The Path to Hate
It took great courage and strength of will for the young Dark Elf to make her way into the furthest and deepest section of the city in which she lived. For her entire life, she had been ostracized, pointed at, laughed at and ridiculed. Those who lived around her had verbally and physically abused her; now, since she had reached the Age of Decision, she had decided that enough was enough.
She had committed no crime – unless you could call being born a crime, she thought to herself, making her way cautiously along the waters edge. Noticing the guard on duty approaching her, she tried to nod politely, but he sneered as he passed her, causing her to grit her teeth with determination.
Her father was a Dark Elf, born to a great house, and infused with a great power and control over the dead. In him, she was sure Inoruuck was proud. However, her father, as great as he was, had sinned ultimately against The Dead, the powerful clan who oversaw the faithful of Inoruuck in Neriak. Her father had loved one not of his race, not of the Teir'Dal. Her father had loved a High Elf – a Feir'Dal, and this was not permitted.
She and her twin sister had been the result of that liaison. On the day they were born, their father had taken them from their sleeping mother, put them into the care of nurses who had been paid enough not to care that the children were part Feir'Dal, and taken into the solitude and sanctuary of Nektulos Forest. Of their mother, they knew nothing, except that she was a High Elf Enchanter, and that they were not whole or clean because of her. They were told they must avoid that race, for the High Elves would try to murder them, and that later, when they were older, they would be expected to assist in the murder of Feir'Dal.
Now, already past the age of decision, Zyrii felt the power of the Dead within her, and knew she had finally come to terms with what she wanted in her life. However, she knew that did not and could not include the murder of Feir'Dal. Not when she knew their blood ran through her veins. And she knew Xaryna felt the same way.
Thinking of her sister, she sighed. Xaryna had already paved a path for herself within the ranks of the Indigo Brotherhood. She had entered the warriors hall, had announced her intention to join their ranks, and had stood, surrounded by the master and his students for several minutes, listening as they laughed at her and called her names. Without warning, she had launched an attack on the master, attacking him again and again. No matter how many times she was beaten down, she found the strength to rise and attack again. The master had been impressed by her tenacity, by her strength and endurance. He had given her a place among his students, and she now excelled at many skills.
Sighing yet again, Zyrii stopped waling for a moment. She had refrained from selecting a vocation – that is until today. Entering a narrow tunnel, she made her way deeper, closer to the goal she had always wanted, and had decided to obtain that morning. For many months she had felt this need growing inside of her, and had felt a sense of devotion envelop her. She could hear whispers of praise from some unknown being fill her mind, and knew what she needed and sought. She knew she must endure the same kind of trial as Xaryna, and now knew she could do it.
Passing the library, she turned when she reached the waters edge, and then stopped, looking at the ghouls who guarded the entrance into the sanctuary she sought. Determined, she strode past them, not noticing them stare as she passed -- not noticing their nods of approval. Moving through the final tunnel, she stood at the bottom of a steep staircase, then climbed quickly and entered the building. Moving down the corridor, she could hear the chanting that came from the main hall, and entered it slowly, allowing the words of the chant to echo within her and fill her with conviction.
"HOW DARE YOU ENTER THIS HALL!" The voice broke her reverie, the harsh tones causing her to take a step backward. A sudden doubt was felt, then shrugged away as she met the eyes of the Shadowknight Master who suddenly blocked her path. "You are not welcome here, girl," he said sternly, his hand on his sword hilt.
"Let her come," another man's voice said from the dias beyond. Zyrii watched as the Shadowknight moved back to his original position, and she turned toward the man on the dias.
He was watching her, his red eyes glowing as he looked her over. "Come closer," he said, his tone a bit softer.
She did as he demanded, and, reaching, him, wanted to look down, but did not. Meeting his eyes, she never wavered in her study of him as he looked at her. Suddenly the conviction and need she had been feeling grew stronger, feeding her with courage and determination. The whispers of praise flitted through her head. Whoever watched over her was with her here.
"A flower has come before us," the man finally said, obvious in his mocking of her.
"Not a flower, but a student," she said clearly, correcting him.
Laughter surrounded her, then another spoke. "Ah, so she has a spine."
Turning to him, she nodded. "And a purpose."
The guild master took a step closer; his hand snaked out suddenly, grabbing a length of her hair as he pulled her closer still, his face so very close to her own. Finally he pushed her away from him so hard that she landed in a heap on the floor before him as he passed his judgment. "You are tainted," he said, spitting out the words. "You are no Teir'Dal. You will be forcefully rejected."
"I will be accepted," she said calmly, her red eyes glowing.
With a shake of his head, the master took a step backward and washed his hands, as though just touching her had sickened him. "You are impure, and will not be accepted."
With resolution, she smiled. "You are wrong. I will be."
For a long moment, the man studied her, not speaking. Then he chuckled. "If you are ready then," he began, "we shall see. If our righteous Queen finds it within her to accept one such as you, then I will take you for apprentice myself...."
Pulling herself together and kneeling reverently before the master, Zyrii closed her eyes, allowing her heart to be filled with all the hate in the room. She saw ghouls and spirits, undead creatures of all kinds bow down before her. She could feel more than just a promise of the power, yet untried, within her, as it filled her mind and body. When the feeling began to subside, she looked up, then rose, meeting the master's eyes, satisfaction in her expression.
His feelings were unmasked as he stared at her in surprise.
She said nothing, waiting on him to tell her what she already knew.
Finally, he spoke, the entire room waiting for his pronouncement. "The Queen protects and admires you, and has taken you unto her spirit. She has filled your mind and soul with her righteousness, her power, and her hate. She has infused you with the ability to learn, and to succeed. She says you have the potential to be truly evil. Do you wish this?
"I do," Zyrii answered, her voice clear.
"Well, then," he said, his voice no longer sneering at her, "if you are to be my apprentice, you cannot be referred to as a little flower. You must have a new name, aside from that your family has given you. The Queen has seen fit to offer you this opportunity to grow and learn, and because of this, the crimes of your father are no longer your responsibility."
She smiled, listening as suggestions for a name were offered and rejected. Finally, she looked at the master and smiled. "I have selected," she advised and wrote the name in the book he held before her.
Glancing down at the words before him, the master smiled. "I believe you truly are a daughter of Inoruuck, Zyrii Mortefleur. Use your skills wisely."
Turning quickly, Zyrii, now Zyrii "Death-flower," left the halls of the Dead, and made her way through the familiar streets of Neriak and out into the world. She would no longer be shunned or ridiculed. She had been accepted by the Queen, who she now knew had whispered praise and encouragement to her for a very long time. She was apprentice to the Necromancer Master, and would learn to dark arts of the undead.
The world of Norrath would see her as a truly evil being, and would shun her, or try to kill her. The Feir'Dal would try to kill her. Zyrii moved through the tunnel that led into the great Nektulous Forest and looked around. Somehow she knew that she would be safe – that there was one Feir'Dal who would never seek her death. And that was the one person in all of the world that she wanted to find.
Taking her first step away from her home and the safety therein, she felt free.
There were no regrets.