The weather was warm for
autumn, and combined with the beautiful colors of the leaves Malandrae
found herself drawn towards Elwynn Forest. She'd had a break from
classes mid-day and it was the perfect time to take a stroll and simply
try to absorb all of the things she was studying. Although some of her
lessons were going well, particularly those dealing with arcane magic,
she was still having quite a bit of trouble with the mathematics behind
the magical power and the theories that supported what she was learning.
A walk usually did wonders to clear her mind when she needed to think.
After passing through Stormwind's gates, she made her way down the road towards the village of Goldshire. The woods around her were peaceful and quiet, and she could feel her mind being soothed already after the many hours of study she'd put in. She could think about frivolous things for a time without interruption. Or so she thought.
About halfway to Goldshire, she paused as she saw a man crouched in the bushes by the side of the road. Although her eyes were not adjusted to seeing well during the day, the man had poorly concealed himself and it was obvious he was there. It was also obvious that he saw her looking in his direction since she'd made no effort to hide the turning of her head. He quickly rose up, his eyes appraising her from a distance. On Malandrae's part, she studied the human as best she could in the daylight, noting his rough leather armor, the swords strapped to his hips, and the red bandana that covered his face.
After a moment of looking at one another, Malandrae hesitantly raised her hand and waved a greeting. The man's expression was hidden from her by his mask, but his eyebrows rose up in what seemed to be surprise before he nodded back at her. He raised his hand, beckoning to her to come closer.
Malandrae paused and looked around, seeing that she was alone and he was not gesturing to anyone else. She shrugged her shoulders and walked towards him, determined to see what he wanted. The man nodded again and then turned, pressing deeper into the forest. Malandrae hurried, trying to keep him in sight as the foliage pressed in around them.
After a few minutes of stumbling through the undergrowth, Malandrae managed to catch up to the man as he entered a clearing in the forest. He turned to look at her, his red mask showing nothing of what he was thinking as she paused uncertainly before him.
"A-are you alright sir?" Malandrae said hesitantly.
He barked out a laugh and nodded. "Aye. I'm fine. I'm much better than you are lass." He gestured and suddenly the foliage around them erupted in noise as several more red-masked humans stepped from concealment. Two of them came up behind Malandrae, grabbing her arms roughly.
"W-what..? I don't understand..." Malandrae said, looking about her in confusion.
The man stared at her coldly, his eyes hard and unfeeling. "Your money elf. We want all your coin or we'll have your life. You're about to donate to the Defias."
Malandrae's eyes widened as she realized that the men were bandits. She'd never heard of the 'Defias' before, and never really encountered the humans of Elwynn or Westfall other than from what she'd read in texts. She struggled, pulling against the two red-masked men that held her arms.
"Now now, none of that lass," The man said casually. He stepped up to her and punched her hard in the stomach. She gasped and doubled over in the grip of the men holding her. "Just give us what you want, and we'll let you live maybe. Fight us and it'll go badly for you, and you'll end up giving it to us anyway."
He emphasized his point by holding Malandrae's chin up and then backhanding her. She gasped, her head hanging down as the men around her laughed. She felt a stillness within herself as her arms were pinned behind her. She could feel the moisture in the air, feel the breeze blowing around her, feel her body's connection to the leylines, to the magic of Azeroth just as Professor Knox had taught her. She could feel the inner fire of her anger, ready and waiting to fuel the fire that her magic could become.
In her mind, she could hear Silveria's voice through the buzzbox. She could recall the conversation they'd had the day before. She remembered what the other night elf had said when she asked why there were still brutal people like the Twilight's Hammer cultists and why wars were waged with the orcs and between the Horde and Alliance. Silveria had said that it would not change, despite the amount of time that had passed while Malandrae slept. There would always be brutal people, and a need to fight. Even some of their own allies exhibited these traits, and the men surrounding Malandrae now were clearly an example of this.
Malandrae's eyes narrowed as her thoughts whirled. No, it can be different. We can change this, we can stop this from going on. It doesn't HAVE to be like this, and I don't have to join this senseless destruction if I don't want to.
The man stepped closer to her, grabbing her by the hair and forcing her to look into his eyes, "So what's it going to be? Where's the coin longears? Or do you need more encouragement."
She stared at him, arcane energy pulsing around her. She could feel the magical potential there, she knew she could destroy him and the men holding her in an instant if she wanted to. She took in a deep breath and let it go, steadying herself and releasing her grip on the magic. "It's strapped to my boot top, on my left leg. Take it and go."
My coin and my dignity are not worth these men's lives, even if they are evil.
The red masked man chuckled and bent down, lifting the front of her dress up, exposing her thigh high boot and finding a pouch strapped there. He pulled his dagger, roughly cutting the pouch off and admiring her leg before looking up at his companions. "Here we are then lads. That was fast! We've got plenty of time now, and a lovely elf maid to consider yet."
The men laughed as their red-masked leader cut Malandrae's pouch open. Several of her possessions spilled to the ground, and into his palm poured her gold coins; the same ones that Ilhedith Knox had given her that she'd been saving to buy something special with. She wanted to buy a gift for the Professor to thank her for all she'd done so far. In an instant though the coins were gone, slipped into his pocket and lost forever.
He stepped closer to her again, and she felt hands digging into her arms as she struggled. His hand came up and backhanded her again, making her see stars. "I told you what would happen if you struggle lass..."
Even as he spoke, the sound of horseshoes striking the earth could be heard, followed by shouts. The Defias bandits turned, several giving off startled gasps. "The Royal Calvary!"
And so it was. Wrynn's Calvary regularly patrolled between Stormwind and Goldshire, and apparently they were clever enough to spot the tracks of multiple men passing through the forest and follow them. The Defias looked at each other, panic in their eyes. Their leader quickly punched Malandrae again and shouted, "Leave her! We got what we wanted. Let's get out of here."
She was roughly shoved to the ground as the rest fled. She could see their boots as they fled into the bushes. Lying on the ground in front of her was the buzzbox Chelody had given her. She reached for it weakly and held it in her hand, tears streaming down her face. She looked at it, not wanting to turn it on and share her shame with her new friends.
She whispered softly to the deactivated box, "You might have been right Silveria. Maybe it is in the nature of the world, b-but it's not in mine. I-I've seen enough to last forever..."
A few minutes later the Calvary arrived in the clearing, finding a crumpled elf girl crying in the dirt, surrounded by her few meager possessions and cradling a buzzbox in her hand. She had a bloody nose and her tear streaked face stared off at nothing. They gently lifted her up and examined her, noting that she appeared to be an apprentice of the Mage Tower based on her clothing and the things scattered around. After ensuring that she was not physically injured, they carefully placed her on a horse and returned her to Stormwind, delivering her to Ilhedith Knox's apartment after they were finally able to get her to tell them her address.
She stayed locked in her room for the rest of the day, her thoughts occupied on trying to understand the most difficult lesson of all; why the world was so dark.
After passing through Stormwind's gates, she made her way down the road towards the village of Goldshire. The woods around her were peaceful and quiet, and she could feel her mind being soothed already after the many hours of study she'd put in. She could think about frivolous things for a time without interruption. Or so she thought.
About halfway to Goldshire, she paused as she saw a man crouched in the bushes by the side of the road. Although her eyes were not adjusted to seeing well during the day, the man had poorly concealed himself and it was obvious he was there. It was also obvious that he saw her looking in his direction since she'd made no effort to hide the turning of her head. He quickly rose up, his eyes appraising her from a distance. On Malandrae's part, she studied the human as best she could in the daylight, noting his rough leather armor, the swords strapped to his hips, and the red bandana that covered his face.
After a moment of looking at one another, Malandrae hesitantly raised her hand and waved a greeting. The man's expression was hidden from her by his mask, but his eyebrows rose up in what seemed to be surprise before he nodded back at her. He raised his hand, beckoning to her to come closer.
Malandrae paused and looked around, seeing that she was alone and he was not gesturing to anyone else. She shrugged her shoulders and walked towards him, determined to see what he wanted. The man nodded again and then turned, pressing deeper into the forest. Malandrae hurried, trying to keep him in sight as the foliage pressed in around them.
After a few minutes of stumbling through the undergrowth, Malandrae managed to catch up to the man as he entered a clearing in the forest. He turned to look at her, his red mask showing nothing of what he was thinking as she paused uncertainly before him.
"A-are you alright sir?" Malandrae said hesitantly.
He barked out a laugh and nodded. "Aye. I'm fine. I'm much better than you are lass." He gestured and suddenly the foliage around them erupted in noise as several more red-masked humans stepped from concealment. Two of them came up behind Malandrae, grabbing her arms roughly.
"W-what..? I don't understand..." Malandrae said, looking about her in confusion.
The man stared at her coldly, his eyes hard and unfeeling. "Your money elf. We want all your coin or we'll have your life. You're about to donate to the Defias."
Malandrae's eyes widened as she realized that the men were bandits. She'd never heard of the 'Defias' before, and never really encountered the humans of Elwynn or Westfall other than from what she'd read in texts. She struggled, pulling against the two red-masked men that held her arms.
"Now now, none of that lass," The man said casually. He stepped up to her and punched her hard in the stomach. She gasped and doubled over in the grip of the men holding her. "Just give us what you want, and we'll let you live maybe. Fight us and it'll go badly for you, and you'll end up giving it to us anyway."
He emphasized his point by holding Malandrae's chin up and then backhanding her. She gasped, her head hanging down as the men around her laughed. She felt a stillness within herself as her arms were pinned behind her. She could feel the moisture in the air, feel the breeze blowing around her, feel her body's connection to the leylines, to the magic of Azeroth just as Professor Knox had taught her. She could feel the inner fire of her anger, ready and waiting to fuel the fire that her magic could become.
In her mind, she could hear Silveria's voice through the buzzbox. She could recall the conversation they'd had the day before. She remembered what the other night elf had said when she asked why there were still brutal people like the Twilight's Hammer cultists and why wars were waged with the orcs and between the Horde and Alliance. Silveria had said that it would not change, despite the amount of time that had passed while Malandrae slept. There would always be brutal people, and a need to fight. Even some of their own allies exhibited these traits, and the men surrounding Malandrae now were clearly an example of this.
Malandrae's eyes narrowed as her thoughts whirled. No, it can be different. We can change this, we can stop this from going on. It doesn't HAVE to be like this, and I don't have to join this senseless destruction if I don't want to.
The man stepped closer to her, grabbing her by the hair and forcing her to look into his eyes, "So what's it going to be? Where's the coin longears? Or do you need more encouragement."
She stared at him, arcane energy pulsing around her. She could feel the magical potential there, she knew she could destroy him and the men holding her in an instant if she wanted to. She took in a deep breath and let it go, steadying herself and releasing her grip on the magic. "It's strapped to my boot top, on my left leg. Take it and go."
My coin and my dignity are not worth these men's lives, even if they are evil.
The red masked man chuckled and bent down, lifting the front of her dress up, exposing her thigh high boot and finding a pouch strapped there. He pulled his dagger, roughly cutting the pouch off and admiring her leg before looking up at his companions. "Here we are then lads. That was fast! We've got plenty of time now, and a lovely elf maid to consider yet."
The men laughed as their red-masked leader cut Malandrae's pouch open. Several of her possessions spilled to the ground, and into his palm poured her gold coins; the same ones that Ilhedith Knox had given her that she'd been saving to buy something special with. She wanted to buy a gift for the Professor to thank her for all she'd done so far. In an instant though the coins were gone, slipped into his pocket and lost forever.
He stepped closer to her again, and she felt hands digging into her arms as she struggled. His hand came up and backhanded her again, making her see stars. "I told you what would happen if you struggle lass..."
Even as he spoke, the sound of horseshoes striking the earth could be heard, followed by shouts. The Defias bandits turned, several giving off startled gasps. "The Royal Calvary!"
And so it was. Wrynn's Calvary regularly patrolled between Stormwind and Goldshire, and apparently they were clever enough to spot the tracks of multiple men passing through the forest and follow them. The Defias looked at each other, panic in their eyes. Their leader quickly punched Malandrae again and shouted, "Leave her! We got what we wanted. Let's get out of here."
She was roughly shoved to the ground as the rest fled. She could see their boots as they fled into the bushes. Lying on the ground in front of her was the buzzbox Chelody had given her. She reached for it weakly and held it in her hand, tears streaming down her face. She looked at it, not wanting to turn it on and share her shame with her new friends.
She whispered softly to the deactivated box, "You might have been right Silveria. Maybe it is in the nature of the world, b-but it's not in mine. I-I've seen enough to last forever..."
A few minutes later the Calvary arrived in the clearing, finding a crumpled elf girl crying in the dirt, surrounded by her few meager possessions and cradling a buzzbox in her hand. She had a bloody nose and her tear streaked face stared off at nothing. They gently lifted her up and examined her, noting that she appeared to be an apprentice of the Mage Tower based on her clothing and the things scattered around. After ensuring that she was not physically injured, they carefully placed her on a horse and returned her to Stormwind, delivering her to Ilhedith Knox's apartment after they were finally able to get her to tell them her address.
She stayed locked in her room for the rest of the day, her thoughts occupied on trying to understand the most difficult lesson of all; why the world was so dark.
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