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Bai’s Apprentice Part 12 (Series Finale): Shorel’Aran

((Author’s note: To anyone who has been reading along these past couple of years (hard to tell sometimes with the lack of notes), thank you for the journey and your patience.))

((This is a long chapter (perhaps fitting for the end), and I tried to leave room for whatever might come in the future. These characters’ stories are not over by any means, so perhaps I’ll revisit them later in some sporadic one-shots (maybe even an epilogue, haven’t decided yet). But for now, it’s time to bring this arc to a close. Thanks again for reading... Al diel shala!))

Silence had fallen over Sunfury Spire, save for the quiet sounds of Bai’s footsteps sloshing across the wet floor as she carried yet another bucket of water to dump over the railing of the massive pathway leading into the spire. Her arms ached form the effort, and while the poison from the hunter’s arrow had long since worn off, she still felt slightly weakened and queasy from the aftereffects of it. Or maybe it was from the aftereffects of the physical and mental exertion from their escape. Possibly both. She had already learned the hard way not to peer over the edge where she was dumping the water; neither her body nor her stomach would be able to tolerate that level of vertigo a second time.

Ordinarily, she would have decided that creating an army of elementals from the water and marching them over the edge would have been the fastest way of emptying out the room, but Rommath had -- in no uncertain terms -- forbidden her from using even the slightest bit of magic until she’d been duly reprimanded by the Kirin Tor. Thus, Bai was forced to do it the hard way: bucket by bucket, step by step, until the room was as empty as it could possibly get. She wasn’t sure what she would need to do after that; probably to find a mop and continue sopping up the water that way.

Occasionally, she could feel the gaze from one of the guards shift toward her, even as he stood at attention in formation along the ramp. Given the circumstances, nobody spoke a word to her; even the mages in their study chamber had fallen silent, deciding to save their normal lighthearted antics for another day so as not to evoke Rommath’s wrath in their direction as well...

As she returned to the recessed throne room with the empty bucket, Bai glanced over at Zully. The young troll had started out helping her as well, but after dropping his bucket two trips in, soaking one of the guards and getting yelled at by Rommath, he had retreated into the corner, sitting on the ground with his arms around his knees and looking absolutely miserable. Bai wanted to stop and offer him some measure of comfort -- the Light only knew how much pain and grief and guilt he was dealing with right now -- but she didn’t want to get in any further trouble than she already was in. At least everyone seemed to be leaving Zully be instead of insisting he be punished alongside her; his earlier attempt at assistance had been of his own accord.

Bai sighed quietly as she dredged out another bucketful of water and began the march to the outside. The sun was setting, sending long shadows reaching across the floor. At this rate, it would be well after midnight, possibly the early hours of the morning, before she was finished.

She noticed the shimmer of a portal inside the mages’ sanctum. She pushed down the sudden jump of anxiety; Rommath had demanded an immediate response from Rhonin earlier, and Bai knew it was only a matter of time before someone -- maybe even Rhonin himself -- showed up to weigh judgment on her. She could only imagine how much the rumors must have been spreading around Dalaran already... the prodigal troublemaker mage who couldn’t even go a couple of days into an assignment without creating a controversy...

As she watched, the armored figure of Aethas Sunreaver stepped out of the portal. Not Rhonin then; she couldn’t decide if this was a better or worse outcome than having the leader of the Kirin Tor arrive and see the mess she’d made. As she looked away, she noticed the portal shimmer again out of the corner of her eye. She glanced back to see a large tauren step out of the portal behind Aethas--

Bai’s breath caught in her throat as she recognized the newcomer: Essethyr, her guild master. She dipped her head and quickly made her way back to the throne room, thrusting her bucket into the seemingly-endless pool of water. She hadn’t even considered that this would make its way back to the guild. Essethyr had always been kind to her, but how he would respond to all of this would be anyone’s guess.

She heard both approach, Essethyr’s massive footsteps making very audible splashes as he walked, and tried not to look at either of them as she shuffled past with the bucket of water. They stopped, and Bai could sense both of them watching her. But by the time she dumped the bucket and was making her way back, they had turned to regard the throne room. Bai stopped just behind them, gripping the handle, unwilling to cross their field of vision.

Essethyr was the first to break the silence with a low hearty chuckle. “Well, I must admit, this was not quite what I expected to see here tonight,” he remarked. His deep voice sounded mirthful and not at all angry; Bai felt some of the nerves dissipate at that realization.

“Show some respect, tauren,” Rommath snapped irritably as he approached. “This is a serious matter!” To Aethas, he added, “I asked for Rhonin to come deal with his wayward mage. Could he really not find it in himself to step out of Dalaran for fifteen minutes to attend to this matter?”

“Rhonin has more serious business to attend to than a mere portal mishap,” Aethas replied. “He felt it better that a fellow sin’dorei and the mage’s guild master be the ones to address this situation.” Aethas turned toward Bai; his expression was unreadable behind his helm. “Sinu a’manore, Bai. I imagine neither of us expected to see each other again so soon under quite such...” He trailed off, head turning briefly toward the flooded room before swiveling back toward her. “... unusual circumstances,” he finished.

“Such light words for such a serious breach of protocol,” Rommath remarked snidely.

Aethas ignored him, instead turning to regard Zully, who was watching the scene but hadn’t otherwise moved from where he sat. “Your apprentice seems rather worse for wear,” he commented. “Something clearly went wrong during your training today.”

Rommath snorted. “The troll is too inexperienced to have caused any of this,” he said, his voice twisting the word “troll” as he spoke. Zully winced at the sneering tone and looked away. “Focus on the real issue at stake. We already know who caused this disaster.” He glared at Bai before turning back to Aethas. “Is this really how the Kirin Tor trains its mages?”

“Portal magic is delicate; all mages know this,” Aethas replied calmly. “Besides, I would assume that the portal trainers here in Silvermoon would have been the ones to instruct Bai on finding this city’s location within the ley lines. Perhaps the fault lies in their methods?”

“You dare insult the thoroughness of our trainers?! You would defend the carelessness of this reckless mage? We all know how she ran off and abandoned her training once already--”

Essethyr cleared his throat, silencing the two blood elves and drawing their attention to himself. “If I may be so bold as to interrupt here,” he said, “has anyone asked Bai how this happened?”

Rommath glared at him. “Is it not obvious?” he asked, gesturing to the flooded room. “She opened a portal improperly underwater and flooded our spire. What else could you possible need to know?”

“Well,” Essethyr said, “I have personally traveled around Azeroth through Bai’s portals, as have many of our guildmates. She has always been thoughtful and careful in her spellcasting for as long as I’ve known her--”

“--clearly you haven’t known her all that long--”

“--and I would trust her to take both myself and my sister anywhere,” Essethyr finished, not the slightest bit fazed at being interrupted. “In all manners of magic that I have had the honor of observing, Bai’s training has appeared quite thorough; whatever has happened in her past does not seem to have impacted her current abilities to learn and follow these so-called ‘protocols’ of yours. So if something went wrong, I trust that she has a viable explanation for it.” Turning to Bai, a kindly expression on his face, he asked, “Bai, could you please tell us what happened?”

Bai looked over at Zully, who was watching her with quiet sadness. “My apprentice and I were training in Durotar when we heard that Sen’jin Village was being attacked by the Alliance. We went to see if there was any way we could help.”

“You responded to a local defense call with an untried apprentice?” Aethas asked. His voice bore no accusation, just surprise and curiosity.

“Sen’jin is Zully’s home. We felt compelled to try to help in a non-combat way. But...” Zully shrank, looking down at the floor, and Bai felt her heart twist; technically the fact that they were drawn into combat was his fault. “... a civilian was targeted by one of the raiders, and trying to help required more... direct intervention,” she finished. She would try to keep from throwing Zully under the caravan if she could help it. “Once the raiders targeted us, I did what I deemed necessary to protect Zully and get us out of there.”

“And what exactly did ‘deemed necessary’ entail?”

Bai took a deep breath and detailed the story of their underwater dive, her failed attempts at shielding them from the attacks, and her desperate choice to try to cast the portal while still entombed in ice. “I understand that I didn’t follow the proper protocol with casting the portal,” she said. “But the situation was dire, we were in imminent danger of being killed as soon as my Ice Block shattered, and my first priority was getting us to safety.”

“Adventurers are protected, are they not?” This question came from Lor’themar, who had been listening silently the entire time. Bai had forgotten that both the Regent-Lord and the Farstrider Ranger-General were standing there as well. “The Kirin Tor were the ones who put the same safeguards in place for our territories as they did the Alliance ones.” He looked at Aethas questioningly. “Is something wrong with the spell?”

“Our need to intervene for the defense of the civilian broke the protection,” Bai answered. “To my knowledge, there was nothing wrong with the safeguards prior to that moment.”

“I see. And am I not mistaken in that adventurers, upon their death, are granted a bargain with the kyrian to restore their spirit to their bodies? Was there really such an imminent threat?”

Bai looked over at Zully. “Having your soul ripped from your body is a traumatic experience,” she replied, “especially the first time it happens. I was trying to spare him that.”

“He’s in training to be a mage and an adventurer,” Halduron spoke up. “He’ll have to experience it sooner or later.”

“True as that may be,” Bai replied, “he just witnessed his home razed and his family murdered in front of him.” She watched as Zully sank back in on himself, burying his face in his arms again. She couldn’t tell if he was crying again or had already reached the point of resigned numbness. Forcing herself to look at each of the other blood elves, she continued softly, “I’m sure we can all, as sin’dorei, relate to and understand the pain that goes along with that sort of experience.” She saw everyone shift uncomfortably, their eyes dropping from her, no doubt remembering their own individual and collective grief of the Scourge invasion. “It would have been unnecessarily cruel to add yet another trauma immediately on top of that if I could help it.”

The room was quiet for several long heartbeats. Finally, Essethyr spoke up. “It seems as if you care deeply for your apprentice. That you are willing to watch out for his inner well-being as readily as his physical existence speaks highly of your morals.” Essethyr looked at the others questioningly. “Under that regard, is punishing Bai really so necessary? I see more empathy and selflessness than recklessness from her, myself. And while I understand that there may have been some... mild damages from the water... is not the preservation of an innocent body and soul far more important than material goods?”

Rommath looked away; he seemed slightly chagrinned at the druid’s words.

“You raise a valid point, Essethyr,” Aethas said. “However, one must also consider that Bai took some massive risks in casting magic the way she did. Portal magic is especially volatile. Unfortunately inconvenient as this outcome was, in her panic, she could have just as easily had the two of them embedded in solid rock or sent flying out into the Twisting Nether.”

“And yet, in her panic, she did neither of those things,” Essethyr pointed out. “That should speak highly of her training in itself.”

Aethas turned toward Bai. “Yes... you’re right in that regard as well. And Bai, if what you told me is accurate in how you were able to cast both Mana Shield and Ice Block in a way to protect not only yourself but also your apprentice...” He glanced in Zully’s direction briefly before retuning his focus to her. “Clearly you have a good deal more potential with magic than I think we originally realized. At the very least, you’ve demonstrated a certain level of adaptability and creativity with your skills and knowledge. So perhaps your ‘punishment’ is not to punish you at all, but rather better cultivate that talent. We could use more skilled mages like you on the front lines in Northrend... although given the dire situations we’ve found ourselves in, perhaps that might be considered a form of punishment in itself.”

“So there is to be no consequences for any of this?” Rommath asked. He was no longer as outwardly defiant as he’d been earlier, but there was still a slight edge to his voice.

“Seems she’s been assisting in the clean-up, yes? If she was responsible for damages here, I see no reason why she should be exempted from whatever you deem is an appropriate reparation for that. But I don’t believe she should be stripped of her powers or anything of that nature.” Aethas paused, and then added, “However, this is another matter I wish to discuss with Bai and Zul’lhor, if the two of you will allow me a moment of your time in privacy.” To Rommath, he added, “I’m sure you can spare Bai a few minutes from her duties here?”

Rommath sighed in resignation. “Yes, of course,” he said, waving her away with a flip of his hand. “Try not to dally.”

Aethas walked outside; after a moment, Zully cautiously rose to his feet to follow. As Bai started to go after them, Essethyr reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright, Bai?” he asked quietly. “I know that must have been a very stressful situation to find yourself in.”

“Right now, I’d really just prefer to get today over with and forget all of this ever happened.”

“Getting through the day is the easy part. Forgetting, not so much.” Essethyr gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and stepped back. “If you need to someone to talk to after all of this is over, you know where to find me.”

Bai managed a tired smile. “Of course. Thank you, my friend.”

“Any time.”

Bai hurried down the ramp to the courtyard’s fountain, where Aethas and Zully were waiting. As compared to his earlier extroverted exuberance in Dalaran, Zully looked entirely too uncomfortable standing alone beside the archmage. “Sorry to keep you,” she said as she approached.

“Not to worry, Bai. I’ll try to make this quick.” Aethas looked from Bai to Zully and back again. “While irrelevant to the reason I called the two of you aside, I did have one lingering question in all of this, which is how the protection spell was broken in the first place.”

Before Bai could consider how best to answer, Zully spoke up. “It be Zully’s fault,” he said, quietly.

“Zully, no...” Bai tried to interject, but he continued.

“It not be right dat Bai should be takin’ all da punishment. She be tellin’ Zully not to attack da Alliance no matter what, but Zully didn’t listen. When da leopard attacked...” His voice wavered. “It be my fault. Bai wouldn’t have had to do da tings she did if I hadn’t been attackin’ da Alliance hunter like dat.”

“I see. And this is why you were reluctant to go into detail, wasn’t it, Bai?”

Bai nodded quietly. “Zully was... is... grieving the loss of his family. He reacted the same way I did when I witnessed my mother die. He doesn’t need to be punished for this. I’ll take the blame officially if need be.”

“Bai no, Zully not be lettin’ ya take da blame.”

Aethas raised a hand to forestall further argument. “I don’t think it will be necessary in this case,” he said. “I think ultimately what anyone really cares about is the way you used your portal magic, not the circumstances that led to it in the first place.”

Lowering his hand again, Aethas looked back toward Sunfury Spire. “However, that is not what I needed to speak with the two of you about,” he continued. “It’s in regard to this arrangement for apprenticeship that the two of you currently have.”

Bai’s blood ran cold. “Am... am I being removed from the mentorship program?”

Aethas sighed and nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. But,” he added, clearly noting the shock from both Bai and Zully, “not in the way or for the reasons you might think. It has nothing to do with this incident, but rather something that Rhonin and I and the other archmages were discussing in Dalaran shortly before I came here. You see...” He looked around, then lowered his voice. “... I trust this matter will not be discussed with anyone else? Essethyr is already aware, as the Council of Hope is one of several guilds pledging their assistance to help handle the matter, but this is not to be spoken with to just anyone.”

Bai and Zully both nodded in wordless agreement.

“Good. Unfortunately, shortly after we moved Dalaran to Northrend to assist with the battle against the Scourge, the blue dragonflight -- for reasons we’ve yet to determine -- attempted to assault the city. We fear that Malygos himself may be responsible for leading this attack.” Pausing a moment to let the revelation sink in, he continued. “Given this new and unexpected threat, and especially the implications it may have to be possibly at war with the very aspect of magic itself, Rhonin has made the decision to temporarily suspend the mentorship program, as we need as many skilled adventurers -- mages especially -- to help defend the city while we figure out why this is happening.” Turning to Zully, he added, “That’s not to say that you’re forbidden from continuing your training. But unfortunately, that means that you will not have the benefit of a more skilled Kirin Tor mage guiding you.”

Zully nodded. “Zully understand ya. And truth be told, Zully been tinkin’... maybe now not be a good time for him to be adventurin’ anyways.”

Bai jolted at his words. “Zully, you’re... quitting?”

He shook his not. “Nah, not quittin’ forever, mon. But Zully be needin’ ta help his village rebuild. Lookin’ for survivors. He not be seein’ his mother out dere, or some of his friends. Maybe some o’ dem escaped to da Echo Isles. He can use his business to help da village, and den after they be safe again, den he can be trainin’ as a mage again.”

“A noble venture,” Aethas commented. “And I’m sure there are many skilled mage trainers around Durotar who can help continue your training whenever you’re ready. As for you, Bai...”

Bai turned her attention from Zully, still feeling stunned at the young troll’s declaration. He’d been so quiet since their arrival that his decision came as a complete shock to her... was this what had been on his mind that entire time? She forced herself to put the question aside for now to focus on Aethas.

“Your new assignment, once you finish your, um... current task with the sin’dorei ruling council... is to resume your own training at once. Despite what some of our more, shall we say... opinionated archmages may believe regarding your reputation... nobody can deny the fact that you possess a remarkable mental acuity and talent toward the control of magic, even for a sin’dorei. Maybe even especially for a sin’dorei who survived the destruction of the Sunwell and the magic deprivation that followed; not many of our kind who went through that transition were able to maintain such self-control over the arcane as you have.”

Bai looked away, watching the ripples of water extending outward from the fountain’s central spray. “You humble me, Archmage.”

“My aim is to speak the truth, nothing more. You have the potential, if perhaps lacking in the ability to recognize it yourself. I understand the difficulties you have had to face both in your past, and in confronting some of those who were originally opposed to your reinstatement into the Kirin Tor. But I believe with more experience and confidence, you’ll see your reputation naturally improve with them in due time.” Even though his face was obscured by his helm, Bai could sense his smile. “After all, you, too, are sin’dorei. The only thing that defines us more than our mastery of magic is our ability to persevere through even the darkest of times. This shall be no different for you; I have faith in that.”

Bai blinked back a few stray tears; Aethas’s words had touched her more than she would have expected, but she tried to maintain her composure as much as possible. “Thank you kindly.”

“You are quite welcome. Know that you will always have at least some allies within Dalaran, no matter what.”

There was a brief pause, and an air of decorum came over Aethas once more. “On that note, now that our business here is concluded, I should be returning to Dalaran to continue monitoring the situation there. And you should probably finish your duties here before our Grand Magister becomes irritated again.” There was a hint of a wry tone in his voice at that one. “I trust that your guild will keep you up to speed on matters there and assist you in your training. Shorel’aran, Bai... I look forward to seeing you in Dalaran again soon.”

“Al diel shala,” Bai replied with a respectful bow.

“And Zul’lhor... if you’d like to return to Orgrimmar, I can offer a portal there before I go.”

Zully shook his head. “If it be alright wit ya, Zully be stayin’ here with Bai just a little longer. He can make his way back home later. Or she can make a portal for him back to da orc city?” He looked at Bai questioningly.

“You sure you really want me to?” Bai asked in a half-teasing tone.

Zully nodded enthusiastically. “Zully be trustin’ ya, mon. Ya saved his life after all.”

“Very well,” Aethas said. “Then may our paths cross again one day, young one.”

They watched silently as he made his way up the spire, where the others had been waiting on him. “So,” she commented idly, “taking a break from your training already, huh?” She looked over at Zully. “What happened out there... are you second-guessing whether you want to be an adventurer now? Not that I would blame you, of course,” she quickly reassured him. “I’m just... What I mean to say is... I’m here if you need to talk about what happened.”

Zully looked down, squatting down beside the fountain and idly running his hand through the water. “Zully not be knowin’ what to say, mon. It be hard. Da way dose raiders be happy about what dey be doin’...” He shook his head sadly. “Sorry, mon. Don’t got da words for dis.”

“It’s okay. It’s difficult to talk about sometimes.” Bai sighed and looked up at Spire. “Even though our paths are about to go in different directions... if you ever need me, all you have to do is reach out and I’ll be there. I promise.”

“Tank ya, mon. You be a good friend.” Zully looked back up at her and offered her the first smile she’d seen from him since the raid. His eyes still bore an unspeakable pain and sadness... but Bai had a feeling that he would eventually be okay.

Shifting his gaze back to the Spire, he tilted his head slightly and asked, “What dat be goin’ down da pathway?”

“Huh?” Bai turned and noticed, for the first time, a small channel of water making its way down the pathway and over the railing of the ramp. Frowning, Bai squinted to try to make sense of what she was seeing. A moment later, she spotted the source: another tauren, slightly smaller in stature, was now standing next to Essethyr, hands stretched out over the trickle of water. Bai smiled at the recognition: Lunayansa, Essethyr’s twin sister. Clearly she must have decided to check out the situation for herself -- and also clearly, Rommath didn’t seem to mind the shaman using her magic to drain the water. “Well... looks like I have some backup for cleaning up this mess.”

“You be havin’ some good friends.”

Bai smiled fondly as the two of them made their way back to the spire. “Yeah... yeah, I really suppose I do.”

- FIN -