One
"Stupid girl! How could you think that they would accept you? How could you hope they would possibly forgive you for what your crimes?"
"No!"
Taiev fought her way out of her bedclothes, fumbling for the knife she kept beneath her pillow. But the voices were gone, and the only sound was the subtle wind through the trees of Ashenvale, and the quiet lap of the water against the oaken pillars supporting the terrace.
Slipping out of bed, she padded over to the open side of her bedroom, and looked out over the lake. The moon had set, but the light of dawn had not yet begun to fire the horizon. Not quite night and not yet morning, somewhere in between.
Taiev shivered in the cold breeze. Outside, the bells began to sound, ringing out the hour their tones dull in the still air. She ran a long-fingered hand through her hair and sat down heavily on the edge of her bed. The ordeal in Moonglade had been almost too much for her, and the voices were much worse now as if they sensed inevitable victory.
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Taiev yelled as a gust of wind brought the accusing voice back to her.
Fool! Betrayer! Quel Dorei!
And just as suddenly they were gone.
Breathing hard, and suddenly more terrified than she had been since the Battle of Hyjal itself, Taiev feverishly began to pack her meagre belongings into her pack: a few clothes, her gun, the strange figurine she had found in the Blackfathom Deeps. She would be on the road before dawn. Yes, that was it: take the road to Auberdine, and from there a ship to the Eastern Kingdoms. She would lose herself in the wilderness and battlefields of the East, where the voices would never be able to find her
Two
Books lay strewn across the floor in a room lit by a single fat candle. Huddled in the gloom, shivering as if stricken by a terrible fever, Taiev Shadowglade clutched her blanket tighter about her emaciated form. As if in response to her unquiet mind, the candle guttered and spat, throwing a monstrous chiaroscuro across the walls.
Her eyes flicked from shadow to shadow as if searching for the source of some mocking voice only she could hear. Her lips worked soundlessly, as if deep in some frantic discourse, or refuting some terrible accusation. Her brow furrowed as if sudden realisation had dawned, and her lips stopped moving. Could it be that easy? Give in, and it would all end? With icy fingers she held out her hand to something or someone only she could see
someone terribly familiar who held out her hand with a promise of peace of mind. Her shivering eased, and a modicum of warmth crept though her frozen limbs
No! With a last effort, Taiev drew her hand back.
With a smooth, elegant laugh, the shadowy figure vanished back into the darkness leaving behind only the mocking sound of a voice that was all too familiar to Taiev.
The merciless biting cold returned.
Three
The chilling darkness drew closer again... so close that even the candle's flame seemed to shrink away from it.
"Why do you shy away from me, fair Taiev? Have I not done as you asked? Do I not deserve some small sign of affection in return?" The cold whisper sounded almost petulant now, and a hand made of nothing but inky darkness seemed to form from of the shadow.
"Did you not like that moment when my power flowed through you? That power... can be yours again. Take my hand, and know peace again. Embrace me, and my power will be yours! Think about it, Taiev! The healing of your...", the voice paused for a moment and seemed to spit out the next words with barely controlled disgust, "... precious forests with a whisper... the defeat of its savage invaders with but a gesture of your delicate hands! That is what I offer to you. Even the Barrens will grow trees again once the scorched earth has drunk deeply of the blood of the greenskinned beasts and their numbskulled horned allies! Yes, yes... that is what you want, is it not?"
The waifish, painfully thin figure rocked backward and forward in the deepening blackness, as the last candle spat and guttered, trying to keep the darkness at bay. Her clenched fists were pressed against her ears, trying to shut out the madenning, yet painfully tempting voice...
For a split second the cold shadows seemed like they were on fire. The candle lit brightly and warmth covered the area pushing momentarily the chill away.
Taiev, please stop for a moment and listen. Clear any thoughts from your mind and calm yourself. Remember your link with nature and draw strength from it. The promise of power you were given is a false one. They want your soul; they will chain you and make you their slave. You will be destroyed and in the process you will destroy many more lives. Concentrate on your link with the nature. Draw hope and peace from it. Drive the demon away.
The candle shone brightly radiating warmth and hope.
The darkness seemed to recede, just a little. Just enough to reveal the barest edges of shapes in the dismal room. Book strewn across the floor, their titles twisting like venemous serpents, as if recoiling in fear from the faint light.
Taiev's breathing grew a little less laboured, though her breath still hung in the icy air...
Four
The candle flame became long and thin; it seemed as if its size had doubled almost instantly. The warmth became more intense.
Stand back demon! She is not yours to have! You have no power over her, no matter what you say. She is a living, breathing being with its own will to decide her fate. She has light inside her and you cannot destroy it, no matter what you promise or threaten to do. Your lies are your only power and they are not enough!
The candle flame danced again. With every movement the shadows seemed less threatening.
Taiev, concentrate on the candle flame. Use it as your anchor, use it to draw the light and drive the demon away. They cannot stand the light, they cannot stand the truth. They hate everything living and they want your soul chained for eternity. They will try to penetrate your thoughts and make you doubt yourself. Then they will lie to you, promise you things they know you hold dear in your heart, threaten you with the fears they can sense in you. Taiev, feel the warmth and the light. Use it to protect yourself.
Taiev looked up, her eyes becoming clear for the briefest of instants... hope warred with doubt in her silver eyes. The hope of redemption, of enough clear light to avoid the black abyss that yawned at her feet.
And then came the shame of memory: the Kaldorei she had called friends recoiling in fear and disgust as she shouted the sickeningly sweet words of the Daemonic spell that had saved Niviel...
The candle flame shrank and the light gave way again to the threatening shadows.
Taiev, you are fighting for your soul. The demon has promised you power and knowledge. Then he offered you peace and sweet sleep. See through his lies and contradictions Taiev. He has no power on you and he knows that. He can only trick you into giving up.
But stop for a moment and think; do you really want to give up? Do you want to lose your soul forever and become one with the darkness? He promised peace and sweet sleep but he forgot to tell you that you will be a witness to all the atrocities he will ask you to do. Your soul is kind and gentle; that is an eternal torment you will never be able to escape. He also promised power. But dont you remember? Power always has a price. And that price is paid with living beings. Is this what you wanted for yourself?
Yes you feel shame and remorse. But these feelings show that your soul is bright and your heart is kind and full of love. Yes you need to seek redemption. But redemption cannot come in eternal damnation where you pay using as currency the souls of other beings. Do not give up Taiev. Do not let the demon use your pain and remorse against you. Use them to get rid of him and plan your path of redemption.
Taiev, I cannot promise you anything. I will not tell you that your friends will love you or that you will be happy and live without worries in the future. I can tell you but the truth. You have a long road ahead of you and it is going to be a tough and lonely one. But it is going to be one you have chosen to walk, on your own free will. While walking on this path you may find that there are other souls as tormented as yours that are willing to forgive but not forget. Your path may not always be a lonely one. Do not give up Taiev.
The roiling darkness shrunk away from the candle and began to solidify into a misshapen humanoid form, with two lights of fiery crimson where the eyes should have been. Their stare was furious and hungry, but the voice was almost a soft caress now.
"Don't listen to those who want to keep you weak and ignorant, fair Taiev. Don't waste your thoughts on those who would turn away from you when you need them most. Remember, I was there for you when you needed me. Now I ask but a small, small favor in return, my dear."
The hissing voice was lowered to an almost triumphant whisper.
"Extinguish that candle, and I will grant you peace and sweet sleep."
Five
A bizarre voice filled the darkness, a mixtue it seemed, one deep, one light, but both clear and precise
'We sense you young nightelf, your screaming mind in the darkness, it beckons us. See as we see, and your mind shall be flooded with visions of the future, a... quiet, future, free of the chaos and the destruction, no more death, no more pain, only beautiful order, forged from chaos, yield your mind to us and we shall guide you to freedom from suffering, save you from the pain of watching your land die, and save you from finding your own death in these troubled times, yield to me nightelf, and be free...' the voice trailed off once again, leaving only echoes hanging in the shadows
The lines on Taiev's forehead eased as if some great burden had lifted from her shoulders, or she had finally succumbed to the inevitable. And as the breeze faded carrying with it the faintest echoes of quiet laughter, Taiev slept peacefully for the first time in years...
