Cenahria felt like she was in a dream. Never, in all her days of travelling to find a teacher, had she actually truly believed someone would take her in. She didn't really know what she had been hoping for when Tyrande and Malfurion told her to leave. The stories of Malfurion's wanders in the forest, meeting Cenarion and starting his path to druidism were traditional bed-time stories for young elves, and her parents in particular had made sure she knew exactly where her name came from. Maybe she had hoped Cenarion would make an appearance to her, as well. Instead, she had found something better. A place that seemed willing to accept her, despite being members of the Horde.
She allowed Zaria to lead her to the druid training grounds, and she thought back to Vol'jin. She had heard many tales about the fearsome troll Chieftain, tales of his victories, stories of him leading his people to kill her own. They didn't seem to fit the real troll, however. She had seen no bloodlust in his eyes, no desire to kill her simply for being her. And that now extended to her fellow druids – after hearing her plight, they had not hesitated in accepting her. Walking through the troll encampment, with the other trolls staring at her, she found that now she was walking with the druids, the rest of the tribe had stopped glaring at her. Now, confusion and indifference reigned. She could get used to this, if the tribe ignored her, and the druids taught her. Could she really have found herself a home?
"We be here, Cenahria. Dis is our training grounds, where we all practice every day. We will find ya a suitable hut for ya to stay in permanently, dat is a bit closer. Take a look around if ya wish, while we discuss the best way to start ya training." Cenahria nodded her thanks to Zaria. The troll was the same troll who had been tasked with keeping guard for her. Taller than most, Zaria had dark skin that bordered on a purple colour. She wore her hair braided, but long, and it was an incredible, bright pink. The variety of colours that surrounded the isles astonished Cenahria. She found it beautiful, and seductive. She could really get used to being here.
The druid trolls were sat in a circle, discussing how best to start her off. Cenahria took the opportunity to study her surroundings. It appeared that she was in a larger training ground, with sections for different studies. She could hear the roars of the warriors battering wooden dummies, and the soft chanting of the mages. The section closest to the druids appeared to be for hunters – there were a variety of trolls firing arrows at targets, while their companions watched. Most of the companions were strange, brightly coloured creatures. They were scaly, but large, and ran on their hind legs, smaller front legs waving wildly.
"Dey be raptors." Cenahria turned, to face Zaria. "What is a 'raptor'?" Zaria laughed at her quizzical expression. "Dey be our friends. Dey live wit us, hunt wit us, and protect us. We even use da larger ones for mounts." She gestured, and Cenahria watched a patrol walk by on vicious-looking red raptors. "I think I will stay away from them for now." Cenahria said, backing away slightly. "Have you decided how best to start my training?" "Ya so eager to learn! Don't worry, we be teaching ya soon enough. I think da best way to start ya off, is for us to see what it is ya already know." That made sense. Cenahria watched as several of the druids brought in some of the wooden dummies she had seen earlier. They set them down, several paces in front of her. "Now den, have ya been shown how to call Moonfire?" Cenahria looked at Zaria. Moonfire was just that – a concentrated burst of fiery moonlight. "It's the middle of the day. How can anyone cast Moonfire when there is no moon to help you cast it?" Zaria and the other trolls laughed at her, but she could not understand why. She looked up at the bright blue sky, and the Sun, with its shimmering heat.
"Just watch me." Zaria moved to stand next to her, and turned towards one of the dummies. She closed her eyes, and seconds later, Moonfire erupted, destroying the dummy. Cenahria stared in shock. That had been a powerful blast, powerful enough to cause several, smaller blasts after. Zaria looked pleased with herself. "Now ya try it." Cenahria looked down at the ground. "I've never tried to use magic during the day. Malfurion never taught us how." Now it was the turn of the trolls to look shocked. "Ya cannot use magic during da day? How do ya protect yaselves if ya get attacked during sunrise?" Zaria's eyes darkened as Cenahria explained how her people slept during the sun hours, and lived during the night. "We have found da perfect starting place for ya. First, ya need to learn to use ya magic during the day." Cenahria bit her lip. That was not going to be easy.
Zaria had her sit in the centre of their small section, and asked her to meditate. "Sit here, and let yaself relax. Feel da sun on ya skin, feel its radiance, and its power. Embrace it, as ya would da moon." Cenahria sat like this for several hours, breaking only to sip water. As the sun began to set on the horizon, Cenahria felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up at Zaria. "Da moon be coming out now. Would ya mind showing us Moonfire now? Just for us to see ya capabilities with da magic." Cenahria nodded and stepped to face the dummies. She didn't close her eyes, like Zaria had, instead choosing to raise her head to the sky. She looked deep into the darkening blue, and found the first hints of the moon shining through. She gazed at it, feeling its power seep through her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and imagined herself breathing in its energy. Opening her eyes to look at the dummy, she focussed that energy, and the dummy exploded. She was pleased to find she had also caused several aftershocks. She turned back to Zaria, and was greeted with approval. "Dat was impressive. Our first aim is to take dat power, and help ya channel it during the day. But, for now, I think we betta head back. I still need to take ya to our seamstress."
Cenahria followed Zaria and the other druids, as they wound their way through the training grounds towards the troll encampment. She got a sudden chill that shivered down her spine, and she had the sensation of being watched. "Zaria! What ya doin' with da elf? Are ya taking her for execution?" Cenahria stepped slightly behind Zaria. This troll sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it, and the enthusiasm in her voice at the prospect of Cenahria being executed made her want to run. "Uyoga. Vol'jin has decided dat he wants us to help dis druid to learn our ways. She be stayin' wit us now, as our guest. Her name is Cenahria. Cenahria, dis be Uyoga, one of our rogue apprentices." Uyoga was smaller than Zaria, and had emerald skin. Her eyes burned fire. "She be an elf. Der race is nothin' but cowards and monsters. Dey be killin' machines! All ya doing is training her to kill us all!" Uyoga ran off, towards Vol'jin's hut. Zaria shook her head, and continued walking. Cenahria followed, her heart heavy. She couldn't understand what possibly could have happened to make the troll hate her kind so much. She knew elves and trolls didn't particularly like each other, but she had never encountered such animosity.
They arrived at the seamstress several minutes later. The seamstress was a wizened troll, with greying hair. She was kind, however, and took no time in measuring Cenahria for troll clothing. "What I will do for ya is make ya something cool, so ya don't overheat, but I'll try to keep an elven style. Just so ya don't get homesick" Cenahria thanked the troll, and followed Zaria to her new home. "Dis be ya hut now. Meet us tomorrow at sunrise to continue with ya training." Cenahria bid her goodnight, and walked into her hut. It was sparse, but comforting. She settled down on the sleeping mat, and swiftly fell asleep.
Time passed quickly for Cenahria. The second morning, she had awoken to find a small package of new robes in the corner of the hut. She must have worked through the night, thought Cenahria, and vowed to thank the older troll properly. The robes fit perfectly, although she wasn't entirely certain about baring her stomach. It seemed to be the troll fashion, and it did keep her cool though. The troll had sewn several of the robes, each a different colour, and kept the colours natural, as was the elven way.
Her training progressed swiftly, the majority of her time during the day spent meditating in the sun, with the other druids, and the nights learning more about her abilities. The other druids were shocked to find out that the first thing she had learned as a druid was her feline form. It usually took several months for a novice troll to get to that stage, and maintain the form, and it usually took a lot of meditating in the sun. "We use da sun's energies to give us strength. Most of our power comes from da sun, much like yours from da moon." Cenahria soon lost herself in the rhythm of her training.
She barely saw Vol'jin during this time. She would sometimes see him, standing in his doorway as she walked through the encampment, or when she was asked to join the druids in an evening meal. Something about the way he watched her made her feel like he was protecting her in some way. She often thought of this, as she waited for sleep to come. She didn't mind his protection.
Several weeks after her arrival, the time came for Cenahria to try Moonfire during the day. There was an infestation of rodents down in the training grounds, so Zaria asked for a training dummy to be brought to the main encampment whilst the hunters took care of the problem. Cenahria was nervous about trying this for the first time, especially when the other trolls heard of it. By the time she finally stepped out of her hut, to walk to the training dummy, there was a large number of trolls, trying for all the world to appear as though they were supposed to be there. Even Vol'jin was out of his hut. She took a deep breath, and turned to face the dummy. "Don't ya be worryin' about all da trolls here. No one will think any less of ya if ya can't do it. It all takes practice" Cenahria looked at Zaria, who backed away with the other trolls. She was on her own.
Closing her eyes, Cenahria focussed on the feel of the sun heating her skin. She imagined the heat going deeper, heating her entire body, heating her very soul. She raised her head, and drank in the heat. Opening her eyes, and staring at the dummy, she focussed on the feel of the heat, and cast Moonfire. The dummy did not erupt, however a sharp beam of light pierced it, and a small eruption set it on fire. She sighed and turned away. To the crowd of trolls cheering her. Zaria ran up to her and hugged her. "Dat was an excellent start, Cenahria!" She looked at her friend, thinking she had gone mad. There had been no eruption. The spell had failed. She said so, and the druids laughed. "We never expected ya to destroy da dummy as ya would at night on ya first try. But ya called down Moonfire, and it still worked. Dat is excellent progress. Ya only been learning for a few weeks after all, and ya probably tired after spending today preparing for dis. Don't be so hard on yaself. Ya did well" She looked at Zaria, and smiled. It had felt good to set the dummy on fire, and the sensation of casting magic during the day was intoxicating. She did, however, feel drained. "I feel sleepy now after that. I didn't realise so much energy would go into casting during the day." Zaria put an arm around her, and steered her towards her hut, stating to the other trolls that Cenahria needed to rest.
Cenahria allowed Zaria to guide her through the encampment. She closed her eyes and leaned on her friend. She was tired, but happy. She was so happy, that she was not expecting to hear a low growl, or to feel Zaria fling her arm across Cenahria's body. She was not expecting to hear Zaria scream in pain, and spin away from her, clutching her arm. Cenahria opened her eyes. Uyoga was stood, holding two daggers. One was dripping blood. "Zaria, are you okay?" Zaria nodded, and yelled as Uyoga roared, and leapt towards her. Cenahria gasped, and stepped backwards, tripping over a loose stone. She hit her head on the floor, and her remaining energy ebbed. Uyoga smiled, a devilish smile filled with hatred. Cenahria tried to stand, but couldn't get her limbs to move. She was trapped. She silently prayed to Elune and watched Uyoga saunter over to her. "I'm gonna enjoy killin' ya elf. Dis be for all da trolls your kind have killed!" With a guttural roar, she plunged her daggers downwards. And was stopped by a large spear. Cenahria pushed herself backwards. The shaft of the spear was mere inches from her bare stomach. The spear lifted, and was thrust forward, disarming Uyoga and forcing her to the ground. Cenahria lay there, staring at the troll who had saved her life, staring at the barely hidden anger on Vol'jin's face. "Ya have disobeyed a direct order from ya Chieftain, Uyoga. Ya will be sentenced at a trial held at first light tomorrow. Get dis poor excuse for a troll out of my sight." Vol'jin spat on the floor by the side of Uyoga, and the gathering crowd gasped. His guards grabbed Uyoga on either side, and she struggled violently, yelling and screaming in the troll tongue. With every word, Vol'jin's face grew darker. They dragged her away, and finally, Vol'jin turned to Cenahria. His face immediately lost its ferocity. "Are ya alright?" She took his hand, and he helped her off the floor. She nodded, still in shock, before remembering her friend. She moved to Zaria, who was surrounded by the druid trolls, who were unsuccessfully trying to bandage her wound.
"Zaria, I'm so sorry." Zaria looked up at her. "Whatcha be sorry for? Ya not the one who is a traitor to our kind, and ya ain't da one who cut me." Cenahria knelt beside her. "Could I take a look at it? Healing is a part of nature, Malfurion showed us a few ways to mend a wound." Vol'jin and the druid trolls knelt beside her, and Zaria slowly removed the makeshift bandage. Her arm was covered in blood; however, the cut was not too deep. Thankfully, the sun had begun to set when Uyoga had attacked, and Cenahria felt the moon lending her strength. "Ya be tired, Cenahria. Zaria can be taken to da healers, she will be fine." She looked at Vol'jin, who was gently trying to lift Cenahria. "Zaria would not have been hurt if she had not tried to protect me. I have enough strength for this, it is night now." She stared into his eyes, and the concern in them pierced her. He nodded, and released her. Turning back to Zaria, she used the remaining bandages to clear away the blood, exposing the full wound. Closing her eyes, she allowed the moon to strengthen her, and she slowly ran her hand over the wound. She opened her eyes, and began to chant softly, slowly, allowing herself to be a conduit for the moon's power. She chanted in the elven tongue, and the other trolls watched her intensely. Zaria gasped softly as her wound began to seal. As Cenahria finished, Zaria sat up. "Der be no mark." Zaria flexed the arm, and swung it in a circle. Cenahria laughed, and stood. Vol'jin came to stand next to her. "Dat be da second time today ya have impressed me, elf. I be sorry for what Uyoga did." Cenahria turned to face him, smiling. She had impressed him, and that had caused her stomach to do little flips. "It is not your fault Vol'jin. Thank you for saving my life." He smiled at her, and left. She turned to help Zaria stand. "Poor Vol'jin." Cenahria looked at her, puzzled. "Tomorrow will be a bad day for him. He gotta consult wit da spirits now, to see what dey want him to do about Uyoga. Da trial will be difficult for him, and for da tribe." Cenahria nodded, and watched him as he walked back to his hut.