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The garish neon lights of the night set off a colourful dance in a puddle of a dirty alley. The hustle and bustle of the main street could be heard here only as a soft whisper, giving peace to those who preferred tranquillity. Or for those who wanted to hide. A pair of yellow eyes peeked out from under the lid of one o... |
A tall, well-built night elf woman appeared on the street. She walked ahead with confidence as if she knew exactly what she was looking for. Her silvery eyes were empty, not even a spark of emotion could be discerned in them. The container caught her gaze. Without hesitation she stepped closer and tore off the trash li... |
"No, please don't! I beg you, no!" The revenant begged her, but she didn't seem to care and grabbed him by his throat, silencing him. |
Fighting with his tears, the undead looked up at his attacker. Her face didn't show other emotions but ice-cold professionalism. Then suddenly everything went dark. |
Two thousand years have passed since the Fourth War. Azeroth's technological advancement has been at a rampant pace mainly due to the relative peace that has since flourished. Although there were a few minor clashes, nothing that could be compared to the bloodshed caused by Sylvanas Windrunner has occurred ever since. ... |
The undead were an interesting grey zone, though. After the fall of Sylvanas, the Forsaken took a new direction and no longer tried to keep their people alive. Their numbers were dwindling fast, and at last they were thought to be gone. However, some money-hungry goblins figured out how they could profit from resurrect... |
Eventually, the goblins began hiring bounty hunters to avoid further negative publicity and more strict rules. These professionals had only one thing to do: bring back the runaway products, alive or dead. |
The night bus halted at one of the bus stops on the outskirts. There was only one soul on the vehicle, but now she has got off as well. Her destination was the brilliantly lit and towering office building which curiously seemed to operate at such a late hour. |
"Last one." The night elf tossed a full garbage bag on the table of a reception point at ReLife Co.. The goblin sitting behind the desk looked up grimly from his treasured annual swimsuit calendar, but as soon as he saw who was standing in front of him, he changed his demeanour. |
"Ah, the Warden. Did you find the rest of the hiding undead?" |
"No, I packed my own home trash and brought it here, to the end of the world. For fun. Just like the previous two times today. You know. Third time's the charm." |
"We're cynical, aren't we?" The green creature growled and pulled a stacking trolley under the counter, then gestured toward the woman to push the bag over there. She complied with the request. "All right, we're done. You will receive the credit tomorrow morning. No transfer at night. We take over from here and identif... |
"Tell your boss not to be stingy with the bags next time." With that the night elf left contentedly, leaving behind the trembling man. |
Maiev Shadowsong didn't care much for goblins, but even less for the undead. She still remembered her former home - the blazing Teldrassil, the screams of her companions, the smell of burnt flesh, and the ensuing mournful silence. But all of this was dwarfed by the pain of her former deputy's death and resurrection. Su... |
Maiev slowly got to the exit of the building. Her hand reached for the handle when loud shouting and gasping got her attention. |
"Warden!" A middle-aged moustached man yelled as he approached her at a rapid pace. Behind him stood a woman, presumably his wife. She desperately tried to hold back her spouse but to no avail. The man pushed his companion away and marched until he reached the night elf. "You are that Warden, right?" the man angrily sq... |
Maiev surveyed the figure. Short, clumsy, weak physique. She didn't see the point in dealing with such a lousy man but she nodded. This was enough for the man, he grabbed the bounty hunter's jersey and tried to pull her towards him. |
"Disgusting murderer! What have you done to my son ?!" |
"Dear, no!" His wife screamed but the husband hushed her. |
"Leave me, woman! This loathsome whore was the one who brought back our son unrecognizable! Nothing is sacred to you, you bastard?" |
Maiev grabbed her attacker's arm without batting an eye and easily twisted it, forcing his owner to scream in pain. |
"Oh yes. Probably more things than for to you." She said it coldly and let go of the man. She bid farewell to the woman hurrying to her husband. "Take better care of your partner. I hear they're going to raise the price soon." With that, she walked out of the building. Behind her, the couple sobbed in each other's arms... |
This wasn't the first time Maiev had to deal with angry relatives, but she never cared. Those who were unable to accept death and tried to bring back their loved ones in such a disgusting way did not deserve sympathy in her eyes. Although she despised and hated ReLife Co., she knew that even if every employee were to b... |
The key turned in the old lock of the front door and a loud click indicated that the latch had retracted into the cavity, then another click and light brightened the only room in the tiny studio flat. Maiev closed the entrance behind her, then unlanced her boots and carefully placed them on the shoe rack. She sat down ... |
Maiev decided to leave showering for the morning and instead focus on her well-deserved sleep. Before that, she had taken her old, battered phone out of her pocket to see if a new assignment had come, but she was surprised to find that she had missed three calls. All of them were from her brother, Jarod. She glanced at... |
"Good evening, sister." A familiar voice greeted her. "Excuse me for the late time disturbance." |
"Always the formalities, brother. Please, get to the point. It's late and I just got home." She could hear his brother's relief in his voice. He must have been worried all this time. |
"I'm sorry, I will right away. We hold Lysende's birthday party tomorrow as you know. What do you think, can you come? Just to know whether to count on you or not." |
Maiev sighed deeply. She had completely forgotten her niece's birthday. Not that she was interested in her or in her silly party, but she tried to act like a family member for the sake of her brother - with little to no success. |
"How old will she turn?" |
"Fifteen" He answered. She sighed again as she counted quickly in her head. Sixty years remained... A bitter expression appeared on her face. After a long silence, she spoke again. |
"I'll be there. Two o'clock, right?" |
"Yeah. Then I'll tell Shandris to spread the table for you, too. I'm counting on you." The man said goodbye, and then a beep sound signalled the end of the call. Maiev lowered the phone gradually. |
"Sixty years" She repeated. Her words echoed in the almost empty apartment. What is sixty years? Not a significant time. A blink of an eye for an immortal night elf such as herself. But her brother had only that amount of time left. Such a pathetically short life. She tossed away the phone furiously and buried her face... |
Two thousand years have passed since the Fourth War, and Azeroth has left behind her old bloody past. Science took the place of magic. Instead of healers and herbalists, doctors and medics healed the sick and injured in hospitals. The problems of the locals were no longer to be solved by adventurers but by a designated... |
However, not everyone was able to keep up with the changes. Good examples of this were the Taurens, who continued to insist on their nature-respecting lifestyle but were finding it increasingly difficult to shut out the modern advancements which slowly took control over the everydays. In the end, they retreated to a ti... |
She had long realized that she had no one left except his brother. The Wardens had long since broken up, and most of her former sisters were dead. The couple who were still alive did their best to lead a normal life, leaving the past behind, and as a part of that they avoided her as much as possible. Maiev became redun... |
The lock clicked loudly as Maiev clumsily turned the key. She drank more than she should have, again. But at least she left for home in time and avoided the shame of waking up on a public bench, an occurrence far too common when she tried and failed to escape her thoughts. Like a rag doll, she fell down on the battered... |
The first lights of the sunrise illuminated the tiny basement flat without mercy. Maiev irritably pulled the quilt over her head to get a few more minutes of sleep, but her efforts proved to be futile. She could not escape the thousands of years of routine and self-education. She was already awake. Slowly she sat up o... |
Maiev resignedly opened the other message. It came from ReLife saying that she needed to appear in one of the downtown locations as a matter of urgency. She sighed deeply. So the time has come. She had known for months that they were planning to supply the undead with chips so they would not escape. Two consequences o... |
Despite being weekend, Lysende woke up early. Her mother didn't even try to avoid making noises as she attempted to get ready as quickly as possible, which made her daughter curious as she knew she was on a day off. Shandris worked as the captain in the district's police office, but even criminals apparently respected... |
Behind the door of Lysende's room, she tensely eavesdropped in hope that she might catch some of the details. She knew that her father would deter her back anyway if she were to go out and ask questions, and would be more careful to speak even more quetly afterward, so she spared herself the trouble and immediately st... |
"I don't know more either, dear." |
"But you felt it too, didn't you? It was magic, and very powerful of that! Only an exceptional mage can be behind it!" Jarod's voice was alarmingly tense. |
"Yes, I felt it, and it bothers me. But if I'm well informed that the offender was caught using anti-magic nets. |
"With those junks?" asked the man in disbelief. |
"It's more likely that they wants to work together and let us caught them. They were taken to one of the ReLife's site." |
"That's the only place with a strong enough anti-magic chamber in the area. I don't even want to know why the goblins are in need of something like that, but it came handy this time. Although if my suspicions are right and the mage does not resist ... "Shandris then spoke a few more barely audible words to her husband,... |
Hours had passed since that, but Lysende had not heard from her mother. Seeing her father's troubled figure, she didn't want to ask questions, and she didn't think for a minute that he would tell her anything. He protected her even from the wind. On the other hand her brother... Kur'talos was already an adult and had ... |
She quickly pressed the refresh button on the news page to see if anything had been written at last about the turmoil that her mother had to leave for, but only the same boring articles appeared on the frontpage. One showcased the campaign against dwarf women's body-shaming, while another detailed the escalating gang ... |
Shandris edgily kept walking up and down in one of ReLife Co."s dimly lit hallways. It's been past ten o'clock by now, and it wasn't usual for her sister-in-law to wake after six o'clock. Then why on earth is she late? Even if she was stuck in a traffic jam, she should still be here by now. She knew where the woman li... |
She sighed deeply. Her patience was about to run out. If they didn’t hurry, it is to be feared that the news would catch wing, and then she wouldn’t be able to smother it up. She pulled out her phone and started dialing. Meanwhile, every move of her was followed by a curious look from behind a glass wall. |
Maiev stuporously looked around in the vast, cold waiting room. Although the Registrar's Office was an impressive building from the outside, the city administration did not seem to consider the interior renovations important, saying it is not seen from the outside. Beside the war-wearied benches a few withered potted ... |
The night elf looked dispiritedly at the number in her palm. How many times did she think it through? As time passed it was all the more tempting to just stand up and end it all. No, she couldn’t exist without purpose, being useless. At first she wanted to end her life by her own hand, but she quickly conceded that she... |
Maiev's phone started to vibrate. She pulled it out from her pants pocket annoyingly, expecting to be called from ReLife again. They had called her three times since morning, but she had declined all and thought the call was coming from there again, but instead Shandris's name was on the display. The blood suddenly fro... |
"Maiev! At last I reached you!" Shandris's voice was almost shaking with nervousness. "Didn't you receive the message from ReLife?" |
"Good day to you, too" said cynically as she did not like when someone spoke to her in an irritable tone. Since she didn't get a response from the caller, she had to answer the question instead. "Yeah, I got it, but I have other things to do." |
"I see. Then halt it now and come to the given address immediately. We don't have much time, I don't want the Magic Authority to interfere, or worse, the Military." |
Maiev didn't understand a word of the woman, and honestly she didn't care. A new number appeared on the digital display. She looked down at the small note in her hand. It matched, it was her number. Suddenly as if time had stopped. Her stomach jumped to her throat and then sank back so deep she could not feel it anymor... |
"I have to go, it's my turn" she said almost mechanically. Not to Shandris, but to herself. At that moment, the ice-cold reality of the impending end hit her. It was not fear, but rather a regret for living in vain. If only she could have fallen in combat... But now it was too late to grieve about it. She would soon su... |
"Don't you understand?! You must come here immediately! Illidan is..." |
But Maiev could not hear the rest. She crumpled her number and threw it in the trash as she stormed out of the building. |
Shandris was about to give up waiting when Maiev finally arrived. Wherever she was, she must have run all the way there, as she didn't pant but she was breathing sensibly faster. It wasn't a secret in front of her either that her sister-in-law probably had been drinking last night and not even just a small amount, judg... |
"I won’t even ask where you were." |
"All the better. Where is he?" As Maiev looked straight into Shandris's eyes, she couldn't decide whether the night elf's mind was clear or shrouded in madness. There was no visible difference between the two in her case. |
"There's an anti-magic chamber down the minus second floor." |
"I see, let's go." and with that she was set out, but the captain grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. |
"Before that, I want to be on the same page." Her words apparently hit the mark as she stopped and nodded slowly, signaling that she was listening. "I want you to understand that I took a big risk by calling you here. I don't want you to make a scene nor that you attack him and possibly kill each other." Though not mea... |
"Calm down, Captain. I'll play by the rules." she no longer tried to hide her ever-widening grin, and this did not reassure Shandris in the least. What was she thinking when she came up with this ridiculous idea? Now all she could do was to fight the fire and try to avoid the tragedy. |
"I called you here to aid the police." |
"My subordinates couldn't get a word out of him, and neither could I. He probably doesn’t remember me. I hoped that a familiar face might help him to open up. |
"Why didn't you bring his brother here?" |
"Tyrande and Malfurion are currently not in the country. Both of them are visiting the Mulgore Tauren Reservation and recruiting new druid apprentices." the captain clapped. "They won't come home for another week, and this can't wait until that." |
"I just have to make him talk, right?" she flashed her canines. "If you leave it to me, he'll sing like a canary!" |
Shandris nodded and they walked to the elevator in the lobby. She pressed the call button. Suddenly, she was devoured by an uneasy feeling and feared that as the elevator descended below the ground, Maiev sank back into her old obsession. She searched her expression through the mirror in the elevator, but her face did ... |
Maiev's nose was suddenly struck by a familiar smell. The characteristic stench of demons swept through the narrow, dim corridor. Her heart strated to beat faster and faster with every passing second. If she had doubted her sister-in-law's words before, the rest of her skepticism was now dispelled. It took her a tremen... |
"Has he said anything?" She asked the stranger. |
"Not a single word. He just stands behind the glass and listens. Honestly, I don't know what the holy nut would that thing be back there, but he gives me the creeps if I just have to look at him. That guy is dangerous, Lady Captain. So please take him out of here as soon as possible! At the end he may cause some damage... |
"I understand, Garlobe, I'll be on it. Thank you for your cooperation on behalf of the District Police." Shandris gestured, and the goblin barely visibly grimaced, then hurried toward the elevator. |
The two women looked at each other and continued their way down the hall. They passed numerous cells with different serial numbers, each one designed to test different things, but the black colored code numbers didn't tell much to the uninitiated viewers. |
Maiev's heartbeat continued to increase as she felt themselves approaching the place where her old prisoner had been held. "Soon... the next one will be the one! I sense you there!" Various thoughts rushed through the night elf's mind as by each step she felt closer to her goal. Time seemed to slow down, and even a bli... |
"Maiev...?" The prisoner's deep, husky voice broke the silence. Surprised, he stepped closer to the glass wall as if he could not believe his own eyes, even though Illidan knew better than anyone that his fel-vision was infallible, and the one in front of him was indeed his former warden. |
"Great, so he's talking to you." Shandris turned to her partner. "Would you ask him to cooperate with the police?" as she was speaking, the demon hunter listened curiously, then looked at Maiev and waited. The warden stared at him for a moment, then, as she awoke from a deep sleep, blinked two and stepped closer. |
"Illidan. I'm not gonna lie, it fills me with great pleasure to see you behind bars again." She said in an older Darnassian dialect, tapping the glass with her finger, then took a deep breath and continued. "Which will remain this way if you refuse to cooperate with Captain Feathermoon and her subordinates. Personally,... |
The man nodded slowly to Shandris, which made the captain blush. She had already tried to speak to him that day, but he had never responded, and now, hearing Maiev, she finally realised why. She was speaking the New Common Language, which Illidan obviously could not understand. She gestured bleakly to Maiev that she wo... |
"I'm sorry, I forgot you didn't speak New Common Language." she said as she felt her sister-in-law's frown. "What an amateur!" probably thinking, rightly thought. "As Shadowsong said, we want you to cooperate with us." |
"If it hadn't been my intention, I'd been able to raze this pathetic anti-magic chamber to the ground long ago." |
"I see. Thank you and I apologize for any inconvenience that we may have caused to you. I guess you have a lot of questions and there will be more when you get out of here. You will be able to ask them from your probation officer, but we will have to interrogate you and register you into administration first. This will... |
Upon hearing the name, Illidan's composed form seemed to waver for a moment. It was hard to read anything from his face, due to his lack of eyes, but his slightly opened jaw betrayed his feelings. Maiev immediately noticed the change in his mood and listened intently. She had never seen the demon hunter like that. If m... |
"No." Illidan replied with an effort to force his voice into indifference, but Maiev saw through his act. |
"Are you sure? It would help a lot if there was a guarantor for you and..." |
"I said no!" Illidan snapped. His skin darkened and his fel-tattoos glowed menacingly. "Not a single word to my brother! The only person I need to know about my return is already present." He muttered ominously. The chamber that held him started cracking. He really wasn't kidding when he said only his benevolence was t... |
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I don't want to force you, I won't bring it up again." Shandris tried to calm down the mage. Silence ensued. Illidan's skin slowly regained its former hue, but the tension remained in the air. The captain thought it was for the better to shorten the visit. "Maiev, we're leaving." She touched her ... |
"Just a moment." her sister-in-law said, not taking her eyes off Illidan for a second. - I'll tell you right now: If you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you again! |
"I'm glad to see you, too, Maiev." The man replied, flashing an arrogant grin. |
"And now? What's next?" Maiev asked as they left the downstairs elevator. Shandris paused upon hearing the question and seemed to hesitate. This was a good question, indeed. What's next? Should she carry out her plan, can she trust her sister-in-law? True, she had behaved down there and kept her promise, but would she ... |
"Normally, we would have to hand over powerful and dangerous mages like him to the army, they would probably imprison him for eternity. But I think he has proven his allegiance to Azeroth enough and atoned for the sins of the past." Maiev didn't seem to agree, her eyes narrowed visibly, but she held herself. |
"What do you mean?" |
"I'll let him go..." |
"Have you lost your mind?" the woman snapped. She was almost at Shandris's throat, but her sudden outburst got under control just in time by the better part of her wits, and she lowered her hand. "I thought you were just kidding down there. I don't agree with..." |
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