“Tell me of a childhood memory.” The old Gnome queried as he stood beside her. Vesthi did her best to resist his prompting and to ignore his presence, but the specter of the Gnome she’d known in life remained at her side. Standing motionless, melting away her stubborn resolve. Vesthi turned to face the large pond beside the cemetery in Stormwind and lowered herself to the ground beside a small simple headstone. Vesthi inhaled the crisp coastal air while bit by bit her defenses softened. She began to speak softly. Hesitantly.
“I… was a child when,” She paused to collect her memory. “When my parents began work as part of a delegation. Various noble families within the Empire were looking to recruit fresh young Elves. Some were to be trained as warriors or tutored in the ways of magic. The hope was to find the next talented Sorcerer or the next powerful Battle Mage. The next Illidan Stormrage. I was a problem child. Very active. Always into things, causing trouble. Complicating things. I rebelled, mostly for the sake of the rebellion. I loved my parents but, as my Mother would say, my spirit was just to strong to follow. I had to always take my own path.” Vesthi’s tone turned mournful as she unexpectedly spoke of her Mother. She fell silent in her recollection for a moment, but eventually carried onward.
Vesthi took a deep head clearing breath. “We were traveling lesser paths, visiting the more remote villages in the regions of my Father’s noble patron. We stopped at a small village comprised mostly of priests and priestesses dedicated to Elune. Mother went to pay her respects at their temple while Father saw to our provisions.”
“Up until this time I’d spent most of my childhood surrounded by the opulence of the cities. I was just beginning to forge my circle of friends as a young girl, finding myself fairly apt at street politics.” Vesthi smiled at the memory. “I’d started more than my fair share of fights then. Most of them end with fists and I’d began to gain a reputation. Volatile, some said.” Vesthi drew another mind clearing breath as she continued. “I considered nature a wonder. The city buildings gave way to fields of produce and grain, and then to wild grasslands. Bit by bit forests sprang up along our path, at least as I remember it. Until we found ourselves entering an older forest, with older trees whose trunks seemed massive to me at the time, and whose canopy reached through the skies to the Great Beyond.”
Vesthi could feel the presence of the old Gnome at her side, patiently listening. He urged her to continue.
“I began to wander. At first it was through the village. Then to the edges of the village. Then I found the bravery to push into the surrounding forest. It wasn’t long until the forest began to feel the same to me, that I lost all sense of direction. I was lost. I did my best to suppress the swell of panic in my chest but my fear was getting the better of me. This is when a sweet voice spoke to me.”
“I turned to the voice and was met by the equally sweet face of a girl from the village. Judging by her vestments she was an acolyte of Elune. A young Priestess in training. I, of course, bit back my panic as best as I could and put on a brave facade. No, I’d told her though I didn’t really remember what she’d said. The girl smiled back at me and kindly asked, Are you sure? You seem a little lost. I know these trees, so I could show you back to the village if you like.”
“I was embarrassed, uneasy, feeling awkward and self conscious without understanding why. No. I told her again. This made the girl smile and say, Then I know of some really pretty spots. They’re not far from here. I can show you if you like. This sounded like an adventure to me, so I nodded. Our journey began fairly silent, but eventually we warmed up to each other. We told tales of the places we knew, then stories of the people we know. We shared our dreams and fears. Bit by bit as she showed me around the forest of her home. She showed me a glen of wild flowers that had just bloomed. We laid in the tall grass drowning in their fragrance for a time, staring up at the sky through the forest canopy just talking. We began to share secrets then. We were both little girls who had only just met, and yet it was like we’d been friends our whole lives. Almost like sisters.” Vesthi grinned to herself at the memory.
“I knew, even then, that really it was something more for me. I couldn’t explain the attraction but it was there. I’d felt it. My parents voice called out to me from a distance and I knew I had to leave. We sat up in the glen surrounded by wild flowers and were saddened. She stood, brushed her garments, then held out a hand to help me up. I’m Nanaai, she’d said. I took her hand and stood. I’m Vesthi, I replied. Maybe next time you come through here, Vesthi, I can show you a sparkling pond of clear waters. I could only grin and nod like a fool.”
“I would return to that village several more times as the years passed.” Vesthi’s voice trailed off.
“What happened?” The old Gnome asked. He urged her to continue. Vesthi knew that of all the people in the world at that moment she would have loved to carry on with none other. She knew however that he was a specter. A ghost of a memory of a departed friend whom she missed dearly.
“We grew up.” Vesthi finally answered. The peaceful silence of the graveyard eventually overtook the Demon Hunter. She laid on her side with the small headstone at her back and allowed herself to rest for a time. The small unassuming stone grave-marker at her back read only a single name: Cailean Mahlr’D.