Chapter 1: Premonition
As a warm breeze hugged her face, Titania Stardragon found herself in a vast, dark wilderness. The pale, large moon is hardly visible above the great canopy of the looming jungle. The sound of croaking toads found the sorceress's ears. As she swatted away the threatening mosquitoes, Titania suddenly heard a long, piercing wail coming from somewhere off in the distance. The cry continued to ring in her ears as she advanced towards the maker. As she looked beyond thick foliage, she could see blazing torches trailing off in the distance. After struggling through tangled vines and bushes, Titania came into a large clearing where a causeway stood over dark canyon. There was some distance from where she stood and the edge of the causeway, but Titania found a strong black vine, and she took a firm grip. On three she leaped from the roots of a large tree and swung towards the causeway. As she landed, she felt cold stone on the palms of her bare feet.
Titania looked down both ends. To her left, it seemed the causeway went on forever into the darkness, but to her right, it seemed to come to some kind of fortress. Titania quickly ran down the stone path to the gray, haunting stonewalls. As she looked up, two statues of flying snakes held their strong jaws open, wielding orange flames that emitted black smoke. The smoke found its way through the eyes and nostrils of the winged serpents, making them looking like horrific guardians of a forbidden place. Titania bade no heed to them and she proceeded under the large, stone gates.
Next Titania found herself in a great courtyard, where more threatening statues stood and black foliage littered the walls and ground, but the thing that was most ghastly were the many tiny creatures that crowded around something unknown at the end of the yard. Titania silently advanced towards them, being careful not to be noticed. She crept to right side, hiding behind a statue of a crippled, demon-looking creature.
Titania looked around her, at the trees beyond the walls. She caught a glimpse of a creature she knew, a spider crane. These tall, black birds were known for their magical production of silken webs, in which they built their nests. She saw it fly off into the trees, and Titania turned back to the crowd of monsters, but they were no longer looking at the unknown thing before, they were looking at her. Titania gazed in terror at the small, red eyes of hundreds of tiny, vicious, pigmy-looking, demon-chanting horrors. They all grimaced with rows of sharp, black teeth. Then all of a sudden, the air became cold and Titania was burdened with anguish and sorrow. She felt as though the only thing she wanted to do was fall into darkness. She looked up to find the source of her grief and she found it.
Above the crowd of vicious creatures, a wraithlike form levitated. It was a woman, gray and empty, with long white hair blowing in an insensible wind. It was she. Titania thought to herself. The wraiths tattered, dark gown quivered as she threw herself higher into the air. Titania took a step back and bounded back towards the causeway. Soon after Titania turned to see the wraith open her mouth and let out a pounding scream that shook the jungle. Titania flung her hands to her ears in agony. Beneath her, the stone causeway began to crack. In a split second the stone burst into hundreds of pieces and Titania began to fall. Falling into darkness, falling, falling. . . and then.
Titania sat up in her bed. Her ears burned and rung with the distant pitch. Her bed sheets lay on the floor and the window was open, blowing a gentle, salty wind into the bedroom. Titania stepped onto the stone floor, the chill reminded her of the causeway. She wiped the sweat on her forehead and looked out into the morning sun.
Titania Stardragon lives in one of the many towers of the Pandemonium Sanctuary, a great citadel erected from the Great Sea, just off the coast of Winterspring. The Pandemonium stands high above the waves, with great cliffs and thousands of stairs leading to the stone-wrought gates. The Pandemonium Sanctuary was formed as a safe haven for lost, Alliance travelers, looking for a place to stay, or for seekers of the arcane arts, looking to learn from the world's wisest and most skilled sorcerers. The Pandemonium is home to many great wizards and mages alike, and is a fine place for them to practice their magic and brew their potions. The towers reach towards the sapphire blue sky. Each tower is topped with it's very own arcane sanctuary where mystical spheres and crystals revolve, weaving the threads of magic and time. Titania's tower stands on the southern wall, leaning slightly towards the sea. It resembles a tall shield against the wild storms of the great water, with smooth, gray walls and few windows. This newly crafted bastion of enchantment was created by a handful of skilled arch-mages known as the Seldaryne, Titania being one of them, shortly after the Burning Legion was defeated. Here they have remained since then, minding their own business and regarding very little for the outside world. Not many others outside the Pandemonium Sanctuary know about the great stronghold, and the Arch-mages wish to keep it that way.
Titania walked to her closet to the left of her bed and opened the door. She grabbed her dark cloak and draped it around her lethargic body. She walked out onto the stone terrace and looked out at the deep, blue water. Sea birds called from down below and the eastern wind blew into Titania's face. After a long while of gazing upon the distance of the sea, Titania turned around and began to climb the spiral staircase in the center of her chamber. Titania climbed the stairs, passing thin beams that led to other landings where never-ending shelves filled with books covered the walls. As she neared the top, the stairs turned to wood and sturdy railings stood at one side. When she finally came to the top, a stone set of steps led to a circular opening in the ceiling.
Titania walked through the opening and stepped out into her private sanctuary. The mystical spheres and crystals spun around her, requiring no support whatsoever. With a wave of her hand, a clouded, dark blue globe departed from its orbit and hovered in front of Titania. Titania placed a hand beneath the globe and it began to glow. Then she placed the other hand on it and held it at the edges. Her hands emitted a white light and a faint face appeared. A booming voice sounded, "Titania! I know why you have called upon me. I saw what you saw, and I wonder what you wonder. We will summon a meeting at once. Go get your novice."
