Bang! Bang!… The knock on the inn door broke threw the howling wind like a Dwarven gun shot. A light turned on in the main level of the Deepwater Tavern Inn Menethil Harbor. The warmth of an inn would be the dream of any traveler on a night in Wetlands when the southern winds of Dun Morogh, and the breeze off of Baradin Bay clash on the Harbor.
The door to the in opened as a middle aged dwarf looked out to see a peculiar sight. A broad shouldered looking man wearing a robe and hood making it impossible to see his face followed by a tall Elvish woman with the whitest hair the innkeeper has ever seen.
“Hi, the names Helbrek, passing through, or staying awhile?” The innkeeper questioned as he tried to peer into the man’s hooded face.
A tired yet strong voice that pierced Helbrek’s spirit like a knife responded, “Just passing through, we’ll be gone in the morning,” and pulled a few gold coins from his cloak and handed it to the innkeeper.
After grabbing the gold with a smile as all Dwarves love treasure, the innkeeper motioned to the stairs, “this way.”
As they reached the elf requested, “We also need hay and meat delivered to our rides outside,” in a voice that would make any man break his vows had she said the right words.
“Meat?” Helbrek responded looking puzzled.
“You will know which one it is for when you go out there.” … “Oh! And don’t look her in the eyes.” The elf warned.
Helbrek had never seen a Night Elf ride before. Only in legends did he hear of their rides agility and fearful beauty.
The door of the main guest room creaked loudly as Helbrek opened it for his two guests. The hooded man motioned for the Elf to enter first and then followed her in and slammed the door shut in Helbrek’s face as he was about to ask if there was anything else. “Guess not.” He retorted. As he turned around to go back down the stairs to ready the food for their rides he heard the sound of a coin sliding on the wooden floor. A gold coin slid out from under the door and Helbrek stopped it with his foot, looked at it and then looked up at the shut door. Quickly he picked up the coin and went to work on the food preparations whistling at his luck in one night.
Back in the guest room the hooded human and his Night Elf companion looked around for places to get comfortable.
“Be sure to leave your cloak on while we are here. We don’t want the innkeeper accidentally intruding and finding out who you are and spreading the word you are back in the Eastern Kingdoms.” The Night Elf warned her shrouded friend.
“Don’t worry Henali, I have no intention of letting anyone know I am here until I am ready to do so.” The human responded, and then motioned at the bed in the room and said, “Now you go ahead and take the bed and I will take this nice chair over here.”
“Why do you always do that?” Henali retorted as she has done many times before. “Ever since I have known you, you have never once slept in a be…”
“Because, since I wasn’t able to sleep in a bed as a child I don’t sleep well in them as an adult, and that is all.” The man interrupted in a harsh voice if trying not to remember something from long ago.
“Fine! I’ll sleep in the bed. Even though I was raised by a Sentinel of Astranaar, I still find comfort in being comforted by a soft surface now and again.” Henali stated with a raised voice as she walked over and fell down onto the soft bed. She spent the next few minutes focusing on her mental state and becoming aware of all of her surroundings. Once she knew that if anything changed it would awaken her Henali spoke out again before falling asleep. “Just be sure to get lots of rest. I know you know we have a long ride ahead of us tomorrow and I don’t need any more of your foolish theatrics slowing us down.”
“Don’t worry so much. I have many things on my mind so my dreams should keep me company for at least a few hours.” He responded.
Thinking to herself she knew what she was about to say was something her friend didn’t hear too much with his past but she felt compelled to say it anyways… “Good night… Rastlin”
“Yea…” was all Rastlin could reply before he realized his Night Elf friend was fast asleep as she always seemed to just pass out.
Sighing in relief and comfort of the chair Rastlin rested his head against the back and closed his eyes.
“Rastlin!” a young child’s voice called out. “Hurry the fireworks are about to start. You don’t want to miss them.” The child said motioning towards the canals of the great city Stormwind.
“I can only be out for a bit,” explained Rastlin. “Father Benedictus wants me back before it gets dark.”
“Father Benedictus can go screw himself with a copper tube.” The child retorted making a smirk. “You are always doing stupid chores in that stupid church. Have some fun and take the night off ok?”
“Ok!” Rastlin answered jumping up off of the church steps to follow the child.
The feeling of blowing off his chores gave young Rastlin vigor and he quickened his pace and passed up his friend. Reaching the canal first, he raised his eyes to the sky and watched as a great fireball rose into the sky and burst into millions of little lights. His friend showed up right after him and watched the sky start to gleam with light.
After what seemed an eternity at that young age, the young boy sighed and exclaimed, “These are the best fireworks I have ever seen.”
“Ya, how many fireworks have you seen?” Rastlin asked looking towards his friend.
“I’ve only seen a few, but this is the best.” The boy said making a big smile while looking into the sky.
Smiling with his friend, Rastlin continued looking into the sky until a figure at the bottom of his vision caught his eyes. Looking level with the ground he found himself looking at three female Night Elves riding tiger like creatures to the Stormwind castle. The two in the back looked like twins as many Night Elves seem to be, both with hair a dark purple and wearing purplish silver armor over their entire body. While the one in the front, the one that caught his eye had the whitest of hair he had ever seen streaming down her back over a pure white and gold robe that seemed to glow.
“Who is that?” was all Rastlin could mutter while watching.
“That is Grand Priestess Henali.” His friend stated with an adamant voice, being proud of his knowledge. “Some say she is the reincarnation of an ancient goddess.”
“The reincarnation of an ancient goddess?” Rastlin asked as he kept watching her, but something kept nagging him like an evil presence was near.
“Yea, a reincarnation, it’s like a person who’s been dead can gone for a long time comes back to this world and is reborn.” His friend explained.
“You seem to know a lot of things my friend.” Rastlin mentioned after noticing his friend seemed to have an answer for all his questions.
“Yeah, I guess I do, but my father just says I have a big mouth.” Rastlin’s friend said as he put his hands around his mouth as if to be yelling, and rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I know so muuu…”
Rastlin looked over at his friend to see why he stopped talking, but he hadn’t stopped. He just froze. Rastlin’s eyes wandered back over to the priestess and that’s when he realized, not only was his friend frozen but so was everything else. Even a bird swimming along the canal of Stormwind seemed to just be in mid flight as it froze in a single position right above the water.
Rastlin stood up almost as if to yell out to everyone in anger as to why they all stopped, but Rastlin’s urge to get closer to the priestess took over. He started to walk around the Dwarven District’s canal towards the Stormwind castle. The feeling that something evil was around was still in the back of his head but his determination to see this Henali person was even greater. As Rastlin was passing in front of the Stormwind castle his eye’s wandered back to the bird over the water, a white dove. He wondered to himself how such a bird could just sit there hovering without moving. At that moment Rastlin stopped in his tracks. The evil presence in the back of his mind became very clear as he kept peering at the bird.
His eyes unfocused off of the bird and more on the water below him, a shape appeared, distorted by the waves in the canal, but Rastlin knew it was something evil. Its intents were evil; its entire being was evil. It was a twelve foot long alligator, yet it did not feel like most animals. Almost as if it was being controlled by something else far away, something of old, old time, before the people that now live on this planet lived.
Rastlin’s eyes changed targets again. His vision wandered over to the priestess. “Whoa!” It was then that he realized her eyes were fixed on him. Almost as if she was constantly watching him. It was the only other thing in his vision that was moving.
“Who are you?” a feint whisper, almost as if not words but a thought entered Rastlin’s head. “Who are you?” It seemed to get louder. “I have seen many souls in my time, but none that look like yours… Who are you?” Rastlin’s eyes widened. It was her eyes that were speaking to him. “Why are you moving around in a time stop? Why are you able to sense evil? Why are you so interested in meeting me? Who are you?” Her eyes were full of questions that started to overwhelm Rastlin’s mind.
“Stop asking so many questions!” Rastlin screamed as he tried to cover his ears, but there was no sound. It was just thought. Flashes of pictures, scenes flashed through his mind. Images of ancient times, battles, ancient kingdoms, something in his mind was breaking.
“Who are you!?” The thought shot as loud as ever through Rastlin’s mind.
“You want to know who I am?!” Rastlin yelled as loud as he could. Images of dragons, fire, and then silence went through his mind. The past, the present was all Rastlin could see. His eyes blurred and became golden as images passed through his mind. “Who I am?!” he stretched out his arms as if flexing them, releasing whatever pent up energy he had. “Who I am… Who I am…” Rastlin’s body began to explode with white light that seemed to arc like fire. “Who I am, is something so old even time does not know my beginning!” Rastlin screamed in exhilaration. His muscles flexed as light flowed out of his every pore. “I will show you only a little of who I am, but you must take me with you. You must take me to see Nozdormu, The Keeper of Time. Then you will find out who I am.” Rastlin didn’t even say the words. He just sent them through his eyes to the priestesses. “This is all I can do for now.”
As Rastlin finished his sentence time seemed to unfreeze. It just seemed to start up again, his friend finishing his statement, but too far away from Rastlin to hear, the alligator jumping out of the water towards Rastlin standing in front of the Stormwind castle, and Henali stopping her tiger and watching as the young boy surrounded in flames of light screamed. Everyone seemed to stop and look at Rastlin. Their eyes wide open in shock as the alligator jumped from the water just in front of the stone wall before the Stormwind castle.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Was all that was coming out of Rastlin’s lips as he reached out one hand in front of him, the flames around him reaching out beyond his hand heading straight for the alligator’s throat intent on piecing it, with a pause in Rastlin’s scream he opened his eyes, completely shaded in gold and glowing brightly he looked straight into the alligator’s eyes. “Tell your master I am coming for him… AAHHH!” Reaching out a little further the flame seemed to arc and grow. Rather than piecing the neck it was going to engulf the whole thing. The instant the alligator hit the flames it incinerated.
Henali’s eyes peered at Rastlin as the flames reseeded back into his body, and the crowd became alive with talk and muttering. As the flames fully went into his body Rastlin felt light headed as was about to fall when a hand grabbed his shoulder, he felt a surge of purity flow through his body. It was the priestess’s hand.
“You are coming with me.” Was all she said as she lifted him up onto the tiger with a swift movement. “We will go see Nozdormu together.” She said as she looking into his eyes which were back to the normal dark black pupils that were unknown to anyone.
To Be Continued…
