The light was so bright
she had to squint for a moment to see. Even with the massive stone
structure above her, it glimmered and danced from the grassy fields
beyond the opening of the building, playing across the surfaces of the
white marble. Leaves of ivy blew in the warm breeze, and Celessiel felt
it on her skin like a soothing caress. She could not recall having been
so warm in such a long time; it was the perfect spring day in Eversong
Woods.
She smiled as she walked towards the exit of the structure, knowing somehow that she was standing within the East Sanctum. As her bare feet contacted the grass she sighed with delight, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her tanned skin and playing through her blonde hair. She looked up at the building behind her, seeing the mystical compass above the East Sanctum humming with life, empowering the magic of the land around it and keeping her beloved forest in proper order and beauty.
As Celessiel looked down again at the grassy fields around the opening to the Sanctum, she saw a number of figures approaching her through the mid-morning light. Indistinct at first, their forms became recognizable as they drew nearer, the familiar faces of her family and friends gathering around her, smiling at her with unrestrained joy. Celessiel blinked back tears as she stepped forward, her arms open wide to embrace the figure of her mother, who returned the gesture with love the likes of which Celessiel had not felt in so long.
"Can all of this be real?" Celessiel murmured as the rest of her friends and loved ones gathered around to embrace her. They were all there, her father, her mother, her brother and sister, even her childhood love, a bronze-skinned black-haired elf named Ketheron.
"It is as real as anything else my beloved daughter," Celessiel's mother whispered into her ear. "We are so proud of you. We love you so much."
Weeping openly, Celessiel hugged her mother tighter, "Oh Minn'da, how can you say that? How can you be proud of the things I've done? I'm a wretched thing."
"Hush child," her mother said, her hands running through Celessiel's golden hair to soothe her. "It is enough to know that you have stood against the darkness, and all of this will pass in time. You have done more than ever should have been asked of you, you will suffer more than any of us, and live on to carry our memories for lifetimes to come. It is a great burden you carry my daughter, and we could never be more proud of you than we are. There is but one task yet for you to complete for us."
Celessiel sighed, pulling back from her mother's embrace to take in the faces of all of her loved ones. "What? What must I do? I would give anything to stay here forever."
Her mother smiled sadly and said, "Free us."
Celessiel blinked in confusion. "Free...you? I don't understand..." Even as the words left her mouth, the light began to fade. The green grass beneath their feet slowly darkened, turning to blackened soil bereft of life. Behind them, the Sanctum cracked, chips of rock tumbling to the ground with small sounds of impact with the dead soil.
"Free us. Save us," Celessiel's mother said again. Her eyes took on a reddish glow, as did the eyes of all of the others. Slowly their forms shrunk, their skin graying away as bone was exposed. In horror Celessiel reached out to them, only to see her own tan flesh fading to gray, the red of her fingernails fading to black. The light dimmed all around her.
"Release ussssssss..." the voice of her mother was a hiss now, issuing from the mouth of a skeleton. The scourge stood all around Celessiel now as she reached out with her own gray flesh, as if to embrace them.
"Oh Light please no," She whispered. "Please, let it end..."
A last whisper, in her mother's normal voice once more, "Be at peace my daughter...go with our love."
***************
Celessiel thrashed around in her sleep, moaning as the fever raged through her body. It was her own Frost Fever she was inflicted with. It had always been there within her, released against her foes and kept in check by her will and the power of her altered form. It was eternal suffering and agony, it was something that she had dealt with for years, something she had accepted as part of who she was.
It was eating her alive.
Her thrashing grew worse as the dream progressed towards the end. As the dream came to its conclusion, her sweat soaked form shuddered with the freezing cold of the fever, the sickness seeking to claim her. With the final whisper of her mother's voice though, something changed. A slight glow filled the area around the death knight, and for the briefest of moments, the Light touched her. Her thrashing ceased, her breathing calming and her temperature returned to the normal freezing cold that her form held within it. As quickly as it had been seen, the Light faded, a final gift from her loved ones. A final gesture of their love.
For one single moment, she slept in utter peace, her wounds, her pain and suffering forgotten.
She smiled as she walked towards the exit of the structure, knowing somehow that she was standing within the East Sanctum. As her bare feet contacted the grass she sighed with delight, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her tanned skin and playing through her blonde hair. She looked up at the building behind her, seeing the mystical compass above the East Sanctum humming with life, empowering the magic of the land around it and keeping her beloved forest in proper order and beauty.
As Celessiel looked down again at the grassy fields around the opening to the Sanctum, she saw a number of figures approaching her through the mid-morning light. Indistinct at first, their forms became recognizable as they drew nearer, the familiar faces of her family and friends gathering around her, smiling at her with unrestrained joy. Celessiel blinked back tears as she stepped forward, her arms open wide to embrace the figure of her mother, who returned the gesture with love the likes of which Celessiel had not felt in so long.
"Can all of this be real?" Celessiel murmured as the rest of her friends and loved ones gathered around to embrace her. They were all there, her father, her mother, her brother and sister, even her childhood love, a bronze-skinned black-haired elf named Ketheron.
"It is as real as anything else my beloved daughter," Celessiel's mother whispered into her ear. "We are so proud of you. We love you so much."
Weeping openly, Celessiel hugged her mother tighter, "Oh Minn'da, how can you say that? How can you be proud of the things I've done? I'm a wretched thing."
"Hush child," her mother said, her hands running through Celessiel's golden hair to soothe her. "It is enough to know that you have stood against the darkness, and all of this will pass in time. You have done more than ever should have been asked of you, you will suffer more than any of us, and live on to carry our memories for lifetimes to come. It is a great burden you carry my daughter, and we could never be more proud of you than we are. There is but one task yet for you to complete for us."
Celessiel sighed, pulling back from her mother's embrace to take in the faces of all of her loved ones. "What? What must I do? I would give anything to stay here forever."
Her mother smiled sadly and said, "Free us."
Celessiel blinked in confusion. "Free...you? I don't understand..." Even as the words left her mouth, the light began to fade. The green grass beneath their feet slowly darkened, turning to blackened soil bereft of life. Behind them, the Sanctum cracked, chips of rock tumbling to the ground with small sounds of impact with the dead soil.
"Free us. Save us," Celessiel's mother said again. Her eyes took on a reddish glow, as did the eyes of all of the others. Slowly their forms shrunk, their skin graying away as bone was exposed. In horror Celessiel reached out to them, only to see her own tan flesh fading to gray, the red of her fingernails fading to black. The light dimmed all around her.
"Release ussssssss..." the voice of her mother was a hiss now, issuing from the mouth of a skeleton. The scourge stood all around Celessiel now as she reached out with her own gray flesh, as if to embrace them.
"Oh Light please no," She whispered. "Please, let it end..."
A last whisper, in her mother's normal voice once more, "Be at peace my daughter...go with our love."
***************
Celessiel thrashed around in her sleep, moaning as the fever raged through her body. It was her own Frost Fever she was inflicted with. It had always been there within her, released against her foes and kept in check by her will and the power of her altered form. It was eternal suffering and agony, it was something that she had dealt with for years, something she had accepted as part of who she was.
It was eating her alive.
Her thrashing grew worse as the dream progressed towards the end. As the dream came to its conclusion, her sweat soaked form shuddered with the freezing cold of the fever, the sickness seeking to claim her. With the final whisper of her mother's voice though, something changed. A slight glow filled the area around the death knight, and for the briefest of moments, the Light touched her. Her thrashing ceased, her breathing calming and her temperature returned to the normal freezing cold that her form held within it. As quickly as it had been seen, the Light faded, a final gift from her loved ones. A final gesture of their love.
For one single moment, she slept in utter peace, her wounds, her pain and suffering forgotten.
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