The Children of Night and Blood
Please note that I do not hold any copyright to the story of World of Warcraft or any names associated with the franchise thereof. I was not paid to write this fanfic. This story isn't 100 loyal to the lore, I've chosen it to be like this for creativity's sake. The story will start off in short chapters and I will lengthen them if I see people are interested in the story, so please R/R! Please be forewarned that the later chapters will get violent and sexual. I will change the rating to M when that happens. Hope you like it!
Update: Chapters 1-4 have been merged into two conjoined chapters since both of them were really short anyway.
Beads of sweat rolled down Anasteria's face as she retrieved the crucible from the furnace. Her father sat at the workbench across from her, inspecting a batch of freshly cooled rubies.
"I tell you, thank the Sun for this batch. We'll have no worries when it comes time for you to marry one day, eh dearest?"
She ignored the subtle hint and gingerly set the crucible on the stone slab to cool. Of all the jewelers in Silvermoon, her family was by far the most successful. Having money in Silvermoon, however, did little for social mobility. The only way such mobility could take place for the Sin'dorei was through prowess in the battlefield. The Duskblaze family had none of that. Of the four children birthed by Caellara Duskblaze, only the oldest was of age to be accepted into the academy for further training. The rest polished, cleaned, and fixed the jewelry sold by their father.
With Anasteria being the second oldest, certain expectations began to surface. "Do you know why I named you Anasteria, my dearest?" her father would say. "I named you after King Anasterian Sunstrider who, for all his bravery and might, was most famous for one thing: being the father of Prince Kael'thas. I just know that you will be blessed with such a child when you marry one day." Anasteria knew for certain that King Anasterian was known for much more than the child he sired, but would always nod assent. She had one definite goal in life and it was definitely not becoming someone's wife. Either way, she'd never thought of herself as being wifely-- much less womanly. She was blonde, as were many of her race, but not that shade of golden sunshine or platinum as the other girls had. Her hair was a shade darker and could only be dully summed as "dark blonde." The scorching heat of the furnace brought her away from those thoughts and back to her one true dream: to become a priestess. She would have to wait three more months to see if the Sunstrider Academy of Healing Studies accepted her.
And three months later, there it was. Her hand shook as she held the parchment reading it aloud to her parents and siblings. Mother leapt up and pulled her close, murmuring words of praise, but her father's face was as rigid as the stones he cut.
"I forbid it," he said curtly.
Caellara spun around to face her husband, "By the Sun, husband, what has gotten into you?" she snapped.
He rose from the chair, "I've every right to look out for my daughter's safety and I don't want her spending the rest of her life as a battlefield medic!"
By now, the younger children stopped eating and stared in dumb silence. Anasteria set the parchment down and buried her face in her hands. She expected the quarrel beforehand and planned around it.
"Father," she said, loud enough to cut her mother off mid-sentence. "I have no intention of entering battle, you know that as well as I. I can't remain here and shine baubles for the rest of my life though. I promise to marry, but I want to learn!" She watched his jaw tighten as her words sunk in. Father never liked being crossed, but Anasteria knew she had to take her future into her own hands. "I promise that after I'm ordained as a priestess of the Light, I will marry." Being married was something that she hadn't deeply considered, but she knew that her sovereignty had to be sacrificed if she wanted his permission.
"Alright, daughter," his face softened to its normal expression, "I accept your compromise. You have never gone back on your word, but if you do, I will feel nothing but shame when I look at you."
Anasteria nodded, knowing that being "looked upon with shame" was her father's way of saying that he would disown her. It hadn't been fair. Anasteria knew that her father chose to stand in her way only because he wanted her to marry up the ranks to some holier-than-thou paladin who would display her along with his war trophies. She wouldn't have any of that.
Anasteria hadn't entirely kept her promise about never setting foot on a battlefield. Aftter a year and a half at the academy, she regularly healed the rangers battling the Scourge in the Dead Scar. In the meantime, she studied fervently and was entranced in the lessons given by the elder priests. Priestess Elluine had been her most challenging instructor of all.
"Who can tell me the difference between Undead priests and Sin'dorei ones?" she asked one day, eyes scanning her pupils for a volunteer.
Anasteria eagerly raised her hand, "The Sin'dorei use maces as combat weapons, while the Undead use daggers" she stated confidently.
"Wrong," replied the priestess crisply.
Belca waved her own hand in the air and shouted "I know what the difference is. Undead priests are about as comely as a Wyvern's arse!"
The class roared in laughter that only died down when a large book was slammed against the desk.
"The difference," Elluine continued, "is that the Undead do not follow the principles of the Light. They instead chose to pervert the path of Light into their own religion called 'The Forgotten Shadow.' We will not be teaching such philosophies in this academy, but it is my duty to make it known to you all that this religion of the Forsaken encourages them to inflict damage, rather than heal."
The ways of the Shadow Priests enchanted Anasteria and she searched the dusty shelves of the library for any information that expanded on The Forgotten Shadow. The idea of a path of priesthood that went beyond merely healing and "making swooshy hand motions" (as many non-priests had joked about) thrilled her. She managed to only find a few books on the religion, but set them beside her eagerly. The academy library was immense and lavishly decorated, as was the style of Blood Elves. Anasteria jotted down notes under the dim glow of the chandelier of blue orbs, but paused when she heard the shuffling of feet nearby. Priestess Elluine stepped into the blue glow and Anasteria involuntarily shielded her notebook with her arms.
"Studying late, are we?" remarked the priestess coolly.
"Um, yes. I.. I was just studying about.. shield bubbles. Shield bubbles? She thought, cross with herself for being so incompetent at lying.
"Well then, I suppose one of the lazy male students left "The Grimoire of the Forsaken" lying around again." She looked up at her elder, feigning innocence as best she could and nodded. The priestess continued, "I have a prospect for you, child. With the ties between the Forsaken and the Sin'dorei forming more tightly, our academies have been in communication about the.. exchange of knowledge and information."
Anasteria looked up at Elluine, thoroughly confused. "I thought you were against the 'perversion of Light' in Shadow practices." The priestess paused, wondering how to best formulate her explanation.
"At present, the council at the academy has not approved the addition of Shadow philosophies into our curriculum. However, if you are willing, we can send you as our first student ambassador to the Academy of Shadow Arts and Healing in Undercity."
