Chapter 5
"This is amazing!" Karis yelled out as she gripped on to Tylira tightly. Leaning to the side slightly, the young girl looked down at the ground below her as it flew past in a blur, her hair flying wildly in the wind.
From the moment that Tylira had launched the two of them skywards, Karis had felt exhilarated. The two of them had hurtled upwards through the clouds, greeted by the sun as it hung in the sky, making its daily trek across the heavens. Even with the wind working its best to put a chill through her, Karis felt the warmth of the sun.
Her pet raven, on the other hand, hadn't been enjoying the trip as much as Karis was. From nearly the instant that they took off, the raven had hidden in the bag that Karis was carrying, and hadn't come out since. Even when Tylira brought them back down through the clouds again as it got darker, the raven remained hidden.
Almost as much as the flight, Karis was enjoying the view around her. Everything just looked amazing to her, from the trees, to the lakes, to the hills and mountains. Everything was just simply beautiful. But none of it prepared her for the wonder that she saw as she came into Moonglade.
Flying over the top of a large hill, Tylira dipped suddenly, passing through what looked to be a layer of dense fog. Karis closed her eyes as she felt the moisture stick to her, leaving a slight coating behind on her as Tylira flew out of the fog. When she opened her eyes, she let out a gasp.
Spread out before here was a luscious piece of land that looked to be full of life. Everywhere that Karis looked, there were all sorts of shades of green. Even the various remains of a past civilisation were coated in a thin layer of green moss. Aside from the ruins, the land looked to be completely untouched by war or any kind of fighting.
As they flew through the glade, they passed over a large lake resting in the middle of the veritable paradise. Its water shimmered gently in the low light, reflecting some of the trees on its surface at the edges. The water was so clear that Karis could make out the fish that were swimming under its surface, as well as some Night Elves that were also swimming there.
Looking back up from the lake, Karis looked around at the rest of the area, noticing all of the trees that were dotted around, the wild animals that happily ran around. Walking along the pathways that looked to be made from stone found in the local area were what looked to be guards.
Looking forwards, Karis saw the location they were headed towards. Set upon the top of a hill was a large collection of huts, houses and buildings, all of them obviously Night Elf in design. Walkways linked the buildings in various locations, and people were going about their business on them, from some people setting up small stalls, to others just offering advice.
As Tylira and Karis flew over them, the people glanced upwards, some even waving. Karis waved by, feeling slightly embarrassed for some reason by the entire thing. Banking to the right slightly, Tylira brought them down to the ground, landing delicately behind some bushes.
Karis jumped down off of Tylira's back and stretched slightly, wincing a little from how stiff her bones had become due to the long flight. Turning to look at Tylira, Karis removed the bag and held it out to her. Tylira took the bag in her beak and Karis turned so her back was towards her.
After a few moments, Karis felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn and look up into the smiling face of Tylira who was once again wearing a light weight, loose fitting outfit that swayed gently in the calm breeze, as did her hair.
"Shall we?" she said in that soft voice that made Karis feel so very happy. Karis nodded and took hold of Tylira's hand. Giving the young girls hand a gentle squeeze, Tylira led her out from behind the bushes and towards the settlement.
As they approached, a male Night Elf started to walk towards them. Karis looked at the man with slight suspicion as he came closer. He was certainly tall, even by Night Elf standards, and his hair was long and tied neatly into two plaits. Even in the low light, Karis could tell his hair was white in colour.
He was wearing what looked to Karis to be some kind of leather armour, with a staff strapped in place on his back. Eventually, he stopped just in front of them, looking at Tylira for a moment, his face showing no emotion. Eventually, he smiled, reaching out and placing his hands on the sides of Tylira's arms.
"Tylira, it is good to see you again!" he said. His voice sounded unnaturally deep to Karis, causing her to almost shiver in response.
"Loganaar, it is good to see you too" Tylira responded, smiling at the man. "It has certainly been a while, hasn't it?" Loganaar nodded in response, letting his arms drop to his side.
"Indeed it has" he said again, his voice just as deep as before. He looked down at Karis, who shied away, trying to hide behind Tylira. "And who is this?" he asked, his voice sounding much more gentle.
"This is Karis" Tylira said, motioning for the young Night Elf to move forwards. Reluctantly, she moved out from behind Tylira and waved slightly, looking down at the ground. Once again, she was feeling embarrassed and also felt as if she was being judged.
"I met her in Un'goro crater and have since taken her into my care" she carried on, crouching down beside Karis and gently stroking her cheek. "Karis, this is Loganaar. He is one of the people who taught me to be a druid."
Upon hearing Loganaar's connection with Tylira's past, she felt some of the weight that was on her lift, enough that she could now look at the man. She gave him a sheepish smile as Tylira stood back up again.
"Un'goro, hmm?" Loganaar said, scratching his chin slightly as he looked at Karis. "That's a mighty dangerous place to be, especially for such a young child. How on Azeroth did you come to be there?"
"W…well…" Karis said quietly, not entirely sure how to answer the question. With a slight shrug and an inward sigh, she answered as best as could. "I walked there from Silithus, trying to get away from my uncle." At the mention of her uncle, Karis' hand drifted up towards her marked shoulder.
Loganaar nodded slightly, as if in understanding, but asked no further questions. Instead, he motioned for the two female Night Elves to walk beside him back into the settlement.
"Well, Karis, let me be the first to welcome you to Nighthaven" he said, giving her a smile before looking to Tylira. "Will you be here long? I can take you to a nice room with a view, or is this a passing trip via the inn?"
"That depends" Tylira said quietly, looking down at Karis who was now looking around at all of the buildings as they walked through Nighthaven. "First, we need to talk to Remulos. There is something that I need to ask him."
"Remulos?" Loganaar said, looking to Tylira with a raised eyebrow. "Why would you need to talk with the Keeper?"
Karis kept quiet as the two of them were talking, remaining close to Tylira as they made their way through Nighthaven. All around them, the various inhabitants were giving polite nods to the two older elves, but also offering Karis a welcome smile.
Karis had to admit to herself as she smiled slightly, this place was certainly a lot more inviting to be in than the Cenarion Hold had been. And the view was certainly much better.
"I have an important question to ask of him" Karis heard Tylira say as she came back into the conversation. She wondered what question she would be asking this Remulos, and from the look on his face, so did Loganaar.
"Well, whatever it is, I hope you get the answer you are looking for" he said to Tylira with a warm smile. "I trust you still know the way to find him?" Tylira responded with a nod and a smile of her own as they came to a stop next to one of the entrances to the town.
"Of course, it hasn't been that long, Loganaar" Tylira said, letting out a faint laugh. The male Night Elf let out a chuckle of his own before giving Tylira a friendly hug, which she returned.
"Come find me when you are done, and I shall arrange a place for you and the young one to rest for the night" he said before looking to Karis. "And you take care as well, Karis."
Karis smiled and nodded, watching as the man walked away, leaving Karis and Tylira alone. Karis looked up at Tylira, remaining quiet for a moment.
"He seems nice" she finally said, looking back to where Loganaar was just turning around a corner, vanishing from sight. Tylira nodded slightly in agreement before turning and leading Karis out of Nighthaven.
"Indeed he is. He is also a brilliant teacher of all things druid" she said as the two of them walked down a hill onto the path they had seen when flying over head. "If your training goes through, some of it will be done by Loganaar, if he accepts you as a student."
Karis went quiet for a moment as Tylira mentioned her training to be a druid. The more things went on, the more real it seemed to be that she could become a druid, just like Tylira.
They both remained mostly silent as they walked along the path, only speaking up a couple of times as Tylira pointed out various things to her along the path, usually in the form of various little creatures. The more Karis saw of Moonglade, the more she came to like it. She felt like she was finally in a place where she belonged.
After nearly half an hour of walking, Tylira brought them to a stop at a fork in the road. She looked along one of the directions the path now took before looking back to Karis.
"Karis, I need to ask you something very important" she said, crouching down in front of the girl. Karis looked at Tylira, slight worry forming in her mind. She wasn't sure what Tylira was going to ask her, but she was certainly feeling a bit worried.
"What are you going to ask?" she asked quietly, the worry showing itself in her voice. Tylira offered a warm smile to Karis and placed a hand on her good shoulder, squeezing it gently.
"I need to make sure you understand what it will mean for you to become a druid, if Remulos allows it" she said, looking straight into the young girls eyes.
Remulos… Karis thought to herself. She had wondered what it was that Tylira wanted to ask him, and going by what Tylira had just said, it sounded like he was the one who was going to give permission or not for her to become a druid.
"As you know, in the Night Elf society, your choice to become a female druid will be frowned upon, and some people will out right attempt to attack and subdue you. This is one of the risks that you face with joining and becoming one of us." Tylira paused a moment, watching Karis who remained silent as she processed the information, simply nodding slightly.
"If you become a druid, you will be trained here, not just by myself, but by others as well. You will be trained to join the Cenarion Circle as well, to uphold our values." Tylira said slowly, trying not to rush Karis with an overflow of information.
"That will mean that any prejudice that you may have towards the Horde, you need to leave behind. We are neutral towards both the Horde and the Alliance. We serve neither, but will offer aid to both, if it is required." Karis found herself slightly taken aback as she was told not to hate the Horde, something that for all intents and purposes she had been raised to do. If she had to break that trend, it was not going to be an easy thing for her to do.
"And lastly, you will be taught to love all nature. You will be taught to revere it, to cherish it in all its forms. Although we druids are capable fighters, as part of the Circle, we try to abstain from violence where possible." Tylira stopped talking and nodded slightly, as if to signify she was finished.
Karis remained silent as what Tylira had just told her rolled around in her head. Even though Tylira had obviously tried to make things as simple for her as she could, there was still a lot of information to go through. After a few minutes, Karis finally nodded.
"I still want to do this" she said slowly, looking at Tylira with a small smile. "I can learn, I know I can. I may find it hard…but I can stay strong." Tylira remained stone faced for a moment before smiling and pulling Karis into a gentle embrace.
"Good, then let us follow this path" she said, standing up and holding out her hand to Karis. Taking the hand, Karis smiled. She knew she was going to find the transition hard, that she was going to have issues along the way, but she knew that with Tylira to guide her, she could do it!
It was with this in mind that she walked beside Tylira up the path, towards what looked to be a shrine. As they approached, a small gathering of druids separated, allowing them through, most offering polite bows and nods as they did.
Walking past them, Karis and Tylira came to a stop. There was silence all around them for a few moments, and Karis looked up at Tylira who had her eyes closed, a smile playing on her lips. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of hooves coming down on the path behind them.
Karis resisted the urge to look around, but soon found she didn't have to. A large creature moved past Tylira, walking past her before standing before the two Night Elves.
Karis could only stare in wonder at the creature before her. He looked to be a cross between a Night Elf and a horse; the torso, head and arms were definitely Night Elf, and the four legs couldn't be anything other than some kind of horse, with large prominent horns protruding from his head.
Tylira crouched down so that she was on knee, to which Karis quickly followed suit. Although she tried not to, Karis looked up at the creature as it regarded the two of them, remaining still for a moment.
Remulos… Karis thought to herself again, her heart hammering in her chest. All her confidence from before had washed away, leaving behind a fear. Was she good enough? Would he let her train? Closing her eyes, she looked down at the ground, waiting for him to cast his judgement.