She stood in a forest, wondering where she was. The cold cavernous walls of the tunnels within Khaz Modan lay far to the south of her. Around her the forest leaned and danced by the light of the fading sun with the gentle hand of the northern winds guiding their every movement. The rustle of the leaves spoke to her and the gentle whispers of the breeze were more comforting than the most gentle touch any human could give.
And sitting on a stone, staring at her from beneath the shadow of his hood, was the death knight. He surprisingly had both his arms grasping his rotting chin as if he were contemplating something within his decaying mind. His eyes pulsed a sickly green at her and although he could see her, she could tell immediately that he wasn’t focusing on her directly, and yet, he seemed to be looking at her as if she were the only thing there.
Aegwyn stood still where she was, confused and a little scared. The Death Knight’s frayed and beaten cloak swirled about him as the northern winds passed him by. But he sat there, in silent contemplation.
A whisper of darkness touched her as his foul reek reached her senses. She recoiled backward but he didn’t seem to take any heed of her movement. He just continued to stare at her with his sickly green eyes.
Suddenly, he leapt off the rock, turned, and darted away from her into the depths of the forest. The world about her seemed to blur as if she were riding atop the fastest steed in all of Azeroth. The leaves of the trees turned to long lines of forest green and the trunks and rocks turned into deep brownish-gray streaks in her vision. She tried to cling onto something as the winds howled faster and faster about her, whipping her hair all about her face and causing her dress and cloak to flutter madly. The scream of the gale struck her ears and her eyes began to sting. The forest colors started to blacken, blur, and gray and she found herself less mobile. She tried to move her limbs and body but it was as if they were trapped, paralyzed. Tendrils of darkness started to merge with the blurring picture and the howl of the wind about her grew fiercer and fiercer.
And then, it stopped.
Aegwyn groaned and felt the sharp spikes of the rocks crush against her body. She tried to move but they only caused the fallen stones to press more firmly against her tender flesh. She whimpered and lay still, gasping and trying to catch her breath. Her eyes were full of tears and her face was sweaty and covered with the dust of the fallen mountain. The darkness was all that she could see. She couldn’t move, didn’t dare to. She was trapped.
“Engwandë tál Sinyámo!”
The voice was almost like music to her ears. She twisted her head as best she could in an attempt to locate where it had come from. It was like a whisper that had come and went.
Aegwyn heard something crumble above her and heard the sound of rock grinding against rock. She heard voices like the melody of birds and as beautiful as the evening sunset or the twilight stars. Another rock started to crumble about her and the burden of the stones seemed to get lighter and lighter.
A shaft of light suddenly appeared in front of her, causing her to squint and recoil from the sudden light.
“Urrúmë?”
She looked up as best she could to see a face crowned by the light of the sun. The golden locks fell down from his silhouetted face. It was as if he wore a halo about his fair face.
The stranger rose out of her sight and let out a sharp cry. “Valcil armúrë!”
She saw three faces look down at her, shadowing the light of the sun. They started to lift the heavy blocks of rubble above her and free her from their stone cold grasp.
Even though no more debris lay upon her she was tired and exhausted. Her lungs burned and struggled for air and all her muscles were so sore. She had been holding herself too tensely.
Aegwyn groaned and tried to move but the best she could do was twitch.
“Núrion vírë nelpironwë alion Vilandicar!” one of the strangers said towards her.
Aegwyn was so tired. She tried to keep her eyes open.
***
She awoke lying on a bed of pine needles in the middle of the forest. The trees leaned over her, as if they were people staring down at her with concern. She heard the soft rustle of the leaves above her, chattering and whispering as if they were wondering if she would be all right. The long blades of grass gently caressed her, as if they were stroking her hand, hoping she would come out fine.
Aegwyn blinked as the sunlight filtered through the trees. Where was she? She tried to look about, tried to find someone she knew, someone she remembered. The empty grasslands were all that she could see and the softness of the forest.
There was a soft thump behind her. Aegwyn turned around and gasped.
There was a tall man clothed in the finest robes and armor she had ever seen in years. He wore about him a crimson blouse dotted with gems of ruby and sapphire. Gleaming plates of mithril and gold hung on his arms and his legs and armored his chest and stomach. Boots of the softest and finest leather clad his feet and about his head was a crown of stars that glittered like the light of the full moon.
It was then that she realized that it wasn’t a man. It was an elven lord.
She stood there in awe like any mortal woman. It was as if she had forgotten the wonders of her journey, forgotten the beauty of the astral plane and beyond. She knew the elves held wonders in their hearts but she had never seen anything like this!
“Aiwanámë Vilandicar?”
Aegwyn blinked and furrowed her brow.
The elven lord looked at her, shook his head, and sighed. “Are you well, Guardian?”
Aegwyn blinked in surprise. Since when did the elves of the east learn to speak the common language! The elf lord stared at her with his brows raised. He looked upward and his forehead
was scrunched in thought. “Wie bin Du...”
Aegwyn held up her hand, stopping him in mid-sentence. “I am well,” she said.
The elven lord smiled at her. “That is good to know, Guardian. I am the Lord Valindil of the Eastern Forests of Amiril beyond the Falls of Fuildur.” He bowed towards her. “It is an honor to be seen by the Guardian of Tirisfal.”
Aegwyn turned away from him. “Please, don’t.”
There was a long pause from behind her. The elf lord was silent for a while before he spoke again. “I mean no dis-comfort to you, milady.”
When she turned towards him, she found that he had bowed himself low at the waist. She tried to hide herself from blushing. “Where are we?”
“We are roughly north-east of Annoria, the sea port and beachhold of the alliance. We have been spying on the Orc army movements for days and the results are not promising in the slightest. Had you not been buried beneath the rocks, chances are the Orcs would have found you.”
The rocks. The tunnel. She suddenly remembered it. “Where is Galion? And Tarmand? And dwarf Lord Galud, and King Tarin!”
The elf lord looked at her with eyes of the deepest crystal blue. He bowed his head and turned away from her.
“Wait! Do you know what happened to them? I need to know!”
