Post by Wink on Nov 30, 2009 4:36:02 GMT -5
The girl sat quietly at the table, watching the woman sitting across from her with blank yet openhearted curiosity. The woman - a mage of some small rank – was tall, elegantly dressed, her hair arranged just so upon her head. She shuffled through papers, staring at them blankly, then glancing up at the girl. Once more to the papers, then the girl, then the papers, a quiet frown stretching across the otherwise pretty mouth.
“And you’re how old again, Miss?” the woman inquired, lifting an eyebrow.
“Almost nineteen ma’am – another week and it’ll be my birthday!” the girl piped up, offering the woman a nervous smile. The faint traces of what had been a vivid bruise by the looks of it still lingered on the girl’s left cheek, although it no longer seemed to bother her. Her hands folded neatly in her lap; the girl gave the woman another encouraging, if timid smile.
“Right. Right well we’ve contacted your parents of course-“ the woman began, noting the girl’s expression. Her face fell, eyes dropping immediately to the table, teeth clasping her lower lip in quiet concern. “-they…well. They certainly didn’t expect to see a mage on their doorstep. I’m afraid that they insisted that they don’t have a daughter, Miss…Merriweather?” The woman glanced over the rim of her glasses at the girl, who had paled considerably at the words. “It is Miss Merriweather, isn’t it?” the woman prompted gently.
At the girl’s nod, the woman laid the papers on the desk with a quiet sigh, rising to her feet and walking over to pat the girl on the shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion. While she didn’t know the whole story, there was definitely something…odd going on here, and as the farmers of Elwynn were largely a rustic sort, this reaction wasn’t terribly surprising. “There, there,” she said in a crisp fashion, returning to her seat and offering the girl a kerchief.
“Right then,” she began, the girl glancing up at her in a hopeful fashion. “These tests we’ve run do indicate you’ve a high amount of natural talent for the arcane arts, and I believe it would be in your best interests to attend schooling so that you may hone your abilities and learn to use them responsibly.”
There was a brief moment of silence in which the girl’s eyes went from sadness to complete and total confusion. She smiled brightly at the woman. Right toothily, even.
The woman raised her glasses to perch them on her forehead, the delicate wire glinting in the late-afternoon sunshine. “We should be teaching you,” she explained carefully. The girl perked up at this, sitting up straight in her chair.
“R-really? Honest?” she asked.
“…yes,” the woman replied dryly, then glanced down at the papers. “The only question I have for you Miss Merriweather, is where you’ve been hiding all this time?”
The girl stared blankly at the woman, who stared back, albeit politely. “On the farm, ma’am. Pickin’ apples.” the girl offered nervously. The silence stretched on for another minute or two. The woman finally slid her glasses back down to stare at the papers in quiet regard, shuffling through them once more.
“All right. Well, as it seems your parents have no…objections,” the woman began, but the girl interrupted her.
“-begging your pardon ma’am but I suspect they don’t want nothing to do with me anymore,” she said, blinking quietly. “On account of my settin my husband on fire,” she added matter-of-factly, her face paling slightly.
The woman stared; mouth open in a tiny o of dismay for a moment before she remembered it was best that it remain shut, and she did so with another encouraging smile. “Well, I think that if you apply yourself to your studies, you’ll soon have everything under control, Miss Merriweather. I trust your husband was…unharmed?” she asked gently.
The girl’s face fell again, her voice tight. “I expect he’s fine.” she said, and offered no other explanation, her shoulders trembling unexpectedly.
The woman frowned, her expression dimming as she mentally connected the dots and came up with a reasonable explanation for the girl’s behavior, and the bruise. “…we’ll take good care of you here, Wink.” she said, her tone gently reassuring. She would’ve asked more, but the girl abruptly changed the subject. The woman let her. No need to pressure the child when she was already uncomfortable.
But her eyes scanned the room, lighting on a bowl of water to be used just in…case.
“Ma’am,” the girl began, her tone polite and respectful as always, “Begging your pardon, b-but I was talking to a friend of mine last night and s-she said to ask you how we handle the…addiction,” she finished, her gaze frank and hopeful.
“Addiction?” the woman asked, raising an eyebrow.
“To the magic,” the girl continued with a small nod. “S-she said there was something about magic that was awful addictive and that’s why the night elves don’t use it anymore, and why the…” she thought for a moment, trying to recall a word, “Sin’dorei? Left ‘em. After the Well of Eternity exploded and all,” she added.
“Ah. Yes. That.” The woman’s tone was crisp and faintly surprised. “Miss Merriweather, that addiction you speak of would be because the Well of Eternity, and later, the Sunwell, were present in the elves’ society.” The woman shuffled the papers, in her element now. “The magic essence of those fonts imbued the elves with more magical energy than they knew what to do with, and once that was removed, they craved its return. Sad, yes, but don’t fear – we humans don’t have the same sort of ties to the arcane. It’s different for us.”
The girl blinked, absorbing all of this rapidly and giving the woman a nod. “May I ask, Miss Merriweather, where you heard of the Well of Eternity?” the woman inquired smoothly.
“I read it in a book,” the girl promptly replied. At the woman’s astonished stare, the girl’s brow furrowed. “I’m not stupid,” she said defensively. “I read books just as much as anyone else does. Ma’am.”
“And well you should, Miss Merriweather. Well then,” the woman covered her astonishment with another glance at the papers. “These tests…well my dear, I only ask where you’ve been because really, your level of…power indicates you ought to have been studying with us some time ago. I’m surprised these…outbursts you’ve experienced didn’t occur sooner.” The girl watched her as she spoke, quietly absorbing every word. “To be perfectly honest Miss Merriweather, ordinarily we’d be sending someone of your apparent talent to Outland.”
The girl’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open in wonder. “But,” the woman hastily added before the girl could get too excited at the notion, “You’re…well, you know nothing of control, my dear. Of how to use what you’ve been experiencing. And that…well we don’t like sending novices out where it’s that dangerous without proper training or control, first.”
“T-then what am I supposed to do,” the girl asked, her throat tight.
“We’re going to start you with classes, and in the meantime, I suggest you go do…small errands, for the smaller outlying villages. If you’re in the mood to explore, perhaps you can start with the Exodar – our draenei allies do still need quite a bit of assistance out there,” the woman smiled encouragingly.
“Can…can I go to Darnassus?” the girl whispered, clearly in awe.
“Well…yes, you could certainly go there too,” the woman replied, “Although the night elves aren’t quite as…tolerant of the arcane as most, I doubt they’d turn down an offer for help.” Her lips closed in a thin smile. The night elves were indeed worthy allies, but their disdain for magic was widely known. The girl would be fine going there however, should she choose to do so.
“So…so where should I go?” the girl asked, her tone hushed.
“Anywhere you’d like – just as long as you’re here promptly for classes,” the woman replied with a warm smile. “Welcome to the world of the magi, Miss Merriweather. I trust we’ll keep you well entertained.”
((Wink is now, through the magic of faction changes and a woefully underplayed alt, level 61. While she is quite capable of questing in Outland OOC, she will for the time being be working on the starter quests in the various alliance zones. Partially because it gives her something to do IC, and partially...well...
...I really, really wanna kitty. KITTY KITTY KITTY. >.> ))
“And you’re how old again, Miss?” the woman inquired, lifting an eyebrow.
“Almost nineteen ma’am – another week and it’ll be my birthday!” the girl piped up, offering the woman a nervous smile. The faint traces of what had been a vivid bruise by the looks of it still lingered on the girl’s left cheek, although it no longer seemed to bother her. Her hands folded neatly in her lap; the girl gave the woman another encouraging, if timid smile.
“Right. Right well we’ve contacted your parents of course-“ the woman began, noting the girl’s expression. Her face fell, eyes dropping immediately to the table, teeth clasping her lower lip in quiet concern. “-they…well. They certainly didn’t expect to see a mage on their doorstep. I’m afraid that they insisted that they don’t have a daughter, Miss…Merriweather?” The woman glanced over the rim of her glasses at the girl, who had paled considerably at the words. “It is Miss Merriweather, isn’t it?” the woman prompted gently.
At the girl’s nod, the woman laid the papers on the desk with a quiet sigh, rising to her feet and walking over to pat the girl on the shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion. While she didn’t know the whole story, there was definitely something…odd going on here, and as the farmers of Elwynn were largely a rustic sort, this reaction wasn’t terribly surprising. “There, there,” she said in a crisp fashion, returning to her seat and offering the girl a kerchief.
“Right then,” she began, the girl glancing up at her in a hopeful fashion. “These tests we’ve run do indicate you’ve a high amount of natural talent for the arcane arts, and I believe it would be in your best interests to attend schooling so that you may hone your abilities and learn to use them responsibly.”
There was a brief moment of silence in which the girl’s eyes went from sadness to complete and total confusion. She smiled brightly at the woman. Right toothily, even.
The woman raised her glasses to perch them on her forehead, the delicate wire glinting in the late-afternoon sunshine. “We should be teaching you,” she explained carefully. The girl perked up at this, sitting up straight in her chair.
“R-really? Honest?” she asked.
“…yes,” the woman replied dryly, then glanced down at the papers. “The only question I have for you Miss Merriweather, is where you’ve been hiding all this time?”
The girl stared blankly at the woman, who stared back, albeit politely. “On the farm, ma’am. Pickin’ apples.” the girl offered nervously. The silence stretched on for another minute or two. The woman finally slid her glasses back down to stare at the papers in quiet regard, shuffling through them once more.
“All right. Well, as it seems your parents have no…objections,” the woman began, but the girl interrupted her.
“-begging your pardon ma’am but I suspect they don’t want nothing to do with me anymore,” she said, blinking quietly. “On account of my settin my husband on fire,” she added matter-of-factly, her face paling slightly.
The woman stared; mouth open in a tiny o of dismay for a moment before she remembered it was best that it remain shut, and she did so with another encouraging smile. “Well, I think that if you apply yourself to your studies, you’ll soon have everything under control, Miss Merriweather. I trust your husband was…unharmed?” she asked gently.
The girl’s face fell again, her voice tight. “I expect he’s fine.” she said, and offered no other explanation, her shoulders trembling unexpectedly.
The woman frowned, her expression dimming as she mentally connected the dots and came up with a reasonable explanation for the girl’s behavior, and the bruise. “…we’ll take good care of you here, Wink.” she said, her tone gently reassuring. She would’ve asked more, but the girl abruptly changed the subject. The woman let her. No need to pressure the child when she was already uncomfortable.
But her eyes scanned the room, lighting on a bowl of water to be used just in…case.
“Ma’am,” the girl began, her tone polite and respectful as always, “Begging your pardon, b-but I was talking to a friend of mine last night and s-she said to ask you how we handle the…addiction,” she finished, her gaze frank and hopeful.
“Addiction?” the woman asked, raising an eyebrow.
“To the magic,” the girl continued with a small nod. “S-she said there was something about magic that was awful addictive and that’s why the night elves don’t use it anymore, and why the…” she thought for a moment, trying to recall a word, “Sin’dorei? Left ‘em. After the Well of Eternity exploded and all,” she added.
“Ah. Yes. That.” The woman’s tone was crisp and faintly surprised. “Miss Merriweather, that addiction you speak of would be because the Well of Eternity, and later, the Sunwell, were present in the elves’ society.” The woman shuffled the papers, in her element now. “The magic essence of those fonts imbued the elves with more magical energy than they knew what to do with, and once that was removed, they craved its return. Sad, yes, but don’t fear – we humans don’t have the same sort of ties to the arcane. It’s different for us.”
The girl blinked, absorbing all of this rapidly and giving the woman a nod. “May I ask, Miss Merriweather, where you heard of the Well of Eternity?” the woman inquired smoothly.
“I read it in a book,” the girl promptly replied. At the woman’s astonished stare, the girl’s brow furrowed. “I’m not stupid,” she said defensively. “I read books just as much as anyone else does. Ma’am.”
“And well you should, Miss Merriweather. Well then,” the woman covered her astonishment with another glance at the papers. “These tests…well my dear, I only ask where you’ve been because really, your level of…power indicates you ought to have been studying with us some time ago. I’m surprised these…outbursts you’ve experienced didn’t occur sooner.” The girl watched her as she spoke, quietly absorbing every word. “To be perfectly honest Miss Merriweather, ordinarily we’d be sending someone of your apparent talent to Outland.”
The girl’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open in wonder. “But,” the woman hastily added before the girl could get too excited at the notion, “You’re…well, you know nothing of control, my dear. Of how to use what you’ve been experiencing. And that…well we don’t like sending novices out where it’s that dangerous without proper training or control, first.”
“T-then what am I supposed to do,” the girl asked, her throat tight.
“We’re going to start you with classes, and in the meantime, I suggest you go do…small errands, for the smaller outlying villages. If you’re in the mood to explore, perhaps you can start with the Exodar – our draenei allies do still need quite a bit of assistance out there,” the woman smiled encouragingly.
“Can…can I go to Darnassus?” the girl whispered, clearly in awe.
“Well…yes, you could certainly go there too,” the woman replied, “Although the night elves aren’t quite as…tolerant of the arcane as most, I doubt they’d turn down an offer for help.” Her lips closed in a thin smile. The night elves were indeed worthy allies, but their disdain for magic was widely known. The girl would be fine going there however, should she choose to do so.
“So…so where should I go?” the girl asked, her tone hushed.
“Anywhere you’d like – just as long as you’re here promptly for classes,” the woman replied with a warm smile. “Welcome to the world of the magi, Miss Merriweather. I trust we’ll keep you well entertained.”
((Wink is now, through the magic of faction changes and a woefully underplayed alt, level 61. While she is quite capable of questing in Outland OOC, she will for the time being be working on the starter quests in the various alliance zones. Partially because it gives her something to do IC, and partially...well...
...I really, really wanna kitty. KITTY KITTY KITTY. >.> ))
Founded April 26, 2005