“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 took out her pet rock and began to play with it to try to regain her composure.
“Say no more, young one, I can see through you perfectly!” The being of light let out a grim laugh and continued, “Why didn’t I recognize it sooner? You are a budding necromancer!”
Mori was dumbfounded. “H-How did you know?” she stammered.
“I can see everything, child,” replied the being, “I can see your dreams, your wishes, your fears, your…weaknesses.” He concentrated his aura on the woman standing next to Mori for a brief moment.
“You,” he sneered at the her, “are hiding…something. Be careful, or your true form may bear its fangs.”
Rose’s face turned red as she tried to come up with words to protest but fell short. He chuckled sinisterly and turned his attention back to Mori.
“I am a being of knowledge, young one,” the being of light spoke, “and I have what you are looking for. Would you like to learn?”
Mori’s eyes widened at the prospect of new knowledge. She felt the allure of the light drawing her closer to the round glow and was immediately consumed by the thirst for more.
“Yes! I have come to learn! Teach me—”
“STOP THE CHILD AT ONCE!”
A booming voice came from the main room. Mori turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw that it belonged to a pandaren windwalker monk. He was covered in grey and gold armor, 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, firm, his furry facial features twisted into a frown.
Rose took advantage of Mori’s brief immobility to grasp her arm and hold tightly. She would not let the blood elf move any closer to the being of light.
“Do not listen to him,” the windwalker 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.
“Do not accept his offer, child. This horrifying creature seeks students to enlighten but kills those he does not deem worthy. None I knew have survived.”
Mori’s eyes widened with fear as she looked at the teacher. Would he kill her, too?
The being of light let out an ominous laugh, his aura glittering near the surface. “Come now, Liao Qiang, you make me look worse than I am. I did not kill those worthless pupils; I merely punished them for being…inadequate.”
“Just the same, that does not change the fact that their innocent lives are no longer with us! 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.”
“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.
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. The other sprites would keep to themselves, but this one would seek the company of pandaren and spend time 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, again. It is merely 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.”
Mori trailed Rose and the urn for the rest of the day.
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