Jun7
The feelings that met Keina when she woke up were those of a calm and forgiving forest. Birds twittering and leaves flying around in harmony with the wind. She rubbed her eyes and sat up on her elbows, taking a brief look around the room which was completely open out to the city. She couldn’t help but smile to herself when she took notice of a pair of turqoise-colored birds cuddling against each other in the distance, the spirit of the tree having an impact on her, apparently. After all, it was her first time in such a wonderful place. The quilt covering her body was made of some kind of soft fabric, feeling comforting to her skin. Keina moved the quilt aside and sat up at the edge of the bed, stretching and yawning before she began to lick the back of her hand unintently, making her frown and blush at the same time when she realized. She glanced about the room to make sure she had not been spotted.
A few hours later Keina settled down peacefully at the waterfall leading off the crown of the earth. Feeling strengthened by the fresh air and atmosphere she closed her eyes and put her hands in her lap, her legs hanging loosely out the edge of the rock. She sat like this for a moment before looking out over the ocean intently. Most of her vision was blocked by the gigantic twigs from the tree, but she still managed to see some in between. She flew off the rock with the wind and laid back, falling freely down the tree. With the gravity fled her hair and ears, arms and legs. A simple movement with her arms was enough for her whole body to change direction, leading her away from her new home. As her body turned, the wind hit her face with such a free will and power she could not resist but sigh and open her eyes that she had held close due to the resistance. Flapping her wings, Keina flew silently across the Veiled Sea, Kalimdor becoming visible in the distance, her beloved home. Lifting both wings, she began to feel invigorated, flapping endlessly with more and more strength, pushing her body forward with pure intent. Several screeches could be heard in the distance, and all around her she was embraced by thousands of wild birds, grey and brown, white and black. Hawks, eagles, owls and sparrows. She smiled.
It was late, so Keina stood up and glanced about the leaves in the distance whom had their homes in the huge twigs. She turned with a sigh and leaped off the rock with a slight hint of agility, beginning to walk towards the big bear. Her satchel was still lost, the people working in the bank had no idea where it had taken it’s way. Reminding herself of what her father had mentioned a few days ago she frowned upon her own curiosity, turning towards the Temple of the Moon instead. The night had already began to appear once again, and inside the temple she found the peace she had done the other day, just that this time… she was alone. Sliding down on her knees she let out a sigh, turning to the crystal-clear water in front of her. Such a powerful aura it gave, she could feel such a repertoire of intense feelings blossom in her heart, yet she had no idea why it was so. She looked to her side and spotted another elf. Wondering to herself, where he had come from without making any noise, she let her curosity loose. He smiled at her when he noticed, and she could not help herself but blush as usual, her cheeks turning dark.
“Hello”, he started. Keina kept inspecting him in silence, obviously trying to act subtly, but as usual she would fail. “Hi”, she responded, and then went silent for a moment. “Do you live here?”, her curosity forced her to blurt out. “No, I don’t.” Silence. “Me neither”, she answered after he had spoken his words of importance. He seemed nice enough, kind of interesting, even, since there was something special about him. For some reason Keina could see through his soul, or at least she felt and thought herself, yet she could not put her finger on it. Thorns sprouting from his skin, teeth and claws like a tiger, but he was no druid? An experienced sight, but no hunter? An agile build, but no rogue? “What are you doing here, then?”, he continued. “Ehm…” Keina blushed again, glancing about the temple’s beautiful walls to buy time. “I’m going to Dolanaar… So I can learn more about druidism.”
The elf smiled at her and fished a map up from somewhere she did not manage to catch in her dreamstate, but all of a sudden he held it out to her. “Here is a map, if you would like to have a closer look at the woods. You can keep it if you wish.” She took the map kindly and smiled at him, turning to examine it with curiosity. The map covered the whole world tree, and she put her finger on the village of Dolanaar. After a little more chatter, the man was about to leave. Keina realized she had not asked his name, just like she forgot with Tygradora, so she proceeded to do so; “W-wait”. The man turned and set his gaze on her. “What’s your name?”, she continued. “Call me Valoril”, he said, and vanished out of the temple with a soft smile.
Later that night Keina looked at the map she had received. She sat on a bench beside the tree of the big bear, and suddenly two elves approached. One was dressed like a druid, his build strong and agile. The other was dressed in a silver outfit, seeming even more agile, her whole overall very attractive and interesting. Keina smiled when the two met, thinking of a couple meeting to share a hug, though that was not what met her. The two began to argue, yell and call each other names. Keina raised her eyebrows and turned her full attention to the two who kept snarling at each other. It had to be an old couple, she thought. Suddenly the man, going under the name of Iridium, apparently, walked towards her when he was about to take his leave. For some reason, Keina felt threatened about the angered person’s approach, and ran off to his surprise. By reaching her room, Keina stopped and gasped for air before getting out of her clothes, safely slumping down in under the warm quilt.
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Jun5
While the kaldoreis’ beloved stars began to appear on the dark sky in the wake of the night, Keina was beginning to get tired of scouting the city. She had been all over, yet she had no idea what the purpose of most of the different areas of the city were used for. When heading back to find her satchel and a place to stay she stumbled upon an elf sitting on the bridge between the Warrior’s Terrace and the Temple Gardens, where the great bear, or the so called bank, was situated. The female elf seemed at such peace, it made Keina interested, the curiosity inside of her pressuring her to establish contact, and so she did.
By glancing at one of the towers made of stone in front of them she made her move. “What’s inside the tower?” she asked. The elf had no idea, and soon they were having a normal-paced conversation between two curious minds. What took their attention, though, was a human standing in a hollowed-out tree-stub on the other side of the glimmering lake, his intentions seeming insidious to an extent. After a while the two decided to confront the human, and so they did. Keina kept herself behind the stranger at all times, obviously trying to find shelter from the danger lying ahead. As they approached the human he simply fell apart, coughing and gasping his lungs out before fainting completely for a moment.
They both settled down, and for Keina this was something new she had never experienced in her life before. Holding the life of someone in her hand became quite overwhelming to her in a short amount of time, making her cry a couple of silly tears. The human’s pulse raced, and the other elf kept yelling for help everytime she did not work on keeping his heart beating. Suddenly the man woke up, grunting and groaning while catching his breath, desperately trying to push the other elf’s hands off him while mumbling something, sweat all over his forehead, the rest of his head hidden inside his dark brown hood. His eyes flickered before he almost dozed off again, his mumbling continuing about elves coming to his rescue, and that he was going to get help.
Taking the human’s words with trust, the two left his unconscious body on a nearby bed, Keina unable to feel solace and peace in her heart, even though he had claimed he would be getting help soon. Taking their time, they walked from the Craftmen’s Terrace into the Warrior’s Terrace, heading towards the center of the city once again. As they reached the Temple of the Moon Keina once again hesitated, her cheeks blushing uncontrollably. For some reason the almighty temple of the Sisters of Elune bothered her, making her feel small and inferior. She was a disgrace to her race in others eyes, her self-confidence doing it’s job with easy efforts to bring her down. “I’m not sure”, she mumbled, trying to give another impression, yet the elf saw right through her and managed to coax her with ease.
Inside the temple they were first to spot a so called “High Elf”, an exiled race from far back in kaldorei history. The man held his preach while sighing, his eyes travelling over the moonwell inside of the temple, probably out of lust and hunger for it’s power, while the nearby sentinel kept holding out by simply listening, her attempts to shush him off to no avail. Keina looked at her new friend and city guide who told her to keep silent so they could listen to this unwelcomed stranger’s plea. The temple’s walls and features fascinated Keina, making her lose some of her focus on the conversation between the two, and suddenly it came to a halt when her companion took over, suggesting for them to take a look around.
In peace with the night they slumped slowly down on their knees, Keina waving her hand aimlessly over the surface of the moonwell before turning her interest to the statue in front of her. “Incredible”, she said. “How can the water stream endlessly from the bowl?” The other elf shrugged and wasn’t sure and turned her gaze to the endless stream of blessed water running out of the bowl held in the statue’s gifted hands. “Who is it?”, Keina asked once again out of pure curiosity. “It’s the first high priestess that ever worshipped Elune”, the other explained. Sitting like this, Keina began to feel at peace with herself, forgetting her bad thoughts, rather philosophying about the world and all of it’s great wonders. “I forgot to ask your name”, she suddenly said, realizing the fact that they had not really been onto the subject. A little embarassed, the other elf got to her senses and held out her hand for a handshake; “I’m Tygradora. Kind of a silly name, but… nice to meet you.”
As the hours began to grow late the two headed for the Tradesmen’s Terrace in the south-eastern part of the city. Her satchel completely forgotten, Keina followed Tygra, noticing how tired she really felt when she first thought about it. Luckily for her, Tygra had a friend who could lend her a room for the night, or more if needed. Unable to pay for herself, as Tygra did it for her, Keina got herself a place to rest for the night, and after talking for a short while the two parted, heading off to each of their own realms of sleep.
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Jun5
After hours, days and weeks of planning, Keina set out from Astranaar. On the back of her father’s mistsaber she rode the long journey to the village of Auberdine. Though, she was not alone. Melkan, her father, was holding the reins of the graceful animal and pulled the leather towards himself to make it come to a halt. Keina quickly released her arms from around his waist and seemed eager to place her feet on unknown soil. Her father could not resist but to laugh of his daughter’s eagerness and slowly dropped off his mount aswell. He grabbed for the sack hanging from the saddle and held it out to her, her unsure hands hesitantly weighing the contents of it before she slung it onto her back.
Keina smiled at Melkan before she turned to the village, excitement and the will to explore shining clearly in her eyes. “Hold it for a moment. I hope you remember it is important you find somewhere to sleep before you run around the city, right?”, Melkan suddenly said. In surprise, interrupted from her dreaming state she turned to him and fought to resist her cheeks going dark. “An’da! You know I can handle myself now. I’m not a kid anymore!” she replied somewhat fiercefully, yet the tall man just chuckled before patting her back, opening his arms to embrace her in a caring hug. “You know I do, just be careful, you know how I am.”
The wood squeeled under her feet as Keina entered the boat leading to Rut’Theran village. A new world opened to her. She was to see the mighty city of Darnassus, the fascinating woods of the world tree, and learn more than she would ever dream of. As the boat elegantly departed she could suddenly feel a stinging pain in her heart, at first it felt overwhelming before it slumbered silently away, leaving her breathtaken and devastated. She was about to leave everything she had been attached to; her family, her friends, her woods. All the animals, all the trees, the waterfalls, the lakes… Forcing the feelings away she attempted to keep her focus and don’t let herself get lost in the loneliness, the water hitting the hull of the boat with promising power on it’s way.
Keina woke up from her short nap and yawned with a quick stretch of her arms and feet. As the night was beginning to form around the world, the destination of her journey came as an extreme shock to her. As she walked ashore the Rut’Theran village she did not manage to take her eyes off the impressing sight being the world tree. Teldrassil in all it’s pride kept her attention for minutes, everlasting minutes filled with excitement and curiosity. Her mouth kept wide open in awe while her eyes simply flickered across the bark and mightyness of the creation of the druids lead by Staghelm years back in time, simply trying to get an overview of how great it was, herself unable to comprehend the feelings of her own fascination. She had to lean to a nearby pole and hold onto it to keep steady. The height of the tree was astounding to her, and the feeling one would get while on board a rocking ship got to her, making her head hit the floor with a feeling of vertigo.
A faint laughter could be heard in the distance and Keina’s cheeks turned darker when she realized what had happened, quickly getting to her feet, her head still swirling. She picked up her satchel and began to walk towards the portal of the great night elven city, namely Darnassus. The moment she entered the city, she was somehow overwhelmed once again. Even though the city of Darnassus was nothing compared to the city of Suramar or Zin-Azhari it still hit her like a rock directly to the head. Such an impressing piece of work, such… She could not put her words on it, it was just clearly amazing. All the huge, great trees and towers built in stone grabbed her attention, and for some time she just walked, in quite a hasty pace, around the centre point of the city where the bank of Darnassus was situated. Her eyes flickered about and she could feel her excitement taking full control, making her want to explore and discover instead of settling down, and with that in mind, she dropped her satchel in the huge bear’s embrace and ran off.
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