Rogue Firefury

A BLESSING

Dedicated to Sara@Finfychan for allowing me to incorporate her wonderful characters Fyn Godwin and later on Louvel Nottley in this story.  She is a great writer and does the most exceptional Oneshots, which if you have not read, I strongly recommend you do.  Thank you Sara

Nerisen introduced Tiene to Lord Jorach Ravenholdt. Jorach, Lord of Assassins, was a human rogue who put skill and dedication high above faction. He cared not whether your kin was a high elf, night elf, dwarf, gnome or human as long as your commitment was to your craft.

Proud though he was of his guild of killers and thieves, he had no qualms about inviting those from other guilds into the manor. He firmly believed all like-minded individuals and groups should work together in honing skills and learning from each other.

That was not to say that all who arrived at the manor were of the same frame of mind. There had been on occasion, some unappreciative visitors who allowed politics to cloud their judgement. They were despatched.

Immediately.

By all accounts, Nerisen was a fairly regular visitor to the manor and was welcomed by all he encountered as he showed Tiene through the academy. Another elf, Myrokos Silentform warmly greeted him, and they spoke as if they were old friends. He did, however, express that he thought it might be unlikely they could stay longer, as many soldiers were using the manor as a rest stop en route to their homes.

There were in fact, quite a large number of people visiting the manor this day. A lot of battle-weary rogues were coming and going as Tiene was being shown around the premises. A few hunters, paladins and warriors were also amongst the visitors as were priests and a few druids. It was not the norm for those not of the rogue's persuasion to be in the grounds, but these were friends and fellow soldiers who had accompanied the rogues to the manor on their way home, wherever home was.

As Nerisen was distracted in his catch-up with Myrokos, Tiene wandered around the complex. Without trying to be self-evident, she listened in to some conversations of those returning from battle — a few who she neared nodded a greeting or said a quiet hello.

The haunted expressions of the battle-weary men and women affected Tiene deeply. From the snippets of conversation, their despair was fully understandable. The horrors they had seen were indeed the stuff of nightmares.

Her breath caught in her throat as she heard tales of their comrades and family members being hacked down by the trolls and other races aligned with the Horde. Friends, brothers, sisters and fathers and mothers had all fallen. Villages razed to the ground where nought survived.

Her mind suddenly filled with pictures of Duthan and Lor'themar heading out to fight the Amani trolls on the border of their homeland. A gasp escaped her as the terrible possibility of losing them hit home. Tears sprang to her eyes.

"My child," a kindly voice spoke. She turned to find a little human priest talking to her. A solitary tear trickled down Tiene's cheek. "Oh my dear, have you lost someone close to you?"