A Stranger Lights the Darkness

The room was dead silent. Ark was in bed, every nerve tensed. Verloren lay peacefully beside her. Lucy trusted in her Eye of Kilrogg to alert her to danger. The house indeed the entirety of the Peak seemed to be asleep save for her.

Ark knew Sahalia, well she knew her type at least. Sahalia took what she wanted. The gnome warlock seemed harmless enough, until she was angry. The transformation was remarkable both in speed and intensity. It was like watching Chromie, a female gnome, turn into Chromaggus the male dragon. Except Sahalia was not a benevolent dragon aspect. Sahalia was the devil's own daughter.

Ark heard before she saw the portal. Ark had gone to bed that night in full armor. She tried to rise, but she couldn't move. If her limbs were tied she could not have been held to the bed with more force. The robed shadows whispered to themselves. A language long dead, and probably best never spoken of again, let alone whispered in the dark of night. So dark and black were their words, a black vapor exuded from their hoods.

The chill of death was here. Ark felt the cold embrace of despair, as they removed Verloren from Ark's embrace. They lifted Verloren as if she were but a ragdoll, and Ark was a mere toddler. Verloren's head lolled this way and that while they shifted her body. Ark noticed there was one by the portal who held his fist closed.

The robed figure approached as Ark tried to pear into the portal. Ark needed a clue where they were taking Verloren. The figure pulled Ark out of her body and slammed her spirit fully into the wall, onto the ceiling, and then down on the floor. He forced his way into her mind. Ark watched as her mind was being invaded by this thing's finger. She tried to rush him, but her spirit was held as fast to the floor as her body was to the bed.

Ark tried to scream for help, but no sound came out. Ark pleaded that her friends would do something. As if in response the wall of their room dissolved like water, and Ark saw her friends. Not one of them was breathing, and some were bleeding, not blood, but spirit. A clear transparent liquid purer than water flowed from all of them.

Ark refused to quit. If she was still a spirit then perhaps no bonds could truly hold her. Ark focused, she prepared for the change, she became as light as a feather that rides the winds. She focused on her hands. It didn't matter if Ark lived only that Verloren did. Ark formed her fingers into long talons, blades with which to cut her bonds. Spirit blades that would cut even the shadow.

Ark's ability to fly as a spirit served her before, but she could not remember where. And she crafted her hands into such fine weapons, it bothered her. As if she had done this before. Without bothering to think she plunged her fingers into the shadow, and ripped the shadow in half about the middle.

The robe fell empty to the floor. But it was too late. They had taken Verloren, perhaps if she could get back in her body, then she could rip open the portal. She would find a way to save Verloren.

Ark laid down into her own body, and fell for ages long minutes turned into seconds, as she finally found her voice.

"VERLOREN, VERLOREN NO!!! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER. I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER." Ark was able to move and sat straight up in bed.

"Ark, Ark, it's okay. It's okay. I am right here." A dranei female said laying next to her touching her, holding her like Verloren. "I am right here."

"I don't have time for Sahalia's games." Ark said turning to leave and follow the trail before it grew cold.

"Ark it's me. They changed me." The dranei female said.

Ark was skeptical at best, but as she looked she saw Lucy and the ever vigilant Eye of Kilrogg still on the couch in their room, not dead as the shadow showed her.

"Prove it." Ark said indignantly, if this was a ploy Ark would destroy Sahalia. If anything happened to Verloren, Sargeras himself could not have contained Ark's rage.

"Ark after Lord Melchar took you and I got you back I brought you here." the female dranei said.

"Plenty of people knew that if not then they do by now," Ark wasn't sure what to believe, but this was how Sahalia worked.

"Ark I won't make you leave the sunrise at the Peak. I love it here." As she said this the dranei held up her ring. A soulbound ring, and there were few like it in this world or Draenor. "You gave this to me that day, and I promised to give you myself, and a life at the Peak."

"Verloren?" Ark was astonished. Sahalia had made no trouble for anyone, she had simply taken a human body, and given Ark a dranei one. In a strange way Sahalia fulfilled the contract, since giving Verloren to Ark as a dranei was tantamount to giving Ark a dranei body. Sahalia took what she wanted, but she left Verloren's memories intact, or at least someone did.

Lucy slept soundlessly even with Ark yelling at the top of her lungs. Everyone else piled in the door as soon as they could.

Ark relaxed in Verloren's grip. Verloren had not grown stronger, but held her like a lover. Verloren held Ark, like well like, Verloren. Ark looked at Verloren's new form, not that it mattered, but she was as beautiful as ever. Different but beautiful, her hair was ebony, her eyes a cool blue like Ark's own. Her body was a brighter but paler blue than Ark's skin.

"Am I pretty?" Verloren asked.

Tears streamed down Ark's face as she pulled Verloren close to her. "You were always pretty to me Verloren, and you always will be."