The young mage stepped off the Hippogryph, quickly beginning
to unload the feathered beast of various saddlebags all of which were stuffed
to the brim with various papers and books. The creature seemed to coo as each
piece of luggage was slowly loaded onto a makeshift cart, squawking happily as
the last paper filled saddlebag was finally taken from its back. Koriara smiled
happily, patting the creature gently on its feathered head before looking at
the saddlebag knowing full and well that this had to reach Lady Alnarra’s house
before night’s end.
She shook her head, pulling out a pair of glasses from her satchel, using them to go through a list of supplies and materials she had brought; meticulously pouring over each item in the cart to make sure it was accounted for. After a solid 15 minutes of checking and rechecking, she finally nodded to the Hippogyph master who happily led the tired beast back to its stables.
With a sigh she looked over her map, crudely drawn by the druidess, to give her a sense of direction. As she stared out into the nearly fluorescent lake of Moonglade, she began to get her bearings. “Oh great, she lives in the middle of nowhere, and I’m already deep in the heart of one of the most isolated regions in the Kal’dorei kingdom… fantastic,” she grumbled quickly beginning to tie her hair into a pony tail. Koriara looked at the cart with a sense of disdain “Come on then, you and I get to travel through the woods,” a small puff of air escaping her lips, blowing the hair from her eyes.
The roads of the druidic sanctuary were about what one might expect from those who practiced the druidic arts, that is to say all but nonexistent. After a number of brambles, and more than her fair share of encounters with younger druids using her as practice for their stalking and pouncing Koriara finally reached the spot on the map that was supposed to be Alnarra’s house. The confused mage looked around for some kind of structure, only seeing a small berry bush and a number of trees. With an exasperated gasp, she looked back at the cart “Nope, this is as far as I’m going tonight,” before slumping down and pulling out a small book.
Much to Koriara’s surprise, just as she began reading the little novel, Alnarra’s unmistakable feline form came bounding from the woods, happily holding a pheasant in her jaws. Koriara scrambled to her feet taking great pains to stow the small book in her satchel, “Lady Alnarra, I apologize, I was looking for your house and…” she said before the Alnarra dropped the pheasant on the ground and began to retake her human form.
“And you found it,” the druidess responded happily.
Koriara began to look around in all directions “I did?”
Alnarra simply pointed to the bush “See, that’s it right there,” quickly scooping up her prized pheasant and storing it in a small makeshift bag.
“Ms. Alnarra with all due respect, that is a berry bush,” Koriara responded, her eyebrow raised as if the druidess was pulling her leg.
Alnarra simply laughed, pushing back the berry bush revealing a large hole and dirt cave like structure, just large enough to fit two or three people with little space for much more.
“And that is a hole in the ground. Are you pulling my leg again?” the mage said staring at the straw covered floor of the hole.
A frown crossed Alnarra’s face as she looked over humble abode, “I dug it out myself… it’s quite comfortable. Come on, let’s get those papers in and we can discuss some things. Would you like some pheasant?”
The Mage slowly climbed into the dirt and straw structure looking over the cramped space to see that it was covered in roots and little else, “Where do you keep your things?” she inquired, touching one of the roots to see if perhaps it would reveal a trap door to a real structure.
“Oh, I leave most things at the bank in Darnassus, I only keep a few important items here,” she said pointing to a small dresser before hurriedly starting a small campfire over which to cook the pheasant. The druidess offered the mage the barely cooked pheasant as she begin to sort through the papers she had been brought.
“Oh no, thank you though, I brought some hardtack,” Koriara said backing slowly away from the rather fresh kill, “I made sure to bring all the recent reports. In your absence the Circle and Darnassus have brought in some additional attachés to deal with the workload”. Alnarra simply nodded beginning to eat her now barely cooked prize, still pouring through the paperwork. “How are your injuries coming along Ms. Alnarra, I understand that worgen didn’t hold back when he attacked”, the mage asked relaxing a bit, leaning against the dirt wall of the hovel.
Alnarra looked down at her arm, still wrapped in bandages and smelling of that substance Ombar had given her, “Oh, it’s… coming along. It would have healed faster but combat between two druids usually means any number of strange Fae infections may surface, so the priestesses want to give it a few more days before they let me go,” her attention returning to the paperwork, jotting down notes as she went, “I understand that you’re getting ready to graduate from the Mage’s college in Stormwind. How long will it be now until they let you free?”
A small smile crossed Koriara’s face as a mixture of pride and joy bubbled in her voice, “Well I’ve still got to do my senior thesis, but once that’s done they are sending me to join the forces in Pandaria”. Koriara continued to search the makeshift hovel, looking over a small collection of pictures that were stored on the dresser. The pictures all appeared to be paintings of Alnarra and her family, her children, parents, and husband.
Koriara picked up one of the pictures looking it over, “Is this you and your husband?”
Alnarra looked up from her paperwork to picture that Koriara was holding “Oh yes, that was shortly after we found out we were pregnant with our first son. We decided a trip to Hyjal to commemorate the event would be well worth it. While we were there an artisan asked if we would like a painting.”
“You had three children didn’t you? Including Alaanah?” Koriara said staring at the other pictures collected on the dresser.
Alnarra simply nodded “Two sons and Alaanah; there should be a picture of us in there somewhere. We decided to go to Auberdine for a family vacation one year. Alaanah hated it, spent the entire time upset that we couldn’t find her a pet crab.” The druidess pondered for a moment returning to her paperwork, “Never did find that crab…”
Koriara chuckled slightly turning her attention to a small vial of dirt that sat atop the dresser, “What’s so special about the dirt?”
Alnarra looked up once more, walking slowly towards the dresser, picking up the vial “Oh yes… this was recovered here very recently, shortly after the Guardians of Hyjal were able to setup a foothold in the molten front.”
Koriara nodded, “That’s around the time gave up your Alliance Military commission isn’t it?”
Alnarra looked at the small vial “Indeed it was, and this little vial had a great deal to do with that choice.”
“Oh?” Koriara picked herself off the dirt wall listening indeed.
“It’s soil from a grave in Ashenvale belonging to one Valstann Staghelm.”
Koriara’s blank stare informed Alnarra of all she needed to know.
“When we the Circle’s forces broke through the lines at the Molten front, we came to discover a group of druids who were worshipping the Fire Lord. Among them was a druid by the name of Leyara. I did not know her, nor was I there when the Wardens and Archdruid ended her life… but there as an item recovered from her death. The Circle needed druids with specialties in archeology which in turn lead to them calling me in. Thanks to my years spent with my mother at the excavations of Dire Maul, I had some experience in the field. We were presented with a locket and asked to determine what might have caused Leyara’s shift in loyalties,” Alnarra’s hand tipped the vial causing the soil to move about.
“This was shortly after Veraldan… my husband’s death. I thought perhaps that the war on the molten front would offer me a chance for revenge. So I and a team of other Circle Archeologist began to uncover what the locket represented and what secrets it held. That’s when I came to find that Leyara had also lost someone during the war of the shifting sands, and later during the Horde invasion of Ashenvale she had lost her only child,” Alnarra paused for a brief moment to let Koriara take all of the information in.
“You have to understand, until only a few months ago, I thought I had lost all of my children to the War of the Shifting sands, and losing Veraldan to the Twighlight cult? When I saw what had happened to Leyara, to see what she had become as a result of her own loss; I began to question my need for revenge. Had someone turned to me and asked if I thought the Alliance was good for the Kal’dorei people, I might very well have said no. I may have turned my blade against the Alliance at that very moment. So, I left the excavation team in Ashenvale and went into hiding, to think about the world.”
“What finally brought you back from hiding?”
“I realized that my people have seen enough betrayal to last us for centuries, losing more brothers and sisters to some lost cause, to some calling from a terrible foe? I was not going to be a part of that. I needed to find my calm, my balance. So I returned.”
“Where is the locket now?” Koriara asked mesmerized by the story.
“Oh, I’m not really sure to be honest… I imagine one of the excavation team members has it.”
Koriara simply nodded, seemingly happy with the answers before looking out of the small hole and at the sky “Oh my, it is getting late. I should probably get back to Stormwind, there is still much that needs doing,”
“Of course little one, and if you need any help with that Thesis paper, don’t hesitate to reach out to me,” the druidess responded, still fixated on the small vial.
Before Alnarra knew it, the mage had vanished into the night, well on her way to Stormwind. It seemed like hours she spent staring at the vial of dirt before finally placing it back on the dresser. She sighed heavily as she began to peel away yet another set of bandages. The wounds that Xeroan had left were still deep. Dry blood still soiled the medicinal herb soaked rags, “Damn...”
She curled up in the hay floor staring at the dirt roof, “Why did I leave the forest? What finally pushed me back into reality?” she asked as if the roof were going to respond. “Was I ready to come back? Are you ever ready? Did I push that Worgen too fast? Ughh… I need to speak with someone more qualified on this matter. I’m a Druid, not a miracle worker”.
She shook her head, pulling out a pair of glasses from her satchel, using them to go through a list of supplies and materials she had brought; meticulously pouring over each item in the cart to make sure it was accounted for. After a solid 15 minutes of checking and rechecking, she finally nodded to the Hippogyph master who happily led the tired beast back to its stables.
With a sigh she looked over her map, crudely drawn by the druidess, to give her a sense of direction. As she stared out into the nearly fluorescent lake of Moonglade, she began to get her bearings. “Oh great, she lives in the middle of nowhere, and I’m already deep in the heart of one of the most isolated regions in the Kal’dorei kingdom… fantastic,” she grumbled quickly beginning to tie her hair into a pony tail. Koriara looked at the cart with a sense of disdain “Come on then, you and I get to travel through the woods,” a small puff of air escaping her lips, blowing the hair from her eyes.
The roads of the druidic sanctuary were about what one might expect from those who practiced the druidic arts, that is to say all but nonexistent. After a number of brambles, and more than her fair share of encounters with younger druids using her as practice for their stalking and pouncing Koriara finally reached the spot on the map that was supposed to be Alnarra’s house. The confused mage looked around for some kind of structure, only seeing a small berry bush and a number of trees. With an exasperated gasp, she looked back at the cart “Nope, this is as far as I’m going tonight,” before slumping down and pulling out a small book.
Much to Koriara’s surprise, just as she began reading the little novel, Alnarra’s unmistakable feline form came bounding from the woods, happily holding a pheasant in her jaws. Koriara scrambled to her feet taking great pains to stow the small book in her satchel, “Lady Alnarra, I apologize, I was looking for your house and…” she said before the Alnarra dropped the pheasant on the ground and began to retake her human form.
“And you found it,” the druidess responded happily.
Koriara began to look around in all directions “I did?”
Alnarra simply pointed to the bush “See, that’s it right there,” quickly scooping up her prized pheasant and storing it in a small makeshift bag.
“Ms. Alnarra with all due respect, that is a berry bush,” Koriara responded, her eyebrow raised as if the druidess was pulling her leg.
Alnarra simply laughed, pushing back the berry bush revealing a large hole and dirt cave like structure, just large enough to fit two or three people with little space for much more.
“And that is a hole in the ground. Are you pulling my leg again?” the mage said staring at the straw covered floor of the hole.
A frown crossed Alnarra’s face as she looked over humble abode, “I dug it out myself… it’s quite comfortable. Come on, let’s get those papers in and we can discuss some things. Would you like some pheasant?”
The Mage slowly climbed into the dirt and straw structure looking over the cramped space to see that it was covered in roots and little else, “Where do you keep your things?” she inquired, touching one of the roots to see if perhaps it would reveal a trap door to a real structure.
“Oh, I leave most things at the bank in Darnassus, I only keep a few important items here,” she said pointing to a small dresser before hurriedly starting a small campfire over which to cook the pheasant. The druidess offered the mage the barely cooked pheasant as she begin to sort through the papers she had been brought.
“Oh no, thank you though, I brought some hardtack,” Koriara said backing slowly away from the rather fresh kill, “I made sure to bring all the recent reports. In your absence the Circle and Darnassus have brought in some additional attachés to deal with the workload”. Alnarra simply nodded beginning to eat her now barely cooked prize, still pouring through the paperwork. “How are your injuries coming along Ms. Alnarra, I understand that worgen didn’t hold back when he attacked”, the mage asked relaxing a bit, leaning against the dirt wall of the hovel.
Alnarra looked down at her arm, still wrapped in bandages and smelling of that substance Ombar had given her, “Oh, it’s… coming along. It would have healed faster but combat between two druids usually means any number of strange Fae infections may surface, so the priestesses want to give it a few more days before they let me go,” her attention returning to the paperwork, jotting down notes as she went, “I understand that you’re getting ready to graduate from the Mage’s college in Stormwind. How long will it be now until they let you free?”
A small smile crossed Koriara’s face as a mixture of pride and joy bubbled in her voice, “Well I’ve still got to do my senior thesis, but once that’s done they are sending me to join the forces in Pandaria”. Koriara continued to search the makeshift hovel, looking over a small collection of pictures that were stored on the dresser. The pictures all appeared to be paintings of Alnarra and her family, her children, parents, and husband.
Koriara picked up one of the pictures looking it over, “Is this you and your husband?”
Alnarra looked up from her paperwork to picture that Koriara was holding “Oh yes, that was shortly after we found out we were pregnant with our first son. We decided a trip to Hyjal to commemorate the event would be well worth it. While we were there an artisan asked if we would like a painting.”
“You had three children didn’t you? Including Alaanah?” Koriara said staring at the other pictures collected on the dresser.
Alnarra simply nodded “Two sons and Alaanah; there should be a picture of us in there somewhere. We decided to go to Auberdine for a family vacation one year. Alaanah hated it, spent the entire time upset that we couldn’t find her a pet crab.” The druidess pondered for a moment returning to her paperwork, “Never did find that crab…”
Koriara chuckled slightly turning her attention to a small vial of dirt that sat atop the dresser, “What’s so special about the dirt?”
Alnarra looked up once more, walking slowly towards the dresser, picking up the vial “Oh yes… this was recovered here very recently, shortly after the Guardians of Hyjal were able to setup a foothold in the molten front.”
Koriara nodded, “That’s around the time gave up your Alliance Military commission isn’t it?”
Alnarra looked at the small vial “Indeed it was, and this little vial had a great deal to do with that choice.”
“Oh?” Koriara picked herself off the dirt wall listening indeed.
“It’s soil from a grave in Ashenvale belonging to one Valstann Staghelm.”
Koriara’s blank stare informed Alnarra of all she needed to know.
“When we the Circle’s forces broke through the lines at the Molten front, we came to discover a group of druids who were worshipping the Fire Lord. Among them was a druid by the name of Leyara. I did not know her, nor was I there when the Wardens and Archdruid ended her life… but there as an item recovered from her death. The Circle needed druids with specialties in archeology which in turn lead to them calling me in. Thanks to my years spent with my mother at the excavations of Dire Maul, I had some experience in the field. We were presented with a locket and asked to determine what might have caused Leyara’s shift in loyalties,” Alnarra’s hand tipped the vial causing the soil to move about.
“This was shortly after Veraldan… my husband’s death. I thought perhaps that the war on the molten front would offer me a chance for revenge. So I and a team of other Circle Archeologist began to uncover what the locket represented and what secrets it held. That’s when I came to find that Leyara had also lost someone during the war of the shifting sands, and later during the Horde invasion of Ashenvale she had lost her only child,” Alnarra paused for a brief moment to let Koriara take all of the information in.
“You have to understand, until only a few months ago, I thought I had lost all of my children to the War of the Shifting sands, and losing Veraldan to the Twighlight cult? When I saw what had happened to Leyara, to see what she had become as a result of her own loss; I began to question my need for revenge. Had someone turned to me and asked if I thought the Alliance was good for the Kal’dorei people, I might very well have said no. I may have turned my blade against the Alliance at that very moment. So, I left the excavation team in Ashenvale and went into hiding, to think about the world.”
“What finally brought you back from hiding?”
“I realized that my people have seen enough betrayal to last us for centuries, losing more brothers and sisters to some lost cause, to some calling from a terrible foe? I was not going to be a part of that. I needed to find my calm, my balance. So I returned.”
“Where is the locket now?” Koriara asked mesmerized by the story.
“Oh, I’m not really sure to be honest… I imagine one of the excavation team members has it.”
Koriara simply nodded, seemingly happy with the answers before looking out of the small hole and at the sky “Oh my, it is getting late. I should probably get back to Stormwind, there is still much that needs doing,”
“Of course little one, and if you need any help with that Thesis paper, don’t hesitate to reach out to me,” the druidess responded, still fixated on the small vial.
Before Alnarra knew it, the mage had vanished into the night, well on her way to Stormwind. It seemed like hours she spent staring at the vial of dirt before finally placing it back on the dresser. She sighed heavily as she began to peel away yet another set of bandages. The wounds that Xeroan had left were still deep. Dry blood still soiled the medicinal herb soaked rags, “Damn...”
She curled up in the hay floor staring at the dirt roof, “Why did I leave the forest? What finally pushed me back into reality?” she asked as if the roof were going to respond. “Was I ready to come back? Are you ever ready? Did I push that Worgen too fast? Ughh… I need to speak with someone more qualified on this matter. I’m a Druid, not a miracle worker”.
As the questions buzzed through her mind, she slowly faded, finally falling asleep.
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