01-04-2013, 04:59 PM (This post was last modified: 11-21-2013, 07:16 AM by Reigen.)
Decided to make one single thread for all my IC posts, so that I don't clutter up the forum with my many character's thoughts. The first post will be a bit of a archive of the posts I do listed under each characters name and a spoiler.
WARNING: Contains death of an IC family member. [While it may not seem like it needs a warning, some people are sensitive to this still.]
Spoiler:
“How many bridges will you burn?”
“As many as I need to.”
“You will let yourself suffer, alone?”
“Yes.”
The crypt was just how she remembered it when she helped bury both her husband and her stepfather. The servants had done a good job at keeping the place…as clean as they could. She was sure that it didn’t even smell all that bad; perhaps the candles that burned within were scented to help keep it that way. If it did smell bad, no one had ever complained to her about it. The air was still, making it feel as uncomfortable as she had remembered it as well.
Past the first two turns, the coffins began to look newer for the more recent additions of the family. There was her husband’s, the flowers she had placed looking almost as if no one had dared touched them. There were the smaller coffins of the little ones that did not make it, her heart still bleeding in remembrance. Her mind still hating herself for not preventing her illness from being passed on.
“Rest with your father…”
There was a coffin not yet filled, though it was ready for a body. Her finger slid over the name of her stepmother who would no doubt join this catacomb sooner than expected. The old woman’s health was failing her, the loss of her son and husband making the depression unbearable. Reigen had done all she could to comfort the woman, but death was something the old woman was ready to embrace, one Reigen would not deny her.
“Darling…my daughter…my gem.”
“What is it, mother? Why do you call me here so urgently? Do you need your doctors?”
“No…I don’t want anymore doctors!”
“Then what?”
“I’m tired…so tired. I miss my love…my son. I’m tired of being held on this bed…”
“Then what do you m-“
“Please…don’t make me suffer much longer.”
“Mother…I could never!”
“Please…”
“I…It will be painless for you. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
The poison was already in the woman’s system. Any moment now her stepmother would close her eyes and not wake up. Reigen owed a calm death to the one who didn’t even realize that she broken. If they woman did know, she never made hint of it. She didn’t blame her stepmother for wanting to die. There wasn’t a day that went by where the mage herself didn’t wish someone would end her lonely misery. She knew that would not happen…she had a job to do.
The next room held an alter and on top of it another coffin. This was a bittersweet sight to the smaller elf. The wood was dark, well crafted and the etchings on the side half-finished. The plaque on the top was a bright gold, a sapphire gem smack-dab in the center. It was strangely beautiful, enchanting. It called to her need to rest, her want to rest. Her eyes wandered to the plaque once more, noticing something that had not been there before. It seems the name was finally finished.
Lady Reigen Sunfire
Intelligent Leader
Honored Mother
Suffered far too long
Reigen’s hand drifted over the words, her expression unchanging. It would be ready for her when she decided that her presence was no longer wanted or needed. It would be ready for when she finally fell in battle. Until then, time was being taken on it so that it would be nothing less than perfect for the current Matron of the house. Nothing less than that would be acceptable.
Reigen closed her eyes, sitting against the alter and folding her hands in her lap. Meditation was something that never came so easy to her, most of all not after a battle such as the one she took part in today. By her Matron’s orders was she there to begin with…to make sure nothing was messed up. Everything went fine, of course, but the paranoia at the caverns was nothing to be dismissed, not after what the infinites had done.
Her mind couldn't help but wander to those she considered ‘friends’, or close enough to them. After the warning about her possible assassination, Reigen had started to burn bridges where she could. She did not want any bystanders getting caught up in that again, she did not want her friends getting hurt. She acted out, she wanted to drive people away from her. Cutting off contact never helped.
“I have to make it so they don’t want to find me.”
So far it was working, as much as it pained her to acknowledge it. She had not heard back from Jidaeo for the longest of times. Leron was starting to grow sick of her and she was doing nothing to help the matter. Her overly advert anger and lashing out would hopefully start driving away those who did not understand what dangers they faced.
“It is…better this way.”
“How long before it drives you mad, this loneliness?”
“We both know he’ll end me before it gets that far.”
“She’s right.”
Footsteps caught her ears and her eyes opened to the sight of a bronze-clad warrior stopping right before her. She looked up to his eyes, though he avoided hers. He always had a dislike for her state and disliked her Matron allowing her to serve still. Reigen pulled herself up, knowing that her moment of rest was over before it had really began.
“There you are…I need your report for the year.”
“Its on the desk.”
“Is it? Good. I’ll leave you to your moping then.”
He was gone before she could say anything about it. It’s not like he was wrong, he knew better than anyone about her depression and crashed dreams. She was thankful he never attempted to be a friend to her. It would have been one more she would have missed. One more distracted. One more hope.
She couldn't afford to hope, that was for the ones who could find happiness
A new voice ran though the hall.
“Lady Sunfire, Lady Sunfire!” Called a man, running in, stopping in order to take a breath. “T-the elder…your mother. She’s…she won’t wake up. The doctors are saying she’s on the brink of death…t-they need your orders.”
“Tell them to leave her.”
“But…but she’ll d-“
“If she had the will to go on, she’d go on! Tell them to leave her alone and let the woman rest already! She’s had enough of their medication and poking around!”
“Y-yes…my lady.” The man scampered off.
By the time Reigen reached her room, her stepmother was gone. She had expected no less, the poison left little room for error. The doctors and priests begged her to let them examine the body, but Reigen refused. At their persistence, she called the guards to drag them out of the estates. There was no fancy funeral, as per her stepmother’s request. She was resting in her coffin and in the catacomb before the sun had a chance to set.
“It’s over for you mother…painless…like I promised.”
It was intimidating at first, the sight of the tall volcano with lava still flowing down the sides. The questing orc began to doubt herself, but forced herself to move closer and closer to the base of the mass of earth. The heat was more than she imagined and knew she was going to have a hard time even reaching the top. She wasn’t going to let that stop her though, she couldn’t let it stop her. She had already failed once, she wasn’t going to fail again.
“Here goes nothing!”
Emra started the first part of her long climb. It wasn’t so bad at first, it seems those who had come before her had left somewhat of an easy path to follow. The worst part was avoiding the rocks that were freshly spewed and the lava that was cooling in some areas. The further up she got, the less obvious the path became. It wasn’t long before she knew she was on her own path…and she wasn’t even half-way up the volcano.
The next step in her climb was a test of her will, the stones jutting out of the rock gave her a puzzle to solve. Certain stones would lead her further up while others would lead her to an end she could not follow. The mountain would rumble every now and then, sometimes ash would spew out and singe her, but still she kept on. A little bit of ash wasn’t going to stop her.
“Duron…Lirshar…Stormcaller…I’m on my way to the top now. I’ll be back sooner than you know it and everything will be right again. I’ll show everyone that I’m a worthy student!”
When she had made it almost to the very top after three hours of climbing, she found herself at a loss of what to do. The heat made breathing hard and the stone was becoming too hot to hold onto. There didn’t seem to be any obvious way up either. Time passed by slowly as she shuffled around her small foothold until she found a ledge she could grip. Once she found that ledge, she was able to pull herself up onto a relatively flat spot of land.
Emra’s breath caught in her throat as she looked around the crater. The sight from the mountain was beautiful, worth the nearly month-long trip by foot. A grin came to her face once she realized she was going to be able to brag about it.
“Wait until father hears about this!”
Once her excitement died down, Emra found the coolest spot she could to sit, her legs folded and her hands palm-up in her lap. The mask she normally wore sat under her hands in order to keep the heat off of them. A few deep, long breaths later and she found herself in a state of meditation, her mind calling out to the world around her…calling out to the fire to give her council.
“Fire…hear my plea! A friend is in danger and I need your help. Let me connect with you further…show me your ways so that I might be a better shaman and serve my people with your blessings. I will remain as long as I need and pass any test so long as I do not fail them again!”
The shaman wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she began to hear the spark of embers around her, the sound of a flame that did not match with the sound of the lava. Rather than open her eyes fully, she kept her prayers up to the spirit of fire, hoping to further encourage it to aid her and speak to her.
More of the sound started to pop up, strange, considering she had only been expecting one.
Emra opened her eyes to see several fire elementals circling around her, their flames burning even brighter than the sun in the sky. The orc sat still, unsure of what to do. Finally the elementals stopped, though their stares did not cease in her direction. Emra opened her mouth to speak, but promptly shut it as the elementals began to close in.
“Something is not right…something feels wrong…”
Emra started to rise to her feet., but it was much too late. The news of the world never reached her. She didn’t bother with the paper in the goblin city and no letters came to warn her of the unrest that was plaguing the world. For Emra, the realization of the angered spirits was something she would learn the hard way, the painful way.
She stumbled back only to be caught in the grip of one of the fire elementals, it’s hand burning away at her flesh. She didn’t know what to do against them and panic set in. She tried to fight and get away from them, but she was outnumbered. More and more fire seared her skin, reaching up from her legs to her head. The pain was unbearable, the burns starting to make her world go dark.
She may have screamed, but no one was around to hear her, so far away she was from any sort of civilization.
“Storm…help me…somebody help me!”
Emra managed one last plea to the elements for salvation before she was brought down into a burning state of darkness. She did not hear the wind pick up, she did not feel herself falling slowly though the world. She knew only of a question.
An hour before the sun raises, her morning ritual beings.
It starts with a small yell. Nothing huge, just a scream that seemed to come from very far away. The sudden scream used to frighten her at first, thinking that someone was in danger, but now she recognized that it was only her. No one else ever heard the screaming, they only gave her strange looks when she asked about it. It always starts as a scream. A cry for help that suddenly gets cut off, the voice terrified.
“Do you hear that screaming?”
“What screaming? I don’t hear anything.”
“There! Right there. Don’t you hear it?”
“Reigen…maybe you should take a break. There’s no screaming.”
“No, I hear it! I’m going to go look…”
Nothing was ever there, of course. No one else ever heard it, no matter how loud it got, no matter how close it got. She always received strange looks by others when she would crouch down and grab her head, yelling out for the screams to stop. It took her close to a year to understand the screaming…close to a year to shut up about it. Now when she hears the first scream, she knows what must be done. She doesn’t fight it, there’s no point. Fighting just makes it worse.
Reigen stood from her desk, dropping her quill down without much care. Her servants gave her a frightful look, getting out of the way quickly. They knew too. They knew how she acted when she started to hear the screams. The noble paid them no heed as she grabbed her spear and walked out of her room. Her face was blank, void of any sort of emotion as she started her shameful walk. No one stopped her. No one questioned her. They all knew. The guards at the gate gave her a stiff bow, one she did not return.
Another scream joined the first before she could even make it fully out the gate. They would come faster now, the screams of terror, and the cries for mercy. Mercy that would never come, could never come. The faces that were behind the scream flashed in her mind, no scream had the same face or the same voice. They were all different, just another face for her to regret.
By the time she reached the end of the path and into the Ghostlands, a third and forth would join the growing choir of screams. Her steps began to speed up as she tried to run from what she heard. There was no stopping it now, more and more screams began to fill her mind. They hurt her mind, the elf flinching as they grew in volume as well as number.
The pain started to become too much as she stopped to lean against a tree. One of her hands came up, splaying out over the right side of her face. She tried to get a grip on herself, to not let it take control of her like it always threatened to do. She was almost ready to push off and finish the second half of her trip when she heard a voice call out to her.
“Ma’am? Are you alright?”
The small elf turned her head, looking over to the young elf that stood not too far away from her. He looked concerned for her, almost ready to take another step closer to her when she didn’t answer right away. Her eyes stared at him. His whole body seemed to pulse in time with the beat of his heart. In her haze, she swore she could see the blood flowing though his body, begging to be liberated from the confines of flesh.
“HELP US.”
“MERCY, PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU.”
“WE’VE DONE NOTHING TO YOU, LEAVE US BE, MONSTER!”
“HELP"
"HELP"
"SOMEONE SAVE US”
“MONSTER”
“Ma’am, you loo-“
“Go away! Leave me be!”
Her voice was harsher than she had intended, but there was no helping it now. She hardly had control of herself as it was, let alone with the man before her tempting her blade. He didn’t protest the order from the knight, though he looked very off put from her response. When he was safely out of sight, Reigen once again began her trek deeper into the forest of the Ghostlands.
Screaming
Her body sagged as she kept moving, the screams becoming so very painful. The darkness that lingered in the corner of her mind seemed like salvation at the moment. It would be so easy to let go and let herself be taken over again. The thought was tempting, though soon Reigen found herself shaking her head. She had to keep fighting it, she had to keep up her image of control. She had come to far to slip up now.
The sound of a dull drum added to the screams. To Reigen, this was a grace that she needed to hear. Her destination was close, perhaps a couple miles off still. With what bit of control she had of herself, she picked up her pace to hone in on the location of the drum. The closer she got, the louder the drum became. Soon the smoke from the fires graced her sight, trollish buildings began to take shape. She was not going to go right into the village, no, that would be suicidal.
Screaming…
This village always had a lone scout that she could handle on her own. It was a matter of surprising it before it surprised her. Reigen lowered herself to the ground, taking careful steps as she looked around for her target. She had no senses beyond sight and sound to let her know where to go. Sound, thankfully, gave the scout away before she saw him. There, standing behind a thin bush, stood the scout.
…Screaming…
She could take no more of the screaming. The forest troll looked so inviting…standing there on his own and begging to let his blood free. She pounced, driving her spear though it’s knee before it could fully understand what was going on. Before the troll could scream out for aid, its blood welled up in its throat, choking off any sound beyond a few gargles. Fury took it over and it charged at Reigen with two axes swinging without much direction. They hit her, yes, but they could not stop her.
“MONSTER, LIGHT, SAVE ME.”
The troll’s heart was split in half as her spear drove though its unprotected chest. The wood armor did nothing against the metal. The blood seeped into the ground around the body. As the light faded from her targets eyes, she could hear its own scream added to the many already there. The voices all cried out at once, causing Reigen to fall to a knee and clutch her hands over her ears.
The world then fell silent.
Reigen took a few moments to recover from the pain in her head. She couldn’t afford to stick around for long. Just as quickly as she had come to the camp, she departed down a different path. This time, there was no one on the road to see her bloodied clothing, nor her pained expression.
She reached her estate, the return trip feeling faster than the departure. The guards once again bowed to her and this time she returned the motion. She reached her room where her servants were waiting. They swarmed around her, taking away her bloody clothing and cleaning her up so she once more looked presentable. Once they were done, she found her way to her desk, picking up the quill and starting up where she left off.
When her morning work was done, Reigen sat on the balcony, peering down to the movement of those around the estate. They were all wonderful people, her servants and guards alike. She had grown found of many of them, most of all Azaela, who was her favorite and most trusted servant. The small smile she had formed soon faded to a frown as she thought about how close she had come this morning to losing.
There was not much Reigen had to fear in her life, but every day she lived in terror of losing herself to the hunger.
The estate was beautiful, kept clean by the servants that always seemed to be present around the Novalights. The stone shined when the light hit it just right and never dulled, even when the night would swallow the sun. It was something to be proud of, something she had always been proud of in her memories. Oh, how she could remember running though the lawn in order to embrace her father when he returned home.
Yet, the one beautiful woman now stood in her self-assigned spot, away from the rest of the estate. She found her new ‘home’ in the family graveyard, tucked away between the two walls and away from prying eyes. It was here she took the time to reflect upon all the changes in her life…and how she was not fond of any of them.
Father...do I make you proud?
She remembered the first time she showed him once of her spells…she wasn’t a fast learner in the art of arcane, but she had tried. He praised her for being able to accomplish it and encouraged her to keep working…but she could see it in his eyes that there was just the smallest hint of disappointment there for her slow learning. She vowed from that day forward to be the best so that she would only ever see pride in his eyes.
She never had the chance to show him, however, when she did manage to succeed fully in the art. He never came back from his fight, even though she had waited for him. To this day, she could remember sitting on the floor, bawling her eyes out and hugging one of the stuffed lynx’s she had received from him as a child. Was he proud of her now? Perhaps…if only because they shared in their torment.
Alteryia remembered a time she promised her two younger siblings the world. She would have done anything to see them happy and see them through to their own lives and dreams. She always encouraged them, always had faith in them. Zariel was everything she had wanted in a brother, and Xanthe was the dear youngest she always wanted to protect from the brainwashing tendencies. While it may have been too late for herself, she’d never allow Xanthe to be another cog in the system. Thalion was…Thalion. She respected him greatly, but he always was doing his own thing more often than not.
Now the siblings she wanted to give the world too were leaving her behind. Thalion had a child already. Xanthe was soon to be married to something that wasn’t even another elf. Zariel was going to have a child as well. They were all leaving her behind…embracing others and dividing their love away from her. For the first time in years…she felt hurt.
They all tried to assure her that this wasn’t the case and that they did not care for her any less, but she knew that soon enough she would become forgotten. Her siblings would become too absorbed in the gifts of life to remember the ones who could only sit back and envy what they had. Perhaps like a family pet, one that seemed like a good idea for a few years, but then everyone quickly grew bored with it.
Envy…
Yes, that is what she was feeling. Envy and hate. She longed for what her siblings had, a life with another and children to raise and spoil. She hated their mates with a newfound passion that caused her to tremble. She hated Kapre for tainting Xanthe and taking her away from the family. She hated Zariel’s wife for trapping him with a child and getting him to soon wed her. She hated the child of Thalion for simply existing as a distraction. She wished only the cruelest of death upon those who were stealing her siblings away.
She had the opportunity to kill one…but Xanthe’s cries stilled her normally deadly blade. She couldn’t do it…she couldn’t go through with it and instead lost to that pathetic blue idiot. As much as she wanted too, she could not bring herself to break her sisters heart, as much as her own heart was being trampled upon. She knew it would be the same to her other siblings.
She knew too well what she had done wrong. She had let herself embrace emotions again in order to make her siblings more comfortable, but now look at what it was doing to her. Alteryia resolved to shut that gate off quickly before she could feel any more. Granted…what she had now wasn’t going to do anyone any favors.
A week could pass and the elf wouldn’t even feel the need to move, so lost was she in greed…envy…
Do the others ever get tired of it? All this fighting…fighting most of us never did until we were forced out of fear? Do the others ever stop to think about what we’ve become from what we were? Do they embrace is so readily like Blackheart and Novalight do? Are we all so quick to just…give up and accept our fate?
Reigen looked over to Krilari as he slept in the strange Dreanei beds. She had set up on the one next to it, using it more as a chair while she sorted through her various items. Once it was all fully organized, she pulled out a journal and leafed through the pages until she came across the most recent writings.
Diagrams sprawled across the pages, Reigen having taken great pride in documenting everything she had seen. The two different portals were sketched out with words explaining their location. There were sketches of some of the strange creatures she had saw along with names and quick observations. The diamond mountain had two full pages dedicated to it and the temple they were currently at was quickly filling up a few more.
Am I ready to accept this fate so easily? To be nothing but a hollow, butter husk of past experiences containing a vengeful soul bent on nothing but righting personal wrongs? What about all the other wrongs in the world? The undead are not the only scourge this world has…my own people could be classified as such. Do I even have a right to my racial pride knowing…knowing what we have done?
The temple of Karabor had been one of the stops that the elder elf had taken her to. She was fascinated by it’s architect, seeing a mixture of the corruption of the demons and original stone that the dreanei had laid. She walked the halls…only to see the place of her people. She saw the banners of the Sin’dorei in the halls, in a section Krilari had called the harem.
She tried to deny it at first, but the evidence was too obvious. The beds, the pillows, the hookas that were scattered about the floor all pointed out the horrible truth. She saw broken chains on the floor as the word ‘slave’ graced her ears. How many were forced to be here, to serve a cause they did not want? How many had been tainted by the blood of the demons their prince had sold them to? Did they all die thinking that they were in the right?
It was there she saw perhaps the most beautiful thing she could remember. In the sky, larger than the moon and sun that passed in Eversong, was the world she had come from. Even from this far away, she could see the mighty Maelstorm, point out the land of Durator and see how small Quel’thalas really was in the grand scheme of the world.
At that moment, she felt small…she felt humble.
Have my kind…both undead and living…really been so concerned for ourselves that we have ignored all of this? Had the humans seen the treachery of Kael’thas before he even started to turn, one vial man to know another? Will I bind myself for all my existence to be a weapon from one person to another? One sight of slaughter to another…one more scream to add to my tormented mind…
He took her to see one last sight before leaving the temple.
The room felt wrong to her, sending shivers down her spine even though she felt no cold. Red streaks flew through the air and walls, catching her eyes but never her focus. She didn’t go all the way in, the ground looked fragile anyway. As the paladin explained the room to her, her eyes widened. This room had housed stolen souls in a trap…though many had escaped in the temple’s raid, many still remained convinced that they were fighting the fel horde still.
It was then she focused on one of the red lines. It was then she saw that it wasn’t just a line…but the shape of a spirit, screaming as it soured through the air in its eternal torment. She was assaulted by sorrow at that moment and, doing something she had not done for years, spoke a prayer for them.
No.
The trip back had been one in silence for her as she thought over everything she had experienced the past few days. No one had ever been this kind to her outside of her family, to show her such things that not only inspired her, but showed her a truth she had neglected to see before. Perhaps one of the few she could call a real friend…one who did not demand that her waking moments be to serve another.
Not only had she been trapped in a bitter acceptance, she had been used this whole time. This was what a real friend did, gave without expecting anything in return. They listened with full attention instead of brushing the worries off.
No more! I am not a machine!
Reigen closed the journal, her expression narrowed before she would stuff it away. Watching her friend for just a moment longer, she would leave the room and make her way to the planetarium. She had much to learn from this temple, even if she couldn't even pronounce it’s name right.
This game is done. I am done. No more violence, no more fighting. I am tired of being used and seen as a weapon for others. I am tried of being treated like I am nothing more than what I never wanted to be. The others can laugh all they want, let them ridicule me! I am not just ‘another one’, I am –me-.
I’ll worry about their opinions later…I know they'll expect me to act my part, however I will not kill anything or anyone that is not a threat to the people as a whole.
A grin crept across the magi's face as she walked.
And the first thing –I- am going to do is learn all about these Thragash Stars.
The recipients are free to respond in this thread.
Upon finishing writing these letters about today, Orvisha would send them off however mail is delivered in Outland.
To the Rendtear family Wrote:My loved family,
I write this letter seeking your advice. I've been generally quiet about my progress in aiding the elements of Draenor with the Earthen Ring, but the venture to strengthen air has left me conflicted.
The problem was a Broken dark shaman that had been binding the spirits of air, and possibly the Mag'har spirits in the old orcish village he and his kin had overtaken. I know little of the Broken mindset, or what clans they have made, or how they practice or force a farce for shamanism. As such, I tried to open with a peaceful approach.
It didn't work. A good friend of mine was quickly struck down with lightning, and battle ensued. Not very long, but hard. We were left wounded, and their armored ones mostly dead, the dark shaman fallen.
Was I too rash in charging upon seeing my friend struck? We were very outnumbered. I cannot help but feel the spirits will frown on all this blood, despite their freeing.
My trials aside, I will do my best to make it to the Barrens celebration, Emra. How are you and Thun'tuk? Tell father and Lobo I love them both, if they are not there when you get this. If either father or Lobo get this first--hello!
Love for you all,
Orvisha
In this letter, Kil'shi would receive a small packet of seeds of Outland flowers for his planter box.
When the letter arrived its destination, Emra was quick to intercept it. She read it over several times, holding the paper close to her face so that she couldn't possibly mistake a word that was spoken. At first, a grin split over her face at hearing that her sister had lead a victory, though the grin soon softened to worry at reading the plea for advice. She handed the letter off to her father and brother and made her way up the ramp to be alone.
"What do I say...ah!"
Emra hunched over a table, bringing out the ink and brush so that she could wrote a reply. A few started letters were tossed to the sides, the shaman finding the words wrong, poor or just not right in some sense. She spent perhaps half the day thinking of a proper response. Only when Thun'tuk came around did the proper inspiration finally strike.
To Orvisha Wrote:Sister,
The words I want to say to you have been hard to find, for I know that you and I two very different people when it comes to handeling these situations. I do not find using violence as a means to solve a problem as truly that wrong, but I know that you have never been this way.
I know you well enough to know that if you said you attempted a peaceful talk first, that violence was the last thought on your mind. If this peace was met with an attack, then I can only guess that nothing would have worked. I praise that you took action when your friend was harmed, for a true orc would never sit back and allow that to happen without retaliation.
I think you made the right choice, know you made the right choice. The spirits will honor your decision, for friendship is a true gift and to protect ones friends is one of the most honorable things to do. The fact that you acted quickly only proves your bond to them. The fact that you managed to win this outnumbered is a true testament to the spirits approval of your actions! You have made me proud of you, if that was not already clear.
Thun'tuk and I are just fine, preparing for the celebration that is to go on. I keep pushing him off small heights and teasing him that he should get used to it, for how much he'll be thrown off the worgs! I'll be sure to tell father and Lobo that you said hello, as well as the Stormcaller. She's been here often after father was injured.
Do not lose sleep over your decision, Orvisha, for peace is not something all are willing to accept.
With love,
Emra.
Emra made sure that the letter would be off as soon as possible, bumping into a few people along the way with Thun'tuk following behind her, telling her to slow down. She didn't, of course. Nothing could ever be that easy when it comes to the Rendtear siblings.
A term she recalled well in the recent years when tragedy after tragedy had hit her family and her people. Three wars that spilled the blood if the innocents, the constant struggle against the invading forces from different worlds, realms and time. It was the one thing she had held onto when everything was falling apart, when her beloved prince made a decision that changed the Quel’dorei people forever.
It was a term that she clung to until five years ago, when her body was broken, abused and forcefully taught a magic she wanted no part in. It was an image that faded with ever bit of blood she spilled. For every screaming face that appeared before her visage when her eyes closed. She lost hope, she lost motivation and she lost herself while trapped in her own mind.
How could anyone have hope for any sort of future when you’re called a monster? How could she ever see a silver lining from the pit she was in, where not even the light could reach this far down? She had nothing, she was nothing.
Hope was something meaningless to her , so they told her. Hope and faith were for the happy, she was reassured.
So far down in the pit of her mind, Reigen saw a glimmer.
It wasn't much, she would have missed it at first, brushed it off as a mistake, but it persisted. A tiny glimmer, as if miles above her head, some sort of light had managed to crack through.
Why? Why would it do this now of all times? Would she be further taunted by the sirens’ song of love? She could ignore the glimmer, she could let it fade back into the nothingness and wallow in her pit of misery…but there was something else.
A foothold. She saw it clearly. That tiny glimmer somehow making the pit much lighter, enough for her to see a way to climb. She shouldn't do it, however. It would be wrong, wrong for her of all people to have hope, to have faith. Everything everyone had ever told her amounted to that.
Words. Words of those who knew her, worlds of those who had taken the time out of their day to see that she was not just another broken slave of the cult's torture.
The wall frightened her; she didn't know where it was going to lead. Maybe there would only be pain above. Maybe things would be worse in the Light than it was down in her safe pit. Perhaps the glimmer was a blazing hellfire waiting to sear her flesh and bone.
How long had she stared at the wall, how long had she just been waiting, hoping that it would go away? It was wrong. It had to be wrong. She was afraid and this time no one could be the one to tell her how to deal with it. She knew she had two choices.
Hide in the pit of her own misery, or begin a rocky climb.
With trembling hands, she gripped the stone.
~~
Fel eyes snap back to reality, Reigen suddenly very aware of her surroundings. It was late; the city was all but dead with the occasional person running around for some last-minute skirt chasing. She had found her way back to the balcony, the whole city of Dalaran within her view.
Her thoughts drew back to what he had told her at the waterfall. Suddenly, Reigen became very aware of how…young she was compared to him. She was perhaps five-hundred years older than him. Yet…he made her feel like a child.
Once again…I am shown wisdom is not from age. It comes from experience…it comes from the heart.
She then remembered the last bit of advice he had given her…
Family was one of the most important things in the world, so Scarlet would like to think. Even though she was an outcast from her own, deep in her heart she still loved them all despite the things they have done to her and to others. She would gladly give herself up if it meant that they could redeem themselves, but she knew such would never be the case.
Every week she would visit her mother’s cell, only to be ignored, screamed at or talked down to. Every week she would make her way to a lavender patch and hope that her sister would get the letters she left there. Every week, she visited the grave of her father to let loose and cry.
Scarlet had to be strong to get through these times; it’s why she always had a smile on her face. She was never going to let life get the best of her.
That’s why it killed her so much to see what was happening to Kogan because of his choice to remain with her, even though she was now a worgen. She was more than willing to allow Kogan to break away should he decide that too much was being lost. She wouldn’t be upset…she would understand.
But she was never going to push him one way or another.
A soft smile grew on her lips as she thought of the changes he had gone through in such a short amount of time when she first met him. She saw a new level of confidence that he had gained, as seen by how he stood up to his uncle. She saw his independence grow when he defied his own mother. She saw his strength when he survived a cave-in that could have killed any lesser man.
Part of her still wanted to push him back to the family he had just found. He had a mother, a brother and a stepfather. He had a uncle and possibly even more family members he had not yet met. She felt like she was becoming a wedge between them…but still she would never voice this to him.
He was a grown man and his decisions were his own. It was time for him to get what he wants. No one had the right to force him to choose one way or the other. If he wanted to leave her, she was fine with that. If he wanted to stay, she was also fine with that. So long as in the end she knew it was his decision, she could never be upset with his choices.
Besides…
Even if he lost one family, he could always start another with her. That alone was comfort enough to help her keep that smile on her face.
She had taken a walk, needing to clear her head. The orcs were resting in the inn, along with the other elf. Not long into her walk, she had found herself quickly frustrated. There was nothing to distract her thoughts from their current process. She was willing to do anything to try to clear her head, even take on a demon on her own, though it didn't come to that.
So when a 'night' patrol was making it's rounds, clearing out a few things, she tagged along after assuring them her service was of no cost. Even with a good number of people in the group, the demons and pigs that had strayed too close to the path were still a hassle. That was fine to her. They weren't a bad group either and with their help, she was on her way back to Thrallmar after an hour.
“Happy being bitterly jealous, I'll admit. Never said I was perfect.”
Empty green eyes stared around as she made heavy footfalls on the path, the outpost coming into her view. Bones cracked on the Path of Glory as it was called, each crack causing a wince from the elf. She stopped finally, looking down at one of the haunted skeletons on the road. She dropped to one knee, giving it a look as if she had somehow recognized it.
“Am I in the wrong, dearly departed?” There was almost a sarcasm to her dead tone. “To feel as I do when I see success dangled in front of me so? No. I suppose you'd call me silly. Not only am I talking to someone long dead, but you of all likely don't even understand common. You died long before you would have learned it, didn't you? Poor dear.”
Her kneeling turned to sitting, a hand resting on the shoulder of the skeleton.
“It was quick at least, wasn't it? Beyond the pure terror and the minor bit of pain, you would have been trampled before you could really suffer. I do apologize if that sounds cruel. But trust me – you're not missing much of life right now. I'd trade places with you if I could. Go on. Just promise to destroy my soul so I can stop feeling.”
She waited.
“No? A shame. I suppose you don't envy me as I do you. You're not so bad – not that you could tell me to shut up if you wanted.” This time, a laugh rose up in her in her talk, though it was as hallow as the skull of the skeleton. “I should just get over it, shouldn't I? Accept the fact that I'm about as lovable as an insane worg. I'm useful for now, though I wish I'd stop getting bound in promises. First I'm made to promise I won't contribute actively to my death, then I'm bound in a promise to stick by another until his end.”
Fingers traced around the mouth of the skull, the small elf offering a sigh.
“I bet you're telling me not to squander what I should be taking as a gift. All the others do. Then they go on and tell me how we're all a weapon to be used, living or dead. But see, they're wrong. Weapons are innocent. They have no control over their actions. Steel has no control over if it's forged into a blade to kill or a needle to save. Cloth can become a rope to strangle or a tourniquet. I'm not innocent. That's what sets me apart from a weapon.”
A smile crossed her face, though it wasn't one of joy. She dropped down onto her back, staring up at the sky much as her 'companion' was. The drag of the floor caused her mask to drop down, torn and mutilated face naked to the world.
“I wonder if you'd tell me to get over it, like others do. To 'wait for things to get better'. That's a bit of bullshit if I've ever heard it. It's easy for the living to say that anyway. They have family that love them. They have someone to hold at night. They have friends who are there for them when everything turns...”
She waves a hand to the air, searching for the word.
“Bleak.” Her lips purse. “But I'll keep my promise, much as it tears me up on the inside.” She flipped over onto her stomach, shooting a glare in the direction of Thrallmar. “I'll keep my promise. Unlike -him-.” Her lips curl up in a sneer. “Funny how a stranger of all people is the one who takes me to travel. Limitless. There is no limit of time on his venture as was put on the one before. One that was cut short due to this.”
The ground shook. In the distance she could see the form of a giant metal structure that was moving. She had seen them once before and they caused her to shudder like no other could. However...she was tempted to stay. Let it stomp on her and make her part of the road. It would be painless, of course, she was again losing the ability to feel anything beyond a general contempt for the world.
But something in the air nudged her to move.
“...Yeah. You're right. I've got a promise to uphold after all.” She took her time getting up, slinging her staff over her shoulder. “You're not so bad, you know. I'll come back one day and find you a better spot to rest. Yeah.”
Her head bobbed in a nod as she walked down the side path, the one without bones, in the direction of Thrallmar. “I'll come and move every one of you somewhere green. Trees. Grass. Somewhere beautiful. Not River's Heart though. That's mine. Sorry. You'd like it though, s' the best place in Northrend.”
Her feet crossed the gate not too long after, the machine never coming close enough to be a real threat, not on this side of the path at least. Her eyes rested on the Inn for a prolonged period of time before she'd turn away and sit herself near the entrance. She didn't really feel like seeing the two orcs being so close. They'd find her when it was time to go, ask her how she was, and she would dodge the question with another 'I'm fine' and be done with it.
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