The Anthology of Erythis Firestorm
Two
Sub-Tags: [Erythis][Kiwyn][Katsin][Melathara][Training][Plotting][Violence]
"Magistrix, why are the humans inferior to us?" A young, redheaded girl looked to the woman she walked beside, the youth just over ten years of age. The older the woman, sporting tangerine-colored hair, scoffed from within her hooded cowl.
"Keep your voice down, child."
"Earlier, you said-"
"I know what I said. Do you remember anything that your mother taught you? Even when you think no one's watching, they are watching. You must always present yourself as a lady."
"...My apologies, Magistrix Kiwyn."
"Some rules are meant to be broken, and some are not. How have your portals been coming?" The cobblestone streets were fairly empty, the sun setting beyond the distant hills. Occasionally, a human or elf would walk by, dressed in formal robes.
"Portals are easy."
"Yes, but can you bypass detection, if say, you wish to go somewhere unregulated?"
"I can."
"Prove it. I'm going to place my life in your hands, young one. Open a portal and send us somewhere far away."
"What if someone sees? Didn't you just say that they're always watching?"
"In battle, you will not always have a chance to flee enemy eyes. Be quick about it." With a sigh and an awkward round-about glance, the young girl extended an arm and warped space and time to procure a portal, which radiated energy from the nether and swirled in a magical vortex.
"Come on, hurry!" Practically dragging the older magistrix by the arm, the young Erythis Firestorm pulled her mentor through. In the blink of an eye, the two were so very far from the mage-city, and instead found themselves deep in the jungle.
"Why here, child?" Magistrix Kiwyn smoothed her hands over her robes as if to dust them off.
"This is my favorite place. Come on, I'll show you!"
"We didn't come here to play games. Though, perhaps this location will be opportune for one of my experiments." Swinging around a satchel, the woman knelt and retrieved some sophisticated equipment: an orb attached to a metal stake which was plunged into the ground, and some sort of mechanical, box-like device. The youth watched in curiosity, she too kneeling in her crimson robes.
"You worked with my mother, right? Did she look for ley-lines too?"
"Ley-lines are essential to all magic, child. One day, I will have a complete map of them, and be able to tap into their power. As will you, surely. All of us who are the gifted chosen will surely walk that path."
"What about when I go back to Quel'Thalas? Will I no longer be your student?" The elder woman examined her equipment, making soft, 'hmms' of focus.
"Do not worry. You and I are destined to cross paths, I am sure of it. I don't have much time left with you for now, however, and your training must progress quicker."
"Quicker? Magistrix, I have already mastered the schools, and the-"
"Quiet." From behind them, a sound was heard in the grass. Kiwyn whispered in a hushed voice as a smirk crossed her lips. "Your knowledge means nothing if you don't know how to use it when confronted with danger." Suddenly, the elder woman seemed to vanish in thin air, leaving the younger magi to fend for herself.
"Magistrix?" Erythis heard a growl, and it made her gulp. "K-Kiwyn?" She turned, watching a shadowy figure begin to emerge from the leafy bushes. As it grew closer, she could make it out: a fearsome gorilla, bearing its teeth and beginning to puff out its chest. The youth searched her thoughts, trying to decide on the best course of action. But before she could gather herself, the beast lunged on her. She fired off a bolt of arcane energy- first one, and then another. The creature howled in pain, but brought an arm to swing at her. It collided with her face, knocking her back a few feet and into a tree. She heard a voice, then. The voice of her mentor.
"What did I say earlier, about bending the rules? We are Quel'dorei. Children of the Highborne. Show the creature no mercy. " With a determined glare towards her assailant, Erythis rose to her feet and fired off another spell, a small fireball, at the overgrown monkey. It let out a cry, fleeing as its fur began to smolder and burn. "That's better, child. Do not fear the fire. It is in your name."
"But what of the beast? Will it die?"
"You mustn't hesitate to kill when it is necessary. Survival of the fittest, young one. It would have killed you if it had the chance." The elder mage retrieved her equipment and returned it to its place in her satchel. "Come along, apprentice. That's enough for tonight."
"I can't wait to go home and see mother and father- and brother, too. I miss them." Kiwyn shook her head lightly and brought forth a portal, urging Erythis through. "Things may not be the same, when you return. A lot can change over time, while some things remain constant. Such is the curse of nearly living forever." And with that, they entered the portal, and returned to Dalaran.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Elsewhere, the knight, Katsin Firestorm, was in a meeting. Though it was not in a grand hall somewhere, like the decadent ones within the family manor. They were out in the Southern forest, in a dark glade near a river. "I understand your concern, but the fact of the matter is, The Sin'Serrar has and always will be loyal to the crown. That is where they draw the line. We do not abide by such a code. We are servants of Quel'Thalas, and we will always look after our motherland before all else."
"I understand that. Mother and father were truly in deep, with their research. If I entrust all of it to you, how can you guarantee me that The Sin'Serrar will be unable to find it? They know it exists. Bloodfury folded and decided to cooperate with them, but the thing is, no one actually knows where they hid it. They only have bits and pieces, and none of the core workings of the project." The ones Katsin spoke with, dressed in dark blue robes, looked among each other for a moment.
"We know where it is. Maris and Valora were...as vigilant as hawks." The knight paused a moment, considering their carefully chosen words. "I see. What is it that I have to do?"
"We need the girl."
"Erythis?"
"Yes."
"What will become of her?"
"She must become one of us."
"I've heard rumors- about your crazy initiations. I will not subject my young sibling to such misfortune!"
"You don't understand." Katsin looks upon them with a furrowed brow.
"What don't I understand?"
"It is her path, just as it was Valora's. She is the key."
"Perhaps...- when she is a bit older..."
"We can only delay for so long. She is the location, the answer, and the destination."
"Enough with all of your cryptic language! Spell it out for me."
"The reason The Sin'Serrar cannot find where they hid the research, is because it isinside of her."
"Inside...of Erythis?" Katsin paced back and forth for a moment, his long crimson hair swaying a bit from the cool evening winds. His armor clattered a bit, a gauntlet-clad hand resting along his chin as if he were in deep thought. "I see. I understand now. You will keep her safe?"
"She will be safer with us than with anyone else; and she will learn our ways. We will utilize her potential in the most suitable way we can. Just as well, we have chosen a guardian for her."
"A guardian?" A man steps out from the gathering of blue-robes, nodding firmly.
"My son will be of age, soon. He will be her life-guardian. Should anything happen to her, he will meet the same fate. It is our way. In this way, his life goal will be to protect her. We all have life-guardians. It is a part of who we are."
"You offer your child for such a task?"
"My lord, it is an honor. My son will also view it as so. You mustn't tell the girl. We will begin our watch on her, but she will not know until we decide it should be so. We will not initiate her until we believe she can handle it."
"That is comforting. Very well. I will agree with this accordance." The knight looks skyward and up at the waning moon, fingers combing up through his hair. "My dearest Erythis. I promise we will keep you safe."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Erythis this, Erythis that. Oh, have you seen Erythis? Look at how strong she is! Blah, blah blah blah, blah!" Squeezing the life out of a small, stuffed doll, Melathara Firestorm was wandering about her chambers, practically fuming. She looked so very much identical to her twin sister, but her demeanor was something else entirely. "Oh, she got all the good genes! That's what they say. She doesn't even know that mother and father are dead." The girl looms over her younger sisters bed, who was sleeping away unknowingly. "What do you think about Erythis, huh? Do you love her too? I bet you do. The chosen favorite." She steps aside then, making her way to a drawer. She pulls out a line of bright red silk and drapes it over her body. "Maybe I will be a queen, one day. Then I can send Erythis down into the dungeons."
"Lady Melathara!" From the entryway, a handmaiden approaches. "Do not speak of your sister in such a way!"
"Maybe it's better this way. They're too focused on her to care about what I'm doing."
"Will you listen to yourself? We all care. Your sister loves you, you know. Come, let's get you some supper."
"I do not wish to eat."
"My lady, I do insist-..."
"I do not wish to eat!" With a flick of her wrist, the girl sends out a swift gash of fire towards the handmaiden's face. She shrieks, falling to the ground and flailing with agony. Brought out of her slumber by the screaming, the young toddler awakens and begins to cry as if afraid. "Do not worry, little one. It was just an accident." Picking up a vase of water, Melathara pours it on the writhing woman. Half of her face had been melted, the skin permanently marred. "Learn your lesson now, servant. You will never tell me when or when not I shall be doing something. I am your mistress." The handmaiden, now shaking and sobbing, looks to the young Firestorm. "Now rise and make me some supper."
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