Seven Years Ago (Lordaeron – Orc Internment Camp)

At sixteen years of age and growing ever closer to seventeen, Jaina Proudmoore knew what she wanted from life and she was willing to do whatever she needed to in order to get it. The young Lady of Kul Tiras had been training as an Apprentice of the Kirin Tor in Dalaran for a long five years at this point, but she was confined to general classes, and restricted to learning with groups of her peers.

Oh sure, she could do some independent research… and to be clear, she did. She spent all of her free time pouring over tomes and experimenting with magic all on her lonesome. However, everyone said the same thing. You could only get so far with self-study and general classes. If you truly wanted to succeed as a mage, then you needed to catch the attention of an Archmage and get them to take you on as their personal apprentice.

Jaina had taken this to heart and in making her choice of just who she would go after… she'd decided to shoot as high as possible. Archmage Antonidas himself, Grand Magus of the Kirin Tor and leader of the Council of Six. Sure, Jaina could have tempered her expectations and gone after any one of dozens of other Archmages, but she had never been one for holding herself back.

She'd taken to badgering Archmage Antonidas every chance she got, even leaning on her status as her father's daughter to keep him from dismissing her out of hand. Jaina didn't like to abuse the fact that she was the Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras' daughter, but she also didn't like feeling like she was being held back. In the end, due to her pedigree, the Grand Magus COULDN'T just dismiss her out of hand.

What he COULD do was give her test after test, forcing Jaina to prove herself to him by doing several boat loads of busy work until she either reached some impossible standard that he had in his head… or gave up because it was all too difficult. Jaina knew which the Grand Magus expected to happen, just as she knew that she wasn't going to give in or give up. Not any time soon.

Still, she'd been at this for months now. And Antonidas' latest task was almost… cruel in its simplicity. The leader of the Kirin Tor had tasked Jaina with a trip to the Orc Internment Camps, telling her that he wanted her to do a paper on the causes behind orcish lethargy. She was to look into exactly why the orcs found in the internment camps had become so docile and formulate her own theories to why such a savage and warlike race had just… gone willingly into captivity these past thirteen years.

Admittedly, it WAS an interesting question. At the same time, Jaina knew that Antonidas knew who she was. She knew that HE knew her brother Derek Proudmoore had been slain by orcs. She didn't think that the Grand Magus had any way of knowing Jaina's personal feelings towards the green skins, so she could only imagine he'd resorted to this particular test in the hopes that she would refuse and he would finally have reason to reject her requests for one-on-one apprenticeship.

Fortunately, Jaina did not hate the orcs as a people for the fate that befell her brother oh so long ago. If the orc who'd killed Derek stood before her right this moment, would Jaina be able to hold herself back? Probably not. But she did not hold the rest of the species accountable for the crimes against her family. If anything, she felt a strange sort of compassion for the average orc. They were a lost people, listless and lethargic.

That all was to say, Jaina had leaped into Antonidas' latest task with both feet. She was here to learn… but unfortunately, the orcs did not respond well to an Apprentice of the Kirin Tor asking them questions. In fact, they didn't respond to much of anything at all. It truly was odd, how the hulking creatures, who seemed so monstrous in appearance and had so many monstrous deeds attributed to their race, had become so… docile in their captivity.

Except, there was always an exception to every rule, wasn't there? Jaina should know, she strived to prove herself that exception in everything she did. That said, after realizing that direct conversation was a no-go, the apprentice mage had used her arcane magic to cast a spell of invisibility on herself. Then, she'd begun observing the orcs without them aware of her presence.

Even when they didn't think there were any humans around, most orcs didn't do much. However… that was not the case for ALL of them. Still invisible right this moment, Jaina finds herself following a particularly young-looking orc. Gauging his exact age is difficult, given that most orcs grow up fast and are the size of a human male by their fifth or sixth year of life. This orc though, she can tell, has only seen a decade or so of life. Maybe give or take a few years at most.

He doesn't have the same lethargy as the rest of his people. He feigns it well enough, but when he doesn't know he's being watched, it changes. The slouch in his back vanishes, and he moves with more purpose. Curiosity piqued, Jaina followed him all the way here, to the back of the camp. Out of sight of both the guards and his fellow orcs, the young orc looks around for a few moment… before kneeling down in the grass and staring intently at something his broad shoulders hide from her view.

Carefully navigating closer and circling around him to get a better look, Jaina's eyes widen at what she sees there. In the orc's hands is a flower that she's sure wasn't there before his arrival. Indeed, as she watches, it continues to grow right before her, months of progress happening in seconds as the petals become larger and more vibrant by the second.

A gasp of shock at the display of magic leaves Jaina's lips. She didn't know the orcs had access to magic. She didn't think… whatever that orc was doing, it wasn't of the arcane. Nothing she'd ever been taught in Dalaran had been capable of creating life like that. She could conjure mana biscuits like the rest of them, but this wasn't that. This was something else entirely.

Unfortunately, her invisibility spell keeps her hidden from sight… not hearing. Her gasp does not go unheard, and the orc's head twists around, his eyes wide as he looks for who has managed to sneak up on him. Jaina stays absolutely still, hoping that he would think he was just hearing things. But no, when he doesn't find anyone, he gets more panicked, not less.

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Feeling bad now, Jaina drops the invisibility, albeit far enough away from the orc that she can freeze his feet to the ground if he tries to charge her.

"S-Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you or spy on you!"

The orc tenses, like he just might attack… but then leans back, staring at her cautiously, but not as aggressively as Jaina expected. Glancing down to the flower he's left behind; she bites her lower lip.

"That's a beautiful thing you've created."

Stiffening, the orc's eyes flick to the flower as well, before he shakes his large head.

"Don't know what you're talking about. Was already there."

He's fairly good at Common. She knows that most orcs understand the Common Tongue by this point, but she also knows plenty of them never learn to speak it. They just don't care enough to. This one though… he's fluent, for all that his voice is gravelly and rough, either because he's an orc or possibly from disuse.

Smiling sympathetically, Jaina decides not to immediately burst his bubble. Instead, she places a hand on her chest and introduces herself.

"I'm Jaina, of the Kirin Tor. It's a pleasure to meet you…"

She trails off, lifting that same hand towards him as a peace offering, asking for his name. She knows most humans wouldn't bother learning an orc's name. She doesn't even blame them really. But she's not like that. Just like he's not like most orcs.

He looks suspiciously at her for a moment before grumbling.

"… Rognak. My name is Rognak."

It's a decidedly orcish name, but then what did Jaina expect? Then again, he's young. Maybe even born on Azeroth? He could very well have a human name, she doesn't know. But no… Rognak. Smiling, Jaina bows slightly, though she's careful never to take her eyes off of the orc.

"Well met, Rognak. I have a confession to make, I'm afraid. I… watched you grow that flower. I know what you can do. I was wondering… have you always been able to do such things?"

Rognak's nostrils flare at that, his eyes once again flicking between the flower and Jaina. He's incredibly guarded… but then that's fair, she supposes. He shuffles from foot to foot, seemingly unwilling to answer her. His recalcitrance takes her aback for all of a moment before she tries putting herself in his shoes and realizes how this all looks. Which then forces her to reexamine her own desires and what exactly she was hoping to get from this conversation.

The orc in front of her, this Rognak, was the key to her success. If she brought him before Archmage Antonidas, Jaina was confident her apprenticeship would be secured. Everything she sought was in her grasp. An orc with the magic to influence the nature around him would be a fascinating subject of study for any number of Archmages back in Dalaran. Even the Grand Magus would want to know more.

… And yet, what sort of life would that be for Rognak, exactly? In her mind's eye, she could already see it. A savage orc, in Dalaran? They would demand he be shackled and collared at all times. He would likely live in a cage whenever they didn't have him out in chains for research purposes. That was no life for a living being. And Jaina… Jaina didn't want the position as Antonidas' Apprentice so badly that she was willing to trod all over an innocent being to get it.

Heh. Innocent. Would Derek be rolling in his grave if he knew Jaina had used such a word to describe an orc, even in the privacy of her own thoughts? Certainly her father would shout at her if she ever uttered such a belief in his presence. And yet, it was how Jaina felt. And she wouldn't change that for anyone or anything in the world.

"Rognak… I'm not going to tell anyone about you or what you can do, okay?"

When Jaina finally breaks the silence, Rognak startles, the young orc looking at her with narrowed eyes. Suspicion lines every inch of his green face and he works his large jaw for a few moments before grunting.

"Why not?"

Jaina bites her lower lip at that. She considers how much to tell him… but in the end, she tells him the truth.

"Because you're special. What you can do… it makes you special. And there are those who would want to learn about why you're so special… at your expense."

Jaina had almost been one of them, she can't help but think with a pang of guilt. Sure, she hadn't actually done anything irrevocable, but breaching this orc's privacy in the first place, following him here and exposing him, even if only to herself… those were not actions befitting a Lady of Kul Tiras. They were not actions that Jaina wished associated with herself.

Rognak continues to glare at her suspiciously for a long moment before simply grunting his acknowledgment. He doesn't seem to have anything else to say to her, and Jaina can tell she's more than overstayed her welcome. Offering one last apologetic smile, Jaina steps back.

"I will take my leave now. But… if you don't mind, I'll return in a week's time."

He looks alarmed by that, and Jaina quickly continues on, explaining herself.

"Just to talk! You don't have to show me anything more of what you can do. You don't have to do anything for me. I just think… it must be lonely here in this place. Wouldn't you like someone to talk to?"

He hesitates for a moment before grunting.

"Got other orcs. Not alone."

Jaina just shakes her head at that.

"But the others don't have the same life to them that you do, do they Rognak? They don't have the same energy, the same focus. You're not… you haven't given up like they have."

Part of Jaina reflects that she CAN still use Rognak for her paper after all. She just won't actually mention him at all. But as far as a comparison goes, he'll be perfect. He's what an orc should be like, she figures. Strong, energetic, and bright-eyed. The smile on his face as he'd grown that flower, before she'd blown her cover and ruined everything, had been filled with a childish glee and excitement that she hadn't seen on even a single orc before him.

She won't mention him by name, or even that he exists, but he'll still be invaluable to her research, she figures. Just a couple conversations with him would be worth everything to her.

"… Do what you will."

Jaina blinks and then smiles brightly, taking that to mean he's in agreement. Giving a quick curtesy, she takes another step back.

"Thank you, Rognak. I'll take my leave for now… and see you again soon."

Unfortunately, the young orc would prove her to be a liar. Jaina would indeed take her leave of him that day… but a week later, when she returned to the internment camp hoping to talk with him in more depth, she discovered that his last words to her had NOT been agreement. 'Do what you will', he'd said. And then, in the week that she'd been away, Rognak had done something that almost no orc had done since the end of the Second War.

He'd run away.

Jaina could hardly believe it. The camp guards were just as surprised when she asked after him and they told her about his disappearance. Most orcs didn't have the strength to run away after all these years in captivity. And yet… Rognak was in the wind. And Jaina might never see him again.

She'd still aced the assignment from Antonidas of course. And shortly after, right around her seventeenth birthday, Jaina had won out and managed to convince the Grand Magus to take her on as his personal apprentice. It was a glorious moment for her, one that would signal the start of her true journey to becoming a proper Mage of the Kirin Tor.

As for the orc Rognak… she never did betray his secrets. And over time, he faded from memory. It wasn't until years later that Jaina met him for the second time…