69th chapter

not a leader, not a king

The great blue sky was open around him, a cloud hung by, lazily drifting around. at first he tried to find all and any way to save himself, but then he saw the earth closing in at a fantastic speed.
Well that’s it he decided, that’s it for the great Ankthar. Outcast of society, slaughterer of his own village, betrayer of his family.
Ah yes, maybe it is time, maybe it is time to die.
And for one peaceful moment he was truly ready to face death with open heart.
Exen’tor basically crashed into his back, grabbing him by the shoulders and moved his wings at great speed trying hard to keep both of them up and flying.
Once again Ankthar cheated his untimely death with a longing for the hard solid earth around himself.
Exen’tor felt the great weight of his friend and was suddenly reminded of the great physical pressure he had just put himself through.
He fell more then flew to the nearest hill and landed violently on a overgrown road in the forest of feralas.
His breaths were short and shallow as the stress and the immensity of the things he had done finally took hold of him.
Ankthar had landed near Exen’tor but rolled down the nearby hill, stood up and ran through up through the forest , mumbling: forest, it’s always in some bloody forests, its like no one in this world has heard of some good old plains and hills.
He came to Exen’tors side who was trembling there on the ground, his skin glowing green and creaking, dark scars opened and closed in his face and hands ,something bonelike appeared to be trying to grow out of his forehead. His eyes opened in pain and he grabbed Ankthars collar and whispered loudly into his ear: “it was too much.”



He shrunk back from the dream, an intense battle had just reached its epic conclusion in the dreaming arathi hills of the eastern kingdoms.
He stood up, ripped away his jacket of leaves, burning them away in a moments, striding towards the nearest fountain.
He dipped his head into the clear water, and felt the ice cold liquid cleanse his sweaty face.
When he finally took his head out of the water an unhappy tauren greeted him.
“You know, Inaya spent an entire week making that for you, she picked only leaves of the correct shape, bound them together with the fallen fur of the fastest deers, and strengthened it with enhancements that nearly killed her.”
Manvalas wiped the water from his face and said: “well next time tell her to make it fireproof.”
The tauren seemed to lose his temper for a second, as he raised his foot to charge the elf, but seemed to think better of it. “You are not making our jobs any easier master Manvalas.”
“And if I were in charge, you wouldn’t have any jobs.”
“Then let us thank the earth mother that you aren’t. You know ,the night elves have great disdain for you high elves…”
“Blood! Blood elves!”
“Blood elves” the tauren conceded,” they do not think well of you, and if you are the typical blood elf I can understand why.”
“Hey! You son of a …”.he fumbled for a second trying to find something that would be insulting for a cow,”son of a ….dwarf,you can’t just….”
“There are infernals falling from the sky.”
“And the ocean’s bloody wet, what else is new?”
“No there are more of them falling every day now, in the woods beneath this dale, a rain of infernals, and a growing number of undead have been sighted by our friends in the emerald circle.”
“So? I’m not gonna save ya.”
The tauren trembled, the burning of the robe, the constant backlash and the lack of interest in matters of grave danger had simply broken his patience.
“You little runt” he screamed, “why do you torture us like you do? Why do you do the things you do when you are meant for the greatest power in the world. Why is that a man who has never cared for a single leaf receives the power you have?”
“Why can’t we just get rid of ….”
He was stopped as the very stone in the floor around him began to slowly devour his leg. “What in the name of…”
“You druids, you always bind yourself to the power of plants and seeds, when you forget, that the whole of the world is a part of nature. Even rock.”
“You think I like this any more than you?you think I like the stench around this place? You think that your efforts to soften me up are fun? “
“I was given a task.greater than any I have ever taken responsibility of and I whill not run from it.”
“As of why I am who I am, you’l have to take that up with your mistress.”
And with a gesture he thrust the tauren out of his temple.
“Do not bring me leafs! Do not shower me in butterflies, do not strangle me with crowns made of thorns. I am not your leader, I am not your king.”
“I am your soldier, steady and unswerving. And like it or not, I am your greatest hope of winning the war of the dream. “
“Now leave me a’bloody alone I have an enemy to crush.”
The tauren couldn’t help but to be filled with awe as Manvalas set himself down and immediately fell into the trance that is the emerald dream.
Far away in the east he heard yet another rain of fire land in the distorted landscape of felwood.
Something was going on, something sinister, something that should not be kept under the lid for too long.