Oaksong Ch. 08: A Highborne's Duty

As the blue dragon's form zipped past her, Shalendris thought she spotted that draconic eye peering at her for a split second. Its attention did not remain on the elf for long as a great green ball of fire and rock slammed against the dragon's side, exploding with enough force that Shalendris thought she'd felt it even in this spirit realm.

The dragon, as large as it was, did not immediately come crashing down from a single blow. However, the meteor that had hit it did not simply explode and crumble uselessly to the ground. The fiendish energies that had created it made sure that it would continue its destructive purpose even after it had hit its target. Great arms of stone and flame erupted from the boulder immediately, gripping tightly onto the dragon, flaming fingers digging into draconic flesh. Legs would also appear under the boulder almost immediately, along with a single floating head. While its arms held it firmly onto the dragon's flank, its legs dangled uselessly beneath it as the dragon howled in pain, attempting to shake the thing off.

Shalendris did not see how the scene unfolded, however, as the majestic Blue vanished over the tree line.

As much as she wished to help, there was nothing she could think of that could help the beautiful creature. With the battle raging furiously beneath her, Shalendris started once more towards her destination, slipping between buildings. She did not know if she could fly through them in this spirit-world, but she would not take the chance.

Her speed allowed her to reach her destination with surprising ease, as such a distance would normally take someone an hour or more on foot. She had managed it in under five minutes.

There, atop a small hillock, stood one of multiple temples dedicated to Elune. This was the place, she knew. The temple's roof had been smashed through, and one of its three wings had been completely obliterated by, it seemed, a great explosion.

On a balcony, surveying the chaos of battle, stood a great red demon Shalendris recognized immediately. Othros or, rather, what remained of him. Othros had been her mate for some years, and she had loved him dearly until the Burning Legion invaded. When she'd last seen him, he'd been busy fucking her mother senseless and had nearly roped Shalendris into a similar situation, had she not had the mental fortitude to resist those tempting magics.

In this spirit-realm, however, she did not sense Othros's spirit within the demon's form, even though its face appeared nearly identical, save for its fel-corrupted appearance. Slowly, she approached the hulking demon on the balcony, her talons coming to rest upon the stone handrail. Observing the muscle-bound fiend, her perceptive gaze immediately landed upon a tiny purple gem at the creature's waist, glowing with... Othros! Her mate's soul was not in the body of the demon, but within that tiny gem. She could sense that presence and she could also tell that it had sensed her, as it started glowing more and more as her avian form hopped off the handrail and started hopping towards the gem, hoping to perhaps act upon it, to free the one bound inside.

That frantic glowing from the gem was not the spirit inside's way of greeting her or to show that it was glad that Shalendris had arrived. It was panic, it was a warning. A warning she did not heed quickly enough as the demon's clawed hand shot out at her, grabbing her avian form by its neck, squeezing.

Shalendris could feel him pulling her soul from that spirit realm and out into the material plane.

The demon grinned at Shalendris, showing its yellowed, pointed teeth. "You thought to bait me and my lieutenant Tarraxis? Often have I been underestimated, but never this badly. I've eyes and ears everywhere, dear."

Shalendris could not reply, unable to speak in this form, but the demon greatly savored every drop of panic in her eyes as she tried to claw at that grasping hand with her spirit-talons in vain.

"Pitiful creature," gloated the demon. "It will be far easier to bring your body back here once your soul has been severed from it entirely. And once I've taken your body for myself, I'll be able to use the gift bestowed upon you by the Ancient to fully corrupt this land and cleanse it of life!"

The hand upon Shalendris's throat started glowing with fel energy as she felt him pulling her soul out of the spirit-realm, panic filling every thought in those moments. "I am Nar'tuzel, and you are MINE!" suddenly shouted the demon, pulling at her spirit even harder, half of it now crossing the threshold between the planes.

The soul gem at the demon's waist pulsed uselessly as Othros's spirit within attempted to fight against its imprisonment.

Come back, young Shalendris.

The silver thread connecting her back to her body pulled once, twice. The third tug ripped her from Nar'tuzel's grip and back through the veil. Colors rushed past her. Sounds and smells assaulted her mind along with the wind whipping her skin as her avian spirit-form reverted to its more humanoid appearance.

Slipping through the veil, her spirit crashed back into her corporeal form and the night elf opened her eyes. Not to the peaceful chanting of Tauren shamans but to the shouts and screams of battle, of burning blazes and blades ringing against one another.

Next to her, Shalendris immediately spotted Au'lah smiling down at her. Sitting up in a panic, Shalendris looked around desperately for something with which to fight and defend the two of them.

"My work is done, child. I have brought you to us and in doing so, brought the Kaldorei who will aid us. The Burning Legion is here, so it seems our plan was but an exercise in futility." The woman chuckled softly despite the dire situation she seemed to be in. "Fear not for me. My... gifts do not allow me to move, I would be but a hindrance. You, however, have much potential."

The older Tauren gently ran a hand across Shalendris's cheek as she had done before, staring into the elf's frightened silver eyes.

"Y-your tribe needs you!" the purple-haired Kaldorei shouted, standing up suddenly, causing her own tremendous tits to bounce and wobble about within that leather bra of hers, always within an inch of bursting free, it seemed.

The Greatseer shook her head. "What do you hope to do? Each one of these is heavier than your entire body," the Tauren said, patting her colossal tits, each one resting on the ground as she remained sitting.

Shalendris noted how that simple patting on the enormous knockers caused a bit of milk to spurt out onto the ground.

The night elf leaned in, quickly giving Au'lah a gentle hug, causing both their tremendous bosoms to press against the other's. "Thank you. For everything," the lavender-skinned elf said, a few tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

Without any words added, Shalendris ran to grab a nearby bow and quiver, placing the full quiver on her hip as she headed out the tent's exit. Looking over her shoulder, Shalendris only saw the tent's leather being sliced open by the enormous glaive of an equally impressive Fel Guard. Looking down at the vulnerable Au'lah, the fiend simply grinned, lifting its wicked blade.

Shalendris could not watch and turned away, running towards the conflict outside.

She could barely tell what was happening. Explosions shook the ground, adding to innumerable sounds of battle. A few Tauren houses were ablaze, both with regular fire as well as the green flames of the Burning Legion.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shalendris spotted a single Doom Guard swooping down onto a Tauren warrior too busy fending off two other demons. Nocking an arrow, she instinctively let fly towards the winged creature, her arrow piercing the beast's throat. Its eyes immediately locked onto Shalendris and it redirected its course towards the night elf, beating its wings furiously as it aimed its flaming spear right at the purple-haired woman.

She was exposed. She had nothing to block with and the creature was too fast. She closed her eyes, hoping the fiend would miss. Instead, she was greeted by the sound of shattering bones and a loud war cry.

Opening her eyes, she saw Tau'kale had swatted the Doom Guard out of the sky like a fly with his totem, sending the screaming devil flying and crashing into a nearby hut.

"Now is not the time for napping, Shalendris!" roared the enormous Tauren bull as he brought his war-totem down upon a pair of Fel Hounds who'd been aiming their tentacle-like feelers at Shalendris.

The woman nodded appreciatively, unsure if her voice could even be heard over the sounds of battle.

Bringing a hoof to a Fel Guard's chest in a powerful kick, Tau'kale turned his head to the archer. "Try to shoot as many of the winged ones out of the sky! I will cover you as we make our way to Captain Shadewhisper and your priestess friend!" instructed the black-furred fighter.

Shalendris was amazed as she watched the male obliterate foe after foe. Though she enjoyed watching his rippling musculature flex with every enemy destroyed, she soon found her attention drawn to the dozens of flying demons hovering above the village, waiting for prey to swoop down upon.

That first shot had likely been a lucky one and she soon found that most of her arrows missed their marks, but that did not matter, as Tau'kale did most of the heavy lifting.

The bull laughed heartily. "I thought you Kaldorei were better archers than this!"

Huffing, Shalendris glared up at him. "This is a very stressful situation!" she replied, letting fly another arrow which, this time, hit a Doom Guard between the eyes.

This almost seemed too easy. This was the first time Shalendris truly fought against the Burning Legion, but something wasn't right.

Sure enough, the skies above the village suddenly lit up with demonic green portals from which a rain of flaming boulders fell -- the same kind she'd seen hitting the Blue Dragon earlier.

She had no time to properly warn her friend as one of those boulders hit the ground ten feet away, exploding in a burst of evil green flame. Shalendris could feel the heat of the blast hitting her skin, forcing her to shield her eyes with her arm. Tau'kale simply stood stoically, breathing heavily as he stared down into the smoldering crater.

From the smoke, green eyes appeared, and a massive hand of stone swiped at the Tauren. Tau'kale blocked the blow with his totem, but the sheer force of the hit broke the weapon in two.

"Bah! Weapons only slowed me down!" roared the Tauren, leaping up with surprising agility at the Infernal which now stood before it. "GO! Shalendris! The Captain and Talena should be near the northern edge of the village!"

Shalendris only heard Tau'kale's horned head colliding with the Infernal's as the two tumbled back down into the crater, grappling each other.

The night elf had no idea who was winning or what was going on. She only knew that she would find safety with her friends and allies. They had to survive, had to endure. And if that meant fleeing to fight another day, then they would do just that.

Through the smoke and flames, the woman spotted the familiar glowing silhouette of Brightbeak who'd already guided her to safety so many times before. The bird gave a few quick hoots, bidding Shalendris follow it.

Dashing from building to building and sticking to the shadows as she had done during the initial invasion of Zin-Azshari, the night elf found that stealth was much harder when you have two gigantic breasts attached to your torso, wobbling and swinging about.

Doing her best to follow her bird companion while avoiding conflict, Shalendris's eyes scanned the surrounding battlefield for signs of her friends. She helped where she could as she crossed paths with elven and Tauren defenders who indicated where they'd last seen Talena and Captain Shadewhisper. The Captain, it seemed, had not ordered a retreat just yet.

Exiting the ruins of one burnt-out hut, Shalendris soon spotted the tell-tale signs of divine magic being employed against the demons, their flesh burnt in various places, those wounds still shining softly with gentle white light. Elune was watching over them. More importantly, however, was this had to be the work of one of her priestesses.

Her sandaled feet moved silently as she headed near the edge of the village where the fighting was slightly less intense, following the trail left by blade and holy magics. "Come on..." Shalendris uttered under breath, panting slightly thanks to her abysmal cardio. Whatever magical energy that allowed her to avoid muscle fatigue previously had left her tits entirely.

Coming into a small opening between three burnt-down longhouses, Shalendris immediately spotted the source of the carnage: Faella and Talena. Both elves were busy catching their breath between the corpses of two Doom Guards, reflexively preparing blade and spell at the sound of oncoming footsteps.

Recognizing Shalendris immediately, Talena jumped up and ran towards her friend, immediately squeezing her in an embrace strong enough that Shalendris had a hard time breathing.

"Shal, I... I'm so sorry! There was shouting outside the tent while you were away... And we tried to come back to the tent! We really did... but the demons, there's so many!" the priestess jabbered, words barely comprehensible as tears ran down her cheeks, forming clear paths through the soot and dirt that had accumulated on her skin.

With a grunt, the Captain stood up, nodding in Shalendris's direction. "The village is lost. We should retreat towards another pocket of resistance. Have you found anything, Oaksong?" the woman asked, wiping the sweat from her brow with a gloved hand.

The purple-haired Kaldorei nodded. "I have. The resistance is striking back against the heart of Zin-Azshari. They are going to free the Queen from the demons! The dragons are aiding us, and great forest spirits! I... I'm so sorry, I didn't see the demons approaching the village... I would have warned you," a saddened Shalendris said, on the verge of tears as well.

Faella smiled, sheathing her blade gracefully. "We know you would have. The information you've gathered gives me great hope. Then let us gather as many of our compatriots and Tauren friends as we can to strike against the heart of these invaders," she said.

At that moment, Shalendris realized that it was not dirt that covered Captain Shadewhisper's face but dried blood. Whatever wound had caused such bleeding had apparently already healed, she remarked inwardly.

The flapping of many small wings brought their attention up towards the moon, darkened by a hundred bats coming straight at them. In a matter of moments, the winged multitude became a single entity, hovering over them with a wicked grin upon its thin, grey lips.

Tarraxis.

"How are you enjoying the little party I've thrown? Quaint little village you elves have managed to hide in," the horned devil said with a chuckle, landing ten or so feet before the trio of Kaldorei women.

Slowly drawing her blade, Faella pointed it directly at Tarraxis. "Look at how many of your dumbfuck demons I've slain today, you sickening sack of shit," she said, waving her sword to the dozens of corpses strewn about the place. "You're next," the fighter warned, readying her stance.

"I'll keep him occupied, you two go and regroup with the others. The battle is lost, don't go back to the village," the white-haired Captain whispered to Shalendris and Talena.

With a roar, Faella leaped forward, swinging her blade with an adeptness none would expect from a woman who'd recently lost an arm. Yet the fury she mustered granted her strength beyond measure, allowing her to swipe once, twice, thrice at Tarraxis. The demon dodged the first two swings but the third connected, nicking his jaw.

Not a single drop had the time to escape the wound that Tarraxis had brought both hands around the elven woman, hands large enough to fully grasp her upper body, lifting her feet off the ground. "Now, why'd you have to go and do that?"

Her reply was a thick wad of spit landing square upon his nose and upper lip.

"Foolish and rude. Not a combination I'm too fond of," Tarraxis grumbled. Effortlessly, the demon grabbed the Captain by her only arm, swinging her wildly towards the burning village like some sort of armored ragdoll, an afterthought as his eyes quickly narrowed on his prize.

Shalendris and Talena had already begun sprinting out of there, both of them holding their chests as best they could to avoid knocking themselves out with a boob, Brightwing circling overhead.

Whether it was that single flap of his wings or the leap that lifted him into the air, Tarraxis was soon passing over the pair of Kaldorei, landing in a cloud of ash and dust before them, blocking their path.

"I've made the mistake of playing around with you two before, but I won't fail again!" he said, his expression suddenly flipping from cockiness to fury.

Shalendris nocked an arrow and Talena began casting a spell. Both lacked the speed necessary and soon, Tarraxis had launched from his palms two shadowy tendrils that wrapped around the women's throats, cutting off most of their air supply and stopping any spellcasting from the priestess.

"It would truly be a shame if something did happen to you... An accident, perhaps?" Tarraxis growled, showing his pointed teeth. "The priestess, at the very least, would be quite an enjoyable kill. Would you like to watch me do it, young Oaksong?" the horned demon said, sadistically staring into Shalendris's eyes, feeding on her despair, her fear.

"Mmh, having a hard time answering?" the monologuing tormentor chuckled.

Both night elves suddenly felt the tendrils at their throats relaxing slowly and their gazes moved up to see a shocked expression on Tarraxis's face. Their eyes followed the demon's as he looked down at a blade poking out between his pectorals, blood gushing out of that single wound.

Both women had the same thought at that moment. Had the Captain come to help them?

As the blade retracted back out of Tarraxis's back and the demon's magical tendrils dissipated into thin, wispy smoke, Shalendris and Talena fell to the ground onto their rears, dropped unceremoniously as their assailant turned around to face this new foe.

At that moment, both elven women could get a clearer look at their unknown savior. It was not Faella, but that unknown, Kaldorei who'd been spending so much time with the Captain.

"You..." Tarraxis started, but the enormous, grey-skinned devil suddenly roared in pain as the hole that pierced his body flared up with blue-white light, illuminating their surroundings. "GrrrrAAAaaaHH!" he screamed as his insides were burned by the night elf's enchantments.

"Even as you die, you can't help but blabber on, can you, demon?" joked the Kaldorei, taking the opportunity to slice open the demon's belly horizontally with another rapid slice of his blade, using another quick incantation to cause those powerful blue flames to erupt yet again from the second wound.

The swordsman took a step back as more and more flames began erupting from the demon's every orifice, the grey-skinned creature now alight like a torch, swatting desperately at the ever-growing blue blaze pouring out of him. "NGGAUUUggHH!"

His screams were met with both amazement from Shalendris and Talena as well as amusement from the elf who'd caused the fire.

"Always thought blue to be a more calming color. Wouldn't you agree?" the handsome Kaldorei said to the two women who were slowly bringing their silver eyes to him while Tarraxis began rolling around in the dirt, trying to put the flames out in vain. "Captain Shadewhisper sent me."

Shalendris and Talena looked at each other, blinking for a moment, as though hoping the other would explain who this man was.