Everybody's got the fever, that is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing, fever started long ago.
~Fever-Michael Buble~
Khadgar surveyed the 6 books before him and frowned. None of them were quite what he was looking for. The attendants of the Great Library of Stormwind wandered about, replacing books, speaking softly with other patrons or engaging one another in conversation. The Archmage wore a hooded cloak that covered his face, lest someone recognize him. It was unlikely, as the population at large who may have known his name from the history books, had no idea what he looked like. Still, it was providence that haphazard meetings would occur at the most inopportune times and he preferred his rather awkward search be carried out incognito.
The trouble was, the tome he was searching for may or may not even exist. It was the sort of thing whispered about in dark corners of a lover's bedroom, or hidden beneath the floorboards of a fraternity house.
Cordana is right, he told himself. You ARE ridiculous, Khadgar. There was no facet of his life but this one that he did not have control over. There was no spell he could not master, no secret he could not ferret out, no mystery that he could not solve given time. Except this one. The greatest of all mysteries: the secrets of a woman's heart. And, he thought, her body.
Of course, he knew the gist of things. Which teenage boy didn't sneak around spying on young ladies, stealing gentleman's playing cards to look at the pictures on the back, laughing with peers under bridges to gape at a centerfold pilfered from an older brother or father. He had been no different before he was apprenticed to Medivh at Karazhan. After that, there was no more time for such flights of fancies. His life had no longer been his own and hadn't been since.
Until now.
Now he desperately needed the knowledge it seemed every living thing had within them. Matters of love, both physical and emotional were an alien landscape to him. He was still not sure why Cordana had deemed him appropriate to fall in love with. He knew nothing about courting and romance. Really, he chided himself, how romantic was it to turn the woman you love into a sheep?
He grinned to himself. She had been a rather adorable, fluffy white lamb.
He placed the books he had considered back on the shelf and looked around. Perhaps what he wanted was in a more specific place. It was a Kaldorei book, so maybe...he turned to that section of the library. It was decorated and lit like the library at Darnassus, and staffed by several night elves. One of them, a young male, came over to him and bowed. "Might I assist you in your search, good sir?" he asked politely.
Khadgar, who had never been at a loss for words, was suddenly tongue tied. "No...well...I...I..." he sighed miserably. I need a cover story, think man think!
"Actually, I am doing some research with Dr. Jones and wondered if you had a tome here, that discussed the legendary Elfa Sutra. It is a manual on the ways of love, I believe, written in ancient times?"
The young man blinked, then he laughed.
"I fail to see what is so amusing," said Khadgar, glad his hood kept his face in shadow.
"I am sorry!" the Kaldorei exclaimed. "That book has been a rather potent source of anticipation among my people. We are promised a look at it when we come of age, yet no one has ever seen nor laid eyes on it for centuries. Most of us truly believe it is lost with the sands of time, if it ever existed at all. My own grandfather is still waiting to catch a glimpse of it!"
Khadgar sagged dejectedly. Now what? He cleared his throat. "Well I thank you for that rather disappointing litany. I will have to let Dr. Jones know that his search may be fruitless."
The young sire laughed again. "Why always Dr. Jones?" he asked.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Dr. Jones. Everyone that comes in here, asking after the Elfa Sutra, always cites Dr. Jones as the reason for their search. Aren't there any other archaeologists whose names could be dropped?" He was still chuckling, precariously close to approaching a giggle loop.
Khadgar shrugged. "He is the most renown, and his name carries more weight than an unknown would."
The elf sire nodded, then got his mirth under control. "I am sorry to laugh at you. I am going to guess that you are a human under that unseasonably heavy cloak, and have fallen through a ring of fire for a Kaldorei. Am I correct, good sir?"
Khadgar said nothing, all his energy going into holding the weight of the world off his shoulders.
"You do not need the Elfa Sutra or truly any book to learn how to please a Kaldorei. We are no different than you. Just...love them as your heart commands. All the knowledge you require is already within you and what you don't know I'm sure your chosen will tell you."
I already knew that, Khadgar said to himself as he hurried away from the Great Library. I know the mechanics of it. It's the details I wish I understood!