Heresy

(to be read after Emotional Rescue and The Atonement - this part is also not yet complete.)
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Selwan spent the next night restless, uneasy despite her confession to Ledgic. As she tossed and turned, in a state of half-sleep, the full moon glowed up above, stars glittered in the sky, partially obscured by the gentle misty fog that blanketed Terrokar Forest most evenings. She wasn't sure how much she'd actually gotten - if any.

So it was a somewhat tired Draenei that greeted Narm later that morning, the mage resplendent as usual in brilliant robes of red and gold, crackling and glittering quietly with arcane magic. His hair, the colour of a bronze coin, glinted in the morning light. He was somewhat hard to miss, unlike his reclusive rogue brother.

In fact, Narm wasn't like Aeron much at all- though they shared some facial resemblance, the similarities ended there. If Narm was an open book, Aeron was the locked diary. At least that's how Selwan had percieved them to be.

The elder rogue was somewhat elusive and mysterious, radiating a kind of subtle electric energy. By contrast, Narm seemed grounded, even mellow most of the time, a man that spoke calmly, and with reason even in dire circumstances.

So when Selwan blinked sleepily and rubbed her eyes before greeting her oft-time companion on the steps of the inn, it didn't register at first that anything was wrong.

"Lady Selwan.." he bowed his head politely, standing just before her.

"Narm, good morning.." she dipped her own head and smiled before reaching for her weapons to strap to her sides.

Selwan laughed softly to herself. So there was one thing the brothers had in common - they were exceedingly polite. Always.

Her laugh was cut short by a sentence she didn't expect to hear.

"I...heard my brother was the one that purchased you at the Guard auction..."

She paused, looking up from her axe a moment, hands still resting at her waist. She knew she was blushing; she hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Yes...yes, that's right. It was exceptionally good of him to do so, though I fear he nearly bankrupt himself in the process. I'll do what I must to ensure that doesn't happen."

The weapons firmly attached, she lifted her pauldrons and began strapping them onto her shoudlers, looking at Narm curiously. "News travels fast.." she mused, slightly surprised that Narm had already found out.

"Word spreads fast in Stormwind, milady."

"I'm beginning to see that quite clearly."

Narm hadn't smiled this entire time - it suddenly struck Selwan that his face seemed slightly strained, something she rarely saw in his youthful features.

"Narm..are you alright? You seem a bit.." she was cut off then by his words.

"Mila...Selwan.." he stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You think a lot of my brother, don't you. I can tell."

Selwan blanched, blinking in surprise. "Yes..well yes, Narm, I always have, he is ...a good friend, I care a great deal for him."

"Then I think you should know...well..perhaps this says it better than I can."

The mage reached into his cloak then, his velvet-gloved fingertips dissapearing into folds of satin a moment before extracting what she knew immediately was a letter.

Something made her feel dizzy a moment; a foreboding feeling, a lightning bolt of fear that left her as swiftly as it came.

She extended her hand to his own, and pulled the paper slowly from it, and began to unfold it.

As she did, Narm began to speak, in calm but careful tones that hardly matched the gravity of what he was actually telling her.

Selwan began to read, halfway hearing him as she tried to make sense of a correspondence never meant for her eyes.



Sir Narm Morieth,

Tonight has been a grand night, don't you agree? Of course it is..for us at least. Its taken us months, but
tonight our order succeeded. Oh, the sweet taste of victory.

However as the only remaining Morieth, you know too much about what's going on. I suggest you either
travel far, far away, or suffer a similar fate. I assure you, your bloodline is a tough nut to crack.

Make your choice fast, Mr. Morieth.

-VS



...the only remaining Morieth...
...the only remaining Morieth...

She barely heard Narm's words through the sinking, sick fog that her mind was becoming as the reality of that phrase began to dwell upon her.

"Aeron.." she mumbled dully, her hand falling to her side, partially crushing the paper within it. "They're talking about ..Aeron.."

Narm nodded, finally letting his hand fall. "Milady, he is skilled. I know if anyone can get out of such a situation, I know my brother can."

She merely blinked, leaning against the wall weakly a moment before she looked up at him in alarm.

"You...you're in danger too then.."

"Somewhat, yes, but I can handle myself."

"That's what Aeron would say."

She slumped down to the steps, tears welling in her eyes. "I can't believe he's dead, I won't believe it. We must hope, Narm - for ourselves, for him..

"There is always hope, Lady Selwan. But I should be careful if I were you. Chances are they've seen you with him too."

Selwan's head snapped up, looking at the mage curiously, her mouth open. "I've nothing they could want."

"I don't know. But its best I find to err on the side of caution in these matters."

A part of Selwan suddenly was frustrated with her old friend for his relentless..calm..how could he be this way when it was apparent that his own brother might be dead? Then again, the letter had gone to Narm....how much did Narm know about Aeron's fate - why he'd even be in danger? Did it have anything to do with their long-standing feud?

For a sickening moment Selwan stepped back and gazed at the tawny-haired mage with a mixture of confusion and fear. Surely not...Narm was many things but she had no reason to believe he was dangerous.

"How can you be so damned CALM?" she finally snapped, eyes blazing, her arms raised before him.

Narm looked shocked at her outburst; Selwan was not one to yell, particularly at a friend. "Milady..because it does me no good to be otherwise. Nothing more. I can only hope he has managed to survive somehow."

His eyes flickered; a shadow of sorrow crossed his features, then was gone. As private as Selwan was, Narm seemed even more so. Not even grief was allowed to escape.

She swallowed and stood, looking at him, her jaw firm even as she still fought back tears.

"There's something I must do." she stated before slipping into ghostwolf form, howling mournfully, a ragged low animal sound she would never dare make in her normal form...

...and bounding out of the Conclave towards the nearby river, dissapeared into the trees.

Narm mounted up and followed the shaman, confused by her sudden actions.

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"I wrote the story myself. It's about a girl who lost her reputation and never missed it." - Mae West
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