To Pass the Test

The glaive glittered in the moonlight as it came to rest in the soil, waiting to be taken up. Malandrae stared at it for a moment, her silver eyes wide and her mouth half open as she tried to find some words to say to change the situation. None were immediately forthcoming however.

Around the Highborne, three Sentinels stood in the moonlit clearing, each bearing their own glaives and smirks on their faces. They slowly circled, waiting for Malandrae to reach out and pick up the weapon that had been tossed at her feet.

They want to test me. But how far will they go?

After days of trying to speak to anyone who would listen, of pestering and withstanding dirty glances and worse, she had finally been contacted by the trio of Sentinels that now surrounded her about her attempts to join their group at Feathermoon Stronghold. Although no official word had been given to her, the leader of the three had promised that if she could pass their test they would accept her application and allow her to at least come along on a few patrols with them to learn the basics of what the Sentinels did. 

So why did they take me far from the stronghold into a secluded area of the woods? Why are we using edged weapons for the test?

The questions whirled through Malandrae's mind as she watched the expressions on the faces of the elves become more and more impatient. She'd heard of other Highborne being murdered amongst the night elves. The thought made her heart race as she hesitantly reached out for the unfamiliar weapon; a weapon she had not even been trained to wield.

Please Elune, protect and guide me now. Let me help my people. Let me survive this so I can do so.

Her delicate fingers wrapped around the weapon's central core and she hefted it from the soil with some difficulty, not expecting it to weigh so much or to be so firmly stuck in the ground. For a brief moment time seemed to hang still as she almost could feel the anticipation rise amongst the three elves around her, a sense of foreboding filling her.

And then two of them charged her.

It took a fraction of a second for them to cross the distance to her; one behind her and another a little to her rear and left. In that moment of time, Malandrae saw the gleaming edges of their glaives in the corner of her eye, and she knew then how deadly serious the test really was. If it was a test at all. Her eyes flashed and she did the only thing that an elf with no martial training could do in such a situation.

She used her magic.

Even as the first edged weapon entered the space where her body should have been, the Highborne had already Blinked across the clearing, disappearing and reappearing behind the one Sentinel that had not immediately rushed her. Blades rushed through the air where her body had been with lethal intent, and Malandrae knew in that instant that the Sentinels would kill her in the clearing and claim she had died in the testing unless she did something about it.

With all her might and desperation, Malandrae brought her own unfamiliar weapon upwards as hard as she could. The Sentinel in front of her jerked her own weapon forward, surprised at the unexpected appearance of the Highborne and the clumsy swing she made at her. Malandrae's glaive collided with the other's from below, applying force directly against her grip on the weapon.

The Sentinel's glaive flashed as it was knocked from her hand, flipping end over end in the moonlight and landing in the dirt far from her. The disarmed elf gasped and stumbled back as Malandrae whirled and jumped to the side. One of the other Sentinels had rushed up behind her, intent on stabbing her in the back while she was busy. The elf, now overbalanced and not wishing to strike her companion, was forced to bring her weapon up to avoid injuring the other.

Their bodies collided with a rather solid smack that made even Malandrae wince. The one she'd disarmed was hurled backwards to lay in a heap on the ground, the breath stolen from her. As the Highborne regained her balance, the last of the Sentinels charged at her. Malandrae smiled and then faded away into the shadows, melding with them and causing her attacker to stumble as she tried in vain to locate the Sorceress in the gloom.

Malandrae reappeared behind her suddenly, one expensive, designer boot slipped forward and between the Sentinel's legs. With a twist of her body, Malandrae tripped her opponent and the other elf tumbled face first into the dirt, the sudden move causing her to drop her glaive.

Even as she was congratulating herself, Malandrae felt a weight impact her from behind, throwing her to the ground. She twisted as she fell, managing to land on her back with a Sentinel atop her. It was the one who had previously collided with her friend, and by the look on her face, she was not happy to have a Highborne handling her companions so roughly. Her glaive came up above her, and then came hurtling down. Malandrae's silver eyes closed as she waited for the steel to strike her in the face.

When nothing happened, she opened her eyes to find the glaive less than an inch from her flesh, the Sentinel on top of her sneering down at her.

"You're dead. I knew you were useless," the elf muttered.

Malandrae smiled, her silver eyes looking down the length of the Sentinel's body. Seeing her gaze, the elf looked where Malandrae was looking. She looked to find that the Highborne had a wand in her hand pointed at her abdomen, the tip of it humming softly with arcane power.

"I've been TOTALLY practicing!" Malandrae said cheerfully. "I think this wand could probably put a hole through you and the tree behind you across the clearing over there!"

The elf on top of her paled slightly and quickly slipped off her, turning to see her two companions picking themselves up from the dirt. One had a scratch on her face, the other dirt clumps in her hair. Both looked rather worse for wear. The 'victor' of the match shook her head and sighed before turning to look at Malandrae again. "If you had such deadly power at your disposal, why did you pick up the glaive? We WOULD have killed you. The test is not meant to be safe; it's meant to judge your worth."

Malandrae slowly picked herself up and bit her lip in thought before slowly replying, "My magic is not designed to kill other elves. It's supposed to help people. I'd rather try to fight on my own merits than use it like that and make the whole fear about magic worse."

The Sentinel shook her head in irritation, "Idiot girl! The next time you might be killed! If you have resources to use against an enemy, you use them. Don't ever let me see you holding back again!"

Malandrae, completely missing the point of the lecture, tilted her head and smiled, "Next time? Does that mean I passed?"

The Sentinel sighed and looked to her two bruised companions. Both of them rolled their eyes and then grudgingly nodded. Without looking at Malandrae the leader of the trio bent to retrieve her weapons, speaking over her shoulder. "Yes, you passed. We will let you come on patrols with us. But don't think for a minute that it makes you one of us!"

Malandrae's smile was wide and she clapped her hands together happily, "Oh yay! I promise I won't let you down! This is going to be SUPER good!"

The lead Sentinel turned to look over at the bouncing, high-fashion Highborne and sighed again. She had a sinking suspicion that she was going to regret the day that Malandrae Moonwhisper came to Feathermoon Stronghold, but there was nothing to be done about it. It's not like they could just murder her outright, and she was actually somewhat capable.

Besides, she was beginning to wonder if anything would keep the giggling elf down for long.

"Elune take mercy on our foes," the Sentinel muttered. "I think they're going to need it... "