To Eclipse's utmost relief, the gryphon Darren decided to rent appeared much less threatening to him than Vol'Shalai's wyvern. It moved its big head around in sharp twitches, nervous like any other bird, but Eclipse felt some kind of weird connection to it, a familiarity that might come from his own pegasus heritage. The gigantic creature was big enough to carry both Darren and Nylene and even left space for Eclipse to sit between the two of them. Levinia turned into a light and sat on Eclipse's head as a weightless fourth passenger.
Tarik watched them securing themselves on the back of the lion-bird creature, his hand holding the strap of Twilight's saddlebags. Nylene put her arms around Eclipse and reached for a handle that was sewn to the saddle. Darren sat in the front and took hold of the reins. Eclipse felt uncomfortable, not because of the gryphon but because he could not fly by himself. If he fell off he would probably die. Okay, Nylene would most likely catch him. But still, his stomach tied into a knot at the thought.
"What about you?" Eclipse wanted to ask Tarik but then he noticed that the knight raised his hand. He pulled a small whistle from his pocket and blew into it. The shrill tone made Eclipse flinch. "Ouch," he hissed, holding his ringing ears. Nylene gently took his foreleg and placed it on the handle again.
Something shrieked in the distance. A shadow approached, a small dot out of nowhere, and swiftly descended to the flight master platform. It was a creature that looked eerily familiar to Eclipse even though he had never seen one in real life. If such a term was even appropriate. The undead gryphon looked a lot like the one Darren had sat on in his memories. It was almost as tall as their own gryphon but it had no feathers: It was a skeleton. The bony wings flapped up and down, using a magic unknown to Eclipse to keep the creature airborne.
"I sent her ahead," Tarik explained. He put the whistle back into his pocket and waited for his mount to land. The gryphon slammed its vicious claws into the platform, startling the live one. Darren pulled at the reins and stroked the gryphon's side to calm it down.
Tarik quickly walked over to his abomination and greeted it by patting its beak. "Hello, my girl," he said quietly. "Ready for our next ride?" As an answer, the gryphon laid down on her belly, making it easier for Tarik to swing his leg over her back and sit down in the saddle. He bound Twilight's bags to the saddle and tugged at them, making sure they would not fall off.
Eclipse noticed that Darren's shoulders slumped forward a little. Was he sad? Now he straightened his back and tilted his beckbone forward. Pressing his knees together, Darren bent forward and clicked his tongue.
With a big leap, the gryphon jumped off the platform. Eclipse let out a yelp and held on for his dear life. Nylene laughed; Darren cast a worried look backwards.
"I'm okay, I'm okay!" Eclipse called over the wind.
"Do you know the way to Stormwind?" Nylene shouted.
"No! But Kansan here does," Darren replied, calling over his shoulder.
"Oh dear," said Nylene, loudly enough for Eclipse to hear.
Eclipse clutched the handle with both hooves, holding his head as low as he could. The wind made his black mane and his robe flutter around wildly but the sudden chill did not bother him at all. Was it his pegasus blood or something else? When he realized that the take-off would be the wildest maneuver for a while he gradually relaxed and dared to look around. As they rose through a low-hanging cloud they quickly left Booty Bay behind.
The land ahead was extremely green and covered by gigantic deciduous trees. Hills and hills were cut in half by a long river that flowed from north to south. As they flew further north, with the sun in their backs, Eclipse discovered more things below: Massive stone gates similar to those on the Echo Isles, blocky ruins and an enormous whirlpool of water right in the middle of it. In the west, Eclipse saw the ocean they had crossed with the Maiden's Fancy, seamed by long, white beaches.
"Elune's light, what is that?" That was Nylene.
"The whirlpool? No idea," Darren replied.
"Looks like somepony pulled the plug in the middle of Stranglethorn," Eclipse observed. "Where does all the water go?"
Nobody could answer that. They kept on flying and after half an hour or so they found the wyvern, steadily gliding ahead of them.
"There! Vol'Shalai!" Eclipse stretched out a hoof. Nylene touched his foreleg again, encouraging him to hold on to the handle.
Darren nudged the gryphon to fly a little faster and soon they caught up with the wyvern. Eclipse looked back: Now they were in a formation of three in which Darren and Tarik took advantage of the slipstream of Vol'Shalai's beast. The creatures moved in perfect sync like the Wonderbolts at one of their famous performances.
"Levinia," Darren called. "Would you please ask Vol'Shalai to land?"
The blue light ascended and sped ahead to sit down behind Vol'Shalai. She turned into a pegasus and said something to Vol'Shalai who nodded and pulled at his wyvern's reins.
As they descended into the green, Levinia quickly returned to Eclipse's head.
"And ya be sure ya wanna do dis?" Vol'Shalai asked. He was still sitting on his mount, holding the reins down to keep it from moving around too much. It dug at the ground with a paw, eager to fly again.
"There's no other way," Darren said. "It's too dangerous for a member of the Horde. We humans can pass for Alliance and so can Nylene. The ponies are a different matter altogether."
Vol'Shalai nodded reluctantly. "I'm aware," he admitted. "But I made a promise, my friend."
"And you kept it," said Darren, climbing off the gryphon. Eclipse jumped after him, flapping his wings to slow the fall.
"Thank you for coming with us this far." Darren stretched out a hand and Vol'Shalai took it, shaking it firmly.
Eclipse jumped up to hug the troll. Vol'Shalai caught him with two hands and held him to his chest for a moment. Eclipse felt heat creeping into his cheeks and nose and he hiccupped.
"I'll miss ya too, likkle pony," Vol'Shalai said hoarsely. "Look after - Darren for me,... right?" he added in Common.
Eclipse nodded, wiping his eye with the back of his hoof. "Bye," he said. Would they ever see each other again? Once Eclipse returned home - probably never. "Th-thank you for teaching me the House game," he stammered. He wanted to say more, to tell him how grateful he was for him healing Darren, for being there for Eclipse, for his tasty cooking and his jokes and his kindness but the words got stuck in his throat. He hoped that Vol'Shalai would still know somehow.
"You're welcome. Spirits be wit ya, everybody."
"Farewell," said Nylene, bowing her head. "Walk in the light of the stars."
Tarik, who had said nothing and also remained in the saddle, respectfully nodded at the troll.
Vol'Shalai gave them a last friendly wave and took off. The wyvern flapped its enormous wings and carried him away. He was gone way too quickly and all that was left was a groove in the sand where his mount had landed. Eclipse felt another wave of sadness welling up.
Darren nudged Eclipse. The colt spun around and hugged him, looking for consolation. Holding Eclipse tightly, Darren said nothing. Eventually, the tears subsided. Darren let go of him and they both climbed onto the back of their mount.
Eclipse had not expected he would have to say Goodbye to Vol'Shalai so soon. He also never had to say Goodbye for good before. It was terrible, he decided. Was it like that for everyone who travelled far away from home? If so, he did not want to go on any adventures. He closed his eyes, held on to the handle of the saddle, and sighed. He felt tired and also a bit angry. He could have spent more time with his friend. Or could he? If he had, he probably still would have thought it had not been enough. Vol'Shalai was like the nice uncle he didn't have, the one that taught you games and how to spit cherry pits very far, just fun stuff. Eclipse also liked how confident the troll was even though nobody except Darren had understood his language. Vol'Shalai knew how not to be a stranger. Eclipse knew that was not easy to pull off when you stand out.
After passing over a long mountain ridge, they landed in a dark, gloomy forest. It was cool, much colder than Stranglethorn Valley. Everyone climbed off their gryphons. Darren let go of the reins and the gryphon quickly disappeared between the gnarled trees.
Eclipse stared at Darren. "Isn't he going to run away?"
"No, just hunting," Darren said calmly. "He'll return when he's satisfied."
Levinia flew down from Eclipse's head and turned into a pegasus. "We should get a fire going. I can help collect some wood if you want."
Darren nodded. "I'll join you."
"I don't feel cold," Eclipse said slowly. He tapped at the ground, digging at it with a hoof. "The ground is pretty chilly and the wind, too, but... I dunno, I just don't mind. Maybe it's because I'm a shadow pony. Like Sombra. I basically come from the snow and ice." He grinned. "Huh. Cool."
"I don't need a fire, either," said Nylene. "With the demon fire inside my veins I never get cold."
"I see," said Darren. "Suppose we can skip that, then. Since I'm also impervious to freezing temperatures. Tarik?" he asked more out of politeness.
"I'm dead," Tarik said flatly.
There was an awkward moment as they all realized the weirdness of the situation, looking at each other. Fire was one of the first things on the basic survival priority list and they could just dismiss that point.
"Well." Darren sat down on the next best rock. "Time for dinner, then," he declared.
The sun had already set, an event they more or less missed due to the high mountains around and the dense foliage above them. Darkness enveloped them like a cloak. Mist rose from the ground, creating eerie shadows. A wolf howled in the distance and was quickly silenced by something else. Eclipse shuffled a little closer to Darren, clutching his piece of bread like a stuffed toy. Levinia's ghostly appearance was the only source of light, not the warm light of a hearth but a dead, somehow distant glow.
Nylene gave Eclipse an encouraging smile.
"Don't you worry, An'dorei," she said. "With us around, nothing can touch you."
"It's so creepy here," Eclipse muttered defiantly. "We should have made a fire. Vol'Shalai would have needed a fire."
A crow landed next to him, cawing loudly. Eclipse gave off a startled yelp. The fur on his back bristled.
"A raven," Darren said casually. "Want to feed it?"
Eclipse shook his head, frowning fearfully. He tightly folded his wings.
"I'll share," said Darren. He crumbled a part of his own slice of bread and scattered the crumbs on the earth in front of him.
"What's that word you just used?" Eclipse asked to distract himself.
"An'dorei? That's you," Nylene said. "A child of the snow. Do you like it?"
Eclipse nodded. "Yeah, it's nice."
The raven stalked closer on its two thin legs, folding its wings. It was a big animal, its wingspan almost the same as Eclipse's, with a sharp bright beak and intelligent eyes. Picking at the breadcrumbs, its head twitched around, trying to keep an eye on Eclipse and Darren who were closest to its newest food source.
"He looks kinda smart," Eclipse remarked as he watched the raven. Even though the creature scared him a little he could not help his curiousity.
"Ravens are smart animals," Nylene said. "Thay can be loyal and patient and fun. They know when they are being spied upon; they are sometimes mischievous and downright wicked. Some even hold grudges when you upset them." She grinned, showing her demonic fangs.
"Come on, don't scare him," Levinia scolded her.
Nylene's face fell. "I did not mean to."
The raven looked up, waiting for more breadcrumbs to drop. Darren quickly obliged and left the remainder of his meal to the bird. The raven devoured all of it, then it fluttered up and away. It landed on a dark, mossy branch, at a safe distance to the group, and cawed ominously.
"When did you upset a raven?" Darren asked curiously.
Nylene's grin returned. "I did not. But my dear baby sister used to keep trying to catch ravens. She loved to stroke their black feathers and she collected all the feathers the birds dropped in our grove. But she was not exactly a druid. There was that one time she'd built a trap using a box and string and, I believe, skethyl berries. The raven wasn't a fool, though. It quickly realized the trap was a trap and threw the berries back into her face. I laughed so hard..." Nylene smiled fondly. "She's long gone to the Shadowlands but I'll always remember her face." She laid her head back, pressing her lips together.
Levinia trotted over to her and gave her a hug.
"I'm fine, that was a lifetime ago," Nylene assured her.
Levinia did not let go until Nylene gently pushed her away without complaint.
"Is Vol'Shalai going to fly all the way to Kalimdor?" Eclipse asked. "Cause that's a long way. What if the wyvern needs to eat?"
"There is a zeppelin tower not too far from Booty Bay. He'll fly to Orgrimmar from there." Darren put a blanket on the ground and sat down on it, leaning against the fallen tree. Eclipse joined him, scooting over close to Darren's side.
"Cause the ship is gonna stay in port for a while?"
"That and he wants to do some business in the city. He can't return home for a year, remember?"
"Oh, right..." Eclipse muttered. He had completely forgotten about that.
Levinia trotted over to them and sat down next to the blanket.
"How about we have another look at Twilight's notes?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Darren smirked and shook his head. "Tomorrow. It's too dark and humid. The parchment wouldn't appreciate that."
"You mean, Twilight wouldn't." Levinia rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine... But I want to do something. It's not bedtime yet."
Eclipse's ears folded down and he sighed sadly. Bedtime... Levinia felt a pang of guilt. He probably thought of his own bed at home and of his family. Darren put an arm around the colt's shoulder but Eclipse shrugged it off and turned away.
Levinia jumped up and stretched her legs and wings. "Well, I'm not going to sit here doing nothing. See you guys later." She flapped her wings and sped up into the sky, rushing past the low-hanging branches. The raven gave off a surprised squawk and fluttered to another tree.
As she rose up into the sky, leaving the gloomy forest behind her, Levinia looked around. Maybe she could spot the moon. There it was, in the east, hanging low above the mountains. And there was the other, smaller one. It had already climbed further up in the sky, joined by the first stars. The mist between the trees was like a blanket. It stretched as far as the eye could see. Up north, Levinia saw a grove with a gigantic tree, its full crown so large that she wondered how ancient it was. A thousand years or even more? Behind it, a river cut through the forest. And far away in the distance there was the shadow of a high mountain. But she suspected that they would not fly that far. Darren had bought food for a week or so and she was sure he was good at calculating these kinds of things. She kept flying around, following a street in the woods, but as she came closer to the grey mountains in the east she decided that she better returned to the camp.
Vol'Shalai is flying on his wyvern, looking left and right. He has not noticed Eclipse who is sitting right behind him.
Eclipse cautiously touches his back. Vol'Shalai twitches and pulls hard at the reins.
The wyvern roars in confusion and makes a nosedive. Eclipse is thrown off the saddle. He falls and falls, through the clouds that do not support his weight, through branches that slice his face open. With a crack, he hits the dirty ground.
Everything hurts. Eclipse tries to stand up. On shaking legs, he drags himself to the nearest tree. He cannot walk anymore. Stumbling like a drunk, he hits the tree with a hoof.
The bark splits open, revealing a hidden room. Eclipse walks inside and finds himself in a familiar place. There's his bed, the window, Peridot's bed and the desk. But everything looks abandoned and sterile. Peridot is lying in her bed. As she sees him, she sits up.
"Who are you?" she asks, frowning at him.
"What? It's me, Eclipse!" How can she not know him? "Your brother," Eclipse adds, desperation worming its way up through his stomach.
"My brother's not a cloud," Peridot says, hiding her head under her blanket. Her muffled voice sounds through the feathers, "You're creepy."
Eclipse is a black cloud of smoke. He rushes past Peridot and escapes through the door. Down, down, down the stairway - the living room looks wrong. Hammocks are hanging from the ceiling. Eclipse the shadow cloud lands on the floor and touches a hammock. The ropes that hold the contraption to the ceiling rip apart and the net falls to the carpet. It crumbles and decays, advancing like a swarm of ants crawling across the ground of a forest. The decay reaches the carpet which instantly crumbles, too.
Terrified, Eclipse turns back into a pony, staggering backwards. The floor is blackening, the upper layers of the wooden planks peeling off like ashes in a campfire. He quickly withdraws his hooves as the room is falling apart.
Eclipse jumps, giving off a scared shout, and flaps his little wings. He can't escape the decay. He tries to run, pushing at the ground with his hind legs.
The cawing of a raven roused Eclipse from his sleep. He opened his eyes, looking around his unfamiliar surroundings. He was still on the clearing, lying next to Darren who muttered and grunted in his sleep. It seemed he did not have the nicest dreams, either. Nylene lay on her side, her leathery wings half spread. Her chest rose and fell calmly. Levinia was not back yet. Eclipse had not expected that he would be able to see so well in the dark. Since Levinia's spirit did not illuminate the clearing the mist and black trees seemed closer than they actually were.
Eclipse looked at the fallen tree behind Darren. The raven was back. It was probably the same one as before and it had interrupted his sleep.
"Thanks, raven," Eclipse muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Stupid nightmare."
The bird turned its head to focus on Eclipse with one eye.
"I was a shadow cloud again, you know," Eclipse said, quietly so he would not wake up his friends. "And my sister didn't recognize me. Which is stupid, she wouldn't do that. I mean, she knows I've got Void powers, duh." He sat on his haunches, leaning against Darren. "And Vol'Shalai would never drop me. Why do I dream dumb shit like that..." He cast a look at the sleeping Darren. "Yeah, yeah, don't curse, I know. Bet you used to curse a lot when you were undead." He lay down again, resting his head on his forelegs. "I'm probably just homesick. Do ravens get homesick?"
The raven tilted its head, nervously unfolding its wings and shifting its weight from one spindly leg to another.
"Guess not," Eclipse said. "You're lucky, then. I wish we could go home already. I hate to wait so long." He sniffled and closed his eyes, pulling the blanket over his head.
When dawn broke, almost everyone was in a lousy mood. Levinia was even more bored than in the evening; Tarik was broody as always and Darren's eyes were bloodshot with dark rings underneath as if he had barely rested at all.
Only Nylene sat up, stretching all of her limbs, and happily wished them a good morning.
After a quick breakfast, Darren went into the forest to relieve himself. Eclipse went in the opposite direction, promising he would only hide behind the next best old tree. He did not want to go too far anyway. When he returned, Darren was already back and had rolled up the blankets. He stood next to Kansan the gryphon and inspected his beak and claws. Nodding, he went on to check the saddle for flaws.
Levinia had taken a few pieces of parchment from Twilight's saddlebags and sat on the ground. She flipped through the notes, her face scrunched up in concentration.
"Hey," Eclipse said.
Darren looked up. "Ready to go?"
Eclipse nodded. "Guess so. I can't wait to get out of this creepy forest."
"I thinks it's boring," said Levinia, pursing her lips, without taking her eyes off the notes.
"Well, you don't have to fear for your life out here," Eclipse snapped, regretting his words the moment he said them.
"Neither do you," said Levinia quietly. "I wish you'd realize that."
"Sorry. Dunno why I said that," Eclipse mumbled, rubbing the back of his hoof.
"We better take off," said Darren, raising his voice.
Eclipse cantered over to Kansan and climbed onto the saddle. Levinia stuffed Twilight's notes back into the saddlebags and passed them over to Tarik.
"I really need to wash my clothes," said Nylene, joining Eclipse on the gryphon's back. She tugged at the bandage that covered her left arm, right above the bracers. "Ew," she scoffed with contempt, throwing her dark hair back. "Reeks like one of those filthy demons." That got her a little grin from Eclipse.
"We'll get to a river soon," Levinia promised her.
"Good thinking," Darren praised her. "Your scouting is going to pay off. I'll do my best to get us there before sunset. Once we're through Duskwood we can take things more slowly."
Darren managed to keep his promise. The sun had already passed its highest point when he landed Kansan in close proximity to the river Levinia had discovered the day before. The trees on the opposite riverbank looked bright and healthy, very much unlike the blackened, gloomy forest of Duskwood. Darren helped Eclipse off the mount. While Nylene and Tarik went into the forest to collect some firewood, Darren and Levinia unloaded their things.
"Ow..." Eclipse rubbed his neck and stretched his wings. "Sitting for hours hurts." He squinted his eyes and turned his head. A resounding crack in his spine startled him. "Did I break something?" he squeaked.
Darren chuckled. "Don't worry, you'd know if that were the case. Just stretch slowly if you're not sure." He opened his backpack. His hand disappeared inside it and reappeared with a pouch. "How about some stew?" he asked.
"Okay," Eclipse trotted over. "Do you need any help?"
Darren shook his head.
Levinia assumed her pegasus shape and floated over to Eclipse. "How about we go for a run?" she suggested with a taunting grin.
That sounded like a great idea. Eclipse turned, ready to dash along the river, but Darren called, "Wait!"
"What?" Eclipse froze, his hoof in midair.
"If you leave your robe I can wash it," Darren said.
Eclipse set his hoof down. "Right."
While Levinia helped Eclipse out of his clothes, the fluttering of wings announced the return of the raven.
"You again." Darren eyed the bird as it landed on his shoulder. It cawed, then it stretched its head to reach for the pouch in his hand. Darren shrugged the raven off. It flew up and circled him, then it decided to sit on the undead gryphon's saddle. "Tenacious bird," Darren muttered.
"He likes our food," Levinia speculated. She turned to Eclipse. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah!" Eclipse said, jumping giddily on the spot.
"Then let's race!"
Running alongside the river was like a liberation. Eclipse gallopped as fast as he could with Levinia right beside him. The air rushed past him, caressing his coat; his mane and tail flapped around widly; he skipped over sticks and stones, using his wings for extra speed. The sun shone on his grey fur, warming it up. His hooves thundered against the soft earth. Laughter bubbled up inside him, bursting out like birds from a cage.
Darren sat at the campfire, stirring the stew in his small cooking pot. Eclipse's boyish laughter could be heard from the distance, bringing a faint smile to his face.
Tarik sat next to him, sharpening his runesword. "I'll have a walk, too," the death knight said.
Darren nodded, still listening to the cheering ponies with half an ear. "Good luck," he said, suspecting that Tarik was going to look for an animal to kill.
Nylene stood in the river, working on her hair with a comb. She dipped her head into the water. There, now most of the knots could get undone much more easily. Her hair floated around her head like a veil. Some fish swam by, disturbed by the elvish intruder. Nylene raised her head and rubbed the soap she had brought along onto her arms and chest and neck. All that dirt and blood and sweat from several weeks had probably coloured her burned, almost scaly skin in an even darker tone than it already was. The water took the dirt like a forgiving mother and carried it away. As she washed herself, the tattoos on her body felt as if they glowed brighter. There, now she smelled much better already. Now for her face and ears and, very, very carefully, her eyes.
She had forgotten the feeling of her own hands on her skin. It was as if she got reacquainted with herself, feeling a little more at home in her own body again. Running her soapy hands through her hair, she submerged herself completely, holding her breath. The water was cool and fresh. Then, she went on to her legs, rubbing the soap in. Her feet felt sore. Her toes were almost fused together now, not long until she would have demonic hooves instead. At first, she had been terrified by the thought of further disfiguration but meeting Eclipse had changed her mind. Maybe it would not be so bad to have hooves. She would not need shoes anymore. And at least her hands would remain hands if you did not mind the talon-like fingernails. Nylene smiled and let herself float around in the shallow part of the river. The water flowed over her leathery wings, cleaning them as well.
She stayed in the river for half an hour, then she decided that it was enough. Nylene left the water and set the soap down on a broad stone to let it dry. She checked the wet bandages that she had hung over the branches of a bush. They were still damp. But she had expected that. Nylene covered herself with a linen sheet, tying it into a knot over her heart. She sat down to dry herself up alongside her clothes, letting the summer sun warm up her face and trying to imagine the colour of the trees as the sun's rays shone through them.