The Well of Eternity

16

“It is time.”

Both Alexstrasza’s return and her declaration caught Krasus by surprise. The dragon mage had sunk so deep into his thoughts that the passage of minutes and hours had become meaningless. He truly had no idea whether or not he had waited long for her return.

“I am ready.”

She bent down and took him up onto her neck. Moving gracefully through the ancient passages carved out over generations by the red dragon flight, Alexstrasza and Krasus soon arrived at a wind-tossed opening overlooking a vast cloud-enshrouded region. Here was the realm of the red dragons, a breathtaking vista of proud mountain peaks capped with permanent snow and wrapped in endless stretches of mist. Krasus understood full well how high his clan’s mountain home had to be for most of the clouds to be below it. Vaguely his splintered memory now recalled the majesty of the land, the great valleys carved out by ice and time, the jagged, individual faces of each peak.

He suddenly teetered, the rarefied air not quite sufficient for his battered body. Alexstrasza used her wings to keep him from falling off.

“Perhaps this might not be the best thing for you,” she suggested, her voice filled with concern.

But as abruptly as he had almost collapsed, Krasus now felt renewed strength course through him.

“I trust…I am not late.”

Korialstrasz lumbered toward his mate, initially looking much the way the mage had felt moments before. Yet the male dragon, too, now moved as if given an unexpected boost of energy. His somewhat haggard expression vanished as he neared.

“You are not. Do you feel up to the journey?”

“Until this very moment, I thought perhaps I could not…but it seems that I am feeling better again.” His gaze flickered from Alexstrasza to Krasus and back again, as if he suspected the reason for his startling recuperation but could not accept it.

The dragon queen transferred Krasus to her consort. As Krasus touched his younger self, he felt his own body recover even more. Direct contact with Korialstrasz almost made him feel whole again.

Almost.

“Are you settled?” the male dragon asked of him.

“I am.”

Stepping forward, Alexstrasza spread her huge wings and dove out of the passage. She dipped low, then vanished into the clouds. Korialstrasz stepped to the edge of the precipice, giving his tiny passenger an even more astounding view of the vast, mountainous terrain, then leapt out into the sky.

At first they dropped several yards—entering the clouds in the process—but then Korialstrasz caught the wind and the pair soared up. Through the mists, Krasus saw that Alexstrasza already flew far ahead. However, her pace was slow enough that her consort quickly caught up with her.

“All is well?” she roared, her question posed to both companions.

Krasus nodded and Korialstrasz replied in the affirmative. The dragon queen focused ahead and said no more.

The sensations of flying, even on the back of another, exhilarated the mage. Having been born to this, it made his presence circumstances that much harder to accept. He was a dragon! One of the masters of the sky! He should not be condemned to such a paltry existence…

They flew past mountain after mountain, through thick cloud cover and above many other startling peaks. Krasus’s mortal body grew chilled, but he scarcely noticed, so fascinated was he.

With the utmost elegance the two massive dragons skirted a savage-looking peak, then dipped down into a wide valley in the midst of the chain. Krasus strained to see anything other than the landscape, but failed. Yet, somehow he felt that they were very close to their goal.

“Keep your grip tight!” Korialstrasz called out.

Before Krasus could ask why, the level to which the dragons descended rippled. The air itself twisted and wriggled like the surface of pond after a stone had been tossed into it. At first Krasus feared that the anomaly which had brought him to this time had materialized again, but then he noted the eagerness with which his mount headed for the unsettling display.

Ahead, Alexstrasza calmly entered the titanic ripple—and vanished.

Ancient memories grudgingly arose from the black abyss of Krasus’s mind, memories of other times when he, as a dragon, had willingly tossed himself into this very sight. Krasus braced himself, recalling sensations that would assail him when Korialstrasz followed the queen.

They entered.

A static charge covered every inch of the mage’s body. His nerves tingled. Krasus felt as if he had become a part of the heavens themselves, a child of lightning and thunder. The urge to fly on his own became demanding. It was all he could do to keep himself from letting go of his mount and joining the clouds and the wind.

The sensation passed, evaporating so unexpectedly that Krasus had to grip Korialstrasz tighter just to maintain his balance. He blinked, feeling very earthbound, very mortal. The shift in perspective overwhelmed him so much that at first Krasus did not realize his surroundings had completely changed.

They hovered within a vast, monumental cavern, so expansive that even Alexstrasza appeared as little more than a gnat in comparison. Entire kingdoms could fit inside, kingdoms with rolling landscapes and farmed fields. Even then, there would have been space for much, much more.

But this was not simply a cavern of tremendous size, for there were other features—or rather lack thereof—that marked it as a place most distinct from all others. The walls were smooth yet curved, rubbed so perfectly that if one put a hand to the rock and ran it across or down, there would be no friction, no resistance. That continued all the way down to the bottom, where the floor itself was an immense, flat circle that, had it been measured, would have been geometrically flawless.

The floor was indeed the only flattened area, for as the walls rose high, they continued to curve inward, sloping toward one another and creating overall a sphere-shaped chamber whose appearance was further accented by the utter lack of any mineral growth. No stalactites hung menacingly above; no stalagmites thrust up from the ground below. There were no fissures, not even one tiny crack. There were no flaws whatsoever in what Krasus finally recalled as the Chamber of the Aspects.

A chamber that had been ancient before even they had existed.

It was said that here the creators had shaped the world, molded it and grown it in this sacred place until it had been ready to be set into the cosmos. Even the great dragons could not completely argue the validity of that tale, for with no exit other than the magical one they had discovered by accident centuries earlier, they could not even say for certain that they met in a location situated on the mortal plane. All attempts to penetrate the walls had met with complete failure and the Aspects had long ago given up even trying.

To further add to the mystery of the astonishing cavern, a bright, golden illumination filled the Chamber of the Aspects, a comforting glow with no source. Krasus recalled that experimentation by his kind had never been able to prove whether that glow vanished when the chamber was empty or whether it was perpetual, but all who entered felt welcomed by it, as if it acted as a sentinel.

As Korialstrasz descended, it suddenly occurred to Krasus that, despite his splintered memories, he remembered this sacred place very distinctly. It said something about the Chamber of the Aspects—here were recollections he could never misplace, never let fade.

The two red leviathans alighted on the rock floor, peering around. Despite the great expanse, it became obvious that none of the others had arrived yet.

“You spoke to each?” asked Korialstrasz.

The Queen of Life shook her majestic head. “Only Ysera. She said she would contact the others.”

“And I did what I could,” responded an almost dreamy but certainly feminine voice.

Some distance beyond them, a faint emerald form coalesced from thin air. It never truly solidified, but Krasus noted enough details to identify it as a slim, ethereal dragon almost as tall as Alexstrasza. A permanent haze surrounded the half-seen figure, but still she was visible enough to mark the fact that her eyes remained closed at all times, even when she spoke.

The other dragons dipped their heads in honored greeting, Alexstrasza adding, “I am pleased that you came so swiftly, good Ysera.”

She of the Dreaming, as Krasus also knew her, gave greetings in turn. Her face turned to the two who had come with her counterpart and although the lids did not open, Krasus felt her penetrating gaze. “I come because you are my sister, my friend. I come because you would not request a gathering if you did not have good reason.”

“And the others?”

“Nozdormu is the only one I could not reach directly. You know his ways. I was forced to contact one who serves him, who said he would do what he could to let his master know…that is the best I could accomplish there.”

Alexstrasza nodded gratefully, but was unable to hide her disappointment with this last news. “Then, even if the others attend, we cannot come to a final decision.”

“The Timeless One may still join us.”

Still perched atop his younger self’s neck, Krasus took as ill news the lack of any contact with Nozdormu. He understood the complexities of the Timeless One’s nature, how Nozdormu was past, present, future…all history. Of all the others, it had been Nozdormu whom Krasus had secretly hoped to see here, for he offered the hope that there might still be a chance to send the two wayward travelers back to their own period, ending the matter peacefully.

And without that hope, Krasus once again had to look to the one other option…that to preserve the timeline, the Aspects might have to eliminate Rhonin and him.

Suddenly from above there came a brilliant flash of red bolts, an electrical storm that descended with swift fury to the ground. Once there, it exploded in a display of awe-inspiring colors before spreading out and forming a huge shape.

And as the last bits burned away, in place of the brief but startling storm stood a tall, glistening dragon who seemed part crystal, part ice. For a dragon, his expression was one quite merry, as if he had enjoyed the spectacle he created even more than any who witnessed it.

“Welcome, Malygos,” Alexstrasza said politely.

“Such a pleasure to see you, Queen of Life!” The gleaming behemoth laughed heartily. “And you, too, my fair dream!”

Ysera nodded silently, a hint of humor touching her own expression.

“How fares your realm?” the red queen asked.

“As wondrous as I would wish it! Filled with brightness, filled with colors, and filled with young!”

“Perhaps the creators should have made you Father of Life instead of Guardian of Magic, Malygos!”

“An interesting thought! Perhaps a matter to discuss some other day!” He laughed again.

“Are you not well?” Korialstrasz asked Krasus, who, upon seeing the newcomer, had stiffened in horror.

“I am fine. I was simply adjusting my seating.” The tiny figure was thankful that Korialstrasz had not been able to see his expression. The more Krasus watched and listened to Malygos, the more he regretted his need to keep from even the Aspects the full truth concerning the future.

What would you say, Guardian of Magic, if you knew the fate awaiting you? Betrayal, madness, a realm frozen and empty of all save yourself…

Krasus could not recall all he knew of Malygos’s future, but he recalled enough from the bits and pieces to understand and regret the tragedy—and yet once more he could not bring himself to warn the glittering leviathan.

“And is that the one to whom we owe this gathering?” asked Malygos, his gleaming gaze now upon Krasus.

“It is,” Alexstrasza replied.

The Guardian of Magic sniffed the air. “He has the scent of us upon him, although that may also be due to his proximity to your consort. I cannot say for certain. I also detect old magic surrounding him. Is he bespelled?”

“We shall let him tell his own story,” Alexstrasza replied, sparing Krasus from any interrogation. “Once the others have arrived.”

“One is coming even now,” Ysera sagely announced.

The ceiling above rippled, then shimmered. A huge, winged form materialized, then swooped down grandly, circling the vast cavern twice in the process. The other Aspects grew respectfully silent, each watching the massive figure draw near.

In size he rivaled the largest of them, a winged behemoth as black as night with a bearing as noble as any depiction ever made of a dragon. Narrow veins of actual silver and gold streaking from front to back accented his spine and sides, while gleaming flashes between the scales hinted at diamonds and other precious stones embedded naturally in his hide. The newcomer radiated a sense of primal power, the power of the world itself in all its most basic forms.

He landed just beyond the rest, his huge, webbed wings folding masterfully behind him. In a voice deep and full, the black dragon said, “You have called and I have come. It is always good to see my friend Alexstrasza…”

“And I welcome your presence, dear Neltharion.”

Before, it had been all Krasus could do to keep from reacting to Malygos’s presence. Now he fought to keep himself from shaking, from showing the slightest sign at all of how he felt about this latest arrival. Yet, while his earlier reaction came from his knowledge concerning the doomed future of the Guardian of Magic, now Krasus worried more for the future of all dragons…and the world itself, should it survive the Burning Legion.

Before him stood Neltharion.

Neltharion. The Earth Warder. Most respected of the Aspects and, in addition, the close friend of Krasus’s beloved queen. Had Neltharion been of her own flight, he surely would have long been chosen as one of her mates. Outside of her consorts, the Earth Warder was the one whom Alexstrasza most often sought for consultation, for the brooding black had a sharp mind that saw all angles. Neltharion did nothing without considering the consequences and, as a young dragon, Krasus had in some ways emulated him.

But in the future to which the mage belonged, any thought of emulating Neltharion would have gone beyond the point of madness. Neltharion had rejected his role, rejected the protection the Aspects gave the mortal realm. He had instead turned to the belief that the lesser races were the root of all that was wrong with the world, that they should be removed…and those who would aid them should be removed as well.

Neltharion had come to envision a world where only dragons—specifically his own flight—ruled all. That growing obsession had led him to countless acts of an increasingly dark design, acts so horrible that eventually Neltharion became as terrible a danger to the world as the demons of the Burning Legion. The other Aspects had finally banded together against him, but not before he had spilled much blood and caused wholesale destruction.

And in rejecting all he had once been, Neltharion had also rejected his own name. From his former counterparts had come the name by which he was known to all creatures, one that had become synonymous with evil itself.

Deathwing…

There before Krasus loomed Deathwing, the Destroyer, the Black Scourge. Yet, the dragon mage could do nothing to warn the others. In fact, although he knew the danger that Neltharion would eventually become, Krasus could not recall when and where the tragedy had begun. To foment distrust among the Aspects at this critical juncture risked even more of a disaster than what the Earth Warder’s future held.

And yet…

“I was surprised when Ysera, not you, contacted me,” the black rumbled. “You are well, Alexstrasza?”

“I am, Neltharion.”

He eyed her companions. “And you, young Korialstrasz? You are not at your best, I think.”

“An illness passing,” the red male answered respectfully.

“It is an honor to see you again, Earth Warder.”

They conversed like friendly acquaintances and yet Krasus managed to recall that as Deathwing, Neltharion would barely recognize him. By the time of the orc wars, the black behemoth would have dwelled so long in his madness that past friendships would be forgotten. All that would matter would be whatever advanced his dark cause.

But here still was Neltharion the comrade. He peered over Korialstrasz’s neck, noting the tiny, cowled figure. “And you are the one. You have a name?”

“Krasus!” the mage snapped. “Krasus!”

“A defiant little one!” Neltharion said with amusement. “I believe that he is definitely a dragon, as Ysera hinted.”

“A dragon with a tale to tell,” Alexstrasza added. She gazed up at the ceiling, specifically the spot from which she and the others had entered. “But I would prefer to give Nozdormu more time before we begin.”

“Give the Timeless One more time?” Malygos laughed.

“How droll! I will not let dour Nozdormu leave without pressing him on that jest!”

“Yes and you will press him time and time again with it, will you not?” returned Neltharion, a vast, toothy smile spreading across his reptilian countenance.

Malygos laughed further. He and Neltharion shuffled to one side, already deep in some conversation.

“Brothers they may not be in blood,” commented Ysera, her closed eyes following the pair. “But they are truly brothers in nature.”

Alexstrasza agreed. “It is good that Neltharion has Malygos to turn to. He has been quiet with me of late.”

“I, too, sense a distance. He does not take the actions by these night elves with pleasure. He stated once that they have grandiose visions of becoming like the creators without the knowledge and wisdom of the latter.”

“There may be something to what he has said,” the Queen of Life returned, her eyes sweeping briefly over Krasus.

The mage grew increasingly uncomfortable under her study of him. Of them all, Alexstrasza deserved this other warning. It would be Deathwing’s doing that she would be turned into a slave of the orcs, whose warhounds readily sacrificed her children to their brutal cause. Deathwing would then use the chaos of the last days of the orc wars to seek what he truly desired…the eggs of the Queen of Life to recreate his own decimated flight, all but slain because of his past mad plots.

What limit do I set? Krasus demanded of himself. When must the line finally be crossed? I can say nothing about the orcs, nothing about the Earth Warder’s betrayals, nothing about the Burning Legion…all I can do is state enough facts to possibly exterminate myself and Rhonin!

In frustration, he glared at one of the causes of his dilemma. Neltharion spoke merrily with Malygos, the latter’s back turned to the other waiting dragons. The huge black stretched his wings and nodded at some remark by his gleaming counterpart. Had they been humans, dwarves, or some other mortal race, the pair would have looked quite at home drinking ale in a tavern. The lesser races saw the dragons as either monstrous beasts or dignified founts of wisdom, when in truth their characters were in some ways as earthy as the tiny creatures over which they watched.

Neltharion’s eyes flickered past Malygos, meeting, however briefly, Krasus’s.

And in that moment of contact, Krasus realized that all he and the others had seen so far of the black at this gathering had been a charade.

The darkness had already descended upon the Earth Warder.

Not possible, not possible! Krasus insisted, barely able to keep his expression neutral. Not now! It was too soon, too delicate a point in time for the transformation of Neltharion to Deathwing to begin. The Aspects needed to be united, not only to join against the coming invasion, but to deal with the disruptions of time caused by Krasus and his former student. Surely he had been mistaken about the black leviathan. Surely Neltharion was still one of the fabled protectors of the mortal plane.

Krasus cursed his feeble memory. When had Neltharion turned to betrayal? When had he forever become the bane of all other living creatures? Was it meant to be now or had Neltharion worked with his comrades even though darkness had already claimed him?

The cowled mage could not help but stare at the Earth Warder. Despite his own oath, Krasus began to think that perhaps here he had to bend the rules. How could it do anything but good to unveil the villain in the Aspects’ midst? How—

Once more Neltharion glanced his way…but this time the eyes did not leave Krasus’s own.

And only then did Krasus discover that Neltharion in turn saw the recognition in him, only then did he realize that the black dragon understood that here was one who could reveal his terrible secret.

Krasus tried to look away, but his eyes were held fast. Too late he realized the cause of that. The Earth Warder, having seen that he had been found out, had acted quickly and decisively. He now held Krasus with his power as easily as he breathed.

I will not fall to him! Yet, despite his determination to escape, his will did not prove strong enough. Had he been better prepared, Krasus could have battled Neltharion’s mind, but the unexpected discovery had left him wide open…and the black one had seized the opportunity.

You know me…but I do not know you.

The chilling voice filled his head. Krasus prayed that someone would notice what passed between the pair, but to all appearances, everything passed as normal. It astounded him that not even his beloved Alexstrasza recognized the terrible truth.

You would speak against me…make the others see me as you do…you would have them distrust their comrade of old…their brother…

The Earth Warder’s words gave clear indication of how deep his madness had already become. Krasus sensed within Neltharion a raging paranoia and an adamant belief that no one but the black dragon understood what was good for the world. Anyone who seemed at all the slightest threat to him was, in Neltharion’s eyes, the true evil.

You will not be allowed to spread any of your malicious falsehoods…

Krasus expected to be struck down there and then, but, to his surprise, all Neltharion did was turn his gaze away and resume his conversation with Malygos.

What games does he play? the dragon mage wondered. First he threatens me, then seems to forget my presence!

He watched the black leviathan carefully, but Neltharion seemed entirely oblivious to him.

“He is not coming,” Ysera finally said.

“He may still appear,” suggested Alexstrasza.

Glancing at them, Krasus realized that they referred to Nozdormu.

“No, I have been contacted by the one with whom I spoke. He cannot locate his master. The Timeless One is somewhere beyond the mortal plane.”

Ysera’s news boded further ill. Knowing what he did of Nozdormu, Krasus suspected that the reason that even the Timeless One’s servants could not contact him was because of the anomaly. If, as Krasus believed, Nozdormu held Time together all by himself, he would have needed to summon every instant of his existence. Multiple Nozdormus would be battling Time…leaving no moment for this gathering.

Krasus’s hopes dwindled further. Nozdormu lost and Neltharion mad…

“I agree, then,” Alexstrasza said, responding to Ysera’s assessment. “We shall go on without the full Five. There is no rule that we cannot at least discuss the matter after the story is told, even if a course of action cannot yet be taken.”

Lowering his head, Korialstrasz allowed his rider to dismount. Keeping his expression guarded, Krasus stepped out among the gathered giants, trying not to look at the Earth Warder. Alexstrasza’s eyes encouraged him, enough so that the dragon mage knew what he had to do.

“I am one of you,” he announced in a voice as booming as any of the leviathans surrounding him. My true name is known to the Queen of Life, but for now I am simply Krasus!”

“He bellows well, this hatchling,” Malygos jested.

Krasus faced him. “This is not a time for humor, especially for you, Guardian of Magic! This is a time when a balance is nigh upset! A terrible mistake, a distortion of reality, threatens everything…absolutely everything!”

“How dramatic,” Neltharion commented almost absently.

It took everything in Krasus’s power not to blurt out the truth about the Earth Warder. Not yet…

“You will hear my story,” insisted Krasus. “You will hear it and understand…for there is a worse danger on the horizon, one which touches us as well. You see—”

But as the first words of his tale ushered forth from his mouth, Krasus’s tongue seemed to catch everywhere. Instead of a coherent telling, babbled words of whimsy escaped him.

Most of the gathered dragons pulled their heads back, startled by his peculiar behavior. Krasus looked quickly to Alexstrasza, seeking her help, but her expression indicated an astonishment as strong as any.

The mage’s head spun. Vertigo worse than any he had suffered so far seized him, made him unable to keep his balance. Nonsense words continued to spew from his lips, but even Krasus no longer knew what he tried to convey.

And as his legs buckled and the vertigo took full hold of him, Krasus heard within his head the deathly calm voice of Neltharion.

I did warn you…