Glyllena,
I am unable to express my excitement and joy about your offer to teach me. While I was disappointed at being dismissed from my studies from my previous master, I found his methods and instructional style to be not to my taste. However, coming from my back round when someone offers to take you on as a student it was not in my best interest to say no. All that aside, I received several odd looks from the inn keeper here in Duskwood when he saw my reaction to your letter. The chance to learn from someone who has been studying the arts for thousands of years is well beyond whatever I could have hoped for.
I do have many more questions for you about your people and what happened on Argus. I am also curious as to this Order you said that you were apart of as well as the affairs that are keeping you away. Be it adventures or something less exciting I am interested in it all. But I will wait to ask those questions til we can sit down face to face again.
I have finally made my way into Duskwood and to interesting town of Darkshire. I have taken up residence at the inn here in town and paid for my room for the month. The town itself is quite different from the streets of Stormwind in that everyone here seems to be almost in a constant state of alarm. After arriving here in town I spent my first night studying a book a brought with me by the fire. I would hear travelers speak of the risen dead in deep in the woods, roving packs of feral worgen and of some necromancer that has been bothering the town for sometime now. When I heard all of this I decided that I would spend the next day brushing up on what little spell work I know and once prepared venture out to see for myself. In fact I am dropping this letter in the mail and will very shortly putting this town to my back and going to see if there is anything I can do to help ease the troubles here.
I will I am sure pass back through this town as often as I can and I certainly hope that we could meet again in person. So until I hear from you again I will be in the wilds of Duskwood. I have been spending a lot of time studying spells that deal with the element of fire, my thinking being that these spells would best serve me fighting things that go bump in the dark. Of course I will study what you wish me to from now on. One last thing before I end my letter and that is I wish to know what you would like me to call you. Humans, for some reason seem to prefer the mantle of Master as a way to show respect to ones senior. Being as unfamiliar as I am with your peoples culture I wish to show you the proper respect that I should, be it in your native tongue or another title of your choosing.
Your student,
Fravum
Fravum,
Please do be careful in Duskwood. I have heard, legend or truth, I am not sure, of terrible things happening there.
My order, The Sha’nash, had joined with the Grand Alliance and staged a campaign in the Southern Barrens, on Kalimdor. I am not necessarily versed in all the reasons we go to battle, but I go nonetheless. If there is evil to be squashed, I will willingly go with my people to vanquish it. An entire week we battled back and forth between Fort Triumph and Desolation Hold. The Sha’nash made it out of these battles relatively unscathed – just extremely exhausted. The Grand Alliance was not, however, successful, and we have finally returned to our home in Shattrath. I do not know what piece of land or bit of supplies we were fighting for. Nor do I know where and when the next Horde invasion will come.
I realize it is rather sudden to accept a student when we’ve only just met, but I felt that a young mage in the world might do more damage than good without guidance. Without damaging my own reputation, I can say that for a long while, I was one of those. Of course, we can always study and read and examine ancient texts from the various races and clans, but none of those things are in any way a substitute for working with a mentor.
I was very young when Velen urged us to escape Argus. But I had already been studying the arcane with my mother, who was a fairly powerful mage in her time. My father was a hunter, but he loved to read to me. Every night before bed, he would read or tell stories of our people. I learned to read quite early, and almost always had my nose in a book, which pleased my mother greatly, because, as you know, the arcane requires great discipline and study. When the Legion descended upon Argus, my parents stayed to fight. They, like many other parents of the time seemed to do, entrusted the youth of our race to Velen and those who escaped. For many, many years, we traveled, distancing ourselves, or so we thought, from Kil’jadeen and Archimonde. When we settled on Draenor, we thought we were safe. We thought we could return to our way of life, even as exiles from our beloved Argus. And for many years, we did, adding more defenses to our cities and our people, knowing now that the world was not always as idyllic as it once was.
My mage training continued in Shattrath, though being as that I was best able to summon the powers of fire, my tutors often hiked me out to the ponds and streams of Nagrand, so that I would be less likely to set fires to important things. It was frustrating, for a long time, not being able to control my power. My temper often got the best of me, I am sorry to say, but realize that fire is the arcane power of passion. One of them, I remember, took my face in her hands, and told me, “The fire purifies you, protects you, serves your people. But do not let it consume you.”
Even to this day, it is something I struggle with.
As for you, young human, the arcane will reveal itself to you in time. While I would be very pleased if fire becomes your calling, I am happy to teach whichever you like.
I also don’t always respond well to titles, so for now, you may call me as my order does: Lena. Although, they sometimes use my title of Caretaker, I am still rather new to the job, so it doesn’t always resonate that someone is speaking to me.
I will try to swing through Duskwood on my travels in the very near future. I am on a new mission for myself, and have been learning a bit about archaeology. I have found some excellent artifacts thus far, and hope to find some helpful magical ones.
Again, please be careful out there. And keep writing. I do wish to know how your private studies go so that I have a better way to develop your skills while we are together.
-Lena
Lena,
Greeting, from the Duskwood inn. I am going to have to really take your advice to heart in regards to being careful here and I now understand better why the people here are always on edge it seems. The dangers of the forest surrounding this town are very real and numerous. I have take on the habit of being sure that I return to the town before the sun sets each night though to be honest the tree canopy here is so thick at times its hard to tell the difference between night and day. I have begun making a list of things that I wish to look further into next time I am near a library.
First on the list would be the study and nature of the undead. Though I have no desire to practice the art of Necromancy myself. After my first experience with seeing and fighting these walking horrors I was a little shaken up. I have of course heard stories and even seen drawings in some books. However none of that prepared me for the actual encounters I have been in. It is no longer a mystery why entities such at the once mighty Lich King would use such abominations. Their effect on me was quite unsettling.
The order to which you belong sounds truly brave. To spend so long on the front lines fighting the Horde is truly remarkable. I have not spent much time myself engaging the Horde on any front and I am not sure I am looking forward to the idea. The chaos of battle is not something I am rushing off into. While I do not have a cowards heart beating in my chest, there is one of someone who knows he is not ready yet to face conflict on that scale.
It does sadden me to hear the fate of your parents and your home world. My parents are very much alive but lead rather mundane lives I guess one would say. My mother raised my sister and me in a small home while my father assisted in care and rearing of horses for the kingdom. Sadly my interests as I grew were not so much of the horse nature and leaned more towards the study of magic. So when a wizard stopped by the stables in the East Vale logging camp my mother and father gave him a new horse in exchange for taking me on as his student. That of course did not work itself out.
Have any of your people ever considered returning to Argus to see it is still occupied by the demons?
I only ask because before I started writing you I was studying one of my texts and came across a section on moving oneself great distances almost across ley lines to hubs of great importance that seem to be located in most of the major cities of the world. It made me wonder if it would be possible to travel such a distance across the cosmos.
On the subject of teleportation, I have grasped the art of moving myself a short distance. The next logical step seems to be and try travel to one of the cities. Before I attempted such a thing though I was wondering if you have heard of any stories of people showing up where they did not intend to go.
The spell work seems simple enough and I have even practiced the incantations for it. Though I stop right before finish the spell. It is strange that I can almost feel a pulling sensation right before i finish the spell.
One last thing before i put down the quill for the night, I was wondering if you knew any information regarding the land west of Duskwood. I was moving close to the border between Duskwood and a place called Deadwind pass when something odd occurred to me. I was just waking along when a sudden wind came out of nowhere. A wind strong enough knock me off my feet. The wind itself was blowing towards Deadwind pass and not having experienced such a thing like this before it was rather strange. Also though I am not sure I could have sworn their was a voice on the wind though the wind was so loud I could not make out anything and could have just as easily been nothing at all. If you have heard of anything like this before I would like to hear about it.
It is time for some rest now, I wish you nothing but the best in your study of archaeology and I am looking forward to seeing you again.
Fravum
Fravum,
Oh, you’ve discovered teleportation! How wonderful! It’s one of the more useful spells we mages have access to. And being able to travel so freely, and sometimes being able to create a portal that will take a group with you, really makes life easier and sometimes, more interesting. I do, as always, caution you to be careful. I can’t tell you how many times while learning the intricacies of such spellwork, I ended up in a place that was not at all my intent. Once, I even managed to teleport myself into a skirmish between some humans and orcs! It was terribly frightening, considering I was intending to end up in Dalaran. To this day, I’m still not sure exactly where that place was. I’ve traveled all over this planet and Draenor, and have yet to see it again. Sometimes, I wonder if I had somehow shifted time as well, and managed to find myself in a different era.
When your Master cast you from his teaching, did he also return the horse? It would seem only fair, since he had received it under the assumption that you would be his pupil. Does your family know that you have been dismissed as his student? I hope they are not too disappointed. While I know you are enthusiastic about continuing your studies with me and on your own, I am sure they are or would be wary of such things. Not to generalize, but sometimes humans can seem wary of us. A very tall draeneic woman, wielding the arcane? If I were human, I suppose I would be wary of me.
Speaking of being wary, I am glad to hear you are being cautious in Duskwood. The first time I explored the area, it shook me as well. Though we draenei have seen some horrific things in our days, Duskwood is especially harrowing, and I’m still not sure why.
It sounds as if you have experienced the ethereal magic of Deadwind Pass. Beyond those hills surrounding Duskwood is the tower of Karazhan, which I am to understand is still a powerful monument, though Medivh is long-passed. I am certain that you have read about him. If you haven’t, please add it to your list of things to study once we return to the much more expansive Stormwind library. Someday, when you become a little more sure of your powers, I will take you to Karazhan. Beware, though. The ghost of Medivh still seems to haunt the place, and I have, several times, come across other spirits, as well as looters who have managed to get inside. It is also quite easy to get lost within. Medivh was quite mad, and some say a little paranoid. His tower is still quite a maze and still quite powerful. You will feel it when I take you there. The arcane is strong, and even a little volatile there.
As for Argus… Oh, Argus. After all this time, after all we have seen… I am not certain that it would be the same. I’m sure you have heard the rumors of the Exodar being repaired. Our friends in the Grand Alliance have asked if the Sha’nash plan to leave this planet in search of our true home. For now, we have committed to staying. We are the Light’s Blade, and we are here to help our people, to help the Alliance. Even if there were a chance that we could get back to Argus, I don’t know that many of us would. Not many remember it anymore, even within our own order. They are mostly young, and though they have been told the stories of the betrayal of our people by two of our three leaders, this exile is all they have known.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have all of our worlds back to the idyllic ways they were before Sargaras’s taint spread across them?
I am currently on my way to Deadwind Pass. I have a few things to tend to in the area, and will likely pass through Duskwood on my way back toward Stormwind. Perhaps I will have time to coach you a little while. I cannot guarantee much, but I will certainly try. My first task will be getting my injured mate back to civilization where he can be healed properly.
-Lena
-Caretaker
I feel I must apologize for a long delayed response. It seems that I still have somethings to learn when it comes to moving myself from place to place using magic. I decided to return to Stormwind for study as it seems my that I have exhausted the information that my currents spell books have to offer. Something went wrong in my spell casting and I found myself in a unknown swamp. I have spent the time since the casting making my way back to Stormwind. I did visit Theramore in my travels and found the settlement pleasant and would like to spend some time there in the future. However until I have mastered teleportation I will be sticking to moving around by more conventional methods.
As for my family, I did stop by for a visit the other day and you were correct about their concerns. The horse is sadly gone and though I pressed my father to contact the wizard and ask for the horse back, he is of the opinion that it is not worth the hassle. They are a little worried that I might follow you off to some “magical place” and never return or that I might be turned into something inhuman. However, I did my best to ease their concerns before I moved on.
I have heard some of what you told me about Deadwind pass, to be honest the kind of power Medivh must have had is truly great and frightening to leave such echos behind. I do not believe I will be heading that way anytime soon though. I do look forward to venturing into his tower with you though. The secrets that must be hidden within would be to good to miss out on the chance to find.
When I return to Duskwood, I believe I will be heading west towards a small camp near the border of Westfall. After having done some reading and spent a little more time fighting some of the undead that lurk near the town of Darkshire I am going to be taking the fight to them. There are rumors of powerful undead lurking beneath the cemetery that need to be dealt with.
I hope that your injured mate received any medical treatment that he needed and is doing well. I also hope that this letter finds you doing well too. My business here in Duskwood should be finished in a few days. Before I leave for further adventures I would very much like to meet with you for some personal instruction. Although I do feel stronger, I feel unfocused and often find myself making snap decisions as to what spells I should be using while defending myself. More than once I have had to quickly put out fires that I caused by mistake. At times it almost feels like the fire spells I cast have a life of their own. The last thing I wish to do is hurt someone.
Fravum
Fravum,
I apologize for the delay in my response, and for my handwriting on this short note.
The Horde forces have been steadily making their way through Kalimdor, and the Sha’nash has been called to action to stop, slow, or otherwise detain them. Our most recent encounter was in Feralas, a tug of war between Feathermoon and Camp Mojache. The Grand Alliance fought valiantly, but we were ultimately defeated, and I fear that the Horde will raze Theramore before the end of the season.
There were so many of them. It was a sea of red flags and tabards and those horrible fel-green eyes. So many of us, but not enough. It wasn’t enough. I fear my people were not ready, not prepared enough, not diligent enough in their training. I fear that I was not imposing enough of a grave warning to them when I brought them to Arloth for drilling, for practice, for sparring, that I didn’t spend enough time prodding them to find a master in their specialty from whom they could learn. I feel that it has cost us greatly, losing what precious ground we had to stop the Horde advancement in Feralas.
For now, we are vacating Feralas, returning to Shattrath, and hopefully, hopefully, get at least the Sha’nash to understand the dire nature of the Horde’s advance. As for the rest of the Grand Alliance, I hope that they do the same.
I apologize for my evasiveness in recent days. I will attempt to spend whatever time I can in the Eastern Kingdoms while we wait for more information about the Horde’s next attack so that I can be of service to you, young mage. I pray to the Light that you will never have to see this battle, or suffer the effects of the potential fall of Theramore.
Light be with you,
Lena
Lena,
You sound very distressed and I am sorry for you. I can not imagine the burden on your shoulders and I wish there was something that I could do it help lighten the load. However as of late it seems that I am found myself being a burden in my own right to others. Though I have been spared the horror’s of the battlefield that you described, I feel that the conflict you described has sent shock waves that are being felt all across Azeroth. Sadly I was caught up in one of those shock waves.
I had been traveling from Theramore south towards the sands of Tanaris. Saying I stumbled across a Horde war party would sound entirely to grand. I was ambushed by what I would guess to be a advance scouting party or perhaps they were just brigands. All that does not really matter though, what does is that they wore the colors of Orgrimmar proudly. I did my best to defend myself however I was overwhelmed easily I am afraid.
I awoke several days later on a large barge floating in middle of the new lake just north of Tanaris. I did inquire to the Goblin innkeeper as to how I arrived in his inn. He told me that I was deposited there and that my bed was paid for. I pressed him for more information and all he said was that my savior was a armored human with a lion shaped great sword. I was also told that he departed before I was even placed in a bed.
I am going to be making my way south to Tanaris when the sun rises. I wish the man who saved me had left his name so that I might properly thank him should I run across him again. I will be in touch soon. Please be careful, though I do not doubt that stumbling into ambush was my own fault. It sounds as if the southern parts of Kalimdor are getting very dangerous.
Fravum
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