I - Simple Beginnings

The Lore of a Loremaster

Topic/Postby Liandrix » 15 Jul 2012, 00:32

I - Simple Beginnings

Simple Beginnings

Stratholme - 17 years prior to the first war.

“Silence!” the old woman bellowed from the other end of the desk as she waved a pencil menacingly at Liandrix.

Liandrix, who hadn’t yet uttered a word, closed his mouth and leaned back into his straight backed chair.

“You will sit here in my office and be silent until your father comes for you young man! He will strike some perspective into you.”

Liandrix doubted that. His father was many things; a stonemason, an honest working man, a loving husband, a smart fellow, but he had never struck Liandrix. He would at best hear the old woman’s words and afterwards have a good laugh over them with his son.

“Margaret I—“

Sister Margaret, and I thought I told you to be silent!” Sister Margaret bent back to her scroll of paper she was filling up furiously with her pencil. Liandrix guessed it was either a report or a letter to his parents.

Liandrix leaned back into his chair again and ran a hand through his long blonde hair. He was seated in Sister Margaret’s office. Or at least, she liked to call it that. It had the size and looks of an oversized closet. There was only one small slanted greasy window that let in little light and a desk in the middle with two chairs. The walls were lined with horrible looking brown wallpaper that seemed to be rotting at places, although somehow, it did not smell. On the desk stood a lit candle, providing more light than the window did.

Liandrix sighed. This was, he mused, the fourth time his magic spells had gotten him into this place.

The last time had been an accident and had not happened that long ago. He had been attempting to simply levitate a fork during breakfast when he had to sneeze so suddenly that he didn’t have the time to end the spell. The force of the spell had been multiplied which such proportions that it had shot through two windows; the one in the living room, and the one of Brad Brimstone’s bedroom who lived at the other end of the street.

The incident before that was caused by a rather overconfident practice of a spell Liandrix liked to use to pluck apples from trees. It had taken a week for the farmer to remove the felled trees from his patch of land. He had planted corn instead.

The first incident was when Liandrix had actually discovered his magical prowess. Although his mother had warned him that it might happen any time soon during his teen years, Liandrix had not expected to incinerate the neighbors’ barking dog simply because he willed it to. Liandrix had been chased by Sister Margaret, all the way to the apple-orchard he would inadvertently destroy a few years later.

These incidents might have been looked at with a slanted eye by the community, Liandrix’ mother, who was practiced at magic herself, had explained to him that he possessed great magical power, and she made sure to, aside from her job as scribe, tutor her son as much as possible. Still, at the age of eighteen and with such power, Liandrix needed a proper teacher. Stratholme wasn’t a place for magic, but a place of the Light. The people here set store by the Church and the Holy Light to guide them, and did not believe in magic much.

The incident that had happened this morning was different from the others, and Liandrix stifled a laugh as he recalled it.

“What was that?” Sister Margaret asked, looking up from her parchment.

“Nothing … Sister, shouldn’t you wear your glasses? You seem to have some trouble writing.”

The Sister glared at him. It was true. Sister Margaret was bent over the parchment as far as her old back would allow, and her eyes were inches removed from the paper as she wrote.

“I would, young man, if I hadn’t misplaced my glasses.” Sister Margaret suddenly pointed her pencil at Liandrix like a troll-spear. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had made them vanish or something.”

Liandrix shrugged and leaned back as he casually let his eyes roam the top of Sister Margaret’s grey head where a pair of spectacles stuck out from her bundled hair. “I’m sure you’ll find them.”

Sister Margaret scowled again. “You think this is funny, boy? I’ll tell you, having a chest blow up in Father Geoffrey’s face is not amusing.”

“It didn’t blow up in his face,” Liandrix said wearily. “It just … rearranged some of his minor features. Besides, I had clearly written a warning note and stuck it onto the chest. He shouldn’t have had a peek.”

Liandrix had been experimenting with forming a spell into a trap using complicated mechanics and to have it activated under certain conditions. He had of course foreseen that someone would have been curious enough to open the chest, but just to be sure someone would, he had put a piece of parchment onto the chest with the words ‘DO NOT OPEN’. That it had been Father Geoffrey that had opened the chest he would never have guessed, he had expected one of the altar boys to succumb to his curiosity. Of course, he had made sure that the spell wouldn’t create any damage to the person. It would at best make sure that Father Geoffrey would think twice about ignoring a warning next time.

Liandrix looked to his left and peered through the greasy window. The sun hung lower in the sky than he had hoped. Although the spell had been successful, the aftermath proved to be rather time consuming.

Sister Margaret seemed to be finished writing her report for she put her pencil down on top of it. Liandrix felt as if she had sheathed her one and only weapon. She looked up at Liandrix and slowly shook her head in a disapproving manner.

“You’re heading down a dark path, Liandrix.”

Liandrix smiled. “I think I’ll be all right, Sister.”

“Your magic, it is stained with the filth of unspeakable things!”

“So is this chair, what did you do with –“

Sister Margaret grabbed her pencil and brandished it like a sword. “You need the Light, child!”

“Can I see a Priest, then?”

“Silence!”
"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
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Topic/Postby Tormeron » 15 Jul 2012, 10:16

Funny, well written, liked it

Sequel?
Lilandris wrote:Liandrix' words not mine, but Tormeron is a god apparently. Probably a bit like Loki.

serendipity wrote:Reason: Potato.

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Topic/Postby Liandrix » 27 Jul 2012, 03:14

“And then the box burned off Geoffrey’s …. Geoffrey’s—“

“Father Geoffrey’s eyebrows, yes,” Liandrix finished his father’s sentence for him, and he responded with a bestial roar of laughter that drowned out the sounds of Market Row and made several onlookers shoot reproachful glares at the noise.

Dale, Liandrix’ father, was a tall, broad man with a big pair of arms and a heavy jaw; the complete opposite of both Liandrix and his mother, who were both rather skinny. One of the few things Liandrix did share with his father was the blonde hair the broad man wore in a ponytail, although Liandrix had it neatly cropped to cover just the tip of his ears.

“I would let him lecture me for a day if only I could see his face right now!” Dale roared again.

Liandrix tried not to laugh himself. “I honestly didn’t know that Geoffrey would open it. I had hoped for one of those pesky boys to do it.”

They rounded a corner and the busy street vanished behind them. The small ally was dark and opened up to a cozy square surrounded with houses. The pair crossed the quiet residential block and Dale wasted no time in thumping down one of the doors with his massive fist and strolling inside.

“Olivia! Liv, come down here! Wait until you hear what Liandrix has pulled off this time!” Dale roared, and then guffawed at the memory one last time. Liandrix put his hands in his pockets and tried to look smaller than usual.

There came a creak from above and a moment later a slender figure descended the stairs. Olivia looked very much like Liandrix, aside from her blonde hair. She was slim, had light-blue eyes and seemed to be a bit taller than average. She came down the stairs clutching a piece of parchment, but it crumpled as she crossed her arms and gave both her son and her grinning husband a suspicious look.

“What happened?” she asked.

Liandrix quickly decided to just tell his mother the entire story before his father would, in full color, tell her how funny Geoffrey’s face must look now. His mother, her eyes calm and strict, listened impassively at her son’s explanation.

“I was just attempting to create a ward, that’s all,” Liandrix finished.

Olivia’s gaze turned disapproving. “That wasn’t a ward, Liandrix. That was a trap. I told you not to try out more advanced magic before someone could teach you how it’s done. Poor Geoffrey, he has to preach tomorrow morning. No, Dale, we’re not going this time. I know you’d go just to see how his face looks.”

Dale scratched his beard as he looked away pointedly.

Olivia rounded on Liandrix again. “I thought you were trying to keep your job this time.”

“Mom, I’m trying to survive it. You have no idea how boring it is to be Father Geoffrey’s assistant. He only lets me clean the place, day after day.”

Olivia unfolded her arms, her gaze losing its strictness. One hand grabbed the arm holding the crumpled piece of parchment she still had and she looked away.

“It doesn’t matter now, anyway.”

Liandrix was caught off guard by his mother’s sudden solemn air.

“What? Why doesn’t it matter? What’s wrong?”

His mother looked back at him and then gave her husband a look that the broad man responded to with one of his own. It was a look they often shared if they wished to communicate without words. It was like they could read each other’s mind.

“Well …“ Dale said in his heavy voice, “we knew this day would come.”

“What day? What are you talking about?” Liandrix asked as he turned to his father. “Mom, I—“

But Olivia had already crossed the room, flattening the piece of parchment as she went, which Liandrix had taken for granted until that moment. She held it out to him with a smile on her face, though he could see some hidden pain behind that smile. Liandrix slowly took the paper in his hand but didn’t look at it.

“It’s a letter for you, Liandrix. I think you’ll recognize the seal on the front.”

Liandrix looked down at the folded letter and saw a broken violet wax seal. He folded the two pieces together and the image of an eye in golden lining formed in front of his eyes.

“It’s from Dalaran,” Olivia said unnecessarily.

Liandrix stared at the letter for a moment without actually seeing it. Dalaran. The city of the Kirin Tor which housed the most powerful mages on Azeroth. What would they want with him?

“I don’t understand …”

His mother smiled. “Read the letter, dear.”

Liandrix opened the letter, the seal crumbling under his fingers, and began to read.

Dear Liandrix of Stratholme,

I send you my greetings in name of the Kirin Tor, senate of mages, guardians of magic, researchers of spells and artifacts.

It is with great pleasure that I announce to you that you have a place among the greatest of mages of Azeroth to hone your skills in the Arcane. You are given the rare opportunity to study with the most valuable of magical inventories this world has to offer.

If, in your endeavor, you are found to exhibit a talent for any of the schools of magic, you will be eligible for an apprenticeship under the valued tutelage of a mage of the Kirin Tor.

Among the mages of the Kirin Tor, as well as in and around the city of Dalaran strict rules of the practice and experimenting of magic apply. Upon your arrival you will be notified of these and more guidelines to your future magical study. You are required to bring this letter of introduction with you in order to be allowed access to our extensive libraries and other facilities.

I welcome you to Dalaran and I hope to do so personally very soon.

In my own hand,

Meredith Dippel, Abjurer, first class. Liaison office.


After reading the letter Liandrix stared at it for some time more. A thousands thoughts filled his mind. Finally he rounded them up and looked at his mother.

“Mom, I want to study magic, I really do. But why do I need to go to Dalaran? I can keep studying under you, can’t I?” Liandrix couldn’t prevent the pleading tone in his question.

His mother smiled at him in what he thought was a condescending way. “Liandrix, you may not realize this, but you are far more talented than I. There is really only so much I can teach you. And Stratholme may be a great city, but there is little room for magic here, besides the light. You know how people think about it here.”

Liandrix pulled his hands from his pockets and started pacing one way up the room, then turned and walked in the other direction. The thought that lay most heavily on his mind was the one of leaving Stratholme. He had never been far from home before and the prospect of leaving to travel all the way to Dalaran scared him somewhat. But somewhere, in the back of his mind behind his worries, the idea of studying magic with the mages of the Kirin Tor excited him.

“I need to think about this,” Liandrix finally said.

“Of course, dear,” his mother said, and added with a small smile, “but don’t forget that if you stay, your future will likely involve being a cleric under Father Geoffrey.”

“Well … “ Liandrix said, “at least he won’t frown upon my cleaning anymore.”

Behind him his father let out a heavy chuckle, which he turned into a hackling cough after a disapproving look from his wife. Liandrix looked at the pair of them with amusement.

Why couldn’t things stay the way they were?
"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
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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
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Topic/Postby Tormeron » 30 Jul 2012, 11:31

Great story, loved it
Lilandris wrote:Liandrix' words not mine, but Tormeron is a god apparently. Probably a bit like Loki.

serendipity wrote:Reason: Potato.

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