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Varian
Varian made his way hurriedly towards the Stormwind arena, sending servants, soldiers, and nobles alike scattering out of his way. It had been two weeks since Auriana's first session with Jaina, and thus far Varian had made it a habit of attending her training sessions whenever possible. As far as anyone else was concerned, Varian was ostensibly there to oversee the progress of one of his most prominent field commanders, though in truth it was a show of silent support for the woman he loved.
Today, however, he was running late, having been held up by a long running meeting with the House of Nobles, and he was concerned that he would miss out on his usual spot. He always sat at the very front of the stands, close enough so as to have a good view of the action, and within earshot of Auriana and Jaina. Unfortunately, such seats were very popular with the small crowd that would inevitably show up to watch the brutal duels between the Commander of Lunarfall and the Archmage of the Kirin Tor. It was a rare privilege to watch two of the most powerful mortal women in the world fight, and in the few short weeks that they had been training together, Auriana and Jaina had achieved something of a legendary reputation amongst the peoples of Stormwind Keep.
As Varian jogged quickly down the stairs, he noted that today's duel had attracted a particularly large crowd. The stands were practically filled to capacity, with everyone from the Stormwind guard to several members of the Stormwind nobility in attendance. He frowned, unsure of what had caused such a stir, but as he made it to his usual perch at the front of the stands, he instantly understood why this particular session had attracted such great interest, as opposed to any other.
Auriana stood in the centre of the arena, accompanied not by Jaina, but rather by Kalecgos, the Aspect of Magic and leader of the blue dragonflight. He had not assumed his dragon form, of course, but rather stood as a blue-haired half-elf, his handsome features sharp as he and Auriana argued quietly. Kalecgos looked entirely unperturbed by the fact that he had attracted such an audience, though Auriana looked far more apprehensive. Her face was carefully controlled from the outside, but Varian knew her well enough to see the slight tightening of her jaw, and the way her blue eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as her gaze swept over the crowd. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying, either, though it was clear that Auriana wasn't happy. She shook her head repeatedly, punctuating her low, heated words with forceful hand gestures. Kalecgos simply stared back at her with infinite patience, and eventually Auriana appeared to give up. She looked away, grumbling loudly, before her arms began to glow with the tell-tale signs of her magical power.
As she turned, Auriana's gaze fell upon Varian, and her expression suddenly brightened as she acknowledged his presence with a small, secretive smile. Something in the expression reminded him irresistibly of the previous evening, and he felt his ears grow suddenly hot. One distinct advantage of his having confined Auriana to the Stormwind barracks was that she was able to sneak into his chambers each night, and Varian had taken advantage of her frequent presence in order to teach her the finer points of lovemaking. She was an incredibly quick learner, much to Varian's delight, and she had awakened such a powerful lust within him that he felt fully twenty years younger. He was unexpectedly flooded with memories of her heated touch on his skin and the feel of her supple body moving beneath his own, and it took some considerable effort to force his attention back to the event at hand.
Shaking his head, he leaned forward eagerly, curious to see how his tiny Commander would fare against one of the most powerful beings on Azeroth. He took a fierce pride in Auriana's considerable abilities, and he hoped Kalecgos' presence would afford her the opportunity to really show off what she could do. Before they could begin, however, Varian heard some call out his name, and he closed his eyes in exasperation as he recognised the voice.
"Your Majesty!"
He forced his face into an expression of studied neutrality, and turned to see Cathelora Anguile flouncing down the arena steps towards him. He had crossed paths with the young noblewoman several times since they had first been introduced, but she had become annoyingly persistent over the last few weeks. She had an uncanny ability to find Varian wherever he went, and he suspected that he knew why her attentions had recently increased. It was now old gossip that Auriana had been confined to the barracks at Stormwind, and it seemed that Cathelora's father had not given over his suspicions of Lunarfall's young Commander. For some reason, he seemed to believe that foisting his daughter on Varian at every possible opportunity was an effective way of steering the King's attention away from Auriana, though it rather served to have the opposite effect. Even if he hadn't been in love with Auriana, Varian never would have pursued a relationship with such a woman. Cathelora was very pretty, of course, and well educated, but Varian found her vapid and utterly humourless, and her presence served only to highlight just how remarkable Auriana really was.
Nevertheless, there was nothing to be gained by being impolite, and Varian had thus far tolerated Cathelora's presence with a sort of irritable patience. Most of the time, he was able to excuse himself with one an excuse or another, though sometimes he had no plausible reason to spare himself her presence.
Like today, for instance, Varian thought grimly.
The arena was for the most part a public place, and ejecting her unceremoniously would do nothing but to stir the already overactive Stormwind rumour mill. Moreover, he didn't need the headache of stirring up the frustrations of the House of Nobles. As far as Varian was concerned, the House of Nobles was a necessary evil, and while he had no qualms about putting them in place if necessary, there was no point in being needlessly antagonistic. Varian was the ultimate power in Stormwind, but the nobles still held considerable sway over the day to day running of the kingdom, and it helped no one to have a rift between the king and his aristocracy. He could tolerate the girl for the sake of his kingdom, so long as she made no attempt to force their relationship further, and if anything her presence probably helped to dissuade any rumours about his relationship with Auriana.
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty!" Cathelora said brightly, sweeping her skirts gracefully beneath her slender body as she took a seat at Varian's side.
She was dressed today in a low cut dress of pale azure blue, and a pair of large sapphires glittered upon each of her ears. The outfit contrasted rather nicely with her shining red hair, but Varian couldn't have cared less. His gaze was fixed firmly on the arena, waiting for Auriana and Kalecgos to really get going.
"Hello, Cathe," he said distractedly. "I don't mean to sound rude, but this is something of a private training."
"Is it? There are an awful lot of people here for a private session," she observed archly. "It's the talk of the Keep, apparently these sessions get quite… interesting. I've never seen mages fight before, so I thought I might come down and watch."
"This isn't a tournament," Varian growled, though he had to admit she had a point, "And the Commander isn't some kind of… dancing bear."
"Oh, I'm sure the she won't notice one more person," Cathe said dismissively, waving a delicate hand. "And how often does one get a chance to see an actual dragon? I wonder why he's here?"
Varian didn't reply, though privately he asked himself the same question. He suspected that Kalecgos represented one of Jaina's many attempts to overcome Auriana's block. Auriana's skills were rapidly growing to match Jaina's own, and she had indicated to Varian more than once that she didn't want to risk fully unleashing on the older woman. She couldn't hope to overpower a dragon Aspect, however, and Varian wondered if Jaina hadn't sent Kalecgos for precisely that reason. If there were anyone in the world that Auriana could safely fight in a berserker rage, it was the Lord of Magic, and chances are today would be the day when she would finally break through her carefully constructed mental barriers.
That's why the crowd is here, Varian realised, looking around the arena. They think they're going to see something spectacular….
It was clearly part of the reason Cathelora Anguile was here. Her lips were parted eagerly, and she stared down at Auriana with the kind of rabid curiosity that Varian found distinctly unsettling. He of all people knew how much Auriana feared and hated her fury, and he didn't like the idea of her rage being turned into a cheap spectacle.
"When are they going to really fight?" the young noblewoman asked, smoothing her skirts down gracefully and entirely failing to notice Varian's discontent. "I've never seen a mage cast anything more than a portal."
"Soon," Varian said absentmindedly, trying to keep the sting of annoyance from his voice.
So far, Auriana and Kalecgos had only performed what Varian now understood to be fairly basic magics, though they soon increased the intensity of their work to an almost frenetic pace. Varian had been impressed by Auriana and Jaina, but as expected, the Aspect of Magic was in a class of his own. The dragon lord pushed Auriana ruthlessly, forcing her to work at the very limit of her capacities to match the seemingly endless stream of magic that flowed from his long elven fingers.
Auriana's hair and clothes were soon dark with perspiration, at one point she actually called a halt to the proceedings so that she might remove her soaked outer tunic. Not a few people gasped as the terrible scar on her back was revealed, though Auriana ignored their reaction with nothing more than a subtle tightening of her shoulders. Cathelora looked especially disgusted, pursing her lips and wincing distastefully every time Auriana turned around. The young noblewoman was the type of person who was very concerned with physical appearance, though Varian saw nothing less than perfection as he stared down at Auriana. As far as he was concerned, she was not in any way marred by the disarray of her dark, silky hair or the glimmer of sweat on her breast, nor even the savage scar that split her back. To him, these things served only to enhance her appearance, to lend her that particular air of wild, predatory grace that he admired so fiercely. He gave Cathelora a withering look, unable to mask his displeasure any longer, and she visibly cowed before him.
Growling, Varian turned his attention back to Kalecgos and Auriana, who had since resumed their duel in earnest. Varian knew little about the intricacies of magical practice, though his knowledge had improved significantly since he had begun to observe Auriana's training. He now knew enough to know that there was some serious magic being thrown around, and that Auriana's skills had improved considerably over the last few weeks. She looked more focused and fluid than Varian had ever seen, and she cast with both strength and efficiency. As the Aspect of Magic, Kalecgos was far beyond the skills of any mortal mage, but he nevertheless treated Auriana with the respect due a worthy opponent.
Unfortunately, it seemed as if Auriana was just as blocked with Kalecgos as she was with Jaina. She fought fiercely, but she wasn't any closer to unleashing her rage than she had been during any other session. While her restraint was impressive, without being able to go into a true rage, there was no way she could ever learn to control her wild and unpredictable powers. Varian had offered her what little support he could, but at the end of the day, it was a journey that Auriana would have to make on her own.
It did not appear to be a journey that she was going to make today, however. She had thrown up her hands in defeat, before irritably kicking up a spray of dirt and shooting an anxious look in Varian's direction.
"Auriana…" Kalecgos admonished her gently. "You hold so much of yourself back. You have to learn to let go."
"I understand the principle, Kalec," Auriana huffed irritably. "This is what Jaina and I have been working on for weeks. Unfortunately, I'm finding it rather difficult to shake the feeling that what you're asking me to do is fundamentally… wrong. "
"Jaina believes…" Kalecgos started, but Auriana waved him off.
"With respect, Jaina has no idea," she snapped. "None of you do."
Her eyes flicked briefly to the stands, and she frowned darkly.
"This is tearing me in half, Kalec. On one hand, I'm revolted with myself just for thinking of using my rage. On the other hand, I've scarcely wanted anything more," she muttered. "My fury is there, but I just don't think I have it in me to touch it…"
Her final words were barely a whisper, and Varian wanted nothing more than to run into the arena to be at her side. Such a thing would not do, however, and so he was forced to sit still, cracking his knuckles irritability as she and Kalecgos continued to argue.
"Perhaps you're right," the Lord of Magic conceded finally, "Though I would counsel you to remember that you've made considerable progress nonetheless. Jaina did not overstate your abilities."
Auriana nodded stiffly at the compliment and turned to collect her discarded tunic, the glow of magic fading from about her arms and eyes. Varian let out a sigh of frustration on her behalf, and hoped that she would not take another failure too harshly.
"Oh, is that it?" Cathelora said, pouting prettily. "I had expected something more dramatic."
"Where the Commander is concerned, you might be grateful for the lack of… drama," Varian said pointedly, well aware of what Auriana could do if she felt threatened.
Cathelora frowned at his indirect praise of Auriana's abilities, though she quickly covered her annoyance with a simpering smile.
"I didn't mean to say that I wanted something bad to happen," she said sweetly. "I merely wanted to spend more time with you, my Lord, and this was all over far too soon. Forgive my forwardness, but perhaps you'd like to take a turn about the gardens?"
She leaned forward and unexpectedly pressed a bold hand to Varian's upper thigh, her cheeks flushed dark pink. Varian started violently and shied uncomfortably away from her touch, but before he could extricate himself completely, Auriana turned and looked towards him. For a moment, a look of pure, unadulterated fury crossed her face, and she appeared to have stopped breathing. Her luminous blue eyes were impossibly wide, and she looked as if she very much wanted to give the young noblewoman an experience with magic that she would never forget.
Cathelora seemed not to have noticed Auriana's penetrating stare, however, and leant even closer to Varian with an adoring gaze.
"You forget yourself, my lady," Varian said coldly, prising Cathelora's small hand from his leg. "I'd thank you to avoid such public displays in future."
Much to her obvious disappointment, he quickly moved away, but it appeared that the damage had been done. Auriana met his gaze steadily for a moment, surprise and hurt written across every inch of her face, before she shook her head and looked back to Kalecgos.
"You know what?" she said suddenly, her voice sharp. "I'm not done. Let's try this again."
"Are you sure, Auriana?" the blue dragon said skeptically, clearly unsure as to what had changed.
"Damn sure," she replied, her voice colder than ice.
She once again dropped her tunic into the dirt, and quickly shifted into a grounded fighting stance. Kalecgos mimicked her movements, his ancient eyes sharply attuned to the sudden power and aggressiveness of Auriana's posture.
"Ready when you are," Kalecgos shrugged, though he looked thoroughly confused by Auriana's abrupt change of heart.
Quietly, Varian shared the big dragon's uncertainty. His well-honed instincts screamed danger, but he didn't want to intervene unless absolutely necessary. Auriana had closed her eyes, frowning as if in great concentration, and Varian saw her hands begin to shake violently. Her breathing rapidly increased to almost frenetic levels, and she bit her lip so hard as to draw blood. Varian leant forwards in alarm, itching to climb out of his seat, but Kalecgos saw his movement and subtly waved him off.
"Auriana?" the blue dragon said tentatively.
Before anyone could react, Auriana's eyes flew open and she snarled like a wild animal. Her hands blazed with sudden flame and she threw herself into a blink. She did not blink forwards towards Kalecgos, however, but rather sideways, her furious gaze falling on none other than Cathelora.
"Kalec!" Varian shouted, on his feet in an instant. "I think we have a problem!"
Varian had never seen Auriana in a true rage before. He'd seen her angry, of course, but he'd never seen her go berserk, and if he were being perfectly honest with himself, it was somewhat terrifying. Gone was the brave, clever woman that Varian loved so fiercely; replaced by nothing less than a force of nature. There was no restraint or mercy in her eyes, and even at this distance, Varian could feel the fury radiating off her body like fire. She looked absolutely murderous, and Varian realised that both he and the crowd were in very real danger.
"Kalec!" he hollered, as Auriana hurled a powerful wave of fire into the stands.
Varian flinched, and reflexively moved to shield Cathelora from Auriana's ire. Fortunately, Kalecgos was not the Aspect of Magic for nothing, and he threw up a powerful, shimmering shield between Auriana and her targets in the crowd. She howled in disappointment as the shield absorbed the brunt of her power, and she turned back on Kalecgos with a bloodthirsty scowl.
Like a predator, Varian thought. Focusing on the greatest threat...
Auriana threw herself on Kalecgos in a frenzy, throwing magic with a speed and ferocity that Varian had scarcely ever seen before. She was still outmatched by the Aspect, of course, but it appeared that her ability to present him with a challenge had significantly increased. Varian didn't miss the small trickle of sweat that now ran down Kalecgos' face, nor the heavy frown that marred his otherwise youthful features.
"Come now, Auriana," Kalec urged her, dancing lightly to the side as he fended off a twenty foot high tornado of fire. "Remember who you are!"
Auriana was entirely beyond reason, however, and continued to hurl spell after spell at Kalecgos with savage abandon. She seemed utterly tireless, lost in her own world of all consuming fury.
"Kalec!" Varian shouted, waving to the spectators to evacuate. "Cut her off!'.
Cathelora had already bolted from the arena in tears, her light blue skirts flinging into the air as she raced away with surprising speed. She had been followed by almost everyone else in the stands, the crowd practically falling over one another in a frantic stampede.
"Not yet!" the dragon aspect argued firmly. "This is what we wanted. She has to learn how to come back on her own."
"Are you sure you're the one in control here?" Varian fired back.
He had no intention of following the crowd out of the arena unless absolutely necessary, and instead hovered anxiously behind the rail that bordered the front edge of the stands.
"Of course. She's trying to work around my defenses, but…"
He was cut off as Auriana suddenly laughed madly, and conjured a massive dragon construct, its body made from both cold frost and burning flame. It roared as she sent it towards Kalecgos with a flick of her wrist, its incorporeal maw opening wide as if to consume the Aspect whole. Varian was forced to duck as a wave of pure energy exploded across the arena, and he smelled the distinct, acrid scent of his own burning hair.
"By the Lifebinder," Kalecgos breathed, "She is strong."
"How lovely for her," Varian snapped sarcastically. "Stop this now."
The blue dragon hesitated for the briefest of seconds, but in the end acquiesced to Varian's angry request. He raised his hand and snapped a dampening field in place around Auriana, instantly severing her from the flow of magic. She roared with dismay and fury as her power failed, and she lunged forwards, apparently just as willing to beat Kalecgos to death with her tiny fists as she was to challenge him with magic. Startled, he stepped back, and bound her in place with a ring of glittering frost.
Kalecgos approached her like she was a wild animal, speaking soothingly and raising his hands. She was well snared and entirely unable to move, but if looks could kill, Kalecgos would now be lying dead on the floor.
"Stop this, Commander," Kalecgos said. "Find your way back…"
He continued to mutter soothingly, but it seemed to have little effect. Auriana was entirely rabid, and she seemed to be unaware that Kalecgos was even there. She tore blindly at the ring of frost encasing her legs, tearing her hands open on the sharp fragments of ice, and Varian wondered how she'd ever be able to step back from the edge of the abyss. He knew she'd probably return to normalcy if he or Kalecgos were to hit her across the back of the head, though he considered such a violent action to be a last resort.
"Come on, Auri," Varian muttered softly, adding his own deep voice to Kalecgos' litany. "Come back..."
She snapped her head towards him, as if she had somehow heard his words, and something in her expression changed. She didn't soften, precisely, but some of the unbridled fury that blazed from her eyes lessened, and she looked ever so slightly more human. Varian wanted to go to her side, to talk her down, but he was extremely conscious of dozen or so people who remained in the arena.
That's right, he thought, settling for silently willing her on, Come back to me…
Auriana let out a long, tortured sigh and suddenly crumpled, falling painfully to her knees in the dirt. Kalecgos shot a look in Varian's direction, and the King let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. The blue dragon strode slowly forwards, his hands raised defensively, unwilling to release Auriana from his thrall until he was completely satisfied that she was herself again. Varian leaned forward over the railing, trying to gauge Auriana's condition. She was panting as if she'd just run a mile, and she still quivered with nervous energy, but otherwise she seemed to be unharmed.
"Well, that was a disaster," Auriana drawled suddenly, her voice sounding slightly hoarse.
She frowned, and tapped her knuckles against the ring of frost still encircling her legs.
"You can let me loose, Kalec, I'm quite safe," she added drily.
"I'd like to be the judge of that, if you don't mind," Kalecgos said slowly. "Though, for what it's worth… I haven't had to work that hard in years."
"Do you really think flattery is going to help this situation?" she snapped, taking several deep, steadying breaths. "The fact remains, I failed…"
"I'm not one to engage in flattery. You really are tremendously talented, Commander," the dragon mused. "And I wouldn't say today was a total loss. You came back to your senses by your own power. You may not have been able to control your rage, but it's a start."
"I suppose," she said skeptically, frowning down at the tatters of her palms.
She swung a brief look in Varian's direction, and her cheeks and ears suddenly flushed bright red.
"Have you ever done such a thing before?" Kalecgos pressed her.
"Once, in Highmaul. I came back on my own… though it took a very long time," she admitted.
"Today you were able to do so within a mere half hour," Kalecgos pointed out. "Surely that's an improvement?"
"Perhaps, but I'd still consider this endeavour a failure," Auriana said coldly.
She fell silent, and a visible shiver ran down her spine. Frowning, Kalecgos gently released the bonds of ice that held her legs fast, and she scrambled back to her feet. Her arms flared briefly white, and Varian realised that she was checking the strength of her power. After her ordeal in Blackrock Foundry, she was somewhat paranoid about losing her magical abilities, and he knew how much being forced into a dampening field would have frightened her.
"I frightened away our crowd," she added listlessly, staring up at the arena stands with a pained expression. "Oh, Light…"
Varian frowned, and followed her line of sight. Most of those who had been brave enough to remain were the soldiers who trained with Auriana regularly. They seemed not to have been put off all too much by her display, and instead stared down at her with expressions of profound, if slightly terrified, respect. Most of the nobles had stayed away, including Varian's would-be suitor Cathelora, but a few of the other spectators had trickled back into the arena, clearly curious as to the aftermath of Auriana's rampage. Varian bitterly regretted not ordering them all out earlier, having made the assumption that this training session would be ended by Auriana's block like all the rest.
He made a mental note to offer her an apology as soon as possible and turned his gaze back towards the arena floor, only to see Kalecgos standing alone. He raised a questioning eyebrow at the blue-haired dragon, but the Aspect merely shrugged, gesturing to the lower exit to the arena. Varian growled in frustration, though he knew it was just like Auriana to have run away. She would likely be embarrassed, and ashamed, and terrified by her own failure. She was incredibly sensitive when it came to her berserker blood, and Varian would not see her discouraged by one bad training session. Determined to track her down and set her thinking straight, he rose to his feet, acknowledging Kalecgos with a terse nod before turning on his heel and striding briskly back towards his Keep.