Death Never Dies

by Milton Garby

  She turned back to the elf, rolling her eyes at the distraction. "Thank you."

  "If you'll step this way," the flight master offered, leading Sara to one of the saddled hippogriffs. The bird-horse looked her way and squawked, the feathers on its face bristling for a moment. "Easy boy, easy. Step around there, one foot in there, yes." Sara did as she said, getting on top of the hippogriff. It cawed angrily, flaring and flapping its wings so hard it nearly knocked her off. Her heart caught in her throat for a moment, but she grabbed the reins and kept her balance.

  The flight master barked a few harsh words in Darnassian, then looked apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him," she said as she strapped Sara in.

  Her thoughts went to the foul, potent magic coursing through her veins, and she felt she had an idea. "It's fine, I'm sure he'll get over it soon enough." She looked at everyone else. "I'll be waiting at the other end. I'll come to you."

  The night elf gave a sharp command that caused the hippogriff to caw and flap its wings wildly. It rose into the air, and Sara's stomach dropped out of her body.

  "Alright," she breathed to herself as the flying creature veered away from Rut'theran. "Okay, this isn't so – OH HOLY - !" All at once the hippogriff shot forward like an arrow, and suddenly they'd left Teldrassil and were over the open ocean. Sara leaned forward and hid her head behind the mount's to keep the wind from peeling her face off, breathing heavily. It squawked at her angrily, but made no motion to throw her off so she counted it as a success.

  After a few minutes of hanging on for her life, Sara remembered the rules she herself had taught the rest of her group about riding in the air. She adjusted her pack, then her stance, and got into the proper riding form to reduce air drag.

  Once she got herself stabilized on the nervous bird, she took a deep breath and looked around.

  The light of the Blue Child and White Lady shone down upon her, and from her altitude they reflected on the ocean beautifully. She allowed herself to relax and take in the sights as Teldrassil faded into the distance behind her. The rushing wind, while as fierce as ever, became calming background noise and since she was using the hippogriff as a wind shield, it wasn't painful in the least. Beneath her, the waves of the ocean blurred together as she sped by, creating incomprehensible patterns.

  As they flew, the sun started to come up. The black sky started to gain color and one by one the stars winked out. The Blue Child sunk beneath the horizon, and the White Lady wasn't far behind. As the sun started to rise, the ocean seemed to catch fire and Sara wondered if there was a spell that could actually do that. A spell to set fire to the ocean and have the blaze spread as if it were oil. She wondered how long it would take the oceans to burn away, and how Azeroth would react to losing all its water. The thought of being far off the planet, watching it blazing red, brought a smile to her face.

  Hours passed as the sun began to climb into the sky, casting its rays upon the ocean. Ragged tufts of cloud materialized in the sky, and eventually Sara saw Kalimdor's mainland on the horizon.

  As they drew closer, Sara got her first ever look at Darkshore and the rebuilt town of Auberdine. The shoreline faintly resembled a cracked egg with the way water flowed inland through powerful currents. Heavy mist hugged the gray grasses, and the advent of autumn was unnoticed by the army of dark pines. Auberdine was built over the sprawling rivers, and the brilliant colors that were usually associated with night elf architecture seemed oppressed by the fog of Darkshore.

  As she grew closer, the hippogriff she rode on dipped down, causing Sara's hair to float for a moment. Her body tingled as they descended under the increasingly cloudy sky, closer and closer to Auberdine's own hippogriff master, who was housed in a structure identical to Rut'theran's.

  The hippogriff slowed down as they grew closer, and the gale winds whipping around her faded into a strong breeze. Within minutes they were there, and the hippogriff slowly lowered itself into a bed of straw.

  The night elf tending to them walked over to her and helped her off. "Welcome to Auberdine," he said. "I trust the flight was alright?"

  Sara stumbled once she got off, legs wobbling. "Yeah, yeah. It was great." She reached her hands up and groaned, stretching higher until she felt her spine pop. "I don't think he likes me though," she joked, motioning to the hippogriff – still staring at her – with her head.

  "Hmm, odd. Trialin here usually loves meeting new people," he mused. "Anyway, I hope you enjoy your stay in Auberdine."

  She gave him a curt nodded and started down into the main town. She found a bench and collapsed onto it, her legs still not working properly after the hours of flying. Maybe sitting would help. After another few minutes, Sara spotted a dot on the horizon fast approaching. As it grew closer it was apparent it was the next hippogriff. She didn't see who got off right away, but her question was answered when Maria walked down the ramp towards her.

  Sara stood and waved to catch her attention, and Maria made a beeline for her. Sara spoke before the warlock had a chance. "Okay, here's how it's going to go. I am going to go get breakfast, you sit here on the bench and wait for the next person to arrive. Once they have, tell them to wait for the next and you get breakfast. We're meeting up here and leaving at high noon."

  She saluted. "You got it, boss!" she said with a giggle.

  Sara rolled her eyes, but passed by her and let Maria take the bench. Fardol was nowhere to be found, which was fine. He was so hard to be around. There had to be some place she could get a decent meal in Auberdine.

  She passed by the denizens of the village, looking around. She passed by the blacksmithy, and then the stable. After a few minutes of wandering she found the inn, just a stone's throw away from her bench. When she found it, she ground her teeth against each other. She'd gone the wrong way.

  The inn was a wide and open building with three entrances at ninety degrees angle to each other. All of the tables were snug against the walls, with patrons drinking and eating at them while their chatter made a soothing background noise. An equal distance from all three entrances was a bar, with a night elf man behind it pouring a drink for a customer, chatting animatedly.

  When Sara took a seat he looked her way and slid over to her. "Hello, welcome to Auberdine. Passing through I assume?"

  She nodded, looking over the menu hanging on the wall behind him. "Coffee, a halibut, and two slices of banana bread please."

  He nodded. "How would you like your coffee?"

  "Sugar and cream please."

  "Alright, that'll be forty five silver and sixty copper ma'am." She slung off her pack and rummaged through it, pulling out fifty silver and handing it to him. He took it and, humming as he did, gave her back her change and went to prepare her breakfast. She didn't have anything better to do, so she stared at him like a hawk as he did. He knelt to get the food from hidden drawers beneath the table, manipulated similarly hidden machinery, and within minutes Sara had her breakfast.

  "Thank you," she grunted before taking a bite of her bread. Her steaming coffee was the color of dry mud, just the way she liked it. Nice and sweet too, the bitter flavor barely noticeable.

  The food was alright. The fish tasted weird, but she'd never had halibut before so she had no way of knowing if it was normal for the creature. Maria eventually found her way in, as did a mage a few minutes later, but before they could make small talk with her she finished up and left the inn to wander the streets of Auberdine. She went to a small store and purchased some water and a few snacks for the upcoming trip, and left just as quickly.

  As she walked under the gray skies, Sara pondered the upcoming parts of their journey. The next flight would take a long time, bringing them all the way to Astranaar in Ashenvale. Once there they'd have to start taking measurements. They'd already calibrated the equipment, but given the supposed size of Yogg-Saron, it was worth seeing how far even trace amounts of C'Thun's magic extended from Silithus.

  She rounded a corner and saw a wom
an standing in the middle of the street. The elf was dressed in a long robe patterned like spring branches, with a few baskets beside her. The elf noticed her as well, and her green eyes sparkled as Sara approached. "Hello there!" she said happily. "Spare any donations for the war?"

  Sara stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow. "What war?" she asked, worried.

  "You mean you haven't heard?" the night elf asked, raising a green eyebrow.

  "I've been on a boat for the past month. Heard what?" Sara growled.

  The elf frowned, suddenly grim. "I suppose that would do it. War has broken out all throughout the Eastern Kingdoms. The Burning Legion has returned."

  Sara's heart skipped a beat, and all of a sudden her skin bristled with goosebumps. Why had it gotten so… so cold all of a sudden?

  "What?" she whispered. "T-The Legion? When? How?!"

  "A few weeks ago, they invaded Silvermoon and the Blasted Lands and have been on the move since," the night elf said. "That's why I'm here, collecting donations. We need a great many things for the war effort. Bandages, food, herbs, metals, to name a few. So, do you have anything to spare to stop the Burning Legion?"

  Sara shook her head. "I'm afraid not. We're on an expedition to Silithus, about two dozen of us. Sorry, but we don't have much to spare."

  The kaldorei's face fell, but she just nodded. "I understand. Just be safe, you hear? There's no telling when they'll set their sights on Kalimdor."

  "Yeah," Sara breathed weakly. "Stay safe," she muttered more to herself than the elf as she continued on. She sought out the closest bench and let her rapidly weakening legs collapse her onto it.

  "Shit, shit shit!" she whispered to herself. The Burning Legion. In the Eastern Kingdoms. Close to Stormwind. Close to Sara. Close to her parents. As much as she wanted to tell herself that everything would be fine, that the armies of the Alliance would hold them off and the Legion would be defeated as it had been thrice before, she couldn't convince herself. After all the Legion only needed to win once, right?

  And what if it was a pyrrhic victory? What if they destroyed Elwynn Forest before being repelled? She had to let her parents know! But how?

  No. She was in too deep to help with the Legion, and she wasn't about to risk life and limb to help ensure the safety of her life and limb. Unless she got drafted in by the Battlemage Declaration, she was more than happy to let the Kingslayers handle it, like they had so many things in the past.

  Despite her reassurances, Sara shivered. The Burning Legion. Damn it all.

  She needed to keep moving, keep her mind off it. So she stood from the bench and wandered aimlessly around Auberdine, taking in the depressed scenery in the time she had. But no matter how hard Sara tried, the demonic invasion that was apparently taking place half the world away stayed at the forefront of her mind. What would she do if they attacked her? She had total confidence in her abilities to handle any given demon. Imps? Pathetic. Succubi? Easy. Doomguards? Ha. Maybe even a Pit Lord if she got the drop on it, she had a tremendous amount of power and really, did she need anything else?

  Her real worry was what would happen if a demon ambushed her instead of the other way around. There was nothing she could do about that…

  Eventually, the time to depart for Astranaar began to approach. Sara found the gaggle of her people waiting outside the ramp that lead to the hippogriff master. She walked in front of them and raised a hand at the ground.

  "Alright!" she shouted, blasting the ground with a shadow bolt. It splashed purple and green on the ground, yellowing the grass. At the same time, she wove another link with Leira so neither of them would be bored out of their minds for the trip. "I hope you've all had a good time, and stocked up on water!" There were confirming nods. "Good. I also hope you've enjoyed ground, because you're not walking on it for a whole day! Next stop is Astranaar in Ashenvale. When we get there we'll be taking readings on the local ambient magic. There's already been a baseline established what it's like there, so if our readings line up with them we'll know everything's properly calibrated."

  She turned her back to them and started marching to the hippogriff master. "You all already know the procedure, I won't hold your hands through it."

  Just a few minutes later, Sara rode on the back of another hippogriff, Darkshore winding past beneath her. So high in the air, the grey clouds choking the sky seemed almost close enough to touch, but of course Sara wasn't even close. The forest below passed by, broken here and there by ancient ruins that nature had still yet to reclaim.

  Sara yawned. It was excruciatingly boring so high up, so she reached through the telepathic link and sent Leira a quiet, 'Hey.'

  A pause. 'Hey yourself. Did you hear about – '

  'The Legion? Yeah. What are we going to do?'

  'I know that as soon as we're done here, I'm heading back to Ironforge. We're going to kick some demon ass!'

  A pang of worry shot through her stomach. 'Are you sure? I mean, it sounds pretty dangerous. It's the Burning Legion, after all.'

  'Sara I appreciate the concern, but this is something I'm actually pretty good at. I'll be fine. Though I guess if you want to be sure you could always come along with your life and death magic…'

  Despite knowing Leira couldn't see her, Sara forced a pout. 'I knew it, you just like me for my magic! You only want me around as your resurrection slave.'

  'I'd punch you right now if I could.'

  Sara had to laugh. 'But no, in all honesty I'll probably end up being, ugh, drafted by the whole battlemage nonsense. I was hoping to get my research done simply, but nooo!' Ugh. She was going to have to suspend her project for months, maybe years depending on how long the Legion invasion lasted.

  'I've been meaning to talk to you about that. This seems pretty important to you. Does it have anything to do with your magic, Sara?' Leira asked, sounding concerned.

  Sara froze. She didn't want to tell her. How could she? Leira was a proud warrior, how could she explain it? She wielded the same power the minions of the Old Gods did. 'I… I don't really… Leira it's not something easy to… I'm – '

  'Hey, okay. Relax. If it's really that hard to say, I'm not going to force you. Relax Sara, just enjoy the flight!'

  'Right.' It was some flight, too. As the sun cycled through the sky behind the cloud cover, and as the wind whipped around Sara as she flew, slowly but surely she could see an approaching mountain range.

  "Felwood," she whispered with a grimace. Surely the hippogriff wouldn't fly… over Felwood, would it?

  Fortunately, it seemed it wouldn't. The hippogriff veered sharply to the south, sustaining its mad pace to let the mountains trail past to Sara's left. The woods began to open up as Sara flew further and further south, and the dense clouds above her began to tatter and tear, revealing the sky beyond.

  By that point, it was the middle of the night and Sara had gotten thirsty. Her pack had drinks in it, but getting to them while traveling so fast was… tricky. Nevertheless she was strapped in securely, so with some minor yet nerve-wracking she got a flask of water. She drained it, watching the land below, then ate the few snacks she had. Here and there the light of the moon shone through the clouds, casting dots of light and dark upon the land.

  Through the dark flight, Darkshore soon transitioned smoothly into Ashenvale. Far below her feet, the dark pines were replaced by brilliant oaks of unworldly color. There were green trees as normal, but also purple trees, blue trees, glowing trees! They blended together like a mural beneath her. She'd never seen anything like it, and she couldn't wait to land so she could get a closer look.

  The clouds parted as they flew deeper into Ashenvale, swerving to the east. A few more hours passed in monotone. There was nothing to do. Aside from a dull flicker of noise in her mind that she assumed as Leira dreaming, there was no sound beyond the white noise of rushing air.

  Sara's eyelids burned and there was a nauseous churning in her gut, but she couldn't afford to sleep quite yet. Especially not hundreds of yards i
n the air. But her back was pretty sore from sitting upright for so long and her legs would surely never be the same again, so she could probably lean over onto the hippogriff's sea-green feathers. She could rest her head on the downy pillow for just a few minutes, and maybe rest her eyes too. She couldn't sleep though, because if she did –

  Sara jolted, feeling as if she was falling. Then she realized she actually was falling and screamed in panic.

  Then she realized she wasn't falling, the hippogriff was descending into Astranaar, and she swallowed her heart back down her throat.

  Still in the process of waking up and cursing herself for falling asleep in the first place, Sara experienced her landing in a daze. She was vaguely aware of a night elf undoing the straps keeping her on the hippogriff, of her trying to stand and promptly failing, and of stumbling over to a bench and collapsing into it, blinking the sun out of her eyes.

  "Uhh," she groaned, letting her eyes close again. She dozed idly for a few minutes before a little shake of the bench alerted her to the fact that someone else had arrived. She cracked open an eye and glanced at the person who'd joined her.

  It was a gnomish man, with blue hair, wearing his mage robes despite her recommending not to. "Alrinn Fiddlegear, yes?" she asked, sitting up with a groan.

  He yawned. "Yep."

  "Alright. Once everyone else is gathered, we'll go to the city park and get our calibrations. Should take about an hour. Until then get some rest if you need it, breakfast definitely." She shook her head. "Hold on, after the next person arrives and you tell them, same deal as before."

  He saluted with a wry grin. "You got it, boss! We'll meet up in the town square!"

  Sara took a moment to disable the link to Leira, then stood and began to walk around, see the sights. She got a few glances from the night elves, so she guessed they didn't get too many humans around. There wasn't much that happened; she found the inn, downed a quick breakfast and headed back out to watch the colored trees sway hypnotically in the wind.

  Eventually, she returned to the gathering of her people and waited for the stragglers to return from their own meals. Once they'd all gathered, she led them to the town square and had them all begin unpacking the equipment.