Armed with sword of broken light

Nestled in a forest of perpetual springtime, the city of the newly christened Blood Elves, Silvermoon City, slowly regains its glory. The seemingly irreparably tainted Dead Scar, the lingering reminder of the Scourge's destructive march through Eversong Woods, cuts the city in half. Safe inside the reclaimed half of the city, the Sin'dorei acclimate to their new life in a changed world.
As a brave new Initiate of the Blood Knights, paladins wielding the Light through a captured Naaru, you are tasked with cleansing the undead menace that has ravaged your homeland.

As you make your way through the city, you see the painstaking efforts made to restore the city to its former glory. It looks like it once did, before the war. Except there was something missing - something hollow - about the city. Even with the new source of magic for the sin'dorei - gigantic green flaming crystals hung about the city to energize and feed its people - it wasn't the same as bathing in the energies of the Sunwell.
When you arrive in the training area, you just passed by the Farstriders proudly displaying their expertise with bow and arrow. A couple of them dart their eye to you, stand taller and somehow even more proud as they take their next shot. Next passing by fellow Blood Knights in combat training outside, you enter into the enclave of your order, the Hall of Blood. Decorated in a darker than usual scheme for blood elves, the violet and crimson banners and gold statuary lead you on your search for your superior, Lady Liadrin You soon find her in the lower level in a large room. Encircled and ensnared by Magisters, a naaru - the source of your holy powers - a large creature of physical shards of light floats before you. Lady Liadrin stands off to the side, fierce determination on her face - as is usual. Once a high priestess of the Light, she now commands the Light's powers. Noticing your arrival, she marches up to you, anger bubbling up in her voice but never yelling, "Well met. Your initiation training is nearly complete. Go to the Dead Scar west of the Shepard's Gate. A squad of Farstriders will be waiting. Show them the power of the Light when it is commanded instead of served. Cleanse the filth that lingers there." You know she is not angry at you but instead somehow at the bound creature or at least connected to it. She salutes you and returns to her study of the naaru.

A female addresses you, clearly the leader and not bowing to you, "It's been a long day of cutting down the mindless Scourge that endlessly parade down the Dead Scar. I hope you're here to lend a hand and not to waste my time with idle chatter." Before the last of her words are out of her mouth, the unmistakable growling of approaching Scourge draws your attention.
"Jaela!" one of her subordinates calls.
"Attack! Don't let them reach the gates!"
The rangers let loose a cloud of arrows into the approaching undead.

To your surprise, the rangers prove you wrong as several of the ghouls advancing on you drop to the ground, dead once more. You clash with the front ghoul, blasting its head apart with your warhammer. Its decayed body falls as two more swing their claws at you, one on either side of you.

As you sidestep the one ghoul, you leave just enough space for the rangers to take a shot, felling the foul creature and leaving you 1-on-1 with this last ghoul. The ghoul leans out of the way of your warhammer's deadly path before it lunges its head toward you, open maw reeking of rot.
It's jagged teeth snap empty air at the side of your head thanks to the superiority of elven reflexes.

Unfortunately, your seeing goes wide as you over correct, making you lose your balance. You don't fall, but merely stumble right past the ghoul. It spins around trting to claw you.
It's jagged claws do not penetrate your armor, but you feel them drag across your back.

Your renewed focus pays off as your warhammer connects solidly with the ghoul's skull, smashing it to useless goo.
"Hail, warrior!" you hear from behind you. It's the leader of the rangers. "Should ever you find yourself nearby again, I , Jaela, would welcome the added strength." Though she speaks curtly, you sense this is sincere thanks from one such as her.

Jaela seems caught off guard.

Jaela angrily pulls back her hand, looking disgusted and giving you a look over. "You assume much, paladin." She speaks that last word with venom before she turns, marching away and barking orders to her subordinates. You know that there is no love lost between the Farstriders (rangers) and the Blood Knights (paladins).
Do you return to Lady Liadrin or...?

Jaela stops with her back turned to you. She takes a deep breath before turning to you, taking a single step toward you. "I am indeed grateful for your assistance, paladin. This... animosity between our groups is but a bloated rivalry worthy only of children. Many Farstriders would hesitate - even flat out refuse - to join forces with a Blood Knight. Make no mistake, we are comrades in arms against our enemies." She pauses long enough for you to almost get another word out. "Just don't ever touch me again."

"Perhaps you should seek out Farstrider Retreat to the southeast. The Amani trolls are still a thorn in our side over there. I don't have to tell you how important it is to keep an eye on all our borders." She isn't exactly smiling, but she's no longer irate. It feels like this is the best you'll get from her - a mutual respect. If you have nothing else to say, she will nod and return to her troops.

As you re-enter the city, tell me the route you take. What do you see? Do you make a beeline to Lady Liadrin? Do you make any stops?

As you make a beeline for the Hall of Blood, you find Lady Liadrin standing in wait, holding a curious crystal phial. "Well met, Dawnblade. Never forget, the Scourge are our most hated enemy. It is for them we are christened sin'dorei." She pauses briefly. "Report to the inn just south of here. There is a special meditation room kept ready for our order. But first..." Lady Liadrin reaches out with her hand glowing with golden light. It flashes toward you and for a brief fraction of a second you burn on the inside. The sensation is then replaced by a comforting warmth that restores your vitality and mends your wounds.

Lady Liadrin shakes her head before dismissing you. "Make us proud."
You leave and make your way to the inn. Recognizing you, the innkeeper directs you to a room in the upper floor. Inside, you find no bed, but instead some cushions arranged in a semicircle around an altar of candles and a phoenix, the symbol of your people.

After you get settled, several long minutes go by before you hear anything. The soft clink of armor tells you there is someone at the door behind you. Only the briefest hesitation follows before you hear "Defend yourself!"

Your elven reflexes give you the advantage. Just out of the intruder's reach, you stand ready, taking in the sight of him. A fellow blood elf male with a spear in mid setting toward you, hatred in his eyes.
The tip of the spear comes within inches of you as you twist out of its path.

The attacker doesn't respond - only takes another wild swing at you.
It doesn't come close to you, but you see your opportunity to strike.

Your timing is spot on as your hammer sails through the air, landing perfectly on the warrior's shoulder. You hear the unmistakable sound of bones breaking. The warrior stumbles, falling back a step. He stands ready to strike. The fire in his eyes has not diminished in the slightest.

He seems to shake his head ever so slightly as the fire in his eyes continues to burn and his polearm takes a quick jerk up before slamming down.
Your elven reflexes once again benefit you. You roll out of harm's way.

Your hammer swing met with the same success as your opponent. With a backswing of the bottom of his polearm, your weapons clash and bounce apart. Following the bounce, the warrior continues the swing of his weapon, aiming at your middle. The polearm hits its mark, barely cutting through to draw blood

The force with which your swing lands on the warrior's arm spins him around. He falls to the ground, weapon skittering away. He barely moves, you're not sure if he's still breathing.

He groans and with great effort lifts his head to sneer at you before falling unconscious.

You eventually find some rope. As you bind the elf, you realize he has stopped breathing. Taking him to the Hall of Blood proves to be a bit of a labor. Lady Liadrin doesn't seem surprised at all to see you or your "burden". She looks expectantly to you at first, but quickly addresses you. "You have overcome your opponent. That is no small feat but also not unexpected. This has been orchestrated for you to teach you about the power of the Light. As a former priestess of the Light, I have experience with that power." She gestures to the captured naaru. "Now, we command that power." She raises a small crystal phial before you. "Tap that power. Fill this vessel with the naaru's energy."

You begin to pray in what sounds like a passive tone, requesting and seeking assistance from the Light. Lady Liadrin cuts you off tersely. "Do not ask. Command! That creature embodies the very powers that abandoned us in our hour of need against the Scourge." Rage and pain mix in her eyes as she turns to fully face the naaru, arm outstretched, palm facing the creature, and her fingers like claws. Both her hand and the naaru begin to glow with a soft aura of gold flecked with crimson. The soft music that you have heard in this building which you had previously thought to be an enchantment changes suddenly. It becomes a discordant, pained cry. It comes from the naaru. It lasts but a moment and all goes quiet as the Blood Knight matriarch stops. "As sin'dorei, it is our birthright to command power. Do not forget."

The energy you tap from the creature is warm and comforting. You siphon it into the phial Lady Liadrin gave you. It is golden and pure and shimmering.

*~{Level up}~*

The Blood Knight matriarch instructs you, "This phial is for you to study. Intimately familiarize yourself with this power. Draw upon it while out defending our land and people." She turns toward your bound foe. "Now, use your new found power to restore vitality to your opponent."

As you prepare to wield the light for the first time, Lady Liadrin has the warrior unbound.

As you focus on the holy energies, the now unbound warrior is briefly covered in a soft, golden aura. His breathing returns to normal and he opens his eyes, addressing Lady Liadrin. "Mistress..."
"You have done well. Go now, and return to me tomorrow." The warrior leaves, ignoring you.

"That was no one to us, but someone with much to prove to himself." She turns both you and the conversation. "Now, you have a path before you. Our order is still new and must be seen to be a beacon of hope and strength that our people need. The Magisters and Farstriders have our borders well protected. But it is a stalemate. The Scourge continuously befoul our lands. The Dead Scar will never recover if they do not leave. I charge you, Athaniar, with purging Arthas's legacy from Quel'Thalas."

Lady Liadrin raises an eyebrow at you, "I have given you your task. It is up to you to decide the manner in which you succeed." She considers something for a moment. "However, I will tell you that initial reports confirm the regeneration and recreation of Scourge forces originating at the southern border of our lands, in which lies a fortress, Deatholme. Perhaps there you will learn why the Scourge numbers do not thin despite our efforts."

As you enter the the massive open air stables, you find hawkstriders of many different colors and each one has a name on a placard above its stall. Along with a name is an insignia. There are three with the Blood Knight insignia available right now: Clipper, a black hawkstrider with red accent feathers; Stormy, whose feathers range from crimson to maroon; and Dee, a plump hawkstrider of pale yellow and white. They are all well taken care of - as is evident by the several staff members of children to young adults caring for and cleaning the animals and stalls. You know you are allowed to use the Blood Knight hawkstriders for official business, so once you've made your choice, you can head out of the city down through Eversong Woods.

You ride through Eversong Woodsatop your hawkstrider, Stormy. You pass a few fellow Sin'dorei along the way, most of them nodding to you or otherwise acknowledging your presence. Some of them are just too wrapped up in what they're doing to give you any attention. Sharply, the land changes. The trees are now dark, barren, or twisted. The very air is tainted with a wrongness acute to every one of your senses. This is the Ghostlands, a nickname given to the southern reaches of your people's lands. It is the area most corrupted by Arthas and his Scourge during his invasion of your homeland. It is the area Lady Liadrin sent you to as it is the area most resistant to cleansing. The Dead Scar continues its path here farther to the south. The road you have traveled on brings you to an outpost known as Tranquillen. Here, Blood Elves work toward similar goals to you. Some may have knowledge you need.

As you dismount your Hawkstrider, you see the tainted forest surrounding this former High Elven settlement. The dilapidated structures still serve some purpose though as evident by the Blood Elves and Forsaken stationed here. They appear to be working together with various functions from militant to magical study.
"The highest ranking person" as it would appear, seems to be a Blood Elf, red haired and wearing robes of varying shades of black, grey, and white on top and a red shawl around his neck to match the bottom half of his robes. He stops a few feet away from you, looking you over before speaking. "Greetings, Blood Knight. To what do we owe this honor?"

The Blood Elf twitches an eyebrow and - in true Sin'dorei fashion - haughtily replies, "Remember, this so-called atrocity is our homeland. We shall see it cleansed." He takes a breath and straightens his pose. "I am Magister Darenis. Sin'dorei and Forsaken share a common goal in the Ghostlands. Together we shall defeat the Scourge and who knows... perhaps the Forsaken will be valuable allies in our quest to reach Outland. For it is promised by our Prince that our salvation lies with him in that shattered world." He pauses a beat. "But first things first... We will rid our lands of the accursed Scourge. We have burned and torn asunder countless numbers of the monstrosities, but still their number do not appear to thin. We must cut them off at the source. They are being created, I am certain of it. The Cult of the Damned is suspected. Thus, we must exercise caution. There is an arcane sanctum, the Sanctum of the Moon, to the west. It is overrun with mana wyrms and elementals from which I ask you to recover crystallized mana essence." He looks to you expectantly.

Magister Darenis nods, "Walking is possible, but there is a sense of urgency about our cause. We shall provide you with a fresh mount and care for yours. You will want to return your mount to return - should you be victorious in your efforts in these lands."
He leads you to a stable beside the ruined inn. It's been built recently guessing by the condition. He stops in front of a grey hawkstrider with flecks of orange randomly across its body. "Cinder will serve you nicely. I look forward to your return." He bows and returns to his business.

Mounting Cinder, you two ride off to the Sanctum to the Moon. Crossing the DeadScar, you find the sanctum easily, thanks to the palpable lingering arcane energy from this former nexus of power. That, and the mana wyrms and elementals practically glowing to your Blood Elf senses. The creatures mill about the sanctum, feeding off whatever scraps of power can be found, but with some of the creatures interacting, sharing and stealing power from each other. They do not seem to have noticed you asyou are a few dozen feet away.

As you make your way down the path, obviously aggressive in intent, an elemental notices you, advancing.

Sure thing. Here's the google drive PDF

You slam into the mana elemental,dispersing its form into vapor, leaving a pair of broken bracers to fall to the ground. Your yell has alerted a pair of mana wyrms to you.

The mana wyrms approach you but they don't appear to be aggressive. They seem to "sniff" at you.

The two mana wyrms hang around you. No other creatures have noticed you as of yet it seems.

Walking inside, you see the Arcane Sanctum hasn't seen any use since Arthas led the Scourge through here 5 years ago. Like most Blood Elven architecture, it has an open floor plan and is circular. A staircase winds its way around the edge of the large room. The little furniture that was once here is now just splinters. As soon as you enter, 2 mana elementals notice you and attack. They rush you, white points of light on a solid blue vaguely humanoid form swing arms at you, glancing off your armor.

Your hammer strikes square into the elemental on your left. It reels but is still up. The two elementals swing at you again. The elemental on your right gets through your defenses.

The hit you took spun you more than you realized as your hammer swings through the air, between the elementals returning the blow. One gets its arm out before the hammers path, while the other slams into your shield.

Your hammer smashes into and through the elemental with just a bit of resistance as you destroy the creature. It's companion swings at you, but misses.

And you do finish it! The second elemental explodes into a cloud of blue vapor by your hammer.

The inside is mostly bare, but clearly once held the proper personnel and equipment to focus and harness the magical energy of the area. Up the curving, crumbling stairs, you see a larger mana elemental - commonly called a mana surge - being fed on my several mana wyrms. The mana surge swings its arms to fend off the obviously hungry beasts, but they appear to be fully latched on.

The mana wyrms disperse like a cloud of gnats, most no longer attached to the mana surge, but not retreating. The mana surge's eyes flare in what appears to be rage as it continues swinging, dispersing more of the mana wyrms to where only a few remain attached.

The mana wyrms dart away to the lower level; however, the mana surge does not seem the least bit wary of you. It stands in the middle of the balcony overlooking the dilapidated lab below. From what you know of these creatures, they get this big by absorbing mana. It looks at you, obviously drained by the mana wyrms, and swipes a clawed limb at you, slicing through the air in front of your face.

The creature does not seem to comprehend your words as it swings again. It slashes across your arm.

You see a crystalline object at the mana surge's center. The creature appears more solid, more whole now. It hesitates, arms hanging in mid air before slowly lowering them. It calms.

The mana surge looks down at your hand, unsure. It's solid white eyes look at you as it's shimmering blue body shifts as elementals do. After a long, somewhat awkward moment, it reaches within itself, pulling out a palm sized blue translucent crystal, offering it to you.

The mana surge makes a sounds as if to acknowledge your words.

The mana surge wanders off to go about its business. There's no sign of the mana wyrms.

The arcane sanctum is not large by any means. Inside, you see that any equipment that might once have been used here was taken when the place was abandoned - most assuredly thanks to the Scourge's advance through Quel'Thelas. Outside, the land appears much as it does throughout the Ghostlands: dark and tainted.

You return to Tranquillen, finding Magister Darenis intently studying a palm sized green crystal. It appears to be just like the large ones suspended high above Silvermoon City's streets. He notices you, setting his things down and standing to greet you warmly. "You return. Good. I assume you acquired the crystalized mana essence?"

The Magister takes the item, nodding appreciatively. "Yes, this will do nicely. Now, our plans can progress." He sets the crystal atop a small tray on his table and turns back to you. "Magister Idonis will require your services at the newly reconstructed Sanctum of the Sun to the south. Take whatever mount you wish, if your own is not well enough rested."

You speed across the landscape for several minutes. On the last curve of the road, you see a sanctum much like the one you recently visited. This one looks new though. As you approach, you see that there are several Blood Elves in and around the structure. Outer guards notice you and nod before returning to their vigil. Inside, you see 3 robed elves, possibly Magisters. They notice you as well and cease their talking, waiting for you to approach.

The middle one steps forward, "Greetings, Athaniar Dawnblade, I am Magister Kaendris. These are my associates, Magisters Idonis and Quallestis." He motions to the other males to his left and right, respectively. They nod in acknowledgement. Kaendris has pale blonde hair that freely flows down his shoulders. His robes are red and black with white borders. Idonis has golden hair in a single-tie ponytail in mostly red robes. Quallestis has short, spiky blonde hair. He wears blue and yellow-gold robes.
"Since you are sent by Magister Darenis, it would seem he has made some progress. It would appear the time to move forward is now." Kaendris returns to his initial position, and Magister Idonis steps forward. "I will get right to the point. You are here to help rid this land of the Scourge and the taint of the Dead Scar, and restore this forest to the glory befitting Quel'thalas. Why else would you be sent to us. In the years that we Blood Elves retook and mostly rebuilt Silvermoon City, the Scourge were busy entrenching themselves here. They built a fortress, Deatholme. That is our final target, but to reach it we must destroy 2 other targets: the ziggurats. They are powered by a pair of ancient elven artifacts. Return them to us so that we may restore them from their twisted state."

They nod grimly. "Yes, but they are not too deep into their territory. Not like Deatholme. All we know is the artifacts lie inside the ziggurats. There are two. One for each structure. We presume they would be centrally located and guarded. Shorel'aran (farewell)"

You speed off toward the Dead Scar. Soon enough you come to the edge of the tainted ground that refused to support live. Rocky and barren, the too-dark soil is dry and well worn from the endless marching of the Scourge in their trek through these lands to the Sunwell.
Immediately you see a trio of skeletons marching their way through the Dead Scar, a patrol they will act out for eternity should no one stop them.

The trio of skeletons pass by unaware of your presence. They soon go so far as to not able to see you at all with their never-ending forward stare.

After coming out of hiding, you easily spot the ziggurats. They lie on opposite sides of the Dead Scar. Before you take another step, you hear a new sound in the usually-quiet forest. A bird call that doesn't belong. You look around to see a fellow blood elf high up in a tree nearby looking at you. With the look on their face, it would seem they were the source of the odd bird call. Carefully and quietly, the blood elf climbs down the tree. He wears dark leather armor with a pair of daggers on his hips and a shortbow across his back. Once on the ground, he looks around - he seems to be the parnoid type - and pulls back his hood to reveal short black hair. He looks uneasy but friendly enough. "Are you hunting the Scourge?" He speaks in hushed tones, making eye contact but routinely looking around as well.

He nods curtly before carefully advancing. Staying on the outside of the Dead Scar, you approach the ziggurat from the side. At it's entrance, you see a pair of skeletons guarding the doorway. Tahlil stops to observe, hiding behind trees.
"One for each of us, it would appear. Are you ready?" He asks, indicating you to go first as he draws his daggers.

You slam your Warhammer into the skeleton.Tahlik slinks off to the side to get behind the other skeleton, but not reaching it before it claws at you with its dirty hands.
The skeleton's claws bounce harmlessly off your shield right before Tahlik plunges his dagger into the back of the skeleton's skull, crumbling it to pieces as the rest of it's body falls to the ground.
Tahlik grins at you. "Well done. I can take point inside if you prefer. I find it's better when we can get the jump on these things."

Tahlik leads the way, taking care to move as stealthily as he can. Entering the ziggurate, you're greeted by a fork in the path. Each path seems to curve along the outer walls and down into the earth. Tahlik takes the right path. The ambient light in the stairway is a sickly green. The stairs end in a stone room with fel-green flamed torches along the walls. It is a long hall ending with an orb on a pedestal against the far wall. A ghoul stands guard.