Island of Blue [Isilae Crystallya]

It's happy hour, the alcohol is flowing. It's time to pull up a tankard of ale, bottle of wine for the ladies and regail tales of heroism and grandeur.

Topic/Postby Cherwina » 04 Mar 2019, 15:26

Island of Blue [Isilae Crystallya]

Warning: Wall of text

After the sighting of a strange object falling over Ashenvale, the Cenarion Circle sent out an investigation team to find the crash site. The following are the collected documents from that investigation. The reports are written by Cherwina Dawnstrider along with translations of diary entries by one Isilae Crystallya.

Report #1: The Status of Azuremist Isle

As the boat sailed closer to the island we saw our first signs of what impacted it. The small town on the south-western corner had all but been destroyed by collections of large reddish crystals. The air itself crackled with a strange energy and much of the wildlife appeared agitated by it.

Heading East along the shoreline, we spotted a group of sailors setting up camp but no ship in sight. It would later turn out that they were dumped on the shoreline when their crew mutinied. It may be worth me starting my investigations here with them. Unfortunately, they had seen nothing having been lost in the mist during the day it happened. They did, however, report a rise in the numbers of Naga in the region. It is likely the Naga are interested in the strange crystal's magic as a possibly source for their magics. I will try to find out more about their intentions and if needs be I shall request aid to dissuade their interest.

We continued on, smoke rising above the woodland in plumes. A call of ‘man overboard’ grabbed the crew's attention. We watched over the edges of the ship as scattered wreckage brushed against the boughs. Wood, fabric and, in the clear water, some stone fragments could be seen. Amongst it we spotted the lifeless bodies of strange, yet recognisable creatures. We slowly and carefully made our way through, our priestess providing a blessing to the departed.

A second call, this time from the nest. He was pointing towards the shore where one of these people could be seen, struggling to swim to land. As the most proficient swimmer on the crew, I looked for a clear spot in the wreckage and jumped overboard to aid the creature.

Pulling them to the shore, I cleared the hair from their face and made sure that they were still breathing. I studied the creature, clearly female, for signs of injury before drying them and covering them. I recognised many of the features. The tentacle like… things dangling from behind their ears, the cloven hooves, the horns. A fear rose within me at what was laying so helpless in front of me. Was this an Eredar? Possibly, but I've not seen one with blue skin before, nor this small.

I contemplated the threat she posed and whether I should have ended her while I had the opportunity. I have seen what their kind can do when healthy. Maybe I can get her healthy enough to find out how she came to be hear and if there was a larger threat? I chose to let her rest while I set up a small campfire. She appeared too exhausted to attempt anything but still I had to remain vigilant. As time passed I spotted more differences between her and the Eredar demons.

Occasionally, a strange symbol, like a Dwarven rune in appearance, would appear on her forehead and whenever it did the area around her seemed to calm. The waves seemed to whisper their approach and the campfire would stop crackling. The power felt divine in nature, not arcane and certainly not demonic. I signalled for the ship to find safe anchorage and prepared to sit watch as the night drew in.

~~~

The night was not quiet. Strange clicking and screeching could be heard all night and every now and then another muffled scream came from further inland. There were insects I did not recognise as native to the island. What had happened here?

The injured creature began to stir more and would mumble the odd word here and there. Among them was one sound I heard repeatedly, “Naroo”. I have not yet determined what it's significance is, maybe it is a call for help?

As Elune once again rested below the horizon and the sun began to brighten the sky, I checked the creature's health. As I placed my hand on her forehead, she opened one eye with a slight smile… It didn't last long though and gave way to a look of fear as she tried to back away screaming at me, “Keriiseth”. I backed away and watched as the rune began to glow on her forehead again.

I still do not understand why I did what I did next. Every ounce of my body was ready to flee, a feeling of immense fear and dread welled within me but my mind and body would not heed it. Instead, I knelt down, opened a small bottle I had brought ashore and offered the strange being some Moonberry Juice. She stopped backing away and looked quizzically at me, clearly unsure whether to take the bottle or not. I placed it back on the floor in front of me and backed away. She seemed to calm more and after a while took the bottle.

For a while, we both sat there, watching each other. Unsure what to do next, I tried to ask her what her name was. She did not answer, her gaze wandering between me and the bottle. She finally had some of the drink, clearly finding it to her taste as she gulped down all that was in the bottle. After some more silence, she looked up at me and spoke. From the intonation, I guessed it was a question but I could not understand what she was asking. The ice had broken though and so we sat together by the fire for the rest of the morning in silence.

Over the next few days, we tried to teach each other some basic words and names for the things around us. Hoping to build a bridge of communication. A few of my crew would occasionally come to help but I asked that it be kept to a minimum as the creature was still very fearful of outsiders. They had sent others further inland to investigate the rest of the situation and had found more runed stone and fabric. Whatever had landed, it was not a meteorite.

~~~

This morning, I awoke to find the survivor trying to read my journal. Her inquisitiveness made me smile. Although I had taught her words for things like fish and wood in Common, my journal is written in Darnassian which I had not used in her presence. Yet Somehow, she seemed intrigued by the elegant writing and sketches on it's pages. Tracing the lines with her fingers, pausing briefly on some words before continuing on. Eventually she stopped and turned to me. To my surprise, it would seem she understood my writing. Her eyes were wide with fear again and with a puzzled expression she spoke. “Eredar?”…

I didn't respond, too shocked at her understanding. Had she met a Kal'dorei before? Where, how, who?

She stood up and picked up the bow I had made for her before heading off towards the forest. I went to follow but she turned around and shook her head. "No. Stay." Her eyes were focused and angry. I let her leave.

I have waited on the shore a few days but she has not returned. I have decided to pack up camp and head back to the ship.

~~~

Today, I noticed in the back of my journal, in slightly scrawled handwriting, 'Isilae'… It had been written in an Elven script, but a style I have seen only a few times in my life... Thalassian.

Report #2: Gathering Information

There are mutterings among the crew of another invasion by the Burning Legion. Despite my attempts to calm them, they have taken to suggesting I ally myself with the demons. A fellow druid I thought I could trust used the fact I grew up in Eldre’thalas as proof that I was trying to mislead them. "I am not, nor have I ever been a part of House Shen'dralar. I left that city when they brought it to ruins." They were having none of it. I chose to leave and continue my investigations alone.

I returned to the cove of stranded crew. I offered my skills in return for any information they could provide me on the island. They gladly accepted. They needed food and their hunter was now wounded from an attack by an unknown creature. She described it as "Insectoid. All legs and neck with a nasty bite". I noted the description and would need to keep and eye out for this creature while I took up the hunt.

Hunting is not something I enjoy but I appreciate the necessity to eat. Nature does, however, have a balance that must be respected and the balance here has been severely shifted. I chose not to risk the use of strong magic around these crystals. This would mean shifting for the hunt, a task that had become simple in the decades I had practiced. The hunt itself, however, would not be.

It was while I was stalking a large old stag as a potential meal that I noticed a cluster of oddly shaped buildings on a hill in the distance. They were clearly fragments of the runed stone I had found elsewhere, repurposed as cover from the elements. A small settlement gathered around the fragments. Standing guard were two large, heavily armoured creatures similar to Isilae. These were bigger, likely males but had the blue skin and slowly pulsing rune on their forehead too.

I stalked closer to the camp, sticking to the trees and shadows to improve my chances of not being spotted. Being extremely careful to create just enough noise to appear to be just another Nightsaber looking for food.

Inside the town I spotted a lone Kal'dorei. A priestess by the appearance of her robes. She was unconscious at the entrance of one of the buildings amongst the settlements other injured. My heart started beating faster as I wondered what had happened to her. These people were clearly trying to care for her but I worried that, if she were to awake, her reaction would be disastrous. I could not dare to move closer though in case I brought attention to myself. I watched the creatures carefully as they went about their business. One of them stepped out of from the building I had been watching and bent down next to the priestess. She touched the her forehead and a strange glow began to radiate from that rune I had seen on Isilae.

The priestess opened her eyes wearily as the creature tried to offer her a bowl of soup. The scene an almost perfect mirror of when I met Isilae. The priestess panicked and tried to scrabble away from the being before collapsing again with a scream of pain. The creature looked back into the building with a sad expression on it’s face… It was Isilae. She turned back to the priestess and tried to feed her the soup through closed lips and sat down with an arm around the her neck as though cradling a baby.

I had to help. Maybe if they let me take the priestess back to the sailors, we could care for her there without more risk. I made a risky decision, walked behind a nearby tree and shifted back. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I made my slow approach to the town.

Report #3: Investigation of the Town

The two guards were quick to block my approach, alerting the town of my presence in the process. I do my best representation of a greeting with what little I knew of their language and bow low. One of the guards replied but I could not understand him. Thinking quickly, I point to the priestess behind them and then back to myself hoping they would see that I am of the same race.

The guards muttered to themselves before slowly lowered their weapons. One stepped forward and pointed at my stave before placing his hand, palm open, in front of me. I took the hint and handed him the stave, pulling out a single black feather as I did so. I didn't like being unarmed around all these creatures. The fear balled itself up again. Could I really trust them? They were taking a risk accepting my aid, I just had to hope that I had not fallen for some bait.

I moved towards the priestess. One of the guards escorted me. Isilae did not turn to look in my direction. Her focus was on caring for the priestess. As I approached I could smell cooked meat and local vegetables, the broth they had made for the priestess. I placed a hand gently on Isilae's shoulder and she turned to face me, her face forlorn. She made room for me to sit near the priestess but remained silent.

I examined the Kal'dorei. She was weak and in a lot of pain. Turning her on her side, I could her right shoulder was swollen, centered around a blackened scab. She had been stung by something highly poisonous and was struggling to fight it off. I started sketching some herbs I had seen in the forest that could be used to make a potion for the poison. It wouldn't cure it but it would weaken it enough that other magic would help. I showed the page to Isilae in hopes they had some in the village, but Isilae didn’t move. She just turned to face me, her eyes narrowed in anger. What had I done to annoy her? The priestess yelped in more pain. She did not have time for whatever grievance Isilae had. I had to do something to give her more time. I sighed and turned back to the priestess. I have no choice, I have to do this with magic, whatever the risk may be.

I shifted my attention to the Dream, it was a mess. The energy from the crystals seemed to be twisting and tainting everything near it. Trying to find a leyline amongst the chaos was difficult and my search had to spread far from where we were. As I look, I notice a rather powerful source of energy to the west of us, divine in nature and far more powerful than anything I have experienced before, even during the Sundering. By Elune, have these people trapped another of your kind?

I take a chance and use my old training as a priestess to try to pull the energy into my spell. I see a surge of light started move towards me, followed by a sharp pain in the back of my head as I fall unconscious…

Miss Crystallya's Diary Entry: Day 5

Caldoori, the lady from the beach came into Azure Watch today. I do not know whether she was looking for me or the poisoned lady I was taking care of. The others are wary of her kind. It is only our duty to the Naaru that has left us trying to heal this one.

I'm still not sure I trust them either. They look like the Keriiseth who attacked our great keep and forced us to flee to this world. Having read Caldoori's notes, I may be jumping to the wrong conclusions though. I wonder what her notes on the Eredar say, does she think we are like them? If they have seen them, how did they manage to survive against them? Are they also exiled to this world?

I had warned the guards of her already and they had taken the precaution to remove her weapon. She is highly skilled and, in our weakened state, could like take out many of us if she considered us a threat. She came over and examined the poisoned one before drawing some local herbs. She asked me to retrieve them but I refused. We had already tried that combination at the advice of our own alchemist but it has not helped the lady get any better. She seemed to realise that we were too late to save the poisoned one as she put her book down and closed her eyes. Was she praying for this one? Saying her goodbyes? I looked at the guard, we were both confused by her actions.

I had gone back to feeding the lady the last of the broth when I noticed strange green vines of light creeping out of the ground and over the poisoned one. I backed away, scared before realising the same light was spreading from Caldoori. She's casting a a spell, but what and what is her focus? It feels odd, like a shaman's power but wrong, more divine.

The town guard also saw it and, worried about the safety of the town, hit her over the back of the head and knocked her unconscious. Despite Caldoori's unconsciousness, the spell was still moving over the injured one, tracing some unknown pattern on her chest before dissipating. We moved Caldoori into the inn to rest and so that the guards could keep watch on her when she wakes up.

I picked up the bowl and returned to the kitchen for more broth and to ask for one of our mages to check the spell. When I returned to the poisoned lady, she had moved her head and was now resting it on the pillow I had used. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, something she had not done since I first saw her.

Miss Crystallya's Diary Entry: Day 6

The injured lady woke up this morning screaming. She cowered in a corner mumbling about the Eredar. These people must have met them before, we need to get them to understand we are not the same people. We politely let her rest, only placing food and water on a table by the door, hopefully she will calm down.

I checked on Caldoori as well, she is also up again and was writing in her book. I wanted to thank her, she had helped save me and now appeared to have saved the injured lady. I am beginning to feel more certain that she does not mean harm.

When I went to give her some food she was looking at the sunset through a small window in her room, twirling a feather in her fingers. She thanked me for the food and returned to her thoughts. I tried to talk to her but she remained quiet.

That night she vanished, along with her stave. No one saw her leave.

Report #4: Escape

I woke up this morning in a comfortable bed. The room was in a good state compared to the majority of the buildings I had seen in this small outpost. There was a small window on the west side and through it I could see a large group of crystals seemingly connected together. That may well be the main crash site.

I tried to clear my mind of the fog of pain, rubbing the back of my head. It was clear I had been struck by something large and fairly heavy. Remembering the events of yesterday I started to write down what I knew.

These people were trying to be friendly, or at least appear that way. Very few natives appear to have survived the impact, though there are many of this Eredar like race. Were they here before the impact or did their arrival involve the impact in some way? There is also that strange divine energy coming from the direction of the large collection of crystals, yet those I had found scattered elsewhere appeared to give off an uncontrolled arcane energy. Is the source really the crystals? Could these people have imprisoned a goddess like Elune?

Something didn't add up, I needed to escape and investigate the area west of here. These people would look after the priestess, I trusted them enough now for that and now I had removed the poison she would be fit for her own escape soon enough. I will wait until nightfall, the window may be too small to fit a person through, but…

As I pondered my escape, Isilae entered with a tray of food. I thanked her, my attention still focused on the crystals to the west. The sun was setting, it would not be long now. “Lady is well, Kaldorei” she said to me. I nodded a reply, assuming she was referring to the priestess. She sat quietly with me for a while before leaving. I sighed under my breath, I should have thanked her for her aid, I may not get the chance now.

As the sun set and Elune rose behind the mountains I took hold of the black flight feather and focused on it, shifting my form. A stormcrow, on the other hand, could quite easily fit through there. I flew through the window and took to the skies, the town below me oblivious to my escape. I headed to the building where Isilae was looking after the priestess, looking for a window or hole I could get through to deliver a note.

The room the priestess was in was similar to mine, though the roof was not entirely intact. I swooped down and landed by the edge. The priestess was asleep, she hadn’t even touched the food they had left for her. I dropped in and shifted back quietly, retrieving a small scroll from my pocket and placed it on the pillow. “Elune guide you sister”. With that done, I turned back to the sky and took off again. “Just my staff to find” I thought.

Circling overhead, I tried to work out the purpose of each building. There were 3 made of stone and a group of canvas tents the other side of a communal fire. Music was coming from the building I had been held in, suggesting it was the equivalent of a tavern for these people. The building next to it was for general purpose use. Cooking, cleaning and all manner of other work was performed around it. This was where they were looking after the injured. The collection of tents seemed to be the closest these people had to homes, like refugees fleeing a war. That left the third stone building.

The building was guarded, though clearly wasn’t intact enough to house anyone. It was also somewhat on the small size, only a gnome would fit under it’s roof. I landed nearby, seeing if I could sneak in and find my staff. There appeared to be a hole in the rear of the building, big enough to squeeze through. I pondered whether I would be able to pick up the stave in my claws and drag it out that way but that would likely be difficult and too noisy.

I sat there for a moment observing the guards. One of them looked my way and pointed me out to another guard. I took flight again looking for somewhere else to land. I landed on the eastern side of the building, there was a table set against the side that was concealing a slightly bigger hole than the one at the rear of the building. Moving behind a tree I shifted to cat form and began to sneak up on the building. The guards were not looking to the east and so did no pay any attention to me as I crawled under the table and inside the building. Several weapons were laid on a blanket, including the priestess’ own mace. Thankfully, they had placed mine on top. I picked it up with my teeth and crawled back out, being careful not to bang the stave on the walls.

As I got back outside I could hear talking coming from nearby… They were changing the guards. I took my opportunity and ran into the forest. They did not follow.

Once safely out of reach I shifted back to my natural form, attached the feather to the stave and placed it in the holder on my back. I shall head back to camp for the night and investigate the crystals tomorrow night.
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Cherwina
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