The Mana Tap ((Semi-Casual Open RP))

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

The sun was shining bright as Mauritius stepped into his favorite bar, the Mana Tap. It was in a lesser traveled area of the Bazaar in Silvermoon. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he noticed a few familiar faces, waved his greetings, and headed toward his favorite corner table. The barmaid, Mellia, came over and smiled at him.

"Hey there, Maur. Coming in a bit early today. Your usual?"

"Absolutely, my dear."

Mauritius smiled and winked at her. She was a cute girl, but a bit young for him, barely into her 100s, and he wasn't particularly in a mood to flirt tonight. Grustabeerg, a Troll witch-doctor and second-in-command of the Crimson Brotherhood, had journeyed to Silvermoon and informed him that Vol'Jin was gathering nothing short of an army to retake the Echo Isles.

"Good news and bad," Mauritius muttered to himself. It would take more effort than he wished to exert, but he'd been moping around Silvermoon for too long, and the lengths Grustabeerg had gone to to put him in a good mood made it near essential to do it. He would have helped Grustabeerg regardless, but now he would be expected to do so without complaining.

"Your whiskey, honey," Mellia winked as she set Mauritius's glass down.

"Thanks, Mel," Mauritius smiled and picked up his drink. At that, the door opened and the bar flooded momentarily with light.

[Markus Shaw]

Garrian steps into the bar, and sits upon a stool near the Crusader.

"I remember, when things we simpler.....a time...where...*goes off talking with his self*

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

"Times were simpler, my friend. They sure were. Arthas plunged my world into a damn nightmare. But he's gone and things are looking more toward the brighter side. What has you in a twist this evening?"

[Arcilux]

The blood elf next sitting at the bar laughed between sips from a glass of Suntouched Reserve.

"Brighter side, you are pathetic. Do you really think there can be a brighter side? You say that that damnable Arthas plunged your world into a nightmare..."

The glass of wine was drained and Arcilux refilled it with a bottle from his cloak.

"The whole damn world is a nightmare. You think stopping Arthas could wake us from this hell? The people he killed are still dead, or even worse undead. No, this nightmare has not ended. Did you forget what he did? Who he was? The bloody Alliance prince! What is to say another one of those dogs won't go the way of Arthas? You can't trust them, this world can't be at peace, never again, but if we destroy the alliance, at least there will be hope for a better tomorrow."

The glass was drained once again but this time Arcilux did not refill it. He was staring off into nothing, barely noticing the people around him.

"No, not even the death of every Alliance scum will bring my parents back. Nothing can undo this Light-forsaken nightmare that has been thrust upon us. But with the power of M'Uru, we can bend the light, illuminate this hellish darkness, and see what this world has actually become."

Finally, as if seeing her for the first time, Arcilux noticed the young beauty Mellia. Wine and a woman, a great start to the night, the only thing better would be to wet his sword.

"Wait, wait a minute. You are Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian! I remember you! Your parents were killed by Arthas as well. You crafted my first Blood Knight blade, right here in Silvermoon."

A brief spark of happiness flashed across Arcilux's eyes, before turning to disgust.

"You are powerful, yet you waste your time here, drinking whiskey! Are you truly content with the death of Arthas? Is that truly enough to make you forget what a human did to your parents?"

This time the bottle of wine did not make it into the glass, Arcilux chugged the rest from the bottle and slapped a gold piece on the bar counter. Mellia brought him another bottle and he took a large swig.

"Please Mauritius, tell me it gets better. Tell me there is still blood to be shed, blood of my enemies to quench the sight of my parent's blood on that damnedable human's blade."

[Garots]

((Gallian's bio says something about him being raised in SM, would help to know the story too =P))

[Arcilux]

((I didn't try to kill him :P I recognized him from my days of young at Silvermoon, but I didn't even notice the beautiful barkeep or Maur until well into my monologue. I was going for kind of a drunken rant based off of the anger of hearing an elf talk about how things were getting better, my bad if I did something wrong. Still trying to fully understand all the rules of meta and godmode))

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

"A human?" Mauritius responded incredulously, "No, no my friend. Arthas was no human. He may have been born to that race, but what he became was far from human. He destroyed far more than just my parents. he destroyed my friends, my daughter, and the only woman I have ever loved. Don't blame the whole race for the misdeeds of their royalty, lest ye forget our own Black Prince."

"And I remember you as well. Your eyes were eager when I handed you that blade. What cause do you have to be here with the likes of me? Why indicate that I have fallen when you could as easily be elsewhere?"

"Listen, Arcilux. There will always be blood to shed if you seek it. Be mindful that you do not seek the wrong blood. The beast responsible for the destruction of my life has been put to an end. Sadly, not by my own hand, but he is dead nonetheless. Trust me, I lived the life of vengeance for years, and it brings nothing. Not happiness, not relief, not even pain. You sit here and numb yourself with alcohol and anger. I sit here, still angry, but trying to see that the world is not all bad."

With that, Mauritius drained his glass and motioned for Mellia to bring him another.

"If you wish to sit here and drink your anger at an enemy gone, you can do so elsewhere. However, if you wish to sit here and drink your sorrow at the loss of your loved ones, I will gladly join you, and mourn their passing as I do my own."

[Arcilux]

Arcilux returned to sipping his wine, much gentler than before.

"Our Black Prince did not kill my parents, did not destroy Quel'Thalas, did not destroy Silvermoon. Maybe Arthas was not still human when he killed my parents, and no race is perfect, but I can never forgive the Alliance for raising that monster. Blood, the blood of my enemies, it may not bring peace, but it does not bring suffering. When I am focusing on my blade, focusing on the Light flowing through me, I do not have time to think about my parents being massacred. Here, to drink in their memory, that would bring the pain that fighting keeps at bay.

"I was in Orgrimmar for a while. Spoke with Thrall, went to the Barrens and spoke with Mankrik. Thrall's ideas of peace, they can never come true. Such beliefs serve no purpose. But Mankrik...

"For the death of his wife I slaughtered the Quillboar. I must have killed at least a hundred, maybe more. I carried their tusks back to Mankrik, with their blood still dripping from my armor. He seemed happy, but his ideas were just as flawed as Thrall's, his end goal just as unachievable. What is the purpose? Is there nothing we can aim for, no goal which is actually able to be achieved? All that I know is, I may not be able to fix the world, but if I can fight, if I can train and strengthen myself, than when that next great challenge comes I can face it head on. Never again will I be forced to watch hopelessly as my kin are slaughtered."

Slowly sipping, the glass of wine was not even half done.

"My anger will not subside, but I suppose I can enjoy the wine without such sour grapes.

Arcilux glanced over and noticed Gallian at the bar. "Your people hated the Lich King as much as we did, but still you loved Arthas. Loved the thought of your precious prince. But I guess...these days...we all have our stories." Arcilux drained his wine glass and laid his sword on the table, gently sharpening it with a small grinding stone.

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

Mauritius reached out and patted Arcilux on the back.

"You are yet young. Your views will change."

"Mellia, bring Arcilux a real drink on my tab."

Mellia looked over and smiled. Arcilux had been here more often than she liked to see. He was attractive, but his anger...

Mellia brought over a whiskey and set it before Arcilux.

Mauritius smiled. "This whiskey. It is of Dwarven make. Hate the Alliance all you want, but the Dwarves can produce alcohol like no other. Come, let us lose ourselves in the sweet bliss of oblivion."

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

Hours had passed, and Mauritius was by this point so drunk that he didn't even know who he was talking to. He leaned over, farther than he'd meant to, and whispered into Mellia's ear.

"Did you know...that trollsh...they dansh? I've sheen it...hic. Back and forth...with their legsh."

Mauritius started laughing uncontrollably.

Mellia hadn't seen Mauritius this drunk in quite some time, but at least he was happy this time. Too many times she'd seen him drunk and depressed, crying over his whiskey.

"Alright, Maur, it's time to go, sweetie. Last call already happened."

Mellia looked around the now sparsely populated bar.

"Can someone please help this drunken elf home?"

[Arcilux]

Arcilux tossed his sword behind the bar and put a hand around Mauritius. "Hold on to that for me Mellia, I shouldn't need to kill anybody tonight."

Arcilux stumbled out of the bar with Mauritius in an awkward embrace, each gripping the other's shoulder to stop from falling. Thankfully the streets of Silvermoon were mostly empty so nobody saw the elves. Somehow they reached the inn and Arcilux passed out onto the bed.

"Mauritius, you were right. Those dorvesh...that wasome...whishkey. There was a fire in it, just like your hot forge and anvil. FOR THE DWARVES! FOR THE WISHKEY!"

The innkeeper gave Arcilux a dirty look and he glanced over, lowering his voice.

"Maur, we should do shomething. To honor the dwarven drink. They can make drink, they are blacksmiths. You are a blacksmith. You should teach me...to...smash hot things...with a hammer...make the hot things into other things."

[Crusader Vermiliel Mauritius Dawnguardian]

"I will...I sho will show you...lemme get my hammer...hic..."

Mauritius stood up, still on the bed, and tried to walk off. He slipped and landed, arms and legs akimbo, on the floor. Unconscious.

*Several hours pass*

Mauritius awoke with a groan. His head throbbed and his face hurt and he was very much not in his bed. He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around.

The inn? How the hell did I end up here?"

Mauritius looked around and his gaze came to rest on Arcilux. He elbowed him lightly and laughed, the sound hurting his head.

"That was one hell of a night we had. I don't even remember the last half of it. You hungry? My place is just up the street and I make a decent omelette."