(Story) To Find One and Lose Another.
Tendrokos trots his Felsteed on a small dirt road, its hoof clopping softly as he makes his way deep into the heart of Duskwood. The thick array of trees blocked all the moonlight, draping the woods in a thick haunting darkness, something he didn’t seem to mind. The trees surrounding him were bare, as everything was in this forest. Big thick cobwebs hung down from the branches, giving the trees a hunted look. Like they would come to life and attach him at any given moment.
His Felsteed trotted slowly, unlike most horses, he wasn’t fazed by the eerie look of the forest. He wasn’t much to look at; he looked almost like a common black horse. Normally it had flaming hoofs, burning tail and a fiery mane. Its eyes burning a bright orange like molten lava. But due to their journey, treading deep into Alliance territory, the horse looked almost normal at a glance. Its hoofs and tail smoldered softly and its black mane lay across the side of its neck, only smoking a bit from the heat it produced.
The two of them made their way slowly into the woods. Tendrokos keeping his eyes peeled for wandering Humans and such. He dismissed the idea of teleporting here, in fear he might appear in the middle of a human camp. He wished to spill as little blood as possible, for now.
After some time, he finally reached the center of the eerie forest. He pulls out and old map and scans it, making sure he was in the right place. He looks up; spotting the hills that rose up in front of him, if his map was correct, this hill wound make a circle around the middle of the forest, creating what the Night Elves called Twilight Grove. Despite the hill being well over sixty feet, the trees managed to rise up above the hills.
He scans the land, looking for the easiest way up. His eyes fall upon a path that might have been there long ago, but now it was worn with animal tracks, making its way up the cliff. He slides off his horse, pulling his hood farther over his face. With a snap of his fingers, his horse morphs into his father’s golden staff. With a smile he picks it up and begins making his way up the path, using it as his walking stick.
After some hiking, he reaches the top of the hill, unable to see too far ahead of himself due to the fog, he makes his way down the opposite side of the cliff. As he walks he comes across an ancient Night Elf light post. He stops to inspect it for a second; the post was nothing more than plant roots, swirled up into a pole by the Elves. The post was just as tall as him; the top was lit with a small blue ball of light. The light seemed to be the only thing that illuminated what lay in front of him.
The path leads to a massive set of stone stairs, the ruins of once a great elven portal lay at the top. To the left of the portal was a small moonwell, shining bright under the small looking gazebo that enclosed it. To the right was an old Night Elf table and chair, handcrafted with one of their ancient trees long ago.
On the table sat nothing but a few old sheets of parchment and an ancient Elven lute. The lute was crafted with intense care and focus, every detail was outlined deeply. Above him the cover of trees broke in a small circle around the little valley he was standing it. The moon was out, but was constantly covered up by passing clouds, making it as dark as the forest he was in moments before.
Tendrokos walks over to the seat at the table, setting his staff on the table and picking the lute up. He runs his hand along the textured wood, smiling at the craftsmanship. He pulls out the his necklace, the faint light glowed softly from the dying enchantment that had kept him happy all these years. He sighs and sets it on the table as he tests the string, making sure they were still in working order.
After a few minutes of tuning and testing, he begins to play a song he had memorized. Something that could only work to reveal the secret he had hidden here long ago. After a few chords, he softly begins to sing. His notes were heavy with sadness. singing not only for what he came for, but for the dying enchantment from Thessali had given him:
My dear, I'll be there soon
It's a quiet and starry place
Time's we're swallowed up
In space we're here a million miles away
There's things I wish I knew
There's no thing I'd keep from you
It's a dark and shiny place
I'm safe and we're a million miles away
Your shadow follows me all day
Okay and we’re a million miles away"
Soon after he finishes, the moon breaks through the clouds, illuminating the ground around him. Soon the ground near him beings to rumble, a small chest rises slowly from the ground, surrounded by a spell he put on it many years ago. He slowly opens the chest, pull out a small stack of parchments. The pages were covered in spell and runes, something he hid away to use in a time like this.
He stuffs the pages in his pocket and turns to take his necklace. He stops as he realizes that the faint light of the necklace has died, leaving him forever. A single tear rolls down his eye as he finally feels the pain and the sorrow of his lose.
With that he takes the cold necklace and puts it in his pocket with the pages, and grabs his staff.
It was time to leave that all behind...