through her mind, and she found herself letting go of her will, allowing herself to succumb to the will of the wild, allowing the voices to guide her. As she let her guard down, the singing whispers filled her mind, and she found herself smiling as she heard the voices. She felt peace and clarity, and she forgot about the rest of the world, and to her only the singing existed.

She watched through her eyes as she began to walk through the entrance to her home, guided by the singing and the light of the moon in front of her. She walked slowly and softly, not making a sound as she stepped through the entrance and onto the soft green grass.

She could see the sentinels out of the corners of her eyes, But they were not looking at her. She didn't understand this, as she was in full view of them, but then she noticed that she was glowing. It was like the time she had been glowing at the troll camp, only her appearance hadn't changed and it didn't feel quite the same. But she was glowing none the less, a bright moonlight white.

The singing continued to fill her mind, make her feel happy and cheerful. In the back of her mind she wanted to stop all of this, but she wasn't herself at the moment.

She dipped her foot into the water, which was cool on her skin, and watched as the singing guided her into the water. She walked in very slowly, making small ripples in the water as she waded through. The water around her was lit up by her glowing skin, making it easier to see.

The water came to her waist, and her dress was getting soaked. She kept going deeper and deeper, bending to the will of the voices that now filling every ounce of her body. The water came up to her neck, soaking the tips of her hair. Then she dove down into the water, using her hands to push her down to the bottom of the lake.

She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't need to. All she knew was that the voices wanted her to do this. She swam deeper and deeper, her glowing skin and the light from the moon above helping her to see. She was completely hypnotized by the voices, doing everything they asked. Her body was under their control, and they made her decisions.

She swam down and stopped as her feet hit the soft sandy dug her toes into the ground and began to seat herself at the bottom of the lake. She sat with her legs crossed and her hands rested on her knees. She looked up and saw that the surface was far above her, the moon looking down upon her. She had no idea what was going on, but she had no will power to question what was occurring.

The singing became even more clear, and she was able to tell that it was not one voice, but rather many many voices, all combined together to sound like one but at the same time apart. The singing was beautiful, and she found that he could understand it, despite her inability to speak darnassian.

They seemed to be congratulating her on something, seeming to be cheering. But they also seemed to be wanting her to do something, what it was she didn't know.

Then she felt the slight tug of her inner magic, and she found that the voices were channeling it into the ground beneath her, trying to do something. She wanted to pull back, to take control of herself again, but she couldn't. And part of her didn't want her to. Her magic was being drained into the ground beneath her, and she felt weak.

She could feel the ground beneath her more clearly, and she could feel everything living thing withing it. She felt more closer to the singing voices than she ever had before, and she felt herself slipping, becoming weaker and weaker.

She could feel the energy of the trees above her, and when she touched them with her magic they seemed to sing. It was a beautiful voice, so beautiful she had now way of describing it.

But she could feel all of her magic expanding and going out into the gr0und, as it did this she became weaker and weaker, slipping from reality and her unconsciousness. She tried to pull away from whatever it was that was calling her, but it was too late. It had already taken control of her.

She felt the world around her get blurry, and her senses go blank. She found that her eyes were closing, and she didn't try and stop them. Sleep awaited her, and inevitable sleep, and she didn't try to get out of it as the darkness enveloped her.

_"Ysondra!" yelled a stern and somewhat angry female voice in Ysondra's mind._

_Ysondra was on the little beach, with waves thrashing and clawing at the shore all around her. She felt sick and achy, her head throbbing in pain. She looked around, looking for the source of the voice._

_"Enough of your pondering," yelled the voice "Get out of this nature state, you're a warrior, not a druid!"_

_"What?" asked a confused Ysondra._

_"Awaken, now! This is against your existence as one of my chosen! Nature is not to call you!" yelled the voice, anger rising in her voice._

_Before Ysondra could ask any more questions, she felt herself being forced back to reality. She felt pain in her throat and a pulling on her arm, and she was forced into the real world._

Ysondra coughed as she awoke, her lungs burning from the lack of air. She rolled over onto her stomach, letting the soft grass beneath her act as a cushion as she coughed out as much water as she could.

She could vaguely hear someone's voice talking loudly next to her, but she ignored for the time being. She was to focused on getting the burning sensation out of her lungs. She took deep breaths of air as the coughing subsided, her lungs still burning slightly. All she could think about was the burning, aching feeling that was in her chest, slowly going away as she took more deep breaths of air.

She could feel the presence of someone else sitting close by her side, and she turned her head to the side to look into the sightless eyes of Navara. The night elf looked worried and scared, and she noticed that the priestess's hands were dripping wet.

She took large gulps of air, the burning that had been in her throat almost gone, and got up the strength to ask one simple question.

"What... happened, to me?" sh asked shakily, her energy being low from her previous exertion.

"You almost died," said Navara.

"What... do you mean?" asked Ysondra.

"When I came to see you in your room, you weren't there," said Navara "i saw something glowing in the water, and it was you. You were unconscious from the lack of water, and you were floating up to the surface. I grabbed your arm and pulled you to the shore, and you awoke while I was pulling you out. What were you doing?"

Ysondra took a few deep breaths, taking her time to take in all of this information, and said "I'm not sure. While I was looking out my door, I began to hear singing, beautiful singing, and it took control of me somehow. It made me go into the water, and it began to take my magic and make it flow into the ground beneath me. It was controlling me, and I had no way of stopping it. had I not had that dream..." she trailed off slightly at the end "I would have died. My energy would have been drained, or I would have drowned. Which ever came first."

"The call of the wild..." said Navara, so softly she was barely able to hear it.

"The what?" asked Ysondra.

"The call of the wild." said Navara "No one had heard it in centuries, and it has never been a none druid who has heard it."

"Okay, what is this call of the wild?" asked a confused Ysondra.

"It's the call from nature to a mortal." said Navara "When nature thinks a mortal is worthy of their blessing, they call to that mortal, in a way that usually kills the mortal in the process. This almost never happens, and it has only happened to druids in the past." she paused, then went on "It means that you have the potential to be great, and powerful. Nature thinks you are worthy, and that is saying a lot. You survived the call of the wild, and that means a lot. Ysondra, you're destined for greatness."

"Wait, what?" asked Ysondra "Nature 'called' me, so now I'm destined for greatness and power? This doesn't make any sense!"

"Nature only calls to those who are worthy," said Navara "It has been that way ever since the birth of this world, and it will forever remain that way. Nature has blessed you, it has chosen you. For what, I don't know. But for something, something big." she paused and took a deep breath "The last time this has ever happened was to Malfurion Stormrage himself, not long before the first sundering. Nature had blessed him, had chosen him to help save the world. Whatever you are supposed to do might not be as big as what he was chosen to do, but it's definitely something important."

"So, what you're saying is that nature itself has chosen me to do something great that will affect the rest of the world?" asked Ysondra.

"Yes." said Navara "Great things await you. I can sense the magic around you. I might be blind now, but I know magic. And you, you are full of magic. It's as if you are made of magic."

"Magic?" asked Ysondra "Made of magic? Are you sure, Navara?"

Navara nodded slowly. "I can see it all around you, emanating from you. You, you look..." she trailed off at the end.

"Look like what, Navara?" asked Ysondra "What do I look like?"

Navara looked up at Ysondra, her face serious. "When I look at you, it is as if the goddess herself has come to Azeroth."


	16. The Training Grounds

Ysondra yawned and stretched her arms, which were rather sore from her exertion of energy yesterday. She had gotten a late sleep because of the events the night before, and she hadn't gotten much sleep because of her restlessness and worry. All through the night her head had been buzzing with thoughts of what Navara had told her, and how the priestess had told her that she looked strikingly familiar to the night elven goddess Elune.

She sighed as her mind almost immediately began to buzz with those same thoughts, which made her worry. She rubbed her head, trying to focus on something else, when she noticed that she had the odd sense that someone was watching her.

She stopped abruptly, her hand still touching her head, and began to turn slowly to the right, in the direction of the entrance to her little home. She gasped as she stared into a pair of white night elven eyes, which were watching her intently.

She blinked a few times before she realized that it was none other than Tyrande Whisperwind herself, and she sighed in relief, glad that it wasn't some enemy that had been staring at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," said Tyrande, her voice calm and smooth, with wisdom laced into her words.

Ysondra smiled and shook her head "It's okay, I just wasn't expecting to see anyone here. Most of the night elves I've met are only out during the night, and I awake during the day."

"Yes, are people are nocturnal kind, and we do not like walking during the day." said Tyrande.

"Yeah, that's what I've learned so far," said Ysondra.

Tyrande smiled slightly. "Anyways, I am here for other reasons than just a friendly visit." said the priestess as she walked forward and took a seat in the chair next to Ysondra's bed.

Ysondra raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite her morning grogginess. "Really?"

"Really." said Tyrande "It has come to my attention that you have yet to learn a way of fighting,"

Ysondra nodded, "Yeah, I haven't really found the time to learn any way of fighting. I don't really know of any ways either, besides druidism and the ways of the priest, so I haven't really found any reason to learn fighting."

Tyrande nodded, looking as if she were taking in every word that Ysondra said and considering it carefully. "Yes, I suppose you wouldn't know the other ways of fighting, having no memory of you past," she said "But as you are staying here in Darnassus as a permanent resident, unless you wish to leave, I suggest that you learn how to fight, for there will be many times that we, the night elves as a whole, will have to face bloody threats, such as the horde."

Ysondra nodded, wondering how one woman could become so smart and wise. Tyrande looked generally young, but she had learned from her night elven friends that looks could be deceiving when it came to the age of an elf.

"And as much as I, as well as many of our people, are appalled at the destruction of another life, we are forced to face the fact that in this time of war we will need to be prepared for battle, and ready to face are enemies at any given time." said Tyrande "So I would suggest that you learn how to fight while you are living with us, for there may be a time when you will have to defend yourself and our people."

Ysondra nodded, taking in everything the priestess was saying carefully. She was right, she did need to learn how to fight. She had learned first hand at Lor'danel that enemies are everywhere, and that when one can not fight you could easily be captured, and killed as well. She had been lucky to have survived her encounter with the aggressive trolls there, and she would never forget that.

"Yes, I think I will learn how to fight." said Ysondra "I don't want to have another encounter like the one I had with the trolls back at Darkshore without the ability to defend myself."

"Yes, yes, I heard about that incident from Aynasha," said Tyrande "And if you learn how to fight, then I doubt you will have an encounter like that without being able to defend yourself and fight off your attackers."

Ysondra nodded. "So... where exactly should I go to learn all of this fighting?" she asked.

"Near the exit the city is a terrace, beyond that terrace is where all of the apprentice's learn to fight. But if you wish to learn a skill such as magecraft or priesthood, you will have to go else where, ask a sentinel perhaps."

Ysondra nodded "So, should I do this now? Or is there some specific day that I should do this when the trainers come out?"

Tyrande glanced for a second and looked at the sun, which was rising quickly. "Right now most of the trainers, and the trainees as well, would be asleep in their homes." she said "But you may have the chance to see one of the other races of the alliance, the day dwellers, train. But most, if not all, night elf trainers would be resting."

"Okay," said Ysondra, swinging her legs over the rim of her bed "I have nothing else to do, so I might as well have a look. I'd rather do that than just sit around here and do nothing."

"That would be a good idea," said Tyrande "It would be best to stretch your muscles and get some exercise, lest you don't get the chance again."

The high priestess stood, towering over Ysondra and making her feel like a gnome. She stood tall, with her shoulders back and the look of a leader written across her face.

"I must go now," said Tyrande "I am expected in the temple to have a meeting with the ambassador of Stormwind."

She dipped her head slightly before turning and walking out, her stride as regal as her stance. Ysondra waited a few moments for the priestess to be out of sight before slipping out of her bed and making her way over to her dresser.

She opened the first drawer and rummaged through the stacks of clothes before picking out a simple white strapped dress, which she carefully pulled out and placed on her bed. She quickly stripped out of her night gown, throwing it to the side, and picked up the dress, carefully putting it on.

It fit perfectly, just as most of the clothes she had found in her home did, complimenting her hourglass figure but hiding any spots she did not want to show. She twirled around once, the bottom of her dress twirling around with her, before stopping to smooth out the little wrinkles she had made in the fabric. She walked over to her nightstand and picked up her brush and began to brush through all of her tangles, which there were a lot of.

She was used to waking up with many tangles in her hair, but her twisting and turning the other night had made her hair even more tangled. She found herself biting her lip as she brushed through a large knot in her hair, her eyes slammed shut.

She finished with her hair and placed the brush on the nightstand before heading out, not bothering to put on shoes because she didn't like them nor did she have any to wear. She smiled as the bright sun hit her face, instantly warming her.

She had no idea why the night elves were as nocturnal as they were, daytime was just such a nice time, why sleep through it? Sure the night was nice, but the day was so much better, so much brighter. She didn't have to worry about any creatures lurking in the shadows waiting to jump out at her, because the light shined down on all, allowing her to see what could not be seen at night.

She skipped along the path, smiling to herself as she headed to the white terrace Tyrande had described to her earlier. She had seen it before on her journey to the moon temple, and she was pretty certain she wouldn't be able to miss it. The terrace had been a huge white behemoth of a building, and she could already see the top of it from where she walked along the cobblestone path.

She began to walk a little faster at the sight of it, excited to be able to do something besides sleep and stay in her room. She heard a slight cawing to her left and she looked over to see none other than her little raven friend from the day before.

She stopped in mid skip and looked at the raven, frowning.

"What are you up to now?" she asked "Are you going to play match maker with another one of my friends? Aynasha maybe?"

The raven seemed to be smiling at her, a mischievous glint in its eyes. It cawed at her once, as if it were mocking her somehow.

Ysondra rolled her eyes. "Silly animals," she said "They sure are weird around here." she began to skip again, but then she looked back at the raven that was still sitting alongside the path and asked "Are you coming or what?"

The raven spread out its wings and flapped a few times before it jumped in the air and began to circle around Ysondra in the air above her.

She smiled. "Good," she said before she began to skip again.

She skipped along the path, passing a few sentinels every once and a while as the raven circled her up in the sky. She didn't know why, but she felt like the raven was supposed to be with her today, as if he were important somehow. In the past she would have questioned this greatly, but now she had learned to stop questioning fate and just let it do as it wished. She had a feeling that it had something to do with Elune, because most things usually did have to do with the goddess, and the raven seemed to be proving that theory right.

The terrace soon came into full view, and she was close enough to hear the slight clashing of metal from where the trainees were practicing. She stopped skipping, not wanting to look strange, and began to walk at a faster pace. The raven swooped down and flew past her, headed towards the terrace, and she began to run after it.

She laughed as the raven looked back at her and cawed what seemed to be a mocking laugh as she trailed behind it. Soon her bare feet hit the cool white marble of the terrace, and she slowed to a walk as she passed the sentinels, who seemed to be amused by her behavior.

The raven circled around ahead of her and Ysondra put out her arm, which it grasped tightly. It made itself comfortable on her arm, scraping her skin somewhat, and perched there, looking out at all there was to see.

Ysondra went out into the middle of the terrace and looked out over the training grounds. There weren't that many people, and most of the people that were out were either humans or dwarves, but there were enough people practicing that Ysondra felt she could get a good idea on how each class worked.

She went over to the edge of the terrace, perched between two columns, and looked out over each group of people.

The first group she noticed seemed to be some type of spell casters. They had little orbs of black light that they formed in their hands, and they had little demon people following them around.

Ysondra soon lost interest in this group, she didn't really care much for magic.

She looked around again and came upon a small group of people who she now recognized as druids. They were shape shifting and fighting training dummies, and she noticed that most of them took the form of a cat and others took the form of a bear.

She smiled as she watched them, wondering how they did what they did. A soft warm breeze washed over her face, and she felt as if nature itself was calling her towards the druids.

But just as she was about to get up and walk over to them, the raven that was perched on her shoulder cawed and pecked her in the head. Before she could say anything, the goddess's warning from the other night seemed to echo through her mind: "Nature does not call to you! You are a warrior, not a druid!"

She sighed and shook her head. The goddess seemed to not want her to be druid, and she guessed there was a good reason for that. She got up and made her way over to the steep slope that would take her down into the training grounds.

The raven let go of her arm and began to fly around above her, and she began to walk around the training area.

She spotted one night elf, off in the corner of the training grounds, and began to walk over to her. This night elf was shooting a bow and arrow, and she was quite good at it from what Ysondra could tell.

She approached the night elf just as she shot off an arrow. Ysondra watched as the arrow soared through the air and landed right on the bullseye, a perfect shot.

"Wow," said Ysondra, her eyes widened.

"Yuh think?" asked the night elf. "I've been practicing all day, my shots better be good."

Ysondra looked back at the girl and watched as she went over to the target and pulled out the arrow. A small animal, what looked to be a little cat from what Ysondra could see, walked along side the girl, following her everywhere.

"So," asked the night elf "What brings you here? I don't see many civilians around here at this time of day, or at any time of day at all,"

"The high priestess wanted me to come here and look around, so as to help me choose what type of fighting I wanted to learn." said Ysondra.

"The high priestess?" asked the night elf, sounding surprised. "What are you, a noble?"

Ysondra shook her head "Just an elf with no memory of her past trying to learn how to fight."

"No memory, huh?" asked the night elf "Bummer. Well, I'm a hunter, shooting guns and arrows and what not. You can try using my old bow if you want,"

Ysondra smiled. "That would be great,"

The night elf turned around and began to look through a weapon rack that was not far away. Ysondra waited patiently as she did so. The night elf girl seemed smaller than most of the other night elves Ysondra had met, and she had short purple hair that seemed to almost form a helmet around her head and rectangle bangs that brushed her forehead. her skin was a light lavender, and she had an almost wild look to her.

The cat that had been with the hunter brushed against Ysondra's leg and purred, and Ysondra kneeled down and brushed her hand over it's head and flank, much to the cat's delight.

"Shalla!" called the night elf, causing the cat to whirl around "Come to me!"

The cat obeyed and wen to the night elf's side. The night elf, with a new bow in her hand, walked over to Ysondra and held out her hand. Ysondra took the bow and the arrow that the night held in her other hand.

"Fire away," said the night elf, taking a step back.

Ysondra put the arrow in the bow, doing her best to copy that of the night elf, and quickly stretched the string back and fired. Her arrow hit the terrace wall and broke, not even getting close to the target, and Ysondra looked down at her hand to see that she had snapped the bow in half.

She looked back at the night elf, wondering how she would react.

The night elf sighed and shook her head before taking the broken bow out of Ysondra's hands and holding it up to her face.

"Thank you Bow Breaker," she said "Look, if it's strength you got, the warriors terrace is over there,"

The night elf pointed somewhere far of in the corner and Ysondra looked that way, seeing a group of night elf boys crowding around somewhere. Ysondra went in that direction, and she quickly made her way over to the group.

"And then I said, "That's what you get for messing with a real warrior, little priest!"" Ysondra was able to over hear, followed by a chorus of laughter from the other warriors.

"Excuse me?" Ysondra asked "Is this where the warriors train?"

The warriors all looked at her, and the man that had been talking before spoke up. "I think you're lost, little lady. This is where the men fight. The priestess's train at the temple of the moon."

"No, I think you're wrong," said Ysondra. "I'm not a priestess. If this is where the warriors fight, then this is where I'm supposed to be."

The man stepped forward, in an attempt to scare her, Ysondra guessed. "Look, girls can't be warriors. That's a man's job. So why don't you-"

Ysondra grabbed the opening in his helm and wrenched his head down so that her faced her. "Listen, buddy, I'm not some little civilian girl that you can just order around," she said "I came here to fight, and that's what I'm going to do. So if you and you're little sexist friends don't mind, get out of my way."

She pushed his head back, leaving him dazed.

"That's a lot of big talk coming from a little lady," he finally said "If you're such a warrior, then fight."

"Fine." said Ysondra, not really knowing what she was doing.

She walked over to a nearby weapons rack and picked up a sword. It was heavy, but not for her. She looked at the man and smiled challengingly.

The man picked up his own sword, twirling it around a few times before picking it up and charging towards Ysondra, yelling out a loud war cry. Ysondra quickly dodged to the side, thinking that this battle was starting out too easy. The man whirled around and brought his sword up, bringing it down upon her. Ysondra brought her own sword up, blocking his own.

They quickly became a blur of metal hitting metal, both doing well. But Ysondra was weaker than the other night elf, and not as strong and experienced. Every move she made became more sluggish, until she could fight no longer.

She backed up against the wall, the little sword she had swaying in her grip. She looked up trying to think of a way to win, when she saw the raven circling above her head.

She put two fingers to her lips and blew, and the raven cawed and swopped down to it's masters command. It was a black blur in the sky as it swooped down and smashed against the other night elves chest, causing him to fall over. The man let out a surprised scream before her fell face first into the mud.

The raven circled around and Ysondra held out her arm, which it grasped. Ysondra turned to the crowd of warriors that had been watching and brushed a strand of sweat soaked hair from her face and smiled, to which the warriors cheered. The raven cawed and seemed to smile as the warriors cheered.

"Not fair!" said the other night elf as he got off the ground. "Warriors don't have pets!"

Ysondra frowned, but before she could say anything she heard a swoosh of air and watched as an arrow hit the back of the night elf's head, which ricocheted off of the metal and landed on the ground. They all looked for the source of the arrow and Ysondra smiled as she saw the night elf huntress from before walk over and bend down to claim her arrow.

She stood up and took a balled up fist and knocked the night elf man over the head. "Grow up, Elrobrith and stop picking on the newbs!"

She looked to Ysondra and said "You okay, Bow Breaker?"

Ysondra smiled and nodded "I'm fine. This Elrobrith is not the best swordsman."

"Yeah, I could see that," said the night elf. "So, now that you've seen the training grounds, where are yah headed to?"

"The temple of the moon," she said. She smiled, ad said "I have something to tell the high priestess."


	17. Made up her Mind

_**Dear Readers: Huge thanks to all of you who have reviewed!**_

_**Peachy Cupcake: Oh my god. I can not believe I typed that. And the funny thing is, I know exactly what went wrong. Please tell me if I have anymore of those embarrassing little typos...**_

Ysondra was walking along the cobblestone path, with who she now learned to be Saidith the huntress, on her right. She had made up her mind about what type of fighting she would learn, and she was planning on seeing the high priestess as soon as possible to tell her.

It was still fairly early in the morning, so she was hoping that she would still be awake.

Beside her Saidith yawned, putting a hand over her mouth. "I haven't been up at this hour in forever," she said.

Ysondra shook her head. "I still don't understand that," she said.

"Understand what?" Saidith asked as she stretched her arms.

"The whole nocturnal thing," said Ysondra "Why would you want to sleep through such a beautiful day? It's bright and pretty and gorgeous out,"

"You're really not from around here, are you?" asked Saidith.

Ysondra giggled a little. "Nope," she said.

"Okay I guess I'll be easier on you then," said Saidith. "If you think the day is so beautiful, then you're really missing out at night. The nights of Darnassus are beautiful, and sometimes you can catch wisps wandering around the trees."

"Wisps?" asked Ysondra.

"Yeah, Wisps," said Saidith "Nature spirits. Wow, you really did lose your memory. I've never known a night elf who didn't know what wisps are!"

Ysondra rolled her eyes. "It's a lot more complicated than that,"

"Oh really?" asked Saidith "Never mind. Anyway, the nights here are great! The nights call out inner wild in us, so that's why we live during the night."

"Our inner wild?" asked Ysondra.

"It's hard to explain," said Saidith "You'd have to experience living at night to understand."

"I see," said Ysondra "I guess I'll try that out sometime,"

"You'll have to if you want to get training," said Saidith "The trainers are only out and about during the night. No day-dwellers allowed."

Ysondra sighed. "Just what I expected," she half murmured half said.

Saidith laughed. "Don't get so down, being a night owl isn't that bad."

Ysondra heard a familiar caw behind her. "Speaking of owls," she said as she looked up "It seems that a certain bird as decided to tag along with us."

Above her the raven she had seemed to make a friend of was circling around the pair of night elves, looking down at them with a mischievous glint in its golden stare. It seemed to know something Ysondra didn't, or maybe that's what it wanted her to think. It cawed a few times, and she thought it sounded like he was teasing her.

She smiled at the bird, wondering what exactly it was up to now. Whenever it was around it seemed to be planning something, guiding her into a trap of sorts.

"Well that's an odd sight," said Saidith "What on earth is a raven doing here? Don't they usually live in the mountains?"

Ysondra shrugged, still looking up at the bird. "I don't know," she said "But the damn thing doesn't seem to know how to leave someone alone,"

The raven seemed to here what Ysondra had said, and it cawed down at her, causing Ysondra to smile.

"Weird," muttered Saidith.

"Indeed," said Ysondra. She snapped her attention back on getting to the temple of the moon and saw that they were almost there, the building arching up into the sky high above them.

"Looks like we're almost there," said Saidith "Excited? It's not everyday you get to have a meeting with the high priestess. And You pretty much never have a meeting at a time like this," Saidith gestured towards the sky with her hands, emphasizing her point.

"Who knows, she might be sleeping now," said Ysondra "She said she had to stay up to have a meeting with a day dweller, so hopefully she's still awake."

Saidith nodded. "Why is the high priestess so interested in your choice anyway?" she asked "Are you part of a noble family?"

Ysondra shook her head. "I'm part of no family," she said "I was found near Lor'danel by one of the sentinels who was looking for the survivors from Auberdine. I have no memory of my life, and as such I have no family. I have nothing..." she trailed off at the end. "But the high priestess has agreed to make me a citizen of Darnassus, and I receive housing here in the city. Without her hospitality, I would be out on the streets."

Saidith nodded slowly. "That's a... sad story." she said at last. "I'm in the city for training, I live in the huntress's dorms. My family lives back in Dolanaar, my mom and dad. I'm an only child."

"Dolanaar?" asked Ysondra "Where's that?"

For a second Saidith looked surprised, but then she relaxed. "I keep forgetting," she said "You're not from around here. It's a little village outside of the gates to Darnassus. Not much happens there from what I've heard, it's a really small village."

"Interesting," said Ysondra. "I think I'll visit there one day."

Saidith snorted."Don't waste your time," she said "There's nothing to see there. Nothing to do, either."

They went up the small wooden ramp that led up to the white marble terrace surrounding the temple, and Ysondra paused for a moment to take in the sight of the beautiful building.

Saidith made a motion with her hand and softly said "Elune Adorana,"

"What does that mean?" asked Ysondra.

Saidith looked up. "This is the temple dedicated to our goddess," she said "It is a custom to say those words when you are within or around her temple."

"Wow, I really do need to learn Darnassian," said Ysondra "The last thing I need is an angry goddess on my tail,"

Saidith smiled. "Our goddess is not one to be like that," she said "But we do it anyway. To honor everything she has given us."

Ysondra nodded. _Oh, I know very well what she's like!_ Ysondra added quietly to herself.

She had yet to tell anyone of the mysterious dreams she received from time to time where the moon goddess Elune spoke to her, giving her prophecies and the occasional gift. She didn't want to sound like she was a crazy person in front of the only friends she had, and she doubted anyone would believe her. But now she was starting to rethink that. From what she had heard, the high priestess was a strong believer in the moon goddess and the leader of the priestess's who devoted their lives to the goddess. Maybe, just maybe, she would talk to the high priestess when she got the chance. She felt like the dreams she was receiving were more than just dreams.

"Could you teach me that little praise?" asked Ysondra "I would like to know it for future times when I'm at or near the temple."

"Sure," said Saidith "It's pretty simple. Just put your hand to your hand to tour chest like this,"

Saidith put her hand into fist like shape only the pinky and the ring finger were held up, and Ysondra copied.

"And flick the chin with the pinky finger as you say: Elune Adorana."

Ysondra did so, and when the words slipped out of her mouth she felt as if she had known them her entire life.

"Like that?" asked Ysondra.

"You looked like a true Kaldorei," said Saidith.

The two night elves stopped abruptly as they realized they had made their way to the entrance to the temple. Two night elves, just like before, stood beside the entrance like stone statues, there war glaives glinting threateningly in the morning sun.

"This is where I'll be leaving," said Saidith "No non priestess's allowed and what now."

Ysondra smiled. "It was nice meeting you Saidith," she said "I hope I see you around,"

"It's a small city," said the huntress "I'm sure we'll meet up again."

Ysondra held out a hand for the huntress to shake, which Saidith grabbed and shook. "See you around, crazy cat lady,"

Saidith turned to leave, but glanced back, a smile on her face. "You too, Bow-breaker," she said before completely turning around and leaving.

Ysondra smiled as she watched the huntress disappear from view, wondering if they ever would see each other again. She turned to look at the entrance to the temple, and the sentinels standing next at it looked at her questionably.

"I am Ysondra the night elf," she said "I am here to see the high priestess on behalf of my training here in the city."

The sentinels visibly relaxed, and the one on the left said "You may proceed, Lady Ysondra. The High priestess has been waiting for you."

Ysondra nodded and began walking forward, going through the entrance to the temple and entering the small little grove within it. The temple never ceased to amaze her, with the large statue in the middle and the magical flora and fauna that had somehow managed to grow into the building. She could smell the very essence of nature within the room, and she smiled as the sweet fragrance of spring flowers hit her nose.

There were a few priestess's here and there, but not many. The ones that were there gave Ysondra curious glances, which Ysondra ignored and began to walk towards the ramp that would lead her to the room above.

She spotted it quickly, on the opposite side of the room, and began to walk over to it. Whenever she was in the temple of the moon she got a really good feeling, it was like waking up to the sun flowing in through your window, and she couldn't help but smile.

She made her way over to the ramp fairly quickly, passing only a few priestess's, and began to walk up it. She got to the top and arrived on the cool white marble surface of the second floor. She went to the side where she could look over a ramp and see all of priestess's below. The tree tops grew high and in some places she was able to reach out and feel the purple and green leaves. The statue of the night elf poked through the tops of the trees, and an owl circled around it.

Ysondra wasted no time in getting to where she needed to go, walking along the pathway to where she had remembered seeing the high priestess last time she was in the temple.

As she walked along she passed a gruff looking man who wore black robes and carried a large leather book. He was a human, she could tell that much, and he was very short. Of course, she might have just been a lot taller than him. He wore a small pair of glasses and he had short red hair, and his face was set in a scowl.

"Excuse me," he said angrily as he past Ysondra.

Ysondra raised an eyebrow as the man bumped into her, but continued on with her walk. There had been no need for the human to bump into her, there was plenty of room. So why had he?

Before Ysondra could think on it she saw the high priestess standing tall in the distance, and she quickened her pace, forgetting all about the strange human. She noticed that there was someone else standing next to Tyrande, a night elf man she had never seen before. He looked rather odd to her, having antlers growing out of his head and not wearing a shirt.

She approached the high priestess, who looked slightly stressed and tired, dipped down in a bow. "High priestess," she said "I have made my decision."

Tyrande, who had not been paying much attention to Ysondra, looked at her with curiosity in her eyes. "Rise, young one." she said, and Ysondra did so "Well then, what art have you chosen to learn?"

"I want to become a warrior," said Ysondra.

Tyrande's eyes widened slightly, showing the slightest bit of surprise. "Most interesting," she said "Yes, you would become a very god warrior. Your training will start in one week from now, I will send a messenger to your home later on to tell you more. Until then, rest, you will have to learn to be nocturnal."

Ysondra smiled and nodded. "Yes, high priestess," she said "I will be leaving now,"

The high priestess nodded and Ysondra began to walk towards the spiral, going passed the odd-looking night elf man. The man seemed to be watching her, studying her, with a glint of curiosity in his white pupil less eyes.

She ignored the man and continued walking, getting to the spiral ramp quickly and making her way down it fairly quickly. She smiled as her bare feet hit the soft green grass, having yet to wear shoes.

She decided that she would take the the high priestess's advice and head home to rest, she would need to learn how to be nocturnal from now on. She wasn't particularly liking it, but everyone so far had told her that the nights were much better than the day and that she would like them, so she was going along with it.

She had only been awake for one night, the night she had experienced the call of the wild. That night had been most interesting for her, but not exactly great. It was more along the lines of terrifying and blood chilling. She was lucky Navara had been there to save her, otherwise she might not have survived.

Ysondra stopped dead in her tracks as she heard her name being called from behind her. She turned around and saw none other than Navara running towards her, her long purple hair set back in a pony tail and a pastel orange robe adorning her skin.

Ysondra smiled as she saw the priestess, happy to see one of her friends. Navara stopped a foot away from Ysondra, smiling as well.

"I thought I heard your voice," she said "And then I saw your white aura. One of the other priestess's said you were here to talk to the high priestess."

Ysondra stared into the sightless purple tinted eyes of Navara, wishing her friend hadn't had to suffer so. It had been Ysondra's fault, too. She had blinded her friend in more ways than one.

"That sounds about right," said Ysondra "I had to tell the high priestess which class of fighting I was going to learn so that she could tell the trainer,"

"And what class would that be?" asked Navara.

Ysondra smiled. "A warrior,"

"Of course!" said Navara with a smile. "You have that warrior attitude about you,"

"Warrior attitude?" asked Ysondra "How so?"

Navara shook her head. "You just do." the priestess yawned and stretched her arms out. "I haven't been up this late in a while, I was just about to ask one of the sentinels to escort me home, but then I saw your aura and I thought I'd say hi. It's not everyday you see a none priestess in the temple of the moon!"

Ysondra giggled. "Yeah, I guess so," she said "You're headed home too? I was just going back myself, I have to start being nocturnal. Want to walk with me?"

"Sure," said Navara "But, I'm going to have to hold onto you,"

Ysondra smiled and held out an arm. "That's fine," she said.

Navara and Ysondra linked arms and began to walk out of the temple, Ysondra directing Navara every once in a while.

"So," said Ysondra "Seen that druid Ramir around lately?"

Navara smiled, her cheeks turning into a nice shade of magenta. "Not lately, no,"

"Well that's odd," said Ysondra "With the way you two acted I would have thought that he would be with you all the time,"

"Oh, stop it," said Navara, who was still blushing "He was very nice, that's all,"

"Very nice?" asked Ysondra "As soon as you two made eye contact you never left each others side!"

Navara's blush deepened. "So?" she asked "We like each other, is that a crime? I don't see any sentinels running after us!"

"Oh, it looked like a lot more than just 'liking' someone," said Ysondra "More like love at first sight!"

"You really think so?" asked Navara.

"Oh yeah," said Ysondra "He couldn't keep his eyes off you,"

Navara smiled, her blush beginning to fade. "So how has your love life been going? Any men falling head over heels in love with you?"

Ysondra shook her head. "Nope." she said "No lovers after me. Which is good, I don't feel like dealing with it,"

Navara raised an eyebrow. "You say it as if love is just a pesky annoyance,"

Ysondra shrugged. "I just don't see myself falling in love anytime soon."

"Okay then," said Navara "If you say so,"

Ysondra only smiled and shook her head. She hadn't really thought of love, and she didn't really see herself falling in love. It just didn't seem like the thing for her. She was a fighter, not a lover. Navara and Ramir were compatible, they worked together. But who would work with a night elf with no memory of her past and almost zero knowledge of night eleven culture and who lacks the ability to even speak darnassian?

The rest of their walk went quickly, Ysondra dropped Navara off at her home, making sure Navara was capable of getting into bed and what not before leaving to go to her own home.

Once there she quickly changed into a night-gown, throwing her tattered dress into a pile on the floor and slipping into bed, trying her best to fall asleep during the day.

But so many things ran through her mind, distracting her. Navara, Saidith, Ramir, the high priestess. Becoming a warrior was a big one, how could she do it? It was going to be tough. And there was always Elune bothering her almost every night.

But she eventually drifted into a light, dreamless sleep, the sun slowly setting as the day wore on.


	18. Prophecies

_**Dear Readers: Huge thanks to all of you who have reviewed and who are reading this story!  
**_

_**Peachy Cupcake: That would be awesome! Now I have ideas to ponder...**_

_**CP Nightshade: I feel the same way. Isn't he awesome?**_

_**Connet: Oh crud, that should be an interesting part of the story.  
**_

_**Refer to the cover image for a better description of the armor. They may be a little different, but her armor looks like the armor on the cover.**_

* * *

_Ysondra walked along the soft white sandy beach, the full moon above her illuminating every aspect of her surroundings. The waves lapped at the shoreline softly, peacefully making their way to land. The world around Ysondra seemed so peaceful, so perfect. There was not a single disturbance in the land she had begun to now so very well._

_A soft breeze wafted over her, and the scent of lavender reached her nose, and she wondered why that would be._

_As usual, she wore a long white dress, which blew out from behind her in the wind. She had a tiara like crown placed into her hair at the top, and she wore no shoes from what she could tell._

_She went to the middle of the small beach and sat down, crossing her legs in front of her. It had been awhile since the goddess had graced her with a dream, and she was actually looking forward to what the goddess had to say. The sand, instead of digging into her, seemed to make a comfy pillow beneath her.  
_

_She looked up at the moon, waiting for a sign of some sort that Elune would be making an appearance.  
_

_Then she saw it, a little glimmer of white in the distance. It looked like a small grouping of stars hovering over the beach, but Ysondra knew better than that. Within a few moments she saw the goddess emerge, looking as elegant as always, making her way over to Ysondra with as much grace as a young noble maiden but still as regal as a mighty saber. _

_"Rise, my daughter," she said as she made her way over to Ysondra, and she did so "Please, walk with me. We have much to discuss."_

_Ysondra followed along Elune's side as they began to walk along the beach, the mighty goddess always seeming to have her eyes upon the stars far above them. She smiled as she watched them, seeming lost in thought.  
_

_Finally she swiveled her head over to the left and glanced down at Ysondra, a friendly smile upon her lips. "You are becoming a warrior," said the goddess "Just as you have always meant to be. Take your studies seriously, but do not let them distract you from the problems you will encounter in your life. The night elves need you, more than you currently know."_

_"Why can't you just tell me how much?" asked Ysondra "Just tell me exactly what I'm needed for and then it wouldn't be so hard in the future,"_

_The goddess gave her a gentle and knowing smile, her eyes half closed. "You know very well that I can not do that," she said "The fates of time are much more complicated, and I can not simply tell you. But do not fret, my daughter."_

_"How can I not?" asked Ysondra "Where there is greatness there is always evil. Sometimes I fear the very days I live, not knowing whats coming or what problems I'll have to face. I have no family to support me, none that I know of."_

_"Fear not the future, my daughter. A very wise dragon once told me something: Remember the past. Live in the present. And fear not the future, for it does not exist and it never shall."_

_"That's a wise saying," said Ysondra._

_"So it is." said Elune "And your family is closer than you ever thought, young one,"_

_Ysondra raised and Eyebrow. "How do you know?" she asked._

_The goddess smiled slightly. "Ah, your family is all around you, always with you. You just don't know it yet."_

_Ysondra smiled slightly. "You're part of my family, aren't you?" she asked "I wasn't born on Azeroth, and I know it. You said it yourself."_

_Elune looked back at her, a pleased smile on her face."____ I can not tell you much, for it is not the right time nor the right place, but I at least owe you an explanation as to how you came to be." she said_ "This place that I have brought you to, the realm of the moon, is your birthplace." she said, gesturing with her hands to the area. "I created you here, using the power of the stars and my own power to do so. So as such, you are my daughter, in more ways than one. I hope this pleases you, as I can not tell you much more, for I am bound to secrecy, but at least know that you have a home to go to when ever it pleases you."

_Ysondra felt warm inside. She had a history, even if it was a rather odd one. She didn't know much, but she knew enough, and that was all she needed._

_"So I suppose I can start calling you mother now, then?" asked Ysondra._

_The goddess let out a smooth laugh, which rolled out perfectly and sounded like music to Ysondra's ears. "If you wish, my daughter." said Elune "Now, I have brought you here for much bigger matters than a family reunion,"  
_

_Ysondra raised an eyebrow, curious. "Such as?" she asked._

_"I believe it is time I give you a prophecy I have been keeping for you," she said, stopping and turning to stand right in front of Ysondra. Her glowing white eyes pierced into Ysondra's, locking her into place. "I have read the signs of the stars, and you are ready. But heed my warning well, for I will not be repeating myself." _

_Ysondra nodded, not allowing herself to speak._

_"A watcher watches, though she sees like no other. An arrow, broken from the scars of her past, smites her foes like no other. A lion, mighty and proud, finds something he never thought he would find in a woman like no other, and a fight ensues between the reason of his mind and the warmth of his heart. A warrior, noble and brave, must face a battle like no other in the land she now calls home, and the very balance of the world teeters on the edge of her decisions. Should she fail, the balance of this very land will shatter, and the world will fall to it's end." the goddess finished, and Ysondra found herself slipping out of her slumber before she could ask any questions.  
_

Bright moonlight filtered in through the opening in her room as Ysondra snapped awake, sitting up in her bed. She was panting, but it slowed quickly, and she found the mysterious words of the prophecy going through her mind over and over again, as of she were looking for something among them that she hadn't seen before.

But the reality was that all she had were the words the goddess had spoken, there was no clue in them that she had looked over. And she knew very well that she would get nothing more from the goddess Elune.

As she thought of the goddess, she realized something, and she began to smile.

"I have a mother," she said to herself "I have a past and I have a home, and I have family."

Elune, through the creation of Ysondra, was her mother. She had a birthplace and a home, the realm of the moon. It might not have been much to any other person, but it meant a lot to Ysondra. She could remember nothing of her past before this, but now she at least knew something. She still had many questions, and she wasn't sure how the whole thing had happened, but she could wait for the goddess, her mother, to tell her the rest. But for now she had a night to attend to.

It would be her first night out, and she was very excited. Navara had agreed to take her out to some of her favorite places in the city, which Ysondra had yet to truly explore. She had been through most of the city, but she hadn't really seen it, she had been too busy thinking about other things to actually stop and look in a store or admire the city for its glory.

She swung her feet over to edge of her bed and walked over to her dresser like she always did, only this time she had to rely on the light of the moon to see where she was going.

She opened the first drawer and began rummaging around in it when her elven ears picked up the sound of footsteps crunching the grass not far from her home. She thought this was very strange, as she had never remembered her hearing being so keen.

She closed the drawer and made her way over to the opening in her home to see who it was that was visiting her.

She had expected to see her friend, Navara, walking towards her house, but instead she saw the sentinel Aynasha making her way over to her home with a package in her hand. Ysondra smiled as she saw the sentinel, who she had not seen in a good while.

"Hello, Ysondra," said the sentinel as she made her way over to the house. "I see you are becoming nocturnal, a good idea if you are going to become a warrior,"

"You heard?" asked Ysondra.

Aynasha smiled and nodded "Yes, and I'm glad to see you're going to learn the arts of fighting. I know you'll love it, and I know you'll become a great warrior someday,"

Ysondra smiled. "I hope so," she said. She smiled a little more as she said the next part. "Someone very special told me something very similar."

"Oh?" asked Aynasha "Do I know this special someone? A caller perhaps?"

Ysondra blushed slightly. "No no, no callers for me." she said "You might know her, but I don't think so."

"Does she live in Darnassus?" asked Aynasha.

Ysondra shook her head. "No," she looked up at the full moon, which was shining brightly. "She lives very, very far away."

Ysondra continued looking at the moon, but snapped her attention back to the sentinel before her after a few seconds.

"Oh really?" asked Aynasha. "How interesting. Anyway, the high priestess sent me to tell you that you'll be beginning your training a week from now at the warriors terrace with the other trainees."

Ysondra smiled as she heard this. She had been waiting a while to pay off the debts she owed the night elves, and becoming a warrior in their service was just the beginning.

"I brought you something," said Aynasha, setting the leather wrapped package on Ysondra's bed.

Ysondra's eyes widened slightly. "Oh really?" she asked.

"Yes," said Aynasha as she began to unravel the carefully folded package. "It's something for your training,"

"Oh Aynasha, you didn't have to get me anything," said Ysondra as she moved closer to the sentinel. "You've already done enough for me in my life, I don't need anything else."

Aynasha unraveled the leather and Ysondra couldn't help but gasp at what she saw before her. There, lying on her bed, was a perfect set of armor, gleaming in the moon light.

Ysondra moved forward, rubbing her hands over the polished metal, memorizing every curve and bend.

It was a complete set. There was a breastplate, which covered only the chest and part of the torso, something Ysondra had seen a lot of among the night elves. Ysondra held up one of the shoulder pads, which had pure white feathers sticking out of the end. The bottom looked to be a pair of plate pants, going up to the waist. The boots went up to the knee and were decorated with swirls of silver metal along the top part. There was also a pair of gloves which were similar to the boots. The whole set was in a deep lavender lined with silver, and Ysondra loved it already.

"It's... beautiful..." she said, tracing one of the silver swirls with her hand. "Where did you get this?" she asked, looking up at Aynasha.

The sentinel had a humble smile on her face, and she had a glint of pride in her eyes. "They are an heirloom of mine," she said "This armor has been handed down in my family from generation to generation, I having gotten it from my mother. And now I give it to you, for I will have no children of my own."

Ysondra finished tracing a swirl, amazed at how clean the armor was. "No," she said "I-I can't accept this. It belongs with you and your family, not me. It's too much, really. It should stay in your family,"

"Don't be silly Ysondra," said Aynasha "You love it and I can tell you do. I have no family to pass it onto once I am gone, and so I give it to you. You are becoming a warrior, and you will need this armor when your training is complete."

Ysondra froze, unsure of what to say. "Aynasha..." she murmured, unsure of what else to say.

"Keep it," said Aynasha "Wear it. It would make me happy. You deserve this more than anyone else."

Ysondra stood, her fingers still touching the armor. At first she was unsure of what to do. But then she turned to the sentinel, a smile written across her face, and hugged Aynasha.

At first Aynasha was unsure of what to do, having been caught off guard, but then she quickly returned the hug, smiling as she did so.

Ysondra let go, and was happy to see that Aynasha was smiling.

"I must be going now," the sentinel finally said "I have to speak to the high priestess about where I will be positioned as of now. I was posted in Lor'danel, but that might change now that I'm over here."

And with that the sentinel turned and made her way out of Ysondra's home. Ysondra watched her go until the sentinel was out of sight and then turned to the armor, which still lay on her bed. She couldn't help put smile as she picked up the armor. It was beautiful, so perfect. She still couldn't believe that Aynasha had given her something so wonderful.

She picked up the chest piece, looking over it. The armor was in perfect condition, and Ysondra could not believe that it was probably many centuries old since it had been passed down in Aynasha's family for so long. It was so perfect that she was almost afraid to hold it, as if she would break it some how and ruin its perfection.

Her ears perked up as she heard the sound of footsteps walking along the cobblestone outside of her home. She placed the chest piece down, carefully placing it with the rest of the set, and turned around.

She smiled as she saw Navara walking towards her. The priestess was wearing a light lavender robe, which rustled in the wind. Her hair lay over her shoulders as opposed to her usual braid, taking the attention off of her sightless eyes. A sentinel stood on one side of her, guiding the sightless elf through the city.

Ysondra walked for forward and greeted Navara, who was equally happy to see her. "Navara! I've been waiting for you!"

Navara smiled. "Well I couldn't let you experience your first night out all alone!"

Ysondra giggled. "I suppose not."

Navara turned to the sentinel, who was waiting patiently a few feet away, watching them. "You can go now, Dalia." said Navara "Ysondra can help me around the city now."

"Are you sure, Lady Navara?" asked the sentinel, taking a step forward "It is not wise to be wandering about the city when you are sightless,"

Navara smiled. "I'll be fine, really. You should enjoy the night." she said.

The sentinel looked reluctant, but she nodded and turned to leave. Once she was out of sight, Ysondra and Navara continued.

"There's so much to see!" said Navara "I don't know what to show you first... There's the moonwell, the shops, the waterfall, oh, and the saber cubs came in today, they're always fun to visit!"

"Slow down!" said Ysondra, with an amused smile. "Let's just walk for now, and we'll see what we see when we see it."

Navara smiled weakly. "Well, you'll see it..." she said.

Ysondra's smiled faded. "Oh..." was all she was able to say.

Navara shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ysondra, I wasn't trying to-"

"No," said Ysondra "It's fine. Let's just get going."

Navara smiled and linked arms with Ysondra, following along as Ysondra led them down the cobblestone path. Ysondra noticed that she felt more alive, more energized. She didn't know why, but she felt more awake, and she could see things more clearly. It was as if every detail of the world enhanced, and she could see every blade of grass on the ground, feel every little groove in the stone beneath her feet, hear every wing flap of a bird far above her head. All of her senses were enhanced and much clearer, and she wondered if Saidith had been right when she had said that the nights brought out the wild in a s night elf.

She noticed little lanterns along side the road, glowing with a strange pink substance Ysondra had never seen before. As they walked by one Ysondra reached out to tough the pink substance, but her hand went through it, and she let out a small gasp. Whatever it was, it wasn't normal.

She also noticed that more people were out and about, she felt like she was passing a night elf every second. During the day there had been next to none, but during the night there were a lot. And she noticed that the ones she passed seemed more energized than the others she had met, there movements like water running over rocks. They seemed to be, dancing, almost.

They made their way through the city, their feet stepping lightly on the cobblestone as the stars lit the way.

Ysondra, for the first time, noticed that there was not one moon but two, sitting side by side in the night sky. One was white and the other was blue, and the white one seemed to overlook the blue one. The white one was very large, dwarfing the blue moon beside it. Ysondra raised an eyebrow, puzzled. She had never noticed the blue moon before, only the much larger white moon.

She turned to Navara, who was staring blankly ahead of them, and asked "Is that blue moon in the sky usually out?"

"Yes," said the priestess without looking "It is the blue child. The other, large one is called the white lady. From what I have heard the blue child had disappeared for a while, but then it returned around the time you were found in Lor'danel. Funny, huh?" The priestess turned to look at Ysondra, a grin on her face.

"Yeah, funny." said Ysondra, grinning weakly.

Navara raised an eyebrow and looked as if she wanted to ask more, but she refrained, and went back to staring blankly ahead of them, her sightless eyes never moving, seeming to be frozen in time.

A thought occurred to Ysondra. "Navara," she asked, to which the priestess looked at her "Before you said that you could... see me. That I was glowing white or something. And then you said that others, like Ramir, glew too. What do you mean?"

Navara thought for a few moments. "It's actually really strange," she said "Some people _glow. _They are different colors, white and purple are the only ones I've seen so far, and there different with every person. You glow a lot, more than anyone else I've met. Most people just have a faint color to them. To me, it's like seeing a smudge of paint on a black background."

Ysondra nodded, not understanding it entirely, but understanding enough. "So... does everyone glow?" she asked.

The priestess shook her head. "No, just you and some others." she said "Most of the time the glow is very very faint, but you, you glow. It's like looking at the sun."

Ysondra thought for a few moments, confused and troubled. "That's... unsettling." she finally said. "What do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure..." said Ysondra "I've asked some of the priestess's, but they all said it was a figment of my imagination." she shook her head. "But it's not. It's real. I know it is."

Ysondra nodded, only half listening. What was wrong with her friend? What was going on with her eyes? What did the glowing mean? And why did Ysondra glow the most?

This troubled Ysondra deeply, and she found her head bowed in thought, dark thoughts running through her mind. So much had happened so far, and so much had yet to happen as well. The prophecy she had received from her mother, Elune, had not helped either. Something was to happen in the future, something that wasn't good. And whatever it was, fate seemed to have Ysondra tied into it.

Ysondra's thoughts were interrupted by a shill scream ripping through the air, causing her to let go of Navara and cup her ears. The scream ended, and she looked up to see someone, just down the road, crumpled on the ground, sentinels crowding around them and letting out gasps of horror.

Ysondra wasted no time. She grabbed Navara's arm and set out on a brisk pace towards the person, trying to get there as fast as she could while still making sure the blind priestess behind her didn't fall behind.

She moved through the crowd of people, who were mostly sentinels with a few citizens mixed in, and made her way to the person in the center.

She let out a gasp of horror as she saw the person lying in the middle of the circle of people, and she barely noticed her hand falling away from Navara's arm as she looked down at the cobblestone in front of her.

There, crumpled up in a ball, lay a shaking Tyrande Whisperwind, her hair having fallen out of its usually braids, sprawling out over the ground just as her robe did.

Just as Ysondra was about to do something to help the night elf, the high priestess slowly rose, sitting on her knees and staring up at the two moons above her. Everyone around her, including Ysondra, let out a gasp of pure horror as they saw the High Priestess's pale white face, almost the exact same color as the moon. Her eyes, instead of being their usually white, seemed to glow a million colors, yet only one, at the same time.

But the most chilling part was when she spoke. Her voice was not the deep,determined voice of the high priestess, but rather a voice Ysondra had heard ever so many times before: The voice of Elune.

Her voice was smooth, yet it boomed out of her mouth, catching everyone's attention. _"The tides shall come to life, and threaten the night. The moon will be shadowed by pools of blood. The child of blue, her reflection my image, shall earn her sword, and with it she shall save you all. But if she fails, two shall become one, and water will devour the world."_

* * *

**_Sorry that the chapter's a little late, I've been on a mini vacation. But, I made the chapter extra long to make up for the days I was gone. Yes, I know, a bit of a cliffhanger. Sorry again for the late chapter, but I hope you still enjoyed it! Reviews are greatly appreciated.  
_**


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