User:Khandivya/The Crystal Ball

''((Thanks to the one and only Shahkra Khan for providing this little story hook. I have no idea what you're doing with the ball, but it filled my brain with ideas as soon as you talked about it Smiley. Thanks also to Tati for having the forethough to turn on chatlog regularly so I could reconstruct some of the words used in-game.))''

The guild hall was filled with people of all shapes and sizes. Giant tauren, lanky undead, lithe trolls, big orcs, fat orcs and short orcs all stood around with each other and talked. Every person in this room was mentally preparing themselves for whatever upcoming battle was on his or her mind. And all of them, from the group headed into Molten Core to the less skilled warriors going to fight evil in the Barrens, had their own death to think over.

Keishe didn’t know too many people here; she had only joined their ranks recently. But she knew that if she needed, she could have called any person here a friend. The Kodos banded together and created family and community with whatever they touched. She saw Tati walk in, look around and sit at a table nearby, having obviously not seen Keishe. Tati didn’t know many people here either, but at least they had each other as best friends. Oh, and Kranik too. Somehow that not-entirely-there rogue had worked his way into their friend group, creating a strong trio.

Keishe stood up from leaning against the wall behind her. Her intention was to go talk to Tati as they had made plans to go and kill centaur in Thousand Needles today. However, a strange sound stopped her.

It was a voice, shuddering and cold. It sounded familiar, and yet, not so familiar.

“.....so much.......so-much-powa.........”

Keishe stopped and tried to follow the sound of the frightened voice. Her eyes led her to the cloaked form of Shahkra shivering in the corner of the hall. She had her hood up, and her cloak covered something in her lap that she appeared to be intently staring at. Anything that had Shahkras attention so wrapt was something Keishe was interested in. Only by studying with those more powerful than herself would she get the power she desired. She walked over and knelt down in front of the huddled form.

“Wuts dat joo got dere?” Moments later she realized that her tone was too flippant for the aura surrounding the powerful mage. Shahkra slowly looked up and out of the cowl of her hood, her eyes glowing and throbbing

“Shah...joo'r scarin' me...wit de eye t'ing and all...uhh...”

“Powa…” her voice sounded far away, as though talking from across the room instead of right in front of Keishe. “The Eye of Amoth…it’s...it gives me powa…” She looked back down and stared into what was now apparent as a crystal ball, mostly covered by her cloak. “It’s not like what I fought it was...I fought it was some battery or maybe magic… buts its more… its beautiful.” She pulled the left side of her cloak away from the ball to expose it better to Keishe’s curious gaze. “Peer into it… don’t look at it…it shows ju your most wanted desires.”

Keishe knew what she wanted: more power. Power for power’s sake, power to save her friends from whatever horrors lurked in the world, power to save herself, power to save…whatever. She just wanted it. She peered into the ball, expecting to see a long hard journey towards knowledge and the ability to use it.

She saw something else.

“...dat's impossible...” Keishe almost fell over backwards with the force of her conviction. “Dis t'ing, it clearly lies, jes a hunk of trash.” Her voice filled with derision at the cheap parlour tricks Shahkra was obviously playing on her. Shahkra shrugged and pulled her cloak back over the shimmering crystal. Keishe stood up, scoffed, and then turned too walk over to Tati, her original intended destination.

She sat down at the table, and she and Tati talked about their quests while they waited for Kranik to arrive. Today was going to be a good day. Eventually Kranik showed up and the three of them left for adventure, glory and the advancement of their own personal power.

But the ball had shown Keishe her dreams, the ones that barely peaked out through the tip of her consciousness, only when she left her guard down. And it had shown her that they were possible. And the idea of them didn’t leave her thoughts a single time for the rest of the day.

Khandivya's Stories