Tenacity

[PvtFrog]

A hundred or so years ago...
Warning: Language.

Spoiler:

"Again!"

Varis' booming voice echoed in the small room. The room was devoid of anything except a small table with a pair of glaives, two shields, and a first aid kit on it. In the centre of the room however, stood two elves. The taller of the two was standing up, arms crossed with a scowl on his face as the smaller one was doing push-ups. "Ninety, ten more to go! C'mon! I don't care if you're a noble or some farmer I picked up from the trash! Five more, you piece of worthless shit! Three, two, one! Good, take five and we'll finish up the last set." Santheron panted as he rolled onto his back, his arms twitching. "I-I don't think...I can d-do one more set m-master." He slowly raised his arms and closed his eyes. "S-So tired..." Varis descended upon him with a frown and narrowed eyes. "What do you mean? You chose this didn't you? You were the one who begged me to take you on as his apprentice? You should be thankful I'm whipping your sorry ass back into shape you piece of Hawkstrider dung." Varis lightly slapped Santheron's cheeks a few times before nudging the young man with his boot. "C'mon, on your stomach. One more set of hundred and I'll let ya have a break okay kiddo?" Santheron didn't bother replying as he began to work on his set of pushups.

Santheron takes a seat on the table as he picks up a glaive, staring at in amazement. "It's...bea-" Varis quickly cuts him off with a light cuff on his head. "Shut up, I'm trying to talk you idiot." Santheron nods as he sets the glaive down again. "S-Sorry, continue." Varis nods slowly, rubbing his goatee as he smiles. "How's your chest and arms buddy? Feeling like shit yet?" The younger elf slowly shook his head. "I-It's wierd, but the burns gone already. I just feel tired like always." This provoked a grin from Varis as he nodded, picking up a glaive and handing it to the young elf. "Take a shield, combat training starts today." Santheron blinks as he takes the shield and the glaive. "W-What?! You said I shouldn't use a glaive until I knew the proper swings and techniques for it!" Varis shrugged in reply, a cheerful grin spreading on his face. "C'mon spitfuck, this'll be fun! Imagine all the fun I'll have as I beat you into pulp and then run you through the lesson the hard way!" Santheron deadpans as he faces his master. "...Are you serious?" Varis doesn't bother replying, instead opting to charge forward at his pupil. Sparks fly as the two glaives clash at each other. "Good, good! You're not doing so bad yourself!" Santheron allows himself some time to grin as he nods at Varis. "Th-Thanks, this isn't as har-" He's abruptley cut off as Varis dashes forward, smashing his shield against the arm holding the glaive. Santheron cries out in pain, dropping to the floor as he drops the blade. "I'm kidding kiddo, you suck shit!" Varis cackles as he raises his shield, dropping his glaive to begin relentlesly hammering his shield against Santheron's shield. "Okay! Okay! I give up!" Varis stops his attack and grins. "And the master wins yet again!" Santheron grunts as he drops his shield. "I would be worried if I won..." Varis smiled cheerfully as he held out his hand. "Don't be a sore loser. In life, you win some and you lose some. Think of this as a lesson, a stepping stone to your future." Santheron smiles faintly, taking the hand as he tries to get up. "Thanks, I gue-" He's quickly cut off as Varis draws back a large fist, throwing it towards his face. Santheron's eyes widen in surprise as his head snaps to the side and he falls onto the floor again. "...O-Ow." Varis chuckles darkly and squats down beside the injured elf, patting his cheek.

"Remember, your enemies? They're not gonna play fair."

[PvtFrog]

Approximately 3 years ago...

Spoiler:

"Stop!"

"In the name of Silvermoon, I order you insolent fools to sto-" Santheron was cut off as a massive bolt of fire slams into his shield, tossing him onto the ground with a loud 'oof'. Varis bursts into wild laughter, stopping to cover his downed apprentice. "I was just kidding when I told you to say that line you fuckin' idiot! I can't believe you would actually say that!" Santheron winced as he slowly get onto his feet again. "Y-You're a terrible master! You could've gotten me ki-HEADS!" The two elves linked elbows, swinging each other to switch positions. Santheron winced as another bolt of fire pelted into his shield, pushing him back slightly as his boots dug into the red earth. "Good one! You're gettin' the hang of this! C'mon, we got some Warlocks ta' fry!" Varis let out a loud yell as he and his apprentice charged into the fray, joining the orcs who were already fighting. "W-Wait, master! The green ones are on our side right?!" Varis bellowed in reply, but most of it was lost to the young Spellbreaker's ears as a large staff slammed into his side. "The fu-" Santheron grunted as he fell onto one knee, looking up as he saw the red Orc slowly advance on him. A small imp appeared by it's side, cackling wildly as it taunted Santheron by blowing raspberries at him. The young elf paused for a moment before hurling his shield at the warlock's stomach "Divide..." He then quickly reached out to grab at the imp's wrist, trying to override the orc's control over it. "And conquer!"

With the orc momentarily stunned, control of the imp was quickly stolen from him and transferred to the Spellbreaker. "f**k 'im up." Santheron spat onto the cracked floor as he quickly ran at the orc, swinging his glaive at it's shoulder. A bolt of fire whizzed past his head, colliding into the red orc's head as it's former pet cackled. "Fack 'im up! Fack 'im up!" The imp cried gleefully as it rolled around on the floor laughing. Santheron stared at the joyous imp for a moment before bending down to pick up his shield. He jogs over, and quickly reaches out to snap it's neck. "Right..." Santheron gazed along the war torn ground of Hellfire Peninsula, watching the battle rage out. His master seemed to be having some trouble with a rather large orc holding a massive axe. Seeing this as his opportunity to shine, he quickly picks up his pace as he jogs over. A hissing noise stops him in his tracks, turning his blood cold. His memory flashes back to the squad commander. "And for Thrall's sake, don't get caught in those fuckin' eruptions aw'right? Those things are gonna roast you alive, or if you're unlucky enough gonna turn you into a mummy for the res' of yer' life." Santheron's eyes widen as his head snaps to the spot beside him, watching the ground crumble away as small flickers of fire appear from the hole. "Ah shit...why m-" Fire erupts from the hole, knocking the elf aside and onto the ground as his tabard is burnt. "F-...V-Varis?" His vision became blurry as staying awake became a struggle. "T-Too...young to die here, don't let them...ta-take me..."

[PvtFrog]

Hundred or so years ago...
Spoilered for language and mild gore.

Spoiler:

Santheron grunted as he closed his eyes, his eyes darting around underneath the eyelids as he desperately scanned the room for any magical presences. "...I can't feel anything." Varis grunted, striding over to give his apprentice a punch aimed at his ribs. Santheron gasped for air as his eyes shot open, collapsing onto the ground. "Try again, you're not feeling it. You are looking for it, this shit isn't something you see with your eyes." "Understood...trying again in process." The two other elves in the room peered at each other for a moment before shrugging and resuming watching the young elf in his studies. This was the usual routine, Varis would grab two mages from the city and keep all four of them in a room as Santheron tried to sense for their magical presence. Try, fail, beat up. The mages had already gotten used to this and tried to ignore the elf's cries of pain as he was reprimanded or kicked around. "It's not that hard! Once you manage it once, you'll have gotten it for the rest of your fuckin' life!"

Santheron grunted as he stood up shakily, shaking his head again. Two hours had passed since they had started, with not much going on other than the man taking a strange pose and holding it that way until he was knocked to the ground. "No goo-" Santheron was quickly cut off as Varis tackled him from the side, knocking him into a desk and onto the ground. "No good my ass! That's what you are! A no good piece of Amani shit!" Varis stopped his rant for a moment as he slowly nodded. "...Hey kiddo? You still using your eyes to see the mages?" Santheron slowly nodded, watching Varis warily as he walked over. "Yeah...it's easier for me to visualize them first, then see if I can see anything after I cl-...What are you doing?" Varis grinned as he twirled the glaive around. "Sit still for a moment will you?" Santheron's eyes widened as the older elf rushed forward, grabbing him by his shirt and slamming him onto the ground. "W-Wha? What are yo-" A bloodcurdling scream errupted from his mouth as he was quickly blinded. The two mages' eyes widen as they draw back. "U-Uh...w-we didn't really sign up for th-" Varis turned his head back as he dropped the glaive, glaring at them. "Stay here, training's nearly done. The idiot needs to learn to stop depending on his eyes."

The blinded elf continued to scream, clutching his ruined eyes as he glanced around desperately. "If you want to hit me, there's a glaive on the ground beside you. I'm standing beside the mages." Santheron looked around wildly, reaching out beside him until he grabbed at the handle of the glaive. He quickly stumbled up, rushing towards the direction of the noise. Varis easily dodges his blow, kicking the elf back. He swiftly repositions the mages behind Santheron and motions for them to stay there. He crosses his arms, watching his apprentice intently as he stumbles around. Santheron fell to the ground, cutting his hand with the glaive as he sobbed. "Come here...I'll fucking kill you..." Santheron hissed as he looked around. "Near the mages...I can't even see them." Suddenly, the lesson he had been working on dawned on him. He gritted his teeth as he concentrated. "...C'mon, you've seen your dad when he casts a spell. Imagine that energy floating around the air, it must be everywhere with the Sunwell we have. So...feel it, concentrated in a person." With each passing minute the pain slowly died down into a dull throbbing sensation. Santheron knelt there for a few more moments before slowly standing up. "...Should I be feeling a tingly sensation?" Varis broke out into a large grin, clapping loudly as he walked over to pat his apprentice on the back. "Good job! I told you my lessons aren't gonna be a walk through the park."Santheron grinned as he kept his eyes closed. "Hey Varis?" He quickly drew a fist back, throwing it at the elf's jaw. A loud 'thwak' sounded through the room as Varis stumbled a few steps back. "...That's the spirit! Let's go find you a healer shall we?" The pair walked slowly walked back into the city before Santheron stopped after a few steps. "...How the hell do you not go crazy with this many magic users here?"