Night of the Dragon

NINE

As they cautiously approached their destination, Iridi learned more of Kalec and the tale of Anveena. The young blue dragon—like Krasus, remaining in his half-elven form for less visibility—seemed very eager to tell her. Iridi knew that it was in part because of her demeanor and calling, but also perhaps because he wanted to try to hurt the older dragon with his words.

"She was the most innocent soul—yes, soul—one could have ever met," Kalec said with a wistful expression. "No guile. No pretense. She was who she was...even if she wasn't, in truth." His gaze flickered to Krasus. who walked a few steps ahead of them. The elder male had been silent since they had begun moving again. Whether it was due to concentrating his magic on protecting them or simply because he could say nothing to assuage his companion's bitterness, the draenei did not know.

Kalec spoke of his first encounter with Anveena, who had found him after dragon hunters—led by a vengeful dwarf named Harkyn Grymstone and paid by a disguised Dar'Khan—had almost captured and killed him. Dar'Khan had been part of the reason for the Sunwell's original destruction, although his desire had been simply to wield its power. What he had not known at the time, though, was that the swift defiling and draining of the Sunwell by his master— Arthas—had not caused the total dissipation of its energies. Instead, much had escaped and, after a time, began to gather far, far away.

But there came a point when Dar'Khan had finally sensed its gathering. He had led a band of the Scourge to the location.

Yet, no one had realized at first that Anveena was the key. A tiny creature—a strange combination of dragon and flying serpent—had been found hatching nearby. Anveena and it had instantly befriended one another and she had, in typical fashion, called it "Raac," after the sounds it made.

Although he did not look back or even slow down, Krasus finally interrupted. "Aah, Raac. Does he fly?"

"He vanished right after she did. I assumed that he went to let you know that your worries were over...."

Now Krasus did look, albeit briefly. His expression remained neutral, but Iridi sensed that he felt more than he revealed. "I want nothing but good for all those of Azeroth, Kalec... and Raac did not return to me."

"Hmmph! The little one had more sense than I thought."

"Raac was no longer mine. He desired to stay with Anveena."

The younger dragon scowled. "He wasn't the only one."

"What happened after Raac hatched?" the priestess interjected, fearful that a great argument would erupt. This of all places they did not need to have rancor between them.

Kalec told her a tale of adventure, of tragedy, and of hope. With another blue dragon—a female named Tyri—they had gone in search of a wizard called Borel. Their search had brought them to Tarren Mill, where they were met not only by the former paladin, Jorad Mace—another recipient of the mysterious Borel's interference—but by Dar'Khan and the Scourge. After a struggle in which Tyri apparently scorched Dar'Khan to cinders, the three and Jorad had headed toward Aerie Peak to find the cousin of the repentant Harkyn Grymstone, a dwarf with the skills to remove the magical bands Dar'Khan had placed around the throats of Kalec and Anveena. After that, the party had assumed that their troubles would be over.

But the dwarf Loggi was a prisoner of another mad creature, the cunning Baron Valimar Mordis—a Forsaken. He recognized in part what Anveena was and tried to use her to magnify the power of an artifact called the Orb of Ner'zhul, a fiendish sphere that could animate a giant undead. With it, Mordis had already raised a frost wyrm, an undead dragon.

"We barely escaped Mordis and the Scourge," Kalec muttered. "Thanks only to a tauren of all creatures. Trag gave his life to stop his former master...."

"And all was well then?" Iridi asked, sensing that perhaps it had been otherwise.

The blue verified her concerns. "Not in the least. Loggi was killed and Anveena stolen... by Dar 'Khan...."

The supposedly dead high elf then dragged Anveena to where the Sunwell had originally been located. The others had followed, but although they fought hard to save their friend, it proved to be Anveena who saved them. In the process, they also confronted the mysterious Borel, whose machinations Kalec clearly blamed for much of the trouble that had occurred.

The draenei could easily guess the truth about this Borel. "The wizard... he was you, wasn't he, Krasus?"

"Of course, he was...he has a thousand names, a thousand disguises! He's interfered since at least the fall of the night elves more than ten thousand years ago! He does nothing but interfere— and damn anyone who might be caught up in his intentions!"

Krasus turned. Although his face remained emotionless, his eyes burned. Iridi involuntarily took a step back and even Kalec was stunned Into silence.

"I remember the names of every brave human, elf, dwarf, tauren, earthen, orc, dragon, and individuals from other races whom I have been forced to need throughout the centuries! I recall all their faces and the manners by which so many of them perished! Each time I sleep, the litany plays in my dreams and I mourn their brave souls!" The air crackled around the dragon mage, an unconscious reflection of millennia of pent-up emotions. "And if my life could bring them all back, I would do it, Kalecgos! Make no mistake about that... and remember, among our kind, too many of those lost were my very sons and daughters...”

Krasus's shoulders slumped. The two males faced one another and the priestess felt as if some unheard conversation passed between them. Then, the elder dragon turned forward again and continued the trek. Kalec remained still a moment longer, finally walking with Iridi behind his counterpart.

The draenei made no mention of a concern the confrontation had now created. They were already in great danger of being noticed and the argument between the dragons—especially the potent energies arising from it—had only multiplied that danger. She could not speak up, though, for fear that the pair would only start anew on their differences.

There was so much that Iridi still wanted to know concerning Kalec and his deep devotion to Anveena, especially what had happened with them prior to her "sacrifice." However, not only was it not proper for her to press on the point, but she, too, needed to focus on their journey.

But Kalec apparently could not keep in his memories, even if he no longer punctuated them with rancor toward the red dragon.

"I returned to my kind after...after Anveena," he murmured to Iridi. "But I could not stand the caverns. Everything was so cramped together. I—I caused more than one fight, and blue dragons do not just use tooth and claw, we use magic. It finally came to my lord Malygos's attention and he knew that I could not stay among them, any longer. It was almost fate that this mission came up... fate or a curse." He stared at Krasus's back. "I know what happened to your people assigned to guard Grim Batol, Korialstrasz. Whatever lies between us, I pray that those you held dearest were not among the ones who suffered most."

"Your concern is appreciated...and, yes...some were."

Kalec would have said more, but Iridi suddenly tensed. She felt a resonance with which only she would have been truly familiar.

Someone was using the other naaru staff... and for a reason the priestess understood all too well.

She tried to dismiss her own, but it was too late. The larger crystal flared bright, but not due to any focus on her part.

"Why are you doing—" Kalec began.

The staff struggled in her grip. She felt its solidity lessen, as if it were dissolving. It was all the priestess could do just to maintain both a physical and mental hold on her gift. Iridi did not even dare direct enough concentration to warn the others.

However, Krasus understood at least part of the trouble. "Kalec! He seeks to bring her staff to him! We cannot permit that!"

The young fighter seized the staff with one hand. Around him there formed a blue aura. Kalec gritted his teeth as he forced that aura to spread to the naaru's gift.

But the crystal's own aura suddenly flared brighter than ever. It engulfed the blue dragon, who let out a scream and fell back.

At the same time, the staff nearly pulled free. Iridi strained, using all her mental and physical training to keep it with her.

Krasus placed a hand on hers. The tall, robed figure closed his eyes. The aura engulfed him as it had Kalec...but the dragon mage only grunted. The draenei, who knew the forces in play, marveled at the stamina Krasus yet had considering all that he had been through.

A crimson glow began to overtake the crystal's aura. In seconds, not only did Krasus force the battle back to the staff, but his efforts gained for Iridi the momentum that she needed. Now better able to concentrate her strength, the draenei joined with the dragon mage to cut off the blood elf's insidious attempt to double his ill-gotten gains.

And then...the attack ceased. With simultaneous gasps, the priestess and Krasus relaxed.

"Thank—thank you," Iridi managed.

Krasus looked her over. "You are well? You have control of the staff?"

"Yes and yes." For good measure, though, she dismissed the staff, sending it to that place that only the naaru truly understood, that place from which only she could summon it.

Or so the priestess hoped. Iridi had not expected the blood elf to be able to attempt what he had nearly succeeded in doing. She knew from others that his kind were not necessarily spellcasters, but he apparently had excellent skills...or far too much purloined magic. Whichever the case, the draenei knew that she had been very careless. If alone, Iridi would have now been bereft of the naaru's creation.

And very likely dead.

Her concerns shifted to Kalec, who was just rising. He eyed Krasus and her, then growled to the former, "Nothing is ever simple around you, is it?"

"It would be my fondest wish if for once it would be."

The priestess stepped up to the younger dragon. "Let me see your hand."

"I'm fine," he insisted, showing the palm to her. The last of a tremendous burnt area was just healing itself. "You see? Nothing to fear."

But Iridi was not convinced. She took his hand in hers and touched the palm gently with her finger.

Kalec winced. "What did you just do?"

"I did nothing but locate the point of entry of the staff's energies. I will need a moment to deal with this."

"But I healed it."

"You healed the physical, but in doing so, you let some of the energies be trapped within. You don't want to let it spread."

With a free hand, the priestess again summoned the staff.

Kalec started to pull back. "You are going to use that?"

"Cause may also be cure, so it is written. All will be well." She did not add that such would only be the case assuming that the blood elf did not now try again. "Please. Be patient."

Kalec grimaced but let her touch the head of the staff to his palm. To his further credit, he made no protest when she pricked the area in question with the crystal head.

The crystal briefly flared.

A small tendril of energy akin to the crystal's aura rose from the opening in the palm.

"By the lord of magic!" Kalec breathed. "I never felt that within..."

"No..." was all the draenei replied. As the tendril disappeared into the crystal, she pulled it back. "You may heal the opening yourself, if you wish."

He did so. At the same time, Iridi once more dismissed the staff. Only when it was gone did she breathe easier.

"What now?" asked Kalec.

As if in response, something howled. Something not all that far from them.

Something that received, from what seemed every other direction to the draenei, an answering howl....

Zzeraku grew impatient. He now had a plan, but not yet an opportunity in which to implement it. The sorceress and the elf thing who pandered to her had foregone the usual feedings for their creation. Zzeraku had all but gone mad waiting.

Then, he suddenly realized that he was not alone. The other was shielded from the sight of the skardyn—as he had finally learned to call the scaly little vermin—but not from his powerful senses. Of course, there was nothing that he could do with that knowledge, bound as he was.

A shadow moved before his eyes, one that flickered in and out of existence. Ever so briefly, it would take a distinct form.

The elf thing. The blood elf.

The creature called Zendarin.

You can see me on some level, the shadow marveled. How unique! The staff is powerful, yet you can see me... to a point, that is.

The nether dragon tried to thrust the voice from his mind, for it aggravated his thoughts as a sharp pin shoved deep would surely aggravate the flesh of the blood elf.

Now, now, my little friend, Zendarin mocked. This won’t take long and it'll be just between the two of us, eh?

That interested Zzeraku. He had sensed the other's personal ambition, could even appreciate it to an extent.

Let us see what can be siphoned off of you...

In the shadow, Zzeraku glimpsed the odd staff that he knew was not of the blood elf's making. Even its glow was invisible to the skardyn. The blood elf was definitely not doing something that the lady would like.

It's close by, his tormentor continued, but more to himself. I nearly had it, but the others interfered. I need more... and I think that you can give me that....

As the nether dragon had expected, Zendarln wanted to also feed from him. The staff was powerful, but evidently not enough for whatever purpose the blood elf had in mind.

Zzeraku hid his glee. Perhaps he could do with this one as he had planned to do with their creation.

The shadow moved closer. The crystal pointed toward Zzeraku.

Suddenly, Zendarin spun around. With a curse that jolted the nether dragon's mind as if it were thunder, the blood elf slipped away.

A moment later, the only being who truly frightened the nether dragon glided into the cavern. The skardyn quickly dropped to their knees.

"So, my precious child," the dark lady cooed, "and how are you?"

She did not truly expect an answer, as Zzeraku's maw was sealed shut. Unlike the blood elf, she made no attempt to touch his thoughts, although he was not all that certain they were kept from her, regardless.

"Have you regained your strength? I want you nice and strong! You want to be nice and strong, don't you?"

Her tone sent shivers through Zzeraku and much of his earlier confidence slipped away. The nether dragon was almost certain that the female knew his intentions and toyed with him.

"Zendarin!"

The nether dragon did not expect the blood elf to respond—he did not expect the blood elf to even have stayed in the vicinity—but Zendarin surprised him by striding into the chamber. His expression was all innocence... or at least as much innocence as one of his kind could possibly display.

"I was just looking for you," the blood elf remarked.

"Looking for me—or looking out for me?"

She turned her ravaged side to Zendarin, much to the nether dragon's relief. Some of the shivering eased. Some.

"We are in a very delicate period here, Zendarin. You are aware of that?"

He acted offended. "Of course, I do or—"

The blood elf shrieked as his body suddenly burned as if on fire from within. His blood felt like molten lava and Zendarin expected it at any moment to burst through his flesh.

He dropped to his knees. The staff appeared in one hand, but, if he thought to use it somehow, he never got the chance. It slipped from his grasp and, in doing so, vanished again.

"It makes you want to tear your skin off or bleed yourself dry just to escape the torture, does it not? But you can never escape it... I can never escape it..."

The blood elf rolled on his side, clawing at his chest. She watched him for another minute, then gestured curtly.

The pain abruptly ceased. Zendarin, sweat bathing his body, stopped groaning and, after a time, managed to catch his breath. He peered up at the lady in black, no guile in his face whatsoever.

"A reminder was in order here. The last reminder. You have been offered much by me, but most of all, you have been offered a path to a fount of energy such as your miserable kind can only dream."

The blood elf wisely said nothing.

"I know how much that purloined toy of yours means to you," she added, likely speaking of the staff. "And I sense, as you do, that among those approaching is one who carries its twin. How nice, you no doubt believed, to add it to your collection.... Am I correct?"

Zendarin managed a very cautious nod.

"Well, if the other's toy becomes available in the process, it is yours to claim... but I will not condone any interference in my desires."

"I—I would never—"

"Think careful of your next words, Zendarin Windrunner. You have already gone far in disappointing me. I hate disappointments. My son and daughter were quite the disappointments..."

"You will not be disappointed. All—all will go as you wish, my lady...."

She smiled, a sight that shook both nether dragon and blood elf. "That is all I ask...all..."

She whirled on Zzeraku, who wanted to hide from her. However, her words were still directed toward the blood elf, who had wisely not moved.

"Still, your infantile attempt to take that other toy has given me the information I need on him. The time has come to move in that regard. You may be interested to know that Rask is already out hunting, with a pack of skardyn, of course. I've also made use of your little pet."

This caused Zendarin's gaze to narrow. "Of course... I said that it would be available when you needed it for him."

“So glad you approve," she returned with open mockery. "I thought you might be surprised that it obeyed me without your permission..."

"Of course not..."

The veiled sorceress clapped her hands together in satisfaction. "Shall we go prepare for company?" Her dread smile turned on Zzeraku. "And, after that, a proper feeding. The poor dear is growing hungry. Very hungry..."

She departed with the blood elf in tow. Her parting words left the nether dragon to wonder whether, like Zendarin, the lady in black was just as aware of her captive's intentions and had warned him that, whatever he dreamed he could accomplish, he was sorely mistaken.

And, if that were the case, there was no hope for Zzeraku whatsoever....