Warcraft story - Chapter 6

Author's note: Hey-ho. A meaty chapter for you to enjoy! Spent the last week in Spain. Fun place. Can recommend as a vacation spot.

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She sensed Nallorath’s approach long before she could hear or see him. Even if she didn’t have quite the senses she’d had in her previous life, she hadn’t lost her awareness entirely. His approach didn’t prompt a reaction from him, as she simply continued to lie back on the divan and looked at the stars above. Stars that still felt foreign to her, even after living here for over a decade.

"I didn't expect to find you here," Nallorath commented as he stepped into the soft light cast by the magical lantern near her. "I half expected you to be buried in some book or training with a sword or something." His tone was playful, and she detected a kind of fruity smell in the air that suggested he might have been enjoying some fine wines.

“You could benefit from a bit of physical training too, you know.” She playfully jabbed. Nallorath was a mage through and through.

“And you could use more of a break.” He shot back, not really offended by his remark. Instead, he lay on the other divan close to her.

She gestured around her. “Hence why I’m here. Even I grow bored of constant training on occasion.”

“You look sad.” He suddenly said.

She frowned a bit. “I’m not sure sad is the right word. Maybe melancholic would be more accurate. Maybe a bit lonely.”

He understood, even in his slightly inebriated state. Physically, she was a child, so adults generally didn’t tend to take her seriously, aside from a handful who knew better. Mentally, she was even older than his father. Possibly older than his grandfather, he’d never asked exactly. Spending time with children of her physical age would’ve likely been an exercise in frustration. He had to occasionally spend time with kids, and even he could only tolerate it in small doses, and he at least had the advantage of being an adult physically, so any kids knew to treat him as such, instead of treating him as a peer, much less a younger kid.

That wasn't likely the only source of loneliness for her, though. "Did you leave behind many people?” He asked, obviously referring to her previous life.

She hummed a bit. “Yes and no. You’ll recall I took part in an eternal war. Any friends I made along the way eventually fell to one enemy or another. Such is the brutal calculus of war. As for family… we'd better not go there at this time. Suffice to say they existed. What I did have were my people. Some I knew better than others, and some I remember fondly. And even if my loved ones are gone, they are not forgotten." The stars reminded her of those she'd lost, but it was an old pain, dulled by countless years. “I honor their memory when appropriate.”

“I know you speak of constant war, but I recall you mentioning paths that were not associated with battle. Did you walk down any of those?” Nallorath tried altering the topic slightly and finding out more about her usually reticent-to-share cousin.

“I did. No one is allowed to dedicate their entire existence to war forever. That way lies madness and corruption by the dark gods. No, I spent time as an artist, an engineer, a Bonesinger, a pilot, and a trader. Even served as a diplomat for a while.” She didn’t mind revealing a bit.

“A Bonesinger? And an artist? Suggests to me you have musical talent!” Nallorath suddenly seemed excited.

She chuckled a bit. “I’m not entirely without skill, though bone singing isn’t quite what you imagine. I know how to play some instruments, although most of those do not exist here. Different worlds, different ways of making music. Besides, some of what my people would consider high art would not sound good for the Quel’dorei. Remember that before the fall, my old race pushed all boundaries of art in rather unhealthy ways. Not something I’d want to bring back here.”

“You know I’m going to get you to play an instrument sooner or later.” Nallorath playfully threatened.

“You can certainly try.” She didn’t rise to the bait.

They spent a few minutes just gazing at the stars before Nallorath spoke again. “Father is getting married.” His tone made it clear he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “The Convocation has been rather good about supporting him through the war preparations, and he couldn’t push it off for any longer.”

“Objectively speaking, that’s a good thing. He’s a young king with only a single heir. And a queen also serves a purpose besides just producing heirs.” She laid out the argument with a gentle voice.

“Objectively speaking, I agree.” He made the faintest nod.

“But subjectively you’re not sure how to feel about it.” She nodded in understanding. Nallorath’s mother was a complicated topic. “It would be great if the world worked in a way where your parents could be together. But it doesn’t. And from what Uncle told me, they weren’t exactly planning on marrying even if she had not been effectively banished. Theirs was a dalliance with unexpected but positive results.”

Nallorath exhaled hard and shook his head. “I know. Did you know I’ve been trying to find out more about her, but with her in Kalimdor, my sources are rather limited. She didn’t have much in the way of family either.”

“That’s disappointing. Although simultaneously, it does make certain things easier. If you become the king, you won’t suddenly have family coming out of the woodworks, suggesting you all kinds of ideas and requesting help.” She said with a slightly bitter voice.

“You sound like you have experience.” He pointed out with a tinge of sympathy.

“More than I’d like. I have…mixed feelings of family as a result. I’ve also seen it happen too many times to others.” She considered how to phrase her next point. “Uncle Anasterian’s marriage does put you in a rather interesting position."

“It does, doesn’t it?” He said chipperly, although she could hear the slight hurt in his voice. “Despite no one saying it out loud, I am a bastard child. A legitimized bastard, but a bastard nonetheless. Should my father and my new stepmother-to-be produce a child, the line of succession gets…interesting.”

“My mother never did go into that part in her etiquette and politics lessons. What is the policy on succession in such cases?” She admitted to not knowing.

"There are no rules about it. There never have been solid rules, because the king always appoints his successor, and the Sunstrider Dynasty has been rather proficient in marrying off any potential rival lines to other families to avoid any succession troubles. Now, your mother and you already break that rule, and my bastard status puts everything into question. I’m the crown prince, but so far that has been because I was the only child. Father hasn’t officially named me as such. Not that he has in any way implied he wouldn’t do so either. It might just be a case of both of us being young," He was quiet for a moment. "I know my father loves me, but I think he wants to keep his options open, just in case. I think he believes I’m too soft to be king. He’s probably not wrong.”

“Hmm. I don’t know about that. As you say, making the title official hasn’t been necessary, and it keeps his options open, just in case. He also knows that there’s a good chance that he’ll have more children, and there’s always a chance that one of those might end up being some sort of obvious prodigy.” She started saying.

“Prodigy like you.” Nallorath suddenly pointed out with a playful but sad smile.

“Well, I’m more of an anomaly than a prodigy. What I was going to say is that softness in a king isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as they are capable of making the hard choices when required. So far, you’ve given me no reason to think you wouldn’t be able to do that. And that’s what advisors are for anyway.” She finished her point. “Who’s the lucky woman by the way?”

"Some young girl from the Solaris family. They're the second most powerful family of the Convocation. At first, they attempted to get my father to marry an older woman with plenty of personal power and experience, but father refused. He didn't want his future wife attempting to seize power under the auspices of his limited experience. So, they settled on some poor young girl who is even younger than I am. It gets House Solaris a foot in the door without being too overbearing. In return, he gains their support. A pure political marriage. The ceremony will be rather soon, but I don't think there will be much happening between the two beyond that. From what I heard, the girl is rather reclusive in nature.” Nallorath had been listening to some gossip but knew better than to take all of it as the truth.

"Hmm. Something doesn't quite add up. I get the motivations of everyone involved, and I can even get how they all came to this result, but if this girl really is as passive as you say, then why would anyone agree to this? Anasterian doesn't get a proper wife, and House Solaris doesn't get any real power if the girl won't engage with the power politics.” Selessa pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“What are you thinking?” Nallorath knew enough to trust her instincts.

“I believe there’s a lot more to both this marriage and this girl than meets the eye.” She just couldn’t figure out quite what. She glanced at Nallorath. “If you’d be so kind as to remind your father of something.”

“What?” He asked, intrigued.

"Just in case he harbors any thoughts of arranging a marriage for me as well, especially without consulting me first, remind him that while I've been quite helpful so far, I can just as easily be a hindrance. And the older I get, the truer that becomes." She looked him directly in the eyes, and for a moment, Nallorath could glimpse the war mask behind her façade.

“I’ll be sure to remind him.” He nodded quickly.

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"Conjuration is in many ways the core discipline of Arcane magic. It is at once the easiest and the most difficult discipline." Sapphiron explained, happy that her daughter was picking up things so quickly. What she lacked in natural talent when compared to his flight, she more than made up for with sheer intelligence and understanding. "Conjuration in theory has very little in the way of limits. Theoretically, you can create anything. The trick is that to properly create something, you must understand it. Even the simplest conjured water or bread requires you to understand what they’re made of. What happens when you eat them. The better your understanding, the less mana required and the shorter the casting time, and the more you get out of what you conjure. On the other hand, the more complicated the object or being you’re conjuring, the more difficult the spell. Another thing is that just conjuring something is relatively simple, but making it permanent is exponentially more difficult. Conjuration is the quintessential arcane discipline because it has the highest requirement for sheer learning and understanding, which are the basic pillars of arcane magic.”

“The spells to conjure objects aren’t horrifically complicated. What you really need is to have a firm idea of what you’re conjuring in your mind, and push that image through the spell formula, just as you do with mana. The item will then start to form, and you'll need to maintain focus until the object is finished materializing. Then you'll need to repeat the process hundreds and thousands of times, until it becomes second nature." He explained while pushing a book filled with conjuration spells towards her.

He watched as she placed a hand on the book and closed her eyes. He could see her eyes rapidly moving behind her eyelids as she absorbed the information. He’d seen this process happen several times now, and it still made him marvel about how it could possibly function. She’d tried to explain it once, but the concepts had been too esoteric even for him. What was the essence of informational representation in the spiritual plane supposed to mean anyway? Either way, it allowed her to learn quickly, and that was all he needed to know.

"Oh, interesting." She suddenly muttered and opened her eyes. “You really can make anything with conjuration. The real question is, how smart is it?”

He smiled a bit at that. “Elaborate.”

"Well, you could theoretically conjure a magical weapon, but the effort required is a lot less than summoning a non-magical weapon and enchanting it instead. Magic can create complicated objects, but if there is another way to make something, it's pretty much always more efficient to do it the other way. I've heard that conjuring mana-enriched beverages to refill your mana is one of the most common ways to utilize conjuration, but even there, it's more efficient to just enrich an already existing beverage." She summarized the weakness of conjuration rather efficiently.

“Exactly. Though conjuration is quite handy when you don’t have access to the alternative methods, and if you happen to have access to excessive amounts of mana, which you seem to have in abundance.” He’d long since noted that her daughter almost never seemed to struggle with running out of mana.

It was more likely for her to tire out mentally and physically than simply run low on mana. She could run out; they'd tested that early on, but she already had almost as much mana as an adult blue dragon. And she was becoming hideously efficient in using it. Every day, her magic improved in all the ways imaginable, and even some unimaginable, as she seemed to find improvement and shortcuts that no one seemed to have considered before. Her mind simply seemed to work differently. It was gratifying to see as a teacher and a father, even if he did lack some of the familial instinct that the elves and the Reds seemed to possess. Likely the natural result of more than half of their eggs never hatching, and only a small portion of their whelps surviving into adulthood.

“I could see why.” She nodded in agreement. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she almost systematically tried to figure out all the possible ways this new magic could be exploited and pushed to the limits. It was almost scary to see her mind in action sometimes. Almost. He happened to be rather similar himself, even if her mind seemed to automatically go to combat applications, where his seemed more theoretical in nature.

"Try it out. Something simple, please. I don't want your first attempt to blow in your face." He instructed and prepared protective magic. The young ones always tried to do something too complicated.

He was positively surprised when she formed the spell formula for creating a mana gem. The formula was excessively simple, basically just pushing large amounts of mana into a small spot until it materialized as a usable magical gem. The most common use for such gems was to quickly recover the mana inside to replenish your reserves in battle or during complex rituals. They were also used as power sources for many magical systems, such as the arcane guard towers. The conversion rate of the conjured gems was horrible, in that it took almost three times as much mana to create the gem as it returned, but the mana you spent on the gems could be recovered easily, and the gems could be stored for future use. In fact, it was a common practice among disciplined magisters to spend their excess mana daily for such gems.

The gem, an emerald glowing with the magic stored inside, materialized in her hand. "Hmm. That was easier than I thought." She commented.

“You picked well. I was half expecting you to try something like a weapon, and have it fail spectacularly.” He both complimented and warned her.

“Oh? Now you got me curious.” She said, and he could sense her pull deeply on her mana reserves as a much larger and more complicated spell formula suddenly materialized. Extremely complicated.

As he watched, the originally purple spell formula started twisting and wildly shifting in color as she pumped more and more mana into it. He could sense the magic rebelling against what was being attempted, but at the same time, the magic itself seemed curious. She'd rarely felt the Arcane behave in such an emotional way. For a moment, it seemed the formula would explode, but it suddenly seemed to solidify in place, and a small ball of white material suddenly materialized in her hand. The material looked like it was bone. He’d never seen anything quite like it, as if the bone was somehow alive.

“What is that?” He asked, almost fearing she’d performed some sort of necromancy.

“This? Well, it was supposed to be Wraithbone, but it didn’t quite come out as it was supposed to.” Her non-answer didn’t really explain anything. "Does seem to be quite magically conductive though, so not a total bust, I suppose."

He plucked the small orb-like object from her hand and tested her words. The strange material truly was very magically conductive, and even seemed to enhance any mana channeled through it. "With enchantments, this could be a great material for magical staves or wands." He suggested. It wasn’t the most magically conductive material he’d ever seen, but it was still up there, and such materials were usually rather rare.

“Like I said, not what I was aiming for, but I’ll take it.” She shrugged nonchalantly.

“Hmm?” He suddenly noticed something. The little orb didn’t just conduct mana, but his power seemed to sink into it, and he noted the mana seemed to be stored inside. Another twist of his power retrieved the mana inside, much like when using a mana gem. Only, he seemed to get back all the power he’d put inside. “Mind if I borrow this? I’d like to run a few experiments. Is it a permanent conjuration?”

"I don't know for sure, as it's the first proper object I've conjured, but it should be. And yes, you can borrow it. Like I said, it's not what I tried to create, so you can keep it if you want." She didn't seem too concerned.

“Right. I’ll do that then. On that note, your uncle is getting married. You’ll need to prepare a gift. I’m not as versed in courtly habits as your mother, but I think it’s generally acceptable for someone of your age to present some kind of art. A painting or a song. I suppose you could conjure something, but it’s going to gather more approval if you create something yourself.” He explained.

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[Your Magic attribute has increased from 3 to 4! Magic Perk point gained.]

[Your Arcane skill has increased from 3 to 4! Arcane Perk point gained.]

[You’ve unlocked the Soldier skill!]

The first two didn’t come as a surprise. She had felt that learning conjuration was a huge step in her magic, and it seemed the System agreed. The Perk points were giving her a bit of a headache. The Magic attribute simply had too many viable places to use her Perk points. The point from Arcane was easier. She was fast coming to the decision that frost was not her element. At least not for now. Ironically, the element likely suited her more temperamentally than fire, since she was the type to keep a firm grip on her emotions, but she wasn’t going to be spending the point of fire either. While pyromancy had been one of her specialties in her previous life, there was something that appealed to her more.

As the name implied, she felt that the arcane element was the core of Arcane magic, and she felt it was where her heart lay. That might change in the future, but for now, that was what she wanted to pursue. The choice of Perks was also rather obvious. Master of Conjuration made all her conjuration spells more effective and easier to cast, which meant easier on mana as well. She'd just gotten a lecture on the flexibility of conjuration yesterday, and the Perk made that branch of magic much more viable to utilize. She selected the Perk and was immediately flooded with information.

It was like she'd been casting conjuration spells for decades. She suddenly knew exactly what she could easily conjure and how to do it much more effectively. A sea of possibilities opened before her. For example, she understood that conjuration wasn't just limited to objects. Sapphiron would likely go into this in future lessons, but she already realized that she could call upon elementals to do her bidding as well, and that was just the most obvious example.

She was also facing a tough decision. She had another Magic Perk point, and she felt that the choice of where she spent that point would make a big difference for her future training and endeavors for a long time to come. If she spent it in Arcane, she'd be focusing more on becoming a magister, but if she went ahead and put the point into Spellbreaker Perks, she'd be focusing on that in the future instead. There were also several very interesting possibilities on where to spend that point.

She'd already spent one Magic Perk point on the Spellbreaker tree, but that had been to enhance her eyes, something that would enhance all her magic-related skills. If she put another point into Spellbreaker, then she'd likely be dedicating future points there as well, instead of spreading herself thin. The System had implied that there were ways of earning Perk points, but until she got access to those other ways, the points would be going towards the Spellbreaker tree. Or Arcane, should she choose that instead. These Perk trees seemed to reward specialization, and to get the best out of her anti-magic abilities, for instance, she'd need more Perk points than just the ones from the skill itself.

Despite the potential benefits, she pushed the decision off for now, as there was no pressing need to make that decision right this moment.

What really threw her off was the unlocking of the Soldier skill. It was the third skill under the Discipline attribute to unlock and followed a familiar pattern. Commander was about leading armies, and Squad Leader was about leading and training small groups. Soldier was about your own skills as a warrior and soldier. Skills that weren’t directly tied to using weapons. As she took a gander at the available Perks, she realized that they were split into two broad categories. General soldiering perks and mounted combat.

It was the latter part that she was having a harder time wrapping her head around, though it did explain why she’d gained the skill, since she’d been learning about the way the Quel’dorei utilized mounted soldiers. Incidentally, they used two main types of mounts, Hawkstriders and Dragonhawks. There was also a particular Perk that was calling to her, and she just so happened to have an unused Discipiline Perk point, and not a whole lot of interesting places to spend it. So, she chose to use it here.

One With Your Steed made her connection with any mount she rode stronger. The higher her Soldier Skill became, and the longer she spent with the mount, the more noticeable the effects. Her mount and she would be more in sync, understanding each other without any words or instructions, as if sharing a mental connection. At later levels, they would function almost like a single entity, and she could even take other Perks to grant benefits to her mount, like her mount benefiting from her attributes. It was one of those Perks that could make a world of difference if enough effort was put into it. As long as she was mounted. Otherwise, it would be useless. Very focused, but with a huge potential upside.

“What are you reading, darling?” Her mother’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She’d of course noted her approach since she’d arrived on the island, as the woman was horrible at hiding her presence. Most likely because she didn’t want to.

“A treatise on mounted tactics.” She explained curtly. Her previous life had seen her well-versed in many types of tactics, and mobility was key for Aeldari, but her knowledge on the particulars of mounted warfare, at least on living steeds, was limited. That, and she wasn’t reading with any real focus, just leafing through the book to pass the time while her focus was elsewhere. If she really needed the information urgently, she could’ve just absorbed it without reading.

“Not a choice I was expecting." Her mother made a face. It wasn't a secret that the woman wasn't fond of any mounts. "We need to prepare for my brother's marriage ceremony. Dress, gift, basic behavior expected. That sort of thing.”

She closed the book with a sigh. “I really need to prepare a gift, don’t I?” The other things her mother had mentioned were easy to deal with.

"Do you have any ideas? Something you personally made would be the expected gift. That, or you could perform something." Her mother echoed the same suggestion Sapphiron had made the previous day.

“I suppose I could sing. Not sure how good it will be. Could you arrange for a male singer to perform with me?” She asked, considering some of the tamer Aeldari songs.

“Can you even sing?” Her mother asked with a frown. “I’ve never heard you even try. I’ve not even seen you listen to anyone else sing.”

She pointed at her mother with the book. “You haven’t been around enough to see me do a lot of things.” She tried to keep her tone from being accusing. This woman, Selenna Sunstrider, was her mother in name only, and she didn’t really feel all that much about her. Still, she couldn’t entirely avoid all bitterness at being effectively abandoned as a child. Even if it was partially by her choice.

“That’s a low blow.” Her mother’s expression showed some hurt. “I know we haven’t been close, but you never expressed any desire for me to spend time here. You never needed me. I offered to take you to Silvermoon with me, but you chose to remain here instead.”

“I know, although you could’ve stayed here as well. Or at least visited more often. After our lessons ended, how often did you visit me? Five, six times a year? Uncle Anasterian, who is the king mind you, visits at least twice a week. Nallorath even more often. Now, we both know why that is. We’re very different people with very different interests. You’re a political animal and desire to stay within the intrigues of the court. That’s not a bad thing. Politics can be important. It’s just something I have no desire to be. I’m a warrior at heart, even if I haven’t yet had much opportunity to show it.” Her tone was quite soft as she laid out their differences.

“If I spent all my time at the island, I’d wither away like a flower without sun or water. Intrigue and attention are my sustenance.” Her mother admitted with a quiet voice. “And you’d be the same if you had to spend your time at court.”

She allowed her mother to quietly process her realization. “You know, just because I’ve not spent time on the island, that doesn’t mean I haven’t kept an eye on you. I know how hard you work and train. I don’t think even Nallorath realizes how much time you spend on training. I know only someone born to be a soldier or a warrior would behave like that.” Her mother looked at her straight in the eyes with a soft look. “I am proud of you, you know. I may not say it, and I might regret the fact that we’ve grown so apart, but I know you’ll be something great one day, and I don’t think that day will be too far in the future. I know you’re somehow special. It’s obvious. I know you have secrets. Secrets that I’m not privy to, and my brother is. Otherwise, he wouldn’t let you do what you do. I hope one day you feel that you can tell me.”

“Maybe.” She replied with equal softness. “Just realize that if you do decide to give me a sibling one day, they cannot deal with what you and father have done to me. As you accurately pointed out, I’m not normal. If you did to my sibling what you’ve done to me, I’d kill both of you. I can deal, and even prefer it to some extent, but a normal child would not.” Her tone got quite cold at the end.

“Understood. And I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t been sure you could deal with it. Like I said, I’ve kept an eye on you.” Her mother admitted and accepted her warning in the spirit it was given. “Now, you mentioned something about singing and a male singer?”

“Yes. Someone mid-range will be fine. What I have in mind isn’t too complicated, though it would make things easier if they’re not too stuck in their ways, and they’re willing to try something different.” She suggested.

“I think I can arrange that.” Her mother promised finally.

------

Selessa was struggling not to bang her head against the table in front of her.

The wedding was a grand affair, as befit a royal marriage. The Quel'dorei were far from a demure race at best of times, and a celebration like this was ostentatious to the extreme, from the food to the decorations, and to the venue. Of course, they were using the palace, and most of the grand ballrooms were filled with the who's who of elven society. But not just the palace. The streets of Silvermoon were all decorated to extremes, and free food and drink were offered to anyone wanting to partake. It was a welcome day off and a breath of relief for a society that had been focused on war preparations for several years.

As Anasterian’s niece and one of the few living blood relatives, it was only fitting that she was seated at the king’s table. Although for some unfathomable reason Anasterian had decided to seat her at his left, while the bride was on his right. Nallorath was on the bride's right. Her mother's etiquette lessons informed her that these two seats were very significant, as they were reserved for two of the king's most trusted people. And importantly, she was seated at the position usually reserved for the official successor. It wasn’t that cut and dry though, as the seat next to the bride was supposed to be her protector, so Nallorath taking that seat as an adult made sense. Either way, the members of the court were very aware of the significance of the seating arrangement, as made obvious by the looks she was getting.

She had not gone through her official court debut, so her face was veiled, though that didn’t make much of a difference considering her eyes. No one had eyes like hers, and anyone who had seen them even once would never confuse her for another person. And they were aware of her identity, even if it wasn’t officially announced.

For Isha’s sake, she knew why she was seated here, considering all they’d discussed and planned together with Anasterian, but she hated politics. And she wouldn’t be able to avoid them for much longer. She had ten years maximum, as the young ladies of the great houses would usually make their debut after much of their puberty had finished, at the latest. Usually, they debuted much earlier. Her mother would certainly be pushing for her to make her debut earlier. She was going to have to fight tooth and nail to push it as far back as possible, but hiding was going to be difficult now.

"You seem chipper," Anasterian commented with clear amusement.

“You’re intentionally making my life harder, uncle. That does not make me happy.” She spoke through gritted teeth.

He just laughed. “Lies and slander. You wouldn’t have been able to hide for much longer anyway. Might as well turn the situation to our advantage.”

“Your advantage. Incidentally, were you aware that your bride is a spy and likely also an assassin?” She asked pointedly.

The new queen, Elessine, looked like a shy and demure young woman on the surface. To any casual observer, she seemed like someone married off too young, and someone clearly in over her head. Selessa knew better. Subterfuge and misdirection were the bread and butter of Aeldari tactics. To her, the new queen’s mask was full of cracks.

Anasterian grinned. “I did know that, though I’m a little surprised you figured it out so quickly.” They didn’t have to worry about being overheard over the noise filling the large chambers used for the feast. “Though I suppose I shouldn’t be, considering you’re the one feeding us all our current tactics on unconventional and covert warfare.”

“I may not personally be an expert spy, but my people used plenty of espionage and assassinations in my previous life.” She explained curtly. “We didn’t have the power to fight on equal footing, nor could we absorb the losses that would’ve resulted, so fooling and sabotaging our enemies was something we had to do in almost all engagements. If we ever fought the enemy fairly, then we’d already lost.”

“Makes sense, I suppose. Incidentally, House Solaris is responsible for our covert operations, such as they are, and I chose my current wife partially so that she could build up the kingdom’s spies and saboteurs. I suppose assassins as well. If she chooses to focus on that, then I can focus on other things. There’s also the fact that because she’ll try to remain as discreet and forgettable as possible, I don’t have to worry about her making overt power plays in the court or trying to push me around by virtue of being older and more experienced." Anasterian explained. Both he and Nallorath had mentioned that the Convocation had tried to push an older bride on him as well. “Elessine and I actually had a bet about who would be the first to figure her out, and you just won me that bet.”

“I thought you just said you didn’t expect me to figure it out that fast.” She pointed out.

“I didn’t. I still expected you to be the first though.” He admitted shamelessly, before leaning in to whisper something to her new queen, who blinked rapidly for a few times before glancing at Selessa in slight surprise. As their eyes met, the queen gave her an approving nod.

As she was stuck between Anasterian and her mother, and her mother was busy politicking with the noble on her other side, and Anasterian was busy with his new bride, she was largely left to her own devices. Oh, there were plenty of curious onlookers, and every time someone approached the newly married couple, a couple of evaluating glances were thrown in her direction. However, as she hadn’t made her court debut, it was considered bad manners to approach her openly.

The whole thing was a bit of a waste of time honestly. She enjoyed the food and drink, although it was perhaps a bit too fancy for her tastes. The atmosphere could’ve been fun in a party like this, except for the fact that this room in particular held all the most powerful people in the kingdom. That meant politics and knives, both literal and figurative. And politics always brought down her mood. She probably would’ve enjoyed the celebration outside more.

Ironically, she wasn’t aware, but the level of politicking was actually at an all-time low. The wedding caused a slight uptick, but the looming war and war preparations had united the Quel’dorei in a way that few things ever had. Yes, there was some grumbling about various things, and everyone always wanted to take advantage, but no one wanted to accidentally be the source of any issues that might cause them to lose the war, or even significantly increase the casualties.

She silently observed some of the main powers. There were, of course, the current houses of the Convocation, the ruling and advising body of Quel'thalas. The member houses didn't always remain the same, as houses could rise and fall according to their level of power. According to the history books, three of the houses had retained power since the founding of Quel’thalas, while the others were on shakier grounds.

House Salonar had some of the best magisters, and more often than not, the Grand Magister hailed from among their house. Currently, the Grand Magister was Selessa’s father, Sapphiron, but that was a recent development. The current head of the house, Ron’vith Salonar, was a staunch supporter of Anasterian and an ally in the Convocation more often than not. Several members of House Sunstrider had married into House Salonar, in fact. It was also Thelion’s house, and aside from him and a few others, the entire family was full of magisters. They were also rather large in number, which was not all that common among the Quel’dorei. It wasn’t that the race was lacking in fertility, but they had limited space to expand thanks to the Amani trolls. Perhaps that could be fixed after the war.

House Solaris was a newer arrival among the Convocation, and Selessa now knew their power came from their covert strength, although on the surface, they were an affluent, business-oriented merchant family. They’d become members of the Convocation less than a thousand years ago, which wasn’t all that long by Quel’dorei standards. They ran many of the important merchants’ guilds in the kingdom. Naturally, as the family of the new queen, they were taking a prominent position in these celebrations.

House Carmine was a rather mysterious one. Selessa hadn’t been able to find much about them. Apparently, they were an old house that simply held considerable political influence, and no one questioned why or how. Just that they rarely took a very active part in things, preferring to maintain the status quo. As her eyes fell on the two members of the house sitting at their own table, she could instantly see why. The two beings were similar to Sapphiron in her Magic Sight, and she remembered the dragon mentioning that the Red Dragonflight had a fondness for her race, and these two were likely members of that flight.

House Luminaris was another older family generally associated with the religious practices and the temples of Quel'thalas. Selessa had read that in the past, the elves had worshipped the moon and someone called Elune, but that had changed in the aftermath of the exile. Now they worshipped the sun, and the Sunwell in particular. As magic had such a hold over their race, religious practices were not as prominent, but they still had lavish temples and ceremonies for various purposes. The priests apparently held some sort of power, but it had never been entirely clear to her what kind and not very much of it. They did perform most of the healing not accomplished by potions or the Sunwell, though that was rare.

Houses Drathir and Brightwing were considered the 'minor' houses of the Convocation. The latter was a house most famed for its Dragonhawk riders, while the former was rather standard but a powerful family of magisters, who simply held enough both magical and political power to gain a position in the Convocation. Many of the professors at the academy teaching magisters were either from House Drathir or House Salonar.

As the day turned into evening, Selessa finally grew bored enough with the celebration to find refuge on a balcony overlooking the city. She once again got lost admiring the beauty of the setting sun reflecting off the golden spires of the city, though not lost enough to miss the person approaching her from behind. “Your majesty. Do join me instead of hiding in the shadows.”

The young-looking elven woman gave a small chuckle. “I suppose it comes naturally at this point. Well done noticing, young Selessa. I wasn't exactly advertising myself. Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, considering Anasterian mentioned you'd already figured me out."

Selessa didn’t turn to look at the new queen. “Your dress isn’t exactly subtle. Doesn’t really help when it comes to hiding in the shadows. It’s designed to be rather eye-catching in fact.”

Now the queen laughed openly. “I suppose it is. You weren’t looking my way though. Not for several minutes at least.”

Selessa didn’t bother responding to that. Let the queen think what she wanted. She was always aware of her surroundings. “To what do I owe the pleasure, my queen?” She asked instead.

“Oh, please. Don’t bother fawning. We both know it’s not genuine.” The queen shot back in a tone that made it clear the words were not in any way malicious.

“Politeness doesn’t cost anything, but as you wish. Elessine, then.” Selessa nodded, still gazing across the city.

Elessine spoke after it became clear Selessa wasn’t going to say anything. “It’s odd. You’re so young, yet the king has such faith in you.”

Selessa didn’t bother responding, simply taking a sip from her juice instead. If the woman wanted to get something out of her, she’d have to work harder than that. Something that the new queen seemed to realize.

“What would you say if I told you there are people who think you’re not worthy of having such influence over the king?” The question was rather probing and a great deal more direct.

“Two things. First, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Secondly, you should stop infantilizing Anasterian. He could be getting advice from the trolls, and it still wouldn’t be up to you. He’s the one making the decisions and chooses who to consult before making one.” She responded calmly.

Elessine smiled a bit at that. “Interesting perspective. Yet he is young.”

Selessa snorted. “It’s not a perspective. It’s a fact. Now, if you, or someone else, can’t deal with that, then that sounds like a you problem. And it also sounds suspiciously close to treason. Now, if I do hold the kind of influence you’re suggesting, then it seems highly unwise to admit to such treasonous thoughts to me.” Her tone was clear on how little tolerance she had when it came to such things.

The new queen was clearly taken aback by her harsh tone. She had expected this discussion to go in a very different way. Maybe use insinuation and pressure to test the young girl around a bit. At worst, she’d gain some information. “My, my. Such a harsh stance." She backpedaled a bit.

Selessa turned to look at the woman properly for the first time and donned her war mask for a moment, sending a shiver down the queen’s back. “This is something you and anyone with similar thoughts to you should keep in mind. I know politics is the second favorite pastime of the magisters and the noble houses, but hear me and hear me well. There will be no room for backstabbing or undermining the rule of the king while I draw breath. Anyone breaching that decree will be fed to the gardens as fertilizer. And anyone who thinks to bypass this decree by taking a shot at me had better hope they don't miss. If you do, you'd better throw yourselves at Anasterian's mercy, for I shall have none.” She walked past the new queen before stopping for a moment. “This is your first and final warning. Get with the program of building an empire, instead of squabbling over the scraps of a kingdom. Good evening.”

She came from a universe where survival was the most important factor. Petty squabbles happened, but they were quickly and harshly quashed in the face of the survival of their species. That same ideal carried over to her new life. She had little tolerance for anyone risking the survival of her new race, which she’d grown rather fond of.

As she walked towards the celebration, she crossed paths with Anasterian, who seemed to be in search of his bride. “Little one. I hear you had a present of song prepared for us.” She said almost teasingly, a wide smile on his face.

“Some other time. I’ll give you my present in a more private setting. My mood was soured, and I’ll be going home.” She replied curtly.

Anasterian’s smile didn’t slip. “As you wish. See you tomorrow then? We have the normal council planned.”

“Not going to spend the day with your new bride? How outrageous.” Selessa teased just a bit. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

After watching her go, Anasterian made her way to the same balcony Selessa had just vacated. “Elessine. Seems your discussion with my niece went just as well as I told you it would.”

Elessine shook her head wryly. “I can already see why you trust her so much. I’ve never been threatened quite so thoroughly before, and I believe every word she said. She’d make an excellent interrogator, because she can be quite frightening, even with her current size.”

“Thelion said the same thing. She can be quite intense when she gets in that mood, and he’s the commander of the Spellbreakers.” Anasterian chuckled a bit. “So, what did we learn?”

“To not piss off your niece. That she will do everything in her power to see our people succeed. In fact, I’m quite certain she is willing to go further to achieve that goal than either of us.” That was saying something.

House Solaris could have been called Quel’dorei supremacist, had such a term existed. And Elessine had inherited many of those principles, with the possible exception of the blind hubristic side of such beliefs. She believed in doing everything for their kind, not because they were better, although they were, in her belief, but because she was one of them. Had she been born as a dwarf of a human, she would've fought for those races instead.

"Isn't she just great?" Anasterian's smile grew into a grin. "You're beginning to understand, but you're still only scratching the surface.”

Elessine nodded in understanding. "True. I'm starting to see why you added that stipulation about the line of succession. Poor Nallorath. He's going to be overshadowed so hard by the time your niece hits his current age."

Anasterian pouted a bit. “I was looking forward to hearing her sing.”

Elessine just laughed at that. "I'm sure you can convince her to do it at a later date. I needed to test her. Better get it out of the way as quickly as possible." She chuckled a bit. "She all but accused me of treason by the way."

"Eh, I'm sure she was subtle enough not to do it directly." Anasterian shrugged.

"Only just. She did say this was my first and last warning. I might not want to push things too much for a time." Elessine shivered. "And she meant it too."

“Good. As she should.” Anasterian just nodded.

--------

[You’ve unlocked the Social skill!]

She chortled. Of course, she had.

The skill seemed to be an interesting mix of various socially related benefits, charming people, and even performing in various ways. The benefits of the skill were quite wide, but also rather shallow at first glance. This was one of those skills that gave you a bit of everything, but the main benefits would come from the Perks. It was also the place where she could take Perks to affect the physical side of her Charisma attribute. Charisma made her more attractive, but this skill had direct Perks to make changes in case she had personal preferences. Also, as expected, they were all locked at the moment.

With an instinctive flexing of her neck, she got up from the bed and dressed in her exercise clothing. Assuming nothing odd happened, today should be a normal day. Naturally, having jinxed it, she only managed a few steps out of her home when she noticed Talanas rushing towards her. "Selessa! Come with me right now!" He simply gestured and ran back towards the docks.

She had no reason not to follow, and the run was not long. As soon as she was on the ship, Talanas pushed it off, and the small crew of five sailed towards the Sunwell Isle. “What’s going on?” She finally got the chance to ask.

Talanas gave a deep shuddering breath. “It’s…my wife. She’s hurt.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. What happened?” She asked, suddenly concerned. Talanas had mentioned he was seeing someone, although Selessa hadn’t known he’d gotten married.

“They ran into a troll patrol while returning from a deep scouting mission towards Zul’Aman. They got into a fight, and I think she was hit with some sort of cursed weapon.” Talanas explained while gripping the side of the ship.

“Ok. Why do you need me though? I’m happy to help in any way I can, but there are Spellbreakers who are a lot more experienced than I am." She asked.

“They’re trying, and they are succeeding in holding the magic back, but they can’t remove it for some reason.” He hesitated a bit. “Look, Selessa. We’re both aware that you know things. You might not possess the most power, but you know things others don’t, and if there’s any chance that knowledge might help…”

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.” She said simply.

The boat trip didn’t take long, and they rushed into the hospital built close to the Sunwell Citadel. There they rushed through the corridors and into a particular room holding a bed and a lot of people. As Talanas was the ranger-general, his wife naturally got the best care possible. Several Spellbreakers were around the bed, holding the magic afflicting the woman on the bed at bay. Several priests and magisters, including her father Sapphiron, and Thelion were conversing in the corner of the room.

Selessa took a look at the woman on the bed. She was trashing around, and there was a wild, even crazed look in her eyes. It looked like she was going to attack either the Spellbreakers or herself, except for the straps holding her in place. Selessa's Magic Sight delved into the woman, and she could detect the presence of dark foreign magic, focused around her shoulder, and especially around her head. The magic was extremely dark, and she recognized the type.

One of the benefits of reaching Magic 4 was the awareness of other types of magic besides Arcane. She didn’t have deep knowledge, but she could recognize the power of the Void when she saw it. Void, or Shadow magic as it was also called, excelled at mental effects like insanity and even mind control.

“Daughter.” Sapphiron’s voice brought her out of her thoughts. He gestured for her to join them in the corner. “Notice anything?”

“Yes. Traces of magic in her shoulder, where I assume she was hit, and her head. Dark magic. Shadow magic.” She summarized, causing the priests and magisters to grimace.

“That’s what I thought as well, and Commander Salonar agrees, even if our clerical compatriots are loath to consider the possibility." Sapphiron nodded in approval of her assessment. As a blue dragon, he was more than aware of different types of magic, even if the Arcane was his forte.

“The issue is removing it. We’re barely holding the curse at bay as it is, but this is not something that can just be yanked out. The magic had time to seep in while the patient was carried here, and we have a reason to believe that the weapon used was blessed by some especially nasty Loa. It doesn’t help that the effect mostly affects her mind. Handling this too roughly carries the risk of damaging that very mind, perhaps permanently.” Thelion explained.

“So, do we have any ideas?” One of the priests asked, and everyone went quiet.

"Father, could you follow me outside for a moment?" Selessa finally requested. This was way outside her area of expertise, but that didn't mean she didn't have a way.

"You have an idea," Sapphiron realized as soon as they were private.

“I do. It might work, it might not.” She said curtly.

“You have doubts.” He realized.

“Yes. You taught me conjuration, and I think I have something that I could conjure that might help. However, just like last time, I don’t know how well it’ll work. If we are to try it, I need two things from you.” She went straight to the point.

“What do you need?” Sapphiron seemed eager to see what she’d come up with.

"First, I need more mana than I have. I don't know how or where, but a few mana gems or potions won't cut it. Secondly, I need you specifically not to ask any questions. Ever." Her voice was firm on the last term, making it clear this was a dealbreaker.

He hesitated only for a second before nodding. "Lucky for us, we're right next to the Sunwell, and I can help you in channeling power from it. Come. Let's find an empty room."

They did just that and entered a nearby room reserved for patients, except it held none. Sapphiron placed a hand on her shoulder, and she could feel almost endless power flowing through her. With a deep breath in preparation, she started creating the necessary formula. Many of the normal symbols were instead replaced with Aeldari glyphs, specifically extolling the virtues of Isha, the Aeldari goddess of harvest, fertility, nature, growth, life, and most importantly, healing. She was the divine mother of the Aeldari, and perhaps the only truly benevolent member of the pantheon.

Just like when she’d tried conjuring Wraithbone, the magic at first seemed to reject the idea, before reconsidering, as if taste-testing the idea. The whole thing hung in balance for several seconds before a great amount of mana was suddenly funneled through her and into a glowing stone in the shape of a drop of water that slowly fell into her outstretched hand.

As the conjuration finished, she almost collapsed from exhaustion. With heavy breath, she instructed Sapphiron, who seemed rather peaked as well. "Place this on the patient's head. I don't know how long it'll exist, so I wouldn't stop to study it. It should theoretically drain the affliction. After it does, seal it and destroy it."

Sapphiron looked like she had many questions before he seemed to remember her terms. Instead, he just took the stone and exited the room.

“I wonder how a Tear of Isha will react in this world." She whispered to herself. This was truly a shot in the dark, but with a good chance of success. She really did wish it would work.

That was when the real burden of channeling so much mana and casting such a complex spell caught up with her, and she lost consciousness.