Atanasia

[Skafloc]

The angle of the sun told Nymare the Bandit was late. I reassured her that he must have had a good reason to be delayed and that I was sure he would explain all in time.

In the meantime, it was a good evening to sit and talk. I like Thunder Bluff and the serenity of the Spirit Rise was good for relaxing in peace. So we sat, and I was able to tell her the strange tale of the encounter I had earlier in the day back in Silvermoon:

I was there to check on the estate banking, which took much less time than I had envisioned. All acounts in good standing. Walking out to the fountain before the Sunspire, I took the opportunity to play with Elmo. It was then that I saw her. The very pale, almost white woman with the silver hair. She was meandering in an almost absent minded way around the square, but stopped short at the sight of my windserpent flittering about. With an almost child like glee she giggled and started mimicking the flapping of his wings with her arms. Slowly she approached.

My first thought was " high on bloodthistle" but I was forced to slowly re-evaluate my thoughts as she came up and started trying to converse. It was quite obvious she was not under the influence of any substance, but in truth had the mind of an infant!

I worried that she might be lost, or had wandered off from her family, for such as her must have someone that looked after her needs. She was obviously quite incapable of that herself. She could barely converse, her language immature. She gazed upon all with the intensity of someone seeing things for the very first time.

That was when I had my first nagging suspicion. I have seen that behaviour before. That exact behaviour in fact. It was very typical of the newly emerged subjects from Mistress Clys' growth cannisters.

My suspicions were given further weight upon questioning her of her origins. " Are you from the city? " I asked. She didn't seem to comprehend so I changed the question. " You. Born here? " I ventured. She seemed to understand that simpler form.

" Yes. Born.. box.. tube.. water." she said in her halting speech.

My mind started racing. It couldn't be! Could it? After telling her that I was going to touch her, to which she simply shrugged, I felt along her abdomen. Yes, as I suspected she had no bellybutton. Only a slight indentation where one born a normal birth would have one. If that were not enough, she actually led me to the small urban warehouse where she pointed out a wooden crate, seemingly forced open from the inside. The crate contained the broken remains of a gestation cannister of a style I recognized immediately. On the side of the wooden crate a barely legible symbol was stamped. Two snake heads forming a circle and facing inwards at each other.

The sign of the Immortalis.

Atanasia, so she called herself, was quite obviously a product of Mistress Clys' experiments. But how and why was she here, now, newly emeged from some forgotten crate in Silvermoon City?

Mistress Clys simply did not lose track of her specimens like this, especially considering the vast time and expenses needed to produce one. I could count on one hand the number of such she had actually successfully grown in her cannister. So who, or what was Atanasia?

The girl/woman was a blank slate, with her mature body housing a still developing mind. This was a crucial stage, I new. I had seen the first days of the new Lovely body and that was with a mature mind being introduced. I also remembered Verlorna, the early Kaldorei specimen Clys had developed as a clone of Verloran. She was for all intensive purposes a babe in the first few days, needing instruction and nurturing. Looking at Atanasia I knew that this one would also require some shelter and nurturing for a few days at least until her mind matured.

Besides, If she was indeed one of Clys' and somehow managed to get misplaced, ( an unlikely prospect) she needed to be with family. Clys viewed her "children" as her extended family, as such she would be furious if I let this one wander off to Vashj knows what tragedy.

So, I took her to the Ran'Deau estate, and left in the care of Chauncey, my houseman and head gardener. I left detailed instructions on her feeding, care and instruction.

Speaking to Nymare I can see her doubt and concern. " Are you sure that is wise? Is it safe? " she asked.

" She is a woman with a child's mind. No skills, no knowledge, barely able to converse. I doubt she can even tap into the arcane powers yet. She is quite harmless." I reassured her. She seemed to relax somewhat, but I could still sense some skepticism in her. Understandable. Its not like this is a normal thing.

But then, Clys never really did anything normal. She would have to be notified. Perhaps she could shed some light on the girl's origins and the unlikely circumstance of her emergence alone in Silvermoon.

In the meantime, it appeared they had a new houseguest for a while at least..

[Atanasia]

Chauncey laid back on the sofa, exhausted. He had spent the entire night working with Atanasia, teaching her words in both Thalassian and orcish. She still had a long way to go, but the rate at which she learned amazed him. She could now speak in broken phrases, making rudimentary sentences. And if he talked slow and used the right words, she could understand him.

When she had arrived at the manor, she had been wearing an expensive black dress. She kept pointing at it and saying "Zuffid. Armor."

Apparently, Chauncey surmised, someone named Zuffid had given her this dress. He would have to send a thank you note on behalf of the Baron to this person. It was amazing to Chauncey that the poor child had not been taken advantage of before Master Skafloc had found her.

As Chauncey fell asleep, Atanasia sat cross legged in the floor, wearing a wonderfully tailored suit and playing with blocks. The blocks were marked with letters and symbols, and some were drawn on by Skafloc when he was a child.

Atanasia built things with the blocks. Shapes, little houses...Towers. She was amazed at how things worked, and cooed with joy every time she accomplished something greater then the last. Then, she had the joy of knocking her towers over.

Noticing Chauncey was asleep, Atanasia stood and began to wander about the house. The servants seemed to keep a close eye on her as she pointed at random objects and spoke their name. "Chair. Book. Bed."

Atanasia made her way to the second story of the house. "Window," she said cheerfully as she approached an open archway overlooking the grounds below.

She curiously leaned out, feeling the morning air on her face. Her ivory skin was cooled and her long white hair blew a bit as she closed her eyes and outstretched her arms.

It was then that she lost her balance. She tumbled from the window, 20 feet to a stone walkway below, and landed on her head and right shoulder. She yelped in pain as she heard a crack, and quickly rolled on her back, crying in pain from a gashing head wound and broken shoulder.

But then the pain seemed to die down. She grabbed her shoulder and pulled it back into place, and within moments had fully healed. Skafloc had shown her that he could do the same, but had told her that others didn't have this gift. Atanasia shrugged, not really thinking of it, and stood.

The grounds surrounding the mansion were beautiful. Atanasia had seen them on her way to the manor, but had never really had a chance to explore them. Curious, she set off, walking around and pointing at things, naming them. "Tree. Rock. Cloud."

For three hours she did this, leaving the Ran'Deau grounds and walking down the road toward Silvermoon. She hadn't slept, but was so excited that she wasn't even remotely tired. She was happy, and was learning. "Dra...gon....hawk. Kitty cat..."

She entered the gates of Silvermoon, where she had first awakened. It had taken her hours to claw out of the tube and the crate. She hadn't thought of it at the time, but in doing so she had injured her fingers greatly. But they healed so fast that she was able to eventually get out with little more effort than opening a door.

Her mind thought back to the night she was born. She had taught herself to walk, and had wandered Silvermoon unsure of what anything had been. Zuffid had been good to her. Given her the armor-dress. Given her gold coins. She decided she would find him and try to communicate again.

Another hour she wandered Silvermoon, until to her surprise she heard a voice. "Hello?"

Atanasia looked around, but saw no one. But it felt as though the voice was coming from her! No, not her....Her pocket!

Atanasia reached in her pocket and pulled out a stone, a white stone with runes and markings. Chauncey had given her this stone and told her if she ever got lost, to rub it and concentrate on home. But the stone was talking!

"Stone is talking," Atanasia said aloud, almost a statement rather than a question.

"Yes," the stone responded.

As Atanasia wandered Silvermoon City, she talked with the stone. It was very smart, and told her that she needed to make sure and keep it safe. The stone said it would train her, and teach her. And that she should listen to it. It said its name was Cwen.

It puzzled Atanasia that a stone would sound like a female, but then again talking stones were probably normal, so she thought nothing more of it.

The stone told Atanasia that she was a "blood elf" and that she would have to learn about war, and how to fight. As she listened to the voice of the peculiar rock, she found herself in a large room, lit by a glowing orb. She held the stone tightly in one hand, and then curiously reached out to touch the orb.

A flash of light and a scream from Atanasia, and she found herself transported. She was now in a dark place, full of gloom and with a putrid green sky. It scared her, but the stone reassured her that she was fine. The stone told her that the dead things that walked here were her friends.

Wandering the area, Atanasia spied a large tower. Curious as always, she entered it and walked to the top. The tower led to a large platform covered by a giant baloon of some type, and as she stared at it she realized she was moving! She exclaimed this into the stone, but once again the stone named Cwen told her she was safe. She was heading to the land with blue and green people, and the people with horns. They were her friends also.

Atanasia landed in Durotar, amazed at the brightness of the area. It was hot here, and she decided to get in out of the sun. The sun seemed to hurt her for some reason. It hurt her eyes, and her skin. Made it hard to see or move. She would find a shady spot to rest.

Looking around, she spied a rather large gate, with several people surrounding it. They were large and green. Friends! She strode happily that way and entered Orgrimmar. Cwen told her she would be safe there, but then the stone said it needed to rest and would be silent. Atanasia put it in her pocket and entered the city of Orgrimmar. There was so much to learn.

[Vilmah]

((Hehehee! Friiiiiend.....))

[Atanasia]

Atanasia was lost. Orgrimmar was huge, and between all the noise and the blistering heat, she felt ill. She had to get out of there, and make it back home. In desperation, she rubbed her stone and spoke into it again.

"Cwen?"

But this time, the voice that answered her was gruff sounding, and male. His speech patterns sounded similar to that of the big horn people she had seen walking around Orgrimmar. "Who?"

"Cwen. Atanasia stone name Cwen. Stone sound different."

There was a bit of comfused laughter on the other end. But after a few minutes, the stone, with its new voice, directed Atanasia to the zeppelin tower, and helped her find her way back to Silvermoon.

Once there, the voice went away, and wouldn't respond to anymore of Atanasia's rubbings. So she began exploring once again. She liked dark places, and found an alley that suited her. It was cool and shaded, and not very crowded, other than a drunk passed on on the ground. Atanasia leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath.

"Looking for work," a man asked.

Atanasia turned curiously and blinked. It was a Sin'Dorei male with short black hair. He wore leather and had two daggers at his waist. "Well, lady? Are ya?"

Atanasia shrugged, and ignored him.

"You got any coin," he asked with a grin on his face.

Atanasia smiled happily. "Oh! Yes! Atanasia have coin!"

The man chuckled. "May I see them?"

Atanasia nodded and pulled the money from her pocket. She proudly showed the man her coins, holding them in front of his face.

The man smirked. "Can I hold them?"

Atanasia nodded and smiled. Having a new friend would be great. She handed the man the coins and then clapped as he ran away. A moment later, her clapping died down. Where had he gone?

[clys]

I sit down heavily in my laboratory chair and close my eyes, tired. I've been working too hard, that's what it is. But there is just so much to do, so much to learn, so many things I need to try. I suppose I should get out of here for a while, relax a bit, take a walk...something.

I take off my white lab coat and hang it behind the door. I look around the room, making sure that everything is safe to leave for a while. I check the locks on the cages. I make sure the burner is off. I throw some raw meat to the yet-to-be-named creature in Room 9. I check on the paladin in Room 4. His skin is stretching nicely. Those new hooks are working out really well.

Everything will be fine without me for a few hours. I go upstairs and take a shower, and put on a nice silk gown. I whisk myself over to Silvermoon. Maybe I'll stop by the Inn and see if anyone is around to talk to.

[Atanasia]

Atanasia walked into the inn to get another apple. She was famished from all the walking. Plus, it was good to get out of direct sunlight. Her chalk white skin and hair didn't lend themselves to exposure to the sun very well. She had no resistance to its rays.

Upon entering the inn, she took an apple from the table and sat on one of the sofas. Was it her imagination, or was that Sin'Dorei woman watching her? And why did that woman look so familiar?

She shrugged and continued to eat, smiling at the delicious taste of the fruit. Chauncey would be here soon to pick her up and take her back to House Ran'Deau. There, she would get a good night's sleep.

[clys]

As I sat in the Inn, looking around, holding a drink, an extremely pale elf entered. I watched her go to the table and get an apple. My skin was prickling as I watched her, which always means something is going on that I need to pay attention to. I regarded her closely, allowing my spiritual vision to flow gently over her. Her aura was wrong. Wrong, yet somehow familiar. I'd seen that kind of aura before, in my laboratory, when one of the clones I was growing was about to awaken.

Who was this person, and who grew her? She was definitely not a normal Sin'dorei. I continued to watch her as she ate the apple. Then I got up and walked over to her.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" I said, looking her in the eye.

[Atanasia]

Atanasia stared at Clys blankly for a moment. There was something oddly familiar about her. It was a face Atanasia had seen in her past, while she was still growing in her tube, but the face before had been burned, eyeless, and rotting. It was Clys, her maker.

"Clys" she said timidly. "You are Clys. You are my maker."

She waited for a reaction for a moment, but then resumed talking. "I am Atanasia. Immortal. I am your creation. You are my mother, Clys."

[clys]

"What the fuck?" I said, looking at the oddly pale girl more closely. "I made you? That's not possible. If you were mine, you'd either be safely in the lab, working at a task I had set you, or dead. You wouldn't be running around free and untaught. What kind of monster do you think I am?"

I was angry. This girl...she did look like one of mine. But she was not one of my successes. Those were carefully trained and set to work, or given to certain persons for favors required. So how had this one escaped, and escaped without me even knowing about it? This was worrisome. Was it possible that I had a betrayer inside my own House? How else could I explain it? Unless...

I grabbed the girls hand and pulled it close, examining the pattern of lines on the palm. Damn. Double damn.

"Let me see the inside of your lower lip," I demanded. "Show me."

[Atanasia]

Atanasia looked scared. She thought back to the meeting she had had with Diomades. He had told her she had no soul. And now Clys wanted to inspect her like this...Was she in fact a biological machine?

She understood now that she might not even possess a real personality. She recorded things. Mimicked things. Had she not been found she would be no more than property.

She reluctantly opened her mouth and pulled down her lip.

[clys]

I sighed as this Atanasia girl displayed the inside of her lower lip for me. My mark was there, which meant she was in fact one of my creations. I didn't know how she had managed to wind up out of the lab, on her own. She was supposed to have been destroyed as a failure. Someone had messed up, and I would find out who and deal with them later. Stupid servants. I swear I am surrounded by idiots.

But...I looked Atanasia over again. She *was* alive, and she *was* functioning. She seemed fairly submissive. There was a glint of intelligence in her eyes. Maybe she was not so much of a faillure after all. I would have to examine her and see what was going on. Perhaps there was some factor I had overlooked that caused her to 'bloom' late, but still to grow into something viable. Interesting.

I nodded and smile reassuringly at her.

"Yes, dear," I said in a soft and friendly voice. "I don't know how you wound up alone out in the world -- someone will have to answer for that -- but you are indeed my child. That makes you special, and you should not be scraping about unprotected in the world like this. Come on with me back to the manor, and let's get you situated. You'll need clothing, perhaps a place to stay, or at least money to buy a room somewhere you like, weapons perhaps, and training. And I want to talk to you about your thoughts, do a few tests to be sure you are healthy, stuff like that. Come now."

I held out my hand to her, looking into her eyes.

[Atanasia]

Atanasia took Clys' hand. She had learned much since her awakening. Nymare had taught her many things, and she had a relationship that she was happy with....But Clys was her maker.

"I will come with you, my maker. I have learned much over the past two weeks, and my intellect grows geometrically each day...But you have answers for me that I cannot learn anywhere else."

Atanasia smiled, almost tearfully. This was a homecoming that she could not have imagined. She had felt abandoned by Clys...Unwanted. Thrown away. Now Clys was offering her a chance at a life, and a chance to have her body studied. She would learn what she was, and maybe why she was created.

She thought back to the previous week. It was then that she had learned about a certain bandit, who had attempted to steal her while she was being shipped to be destroyed. Her gestation tube had been broken during the attempt, and that was what had awoken her. If not for his greed, she would be destroyed now.

"Maker," she asked with a hint of emotion, "Can you tell me what I am? What am I here for? And....How am I alive?"

As Clys led her away, she listened and stayed quiet, recording everything Clys said or did with childlike curiosity.

[clys]

"I'll have to check my notes to be sure," I told her. "I thought you were a failed one, and I don't remember the exact details."

I looked her up and down again. She actually looked pretty good. Perhaps I made an error in thinking she was a failure? Well, one can always learn from one's mistakes.

"So, tell me about your experiences thus far," I said, wanting to see how she had fended for herself. "Where have you been living? How did you get out of your tube? What do you remember of everything? You remembered me. That's odd in itself. What else do you know?"

[Atanasia]

Atanasia smiled as she began her tale. For a moment, she paused, as if accessing the information, but when she talked, her speech was eloquent.

"I awoke inside my damaged Gestation tube in the middle of a pile of garbage. My crate and tube had been damaged due to the machinations of a rogue who sought to steal me and sell me to the highest bidder, but I managed to get free while he searched for someone to help him procure me safely.

I wandered Silvermoon for a short while, unable to understand languages or really think, but the more people I encountered, the more I seemed to be able to record things from them and pick up knowledge.

I ran into Skafloc Ran'Deau the next day, and he knew what I was. He brought me to his home, and from there I was trained...I have now reached a stage where my knowledge is great, although I still lack knowledge of emotions...It is hard for me to control my emotions currently.

Nymare, Skafloc's wife, is my handler. For whatever reason I don't know, there is a command code in my brain connected to her, and I must do as she says. I can only assume it is because she spent the most time with me, and I was coded in such a way that a handler would be neccessary. Due to this, I actually assumed it was because I was originally made to be an assassin of some type...Or perhaps a slave to you, Clys Nex'Cruor. I am unsure, and this is one of the questions I wish to have answered.

Now, I am staying with Skafloc and Nymare. They treat me well, and I learn more every day. I also am researching love, and am reaching breakthroughs on that emotion thanks to Diomades, the Tauren Shaman.

As for you, Clys, my only memory of you is a blurred image of you looking into my tube and saying my name. Please...Please tell me what I am...What I am supposed to be..."

Atanasia trailed off as she walked, awaiting a response...

[clys]

I scowled, becoming angry as she spoke about her experiences. I was definitely going to inflict some serious pain on the person who flubbed the destruction of her tube. I don't like it when uncontrolled and unexpected things happen with my work due to the incompetence and negligence of a worker I trust. There would be wailing and gnashing of teeth when I got back, that much was certain.

But in the meantime, Atanasia's circumstance was more important. She had bonded with Nymare, apparently. I don't know Nymare very well, but Skafloc has my complete trust, and he married the woman, so she must be all right. I don't have time to train someone right now, so it's probably best that Atanasia just continue with the Ran'deaus.

I nodded at Atanasia, considering how to reply.

"You're supposed to be dead," I said. "But, seeing as you are not, I have no particular instructions for you."

I grinned at her.

"It seems you have become a free agent, my dear," I said. "I'm more interested now in seeing what you'll do on your own, than with any direction from me. Your success or failure will be instructive, and I can use the information for future work."

I took her hand into mine as we walked, feeling the softness of it. I smiled at her, and waved my other hand toward the Manor as we approached.

"I'll just do a quick exam, make sure you're healthy, and then you can be on your way," I said. I opened the large door, waving my hand across the threshold to release the arcane lock long enough for us to enter. I led her down to my outer laboratory, and motioned to the long table therein.

"Just lie down there, please," I told her. "This won't take long at all."