The Debt

Title: The Debt

Part: 1/1

Rating: PG 13.

Warnings: This is a story inspired by the World of Warcraft online game. So if you don't know about it, this fic might not make much sense to you.

Beta: No beta for this story.

Feedback: Yes please.

Disclaimer: I don't own World of Warcraft. I do however pay Blizzard Entertainment for the right to play my troll mage Morgaia on the Steamwheedle Cartel server and my human mage also named Morgaia on the Argent Dawn Server.

Summary: This is a short story about how my human mage got the same name as my troll mage.

He was dying. He could see it as clearly as the axe in the hands of the demon towering over him where he had fallen. It's empty eyes were shining with the tainted glow of the hellish plane it had come from and he already felt death's cold hand on his shoulder, as he lay there, panting, bleeding and awaiting his doom. As he saw in slow motion the axe rush down towards his chest, he closed his eyes and thought what was to be his last thought.

His wife. His beautiful wife. Blushing and smiling as she had been the last time he had come home. Round and soft, carrying his first child. He had promised her he'd be home in time for the birth. He had promised her.

He heard a strange rushing sound. Was this the sound one heard when dying? Strange... he never even felt the axe hit. He had not imagined death would be so painless. He opened his eyes, vaguely wondering that he saw things so clearly. His wonder turned to amazement when he saw the demon keel over, the light in it's eyes dying out even as it clawed at it's own chest, frantically trying to dig out the jagged lance of ice lodged between it's ribs. It's hands froze around the lance and the ice spread with lightning speed to the rest of the body, until it collapsed in a shower of ice crystals right at his feet.

To his terror, the second after, a tall female troll with a huge purple mohawk and braids ran into view, making sure the demon was dead and relived it of whatever valuables it held before even looking at him. He was sure he was now in the fire instead of the frying pan and didn't even try to defend himself.

“Go on. You'll never find an easier target.”

Her eyes measured him from head to toe and lingered shortly at the gaping wound in his side and his broken leg. To his utter disbelief, she then sat down beside him and drank deeply from a flask she conjured out of thin air. She pointed to his wound, said something in a rather scary growling language, and pointed to his chest. He shook his head, to let her know he didn't understand.

She came closer and held her hand right over his leg, waving it with a shrug. He shunned away from her when she reached out for his hand, but she simply took advantage of the fact that he was wounded, and caught the weak hand with three powerful fingers. She held his own hand over his leg and nodded. Finally he understood. She could not heal. But he could. He just needed to focus. Needed... rest.

In the edge of his vision he saw another demon appear and he cried out from frustration. He just needed a moment to gather strength, then he could heal himself. Just a moment. He hardly dared believe his eyes, when he saw the troll jump to her feet and immediately begin to chant in her harsh tongue. Only seconds later an immense ice bolt shot from her hands and a shining icy orb closed around her, protecting her from the axe that was swung at her from the only slightly wounded demon.

He watched with wonder as the troll slaughtered all demons that appeared around him for quite a while. Fighting with fervor until he felt rested enough to attempt a healing. When he was healed enough to call his horse and mount it, she swiftly mounted her own gruesome raptor and followed him out of the tainted area. As they reached safety, she sent him what he could only assume was the troll version of a smile, and waved, before stearing her raptor away from him.

“Wait!”

She halted, and he wondered if she understood him or simply waited out of curiosity.

“You saved my life. I know I cannot offer you anything, as we are bound to different halves of the balance, but at least tell me your name, so I may know who I owe everything.”

She blinked and steered her mount a little closer. She talked, but he understood nothing. After considering for a second, he laid his hand on his chest and said clearly:

“Bordon. My name. Bordon.”

Then he pointed to her. Her brow furrowed and she struggled to understand. He repeated the gesture and then her eyebrows flew up as understanding flared. She pointed to him.

“Borrrr.... Borrrd... Borrrdorhn”

He nodded eagerly and pointed to her. She leaned closer and said in her snarling voice:

“Moorrrrgayah.”

She repeated it and he tried to replicate her sounds. After a few attempts she smiled and nodded. He sighed with relief. It was not much, but at least he now knew who he owed a debt of a lifetime. He preferred to know who he was indebted to. Keeping it simple, he simply bowed and repeated her name. With a final nod, she rode off, without looking back.

Three weeks later as he was finally allowed into his bedroom and the midwife handed him his newborn daughter, he felt all too deeply what he owed the troll, even though he would probably never have the chance to pay her back. The baby girl didn't cry but simply lay there, blinking her brown eyes at the new world. She wiggled in her blanket and a tuft of her fine hair stood up like a spike from her head. And then he knew. Here he would lay his debt. He kissed the downy cheek of the infant and had never felt more alive.

“Welcome to the world Morgaia.”

End.