(WoW) Challenged

Robin walked into her sister’s house and her eyes fell on the demon hunter sleeping on the bear rug, the night elf smelled of smoke and ash and there was a mess of plates in the sink and a pile of laundry spilling almost onto the floor. She barely noticed the elf sitting at the table, she was sitting quietly in dim candle-light. Robin stiffened as she recognized Auris’ emerald hair, it was loose, not tied back in its braid.

For a moment, Robin caught the elf’s gaze. She looked weary, and there was something dark there, anger? Something that made Robin afraid, but she never understood what.

“Hello, Robin. I suppose you have you heard?” The druid’s voice was soft and gentle, still, Robin would never trust her the way Star did.

She nodded and stepped to the table, pouring them both a cup of tea, it was cold, but Auris was, at least, polite, and did not comment. “I’m sorry…about your home. I guess you’ll all be staying here…with us?”

“No. I will have to go, but if you can watch the children, I would appreciate it. Ciera is asleep upstairs. I am afraid she is tired out.”

Robin blinked. “You want us to watch Avelyra and the Adrian and Rose kid?”

“No, Peter has them. I meant Ayelinn and Shaladine. Or will you be fighting?”

Robin almost wilted under the druid’s gaze, it was intense. Ruthless, that’s what it was, this elf, this woman was willing to do whatever it would take to end a fight. Robin, was not. Not to that finality. “I don’t know.” She sighed. On one, hand, why do two four thousand year old elves need gnomish babysitters? On the other…it was more appealing than fighting.

“I thought as much, only I wonder sometimes…why is it you sought power?”

Robin frowned. “To protect others.”

Auris nodded. “It seems to me…that doing nothing is not what you intend.” She paused a long while. “You know, little one, as long as you fear your power, it will never consume you.”

Robin floated above the battle in Lordaeron, hovering with her chi, near the back, watching the fight. She hadn’t joined the Templars, but she could see some of them amidst the sea of Alliance blue, in their white and gold tabards.

Others were down there, other guilds, branches of military and the kal’dorei, reigning vengeance upon the forsaken and…the rest of the Horde. She watched as the battle took place, as the spells scorched the earth and war machines crushed soldiers, leaving the ground splattered with blood and splintered bones.

This, it made her sick, seeing the factions warring. But the tree, Teldrassil…how did she justify that? What kind of answer COULD they give? There had to be another way. Why do I fight? What is worth fighting for?

Robin could not, would not become an advocate of hatred and murder. But was the druid right…could she fight and still be good? She chose to become strong, to protect herself, to protect others, so she would never be helpless again. But she hadn’t obtained this strength to harm…not like this.

An eerie green glow appeared on the ground, rolling across it, everything in her screamed it was wrong, it was sickly and lacked the vibrance of druidic work. It rolled across the Horde soldiers and began on the Alliance.

Robin almost fell from her perch in the air. She watched the soldiers of both sides rise as others shouted and died, only to rise again as nothing more than animated bones. In this moment, Robin knew she was witnessing evil in its truest form. Killing her own soldiers…it was a darkness beyond what she had seen in the druid’s eyes. This was…was…

She formed her chi into a barrier and surrounded the nearest group she could make it to, the blight began to gnaw away at the shields, steadily chipping them away, the soldiers leaped ahead of the green and Robin dashed on. She couldn’t sit idle anymore, not as people were dying.

There was nothing else to do now…but fight.