It had been a long journey for the weary ranger. He had been on the road for longer than he cared to remember, but soon his journey would be over.
Just a few more miles, he thought - knowing he still had another day of travel ahead of him, but trying to convince his body not to collapse.
"You're not going to make it tonight you know," said the silver-haired woman who walked behind him.
The man growled and quickened his pace as he kept walking through the forest to the destination whose lights he could just start to make out on the horizon.
"You've waited how many decades to find them, Lyr? What's one more night?"
The man finally paused. "Fine, I surrender. We'll camp here for the night."
The ranger shrugged his pack off his shoulders and began setting up the small one-man tent he carried, knowing that Laeral would provide her own shelter with her spells, as she had since the beginning of their journey nearly half a year ago. It wasn't long before he had a camp set up and a small fire blazing.
"I'll be back in 5 minutes," he said, picking up his bow and slipping into the forest to take down some small game for dinner.
Who would have thought that in my search for House Lok-ri I would have stumbled across a long lost relative, Laeral thought as she waited near the fire for his return.
But there was no mistaking the crest the stern ranger had been wearing when she had encountered him, the Lok-ri seal...with Elerentariel's personal sigil inscribed over it. Laeral recalled her elation at finally having found the House after she had been forced to flee Aerrynth with her sisters, only to find that the one she found was lost himself.
Laeral's thoughts were interrupted with a start as Lyrellion stepped back into the camp with 2 rabbits in hand.
"You have GOT to stay more alert, Laeral. What if I had been a brigand - you never would have heard me."
Laeral grinned and replied "Trust me, I can handle a simple brigand, or have you forgotten my power?"
"Yes, yes...you're a great and powerful mage," replied Lyrellion dismissively. "You brought us here to Azeroth, fine, but are you sure I will finally find my family here?"
"We've been over this a thousand times, Lyr. The divinations were quite clear that you would find what you seek in the city of Darnassus. Now why don't you go over your tale again since you know you are going to have to prove who you are to the House once we get there."
"We've been over THAT a thousand times too, Laer."
"Humor me...besides...I need a good bedtime story"
Lyrellion rolled his eyes. "Fine. It all began back on Aerrynth..."
**********
...The young ranger hastened to the side of the wounded priestess that had been assigned to his unit.
"Carryn, are you ok?"
"No, I'm not, but there's not a damn thing you or anyone else can do about it...those Irekei will be back any minute now. We fought them back for now, but you have to get back through the portal with the others before they return."
"And you're coming with us!"
"No, I am not. I am dying anyway, and SOMEONE has to stay behind and make sure that portal gets shut so they don't follow you right back to Alu'dar. Now gather the men and get going, that's an order...or have you forgotten that as a Priestess of Briallia I outrank a mere ranger?" Carryn forced a grin to her face.
Lyrellion nodded towards Carryn and helped her to her feet. "MEN, FALL BACK TO THE PORTAL, NOW!!!" barked Lyrellion. "Let's go, Carryn."
Lyrellion led the young priestess to the outer ring of the portal gate that would soon take him and the other soldiers to safety. The other units would be here soon to deal with the remaining Irekei, but not before what was left of his unit was swept aside by the hated red elves. The men gathered on the gate and awaited the opening of the portal. The portal had just opened and the men filing through, when the dunes suddenly seemed to erupt with Irekei scouts.
"RUN DAMNIT!!!" screamed Carryn as she began the spell to close the portal behind them. The last of the men filed through the portal in rapid succession, leaving only Lyrellion and Carryn. With a last glance at the priestess, Lyrellion dove through the rapidly closing portal, his last vision that of an Irekei arrow striking the priestess in the back of her skull.
Something isn't right , thought Lyrellion as he hurtled through the vortex. Oh gods, the gate was warping from the interrupted spell of closing. Please gods don't let it end like this.
Suddenly, Lyrellion was expelled from the vortex only to find himself falling towards a vast expanse of water about 20 feet beneath him. He hit the water with a splash.
Damnit, he thought as he kicked his way to the surface.
"As the Sea, indeed," he coughed as he spit out a mouthful of salt water.
After taking a moment to get his bearings he set off towards the nearest land he saw, maybe half a mile to the west.
Where the hell did the damn gate drop me , he wondered.
**********
"And so you discovered that you weren't on Aerrynth at all?" asked Laeral as she finished off the rabbit she had been eating while Lyrellion told his tale.
"That's right. Carryn's death interrupted the gate and threw me to a random destination...I can only hope my men got through before the gate collapsed."
Laeral nodded. "So you have been searching for a way back to your family ever since the Irekei War?"
"Yes."
Laeral shook her head in amazement at the strange turn of events that had led the pair together. "Do you realize just how astronomical the odds were that my planehopping led me and my sisters to the world you just happened to be on, not to mention to end up encountering each other in that inn?"
"And you said you recognized my grandfather's sigil right away?"
"Absolutely...it's hard to forget that symbol, seeing as Lady Aramina wears the same crest."
"And you say Aunt Aramina is now among the Inner Council of the House? And Vorgen rules over the House now? And Alu'dar has been abandoned for another realm? Things have certainly changed over the centuries."
"I'm sure they have. You've been gone a long time, but I have no doubt they'll welcome you back. They welcomed me into the House and I am not even of Lok-ri blood...much less a great war hero of the Irekei Wars."
"I would hardly consider myself a hero, seeing as I lost my wife in that battle and my unit was nearly wiped out, but thanks."
"Well I'm going to go to bed. You should get some rest, Lyr. You'll be meeting your family tomorrow after all."