Anduin
I walked with Connie on my arm, enjoying the morning sun along the path behind Stormwind. I had left the mirror with Jaina the previous night, trying my best to not think about my father. It had been just over two weeks since we made the last connection and if the timing was correct, he'd be making another connection soon. In an effort to keep calm, Connie and I had shared a quiet breakfast, then headed out to walk her favorite path through the city.
"It's such a nice day." Connie said, looking out across the pond we were passing. The water rippled where several ducks swam happily along. Two fishermen, a night elf and a dwarf, argued about fishing conditions a short way from where we walked.
I nodded, but didn't say anything. My mind was not cooperating with my efforts to be distracted.
Connie stopped and turned to me, smiling. "We'll get him back, Anduin. Once I make a full connection with the mage on his end, it will take time for Jaina to get everything sorted out, but we'll do it."
I nodded. "I know we will, it's just hard to think we won't be helping him this time around. It's hard to think of him stranded in that dimension." I had to smile regardless of how I felt, matching hers. "I can't wait to introduce you to him. He's going to love you."
Connie blushed. It was cute on her. "I hope so. I never thought I'd be worried about meeting my future husband's family."
I shrugged. "I'm sure you never thought you'd be marrying a king and your father in law would be Varian Wrynn."
"Never in my wildest imagination, but I'm happy I met you and not because you're king. It's all because you're Anduin."
I hugged Connie tightly and we stood content for a few moments until a druid flew to us, changing to a night elf before our eyes. And not just any night elf, but Malfurion Stormrage himself. I was always shocked by just how big night elves were, the Archdruid in particular. I wasn't a short man, but I felt like a dwarf next to him.
"Your Majesty, the mirror has activated. We require you and Miss Baldwin to join us in the garden."
"Of course." I said, turning with Connie and heading quickly back to the keep. Malfurion walked with us, though our fast walking was about equal to a casual stroll for him. "I appreciate you volunteering to go through the portal with Kalec."
"It was a logical choice to make. You cannot help your father if the people sent through the portal to collect him are incapable of facing a few demons in the process. Varian is a friend and both Tyrande and I agree we must do what we can to help. I might also be able to confirm his identity before he returns. I know a demon or someone possessed by a demon when I sense one."
We walked silently until we reached the garden, where Jaina, Kalec and Tyrande were waiting. Kalec was holding the mirror and seemed to be discussing something with the person on the other side.
"So, if we can pinpoint your location, you should be able to determine the demonic activity of the area before we summon the portal. That would help considerably, Your Majesty." Kalec said.
"They're here, let's give this a try." Jaina said, escorting Connie to a bench. "Do you remember what you need to do?"
Connie nodded. "Of course. I will attempt to magically connect to the mage on the other side of the mirror. Once the connection is made, you should be able to attempt to pinpoint their location to open a portal."
"I also need you to try to get a feel of how much magic is being used and how long the two of you can hold it, since the portal will be directly linked to the mirror's connection. We might be able to hold it open for a few minutes once the mirror connection is broken, but I'm not sure. That's something else we'll be testing."
"I understand and I'm ready to try." Connie said. I sat next to her, taking the mirror as it was handed to me by Kalec.
Varian smiled up at me from the mirror for a few moments before the image changed to a young human woman with red hair and fair skin. She looked close to my age. She opened her eyes and they seemed to be glowing green.
"I'm ready as well." She looked past the mirror. "If you can hold the mirror steady, Varian."
Anduin pointed the mirror towards Connie, also focusing on holding the mirror steady.
"Quick introductions. I'm Vala." The young woman in the mirror said.
"Connie. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. You can start trying to link with me at any time, Connie. I'm ready."
Connie nodded, then closed her eyes and started to concentrate. For several minutes, there was complete silence on both ends of the link.
"What's wrong?" I heard my father say through the mirror.
There was a sudden scream of pain from the mirror and moments later, a similar shriek came from Connie.
"Connie?" I asked, keeping the mirror steady, but also placing a hand on her shoulder.
"The connection hurts. It feels like someone is trying to thrust a dagger into my temple." She replied, her breath labored. "I can continue. Vala?"
The only reply from the other side of the mirror was an even more intense shreak of agony, then the connection was lost entirely.
"We lost them." Connie said, pushing my hand gently so the mirror was facing me. She leaned her head back and her eyes closed. All I saw in the mirror was my own reflection.
"What happened?" Jaina asked, concerned.
"I don't know." Connie looked up at her mentor. "It all seemed to be working fine, but when my magic touched Vala's, there was a sudden pushback. I felt a pain in my temple, but it seemed to be constant, not increasing, so I continued."
"And whatever was happening to you, must have been worse for Vala, since she sounded to be in far worse shape than you." Kalec replied, joining us, along with Malfurion and Tyrande. "Unfortunately, I have no idea what might have happened. Two mages should be able to link and mingle their magic effortlessly, particularly with two willing participants."
"Vala is young and probably has less training than Connie. Is it possible her age might be a factor?" I asked, trying to think of any reason why the connection failed. I knew magic, but not this type of magic.
"I think it might be something else entirely." Tyrande said, speaking for the first time. "Did anyone see this young mage? Was there anything unusual about her appearance?"
"Not really." I replied, but then I reconsidered. "Though, her eyes did seem to glow."
Connie nodded. "Her eyes were glowing green." She confirmed.
"Is it possible she's not who she says she is? Could she be a demon? Or maybe she's using fel magic to manipulate the situation?" I asked, suddenly very concerned for my father. He might be in the presence of a demon and not even know it, even though he must have seen her glowing eyes himself.
"No, I don't believe she's a demon, but glowing eyes are a side effect of fel magic." Tyrande replied. "It would be something similar to the Sin'dorei"
"Her magic might be being supplemented by fel magic. She may not even know she's doing it or have any control of it. We have no idea how long she's been in that dimension." Kalec added. "And we have no idea what long term exposure to a demonic dimension will do to a magic user of a different kind."
Jaina nodded in agreement. "The girl is too young to know how to draw on the magic around her, at least if what Varian has told us about her is true. Or what she's told him is true, for that matter."
"This plan may not work, if the magics can not be linked enough to find a location." Malfurion added. "From my experience, demon dimensions are vast and finding Varian will be very difficult if we can't get the portal close."
"At this point we can only speculate. We need to wait until the connection is reopened to figure out exactly what happened, assuming Vala isn't hurt or damaged in some way that makes communication impossible." Jaina said.
"Can't we just try to open the connection ourselves?" Connie asked.
Jaina thought about it for a few moments, then shook her head. "It would be too risky. This isn't an ordinary scrying mirror. It's linked to Vala. Even if we opened the connection, she'd still need to use some of her magic to help hold it open. We have no idea what happened to her just now. We could hurt her, even kill her, if we're not careful. It's safer to wait for them to connect to us, at least until we know more about what's happening on their end."
My face must have fallen, since Jaina knelt next to me, took my hand, and gave it a supportive squeeze.
"We're not giving up, Anduin. We just need to figure out what happened and what we must do to work around it. We will get your father home, it might just be harder than we first thought. We won't stop trying until every avenue has been exhausted, I promise you."
"I know." I looked up at Kalec and the two night elf leaders. "I know this puts a bit of a setback on your part of the plan."
"There are no pressing demands on our time, at the moment, Your Majesty. Tyrande and I will stay as long as necessary." Malfurion replied
"And if anything comes up with the peace talks or anything else which requires leadership involvement, I will return home and Malfurion will stay in Stormwind, until there is no further reason to stay." Tyrande added.
"And as long as this is a project for Jaina, I ,too, will be staying." Kalec said.
I smiled up at all of them. "I am incredibly thankful to all of you." I really didn't know what else to say.
To Be Continued...
