Miss Jessan Santon

((This is written for my alt Jessan, I have no account for her so have decided to put her storyline on my main.))

“Jessan.”

“Jessan where are you!”

Jessan crawled deeper into the bushes behind the pig pen, determined to stay hidden as long as possible. She knew she should be tending the crop with Mother, night would be on them soon and there was work to be done, but the last days of summer were too precious to waste in labour. Her Mother walked past her hiding place and the freckle faced girl slid further down hoping she would not be seen.

Another winter came all too soon and the crop was now safe in the barn while the pigs were fattening for the coming fair. Jessan was growing into a fine young woman, strong of back with long slender legs that turned many a lad’s eye. One young man took to calling on her every week, never missing a chance to spend his time off with the beautiful Miss Santon.

Their first tender kiss awoke something in her, something she had never felt before and she began to look forward to his visits with flutters in her belly.

The day he called on Father she was gathering water from the stream and did not see him until she set the wooden buckets by the door. He came out hesitantly and knelt before her, his hands shaking with nerves as he presenting her with a small gold band. She cried tears of joy as he held her tightly wrapped in his warm arms, her wedding band engraved with her name held tight in her fist.

The coming weeks became filled with talk of her wedding and the beautiful dress her Mother was making for her big day. She chose the material and the starched lace for the gathered cuffs, even the long cream ribbon for her tight bodice. As the wedding day drew closer Father decided his prize pig would do for the festivities and he spent a day making ready the spit to cook the big carcass.

A week before her wedding she came out the house and saw a man watching from the corner of the barn. Screaming she ran towards her Mother as more bandits appeared from the treeline. She never reached her as big hands grabbed her around the neck and waist, holding her roughly as they forced her to watch her Mother being raped.

Unable to watch them hurt her Mother she lashed out with her boots and nails at the bastard holding her and his reply was a vicious thrust of his blade. The roaring sound in her ears did nothing to drown out his laughter as she dropped to her knees at his feet, her insides expanding and spilling from her onto the dirty ground.

The last thing she saw was her Mother screaming in horror as she tried desperately to fight her way to her dying child.

Gells

(The choice, the Master.))

A voice, softly drawing on her senses as the woman speaks.

“In the name of Sylvanas, the Banshee Queen, I bestow this gift upon you!”

“Waken, sleeper. Your new life awaits.”

A hazy shape moves before her, white blur swirling back and forth as Jessan opens her eyes to the sight of a woman in the air.

The woman waits patiently for Jessan to gather her scattered mind.

“Jessan!”

“Rise Jessan!”

“Welcome back to the realm of the living. With the blessing and power of the Dark Lady, I have freed you from death’s grip.”
“You are no slave, Jessan. You are free to follow whatever path you choose from here.”
“If you choose to serve the Dark Lady Sylvanas, I recommend you speak with Undertaker Mordo. You will find him behind me, in the graveyard.”

Jessan closes her eyes blocking out the view of the woman spewing the irritating words. Her mind is not interested in what is said, her mind is blank and she wants to remain like this.

“Jessan!”

“Rise Jessan!”

Jessan stands up knowing the woman is not going away, her joins are stiff and crunch without pain as she uses them for the first time. The woman has not moved from her spot, still flapping her big white sails as she calls to Jessan.

“G..gerrrt lorrst.”

The woman shows no sign of understanding what Jessan has said and she realises she has no idea what she said either.

She blinks as another woman calls out to the one before her.

“Agatha is that one slow to hear your call?”

“She is only confused Aradne, it will pass as it has with others.”

These women have names, and not sails, wings, yes wings on their backs? She stands and considers this for a while, wings are not meant to be on humans, but are they human? The woman is flapping her big wings, that seems right but she has legs too. Jessan is confused and disorientated, her mind throwing up words for things that do not match the image for them.

The Undertaker Mordo keeps looking at her expectantly so she walks stiffly over to him, hearing the crunching of her knees lessen with each step. Her mind has already forgotten about wings and legs, even the woman’s voice is gone from her now.

“Hello there. You must be Jessan?”

“Yers”

“I’m pleased to see that you’re up and walking around, Jessan. You’ve held up nicely, especially after being dead for so long!”

“Others weren’t as lucky. If you wouldn't mind, I need you to fetch my embalming fluid and some twine to stitch up these bodies.”

“You’ll find both in the Shadow Grave, the building just behind me.”

“Here, Darnell will join you. He knows the way.”

She wonders who has been dead for so long as Darnell comes rushing up behind her. He is eager like a pup, almost hopping from bony foot to bony foot in his need to please.

“The Shadow Grave is this way. Follow me Jessan.”

He leads her down into the crypt where she collects the stuff from a table. Coming back up the steps proves difficult at first, her legs understand what steps are but her mind has forgotten how to use them. Darnell guides her in his eager fashion, showing her the way up to the surface once more.

A Forsaken walks up the short road towards the graves, the light breeze flicking lightly at his dark clothing. She watches him, drawn by the pull of his powerful confidence she finds herself standing at his feet with the twine in her hand while he looks her over.

His voice when he speaks brings her to attention, his authority will not be challenged. He asks her what she wants for her future, what path she will choose to reach it.

“Revenge”

Yes she wants revenge for something that happened, something that she can’t remember but she knows she wants revenge for it. He offers her a better future, a future where she can take revenge for, for something?

He holds out his hand, a tabard hangs from his bony fingers, the ends stirred by the gentle wind. She is not sure about anything, her life is a clean slate without meaning or purpose, yet he offers her a reason for existence.

Her eyes are drawn to the darkness of the material, to the symbol of the dark grey bones that embrace the surface like a ribcage. Darnell helps her get it facing the right way and she pulls it over her head where it clings to her body like a comfortable skin.

She salutes the Master standing before her, the respect coming naturally for one such as he.

“Come and find me when you are ready, I am Aconitus.”

Gells

((The Deathstalker, the Teacher))

Below the surface of a pool in Tirisfal Glades a small movement stirs the mud. Water carries the murk away revealing a bony hand, the index finger begins to tap, tap, tap.

Jessan moves slowly up from the bottom of the pool allowing the mud to slowly sluice off and settle before she finally breaks the surface. She has been motionless in the water for two days as she strives to become a better Deathstalker.

Silently she moves from the water into the safe embrace of the shadows where she waits to dry before making her way back into Undercity.

Jeremiah watches the Forsaken as she goes about her business, the compassion he feels is fueled by his hopes of a future acolyte or maybe a lightslayer.

“Jessan, sit with a humble trader?”

She joins him on the cold stone of Undercity, sitting facing him as his roaches wander free between them.

“Do you know of the virtues Jessan?”

He falls silent as Dark Ranger Anya walks past, then turns his attention back to the silent Forsaken.

“Respect, Tenacity and Power, these define your choices on your path to Ascension.”

He waits while Jessan thinks over his statement.

“What is the purpose of the virtue if I do not seek Ascension?”

“A good question, we all seek to better ourselves do we not?”

She keeps motionless, her golden yellow eyes holding his own as he begins to teach her.

“You were once human, a follower of the Light that failed you, failed us all.”

She wonders how he knows this when the only legacy of her past is the name traced from some tarnished ring on her finger.

“Jessan respect those around you for they have found their power and it is greater than your own. You will one day possess the power they have, only by walking your path with care and in the knowledge that others have walked it ahead of you”

“Be tenacious, never give up the struggle to find a better expression of yourself. Those that have gone before you now pose a challenge for you to master.”

He stops and picks up a roach from the floor, dropping it into his free hand.

“Power is the most difficult thing you will have to control, but without it you have no wisdom. You have proved you seek more, you are not content to slip away from this existence, yet you have not understood the true nature of your power Jessan.”

He drops the peaceful roach into her bony palm and folds her fingers closed around it. The insect sits still in the darkness for a moment then begins a frantic attempt to get back to the light.

As it runs around inside it’s bony prison his low voice washes over her once more.

“You have the power of life and death at your command, what fate do you choose for the insect in your hand Jessan”

Without hesitation she crushes it and drops the lifeless body on the floor before his knees.

“What did you gain by killing it?”

“I removed it so others may not find its presence an annoyance.”

“You made a decision for those who can make their own decisions, how did that help you become wise when you used your power to take the power from those around you?”

He reaches down and lifts another roach, then drops it into her palm and closes her fingers around the new insect.

“What if you did not kill this one, what would be the consequences?”

She considers the question as the insect begins a frantic search for light.

“If I let it live you will gain forty two silver and fifty copper.”

He reaches out his hand and waits for her to release the insect.

“What have you learnt”

Dropping the insect into his hand she looks into her empty palm.

“My choices do not only touch me, but it is not wise to seek power over others, only myself.”

“Good, you are slowly understanding. We have more to speak of Jessan but now is not the time. Go and think over what I have said.”

Gells

This is really rather good

Thank you Drilac'n