Dark Dealings

Dark Dealings

By Phealea

=Part One=

It was the late afternoon and Phealea finally motivated herself to leave the confines of the dwarven city for some fresh air. She pulled up her list of jobs, placed the list back in one of her many pockets and headed to the griffin master so she could cath a flight down to Stranglethron.

The trip itself was uneventful and she mostly mused about one spell theory after another. Once she landed she made a point to go and greet a few of the Tong friendly goblins, if for nothing else but appearances. After a few fake smiles and handshakes it was time to put her magic to the field again.

Today she had planned to deal with the Bloodsails. Those dirty pirates have always been a problem and never knew when to back off. Phealea grinned to herself as she would kill two birds with one fireball, send a message to stop fooling with the Tong, and get some coin from finding their attack plans on Booty Bay. As she made her way down to the wild shore she was confused, as not a single Bloodsail could be found. Usually this place was packed with the bastards, she though. That was when she heard the screaming.

She ran down to the Wild Shore to see what was going on only to see a large amount of full armored and angry looking Horde and Alliance fighters. Curiously enough they did not battle one another but seemed to be firing off spell and weapon over a hill and falling back to the open beach. Phea watched as many of them ran past her or stopped next to her. She turned quickly to see what was going on and that was when she felt it.

It was overwhelming and the poor girl fell to her knees as a almost tangible feeling of Fel magic swept from over the hill. Sweat began to form on her brow as the dread inside of her began to weigh heavier and heavier upon her. She gritted her teeth and looked up at the hill to see what was coming that was giving her this feeling. No sooner had she gazed up that she caught a glimpse of a very large wing.

Then it bounded over the hill with a great deal of fighters about it. It was a giant demon which wield a large battle axe. With each swing it struck many of the fighters and they were doing their best to damage it without getting caught in that arch. Phealea froze for a moment, out of nothing but sheer terror as she felt its power and gazed upon it. As they drew it near she bite down hard on her lips to attempt to get her mind clear. She uttered a few quick words of power and sent her body twenty yards in the opposite direction. Once there she did all she could to escape the battle.

After a good five minutes she calmed herself that her mind was not befuddled with the power of the demon, or perhaps it had weakened so much. She crept upon a hill and watched from the bushes as the fighters dealt blow after blow to the monster and then soon it was done. The great demon roared and collapsed unto the now red sands of Wild Shore.

Phealea was unable to take her eyes from the large beast as she was awestruck it was killed. The large joint group broke into celebration after their victory. However that lasted for only a moment before many started to attack one another. Unconcerned with the needless bloodshed Phealea's mind was in a reel. How could something of that size be here in the Vale... unless.

She gasped at the horror of her train of thought. This was bad, very bad if she was right. She slowly click her comm, "Guys, this is Phea. Something horrible may have just happened. And when I say horrible I mean Azeroth destroying horrible. I am going to do some investigations... in the Blasted Lands. If anyone is particularly religious... you may want to start praying."

With that said she clicked her comm and caught a flight to Duskwood. She had a long dangerous journey ahead of her, but someone has to do it.

=Part Two=

The day was in full swing but in the Blasted Lands it there was dark omens all about. The sun barely shone through the dust and debris as Phealea walked out of Nethergrade Keep atop of Ateria. The two were nervous but Phealea took a deep breath to calm herself before calming her beloved horse. With that they set off to the brewing storm clouds.

Dodging most of the inhabitants of the Blasted Lands was a relatively easy task for Ateria, who also did not wish to become food for any of the monsters that roamed the land. Phealea thanked the Light that her horse was wise enough to be on alert for the both of them, because once they were out of the Keep, Phealea was drenched in sweat and that horrid feeling of dread. She did all she could to harden her resolve but as they ran deeper and deeper she became weaker and weaker.

As the two traveled down the road she noted a large hole in a near by hill where the clouds had gathered. Further inspect was that the land there was further scorched. Something had blasted through the hillside. Phealea gulped and tightened her grasp on her reigns.

"Fel, this cant be good... There should be wards all over this place... This is not good." She whispered to herself as Ateria began to move again.

As the two swiftly made their way through the new passage in the hill Phea 's mouth dropped as she saw a intact and fully functioning Dark Portal before her. The Argent Dawn had already prepared the area and were battling with the invading demons. The Dark Portal was giving off wave after wave of Fel energies as more and more demons poured through. Phealea grasped at her chest as she felt it tightening and her breathing became more labored.

".. Fel... this can't be. The wards are gone and the... portal is fixed.... I have to report back." She said almost struggling for air as she spoke in a low voice to herself.

With that she dismounted Ateria and teleported her back to Elwynn forest until she was needed again. Phealea wanted out of here as fast as possible and she was willing to take the risk. She herself struggled against the dark magic about her as she pulled in the arcane forces to aid her in her teleport spell. Phealea concentrated with all her might to avoid drawing in the negative power of the dark portal as she chanted. At the cusp of finishing the spell she couldn't help but laugh at herself. She was good at what she did, but even she was not so strong as to ward off the demonic magics of this land with the Dark portal open. Her spell was finished, with a unfortunate side effect. She bent time and space and sent herself to Stormwind, but with the excess of raw and dark magics about her she had brought in too much power. As she traveled through across the land her body was buffeted by the excess powers. She could swear demons lashed out at her in that moment of travel as well. When she arrived in the Mage Tower of Stormwind she sighed and fell to her knees. Her body carried a light green glow for a moment and she cursed as she realized what was going to happen next.

The world swirled about the dazed young girl and moved in a sort of slow motion. She saw the few others in the tower turn to the sudden glowing young girl and gasp. She blinked as she felt a warmness in her chest build. She looked up and out of the window and smile to herself as she watched the wind blow about the leaves of the cherry blossom. Then her glow grow bright, almost blinding.

"Sorry guys, looks like I wasn't careful enough." She whispered to the wind as she gripped her arms around herself.

Her natural flow of magic finally rejected the dark energies she had taken in, and in a torrent of arcane power all of the dark energies as well as her reserves of magical energies forced itself out of her body. A bright green explosion had taken place with Phealea acting as the center. The reinforced windows of the tower cracked under the pressure of the swirling power, while the other people in the tower where taken off their feet. The scene only lasted for a moment and then a silence over took the tower. Phealea fell to the floor and coughed up what she assumed was blood. Her vision became blurry as she laid upon the cold cracked floor. She blinked a few times and her mind became a fog.

"Ha, not dead... yet. Thats good." Phealea said with her last remaining ounce strength. With that she closed her eyes.

=Part Three=

As Phealea, slowly opened her eyes she was a bit confused and unaware of her surroundings. It was then that the pain came flooding into her head, a expect side effect from a collapsed spell matrix. She quickly closed her eyes and raised a hand to her head in a futile attempt to stop the throbbing. She coughed and slowly rolled in the small cot she was in. She turned her head to the side and slowly opened one eye to attempt to take in her surroundings.

It was a small little room made of white stone and had one little window. She noted the very plain and unadorned room and deduced she had been taken to the Cathedral in the city. It was late in the night as far as she could tell, and more than anything it was quiet. She removed her hand to note the white bandages that covered her palms and wrists. She wore a simple white robe and all her piercings had been either removed or destroyed in the explosion.

Her body ached as she slowly forced herself to sit up in her cot. She put a hand to her mouth and coughed a bit. She was relieved that no blood had come with the cough. Her long black and blue hair fell easily into her eyes, much to her annoyance. She grunted as she adjusted herself to be more comfortable in her sitting position.

"Damn those Fel magics. I wasn't powerful enough this time. At least she did not come to taunt me again." She mused to herself as she brought her knees closer to her chest.

"Oh, good. You are awake, you had us worried Phea." A soft, almost fatherly voice spoke from just out of sight.

Phealea quickly turned her head to the other side of the room to see Tai, sitting in a chair. He was dressed in his suit and looked over at the young girl. He had a small relieved smile on his face, which quickly changed to a neutral expression when he realized Phea was just staring at him.

"You were reckless weren't you? How many times do I have to tell you to be careful?" Tai scolded her as he crossed his arms.

Phealea buried her head into her knees and sighed deeply. In a soft, almost fearful and pained voice she spoke. "The Dark Portal is open. I saw it with my own eyes. Demons were pouring through and it was the Argent Dawn who stood in their way. Those demons... were way stronger than me and I lost my nerve. I attempted to teleport away and I pulled in too much power. My body rejected the extra energy and the spell matrix fell in on itself."

Tai's mouth was slightly agape at the information he had received. He was concerned for the health of the young girl, but he also understood the implications of what she just said... another invasion from the Burning Legion was coming.

There was a small silence that covered the room and Tai was about to speak when the door to her room opened. In walked Kya and Talula, each with a flower in hand. When they saw Phea was awake Kya ran over and embraced the young mage. Kya most likely would have picked her up if Phea hadn't flinched with pain at the embrace.

"Finally awake huh? Good! You know we just pasted Vonn, and Kennia on our way here. They had just left, did ya get a chance to talk to them?" Kya said as she set down the flower on the small table in the room, all the while with a smile on her face.

"You had us worried Miss Phea. It is good to see you up and about." Talula said in her normal sweet little voice.

Tai smiled at the girls and let them talk. He let them talk for a bit about a bit. Behind his smile though he was thinking, and thinking hard about what Phealea had just reported.