Chapter 11

When Karis awoke the following morning, there was a chill in the air, coupled with a fog that looked to be spreading everywhere outside. She yawned as she climbed out of her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her foot ached slightly as she made her way across the hard wooden floor, making sure to be quiet as she moved past the blind that was covering Tylira's bed.

"Heya raven" Karis whispered as she stood in front of the wash basin, gently petting her pet raven, who looked rather unhappy that it had been woken up.

Reaching into the basin, Karis shivered as she felt the cold water come into contact with her hands. Tylira had explained to her that the water itself was enchanted, as was the water in their bath. After each use, the enchantment would activate, purifying the water for them, rendering it clean to use again. It had helped but her mind at ease when she had first asked why they were always using the same, what she thought was, dirty water.

Scooping some of the cold water into her hands, Karis splashed it across her face, instantly feeling the water wake her up more, before looking in the mirror. Her light purple skin was starting to darken, she had noticed, but nothing that was easily noticeable. Her mother had taught her, when she was younger, that her skin would eventually start to darken slightly, most likely when she was around the age she currently was. Letting out a slight sigh, Karis scooped up more water, splashing it on her face again.

The young night elf had not slept well last night. Her dreams had been filled with images that she couldn't quite grasp, always just outside the reach of her understanding. Everything looked like a cloud of fog, and even though there were voices, she couldn't work out what was being said.

"Hopefully Remulos will shed some light on it all…" Karis mumbled as she finished her morning wash, grabbing the towel that rested on the side before moving back to her bed.

Once she was dry, Karis removed her night clothes and slipped into her druid training outfit, along with her skirt. She was starting to feel the chill in the air even more now, prompting her to walk to the edge of their "house" to look out across Moonglade.

Due to its position at the top of a hill, Nighthaven provided a good view of the area around them. Usually, Karis was able to see everything, from the trees to the guards on their patrols to the wild animals going about their lives. This time, all that Karis could see was the layer of fog obscuring the ground. She couldn't even make out the lake in the middle of Moonglade.

After standing there, looking out across Moonglade, for a few minutes Karis turned and looked back into the room. Her stomach let out a grumble, complaining that it hadn't been fed yet. Karis smiled slightly before moving over to the table, sitting down and reaching for a piece of fruit from the bowel.

"Morning, Karis" came Tylira's voice, just as Karis took a bite from the fruit. Karis turned around and looked to Tylira, waving to the other Night Elf as she made her way to the wash basin whilst stifling a yawn. "How did you sleep?"

"I have had better nights rest" Karis responded once she had swallowed her latest bite of the fruit. Tylira plunged her hands into the cold water of the wash basin, holding them there for a few moments before splashing the water over her face. "I kept having a strange dream. I kept seeing fog, and hearing voices that I couldn't understand."

Tylira turned around and looked at Karis with a slight frown, although Karis could tell it wasn't one of anger. It was more like she was trying to sort something out in her mind. Picking up another towel, Tylira dried her face and hands before walking across the room to her bed, picking up a hairbrush as she did, quickly tidying up her hair.

"That is strange" she said as she picked out her clothes for the day, opting for her lose fitting clothes. "Maybe Remulos will be able to help you with it." Karis nodded and smiled, getting up off of the floor. She was hoping for the same thing.

Once Tylira was dressed, and the both of them had eaten something, Tylira laid out what they were going to do. Their first port of call would be to Loganaar, to see if he would be coming to see Remulos with them. After that, they would go to Remulos to see what he would be able to tell them.

"Sounds simple enough" Karis said as they both walked towards the ramp that lead from the side of their house down into Nighthaven. As they made their way to Loganaar's house, Karis watched the usual activities of people rushing about, setting up their shops to prepare for the day, or others getting ready to travel to a neighbouring area for supplies not normally found in Moonglade. She liked the bustle of activity that was in Nighthaven. In Darnassus, everything was always so self sufficient. They could generally get the supplies they needed easily. But, in Nighthaven, and in Moonglade, there were plenty of things they couldn't. People had to do a fair bit of work to keep things running smoothly.

It didn't take the two of them long to reach Loganaar. He was already sitting outside waiting for them. He looked to be lost in thought, or so Karis assumed. As they approached, he stood up, waving his hand slightly in greeting. Tylira smiled and waved back, as did Karis.

"Off to see Remulos, I take it?" he said to them both once they reached him. Tylira nodded slightly, looking down to Karis and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Indeed we are. Will you be coming with us?" she asked Loganaar, turning her attention back to him. Loganaar nodded his head slightly, brushing some of his hair back into its neat place with his hand.

"Yes, I shall" he responded, glancing to Karis. "I would like to see what Remulos says, and to find out what happened to Karis."

With Loganaar in tow, Karis and Tylira continued on towards Remulos, leaving Nighthaven. Karis remained silent as they made their way along the path towards Remulos, not sure what to say, opting instead to simply say nothing.

Tylira and Loganaar also remained silent as they walked. They occasionally looked at each other, but nothing was said between the two of them. A couple of times, the trio passed by a small patrol that often walked through Moonglade, just in case of hostiles attempting to cause trouble and mayhem.

Tylira and Loganaar paused for a brief moment to talk with one of the patrols before they carried on walking, wishing the guards the best of luck in their task. With no further stops along the way, the three of them soon arrived at Remulos' location.

"Greetings, my child" Remulos said as Tylira and Karis approached him, Loganaar stopping just a short distance from them. As usual, Karis found Remulos to contain his awe inspiring presence as he addressed them both. "And how are you, young one?" he said, looking to Karis. Karis opened her mouth to say something, but found no words would come to mind. Remulos simply smiled and nodded slightly.

"You certainly gave us a cause to worry" he continued, walking towards the two of them. Karis looked down at the ground, feeling ashamed for what had happened, something that Remulos quickly picked up on.

"There is nothing for you to feel guilty, nor ashamed of, Karis" Remulos said, placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder. When he said her name, Karis found a warm feeling taking shape in her chest that seemed to wash a feeling of cheer over her.

"What happened to you was unusual, to say the least" Remulos said, removing his hand from Karis and walking towards the middle of the shrine, gently brushing his hands along some of the bushes that rested within the shrine. "Do you remember anything that happened to you?" Remulos stopped walking, his back to Karis, and turned his head slightly so as to look at her.

"I…" Karis started, feeling on the spot as Tylira turned to look at her, along with several other people who were present at the shrine, tending to it. Karis looked at the others in the shrine, starting to feel very small and uncomfortable before looking to Tylira, slight fear in her eyes. Tylira understood and threw a look to the others, a look they quickly understood to mean "if you don't leave us be, you will regret it." The others quickly left, prompting a chuckle from Remulos who had caught sight of Tylira's look, but made no mention of it. Happy that they were once again left alone, Karis looked to Remulos.

"All I remember is being in my world…" Karis said quietly, shuffling her feet slightly. "Then there was a fog…or smoke…." Karis paused for a moment, racking her mind again, trying to think if there was anything else.

"There was a voice!" she suddenly exclaimed, looking to Tylira. "The voice spoke to me. It said it had been waiting for me…it knew my name! How did it know my name?" Karis looked to Remulos who had now turned to look at the young girl.

There was silence at the shrine for a short while as Remulos looked at Karis, and Karis looked at Remulos. It almost felt to Karis like he was staring deep into her soul, searching her. She watched as he slowly turned around and walked to a stone basin that was filled with water, running his fingers across its surface, sending tiny ripples spiralling outwards..

"A particular spirit had indeed been waiting for you, Karis." There was the feeling again, the warm feeling in her chest when Remulos said her name. "The other spirits did not know how to deal with it. It is not unheard of for spirits to directly contact people directly like this, but it is unusual for someone so young. Can you remember what else it said?"

Karis shook her head slightly at the question. All she remembered was being told that the spirit had been waiting for her. Beyond that, everything was blank. Remulos simply smiled as he saw Karis shake her head though, as if he knew that was what her reaction would be.

"Do not worry about not remembering anything" Remulos said, picking up a small, stone cup and scooping some of the water from the stone basin into it. "You had not finished your basic training. Your mind was not prepared for communing with a spirit, that's why you don't remember it." Turning around, cup in hand, Remulos approached Karis, offering the stone cup to her. Karis took the cup and looked at its contents with a questioning look before looking back to Remulos.

"This will help you to remember" Remulos said as way of explanation, nodding slightly. He looked to Tylira briefly, motioning for her to move. "You may wish to stand behind her, my child" he said with a gentle smile. Tylira nodded and moved behind Karis, who was now starting to feel slightly scared.

"It will be ok, Karis" Tylira said quietly as she gently knelt down behind Karis, noticing the scared look on the young night elf. She reached up and gently placed her hands on Karis' shoulders, smiling warmly. "I'm here."

With her hands shaking, nodding slightly, Karis brought the cup to her lips and slowly drank from its contents. The water seemed to have a slightly bitter taste to it, causing her to shiver slightly as she finished its contents. She looked at Remulos for a moment, who watched her closely.

Nothing is happening… she said as she looked back at the cup. It took her a few moments to realise that she hadn't actually spoken just then. Her lips hadn't moved. In fact, she noticed as she looked down, her entire body was limp in Tylira's arms.

Everything around her started to fade to white as she looked around, seeming to float upwards. Remulos seemed to be staring straight at her as everything faded. The last thing she saw was Remulos nodding slightly with a gentle smile.