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"I've been here before," Seraphiel muttered as she saw the academy.
They’d reached the academy via a magical portal, and she’d been hit with a rather intense feeling of déjà vu almost as soon as she’d arrived and looked over the academy grounds from the teleportation platforms. The school buildings were all built around an enormous tree that dominated the view from a little island in the middle of a lake. The buildings were an eclectic mix of Western and Eastern architecture from Earth and its various iterations. Most of the buildings were constructed from red brick and stone with blue and grey roofs that had many pointy towers. There was a lot of nature around the buildings with open and wide paths dotted with trees and bushes, and many elevation differences built into the hilly terrain. The grounds were wide and expansive, with enough space for over 100000 students, staff, family members of staff, and various other personnel, and the school grounds were surrounded by a city dedicated to serving the needs of the academy. The entire thing was located on an island that flew between the Core Worlds for various purposes.
The thing was, she was pretty sure she'd been here before. Not for long, but she had visited. She couldn't quite pinpoint when or why though. She'd visited many universes before being born in this one, and there had been signs that some of the universes she’d been to had spilled over to this one. This academy was likely the same, even if she couldn’t remember the details.
The hustle and bustle of new students arriving filled the air, with families of the students saying goodbyes to their kids, staff, and faculty directing the new arrivals where appropriate, and many merchants hawking their wares to the newcomers and families alike. Many races were present. Humans made up a large portion, but there were many others, ranging from obviously demonic ones to races that she’d known to be spacefaring ones. She spotted a small group of Asari calmly making their way through the throng accompanied by a Turian, and she was pretty sure she’d spotted an Eldar through the gaps as well.
“Do you have everything you need Raziel?” Ophiel was fussing over him while Seraphiel was lost in memory lane.
It was weird to see her brother in the form of a Draenei. All three of them were. One of the natural abilities of the Angels was to take the form of another being, except with wings, and since they could hide the wings, they were basically able to turn into any other race. Of course, she didn’t have access to the System yet, so she couldn’t use the ability, so Ophiel had cast a spell over her. Even if the academies were supposed to be a neutral place and Mahora was certainly more friendly to Angels than many others, it was still unsafe to take the form of an Angel. Incidentally, the ability to turn into other races didn’t help with those prejudices, even if most of it was for historical reasons. Still, Raziel made for a pretty decent-looking Draenei. Much sturdier than his usual lithe frame. He was still lithe thanks to being young, but Draenei tended to be larger and broader than Angels.
“Yes, mum. Don’t worry. I’m not marching to war. I’ve been training with sister, and I promise to work hard.” Raziel was smart enough to pre-empt some of the questions he knew were coming. Not that it stopped Ophiel from fussing.
Suddenly she sensed someone strong and potentially dangerous approaching. A tall woman with long dark hair all the way down her back and slightly tanned skin was wearing the faculty attire as she stepped closer. Something about the woman seemed familiar as well, and she somehow knew this woman was not as Human as she appeared. "You seem confused there miss." The woman stated with a serious demeanour, looking directly at Seraphiel.
“Confused might not be the word for it. Let’s just say I have a feeling of déjà vu.” She replied honestly.
"Is that so? I assume you haven't been to Mahora Academy before?" The woman asked the obvious question.
“Not that I remember. But then again, that’s what déjà vu is all about, isn’t it?” She smiled wryly.
The woman cracked the very slightest of smiles with the corner of her mouth rising just a bit. “I suppose it is. Some say the feeling of déjà vu is an echo of the future.” They both stood in place for a few breaths, looking over the academy. “A new student?” The woman finally asked her.
“Perhaps in the near future. I haven’t decided yet and still have a few years to go. My brother is the one who enrolled this time.” Seraphiel gestured towards her mother still fussing over Raziel.
The woman took a glance towards the two, breaking into another small smile before looking back. “Parents never change. There is something familiar about your demeanour, even if I can’t say why. My name’s Mana by the way. Tatsumiya Mana.”
The name finally clicked in place, which likely showed on her face. “You seem like you realized something.” Mana pointed out.
“I did. I finally figured it out. Good to meet you, Miss Tatsumiya.” She’d really been here before. One of the worlds she’d visited before. She’d even met the woman, though the woman had been just a girl back then. It had been one of her shorter visits due to the trouble being relatively easy to solve. The issues had basically boiled down to mana depletion causing strife, which had been easy to solve with her abilities. She had learned something important during the visit though. The sword style known as Shinmei-ryū, which had become very useful once she’d refined it to something more widely applicable.
“You aren’t going to share, are you?” The woman realized with some displeasure showing in the twist of her lips.
“Nope. Still, I think there’s a good chance I will attend here as well. If so, I will give you a hint then.” She smiled mysteriously, before going to give Raziel her goodbyes.
"Try not to get into trouble. I'm not here to bail you out for a few years at least. Keep your wits and remember to maintain constant vigilance. That said, don't forget to have fun as well." She gave her brother a long hug. She'd become rather fond of the little annoying twerp. She’d had siblings many times before, and they always had a special place in her heart.
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"You know me, sister. The model of good behaviour." Raziel hugged her back fiercely, and she could hear the tears that he was holding back in his voice.
“Yeah, that’s what worries me.” She just shook her head.
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“So. Want to do anything to take our minds off Raziel being gone?” Her mother asked as they stepped back through the portals to their home city.
“Hmm. You know what, I think there is something. You mentioned the Draenei have a museum where they have information about the time before they were brought to this universe. I’d like to see that.” Seraphiel decided. The visit to Mahora had triggered her nostalgia, so she might as well deal with another source of said emotion that she’d avoided thus far.
Ophiel flagged down the taxi equivalent magical vehicle that both offered some privacy while also taking them towards their destination. "We'll have to go to Exodar for that. It's the oldest Draenei construct in the nation. Though I have a feeling you already knew that." Ophiel remembered well that her daughter had mentioned having visited other universes before. The effortless way she had always used the technology of their companion race suggested familiarity.
“We’ll see.” Seraphiel just smiled mysteriously.
The trip to the floating fortress of metal, stone, and crystal protecting the southern side of the city took a bit over an hour. The fortress wasn’t really designed for taking in a lot of incoming traffic, so they also had to wait for a landing spot. As they finally got their feet on the metallic floor of the fortress, a guide was already there waiting for them. The fortress didn’t see much combat use, but it did serve as a museum. Arcane power hummed through the hull of the ship turned into a fortress, and the entire construct was large enough to be a small city onto itself.
"Welcome to Exodar. I'm Ra'len and I will be your guide through this tour." An almost pink-skinned Draenei female with purple hair greeted them with a welcoming smile. The two Angels could tell she wasn’t just putting on a customer-service smile and actually enjoyed giving the tours. “Have either of you visited before?”
Ophiel had to struggle to keep her face straight after remembering her earlier hunch, while Seraphiel just smiled a bit again. “We have not. My daughter is interested in the history of the Draenei before you arrived in our universe.”
The guide clapped her hands happily. “Oh, how fun! We rarely get young ones interested in ancient history. I do so love talking about it though. Come with me. I’ll show you around, and considering your interest, I’ll have to take you to the history level of the Vault of Lights.”
As they walked down a rather steeply sloped ramp that circled into the depths of the construct, the guide explained the origin of the Draenei, their struggle with the Burning Legion, arrival on Draenor, the subsequent flight, and eventual arrival on Azeroth. “We were brought here with the rest of the planet as Azeroth was pulled into this universe. Nowadays Azeroth is one of the Core Worlds, although very few of the original races still inhabit the world.”
“When did this happen?” Seraphiel asked, referring to the transition to this universe.
"It's been three thousand years since then." The guide answered. "In fact, it's been almost exactly three thousand years, now that you mention it. We're going to have a celebration to mark the occasion in ten years."
"Considering the life-span of Draenei, that suggests many of the original Draenei from that time are still alive," Seraphiel stated. "If I understood correctly, it's not uncommon for your kind to live for tens of thousands of years."
“You are right, though our race went through a population boom once we arrived in this universe. The system has been very beneficial to us, and we’ve been very good at utilizing it to our advantage. The symbiotic alliance with the Angels has also helped us tremendously. Even though many of those that were brought here are still alive, they are a rather small portion of the entire population at this point. You could say that by Draenei standards, we have become a very young race again as the vast majority of our numbers have lived for less than three millennia.” The guide explained as she led them into a large open terraced chamber with many holo-projectors showing images of the past. The insides of Exodar were very well illuminated, and it showed that the Light was a prominent feature of their culture as golden light was a major inspiration for everything.
"In this hallway, we can see some of the most important people of that time, as well as maps of Azeroth, Draenor, and even our original home Argus. Some of the artifacts of the deceased heroes can also be seen next to their images." As the guide explained some of the heroes, some of whom were still alive according to her, Seraphiel gravitated towards a certain almost shrine-like display.
The display showed a valiant and heroic-looking Draenei female, who changed appearance at some point in time. The first images and holograms of the woman showed her as a mage with raven black hair and deep purple skin, while the latter ones showed her with alabaster-marble coloured skin, pure white hair, and the heavy armor of a paladin. Somehow her glowing eyes had also changed colour into pure gold, while her body had been marked with golden glowing tattoos, and even her hooves were ornamented with gold. In both forms, the image of the Draenei was glorious and inspirational.
“Ah, you’ve noticed one of our greatest heroes, Seraphia. She was instrumental in bringing some of the greatest achievements of our race and led us to victory against the Burning Legion.” The guide gushed.
“Seraphia, huh?” Ophiel wasn’t stupid enough to not make the connection. Her daughter had told her how sometimes she’d have to play the part of the champion and a hero. What was even more shocking was that the spell she’d used to disguise Seraphiel had basically triggered the girl’s own transformation ability, so she had assumed the Draenei form that she would when using the ability herself. And the form had been a younger but otherwise very similar copy of the holograms in front of them. “What happened to her?” She asked.
“We can’t be certain. She went in to fight Sargeras, the Titan responsible for creating the Burning Legion. She did not return, but Sargeras also died, so it was assumed she had sacrificed herself to slay the Titan.” The guide explained with awe in her voice. “She’s still the inspiration for most young female Draenei everywhere.”
Seraphiel shook her head just a bit. She hadn’t sacrificed herself. It was just another example of how she was tossed from one universe to another without any regard once her job was done. She was never allowed to spend time enjoying the fruits of her labour. Though if she had to guess, from what the guide had said, it hadn’t taken too long for Azeroth to be pulled into this universe after she had disappeared. In some ways, it negated everything she had done, though at least her people had survived long enough to prosper in this universe. They were used to exile anyway. It was even in their name. Draenei meant Exiled Ones in their own language. That was one of the reasons she had felt so natural with their people, as she had suffered the same fate of being exiled. There was a reason she was also known as The Exiled.
They finished the tour, and Ophiel barely managed to wait until they were home until asking. “That was one of your previous…lives is the term, I suppose?”
“It was. One of the longer ones. I spent a very long time in that life and saw most of it. Incidentally, if Velen is still alive, don’t let him drive under influence. The man may be a prophet, but he crashed the Exodar into a damn planet." Seraphiel burst into nostalgic laughter.
“Do you miss it?” Ophiel questioned, feeling that the short time they’d been together couldn’t compare to the apparent millennia her daughter had spent with the Draenei.
"Sometimes. I miss several of the past universes I've visited for various reasons. I will always miss the original of course. Another one I miss, where the time I lived as an Aeldari was full of war and suffering, but it was also the longest, and I forged some of the deepest bonds in that hellhole of a universe. My time as a Draenei was like a vacation in comparison. It would be interesting to see if any of my old friends still live.” Seraphiel was staring into emptiness with such a look that it wasn’t hard for Ophiel to see the reminiscing in her eyes.
“It seems the Draenei at least still remember you.”
“Barely, and time has changed things. Any true memories are hidden under countless years of nostalgia, fond remembrance, legend, and stories being repeated and exaggerated over and over again. No, I don’t think any of the Draenei remember the true Seraphia. They remember the idealized version they’ve built up in their heads. They’d be sorely disappointed if I went up to them and didn’t quite live up to what they remember and think is the truth.” Seraphiel denied her mother’s encouraging words. “Sometimes it’s better to let legends stay in the past.”
“We have a similar expression. Never meet your heroes. Always ends with disappointment.” Ophiel nodded along in agreement. “Still, I think you should eventually meet them. Might do you some good to know you’ve made a difference.”
“We’ll see. I’ve seen signs of some of my other older adventures resurfacing as well.” She had no idea how many of her old friends were alive though. It largely depended on how long some of the universes had been connected to this one. Some of her closest friends had come from races with very limited lifespans, although the System and the stats did offer a chance at a significantly longer lifespan.