Pandaria was beautiful, Mori thought to herself. The elegant trees, the vibrant flowers, birds chirping and beasts playing, the crisp and clear waters of the rivers flowing quickly across the land, they all seemed to create a paradise. The young blood elf thought she could explore this land to her heart’s content without a care in the world, but that was not so. Alliance and Horde had started a war over this new continent, and though Mori was too young to participate, it had granted her an opportunity to travel and test her skills outside of training sessions. Kaelstrasza had secured passage for her on Hellscream’s Fist, and upon landing she had been escorted to the inn at the Horde camp.

 

The easiest way to gather experience for Mori was to answer the calls posted via bulletins on the front wall of the inn. Sometimes, they were solo adventures to gather food or herbs; other times, they were to explore caves or slay a dangerous creature who terrorized the local pandaren. One bulletin, however, had caught her attention. A group of wanted bandits was on the loose, hunting a powerful being of knowledge, and the mayor required a group of travelers to find and stop their endeavors. It mattered not the race or faction, all were welcome to join. Mori always wanted more knowledge, so she accepted the challenge and found herself in an odd group of sorts.

 

The tallest of her new traveling companions was Halvor, a vrykul warrior who spoke with a thick accent. He didn’t seem all too interested in casual conversation, and he had made a strange face as soon as Mori had revealed her interest in necromancy. Next, there was Tolkar, a tauren shaman who stood a head shorter than the warrior. He carried with him his four totems, and had a gruff, but sometimes jovial booming voice. Finally, there was the human priest, Rose, who always looked like she was anxious about something. Mori had taken a liking to her, but she found it difficult to get a response from the woman most of the time.

 

Despite their differences, the four of them were a party now, and together they had disposed of the bandits. Amidst the pile of bodies arose their target, a bright sentient sphere that had to be none other than the powerful being of knowledge mentioned in the bulletin.

 

“Ahh…that feels wonderful. Thank you for freeing me from that…rabble.”

 

Mori stared in awe at the bright being of light positioned at the center of the Hallway of Containment. The ethereal creature cast an eerie golden glow on the green-blue stone columns lining the circular room, illuminating the ornate carvings on the floor and the delicate patterns on the ceiling. The being sensed Mori’s gaze upon him and turned his attention to her.

 

“Greetings, child,” he began, “do you seek knowledge?”

 

The young blood elf blinked as she realized the being of light was addressing her. She spoke in fragments, unsure of where to start.

 

“I, um, I’m studying, um, magic.” She instinctively reached for her pet rock tucked carefully in her pocket to try to regain her composure. “I, I want to become—”

 

“Say no more, young one, I can see through you perfectly!” The being of light let out an ominous laugh and continued, “Why didn’t I recognize it sooner? You are a budding necromancer!”

 

Mori was dumbfounded. “H-How did you know?”

 

“I can see everything, child,” replied the being, “I can see your dreams, your wishes, your fears, your…weaknesses.” He concentrated his aura on Rose for a brief moment. Her black hair was parted down the middle and brought to one side. She wore a long, dark blue robe and matching gauntlets embroidered with silver and adorned with chains. On her back she carried a rifle, and on her side, a small Morningstar.

 

“You, priestess,” he sneered at her, “are hiding something. Be careful, or your true form may bear its fangs.”

 

Her true form? The young blood elf stared at the human, but she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Rose’s face, on the other hand, turned bright red as she tried to come up with words to protest but fell short. The glowing aura chuckled sinisterly and turned his attention back to Mori.

 

“I am a being of knowledge, young one,” the being of light spoke, “and I possess the knowledge you seek. Would you like to learn?”

 

Mori’s eyes widened at the prospect of new knowledge. She felt its allure drawing her closer to the being of light, and smiled as she began walking up to him, eager to hear what he had to say.

 

“Yes! I have come to learn! Teach me—”

 

“STOP THE CHILD AT ONCE!”

 

A booming voice came from the entrance to the Hallway. Mori turned her head its direction and saw that it belonged to a pandaren monk. He was covered in grey and gold armor with a red scarf wrapped around his jaw. On his back he had sheathed a guandao, a polearm with ornate decorations native to Pandaria. The monk stood tall and firm, his furry facial features twisted into a frown.

 

Rose, having recovered from her brief stupor, took advantage of Mori’s momentary immobility to grasp her arm and hold it tightly. She would not let the blood elf move any closer to the being of light.

 

“Do not listen to him,” the monk warned, “for he offers you nothing but lies and deceit.”

 

Tolkar looked at the monk with concern. “Is that so?”

 

The pandaren turned towards the tauren and inclined his head. “Yes, I’m afraid,” he spoke quietly but confidently, “It is true that he gained much knowledge over eons of existence. However, he is merely a sinister fragment of the creature he once was.”

 

Mori, still caught in Rose’s tight grip, protested. “He said he wanted to teach me, and I want to learn!”

 

An expression of horror came over the pandaren’s face. He walked up to the young blood elf and looked down at her.

 

“You must not accept his offer, child. This horrifying creature seeks students to enlighten but kills those he does not deem worthy. None I know—I knew, have survived.”

 

Mori’s eyes widened with fear as she looked back and forth between the pandaren monk and the bright being of knowledge. Would he have found her an unworthy student and killed her, too?

 

The being of light let out an ominous laugh, his golden aura glittering near the surface. “Come now, Liao Qiang, you make me look worse than I really am. I did not kill those worthless pupils; I merely punished them for being…inadequate.”

 

“That does not change the fact that their innocent lives are no longer with us!” The pandaren grew increasingly agitated with each word. “What have you done with them?”

 

“They are perfectly safe,” replied the malevolent being of light, “as they serve their master.”

 

Halvor impatiently walked up to Liao and laid a massive hand on his shoulder. “Listen, friend panda, I am sorry about all your students, but we have more important problems right now. It is clear this light bulb is evil, yes. How do we kill him?”

 

The monk sighed and spoke, “I apologize, friend. The animosity between the Teacher and me runs for decades, and even longer with my ancestors. He is truly a fearsome creature with few weaknesses, but he does possess one.”

 

“You wouldn’t—” the Teacher hissed at the monk, but the latter ignored him and continued.

 

“The child carries an arcane wand; I can sense its presence,” Liao gestured at Mori, “Use it to weaken the Teacher’s strength. I thank the Celestials that you only see him now in his diminished form.”

 

The Teacher scoffed, “At least you had the decency to use my proper title, Liao. A shame I cannot cause you much harm in this form.”

 

Liao glared at the being of light. “Hmmph! We’ll get you contained soon enough. I regret not standing watch over you myself the last time.” He then addressed Tolkar. “You, shaman, I humbly request your assistance in the preparation of the Spell of Sealing.”

 

Without warning, a beam of golden light flashed past Mori and Rose and struck Tolkar in the chest, sending the large tauren crumpled to the floor. The vrykul ran over to his traveling companion and sighed with relief as he found the tauren was still breathing albeit unconscious.

 

“I WILL NOT BE CONTAINED AGAIN!” The Teacher roared, his golden glow pulsing violently with white and black.

 

“Quick!” cried out Liao, “He used up most of his remaining energy for that strike! Finish him with the wand before he can recover!”

 

“Child, give me arcane wand!” Halvor held out his arm, and Mori complied. She placed the blood elven artifact in the vrykul’s hands, its short red crystalline blade adorned with jewels emitting a pink glow. Halvor held the staff like one Mori’s size would hold a toothpick; it was much too small for his massive hands.

 

“No! This cannot be happening!” The Teacher spoke in anguish. “Get that wand away from me!” His light danced around the Hallway in protest.

 

The vrykul would have none of it. “Be gone, evil being of light!” Halvor declared as he pointed the wand at the Teacher. A rose-colored beam flew from the wand and into the core of the creature. Pink sparks dissipated through its aura and ate away at the golden light as the radius of the Teacher shrank into the size of a fist. Liao Qiang picked the small levitating orb and placed him into the obsidian urn. He turned to the travelers.

 

“It is best to keep this evil contained somewhere safer. I highly recommend visiting the Temple of the Jade Serpent and speaking to the head priestess there. And,” the monk motioned with a chuckle at the unconscious tauren lying on the floor, “I suggest you wake your friend up so that I may teach him the sealing ritual. It will be useful to you should the Teacher escape again.”

 

Halvor promptly walked to Tolkar and slapped him on the cheek. “Wake up, friend cow.” Rose winced at the impact, but the tauren was a hardy creature. With a snort, he shook his horned head and stood up.

 

“What happened?” He looked around him and his eyes rested upon the urn in Liao’s hand. “Has the Teacher been contained?”

 

The pandaren nodded. “Yes, he is secured inside this urn. I would like to teach you the Spell of Sealing as well, if you will allow me a moment of your time.”

 

“I would be happy to comply. His threat is no small matter.” The two walked off to the other end of the main hall as the being inside the urn let out a hiss.

 

“Child, I still need to teach you what you must learn.” The whispers bore through the young blood elf’s mind, and she wasn’t sure if the others could hear them.

 

Mori ran over to where the monk was instructing the shaman on the Spell of Sealing. The pandaren and tauren did not notice her, deep in discussion of the mechanics of the enchantment used to seal the urn. The young blood elf bit her lip and spoke up.

 

“Can I talk to him?” she begged.

 

Liao Qiang turned his head to the child. “You are making a foolish mistake, young one,” he replied, “perhaps you would learn to keep quiet if I told you what the Teacher was truly like.”

 

Mori frowned at the monk in defiance.

 

“I can see the child will not be brought to reason,” the pandaren began, “Gather round, all of you, so that you may hear the tale of the Teacher.” Liao Qiang sat along the circular steps located at the center of the main room, and the others followed suit. He placed the urn down next to him and began his story.

 

“Millennia ago, this entity you see before you was a playful elemental sprite. He was not your usual sprite, however. Unlike his flame, frost, and arcane brothers and sisters, he was gifted with the essence of light as well as extreme intelligence. The other sprites would keep to themselves, but this one would seek the company of pandaren and spend time conversing with them and listening to their stories.

 

“Over time, the light elemental sprite and our lorewalkers grew close to one another, both parties showing genuine interest in the other’s lore and history. The lorewalkers appointed him to officially accompany them on their archeological travels, and his presence increased our understanding of our discoveries. Pandaren and sprite cooperated in blissful harmony for many moons, until one day…it happened.

 

“Several centuries ago, the Teacher, as we now called him, began lashing out at his students. Those who didn’t listen the first time, those who arrived late, even the ones who made the smallest mistake in memorizing a single line in a lengthy incantation. He also began to break into our secret archives and stole forbidden tales. At first, we believed this to be natural behavior for the Teacher as he was fundamentally a curious sprite, but now we realize we were fools to have thought so.”

 

The being in the urn let out a low chuckle, taking pleasure in his enemy admitting his own folly. The monk ignored him and continued.

 

“One day, the Teacher disappeared with two of our young lorewalkers, and only he reappeared a week later. We set out on an expedition to find the two students but only found the remains of their clothing. We questioned the Teacher, but he replied that—”

 

“—the students had proven to be…inadequate.”

 

Liao Qiang glared at the urn, and the being of knowledge let out a laugh that echoed throughout the main hall, the sound bouncing off the columns and ceiling.

 

“We restrained the sprite and limited his access to the libraries as punishment. We no longer trusted him with any of our students, and this infuriated him. When we were met with more resistance, we secured him inside a singular cell meant for Pandaria’s most vile criminals, but he escaped. One day, the Teacher returned, and his form was changed to the one you saw earlier, a large glowing orb of light.”

 

“Not only my appearance, Liao Qiang,” added the Teacher smartly, “but I have gained much more knowledge than you will ever learn.”

 

“Silence,” demanded the pandaren, “your time for causing torment is over.” He turned his attention to the travelers. “I suggest you keep this urn with someone who can hold on to it safely…perhaps not the child.”

 

The tauren gestured at Rose. “I motion we give the urn to her. Her calm demeanor and concentration are perfect for this task. You agree, Halvor?”

 

“Yes,” the vrykul nodded, “I see nothing wrong with this.”

 

“It is settled then.” The shaman stood up, as did the monk, and the two shook hands.

 

“I thank you for your invaluable guidance and knowledge,” spoke Tolkar, “now we’d best be on our way to the Temple of the Jade Serpent.”

 

“May the Celestials grant you safe travels,” spoke Liao Qiang, and watched solemnly as the tauren, vrykul, human, and blood elf left with the Teacher sealed inside the urn. “A shame it had to come to this,” he murmured to himself.

 

* * * * *

 

“Rosie, can I talk to the Teacher? Please?”

 

“For the fifteenth time, no,” replied Rose to the young blood elf, “You are not allowed to speak with him. And especially not alone.” Mori pouted upon receiving her answer.

 

“A deal, priestess,” bargained the Teacher, “I enlighten the girl, and she stops bothering you. I give you my word. Sounds good, yes?”

 

Rose held the urn fast in her hands and peered at it with doubt. “What reason have you given me to trust you?”

 

“I already know your deepest secrets,” the voice replied, “and I can offer you aid,” and added in a whisper, “young wolf.”

 

Rose immediately frowned and bit her lip before she could retort. The being inside the urn chuckled and subsequently focused its attention on the young blood elf.

 

“Convince my keeper to release me, child. I must speak with you. Alone.”

 

Mori looked down and shrugged. “I can’t convince her,” she spoke, “and I have no spells to force her.”

 

Rose was unsettled by the fact that Mori had considered taking the urn from her by force. The young woman shook her head and sighed. “Listen,” she told the being in the urn, “you are malicious. I will not trust you.”

 

The voice chuckled. “Trust, a mortal concept. All I seek is to…teach…yes, teach those who are eager to learn.”

 

“Enough,” Rose declared. “I will not repeat myself. We are taking you to somewhere you can be confined once and for all.”

 

“You are a persistent one. I admire that.” More softly, the voice continued, “I shall be unleashed again, you only delay the inevitable.”