“Mage, you are a keeper of the young one’s temples. You will guide me to the most powerful one now.” Grey currently appeared as nothing more than a man. All traces of the black blood flowing through the creature’s form were gone. Seeing his friend’s body be used in such a manner sickened Raylek. “Have you had no luck finding this “Kavon”? I was rather looking forward to another slave.”

“Of the two remaining, the Capital’s temple is the most powerful. We will make the best time on the main roads. Should I gather a horse for you? Kavon was amongst those that you killed shortly after arrival, I found his clothing in a pile on the floor of the tower.” Raylek had decided to give The Destroyer as much time as he could while doing what he could, for anybody he could, along the way. Hiding his betrayal from a beast that could enter your mind was no easy task. Raylek had practiced his entire life with the theory of hardening his mind to psychic attack. Theory and reality were completely different.

“I’ve consumed every living thing in this area, including horses. We must walk to the next town and gather horses, supplies and Essences. I will require you to critique me. I will appear as a mortal, nothing more. You will inform me if my deception is not convincing.” those dark eyes set on Raylek’s face, ever intense and the Mage shivered reflexively.

“Yes master. May I engage you in conversation and ask questions of your greatness? Conversation will be necessary for you to pull of any successful ruse.”

“You will call me Commander or Grey. Masters are, from the memories of these mortals, not a common part of this realm any longer. You may ask me questions when not around other beings, in towns you will cease.” Raylek was startled by the revelation. This monster absorbed at least some of the memories belonging to his victims? If he decides to destroy me, he’ll know all the temple locations, our weaknesses and how to easily destroy us. I must get word to the capital. They must raise an army to destroy this thing.

“What was that? An army?”

Raylek had slipped for only a moment to hide his thoughts. This would not be easy. “Yes Commander, your position is one of great power in the Capital. Certainly, you have considered raising any army to fight The Destroyer, I am simply attempting to anticipate your wishes and ensure your enemies die.” Gambling on his bluff and the Wraiths legendary ego.

“Indeed, young Mage, you serve well. Write to the armies at my command and inform them that they must ready for war. Inform them that the young one has returned. They are not to engage the enemy until our arrival.” I will destroy her myself and restore my kind to greatness. Elation and anticipation emanated from the wraith as they began their trek.

Raylek was old, clever and terrified. Those traits combined made a man dangerous. He scribbled a note in code that was only known to The Three. Hopefully, the other two Mages would receive the letter and believe the words. Unlikely, I would have a hard time accepting the words myself:

Emperor R. Pallis,

(A code name for The Three due to adding the first initial, the messengers of the Order knew this code and used it often to relay missives between The Three)

I, Raylek Odin Salfis, send you this letter in urgency.

(This is a coded letter created under duress)

Findings from location A-1202001 are dire.

(The First Temple was destroyed)

The Destroyer has awakened, broken and rotten, fire and brimstone travel alternate routes.

(The Destroyer has awakened, massive destruction, unparalleled death follows, not caused by subject mentioned first)

All but myself and Commander Silvus Grey are dead.

(Silvus was a false name, meaning it was an impersonator)

Commander Silvus Gray and I travel light but are under clear nights.

(Impostor travels quickly, misdirection being used)

The Emperor M U S T meet the Commander, ready the Red Legion.

(Hide the Emperor, Ready the army to defend.)

~Raylek

“I will send the missive immediately in the next town Commander. Do you have other wishes, or, shall I remain silent?”, Raylek hoped beyond hope that his thoughts had not been heard when writing.

“No Mage, let us travel while I read what you have written. Prepare yourself along the way. I will be infusing you with power while we travel. You will suffer much, but you will be...more.” the beast said without looking towards the Mage.

“Yes Commander, will I be bonded?”

“NO!!!” Anger as hot as fire rolled over Raylek’s skin. “That magic is born of the young one! My magic requires more and gives more. Do not mistake me for that woman or mention her weak magic again!” the Commander settled into his walk quickly.

Yes, I can use this ego as a poison. Before consumed I must find a way to weaken the creature. Tales speak of free will and Essences being destroyed by the Ancient’s tainted magic. I will do what I can before my own destruction.

The pair traveled at a quick pace, Raylek could feel the smallest tingle of power touching him. Horrible, cold, alien and disgusting magic. Resistance was a must, if that energy penetrated his mind it would be bad. So far it seemed to only be restoring his younger self and enhancing his senses. It still felt dark, like being covered in tar.

“Tom! You will find that you can now relay images to your bonded, do so as we travel!” Sariah wasted no time once coming from the trance. “We must hurry, no more breaks! Catch up when you can, I will leave a tether that can follow. Srit! Let’s go kill some humans!”

Sariah crouched low to the ground, one arm in front of her body and the other behind. She raised onto the balls of her feet, muscles rippled and blasted off. Rock flew hundreds of yards from where she had been standing, only a crater and the howl of Srit remained, “WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOooooooooo!” as they faded into nothing more than a speck on the horizon.

Kavon was immediately assaulted with images, horrible images of Blood Elf women being dismembered, raped and tortured. One lone woman sat in stocks, being forced to watch every moment of the terrible deeds being done to her family and friends. She’d been covered in blood that was obviously not hers.

“Kavon” Tom said his real name for the first time ever, “We save women, punish bad men. Blood Elf important to Tom, sister race. Make big dumb rock carry fast. Bitch Lady not need us, but Tom want to kill, torture and eat bad men.”

Kavon was so overwhelmed with this change of events that he couldn’t process anything else. Well, he couldn’t think of anything else until a tiny little Gnome punched him in the balls. “Get up dumbass!”

Erection picked up the trio, set them on his back. Tom noted that saddles formed from rock that held them all firmly. The rocks form shrank in thickness and elongated. Much of the obsidian moved to the joints, most likely to strengthen them against the stress of impacts while running. Kavon’s eyes were closed, focusing and making tiny movements in the air with his hand. The Mages breath was ragged, but an astounding amount of energy was being put into Erection.

Stupid Human doing good. Might have to stop eating his brain when sleeping. Tom thought to himself, approval of his bonded would never be spoken aloud, but it was there.

“Ere...Erection” I hate that fucking Imp! “Run as fast as you can!” Kavon shouted.

Erection bound forward covering 20 yards per step. This new creation was fast, very fast.

Tom had been feeding the golem increasing doses of Hardening Potion every day. The potion was a sub-creation of his restorative potion. Hardening the skull was necessary to belay suspicions. More and more of the obsidian covered Erections body every day that passed. If the golem could just stop eating the softer stones that he called “yummies”, he’d become completely obsidian and much harder to dispatch.

Sariah’s party was united for the first time, in a clear mission.

“Boss lady! Where the fu...ohhhhhh!” Sariah had pushed the entire memory into his mind before he finished the sentence. “I’m glad to see you pissed off, but I need to take a dump.”

“Just shit in that little bag of yours. Srit, I continue to lose my memories. Have you been suffering the same?” the two had to speak mentally due to the speed they were traveling.

“Yep, I get flashes, but never anything important. I can’t even remember our bond and why we formed it. Speaking of, you’re burning A LOT of energy.” Srit knew that until the energy barriers that fed the universes magic were all stabilized they were both operating on batteries. Sariah was powerful, yes, but not without limits.

“I know, it’s just nice to go all out for a change. The rage helps the power flow more easily.”

“Weirdo. So, I saw what you did for that woman in the stocks. We probably won’t need to save her, why the rush? Also, what was the crackeling ball of black energy that was flying around her? It didnt look like your magic. It looked like a pissed off Essence mixed with something else.” Srit was genuinely curious.

Sariah grinned, “Astute as always my little red friend. Honestly? I just want to see what happens. Sure, I plan to kill any that survive, but mostly, this should be a good show. I can't say that I know what the ball was, I was a bit focused. I agree though, it appeared as a very angry Essence that has attached itself to her completely. We'll see.”

“What if your plan fails? So much could go wrong. Hell, your “help” may even be what destroys her.”

“It’s not like I had many options, without my wings we can’t get there in time to save her ourselves. I miss flying.”

“Fuck that! Every time we flew you dropped me! Do you know how many times I landed in cow shit?! You’re a terrible aim!” *BONK* he smacked her on the head.

"Am I though? Cow patties are what, a foot wide? Isn’t it pretty suspicious that I’d so consistently manage to drop you on one?” Sariah cracked a grin and looked over her should at the Imp.

Srit’s mouth fell completely open, not a good idea when traveling this fast. “MOTHER FUC...*FWACK* a bee smacked into the top of his mouth and exploded. “GROOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSS” he spat and tried to scrape the nasty thing out of his mouth, Sariah finally lost it and laughed deeply.

A few minutes later Srit had finally got bug goo out of his mouth. He reached down in his bag, whispered an incantation and pulled out a mask he’d stolen from an obscure non-magical Realm called Erff or something like that. The mask had a clear visor and large canister that fit over the mouth covering. Breathing through it was difficult but made cool sounds that he frequently used to freak out Sariah. The straps had to be slightly modified to fit his small stature, but it completely shielded his face from bees. Once the device was sealed he crouched low, directly into Sariah’s ear and said, “Sariah! I am your Bonded!!!”.

Welp, that was enough to get a reaction. Sariah started and missed a step, her toe dug into the soft ground causing her to faceplant and roll several hundred feet before slamming into a large red tree. “You jack ass! You know good and well I hate that thing! You sound like some giant evil construct when you do that!!

“Good, Good, let the hate…” *TWACK* a stone hit him square in the visor of the mask and shattered it. “AWWWW!” Srit whined while removing his mask. “I took this from the Erff place that we cut off from the other realms. Now I’ll never get another one. You’re a dick!”

Sariah felt a little bad, but not bad enough to apologize. She gathered herself and darted back along the path. As she approached Srit, her hand shot down and snagged up the Imp by his tail. Placing his arms back around her neck, she turned up the speed. “You just whined your way through the only stop we were going to make. So much for “I need to take a dump”. *giggle* You can just hold it until we get there now.”

Srit gave no audible response for several minutes. Sariah figured he was sulking over the broken mask or the tail snatch and left him alone.

*SIGH* “Ohhhhh, that’s so much better.” Srit spoke the words as though he had just spent an hour relaxing in a hot bath.

“What?”

“Let’s just say that I won’t be waiting until we get there for that bathroom break, bitch.” He cackled maniacally.

“What? OH!! EWWWWWW!!!” and that’s how Srit, King of the Imps ended up stuffed inside of his own pack being smacked against every surface in reach of the disgusted, yet laughing, Sariah.

*2 Years Ago*

Delanna Elanni, daughter of Farin Elanni, brother to the king and Heir Apparent to the Throne of Blood. Do you accept your role as the Prime, Keeper of the Dead?

“I do.”

Do you accept responsibility for the preservation of our Lady Death’s decrees, and agree to never allow your essence peace to travel to The Afterlife.

“I do.”

Do you pledge that even in death, you will aid lost spirits in their journey to The Afterlife, never entering yourself?

“I do.”

Then I name you Prime Delanna Elanni, Keeper of the Dead.

All present bowed before their new leader in this realm. The king was a figurehead in the realm for the Blood Elf Nation. Real power was held by the Prime.

*Two Weeks Later*

“Prime” Farin addressed his daughter. The man was sweating and seemed paranoid.

“Father, I’ve told you a million times to call me Delanna. I’m still your daughter, ya know?”

“Look, Prime, I love you but I don’t have any time to waste. I recovered this.” The man held out a translucent sphere. “This is the Artifact. I need you to hide it. I heard that the Duke’s men were planning to steal it from the Artifact Temple. I cannot allow the Lady’s body to be stolen by the Duke.”

Delanna’s eyes were fixated on the sphere. “Father! What have you done. Lady Death is at peace, removing that may break her sleep before it is time!”

Farin knew well the implications of removing the Artifact, but he’d rather his Lady wake early as opposed to having her body corrupted and used for vile Human ambition. He explained to Delanna that all past Primes were given leave through the wards in case of this event. The Three attuned his bloodline specifically. The Duke had taken to robbing the crypts of all Fallen over the last decade. That was an atrocity, but so long as the bodies had not been disturbed the spirits were unaffected. Stealing this sphere was necessary.

“Delanna, I’ve kept this locket on me since I was Prime, my father did before me and now I pass it to you as the new Prime. He placed the sphere into the locket and closed it. It will hide the power of the sphere from anyone but the Lady. Keep it safe, I will report to the Emperor of the Dukes thefts and hopefully bring back justice. Pray for my forgiveness when you speak to Lady Death but explain my reasons. She will hear you child, I love you.” and at that, Farin mounted his horse and galloped towards the capital.

That was the last time Delanna ever would see her father alive. The next day, her father’s head decorate a spike in the center of the Blood Elf City Square. Two day later, the Duke’s army would kill every male and older Blood Elf female in the entire area.

All the women were passed out to the soldiers. Nobody would ever know that the Emperors approval would arrive weeks after the slaughter had already happened. And so began the life of slavery for all Blood Elves in the Human Realm.