A New Hope

Prologue

Silvermoon had always been an interesting place. The entire city was bathed in beautiful red and gold ornaments with fountains and plazas at every turn. The city was magical. Enchanted brooms swept the streets clean while arcane powered sentries towered above all who would dare to break the law. The auctioneers traded magic crystals for gold and sent them to be stored in the bank, where the vaults were charmed to hold more in them than would appear possible from the outside.

Quills wrote little notes here and there with the aid of only the arcane, and around the city people spoke of potions and spells not even noticing the wonder of the magic that made their home so unlike anywhere else in the world. Not that it was particularly wondrous to them. This was normal for Silvermoon. Anyone who lived here understood that the newly restored Sunwell made for an enormous store of power that translated into the little quirks all around them. Yes, this was an average day in Silvermoon City.

And yet, thought Narali, it wasn't quite average. It wasn't normal. It hadn't been for quite awhile. She couldn't place it, but lately home felt less of a comfort and more of an awkward acceptance of hospitality. She used to feel at home here, in each shop and house she entered. She had loved walking through its streets and sitting on a bench by one of the fountains. Not that she was the quiet, walk enjoying type. No, Narali was certainly not that type of girl. She was a Mage.

Technically.

In reality she was more like a child with a stick waving it around than a mage. She would practice her incantations daily, and spent much of her time on those walks thinking about how she could be better, but to no avail. Every now and then however her sparks would give way to a clumsy regurgitation of energy and a fireball would fly out of her palm uncontrollably, usually hitting the nearest window or cart.

Her routine of batting her eyelashes at the angry victims of her mishaps was so frequent that she had mastered it, along with the perfectly cute and apologetic tone of voice that got her out of trouble most of the time. And where that failed, a sizeable chunk of what little gold she had usually did the trick. It wasn't great, but it kept the guards away.

It was on one of these walks that she found herself today. She wasn't ready to go home yet, but the sun had set nearly an hour ago and night was settling in. For all its wonder and glory, nighttime in Silvermoon City was no different than nighttime in any other city, which was to say she needed to begin making her way home.

"Shari Man'ar" She whispered the incantation to herself cautiously, as if she weren't sure it would work. To her surprise, tiny flames rose from her hand and licked her fingers. Being a fire mage, they didn't sting her as they would have someone else. An awkward smile cracked her lips as she realized her success.

"Shari Man'ar" She said again, this time more confidently. A small pebble formed in her hand for a moment, white hot with sparks flying off of it before vaporizing into the air again. Narali giggled happily and continued walking.

"Shari Man'ar!" She spoke the word louder than she intended to, and as she did felt her concentration crumble. A large fireball appeared at the exact moment she lost her control, and shot off down the street. Her hand shot to her mouth to stifle the squeak that tried to come. She watched helplessly as it tore through a small tent that had been set up before crashing into a column, knocking it out completely and sending the balcony that rested atop it crumbling to the ground, taking with it a nearby supplies cart.

Her head shot around – the street was deserted but it wouldn't be that way for long. She tore off into the night, running at full speed. She turned down an adjacent street just in time to hear the yell of a guard that had come running. Footsteps sounded behind her as she twisted through the alleyways that connected the cities. Ducking into a nearby inn, she waited for the footsteps to fade away before leaning her head back against a wall and exhaling.

"And hello to you too." The innkeeper was watching her with a raised eyebrow, curious but not enough to ask. "I'm sure there's a riveting story here, but I'm afraid I was just closing up. You'll have to leave."

"O-oh. My apologies." Narali gave him a courteous smile and a small bow before retreating back into the night. The guard had passed and as she made her way home the adrenaline died down. By the time she entered the small house in the Court of the Sun, her family was asleep and she knew she wouldn't last long before joining them. As she crawled into her bed, the events earlier ran through her head. She was always so reckless! It would be the death of her someday. But then… Narali raised her palm and leaned in, eyeing it carefully as if it were going to jump up and slap her.

"Shari Man'ar" she whispered, almost inaudibly. Tiny flames danced over her fingers carefully, and she couldn't help but grin again. Content, she laid back and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

A world away, a lonely figure cloaked in a ragged hood stumbled through the streets of Stormwind, his own night drawing to a close. Finding a comfortable alleyway between two buildings, he settled in for another night under the sky. This was the life. He didn't have to worry about possessions or friends or being home at the end of the day. He just needed enough coin for booze and women. With a soft hiccup and a drunken sigh, he drifted off to sleep, cozy in his little corner of the city.

A/N:

Time for a new story! This is my second story, so while I'm still learning quite a bit about writing I think it will probably show some of what I picked up writing Warriors and Paladins. I'm going to try to keep these Authors Notes out of most chapters. No promises (off to a good start though, eh?).

Please review! Let me know what you like, or don't like. I love (constructive) criticism as much as I love praise.

PS – This isn't a sequel to W&P. I don't know when/if I'll be doing that.