Tecmessa awoke with the first faint light of dawn. She seldom slept late in the comfort of her own chambers; a week in Ramkahem had hardly helped adjust to the odd sounds and scents of the foreign city. She enjoyed the quiet pre-dawn hours of the morning. With most of the world asleep, she had some time to herself to wash, groom, and organize her various lists and files. Last night she packed all her belongings. She had no more time to seek relics of the Tol'Vir civilization, or to aid the locals. She must return to Orgrimmar. Today, she faced her first trial as an initiate into the Grim.
In the quiet of the morning, she wondered what trial the Grim would set before her. How would they ask this Blood Knight to prove her worth? She tugged at her hair nervously, wondering if she should have it cut to something more suitable.
"I hope they do not require the killing of some human child." Tecmessa muttered to herself. Not that she objected; in fact she often slaughtered pigs for the chefs of Orgrimmar. No test of worth should involve the killing some helpless creature. Tecmessa would judge the Grim by the task they set upon her, and knew that she faced judgement based on her peformance. "They had best put me to some serious fighting, against a dangerous opponent."
A buzzing fly irritated the paladin, reminding her to get going. Soon the biting insects would breeze off the muck around the river and desend on the town. Combined with the desert heat, it made for a most unpleasant day. Quickly gathering her belongings, she paid the innkeep, and departed.
Some time later, Tecmessa arrived in Orgrimmar. She noted the geographical similarties to Ramkahem, the hot barren lands outside the city, and the river which gave it life. "Perhaps building a dam here would help cultivate Durotar?" She tossed the thought around for a bit, but let go of it. Others would plan and build the city, Tecmessa belonged to battle.
She made her way through the city streets, the stink of goblin, orc, and troll thick in the air. Tecmessa despised the filth of the city. "Do they not care for their own cleanliness?" she complained under her breath. The Sin'Dorei kept their own city clean with enchanted brooms, and often carried a smaller, personal version to keep their foreign accommodations tidy. While she admired orcs and trolls on the battlefield, seeing how they lived always made her wonder how they claimed any civilization at all.
Tecmessa arrived at the Hall of the Brave decidedly before the required time, but found a rabble of Grim already assembled.
"So here I see who I have chosen to join. Time to judge and receive judgement."
Glancing around, she took note of her new companions.
Leyu'jin, the leader of this assembly, stood in polished green plate, white hair standing stiff on his head. He maintained a cool, quiet demeanor, choosing to impress with confidence, rather than ornate armor.
Mohan, a towering Tauren, stood head and shoulders above the crowd. The long-toothed skull he wore for a helmet drew even more attention to him, and a white wolf stayed close to his side. "If this one fights even half as fierce as he looks..." Tecmessa thought with a shiver.
Syreena posed on the back of a rare rusted proto-drake. Tecmessa had wanted to tame one herself, and knew well the hooded figure harbored more power than her slight Forsaken frame suggested.
Deminthus, another Blood Knight, stood erect and proud in polished silver armor, designed to channel the Light and heal in battle. Tecmessa glanced at her own mismatched plates, reminding herself that today, her actions counted for more than the weapons she carried.
Malebrignon, an imposing figure, stood apart from the crowd, directly behind Leyu'jin. "Either a trusted lieutenant watching Leyu'jin's back, or a superior, observering his performance," Tecmessa pondered.
A male Forsaken, head aglow with a fiery orange mist, strode into the crowd of Grim and began a ritual. Other habitually joined, and a soul portal opened. Each Grim in turn grabbed a glowing green shard from the well. Tecmessa had seen this before, and took one of the small brimstones for herself. "This one probably enjoys inflicting pain more than most," Tecmessa noted of Greebo. He proceeded to mount a Sandstone drake, apparently also a member of the Grim, which he called Malstrom.
Nearby, a grumpy green orc with a shiny bald head began to grow impatient with the waiting. His little tantrums did little to endear him to Tecmessa, but he did armor himself much like Leyu'jin. "Perhaps I misjudge?" Tecmessa questioned.
Finally, Leyu'jin laid out the plan. A Grim on the inside would activate a magic that would portal the assembled group straight into the heart of Stormwind.
"Stormwind???" Tecmessa gasped! A mission to assassinate King Varian Wrynn himself? Suddenly she felt foolish, worrying that the Grim would concern themselves with small affairs. She should have prepared herself to face something too great for her abilities, rather than something too trivial. She joined the Grim to do something more meaningful, but Varian Wrynn? By the Light! Could they succeed? In fact, Tecmessa began to believe that the Grim could, and would, kill the King of Stormwind, striking a major blow against the Alliance.
Tecmessa quivered as she felt the pull of the summons. She knew well enough to submit her consciousness to the summoner, and allow her essense to flow into the Twisting Nether, then out again at a different point. Not that she liked it, but she knew enough to trust and let it work.
The Grim arrived together in a corner of a library, deep within the Keep of the Castle. Each Grim had an assignment, but Leyu'jin barked orders to keep the group going, reminding all to stay on their task.
Tecmessa trailed the group just a bit as they rounded the corners together, quickly pressing forward. She felt the excitement of the battle to come, almost giddy that for once, she fought not just to move a line on a map, but to win the war!
Together they burst into the throne room, hoping to catch the guards by surprise. Tecmessa could hardly restrain herself, but followed orders as Leyu'jin commanded others to force the king into a corner...she tensed, ready to burst.
But the order never came. The Grim's plan succeeded in forcing Varian into a corner, yet he held his own, with a wicked grin no less. Before Leyu'jin order the full force of the attackers on their target, a bevy of Alliance heroes decended upon the Grim from behind.
Chaos ensued.
Tecmessa somehow believed that the Grim had the strength to defeat them all, but soon one Grim fell, then another, and soon she realized, the Grim had walked into a trap! Peace through annihilation indeed!
With battle axe storming all those around her, Tecmessa unleashed as much holy wrath upon the enemy as she could, trying to do something of meaning before the end. Alas, the Alliance stood triumphant over the broken bodies of the Grim.
As her sprirt began to slip into oblivian, Tecmessa felt the call home. The Grim might rush headlong into certain defeat, but not without precaution. Through the Twisting Nether again, and made corporial back in the capital city of the Horde.
Tecmessa sighed heavily. She knew that the feeling of sickness from the events would linger, but that should would live to fight again.
"What happened?" she wondered. "What did the Grim accomplish? How will they judge me for my role, small and ineffective?" She mounted her charger and began making her way to the Gallow's End, where she must meet with Qarosimae.
"More to the point" Tecmessa considered, "how do I judge the Grim?"