04-14-2019, 01:41 AM
The candle on Jaina's desk had burned low. She had dimmed the continual flames she maintained in her study, as she often did in the evening. The dim light, paired with the calm evening, allowed her to collect her thoughts. Jaina had long ago installed a small, elegant fountain in one corner of her study, which provided a steady stream of water. It was a poor substitute for the soothing rush of the seas of her childhood in Kul Tiras, but the calming trickle still helped to soothe her nerves.
Something she had needed a great deal since the fall of Silvermoon.
Even a few weeks past, the nightmares still came, albeit less than before. The warlock, Telina, had unleashed a vile spell upon her; one that drew her into the heart of the Twisting Nether itself. Her son had told her she was there for nary five seconds at most... but it had almost felt like an eternity. She could hardly describe the horror of what she saw.
The myriad colors that she had never seen, had no words to describe them, transfixing the sky like a rapier through a heart.
Millions of gnashing teeth of steel and bone braying to be unleashed upon the cosmos - upon her.
A burning orb, a bellow of fire, the feeling of a soul conflagration from within.
Jaina shook her head, dismissing the visions from her mind again, dipping her quill back in the inkwell. They would fade in time, perhaps... But she knew, in her heart, that it would not be the last time she brushed against the hellish powers that she had witnessed.
Her quill scrawled more notes and annotations on a piece of paper. The tome she poured over was a treatise on demonology - a tome that she probably shouldn't have, as it was kept deep within the restricted sections of the Violet Citadel, kept only for archmages of the Kirin Tor. She was, however, an archmage of the Kirin Tor... and this research might help save her life. Know thy enemy, as they say...
She was troubled by the lack of information about the Tirisfalan, the Council of Tirisfal beholden to the Guardian, in her brief excursions there in the past weeks. Likewise, the Tirisgarde - an organization she knew only by its name, its association with the Council, and its similar abrupt disappearance.
It was almost like they were... erased from history.
"What does this all mean?" she asked a small stone on her desk, with a curiously ornate magical symbol on it.
The stone responded to her Sending within her mind, the familiar voice of her friend and bodyguard, Rowan; the old Arathi soldier who's spirit was imprisoned in an ancient suit of armor that she had discovered some twenty years ago. She owed him much; least of all providing her the opportunity to become an archmage, by presenting the complex enchantment she had used to re-bind his soul to many various objects beyond simply armor to enhance his mobility.
"I wish I knew, my lady," the stone answered, "but unfortunately, I knew nothing of Tirisfal outside of the glades of my birth, even in life. I am sorry."
Jaina sighed. A stern, quiet rapping on the door interrupted her train of thought. She glanced up at the door as a voice sounded through it. "Mother, I've brought Remnii for you, when you are prepared to see her."
Jaina sighed in relief. It would be good to peel her eyes away from tomes for a moment and speak with another person - especially one who drew so much curiosity from her as the draenei had.
"Come in," she said. She rose from the desk in her study and walked around the edge of it, her hand tracing the edge of the table. As she did, the tome closed shut, the papers stacked themselves neatly on the desk, the inkwell covered itself, the quill dried itself, and the candle extinguished itself.
Ashwynn, her daughter and protector, stepped forward, presenting the tall draenei, whom she had summoned for a private conversation, if she so wished to do so. "Thank you, dear," she said, smiling at Ashwynn. "You're free to go. I can make sure she finds her way back to her room once we're finished. Go get some rest, alright? You mustn't overwork yourself either."
Ashwynn nodded dutifully. "As you wish. Though... if I would be so bold, mother... I would advise you the same." She offered a small smile, bowing her head with her hand on her breast. She turned to the anchorite. "I believe Sir Benjamin will receive you when you return. Good night, Remnii."
The princess excused herself from the study, closing the door gently behind her.
Jaina smiled fondly. "I suppose she has me there, doesn't she?" she said to Remnii. She gestured to the pair of more-comfortable seats over near the window, moving towards them to take a seat herself. The moons were both already high in the sky. "Thank you for answering my summons, Remnii. Please, can I get you anything? Water, coffee, tea? I already have a servant coming with some fruits and cheeses - I've a bad habit of snacking during late-night study sessions. I don't particularly take you as a drinker, but I could fetch us a bottle of something from the cellars if you wish."
Something she had needed a great deal since the fall of Silvermoon.
Even a few weeks past, the nightmares still came, albeit less than before. The warlock, Telina, had unleashed a vile spell upon her; one that drew her into the heart of the Twisting Nether itself. Her son had told her she was there for nary five seconds at most... but it had almost felt like an eternity. She could hardly describe the horror of what she saw.
The myriad colors that she had never seen, had no words to describe them, transfixing the sky like a rapier through a heart.
Millions of gnashing teeth of steel and bone braying to be unleashed upon the cosmos - upon her.
A burning orb, a bellow of fire, the feeling of a soul conflagration from within.
Jaina shook her head, dismissing the visions from her mind again, dipping her quill back in the inkwell. They would fade in time, perhaps... But she knew, in her heart, that it would not be the last time she brushed against the hellish powers that she had witnessed.
Her quill scrawled more notes and annotations on a piece of paper. The tome she poured over was a treatise on demonology - a tome that she probably shouldn't have, as it was kept deep within the restricted sections of the Violet Citadel, kept only for archmages of the Kirin Tor. She was, however, an archmage of the Kirin Tor... and this research might help save her life. Know thy enemy, as they say...
She was troubled by the lack of information about the Tirisfalan, the Council of Tirisfal beholden to the Guardian, in her brief excursions there in the past weeks. Likewise, the Tirisgarde - an organization she knew only by its name, its association with the Council, and its similar abrupt disappearance.
It was almost like they were... erased from history.
"What does this all mean?" she asked a small stone on her desk, with a curiously ornate magical symbol on it.
The stone responded to her Sending within her mind, the familiar voice of her friend and bodyguard, Rowan; the old Arathi soldier who's spirit was imprisoned in an ancient suit of armor that she had discovered some twenty years ago. She owed him much; least of all providing her the opportunity to become an archmage, by presenting the complex enchantment she had used to re-bind his soul to many various objects beyond simply armor to enhance his mobility.
"I wish I knew, my lady," the stone answered, "but unfortunately, I knew nothing of Tirisfal outside of the glades of my birth, even in life. I am sorry."
Jaina sighed. A stern, quiet rapping on the door interrupted her train of thought. She glanced up at the door as a voice sounded through it. "Mother, I've brought Remnii for you, when you are prepared to see her."
Jaina sighed in relief. It would be good to peel her eyes away from tomes for a moment and speak with another person - especially one who drew so much curiosity from her as the draenei had.
"Come in," she said. She rose from the desk in her study and walked around the edge of it, her hand tracing the edge of the table. As she did, the tome closed shut, the papers stacked themselves neatly on the desk, the inkwell covered itself, the quill dried itself, and the candle extinguished itself.
Ashwynn, her daughter and protector, stepped forward, presenting the tall draenei, whom she had summoned for a private conversation, if she so wished to do so. "Thank you, dear," she said, smiling at Ashwynn. "You're free to go. I can make sure she finds her way back to her room once we're finished. Go get some rest, alright? You mustn't overwork yourself either."
Ashwynn nodded dutifully. "As you wish. Though... if I would be so bold, mother... I would advise you the same." She offered a small smile, bowing her head with her hand on her breast. She turned to the anchorite. "I believe Sir Benjamin will receive you when you return. Good night, Remnii."
The princess excused herself from the study, closing the door gently behind her.
Jaina smiled fondly. "I suppose she has me there, doesn't she?" she said to Remnii. She gestured to the pair of more-comfortable seats over near the window, moving towards them to take a seat herself. The moons were both already high in the sky. "Thank you for answering my summons, Remnii. Please, can I get you anything? Water, coffee, tea? I already have a servant coming with some fruits and cheeses - I've a bad habit of snacking during late-night study sessions. I don't particularly take you as a drinker, but I could fetch us a bottle of something from the cellars if you wish."