THE ILLIARDI'S HEROINE {WORLD OF WARCRAFT}

Powerlines

Countless nights it felt I'd slept yet I remember nothing of when I had first fallen asleep. I wondered if I had died and taken to live with the spirit wisps, but something inside of me felt like I was still tied to the world of Azeroth. My head felt heavier than before, and my mind was swarming with voices that wouldn't let me rest peacefully any longer.

My eyes opened, I saw nothing but darkness. My throat shut and my body leaped up off the bed, breathing heavily. My hands traced my face and I had a wrap over my eyes that I quickly pulled off.

"I can't see anything!" I shouted, having my vision not changed. "Is anyone there? I can't see!"

"We are here, Melithar Nighthelm." I heard a voice say, but felt no breath on my face or any weight in the room.

"Where are you?" I asked, my voice still shaken. My hands traced my body that had deep grooves where my soft skin used to be.

"We are here with you, and we always will be. Follow us, Melithar, join us..."

"What do you mean?" I asked again, beginning to feel frustrated that I couldn't just open my eyes and see light again. "I can't feel you, can you touch me?"

"No, but you can feel us. The deep pressure in your head, Melithar, we are voices in your head."

"What happened to me...?" I mumbled, my hands traced my face again, closing my eyes and touched my eyelids. I felt the flame before them, but when I pressed harder, my fingers fell through without an eyeball to stop it.

"Where are my eyes!" I screamed in fear, my lungs beginning to close- though it felt like I didn't need breath anymore.

"You ripped them out, young one." A strange voice said in the distance, and I could tell they were truly in front of me. "Many, many moons ago."

"How many?" I asked, taking a staggering step forward and felt around if I were to hit anything. "How long was I asleep?"

"Its best you don't learn anything until after your formation becomes easier to bare. Come, young one, I will help you."

At this point, I felt that I had nothing left to lose, so I should follow them. I reached my hands out, and felt there's on mine. When their fingers wrapped around my forearm, a shuddered at their long claws. But when my hand brushed my bare leg, I felt the same claws and looked down- I don't know why I did, it wasn't like I'd see anything.

"Why am I blind?" I finally asked as we walked out of the room.

"Do you remember seeing what the legion did to your loved ones?" He asked, resentment in his voice.

I thought hard but nodded. "Vaguely. But I remember nothing after that."

"Understandable," He said. "You would black out right after that."

"Did you blind me?" I asked again since he hadn't answered me yet.

"No, young one," He replied. "You ripped your own eyes out to stop from seeing whatever it is that you saw. You'll no longer have mortal vision like you once did. Now, you will embrace your spectral sight. It will help you detect demons better than before."

"But I see nothing."

"In time, you will see. You must be trained by another demon hunter."

"How long was I asleep for?" I asked for the third time and turned my head down as I realized I asked too many questions.

There was a silence in the room, but then he spoke. "A little under eight hundred and forty-three years..."

I turned my head to him sharply, silently hoping that I misheard him. "You said..."

"Eight hundred and forty-three years, yes." He said confidently as if he were calculating from day one. "Quite short for a demon hunter, it usually takes two hundred more. I guess your horns had finished forming early..."

"My-My horns?" My hands flew to my head, and I struck a hard, coiling surface. The horns on top of my head were new but they felt like they'd been there for decades... which they were, now that I realize.

"I know, I know," His raspy voice muttered, I felt comforting claws on my back that rubbed over my harsh skin. "It'll take some getting used to, but in time you will learn to embrace your new ways, and the voices will eventually stop."

"The voices," I gasped, releasing that the echoing in my head never fully went away. They muttered things in a language I did not know. "You hear them too?"

"Heard. Heard them." He replied. We turned down a hallway, it was damp and cold. It made our voices echo. "I'm a lot older than you, young one."

I had nearly forgotten how long I'd slept. Eight hundred and forty-three years. I wonder what happened during all that time. How many people lived their lives and died while I was asleep? How many generations were born and how many ended while I was asleep? Hardly anyone I know could live that long.

"Lókî..." I whispered, feeling my heart beat a little slower. Lókî must be dead by now. And I left him all alone in the forest... He must've wandered forever trying to find me, I know he would as I would do the same for him.

"Your saber, his name was Lókî?" He asked me, and I nodded. He didn't say anything after that.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked after a little while of silence. The cobblestone floor was bitter against my bare toes.

"We'll take you to Lord Illidan so he will make use of you." He said. "You have potential, young one, I'm sure you will make a fine warrior. You were a warrior in your mortal days, correct?"

"Yes, I was once," I said with a frown. "But I am blind now, how should I know where to swing my blade or pierce my arrow?"

The man gave a hearty laugh and pressed his wrinkly finger to my cheek where I frowned. "You will learn, in time."

In time. In time. It's already been over eight hundred years, how much longer will 'in time' be?