Warcraft Fan Fiction ❯ Bloodstained Shadows - Chronicles of a Lost Soul ❯ Scarlet Dawn - Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12:

 

 

The last week passed in an instance. I hardly read anything in that time, what a shame.

This is all becoming a giant mess. Most of the time since that day I have been sitting on my bed thinking. Since that moment when the creature that looked like the High Inquisitor Fairbanks showed up I haven't known anymore if this is the right path to be on. On the other hand, what possibilities do I have? The Scarlet Crusade is a noble order of paladins, warriors, mages and priests that worship the Holy Light to its full extend, isn't it?

Many people have left the crusade during this week, that guy at the counter in the morning handing out breakfast, Charles Worth or whatever his name was and most noticeable, Captain Theran. Those were people I saw everyday although my connection to them was brief or based on hatred towards each other.

But all in all the number of members has decreased considerably as I see in the mornings when getting breakfast and going to the morning prayers. I would guess the number of members now is about as half as high as it was before. Since the death of the Ashbringer, his older son Renault has been Champion of the Crusade and in charge of the military forces based here.

I'm still without a teacher. Actually I want to study on my own, but I lack the concentration to be able to read at the moment. Every time I open a book from the ones I have lying around here, everything in my head starts whirling around, as if the letters of the book start shaking. So I take long walks around the grounds of the monastery to calm myself down, to find peace of mind. Yet I am without success. I don't want to go to Whitemane and ask her to teach me. The things she would try to show me are not the things I want to learn, at least I think so.

Isillien is on his way back to Hearthglen as I have heard. Whitemane is teaching the apprentices now personally again. I just hope for them that she really does that `in a normal way' as she said to me that evening and those tryouts with me were only an exception. On the other hand none of them has ever been nice to me, nor has tried to help me with whatsoever. I hold myself back not to finish this thought.

I look around in my room, three books lying on my bed all opened, but I'm not able to read in any of them, four more on my table. The sunlight shines in through my window. In the evening this is actually a very bright room. I take a look out of the window. The sun is slowly approaching the horizon for sunset, the light flooding the northern beaches of Tirisfal. The forests on the other hand are already as dark as after nightfall.

A knocking on the door interrupts my thoughts.

“I'll be there in a moment...”, I yell instantly.

“Hurry up, I bring an important message for you.”, the voice sounds familiar, but not like a friend, probably just a guard that usually has a shift in this part of the monastery.

I open the door and as I expected, just a guard.

“The High Inquisitor wants to see you, Marc Fipps. You should report to her office immediately.”, he clearly states that I should do this right away.

“Alright, I'll be on my way in a minute.”, I try to take some of the pressure out of the situation.

The guard nods and turns around walking away to his usual position.

High Inquisitor, they finally found a new one? HER office? Oh no, please, they didn't....

I change to my apprentice robe and leave my room.

I takes me about five minutes to reach the cathedral. One of the guards is so friendly to open the door for me, I thank him.

It is all quiet in here this evening, inside there are no guards at all. I take my time walking through the giant main room of the cathedral, but I don't stop to look. I turn right into the hallway with the office of the High Inquisitor. ,

I think I know what, or furthermore who will be expecting me there.

I stop in front of the door. I raise my hand to knock.

“Come in Marc.”, I hear her voice before my hand even touched the door. I shake my head and look to the floor, wondering what she wants to tell me, we have not spoken for three weeks.

I open the door and enter the room.

Whitemane greets me with a smile of her dark red lips. She is wearing her usual uniform.

“Please close the door, Marc.”, I would have done it anyway, but I do as she says. “Have a seat, honey.”

She already starts talking like that again. “So you surely wonder why I summoned you here today...”

I nod in response.

“Well, first of all, as you can see I have been promoted.”, she stretches out her arms as if she wanted to hug me. I just look at her in bewilderment.

“What? No congratulations? Oh boy... you don't know how to make friends, do you?”, her reaction confuses me only more.

“I...I'm...”, I stutter.

“Awww, cut it out, silly boy, I'm just fooling around with you, you should have gotten used to that actually.”, she winks at me. Sooner or later that woman will drive me crazy if she goes on like that.

“But well, there are a few things I want to talk to you about. Due to the recent... tragic events we suffered a heavy setback.”, the look in her eyes puts a certain pressure on me.

“A lot of people have left the Crusade, as you surely have noticed. Your little girlfriend there, Captain Theran was her name? Well, she quit the crusade too, but you probably knew that as the first one of us all.”

“What... what are you saying?”, I start panicking as she mentions the word girlfriend.

“Oh boy, did she envy you, she really hated you for what you are.”, Whitemane adds with a faint laughter.

“But how can somebody envy... me?”, I ask quietly.

“You were the son of a local hero, you were friends with Taelan Fordring and lived on his behalf in Hearthglen for about a year, you were the private student of the former High Inquisitor Fairbanks and myself and you were picked up by a escort field trip especially sent for you. THAT is quite a lot to envy a person.”, she smiles at me. “And you not being able to cast a single spell and therefore being useless in her eyes can stir up hatred towards you.” Whitemane shrugs, “On the other hand side this also shows how short-sighted Captain Theran was. Just try not to think about this any more.”

She says that so easily.

“Now it's been three weeks, Marc.”, she is tapping with her fingers on her desk. “You still don't want me as a teacher for you, I assume.” I don't know what to respond to that. She is right, but yet again not. I can't tell her that I don't know.

“You still are so uneasy with others around, oh my.”, her voice sounds as if she is pitying me. “Well, all I wanted to tell you is that the city of Tyr's Hand has finally joined the Scarlet Crusade. In the city there are several churches and a big cathedral. We are planning to move the religious centre of the Crusade there.”, she is looking for eye contact.

“The thing is, due to the fact that YOU don't want ME as a teacher, you will be transferred to Tyr's Hand in about a month. So you have enough time to change your mind and tell me, `Sally, Sally I still want to be your student. I'm so sorry.'”, her tone is mocking, yet cold. “Because you definitely need a teacher who shows you how the world goes round. If you understand what I mean...”

I nod silently. Transferred to Tyr's Hand, I've never been there, but it is said to be one of the safest cities remaining.

“The High Lord Abbendis will surely take care of you there. Find you someone who will show you the way to become a `righteous' cleric.”, something is strange about the way she says that.

“That is the most important thing I wanted to tell you today. You can go now if you wish, or do you have any further questions?”, she knows I have, but she won't answer me any of them.

“No, I don't...”, I stand up quietly and head to the door.

“Oh, I forgot one thing.”, she also stands up, coming towards me. “That book of your mother, the one Fairbanks gave you, keep it. I'm sure he won't have any further use for it.”

She smiles at me, her eyes closed. I stand there not realizing what happened and still trying to understand what she just said to me. She opens the door, puts her hand on my chest and gently pushes me out of the room.

“Nighty night, and pleasant dreams, honey.” she waves with one hand and closes the door in front of me.

Hearing the door fall into its lock, I snap out of my trance for a moment. I take a step back and turn into the direction of the altar. My head is empty, I'm not thinking anything right now.

As if my body is moving on its own, I walk to the altar and stop in front of it. It is made of pure white marble. I turn around facing the entrance of the cathedral. I imagine how it would feel standing here, up in front of all the clerics, paladins and warriors holding a speech.

I push aside those thoughts instantly.

I'm sure Whitemane said the things about my mother so incidentally on purpose! Maybe as some sort of revenge for me rejecting her as a teacher. I walk away from the altar. The door of the cathedral hardly opens . I haven't been in there for too long. The sun barely moved on its way on the horizon. The guards also seem a bit surprised that I am already leaving again.

They wish me a good night.

I wonder if I can sleep at all tonight.

Everything around me is sort of dull. The voices of the guards, the breeze on my face, the sight of the cathedral grounds.

I walk slowly towards my quarters. As if I wasn't confused enough already, she comes up to me and drops this bomb on me. I open the door and enter the room. I look around, the book I'm searching for is lying among all the others.

Tyrienna, is that your real name, or was it Sarah Fipps, mother?

I open up the book and look at the second page.

'To my precious son and righteous husband. I love you. - Tyrienna '.

I read this on the day I got the book from Fairbanks and did not notice. I read it over and over again, trying to remember things of my mother. It is hard to comprehend that this person that I have never heard of before is supposed to be my mother. Simply the fact that this might be her real name and the Sarah Fipps that was my mother, that my father loved was only a role, an illusion created by her.

I'm happy to hold something she had left for me.

Yet again I feel shattered.

I read the line one final time, then I close the book and clinch it.

I want to never give it away and only moments later I want to burn it.

I have to stop thinking like this, to calm down, this is exactly what Whitemane wants me to do, to think.

One month remains until my departure to Tyr's Hand. I don't know if I should be glad to get out of the reach of Whitemane or be sad to leave this area once again. On the other hand, Northdale would be closer than ever. So there should be a chance that we will clean it of the undead.

I just plainly don't know what to think at the moment. I try to talk me into taking this positively already.

Additionally to all of this, due to this moving around again, I won't be able to settle internally again.

I hold my head with both my hands, I want to scream out loud.

That woman, all she wants is to make me even more restless than I am already and take advantage of it.

Treacherous bitch..., I won't give in to her!

There is still one month left, she will not let go of me easily.

I have to focus.