Hale Cress

Uprooting the Past

Hale didn’t expect the trees to be crippled nor to carry that sly darkness along the blowing winds. It was as if though the land was alive with energy – magic to be precise. Hale had never felt such a connection to Azeroth, not even the little harvest blessings and rituals she and her sister did came close to the raw energy that coursed through her the moment she stepped off the small boat.

The hairs on her neck and arms prickled at the very kiss of the stale wind at her flesh. Part of her even thought she should have worn warmer clothing than she had originally brought.

The Priest ignored the sensation for a moment knowing it would be a matter of time before it passed. It was as if though she stepped into a painting laden with muted colors. Did the sun not touch these parts anymore? Were the lands tainted with the Drust after all this time? There was a ripe calling in the air that beckoned Hale forward and with her pack nestled firmly to her back, the woman began her trek towards the Hollow that she was directed.

The crunch of the dead leaves beneath her feet were her only company for a time until her mind began to wander. She remembered the stories their mother and Aunt Elisia use to tell them; old bedtime tales of their family line and the magics the women often held within the bloodline of the Cress name. It was a gift passed down from woman to woman though none truly knew why. It was a potent curse that her Aunt carried with her for many years and it eventually ran off into both Hale and Ottavia, including their cousin Artenia.

Tunneled while walking, Hale finally came to a hazy clearing that stretched for a acres; or so long as her eyes would see. A mist formed just along the far tree line which reminded her of the thick woods of Duskwood and her family estate. It was eerie but it carried a sense of ‘home’ with it.

Nearly an hour had passed since she stopped and she pitched the small tent and already begun piling some tinder for a small fire. Simple tasks that the Twins learned during their escape from Lordaeron, no thanks to Argrin and his tremendous fountain of survival knowledge.

It was already growing dark and Hale felt her fingers begin to chill with the nip of the encroaching night. 

                                      Click…

                                                                  …Click…

The two stones in hand kissed with ferocity until a small spark erupted from the earthly pieces and the Cress bent to breathe the flame into life. It started small and it took some care but it finally caught as she had been confident it would.

Voss promised her he would have a red flag on the Dreadful Howl upon the return of he and the pack. Three days is what he said to her that it was all it would take for he and the others to return from their travels and their own personal journeys. Of course, Hale promised in turn that she would be safe. If anything her knowledge with wilderness survival was bound to carry her and if not, brute strength, magic and venom could have easily done the trick. She wasn’t alone; ever.

A voice carried along the low wind that drew the woman’s attention over her shoulder. It wasn’t the Shadow that latched to her very soul; no. She knew the hissing and crawling within her head any day. No, this was something different. It was as if though the voice called her name. With careful determination Hale rose to her full height with the rocks in hand. She needn’t to call out into the mellow darkness to toss threats or even feel a sense of fear – she belonged in these woods, she was as much fear as the cold that caused anyone’s skin to worm and prickle.

Once more her name came and the mist moved, swirling near the grass when a small child no older than eight or nine walked towards her. The child was a sweet little thing with piercing green eyes, long raven hair that waved at the ends and a white gown. Instantly she knew this girl and she dropped the rocks to take a few steps forward.

A breath escaped her and Hale smiled knowingly, “Ottavia?” she dared. Of all the horrors and pain she had seen, she had never forgotten her first playmate, the first heart she had ever come to love before her own mother’s, the very first soul she ever tasted. But even here – this was odd. Was she dreaming? Had she fallen asleep inside the tent and forgot about lighting a fire, was this merely the woods playing tricks on her? The shopkeeper had warned her of the treacherous magics that laid within the woods and towns of Drustvar.

Then why did these lands feel more familiar than threatening?

Hale’s eyes glossed and she tried to keep the smile while reaching out for her sister, palm up, “Ottavia what are you doing here?” Her sister’s scar was missing and her eyes we no longer yellow as she last remembered them while fighting for Lordaeron, Ottavia harbored the youthful green pierce of the signature Cress eyes just as she did when she was younger.

The girl said nothing and simply held her hand out to Hale whom, out of pure reaction took the child’s hand. It was cold and small within her grasp and she felt so real to the Priest as the two walked across the open field, abandoning the fire pit all together. They walked through the thick of the tree line and Hale managed to climb over stumps and brambles that she hadn’t notice the vision of Ottavia was passing through with ease, it was in this moment that Hale released the child’s hand and there was a pointed gaze from her twin. Though Ottavia was the first born – now in this instance – she was the youngest of the two. The oddity and surreal feeling of it made Hale’s spine crawl and then, in that moment of doubt, she noticed the twisted tree before them. The large roots that bore deep into the earth of Azeroth were hollowed out and there, in the midst of the strange woods was a familiar, gnarled door.

A name came to mind and it passed her lips in a breathless whisper with brimmed tears teetering at her lash line out of shock. Out of fear.

Elisia…