Echoes of Battle:  A World of Warcraft Fan-fic  - Part six, Spirits of Zul’drak.



Wind howled as the ethereal feline prowled through the snow.

As graceful as the snow itself, she padded along through the storm; paying no mind to the snow leopards she once called kin.
                          
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Sandfur woke with a start, gasping as she looked around wildly.

“Sigh.. Another nightmare… Ugh… When will they end?”

‘Sandfur…’ A calm voice spoke from the shadows.

“Huh? Oh, Hi Vixen…”

‘Sandfur.. you’ve been so quiet lately, whats wrong?’

“Sigh… Vixen… as much as I wish I could tell you… I just can’t… you wouldn’t
understand…”

‘Ah, it’s the nightmares again… I thought as much.’

Sandfur stood up “Well, come on Vixen.”

‘Huh? Where are we going?’

“To Zul’drak. I’ve gotten word that Har’Koa needs our help once again.”

‘Ah, Har’Koa.. My Mother…’

“Yep. Now lets get going.” Sandfur walked outside the small tent she had in The
Grizzly Hills, to find the large Proto-Drake, Warp.

“C’mon Warp, we’re off to Zul’drak.” Sandfur hopped onto the beast’s back.

Warp roared as she took off, and headed north, to Zul’drak.


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“We’re almost there” Sandfur said as Warp started a fast descent down to Zim’Torga, one of the troll settlements in Zul’drak, and where the snow leopard goddess Har’Koa was living, ever since Sandfur and her companion Duma had rescued her from her captors.

“Ah, Young huntress Sandfur, its good to see you again.” Har’Koa purred as Sandfur approached her.

“Good to see you too, Har’Koa… So, you said you wanted to see me, whats going on?”

“Well, you see… one of my kittens has gone missing, I’m worried that she’s gotten in trouble, seeing as the ice trolls are still quite a nuisance… And since you’ve helped me before, I ask of you to help me find my daughter.”

“Of course we’ll help you Har’Koa. Right Vixen?”

‘Yup, we’ll be glad to help!’ Vixen looked up at her mother, Har’Koa, for a second, before turning back to look at her mistress.

“Oh thank you. Thank you so much” Har’Koa smiled warmly at the young troll huntress in front of her.

“Well, C’mon Vixen, we’d better be off.” Sandfur turned to walk away, Vixen following her.
                        
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Sandfur gasped “Look! Over there!”

‘Huh? Wha?’  Vixen turned to see what Sandfur had pointed at, and gasped. There in the snow, was a beautiful snowy feline, covered in scars and gashes.

Sandfur and Vixen hurried over to the injured cat “Oh no… We’re too late…”

‘It may seem that way… but…’ Vixen murmured

“But what? She’s dead, we can’t do a thing for her now.”

‘Or maybe we can… Look.’

“Huh?” Sandfur then gasped. Staring at them through the snow was a gorgeous
ghostly cat, an exact replica of the deceased feline, except for the fact that she
was ethereal and lacked the gashes her lifeless body had.

“She’s… a ghost..”

‘It seems that her spirit still exists in this world.. although for most it would seem odd, for Spirit Beasts, its relatively normal’

“Really?” Sandfur looked at her companion.

‘Yes… Sigh… My mother won’t be too pleased about this… but… I guess we might as well try to talk to her…’ Vixen padded up to the spirit.

‘Excuse me, You’re one of Har’Koa’s kittens, right?’

‘!! A.. Spirit beast?! You.. Can see me?’ The spirit feline stuttered

‘Of course. Anyways, I’m Vixen, one of Har’koa’s kittens.’

‘That… makes us sisters?...’

‘Yes, it does. This is Sandfur, my mistress.’

‘I.. I’m Mystery…’

“Uuhh… Vixen, what do we do? With her dead… we can’t exactly go back to Har’Koa…”

Vixen turned to Sandfur ‘Well, she could join us in our travels, I’m sure Har’Koa would be fine with it.’

“I’d be fine with that. Well I guess we should return to Zim’Torga now.”

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“Mystery! You’re a spirit! What happened to you?!” Har’Koa gasped as soon as she saw her daughter.

‘I don’t remember what happened… I’m sorry…’

“No, its ok. It must be hard for you to remember how you died”

“Uh, Har’Koa? Me and Vixen were thinking that Mystery could join us. Would that be alright with you?”

“Of Course. I think that’s a great idea” Har’Koa purred.

Sandfur smiled “Well that’s settled! Mystery, you’re now with us!”

‘Thank you Huntress Sandfur. I’m not sure how useful I’ll be in battle, but I’ll try my best’

“Well, lets head back to Grizzly Hills. C’mon Warp, Mystery, Vixen, Lets go!”

Sandfur, Warp and the two spirit beast sisters headed back to The Grizzly Hills, as Har’Koa looked on.

                     *******

‘Sandfur!’ Vixen gasped as her mistress collapsed into the snow.

‘Whats wrong with her?’ Mystery asked

‘I… Don’t know…’ Vixen murmured as she stared in horror as she noticed that Sandfur had stopped breathing.