The Needed Evil

[Van'nal]

Van'nal's head swam as the darkness enclosed upon him. He barely felt the soothing waves of healing light wash across him and return him to normal. Well as normal as he could be. He was dimly aware of giving a low groan before he was fully lost in his brain, where he felt a pulsing seed of raw dark energu pulsing in his mind. If he were awake he could've groaned in annoyance, a part of the fel crystal's energy had seeded itself in him.

I'll be out longer, he thought bitterly as he focused his energy away from conscious thought into battling the little piece of fel energy in him, which seemed like a large mountain. Looking upon it he gave a sigh in thought, Oh joy. And so he began a fight that would take a long while in his mind, but could be only a second or two on the outside.

Whelming all of his arcane might, in thought, he threw it upon the mountain. A large chunk burst aside and vanished into nothingness. Haha! He crowed triumphantly, hurling more and more power at the mountain, though the chunks seemed large to him; compared to the mountain it looked as if it were being chipped away, though extremely quickly.

He stood panting, the mountain only had one chip left. Throwing his last bolt he felt an explosion of arcane energy and gasped. Waking up and sitting straight up. A wave of vertigo hit him and he gave a slight groan falling back down until he was fine again. Taking a deep breath he sat up slowly, blinking away a haze from his eyes to look at Ryette. Blinking a few more times he asked slowly, "What happened?"

[tyhlae]

Tyhlae replaced the bow on her back and allowed Rih'dan to take control of most of covering them. She moved to support the weak, icy elf. Even through her thick leather she felt chilled, but she had learned to deal with a bit worse. "The Blood Knights did what I was trying to convince that human priestess up there that they would do. Silly people, why would you actually believe them so easily. Sin'dorei, quel'dorei -- neither of you feed on fel magic like they would have you do. Either way, it's better for your health if we get as far away from here as possible. I'm sure your hunger for magic is affecting you as it is affecting me, possibly worse." She felt her stomach twist uncomfortably, aching for what she sensed to be so near. She hadn't meditated yet and though her morals told her otherwise, her body urged her to return, to find one of those fel crystals and....
But she wouldn't. She knew better.

The priestess examined him and nodded. "Seems my other priestess here's got you covered. Now, any of you got a place you need to be returning to in particular? It isn't particularly safe about here when you've openly attacked Blood Knights!" she nodded as if to end a long lecture and let her eyes wander over the group, inspecting them.

[Vanaria]

Vanaria ignored the world around her, focusing on the body that laid at her feet. The word 'surprise' rang in her ear. Different energies.

She turned to the priestesses. "I appreciate the rescue and the offer, but I don't think I can make it back to stormwind, atleast not without meditating first."

Vanaria scratched her arms again. The addiction was getting worse. Out of worry she grabbed her arcane shards and tossed them to the ground. Furious at herself for even considering using them, the elf fell to the ground in fatigue. "Just a moment of meditation." She mumbled loudly.

[shatterlune]

Ryette sized up the human priestess (Leanessa), her gaze unreadable. Then, her eyes crinkled and she burst into a grin. "Nice to see a follower o' the faith roundabouts," she said by way of introduction, sticking out a dirt-encrusted hand for a shake.

"47th division, ma'am," Ryette said simply. "Or, I was...guess I'm free-lancing now. No need to go back to that hell-hole when I've got a full belly and coin to spare in my purse. I got nowhere in partic'lar to be, so I'll just foller all-a-you," she added as an afterthought.

Noting Vanaria's collapse, she spun gracelessly on her heels to face the high elf.
"Errgh, don't make me drag ye along. Them bloodies are gonn' come after us some...an' I'm plumb outta energy. Need a lil' somethin' somethin'."

Ryette took a swig of mana potion. Her eyes glittered brighter. "Ye need somma this, girly," Ryette thrust the pale blue bottle at Vanaria. Sympathetically, the blood elf pounded Vanaria on the back. This appeared to compound the problem, but the priestess didn't notice.

[Vanaria]

Vanaria shook her head at the soldiers offer for a drink. She knew the medic was just trying to help, but anything magic base would do nothing but deliver Vanaria deeper into addiction. "If I never consume magic again, it'd be too soon. I don't understand why the Blood Elves would curse themselves with this." Vanaria made a gesture at the arcane shards. It was a lie. She knew perfectly well of the euphoria and relief magic offered. Too many times she had almost slipped and joined the ranks of the sin'dorei.

Vanaria brushed the hair out of her eyes as she scrambled back to her feet. Meditation would have to wait for safety. "Speaking from experience, the Blood elves will probably send the Farstriders after us. It would be wise to make tracks before that happens."

Something caught Vanaria's eye. A flash of an arrowhead gleamed brightly from the nearby bushes, pointed at the human. In one fluid motion, the Elf lunged at her and began chanting, encasing them both in a block of ice. The arrow froze inches away from Vanaria's eye. Too late. She thought.

[shatterlune]

Ryette snarled, rising swiftly. Her hands moved in a broken, harsh pattern.

There was a clatter as the unseen archer dropped his or her bow. A Wretched stumbled into the clearing, clutching his head and moaning. Shadows appeared to have congealed around him, seeping into him through any orifices.

Suddenly, an hour quivered in Ryette's shoulder. She shrieked, clutching at the shaft. Astonishment was written clearly across her face. "There are more! He was a scout!" she groaned.

Light coalesced around her shoulder but she kept muttering. It got brighter and brighter, until the wound was painful to look at. A second arrow followed the first; this one was thankfully deflected by her chainmail. It knocked the air out of her and the light dimmed somewhat, but at least the medic hadn't acquired a second arrow. The light flashed bright once and then disappeared. The wound was gone and the 1st arrow clattered to the ground.

"Keep the featherstickers offa me and I'm keepin ye all away from death's door," Ryette said grimly, moving back behind the others.

[tyhlae]

The elven huntress and human priestess glanced at each other in silent communication. The priest fell back near Ryette. "Same here, though I'll try to stay on the offensive more -- ack, never been good at those shadow spells though. Too bad I didn't have the sense to wear real armor this time."

The huntress notched an arrow and chanted with each arrow released in a deeper voice than usual, her words almost elven but not. The points gave off the faintest red light and, as proved by the first victim of them, scorched whatever they landed in. The dragonhawk let out a short ear-piercing screech before diving into the fray, her beak digging into whatever dared come her way. Every few seconds she would retreat back a moment before alighting the foe with flame breath.

[Van'nal]

"I don't think I can offer any spells for this, but I think my sword will suffice." Van'nal rasped, charging at the nearest of the Farstrider's he could see. His blade flashed in light and sliced down, locking with the bow of the ranger. He pressed hard and heard a crack. As the bow broke away he slashed again, locking his sword with an axe of the Farstrider. Van'nal glared then yelped, a blade flashed down, slicing his shoulder open. He back-pedaled, holding his blade in front of him as the Farstrider came on.

Van'nal grumbled angrily as he was put on the defensive, "I should've been a paladin!" He snarled angrily as he furiously parried to try and stop the attacks. Swinging quick, he managed to slice through the Farstrider's guard, slicing open his gut to let him fall to the ground. Van'nal blinked and laughed, "I actually killed one with a sword!"

[Vanaria]

The block of ice shattered within a matter of seconds, leaving Vanaria vulnerable. She began chanting at the nearest bush, freezing the ranger's feet and hands, incapacitating him. "They don't deserve die, they're just following orders." She cried.

An arrow grazed her check, leaving a trail of blood. Vanaria returned the arrow with an icy bolt. The ranger's chest froze, knocking him to the ground.

Vanria scooped back up her arcane shards, knowing that she'd need them soon enough. "We should leave, now! They'll only send more."

[shatterlune]

Ryette nodded as a stream of light flowed from her clasped palms to Vanaria's cheek.

She sagged, weakened. The priest reached into her pouches and retrieved the half-ful bottle of mana potion. Ryette polished off the rest in one big gulp. Her eyes were beginning to look glazed. "Ahh, give me one of those crystals," she demanded of Vanaria. "I need more..."

The priest stumbled dazedly into a tree, her hands clawing at the empty air. "I'm ... I need it," she groaned, hurling the empty bottle to the ground. "Someone GIVE it to me now!"

[Vanaria]

Vanaria took a step back from the intoxicated priest. The mana potion was pungent on her. It sent shivers down the young elf's spine. "You don't need them. Don't let yourself become a slave to it. It will do nothing but twist you into a wretched."

The words were a bit hypocritical for Vanaria as she fought back the very same urge to drain the crystals. The only thing that stopped her was fear, fear of what she would become.

The rangers were either dead or fleeing. The battle was followed by a brief moment of eerie silence as the sun began to set over the trees.

Something bothered Vanaria. The closer she got to proximity Silvermoon, the weaker her hunger became. Now, as she was ready to flee Eversong, her hunger was stronger than ever. Vanaria bit her lip, knowing she would no solace until she discovered why. After a long pause, she muttered the words "We have to go back."

[tyhlae]

Tyhlae's eyes found the arcane crystals and locked on, taking a step forward before Leanessa's hand shot out and slapped the huntress across the face. "Tyhlae Madeleine Dawnstalker! You are better than that. You're getting those crystals over my cold, dead corpse." The priestess reached down to the ground and picked up all the crystals, holding them in her arms.
"Now. How about we all, Sin'dorei included, take a little break? No one's going to die to their addiction here, okay?"
Turning to the dragonhawk, who was chittering at Tyhlae, as if chastising her for having to have the sense knocked back into her, Leanessa clicked her tongue, to get the bird's attention. "Come on, Rih. You come guard the crystals for me. Tyh's fine." The bird pecked each crystal out of the priestesses hands and threw it to the ground further from the elves, before nesting herself on top of them.

The huntress finally spoke up and looked at Vanaria curiously. "Of course. I personally could do no different. They've got something at the Sunwell but it's not like the original. And when it comes to Kael-lovers, the more demonic the better to them."

[Van'nal]

Van'nal looked over quietly, "What if they are attempting to either full subvert all remaining Quel'dorei and Sin'dorei, those who resist, to the power of Kael'thas? I heard reports from a contact of mine in the Outlands that he had apparently been dethroned by the efforts of the Horde and Alliance, but I do not think he could easily be defeated." He was quiet for a moment, pondering.

"For all we know they could be trying to come up with some crazed idea of a demonic blood elf!" He gave a slight chuckle at that, thought it seemed strained as if the idea was possible. "Either way, I believe we should get far enough away from Silvermoon, maybe go to Orgrimmar?"

((ah, sorry for being absent >_< life had been hectic!))

[Vanaria]

(np, just glad nobody's left yet
Vanaria nearly wept when the Dragnohawk began protecting the arcane crystals. Pure energy, relief from the pain, out of reach. She tried to refocus on the matter at hand, tried to avoid the never ending thirst that was addiction. What was happening at the sunwell?

The blue Blood Elf's idea of running didn't sound plausible at the moment. Vanaria shook her head at the thought. "Even if we could secure safe passage through the plaguelands and make it to safety, there's no guarantee that we'll be out of harms way. If Kael'thas is planning to do something with the sunwell, there would be no safe haven for the Elves to escape to. Every single one of us could be in peril."


The Elf paused for a moment to think about it. Why would Kael'thas tamper with the sun well, even if only to aid the Blood Elves? The repercussions would be severe.

"I say we travel north, and give the sunwell a look over. Once I'm positive I won't wake up a Blood Elf, or worse." Thoughts of satyrs and naga floated through the Elf's mind. "We can leave. It shouldn't be too hard to get inside the city if the guards are all out hunting High Elves."

[Vanaria]

((bump ))

[tyhlae]

Tyhlae glanced around at the other elves and bit her lip, cursing when her eyes fell on Vanaria. "I was going to say we could easily sneak in under the guise of being Kael'thas Blood Elves, I've done it plenty of times before, but I'm afraid your eyes are a little too blue. I am also Quel'dorei, but my eyes are naturally green-ish -- it's how I've been able to sneak in and out of the city these few years."

Leanessa seemed less inclined to give up. "No worries. Missy can play the part of the turncoat high elf if we need her to. However, as for me... I think I'll just have to play the part of the half-elf sister, m'kay Tyh? I shall return shortly." Disappearing from sight in a flash of dust, the priestess appeared walking from behind a tree a couple minutes later, changed out of her robes of Elune. A black robe complete with blood-red trimmings and a hood draped over her instead. Her eyes were visible from under the hood, similar teal eyes like Tyhlae helping her role seem more natural. "This was always the best part of being a rogue, you know? The sneaking, the disguises -- guess I've missed that part of my past."

The priestess walked over to Tyhlae and pulled out a knife, putting it against the elf's neck and pulling forward, cutting her hair. Pulling out a blood-red ribbon from her own hair, she tied it to make a short little ponytail.
Walking around to face Tyhlae, she smiled at her work. "Sorry about that, but you know, you look quite like your mother with your hair like that. Now, at least, no one will recognize you from a distance. You are Anara Bloodarrow, not Tyhlae Dawnstalker. Tyhlae is an openly anti-Kael'thas elf. Anara needs to be convincingly Kael'thas loyal. And I'm your half-sister, Kana Bloodarrow, a somewhat mentally disturbed, though equally loyal half-elf. I'm fairly sure my mad Thalassian skills will throw them off the idea I'm actually full human."

((Sorry for disappearing as well... thought I'd throw this in.))

[Firstt]

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