THE ILLIARDI'S HEROINE {WORLD OF WARCRAFT}

Forgotten Voyage

My gut wrenched when a steel foot drove into my stomach, letting out a rasp gag.

"So she lives." The mysterious voice spoke behind me. "Tell me who you are, mortal scum."

I wiggled my arms and my legs, but they were kept intertwined in a tightrope that burned my skin. I bared my teeth and looked down at my body that had been stripped of all clothes- more importantly, my weapons.

"The burns won't matter later, they will be filled and gone." His voice rang out again.

All I did was snarl and try to pull my limbs together to ease the pain. At least a few minutes had passed while the strange elven man- if I could even call him that- stared past me.

"Got something to look at?" I asked with a tense voice, slightly uncomfortable in being naked.

"No." He said. "Just seeing if you're ready."

"Ready for what, demon?" I spit.

He only chuckled and stepped closer to me- I couldn't see his face in the dark. "For your metamorphosis. To be freed from your mortal life and into your true form."

"My true form...?" I whispered in confusion.

"Yes," He said. I was surprised that he could hear me. "But you'll hear all about that when Lord Illidan Stormrage calls upon you."

I tried to think but that name wasn't familiar to me.

"Where am I?" I asked, wriggling again in my ropes and chains.

"I can't tell you that," He mumbled, his glowing green eyes blinked away from me.

I sat up and winced at the chain that dug into my back. "Why not, demon?" I said with a sneer. "You keep me hostage and can't tell me where I am? It's not like I can escape..."

"It doesn't insult me when you say demon, mortal," I noticed that he avoided my question. "I wear what I am like armor, so no one can use it against me. I know what I am, as should you."

"I do know what I am," I growled, my lips curled over my teeth as the chains began to bruise my periwinkle skin. "I am Melithar Nighthelm, sister of the elune and warden of the grove. Mother of saber cats and citizen of Darnassus..." As I said my titles with a stern voice, my eyes began to tear and flame brighter than his. "Now I ask you, in my power, release me from these chains and I will let you live."

The demon snarled and approached me. I tried to stand but failed and fell on my side, a chain dug so deep into me now that I felt a crack in my ribs, a loud snap echoed along with my cry of pain.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

"Listen here... Melithar Nighthelm, sister of the elune and warden of the grove. Mother of saber cats and citizen of Darnassus," The Demon mocked me while taking my neck in his hand and stood me up.

I wriggled and glowered at him.

"You're ready."

With a single blow to the head, I had been consumed by the black.

...

I never knew what it felt like to be unconscious. I assumed it felt like nothing, like a deep hole that I fell into until I faded away to death. But would I die today?

...

I was awoken by a loud, deep horn and cheering that surrounded my ears. I was laid out flat on a cold, iron surface that poked at my worn sides. My periwinkle skin was bruised and I had a slice across my eyebrow that bled fresh blood. I sat up and looked around me, another Night Elf sat facing away from me, and two Blood Elves were across from us. We appeared to be in a black, deep-pitted arena. Were we going to fight them? The elf beside me could barely breathe on his own, so I tapped him lightly.

"Elf, can you speak to me?" I whispered, but he didn't answer. So I pushed him harder and he fell back into my lap. His mouth opened and his eyes stared directly into mine- but no light emerged from them. He was dead, so I slowly pushed away from him.

I stood up as strong as I could and turned around, looking at all of the elves in the audience. They wore horns on their heads and long claws that clapped at us. They smiled with razor-sharp teeth and tattoos intertwined around their chests and arms that glowed in the dim light. They all seemed to look out beyond me through linen folds around where their eyes should be.

I turned around to face their leader, as did the Blood elves in the arena. We walked forward together and looked at each other. The she-elf with long, flowing blonde hair had fear in her glowing red eyes. But the he-elf didn't have much of an expression besides furrowed brows. I didn't know what expression to make, so I merely looked up at the hunched over demon. He resembled me in some way.

He stood up suddenly and the ground seemed to shake with growls. He widened his leathery wings and faced us, his claws were very long and his horns had hundreds of coils- as if they'd been growing for thousands of years. His tattoos glowed like all the other elves, but his mass was all that bigger. My jaw nearly dropped, I'd never seen anything like it.

"I grow impatient," He growled, stomping his left hoof on a button. "Let's go already!"

Two elves flew down from beside the demon and handed each of us two warglaives, which surprisingly, is what I always fought with. That had gained me some confidence for when I fight them. But once the gates under the winged elf fell open, I could have never prepared myself for what I would be fighting.

Author's Note:

I know, it has been a long two years since I updated this novel, but trust me- I've got some things I'm working and I plan on completing them. I've got a new book out (It's called Cliff Jumpers, go check it out!) and I'm starting school again so I won't have as much free time. But don't fret, I'm going to work on this short story again!