In Want for a Wand

by Leila Drake

The Queen and the Princess

Lady Sylvanas, Banshee Queen and Leader of the Forsaken, paced up and down the small chamber she had chosen for the ritual. The sound of her steps reflected off the stone walls, creating echoes within echoes. She stopped abruptly and turned around.

"Are you done yet?" Her etheral voice that always seemed as if it came from the end of a long, dark tunnel was almost normal. Impatience made a muscle below her left eye twith.

It was hard to make out the features of the two other women in the dimly lit room. Not so for Sylvanas. Her sight was from the shadow and it pierced shadow. So did her voice and her arrows if she wanted to. Right now she felt tempted to pierce the shaman. She bit back her aggravation and asked instead, "Well, Tauren?"

The Shaman nodded slowly. "Yes, Mylady. We are ready. The only other thing we need is a carpet."

"I have you here to perform a ritual of Sight, not to get comfortable", hissed Sylvanas. "My patience is running thin." She looked around the room. "All these candles, incence, sacred herbs", she spat out each word, "if the don't do what they are supposed to do, I will - "

The Tauren raised her eyebrows.

Sylvanas massaged her temples with her fingers and sighed curtly. "Get the carpet."

One of the four guards at the door left in a hurry. All of them were Forsaken, of course. Sylvanas was still uncomfortable with being a part of the Horde but she had her reasons to play nice for now. Still, she needed people as her bodyguards whom she could trust. And you could not trust the living. The dead did not change their minds so easily.

Sylvanas cast a look at the other Shaman. She was a Pandaren, young in appearance, but something told Sylvanas that she had her share of experience in the spirit world. The Pandaren gave her a warm, relaxed smile. Sylvanas kept staring, then turned away. How could that woman stay unfazed by her wrath? She was not used to getting the nice treatment.

Of course, there were a few Undead that actually had friends. Like that weakling Koltira with his pathetic bonds with Alliance Death Knights. Still, it was only a matter of time until he would break and serve the Forsaken. Sylvanas was proud of the expertise with which her torturers were able to convince people to do her bidding.

No matter. One thing bothered her much more. There was that unsettling rumor. The people were talking about a human that had come to Undercity, after years of absence, and in company of two little colorful ponies. They said that the man was not actually dead but still behaved just like a Forsaken. When Sylvanas had heard of that, every single alarm bell in her head had gone off. Unfortunately, she had heard of the human after he had left again.

Maybe she was too late to send scout parties after him. However, if he really was a healed Forsaken, that meant that there was a cure for the curse of Undeath. Which had inspired Sylvanas to do this little... session with the shamans.

Finally: There was her guard with the carpet. It was a ragged piece of cloth, a remainder of the times before the Scourge. The red color was almost completely faded but you could still see that it had once been a piece of excellent craftsmanship. Maybe she should take this as a sign. A remnant of a time of innocence... and patience.

"Set it down right here", requested the Tauren, pointing at the space in front of the fire bowl. The guard did so, then retreated to join the others at the door. The Tauren looked at Sylvanas.

"We will require privacy", she said politely.

Sylvanas gave a curt nod and the guards left, closing the door behind them. Silence fell in the stone chamber, only interrupted by the occasional rat skittering across the floor.

"Please, sit down", the Tauren invited Sylvanas, waving at the carpet. She looked back at her incredulously.

"Please", repeated the Tauren.

"I want to discover what the future holds. I do not think -"

The Tauren held up her hand. "Mylady, there is only one way."

"Sitting on a carpet." It sounded more like a statement than a question as Sylvanas said that.

"That is just in case you do succeed", spoke up the Pandaren, stepping forward. "If you are indeed granted a vision, which, with all due respect, I dare to doubt, you might fall down. You are less likely to injure yourself if you are already sitting."

Sylvanas rolled her eyes. She put down her weapon belt and removed her shoulderplates. Then she planted her bottom on the carpet, crossing her long legs. "Very well", she sighed. "I will humor you."

The Pandaren smiled. "Hm, humor... That's good. It is a divine gift, you know. So that's a start."

Sylvanas rolled her eyes. She had been right, the Pandaren actually was older than the other shaman. There was true authority in her voice. And she had that annoying habit of giving everyone her wisdom even if it sounded like a cheap Winter's Veil card. "Now, I want you to try and relax."

Sylvanas sighed again. "Just begin."

The Pandaren kneeled down next to her.

"Sylvanas", she said quietly, ignoring all honorifics, "you are the one who wants to do this, are you not? We can only guide you but you will perform the ritual." She stood up again, pouring a few leaves of dried herbs into the firebowl. "Let us see where this shall lead you."

She closed her eyes and began the chanting.

Sylvanas sat awkwardly on the carpet, staring into the smoke of the burning herbs. At first she was just annoyed, then she forced herself to calm down. There was a trick to do this and now was probably the time for it. She imagined her feelings as corporeal beings, then shut them in an imaginary box and tossed it into an imaginary abyss.

She could do this. She would not believe that damnation would be her future. She had to get a vision. She just... had to.

The smoke got into her lungs and after a while, long after the Shamans were already in trance, she felt her eyelids become heavy and her thoughts get sluggish. There was a jolt, then she was plunged into darkness.

•°

The darkness is not for long, however - she feels herself drifting through a fog. It is hard to see a thing.

Her feet touch solid ground. The fog is clearing.

Sylvanas finds herself standing on a small elevation.

The landscape is repetitive - hill after hill, until the horizon. They are covered by dead leaves. No grass, nothing alive, just dead leaves and needles.

Sylvanas gets a foreboding feeling, a hint of... dread. She shivers. She is not used to getting scared anymore, not after forseeing her own death in shadow and eternal pain. Sylvanas wraps her cloak around her. She is painfully aware of how alone she is.

Something approaches. Sylvanas steels herself. She has no weapons, nothing to defend herself with save her bare hands. As the figure gets closer, Sylvanas can make out the features. However, it is not what she has expected. It is not the Lich King nor a Val'kyr, nor a spectre from the shadow valley of Death.

She sighs as she recognizes the species from the description of her spies. There had been a creature like this in Undercity before. Except while the other one had been violet, this one's coat is of a dark blue. Her mane floats in a nonexistent breeze. Sylvanas can see thousands of tiny stars glitter inside the mane and tail. The alicorn smiles at her, first with a hint of confusion in her eyes, then the pony seems to recognize her.

"Greetings", says the pony, smiling. "Do not be afraid. I mean you no harm."

The alicorn has the bearing of a royal creature. Sylvanas hesitates. The warmth and friendliness emanating from the pony is almost palpable. She feels something strange in her gut, a sensation that drives the cold away.

Sylvanas clears her throat. Somehow, she feels more... alive than when awake. Even her voice sounds like before she died, just like that of an elvish woman, not the echo of a Banshee. "Greetings, Alicorn", she says cautiously, suddenly noticing the tiara on the pony's head. "Who are you? And what is this place? This does not feel like a vision."

"A vision? This is merely a dream. I am sorry to disappoint you but this is not of mine own making. You are creating this world. I must admit I did not expect myself to end up here. Perhaps the dreamscapes are growing, overlapping..." The Alicorn trails off and looks around. "It is quite calm. Usually I visit my subjects' nightmares, trying to help them to face their fears. Is this your fear?", she asks, pointing at the hills.

Sylvanas shakes her head. "It is my reality", she says. "I think these are graves."

She bents down and picks up a leaf, crumbling it in her hand. "To sleep in the earth... I always thought that it would be the fate of everything. If it just ended... I could..." Sylvanas trails off, losing the courage to finish the sentence.

"Do you truly want to die?" says the Alicorn, looking sadly at her. "What made you so desperate that you wish for nothingness?"

Sylvanas shivers again, dropping her head. "I doubt you would believe me."

The Alicorn smiles and does something unexpected. She pulls Sylvanas into a careful hug.

Sylvanas suddenly feels like a child again, scared in the dark. Except this time there is someone else, comforting her. Even if it is a royal blue pony thing. She can hardly understand why she trusts the creature, but somehow she does. This is not a place for pretense, she realizes. You cannot lie to your unconscious after all. The hug is... nice. Awkward, but still nice.

"What must I do?", whispers Sylvanas, a single treacherous bit of water running down her cheek. She does not understand. Friendship is for the weak. She cannot afford to be weak. She must be stone cold or else the demons of the dark will claim her soul once again.

The Alicorn smiles and opens her mouth to respond, but suddenly stiffens and pulls back from the hug.

"Something followed me here!", she whispers. All friendliness is gone from her face. With a fierce expression, her ears standing straight up, she turns her head, trying to locate the intruder.

Sylvanas quickly gets to her feet and looks around. "I cannot see it. What is it?"

"A spirit." The Alicorn lights her horn, making Sylvanas step back instinctively. "I shall take care of this. 'Tis better if you awake for now. Be safe, Lady Sylvanas, and do not give in to -" The Alicorn fades away into mist that quickly dissipates.

"No!" Sylvanas shouts, stretching out her hand. She cannot touch the alicorn - all she has in her grasp is dust and fog.

"Come back! I demand you return to me!"

She feels betrayed. The short feeling of comfort is gone. Something pulls at her and the hills blur into a dark fog again. "Come back! What must I do?! Alicorn!"

•°

With a jolt, Sylvanas rose from her carpet, noisily knocking over the firebowl. The ambers scattered all over the ground but she did not care. "No!" she screamed. "No..."

The Shamans had left her, probably in fear of a failure. She could not bring herself to blame them.

She had been so close, so close to finding an answer, to getting a clue as to how to escape her demise. If she had more time, she could have found a way to get back, to undo...

Oh, whom was she kidding. She was a Banshee. Had she really thought that a simple vision could have shown her a way to escape her curse? Sylvanas grabbed a random candle and threw it across the room. It bounced off the wall, leaving behind a splatter of red wax. Luckily, no one was here to see her outburst. If she could cry, she probably would have done so right now. Breathing heavily (old habits die hard), Sylvanas sank to the floor.

She slowly raised her head as she realized something. How did the Alicorn know her name? And furthermore, what about the spirit that had interrupted the dream? Where had it gone?

She sighed angrily as she heard wind howling through the hallway. Of course.

The force of the gale was so strong that it pulled the door from its hinges, smashing it against the opposite wall. The guards gave a surprised shout, rushing into the room with their swords at the ready.

A brilliant blue light appeared, circling Sylvanas so fast that she could not make out what it was. The light then slowed down, hovering in front of her. Sylvanas ran over to her weapons and brandished one of her blades, ready to strike down the spirit. She knew that she could harm ghosts with her weapons. She had made sure of it herself.

"Show yourself!", she commanded, shouting against the noise of the wind.

She was only half surprised when the light turned into a horse - no, a pegasus - with a long, beautiful mane and eyes of white dead fire. Sylvanas gasped, recognizing the spirit as a member of the same species as the Alicorn from her dream even though it lacked a horn. The wings reminded her faintly a spirit healer's.

Sylvanas grinned without humor, raising her blade.

"You have no place in this world. Begone!"

The ghost floated away from Sylvanas in a hurry. Her eyes were wide open and she barely dodged the strike. The Banshee Queen's guards formed a circle around the ghost, cornering her.

"Wait, please! I mean you no harm!" The ghost's words echoed through the chamber. She spread her front hooves, trying to shield herself from the swords. "I got here by accident! I was caught in your dream", the pegasus blurted out.

"Liar!", hissed Sylvanas, trying to hit the pegasus again. "The dead never dream! There is no way -"

But did she not have a dream just now? And did not the Lich King dream as he sat on his frozen throne?

Sylvanas hesitated, shaking her head. Yes, she had dreamed just now. There had been a pony in it. Like the animal spirit that was currently floating in front of her. Apparently, the memory of her vision was alrady beginning to slip away from her.

What was going on here? What strange magic made her forget something that had just happened a few seconds before? Sylvanas tried desperately to focus on the image of the dark blue alicorn. The apparition had tried to say something important. What was it?

"Mylady?", one of the Death Guards asked, worried about the strange behavior of his Queen. That snapped Sylvanas out of it.

"Who are you and what do you want?", she asked coldly, pointing her sword at the ghost.

"My name is Levinia. I'm a friend of Priest's!" The ghost twitched, nervously eyeing the tip of the blade.

"I've been looking for him. That's when I got sucked into your dream." She fondled shyly with a lock her ethereal mane. "Is he here? Oh, right, you probably don't know him. He's an undead human, you see. No, wait, that's wrong. He's not undead anymore. He calls himself a...", she rubbed her muzzle, "...a Forsaken. Yes, that's what it was."

How about that. Sylvanas slowly lowered her blade, her eyes narrowed to slits.

"You know of a Forsaken that returned to life?"

The guards exchanged uneasy looks.

Levinia nodded enthusiastically. Then her ears drooped down. "But you don't know him", she stated sadly. "Oh dear."

Sylvanas smiled darkly, sheathing her sword.

"Not so fast, little pony. Tell me about this human", she said. "I want to know everything."

Comments

[clubbzz]

Actually ,Sylvanas did dream when the emerald nightmare took over most of the world in the Stormrage novel. So she should know it's possible for her to do that.

[Leila Drake]

8785744
Ah, you see, I never read that. Thanks for the info. ^^