Chapter 11: On Cenarius and Arcane Magic
Arrien strolled her way back over to the Devil Shark on one of the many gangplanks used to board the Gilded Lady, the large jungle cat stalking behind her, large silvery eyes glancing at buccaneers around her with mischief. When they reached Falrevere's flagship, Tilanne shifted once again into her normal shape as the pirates simply stared. With a quick motion she bared her teeth and held her hands up like claws, growling in her normal voice at the crew, most of whom quickly scattered away, going back to their business. The night elf let out a loud laugh, her eyes sparkling mirthfully as she turned back to the mage.
"Ah, I was hoping to get a chance to show the Goblins who was boss after they tossed me into the sea. I mean, I suppose I understand their reasoning, it's not like I paid to get on," Tilanne smirked, "I suppose curiosity nearly killed the cat."
"How do you do that?" Arrien queried as they walked into the mages' quarters to find themselves alone, the rest of the magic users presumably off getting their share of the loot.
"What? Change shape? It is a gift granted to me by Cenarius," she stopped at that name as if it explained everything, though the continued look of confusion in the young mage's freckled face showed that she needed to go on, "Cenarius is a demigod who granted some of my people a fraction of his powers. He is who I pray to every night to replenish my abilities for the next day."
"Interesting," Arrien murmured, tapping idly at the bridge of her nose in thought, "I've only seen mages turn other people into animals... and then it's things like sheep and frogs to make them harmless and lessen the number of attackers."
"Sheep?" Tilanne laughed at the idea, "Yes, well... anyway, as I was saying, I'm out here to explore the world. My parents wanted me to become a Priestess of Elune, but I always felt the path of Cenarius was more my calling. I struck out on my own when I was seventy and met a group of Tauren who lived the druidic life according to Cenarius's teachings."
"Who are the Tauren?" the mage asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"Another race who, like the Night Elves, deeply revere the earth and all that lives on it. Our peoples have been enemies for ages, although I could never understand why. Our outlooks on many things are very similar," the druid now grimaced, "of course, my people are deeply untrusting of outsiders... and arcane magic. It had been our downfall in days past."
"Downfall?" Arrien frowned, "I can't see how it could be such a bad thing to wield the forces of magic..."
"There are many kinds of arcane magic, and much of it is demon-borne. Perhaps your people are more resilient to the allure of the arcane, but mine..." she let out a deep sigh, "my people were not so strong... in fact, when the practice of arcane magic was banned, a good number of our people left our shores to find new homes."
"There are those among my people who abuse their magic as well, always seeking something more powerful than what they can already wield through dark pacts and sacrifice," Arrien said grimly, brushing back a few escaped locks of her hair, "warlocks and necromancers." She felt a sharp shiver shoot up her spine at the last word, thinking about those in Lordaeron who had been brought back from the dead.
"I've been training in the ways of Cenarius for the past ninety years," Tilanne continued, "many of the Night Elf druids are presently in a deep sleep, learning from Cenarius himself in the Emerald Dream... and that is something I cannot explain in full detail, as I am only recently learning to walk in the Emerald Dream without losing myself."
"The Tauren didn't train you in that?"
"Well, they began to... but my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to continue exploring the world. I fully intend to return home soon, but... twenty years ago I began to get restless and impatient. I've seen all of Kalimdor and decided it was time to explore the lands to the east that I'd only heard about through Goblin merchant sailors... so I stowed away on one of their boats." Tilanne grinned sheepishly, "they didn't take it so kindly when they discovered me."
The door was then flung open and Giles's form appeared on the other side, looking battle-weary and tired, but carrying two large sacks and an intricately carved wooden staff, "Well, Arrien," he said grimly, "it seems that you and I are the only spell-casters left on this particular boat," with this he tossed one of the sacks to the red-tressed mage, "Edwin didn't make it past the first barrage of Goblin fire." Arrien frowned a bit at this, though she couldn't bring herself to be particularly sad. Edwin had always been a bit cold, even for a cryomancer, she thought to herself amusedly. "That's your share of the loot, though... if we ever make port, it'll buy you a good deal of shiny things." He laughed. "And this, Miss Tilanne, I believe is yours, judging by the designs," he tossed the druid the staff, which she caught with a large grin.
"Thank you, Shan'do Giles," she said, "I thought I'd never see it again." She ran her fingers lovingly over the carvings of a variety of animals, of which Arrien recognized a raven, a bear, and a jungle cat much like the one Tilanne had transformed herself into. "It's the various animals of the druid totemic system," the druid explained, "most druids dedicate themselves to one totem animal... I've pursued the path of balance and can assume all the forms with equal skill, but mastering none of them. Again, curiosity I suppose," she let out a soft laugh.
"We've reached the area that Falrevere's been looking for," Giles said, changing the subject at hand, "I expect we'll be making landfall soon and setting up a permanent base camp. I'd suggest getting plenty of rest... once we find an island to inhabit, there'll be much work beginning construction of a fortress."
A pirate keep, Arrien thought with a smile, how exciting... a secret base of operation to send out raiding parties to gather whatever they might need, never needing to pay for anything unless there was absolutely no other way to obtain it. Her smile spread to a grin, though she noted that Giles looked grim as ever, and Tilanne looked relatively indifferent. The young mage sighed, leaning back on her cot. She'd made a new friend today, gotten a chance to finally use her abilities in a real swashbuckling battle, and now she'd be aiding in the construction of a secret hideaway. It was almost enough to keep buried the feeling of dread building in her gut that something was going to go wrong, and soon.