"Taking 12:00 was an ethically clean question. The zerg were going to get theirs as well. "
-Heartcutter
|
| A Hunter's Tale | | | Author: | | | IP: | ool-182fXXXX | | Date: | 07/18/02 06:07 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 6, Min: 6
Lifetime Rating for Epoch71: 6.0000 |  |
After seeing the immense quantities of Fanfics, and getting bored, I decided to jump on the bandwagon (Or whatever the saying is O.o). This story tells the tale of the Demon Hunter Shadowfury, and the tale of the Priestess-In-Training Kathris Starsong. With any luck, response will be good, and I'll write Part 2. Enjoy.
-Epoch
Oh, and this is probably the only Fanfic to have either pictures, or this cool font ^_^
The Demon Hunter Shadowfury stood atop a great hill overlooking the battlefield of yesterday. Undead and Night Elf corpses alike were scattered across the battle-scarred, half-blighted plains. Shadowfury's eyes, ritually blinded, saw nothing. But he sensed everything, and in greater details than any non-Hunter could ever comprehend.
The Night Elf Sentinels had won the battle, crushing the Scourge's forces and driving them out of the land. Many casualties were taken, but no lives were wasted -- All the Night Elves who died the day before had given their lives to defend the world their ancestors had brought the Scourge upon. They died to correct the mistakes of the past, what a waste. thought Shadowfury....
The Hunter turned, and swiftly made his way down the side of the hill. His two great blades were strapped across his back, for no enemy was nearby. He would've sensed them if they had been. Soon, he arrived at the the Night Elf encampment. It was bustling with activity, green mounds of trees rising and forming into replacements for buildings destroyed by the Undead. The luckier Night Elf sentinels, and the Wisps walked through the dirt 'roads' between the Ancients and the other buildings of the Night Elf town. The less lucky were being bathed in the restorative waters of the Moon Wells. Some would make it, some would not.
Shadowfury walked up to the Tree of Ages in the center of the town. He tilted his head back, as if to gaze into the 'eyes' of the Tree, but he didn't need to; it was all for show. He spoke: "What is my new assignment?"
The Tree spoke exactly what Shadowfury had expected, and dreaded. "You are to remain here, to protect this town from any further Undead incursions."
"But I would be of far more use to the Sentinels at the front lines."
"It is not my decision to make; I am simply relaying orders from a Higher command."
Shadowfury turned and walked away, somewhat disgusted. He would be of no help to the Night Elf armies in this place. But, it was what was ordered of him. And he knew he must obey.
* * * * *
A day passed, and the Wisps had worked tirelessly through night and day to improve the town. It had doubled in size from the previous day, surpassing what it was before the Undead had launched their massive assault. Shadowfury stayed on in the town, idle. He could almost feel his skills festering from disuse. Within another day, the Moon Wells were devoid of people, their former occupants either back to health, or dead. Anyone but a Hunter would've been able to find something to do, with the growing population of the city. But Hunters, because of their ways and customs, were ignored or treated coldly and formally by the rest of the Sentinel army.
Kathris Starsong walked through the streets of the new Night Elf town. She had arrived the day after the great battle had torn apart the forces of the Sentinels and Scourge alike. Looking back, she had never actually seen any battle. She had been sent from Kalimdor to reinforce the Night Elf forces for the coming battle. In the time it had taken her party to get their, the battle was over. She approached the newly upgraded Tree of Eternity. "Tree, what are my new orders."
The Tree's jaw moved not much as it spoke, but its voice was loud and strong. "You are to stay here until you complete your training. You will be sent to the front lines afterwards."
Kathris nodded to the Tree, and made her way way to the archery range that had been set up for the Archers. Several were there sharpening their skills, and she noticed one was particularly good. Kathris kept an eye on that Archer as she fired off a few arrows at one of the targets.
"What, have you never seen anyone shoot this well before?" Said the Archer, noticing Kathris's attention.
"Of course I have. Myself, mostly." Replied Kathris.
"Why don't we see who's better?" Said the Archer. The other archers had formed a small crowd around the two.
Kathris nodded, and stepped back. "You shoot first."
The Archer pulled back an arrow in her bow, and let it fly. It plunged deep into the target, dead center. "If you can figure out a way to beat that, I'd be glad to see it."
The Priestess-in-training smiled, and drew an arrow. Carefully, she aimed, then released. The arrow blurred, nearly unseeable. A cracking noise followed, but their was still only one arrow in the target, dead center.
"You didn't even hit the target!" Said the Archer.
"Think again," Said Kathris as she walked away. The crowd of Archers, curious as to the meaning of the Priestess-in-training's cryptic comment, made their way to the target. Upon inspection, they found the Archer's arrow on the ground behind the target. Kathris's arrow had pushed it clean out of the target.
* * * * *
Kathris awoke at the darkest time of night, just before sunrise. She heard a scuffling noise outside of the tent, and wondered what it was. She didn't have to wonder long, though. The Gnolls burst in and dove at her, chain maces swinging. She rolled to one side, avoiding the attack of the fist Gnoll. She reached into her armor, carefully placed off to the side, and drew out a concealed dagger. She again dodged, rolling away from her armor to avoid the strike of another Gnoll, which had just made its way into her tent.
Avoiding yet another Gnoll's attack, Kathris rolled back and on to her. She made note of the rustlings she heard just outside of her tent, then focused on her opponents. The Gnolls hopped forward, cornering her in the back of her tent. The Priestess-in-training slid over to one of them, slipping under his guard and plunging her dagger into his chest. Her point hit home, bursting the heart of the doglike creature. The wound spewed blood as she ripped her dagger out, and ducked to avoid a lateral swing from another Gnoll. She wore only the clothes she slept in, which provided little protection from the Gnoll's weapons, and she knew that one hit would mean the end of her; and in such close quarters, she wouldn't last long. She turned and cut a wide slash in the fabric of her tent then slipped out and ran. The clumsy Gnolls had much trouble getting through the thin opening, and it was a while before both were out. But three other Gnolls, waiting outside the tent, had no trouble in taking up her pursuit.
She ran through the empty city roads, searching for somewhere to hide. The Trees were all dormant, as were all the Sentinels. Normally, some Night Elves would be about, as they were nocturnal beings. But, they had adjusted their sleeping styles to match that of their enemies. It wouldn't do to be sleeping as they poured into your base. Kathris would make do without help. She managed to avoid her pursuers momentarily and slipped into a shadow. She calmed herself, and became one with the darkness, perfectly hidden through Shadowmeld. The Gnolls hopped past, not noticing her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. But the relief was short lived as she saw a Gnoll backtrot, its head held high. Its nose twitched as it sniffed the air, then it stared into the shadows, right at Kathris. She knew the Gnoll couldn't see her, but she was still nervous... The other Gnolls hopped over, and the first Gnoll turned to them, and chittered and barked in its language.
The other Gnolls began sniffing the air, and one by one they turned to look towards her, she knew her cover was blown... She dove forward, the shadows slipping off her like a dark blanket, and slashed at the first Gnoll. The Gnoll screeched in agony, and its companions dove at her, maces swinging. She slipped by them, and ran as fast as she could away. Then, she felt a horrible, burning weight in the middle of her back, and fell. She half skid, half rolled several feet and stopped on her side, facing the approaching Gnolls. One of them picked up its thrown mace as the Gnolls surrounded her...
* * * * *
Shadowfury was up early, walking through the streets of the Night Elf city when a scream pierced the calm a peace of the night. He zeroed in on the origin of the scream, and sensed a group of Gnolls in a circle around something, their weapons held at the ready. Shadowfury let out a wordless shout, attracting the Gnoll's attention. He dove for them, blades whirling, and they squeaked in terror, hopping away. He swiftly went over to the object of their attentions, and found a Night Elf woman, with a pool of blood forming around her.
He thought her dead until he noticed the slight heaving of her chest. The awoken trees watched as he picked her up and ran her over to one of the Moon Wells.
The healing waters got to work on her wounds as Shadowfury ran out of the village. He was enraged; the Gnolls had gone far too far. He ran out into the woods, darting from shadow to shadow, undetectable. No Gnolls would harm a Sentinel warrior, and escape with its life. His enhanced senses homed him in on the Gnolls -- The scent of their fur and sweat, the hairs on broken twigs, the heat residue left from their footsteps; he felt it all.
Finally, he found what he was looking for. The Gnolls were sitting in the center of a ring of ratty looking tents. One of them was trying to light a campfire. As the sticks and dry leaves finally ignited, he stepped into the camp, dwarfing the flames of the campfire with the flames coursing over his flesh. "This is the end for you, Gnolls."
* * * * *
Shadowfury stood over the Gnoll carcasses, their bodies shredded and scorched with licks of blue flame running over them. The Hunter extinguished the inferno rolling across his body; the spell had tired him. He set out for the Night Elf city, where he could rest, and see if he had avenged a death, or just an injury.
However, as he approached the city, he picked up his pace. He felt something wrong, sensed something amiss. A sickly green light emanated from between the buildings, and he caught a flash of a huge, burning figure moving through the city roads. He heard screams as Night Elves were crushed and burned at the hands and feet of the Infernal, and ran full tilt towards the settlement.
A great leap brought him over an Ancient and directly behind the great demon. His blades whirled and sparked as they ripped into the 'flesh' of the Infernal, which promptly spun around, using the momentum to smash his flaming fist right where the Hunter had stood a moment before. Shadowfury felt the heat from the green flames as he hurled himself backwards, landing out of the reach of the Infernal. The Infernal gazed down at the Night Elf warrior, knowing something was different about this one; the Infernal sensed great strength in him.
The Infernal recoiled, and faced Shadowfury, staring at him for just a second before letting out a horrible, booming roar... Then, the Infernal charged forward, swinging its flaming arms at Shadowfury, who turned and ran. He could not stand up to an enraged Demon's charge... He was no faster than the soldier of the Burning Legion, and was only able to just make it to the plains outside the city before he had to stop and fight.
He jumped high in the air, coming down blades first on the Demon's head. He kept as far away from the green flames as he could while he chiseled away at the Demon's stone skull. One of his blades found and shattered one of the Demon's eye sockets, and the demon roared in pain as the Hunter landed on the smoking, blighted grass behind it. Shadowfury wasted no time running up to the Demon and plunging both blades in the soft spot behind the knee... Or where a soft spot would be on any normal creature. It still had an effect, easily observed as the volume of the demon's roar escalated to incredible heights.
The Hunter pulled his blades free and jumped back as the Demon whirled around, blighting the grass around it. The Demon's one remaining eye, a jet of green flame pouring out of an otherwise empty socket in its horrifying stone skull, locked on to the Demon Hunter. It was just the Demon, and the Hunter... Shadowfury felt an uncontrollable shiver travel up his spine. He did not have time to shiver again as the Demon charged forward. Shadowfury turned, and ran. The Demon moved slower from the damage to its legs, but the Hunter could still barely keep away from it.
It was then that one of the most unlucky things ever to befall a Night Elf happened. Shadowfury, distracted and focusing his attention on the Infernal, tripped over a root and tumbled into its owner, headfirst. His vision was blurry, but he could still make out the demon charging at him. He was unable to move as the burning fist smashed into his chest, breaking the tree behind him in half and sending it and Shadowfury flying through the air, green flames coursing across his skin. He landed nearly 30 yards from where he had lay before, and managed to keep conciousness as the Infernal charged for him again, smashing and blighting the tree's remnants as it went.
The Infernal was but yards from Shadowfury when a volley of arrows flew from the bows of a dozen Archers led by a mounted Priestess plunged into the rocky skin of the burning creature. It turned to face the new foes, only to be met by another rain of arrows. It charged forth, ignoring the arrows as they plunged into it's rocky carapace. Shadowfury spent the last of his energy to sit up, and watched the Demon charge. The Priestess and Archers held their ground as the Infernal blitzed towards them, blighting the land as he went. The Archers and Priestess released volley after volley of arrows. The Demon was almost upon them when it met its demise as a great boulder, hurled by an Ancient Protector, smashed into its torso. The Demon's softened and torn shell was no match, and its flames extinguished themselves as it fell and skidded to the feet of the Priestess's tiger. Shadowfury smiled, then slid onto his side, losing conciousness.
* * * * *
Shadowfury awoke in a Moon Well, and felt far better than the last time he remembered being awake. He stood up, but the Tree of Eternity nearby turned, and spoke. "Sit, Demon Hunter." Shadowfury obeyed. "Hunter, you are being transferred to the front lines as soon as you heal." A smile tugged at the edge of Shadowfury's thin lips. "Recent Demon reinforcements to the Scourge have boosted the need for Demon Hunters." The smile faded; demonic reinforcements... If the Undead had Demons fighting with them, they had just become a far, far more dangerous enemy than they were ever before.
* * * * *
Kathris Starsong awoke in a Moon Well, and felt very confused. I should be dead... What happened? She thought rightly, as the last thing she had seen was a Gnoll's mace speeding towards her... She looked around and saw that her Moon Well was near the Tree of Eternity. "Tree..." Kathis stopped, many questions in her mind. She didn't know what to ask first...
"A Demon Hunter saved you from the Gnolls. You've been unconcious for well over a week." Said the Tree, answering the questions it expected.
"Over a week?" Kathis ask, suddenly feeling disoriented. "Where is the Demon Hunter you speak of, I must thank him..."
"You will see him soon enough." Replied the Tree, "We recieved word several days ago that you have been recalled to Hyjal. You are to be given the trials for full Priestess status. Afterwards, you will be transferred to the front lines, same as the Demon Hunter."
Well, that's it. If you want Part 2, I'll write it.
In the mean time, I'll look for a good Warcraft 3 game to BR...
|
|
|
|
|
Home
Forum
Starcraft Tournaments
