Remember; Yllithia

There are possible future additions to this one. It finishes fine how it is, but I left notes to further the story at a later time.

 "In shadows I am hidden."

Yllithia clenched her jaw, gritting her teeth to take her mind off the strain she'd been putting on her arms. She adjusted her grip on her long sword once again. The wicked, serrated blade stretching out towards the Naga in front of her. Pointed from her eye level to where she would plunge it through their belly or back. They were unaware of her presence. She had made certain of that, quietly sneaking through the cold lake, barely causing a ripple when she slunk ashore. And easily sliding into the shadows of the steam pumps.

"In stealth I do wait."

And waiting she did. Watching the Naga slither over the ground, circling their pattern, whipping the slaves they had working for them. She had to wait for the right moment before charging in. A wrong move and the entire camp would be alerted. Forcing the Broken that were still somewhat sane to obey their drivers and attack as well... She shivered. The cold of the dark night crept up her back as the water slowly trickled down. Finding its way through the leather straps and padding of her plate armor, reminding her how little heat metal really did keep. How little heat the swamp kept in the middle of the night.

"My mind set to kill."

Her shoulders screamed from the work she'd done for the day. From the planted beasts, and the wretched Broken. From the blade she'd not wielded in many, many months. From the cold that was causing her joints to stiffen as much from exhaustion as the temperature. And still she stood, silent, waiting, and watching. There would be time for rest when rest was available. She had much to still do, much to still learn, and even more to still prove. She tilted her head to the left, peering through her matted purple locks as she watched one of the sea witches make it's round again. The Naga's rippling body swishing her tail in rhythm with the hiss and churn of the pumps. A smirk crossed Ylli's lips. Do they even realize they're as much a slave to the contraption as those they have working to keep it? No, it was doubtful. If they were aware they would be more keen to the Night Elf that stood no more than ten yards away, getting ready to foil their work.

"Without joy, nor with hate."

Ylli shifted her weight from her heels to the balls of her feet. Her heavy boots sinking into the soggy mud as she tensed in preparation. Every muscle tightened in a slow crawl over her body. The smirk dropped from her lips, replaced with a determined purse. Even her eyes narrowed as the calculations began to spring in her head. The countdown to the precise moment. Her breath became shallow, almost forced. Swish, swish, swish. The tail moved. Hiss. Churn. Clunk. Hiss. Inhale. Exhale. Grip. Grit. Swish. Hiss. Now!

"I fear for you sometimes..."

Where there was nothing, now she raced forth. Where the Naga had believed to be only empty space, Ylli had already made it empty, sprinting towards her foe. In less than a second she had cleared the thirty feet, bringing her shoulder down low and tossing her weight into the serpent's chest cavity, forcing the air out of the sea witch's mouth. The Naga recoiled, knocked off balance and disorientated. Ylli kept the momentum going from her rush, the weight she tossed forward flowing down her arm to the red stained sword. All the way to the tip of the blade it shivered and reverberated, surging down her other arm, through the connection where she griped the handle. And with that power, the force that was moving over her, she brought the blade into the Naga's side, slicing a mortal blow.

"A lot of the time..."

The Naga regained herself enough to clutch her side. She shot her hand out towards Yllithia as if to claw at her attacker with the scaled, bony fingers. A hiss escaped her lips, and something slightly recognizable as words that made Yllithia grimace. Silence it! The scream was in the back of Ylli's mind as the oddly familiar language poured from the Naga's mouth. Words she could pick up through the gurgle of red that was coming up the sea witches throat. Words Ylli had heard before, but couldn't quite place. Ylli let a smirk cross her lips as the serpentine drove her hand against Ylli's hard plate armor. As if such an attack would actually do something! But her smile was short lived. The creatures hand glowed, hate in its eyes, words still forming but falling into a whisper. From each fingertip shot a bright light, flowing right through Yllithia's armor, through all material that didn't matter, until it hit tissue. Yllithia's tissue.

"I know you are capable..."

Pain scorched through her body. The pure energy burned and froze everything at the same time. Tearing a path from her skin, through her muscles, to her bones and very being. Her system halted, unsure of how to protect its self from this attacker, this invader that tortured every fiber. Ylli gasped, unable to breathe as the bolts convulsed her lungs. Her grip loosened on her sword, allowing it to swing, slowly down to her side, one hand still on the handle. She wouldn't last long allowing the witch to commander her through pain. The thought of watching the Naga die from her wounds was no longer an option, Ylli would perish first. This was not an option. Not now. Not here.

"That you can take care of yourself."

She bit down, as hard as she could, forcing her body to move on it's own, to not succumb to the unstable fluctuations. Pushing against her blade, now sunk deep in the dirt at her side, Ylli pulled her other hand across her chest. She grasped the hand planted there, twisting the scaled and bony limb back. Arcane missiles flew into the sky as the Naga struggled to gain control once again. It was useless. The serpentine was weakening from loss of blood. Its eyes lulling towards the back of its head as it continued to sputter the words of power.

"Then there should be no worry."

With one hand still clutching the Naga's, Ylli hefted her swords up. Dirt flung from the blade as the pointed edges tore the knitted swamp grass, spattering the two in muck. And then in blood. The sword sliced cleanly through the captured arm, severing below the elbow, ceasing the light display from the twitching fingertips. The Naga screamed a guttural cry, arching over trying to clasp both its side and its now amputated arm. Ragged breathes shook it's body. Rasping curses and cries came from the mess that was soaking the ground in red. She tilted her sword down. She was torn between letting it feel the pain it had caused so many others, and cutting out its pathetic whimpering.

"But... some things... some things we never see coming."

The sword sank with little resistance. Gravity pulling the tip into the soft flesh, through the scales and back to the ground. The Naga stopped writhing. The blood stopped spreading. Ylli took a deep breath, trying to calm her senses. Something was screaming at her in the back of her mind while she looked down at the motionless threat. Hiss. The fury was sweeping over her. The satisfaction of running her sword through a hundred more vile Naga toyed with her. The pumps churned and hissed. The world was coming back to her. The noises that the blinding pain had wiped from her thoughts. The pumps... still more to do. Fwoosh. She felt it before she even realized it.

"It's my job to expect them... to know where they're coming from... sometimes to even be one."

It crept over her body. It slowed down time. Amplified by the moisture that still clung to her from her stealthy swim to the island. It crystallized in her pores and against her skin. It stopped her breath and muted all sound. The last of her exhale frosted up past her frozen lashes, allowing her one blink. Churn. Pump. Hiss. Bump. Her heart thudded, and time sped up once again. The blood boiled through her veins and the screaming became a roar in her mind. They will all meet the same end! She spun on her cowardly attacker, the one that had shot an icy bolt at her back. Rage flared and she grasped her sword, pointing it at the small elemental. The patrol that had spotted and attempted to stop her. She charged, swinging wide even before she reached the watery form. Cleaving it in two with one easy swipe. The elemental exploded in a display of rushing water, as if it were a geyser with too much pressure. It's cuffs flung up into the air, landing with a loud clink atop it's golden metal belt, which also toppled to the ground.

"I miss your voice."

With a growl, Ylli kicked the shackles into the lake, lifting her sword once again. These things, the patrols, they were linked with the Nagas, a hive mind almost. Since it had spotted her, there was no doubt others would be on their way. Many, many others. All of which would meet the same fate. Careless! She was being careless. She was letting the lust get to her. Her believed justice clouding her thoughts, snuffing out reason. Her inner growl grew into an audible snarl. Ylli rolled her shoulders back, narrowing her eyes, clutching her sword so tight her knuckles went white. She grit her teeth as she saw the first of the movement coming towards her. The growl surfaced again as the blue-green form swayed closer, its features blurred through Ylli's eyes. Through the passing memories, the desires, the questions that always plagued her. The display of worth... But she saw the snout, the razor sharp teeth, and the trident it was raising above its head. The roar erupted from her mouth met by one from the slave driver as well as she swung up, and he swung down, crashing the metal together deafening both of their defiant vocal aggressions.

"I've missed your stories."

High pitch screaming filled Ylli's ears as the metal ground against each other. She glowered at the Naga in front of her, his breath steaming as he snapped his jaws, inches from her face. She pressed her weight into the sword while it inched up the rod of the trident, carving shavings along its path. The pumps churned. His teeth snapped. His eyes darted. Ylli twirled out from under the towering Naga, rolling her back along the beast its self, pulling her weight off the ground. She planted her feet on the last of her spin, blade following in a low arc slicing the air in two before it even connected with the snake. Before it ripped through his back and the belly of his counterpart whom was allowed one thrust at the location Ylli no longer stood. Another roar mixed with a hiss from the driver, another gurgling cry from the other as his belly began to unravel. Another to join the fray, another to join the swarm.

"Do you ever miss my voice?"

Two Broken advanced from a distant mushroom stalk, axes raised high, following the call from their captor, the slave driver. Ylli plunged her blade through the gurgling Naga's throat, his mouth moving to call for help as well. Spitting out a curse she filled the air for his silent lips that quaked and grew still, along with his sagging body. She tore back her sword, barely deflecting the lunge of the other slave drivers trident. The force of the blow driving her blade deep into the earth. She tugged, but the serpent grinned, holding her sword prone with his weight. Hope was diminishing. Fear clutched her chest. She relinquished her blade as the Broken descended upon her in a flurry of axes, bringing her arms up, gauntlet fists clenched to absorb the shock from each blow. An exasperated groan pushed through her clenched teeth. She brought forearm to meet blade again and again, angling against the flailing blows so as to perry with very little force on their ax edges. Sharp edges that would surely bite deep into her soft flesh if she wasn't careful. They were pushing her back. Step by step, she was being forced. No time to grab for her ax. Her sword inaccessible. Hiss. Clunk. Churn. No time. Step. Not yet!

"Yes. I do."

It was what she needed to hear. It was what had caught her off guard when she heard it, and now the memory summoned that tiny bit of falling light, of failing strength from inside her. She left forth an anguished scream that shook her advancers and her very being. One so powerful she couldn't stop her head from being tossed back from the howl, her chest puffing and her shoulders pulling back. Night sky in her vision, she snapped her head back down to watch the Broken's terrified flight, one running in circles and not actually moving far from the one that frightened it so. Her. Step. She snatched the shield off her back and slid her arm through the leather straps, snugging it against her. Pump. Her other hand snatched up the ax hanging from her left hip, leather creaking from her steady grip. Step. The slave driver still leaned into the trident, still pinning her sword in the dirt. Eyes wide and mouth opened, fear coursed through him rendering his muscles useless. Step. Yllithia brought the axe up high, a trembling shake was all the Naga could manage before fear was removed from his thoughts. Before his thoughts were removed from his body. Clunk. She turned her determined gaze towards the Draenei, hefting her shield and raising her bloody axe. Pump.

"I will be with you soon."

They came, but she was ready this time. Like the others, they too would perish from this existence. She would show her supremacy, her worth. Soon. She waited, the two Broken returned, it was a shame they still needed to fight. She didn't want to kill them, their race that had suffered so much. But she had no choice. Churn. She bashed one with her shield, knocking him off his feet, swinging it around in front of her to block the others strike. Out the shield went, exposing Yllithia's body, her axe slicing at the Broken in front of her. Pump. In the shield came, obscuring her view, deflecting another attack. Clunk. Swish. Again, bashing the other as it came up on her, a slice of her axe, and back in front of her. She didn't have to worry about killing the other, just keeping him busy. The slaves under the Naga had a link as well. One where killing one would stop the others heart from beating. Bound together, broken together, blackness together. Bash. Both of them this time. The Broken in front of her a torn mess, clothes hacked, bloodied. Another slice. He sputtered. Fell. Turned and began to crawl away. Ylli lowered her shield, glancing towards the other. Although seemingly just bruised, he repeated the same actions, slowly clawing at the ground, scurrying away from her. She sighed, the weight of the burden pushing on her mind. Step. She brought her axe down into the Draenei's shoulder, where it met his neck. He spasmed as the nerves fired off their last bit of life, as the connection between the mangled corpse in front of her drained the last of life from the barely touched one behind her. Hiss. Sigh.

"Kill what you don't understand. And if you kill enough, you'll find reasoning."

Ylli wearily shuffled around the bodies, turning them to reach any sort of valuables they had on them. She wasn't a thief, but keeping this looking like a mugging that went wrong... she glanced around her, horribly wrong, was the best choice. Lest a full forced assault be made on the expedition. She sighed again and tried not to grimace as she turned over another body, reaching into the red soaked pouched. There we go. She pulled out her original assignment. A small book accompanied with a map, detailing the pumps and plans of use. "I hope you don't mind," she spoke down to the corpse with a frown and a sympathetic whisper, "just following orders. As were you..."

"Life has a way of showing you where you belong long before you find your footing."

Yllithia pressed her lips with a stern nod. It wasn't the time or place to think on what she took part in. It was time to move on. Later. Later she would spend the countless hours asking forgiveness for their lost souls. She would stare off and cry for their pain, and for the pain she had caused, always without shedding tears to be seen. She stood slowly tucking her wet hair behind a long ear. It was time to move on. Ylli trudged through the saturated, upturned and muddied ground. Kicking a heavy heel against the trident that still stuck in the muck, she gripped her sword, heaving, pulling it free with a thick sucking sound as the mud filled the deep crevice where her blade had been. A few swings and most of the pasted soil came free. "Good enough." She muttered to herself, slinging it into the sheath strapped to her back. She'd take care of it later as well, as was always the case. Later...

"Teach me?"

Ylli fiddled with her small pack strapped to her hip, withdrawing a wooden whistle with the form of a fierce roaring cat carved into the side. A quick blow and the silent pierce brought forth her misty saber. She slid her hand along the giant cats neck, speaking in her native tongue to the beast. "Ishnu'ala Jinvashni." The saber grunted and cocked its head, as it had done so many times in response to her greeting. "It's time to go." She whispered, hefting herself up onto the cat. To which the cat allowed a small, friendly growl in reply. With a small nudge into Jinvashni's sides, the cat took off into the marsh. Ylli allowed herself one last moment of silent displeasure at the day, a sigh fell from her lips, her shoulders slumped ever so slightly, but only a moment. They righted themselves, pulling back to keep her head high and proud. And the smile crept across her face. The same sweet, always pleasant look she garnered for so long. It's time for words. It's time for perception and presentation. It was time to be the Yllithia that everyone saw.

"I know it can't be that easy, but... you seem to know."

This was how she rode into the expedition. Brighter than any of the moons in the sky. She smiled with a nod to the Tauren and elves that quietly busied themselves with their make-shift experiments and studies. Her hair still damp, but dried considerably from the wind as she rode through the swamp. He gear still holding water against her, soaked into the padding and cloth beneath the plate. But the graceful smile touched her lips. And the soft words came to any that made eye contact, even those that marveled a little longer than they should. With the audience she commanded from those around her, allowing themselves brief glances in her direction as to not look so intrigued, she deftly dismounted, patting Jinvashni on the head.

The smile threatened to turn to an amused smirk as she strolled dignified into the building to her current employer. Ylli clasped her hand, a nod of her head, and a bow to the Elf. "On this bright eve, I have dark news. Your request has been answered, mi'lady." The words began to flow. As graceful as she was with her movements on the field, quick and precise even in her tired state, she was more so with her words, and the language of her body. Ylli extended a hand with a knowing nod, presenting the notebook. "We've much to discuss. And I believe your best interest to pay a close ear to my words." She had the Elf's attention, now it was time to tell the tale.