Fun in the Sun?

The world was quiet now, peaceful. The only sound were the insects in the evening and the gentle noise of the water washing up against the shore. Biara sat, her knees close to her chest as she gazed out over the water. Far below her, a few small fires flickered, dying down as the partygoers slept on the sands. It had been many hours since she'd left the party, but she had not gone home when she'd made her farewells. Instead, she'd flown to a secluded rock outcropping in the hills overlooking the beach and settled down for a secluded evening.

She'd had much thinking to do.

A breeze stirred through the rocks around her, blowing her red hair out in front of her face for a moment before she brushed it back. She shivered, her bathing suit little protection from the chill. She had nothing to keep her warm, and the thought made her smile as she realized she'd been feeling the cold more and more lately. It seemed as if the magic she'd collected from the phylactery was finally fading away, especially after her mana had been drained in battle recently.

The thought made her sigh, and her sea green eyes tracked down the length of the coast far below her, picking out the small campfires on the sand. She didn't know if Sulentia had left the party or not, but the girl had been wandering amongst the crowd when Biara took her leave. The Magistrix wondered what the young mage thought of her gift, and the words she'd imparted.

I shouldn't have said all of those things in front of Tatimitzi. I shouldn't have drank so much or let my emotions come up. What care they if I'm alone? Did she really need to hear me ranting about how my power forces all of those who love me away? My loose tongue ruined everything, and even drove away the very few elves that had actually been paying attention to me. Perhaps I'm my own worst enemy.

It was likely that all of those emotions were her pent up frustrations and pains from what had happened between her and Elunearia. Though weeks had gone by, and she'd seen little of the priestess, being at the party had reminded the Magistrix of her solitude, despite being surrounded by people, and she'd had a rare moment where her emotions boiled to the surface, let free of their bonds and allowed to rampage unchecked. It was not befitting of her station at all.

It doesn't matter in the end. My life was never my own to begin with. From the moment of my birth it belonged to my House, to Quel'Thalas. Our land was the womb that cradled me. It was my teacher. It is my home. It shall be my grave. Nothing else, no one else matters as much as that one purpose.

That one final resonating belief in something, in some purpose, set Biara's restless thoughts down into a calm and peaceful state. The look on her face might have been one to match that of a religious zealot, because the nature and depth of her belief was every bit as powerful. It defined her being, and was the only comfort she had in life.

"No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice I must make, Quel'Thalas will thrive and rise again," Biara murmured softly. She looked out over the water, holding a hand before her. In her palm, a ball of arcane magic flickered to life, her power flowing through the air. The wards on her face glittered with dazzling light as like called to like and she used her power to reach out over the vast distances of Azeroth.

Somewhere out in the world, a managem sparkled, it's power flickering to life. The owner of the gem, of the precious gift of magic, could not possibly realize how valuable the gift really was. She would never comprehend how much power Biara had poured into it, how her belief in the Sin'dorei, her love for her land, had been the driving force behind the gift. It was there though, the girl had but to reach for it slightly, and she would know what it was like to be connected with the very birthright of her people. The gem sparkled again in Biara's senses, awaiting that touch.

Biara smiled to herself in the night, letting her senses drop away. The sun would rise soon, heralding a new day, another beginning.

The sun would rise soon.