The Legion - Lahle & Silverwind

Author's Note: Part of The Legion Series. And before people beat on me, I AM going to update Lye&Ori soon, and possibly Thrall&Jaina, but this has been banging around in my head for aaaaaages!

--


The Dark Portal had been silent for so long, the residents of Azeroth had almost forgotten it, save as an abandoned relic of the past, until...

Lahle ducked as a fireball flew over her head, trying not to lose concentration on the healing spell that would keep Clenhoof on his feet. The barrage of Demons that flowed out from the Portal seemed never-ending, whereas the numbers of Horde and Alliance - strangely unified against the tide of invaders - diminished rapidly.

Jomar sliced through a Fel warrior that had snuck up behind the Priest as Lyelleth de-stealthed next to her. "Nightfall can't come soon enough!" The Rogue declared, panting heavily even as she tapped into her energy reserves. "We need reinforcements soon or..."

The Night Elf's words were cut short, as a giant fireball, bigger than any comet or meteor ever seen, tore across the sky.

"What *is* that, some new kind of weapon?!" Clen yelled from behind his shield, but even the Demon's had paused in their assault to watch the flaming streak above them.

"I don't know, but the cavalry's here!" Jomar replied, pointing toward the cusp of the crater at the point where the amassed forces of both Horde and Alliance stood, then charged, pouring over the edge to join the fray. Renewed, the Legion fought back harder, and the Azerothian forces pushed the invaders back through the Portal.

--

Hours later, camps had been set up around the edge of the crater, both sides mingling freely and tending to the wounded, or blessing the dead. Lahle sat in one of the Legion's tents with Orannis, Lyelleth and Tarista. Lye was curled up in Ori's arms, shaking, the Night Elf dangerously overtaxed. Tarista was keeping a not-so-subtle Druidic eye on the Moontouched; at the first sign of burnout she would be taking her back to Moonglade. The Priest had her eyes closed, trying to meditate, when something tugged at her consciousness, and her gaze snapped to Orannis.

"Did you feel that?" She asked softly, rising to leave the tent, and the Shaman nodded, following.

Outside, there were clusters of healers looking skittish and discomfited, glancing about them as if something were tugging at their consciousness. Tari joined the pair, flinching.

"Something isn't right." She said softly, "In fact, something is very wr..." The sentence was cut short as pain blossomed in her skull, almost flooring the Tauren, and she cried out in fear as the soul of Azeroth itself cried out. It wasn't only her who felt it either, those who had been sensing the niggling at their conscious all doubled over, as if struck. Guild leaders dashed about, trying to see what was attacking their members, until one of the Night Elf Druids managed to speak.

"Azuremyst... its burning... so many... dead... Elune save us..."

Lahle gasped as the pain eased slightly, but her very soul was shaking as the cries of thousands of souls echoed through the healers before being silenced. Not since the massacre at Stratholme had so many died in one fell swoop, and any attuned to the healing energy of the planet felt its protest.

Some of the Alliance leaders were already amassing exploratory forces, and mages were channelling portals to Darnassus to speed up the rescue. Horde leaders were checking over their healing forces, some of the Druids removing themselves to Moonglade to check on the Elders, worried the sudden shock could have killed them, concerned parents trying to reach children training in the healing arts, it was organised chaos.

Yet within the madness, a small Forsaken darted through the crowds, tapping Undead leaders and whispering a message to them before moving on. Concern began to spread like wildfire as one by one they made their excuses and left, until one of the Legion's Undead Warlocks - Grimroy - collared the messenger roughly.

"Speak," He snarled, holding the Rogue up by his leathers, "Or I throw you through the Portal."

"I swore an oath to Sylvanas herself. Feed me to the Demons if you wish, I will not tell you," He spat back. Grimroy only smiled, and began walking toward the green vortex, until the messenger howled. "Okay, okay!"

"Well?"

"Elves; the Elves wish an audience with The Lady." He stammered. "Not... not the Night Elves. *Her* Elves."

The Warlock dropped him in shock. "The *HIGH* Elves?"

--

The Guildhall was abuzz with the news by the time Lahle returned from her duty at the Portal, and as the exhausted Priest collapsed into a chair Lyelleth had perched on the stool next to her, hiding in the shadows of the corner, still a little wary about being so open in the Horde housing.

"So, is it true?" The Night Elf asked softly, concern heavy in her voice. "Is it them?"

"From what Clen has told me, not exactly." Lahle replied quietly. "They call themselves Blood Elves, other than that I don't know much." The Priest glanced at her, "Apparently they approached the Alliance first but were turned away. I imaging Sylvanas is rather pleased they will be joining us."

Shaking her head, Lye stared at the floor. "I have to be honest Lahle, this worries me. I mean, my place here is tenuous at best, but... Blood Elves? Adding a whole new race to the mix to me just... Well, we'll see," She trailed off, sighing deeply, but looked up as Tarista bounded over.

"Guess what!" The Tauren grinned, "I have news, and it isn't Blood Elf shaped." Grabbing a chair, the bubbly Druid sat herself opposite the pair. "You remember how the Druids - sorry Lye - said Azuremyst was burning? It was a crashed ship!"

"A ship?!" The Night Elf looked stunned, "What kind of ship?"

"An interdimensional traveller, or whatever," Tari replied dismissively. "That's not the point, there were survivors! And they're not a race we've seen before, apparently. But; that's not the juciest bit... you'll never guess why the ship crashed."

"Go on," Lahle said softly, "Before you explode Tarista."

"This is what I've heard, so take it with a pinch of Deeprock ok?" A pause, "The Blood Elves crashed it. They sabotaged the ship to kill everyone on board, but whoever was piloting it managed to halt some of the damage - it still crashed, just not at full speed. Apparently Azuremyst is a wreck; there’s all sorts of damage up there. A big group of Druids - sorry Lye - have been sent to do some damage limitation but apparently the newcomers are insisting on doing it themselves."

"No wonder the Alliance wouldn't take them, if they caused a bloody big ship to crash into the islands right next to Darnassus," Lyelleth observed softly, before rising. "I need some space. I'll see you all later."

Tari watched the Night Elf leaved in some concern, "Did I put my hoof in it again Lahle?" She asked worriedly, "She's been ok around me lately."

"I don't think it's you Tari," The Priest replied quietly, "She has a lot on her shoulders at the moment - getting used to living in the Guildhall with us, fighting the prejudice that some bring, adapting to her abilities, its a lot for her."

She smiled. "Well, I have a feeling she'd tell me if I put my hoof in it, or Ori would." The Druid rose, "I'm going to go report in, have a bunch of stuff to bank, see you later?"

"Of course," Lahle smiled, amber eyes glittering in the firelight.