Rebel Talk

The gavel fell with a loud bang, the sound echoing throughout the marble chamber and bringing murmured conversations to a hush. Set in a giant oval, the chamber featured stadium rows of seats along the two longer sides, polished hardwood desks in front of each seat to give the representatives space to take notes or place personal effects. At one narrow end of the oval space were a row of three desks set lower to the floor, the presiding Magisters directing the flow of the meeting from their impressive high-backed chairs.

"Order! Let us bring the proceedings to order!" one of the Magisters said, waiting until the chamber had fallen completely silent of even the echoes of conversation. "Before we proceed with today's agenda and a review of the doctrines in place for arcane guardian power crystals, we have several speakers who would like to address the Magistrate. Without further delay the floor will now go to our first speaker of the day. Please welcome Magistrix Biara Sunfire, of House Sunfire."

There was a spattering of polite applause as the red-haired Magistrix rose from her place amongst the other assembled magi, slowly making her way down the marble steps to the open space in the center of the floor. She glanced around, her fel-green eyes missing little and noting that applause did NOT drift from the portion of the magi who represented House Dawnsea. She also noted with very little surprise that the seats that would ordinarily be occupied by House Sunhaven magi were empty.

As the Magisters directing the proceedings had done, Biara waited until the applause died and the echoes of the sound became still, her posture straight and her hand clasped together before her as she studied the others who watched her. Unlike many who had attended the day's meeting, Biara had chosen to forgo wearing a fashionable dress or expensive jewelry, instead choosing to wear her combat armor. The blood red robes glittered with a deadly array of wardstones, magical foci, and carefully wrought spells designed to protect the wearer from enemy combatants. As with the wards that sparkled on Biara's right cheek, the spells selected for her armor were woven with an expert hand, and the outfit made a bold statement about her capabilities as well as her intentions with her words.

It was, of course, exactly what she'd planned. Biara did nothing, absolutely nothing without considering the political ramifications these days.

Biara took in a deep breath, her voice coming out in a steady, confident tone that made it seem as if she were addressing each individual Magister and Magistrix present. There was no hint of anxiety or worry as she carefully turned while she spoke, looking many of the other Sin'dorei in the eyes.

"Esteemed colleagues," she began. "It is indeed an honor to stand before you on this glorious day and address such a powerful representation of Sin'dorei might. All of you within this room represent the true meaning of what it is to be a Sin'dorei. You hold within your hands and minds the power of thousands of years of progress in the magical arts, and are the very finest examples of what a spellcaster should be. In all of Azeroth, there are no others and no other body that can compare to all of you, and to address such an august group leaves me humbled."

It was, of course, a carefully prepared charade and they all knew it. Biara had addressed the Magistrate many times before, in fact almost daily, but there were proprieties to consider and niceties to observe when addressing such a gathering. Biara began to pace slowly in a cirle as she continued to speak, the high heeled boots she wore in combat making a light clicking sound with each footfall on the marble.

"With that said, there is a simple fact that I fear must be given the utmost attention, especially by such knowledgeable minds," she continued, a serious expression on her face. "For many years now we have furthered our arts. Even in the darkest of times when Quel'Thalas was on the brink of destruction, we plied our trade, expanded our knowledge, and used our spellcraft to protect our noble nation and people. We have made great sacrifices, and lost many of our fellows in order to see to it that we would still sit within these chambers and study magic. We have even created an assembly of Sin'dorei dedicated to discovering and collecting artifacts to further our cause. Of course I refer to the Reliquary when I speak of this."

Biara paused, turning to look at the three Magisters at the chamber's head. She spread her hands wide, as if enjoining them to embrace her next words, "This organization has done much to advance our cause, has collected much magic over the years. But I ask you, where now are these artifacts? Where now does the fruit of the Reliquary's labor go? Do their finds grace our halls and enrich our Houses? Is Quel'Thalas safer for their gathering of power, or does such magic slip from between our fingertips?"

Biara's hands fell to her side, and she shook her head almost sadly, "No my fellow Magisters, we do NOT benefit from their labors. The magical artifacts they gather do not reside in Silvermoon, but instead are taken by the orcs to further the goals of the Warchief. While such a cause could be considered noble, I need not remind you all of the consequences of powerful sources of magic being located in the hands of others outside of Quel'Thalas. We have ample evidence just outside these very chambers of the destruction that such a situation could bring about."

There were murmurs amongst the assembly as Biara's words sunk in. From one of the galleries a single word fluttered down to where Biara stood on the central floor, her long, slanted ears easily picking it up. The word was 'Treason'.

Biara whirled towards the source of the word, jabbing a manicured finger towards that general area of the assembly, "This Magistrate was formed for the sole purpose of governing magic in Quel'Thalas at the will of the royal line. Though we have now a Regent only, we still fulfill this purpose. The Horde are our allies, but they do NOT rule this nation, the Regent Lord does. The Blood Knights do. We do. It is inconceivable that we would even allow the thought of outsiders influencing the decisions we make in the council to come to pass. Inconceivable that we would allow others to influence the Reliquary and STEAL objects that not only rightfully belong to the Sin'dorei, but that threaten Quel'Thalas itself."

Biara let her hand drop, her heated words echoing in the chamber. She nodded, spreading her arms wide again and turning towards another portion of the group, "My friends, it is a simple choice that we face in the near future. The time is coming when we Sin'dorei must look to what is best for our nation, our people. A time is coming when we must consider what loose magic in the world can do to us, and remember the lessons that history has taught us. I am not asking you today to decide one way or another whether or not the orcs are truly trustworthy. That topic is one better reserved for those higher than ourselves. No, instead I am simply restating our purpose; to serve Quel'Thalas as the guardians of its magic. I only ask that you think long and hard about the artifacts that have gone missing, about how much magical power we wish our allies to possess, and how we might benefit from ensuring those resources are in reliable hands."

Biara let her hands drop, her breathing somewhat labored from the passion she had poured into her words. She turned to face the three Magisters at the head of the chamber once more, bowing her head, "Magisters, given that a lack of action could lead to the loss of precious resources, I wish to propose that a committee be created to carefully catalog those items that the Reliquary has collected, and how many artifacts have been shipped into orc hands in the past few years. The strength, location, and description of such artifacts may become extremely important in the near future."

She turned, offering the assembly a curtsey before concluding, "I thank you, my Lords and Ladies, for giving me the opportunity to address you this morning."

With that she turned and proceeded back to her seat, thunderous applause and heated debates instantly springing to life amongst the crowd behind her. As Biara headed back towards her chair, her lips curled into a smile as her motion was seconded.

It would take only a small bit of maneuvering to ensure that she was assigned to the committee that would most likely be created. She would be quite useful for such an endeavor after all. And once the committee had begun the catalog the artifacts gathered by the orcs...well, suffice to say she would have a list of the locations of such artifacts ready at hand in the case of an emergency.

Biara's smile widened as the debate began to unfold within the galleries around her, plans flowing through her mind like water running its course down a river. When the true rebellion started, House Sunfire would be there, aiding the Sin'dorei at every step of the way, and enriching themselves on the spoils of war.

After that? Nothing would stand in their way, and Quel'Thalas would be protected as never before, with the removal of certain evils that threatened its safety. Biara would see to it personally.