Crossroads has been under nearly constant attack by the Alliance of late. It is always a small group of seasoned veterans besieging the town; easy prey for a canny druid! I have been spending some time there lately, joining the defenders of the town in fighting the Alliance and occasionally helping a young ally with a quest.
This was how I met the Sin'dorei, the Blood Elf. Most of them avoid the other races of the Horde and refuse to talk to us, but this poor mage must have been suffering from the addiction. I found her in the midst of the centaur encampments near the Stagnant Oasis. She was weak and shivering despite the heat. I offered to help her back to Crossroads but she asked me to lure one of the Stormchasers to her. I welcome any excuse to kill centaurs, so I transformed into my cheetah form and darted across the plains in search of a strong Stormchaser. Finding one, I transformed into my natural shape and hit it with a weak moonfire spell, for I didn't want to kill it, just to attract its attention. The silly creature fell for my trap and followed me straight back to the weakened mage.
As soon as we were in range, the mage struggled to her feet and leaned heavily on her staff. I saw her lift a hand and then I heard a shriek of surprise from the centaur behind me. Glancing back, I saw that the centaur had abandoned its spell-casting, a sure sign that the mage had released her magic-stealing spell. Then the Sin'dorei told me to kill it and bring her another. If it were any other creature I would have declined, but I hate centaurs more than all others. Feeding the terrible addiction of the Sin'dorei was not a pleasant fate.
I lured three more Stormchasers to her before she was strong enough to stand without the help of her staff. "It is a rare Shu'halo that would stop to help a weakened Sin'dorei," she said to me. Though I towered over her, she still managed to look down her nose at me. I shrugged off her gratitude as a simple desire to kill centaurs and turned to leave, but she called out to me. Apparently, she was having difficultly murdering the infamous Verog the Dervish and requested my help. I gladly agreed.
As we stalked the centaur leader we chatted amicably. I didn't think it was possible for a Sin'dorei to be pleasant! Her name was Analorian Dawnfire and often went by Lora. She was born in Silvermoon in the days before the legendary Sunwell was destroyed and the Scourge destroyed half the world. When she spoke of it, she seemed to drift into the past and was hardly aware I was present. At one point, I remembered to gift her with the Mark of the Wild. As I blessed her, she whirled around and looked as though she would strike me down, but she regained control of herself. "I do not generally like druids," she warned me. "It is not a curse mage, but a blessing. It will make you stronger," I replied cautiously.
She studied me for many moments and I could see her weighing me behind her eyes. "How do you feel about the Kal'dorei druids?" she asked me abruptly. I was very surprised by the question. No one ever asks a tauren druid that! "We walk the Emerald Dream together, but they believe their powers come from the moon, what they call Elune. The Shu'halo know the true source of the druid's power though. The Earthmother alone lends us her strength," I said carefully, fully aware that my response would dictate our future relationship.
I need not have worried though. She relaxed at my words and promptly blessed me with arcane magic. "You are a good druid, Anara," she told me. I had obviously passed her test but I hardly trusted her. There was something hidden in her eyes.
We continued hunting for Verog and I made an off-hand comment about wishing Hravan was here to help us. My clanmate was a hunter, and a good one. She would have made searching for the elusive centaur much easier. At the mention of my sister, Analorian revealed that she too had a sister - Anarien Dawnfire, a priestess. "You must meet her someday, Anara. She would like you," she told me.
When we finally found the centaur leader, we made short work of killing him! Analorian was an exceptional fire mage, completely obsessed with perfection. I was glad I decided to stay back and call forth the roots to keep him from hitting Lora!
As I was escorting her back to Rethgar Deathgate's camp, I heard the Crossroads alarms start ringing again. I took off across the plains, certain that I had not heard nor seen the last of the Sin'dorei fire mage.
