The instant the glowing gate opened, a biting chill swept out from the Shadowlands, coating the withered grass beside the lake in a thin layer of frost. Even the Clefthoof Zebra Yu Lin Bloodhawk had knocked unconscious began to give off faint wisps of white vapor, as though the sinister cold had disturbed its very soul.
"Death Gate?" Sylvanas tensed instinctively, shock flashing through her eyes-the power behind this gate was far too sensitive a matter. "You... how can you open a Death Gate too...?"
"What are you panicking for? Help me get it inside first!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk grabbed the zebra's forelegs and gestured for Sylvanas to take its hind legs. "I'll explain everything when we get back."
Sylvanas nodded and silently bent down to grab the Clefthoof Zebra's hind legs. Together, they swung it through a half circle and used the momentum to fling it through the Death Gate.
Afterward, Yu Lin Bloodhawk dusted off his hands, drew the runed Quel'dorei Blades from his back, and stepped through the Death Gate. "Keep up, girl," he said.
Sylvanas followed him through without hesitation. Whatever Yu Lin Bloodhawk intended to do, she would stand by him, because she knew he would never betray the High Elves.
Beyond the Death Gate lay the world of the dead, also known as the Shadowlands. This world was not pitch-black as one might imagine. Instead, an eerie glimmer of dark purple and blue-gray filled it, like the deepest dusk in the Ever-Dusk Forest, just before darkness fell, stretched out endlessly and frozen in its gloom. It made the entire landscape seem forever shrouded in a cold, sinister mist.
"This place... have we been here before?" Sylvanas surveyed their surroundings.
"I brought a book back that time," Yu Lin Bloodhawk reminded her. "A black one!"