By the time Mal found civilization he understood what had happened to his people in the time since he had gone to serve. Sin’dorei now, they were. The Sunstriders ruled no longer. So much of their people had been wiped away by the undead. It made his heart ache to see so much gone and lost. The tall arcane buildings from his youth and the easygoing people had been replaced with blood red and black, but the people that remained were like reforged elven sword, born again in the blood and made stronger for the pain they suffered.He liked that.
Stronger was good.
She needed strong people to serve her once more.
But who would lead them?
The thought drew a grimace as he shook his head. He did not want to -lead-. He taught. Taught them how to use shadows and blood, spiders and venom. Philosophy and-Mal stumbled, pain stabbing his feet like thousands of sharp knives.It had, truly, been far to long since he had worn this armor. Too long since he had left Her side. In that time he’s grown weak, body suffering to walk even half of quel’thalas when once he could have easily walked the entirety of it. Once he slowed the rest of his body chimed in complaints. His back throbbed dully, promising muscle strain, blood leaked through a break in his skin where it had been cut. His body screamed in protest at the lengths he’d pushed it to.
“No.” He rasped, feeling the leaves in his hair move when the wind raked its hands through it. “We have so far to go. So little time.”Only once had he been broken.
Never again since had he yielded without orders to do so. Her orders could not be fulfilled if he died by exerting himself through foolish effort, however, so with effort he forced himself to move.
A place to stay would suit him fine. Just for now. briefly.
He had no coin but he bartered away from of the jewelry he wore to buy a small space and food. Gold was always an acceptable currency, especially in backwaters and villages with little space to complain. Soon more currency would be needed, once he could find whatever was currently used as currency here. A mental note was made to find what was currency and to get more. But for now he rested, sitting atop the bedroll in a building that had seen far better days. Derelict, that was the word for it.
Tepid water rested in a bucket within reach and it was with the greatest reluctance he took his armor off to tend to his aching body. Antiquated armor was dropped where it fell and for the first time in countless years he saw his own skin. He had never been he sort of man to call himself handsome or pay attention to his reflection in polished metal. But he recalled what he looked like before he went underground.
Dark curly hair with silvery blue eyes and a firm angular jaw, muscular, tall. But the … -creature- that stared back from the depths of the water bucket was not the elf he saw in polished metals and glass.Golden catlike eyes stared back, pupils large in the dim light of the room with a noticeable greenish tint to his skin that went from yellow to white at the tips of his ears. His hair was still there, in a sense, black leaves that shined blue-purple as he tilted his head. His skin beneath the armor had peeled, yes, nothing that was unexpected there. But it was thin, like paper now and what he thought was blood proved itself to be golden sap. His hands were clawed, once slender fingers now had skin like hardened back with black tipped points that brought thorns to mind.It was too much and Mal pushed himself away from the bowl to simply laid down on his back and absorb it all.
“What am I?”The ceiling offered no answer, not did the sounds of the small party at the inn’s bottom floor provide any. There had to be one however, and he racked his brain to find it. Searching through his memories was like searching through discarded trash. So much had been thrown away to survive that he had no idea where to start. It made his heart begin to beat rapidly when there was no apparent answer.It was one thing to rebuild for Her. Another to continue as she desired.
He had not realized how much of himself had been lost in the process.
Tyleril Silversword 