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| - Blood and sweat clouded my good eye, and I brought the corner of my shredded tabard up to wipe away the ichor that threatened to steal what sight I had left. There was no more use for an archer with only one eye, I reminded myself bitterly. Best not to lose what little value I have left. The battlefield was littered with corpses, piled atop one another by the convulsions of their death throes. Bodies of orc, human, elf, troll, demon, and worse lay strewn for as far as the eye could see. Some had been there for days, and I had lost count of the exact number of said days that had passed since the battle started. I looked to my companions, as few as remained. The dark skies, tinged red by fires both near and distant, seemed to reflect the despair that gripped us all. Tolzek stood battered and weary atop the small hill nearby, gazing out over the field as he watched over the camp. His arm was still wrapped in a makeshift sling, the bones set but far from recovery. With his other arm, he leaned on the shaft of his spear, the enchanted glow muted by the haze and smoke of the aftermath. Drahliana was kneeling over a small shape, her long silver hair dangling in front of her face as she wept. Glistening, luminescent tears rolled down the elfs cheeks and fell onto the bloody robe of the little white-haired gnome Elaran, her eyes now closed and her features absent of any pain she had been forced to endure. Drahliana's shoulders shook in silent grief, the sobs wracking her body with the agony of loss. "Who else is left?" I asked. A forsaken kicked his helmet across the camp, the thorium armor rolling through the dust to come at rest some yards off. "Not enough of us, I'll tell you that." Vassali was haggard, his body torn and covered in grievous wounds that didnt seem to slow him down at all. His armor was in tatters, and his shield had been split asunder. Now he fingered the hilt of his brutal Doomsaw and seethed, and I could see the anger boiling inside of him. "Shala ul daran, bestine kel belore?" said another night elf, his long hair swept back from his face as he addressed the kneeling ranger. She shook her head once and glanced up to him, responding in more elf-speak that I could not understand. He then turned to me. Medrith, whose knives had cut me and whose rivalry I had even appreciated to an extent, now stood with his back straight and his face clear of any hostility. The elf nodded once, then sat down calmly on the ground, closing his eyes in concentration. The hearthstones were broken. Whatever foul sorcery was used to sever our connection to them also removed any hope of calling for aid, if there was indeed any left to render from anywhere. The cities had been burned, the few remaining strongholds flushed out by the Legion's forces, and the spirit of both Horde and Alliance broken beyond repair. Tolzek sighed heavily from his perch. "There is nothing for many miles, though the smoke makes it difficult to know for certain." He shook his great head, his remaining horn splintered and cracking. "Just bodies. So many bodies." In the past days, I saw the end of those who I had called friend, clanmate, and rival. There was no one and nothing left that we would recognize, and it left me numb. I couldnt shed tears for the fallen, for the shock was still too great. Then Tolzek growled, a low rumble in his throat that spoke of danger. He stood up quickly and sprang from the hill to land in the dust in the camp. "Demons. They're heading this way, more than we can handle in the shape were in." The elves seemed to understand quite clearly, and immediately gathered up their belongings. I took one last look at the fallen gnome and bowed my head, whispering a prayer to the spirits, but I stopped in mid-utterance. There were no more spirits. They had forsaken this world. "We have to make for a safe haven. Does Stonard still stand?" "It's ten miles to the border, Kormok," the tauren advised. "We'll try to outrun them," I replied confidently. The two elves seemed poised to follow our lead, or at least had the same thought in their mind. The run was long, even with our hunters speed, and we were chased for the full hour that it took to cover the distance. A great mound of rubble marked a barricade designed to keep the demons out of the swamp as much as possible, and it appeared to have the scars of many battles. Still, it held upright, even if the gate itself had been battered open many days prior. The Legion's conquest had been swift and brutal. Exhaustion finally took its toll. We had no more strength to flee, and the demons were gaining rapidly. A twisted horde of horrors gamboled through the haze behind us, a myriad of claws, fangs, and wings that no mere words could describe. The barricade gate arch was mere yards from where we stood. "We'll never get to Stonard, these things wont give up!" Tolzek panted. A blast of fire erupted nearby, rocking the ground under our feet and shaking rocks loose from the barricade. I glanced back over my shoulder, through the eyes of my feral mask, and saw the demons preparing another barrage of fel magic. "Through the barricade, and don't look back!" I roared. Another detonation struck the barricade itself, and it began to tumble down. Great stones crashed to the ground as we attempted to pass through, and it was clear to me that I wouldnt make it through in time. Neither would Vassali, with all of his armor. So I increased my pace and crashed into his back, shoving him past the crumbling barricade as the rubble collapsed. Through the falling debris, I saw him stagger to his feet and start back towards me, but he disappeared on the other side of the smoke and rock. The barricade had been reinstated, it seemed, and there was no way I would be able to climb that mess. The demons came quicker now, one of their prey isolated. I nodded once in understanding, and brought my hand to the hilt of the blade on my back. "This time, I will protect you, old friend." I would buy them as much time as I could. I charged.
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