Post by aleros on Sept 17, 2008 2:09:08 GMT -5
Aleros couldn't sleep. Of course there was a lot going on. It was more than the usual. He didn't know what. He decided to trouble his mind a bit to settle it.
Moonglade never changed , a starry night sky always hovering above it. It was even brighter at night when the moon cast its glow over the large glade. It was in the library, in books that he'd trouble his mind further. Only those in the upper ranks of both the Circle and the Temple were allowed in this particular library, a small building near the Stormrage Barrows near the classrooms for students. The guard nodded as he approached and did not stop him as he entered.
The wisp orb sensed his presence and lit up. The smallish library was kept tidy, though it saw less use than some of the others. He skimmed the shelves. There were the books on the history of all Kaldorei, all that had been written, even the military records and political records. Journals and maps of campaigns and reigns. Building plans, projects that had long been abandoned, even a small section of Staghelm's projects that had long been abandoned. He was sure those were not the only ones, and more were hidden away elsewhere.
The next set of shelves held case studies of all sorts. Kal'Dorei, animals, spirits, humans, trolls, furbolgs, nearly every species, and each was sorted by the race of the case study and the name of the case itself. He skimmed over this section, a flash of a memory coming back to him.
He had taught her how to enter the dream, but what had not known was how delicate a situation it really was. Tyrande had not divulged much on the "Leafwhisper" case, but he was sure that the past history, as well as his involvement in the case was written somewhere in these files. His brow wrinkled as he thought about it and he moved on to the next section.
There were the journals and books written by all those who had trained in the dream, comprehensive accounts of learning the druidic arts. His was in there somewhere. Next were the ever growing volumes of articles and books written about the nightmare, a problem that he was sure would become more than even the druids could handle.
He turned about and looked back at the section on history. His fingers skimmed along the bindings of books, looking in particular for the history of Azshara, the queen of old. He pulled another book he wanted out and held it up, opening it. It was a comprehensive study on the Well of Eternity.
" ... for the effects of the Well on those who came in contact with it was profound. However too much contact was deemed in the medical records as being hazardous for the body. The queen was the only of the Kal'dorei who was given full access to use of the waters."
He flipped ahead many pages.
"Wine made from the water and the grapes that grew along the shore were only served within the royal palace of Azshara. Food and beverages made from products grown around the Well were tightly controlled. However, many regions on the northern, eastern, and southern side of the well were not as tightly guarded and enforced. In some places growth and distribution was more towards the Social Class. Some of the Highborn and the Priestesses preferred to live out of the city of Azshara, and they were the primary consumers of such products.
It is notable that many of the Temple often refused to partake of the waters any more than necessary, however those of noble class given full access rarely ever declined. ..."
He read page after page on the effects of the well on wildlife, plants, and Kal'dorei themselves...
He put that book away and chose another book in the case studies section. Kal'dorei that were over exposed to the Well and experienced adverse side affects. Strange transformations. Diseases of the organs, of the skin. Bodies twisted out of form, bodies changed. Minds altered. Psychosis disorders... one of the bigger sections of this particular book, and the subject of dedication for many others. The powers of mind control and seeing into others' minds were first explored by those of the temple who underwent extreme amounts of ingestion of the water and powerful meditation. Today it was a widely used but still controversial.
He found the book on Azshara, splitting it open and skimming for a section. Here it was, the creation of the Naga. Little is known of what happened when the Well collapsed on itself. Those directly around the well were either rendered unconscious, or experienced such a tremendous shock from the explosion that they died. Many others went insane. The palace fell directly into the well, sinking to the bottom as all four of the continents split apart. It took along with it Queen Azshara and the Highborn, who until very recently were thought to be dead.
In the book he read, he skipped to the back to look for any new additions. In the back was a copy of a case study of a naga prisoner.
There were many entries of days where the prisoner was mostly unresponsive. Occasional entries of indiscernible babbling from the prisoner. The last two entries more eventful than the rest,
"Early morning, 11th day of 9th month, 8th year of awakening. Prisoner screams in fits of rage and lashes out at his confines. He bleeds. We are sure bones are broken but we cannot stop him. 'The day of Azssshara, the day of the Highborn comesss for you pathetic Kal'dorei! She waitsss for that day and you will all be dead!' Prisoner continues to scream about a day of justice and reckoning and the doom of all the weaklings. Blood splatters on the guards' armor as he throws himself at his bars. They cannot stop him. He screams more in the naga tongue, before becoming exhausted and collapsing."
"Prisoner declared dead, 9:34 AM this 11th day of the 9th month, marked year 8 of the age of awakening."
He put the book away, going back to the case studies and picking up another one, finding another entry.
"My close friend within the Circle, Alwyn, watches over me. I dare not come out of the Moonglade. I dare not come out of this cell. I have already killed two innocents. I am now one of the many touched by nightmare. Before I thought it to be abominable to allow oneself to succumb to such a thing. Now I see that any of us are capable of being victim to it. A disease the spreads in the dream. It is not an anomaly, it is not dispersed nor temporary. It is spreading, and it has a will of its own to spread. 8.11.4"
The next page has a smear of dark Kal'dorei blood on it.
"Moonglade is cold. Winter. I smell blood. There is no blood here. I smell blood. I taste it but I cannot. My finger, I bit it. It runs down my arm. Stain. Taint. I must get rid of it all. I must escape."
Aleros seems unphased, he flips ahead in the book.
"I am being released from my confine, I feel I am more in control. Maybe someday we can figure out how to expel the nightmare from ourselves, for I feel it limiting my further development as a student of nature. However I must live as those I have previously looked down upon. The Nightmare Touched as they are called. We are called.
3.14.5"
The handwriting was his own.
Near the end of the entries in the book, he read another.
"The nightmare has become just a much a part of me as a limb or an organ. It's something I've come to live with. While I cannot not say I have full control over it, I have not killed since those first two unfortunate souls. I have long since made peace with their relatives, but still feel a tinge of the guilt. My occassional desire for blood never rages out of control. I sometimes try to remember what it was like when I was a mender, a student of healing. Staghelm continues to criticize my opposition of his acquisition of more territory, and painfully brings up the absence of nightmare in himself.
I do not wish to be this way forever, but I am starting to believe that this is the way it will be.
7.7.7, marked third year since my Red July."
He picked up a pen, opening to the first blank page after the last entry.
www.methart.com/chaos/Aleros/Jillian%20Goldin%20-%20Red%20July.mp3
Moonglade never changed , a starry night sky always hovering above it. It was even brighter at night when the moon cast its glow over the large glade. It was in the library, in books that he'd trouble his mind further. Only those in the upper ranks of both the Circle and the Temple were allowed in this particular library, a small building near the Stormrage Barrows near the classrooms for students. The guard nodded as he approached and did not stop him as he entered.
The wisp orb sensed his presence and lit up. The smallish library was kept tidy, though it saw less use than some of the others. He skimmed the shelves. There were the books on the history of all Kaldorei, all that had been written, even the military records and political records. Journals and maps of campaigns and reigns. Building plans, projects that had long been abandoned, even a small section of Staghelm's projects that had long been abandoned. He was sure those were not the only ones, and more were hidden away elsewhere.
The next set of shelves held case studies of all sorts. Kal'Dorei, animals, spirits, humans, trolls, furbolgs, nearly every species, and each was sorted by the race of the case study and the name of the case itself. He skimmed over this section, a flash of a memory coming back to him.
He had taught her how to enter the dream, but what had not known was how delicate a situation it really was. Tyrande had not divulged much on the "Leafwhisper" case, but he was sure that the past history, as well as his involvement in the case was written somewhere in these files. His brow wrinkled as he thought about it and he moved on to the next section.
There were the journals and books written by all those who had trained in the dream, comprehensive accounts of learning the druidic arts. His was in there somewhere. Next were the ever growing volumes of articles and books written about the nightmare, a problem that he was sure would become more than even the druids could handle.
He turned about and looked back at the section on history. His fingers skimmed along the bindings of books, looking in particular for the history of Azshara, the queen of old. He pulled another book he wanted out and held it up, opening it. It was a comprehensive study on the Well of Eternity.
" ... for the effects of the Well on those who came in contact with it was profound. However too much contact was deemed in the medical records as being hazardous for the body. The queen was the only of the Kal'dorei who was given full access to use of the waters."
He flipped ahead many pages.
"Wine made from the water and the grapes that grew along the shore were only served within the royal palace of Azshara. Food and beverages made from products grown around the Well were tightly controlled. However, many regions on the northern, eastern, and southern side of the well were not as tightly guarded and enforced. In some places growth and distribution was more towards the Social Class. Some of the Highborn and the Priestesses preferred to live out of the city of Azshara, and they were the primary consumers of such products.
It is notable that many of the Temple often refused to partake of the waters any more than necessary, however those of noble class given full access rarely ever declined. ..."
He read page after page on the effects of the well on wildlife, plants, and Kal'dorei themselves...
He put that book away and chose another book in the case studies section. Kal'dorei that were over exposed to the Well and experienced adverse side affects. Strange transformations. Diseases of the organs, of the skin. Bodies twisted out of form, bodies changed. Minds altered. Psychosis disorders... one of the bigger sections of this particular book, and the subject of dedication for many others. The powers of mind control and seeing into others' minds were first explored by those of the temple who underwent extreme amounts of ingestion of the water and powerful meditation. Today it was a widely used but still controversial.
He found the book on Azshara, splitting it open and skimming for a section. Here it was, the creation of the Naga. Little is known of what happened when the Well collapsed on itself. Those directly around the well were either rendered unconscious, or experienced such a tremendous shock from the explosion that they died. Many others went insane. The palace fell directly into the well, sinking to the bottom as all four of the continents split apart. It took along with it Queen Azshara and the Highborn, who until very recently were thought to be dead.
In the book he read, he skipped to the back to look for any new additions. In the back was a copy of a case study of a naga prisoner.
There were many entries of days where the prisoner was mostly unresponsive. Occasional entries of indiscernible babbling from the prisoner. The last two entries more eventful than the rest,
"Early morning, 11th day of 9th month, 8th year of awakening. Prisoner screams in fits of rage and lashes out at his confines. He bleeds. We are sure bones are broken but we cannot stop him. 'The day of Azssshara, the day of the Highborn comesss for you pathetic Kal'dorei! She waitsss for that day and you will all be dead!' Prisoner continues to scream about a day of justice and reckoning and the doom of all the weaklings. Blood splatters on the guards' armor as he throws himself at his bars. They cannot stop him. He screams more in the naga tongue, before becoming exhausted and collapsing."
"Prisoner declared dead, 9:34 AM this 11th day of the 9th month, marked year 8 of the age of awakening."
He put the book away, going back to the case studies and picking up another one, finding another entry.
"My close friend within the Circle, Alwyn, watches over me. I dare not come out of the Moonglade. I dare not come out of this cell. I have already killed two innocents. I am now one of the many touched by nightmare. Before I thought it to be abominable to allow oneself to succumb to such a thing. Now I see that any of us are capable of being victim to it. A disease the spreads in the dream. It is not an anomaly, it is not dispersed nor temporary. It is spreading, and it has a will of its own to spread. 8.11.4"
The next page has a smear of dark Kal'dorei blood on it.
"Moonglade is cold. Winter. I smell blood. There is no blood here. I smell blood. I taste it but I cannot. My finger, I bit it. It runs down my arm. Stain. Taint. I must get rid of it all. I must escape."
Aleros seems unphased, he flips ahead in the book.
"I am being released from my confine, I feel I am more in control. Maybe someday we can figure out how to expel the nightmare from ourselves, for I feel it limiting my further development as a student of nature. However I must live as those I have previously looked down upon. The Nightmare Touched as they are called. We are called.
3.14.5"
The handwriting was his own.
Near the end of the entries in the book, he read another.
"The nightmare has become just a much a part of me as a limb or an organ. It's something I've come to live with. While I cannot not say I have full control over it, I have not killed since those first two unfortunate souls. I have long since made peace with their relatives, but still feel a tinge of the guilt. My occassional desire for blood never rages out of control. I sometimes try to remember what it was like when I was a mender, a student of healing. Staghelm continues to criticize my opposition of his acquisition of more territory, and painfully brings up the absence of nightmare in himself.
I do not wish to be this way forever, but I am starting to believe that this is the way it will be.
7.7.7, marked third year since my Red July."
He picked up a pen, opening to the first blank page after the last entry.
www.methart.com/chaos/Aleros/Jillian%20Goldin%20-%20Red%20July.mp3