Shameful Secrets

Sunfire. Felo'melorn. Dawnsea. Sunhaven. The names ran over and over through Braeth'el's mind as he stumbled through the ruins and tumbled stones. Like curses that had descended upon the Sin'dorei, the Houses had directly impacted his life in many ways, mostly bad, and now it seemed they would be the end of him. He cursed bitterly as a loose stone made him trip and he leaned hard against a standing bit of broken wall. He looked down, shaking his head in disgust as his blood dripped onto the grey stones and ran into the dust.

They were coming for him. He could hear their boots scuffing against fallen rocks and other bits of debris that made up the ruins of Dayfire Spire. With the wounds he'd taken, they would likely catch him before much longer, at least if he wasn't fast. It was getting hard to see, his vision greying around the edges as his lifeblood pumped from the stab wound in his kidney. Even so, he pressed on, hoping to find that which he sought.

To think after all of my years of service, it has come to this.

He had made a crucial mistake; he had fought with the Scion of House Sunfire. Biara had not been pleased to hear his opinions about her sister, Kyliska or the recent events between House Sunfire and House Felo'melorn. She had dismissed him in a bit of a rage, and he had left to give her time to calm herself. Had he left it at that, perhaps none of this would have happened, but he'd gone and pressed the point by attempting to get to Kyliska herself to talk to her. It was this crucial error that resulted in his present situation; being hunted through Silvermoon by Biara's men as well as the enemies who had outed his identity in House Dawnsea. As a spy, he had failed, and a failed spy had little time to live in the long run.

There is one more option. I will not let them catch me if I can help it.

He'd been trained from a youth to spy for House Dayfire, which later became House Sunfire. Through all the years he'd recalled his training, he'd memorized the secrets of the House passed down to him from the older spymasters that Tel'athar Dayfire had employed. He'd been a good student, and now he prayed that within the ruins of the spire he could find one of the secrets he'd been taught long ago.

As he coughed up blood, he steeled himself for one last effort, the sound of his pursuers drawing closer. The top of the spire had fallen upon the ruins of the rest of the Dayfire holdings, the structures near the very top crushing those beneath. It was in this part of the ruined edifice that Braeth'el hoped to find his salvation. As he ran, his efforts were rewarded when he encountered a ruined arch sticking up from amongst the stones; part of the lattice of arches that had once surrounded the portal room. He darted beneath the arch, seeing the small insets where the portals had once been activated within the spire.

Behind him he heard shouts as the trail of blood he'd left was discovered, and he increased his pace, hurrying to one of the small spaces where a portal might once have stood. This one contained a statue, and had obviously not been used even in the spire's glory. With a grunt he leaned on the statue, pushing it over all the way and shattering it on the broken marble floor. With a shout he slapped his bloodstained hand on the statue's base, the word of magic he'd uttered activating spells that had been long dormant.

A portal ripped a hole in space, forming as the runes hidden beneath the statue came to life. Without waiting to see if his enemies had found him, Braeth'el hurled himself through the portal, sighing as the magic whisked him away. He didn't know where the portal lead, only that it existed and wherever it lead would be better than being hunted through the ruins of Dayfire Spire by elves that were once his allies.

His vision blurred for a moment as he was taken from one place to another, the old portal's magic still working perfectly well. With a flash of light Braeth'el rematerialized, falling forward on his knees and then collapsing on what appeared to be a cool marble floor, groaning as his wounds finally overcame him.

Through dimming eyes, he looked up, shock snapping him from the brink of unconsciousness as he realized he had appeared in a small audience chamber. His shock was mirrored on the faces of several Sin'dorei who were within the chamber, a half dozen pair of fel green eyes locking on him.

But that was not what made him gasp, what made him claw his way back up to his knees and gape with open mouthed surprise. It was not the small but richly appointed room. Not the spellcasters standing around him. It was her. It was the elf that rose from the throne that sat in the center of the room, her perfect green eyes widened as she looked him over.

He was staring at Biara Sunfire.

She walked towards him, her form graceful as she approached. He braced himself to be struck down with magic, only to feel a hand gently caress his face before tilting his chin up to look at her. As he gazed into glowing green eyes, a singular fact assaulted his dazed mind; the runes on the elf's face glowed fel green, not the light blue of arcane magic.

"You are injured, friend," the elf said softly. To Braeth'el's everlasting surprise, the obviously noble elf fell to her knees beside him, her hands gently supporting him so he didn't fall over, concern on her face. "I can aid you, but it may be painful. I am sorry."

He tried to speak, but found it difficult to breathe let alone force the words out. As he watched dully, she snapped her fingers and one of her attendants dashed off, returning a moment later with a glowing green stone. She took it in her hand, her gaze holding his steadily as she firmly gripped his shoulder, her other hand bringing the stone to his chest.

Fel magic flared around the stone, the power burning through him. He grunted in pain and felt the elf holding him squeeze his shoulder in sympathy as the fel energies torn into his flesh, knitting the worst of his hurts back together. Although the pain was exquisite for a moment, once it faded he felt much better than he had, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"That should hold you for now," the strange not-Biara said, smiling at him. "You've had a rough time of things, and will need rest before you are well enough to travel again. I will see to it that arrangements are made for you."

"T-thank you...my Lady," Braeth'el said. For the first time in a while, he actually didn't feel the need to lie about how he felt. "I'd be gone if not for you, and I am grateful."

"No thanks are needed," the noble elf said, rising slowly. "The Sin'dorei must support one another if we are to move forward as a people. I would do the same for any in Quel'Thalas."

To his surprise, he saw his own blood on her hands and staining the elegant gown she wore. She seemed to not be overly concerned with this fact, wiping her hands on her dress. She paused, looking at the portal before speaking again, "It has been long since that has been activated. Far too long. Does it represent hope, or does it portend darkness falling upon us at last?"

As if to answer her words, the portal flickered and spat magic, forms appearing from it an instant later. Like Braeth'el, they blinked in surprise, weapons in hand as they assessed the situation. There were four of them in total, three assassins and one of Biara Sunfire's hand picked apprentices.

The apprentice  pointed at Braeth'el, triumph in his voice, "You. The game is up. You will be taken to Sunfire Estate and will meet your punishment there. Surrender yourself now."

Braeth'el opened his mouth to answer when the noble cut in, her voice firm, "This Sin'dorei is under my protection now. You will disarm yourselves at once in my presence."

The apprentice sneered at the elf, shaking his head, "This does not concern you. House Sunfire will have this elf for crimes against the Scion. Stand aside or we will take him by force."

From his position on the floor, Braeth'el saw the noble stiffen, her back ramrod straight as she glared at the intruders, "You have entered MY domain now. House Sunfire has no claim, no power here. Those who cast down our name, cast out our people, will not dictate terms to me. Know that this elf is in the custody of House Dayfire now... as are you."

The apprentice blinked in surprise, the others with him growing wary as they realized they were somewhat surrounded by potentially hostile combatants. He pointed at the noble, his voice condescending and magic forming in his hands, "And who are you to dare challenge the will of Magistrix Sunfire?"

The answer that came next would stun Braeth'el for hours to come. To his everlasting surprise, the red-haired elf glared at the apprentice, fel magic glowing brightly in her eyes and on her fingertips as she pointed at the one challenging her, "I am Telatha Dayfire, and you have illegally entered the holdings of House Dayfire. You WILL surrender to me. Now."

Gasps arose from the intruders, and they looked at each other warily. Amongst the four, the spellcaster shook his head, bringing his hands up to cast a spell at Braeth'el, "You are an imposter. This elf belongs to Magistri-"

His sentence was never finished as Telatha Dayfire pointed at him, fel magics flashing in the air. He stumbled once as the magic struck him, fel energies eating away at him from the inside. As the others watched in horror, his skin began to shrink into his body, his vitality sucked out by the vicious spell. A moment later a barely fleshed skeleton collapsed to the ground, the rest of the room dead silent.

Telatha's voice spoke into the silence, the fel runes on her face glowing wickedly as she looked at the other three elves, "I am the Scion of House Dayfire. You may choose to surrender to me, or you may choose as he did, but choose quickly for my patience grows thin. You have trespassed upon what little domain those of the true blood of Tel'athar still hold, and I will tolerate no fools in my presence."

The other three looked at each other, their weapons clattering to the marble floor of the audience chamber as they surrendered, retainers stepping forward to grab them and presumably haul them off towards some dungeon. Braeth'el simply stared, trying to come to terms with everything that had just happened in the past five minutes.

Telatha Dayfire smiled, turning towards him and again kneeling beside him, her eyes level with his, "You will be tended to, and allowed to continue your journey as you choose. I will not let the machinations of the other Houses decide my course of action. For too long I have remained trapped on this island, unable to make a move for fear of obliteration by those who have held titles that they no longer deserve. Choose as you will, friend, but you will always have sanctuary here should you desire it."

With that she rose, turning towards several of her retainers and nodding. The bowed, turning and walking over to the double doors that lead to the chamber, opening them for their Lady. In the distance, Braeth'el could hear the ocean crashing against stones, the sound almost soothing. As Telatha walked away, he called out, his voice echoing in the chamber, "My Lady!"

She paused, turning to look at him, her movements so identical to Biara Sunfire's that Braeth'el could only shake his head in wonder. When she arched an eyebrow in question, he quickly sputtered out what he wanted to say, "I will choose to stay here, my Lady. I owe you for saving my life, and...I wish to learn more."

She smiled, the look identical to another noble he knew, her musical voice containing a hint of sweetness that Biara had never shown him, "Then learn you shall. Get some rest, and we will talk again. I must convene with my advisers to discuss the portal and what it might mean for the true House Dayfire."

With that she turned and walked out of the room, the power in her stride and confidence in her tone leaving Braeth'el with little doubt that he'd just encountered one of Biara Sunfire's blood relatives. The question remained as to whether or not this would be a good thing, or a terrible thing.

Time would tell.