Endings and Beginnings

She sat patiently by the window waiting to be called into the room. Her nerves were shaking deep inside of her, and she swore she could feel her heart trying to burst out of her small rib cage. She stared at the Falthrien Academy in the distance, its beautiful towers illuminated by the morning sun. She watched the lush hills, wondered what she would face once she stepped across the threshhold. The water was tranquil, and she could taste the eternal spring.

She looked at the closed doors, their eminence overwhelming her.

Today was the day. Everything she had worked so hard for. What would come of it? What would her first steps outside be like?

A heavy voice called from within, and the doors swung open. She cleared her throat, tentatively walking toward them, her head racing, her body faint with anxiety.

Cendari Bloodwatcher stood behind his desk, his Dalaran robes glimmering. He smiled at her, which almost instantly calmed her.

"Soleille Aurorella," He said, in a foreign serious voice she had never heard before. "You have studied hard, and proven your worth. In these past years I have seen you grow from an unsure elf into the passionate and noble sin'dorei you have become. You have been my best student, quick to learn, and even quicker to question." He laughed.

He looked at her then, this small girl standing before him. He had known her since she was a tiny baby, held her in his arms when her mother and father had called on his aid during her birth. He knew she was something special.

He relaxed, seeing his demeanor had made her unsure of herself. He approached her.

"You should be very proud, Miss Aurorella," he handed her the novice robes.

She could feel the tears hot in her throat as she gently touched the luminous blue robe he handed forth to her. She smiled up at him, reflecting her youth. "Oh, thank you Cendari!" she exclaimed, her voice still quiet and small despite the excitement.

He chuckled. "Try them on."

She pulled the robe on over her shirt and trousers. The fabric was soft, and lush. She had worn many robes before, but none had felt as complete and well tailored as this one. She touched the fabric.

He noticed this, and added, "You will find that in the field your robes will be light, yet hardy. You will undergo much damage, and usually they must last."

Her chin wobbled as her nerves returned. "What if I can't do it, Cendari?" The question made her heart race, and her head light.

He knelt down to look into her face, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Soleille, you are capable. You know your mission, your abilities. You study hard and well. You will be fine, I promise."

She gulped back the tears. "What if I can't decipher the training? What if I am bested by a monster?"

He chuckled. "Then you will overcome them. I have one last lesson to teach you, though I am certain you already know it..."

"I might," She bit her lip. "I have been reading ahead." She looked around nervously.

"That's my girl," he laughed, then cleared his throat, getting serious again. "No, this lesson cannot be found in any book. It is a lesson of life. You must never give up. Never."

She swallowed hard again, nodding.

"Now," he continued. "You know what to do."

"Right," She said quietly. "I am to go into the interior of the isle. There will be a woman there, waiting for me. She will send me on a small mission. I am to continue these missions, using every opportunity to learn something new, and to aid the Sin'dorei."

He smiled. "Yes. And you should be able to find trainers who can help you in every horde city along the way."

She nodded.

"Do you have any more questions for me, Soleille?" He asked.

She looked around the room, the official chamber of her dearest teacher. So many years spent in this house, pouring over the books, rising to the top, reading ahead, beating her pupils at every task, every history lesson, every spell. She concentrated on the portrait then, which hung above the fireplace. Cendari, standing with Magister Rommath, and her mother and father.

"One question," Her voice began to crack with the tears. "Will mother and father be proud of me?"

He hugged her tightly. "Of course. And you'll be able to tell them all about your journeys once you reach Outland."

She cried for a little while. She looked down at her robes, and sighed a huge sigh, filled with fear and excitement. She wiggled from Cendari's grasp.

"I am ready, Cendari."

He handed her the pack, filled with a map, a quest log, and a spell book. "Never give up, Soleille. Never give up."

She stood up straight, before him, and gave a formal curtsey. He stood up straight, and presented her with a bow.

"I proclaim you graduate."

He watched her walk out, her figure disappearing as it descended the large stairs. The guards closed the doors to his office then, and once he heard their click, he turned to the large portrait.

"She will make you proud."