The crowd surged to its
feet as the human warrior brought his enormous two handed sword down,
intent on slaughtering the tiny Quel'dorei Archmage standing before him.
At the last possible instant, a protective bubble of holy light sprung
up around the female elf, and the giant blade was halted in mid-air. A
second later the Quel'dorei responded with a blazing gout of fire,
blowing the human back and away and causing him to pass out from his
wounds. The crowd went wild at the sudden reversal, and the arena echoed
with the howls of the spectators who had been given the sight of blood
they so craved.
The Archmage was joined by a second slender Quel'dorei female, both of them standing in the middle of the sands and bowing deeply before the crowd. Both wore form-fitting blue robes, their cowls covering most of their hair but still showing the blue glow of their eyes. The pair had become quite popular as of late, the mysterious Quel'dorei arriving at the arenas unannnounced and commencing to attain victory after victory. Their skill, as well as the fact that Quel'dorei almost never participated in the games, had lent to the excitement of the audience.
The two elves stepped off the sands of the arena, exiting through a wrought iron gate as rose petals were showered down upon them. Servants of the arena grounds led them towards the private gladitorial chambers, where the two would be pampered and enjoy the luxuries that the victors earned. They were brought to a luxurious suite of rooms, and the servant politely closed the door behind them, indicating that they need only ring a magic bell to summon serving staff to aid them.
As the door closed and locked, the Archmage turned and with a laugh pushed her teammate against the door gently, her expression lost within the cowl that hid most of her features. Her companion also laughed, and reached up to pull back her own cowl, exposing dark black hair and sparkling blue eyes. With a whispered word, the illusion over her faded and her hair lightened to a golden hue, her eyes shifting to a glowing green. Elunearia's smile brightened as her own appearance returned, and she gently reached up and pulled back the cowl of her companion.
The Archmage also had black hair and the blue eyes of the Quel'dorei, and Elunearia snickered as she examined Biara in the privacy of the gladiator's chambers. "That last bout was well fought, but do we HAVE to wear these silly disguises Biara?"
Biara the Quel'dorei sighed and said, "I can't let Kyli know we're doing this. She'll get angry with me, and she'll want to fight as well. You know how she is. We won't be able to convince her otherwise and I can't afford to let her take such risks."
Elunearia nodded and paused for a moment before replying, "Then why fight at all? Why not just stop entirely?"
Biara looked down, avoiding contacting Elunearia's eyes. "Because this is what my life is. Every day I have to fight the alliance. Every night I fear that assassins will come in the dark for us. I have to be constantly alert and these bouts give me the ability to be on that blade's edge."
Elunearia reached out and gently tilted Biara's chin up until the two were looking into each other's eyes, green eyes focused on blue. "That's not all there is to it, is it?"
Biara couldn't lie, not with Elunearia looking at her like that. She frowned and whispered, "No. You know I like to use my magic. I have a need to feel it flowing through me. It's an excuse...to feed that feeling. I'm a wretched person, aren't I?"
The tenderness in Elunearia's eyes did more for the Magistrix than her words, "Of course not. One day you'll be able to use your magic for other things besides fighting, and you will revel in that as much as you do using it in combat. I know enough about you to know this."
Biara smiled and nodded. Elunearia was right of course; she didn't have to use magic just for fighting, and one day the wars would end and there would be peaceful applications of her spells that didn't involve visiting death on others. She softly began to whisper the words to the spell that would remove the illusion of black hair and blue eyes and restore her to normal.
Biara's chant was cut short when Elunearia placed a finger on her lips. Her disguise remained intact, the spell unfinished. "Hush now. I think for a time you might enjoy being someone else, and not having to worry about assassins or wars or politics."
Biara blinked in surprise as Elunearia drew her into an embrace, whispering in her ear, "Besides, you've been a very naughty little Quel'dorei, fighting in the arena sands like that..."
Biara's muffled giggle was enough for the priestess to know she had soothed her love's worries. It would be many hours before the two emerged from the gladiator's quarters, resuming their normal appearances and returning to Silvermoon.
The Archmage was joined by a second slender Quel'dorei female, both of them standing in the middle of the sands and bowing deeply before the crowd. Both wore form-fitting blue robes, their cowls covering most of their hair but still showing the blue glow of their eyes. The pair had become quite popular as of late, the mysterious Quel'dorei arriving at the arenas unannnounced and commencing to attain victory after victory. Their skill, as well as the fact that Quel'dorei almost never participated in the games, had lent to the excitement of the audience.
The two elves stepped off the sands of the arena, exiting through a wrought iron gate as rose petals were showered down upon them. Servants of the arena grounds led them towards the private gladitorial chambers, where the two would be pampered and enjoy the luxuries that the victors earned. They were brought to a luxurious suite of rooms, and the servant politely closed the door behind them, indicating that they need only ring a magic bell to summon serving staff to aid them.
As the door closed and locked, the Archmage turned and with a laugh pushed her teammate against the door gently, her expression lost within the cowl that hid most of her features. Her companion also laughed, and reached up to pull back her own cowl, exposing dark black hair and sparkling blue eyes. With a whispered word, the illusion over her faded and her hair lightened to a golden hue, her eyes shifting to a glowing green. Elunearia's smile brightened as her own appearance returned, and she gently reached up and pulled back the cowl of her companion.
The Archmage also had black hair and the blue eyes of the Quel'dorei, and Elunearia snickered as she examined Biara in the privacy of the gladiator's chambers. "That last bout was well fought, but do we HAVE to wear these silly disguises Biara?"
Biara the Quel'dorei sighed and said, "I can't let Kyli know we're doing this. She'll get angry with me, and she'll want to fight as well. You know how she is. We won't be able to convince her otherwise and I can't afford to let her take such risks."
Elunearia nodded and paused for a moment before replying, "Then why fight at all? Why not just stop entirely?"
Biara looked down, avoiding contacting Elunearia's eyes. "Because this is what my life is. Every day I have to fight the alliance. Every night I fear that assassins will come in the dark for us. I have to be constantly alert and these bouts give me the ability to be on that blade's edge."
Elunearia reached out and gently tilted Biara's chin up until the two were looking into each other's eyes, green eyes focused on blue. "That's not all there is to it, is it?"
Biara couldn't lie, not with Elunearia looking at her like that. She frowned and whispered, "No. You know I like to use my magic. I have a need to feel it flowing through me. It's an excuse...to feed that feeling. I'm a wretched person, aren't I?"
The tenderness in Elunearia's eyes did more for the Magistrix than her words, "Of course not. One day you'll be able to use your magic for other things besides fighting, and you will revel in that as much as you do using it in combat. I know enough about you to know this."
Biara smiled and nodded. Elunearia was right of course; she didn't have to use magic just for fighting, and one day the wars would end and there would be peaceful applications of her spells that didn't involve visiting death on others. She softly began to whisper the words to the spell that would remove the illusion of black hair and blue eyes and restore her to normal.
Biara's chant was cut short when Elunearia placed a finger on her lips. Her disguise remained intact, the spell unfinished. "Hush now. I think for a time you might enjoy being someone else, and not having to worry about assassins or wars or politics."
Biara blinked in surprise as Elunearia drew her into an embrace, whispering in her ear, "Besides, you've been a very naughty little Quel'dorei, fighting in the arena sands like that..."
Biara's muffled giggle was enough for the priestess to know she had soothed her love's worries. It would be many hours before the two emerged from the gladiator's quarters, resuming their normal appearances and returning to Silvermoon.
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