The Path Less Travelled

Bloodsworn hatred. That was the legacy of the Troll Wars. As a child of the land south of the river, Eliendre was familiar with history and all the stories and accounts of the Farstriders and more. Her own father and mother were defenders alongside the rangers when push came to shove, and everyone knew of the desperation that saw the training of the First Hundred magi of Arathor that was the first step to the end of the millennia of bloodied feuding. 

Any sin’dorei hated the Amani, as any Amani hated them in turn. Zul’jin was infamous among her people. The warlord who united the shattered empire and joined the Old Horde when they invaded during the Second War. The one who invaded their seas after the Sunwell fell. The one who once more invaded their borders the same year the Sunwell was restored, when many of their people had left for Outland, and who was finally killed with the aid of allies from the Horde. Even then, the Amani mustered, and two or so years later, started to plan another invasion. 

And yet, their own witch-doctor betrayed them. Severed their ties with their gods. Brought their own great chieftain to ruination. 

How different were the Amani to the Sin’dorei, truly? 

Eliendre renounced her factional allegiances after she joined the Illidari. One had to - the kaldorei and sin’dorei were siblings in the same path, united against the greater threat after all. So too were her own kin with the Amani now. Yet it was oh-so-telling how ingrained the hatred was when she felt worse at the prospect of entering Atal’Aman than she did Argus, or any other world chasing down remnants of the Burning Legion. 

Rokzal. That lone troll holding a weapon to fight off what slayed his brethren when they came across him. Was that how she looked to Shan’do Sunstorm when he found her, barely alive, on the Broken Shore those years ago? 

Did Rokzal see the same spite, the same contemptuous look on her face, as the one he gave her as they walked to Amani’Zar? 

Eliendre sat upon the boulder by the water, towered by ancient stonework bridges and statues surrounded by incense, braziers, voodoo masks, and offerings - a small but significant dot of civilisation and shelter among the much older forest. Her own ancestors must have found and seen the same kind of land when they arrived and turned it into Quel’Thalas. She never knew how it could have looked if she had not crossed with the Glaive today. 

A little boy ran towards the water, fishing net and spear in hand, his mother following behind nagging. The boy halted several metres from where Eliendre sat, and he stared for a moment before he ran towards the woman behind him. His mother glared at her, uttering harshly before she ushered the boy home. 

The lapping of the waves against the shore outside the house of the Sunstorm-Windblazes on the grounds of the Firestar Estate provided a measure of comfort from the intense clash of the Sunwell’s Light against the void vortex in the sky, as well as the migraine that the sordid affair in which Eliendre had found herself and the Veiled Glaive entangled had induced.

Familiar footsteps sounded behind her as her adopted sister brought over a mug of tea. It was good of Taryane to keep her company. Although Eliendre would rather be on her own, she did not wish to push the other woman away, not when she and her mother had helped her in her investigations at the risk of their own political safety.

They sat in silence. Like herself, Taryane was not a conversationalist. Eliendre long knew that Vellidan found kin within herself because from physical build to personality, she reminded him intensely of his own daughter back in Quel’Thalas. Would that she could make him happier by remaining with his family, but at least he understood as a fellow demon hunter why she chose not to.

She heard Taryane’s heavy sigh beside her. “You could stay home, like you did for a little while. Let those who are in a position to fight the fight you’re currently engaged in do so instead of you demon hunters.”

Eliendre shook her head. “You know as well as I do that if it was effective there wouldn’t have been another Murder Row in the first place, nor any of this horrific nonsense.”

“We cannot control how the general population chooses to live their lives. You knew this even before you left Quel’Thalas.”

“What bothers me is the extent of reach those of influence are allowed to have. Is it not the job of the uncorrupted like those of this house whose estate we live on to dismantle them?”

“I wish it was as simple as going in and stripping them all of their titles and homes, or even subjecting them to the indignity of re-education. The problem of rebuilding and of one war after another means that we have needed people to do just that, and with so few of us left we have to utilise anyone who is capable-”

“And the capable include the corrupt and corruptible, who have all taken root and returned to old, disgusting habits of power plays especially once there are some years of peace and prosperity. I am well aware of history. It always repeats itself.”

Eliendre knew all of it - of course she did. A few nights back she said to Arkamur that she would still protect her people with her life despite feeling alienated from them, but it was sordid affairs like this that made it so soul-destroying. It was worse now in the face of the Sunwell possibly being corrupted once more like it was in the Fall.

She recalled the walk she took with Magistrix Solarbane. Eliendre, who never had to play spy in her entire life, had allowed a semblance of her youthful self to emerge in order to be disarming. Cialyn was right: Capernian was ‘venomously’ charming. Eliendre would be lying to herself if she thought that every word that came out of the Farstrider-turned-magistrix’s mouth was true, or that her mannerisms were completely sincere. She knew that Capernian was manipulative - the woman knew Eliendre’s father. Solarbane’s accent might not have even been real, but it was enough to allow the subconscious slips of Eliendre’s own manner of speech that she had suppressed since she outgrew her adolescence as a child of the rural region south of the Elrendar.

Did she loathe the woman’s morals and everything that she represented? Did she loathe Solarbane forcing her to recall a better time in her life and pretend that her put-on persona could be how she might have turned out in a happier, alternate reality where the Scourge did not invade and her family still lived?

Did she loathe her for both these reasons?

“Eli.”

Eliendre returned to the present moment. Since her tenure in the Glaive, nobody called her ‘Eli’ anymore to prevent confusion with their current Huntmistress. Only her adopted family still used the short form that she had been known for most of her life.

“We do what we do for those who don’t deserve to be treated the way they are treated.” Taryane’s voice is calm. “In every moment, there is a choice to be made, no matter how dire circumstances are and how bleak the choices, the right choice is the one of least evil.”

Trust the former blood knight to speak to her of virtue ethics. Eliendre knew this. She was simply… tired. And the tired needed reminding every so often.

“Like the Vanguard of the Light being allowed to wave their proverbial giant metaphorical swords in the street to keep fuelling the Sunwell.” Eliendre did not bother to hide the dryness.

“For instance.” Taryane had the decency to suppress an eyeroll. “Even if they are wearing the guards and patrols thin with their entitled behaviour and their zeal, they are helping us.”

Eliendre remained quiet as her adopted sister continued.

“It will take a while to eliminate the circles of corruption and bureaucracy, and try to help those who need it. Decades perhaps, but there are those of us who are still willing to fight them. That is what matters.

“Keep that in your mind when you’re feeling depressed about how Silvermoon is not living up to your ideal expectations.”

Underneath the shadows cast by overhead arches and bridges, as well as the floating pavilions and ramps, Eliendre flew through the streets cloaked and hooded, her warglaives illusioned away. This was how she travelled even in areas of sparse population, always avoiding capitals and settlements unless forced to. Silvermoon City was no exception. Fellow Illidari who visited home were all almost equally covered. It was the way of their people: keep your sordid magical practices under wraps and it will be tolerated. The rule applied from the upper echelons of the nobility to the lowest rungs of society, to even the University that opened and thrived after the Fall.

The hearthstone-cum-communication crystal instructed her where to go. Already the guards were mobilising as the commands rapidly flew down the hierarchy to fence off certain areas of the city, confining them away from where the “Vanguard of the Light” and whichever other heroes, warriors, champions, mercenaries or other allies were allowed to roam, albeit under strict policed surveillance of their state. It was the way post-Fall. It remained the way after the Devouring Host’s attack.

Thankfully, where most of the Veiled Glaive would not be allowed entry, Eliendre could roam freely - at least as freely with the knowledge she would be monitored, being a demon huntress. As she ascended the final flight of steps up towards the Royal Exchange, Magistrix Windblaze ran down in the opposite direction to meet her. Uncaring for her rank and that they stood in public, the older blood mage threw her arms around Eliendre and uttered words of relief.

Updates were made: their home was, as Eliendre suspected, affected by the invasion due to its proximity to Quel’Danas. While not without casualties, they were mercifully few in comparison to the slaughter across the sea at the Sunwell Plateau. Eliendre kept her emotions reined in even as she learnt that Shan’do Sunstorm and his daughter - her adopted sister - were intact and safe, the latter protecting the main gate while the former guarded the inner sanctum.

Despite her unwillingness to rely too much on the Sunstorm-Windblazes for more than they had already given her, Eliendre knew that these were unusual times. Reassurances and requests were made, promises were given, and Eliendre parted ways with her adopted mother with a fuller pocket. Her first task was to eat and drink and regain some semblance of strength, as well as ensure that the Glaive and their allies were fed and watered likewise - and Tylos Darksight pacified.

Her second task saw her going to the population registries. She expected chaos, and chaos she saw: lines were gathered of panicking and anxious citizens wanting to learn if their loved ones were on the list of deaths. Eliendre did not pose as one of them: she instead flashed a sigil given to her by Magistrix Windblaze, and made a discreet request that was off the books on behalf of a Sunfury Spire official. The harried bureaucrat promised the finalised list within the next twenty four hours. Eliendre secretly thanked her adopted mother.

Her third task was to go to her old family home. Her old hearthstone remained inert - yet the Devouring Host had not come that far south. Eliendre did not understand. Thus, on foot she sprinted, demonic stamina returned somewhat as she found the familiar roads and paths leading south of the Elrendar.

En route, she realised something was amiss: the flowers here and there that used to cause her pain when she touched them, had mutated. It was a mere couple of months back when she last visited for Winter’s Veil for a day or so, yet the rangers she passed and overheard, alongside denizens of the rebuilt villages all uttered the same thing: the Lightbloom was spreading, and it was causing flora and fauna alike to become abnormally feral.

When she arrived at her old family house, Light polluted pollen, grass, and flowers surrounded it. The nearby areas were warned off by the Farstriders. She could enter as it was her home, but it was less than ideal for both herself and for the rest of the Illidari and their allies in particular. Either way, something needed to be done - she trusted the Farstriders to their duty in that regard, unable to do more for the moment despite her reluctance. There would have to be alternatives to where they could camp outside of the city.

She bore the stinging and the pain of the flora, wrapping her new crimson cloak around her form, hood draped low over her visor and covering her nose and mouth to protect from the pollen. In front of her parents’ gravestones, she knelt and paid her silent respects, as she always did when she visited home. It was the least she could do, but it was barely tolerable.

Later, back in Silvermoon, Eliendre roamed the darkened streets once more. The list of casualties should be ready by the following night. For now, she kept an ear out for names mentioned here and there. The official Registry would provide, but what it could not, Eliendre had herself, and Magistrix Windblaze to aid her, using and perhaps abusing her rank to obtain intel through unofficial means. All the information would eventually reach her, and once it did, she would deliver it to her immediate superior.

Eventually, the fatigue set in, for even mechanical beings needed to stop and recharge, not to mention an elf. Not having stopped since the attack on the Sunwell, the adrenaline crash hit harder than the oppressive swarm of the void hours earlier.

Eliendre had enough presence of mind to find a dark corner in a tavern where the air was filled with the sweet scent of bloodthistle mixed in with other herbs from its various hookahs. Behind a curtain, hidden in the dark, something finally snapped.

Eliendre has two hearthstones.

The first belonged to her late mother. It is extremely old, but it still works, though it didn't use to. Not after the Scourge. Not after Minn'da's death, reanimation, and second death. Not after their house was ruined.

When the dust settled and the Sunwell was sacrificed, what remained of her family set out to rebuild the foundations of the broken building and make a home again. She rebound the hearthstone then.

For years, it brought her home, regardless of where she was on Azeroth. As long as she lived and breathed, she could use it.

She stopped using it after Ann'da's death and after she joined the Illidari. She thought it would be lost with her body on Argus, only to be proven wrong when she returned, scathed but alive.

When Eliendre was welcomed into the home of the Sunstorm-Windblazes, her Shan'do's wife offered to bind it to their gates, but Eliendre was not yet ready to cut off that one connection she had with her own family home. Thankfully the Magistrix was understanding, and offered instead a different way back.

The hearthstone to the Firestar Estate was untraditional. It was not a mere rune inscribed on a smooth, nigh-indestructible pebble, but a meticulously formed gem of arkonite, faceted precisely and inscribed to act not just as a way to return to its place of binding, but it also as a means of communication. Draenei methods adapted for blood elven use.

"But why?" Eliendre had asked.

"So that we are but a touch away if you are ever in need. Or if we have need of you."

Eliendre knew the Magistrix sensed her discomfort at the thought of being remotely tethered, despite Eliendre's best effort to demonstrate appreciation at her family's effort to welcome her as one of their own.

She never used it. She never needed to. Neither have any of them - her Shan'do, his wife, and their daughter - made the effort to contact her in turn.

Eliendre still keeps it on her, even off world in the space above Marduum or wherever the Illidari require her presence. In the few times she chose to return to her (new) home, she never used their modified hearthstone. She used her own - the one left behind by her mother. It brought her to familiar grounds by the sea, to the west of Goldenmist Village, where she would pay her respects to the graves of her family before travelling in person to her Shan'do's house.

The presence of the second hearthstone felt like obligation initially, but over the handful of years since Argus, its constant presence on her became an act of gratitude for the kindness of the family that accepted her as one of their own when they were under no condition nor obligation to do so.

..

Eliendre has two hearthstones.

One does not need spectral vision to see the distressed flashing coming from the arkonite gem, nestled in the same drawstring pouch with its older counterpart.

She sets down the waterskin, frowning under her visor as she fishes it out. In the years she carried it, none of her adopted family ever attempted to contact her. Yet in her hand, the magical signal is distorted, nigh-incomprehensible, but unmistakable. Spectral senses hone in, deciphering what she can.

If she still had eyes, they would be widened.

She tries to respond. She needs them to hear her, but it becomes increasingly distorted. She tries to activate it. She needs to get to where they are. It can't not work. Not now of all times - the one time she wants to use it.

It does nothing. The rapidly approaching vortex of energies at the other end cuts out any further connection.

She fumbles out her old hearthstone. It too, is as inert as the day she retrieved it after she cut down Minn'da's undead body.

There was a reason she returned to the Fel Hammer. It wasn't due to ingratitude. It wasn't due to dislike of her found family.

It started off with noticing the change. The change in the landscape. The change among the people. Eliendre stayed away from those who remained to form re-populated areas, mostly due to what she had chosen to become. Yet in her distance, she had observed the shift in their society over the few years since she accepted Shan'do Sunstorm's offer to return to his family with him.

Tiny dots of flowers hurt her vision as she traversed the edges of the Kingdom away from whatever ruins that still stood; away from places being rebuilt. Paths that were familiar to her prior to the Scourging, that became familiar again through the years of desolation when she had to re-learn them - they no longer felt recognisable. At least the grave markers a distance away from her hometown were still present in the wilderness, despite the the scattering growths of flowers that hurt her vision.

She gently gathered the other wild blooms that didn't sting her fingers and laid the bouquets by the stones engraved with the familiar names. Not too long ago, she could still sit down and contemplate in the reassuring silence of her parents' resting place. Now, the dots of flowers made it uncomfortable for her to linger too long.

How she wanted to simply burn them down with a snap of her fingers, but times have changed, and she needed to behave.

Head bowed, her lips moved in silent uttered words known only to herself and perhaps beyond the veil for whom they were meant. Discoloured, scaled fingers delivered a gentle kiss from her lips to the earth, and she rose.

---

On the northernmost shore, nearly meeting the sea that separated the mainland from Quel'Danas, Eliendre tread on the beach, letting the tide smoothing the white sands to erase her tracks. She passed the wards from the back gate, hidden and only accessible to the staff of the household and her found family. Her Shan'do did not come out to meet her. Perhaps he was angry that she had not returned until now; perhaps he was not home. Eliendre wished he would come out and tell her off. Like he used to do when he trained her. Like her own father did when he trained her.

Her adopted sister appeared in a Blink just as she stepped onto the paved stone steps leading up to the small house. It was at times like this that Eliendre wished she did not have the spectral sight, for her adopted sister's aura was as palpable as the annoyance that radiated off the other woman's posture.

The demon huntress halted, waiting for the scolding or the punch or slap to her arm. But it did not come. Instead, there was a swift rush of air, and the enveloping of her shoulders within strong arms.

"You reek. Go take a bath. I'll help you with your hair and your back, as always."

There were no bright dots of flowers in the grounds of the large estate that hurt her eyes and hurt her skin. Gratefully, Eliendre allowed herself to be led into the house.

---

Magistrix Windblaze did not return home. Taryane said that she had gone to find her father. A spread for dinner was laid out as usual - Narindiel always made sure there was a feast for any moment Vellidan or Eliendre returned home, regardless of how long they were away.

Eliendre expressed her gratitude for not allowing the Lightbloom to pollute their grounds. She did what she does best: listen to Taryane in silent commiseration as the Knight-turned-Mage Apprentice caught her up on what had been happening with her training while Eliendre was away. The grimness of the air was palpable as Taryane related the new laws coming from the upper hierarchies, that not even the Lord of the household was immune to.

"Can they still call themselves blood magi? 'Pyromancer' is now preferred." Scorn edged Taryane's words. She turned to Eliendre -- who, in her freshly washed state, was curled on a cushion in her usual quiet manner, playing with the matching earrings Vellidan gave them both a while back. Her tone softened. "There is still some respect for Sunfury demon hunters, though I heard a rumour that there are plans to delegate them to hunt down unsanctioned demonologists."

Eliendre arched a brow. Taryane scoffed. "It is as ridiculous as it sounds and I hope it remains a mere rumour. I barely listen to the pointless nattering in the Spire so it would be fortunate if my ears were simply deceiving me."

They talked into the night. No blame was laid on Eliendre for choosing to return to the Illidari, even though Taryane appeared mildly resentful.

"I wish I had someone to talk to more often. You're important to us, especially to Ann'da. You were there for him when I couldn't be.

"But I understand why you stay away. Ann'da has left for his hunts more often too. With the puritanical way things are heading and how our House's magisters have become the absolute minority in resisting these new policies, it may only be a matter of time before the use of fel is banned altogether, and will affect you and Ann'da too."

Eliendre digested the information in silence. She never expected to return to Quel'Thalas in the first place, much less be allowed to roam freely among their people. Eliendre preferred isolation, and after finally accepting herself as part of Vellidan's family, ironically chose to be of service away from them.

There was no need for a further cause of liability for the Sunstorm-Windblazes, nor the Firestars. Not in this evolving climate. Eliendre would not burden them with her presence.

---

She promised Taryane she would stay for a few days - at least until Narindiel or Vellidan returned, if she was not summoned away for more pressing tasks first.

Eliendre did not come home empty-handed. She knew too well the value of artifacts, data, and intelligence provided to persons of status within the Sunfury Spire. Presented to Narindiel to give to the Lord or Lady of the household were maps of the stars within the Great Dark in the form of databanks of Titanic origin or otherwise -- valuable resources for Divination and Nethermancy. Otherworldly tomes and scrolls were left in a static chamber in the Magistrix's office, describing spells and wards Eliendre observed during the hunts for Legion remnants. Salvaged pieces of technology from the Fel Hammer itself were curiously claimed by Taryane. Eliendre drew up schematics and blueprints for the arcane-engineer in training, demonstrating their inner workings.

There were other valuable artifacts that were stagnating within the hull of the former Legion flagship. Eliendre chose the ones that gathered the most dust yet would hopefully prove the most useful, but there were always more items that would not be missed. Above all, there was valuable information not privy to anyone else outside the Fel Hammer that could help their people in field missions outside of Quel'Thalas, should they ever need it.

It was the least Eliendre could do for those who have been nothing but kind and generous to her, before she left them again.

Kaelieth Stardawn, Legion Timerunner.