Post by mallaleah on Jan 4, 2009 2:26:54 GMT -5
One of the moons falls behind a cloud and the clearing sinks into a darkness.
There is a long silence, until a shrill wind picks up from the north. The sudden change of wind causes the campfire to flare unexpectedly. The shadows to the left of Maryla disappear, revealing a tall willowy human woman coughing in the campfire smoke.
She mutters some indistinct words and then gestures, causing the fire to calm itself and the smoke to rise vertically.
"That's better. How I hate getting smoke in my face! I had been hoping that you might pass over me. My story is not worthy to follow those we have heard already. I don't feel that I deserve to sit here at all. But who knows, there may be somebody who might learn from a silly human's sorrows and mistakes, so let's get this over and done with."
"My name is Mallaleah, Mallaleah Cerulean. I was born in Dalaran, that famous city of mages. This was long before Dalaran became airborne or even before it was obscured behind its purple dome. But Dalaran was never my real home – my parents were both from Stormwind and took refuge in Dalaran after the sacking of the city in the First War. I only have a few memories of Dalaran when it was still earth-bound – those amazing towers, the toyshop, swimming in the cool waters of Lordamere Lake, wandering the shores of lake looking for herbs with my father. I also remember sitting by my mother's side in the Infirmary, feeling her nightmares and war memories invade my mind …
"My parents were hated being refugees. After the Second War, the order was given to rebuild Stormwind. My parents made sure they were in the first group to return. The healers in Dalaran had done all they could for my mother, they thought that if she saw and helped in the rebuilding of Stormwind, that it might help her own recovery. I was six when we made the long journey. The reconstruction of Stormwind wasn't finished when we arrived. The ruins and the construction sites seemed like a big playground for me and the other children who were there.
"I guess I suspected all along that I might have inherited some of my Mother's magical talent, but I chose to deny it until my adolescence when the evidence was overwhelming. That was one of the worst days of my life. I hated magic, and I hated myself for being tainted with it. Magic was what had ruined my Mother's life, causing her to see such horrors in the First War – which indirectly also caused me so much pain. Because of my parent's connections, I had a rare opportunity to receive training from Stormwind's leading Mages. I scornfully rejected that. Better to dig ditches or be buried in a library breathing in dust than to use magic!
"I took my apprenticeship in the Stormwind Keep Library. At the same time, I fell in with a bad crowd. I was very angry during this time. Even though I worked in Stormwind Keep and my father was a senior government official, I absolutely hated the Stormwind Government. The rebuilding of Stormwind was the perfect time to rebuild our society into a fairer one, but that opportunity was being squandered and I could see that the under-privileged would be even worse off in the New Stormwind. Those of you who have any knowledge of human politics will know where this path was taking me.
"It's too shameful for me to talk in detail of that time. Whatever gossip you may hear in the Stormwind public houses, be assured that I did not actually join the Defias. I was spared from that by discovering that they are mostly a gang of thugs who care more for violence than their political cause – which they use to dupe idealistic fools like me. They are so short-sighted and twisted that they even attempted to use the Third War to their advantage. But I can thank the Defias for at least one thing, it was because of them that I ended up learning magic. Initially to infiltrate the Mage establishment in Stormwind. Later, to learn ways of fighting Defias.
"I learned magic for completely the wrong reasons, but even then I felt diffident and untrusting of it, which possibly saved me from making the mistakes which too many Mages make. I know that there is no magic which can cure a broken mind or heart, and that generally magic causes more problems than it solves.
"When I finished my initial training, my first goal was to slay every member of the Defias who crossed my path. I caused them a lot of grief in Ellwyn Forest and Westfall, but it wasn't enough.
"One day I was hunting Defias Pillagers near the village of Moonbrook. These were a particularly satisfying foe for me. I could show them that Stormwind trained-Mages would be superior to those filthy hedge wizards. On this day, I was unlucky and encountered one who nearly got the better of me – who would have, if I had not used one of my healing potions. I approached her to cast the death blow, knowing that her mana was spent, or she would have blasted me. Our eyes met and we recognized each other. Shellyn Felicity, one of my classmates from the Mages Quarter, somebody who had been a good friend of mine. She must also have been assigned to infiltrate the Stormwind Mages by the Defias. Looking at her, I knew that but for the chance events which drove me away from the Defias, Shellyn was me. I knocked her unconscious with my staff and then turned around and walked out of Moonbrook and abandoned the fight against the Defias and turned my back on human lands.
"So that's my story. I have traveled a lot since then, I have seen a lot of the Eastern Kingdoms, as well as Outland. I now spend a lot of time in Northrend. I cannot tell you how disturbing it has been for me to learn to Malygos has turned against us. I now feel uncomfortable wielding arcane magic as casually as I used to.
“Other things have not changed. I still dislike the government in Stormwind. I thought that things might improve when our rightful king returned, but if anything King Varian has made things worse. I still hate the Defias - but I try not to fight against them if I can avoid it. I have kept my passion for books and learning. Sometimes excessively so. If I find a rare collection of manuscripts, I've been known to drop everything and study them for weeks on end. One day I hope to write a book of my own. I think that humans can learn a lot from our new allies, the Kaldorei. I would like to write a book that introduces humans to the lore and history of the Kaldorei. My own path is set as a Mage, but I hope that one day, some humans will be Druids.”
There is a long silence, until a shrill wind picks up from the north. The sudden change of wind causes the campfire to flare unexpectedly. The shadows to the left of Maryla disappear, revealing a tall willowy human woman coughing in the campfire smoke.
She mutters some indistinct words and then gestures, causing the fire to calm itself and the smoke to rise vertically.
"That's better. How I hate getting smoke in my face! I had been hoping that you might pass over me. My story is not worthy to follow those we have heard already. I don't feel that I deserve to sit here at all. But who knows, there may be somebody who might learn from a silly human's sorrows and mistakes, so let's get this over and done with."
"My name is Mallaleah, Mallaleah Cerulean. I was born in Dalaran, that famous city of mages. This was long before Dalaran became airborne or even before it was obscured behind its purple dome. But Dalaran was never my real home – my parents were both from Stormwind and took refuge in Dalaran after the sacking of the city in the First War. I only have a few memories of Dalaran when it was still earth-bound – those amazing towers, the toyshop, swimming in the cool waters of Lordamere Lake, wandering the shores of lake looking for herbs with my father. I also remember sitting by my mother's side in the Infirmary, feeling her nightmares and war memories invade my mind …
"My parents were hated being refugees. After the Second War, the order was given to rebuild Stormwind. My parents made sure they were in the first group to return. The healers in Dalaran had done all they could for my mother, they thought that if she saw and helped in the rebuilding of Stormwind, that it might help her own recovery. I was six when we made the long journey. The reconstruction of Stormwind wasn't finished when we arrived. The ruins and the construction sites seemed like a big playground for me and the other children who were there.
"I guess I suspected all along that I might have inherited some of my Mother's magical talent, but I chose to deny it until my adolescence when the evidence was overwhelming. That was one of the worst days of my life. I hated magic, and I hated myself for being tainted with it. Magic was what had ruined my Mother's life, causing her to see such horrors in the First War – which indirectly also caused me so much pain. Because of my parent's connections, I had a rare opportunity to receive training from Stormwind's leading Mages. I scornfully rejected that. Better to dig ditches or be buried in a library breathing in dust than to use magic!
"I took my apprenticeship in the Stormwind Keep Library. At the same time, I fell in with a bad crowd. I was very angry during this time. Even though I worked in Stormwind Keep and my father was a senior government official, I absolutely hated the Stormwind Government. The rebuilding of Stormwind was the perfect time to rebuild our society into a fairer one, but that opportunity was being squandered and I could see that the under-privileged would be even worse off in the New Stormwind. Those of you who have any knowledge of human politics will know where this path was taking me.
"It's too shameful for me to talk in detail of that time. Whatever gossip you may hear in the Stormwind public houses, be assured that I did not actually join the Defias. I was spared from that by discovering that they are mostly a gang of thugs who care more for violence than their political cause – which they use to dupe idealistic fools like me. They are so short-sighted and twisted that they even attempted to use the Third War to their advantage. But I can thank the Defias for at least one thing, it was because of them that I ended up learning magic. Initially to infiltrate the Mage establishment in Stormwind. Later, to learn ways of fighting Defias.
"I learned magic for completely the wrong reasons, but even then I felt diffident and untrusting of it, which possibly saved me from making the mistakes which too many Mages make. I know that there is no magic which can cure a broken mind or heart, and that generally magic causes more problems than it solves.
"When I finished my initial training, my first goal was to slay every member of the Defias who crossed my path. I caused them a lot of grief in Ellwyn Forest and Westfall, but it wasn't enough.
"One day I was hunting Defias Pillagers near the village of Moonbrook. These were a particularly satisfying foe for me. I could show them that Stormwind trained-Mages would be superior to those filthy hedge wizards. On this day, I was unlucky and encountered one who nearly got the better of me – who would have, if I had not used one of my healing potions. I approached her to cast the death blow, knowing that her mana was spent, or she would have blasted me. Our eyes met and we recognized each other. Shellyn Felicity, one of my classmates from the Mages Quarter, somebody who had been a good friend of mine. She must also have been assigned to infiltrate the Stormwind Mages by the Defias. Looking at her, I knew that but for the chance events which drove me away from the Defias, Shellyn was me. I knocked her unconscious with my staff and then turned around and walked out of Moonbrook and abandoned the fight against the Defias and turned my back on human lands.
"So that's my story. I have traveled a lot since then, I have seen a lot of the Eastern Kingdoms, as well as Outland. I now spend a lot of time in Northrend. I cannot tell you how disturbing it has been for me to learn to Malygos has turned against us. I now feel uncomfortable wielding arcane magic as casually as I used to.
“Other things have not changed. I still dislike the government in Stormwind. I thought that things might improve when our rightful king returned, but if anything King Varian has made things worse. I still hate the Defias - but I try not to fight against them if I can avoid it. I have kept my passion for books and learning. Sometimes excessively so. If I find a rare collection of manuscripts, I've been known to drop everything and study them for weeks on end. One day I hope to write a book of my own. I think that humans can learn a lot from our new allies, the Kaldorei. I would like to write a book that introduces humans to the lore and history of the Kaldorei. My own path is set as a Mage, but I hope that one day, some humans will be Druids.”