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In front of the Silvermoon Registry was my hawkstrider, Eccaya. I quickly jumped on the green strider, trying to keep a hold of the reins. The sounds of releasing arrows filled Farstriders' Square as I walked into the training area. I rode on Eccaya, looking around for Pyllivan's spiky brown hair. An arrow then flew in front me. Eccaya halted back, almost getting hit by the arrow, running into a ranger. "Hey watch where you're going!" I turned around to see who I ran into. It was a male blood elf with long blonde hair. "So-sorry. I'm looking for Pyllivan..do you know who he is?" I stuttered. "Your his sister right? Essa, is it?" The male replied. "I'm his sister, yes. But my name is Araessa," I replied. "I am Halduron. Your brother is over there, getting his armor," Halduron said as he pointed to the right. "Thank you," I said warmly, as I strode near Pyllivan. Pyllivan was with a group of people. I recognized his girlfriend, Héra. I didn't like Héra that much because she was very stubborn and cocky. "Uh-oh. Look what my mother dragged in," Pyllivan said as I joined in. "I wonder why Eccaya let's that orc-like beast on her back." His whole entourage started to laugh. "Doral ana'diel, Pyllivan. Mother told me to bring this to you, maybe I should have dumped it in Murder Row," I said. "Maybe you should have just dumped yourself in Murder Row," Héra smirked while the rest of the group laughed. I took the satchel and threw it on the ground. "You're no brother of mine." I retorted. Tears filled my eyes, and it felt like I could hear echo's of them laughing. I could hear Eccaya's footsteps and saw that we weren't anywhere near Farstriders' Square anymore. I was in Murder Row, facing a tall woman. "Araessa, what are doing here? Murder Row isn't safe for a girl like you to be at." The elf was Raina, my aunt of my father's side. Raina was a tall, muscular female. She had tan skin with long curly black hair. "I don't know, I was just at-." Before I could finish I burst into tears. "I'm on my way home. I w-will talk to you later." I grabbed the reins of Eccaya and the strider ran off again. Eccaya and I finally reached the house. I walked inside, seeing mother as she was setting food on the table. "We're having lynx steak with spring water, Araessa. How was seeing Pyllivan?" Mother smiled. "We didn't talk, at all." I replied. "Well, Pyllivan isn't coming home for dinner tonight. I'm assuming you're going to the Sunstrider Spire to learn the rest of your mage training tomorrow?" Mother said as she started putting the drinks on the table. "I never was, nor have been a mage, moth-." Araya walked in, interrupting what I was saying. "M-mom." Araya said. Araya was a short, slim Sin'dorei with long straight golden brown hair, like mine. "Araya, let your sister finish." said Mother, currently giving Araya a dirty look, "This can't wait!" Araya yelled. Mother's nostril's started to flare, and Araya went pale. "Just listen outside. The-" A loud noise of shouting broke out. Me, Araya, and mother scrambled outside. Multiple rangers were lining up at the entrance. "Shindu fallah na!" A blood elf ranger cried.

Chapter 2: All Hell Breaks Loose

One of the rangers started to yell. "Band'or shorel'aran!" He said. I turned around and mother started to cry. Then she grabbed my cheeks. "Darling, get my son." She cried. I ran to Eccaya and gave them one last look. "Shorel'aran, Araessa." Eccaya started sprinting as I got a hold of the reins, leading her to Farstriders' Square. Once I got there, it was deserted. "Araessa!" A voice cried. I turned around. It was Héra. "Araessa, I'm sorry." "Where is Pyllivan?" I yelled. "He went out to fight. I told him no, but he just didn't listen." Héra started to cry. "The scourge are breaking through, Araessa. They're going to destroy the Sunwell." A wave of shock flooded me. I blinked at Héra. "Go to Sunstrider Spire, you'll be safe there. I'll find Pyllivan." I said. "Are you crazy?! You can't!" I took the reins of Eccaya and started to gain speed. I heard Héra yelling no, but I ignored her. Abominations and ghouls flooded the streets before my eyes. There were undead everywhere. Eccaya started to slow down. "Eccaya, what are you doing?!" I yelled. Eccaya stopped dead in her tracks. I then jumped off the hawkstrider and ran into the inn. I peered out into the door. Eccaya started to run towards me, but an abomination horror stuck her down, killing the strider. Tears ran out of my eyes. I started to run towards the fiend, but someone held me back. "Araessa, it's Raina," she murmured, "Eccaya isn't coming back, but your sister is here." I turned around. There were five people in the inn. Raina, Araya, and three other elves I didn't know. "Mother is dead," Araya cried," I haven't seen Pyllivan either." "I saw Héra. She don't know where Pyllivan is either." I muttered. No one said a thing. "We're all going to die," said one of the other elves. "We going to die in the arms of Arthas." The elf was a male. He was pale with long black hair. "Don't you say that." Raina murmured. A horde of voices arose from outside the inn. It was a group of rangers, one of them Pyllivan. "Pyllivan!" cried Araya. "Be quiet. We are here to take you to the Sunstrider Spire." said one of the rangers. "This way." We followed the group of rangers outside into Murder Row. Ghouls filled Murder Row. The rangers immediately started to shoot. "Anar'alah belore!" On of the rangers yelled. The rangers kept shooting until the area was cleared. "Keep walking!" said one of the rangers. But before they took another step, the lead ranger of the group yelled. "HALT!" Something huge walked out of the gates of Walk of The Elders and into Murder Row.

Chapter 3: Meet Luzran

An undead, ogre-like creature, with mounds of corpses cobbled together was standing before them. Guts spilled from a jagged gap in it's stomach, and flies were buzzing about it, feasting. Three disproportionate, arm-like limbs emerge from its bloated body, with two bearing bloody cleavers, and the other a thick chain with a hook on the end. Its tongue was thick and round, dangling from between crooked, yellow teeth. "LUZRAN SMASH!" Yelled the abomination as he swung one of his arms. "Run!" screamed one of the rangers. Luzran's hand with the butcher knife slammed into the inn's door, the wall breaking in two. "Luzran don't need butcher knife! LUZRAN SMASH WITH FIST! ELVES DIE!" Yelled Luzran. The abomination withdrew his hand from the wall and pounded against the street. Luzran then took his other hand with the butcher knife and slammed it, this time hitting Pyllivan. "NO!" Araya screamed, running towards Pyllivan's unconscious body. "No more play?" Yelled Luzran. "Araya, we have to go before we all die!" I screamed, but Araya wasn't listening. She was mourning over Pyliivan's body, crying. "Araessa, go! I'm staying here! Just leave!" Araya yelled. One of Luzran's fist swinging just above Araya's head. "I'm not leaving you!" I ran and pulled Araya away just before Luzran's fist could fall on top of them. All of us ran as fast as we could. "Elves run away from Luzran?! Bad elves!" Yelled Luzran. Soon enough, we arrived at the Court of the Sun. "What's that noise?" yelled Raina. They all turned around to see that the Sunstrider Spire was breaking into pieces. "MOVE! MOVE!" Yelled Raina. A huge pillar from the palace was falling down. It landed on a group of rangers, leaving most of them unconscious. "Go on!" one of them yelled. Our group continued on, running down to Farstriders' Square. That's when I saw Héra. "Araessa, Araya, you're alive! Quickly, follow me!" She led us into a building by the Hall of Blood. We went through an underground tunnel, then another. We finally reached a massive room. Many bodies were spread around. "Anar'endal dracon, we're under the Hall of Blood, aren't we?" Raina preached, as she looked up at the ceiling. I turned my head up at the ceiling to. There was a balcony of some kind above the floor. "You'll be safe for now, we don't know how long it'll be till the Scourge reach us," Héra comforted. "Did you ever find Pyllivan?" I looked over at Araya then looked at Raina. "We found him at the inn in Murder Row, but then, th-then a monster of some kind, k-killed him. I'm sorry," Raina sympathized. Héra's eyes started watering, then she burst into tears. "Why?," she wailed,"out of all of the blood elves, why Pyllivan?" Héra's eyes flooded with tears. "I'm sorry, we tried to help," I comforted, but it didn't seem to work. Héra cried and wailed even louder.

Chapter 4: The End of a New Beginning

"Arthas is coming. He is near Silvermoon. This is our time to strike!" yelled a ranger. Many of the elves disagreed though. "We barely have enough soldiers!" "He already killed the majority of our nation! Do you want him to kill the rest of us?!" "The scourge are too powerful!" I then joined in the conversation. "There are enough of us. We can distract them, and help the elders and children get out of town. If we die, at least we'll know they are safe," I continued," We don't even need armor nor weapons. If it keeps them distracted, then that's better than having them kill us off even more." A group rangers and scouts both stood up. "We'll do it," they all replied. "Then let's go," I retorted.

Chapter 5: Till Death Do Us Part

           Though depressed about his lack of skills, Rahfal let these disadvantages fuel him. He ventured out on hunts at a young age, and even began combat training at the age of six. He became the first of his small tribe to down the mighty Kodo at the young age of 12. Rahfal loved the feel of a blade in his hand, and learned to flow with his sword in combat, much like the flow of the elements in his father's spells. He treated combat as a spell of his own, weaving and controlling it to do his bidding. As time passed, Rahfal was rightfully recognized within his tribe as a proud and skillful warrior, earning his place as their lead guardsman. He took this title with his life, taking even the smallest illness within the tribe as a failure on his part. After a few months, the land beckoned the tribe to move on to their next location. Before their move, Rahfal and a small force of guardsmen set out to make sure their intended path was clear before the tribe moved along.

       As they finished their last round of scouting and prepared to return, three Tauren caught their eyes on the horizon. All three were bleeding, limping their way towards the group. Rahfal and his men hurried to them, calming them down as they began to lead them back to their tribe. The events that happened next were too fast for Rahfal or his men to react. The Tauren, who were limping behind them, quickly stabbed the nearest guard in the back, slicing their way through the middle of the group. Rahfal watched in awe, wondering what had provoked them. His thoughts were broken as instinct took over to parry a sword swinging for his head, his anger quickly taking over for the unprovoked attack and battling off the 3 Tauren. His skill was proving too much for the attackers until a burst of dark magic hit him from behind, dazing him. A quick blow to the head by one of their mallets sent him to the ground, the words "Another victory for the Grimtotem" ringing in his ears as he lost consciousness.

    Chapter 2: Power of Lies

       Rahfal opened his eyes slowly, the light of the room blinding him as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. As he looked around, he noticed a large group of Tauren, possibly a small tribe, looking at him and two of his men, who were tied to logs. He moved his hand, not surprised to learn he too was bound like the guards beside him. "Where am I?" he choked out, his mouth dry from the hours of his unconsciousness. "Quiet you!" one of them cried, stepping forward. Rahfal noticed him as one of the Tauren that attacked him and his guards. Rafal's eyes instantly narrowed, his voice erupting in a growl. "You! I should kill you!" The Tauren scoffed, speaking loudly towards the others. "I bet you'd like that, beast. This shameless animal before you is a monster! He has allied himself with the Grimtotems, look at what he and his men did to us!" he cried as he showed the cuts and gashes along his body. "LIAR!" cried Rahfal, his hands pulling on the ropes in desperation. "You murdered my people in cold blood, YOU are the monster!" The Tauren shook his head as Rahfal explained what happened, the crowd of tribesmen slowly taking the side of the secret Grimtotem. Rahfal sighed, realizing his words were falling to deaf ears.

       The crowd debated for hours until they all agreed on Rahfal and his men's fate. They would be under strict watch of the people, and would serve their community as help was needed until their "crimes" were paid off. Rahfal was furious, but knew he had to abide by their rules to keep what was left of his men alive. Before the tribe's guards cut them free to take them to their new quarters, a Tauren stepped forward. This Tauren was garbed in white flowing robes, a book in his hand. Rahfal knew this Tauren was the tribe's priest, for he was told not all tribes followed the old ways. "Before you take them off, I would like to have this one aid our church. I can't repair the thing alone anymore." "Very well," said the guard. "Take him." 

        For months, Rahfal and his men worked, the guards off hunting for food while Rahfal helped maintain the church building's functionality. He was relieved, as he knew it could have been much worse. His relief was short lived, however, as his fate had no intention of granting him peace.

    Chapter 3:  The Demon is Born

       Rahfal looked up at the sky, a cloudy morning as he walked to the church to begin his day of work. As he approached, the priest came walking to him. "Today we're going out to the lake. We need purified water for a prayer tomorrow." Rahfal let out a tired sigh, grabbing a bucket from the work station. "Alright then," he huffed, "lets get moving." The lake was a few miles south of the tribe, as Rahfal knew from spending his days off loitering around the area. As they walked, he realized something was off. The priest was heading in the wrong direction, something about him seeming different. "Hey, the lake is back that way. Where are we going?" The priest turned to him, his eyes having a black tint to them. "You're serving me, Tauren. I have been sitting idly for far too long in that damn church, I have many spells and rituals to perfect, and you are going to be my test subject."

       Rahfal's teeth clenched, realizing the bolt of shadow magic that hit him from behind was from the priest. Rahfal lunged, throwing a punch to disorient the priest. Before his punch could land, he felt a chill in his mind, his body locking up immediately. "Mind Control, such a wonderful magic.." cooed the priest, circling the paralyzed Rahfal. "Come, we have much to do.." Rahfal followed the priest slowly, unable to shake his control. As the months passed, the priest's experiments continued. Painful spells and rituals were preformed on Rahfal, his feeling of hopelessness only strengthening as he watched the priest in the village, fooling the tribesmen every day with his holy-man facade. 

        The priest's experiments were becoming more painful and dark as time progressed, until the day came that the priest decided to summon a demon itself and form a contract for its services. On top of a mountain south of the village, the priest finished tying Rahfal to a tree, setting up the ritual circle. "Looks like this is goodbye, old friend. I'll need you to be my sacrifice for a demon of such power. It will be a simple task, claim you ran away or was killed by a Kodo..." The priest spoke with amusement in his tone, lighting the candles positioned around the circle.

       Rahfal remained silent, hanging his head as he awaited his death. He winced as the familiar feeling a steel sliced across his arms and chest, his warm blood spilling into the circle. The priest began to chant in a Demonic language, hissing his spell as the circle around Rahfal began to emit an eerie glow. The priest, however, was no warlock. His little knowledge of the Demonic language ruined his translations, and his ritual gave him the wrong results. A demonic soul began to seep from the circle instead of a demon itself, burrowing it's way into Rahfal and beginning to possess his body. The priest was confused, flipping the pages of his book to see what he did wrong. Rahfal let out a loud yell as the soul clawed away at his mind for control. Fearing the unexpected results, the priest decided to flee back to the tribe, forming a story to tell the tribesmen about the missing Rahfal. He continued to scream out, using his willpower to fight against the demon soul. The tug of war lasted for days, the soul almost engulfing him, and he almost absorbing the soul.

       As the seventh day passed, Rahfal was getting dangerously close to dying of thirst and starvation, a storm on the 3rd day having granted him temporary salvation. His will was strong, pushing the demon soul back with every advance it made. The soul began to fear dying alongside Rahfal as he starved to death, it's control faltering. Finally, Rahfal's chance had come. Sensing the momentary weakness in the soul's grasp, Rahfal summoned up every ounce of willpower left, fighting back with every fiber of his being. Caught off guard by the sudden force of Rahfal's will, the demon's grasp on him weakened until, with one final push, the soul was expelled from his body, dispersing in the air as its power faded. The week-long tug of war had left Rahfal with more than just control of his body. The spoils of the war also went to him, the demonic powers that would have been used by the demon now flowing through Rahfal's body. As he opened his eyes, pure black orbs stared out to the world, not a single hint of white in them. To most, they would seem hollow if not for the glint of light shining off them. Once Rahfal won control, the Demon was born.

    Chapter 4: Hunger

       Rahfal stood, dazed at the sudden release on his soul as the demon left his body. The hunger clawed at his stomach, growling loud as it pleaded for food. He tried to move but realized he was still tied to the tree. As he stared at the ropes, he remembered the priest and all his dark experiments. His lies to the tribesmen as he and his kin lived among innocents. Rafal's anger began to skyrocket, a dark energy seeping out of his body as his rage built. His newly acquired demonic energy was rushing through his body, unstable and only intensifying with his anger. As his demon rage fueled his strength, he ripped through the ropes with ease, huffing angrily as he stared out towards the direction of the tribe. He needed vengeance, and he would have it.

       He began to sprint towards the tribe, charging with all his speed at a passing Kodo and snapping its neck easily out of his rage, tearing into the Kodo with his bare hands to rip chunks of flesh from the body. He ate the raw meat as he continued to charge, the fresh blood staining over the fur of his mouth. The tribe was finally coming into view, the nighttime sky lighting his path. As he entered the tribe, he had no fear of making his presence known, charging against a guard towed and heaving it over, sending a loud crash echoing through the mountains. Guards came rushing out, lunging at him. Rahfal shoved them aside, sending them flying as he desperately began looking for the Grimtotems among them.

       After spending a great deal of time pushing guards aside left and right, he finally found the three Grimtotems responsible for slaying his men. Without hesitation, he grabbed the nearest two's heads, slamming them together with enough force to collapse their skulls, blood and gore spraying out onto anything nearby. The third Grimtotem watched in horror as Rahfal cast the corpses aside, grabbing the Tauren by his horns and ripping them off, stabbing them into the Tauren's eye sockets. Rahfal grinned in victory as the Grimtotem screamed out his lasts breaths of life, stumbling around blindly before finally collapsing outside.

       The guards reacted immediately, swinging wildly at Rahfal and drawing blood several times. Rahfal continued his search, shoving guards aside with stronger force as the priest remained hidden. His anger boiled as he searched and searched, the swarming guards and tribesmen attacking and pushing him even further. With little control over his new abilities, the demon's rage eventually took over, his mind going blank and relying only on pure instinct. He now reacted to attacks, grabbing nearby swords and slicing back, starting to slaughter the guards who attacked. His anger pulsed through his body with growing intensity, the slaying of attackers not enough now. He began to slaughter idle tribesmen, stabbing his blades into women, cutting away at children and livestock. Even when the others stopped attacking him and started fleeing, he hunted them down, cutting and stabbing away. When his blades dulled, he used his fists to land the killing blows, beating and snapping heads and limbs as he saw fit.

       The priest watched in horror from a hill nearby, terror rushing through him. He turned and ran as fast as he could, heading for the nearest tribe to spread the news of the Demon. The guardsmen who were captured with Rahfal finally caught up to him, trying to pin him down and plead him to stop. The first was thrown into a nearby armory, getting mangled in a pile of spears. Rahfal turned his attention to the last remaining guardsman, knocking him to the ground and punching the guards face, over and over, until he was left punching a pile of bloody mush. Rahfal stood in the center of the tribe, blood, gore, and bodies littering the ground. He looked around furiously for his next target, only to see that no one was left alive to kill. He began to calm down, his consciousness slowly coming back to him. Rahfal looked over the field, and at the bodies of his two comrades. Falling back into a puddle of blood, Rahfal wept. He clenched his fists tight, and screamed into the sky as his tears fell, mixing with the blood of his victims.

    Chapter 5: Infamy

       Rahfal walked silently, blood and gore caked to his fur as he made way to his old tribe. He clenched a map he found on one of the bodies, as it had the layout of the surrounding lands. Using the landmarks on the map, he guided himself towards home. The plain where he and his men were ambushed was finally coming into view, a few more miles and he would be home at last. As he passed into the clearing, he came to the empty plain where his tribe was settled before he was taken captive. His worries became true, his tribe had moved on to different land. 

       He began to search the area for any signs of their direction, anything to set him on the right track. After hours of searching, he finally found what he was looking for. A rock near the eastern part of the plain had a crude map etched into it, left behind should the men who disappeared ever return. For the first time in months, Rahfal finally felt a spark of happiness, the longing to see his parents and tribesmen churning inside him. He took a rest to hunt and eat his fill, then headed in the direction of his tribe. Rahfal eventually came to the site the map had pointed out, and it too was barren and deserted. "They must have migrated from this location as well.." he thought, as he recalled the great amount of time he spent working at the church. The memories pulled on his anger and shame, quickly dropping the subject as he searched for another map, finding it on the side of a boulder. This time they moved further north, settling in a valley.

       As he neared the new destination, his searching paid off as he saw the lights and smoke of his tribe in the distance. His pace quickened as he neared, his yearning for home pushing him more than ever. As he got within sight of the guard towers, one of them blew their horn, signaling a force of guardsmen to rush in front of the settlement. Rahfal's excitement slowly started to fade, as the guardsmen blocked his path instead of greeting him with open arms. "Stay back, Demon!" shouted a guard, firing a shot at Rahfal. The bullet grazed his arm, making him flinch and cover the cut with his hand. "What's the meaning of this?" Rahfal shouted back. "I am Rahfal Cladhoof, son of Dorllar Cladhoof, your leader! Stand down!" The guardsmen refused to move, raising their guns at Rahfal in case he should attack. "I hoped it wasn't true," said a voice from behind the line. Pushing the guards aside, Dorllar Cladhoof stepped forward, Lerona by his side. "We've had people run by the village, screaming about a...'Demon.' When we asked about this demon, the description...it sounded just like you, but.."

       "..But," Lerona picked up. "Our son would never commit such horrible crimes...What are you?.." she said as she looked to Rahfal in disgust. "Mother..you have to listen to me," Rahfal pleaded, about to tell the story of the Grimtotem. "No! You are not her son, you are not even a Tauren! You're exactly what the stories say you are. A Demon." shouted his father, spitting at the group towards Rahfal. Tears began to run down Rahfal's cheeks. "You're not listening to me! Please, let me explain what happened!" Lerona grabbed the gun out of a guardsman and aimed at Rahfal, getting sick by looking at the blood and gore caked in Rahfal's fur. "Look at you! The blood and guts of your brothers and sisters, they're all over you! Even your hide and horns are blackened..you look nothing like the son I raised! You probably took my son's body, trying to deceive us!" she fired a shot, hitting Rahfal in the shoulder. "Get out of my son, you beast!"

       The other guardsmen began to fire, Dorllar beginning to chant a spell to strike lightning on Rahfal. Rahfal's tears fell harder, his teeth grinding together and his fists clenching, the dark aura starting to seep out of his muscles again. After being struck by a lightning bolt from his father's spell, Rahfal let out a dark and thunderous yell. He arms lifted to the sky, coming down swiftly to pound into the ground before him. A dark shock wave erupted out from the impact, sending the guards and his parents flying. "YOU ARE NO PARENTS TO ME!" screamed Rahfal, tears pouring past the pitch black orbs that were his eyes. His rage boiled as his words hissed out in a Demonic language. Unaware of his own power and letting his rage control him, he chanted a curse to lay on his former tribesmen. After the curse was complete, he dashed off into the woods, leaving the village. Rahfal hid in a nearby mountain-side cave, where he wept longer than before. He stayed in that cave for months, crying every night as he watched his parents patrol the village. 

       The day for the nomadic tribe to migrate had come, and Rahfal watched as they began their journey. Word of Rahfal the Demon had spread throughout Mulgore, and he was to be killed on sight. The request was issued by none other than his own parents. It was then that Rahfal began his journey to leave Mulgore, and Kalimdor altogether. Rahfal decided to travel to the Eastern Kingdoms.

  To Be Continued...

    OOC - Final Notes