I still remember where I was on the 261st day after Cataclysm. I was outside the Royal Bank of Stormwind when I spotted a new poster on the Hero’s Call noticeboard. It said:
The Guardians of Hyjal, led by Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, seek brave heroes to assist with a full-scale assault on the Firelands.
Willing and able-bodied heroes of the Alliance should report to the Sanctuary of Malorne in Mount Hyjal immediately.
I may not be brave, but I am willing. With my shield on my back and my sword readied to bring justice to those who fouled our land, I made my way to Mount Hyjal. It was not hard to find the Sanctuary of Malorne. The sanctuary appeared as a big question mark on my map.
Upon reaching my destination, I was told that I was a tad too late. Hamuul, Malfurion, and others have already made it to the invasion point. Alas! I hated to miss the action. Quickly, I summoned my dragon and flew up the hill. The entire flight took about 10 seconds. What followed was a blur. Perhaps I was too much in a hurry to get to the next stage. I have seen the same vision five times but I still do not get the detail. All I gathered was that our most powerful druid Hamuul was brutally burned down by the evil flame druid Leyara, almost instantaneously. 99.99% dead. So dead that I could smell beef. Why did Leyara spare my life while I witnessed this atrocity? Till today, I still do not know.
Meanwhile, after our failed attempt in assaulting Fireland, our fearless leader Malfurion has tasked me to gather resources in order to mount a second attempt. No problem. I was happy to contribute in whichever way I can. First I approached a dryad. Her name was Mylune.
“Ah, the great outdoor,” she said.
“Erm, if you say so,” I did not know how to respond.
“Is there trouble?” she asked.
I looked around and life seemed peaceful. So I asked, “Is there something for me to do?”
On day one, she asked me to wear a wolf suit and howl on top of dead enemies. On day two, she asked me to find and call upon small birds, forest owls, and golden hawks. On day three, she asked me to punt turtles back to the lake. On day four, she asked me to capture deer spirits. On day five, she asked me to rescue baby bears stuck on a tree. How did the bears manage to climb up the tree and unable to get down? I did not know.
After what seemed like an eternity, I have gathered enough resources for Malfurion to mount an attack into Firelands. When I first landed on Molten Front through the portal, it was a mess. There was fire everywhere. Enemies in the forms of elementals, giants, worms, and hounds – all engulfed in flame, attacking us at sight. Tens and hundreds of our allies lied wounded on the ground. I did my best to bandage them up, hack a few of the enemies while I was at it, and tried to close their portals with my wisp.
Our enemies were relentless. One day, Malfurion called me into his cave where he planted a tree and said, “We will need the Shadow Wardens’ help.” No problem, I said. We needed to make progress. So I worked my butt off in order to gather enough resources to recruit the Shadow Wardens.
In retrospect, helping the Wardens was without a doubt a relatively painless thing to do. On a good day, I was tasked to free some victims caught inside the spider webs, hack some spiders, and detonate a weakly fortified energy core that tossed me up thirty yards above ground when it exploded. On a bad day, I was tasked to collect some spider eggs (yuck!), hack more spiders, and kidnap a flame druid. Days after days, I answered the call of Malfurion. I worked hard, seldom complained. I did my job with ever glowing enthusiasm even when I have to take a strange looking plant for a skinny dip inside a lava pool, six bloody times. Some do like it hot.
I lost count of the days I spent in Molten Front. One thing for sure, time did not seem to past when you were inside a war zone. We have made some good progress with the help of the Wardens. Malfurion seemed pleased. One evening, inside the cave where he perpetually stayed, he spoke to me, “Skylord Omnuron and his Druids of the Talon have been a fearsome force for us back in Hyjal. I know that they prefer the familiar skies of that battlefield, but the time may come when we need them here nonetheless.”
“Who is Skylord Omnuron?” I asked, “Was he the one who subjected the rest of us to that stomach churning exercise of jousting in the air?”
Malfurion seemed to ignore my questions and he continued, “Go now and appeal to Omnuron that his druids should be on the main front. Omnuron watches out for his own, but he also understands the importance of this effort.”
Who was I to deny Malfurion’s command? For many years prior to Cataclysm, Malfurion was missing in action. No one knew where he was. Not even his girlfriend, Tyrande Whisperwind. I am not good in history and am not sure if it was Tyrande or Fandral Staghelm, the Archdruid of Darnassus, who led the night elves during the period when Malfurion was gone. Fandral was a war hero. He has a son called Valstann who wedded Leyara. In one battle that went horribly wrong, the young and eager Valstann was captured by the enemies and was brutally executed in front of his family and troops. I could only imagine what a huge blow it must be to his father Fandral and his wife Leyara. That piece of history could well be an important link to why Fandral and Leyara have gone rogue and become flame druids. My hope for them to turn over a new leaf dwindled as I saw the war lengthened. Too many have died in this war. Hatred ran deep.
Unlike the Wardens, Druids gave out some of the most tedious tasks in Molten Front. I dreaded doing them. In my previous life, I was a Mario Brother. I am still unable to master some of the moves the Druids required me to do. On the very next day, I ran back to the Wardens with open arms. I enjoyed closing the runes inside an exploding cave full of hostile fire elementals. It was a bit like doing homeruns in a baseball game. The moment I entered the cave, I touched the first base. I would then run straight to the T-junction, touch the second base. There was an upslope curving leftward, the third base. I would then jump over the ledge, passed the first base and at the junction, the forth base. The fifth base was on the left and continued forward, the sixth base. A sharp right turn jumping over the air vent would land me onto the seventh base that was located in the middle of a small island surrounded by lava. Another jump over the second air vent would get me out of the island and land me onto the eighth base. One minute and mission accomplished.
As the war dragged on, there was news that powerful enemy lieutenants were spotted in the north of Molten Front. Such supersized opponents called for supersized allies. I thought of the tree giants in Mount Hyjal and have decided to recruit them into our forces. The ancients awaited. I played my role as the messenger and as a living testimony to our war effort. They agreed to help. And they made a good decoration to our base inside Molten Base. Trees, we needed more trees.
Did I mention that there was a dwarf sharing the cave with Malfurion? He has some of the most exceptional equipments in store. But he refused to let me try them on unless I helped him to recruit Ricket the goblin.
“These druids be lackin’ the tools ta properly handle the job out ‘ere. I got meself a buddy back at day ol’ stag shrine through the portal though. If we were ta be gettin’ reunited, we’d sure have some real toys ta use against ol’ Ragboy and ‘is cronies. Go find Matoclaw. Ask her fer Ricket. We need’r here so we can be causin’ some real trouble,” said the dwarf.
Huh? I can never fully understand what dwarves say.
Depending on her mood, Ricket would ask me to do different things on any given day. Bombing a huge worm, triggering a meteor shower, and my favorite task was to gun down the flying flame druids from the ground. I would climb a tower high enough to aim at the enemies in the sky. I pictured myself as King Kong. Came what may you helpless flying creatures!
* * * Spoiler Warning * * *
My last assignment as a runner was to fill up our moonwell with sacred water from the Well of Eternity. The water could be used to bless the trees and bushes. How did it come through the portal? I have no idea.
My first assignment as a hero was to confront Leyara. News has it that the Wardens have successfully cornered Leyara inside a cave. “Go there immediately,” said Malfurion, “I will join you as soon as I make one necessary preparation.”
What preparation?!
I made haste, rode as fast as I could to reach the cave. Leyara was in the middle, surrounded by a group of Wardens. She turned to me and said, “I thought you might come. You’ve proven very persistent. Annoyingly so.”
Enough of playing a nobody’s role in bandaging the wounded and rescuing the baby bears. Today, I was going to make history. I ran towards Leyara fearlessly and fought her with my allies. One by one, Leyara engulfed my allies in flame, suspended them in the air, and vaporized them into oblivion. That was not looking good. Soon, I was alone with Leyara. It took forever for me to hurt her as she was to me. It was a stalemate. To end this, one of us was going to be vaporized. The thought of I not having such ability sent a chill down my spine.
As the fight dragged on, I yelled out loud, “Malfurion, wherever you are, this is a time you should make an appearance!”
Cued to perfection, Malfurion entered the cave and fought alongside with me. Leyara laughed, “I’ll kill your companion just like I killed Hamuul. And there is nothing you can do about it.”
Uh oh. Was she referring to me? Yes, she was. The next thing I knew, I was helplessly engulfed in flame and was suspended in the air. I fixed my eyes on my executioner while I waited for the inevitable. Then something happened. A fully recovered Hamuul appeared and Malfurion said to Leyara, “You did not kill Hamuul, Leyara. He lives.” Hamuul added, “I’m sorry that I did not arrive sooner, though you seem to have held your own quite well.” I cheered. We managed to bring Hamuul back to life, with my daily help.
“Hurray! Now, get me down quick”, screamed I.
Leyara must have ignored me momentarily as Hamuul shape-shifted into a huge bear and charged onto her. What a magnificent bear! I had to be careful in positioning myself as Hamuul mauled, lacerated, and pulverized Leyara. It was not a pretty scene. Towards Leyara’s final moment, Hamuul said to her, “I release you from this fate Leyara. May you finally find your peace in death.”
With that said, Leyara was slain. A cloud of melancholy descended upon me. Who was Leyara? What had she become? The war is not over. But at least, one chapter is closed.
On the 295th day after Cataclysm, I was outside the Royal Bank of Stormwind. A locket has arrived at my mailbox. It was sent by one of the Wardens who found it inside the cave. A locket belonged to Leyara. I held it close to my heart and I felt a faint level of magic quivering within. Could this locket answer all my lingering questions?
I traveled to Moonglade and prompted one of my contacts for help. True enough. Locked inside this locket were the memories of Leyara. In the first vision, Leyara witnessed her husband Valstann Staghelm ripped in two by the Qiraji General Rajaxx. In the second vision, by the grave of Valstann at Astranaar, I saw Leyara with a little girl and Fandral by her sides. She said, “Our child has been born. It’s a girl! A beautiful baby girl. I named her Istaria. She has your eyes.” In the last vision at Mount Hyjal, by a small grave next to where Leyara struck down Hamuul, she moaned the death of her daughter. And she cried, “Fandral would never have allowed the Horde to attack our home! And who did Malfurion send to defend us? No one!”
I can understand the resentment Leyara had felt against Malfurion, against both the Alliance and the Horde. During the Horde invasion, her daughter Istaria was killed and her father-in-law Fandral was captured and held in prison. It was through the power of the old god that Fandral has become a flame druid and broke free. Where was the rest of the Alliance when Valstann was executed? Where was the reinforcement when her little Istaria was slain? Leyara joined Fandral in a heartbeat. The rest is history.
