[[The following will be Forum RP - likely in the form of short posts, consisting mainly of the journey of Piken's Ceredor to Demon Hunter-hood, under the proverbial wing of Theleniel Skysunder. Such happens in the future.]]
Second Sight
For whom wake the skies?
The stars. Gray points on an different shade of gray background. Even here in Ashenvale's Eastern-most parts, at the foot of Felfire Hill, did the stars care for what went on under them? Did they ache and suffer as the people beneath them despaired and lost all that they cared for, or were they merely cold, distant observers to all that went on?
For the longest time, Theleniel had paid the stars a good deal of attention, for each night they presided over the sleeping world, showing them their deepest desires in the form of dreams - as every person yearned for something. Everyone was driven by some want or fear, or desire. For the Blood Elf that sprinted on a collision course with a Fel-guard, this desire was an aching need for vengeance.
The Demon Hunter spun, serrated glaive set ablaze coursing through flesh like a hot knife through butter, her figure darting between targets akin to the ricochet of a bullet, propelled by rage alone. And then came the final stop.
The Blood Elf found herself with a glaive through the torso of a Succubus - which had been running towards her for some reason, its body clinging to a fading life, mouth whispering words that would warp the minds of lesser creatures, and Theleniel inhaled, the very essence of the Demon - one could even say, its very soul - being drained into her as its shell slowly disintegrated into faintly glowing ash.
Shaking her hand free of the last grains of drained demon husk, the Hunter let out a sigh and noticed that just behind the fleeing creature had been another figure - one taller than her by about a head, its long ears hinting to its Night Elven heritage, in its hands a strange weapon, akin to a pair of scythe blades welded to the ends of a pole. Perhaps this was what put her final kill on the run. Did it want to attack? She had to be sure...
Lowering the warglaives to her sides, their flames snuffing themselves out as black-clawed fingers curled tightly on the handles hidden under the bucklers guarding them, Theleniel Skysunder pointed her blindfolded gaze at the Night Elf and opened her mouth to speak:
"Ishnu'alah."
The bushes rustled gently in the breeze.. Leaves and branches swaying gently. The forests of Ashenvale seemed all peaceful and quiet.. But in the depths there were horrors unspeakable. Fel-tainted lands corrupted the once beautiful and pure forests of the Kal'dorei. And this taint spreads more and more each day. It is fought, but it still finds its way to spread.. The Night Elf rode his Nightsaber between the trees. He would do what he could to slow it. Any way he could.
He pulled his Nightsaber to a halt as he neared the greenish taint of the forests. The Felfire Hill stood in the distance, plagued with the demons of the Nether. Their presence angered and saddened Ceredor. It had been far too long.. He was tired of sitting around, not doing as much as he felt he could for his people. The Elf sighed as he climbed down, pulling the double-sided and bladed weapon from the side of his mount's saddle and tightened the little armor he wore. Looking into his Nightsaber's eyes, he kissed the top of its head, "To Astranaar," he said in a mumble. The beast seemed to understand this all too well but was reluctant. He turned it and smacked its backside, sending it away.
Ceredor watched his mount head off and took a deep breath. This was all a process that they both had done many times, but he still never got used to it, it seemed. Turning toward Felfire Hill, he readied his weapon and moved forward slowly..
..The Elf growled as the succubus he was fighting was fleeing, quickly chasing after it. "You can't escape, filth!" He shouted at it but came to a skidding stop as he witnessed the fate of the demoness. His silver eyes were wide with amazement but at the same time terror. The being before him was.. something that he secretly wished to be. But it was also something he hated.. A Blood Elven woman.
He snarled softly as she greeted him in his own language, speaking in his somewhat broken Common. "Don't use my tongue, Sin'dorei." The area around them was cleared for now. He did not lower his guard, though. He watched her closely.
"You are.. Hunter..?"
You would think that after nearly eight hundred years of living on Azeroth and being bathed in conflict, you would learn how to handle tense situations, either through study of such, or through sheer experience alone. As fate would have it, the Blood Elf did remember lessons on the matter quite well.
Theleniel stared at the new arrival, trying to discern more features in his faintly glowing silhouette against a murky background. She nodded once. "Very well." she said in Common.
The Demon Hunter peered from side to side, before affixing her gaze to the Kaldorei, ears perking up to his words. "I am." she gave another nod and made a faint gesture with one of her Warglaives. "Do you intend to attack?" she asked plainly and bluntly. "My fight is not with you."
After all, tainted places like the outskirts of Felfire Hill were not the most... pleasant of locations to chat. While she didn't mind it much, the situation of the stranger had to be dealt with first.
The Night Elf narrowed his eyes further at the Blood Elf before him. He held his weapon tightly, still trying to decide if he should attack or not. Then in the distance the growls and roars of other demons on their way to the outskirts of Felfire Hill echoed in the forests. He scoffed, turning to the Blood Elf again. "This is not the place to talk." He said, nodding away from the Hill. He would start to head that way, still watching the female carefully, never letting go of his weapon. "And if we are to fight, I do not want interrupted." He nodded.. The way he spoke sounded perfect to him..
He would wait until a safe distance away from the Demonic area to fully face the Hunter. "Sin'dorei Hunters? I don't fully believe." He growled softly. "Your kind are users. You are arcane fiends."
Theleniel's ears flicked upright to the Kaldorei man's speech. An eyebrow raised faintly, setting her blindfold very slightly askew. She nibbled on the inside of her cheek with her pointed, crowded teeth to remind herself not to laugh. Laughing in the faces of strangers was not the optimal course as far as diplomacy was concerned. She nodded. "Agreed." and followed farther away from the Hill.
Once he stopped, she tipped her head to the side slightly. "It is true. Taught by one of your people, no less. And, it seems I am not the first of my kind, either." her parched lips pursed.
"Perhaps. But have you thought about why we'd turned to draining all manner of things for their magic? It is because the same enemy that threatens this place - your place - has already destroyed my own home once over. As such, from a need for vengeance, I have undertaken the struggle against corruption." she raised a hand and scratched at one of her cheeks, leaving deep red marks on it due to her claws.
"I seem to recall one of your kind having the same mindset after the Great Sundering. Fight fire with fire. Destroy the enemy with its own powers..." the Blood Elf said and examined Ceredor.
This would prove quite interesting. She hadn't met many Night Elves over the course of her journeys and she found she had the guilty pleasure of enjoying the odd bouts of lateral thinking that they exhibited now and then.
Ceredor snorted at listening to her. "I know history well enough. I don't need lesson." Again.. he never noticed he was speaking incorrectly, so his tone was serious.
His interest in her words seemed piqued, though.. "I have wondered.. Still.. your kind have brought much of this on themselves. And now everyone suffers." He snorts again softly.
"And yes, it was one of us who had took those steps.. The Ultimate Sacrifice. While he has become too corrupt, his ideals aren't wrong.. Fight fire with fire. I agree." He nodded. His stance softened somewhat, the topic seeming to lower his guard.
Theleniel smiled faintly. "You're right. You likely don't need history lessons. Instead, perhaps some in Common." she nodded.
"Not us. The Highborne, our ancestors. We are trying to fix the mistakes that our predecessors made. I am living proof of this." she exhaled. "Azeroth, Draenor's shattered rocks, all of existence is under threat. We -all- live in the same world. Bickering is pointless when there are greater enemies."
The Demon Hunter smiled more fully now, returning her Warglaives to her back. "Precisely. It is refreshing to find one a little more... open-minded." she flexed her fingers, the joints of which popped - likely from having been clenched on the handles of weapons for longer than they should've.
"While I do not deny that there are other ways to fight corruption, and that everyone can contribute to such, some still must take the sacrifice, and with it, they accept the consequences of their actions, be they good or bad." the Blood Elf blinked.
"Tell me, Kaldorei, how is it that you've come to sympathize with our kind? Have you met others in the past?" she asked, crossing her arms over her gut, blackened, pointed nails tapping on her elbows from time to time in a manner that hinted to restlessness.
Ceredor raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with Common?" He tilted his head, confused at the suggestion, but he shrugged.
He scoffed at the Blood Elf's words, "You speak some truth.. But your kind still submit to openly using that which has caused the world so much pain. Using it as if it was no big deal.." He trailed off, seeming to be rethinking his thoughts and words. He then tried to change the topic by dropping it altogether. He nodded to her "I do not shun Hunters like the rest of my kind.. I see the Sacrifice and respect it."
He hesitated at the new question, putting thought into it before answering, "I have never met any Hunter. I have only heard rumors and stories and tales. I respect them.. I respect any who sacrifice everything for their people. Even though all others hate, it is honorable. They.. You should not be hated for it. The Sacrifice is punishment enough, I feel." He nodded, getting very serious with everything he said. His expression just as serious.
Theleniel nodded. "Nothing. It's just that yours is broken." she said quietly then listened, ears perked.
"A view rarely shared by most Kaldorei. Or anyone else in general." The Blood Elf smiled, her hands lowering to her sides. "I see. But then, how did you figure the tales and stories were not merely aggrandizing the myth of the Demon Hunter, akin to fairy-tales when speaking of a hero? There is little beauty in a lifetime of war. Instead, one ends up safeguarding what little beauty still exists, for others."
The Demon Hunter nodded once more. "But I will not deny that the things we sacrifice are a heavy, if worthy price to pay." she exhaled - it sounded something akin to a short, guttural sigh.
"We may never be able to read again, for written text is very hard to discern from the paper's murky background, nor even see the stars of Azeroth, because they've become indistinct from their heavenly home..." she said quietly, longing being plain in her voice. "But... our fight exists so that others may enjoy such things."
Ceredor's head tilted at the thought of his Common being 'broken'. "Broken? I see no problem with my language.." He muttered, then shook his head. "Yes, very few of my kind believe such things. I hear few of any do." He frowned softly at the thought. And randomly, his stance would come back, tensing again. Perhaps paranoia kicking in.
"And the tales I've heard.. None of them are ever in favor. I am no child filled with wants of being hero. Even if they stray, they still sacrificed all for their kin. None seem to see that some stray even from simple things in life."
He frowned again at hearing her tell him of the Sacrifice. He nodded. "I.. I agree. One sacrifice for the mass." His voice had a hint of sadness.
Theleniel exhaled slowly, "That's true... Even among my own, I'm not the most... well-looked-upon." she nodded and raised an eyebrow.
"...Wants of being a hero..." she repeated quietly. "You sound almost as though you'd take up the Path the first chance you got." her arms crossed over her gut. "How much thought have you given to this?"
The Demon Hunter looked down at her hand, then at the Kaldorei. Slowly, she paced a little closer to him, head tilted back so she could see his head. "Mhmm. But the smiles on the faces of strangers and loved ones alike make it worth it all - the same faces that might frown, or berate for this choice.
Even though the consequences of our actions might never be truly fathomed, so long as we safeguard even one person, we have done well. After all, it's a life for a life."
Ceredor fixed his gaze on the Blood Elf, that serious tone back to his comically broken Common, "I no have wishes of being some loved hero. I don't expect to be remembered. I only want to fight for my kin." He hesitated at her words, "I have thought much on this. I have spent years wondering and thinking and I would do whatever I could if it meant helping my own. Including sacrificing everything."
"I know Hunters shunned. I know it well. I care not what others think. I do not do enough for them now, I wish to do more." He stood tall, combat stance weakening again.
He repeated her words, "A life for a life.. Agreed."
The Sin'dorei nodded. "Fine. I've benefited of my own stubbornness and I'm sure you will too. I only hope your resolve is as steely as your words. If you're serious about walking the path, I can show you how..." she inhaled.
"First off, questions. What is your name? Can you read Common? And, are you willing to listen to everything I say, and do everything I tell you to, should you accept?" Theleniel raised an eyebrow.
"This is where you choose, whether hating a Blood Elf is more important than the greater fight against the Legion. I'm no stranger to your people's ways in the past. More than once, we've set aside our differences and fought side by side against a common foe. But are you able to do the same as our kin?"
The Kaldorei listened to her words closely, taking every word into extreme thought as she went on. "My name is Ceredor. I have already left my surname behind. I wish my actions not to be traced to family. I can read it, for the most part.. And.." He hesitated with that last part. He put much thought into his answer..
After a few minutes of silence and intense thought, he finally spoke.. "I am willing. I am willing to listen and learn. I am.. willing to sacrifice. One sacrifice to possibly save many more." He nodded, a look of determination in his silvery eyes. "I will.. put aside my hatred. I guess I already doing that by accepting to do this. But I accept. To fight a common foe."
Theleniel nodded once. "Good. On both counts." she exhaled and waited, and upon hearing him finish, she smiled.
"Very well. I am Theleniel Skysunder. But you can call me whatever you call your teachers." she let out a long sigh. "Well, first comes a test of knowledge. I'll be back in a few minutes with some scrolls for you to study. They contain information on the various types of demons and their characteristics, that we as a collective have gathered over the years. You'll have to learn all you can, for in a week's time from when I pass them to you, you will have to answer thirty questions pertaining to demons."
"My personal suggestion is that you learn their contents by transcribing them. Make yourself a copy. It'll come into use if you survive training, and decide to spread the Path further. I'll want the scrolls back at the end of your week of study, and you may also want to say goodbye to whatever loved ones you still hold dear - for you won't be seeing them for about two months."
Theleniel exhaled. "You may forfeit at any time prior to the Ritual of the First Binding. After that however, if you are unfit, you will be slain."
"Now, stay here." she said and sped off into the forest. In little under an hour, she returned and brought a series of bronzed scroll cases - likely to shield the contents from the elements - to Ceredor, holding them up to him. "Here you are. You are free to go, but in precisely one week's time, you'll have to return here for the test."