Honor, Oath, & Blood

Chapter 1

The Legion wasn't coming, it was already here. It had been ten thousand years since their first attempt on Azeroth, and the scourge was tearing its way through the Eastern Kingdoms. Gylledra Alenos wondered if she was already too late as the human towns and cities were systematically decimated.

She had been in the thick of it during the first invasion and had watched as the existence she knew was torn asunder. She had fought alongside those who resisted, the ones smart enough to abandon Azshara and her mad quest for more power. Gylledra fought until the shield was erected around Suramar, trapping her inside. She never desired to hide, and uncertainty had kept her from leaving.

In the places where time moves differently, ten thousand years could feel like twenty and one year could feel like a hundred. Gylledra had spent a lot of time in such places once she did leave. The face the world now wore was unrecognizable. She knew it was Azeroth, she could feel it, the living thing deep inside it. There was nothing that looked familiar, the whole of Kalimdor was now scattered across the seas.

The rubble of razed towns didn't provide any information Gylledra needed and it took time to make her way to a region that had yet to fall victim to the Scourge. While the residents slept, she rifled through the library of a village called Tarren Mill, absconding with maps and books and whatever else her curious mind thought to grab. It was a human village, they seemed to be the most prevalent race in that part of the world. She'd never encountered such creatures on Kalimdor, before; they seemed like small, stunted versions of a great people she had known, once upon a time.

The town was small but seemed prosperous enough. Gylledra almost felt bad for depriving them of the books, but her mission was one that meant saving even the stunted humans who lived there.

Gylledra's traveling companion was Nasorya, who had with almost disconcerting happiness, slain demons at her side. She managed to focus long enough to keep watch throughout the pilfering.

Tarren Mill was in the remote region, the Hillsbrad Foothills, and making good their escape, Gylledra and Nasorya crossed a river and traveled east through forest. They passed an abandoned keep that gave off a very foreboding feeling before heading north into the hills to avoid the open exposure they'd be forced to contend with if they crossed into the Arathi Highlands.

The forest would have been serene had it not been for the knowledge of what was happening. Aside from that though, Gylledra felt something else was lurking in the trees but she couldn't tell what. Before exhaustion set in, they set up their meager camp in a small valley beside a creek.

Days of trudging through unfamiliar territory and creeping about to avoid notice had left Gylledra in great need of a bath. She stripped down while Nasorya disappeared in search of their dinner. The camp was sheltered by trees and adequate undergrowth and the afternoon sunlight streamed down through the leaves. The mirror-flat calm of the creek belied the current that ran beneath, carving its way through the hills.

Gylledra looked down at her reflection, an odd angle to say the least then inhaled sharply, wading into the icy water. The ripples disturbed the surface image and she wondered if this strange version of Azeroth was no more than a distorted reflection of what once was.

The breeze intensified the chill of the cold creek and rustled the leaves, but she kept an ear on the sounds of the birds, counting on them to sound the alarm if anything entered the immediate vicinity.

Gylledra scrubbed away the grime of travel and rough-living, in a bit of a rush considering how cold it was. She'd bathed in more creeks, streams, and ponds in her lifetime than actual bathing facilities. Doing her best to ignore the cold, she unraveled her braid to wash her hair. To some degree, the frigid water made her feel renewed and energized, alert even. She bent, ringing the water out, again meeting her own gaze in the reflection. The pendant she wore dangled from her neck, the glow emanating from the stone inside its silver metal cage flickered in the ripples.