Voices

[Rhonya]

Night had been long underway, darkness filling the keep except for the places which were lighted by torches which cast their dancing shadows on the wall, ever moving in patterns of the fire burning. Most were sleeping or minding their business quietly, to give others a chance to rest too. One of the figures in the hammocks stirred, however, her form a dark shape in the black robes she was wearing.

It was time.

Rhonya had been awake for most of the time, waiting for everyone to go sleep or move away. Slowly she lowered herself from the hammock, actually happy now that she let Mibuna mend her ankle, it made it so much easier to move around silently, without the limp she had before and the frequent tripping. She slowly made her way outside in the darkness, keeping to the deep shadows that were cast along the edges of the steep walls of Ogrimmar. The fact the others had won over places outside of the keep now, made this a lot easier.

She moved to particular dark spot nearing the inn, hidden out of sight by some rocks and a large tree. If she’d be silent, no one would notice her here. And she didn’t intend on making a lot of noise. She carried the usual bag with her, with some ingredients in it. It would have to be enough. The pressure was getting stronger, she couldn’t ignore it anymore. She was tired and drained already, but she couldn’t neglect the problem. Rargnasha wouldn’t be happy she did this on her own, probably, but she didn’t want to worry anyone else with it. They had enough on their minds.

Softly she sat down, a feeling of being watched filled her. It wasn’t strange to her anymore, she’d been feeling it for a while now, and she knew what it was. It was in her mind, only in her mind, there was no one watching her physically. Still, a shudder ran over her spine and the she-orc tensed a little. This whole place felt wrong, everything felt wrong these days, mostly due to the Dark Shamans having such a hold on the elements that doing anything with them was nearly impossible for those not forcing the spirits. She couldn’t use any more distractions now. The Chieftain was making big mistakes, letting the Forsaken actively build Abominations to fight for them. She had her worries about him, the fact they had not been able yet to continue their meditations together worried her even more.

More things distracted her, the fact Therak was somewhere out there in Ogrimmar made her sick with fear and worry for him, so she tried not to think about that too much. Her hand moved to the earring in her ear, a new addition, silver with a small sapphire in it. The last thing she heard through the link they now shared was a muffled ‘Well shit’, before everything had gone quiet.
The Rebellion needed her, she needed a clear mind to focus, and she couldn’t do that now.

As Rhonya set some items ready, she looked around a short moment. She wasn’t very visible, which was good. Shielding the bowl with herbs with her own body mostly, she lighted it, so the flickering flames wouldn’t catch too much attention. Soon the flames dimmed already though and only a very soft glow of the smoldering leaves remained, filling the air around her with a sweet scent. The wind picked it up quickly though, carrying it away high, so unless others got very close, they wouldn’t be able to smell it. Slowly she felt herself relax and concentrated only on the smell of the herbs, breathing them in deeply. Her mind wandered for a moment until it found the familiar path and she let it float on the well-known waves of her inner self. Darkness surrounded her until the scene suddenly shifted and the room she used to visit so often came into view. A simple place in her mind where she could pull back to, though at the moment she didn’t do that much. The four ominous looking doors that were always present there filled her with fear now.

The doors.. The wards she’d placed there so long ago. One of them was failing now. The others might be following soon, she didn’t know.  They might crumble suddenly coming days, they might never break. It all depended on how much strength the demons would’ve gotten back over the year that passed since she warded them into the corner of her mind. And how much they managed to take in, in her weak moment in Demonfall Canyon… It had started there. And now it continued.

She moved closer to the door on which the wards were vague, almost flickering sometimes and disappearing out of sight for only a second before they appeared again. They wouldn’t hold long… Rhonya could see herself as she was, her own shape, moving to the door, to place her hands on it. A feeling of familiarity filled her right away, but it wasn’t a good feeling. How ironic…

That it would be the first demon she defeated, that was breaking out now.

“Rhonya… My love, my dear, I have finally found you again. I told you that you wouldn’t escape me, that I would return… You are mine. You’ve always been mine, my pet.”

Rhonya snarled at the voice, the voice she’d feared hearing again after so long, but she knew it wasn’t really him. Still, it unsettled her greatly, hearing him again. Morkosh. She just ignored the luring hisses that sounded in her ears, the familiar tingling feeling of his hands gently caressing the skin of her cheeks, before they wrapped around her throat in an almost caring and loving way.

“You will not get rid of me again. I will not allow it.” The dark voice whispered in her ear, a dark, growling undertone ringing through.

Rhonya looked at the door and her hands placed on it. It could go this far now, she would have to be really focusing on it for it to be able to reach her. But it was getting stronger, slowly. She closed her eyes, blocking out the sight in her mind, just focusing on the wards. The feeling of the hands around her throat tightened and she felt like she was choking, which only urged her on to push more, put more energy in it. The wards brightened for a moment, but then resumed their slow flickering. The chokehold got more firm, the feeling of nails digging in her skin now added to it, piercing through and drawing blood. She kept pushing, kept trying, but it was useless, Rhonya didn’t have enough energy for this, with the demon pushing back so firmly. She couldn’t resist this… Her mind started to feel far away, blotches of light appearing in her vision. This wasn’t going well… Within a few moments, she saw a lot of light, before she lost consciousness.

How much time had passed, she didn’t know. But she awoke with a grunt, half lying in the bush she had been sitting behind of, her body screaming in exhaustion and pain. For a short moment she couldn’t remember what happened, before it came back to her and she sat up right away. Rhonya regretted that at once, her vision started to blur again and she had to close her eyes and lower her head a bit until she could see again. Her hand moved to her neck and she felt something sticky. With a frown she put her hand in front of her eyes and noticed the blood on her fingers with a slight panic filling her. 

It hadn’t worked… She hadn’t been able to strengthen the wards… It had been for nothing.

With a heavy feeling she stood, gathered her things and pulled her wolfmask over her head, hiding most of the wounds and bruises with the fur. Her muscles screamed out in protest as she moved back towards the keep as quietly and quickly as she could, before she climbed back into her hammock again, as if she had never left it. Damn this… She needed more strength. Quickly. Or it would break out fully…