Trials of a Planeswalker Ch. 01: Rising

"I'm worried. How did we get here if it won't let us leave?" Varia asked.

"I don't know. I'm not rightly sure it would keep us here if we could fight it, but I'm worried we might hurt ourselves trying to Planeswalk here." Blayne said.

"Fuck it, let's break out of this place." Varia said, standing up.

She summoned her power up from within herself and reached out to the cell bars. They melted at her touch, fluttering away into dust. The elf in the cell across from them gasped in surprise. He got to his feet and grabbed his bars, staring intently at them.

"Let me out of here and give me a sword, I will help you escape Silvermoon." The elf said quickly.

"Blayne, we can escape ourselves." Varia said, "I don't trust anyone from this world."

"You can't! They'll catch you before you reach the otherwise of Eversong. The Outrunners will catch you easily." The elf argued, "But I can get you out. I know where there is a portal in this tower that can send us to the Ruins of Lordaeron. It's still Horde territory, but you can easily escape from there, head east to the alliance camp in Andorhal. You'd be back in Alliance territory and you'd be free!"

"Alright, alright. Varia, free him." Blayne said.

"I just know this is going to end badly." Varia hissed, holding her hands out.

The elf backed away from the bars and they crumbled into dust.

"I'm Avilas Loresong. Thank you for this." The elf said, bowing his head slightly.

"I'm Blayne, this is Varia." Blayne said, "Now quickly, lead us out of here."

The elf had their trademark long ears and his eyes glowed green. He was wearing dirty, torn pants and had shackles on his wrists.

"I'll get those too." Varia sighed, using her decaying magic on the metal.

It fluttered away and he rubbed his freed wrists.

"Alright, let's go." Avilas said, opening the door.

He lunged forward and disarmed the guard outside the door. He used the guard's own sword to gut him and throw him to the ground. He picked up the large red shield and gave the sword another experimental swing.

"Up. It's up higher in the tower. We're going to just make a break for it because there are a lot of powerful mages between us and them." Avilas warned, staring up the stairs.

Varia spotted her sheath sitting on the table and she scooped it up, pushing it back into her belt.

"Do you need weapons?" Avilas asked them.

"I've trained with some monks for a while. I've become skilled in hand to hand and I'm also a powerful mage." Blayne said.

"I suppose you'll just melt them?" Avilas said, glancing at Varia.

"No, spell only works on things without life in them. Life naturally repels the magic and so it can't work on anything that lives." Varia said, "But I'll be fine."

"Let's go then." Avilas nodded, jogging up the stairs.

They reached the next floor and were met by two large guards. The guards lunged at them and Avilas met one shield-to-shield.

Blayne summoned up his power, reveling in having his powerful magic at his finger tips again. Fire blossomed in his palm and his eyes met those of the second guard. A smirk crossed Blayne's face and he lunged his hand forward.

A cone of flame like he had never seen before erupted from his hand, bright blue right at his palm. It whistled loudly as it superheated the air around it. The fire knocked the elf back against the wall and pinned him there, cooking him alive. Blayne laughed wildly as adrenaline pumped in his head, making his heart beat in his ears. The elf screamed a shrill, dying breath and Blayne closed his hand, letting the charred corpse fall to the ground, smoldering and smoking. In the mean time, Avilas took advantage of the other guard's surprise to stab him in the throat.

"By the light of the sun." Avilas said in surprise as he looked at the guard's charred body.

"Oh god that felt great! It's been so long since I've been able to just let go like that!" Blayne laughed and cheered, "I want to do it more!"

"I've never in my life seen a mage able to do that." Avilas breathed, "There was no chanting, no anything. You just made it happen."

"I told you I was powerful. Let's go." Blayne smiled.

Whatever the monks had helped him do, it had done more than just repair the damage dealt by Lucius. It empowered Blayne and made his magic ever stronger.

Up on the next floor, they reached the main hall of the castle. A dozen guards and a few other powerful looking elves started towards them since they were noticed.

"Let me." Blayne smiled, "I have so much power in my body right now, I just have to let it all out."

Varia put her arm in front of Avilas and pulled him back into the doorway as she felt the mana growing inside Blayne. An aura of crackling electricity, burning fire and pure arcane energy began to ripple up from him. The guards encircled him and the other elves stood behind them.

"Stand down and surrender if you want to live!" A guard called.

Blayne breathed in, drawing in all the power around him. He raised his hands and released all of it. No fire, no lightning, not even any visible power. An explosion of pure force, pure kinetic power, burst forth from him. It shook the entire building and blew everyone in front of him across the room and slammed each of them into the walls with enough force to kill many of them. Varia and Avilas had to hold onto the doorway in order to not be blown down the stairs by the whipping wind generated by his magic.

Breathing out slowly, Blayne smiled widely. The entire room was in disarray. Everyone who had stood in front of him was unconscious or dead. Everything in the room that hadn't been tied down was blasted to the walls and corners. Every door attached to the room was blown off it's hinges and the tower creaked loudly above them, still reverberating with the energy of the blast.

"So much fun!" Blayne screamed, laughing loudly.

Little mana remained in his body, but he felt such exhilaration that it didn't matter to him. He turned and looked back at Varia.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Blayne asked, "Lead on!"

"Sorry, such power. I'm very surprised. So few mages on Azeroth could hope to do something akin to that. The Regent, who you just blasted across the room and knocked out, is one of our most powerful." Avilas said, walking across the room.

They mounted a spiraling path that took them up the tower. Part way up, they reached a platform with a swirling crimson orb. It was held in some sort of magical golden mechanism.

"Just put your palms on it and stand very still." Avilas advised and he awkwardly jammed his weaponry under one arm.

He put his hands on the orb and a surge of blue light engulfed him. It disappeared, taking him with it.

"Geronimo!" Blayne chuckled, grabbing the orb.

A blinding light filled his vision and an unpleasant pulling sensation covered his body. He forced himself to stand still as the light reached blinding levels. All at once it stopped and solid ground slammed into his feet. He stumbled slightly and looked around. He was standing in a dark, grungy courtyard. Stone buildings around him were crumbling and the ground was grown heavy with weeds.

"Hey! What're you doing?" A blood elf guard called from the other side of the courtyard, "You're not supposed to be there!"

"I just blasted the tower apart. Do you really want to fight me?" Blayne asked, "Because if so, I'll gladly vaporize you. Otherwise, you let us go and I'll let you live."

"I... I... alright, alright. Fine! Go!" The blood elf said, striding past Blayne.

The other two guards that had been standing with him followed him and they all passed through the orb. Apparently, since they were leaving Silvermoon and not breaking in, the guards didn't care enough to risk their lives.

"Your destination is that way. Just head up out of the ruins and follow the path to the east. You will need to sneak around the guard towers and reach the alliance side of Andorhal. You might run into some Horde, but as long as you're quick and quiet, you should be fine." Avilas said, directing them.

"Thank you for holding your side of the bargain." Blayne nodded, "Come on Varia."

They followed his instructions and found themselves walking down a gloomy pathway in a dark forest. A red and purple Zeppelin buzzed overhead.

"Since when have you been so powerful?" Varia asked him.

"What do you mean?" Blayne asked.

"You roasted the first one, okay. But then you blasted that room apart and kept going. How is that not powerful?" Varia exclaimed.

"Oh, it is powerful, but I'm exhausted. I blew all of my power in that room. I couldn't start a fire right now." Blayne sighed, "Just didn't want to seem weak. That last threat was a bluff I hoped the guard would believe."

"Well, of course. I knew you were weakened. I kept my power in reserve so I could protect you. You shouldn't be so reckless." Varia scolded him, "You'll never find a woman if you're so dumb."

"You love me." Blayne said simply.

"I do not! You tricked me! I never loved you! I hate your guts! You're weak willed and a tricky... trickster!" Varia cried, her face turning red.

Blayne grasped her hand and turned to her, spontaneously pressing his lips to hers. She mumbled at first and quickly gave in, her tongue slowly slipping into his mouth. He reached a hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him. After a second more, he let her go with a grin. She was smiling and she seemed to have her head in the clouds.

"See?" Blayne chuckled.

She snapped back to herself and clenched her fists, stamping her foot angrily.

"You tricked me again you ass! Stop doing that! I don't know what kind of magic you're using, but cut it out! I don't love you! I'll never love you! Stop it~!" She squealed, her face a dark crimson.

"You've got a little bullshit right here." Blayne said, pointing at her lip.

She stopped and wildly rubbed at her lips, frantically trying to get nothing off her mouth. She realized how dumb she looked and quickly put her hands back at her sides.

"Stop that!" Varia squeaked, smacking his shoulder angrily.

"What is it Varia? Why do you run away from your feelings so radically?" Blayne asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not running from my feelings! I have no feelings! Nothing! Nada! No feelings towards you at all!" Varia called before stomping off down the path.

"Whatever." Blayne sighed, following her.

*******

CHAPTER 16 - SOUTHSHORE

It had been simple to sneak around the outpost by climbing the hills and going through the dark trees. It took them most of the day to reach the 'city' of Andorhal. It was more a destroyed ruin with an eerie feeling about it. A portion of the city near to them had been slightly rebuilt. There were intact buildings with weathered blue roofs. Blayne could see the guards from where they stood and they looked human. The sun was setting and they could only be seen by torchlight.

"God I'm hungry." Varia sighed.

"Those don't look like elves. I think we're safe." Blayne said, starting down the hill towards Andorhal.

"They look friendlier than those green skinned things at that guard outpost." Varia said.

"I can't disagree with that." Blayne chuckled.

They walked down the hills and reached the edge of the village.

"Halt there!" A guard called to them, "Identify."

"I'm Blayne! This is Varia. We're human!" Blayne yelled.

"Approach and be seen!" The guard yelled.

They stepped into the torchlight with their hands up.

"Alright, come on. You have to meet with the captain before anything else." The guard said.

"So we're back in Alliance territory?" Blayne asked.

"Not really. This is a heavily contested zone. What're you doing here without knowing that?" The guard asked.

"We were captured by the elves in Silvermoon and we only just escaped." Blayne said.

"Why're you coming from the west? The blood elf city is north of here." The guard asked.

"We came through some magic orb that teleported us to these ruins to the west of here." Blayne explained.

"I'll have you tell all of that to the captain." The guard sighed.

He took them into a house that was heavily guarded. Six men stood around a table covered in a large map. They were talking battle strategies and possible outcomes.

"Captain Sten! We have humans who just wandered in." The guard announced.

"Thank you soldier, back to your post." Captain Sten said, waving him off.

The guard saluted and left.

"So I say we bypass the Scourge by heading south and around, slamming into the Horde from here. That will give us the chance to overrun their forces and scatter them. If we can clean them, then it should be easy work moving the scourge from the city and taking it for the Alliance." An officer said, "I expect twenty percent casualties and I can almost guarantee our victory."

"I do hate the Horde with a burning passion, but I fear that a strike if that manner will force them north and they will cycle around to strike us back. We have no sensible way of striking directly at them as long as the Scourge lie between us and them. If we were to split our forces to defeat such a strike, they would overpower us because we would be too weak. Nay, I say we outlaw them and wait for our reinforcements from Ironforge. As soon as we gain the Dwarven forces, we will be able to drive a lance through the middle of the scourge and scatter them. We push through and pull our forces entirely into the Horde camp, leaving only enough behind to keep our base safe. We will be cut off, but we will be strong enough to march the Horde into the ground. Then we simply smash our way back through the Scourge, taking as many as we can upon our return." Captain Sten explained passionately.

"I hadn't considered that." The first officer said.

"What is the Scourge?" Blayne blurted out.

"What is the Scourge?!" The Captain mimicked him.

"Have you been living in Outlands?" An officer exclaimed.

"No, but I am from far away." Blayne said.

"The Scourge are the undead. The humans brought back to life to fight. Our only saving grace is that they're not entirely fighting for the Horde." The Captain told him, "So what're you doing on my battlefield?"

"Well if they aren't your allies, then you needn't fear hurting them, so I think you should just bombard the Horde with artillery. Just beat on them from a distance until they're dead or they give in." Blayne said.

"Great plan except we only have two catapults and precious few boulders to throw." The Captain said, "Leave the planning to us."

"Wait! You said these undead are siding with your enemy, right?" Varia said, "There's all the ammo you need! Fire catapults full of the undead! Kill them and load their corpses in the catapults!"

"That's not very destructive." An officer said, "Bodies don't fly well and they won't exactly crash through buildings."

"They don't need to! Think of the disease and demoralization! They must guard their camp while corpses rain on their heads!" Varia cried, "Even the most Hardened army would give up after a time!"

"Then you don't know the Orcs at all, do you?" An officer growled.

"No, the little lady might be onto something. It's worth a shot. We would take out the Scourge slowly and put their bodies to good use. Grisly and evil, but the Horde would do no less." Captain Sten said, "Sergeant! Get a squad together and raid the Scourge! Kill them and hurl their corpses at the enemy! It won't be easy, but it'll be safer than an all-out assault."

"Sir!" The officer saluted.

"You others! Get the camp ready. Ready the soldiers, ready the catapults and wake the doctor. We attack at dawn." Captain Sten instructed.

They all saluted and left.

"Now you two. What are you here for?" The Captain turned to them.

"We escaped from Silvermoon and used a magic orb to teleport to some ruins west of here. We're just trying to get somewhere safe." Blayne said.

"We have a number of battle griffins here. I could spare one, and only one, to take you down to Southshore. From there you can catch a ship to Stormwind. Naturally, you'll be safe there." Captain Sten said, "Your griffin will just before dawn and it will take most of the day to fly you there. Don't be late. Until then, find somewhere to get some sleep."

"Thank you." Blayne nodded.

*******

"You sure this thing can hold us both?" Varia asked as she got on the griffin behind Blayne, "What if it drops us?!"

"Griffins are strong and fast. They can easily hold both of you." The soldier said, "When you get to Southshore, just tell the Griffin to go back. They're smart enough to know."

"Thank you for your help!" Blayne said as the griffin started to run forward.

It's talons and paws beat on the ground as it picked up speed. It's wingspan was ten feet wide and the swept wide, pulling up powerfully. They arced into the sky, surging upward into the sky. The trees fell away and the wind whipped about them.

"Waaaah!" Varia squealed, grabbing around Blayne and burying her face in his back.

She clasped her hands around his midsection and whimpered pathetically.

"Don't be scared sweetheart, you're a Planeswalker! Buck up!" Blayne laughed.

"I'm scared of heights you ass!" Varia screamed.

Blayne just laughed and held onto the griffin's reigns, letting the great beast lead them to their destination. He was quite enjoying himself as they soared over the trees below. Something about riding such a powerful creature through the skies seems like a fantasy. Even back with the Izzet, it still felt closer to home because of all the machinery and metal.

The Izzet... this was the first time in days that he had thought of them. Since he had gotten home, he had all but forgotten about Ravnica. He thought back to Lizzex and Tazzex. What kind of trouble must they be in right now? Since he met Varia, he had realized what real love was. Lizz and Tazz had been great fun, but something about Varia felt so much more special to him. He put his hand on her hands and looked back over his shoulder. He could barely see her fiery red hair against his shoulder.

"I love you Varia." Blayne said over the wind.

She kept her face pressed against his back, staring at the vibrant blue and red on his back. Her face was burning, already embarrassed by their closeness, his comment didn't help. She could hear his breathing with her ear pressed to his back. It seemed strangely intimate as the griffin carried them through the sky.

They soared quietly for hours, the griffin seemingly tireless in it's flight onward. Blayne began to pay attention. He realized that the griffin glided more than it actually flew. It's wide wingspan let it float for a long time and, mixed with the updrafts and wind, it flew effortlessly through the heavens.

Varia slowly grew more secure with her position behind Blayne on the beast's broad back. She slowly stopped hiding her face and began to look at the scenery around them. All was well until they hit a pocket of dead air and the griffin dropped alarmingly. Varia cried out in fear and nearly squeezed Blayne in half.

"Blayne! We're going to die!" Varia screamed as the griffin beat it's wings to stay aloft.

"No we're not, we're just fine. See? We didn't crash." Blayne said as a fresh breeze picked up behind them and they gained altitude, "So for hating me, you're hanging on me awfully tight."

"What... what choice do I have?! You're holding the reigns!" Varia cried defiantly, loosening her hands.

"Admit it! You love me!" Blayne teased.

"No, I don't!" Varia cried.

"You do and you know it." Blayne said, "I'm not blind. I see the way you look at me when you think I wouldn't notice. I see that look in your eyes."

"Wh... what look? There's no look! I only see hatred for you!" Varia cried.

"Admit it!" Blayne said.

"No!" Varia cried.

"Admit it already!" Blayne said louder.