Ancient Locust Tree

"If I have the same nightmare again tonight, I'll leave tomorrow. In that case, our final trading location will be Sunsail Archorage. Also, if you can get snow leopards from the dwarves, swamp panthers from the Swamp of Sorrows, and tigers and black panthers from Stranglethorn Vale, you might as well get a few," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "Those high elves all like keeping big, furry cats as pets anyway. I just don't get it. They eat so much and are so picky, so why do they love keeping those things? A pig would be much better. It would eat anything!"

Normally, Dirithis would have teased him: Who would keep a pig as a pet? But now he was in no mood to joke. Uneasily, he asked, "Is that legend you mentioned true?"

"That's what our high elf books record, so it should be accurate," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "Let's stay one more night and see. If it happens again, then I really don't think Tirisfal is a suitable place for elves to live. You know how sensitive we elves are to changes in nature."

"Then, about the followers..." Dirithis asked.

"Can you arrange it tomorrow?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked. "Tomorrow would be best. I'm afraid I won't be able to stand having the same nightmare every night."

"I'll have two more people guard your door tonight." Dirithis thought for a moment, then added, "I could arrange for a girl to sleep with you. Perhaps that would help."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk shook his head. "There's no need for a girl. Just put two more people outside the door."

Once they returned home, they parted and went to their own rooms. Yu Lin Bloodhawk was mentally prepared, and he was a little tired after a day of fun. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

Dirithis, however, tossed and turned, unable to sleep. That supposed legend troubled him deeply. Finally, he got up and lit an oil lamp. Checking the time, he saw that it was midnight, then stepped out of his room. Just then, the butler hurried over and whispered a few words in his ear.

The two hurried to Yu Lin Bloodhawk's room.

The door was open. They cautiously went inside and lit an oil lamp. In its light, Yu Lin Bloodhawk lay on the bed, his face pale and terrified, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he muttered in his sleep.

Dirithis leaned close to listen and heard only broken fragments. "Why... why... ah!... You... finally, living people... help... innkeeper, why are maggots crawling out of your eyes..."

Dirithis's hair stood on end. The more he heard, the more frightened he became. What kind of horrifying dream was this? He shook Yu Lin Bloodhawk, but he did not wake. He called out loudly, but that did not wake him either. At a loss, he paced around the room.

Suddenly, Yu Lin Bloodhawk let out a terrified scream and sat up in bed. Still shaken, he did not even notice the two extra people in his room.

Dirithis sent the butler away and asked, "The same dream?"

Only then did Yu Lin Bloodhawk realize there was someone else in the room. His heart still pounding, he said, "The same dream, just with slightly different events."

"What was different?" Dirithis asked with concern.

Once he had calmed down a little, Yu Lin Bloodhawk slowly described his dream. "...Later, I ran to the docks. When I saw that huge crowd, I thought I had finally found living people. So I went into an inn by the docks. I ordered a mug of ale and a few dishes, then told the innkeeper about what had happened in the Tirisfal Glades."

"But as the innkeeper talked, maggots slowly began crawling out of his eyes. I jumped in fright, then looked at the mug in his hand. How was that ale? It was filled with thick, disgusting, yellow-green pus and blood. The plates on the table were full of writhing corpse worms."

As he spoke, Yu Lin Bloodhawk could not help dry-heaving.

Dirithis's stomach churned with disgust, but he still could not help asking, "What happened next?"

"Next?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "I ran, of course. I don't know how long I ran. Everyone was chasing me, the only living person. In the end, I was surrounded again in some graveyard. Then wave after wave of zombies threw themselves at me, and I woke up."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk recounted it blankly, then abruptly changed the subject. "I'm leaving by tomorrow evening at the latest. Even if I have to spend the night aboard a ship, I don't want to stay in Tirisfal. This place isn't suitable for elves."

"I respect your decision. Tomorrow morning, I'll arrange a Follower Ritual at the church for you and your followers." Dirithis spoke with Yu Lin Bloodhawk for a little longer and offered a few more words of comfort before leaving, weighed down with worry.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk resolved to leave by the following evening at the latest, because he had realized that his second nightmare had lasted far longer than the first. He could not understand why humans did not have such nightmares. After tossing and turning for a while, he fell asleep again.

After he got up and washed in the morning, Dirithis brought five young people before him: three men and two women, all barely into their twenties.

The five placed their hands over their chests and saluted Yu Lin Bloodhawk one after another.

"Baron, these are the five finest rogues I know," Dirithis said with a smile. "Please disregard their ages. They've trained since childhood and are unquestionably high-level professionals. I stake my reputation on it."

"You're willing to part with people like these?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"I just want them all to live," Dirithis said.

"All right! Shall we go to the church now?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"Yes!" Dirithis said. "There's a church in Lordaeron."

"Let's go now!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk felt it would be better to get it done sooner.

Only after all five had put on black cloaks did the group climb into the carriage and leave. Noticing Yu Lin Bloodhawk's puzzlement, Dirithis said, "I told you, I want them to live."

After a moment's thought, Yu Lin Bloodhawk understood the reason and nodded in agreement.

The carriage soon reached the church. Since few people came in the morning, it was easy to complete the Follower Ritual for the group.

When they came out, Yu Lin Bloodhawk felt as though a faint connection had formed between him and his five followers. When he asked Dirithis about it, Dirithis was quite surprised and said he had felt nothing like that during his own ritual. Finally, he suggested that it might be because high elves were naturally sensitive to nature and magic, something he greatly envied.

After leaving the church, they did not return to Dirithis's home but headed toward the docks. Yu Lin Bloodhawk had decided that, no matter what, he would leave Tirisfal and its recurring nightmares that day. Dirithis understood completely and rode with him toward the harbor, saying he would see him off.

The carriage moved slowly through the Tirisfal Woods. Yu Lin Bloodhawk felt unsettled, as though a faint voice kept calling to him deep within his heart, though he could not hear it clearly. He lifted the curtain and looked outside, finally fixing his gaze on an ancient locust tree beside the road.

Dirithis noticed his unease and said, "You don't look as though you're feeling very well."

"The tree is calling me!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said, staring at the old locust tree.

"The Ancient Locust Tree?" Dirithis looked at the old tree in bewilderment, his mind filling with questions.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk nodded without speaking, and the carriage stopped beside the Ancient Locust Tree. Dirithis realized that the Ancient Locust Tree seemed alive, radiating joy as leaves rustled all over its branches. The five rogues in the carriage exchanged astonished looks.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk jumped down from the carriage and walked beneath the tree. Reaching out to stroke the old locust tree, he said, "Were you calling me, my friend?"

The old locust tree rustled its leaves, while Yu Lin Bloodhawk remained silent.

After a while, Yu Lin Bloodhawk sighed. "I'm sorry, my friend, but I can't do it. You know this is the Human Kingdom, and I'm merely a high elf baron. I want to help, but I lack the power."

The Ancient Locust Tree rustled again.

"Do you really want to do this? Perhaps things won't turn out so badly," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

The Ancient Locust Tree rustled its leaves once more.

"All right! I promise I'll take your child with me," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

Then Dirithis and his five rogues witnessed something they had never seen before.

A sapling barely a foot tall beneath the old locust tree began growing rapidly. Once it reached about a meter in height, it stopped growing taller and began growing outward instead, becoming thicker and sprouting humanlike arms. Gradually, even fingers formed.

After a while, the growth stopped. The little humanoid tree pulled free of the soil and walked on two short legs to Yu Lin Bloodhawk's side, taking his hand with one hand and stroking the old locust tree with the other.

The old locust tree rustled its leaves. Yu Lin Bloodhawk's expression darkened. He said goodbye to the old locust tree and took the Young Treant into the carriage, which continued slowly on its way.

Dirithis and the others had never seen a treant, a being that generally preferred to live where elves dwelled. They all studied the Young Treant with great curiosity.

Noticing the sorrow on Yu Lin Bloodhawk's face, Dirithis said, "You look quite upset."

"The old locust tree asked me to save the woods, but I can't," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"Save the woods? Isn't the forest perfectly fine?" Dirithis asked in puzzlement.

"It is now, but that may not be true in the future," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"What will happen in the future?" Dirithis asked.

"I don't know." Yu Lin Bloodhawk shook his head.

Actually, he did know, because the old locust tree had told him that the Underground Wraiths were already stirring. Did that mean Arthas would soon be born? If not, then why? He was still unsure.

When Arthas was born, the entire Tirisfal Glades would whisper his name: Arthas. He felt it was more likely that Arthas would soon be born.

"Are the people who've been following us yours?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk suddenly asked.

"People have been following us?" Dirithis asked in alarm.

"The old locust tree told me they've been trailing us ever since we left Lordaeron. The old locust tree said the woods could sense their hostility too and warned me to be careful," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"They must be the Earl's men!" Dirithis exclaimed in shock. "I didn't expect them to find out after all. We need to hurry."

"There are seven of them," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "They're following three hundred meters behind us."

The five rogues exchanged glances and said, "We'll deal with them!" Then they looked steadily at Yu Lin Bloodhawk.

Now that the ritual was complete, Yu Lin Bloodhawk was their master.