I - Simple Beginnings

The Lore of a Loremaster

Topic/Postby Liandrix » 27 Jul 2012, 22:37

Liandrix lay on his back in the grass with his hands supporting his head and his feet crossed, near the edge of the lake. Above him the first stars were appearing in the sky and not for the first time he wondered how far away those strange sources of light were. Suddenly Dalaran did not seem as far.
On his right Liandrix could see the sun hovering just above the ridges that hid Capital City from view. He had never been there. He hadn’t even been beyond the forest that surrounded the great city of Stratholme, and now he was expected to lay all that he had aside and move to Dalaran to study with the Kirin Tor.

The Kirin Tor

What did he knew about them, really? He knew how powerful their organization was. He had found a bit about them in the Tomes of the Light in Stratholme. Something about elves … . Liandrix struggled to remember. He had not been allowed to simply browse through the tomes, of course, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. His mother had been right. Stratholme was not a place to study magic; Dalaran was.

“You’ve been quiet for a while now,” a voice on his left said.

Liandrix looked to where the voice came from and found his friend Michael lying in the exact same fashion Liandrix was. Liandrix had known Michael for as long as he could remember and he had dragged him outside the city at once to tell him that he had gotten the opportunity to study in Dalaran.

Michael’s reaction had been one of excitement, and when Liandrix had said he wasn’t sure whether he would go Michael had been surprised.

“Are you kidding me?” he had exclaimed after Liandrix had voiced his uncertainty. “The Kirin Tor, the most powerful sorcerers in Azeroth! And you will be one of them!”

“Only as an apprentice, and even that isn’t certain. They will only teach me if I show sufficient talent.”

Liandrix wondered if he had enough talent. His mother had seemed sure of it. Well, if getting into trouble was considered a talent then he truly was gifted.

“I’m just thinking,” Liandrix answered his friend.

“You’re always thinking … unless you’re reading, or, you know, burning off people’s faces,” Michael commented dryly.

“I didn’t burn off Geoffrey’s face; only his eyebrows.” Liandrix seemed to have said that at least a dozen times that day.

“Geoffrey without eyebrows … I’m going to enjoy tomorrow morning’s lecture.”

“You and the rest of the city.”

After a moment of silence Michael sat up. “I don’t see why you’re worried about doing well there.”

“Why not?”

“Look, Dalaran is a place where anyone can study magic freely. You don’t necessarily need an invitation, you could just go there and study. The fact that you actually got an invitation sounds promising.”

Liandrix hadn’t looked at it that way. Suddenly he felt a little more positive about the idea of moving to Dalaran.

“I mean, the letter did mention you were skilled, right?”

“I don’t know … it seemed intent on stressing the fact of how special the opportunity was, and how special they were.”

Another silence followed during which the sun vanished slowly behind the mountain ridges. Liandrix propped himself up on his elbows.

“I guess I should go then. It’s not as if I can do much with my magic here, can I?”

Michael shrugged. “You could burn off Geoffrey’s horrible toupet, give him a matching set as it were.”

The next day Liandrix confronted his parents and told him he had decided to go to Dalaran. As his father was working on a mill outside the city all Liandrix had received from him in return was a quick grin and a clap on the shoulder that made his knees buckle.

His mother embraced him and told him how proud she was. Liandrix felt there was a little more to the hug than simple pride but decided not to comment on it. Perhaps she was simply anxious to see her only child leave the city.

Liandrix himself started to feel a little apprehensive as well, especially once, when he had started packing, he realized there wasn’t much he would take with him. All that he had were some clothes, some coin and a notebook half-full with notes on the spells he knew or had attempted. He had never really become attached to any items.

His mother, however, made sure that his awfully empty pack was filled with so much food that he was sure to survive the winter on his pack alone. His father gave him a hatchet that he usually carried around everywhere he went and said it would serve him well on the way to Dalaran.

Two days after he started packing he finished by adding a book to the pack he had ‘borrowed’ from the Library after saying goodbye to Father Geoffrey. It was a book that covered some of the magic the mages of the Kirin Tor would use, although it mainly commented in as many ways possible on the lack of connection to the Light. Liandrix promised himself that he would return this book one day, when his study in Dalaran had come to an end.

It took him another day to finish up and say goodbye to everyone he knew in the city, and then the moment of departure had arrived. Liandrix had woken up early to make sure he was able to cross a good distance before stopping for the night. He and his parents were standing a little ways outside the gate to the city, on a hill overlooking the countryside. From this point it was easy to see the road ahead.

Liandrix hoisted his pack on his shoulder and turned away from the view, to his parents. They were standing in a mild embrace, looking at him.

“Our boy has grown up,” his mother said lovingly.

“Mom,” Liandrix said embarrassed, “don’t.”

His mother smiled. “Fine, but you better come back someday and tell us all about your time in Dalaran, all right?”

“Of course I will, I promise.”

“And don’t burn anyone’s eyebrows off over there!” his father said jeeringly, and was rewarded with an elbow in the ribs from Olivia. Liandrix dimly wondered if that joke would still be around when he returned.

They exchanged their last goodbyes and suddenly Liandrix found himself on the road, alone. The world around him had suddenly gotten a lot bigger.

*


His parents watched Liandrix leave until he vanished from sight. Olivia sighed and rested her head against Dale’s shoulder.

“Well, there he goes,” Dale said. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

Olivia didn’t look at Dale. “It would only have scared him. I doubt it would have been good for him to know.”

“I don’t know Liv, he might do something really bad over there.”

Olivia detached herself from her husband and looked up at him. “That is why I sent that letter to Dalaran. He will be trained there. He’ll be fine, now, you’ll see.” It sounded like a plea.

Dale crossed his massive arms. “I hope you’re right. I can never forget that day when I found him on the farm, alone, in the middle of that crater.”

“People never believed it was Liandrix who destroyed that farm, and … and killed all those people. I’m glad he does not remember,” Olivia said, hugging herself.

“How could he? He was only four years old,” Dale said, and silence fell.

“I made the right decision … right Dale?” Olivia said after a long pause.

Dale swung both of his massive arms around his wife and pulled her into an embrace, allowing her to lay her head on his chest.

“The Light only knows, Liv,” he whispered. “The Light only knows.”
Last edited by Liandrix on 06 Jan 2015, 00:54, edited 1 time in total.
"The motivation to study the Arcane should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.."

~ Loremaster Liandrix Emmot
User avatar
Liandrix
Rhymer
 
Posts: 1094
Location: The Netherlands

Return to Loremaster Liandrix Emmot



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users

cron