Daeliria: Finding the light (Closed Story)

[Daeliria]

sand...

There is a force more powerful than Light or Dark, and more inexorable, and it is Time.

As a precaution Daeliria had left her equipment with the Scryers, her vestments and bindings of power all locked securely up. Now clad only in a simple black gown, she alighted in the main cavern of Time, and wriggled her toes into the sand a moment. All around her, runes flashed bright in the air and bronze dragons wheeled and keepers of time paced in a hard clockwork pattern; Daeliria dug her feet out of the sand again and moved quietly to a little alcove in the cavern wall. In both hands she cradled a large wolf's head mask, its eyes hollowed and jaws gaping in a terrible rictus. As the priestess settled herself down against the rough stone and bronze sand, she set the mask down on her lap a moment and closed her hands around a silver flame-shaped pendant hanging freely around her neck, sighing softly, before she picked up the mask again and with slight difficulty fastened it to her head.

She leaned back. The dark musky smell of the wolf she had killed was still faint on its head, and she breathed in deeply, closing her eyes. Sweet Mother Elune. Please. I need to speak with You. She relaxed into the faint chiming and the sounds of shifting sands all around her. If ever You loved Your daughters, please, hear my plea...

A slight shiver rippled up and down her skin as she let the wisps of shadow go. Warm, cottony darkness rose to meet her mind, and Daeliria succumbed to sleep.


song...

A watery kind of light suffused the area as far as she could see, shifting in its patterns of mottled brightness and shade. Daeliria gulped, feeling terribly solid in these dreamy surroundings, and bowed her head.

And waited.

"...Mother?"

Nothing.

Reflexively she touched the hollow of her throat. Her fingers met only bare skin. My pendant! Daeliria's mind froze for a moment, then began to race with terror as she glanced around wildly.

"Calm down, girl," growled a low voice. "He could not come with you. You should know that."

Daeliria blinked, and blinked again. Out of a wavering patch of shadows - or perhaps from it - stepped an enormous reddish wolf, who yawned pointedly at her and continued, "This place - any site of communion - is for one alone."

"You mean... the soul..."

"Could not come, no. Calm down."

Daeliria clenched her hands into fists, and slowly unclenched them again. "And you... are you the wolf I slew?"

The wolf gaped its jaws into something resembling a grin. "I am the Hound of Elune."

"Did... did Mother send you?"

"She may have. The gate was open." The wolf's eyes were silver, and very bright, and they shone steadily at her through the light fog between them. "Nevertheless, I am here now. Speak to me."

Daeliria opened her mouth, and closed it again. She stared at the ground (or what she thought might be the ground) for several long moments, then said quietly, "I need to find the light inside me. I need to know how."

The wolf tilted its head and said nothing.

"I cannot continue to circle around light in others like a moth. I have already been singed."

The wolf began to lick its forepaw.

"And the darkness... I am drowning in the darkness, I think. There must be a way... a way to light a flame. To keep... a hope alive."

The wolf looked up. "Tell me," it growled low, "if you truly want to do all that within yourself, why are you asking the Lady to help do it for you?"

Daeliria clenched both hands before her chest, as if trying to claw at something within. "My darkness! It is too strong. I have been cursed with it all my life, I cannot live without it - my mind and body would collapse if it were completely excised, they said - "

"...And you despise it."

"Yes!"

"The very force which lends you strength. Would a mage, even a blood elf, decry mana? ...Or a paladin, the light?"

Daeliria remained quiet for a long moment, then whispered, "Adailaras."

"Ah. Her." The giant wolf seemed to shrug, and stepped closer to her, silver eyes unblinking. "Tell me then. Your memories of farther than a year ago are dim and confused, yes?" At her nod, it continued, "You are certain of them. You are certain you are Daelaris Moonshield. Now if - supposing, if - the demon struggled as she was being excised, and succeeded to gain a grip on several parallel realities. For just the briefest moment. For a mere instant she found mirrored minds and possibilities, and touched them, before she was ripped howling away into the Nether again.

"Now suppose in the world you know of now, there was a young Kaldorei priestess who was wandering far from home. Perhaps curious about the dark side of the Lady. Perhaps fascinated by the lore of the Quel'dorei, about mana and power and corruption. And suppose - for a single instant - the demon found her?"

Daeliria stared at the wolf, barely breathing.

"Suppose, girl."

"You're saying... there is a chance... my memories... I- I might not even be - "

The wolf growled in warning. "Would it change anything you are now?"

The priestess shook her head very slowly. "I... I want to say no. But..."

"But you cling to the darkness of your past. Fiercely."

Daeliria closed her eyes tightly. "I - I need time to think."

The wolf's laughter echoed in her ears. "Take your time. Take all the time you need..."

And the light faded again.


silence...

She floated in the darkness, her mind brimming.

If I am not Daelaris Moonshield... there is nothing to atone for.

But I am. I... must be. This is... who I am.

What else could I be?

A thought struck her. I could be... merely Daeliria. Whether or not my past is true. Whether or not Adailaras lived in me. With everything I know is true, I know I am Daeliria of the Eilon.

And who is that?

[Daeliria]

sideways...

"Miss?"

Her eyes snapped open. It was bright, and warm, and there was the scent of sunny grass and freshly-cut lumber on the wind. A helmeted young woman wearing an unfamiliar blue-and-white tabard was hovering over her. "Miss... Liria, is it? The caravan's arrived in Southshore. They await you in the chapel."

Daeliria winced slightly, and brought her hands to her temples to quell the pounding headache that had begun. A strange tightness in her shoulders made her pause, and glance down. Though still wearing the same simple black dress, the shape of her body had noticeably changed, become more compact, almost - She felt for her ears. Indeed. Somehow - who knew how - she had taken the shape of a human. A lock of chin-length golden hair fell over one eye, and she frowned. "Wh- where? Southshore, you say?"

"Aye." The guard straightened up again. "Terribly sorry to disturb your rest. Here are your papers back." She paused for a moment, then continued, "'Tis an exhausting journey from Stormwind, I know. You can find rooms at the inn. But it, ah, seems best if you should deal with your matters at the chapel first, they seem quite urgent."

Daeliria nodded slightly, and watched the guard walk away. What is this - is this yet another dreamtime - oh no... Her hands flew to the hollow of her throat again, then up before her eyes. No pendant. And even more frightening, no rings at all on those absurdly small human fingers. Who am I now? Where is this? Have I... accepted myself only to lose myself again...?

Several other guards were staring at her - Where have I seen that tabard before? - and she quickly stood up, clutching her sheaf of papers, and glanced around. It seemed to be high summer in Southshore, and she relaxed slightly as she gazed at the familiar buildings and citizens roving about.

No, wait... A pair of mages passed by her on the road without giving her a second glance, and as they did she heard a snatch of their whispered conversation. "...the Kirin Tor? What have they to say of necromancy?" "That is none of your concern, Helcular, as you are neither Kirin Tor nor a necromancer. But to be perfectly..."

Daeliria clenched her fists, such as they were. Helcular. Kirin Tor. ...Kel'thuzad. This is... this is seven years ago, or perhaps more. Of course! Southshore! Freeing Thrall... The Keepers disguised me, and Azani too, as humans so that we would not break continuity by appearing as Kaldorei too early in the timestream... I wonder if this is their work. What I am tasked with now...


sanctity...

"...a most unusual case, Sister Liria. We have treated madmen, of course, but this is no natural madness." The local priest looked cowed. "There have been whispers that the boy is... demon-infected."

Daeliria's eyebrows raised. "Is he... safe to approach?"

"To approach? Oh, aye. Lies still as a - well, very still. But any sort of remedy we try, any sort of healing, it just tends to..." The old man raised a shaking hand, though Daeliria couldn't tell if he was trying to make some sort of gesture of this or if his hand shook from age. "In any case... we're all very glad you're here."

She dipped her head. "Let me see him. Perhaps I will be able to tell..."

The priest sat heavily down again on his padded bench, and waved for a young woman nearby to come over. "Sister Liria, my daughter," he said by way of introduction. "Please lead our blessed visitor to the wards."

There was something oddly familiar about this girl, though Daeliria could not come up with anything as the young brunette nodded curtly to her father and set off through the chapel without any more than a perfunctory glance backwards. The rooms they bypassed seemed filled with soldiers in various states of health, attended by harried-looking acolytes. The priest's daughter led her past all of this, down a short flight of stairs, and into a darkened room where a matronly sort of priestess dozed in a chair next to a canopied bed. The canopy curtains were shut.

The girl touched the other priestess on the shoulder, "Auntie," and the older woman jerked awake. The girl nodded towards Daeliria. "The priestess from Stormwind is here. Go get some proper rest, Auntie."

The older woman looked Daeliria up and down, and nodded, apparently satisfied. "Bless the Light. Me name's Sister Bertha. And you are...?"

Daeliria swallowed. "Sister Liria. What exactly is... wrong with the boy?"

Bertha shook her head, slowly rising from her chair and brushing off her robes. "Nobody knows for sure. It happened while he was on the front lines, I hear... his folks lived here long ago - I was good friends with his mother - but after they were gone he joined his brothers in the war. And then they just sent him back one day like this." She touched Daeliria on the shoulder and moved towards the stairs. "If'n you need any help just yell upstairs for me. Nai, child, you coming?"

The younger girl nodded and the two of them disappeared up the stairs again. Nai? That's odd... I can't quite remember, it's just out of my memory's grasp... Daeliria frowned, pried the single guttering candle out of its holder and lit a brace of new ones. Holding the candelabra high, she pulled the curtains aside, and took a step back.

In the bed lay Torus Gaidon, his ash-blond hair strewn over the pillow and his face bearing no trace of the wrinkles or slightly disapproving sneer Daeliria was so used to seeing, lying completely immobile. She could not even discern a rise or fall of his chest as he breathed. But her skin prickled immediately as she recognized the living, breathing force of the Light in him.

"Well then," she breathed, narrowing her eyes and leaning in closer. A gentle shake of his shoulders elicited no reaction, as she had expected. She set down the candelabra, perched herself on the edge of the bed and slowly reached out with her spirit-sight. And recoiled almost immediately from the sheer brilliance of the blinding light streaming from the inert body lying there.

Daeliria bit her lip. No, that is no demon. Demons always draw inwards. And for some reason all of his light is being pushed to the very outside limits of his soul. She tried to recall what little Torus had told her of his past. He had always hinted vaguely, strangely at some life-changing experience of his youth, but she had respected his silence as he had respected hers about her demon. But there was no questioning that no matter what this experience had been, it had broken him immensely and left him jaded and dour. Might I be able to change that...?

Very slowly, very carefully, she called up a tendril of dense shadow and extended it towards the light coruscating fiercely off of him. To her surprise, it parted to let her in. She shut her eyes and extended her mind along the stream of shadow, knowing she risked no small mental backlash.

The shell of light seemed to stretch on forever. This is wrong. If he bears this much light that is forced to the outer reaches of his soul, the void inside must be devastating indeed. And yet she reached and reached, hoping to strike some darkness, some core, some seed of a soul.

Then the light seemed to turn, to focus intently on her, and Daeliria quailed. She dimly felt herself being lifted up and out before she struck something else, something that was somehow reassuringly mundane.


safety...

She was floating in midair, in the middle of what seemed to be a tightly-encapsulated space. All around her there was a storm of light and shadow whirling and rushing in every which direction, beautiful and mesmerizing. It took her a few moments to notice that she was not alone in this strange space - a translucent, younger Torus slowly uncurled himself and stared openmouthed up at her. "Who... are you? How did you get here?"

Daeliria shook her head slightly and opened her mouth to speak, but Torus suddenly gasped and pointed directly at her chest. "What is that?! What manner of creature are you?"

Daeliria looked down at herself, but to her utter confusion, could not see anything of herself. "What do you see?"

"You - you appeared at first as a normal woman. Blond-haired, dark-eyed... but now all I see is a bluish kind of ghost. With little streamers floating out."

"Oh, my wisp." Daeliria hastily coughed, trying to cover this up. "Have you never seen the soul of a Ka- no, it is of no matter. You are T - you are...?"

"Torus." Torus continued to stare wide-eyed at her. "Did It send you to me?"

"It?"

Torus stared downwards. "It... It is... I am very afraid."

Daeliria took a deep breath, or at least it seemd she did. "Do not fear me, please. I have been sent to help you. What has happened? Tell me."

"I... I was receiving orders from my brother. Mathus. He is a mighty Paladin already, and a Lord Commander... and I was listening, when suddenly... everything went white, I think. More than white. Light. And this... this immense Being burst out before my eyes... chiming... crystal... spinning..."

Daeliria whispered, "Naaru..." then more loudly, "Go on."

"It... It gazed at me, and I thought I would burst with Light and love... and... It whispered to me. Very gently. But I thought my mind would melt from the words. It asked me if I was willing to be hero, a savior... a beacon of the Light all across the lands. And I... and I..."

"...and you agreed."

"And I agreed. And all this... this power... this might... this pure Light just rushed into me, and it..." Torus shook uncontrollably. "And I... I almost wish... it would stop. But I... I don't want it to."

Daeliria took another deep breath. "Ask it to stop."

"No!" Torus's yell was immediate and emphatic. "I... I can't stop it now."

Daeliria pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going to try something. Wait here." She willed herself to drift closer and closer to the edge of where the darkness and the light rushed fiercely around and past each other, until she was nearly touching the membrane that held it all out. She could feel Torus's fearful gaze boring into her. Closer... closer...

"A'dal?"

Nothing happened.

"O'ros?"

Nothing.

Daeliria paused a moment, mustering up the resolve, and willed herself through the barrier. Almost immediately she was swept up in the maelstrom, tendrils of protective shadow wrapping themselves around her only to be flayed away by the light. "A'dal! O'ros! Naaru! Please listen to me!"

Everything stopped, with a terrible stillness, and dropped like a stone.

[Daeliria]

sundering...

"Who sent you here, child?"

Daeliria could see nothing, feel nothing, but chimes rang loud all around her.

I... I am not sure. I wished only to speak to Mother Elune... but then I think maybe the Bronze Dragonflight... I was, was pushed somehow sideways...

She was pitifully aware of her heart, her lifeforce, pulsing hard in her core.

"I know you, child. No, I am not A'dal, nor O'ros, but you are right. I am V'eru, and you have not spoken to me before, but in your time I abide in Shattrath."

Why... why did you reach out to Torus? He is terrified... It will be years before -

"Aye. But time is pressing, and there are destinies for the making."

Daeliria trembled. I- I am not fit to argue with the Naaru. No... What will happen to him?

"That is up to the boy. He may embrace the Light, or he may turn away from it. It is his decision to make."

Daeliria felt as if she wanted to curl up, to withdraw all that she was tightly into herself. Please... let me go. Let me speak with him. I... I do not know what it is I am supposed to do here, but I wish to help...

"Go, then."

She felt herself being hurtled with incredible speed, light and darkness whipping by her with a terrible ripping roaring sound, before everything stopped again and she shut her mind hard for a few seconds, before allowing herself to sense her surroundings again.

Torus stared at her. "What- what happened to you?"

Daeliria shook her head. "I... spoke with the Naaru. The incredible Being of Light, who has touched you. It... I... I am just a simple shadowpriestess, I cannot... cannot..."

"Shadow..." Torus mouthed, still wide-eyed. "Please... do you know what It wants from me?"

"It... wants you to be a Lightbearer. It said the choice was yours."

"Mine...?" Torus shook. "Mathus never - I can't - I can't handle all of this!" He clenched his fists. "I can't do this! Make it stop!"

"Torus, no! Think about it!"

"Trapped in my own mind - trapped by the very Light! I'm too weak for whatever this is. Make it stop! Make it let me go!"

"Torus, listen to me!" Daeliria stared at him. What could she say? I know you. I know how painfully you will regret this decision. I know how hopelessly, resentfully, you will look upon other paladins. I know how you will hate your weakness. "You... you will learn to control this power. To ride it like righteous victory. You will be a hero. Acclaimed. Respected. Loved. A... beacon."

Torus stared at her. "...I just want to be normal again."

Daeliria felt something inside her, some newborn hope, break.

"I wanted to be special," Torus continued, "to be like Mathus. I didn't want to be just another hanger-on to someone else's glory. Just a parhelion. But," and he clenched his fists tightly, "I'm a boy. Not a hero. That's all. I won't do this. Someone else... someone more suited for it... someone else can play a hero."

No, no, no...

"I want this to stop."

Daeliria closed her eyes again, and felt her mind wisped away in all directions. A sudden jolt of sensation rippled all through her, and slowly she opened her eyes again to discover herself in her own - no, her borrowed human - body. She licked her lips numbly and tried to readjust her mind to take in what her material eyes were seeing. Torus was sitting up in bed, his eyes wide and blank. Sister Bertha and Nai had apparently just rushed down the stairs, and were staring wide-eyed at the two of them.

"You - you did it! You saved him!" Sister Bertha exclaimed, her hands over her mouth. "Oh, Torus, dear boy... oh, praise the Light..."

Torus licked his lips and blinked once, and whispered hoarsely, "...thank you, stranger..."

Daeliria squeezed her eyes closed painfully. "No. Don't thank me." She stood, and stepped aside to let Bertha rush past her and to the bedside. Nai was staring at her now, but with an unreadable, opaque gaze.

"That's a beautiful pendant," the girl remarked quietly. "I didn't notice it before."

Daeliria didn't have to look down, only nodded. "It is... most dear to me. Tell me. What is your name?"

The girl bobbed in an abbreviated bow. "Nairyx Kazlan."

Daeliria closed her eyes. I know you, too. You will run away from a life in the abbey, after your father dies, and cut your hair and disguise yourself as a boy, and train to be a Paladin. You will join the Tribe Varielas when the human priestess you love does. And you will die battling Adailaras. "I am... honored to meet you."

"Not as honored as I. Thank you... for everything you've done here." Nairyx dropped her gaze. "May I show you to whatever lodgings you've taken?"

Daeliria shook her head wearily. Her mind was spinning. "Just... please. Lead me to the edge of town. I must... must meet..."

Nairyx glanced at her curiously, but simply bobbed another bow and offered her an arm. Daeliria took it, and began to follow her. Her legs felt heavy, and she staggered more than stepped out of the chapel. Nairyx shifted her grip so that Daeliria could lean on her, and together they limped towards the town gate.

"Are you sure you will be quite all right here? Who are you waiting for?"

Daeliria shook her head feebly, sitting down and leaning heavily against a tree. "A... A beacon home."

The girl gave her an extremely odd glance, but nodded again. "Please, I cannot express how grateful - "

"Then don't." Daeliria sighed. Nairyx opened her mouth, then shut it again and strode back off towards town.

Daeliria reached up and closed both hands around her pendant. A sudden surge of warmth flooded her, a memory, a voice... Her mouth shaped the syllables. Reycied. Home. My beacon...

Her eyes rolled backwards and the light swallowed her up.

[Daeliria]

salvation...

Matter. Everything felt terribly heavy. She tried to move, tried to speak, but nothing happened. Even so, she heard a quick motion from somewhere off to her side, close by. To the right. I am... lying down. On something soft. And covered by thin... sheets? And there was something warm pulsing on her chest. She moved her lips again, and managed to form a single syllable. "Rey..."

She felt a warm, gentle hand on her cheek, and nearly melted as she heard the familiar voice say, "I'm here, Dae... I'm here. Come back to me..."

Daeliria shivered slightly, and opened her eyes a sliver - just enough to make out Reycied kneeling by her side, smiling tentatively, his eyes glimmering over the rims of his glasses. She tried to will her body to reach for him, but it stubbornly persisted; he gently took her hand instead. "Welcome home," he said, and it was like a profound blessing.

There is more than one force that is more powerful than Light or Dark, and more inexorable, and more enduring.



surprise: epilogue.

Daeliria did not find the wolf mask anywhere when she awoke, and concluded that the Hound of Elune must have taken it back. But propped up next to her was a moderately plain spiritual staff she remembered wielding once as Daelaris, one which had once held great power. It was the one named Redemption.


(( End of story! Woo! Unless people want to read the full log of Dae's reawakening. But that's just crazytalk. ))