Life Lessons

You never truly forget your first love...

***********************************************

*Zin-Azshari, long before the Sundering*

A thrill of excitement ran through Kerriel Spellfury as she examined her reflection in the mirror hung in the foyer of the Moonwhisper estate. She'd spent hours obsessing with Malandrae over the perfect dress to wear, the perfect arrangement of her long silver hair, and the perfect makeup to accentuate her features. The beautiful young elf staring back at her with silver eyes in the mirror was exactly what she wanted to be, who she wanted to be for the night.

Beyond the foyer, the murmur of many voices could be heard, the celebration already started. As Kerriel moved further into the interior of the lavish estate, Malandrae's voice cut through the noise of the revelers, her greeting exuberant as it always was, "Kerriel! Kerriel! You've finally arrived! Oh my heavens, you look gorgeous!"

As Kerriel was embraced by her lifelong friend, she smiled to herself, knowing that no matter how nicely she dressed herself, Malandrae would always be more beautiful. The youngest Moonwhisper scion was always the focus of attention, always the one getting love letters from suitors. It didn't bother Kerriel one bit however, because Malandrae was happy and her friend's happiness was like an aura that touched all around her. As they separated, Kerriel's reply was warm, "Not as gorgeous as you, Mal. I just hope that I'm presentable enough beside you!"

"Oh don't be silly, you look amazing. Oh! I totally forgot to tell you! My brother came home early from his trip visiting our outer holdings. He's already arrived for mother's party!," Malandrae said with a smile.

Kerriel felt her face flush deep purple at this, her crush on the eldest Moonwhisper brother a well known secret between them. Before she could respond, Malandrae grabbed her hand, pulling her through the crowd of Highborne elves towards a bar stocked with the most expensive wine that members of Azshara's court could get their hands on. Everywhere Kerriel looked, there was expensive jewelry, fine clothing, and false smiles as games of politics played out even during Viala Moonwhisper's birthday celebration.

After making their way through the crowd with a few murmured greetings, Malandrae parked Kerriel firmly near the bar, gesturing for her to stay put while she went to get them a drink. Kerriel found herself eyeing the crowd with a bit of shyness; although her own family was ranked highly amongst the city's nobility, she was young enough yet that she'd not fully begun to play the political games that were going on all around her. She knew enough not to dare interfere though, and contented herself with watching the gathering while she waited for her friend.

A voice made her turn as her name was spoken aloud, "Kerriel! Malandrae said she'd invited you. I'm so glad you decided to come."

Kerriel's eyes drank in the sight of the speaker, a thrill going up her spine as Ketheran Moonwhisper stepped closer to her, two drinks in his hands. He wore something that resembled a white toga, his powerfully muscled form barely contained within the wrapped cloth. His movements were the very definition of restrained power, and his long, deep blue hair crowed his head and flowed down his back like a mane. As he stepped closer, his smile became all of her world, his deep purple skin and bright amber eyes accentuating the expression. Kerriel was enchanted, completely oblivious to the world for a moment, even to the somewhat envious glares that were shot her way by a few of the other party-goers. Her mouth opened and closed and finally she managed to squeak out a response, "K-ketheran! It's so nice to see you again. You've been gone so long on your journey! Mal and I totally cannot wait to hear about your adventures."

His smile widened, and he leaned forward, handing her one of the wine glasses he was holding. As she reached out to take it, their fingertips touched briefly, sending a thrilling spark through her body. His voice was deep and inviting as he replied, "It is particularly good to see you again I must say. I can honestly say I've missed much since I've been gone. That dress is absolutely lovely on you, Kerriel."

She nearly squeaked in response, the wineglass coming up to her lips as a means to quell her nervousness. His smile never faltered as he brought his own wineglass up, his gaze holding hers in a moment that would electrify her thoughts for days to come.

******************************************************

*On the grounds of Moonwhisper Estate, weeks later*

 Kerriel laughed as water rained down on her head, her own hands lashing out and sending magic through the water, causing a small wave to crash down over Malandrae. Her friend laughed hysterically, quickly diving under the water and away from Kerriel. In the distance, their other friends laughed and played within the large bathing pools on House Moonwhisper's expansive grounds.

Malandrae smirked, giving Kerriel a wink before darting away from her through the water and towards their other friends, the embodiment of mischief itself as she moved. Kerriel laughed again, turning around to move into the more shallow side of the pools where a beautiful waterfall rained down in the moonlight. As she turned, she nearly collided with the solid form of Ketheran, who had apparently joined his younger sister and her friends unannounced.

His arms reached out to catch her so as to avoid knocking her over, and for a moment, Kerriel was staring up into his eyes, held in his strong grip, her heart racing in her chest. As he stared down at her, she felt a thrill run through her again as her body reacted before her mind could catch up. Her eyes closed and her head titled back and upwards, her lips meeting his, the gesture returned. It was the most blissful thing that had ever happened to her, the kiss better than she could have even dreamed. She held it, held herself against his half-naked body in the pools, letting it echo endlessly through her, the world around her forgotten as her mind reveled with joy.

He feels the same way!

*******************************************************

*On a balcony of House Spellfury's spire, early dawn. Many months later.*

She'd stayed up late, thinking and experimenting with her magic as she typically did. Her parents had long since retired for the coming day, and she stood on her balcony, her luxurious bedchambers through a pair of curtained double doors behind her. As she stared at the glimmering light of the coming dawn, she heard a noise along the balcony's edge and smiled.

As he always did, Ketheran climbed up to the balcony by means of vines that grew up the spire's side. He grinned as he saw Kerriel, the emotion infectious. She ran to him, wrapping her arms around him, her skirts swirling around their legs as he embraced her. They kissed passionately, their romance a secret held between them for all the time since that day in the pools. After the kiss ended, she leaned her head against his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. His arm wrapped around her, holding her as they watched the sunrise together, her hands running across the chiseled muscles of his stomach.

"Ketheran?" she said softly.

"Yes, my Moonlight," he responded quietly.

"I love you," she said, the words almost a soft breath coming from her. It was the first time she'd ever admitted it aloud, but she'd known all along.

"I love you as well, Kerriel Spellfury, now and forever," he replied.

She smiled, wrapping her arms around him again and holding him tight, her heart light and filled with joy as the day's first sunlight crept across the balcony. As the sunlight grew, she felt him shift and she squeaked with amusement as he swept her off her feet and lifted her up. She smiled up at him, her arms wrapped around his neck now as their lips met in a sweet kiss. He grinned at her, the look in his eyes now filled with a more primal urge, a hunger that she felt mirrored in her own soul. She nodded at him softly and winked, and he turned, carrying her from the balcony and towards the open double doors leading into the bedchambers beyond.


**********************************************************

*Three years later, in the forests surrounding House Spellfury's grounds. Full Daytime.*

She trembled, her heart racing in her chest and anxiety clawing at her. The sound of a twig snapping caused her to whirl around, and she exhaled sharply as she saw Ketheran approaching. He'd made the noise on purpose she knew; he would ordinarily have been utterly silent. As he drew nearer, she found her hands clasped together tightly, her long manicured nails almost gouging the palms of her hands.

"Kerriel, I got your message. What's wrong beloved?" Ketheran said in a soft voice. Just his tone and concern set her at east somewhat. Surely he would understand? Surely he would help her?

"K-Ketheran...I-I have something I have to tell you..." Kerriel began slowly, the words choking in her throat. "I-it's not...it's not good. I-I don't know what to do but I have to tell you and I'm so sorry and-"

He silenced her by stepping closer and embracing her, his hands running through her long silver hair, "Shhhh, it's okay Kerri. Just tell me what happened. Whatever it is, we will face it together."

A sob escaped her as she buried her face in his chest, "I'm just afraid you will hate me when I tell you."

"You know I could never do that, my Moonlight," he said softly. "Just tell me."

She took a deep breath, finally summoning the courage to look up at him, her voice still weak, "I...I'm with child, Ketheran. Your child."

His eyes widened for a minute, but he didn't frown or back away, "Are you certain?"

"As certain as the sun will set and a new night will begin. Please...please don't hate me," she begged.

Ketheran sighed and then embraced her, his voice soothing, "I could never hate you, my Moonlight. This will complicate matters as our relationship has not been approved, but we will find a way to work around this."

Relief flowed through Kerriel, and she sighed softly, wrapping her arms around him. He hadn't rejected her. She would survive whatever was to come with him by her side. "I love you so much, Ketheran."

He didn't reply, instead holding her tightly and squeezing her, his hands running through her hair again to soothe her. Around them, the sounds of the forest continued on, oblivious to the drama unfolding.

*******************************************************

*Seven months later, within Azshara's Court.*

Her head was bowed in shame as she walked the length of the long chamber. Around her there were murmurs from the crowds of elves, much of the noble families of the court having turned out to watch the proceedings. As she passed them, Kerriel could hear their words, even softly spoken.

"Slut."
"Whore of the court, isn't she?"
"Can you imagine? What a little tramp she is."
"It's really unthinkable. I would disavow her if she was my daughter."

The words hurt, but not as much as what had already been done. As she reached the end of the chamber, she looked up at the raised platform where the Magister sat, the elf staring down at her darkly. Her pleas to the Queen had fallen on deaf ears, and her case had been shunted aside and given to a lower ranking Court official to handle. He brought a gavel down, the sound stilling the murmurs that had continued throughout the chamber.

"Kerriel Spellfury, you are brought before this court on charges of slander against a valued member of the Queen's Court. Your foul accusations leveled at an heir of House Moonwhisper have been heard by many and are an insult not only to their line but to the Light of Lights herself. You are to be given one last chance to make amends for your words, before I judge you for your many other offenses. How do you plead?" the Magister asked.

Kerriel's head came up, her silver hair falling around her face as she stared up at him. On either side of him were her accusers, most of House Moonwhisper having turned out for the event. Prominent amongst them was Ketheran and his parents. Her own parents stood off to the side, their gazes not meeting hers as she looked at them pleadingly. She'd been abandoned by all she loved, all perhaps except Malandrae who had refused to come to the proceedings. She cleared her throat, her voice sounding hollow, "Ketheran Moonwhisper is the father of the child I bear. I will not recant my statements."

The crowd of watching nobles broke into loud whispers, rumor and shock passing through them. The presiding Magister had to slam his gavel many times to silence them. When all sound had faded, he glared down at her. Her hands came to  rest on her distended, pregnant belly, her eyes meeting his as he pronounced his judgment, "As you continue to speak lies about the heir of one of the Queen's most trusted allies, your punishment must be severe indeed. For false accusations against House Moonwhisper, you are to be banished from this city as soon as the child is born. You and your heirs shall no longer bask in Her light, and will travel far from this place so as not to insult her with your countenance again. For your transgressions of laying with a commoner, which it has been determined you have done based on Ketheran Moonwhisper's testimony, you are stripped of your rank and titles. Go now and prepare for your exile, and let your downfall be a lesson to all of those who would think to challenge the order of Her Court."

As Kerriel turned and walked away, the murmurs rose up again, the names raining down on her foul and unjust. She held her head high though, not looking at any of them as she walked slowly from that place, as regally as she could in her pregnant state. They were beneath her now, they were the past. Her heart had already been torn out by the betrayal of her beloved, and no punishment could ever compare to the painful lesson she'd just learned.

Two months later she would give birth, with Malandrae Moonwhisper the only one brave enough to stand by her side. A month after that she would walk through the gates of Zin-Azshari for the last time, her newborn baby Elisandrae in her arms, never to step foot in that city again.

**************************************************

*Current Day, Stormwind.*

Biara shook her head, the memories fading and a frown crossing her features. She sat on one of the new benches within the area of Stormwind where a memorial had been built for the fallen King. Across from where she sat, some distance away, members of the archaeological group she'd joined talked with one another. She watched them for a time, too far away to hear them, her eyes lingering on a tall, masked elf amongst them. He said something and a few of the others laughed, their smiles bringing a half-smile to her own lips for a brief moment.

She rose, her mind a whirl of conflicting emotions. She watched them for a moment longer, whispering words of magic and slowly fading into the comfort of invisibility, free to walk alone with her thoughts.

Despite all she'd been through, all she'd learned about love, her heart had never died that day in Zin-Azshari. It still beat on, year after year, century after painful century. No matter what she did to make it be still.

Perhaps she was a fool, or maybe it was part of being alive that the harshest lessons never fully touch what is deep within us. Whatever the case, she knew only that her heart would lead her into trouble again, and it was almost thrilling to think that there was nothing she could do to stop it; that there was one little piece of her that was still the young girl of old.

The Keystone

Magical warning glyphs flickered in the air above control stations composed of fel iron and dark magic. Throughout the open space that made up the command bridge of the Legion vessel Bloodspiller there was the stench of acrid smoke that was unrelated to the magic that powered the weapon of war. Demons scrambled to and fro, smaller creatures arguing in foul voices over malfunctioning, fel-infused devices. The entire scene had an air of controlled chaos about it that displeased the Eredar who stood watching it all.

Helnaa was responsible for all of the Bloodspiller. A powerful Eredar in her own right, she'd been honored for her many eons of service to the Legion and for the many innocent souls she'd claimed. Her red skin glistened here and there with bright green fel magic that seeped from her very soul, her burning green eyes almost like flames as a vicious scowl passed over her features. She turned to one of her subordinate felguards, her tone dripping with malice, "Report."

"We've taken heavy damage near our engines and near the nodes that help power our defenses and weapons, Commander," the demon growled. "We have yet to account for all of the damage."

"How did this happen? We opened a portal at random and moved with speed once through it!" Helnaa growled. Her subordinate knew better than to answer the hypothetical question; it was one they were all asking anyway. The second the Bloodspiller had exited through its portal something had gone awry. As if they'd been expected, two massive blasts of arcane energy had struck the exterior of the vessel with pinpoint accuracy, damaging them so heavily that they were forced to land to make repairs. Clearly an ambush, the fact that the vessel was not now under attack by an assault force made little sense. Helnaa had even sent out half of the vessel's compliment of the Legion's finest shock troops to scour the area around their landing site clear of life.

And yet there was nothing. It was all quiet. Too quiet.

"I want the patrols doubled outside. Tell our warlocks to keep watch with the felbats. We need to make repairs and move as quickly as possible," Helnaa growled again. "For every hour we're delayed, I'll flay the skin from one of our engineers until we're airborne again."

Before the felguard could respond, another demon approached, this one a succubus under Helnaa's command. She bowed low, her voice sultry, "My Lady, several of the patrols have not reported in."

"What?! On which side of the vessel? Near the forest?" Helnaa demanded.

"N-no, my Lady," the succubus stuttered. "Inside the Bloodspiller..."

Helnaa's fel-flame eyes widened and she rushed over to the nearest display screen. She spoke a few words of magic and the images it displayed shifted, showing the interior of the Bloodspiller and the patrol routes that she'd assigned. Several of them had stopped, and as Helnaa traced their routes, a pattern emerged. "Demon's blood...the engineering sections..."

Without another word Helnaa turned and dashed out of the control room, her sword already coming free of its sheath. Behind her, demons scurried about, continuing to work on repairing the wounded vessel. Clearly the commander was off to deal with whatever the issue was personally....

*****************************************************

The two demons were bent over a damaged section of pipes that ran into the Bloodspiller's main engines. Struck by an arcane explosion that had pierced the hull in just the right location, the entire area was a mess and needed to be fixed quickly. As one of the hideous little creatures leaned in closer, he gestured to his companion for a wrench. His face still pressed near the section of the engines he was repairing, he frowned as a wrench was not placed in his clawed hand. With a growl, he turned towards his companion, a curse on his lips. His eyes widened as he came face to face with the pale purple countenance of a night elf, her long silver hair sparkling with magic. She grinned at him once and then an explosion of arcane light rocked the room and he saw no more.

Biara stepped over the fallen demons, her prize in sight. A series of pipes ran into a large fel-infused engine that purred with the infernos of evil magic that powered it. Connected to the entire contraption was a command console, fel-green glyphs glowing over its surfaces. Beyond that, another series of smaller pipes connected to the rear of the rectangular chamber, a clear glass covering protecting a runed green stone that was the heart of the control section. A green stone that was designed to allow the vessel to open portals through the nether, so that the Legion could move its troops quickly.

Biara grinned, moving quickly towards the glass case. Around its base there were a number of wards, and she began to expertly counterspell them one by one, her brows knitted in concentration as she worked. Time was limited, and she had to move fast.

She sensed rather than heard the attack before it reached her, her battle instincts saving her at the last moment as she hurled herself backwards. The Eredar's flaming sword cut a swath through the air where she'd been standing, the large creature looming over her with a growl. The first attack was followed up by a second swing, Helnaa's rage palpable as she assaulted the Highborne.

"You will suffer for all eternity for your audacity, little elf!" she yelled, her sword swinging wildly.

Biara managed to avoid a few more blows, her hands coming up and flinging a spell at the raging demon. The sword arced slightly, deflecting the magic down and into the deck plates of the vessel, Helnaa grinning as she forced Biara back towards the engines with her weapon. "You think to fight me with your magic? I'm made of magic. I am magic, pathetic Highborne. You will learn your place soon enough."

"I don't think so," Biara growled. She hurled another spell, this time not at the demon but instead at the floor near where she stood. The arcane explosion hurled fragments of molten decking all around and forced Helnaa to stumble back. With flicks of her wrists Biara continued the attack, more explosions rocking the vessel's interior and making it impossible for the demon to deflect the magic.

Helnaa howled in rage as she was struck by several pieces of shrapnel, her eyes flaming with magic. In an instant she burst into flames and disappeared, reappearing behind Biara. The Highborne was ready for this trick, her form shimmering as she Blinked across the room and avoided being impaled. Unfortunately for Biara, she was not prepared for Helnaa to be as quick as she was, and the demoness disappeared a second time, reappearing in a burst of flames next to Biara.

Biara desperately hurled herself to the side, the flaming sword's tip scoring a shallow wound on her arm and tearing her clothing open as she narrowly avoided death. She cried out, her free hand coming up to tear away her burning sleeve as she stumbled away from Helnaa. The Eredar continued her advance, grinning now as she blurred and disappeared again, reappearing behind Biara and slamming the Highborne in the back with a cloven hoof.

Biara tumbled forwards, the demon playing with her now as it slapped her with the flat of the sword, the burning weapon singing the fabric on her hip and spinning her as she crashed to the decking. She tried to rise, but Helnaa burst into flames again, reappearing near her and delivering a solid kick to Biara's side. The Highborne fell, gasping for breath as Helnaa continued to kick her over and over again, enjoying the other's discomfort.

"I will make you pay for every moment of my time you've wasted, wretch!" Helnaa growled, delivering more kicks and a few powerful blows with the flat of the sword. Biara was barely conscious now, looking up at the demoness with blood trailing from her nose and mouth. Helnaa merely grinned, kicking her again, "Nothing to say now, have you? We'll fix that soon enough."

She brought her sword up, intent on striking the elf in the head and rendering her unconscious for transport to the prison section of the Bloodspiller. As she brought the weapon up, there was a faint hint of ozone in the air about her. She never felt the arcane blast as it struck her in the back and hurled her across the room. The Eredar slammed into the bulkhead, her sword tumbling from her hands as she crumpled in a heap.

Through blurred vision Biara peered up, seeing a figure walking towards her. Her eyes widened as Malandrae Moonwhisper knelt down next to her, reaching out to wipe away the blood from her mouth. Malandrae's own nose was bleeding, the light purple blood glistening in the light of the fel magic around them, and Biara knew it was not from any wound inflicted on her, but instead from her own internal wounds come to life in this hellish place.

"Oh Kerriel..." Malandrae murmured, holding her friend in her arms. "I'm so sorry. I-I read your journal...your notes. I-I didn't know...I should have a-asked....Oh Eli...they killed Eli. Oh my heavens I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

Biara felt a stab of sorrow run through her, tears welling up in her eyes as Malandrae held her close, the two weeping together in the middle of one of the Legion's weapons of war. For a long time, she couldn't speak, the emotions too raw in her heart to force any words out. She just held Malandrae, the two friends saying nothing and supporting each other merely with their presence. After a time, Biara was able to choke a few words out, "Shhh, hush Malandrae. It's not your fault. It was never your fault. I never blamed you for any of it."

"I should have been there, Ker-...Biara. I should have been there with you when the Legion came, t-the first time," Malandrae said. "I-I...I can't remember it all, but I know I did something wrong. I should have left with you. It's all gone so wrong. I'm so sorry."

Out of the corner of her eye, Biara saw the Eredar begin to stir, the creature rising to her knees and reaching for her sword. She met Malandrae's gaze, seeing within her eyes the confusion that came with the mental damage that Malandrae had suffered after watching the Legion destroy her home and everything she loved. The cyan-haired Highborne had never recovered, would never recover, thanks to her own subconscious repressing those memories. But sometimes you had to remember, had to face your demons if you were to survive. With agony in her voice, Biara whispered back, "No, Mal. I'm sorry. I should never have let you come here. And I'm sorry for what has to happen now. I will love you forever, even if you hate me when this is over."

With that, Biara reached up and spoke a few simple words of magic, her counterspell touching Malandrae's mind and releasing the arcane wards her own subconscious had built around her memories. The ditzy Highborne rocked back on her heels, her eyes glazing over as a flood of memories rushed through her. A shadow loomed over them, the enraged Eredar having reached them at last. Her sword burst into flames, the blade screaming down towards Malandrae's head, the weapon too fast to avoid.

In the last instant, Biara saw Malandrae's eyes dilate. Her head tilted at an odd angle, and the flaming sword slammed into an invisible barrier of magic that sprang into existence around Malandrae. Unsteadily she rose, her movements almost catlike now as she met Helnaa's fel-flame gaze. When she spoke, it sent a shiver up Biara's spine, the voice one she remembered well from thousands of years before. It was Malandrae, whole and well, speaking as she used to do when she was angry.

"You think your magic a match of mine?" Malandrae purred, her voice dripping with malice. "Your 'legion' was hurled screaming back into the nether thanks to the actions of our people, and you think you alone will challenge me? Here and now?"

Helnaa's eyes widened, her sword lashing out again and again, and slamming into that same barrier. It shimmered around Malandrae, arcane energies building now. Malandrae's hands came down at her sides, arcane energies building there. From her place on the floor, Biara watched with eyes wide as her friend reclaimed her birthright at long last. When Malandrae spoke next, Biara felt chilled to the bone. "House Moonwhisper sends its regards to your master. Let him know that we're coming for him, and all of his little pets."

Malandrae released her spell, and it screamed through the air into Helnaa. The Eredar brought her sword up, but the blade shattered as arcane energies torn through it and the creature behind it. In an instant she was cut to pieces, her soul sent screaming back into the nether to answer to her masters for her failure.

For a moment, the room was filled with utter silence. Malandrae stood over Biara, swaying in place. When she finally looked down at her, their eyes met and Malandrae's next words made Biara's heart ache, "Kerriel, I forgive you. I will always love you as well. We both know you had to do it, even if it hurts. Even if these memories hurt forever, they can't possibly hurt more than your loss. Friends forever."

"Friends forever, Mal," Biara whispered back.

Malandrae reached down, her hand extended to Biara and Biara clasped it, allowing the other to help her up. She was bruised all over and bleeding profusely from the wound on her arm, but she had a task to complete before she was done. She stumbled over to the glass case, finishing the task of removing the wards and scooping up the vessel's keystone.

As she turned, she saw Malandrae standing there, staring blankly at nothing. With a sigh of sorrow, Biara whispered another spell, removing her counterspell from her friend. Deep within Malandrae's mind, her subconcious rose up again to protect itself, blocking off the horrible memories of Zin-azshari's fall with a barrier of arcane energy that the Highborne would never see through. Malandrae's nose began to bleed profusely, but she sighed and her shoulders slumped, as if a weight had been removed from her.

Biara reached out and clasped her hand again, holding it tightly and guiding her confused friend towards the room's door. Before she left, she paused, a foul grin crossing her features as she turned and uttered a few words of magic. Arcane runes appeared across the Bloodspiller's engines, magic beginning to creep across it slowly, the spell beginning to pop and sputter as it met the fel magic there and interacted.

Hand in hand, the two Highborne walked from the chamber as the hull began to crackle with building magic.

***************************************************

Captain Richard Benson of Stormwind's guard looked out across the hills of Westfall, watching through a spyglass as the legion vessel sat on the grassy field. He and his men had seen it virtually crash-land about an hour before, and demons had poured out of it, but they seemed to be guarding it rather than attacking anything. The entire thing was odd, but he couldn't get his small scout squad any closer than they were due to the dangerous creatures roaming around it.

As he watched, he frowned, seeing something odd happening along the ship's side. A portal appeared there, two night elves in long dresses appearing beside the vessel. They were holding hands, and walking with confidence right towards the demonic patrols. At this distance, they were like tiny little dolls, but even from where he watched he could sense the magic about the two. Each of them brought their free hand up as demons approached, magic flashing from their fingertips and cutting the creatures down with ease.

Demons fell screaming around them. Others rose up into the air only to have spells slash into them. The entire time, the two elves walked hand in hand away from the legion ship, as if looking for flowers to pick in a field. Captain Benson blinked in surprise a moment later as the vessel behind them exploded, sending fragments of fel-infused wreckage all around. The two elves continued walking, the blastwave making their skirts ruffle aound their ankles and their hair whip about their faces, the silver and cyan colors almost mixing together from the fierce winds.

Demons fled in all directions after the destruction, but the Captain kept his spyglass trained on the two elves until they began to shimmer and suddenly faded from sight, gone elsewhere with magic. He set his spyglass down, shaking his head in shock at the developments, already mentally preparing his report. It seemed someone had taken care of the Legion's assault force here without their need for intervention.

He just wished he knew their names so he could thank them.

Awakening

              Silver eyes opened slowly, blinking in the dim glow of the magical lights that illuminated the room. The world spun for a moment as dizziness threatened to reclaim consciousness, but like it had so many times in the past two days, it eventually trailed off, leaving Malandrae staring up at the delicate arching stone supports of the ceiling above her. This time was different though, this time she didn’t immediately feel the exhaustion that had been a constant companion come to claim her. Instead, she felt more energetic, more alive, than she had in some time and she detected the aroma of something delicious in the air around her.

                Very carefully, she sat up, choking back the dizzy feeling that returned with the movement. Once it was passed, she looked around, taking note of her surroundings. She was in a huge, lush bed which was covered with fine silken sheets. The room itself was exquisite, the walls made of some polished marble with decorated columns built into the walls that rose up to support the arches she’d been staring at in her brief moments of consciousness.

                The furniture within the room was as nice as the bed in which she was laying, the intricately decorated and expensive wood polished to a shine and further embellished with golden trim. There was a writing desk and chair, an armoire, and several bookcases as well as two ornate doors made of similar wood built into the stone walls of the room. The floor was covered with a carpet that looked like it was made of the rarest of exotic fabrics. A small nightstand stood beside the bed, and upon it was the source of the delicious aroma; someone had put fresh muffins and a cup of steaming hot tea by the bedside.

                Malandrae hesitated for only the moment it took for her to realized she’d been put in a silken nightgown and that her hair had been taken out of its traditional high pigtails before she reached over and snatched up a muffin, stuffing nearly the entire thing into her mouth. The moment the food touched her tongue she realized just how ravenously hungry she was. As she ate, a small glimmer of magic detached itself from one of the glowing orbs that kept the room lit, the spell hovering over her for a minute before zipping away and through a nearby door.

                Moments later footsteps could be heard outside the door and the portal opened with barely a whisper, a silver-haired Highborne slipping into the room and closing the door behind her gently. She smiled when she saw Malandrae eating, and slowly made her way over to the bedside, pulling the chair up beside it and taking a seat.

                “Kerriel!” Malandrae exclaimed happily, crumbs tumbling from her mouth and down her nightgown. She paused to take a long gulp of tea before speaking again. “I’m so glad you’re here! I’m feeling so much better than I was!”

                The elf she referred to as Kerriel offered her a smile and a nod, reaching out to touch her friend’s forehead to check for fever, “I’m glad to hear that, Malandrae. And please, call me Biara. I’ve not gone by that name in such a very long time. It’s good to hear it, but there are reasons why it should not be spoken.”

                Malandrae smiled and nodded, “Oh I totally understand! My brother is still alive you know!”

                Biara blinked once and then nodded slowly, “Yes, I’ve been aware of that for some centuries now. I’m surprised you know it, but then, maybe I should not be so surprised given that you somehow survived the end of the world and look like no time has passed you at all.”

                Malandrae offered her friend a grin, “But you look terrible!” She giggled at this and then shook her head, “I’m just kidding of course! But you were disguised as a pink elf! I had no idea it was you until…well, you know.”

                Biara nodded, “I know. And I’m sorry for deceiving you. When we met the few times previously, I could not possibly believe it was you that I was seeing. After all these countless centuries thinking you were dead, and yet…there you were! I thought it was some trick by your family to lure me out, so I kept my disguise in place. If I had known it was really you…by the Queen, if I had known you’d survived at all I’d have come to get you right away. You know that, don’t you, Mal?”

                Malandrae reached out and patted her friend’s knee before stuffing another muffin in her face. After a few moments of silent chewing she spoke through the crumbs, “I know Ker- er…Biara. I know you would have come to help. There was no way for me to tell you though. After you were banished, I had no idea where you’d gone. I was forbidden from looking for you. And then…well, you know what happened to everything.”

                “Yes, I understand, Mal,” Biara said softly. “What matters is that you are here now and you are starting to mend. I’ve been living amongst the Sin’dorei for so long, but there were none of our people amongst them. I’ve not spoken to another from our time in so very long.”

                “I’m super sorry about making you ruin your disguise,” Malandrae said with some sorrow in her voice. “I know that probably upset you a lot. Your pink elf friend Kyliska was so mad. You really should not have done that for me.”

                Biara waved her hand, “Nonsense. You held my hand in my darkest hour and there was no way I was going to let you slip away when it was within my power to help you. Kyli…I will miss her dearly. I fear she will never understand why I lied to her. I honestly did consider her to be my sister, even if she doesn’t believe it now. I would have done anything for her. Anything but let you pass away. We’ve been friends for thousands of years, even if much time has passed since those days. I will always stand by your side.”

                Malandrae smiled at her and squeezed her knee, “And I’ll always stand by yours too! Um, just out of curiosity, where is Elisandrae? Does she live somewhere else now? And where are we?”

                Biara’s face grew troubled and she rose from her chair, turning away from Malandrae and pacing the room, “Elisandrae…passed away long ago. During the Sundering. There was nothing I could do to save her. I was able to scoop my grandson, Killdrae, to safety before the end but Eli…my sweet Eli…I couldn’t get to her in time.”

                Malandrae’s face fell and she stifled a sniffle, “I’m so sorry, Biara. I didn’t know…your poor daughter. If I had known, if there was something I could have done…”

                “It is not your fault, Mal,” Biara said, turning back towards her friend and offering her a half-smile. “You could not have known what the Queen would do. None of us did. I lived here, in Eldre’Thalas, for a long time. Killdrae was an adult at the time and his own wife lived through the disaster. They had children, some of whom married and eventually migrated away with Dath’remar and the others. Some stayed behind here. For many years I watched them, watched their lives progress and their joys and sorrows while nursing my own sorrow.”

                “That must have been nice, to know at least that Eli’s legacy lived on,” Malandrae said. Her surprisingly lucid response made one of Biara’s eyebrows perk up as she glanced at her friend.

                “It was, but it had its own sorrow. Killdrae passed away centuries later, as did his wife. Their children grew and had children of their own, each living out his or her life before fading away into the eternal night. And yet I remained, living on and on here in my safehold. Eldre’Thalas itself began to crumble, until I felt the need to seal my own chambers off away from the others. I created a spell that caused a rockfall to collapse some of the outer chambers, using…that item you and I acquired years ago to ward the place from the others.”

                Malandrae frowned, looking into her friend’s eyes, “T-that…must have been so lonely! Why would you do that?”

                “I couldn’t stand the pain of watching Eli’s legacy fade. Of watching her children’s children age and die and suffer. I wanted to seal myself away from it all, to forget,” Biara said softly, her look distant now. “But I learned that the world is not so easily forgotten. I could not stay alone here forever, without purpose. It was maddening! I realized that I had to embrace the memories, embrace what my daughter had begun. I started to slip away in secret, first for short spurts and then for longer periods of time. Monitoring my descendants, helping them where I could. Guiding them when they went astray. Finding them love interests that suited the honor and dignity of our family line. Making sure our magic, our legacy was preserved for countless centuries to come, for a day when that bitch Azshara returned and one of my own line could take their revenge upon her at last for what she did to us all.”

                Biara paused, realizing she had begun to raise her voice. She calmed herself, returning to the serene demeanor befitting a Highborne. She offered Malandrae a smile, shaking her head, “I’m sorry, Mal. You didn’t need to hear all of this upon first awakening. Needless to say, I’ve been watching over my bloodline ever since. It is for that reason that you found me amongst the Sin’dorei. Had I known you lived, things would have been different as at least I’d have had a friend to discuss all of this with.”

                “It-it’s okay, Biara,” Malandrae said softly. She offered her friend a reassuring smile, “I’m here now and I promise I will totally stay by your side and help you, okay? I’ll even help you find a way to make up with Kyliska!”

                Biara nodded, “I…it would be nice to have a friend by my side whom I did not have to lie to or deceive. It’s been so very long…”

                Biara paused for a moment, studying her friend closely, “There is…one more thing. It has to do with you, Mal.”

                “With me?” Malandrae sounded slightly concerned, given the story she’d just been told.

                “Yes, I fear it is not necessarily good news either,” Biara said. “I’ve been studying your condition while you slumbered. You are…not well. It is not related to your recent wounds either. There is something else wrong with you, with your magic. It is why you sometimes get confused and forget things, or get headaches.”

                “Really?!” Malandrae said, her hands coming up to her head in surprise. “W-what do we do?!”

                Biara brought hand up, urging her friend to remain calm, “For now, nothing. I am studying your ailment and have reached out to others to help me. I’m sure, in time, we can figure out what to do. In the meanwhile, you will have me here with you. I will not let you get lost, confused, or hurt again. I swear it to you. We are friends forever, and nothing will stand between that.”

                Malandrae smiled at Biara happily, “Friends forever, no matter what!” After a moment she yawned, shaking her head, “Biara, I still feel kind of sleepy. The muffins were super good but…not enough to keep me awake. Do you mind if I sleep a bit more?”

                Biara shook her head, gently moving the chair away from Malandrae’s bedside before scooping up the empty plate and cup, “Not at all my friend. We’ve only just been reunited but we have endless time ahead of us to catch you. You rest and I promise I will be here when you awaken again. I will never forsake you.”

                Malandrae yawned, leaning back down into the inviting silken sheets and pillows beneath her. Her eyes began to drift closed and her voice came in a whisper, “Thank you, Kerriel. I love you.”

                Biara watched as her friend drifted off to sleep once more, a half-smile playing across her lips. There was true dedication, the true bond of love and friendship. An elf who had stood by her side for over fifteen hundred years before fate separated them. One with no malice in her heart, no political game to play, no scheme to uncover. Malandrae was simply pure-hearted, as she’d always been, and Biara would preserve that for all of eternity if she could. As she turned and walked softly from the room, she whispered over her shoulder, “And I love you, Malandrae Moonwhisper. You are all that remains of who I once was, and I will always treasure your friendship.”

Ancient Lies

Prologue- Promises Made

Zin-Azshari, centuries before the city’s fall.

They were going to get in so much trouble; possibly the worst trouble they’d ever been in for their entire young lives. The thought repeated over and over in Kerriel Spellfury’s mind as she crawled through the garden on her hands and knees, her body almost shaking with fear. Her deep purple hair was tied back behind her head to keep it from getting tangled in the brush, but even so she had sticks and grass stuck in her long locks and dirt smeared her fine dress.

            Ahead of her, Malandrae Moonwhisper paused, turning to shoot her a mischievous smile and bring a finger to her lips. Her cyan hair bounced slightly in its tall pigtails, the adolescent Highborne’s eyes flickering silver with the excitement of the moment.

            Kerriel just shook her head, asking herself again how she’d managed to let Malandrae convince her to do this. They were too young to be in this part of the city, too young to really be adventuring on their own and certainly too young to be out in the middle of the day when everyone else was sleeping. That they’d also avoided watchful guards, passed down corridors where their presence was forbidden, and hidden themselves from other Highborne during this adventure were secondary to the amount of grounded they were going to be if anyone caught them.

Of course, Malandrae didn’t even seem to be thinking about this, the flighty young Highborne instead turning and increasing her pace, forcing Kerriel to also speed up to keep up with her friend. They’d known each other practically from the womb, and in all her twenty years Kerriel had never met a friend truer and more honest in all of the Night Elven Empire. Of course, that didn’t mean Malandrae wouldn’t get her into big trouble!

Ahead of her, Malandrae paused, beckoning her friend closer, her voice whispering through coral-painted lips, “It’s here. We made it. See? I told you we could do it!”

Kerriel swallowed hard, inching her way forward through the last of the decorative garden and out onto the grass, taking care that no guards were nearby and watching. She squirmed like a snake on her belly onward until the grass abruptly fell away a few feet down. Down into…

It was like staring into the power of the universe itself. The water before her swirled and glowed with unbelievable, unfathomable magical power. The Well of Eternity was the most glorious sight she’d ever beheld in her young life and ever would behold again in all her centuries to come. The very magic of her people, the magic that fueled everything that was their civilization, shimmered just feet from her. She lay there, numbed to a shocked silence as she stared into it and felt the waves of its power washing past her. It was forbidden for her to be there, to be so close to it, but it had been worth the potential punishment to see it up close. All of her doubts, her fears about Malandrae’s plan melted away in an instant.

A moment later, the water surged upwards as something large plunged down into it. Faster than Kerriel could move, a small splash of the Well flew upwards into her face and crashed against her. It was like being struck by a hammer’s blow, with searing power cascading through her mind and across her skin. She could taste it on her tongue, on her lips, and wanted to scream and cry and laugh joyously all at once. Her senses faded away, and all there was around her was power.

Moments later she blinked her eyes and found herself staring up at the sky. Tall, flowered plants rose over her and a cyan-haired head peered down at her. She’d been dragged into the gardens in her delirium, and a hand was clamped tightly over her mouth.

“Oh my heavens, I’m so sorry,” Malandrae mewled quietly. “I didn’t know the rock would make a splash. Please be okay, please be okay!”

Kerriel still felt the raw power flowing through her. It was burning her from the inside out, more than any magic she’d ever experienced. She knew in that moment that she would not be okay, that her tiny adolescent form could never contain the energies that had been splashed on her by her friend. She held up her hand, palm outwards, clasping Malandrae’s hand to comfort her. She didn’t blame her friend for what had happened, and if she had to die, then at least she’d had one grand adventure before she passed.

Magic arced between their palms and Malandrae’s eyes opened wide. She gasped as some of the excess energy that Kerriel’s body could not contain passed through her. Many minutes passed, the two struggling and twitching as the power was grounded and slowly flowed down to a manageable level before fading from their immediate senses. When it was over, Malandrae collapsed next to her friend, both of them hidden within the garden where Mal had dragged Kerriel after the accident.

They said nothing for a long time, both laying there and staring up at the sky, still holding hands as they came to grips with their near death experience. After a long time, Malandrae spoke softly, her voice filled with remorse, “Please don’t be mad. I totally did not know that would happen! I’m so sorry Kerri. I don’t know what I’d ever do if you’d…if-“

“Hush Mal,” Kerriel said softly, her throat sore from the repressed screams that had ripped through it. “I know you didn’t mean it. It was an accident. And I was the one who went along with this idea anyway. You know I wouldn’t stay mad at you; you’re the best friend I have ever had.”

Malandrae rolled over on her side, staring at her Highborne friend, a hesitant smile on her face. Her eyes widened as she saw the other elf, noting something odd on her chest, “Kerri…look….”

Kerriel lifted her still throbbing head up, her own eyes widening as she beheld what Malandrae was staring at. It was a fleck, a flake of what could have been snow, glowing like a shimmering white ember on her chest. She reached down, picking it up between two fingers, her mind reeling from the spark of magic within it. It was as if a droplet of the water that had struck her had frozen when it had been separated from the Well’s power. She shivered, slipping the sliver into a pocket and shaking her head, “We can’t let anyone know about that. About…what happened. We’d be in so much trouble.”

Malandrae nodded, studying her friend for a minute in silence. The elf’s hair looked odd as well. A sparkle of silver in those purple locks. Maybe it was just her imagination though and she finally responded, “I’ll never tell anyone your secrets. I swear on my life. Friends forever.”

Kerriel smiled, giving Malandrae’s hand a gentle squeeze, “Friends forever, Malandrae. No matter how much time passes.”

It was a promise the two would keep between themselves, just as they would hide their secret adventure from everyone else forevermore. It was a promise that would be tested again and again as the two Highborne grew into their power, grew in prominence within their Houses. It was a promise that would be kept sacred even when Kerriel was banished from Azshara’s courts for her indiscretions with a certain Ketheran Moonwhisper many centuries later…

********************************************************************

Part 1- A Simple Rescue

Ashenvale, several miles from Astranaar. Current Day.

            Malandrae made her way carefully through the forest, her heels not helping her as she walked across the uneven terrain. She’d been traveling for many hours now and was weary and, naturally, hopelessly lost. That didn’t mean she couldn’t get back since she could always use a portal spell, but it did make her wonder just how the sentinels managed to get anything done when the forest was just so heavens-forsaken big!

            No one had wanted her to go into the forest of course. They had politely asked her not to help the minute she’d volunteered. Given that half the town was out searching for the missing Kaldorei children though, it was not really possible to keep an eye on the wayward Highborne and after about fifteen solid minutes of waiting around where she’d been told to wait, Malandrae had slipped out of Astranaar and into the forests of Ashenvale.

            She wanted to do something to help. She’d been in Darnassus for half a year now and no one ever let her help or do anything of use. She had a few friendly neighbors who were kind enough to talk to her on a regular basis, but Malandrae had ample magic to lend and wanted to do more. And so the minute she’d heard about a group of missing children, she’d decided that enough was enough and she was going to help even if everyone else didn’t like it!

            Of course, being alone in the forest for several hours had put it into perspective that maybe she was not capable of finding missing people in a forest without going missing herself, but she shoved that aside and let her optimism win out, as she usually did. She sat down on a rock, crossing her legs and staring into the forest, “If I was a group of lost children in the forest, where would I be? Hmm….”

            After a moment Malandrae came to the realization that they’d probably be sitting on a rock somewhere wondering where town was, much as she was doing. It was circular reasoning that was not going to help in this situation. Shaking her head and setting her pigtails to bouncing, she rose, plunging into the forest once more. Certainly if she kept moving she’d eventually find them or find one of the search parties. Staying in one place would totally not be helpful at all!

            To what would likely be everyone’s surprise later, Malandrae’s impulsive actions paid off a few minutes later when she spied something odd on the forest floor. Stopping to pick it up, she realized she’d discovered a small wooden toy soldier. Certainly this was something one of the children had been playing with! She had found a clue! Gleefully she surveyed the forest, even her extremely poor tracking skills able to see the path of crushed and partially burned foliage that lead away from the object. Resolutely she followed down this trail, something tickling the back of her mind in caution as she proceeded.

            Around her the forest darkened, many of the trees seemingly diseased or in distress. The ground had more charred spots on it, and Malandrae walked more hesitantly the further she went. She clutched the little toy to her chest, her eyes wide and her breath coming faster as fear boiled up inside her.

            “I can do this. I can totally do this…” she murmured to herself, her heels crunching on broken sticks and burned, crinkled leaves. “It’s just a forest…nothing scary here. The children went this way right? I can go somewhere that a child has gone. I can!”

            Up ahead the forest seemed to give way to a small, burned out clearing, and Malandrae found herself hesitating even further. In a rare act of intelligent caution, she shuffled into the bushes and crawled forward, peering between two burned out tree trunks to what lay beyond.

            She’d found the children, but she’d also discovered why they had not returned home. Five little Kaldorei were in a steel cage that was connected to the ground in the burned, cleared out space. In the center stood a stone block, the object carved with eerie glowing green and purple wards that made her dizzy just looking at them. That was not the worst of it though, at least two demonic felguards stood on either side of the clearing, a number of humans and even elves stood around the stone and conversed in low voices, their dark robes and the long sacrificial knives on their belts given Malandrae little question as to who they were or what they intended with the children.

            The sight of the demons nearly was her undoing. She felt pressure in her head, her vision narrowing as her pulse raced. Her heart pounded in the back of her throat, and she felt a warmth trickling across her lips as her nose began to bleed. For many years she’d fought against the mental disorder that had left her crippled when faced with the demonic or even with memories of things that had happened in her past. Often times such attacks brought brief moments of lucidity followed by a blackout or worse.

            Malandrae struggled to remain conscious, her body shuddering from the efforts of painfully ripping the sweet relief of total blackness away. If she didn’t act, the children would die. She was their only hope and she could suffer later. Deep in the back of her mind, something ancient stirred, pieces of her that she’d not remembered for endless centuries. She was a Highborne, one of the daughters of Viala Moonwhisper; not to be taken lightly.

            With a stifled cry of pain, she rose from her hiding spot, the act one of the most difficult things she’d ever done. She stumbled into the clearly, her hands rising up even as dozens of eyes turns towards her in shock. Arcane magics flared around her fingertips, the power of a Highborne fully connected to her magic growing around her and reaching out towards those who would harm innocents. For a brief moment in time, Malandrae Moonwhisper was whole, and her enemies would learn just how she had managed to survive the Sundering all those centuries before.

            The center of the clearing erupted in an explosion of arcane magic, bodies flying away as men and elves were knocked unconscious or even shredded by the blast. Arcane missiles flared out of Malandrae’s hands, stitching across the ground and then up the body of one of the felguards, causing the demonic creature to cry out as it was rocked backwards by the explosions. All the while Malandrae ran forward in a panic, knowing she had precious little time to do what she had to do.

            She skidded to a halt as one of the cultists on the ground yelled out the words to a spell, a tear opening in space to her left and a felhunter emerging from the chaotic rift the cultist had opened. It was a horribly dangerous foe to a spellcaster, but Malandrae knew she had little time left; the second felguard was already bounding across the clearing towards her and would reach her soon after the felhunter did. It was now or never.

            In an absolutely terrifying moment, Malandrae turned away from the oncoming demons, her hand pointing towards the cage the children were in. The little ones were crying in fear and terror, their cries turning to gasps as a portal to Darnassus ripped open in the air beside them. The older ones saw what the Highborne had done and pushed their stunned little brothers and sisters forward, the children tumbling away to safety as the portal closed behind them.

            A second later, the felhunter struck, its tentacled barbs slamming into Malandrae’s back and hurling her to the ground. She could feel the creature feeding on her magic, on her life force, the demon’s entire purpose to kill spellcasters. She cried out as it sucked life and magic from her like a vampire, her energy fading quickly as it gorged itself. Her vision blurry, she saw something glinting on the ground in front of her. In a blind panic she reached forward, her hands grasping one of the cultist’s fallen daggers. She snatched it up and rolled, slamming the mundane weapon into the felhunter’s eye, the creature howling and then falling atop her as it perished from the wound.

            For a moment, she lay there panting, too weak to even move, blood running from the wounds on her back and the weight of the dead felhunter holding her in place. Her mind swirled, broken pieces of consciousness coming together for a moment, giving her access to her full faculties for a time. A shadow fell over her, the felguard having reached her. It gazed down on her, grinning evilly as it brought its weapon up to end her life.

            A pity, to die here, so far from the court. Especially when I can remember it all. There was a time when such a creature could never stop me, stop us. Us…us! I need help! Who…where?!

            Her hands scrambled against each other, one finding a bracelet on her arm. Her thoughts raced as the blade came down towards her neck. The pink elf! The Sin’dorei! I can-

            The last dregs of Malandrae Moonwhisper’s power flared and she hurtled away through time and space towards the origin of the magic contained within the bracelet on her wrist. A bracelet that had been given to her as a favor by a very unusual Magistrix…

****************************************************************************

Part 3- Friends Forever

Sunfire Spire, dinnertime!

            Kyliska was about the happiest Sin’dorei that had ever lived. As she sat in her chair at the table, she gleefully looked at the plate that had just been set before her. The steak was unbelievable; the kodo meat had been imported fresh from Thunderbluff by a mage and kept cooled with ice spells before it was carefully seasoned and left to age for forty days. Broiled on a magical grill heated to just the right temperature, it was cooked to a precise medium-rare with the hot juices still warm enough to burn her tongue. Paired with a delicious, ridiculously expensive wine and served with sides of vegetables grown by the best herbalists in Eversong, it was the perfect meal.

            With a sigh of delight, Kyliska picked up her fork and knife, the smile on her face speaking volumes about her satisfaction as she leaned forward to cut the first bite. In that moment, the air in front of her began to sparkle and then explode with arcane power as something tore through the wards of her spire.

            Kyliska yelled, her silverware flying as a hole opened in space before her in the center of her table. A figure stumbled through it, high heels taking three steps across the table before the form of a bloody Night Elf collapsed forward three feet and landed face down in Kyliska’s meal. The arcane forces quickly sputtered out, the hole slipping away to nothingness and leaving silence behind. Wine spattered on the table from her overturned cup and hot vegetables steamed on the marble floor all around the table.

            For a brief moment, Kyliska was in utter shock until she noted the cyan-colored pigtails. Fury rose up in her as she realized the elf had collapsed on her perfect, perfect dinner, “Are you serious? ARE YOU LIGHT-DAMNED SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! WHAT THE FUCK?!”

            After a moment of ranting Kyliska realized she might be yelling at a corpse given the two large, bleeding holes in the elf’s back. A groan coming from the unconscious figure a moment later at least gave her the satisfaction of knowing that the stupid Highborne had heard her. With a sigh, Kyliska rose, grabbing Malandrae’s shoulders and flipping her over. With a scowl of fury, she picked pieces of perfectly ruined steak off the mage and checked to see if she was still alive.

            A moment later a door burst open, Biara rushing through in a panic, her skirts bunched at her thighs to let her run faster. Braeth’el ran in behind her, out of breath as if he’d been somewhere else within the spire. Kyliska glared at them, pointing down at the unconscious elf, “She did it! She ruined my dinner!”

            Biara hurried over to the table, her eyes wide as she inspected Malandrae’s unconscious form, “She breached the wards. I felt it from my study. What’s…she’s half-dead. What happened? Is she wounded?”

            “There’s two holes in her back, like I give a shit,” Kyliska murmured. “Can we get her off the table please? If she’s going to die, I’d rather not have her do it in here.”

            Biara ignored her sister’s comments for a moment, lifting Malandrae’s torso up more carefully and studying the wounds on her back for a moment. “Felhunter. She’s been drained. She needs a lot of help and fast. I don’t think regular healing will do it either.” She paused for a minute turning to Braeth’el, “Get my apprentices to bring all of the mana crystals they can to my second laboratory and then get everyone out of the spire in between here and there. I’ll transport her there and see if we can help her.”

            “Why bother? She’s a Night elf,” Kyliska muttered, still annoyed over her meal. “She’s not exactly one of our allies or a spy for us or anything…”

            Biara gave her sister a look and shook her head, “She’s…she is someone who has magical knowledge that today’s world knows nothing about. I won’t let that fade away if I can help it. Besides, if she is grateful maybe it will be to our advantage, wouldn’t you say?”

            “Whatever…”

            Biara nodded and chanted the words to a spell, levitating the wounded Highborne off of the table and onto a disc of magic that would be used to transport her. Braeth’el reappeared a moment later, nodding at the two sisters, “I’ve cleared the way. Let’s get her up there before anyone starts to wonder what is going on.”

            Biara nodded and gestured, the unconscious Highborne floating along behind her as she began to hurry through the spire. Braeth’el trailed after her and with a sigh of irritation and one last, longing look at her ruined dinner, Kyliska followed the two out into the corridors beyond.

            It took only minutes to get to the relative privacy of Biara’s secondary laboratory. Quickly the Magistrix set to work, clearing off one of the lab tables and carefully positioning Malandrae atop the table before cancelling out her levitation spell. With a surprising gentleness, Biara rolled Malandrae onto her side, studying the wounds on her back and looking to her sister, “Can you heal these? The rest of it won’t work if she bleeds out from a normal wound.”

            Kyliska nodded, bringing her hands up and applying Light to the wounds. With a sigh of relief coming from Malandrae the bleeding immediately stopped, and although the wounds didn’t close entirely they looked much better. “That’s the best I can do unprepared,” Kyliska said. “We’ll need to get more of my Knights in here if she needs more.”

            “It’ll do I think,” Biara murmured. “Her wounds are inside rather than external. Felhunters steal magic and life-energy to feed. She needs magic badly.”

            On the table before her, Malandrae stirred, moaning in pain. Silver eyes flickered open, taking in the room and the elves standing over her. Kyliska expected her to say something dim-witted or utter some ridiculous explanation of how she had landed in her dinner, but to everyone’s surprise Malandrae’s voice was firm and filled with a something that they had never heard before, “H-house Moonwhisper owes you a great d-deal of gratitude for aiding me. I-I don’t think….even you c-can help though. D-demons…they almost got the children…s-stopped them…” She sighed and her eyes closed.

            Biara blinked in surprise staring down at the normally befuddled elf. She glanced at Kyliska and Braeth’el, both of whom could only offer shrugs. A trickle of blood ran from Malandrae’s nose that was not related to her injuries. Although Biara did not understand everything that was going on in that moment, she knew what needed to be done. Quickly she gathered up several of the mana crystals, setting them in a circle around the wounded Highborne and chanting as she began to channel the raw mana directly into Malandrae’s form.

            For a moment, nothing happened, and then as the crystals began to waver and blue arcane power swirled in the air around her, Malandrae moaned again, her silver eyes flickering open. She stared up at Biara weakly, a smile crossing her face as her glazed eyes took in the chanting form of the Magistrix.

            “Y-you…were always bad…at hiding it…” she murmured to Biara. “I-I could always see through it…I-I think this t-time might be the l-last time….h-heavens it hurts so much…”

            Biara looked at Malandrae in confusion for a moment, shaking her head, “Hush now. You’re wounded and confused, that’s all. I’ve got more than enough magic here to save you.” She began chanting again, more of the crystals dissolving as they flowed into Malandrae’s wounded form.

            “I-it’s like…w-when you….had to leave…” Malandrae murmured again in a weak voice. “I-I held your hand….d-do you remember? S-should have just gone with you. S-sorry that I d-didn’t…was a b-bad friend.”

            “What the fel is she even talking about?” Kyliska said, staring at the babbling Highborne.

            Beside her, Braeth’el shrugged and shook his head, “Sometimes people say things when they are on the cusp of death that they don’t mean or think they are talking to people who aren’t there. Who can say? She really doesn’t look so good, I don’t think she’s going to make it.”

            “She’s going to make it,” Biara snapped at them, looking angry now. “I won’t let her die. And yes, I’m sure she’s just confused. Be still, Highborne. I need to use more magic to restore what was taken from you.”

            “Sheesh, what’s the big deal, Biara?” Kyliska said in annoyance. “Like I said, she’s just a Night Elf. You’ve killed hundreds of them, what does this one matter anyway? She’s stupid as a murloc to boot.”

            Biara turned away, saying nothing and pacing angrily back and forth in front of the wounded elf, her mind frantically trying to find solutions. The magic taken from her was so great that her spirit was fading, and the crystals were not strong enough. She would need a stronger source of magic, but she was running out of time. Her pacing was interrupted when Malandrae began to cough, blood foaming out of her mouth. Biara raced back to her, reaching down to wipe her mouth with her own sleeve.

            Malandrae looked up at her, smiling weakly, “I-it’s okay…we all h-have to go sometime. T-there is not enough h-here to keep me…”

            Biara reacted angrily to this, reaching down and grasping Malandrae’s hand. Her voice was choked with a strange emotion that the others could not identify now, her words coming out in a ragged whisper, “There is one other way…”

            Malandrae shook her head weakly, “H-heavens n-no…y-you can’t. I-it would…ruin…” A coughing fit interrupted her, and the silver in her eyes began to fade as life began to flee her body. “…r-reveal…everything. N-never tell…secrets…”

            Kyliska felt Braeth’el’s arms wrap around her as she stood watching, his closeness putting off the sadness that she refused to admit was welling up inside her. It was hard to watch someone die, even if that person was an annoying idiot who was always hitting on your boyfriend and randomly ruining your dinners or causing explosions on your property. She leaned back against him, ignoring the glitter in the corner of her eye for a moment.

            Biara had tears streaming down her face now, her head bowed as she heard Malandrae’s words. Their hands were clasped, and she held them up. Her eyes opened, staring into Malandrae’s as if she could see her soul there. Her mouth opened, and she whispered words that no one but the dying Highborne would ever understand, “Friends forever…”

            Magic blazed into being between their clasped hands, arcane energies the likes of which had never been unleashed within the laboratory passing between them in an instant. Throughout the entire floor of the spire magical lanterns flickered out of existence as a gaping hole of need poured through the leylines there, sucking up every last scrap of power. Kyliska felt almost nauseous as wicked arcane energy crackled through the air around her sister and through her hand into Malandrae.

            On the table, Malandrae gasped, the life-flood of magic blazing through her like a thousand suns, warming her cold body and renewing the heart of her own magic. She drank of the power, sucking it into herself and replacing the spark of energy that had been stolen from her by the demon. She cried out in joy as she was made whole again, as a most precious gift was given to her.

            Kyliska’s eyes widened in shock as the air around Biara began to shimmer and dance. The Magistrix grit her teeth, desperately clinging to her own spells, her own magics, but in the end she knew it was fruitless if she wanted Malandrae to live. First the wards on her face and body snuffed out of existence, sucked into the raging arcane inferno flaring around her. Then she herself began to shimmer, the energies flowing across her body. Kyliska gasped as Biara’s red hair began to fade, to grow longer, glittering with a silver light so bright it was hard to look at. The outline of her form began to glow, began to bend and break as a spell that had been in place for more than a century was shattered into a million pieces to save the life of a Highborne.

            Before Kyliska’s horrified eyes, Biara disappeared almost entirely, the glowing light outlining the form of a much larger elf who was bent over Malandrae, still clasping her hand tightly. After another minute the arcane energies began to fade, and she felt Braeth’el’s arms holding her in place for a minute as they both stared at the scene before them.

            A beautiful night elf stood over Malandrae, staring down at her with a sad smile on her face and tears in her eyes. Silver hair that ran down to her back glittered with residual magic as the elf’s second hand came up to pat Malandrae’s.

            On the table, Malandrae also had tears in her eyes, her voice choked with emotion, “Kerriel…I knew…I knew it was you. But…you’ve ruined everything.”

            “Hush now, Malandrae,” the elf said in a slightly deeper, more melodic voice. “It wouldn’t have lasted forever anyway. In another hundred years, another two hundred, it would have been over either way. I made a promise to you. I owe you for everything you’ve done for me. This…this is nothing compared to what you’ve done for me.”

            “What did she do to you?!” Kyliska’ voice cried out, breaking the moment between the two elves.

            Two pairs of silver eyes turned, studying Kyliska, after a moment, the newcomer released Malandrae’s hand, gesturing for her to remain there. “Kyliska…”

            Kyliska felt herself back up, felt Braeth’el tensing behind her, “Who are you, and what did you do to Biara?! Return her at once!”

            The elf spread her hands wide, a sad expression on her face, “Kyliska… I am Biara. This is who and what I truly am.”

            Kyliska felt like someone was choking her. She shook her head, her eyes wide and almost like those of a lunatic, “W-what?! What do you…that’s not even possible! You’re lying! You did something to her!”

            “No, Kyliska,” Biara said slowly, her hands still spread wide. “I didn’t do something to ‘her’ I did something to you. I’ve lied to you, misled you, and for that I am deeply regretful. However, that fact does not change the fact that I am Biara. I am your sister.”

            “N-no! My sister is a Sin’dorei! Daughter of Tel’athar and Selun’athiel Dayfire!” Kyliska yelled. “You’re an imposter! A liar! I’ll kill you!” She began to lurch forward, breaking away from Braeth’el’s grip in a frenzy. She took two steps and slammed into a magical barrier between her and the Highborne elf.

            “No, Kyliska, you will not kill me. You will listen,” Biara said, her voice tense. “I was not born of Tel’athar and Selun’athiel’s blood. I put myself in that place, to live here beside you. To watch over you, to live my life with you. I have always been true to you, been by your side through thick and thin. I kept this from you because I knew you would not understand, would not see why it was necessary.”

            For a few moments, Kyliska raged against the barrier before her. She felt Braeth’el stepping beside her, saw his blades in his hand. His voice was steady when he spoke, “How is this possible? How did you maintain such an illusion for so long?”

            Biara smiled at him, a hint of who she’d always been in her voice, “Because magic is everything to me. Because the spellcasters here know nothing of illusion or deception. It is not difficult, when you know the right spells, to take the form of another. I am sure you’ve seen this done a thousand times. It is a trick, nothing more, nothing less. I regret that it was necessary, but Kyliska is important to me, and I wanted to watch over her.”

            “You lying, traitorous little bitch!” Kyliska burst out. “We’ve fought wars together! We’ve told each other all of our secrets! And you never once thought to tell me that you’re…you’re…I don’t even know what the fuck you are! You fucking bitch!”

            “I am a Highborne, Kyliska,” Biara said gently. “Born long before your time. I have my own reasons for keeping it from you, but was it so bad? Did I do so much wrong to you? I’ve been your friend, your confidant, your ally, your sister, for all of these years. You yourself have Kaldorei blood in you. What does this matter, beyond the lie? Why can we not continue on? I can renew the illusion.”

            Kyliska screamed at the top of her lungs, the words and inarticulate cry of rage. She pounded her sword against the barrier before her, arcane flashes flaring to life between them as she raged. “YOU LYING BITCH! YOU KILLED YOUR OWN KIND BESIDE ME! I CAN’T TRUST ANYTHING YOU’VE EVER SAID TO ME!”

            Biara frowned, looking annoyed now, “The Kaldorei are not ‘my kind’ any more than the Sin’dorei are.” She pointed towards the table, “That is my kind. Malandrae is ‘my kind’ and not the savages from the woods. I did what I had to do to remain by your side. I would kill a thousand of them to keep you safe, to see you thrive, but I will not let one of ‘my kind’ die for a silly lie that you would have seen through in your old age anyway.”

            Kyliska stopped raging, her sword clattering to the floor. Silence reigned in the room for an uncomfortable period of time. When she spoke next, her voice was cold and hollow, all emotion drained from her, “I want you to leave. I want you to take your ‘friend’ and leave and never return. I don’t know who or what you are, but you are not my sister. I will not listen to another moment of your lies. I hope somewhere your dead father and mother know that you’ve lied to them, that the daughter they doted over was never theirs and that their spirits haunt you forever you fucking lying bitch.”

            Tears ran down Biara’s face and she bowed her head for a moment, “If that is what you wish Kyli, then I will leave you. I…understand why you are upset. Step aside so I can get my things and-“

            Kyliska tore the bracelet she was wearing off and hurled it at the barricade between them, her voice a ragged scream again, “I said LEAVE NOW! YOU’RE NOT TAKING A FUCKING THING! GET THE FUCK OUT!”

            Biara winced as the bracelet she’d gifted to Kyli slammed into the barricade and then tumbled to the floor. She shook her head, her voice pained, “At least step aside so I can get Astariel. I can’t-“

            “You’re not taking her anywhere,” Kyliska said darkly. “She’s a Sin’dorei child and I’ll not have her abducted by… an evil soulless tart that thinks she can do whatever she wants. You’ll not taint one of our children with your lying filthy magic.”

            Biara glared through the barrier now, her voice hollow, “I’ll not leave my daughter here with you. She is my daughter and will come with me.”

            Kyliska bent down and scooped up her sword, pointing the blade at the barrier, “Biara, so help me if you don’t get out of my spire in the next ten seconds I will call your apprentices in and have them tear this barrier apart and then take your head myself. You will not take the child anywhere. See how you like to have your entire world ripped away from you in a moment you bitch!”

            Magic flared around Biara, her silver hair fluttering in the arcane wind. Her voice was commanding now, enough to echo through the chamber and set Kyliska’s teeth to gritting, “I will leave now and take Malandrae, but know that I will return for my daughter. You will not have her, regardless of your personal importance to me. Be glad that I feel bad for what I’ve done for you, because otherwise you would come to understand the mistake of crossing one of us. I can take everything else from you should I choose to do so.”

            With that she hurled a ball of arcane energy towards them. It slammed through the barricade and exploded at Braeth’el’s feet, shattering the marble tiles and hurling him backwards. Kyliska stumbled sideways, falling to the floor from the impact of the blast. She gazed up through glazed eyes, seeing the image of Biara tenderly scooping Malandrae up from her resting place, the other Highborne clearly alive and in much better shape than she’d been. With one last despairing look at Kyliska, light flared around the two and then they were gone, the room empty as if they’d never been there.

            With her departure Kyliska felt like a hole had been torn from her heart, and she felt her sword tumble from her hands numbly. As she began to cry, she could feel Braeth’el stirring beside her, his form rising up in a daze and coming over to her. She pressed herself against him, weeping bitterly, the enormity of what had just transpired overwhelming her at last.

            In the blackest of her despair, Kyliska knew from that moment on, nothing would be the same again. She’d been manipulated, they’d all been manipulated, for over a century by lies and tangled untruths that maybe they would never sort through. It was the end of everything, and the beginning of a darkness that would eclipse her life forever more.