Chapter 2: Burning Desire
Telonia washed up on the shoreline minutes later, and jumped to her feet after realizing what she had just unleashed upon the world. She ran to the nearest settlement, and commandeered the first steed she came upon, which was, appropriately enough, a pure white steed with two horns protruding straight forward from its forehead. She hopped onto the steed, and headed South, toward Lorniae.
Upon arriving, she was greeted by her father, who had no idea what she had done. The high elven princess requested the king speak to her privately about the matters that had unfolded, and the two adjourned to the keep.
As the princess told her adopted father of the blasphemy she had committed, and of the horror she had unleashed upon Azeroth, his face went grim. He was not angry with the princess, but instead with the demon that had deceived her. He quickly assembled his generals, including the now living, and freshly appointed governess of the Lornian province of Dementia, Teletha Testarossa. In the meeting with the generals, tempers flared, as they worked on a strategy to defeat the demon, each plan being less effective than the last. Just when all hope was just about lost, the newly appointed Governess piped up, proposing that she be given time with the princess to help her awaken Bloodmourne's true power, in hopes that it would be powerful enough to defeat the demon.
The king simply nodded at the idea. It was a long shot, but it was the best bet that they had. With the plan of action decided, the meeting was adjourned, and Testarossa went to the princess, and told her of the necessity of her quest.
Now knowing the importance of what she had to do, Telonia set off on the first ship to the Eversong Woods, where she would then travel on her new steed to the Undercity, to learn of Neena's whereabouts, since she had learned that she was now taking refuge in the Silverpine Forest. After searching relentlessly for 5 days, she returned home empty handed. Upon arriving, she met her father on the docks, where the two walked toward the tower.
On the way up, Telonia spotted Neena rushing into the tower, perhaps preparing an ambush. The two royals rushed in, the king being struck by an arrow, and the princess continuing chase. The two squared off on top of the tower, Neena running away again. Upon returning to her father, she found him accompanied by his aunt, who was now short one arm. Not exactly given the best reception, Telonia fired an insult back at the woman, to which the king responded by openly scolding the princess for everything that had happened, blaming her directly for the events.
Shocked and heartbroken by her father's outburst, Telonia ran away, vowing to never return, and boarded the first ship to the province of Dementia. A few hours later, Testarossa arrived on horseback, having ridden for two days to inform the king of the province's destruction. Then she inquired about the princess's location.
When informed of the recent events, the governess lashed out at the king, smacking him in the face and criticizing him for the brutality of his actions. He boarded the next possible ship to intercept his daughter, and attempt to comfort her.
Two days later, the father returned, the princess having jumped ship for Stormwind, seeking to discover a lost piece of her mother's legacy. The princess found the old boarded up tavern described in her mother's journal. As she made her way inside, the blade began to glow. She stepped into her mother's old office, the walls lined with blades and tabards from her mother's achievements. Then was a large bookshelf, stuffed with books. As she peered at the titles by candle light, she spotted an empty space, and behind it, dark, empty space.
She tried to pull out the book next to the space, and when she did, the bookshelf slid away, and the hallway lit up, as the torches along the way magically lit themselves. Telonia, unsure of what was awaiting her, continued down the hallway. As she reached the end of the hallway, she stumbled into a room lined in bookshelves filled with books, apothecary stations, and weapons. In the center of the room was a mannequin adorned in a glorious set of blue and gold thick chain armor surrounded by a pillar of light. As she approached it, the blade on her back began to glow even brighter. Telonia took the armor and put it on, then she was surrounded by a bright light. Her naturally red hair turned pure white, and her skin paled. After the light dispersed, the blade stopped glowing, and Telonia ran out of the tavern.
The next day, Telonia returned home, unrecognized by her father, until she spoke. He was curious as to what happened, however he stayed out of it. He briefed Telonia on the events that had transpired in her absence, and Telonia proposed a radical plan. Telonia proposed that they ally themselves with the Night Elves to the North, and utilize the power of their moonwells to defeat the Pit Lord. Telonia immediately set out to begin negotiations with the Elves.
After the successful negotiations, Telonia continued on her quest to slay Neena. Her quest became much more complicated when she learned that Neena was now one of Sylvannas' dark rangers, ensuring that any action taken against her would be taken as an act against the Forsaken. This didn't stop Telonia. She had the Reaver Brotherhood at her back. As far as politics went, she was working independently.
Telonia tracked her target for a week before returning home to learn that the Pit Lord had been slain. Just then, Telonia noticed an arrow fly down at her father. Time seemed to freeze as Telonia was surrounded in light and Bloodmourne changed its shape. Telonia knew that her moment of destiny was at hand. The light dispersed and time continued, the arrow striking the king in the shoulder. Telonia snuck around, and climbed up onto the narrow arch that Neena was standing on, and began the final face off. Telonia thought that she had Neena within her grasp, and swung one last time at Neena, but her strike was blocked, sending Telonia over the side of the high arch. Telonia grabbed the side and held on for her life as Neena came closer, and lifted a foot to step on the princess's hand, to send her tumbling to her doom. Then, as Neena's foot came down, Minola, the local healer, struck Neena with her hammer, sending her over the edge instead. Minola then helped Telonia back up, and the two climbed down to the ground. Minola went to help the king to his feet As Telonia walked to the injured Neena, who was trying to crawl away. Telonia quickly drove a knife through each of Neena's hands, pinning her for her death.
Neena tried to bargain with Telonia for her life, but her words fell on deaf ears, as Telonia raised the ancient blade and brought it down hard, severing Neena's head. It was over. Telonia dropped the blade, and fell to the ground, bleeding, and smiling. She had finally avenged not only her mother, but also Kianini. She spread out her arms, and basked in the sun, nearly all her burdens lifting at once. She closed her eyes, blood running down her face from a recent wound, as Minola began healing her body. Telonia blacked out.
Hours later, Telonia awoke in the tower, with her father and Minola standing over her. The king embraced his daughter, swelling with pride, and introduced her to Minola. They had never met, but Telonia could sense something strange about the paladin. By the way she carried herself, it was apparent that Minola wasn't a normal paladin.
It wasn't until the king assigned Minola as Telonia's personal mentor that she realized just how abnormal a paladin Minola was. Needless to say, the two ended up taking their relationship far beyond that of student and teacher. Time passed, relatively uneventfully, until the day Telonia met her real father.
He was a brutish Quel'dorei who showed little to no regret for abandoning Telonia and her mother just after Telonia's birth. This made Telonia furious. She ordered the man to leave the kingdom, and never return. Minola tried to comfort her, with no luck. Telonia was beyond comforting.
Time continued on, and things had calmed down, allowing Telonia to focus on her relationship with Minola.
One day, Telonia and the king were visiting an allied village, and King Doyle decided to introduce Telonia to his new adopted daughter. She was a paladin, and engaged, which made Telonia jealous, since she hadn't seen Minola in weeks, and was beginning to feel increasingly lonely. She took a walk far outside the village, and decided to practice her arcane abilities when Minola found her. She noticed something amiss with her lover, and asked her what was on her mind.
Telonia let everything loose. The jealousy, the loneliness, the frustration, all of it. Then she decided it was time to tell her secret. She went back to the tower and told Minola of her life up to when they met. She told her about the brotherhood, Chaplain, and everything else. Big mistake.