Anaei's Rite of Passage

"So that's it girl? Ye' plain refuse?"

Arador's voice boomed like the bulwark of an army when addressing Anaei, always attempting to put her in her place. Her place however was hard to define, she was only fifteen years old and now, taken from her home in Theramore, told she was royal and thrown into a culture she was unsure of. She was expected to kill, murder. Dressed in a flowing robe stitched in the fashion of the Stormwindian nobles the young woman glared at the aging Legend before her, "You cannot command me! I will not be dictated to!" Beyond the brawl sat on a rather beautiful woman on an ancient throne, her chestnut locks sitting gently on her shoulders; she looked remarkably like Anaei however she was aged by at least twice her years. Standing slowly the woman raised her hand to the bickering pair, "Enough." At the very breath of this woman both the figures lowered their heads as she strode out of the room, beckoning the aged Arador after her.

"M'Queen, this is ridiculous, that girl cannot just waltz around this city like the Queen of Kalimdor and expect to neglect tradition!" Arador slammed his plate glove upon the sturdy oak table causing it to shudder and shake the nearby goblet to the displeasure of the once again seated lady. Sighing once more she raised her crowned head to the man, staring past him to the window, the horizon the perfect view of the lush green Highlands. She slowly lifted herself from her chair and walked to the ledge leaning on it idily; she not a word was uttered from her lips which prompted Arador to once again fill the void of silence, "Yer' forgettin' all we stand for girl! What yer father stood for! Make that girl see what we are!" Gazing intently at a nearby bush the Queen seemed to wish it would switch places with her; anything not to deal with this situation. The silence became too much even for her and she relented, "Very well. I have made my decision. She will take her trial. What she does during it is her own accord however she will abide by tradition. This was clearly a victory for Arador as his overly gracious bow eluded to the bout of gloating that was about to take place.

"I want to take my trial, I dunno why you're being so bloody difficult." A young man's voice uttered these rather harsh truths, however the owner of the voice beared remarkable resemblance to the beautiful Queen and the young Princess. "Throran, I hate killing. I don't want to end some creature just because it was done a thousand years ago. Pushing herself up from the grass she gazed up at her brother now nestled in the tree above her. His eyes seemed to narrow at the distance, Anaei followed this gaze which seemed to reveal several riders approaching at some speed. It did not take long to notice the banner, "Joy. Dawnweaver. Just what I bloody need.." Throran narrowed his eyes at his sister's words, "He's a war-hero Anaei, he put our mother on the throne and you'll damn well show him respect. The sharpness of his words hit home for Anaei at just how she had been acting and she reluctantly nodded.

As the riders approached Anaei quickly identified the second rider as Aranith Dawnweaver, Arador's son and Anaei's childhood sweetheart. His face however portrayed a look of glum defeat which Anaei knew was her downfall, beyond Throran the only one who heard Anaei's secrets was Aranith and he knew full well of her anxiety about her trial. Arador dismounted his rather impressive steed, it's armour clinking as he did so. He did an overly dramatic bow towards the young royals before smirking slyly, "Yer most.. Royal Highness. Yer mother now commands that ye' take yer trial in accordance wit our traditions. Aranith 'as brough' yer horse. Remove all armour that is un-nescessary and 'and over yer dagger. After which ye' are to leave this place and return with a trophy of your trial." Anaei stood silently, Throran now stood beside her seemingly shielding her from Arador's onslaught. Frowning again Anaei glared at Arador, "I am not going to bow to your wishes.." She stormed forward but was swiftly grabbed by Arador, she let out a rather loud grunt expressing the pain in her arm, Throran stepped forward; his hand on the hilt of his dagger but a glare from Anaei's captor made him step down.

"Ye' listen ye' spoilt brat and ye' listen good. Yer' gonna be my Queen someday and i'll be damned if I bow to a Stormwindian wretch. Ye' get on tha' horse and you come back with a trophy or so 'elp me i'll make -ye- a trophy and make sure tha' brother o' yours succeeds." He then proceeded to push Anaei at her horse which snorted heavily at the shove, the shock subsided swiftly and Anaei clambered upon Alexandra throwing her un-nescessary weight onto the grass, "You will regret this.. Pulling swiftly on Alexandra's reigns Anaei charged through the plains of the Highlands; Thoradin's wall becoming clearer in the distance. It came and went, the lush green grass of Hillsbrad followed Thoradin's example of coming and going. Eventually as night began to fall Anaei arrived where she wanted to be; the Hinterlands.

Aerie Peak had always been one of Anaei's favourite places to visit, not as loved at Silvermoon however very close. The open rookeries reminded Anaei of the freedom Gryphon's enjoyed that she never could. Ascending the ramps of the main stronghold alongside her steed Anaei was greeted warmly by an attendant, trading pleasantries in Dwarven Anaei handed over her horse and nodded in thanks, "I shall return for her.. Eventually. The dwarf simply nodded taking the small sack of coins she offered and turned on his heels, the whinney of Alexandra was the last noise Anaei heard before heading into the forest, the darkness covering and embracing her.

Crunch. Crunch. Crack. The foliage underfoot broke and twisted as she stalked through the forest, the cliff breeze cutting through her akin to a blade. She was not made to hunt, kill or even harm. She was a studying mage, she only wanted to practise magic and to read and now look at her; stuck in the middle of a forest hoping that something doesn't make -her- a trophy nevermind the other way around. The noises of the woods echoed in her mind, the thin veil of her breath making her jump from fright every so often. Gazing round in the darkness she saw the most beautiful creature she'd ever seen; a snowy white gryphon grooming itself in the silvery moonlight. Anaei had completely forgotten her purpose; this creature was all she cared about now, all she could do was stare. Fate however interceeded and the twig beneath Anaei's boot snapped in the most dramatic way possible.

CRACK!

An explosion of sound filled the emptyness of the forest as the Gryphon bucked wildly, it's glorious wings outstretched. Anaei fell backwards onto the ground feeling for anything she could, by luck her had fell upon a rather large stone and just as the Gryphon made an advance towards her she threw the object at full force. Unfortunately for Anaei the 'full force throw' of a fifteen year old girl is not a lot despite her upbringing of physical training. The gryphon saw this throw as a minor inconvenience and set upon the young girl immediately. The snowy white feathers swiftly stained with the red tinge of blood as the two went at each other; primal instincts taking over. Anaei forgot herself and let her body defend itself, the gryphon was clearly doing the same.

The two fought for the better part of half an hour before Anaei did something she to this day does not understand. With full force she threw herself onto a tree, scrammbled up it and then jumped from it's branch towards the winged beast. The sheer surprise in its eyes revealed why the move worked. Anaei impacted with the beast's back with a loud crack and a whimper, rolling across the forest floor she hit a tree with a thud which sent her deep into darkness. Time was irrelevant; however much had passed. In fact it was light when Anaei came round to the vision of a battered gryphon, clearly defeated and weakened. Standing with the stone in her hand Anaei approached, the creature recoiled in horror, "How can anyone see honour in this?" She threw the weapon aside and fell beside the gryphon gazing deeply into it's eyes, "I will not hurt you.

"She's been gone for three days Arador. The Wildhammer haven't seen or heard from her in two. I knew she was not ready." The Queen now paced the throne-room, treading heavily upon the floorboards as her elderly advisor sat nearby silently. There was another void of silence before the doors were thrown open, standing between them was a bleeding, bruised and very angry young woman with bandages everywhere the eyes could see. "I have returned. Without letting either mother or daughter utter a word Arador rose to his feet, "Declare yourself before your Queen." Anaei simply stared at the man and then looked to her mother, "My Queen I am Gryphon. I have brought my trophy. Ana'gint. Strong Mind." At the declaration of the name there was a loud screech as an equally battered gryphon strode into the chamber to stand at attention beside it's new mistress. The smirk on Saihna's lips said it all; however the frown on Arador's did as well. Anaei quelled his opposition with a simply phrase.

"You said bring back a trophy. What greater trophy than an ally."

That last line is SO Anaei xD

i'm enjoying reading your work ^^ you should definatly do more writing!