Beyond the Veil: Part 3 (a short story)

Part 1

Part 2

The air inside the tunnel grew stale as she crawled -and at times, shimmied- along its stony length. She strained to breathe under the duress of claustrophobia settling in. Her lungs ached for fresh air, denied by the oppression of the limited space. Ahead, the beacon of light shining brilliantly beckoned her - filling her with enough hope of freedom to continue the journey. Even still, the confines of the rocky gullet she found herself writhing in like an insect’s larva provided fertile ground for fear to grow. Fears of entrapment, of suffocation, or worse yet - of a collapse - bit and clawed at the back of her mind more persistently than the Void’s maddening whispers ever dared, threatening to wash over her in a flood of utter terror.

Taking a deep breath to assuage the paralyzing fear, she quietly prayed to the Light, beseeching it that if this stony, dark realm were to indeed be her tomb, that her end might come swiftly and mercifully as to spare her the suffering of a prolonged demise. Despite rumblings from deep within the mysterious black stone and unearthly quakes that felt to pulse as if to a heartbeat, the passageway held firm. As Tanthelara continued her slow journey and the aperture at the end grew closer, she could feel her heart liven as the burden of fear gradually faded. She could now, finally, see the literal light at the end of the tunnel - the sight of such filling her with hope of not only liberation from the restrictive confines of the tunnel she had undoubtedly spent hours in, but also with the promise of being able to finally learn the nature of the mysterious land she found herself in.

Most importantly, she wanted to know about why the Void’s maddening whispers had suddenly grown silent.

She could hear footsteps ahead just outside of the tunnel. Soft, with the rapid shuffling of short, quick strides. Her heart leapt into her throat as it pounded in her chest. Was this the source of the mysterious presence she had felt earlier? She swallowed hard and pressed forward into the light.

The tunnel opened up into a grand vista unparalleled by anything Tanthelara had seen anywhere in Azeroth, eclipsing even the exotic, alien beauty she had borne witness to during her brief stint in Outland at the behest of her prince during the final days of the Sunstrider dynasty. She found herself atop a rocky plateau of the same dark stone from earlier with rolling foothills spread out before her. Rivers coursed from underneath lush mountain forest canopies into a lake up ahead where a small, picturesque village awaited. Plants in all manner of form and hue blanketed the landscape, making it all seem like a painting had come to life.

A tug on the hem of her tunic snapped the priestess from her reverie. It was an elven child, around the age of her nephew. The youth looked up at her with a hint of innocence in her eyes that gave way to something deeper still before motioning towards the horizon.

“Are you the little one who I heard shuffling around earlier?” Tanthelara said as she squatted down to place herself at eye level with the child. Having gotten a better look at the person now standing next to her, there was something uncannily familiar about this little elf. And yet, what exactly that “something” was eluded her. Maybe none of this was real, the priestess mused. Maybe she had asphyxiated in that tunnel, and this was all the final, fevered synapses of her dying mind firing off before the endless dark of oblivion claimed her essence. Maybe that’s why she no longer had access to her magic, and perhaps that this idyllic paradise she had found herself at the threshold of was actually the afterlife – the fabled “shadowlands” other races oft spoke of when discussing the hereafter.

The child opened her mouth as if to speak, but said nothing. Instead she pointed Tanthelara towards the small village before fading into nothingness. Once again, the blood elf found herself alone at the onset of yet another journey.

Up ahead she could hear the laughter and merriment of more children playing. She set her path towards the sound, crossing over a large, gently-sloping hill and through several streams before being set upon by a dense thicket that stood separating her from this first vestige of civilization. Using her dagger to cut her way through the more impenetrable sections of foliage, she meandered through the dense undergrowth and arrived in an open area where youth of all Azeroth’s races – Horde and Alliance alike – played cheerfully. The adults standing watch over the children – a venerable-looking draenei and his mate – took notice to Tanthelara’s intrusion and focused their gaze upon her.

“Hi! Can you hear me from over there?” she waved at the draenei staring at her. They stood motionless, their eyes fixed upon her as though she were a threat. “I don’t mean you any harm,” she continued as she slowly approached them, “I just want to know where I’m at.”

There was no response. The two draenei stood apprehensive and silent, and the children under their stewardship each stopped whatever it was they were doing and gave Tanthelara a wide berth as she walked by them. As she grew closer to the adults, the air appeared to shimmer around them and take on faint patterns and designs.

Magic!

So there was latent energy in this place. The knowledge relieved her, albeit slightly. At least now she knew the issue was one of access and not supply. She allowed her facial expression to relax and held up a hand to greet the draenei standing ahead of her, doing her best to present herself as welcoming and friendly as possible.

It apparently was a mistake. The mystical energy around the two flooded to their fingertips where it crackled into a series of unintelligible glyphs. Moments later, Tanthelara felt herself wracked with overwhelming pain that caused her to double over in agony. Kneeling and clutching her abdomen, she looked up at her assailants who had closed the distance between them with unnatural speed – and now stood towering over her.

“I… promise… I meant no ill will.” the priestess sobbed in-between agonizing gasps for air.

The male draenei responded in a language she could not comprehend before turning to his mate who replied in kind. Tanthelara had enough of a working knowledge of their native tongue from its derivatives in other languages, and with context could generally understand what was being said, but the understanding of the words being spoken simply eluded her. The female draenei then traced the outline of an incantation which struck the priestess with another wave of agony, the pain of which caused her to wail in anguish.

Her assailants circled her, their hands engulfed with arcane fire as they held her captive in her state of torment and slowly snuffed out the life within her. She could feel her soul being torn at, causing the very essence of her being to reach out in desperation. She entreated the Light for its blessed assistance, to at least assuage the pain and shelter her until she could act towards escape, if it could not be brought to engulf the two in holy fire. She pleaded for the Void to at least manifest a phantasm of fear in their minds, if it did indeed no longer find her worthy of its direct influence. When neither force responded, her desperation increased and she resorted to forcing their influence, instead. She taunted the Light’s wrath, condemning it for abandoning her as it did in Northrend, despite later reassuring her it would never do such. She teased the Void, enticing it with a guarantee of submission if she would be spared this unworldly suffering.

Nothing happened. The draenei increased their assault, their entire bodies now encapsulated in the same arcane fire as before. Relentless agony wracked Tanthelara’s body, unspeakable torment coursed through her heart, mind, and soul; there was only the burning, all-consuming pain which blinded her to the outside world. She screamed again, her voice hoarse and unrecognizable now. She felt as though she had been brought to the very precipice of annihilation, and in that moment, time ceased to exist.

When her vision returned, the world was silent and the pain was gone. Ahead of her, the draenei stood impaled upon massive spikes of shadowy stone. The children were gone, and the sun had set, casting the realm in a fiery twilight. Tanthelara rose to her feet, and the stony spikes abruptly fade into nothingness, causing the bodies before her to collapse onto the ground. Moments later, their forms dissolved as though they were under a spell of illusion, revealing the twisted masses of gray flesh and ebony claws.

“Where… am I?” she said quietly to herself.

There was a soft laughter that she could barely hear. She craned her neck, searching for its origin in the distance. Her ears picked up nothing. A horrible realization began to settle upon her when she heard a familiar voice manifest at the back of her mind:

…we are your destiny, now and forever…

To be continued.

((thanks for reading! As of right now, I can’t say how many parts this series will be. It just is whatever it is, whatever form the story takes. Hope you enjoyed, see you all in part 4!))

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The authentication server error wasn’t letting me reply yesterday, but your story is awesome! Well done - love the visuals.

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Your a stunning author, Tanthelara. I am definitely excited for part 4!

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