NationStates Jolt Archive

The shattered remains of Draenor float eternally within the Twisting Nether, continuing along a course set in place when the planet exploded and was pulled though vast interdimensional rifts. Most people who visit the world never make it off the mainland of the world, which is where the portals lie and where all of the officially-known communities and surviving buildings are. And those who do find that, despite the majority of what had survived the explosion being not even big enough to qualify for island status, the world is made up of thousands upon thousands of fragments, some of which still have partial buildings or signs of past remnant orc activity on them. The forces of Eluneyasa would require many centuries to map all of the fragments and discern easy ways to reach them.

One fragment in particular, labelled simply as the number 116 on any map, would interest only to those who noticed the oddity of the strange glow around it. Upon entering the glow, they would notice the massive walls that encircle the top of the fragment, with towering, interconnecting buildings that mix a reddish hue with a blue-white stone towering over it. Evenly spaced along the wall were towers, each tower topped with a glowing ball of blue energy. Exending out from each tower was a red crystal, the end of which was orbitted by three smaller crystals. And, extending from the towers, was a glowing shield that covered the parts of the city not protected by the wall. The only extrusion beyond the wall that didn't consist of weaponry was a small series of docks, with a path leading from them to a door.

Or, at least, that's the view Carilla Talonhawk would get, it she wasn't so busy clinging for dear life to the back of her ride. The young night elf had been born within Ashenvale, where she spent much of her free time in mock battles with orcs fresh out of the Valley of Trials. She had even managed to become accomplished enough in her duties to enter training as a hippogryff rider, which was a major step on the path of progression towards being a regular Sentinel. But nothing within her experience had prepared her for riding a nether drake over a vast region of emptiness, with only the weird colors of the sky that surrounded in all directions for comfort. The Huntress who's back she was clinging to had long-ago stopped making jokes about intimate touches, choosing instead to just give a squeeze to Carilla's hands whenever the girl was hugging too tightly.

"116 Control, this is Huntress Cordalla Owleye. I am currently on approach with a new employee on board. Please give me a quick approach run," the Huntress finally said, using the headphone and mic set her helmet hid from view to contact the fragment.

"You have to ask for an approach?" Carilla asked.

"Yes. This field we're about to enter? It doesn't just hide the base; it also sucks the life out of anything within it that isn't properly protected," the Huntress answered. "Each section of the field is projected by a tower, with the shutdown controls inside. The last assault on this place was during the civil war, and even then they never made it to the walls. Take a look at the towers, young one."

Carilla did, glancing briefly before clinging back to the woman. "What are those crystals for?"

"They're draenei thunderstrike cannons. They are based on the main cannon of the Exodar. They're also powerful enough to put a hole through a frost wyrm in one shot," Cordalla answered.

"Exodar has a cannon?" came the natural question.

"Yes. It hasn't worked in centuries, but it's still there. The draenei talk all the time of repairing it, but they never do," the woman answered. "We are preparing to land now. I would suggest you watch your step. I do not wish to have to rescue you."

Carilla nodded, even as she felt the thump of the beast land and how its body moved beneath her. She blinked her eyes open and moved to slide carefully from its back, letting out a sigh of relief as her feet touched upon solid wood and not emptiness. It was as she turned around and noticed the docks simply let to a small wooden platform, where the heavy iron door sat, that she realized just how small this place is.

"Welcome to 116," the huntress said, patting Carilla on the back. "Next time, try not to hug me so tight."

Then came the anticlimatic walk to the door. Despite seeing no one around, Carilla could not help but feel watched; she had no doubt that anyone who caused trouble on the docks would not make it to the door alive. She walked quickly and quietly toward the door, just barely noticing it had been left open and closing it as she entered.

Unsurprisingly, the room beyond the door proved to match the outer wall in materials, with everything except the two iron doors on either side of it being of the same materials. The elf quietly passed through, ignoring the tingling on her skin as the various detect spells washed over her. Then, came the quick exit, only for the girl to stop and openly gawk at the sight that greeted her.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Cordalla asked, leaning against the wall and grinning. "Like I said, welcome to 116."

The buildings of fragment 116 had been built with a heavy influence of Blood Elf style. Many of the buildings involved entire floors floating above the other or over open air, with most of the buildings stretching hundreds of feet into the air. Many of the floating platforms were connected to by steps, each one floating in mid-air, while others were connected to by see-through ramps that gave a full view of the land below. The buildings also had crystals, of many different colors, floating near them, shining with energy. The doors and windows of the buildings themselves, at least those whos details she could make out, were typically covered with blue curtails, thin enough one could see through them.

"Enjoying the view?" came a strange woman's voice, causing Carilla to yelp in surprise and look over.

While Carilla herself was an even six feet in height, she felt somehow significantly smaller than the six and a half foot night elf that stood before her. Carilla's silver eyes were barely able to hold under the penetrating golden glare of the other, while her hands slipped down to play with the end of her lower-back length green hair, unable to help but notice the more professional ponytail the other had her purple hair in. And the final difference between the two was that Carilla was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, both dark blue, while the other was wearing a full set of ornate mithril armor.

"Does this child even know how to shoot a bow?" the woman sneered, looking over to Cordalla.

"She had hippogryff training," the Huntress replied.

"Just what we need. Another archer thinking she knows what she's doing just because she got special treatment," the woman replied, rolling her eyes before looking to Carilla. "Look, we don't smack each other with padded sticks and then have tea parties out here, little girl. We kill people. We fight deadly battles and risk our lives. If you don't think you can handle that, you can go back home and get back to playing with your flower garden."

When Carilla nodded, the woman just rolled her eyes again. "Well, bring your worthless ass and come on. We've got to meet the security commander. If we're lucky, she'll give you an assignment near a kitchen so you can go back to making cupcakes instead of real Sentinel work."

The pair headed into the building just before them, which Carilla had overlooked in her awe. The inside of the building followed the general Blood Elf sense of style, in that the floors were a deep blue and the building itself lacked lighting aside from candles and sunlight. A staircase, complete with gold railing, went up to a higher level, which was partially conceiled from view by a series of curtains across it, though light towards one end suggested it held the access to even higher levels. Sitting in front of the door was a countertop, behind which sat a male draenei typing on a hologram that was projected from a crystal on the countertop.

"Ah, yes. Carilla Talonhawk. Born in Ashenvale, archer with commendations, trained hippogryff rider, transferred here based on recommendations. You'll need these," the draenei said, sliding over a small satchel. "The pendant is enchanted to protect you from the life draining field outside the facility. It also is enchanted with the spells that mark your security clearances. Lose it and you will be reassigned to garbage duty. The satchel also includes an enchanted book that will record your progress on assignments and your comms headset. Lose either and we'll fine you half a year's pay."

The draenei quickly hurried on when he noticed the young night elf turn pale. "Your assignment is to squad seventeen, under the lead of Sentinel Jerinma Mousefoot. Your..."

"Wait, you're putting her in my squad?" the armored woman who led Carilla in exclaimed.

"Your squad has the opening, Jerinma. And this one comes from the security chief herself. If you want to argue with her, she just left on her nether drake. I believe Carilla's already met her," the draenei said. "And don't get upset until you read your set of orders. Now, quit interrupting me before I decide to have your squad do another tour of duty around the recyclers. Only this time, in pink dresses. Now back off, Sentinel."

Then, the draenei looked back to Carilla. "I would try to get onto your commander's good side. You and her share a room assignment. And, you both have a patrol now. I would suggest stopping by the armory to pick up weapons. And, watch your surroundings... they're working on the three Sin'dorei corvettes now. You do not wish to be caught up by their workforces."

"Come on, archer," Jerinma growled, turning to leave.