10-05-2010, 08:02 PM
Still Of The Night
Spoiler:
It was eerily quiet during the nighttime in the 'Court of the Sun' one fateful night. Many Elves simply went to bed or enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Silvermoon's infamous and lavish taverns. The only ones out wandering the streets were those whom had a purpose for being there. A destination. A goal.
If you were to ask one of these Sin'Dorei what their objective was, they would give you a number of replies. 'I'm headed home, this was a ca-ra-zy night,' one might say. Another would tell you that 'it's none of your business'. There was an incredible multitude of answers one might receive from these travelers who stepped on finely-crafted roads kissed by the moon's light. But only one Elf on those roads would reply 'I am headed to the Court of the Sun to meet an old friend. An old mentor'. This Elf's name was Arianna.
Her garments were relatively simple for her tonight. She wore robes that had but three colors, the colors that many Blood Elves wore. Red, black, and gold. For to be honest, she didn't really believe that this day would be that important. The old man she was headed to see often acted on a whim, and it would be not unlike him to summon someone at this late time of night, where the moon was at its peak in the sky. And so the Elf traveled up the stairs that led to the revered Court, only to find herself being greeted halfway up by a wizened Elf in what appeared to be night robes, appropriate for one about to head to bed.
Her eyes widened as she recognized this Elf. His skin was adorned with wrinkles, showing just how old he was even amongst the Sin'Dorei. With faded green eyes, dark blue robes, and a long white beard, he was truly an oddity amongst his people. And this oddity's name was Marentho Nightsong.
The two had quite the history together. For it was Marentho that trained Arianna in the arcane arts for a great deal of her life. Even when he was not her designated mentor, she would come to him for advice whenever she needed the words of an old wise man. It was after her parents died that she truly began to view him as a sort of parental figure. Over their many years with one another, the two become very close. They both knew each other very well. And they might as well have been related for how they treated one another. Though they did not always get along, they always ended up reconciling and renewing their relationship with one another.
"Arianna! I have good news!" he yelled towards the woman as he hurried over to her, leaning on the cane clutched in his right hand as he did such. The younger Elf raised an eyebrow at this. Her eyes inspected the man for a brief moment before they spotted the unopened letter he held in his free hand. And it was at that moment that a look of surprise came upon her face.
"What is that, Marentho?" She looked continued staring at the letter in the old Elf's hand, even as he bent down to catch his breath. Arianna quickly closed the distance between the two, her pace quickened by a bright sense of excitement. "Is it-."
"Yes! Yes, it is. I..." the man gasped for air once more "...I wanted to hand it to you myself." As he stood upright he offered a friendly and eager smile. It seemed unnatural on his face to Arianna, for there were few times she ever saw the man smile. He was usually much more grumpy. Arianna swiftly took the letter from him with a polite nod of her head before inspecting it. The parchment had been wrinkled by Marentho's holding of it, but it was still legible. She inspected it closely, noting the large purple symbol of the Kirin Tor marking the pages.
"...By the Sunwell. They've accepted me?"
"Yes, they have," Marentho replied, seeming to have regained his composure. "And that means we have little time to spare. The Kirin Tor are an impatient lot."
"I doubt they would appreciate being called a 'lot'," Arianna said with a playful tone to her voice as the two hurried into the Court of the Sun. It was relatively empty, save the guards who nodded to the pair as they entered the portal chamber.
It was a nice and tiny little room. Shelves here and there, loaded with rows upon rows of books. Tiny little artifacts that would be considered priceless to certain people. Cabinets filled with arcane materials and runes. And sure enough there was a portal already opened in the center of the room.
"I've had the portal prepared for you. You must depart as soon as possible." Things were thrown about in the room as Marentho searched through its many cabinets, muttering to himself all the while. Old trinkets, robes, rods, and other assorted objects soon found them displaced upon the chamber's red carpet. Eventually Marentho's messy search ended as he retrieved a small staff, both of its ends glowing a strong purple.
He shoved the enchanted weapon into Arianna's hands unceremoniously. "Take this. You will need it more than me." As she held the staff with a perplexed look upon her face, the old man smiled. "Nervous, Arianna?"
"Well, you just pushed some strange staff into my arms, and I am now to step into a portal to Light-knows-where. So please, excuse me for being a bit nervous!"
"You mean Dalaran." He seemed to ignore her last sentence.
"Dalaran. Whatever. And I am to..." She looked at the letter once more, just to make sure. "...Hmm. Report to Archmagus Orihen Malfos for a test of some sort."
"Excellent! Now then! Are you prepared for the trials ahead, child?"
Arianna gulped before she looked into the shimmering portal that would take her to the grand city of Dalaran. She knew that it would be there where she would train. That it was there she would become a member of the Kirin Tor. A clammy hand clasped her shoulder as the woman heard the old man speak once more.
"Arianna. Whatever you do. Do not show any sign of weakness. Be confident, or you will be eaten alive. Remember the basics. Don't make any enemies. And for your own sake, worry more about your studies than your hair."
She nodded to each little tidbit of advice the old one gave her. Though he was telling her things she had already been told countless before, she humored the man with her acknowledgment of his words. It was the least she could do for all the years he helped her learn the arcane arts. Eventually though, she heard something from his lips she hadn't heard before
"Your parents would be proud of you. Your family should be. And I am. Now go. Make us all proud, child." He let go of her with a wide smile on his face.
Tears welled up in the woman's eyes moments before she stepped through that shimmering portal. They flowed freely as she reached the other side of it. And they clouded her vision as she looked at the towering purple spires of the grand city of magus. She had entered the place where she would be tested. Where her trials would go underway. And where her aptitude as a mage would be judged by those deemed capable of doing such.
She had entered Dalaran. And it was there that she prayed she would become one of its mighty Archmagus.
If you were to ask one of these Sin'Dorei what their objective was, they would give you a number of replies. 'I'm headed home, this was a ca-ra-zy night,' one might say. Another would tell you that 'it's none of your business'. There was an incredible multitude of answers one might receive from these travelers who stepped on finely-crafted roads kissed by the moon's light. But only one Elf on those roads would reply 'I am headed to the Court of the Sun to meet an old friend. An old mentor'. This Elf's name was Arianna.
Her garments were relatively simple for her tonight. She wore robes that had but three colors, the colors that many Blood Elves wore. Red, black, and gold. For to be honest, she didn't really believe that this day would be that important. The old man she was headed to see often acted on a whim, and it would be not unlike him to summon someone at this late time of night, where the moon was at its peak in the sky. And so the Elf traveled up the stairs that led to the revered Court, only to find herself being greeted halfway up by a wizened Elf in what appeared to be night robes, appropriate for one about to head to bed.
Her eyes widened as she recognized this Elf. His skin was adorned with wrinkles, showing just how old he was even amongst the Sin'Dorei. With faded green eyes, dark blue robes, and a long white beard, he was truly an oddity amongst his people. And this oddity's name was Marentho Nightsong.
The two had quite the history together. For it was Marentho that trained Arianna in the arcane arts for a great deal of her life. Even when he was not her designated mentor, she would come to him for advice whenever she needed the words of an old wise man. It was after her parents died that she truly began to view him as a sort of parental figure. Over their many years with one another, the two become very close. They both knew each other very well. And they might as well have been related for how they treated one another. Though they did not always get along, they always ended up reconciling and renewing their relationship with one another.
"Arianna! I have good news!" he yelled towards the woman as he hurried over to her, leaning on the cane clutched in his right hand as he did such. The younger Elf raised an eyebrow at this. Her eyes inspected the man for a brief moment before they spotted the unopened letter he held in his free hand. And it was at that moment that a look of surprise came upon her face.
"What is that, Marentho?" She looked continued staring at the letter in the old Elf's hand, even as he bent down to catch his breath. Arianna quickly closed the distance between the two, her pace quickened by a bright sense of excitement. "Is it-."
"Yes! Yes, it is. I..." the man gasped for air once more "...I wanted to hand it to you myself." As he stood upright he offered a friendly and eager smile. It seemed unnatural on his face to Arianna, for there were few times she ever saw the man smile. He was usually much more grumpy. Arianna swiftly took the letter from him with a polite nod of her head before inspecting it. The parchment had been wrinkled by Marentho's holding of it, but it was still legible. She inspected it closely, noting the large purple symbol of the Kirin Tor marking the pages.
"...By the Sunwell. They've accepted me?"
"Yes, they have," Marentho replied, seeming to have regained his composure. "And that means we have little time to spare. The Kirin Tor are an impatient lot."
"I doubt they would appreciate being called a 'lot'," Arianna said with a playful tone to her voice as the two hurried into the Court of the Sun. It was relatively empty, save the guards who nodded to the pair as they entered the portal chamber.
It was a nice and tiny little room. Shelves here and there, loaded with rows upon rows of books. Tiny little artifacts that would be considered priceless to certain people. Cabinets filled with arcane materials and runes. And sure enough there was a portal already opened in the center of the room.
"I've had the portal prepared for you. You must depart as soon as possible." Things were thrown about in the room as Marentho searched through its many cabinets, muttering to himself all the while. Old trinkets, robes, rods, and other assorted objects soon found them displaced upon the chamber's red carpet. Eventually Marentho's messy search ended as he retrieved a small staff, both of its ends glowing a strong purple.
He shoved the enchanted weapon into Arianna's hands unceremoniously. "Take this. You will need it more than me." As she held the staff with a perplexed look upon her face, the old man smiled. "Nervous, Arianna?"
"Well, you just pushed some strange staff into my arms, and I am now to step into a portal to Light-knows-where. So please, excuse me for being a bit nervous!"
"You mean Dalaran." He seemed to ignore her last sentence.
"Dalaran. Whatever. And I am to..." She looked at the letter once more, just to make sure. "...Hmm. Report to Archmagus Orihen Malfos for a test of some sort."
"Excellent! Now then! Are you prepared for the trials ahead, child?"
Arianna gulped before she looked into the shimmering portal that would take her to the grand city of Dalaran. She knew that it would be there where she would train. That it was there she would become a member of the Kirin Tor. A clammy hand clasped her shoulder as the woman heard the old man speak once more.
"Arianna. Whatever you do. Do not show any sign of weakness. Be confident, or you will be eaten alive. Remember the basics. Don't make any enemies. And for your own sake, worry more about your studies than your hair."
She nodded to each little tidbit of advice the old one gave her. Though he was telling her things she had already been told countless before, she humored the man with her acknowledgment of his words. It was the least she could do for all the years he helped her learn the arcane arts. Eventually though, she heard something from his lips she hadn't heard before
"Your parents would be proud of you. Your family should be. And I am. Now go. Make us all proud, child." He let go of her with a wide smile on his face.
Tears welled up in the woman's eyes moments before she stepped through that shimmering portal. They flowed freely as she reached the other side of it. And they clouded her vision as she looked at the towering purple spires of the grand city of magus. She had entered the place where she would be tested. Where her trials would go underway. And where her aptitude as a mage would be judged by those deemed capable of doing such.
She had entered Dalaran. And it was there that she prayed she would become one of its mighty Archmagus.