Daughter of Azeroth

56 | FIRST FLIGHT

Early the next morning, just as the sun's first rays painted the sky in glorious shades of deep pinks and dark purples, Idira stood beside Ryback near the top of Stormwind's walls, inside a wooden planked, straw covered corridor, waiting for her turn to speak to Stormwind's Gryphon Master. Her hand tucked into the crook of Ryback's arm, Idira glanced at him, flattered he had made so much effort to see her off. The Pig & Whistle's cook had washed and shaved for the occasion, combed his hair back, and worn his Holy Day best: a blue linen shirt, starched and pressed, and a pair of brown leather breeches. He'd even gotten up early and polished his boots for the occasion.

'Now don't you be worrying about being up there on a big old gryphon,' he said as he patted her hand, reassuring her as she eyed the enormous creatures, uneasy, 'those are some smart beasts. They know exactly what they're doing, and those saddles, well they are about one of the most comfortable, safest things in Azeroth. Once the novelty wears off of seeing the world from up high, there's no reason not to have a nap,' he chuckled, his eyes unfocusing as he reminisced, 'Light knows I've done it plenty of times.'

Idira nodded and smiled for him, but her heart pounded, filled with trepidation as she watched the enormous hybrid creatures, half-lion, half-eagle leap from the platform's opening and plummet, screeching, towards the city's moat far below, their great wings lifting them up moments before hitting the water.

'Ah, that part's the hardest to get used to,' Ryback admitted, as Idira tightened her grip on his arm, fearful. 'Best not to go on with a full stomach, or drunk, drunk's bad too. Nothing stays down after that. That's why I said to eat light this morning, anyway there'll be lots of delicious things to eat in Dalaran, fanciest city in all of Azeroth, only the best of the best get to live there, with all the fine things to match.' He patted her hand. 'It'll be ok. You'll be fine. The good news is Dalaran is a lot closer to Stormwind than it used to be because of the Legion's invasion. It's just over Karazhan now. Not so long ago, you'd have to take a ship all the way to the northern continent, and then a gryphon.' He chuckled again and shook his head. 'Colder than a frost mage's nipples up there.'

Idira blushed, smiling faintly at his attempt to lighten the mood. She thought of the maps folded into the front leaves of her books, how much she had loved to pore over them, imagining other lands and what it would be like to visit them. But Ryback wasn't exaggerating, she knew of Karazhan well enough from her books—the great towering fortress, long deserted, which stood within Deadwind Pass. Once, long ago, Khadgar had studied there under the Guardian Medivh. Compared to the vast size of the Eastern Kingdoms, Deadwind Pass was quite close, even Unambi had been there once, the time Khadgar had saved his life and—

'Wait,' she blurted, Ryback's earlier words jolting her from her thoughts, 'what do you mean over Karazhan?'

Ryback glanced at her, taken aback. 'Dalaran is a floating city. Didn't you know that?'

Idira stared at him. She didn't. The only thing she knew of Dalaran was that long ago, when she was still a child, Lady Nin had told of how she had travelled to Dalaran, nestled in the province of Hillsbrad Foothills to buy her hats from a famous milliner. Nothing in any of Idira's books mentioned Dalaran being anywhere else, all she had read was the city in Hillsbrad had been destroyed by Arthas during the Third War. Since coming to Stormwind, she understood Dalaran had been rebuilt, but as a floating city? She shivered as the scattered pieces of her life gathered together, assembling quietly around her dream from all those years ago. She touched her pouch, containing the precious bank note and Logan's letter. Of all the people who could have aided her,  it was Logan, the one who'd loved her who had opened the door leading to Khadgar. Unambi was right, the Light did move in mysterious ways.

'Are there . . . balconies in Dalaran?' she asked, hesitant.

For a beat, Ryback stared at her as though she had lost her mind. 'I suspect so,' he finally answered, slow, 'since it's all towers and spires.' He scratched his head, baffled. 'That's a very strange thing to be asking. Are you afraid of balconies or something?'