The homecoming

Laandra stepped on the pier and, raising her hands upon her head took a deep breath.
Under the soft light of the morning sun, Azuremyst Isle appeared quiet and peaceful, a place of untamed beauty.
The wind ruffled her hair and Laandra smiled. From the same pier, so many seasons ago, she had set forth to Darkshore, carrying a message to the night elves. One of the Hand then, still one of the Hand now.
She brushed her robes, a bit crumpled after the long journey and made a mental note to give them a good washing when she finally reached home.
“Home”. Abbruptly stopping for a moment she wondered if the words hid any meaning or were just empty shells to define a reality she no longer believed in.
Was this still her home? She had left a young, untamed girl, whose affinity to elemental magic was “promising”. Now she returned, weathered by storms and rains and scorching fires, her face slightly creased with lines of concentration and worry. A respectable mage and alchemist, hardened in many battles against the evils of Azeroth.
One of the Hand of Argus nonetheless.
“ I am home” Laandra said to herself. Behind her the Veiled Sea whispered with a thousand voices, its incredibly sad melody. The mage gave a small shrug, brushed her robes again, into proper order and started to walk on the narrow road, with no cobblestones, as she had done in the days of her youth. To her left, the Exodar rose to the sky, its majestic shape of gleaming crystals. Laandra only gave it a melancholic look before taking the right path, which lead to the center of the island and the settlement of Azure Watch.
She didn’t feel up to seeing Prophet Velen right then. Not after what she had been through lately.
It could wait.
So many other things could wait.
With a sigh, she bent down on a knee to the moist, grass covered soil and picked up a delicate white peacebloom flower.