Bodies everywhere as far as the eye could see. Men, women, and children alike lay still on what was once luscious fields of grass, tulips, lilacs, and orchids, now withered and as lifeless as the elves who had inhabited the land. Blood poured from their ears and bones cracked underneath their flesh. The former Ranger-General of Silvermoon, Sylvanas Windrunner, had been the last to fall, and her scream had marked the end of the high elves of Quel’Thalas.
The child crawled out from underneath the limp arms of the woman who had been her mother and stared at her lifeless body in horror. She had little time to grieve, however, as the Intruder walked up to the warm pool that was the Sunwell. With a smirk on his pale face, he poured a strange-liquid like substance into the treasure of the high elves and watched as its golden glow began to violently pulse. A figure emerged, its arms outstretched in victory.
Her eyes wide and her mouth gaping, the child stared at the entity that had come to being – a horned skeleton with eyes of fire. His deep, resonating voice was unlike any other she had heard, and it compelled her to listen to his words.
“I am reborn, as promised! The Lich King has granted me eternal life!”
The young high elf sat on the bloodied grass, mesmerized, and would have soon been trampled by reanimated corpses had it not been for an intervention—
“Take my hand! Quickly!”
The child turned her head in the direction of the voice and found herself looking into the vibrant red eyes of a…high elf? Did high elves have red eyes?
“Come with me! NOW!”
The woman who owned the voice held out her hand, pleading for the child to take it. Her red eyes burned with fear and worry. The young high elf took her hand and she held it firmly, leading the little girl away from the pile of corpses lying before the Sunwell. The woman knelt down in front of the child and spoke gently but with urgency.
“I’m going to take you on a ride, all right? Just climb onto my back and hold on tight, understood?”
Her midnight black hair flowed to her waist, and a pair of golden horns adorned with red and black jewels protruded from her head. The child stared at the woman as she waved her hand and transformed into a majestic dragon with patterns of red and black scales. The child had never met a dragon before and was intimidated.
“You can trust me, I promise.” The dragon held out an arm for the young high elf to touch and lay down on her belly to facilitate the climb.
The child mounted herself onto the dragon and held on to her collar.
“What about my friends? My mother?”
“It is too late for that, I’m afraid,” the dragon spoke with a voice that echoed deeply through the child’s mind, “We have no choice but to leave them here.”
“N-No, we can’t! There might be a way to save them! Please, don’t go yet!”
“I’m sorry, my child. There is nothing I can do.”
The dragon spread out her wings and took flight amidst the shrieks of the young high elf, her small clenched fists beating furiously on the dragon’s back. No matter what, the dragon had decided, she would carry this child to safety, and rose further above the carnage.
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