It did not feel right leaving Rhonya or Kogra of the Red Blades behind in the conditions they were in, physical for the latter, nor mentally for the former but I had to see what had happened in the south… to see where that sword from the heavens had landed and struck. My Cloud Serpent Ruby and I left the Crossroads, following the light of the strange red star that hung in the sky, using it as our guiding compass. It had appeared in the daylight sky the morning after that… that figure had disappeared and the dust had settled.
We flew through the night over the Barrens, both Northern and Southern. The Southern looked like it had fared little better than the Northern half. A tower here and there in need of repair, some of the trees had been knocked over… but all in all it looked the same as ever it had.
We continued on, our path taking us over the plains of Mulgore for a time. Surprisingly, this land looked as peaceful as ever. Perhaps the high mountains surrounding the plains had safeguarded it from the worst of what had transpired? A glance over towards Thunder Bluff showed to the Pandaren’s eye that it looked to be intact as well. Testimony to the Tauren’s architectural capabilities.
By the time we ventured out of the air of Mulgore, the dawning sun was starting to rise, and yet the red star persisted in shining in the sky. Ruby grumbled at me as we reached the thick canopies of Feralas, and I was about to agree to let her set down so she could have some rest when something struck me as very odd on the horizon. I looked over towards it once more when I realised what was wrong with what I was seeing.
There was a mountain where there should not have been. I blinked my eye a few times to make sure that it was not simply lack of sleep playing tricks on me, but there it was. A tremendous mountain in the distance… except it was not a mountain. Not one in the natural sense at the least. “It… it cannot be…†I whispered, unable to raise my voice any higher as a dread I had not felt in a long time, if ever to this degree, began to fill me. Ruby growled at me again before she took us beneath the canopy, blocking the not-mountain from my sight.
With the not-mountain gone from view, I found my breathing evening out once more. I had not even realised what was going on with my body until that moment… Sweat had formed on my brow, and it was not from the heat of the Feralas jungle. “My thanks old friend.†I said, the golden Cloud Serpent just harrumphing at me in turn before she dropped me off of her back, and took off into the jungles depths. I blinked before chuckling. “Fine, fine. I’ll walk from here on if it'll make you happy.†I yelled after her, a roar my only reply from her, followed by the squeal of one of the local wildlife. “Well at least she’s got herself something to eat.†I mused as I began to walk.
I decided to continue going straight south, or as close to that as I could given the terrain. I realised that my destination was the desert lands of Silithus, guessing purely on the fact that all the trees in this region appeared to still be standing. There were two routes I could take. Either through the Thousand Needles, and then Tanaris, and thus into Un’goro Crater which would be the long way around… or I could try to cut over the mountains that divided Feralas from Silithus.
I chose to take the shorter route. There had to be a way through the mountains… I doubted that Ruby was keen to let me travel through the sky if it meant that I was going to have another panic attack from the sight of that terror in the distance, so I had to find a way on foot.
We flew through the night over the Barrens, both Northern and Southern. The Southern looked like it had fared little better than the Northern half. A tower here and there in need of repair, some of the trees had been knocked over… but all in all it looked the same as ever it had.
We continued on, our path taking us over the plains of Mulgore for a time. Surprisingly, this land looked as peaceful as ever. Perhaps the high mountains surrounding the plains had safeguarded it from the worst of what had transpired? A glance over towards Thunder Bluff showed to the Pandaren’s eye that it looked to be intact as well. Testimony to the Tauren’s architectural capabilities.
By the time we ventured out of the air of Mulgore, the dawning sun was starting to rise, and yet the red star persisted in shining in the sky. Ruby grumbled at me as we reached the thick canopies of Feralas, and I was about to agree to let her set down so she could have some rest when something struck me as very odd on the horizon. I looked over towards it once more when I realised what was wrong with what I was seeing.
There was a mountain where there should not have been. I blinked my eye a few times to make sure that it was not simply lack of sleep playing tricks on me, but there it was. A tremendous mountain in the distance… except it was not a mountain. Not one in the natural sense at the least. “It… it cannot be…†I whispered, unable to raise my voice any higher as a dread I had not felt in a long time, if ever to this degree, began to fill me. Ruby growled at me again before she took us beneath the canopy, blocking the not-mountain from my sight.
With the not-mountain gone from view, I found my breathing evening out once more. I had not even realised what was going on with my body until that moment… Sweat had formed on my brow, and it was not from the heat of the Feralas jungle. “My thanks old friend.†I said, the golden Cloud Serpent just harrumphing at me in turn before she dropped me off of her back, and took off into the jungles depths. I blinked before chuckling. “Fine, fine. I’ll walk from here on if it'll make you happy.†I yelled after her, a roar my only reply from her, followed by the squeal of one of the local wildlife. “Well at least she’s got herself something to eat.†I mused as I began to walk.
I decided to continue going straight south, or as close to that as I could given the terrain. I realised that my destination was the desert lands of Silithus, guessing purely on the fact that all the trees in this region appeared to still be standing. There were two routes I could take. Either through the Thousand Needles, and then Tanaris, and thus into Un’goro Crater which would be the long way around… or I could try to cut over the mountains that divided Feralas from Silithus.
I chose to take the shorter route. There had to be a way through the mountains… I doubted that Ruby was keen to let me travel through the sky if it meant that I was going to have another panic attack from the sight of that terror in the distance, so I had to find a way on foot.