Chapter 8:
Due to the pain coming from my sore neck I wake up early the next morning. As I had fallen asleep I must have searched for a pillow, but only found a stray book next to me so I rested my head on that instead.
I don't really feel hungry at all this morning so I just skip breakfast. I'm so excited because of my first lesson held by the Grand Inquisitor Isillien today... not to mention the things that might happen afterwards. I turn my gaze to look at the envelope for a short moment.
With the spare time until then I decide to read onwards in the book about the Holy Light I borrowed from the library last week. I will have to give it back by tomorrow afternoon so somebody else seems to be in need of it. It also serves as a sort of preparation for later, at least that's what I try tell myself.
Time passes by fast and the bell signalizes the beginning of the afternoon rather sooner than later and therefore tells me to head over to class. Not wanting to be late I rush to the cathedral and towards the room where class is held, only to find most of my fellow students already there. I saw most of them only once during the time since I've arrived here, not counting in the common room where we get our meals. Most benches were tightly packed so I ask one random one of them with long blond hair sitting only a few feet in front of me, where I could find a free seat and if still more would come. He points out a bench directly in the front and one almost directly next to the entrance.
Although I hate sitting directly in front of everybody I choose the seat nearest to the teacher. My eyes are not so good either therefore I hardly have a choice about it.
I sit down and wait. Just as usual nobody is talking much and silence takes a hold on the room. I guess it's not too common to make friends among the members of the Crusade. After a couple of minutes another two students enter the room and sit down just directly at the door.
I can only suppose those were the last two missing except for our teacher.
Two pairs of footsteps appear some moments later at the end of the hallway. One of them is seemingly heavier, probably a rather tall grown man.
Everybody is looking to the door again, now awaiting the entrance of the Grand Inquisitor Isillien. And indeed a man enters, rather short, but apparently heavy. Yes, I remember him clearly from Mardenholde Keep in Hearthglen. He is wearing a crimson robe and the tabard of the Scarlet Crusade on top of that. The robe has fine golden linings, it always makes me wonder if they use real gold in the creation of such clothing. He himself has a weathered face. As he walks past me to the front of the class I see his green eyes gazing off into a blank void it seems. His hair already starts to turn greyish and his head is balding. He takes his first look at the class as he turns around.
"Good afternoon, students. Some of you may already know me, some may not, which by all means would be an atrocity. My name is Isillien, Grand Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade.", he finishes his introduction. "To cut things short: As you should already know I was asked by your teacher, the High Inquisitor Fairbanks to hold all of your lessons during the time of his absence. And I am most honored to be given this task." I think he overdoes it a bit. "Yet, sadly, I already have to turn you down on your first day with me as your teacher."
WHAT? What is he saying? I was so excited about this I couldn't sit still for even only two minutes straight and now he turns us down like this?
"Regrettably the High General Abbendis, once a close friend of mine and member of the founders of the Scarlet Crusade, has passed on. His untimely demise came upon us during one of the largest assaults of the Scourge on Hearthglen so far at the beginning of this week, as he bravely defended the walls of our bastion within the western plaguelands." One of the largest assaults of the Scourge so far? Oh my, I hope that not too much was destroyed. I am almost a bit glad about being here now and that Corren and Keira where elsewhere at that time too.
"Therefore I will have to attend a meeting on the promotion of the young madam Abbendis to High General, as well as making plans on strengthening the defense of Hearthglen in the western plaguelands. It is of utmost importance that we will not lose our footing within the hills." He then turns his head towards me and looks directly at me with a strange smile.
"Nonetheless, I will be teaching you from tomorrow on. And for your lesson today... you shall not be left untutored as I found a most suitable substitute teacher for you." he points to the door.
"You all should know the talented young Sally Whitemane, Inquisitor of the Crusade."
I turn around fast, Whitemane standing in the door. She is wearing almost the same outfit as last time when I saw her. Although I would imagine that this one is even tighter than the last. Does she want to seduce us with her looks or is she just so fond of herself? Nevertheless I guess I have to admit that she still does look great, even though I'd rather deny it.
After this introduction she casually starts walking past the students and up to the front.
"Thank you, Grand Inquisitor." her voice is calm as always and her facial expression does not even change for one second. "You wanted to start off directly with the spells you have invented, is that correct Grand Inquisitor Isillien?" She looks at him.
"Yes, that was what I had intended to do, Sally." he talks to her as if she is his daughter.
"Fine then. I shall start immediately."
"Thank you, Sally. I already have to make my leave. Time is pressing! Farewell apprentices of the Scarlet Crusade. May the Holy Light guide you on your way!" Upon finishing this sentence he leaves the room in a hurry.
Whitemane on the other hand is now staring directly at me whilst I was still looking at the Grand Inquisitor fleeing the scene. It almost seems as if she is smiling, but in the next moment she already looks back at the rest of the class with her usual emotionless expression. Somehow this woman scares me.
"So, without further delay I will begin." she takes a few small steps backwards as she starts to speak. "As you have heard only some moments ago, today I will introduce you to the two spells that the Grand Inquisitor Isillien invented personally.", she thinks for a moment. "The first thing I want to do is demonstrate them to you. Unfortunately, we do not have any training puppets in this part of the monastery, and even if we were to make our way into the armory, pestering Herod and his troupes one would not be able see the full effect of the casts on them.", her eyes wander through the room as if she is looking for someone or something.
"Luckily we all know how to dispel magic and how to heal each other by now. And even better - we all know what we want and why we are here. The strength of this magic is increased by certain factors, for example, feelings like doubt, hatred or fear." her words make me feel even more uncomfortable.
"Now I will need a volunteer for our little demonstration. No one? Alright then, would you please be so kind to assist me on this, apprentice by the name of Marc Fipps?"
No way! Everything in my head is ringing. She didn't even wait one single second before taking me.
"Now come on, no need to be shy..." Immediately she is trying to provoke me with words. I'm quickly to look towards the ground not responding at all.
"Alright then, I will have to take you by force." You can clearly hear that she is not talking seriously. Taking a step over to me, she is simply grabs my wrist and begins trying to pull me to up onto feet. Whilst doing this she comes close to me with her body, probably fully on purpose, her breasts almost touching my face. I bet everybody in the room would want to be in my place just right now... and I'd trade them anytime.
Finally I stand up with a sigh, careful not to bump into Whitemane.
She is quick to whisper something into my ear. "Boy are you prude, or are you just THAT shy?" She gives me an alluring look then she turns around again facing the class as I can still only blush.
"Marc, please stand over there for our demonstration. And it would be a good idea to lean against the wall, too." I do as she says and walk to the back of the room, even though I hesitate.
"The two spells I am going to show you now are the only, I repeat, THE ONLY two damage spells using light, or as we call it, holy magic. Do not confuse this with the fighting style of some paladins, they do not use such magic, they still do whatever damage they deal with their weapon. These spells are also different to other kinds of magic in one certain part."
Everybody is listening tensely, including me.
"No matter what you feel when you are hit by one of these spells, they don't do any form of damage to your physical body. Therefore no one, not a single creature can resist their damage in any way. For example, a fire elemental consists of fire and therefore its body cannot be harmed by using fire magic. In the worst case this would only strengthen it."
Whitemane now turns around to face me.
"These spells were initially created as a weapon against the Scourge and undead in general. Usually healing an undead would restore parts of his body, yet due to the plague inside of the creatures body, these parts would be destroyed immediately, which would eventually lead to the collapse of the body. Yet this being an effective way to dispose of the ghouls and minor warriors of the Lich King, it is basically useless against stronger enemies like a lich or a death knight. But due to the different approach of these two spells, that I am going to show you in a few minutes, we are able to inflict damage upon even these entities."
Some of the other students are taking down notes as Whitemane speaks. I don't know, this is all some nice background information, but when we have to learn the spell itself, it won't help too much.
"The spell itself does the same as a healing spell does. It aims directly for the spirit of the target. A healing spell would try to restore it, due to this the self-healing process will be increased to an unnatural amount. Nature magic on the other hand basically does the opposite, it targets the physical form of a being and restores the body into the shape it was." she takes a deep breath.
"Like I already mentioned, the damage done by the spell is affected by feelings, just as a heal would be too. Some feelings let the spirit flutter. The feelings with the greatest effect in a negative way are by far doubt, restlessness, rage, fear, hatred. Some people even add disbelief and insanity to the lot. Based on this, these spells become a lot more efficient against the undead soldiers of the Lich King, as they all are consumed by rage, hatred and restlessness. Some of them who died struggling even still inherit doubt amongst the other feelings. Furthermore, the target does not have to be undead so that the spell can do the damage it needs. You can attack wild animals, or defend yourself against them as they are driven to attack either by rage, fear or desire – in this case probably hunger."
It's hard to try and take your thoughts off of all this, to not be overwhelmed by any of the mentioned feelings. Whitemane picks up a piece of paper from the table and displays it with her hands.
"The first spell I want to show you is called 'Smite'. Basically you infuse a large amount of holy magic into the spirit of your target by force! A healing spell is laid onto the spirit from the outside so it can be swallowed bit by bit, just the amount needed. However, with this spell the infusion is forced. Due to this, portions of the spirit can be ripped away, figuratively speaking at least." She rips an edge off from the sheet of paper in her hands to stress her point.
"No matter what you feel, Marc, you are not taking physical damage! Try to keep that in mind, sweetie."
Whitemane then suddenly looks at me with cold eyes.
Only a split second later I am pushed back heavily against the wall. The impact is incredibly hard and I can't hold my balance so I drop to my knees. I utter in pain for a moment. It feels as if several ribs are broken. I reach to my chest, but it does not hurt when I touch it. Not a single drop of blood was spilled. The pain is incredible. I can't stand it! I look up to Whitemane in agony as I writhe in pain.
She is standing there, her back to the class. I can't see her face, it lies completely in shadows from down here. I only see the red linings around her eyes, they seem to be glowing unnaturally. But I can't really tell... Everything is blurry, but I think she is smiling at me.
What a gruesome gesture.
She waves with her hand once and the pain I feel slowly goes away.
"Sit there for a moment, Marc. You will feel no more pain in a moment or two." I barely manage to nod and sit down onto the floor still holding my chest. The other students all look quite shocked by the effect of the spell cast.
"This spell is called 'Smite' because of the heavy impact it has upon the soul. Most people are pushed back by the impact the magic has upon entering your spirit. A large amount of victims even fly backwards for about two or three meters. The stronger and denser your spirit is, the lesser the impact and the pain. The Champion of Scarlet Crusade, Herod, for example would surely have still felt some pain, but the impact would have been reduced to a minimum."
My anguish is easing. She looks utmost pleased by the outcome. I was so helpless against the spell.
"The second spell invented by the Grand Inquisitor is called 'Holy Fire'. This one is still more similar to a healing spell. The magic you use is also laid onto the outside of the spirit, yet it will cover it up completely, if I may speak figuratively again. The aim of this spell is to make the spirit of the target unstable. The layer of holy magic on the outside of the spirit can be triggered. If this happens, it will let the 'outside of the spirit' be restlessly moving like flames. This effect will take on until the magic is dispelled or the effect wears off. Depending on the caster this 'Holy Fire' can last between only a few seconds and up to several hours. The feeling a target has basically comes close to..., well, being on fire as a manor of fact. Above that, with the spirit so shattered, the target will not be able to cast spells on his own easily. You have to counter the effect of the 'Holy Fire' immediately or you will not be able to remove it, remember this!"
She turns back to me.
"Now, for my little demonstration, you will see what happens without it being dispelled soon enough. Just stay there - preferably sitting, Marc."
She again waves with her hand. Something is feeling strange about this. I feel cold. Unnaturally cold all of a sudden.
Whitemane waves for a second time. Nothing happens?
Then it suddenly kicks in. I scream out loud as I can't hold it in. All the students in the room look stricken by horror. Two of them even fall backwards off their seats.
"It burns! Put it out! Put it out!" I almost cry from the pain. Why me? Why always me?
I scream.
I can't think a single clear thought anymore, my mind has been broken by the spell already. I try to put the fire out with my hands, not noticing anymore that there is no real fire. I roll on my back in pain.
"I guess that should be sufficient..." Whitemane raises her hand and the burning stops. I still lie there on the cold stone, turning in pain. Again she casts a healing over time spell on me.
Her voice is as cold as ice. "So my students, these are the two spells the Grand Inquisitor Isillien invented. How you will be able to use them, what you have to do and in which way you have to concentrate you will be taught by Isillien himself tomorrow. I will end this lesson a bit earlier so I can patch up our volunteer." She looks at me over her shoulder. The pain slowly passes away. I feel even weaker and more helpless than ever before. This is only making me feel worse.
"May the Light guide you, the class is officially dismissed."
The students jump to their feet and hurry to leave the room, I've never heard so much talking among them before.
I still lie on the floor, feeling the pain ebbing away only slowly. Maybe now I can get up to my feet.
Whitemane comes closer and crouches down next to me, it's a wonder her outfit covers anything at all.
"You should strengthen your soul, boy. I hardly put any efforts into my spells. I could have killed you easily."
Somehow now I can think of reasons why one should keep her away from students. She is seductive, her heart is as cold as ice, her teaching is unorthodox and she is just all in all dangerous!
"Awww, now don't look at me like that, Marc. I was just fooling around with you." This was the first time when I heard her speaking in a different tone, but still she won't be fooling me. I know that she is ice cold. "Can you stand up?"
I think for a moment before I respond, "I will try..."
"Fine, then get up to your feet and follow me to my chambers behind the cathedral. That's an order!"
She gets up full of swing, literately letting everything of her body bounce up and down. I look a bit bewildered at her, not thinking this is the appropriate time for this. She just winks at me as she sees the impression on my face.
"Oh come on, loosen up a bit, idiot." it sounds strange to hear her normally so emotionless voice trying to tell me things like this.
I finally manage to get to my feet and follow her slowly out of the room. "The entrance is behind the altar." she points out, as we walk along. "I have my chambers to the left of the corridor the Mograines live on the right side of it."
I didn't expect there to be such a large building still behind the cathedral. Without any further detours Whitemane leads me directly to her chambers. "Come in, come in, I won't bite you." Actually I can imagine her biting me... I think she is capable of a lot of things...
"Sit down somewhere over there, Marc. I'll just get rid of a few unnecessary things." She takes the hat off she is always wearing in class and puts it onto the shelf standing in the corner. The room is huge. I suppose this is her living quarters though I don't see a bed, although there is a rather large and round table in one corner with chairs around it for about ten people. On the opposite side of the room there is a big shelf and a closet next to a giant mirror. In the middle of the room there is an elegant red carpet with loads of pillows lying on it. The room has three doors plus the one we have entered through. Whitemane turns to the closet and takes her tabard, the gloves and her high heeled boots off, leaving her dressed only in that tight scarlet leather body of hers. My eyes follow her body in bewilderment. How can she just undress like that in front of a student?
"So you do actually want so hear what I have to offer you?"
I don't answer. She already knows what I would want to say. She walks to the middle of the room and literally falls onto the pile of pillows. The way she looks at me feels unpleasant. That smile of hers...
"Now then, go ahead ask me anything you want to know. I can tell you maybe not everything, but most of it to set a few things in your head straight. This is your one and only chance, as long as the old man is away."
She clearly is referring to Fairbanks.
It takes me a moment to think of a suitable question. So I decide to start with the obvious.
"W...why me?"
Whitemane tilts her head back. "Okay, I had imagined that you'd come up with something more precise, but if this is the question you have, I shall answer. But..." she raises her hand, "this may take a while."
I nod. It is hard to look into her eyes and it is not because she has this amazing body, it is as if you are looking into endless shadows when seeing directly into them. The red linings around them only emphasizing this even more.
"I can imagine that you are sick of having people tell you how great your parents were and I can also imagine that you expect me to tell you that the reason for all this should be your father. Am I right?"
I nod silently, good call.
She makes a short gesture with her left hand, for the first time I notice a whole lot of scars on its backside and further up the arm. I wonder where those might come from for a moment, but I am easily distracted from this as Whitemane continues to talk.
"Too easy of an answer... Well, it is not because of your father... not solely at least." I raise an eyebrow being curious to hear more. "How to put it? You inherit..., or no, no even further, you are something pure."
"What?" I bluntly interrupt her.
"Just listen, you will understand all of it soon enough. At least I hope so.", she makes a short pause. "I guess the old man told you about the affliction that light and shadow hold to each other. Well and usually a person can use only one type of magic to its full extent in this world, yet we are also always drawn to the direct opposite, except for a few smaller exceptions – that being those who rely on mother nature or the pure arcane. Those who use nature magic are constantly drawn to all other aspects of magic except for arcane, which does not necessarily mean the person can use the magic in any way or form proficiently. And arcane mages, who are the only who can use this type of magic, are drawn to no other aspects, though they continue to seek for more and more arcane power, a vicious circle. Or a drug if you so desire." She sits up on her pillows.
"And this is precisely where you come in. You are not drawn to some sort of magic, and yet you don't know what kind of magic you can use at all. You still can choose what you will become. That is a gift very few people have. Your father left you the illusion that you have to become a paladin or at least someone who is able to control the 'power of the light'. Your mother on the other hand gave you the far more important features, that you are not drawn to something predetermined and with it the ability to achieve unlimited potential."
"You... you know my mother?" I ask astonished, ignoring all of the rest.
"Most people know your mother; they just don't know that you are her son. Your father was a local hero around here, so all these idiots are talking about is him. Your mother on the other hand is known on both continents."
"So may her death be just a... rumor?" I speak the words before truly thinking about them.
"Silly boy, still holding on to your frail hopes and dreams I see? She died during the destruction of Dalaran by Archimonde. The Kirin Tor are still mourning about her death." She leans back.
"So why does nobody know about her connection to me?" It again bursts out of me.
"For your own sake, idiot, she wanted to protect you by all means necessary. But please, chose a different topic. I will not answer any more questions about your mother. This will serve nobody's end." she waves with her hand once. I flinch because her gesture is the same as during the 'lesson' from earlier.
"So you are saying that I still can choose what I want to become, and all this Holy Light business is just something I made up because of my father?" the expression on my face must seem pretty confused.
"Basically that is right. From the effects of my spells today I can quite easily state that you have never used a spell using light magic successfully till now, am I right?"
I can barely think of all my tries during the time when I was in Hearthglen without a single one being successful in any form.
I nod.
"The old man wants you to become a fine cleric, you see, the potential you have for magic is nearly endless. You will be able to master the kind of magic you choose to the fullest, no matter what. Someone like this in the ranks of the Scarlet Crusade would be sheer priceless." Whitemane clinches her fist.
"You..., you must be joking? You can't be talking about me..." I follow my instincts and look to the ground.
"Stop being so doubtful in yourself! You never were taught in any sort of magic and someone like you needs a teacher, at least for a start. That is just simply normal. Now stop making a fool of yourself!" her tone is angry and a bit annoyed. I imagine her growling at me before she speaks up again. "Do you have any further questions?"
"Well..., well yes, I have one."
"Go ahead..." she pushes me into going on.
"Why is the High Inquisitor so... afraid of you?"
"Hm? Ah, you mean with teaching the students? Well, I don't usually teach the way I did today, if that calms you down a bit, except if I want to know some things for certain. He mainly fears that I might influence them and as you can see, I'm well aware of this fact. But I have my duty as well... I'm here to keep the balance, you know." her voice is darkening.
"Balance?" I ask straight forward.
"Every light needs a shadow. This is the way this world works. I was once a bit like you, not being able to choose myself of course. I found my connection to the light rather early. But it turned out that I was far more efficient with the usage of shadow spells and the light was just the magic I was drawn to instinctively." she draws a deep breath. "Fairbanks wants you to be a cleric, but if you want to use holy magic your soul must be calm and persistent and sorry Marc, but that just is not what your soul is. Yet I see your true potential and I can offer you something stronger than the light, something more forgiving if you feel restless or angry."
I don't know what to say to all of it, this is all so..., so overwhelming.
"I want to show you something more, but only later, when it is dark outside. This should be in about three hours from now. I will get you from your quarters personally. Now, do you want to see what I have to show you?" she winks at me. Despite all the plainly obvious innuendos I am relatively sure that it all has a meaning to it.
"I... I guess so.", I try not to look at her.
"Do you, or do you not...?" her tone is pressing.
"Ye-yes, I do." I finally manage to say.
"Fine then, Isillien will join us there, I hope that is no problem for you." she says that already knowing the answer. "Alright then, you should rest for a while, any last question?"
"Actually..." I stutter a bit.
"Yeees? What is it?"
"Actually... why does captain Theran hate me that much...?"
"I have no idea. That are your personal affairs.", her tone is harsh. "Do you want to rest here or in your own quarters?" I can't believe she really asks me that.
"I... I will go to my quarters. Tha-thank you." her presence makes me incredibly uncomfortable.
"Oh boy, so uptight... but suit yourself. Then out you go, you got three hours to rest." she does not stand up from the pillows, "And be sure to close the door behind you."
I quickly leave the room and do as she says. That woman gives me the creeps, in one moment she is as cold as ice and in the next she tries to seduce you with her body.
I reach my quarters fast, after all they are not too far away from the cathedral. I definitely have to change my robe. I almost ripped something off when I was trying to stop the pain from this Holy Fire spell of Whitemane. I blindly take one out of the drawer and put in onto my bed at first.
I take the spare moment and lie down on my bed trying to recall the things that had happened today. A whole lot of stuff I now have to cope with somehow.
Can this all really be the truth? I just don't want to believe Whitemane. But what if she is right?
The pressure of being like my father would be relieved, yet just so a new pressure could arise out of nowhere.
Is there really no easy way?