Note: I do not own Warcraft, World of Warcraft, or most of the dragons mentioned in this story (more's the pity). However, after finishing the Rheastrasza questline, I just HAD to know what happened to the egg stolen from the black dragonflight. This story is the result. Hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to comment or give suggestions/constructive criticism.
Nellie, as her guardians affectionately called her, was busy building sand castles when the Dragonqueen came to observe her progress. The ruler of the dragonflights and her consort, Korialstrasz, watched and listened as Nellie's guardians gave their reports one by one. Nellie, young as she was, had already discovered her ability to change shape, and, after some experimentation, had apparently decided to split her time almost evenly between her human and dragon forms. Right now, she was in her dragon form, using her talons to add details to towers, walls, and battlements. She was big for her age, slightly longer than the shaggy mammoths of Northrend, but her movements had a grace to them that many dragons never achieved. Her scales were a deep, light-swallowing black, as expected from one of her kind, but they also had an iridescent sheen to them that was unusual.
"And she hasn't shown any signs of the madness?" Alexstrasza asked calmly. She already knew the answer; had Nellie shown any signs of following in her namesake's steps, the Dragonqueen would have been notified immediately.
"Oh, no, not at all," Chromie said, surprise evident on her tiny features. The bronze dragon's mortal form, that of a gnome, reflected her personality more than her power. "She's quite gentle, and such a bright little thing! She's always asking questions, building things, making up her own stories. Soon, I'll take her to visit pre-Scourge Stratholme, and she'll be so excited, she'll have a hard time containing herself. She'll go from making sand castles to sand people—exact replicas of the people she'll see, down to every mole and wrinkle. Titans know there's plenty of sand here for her to work with." Chromie giggled as Nellie started adding another tower to her castle.
Alexstrasza paid no undue attention to Chromie's use of future tense. Bronze dragons moved through time the way their brethren moved through air, and it was entirely possible that Chromie had already experienced the excursion she described. And the bronze was right about the sand: Nellie's home was removed from time as most of Azeroth experienced it, and the influence of Nozdormu, the bronze Aspect, had filled it with his signature element. "Good," the Dragonqueen finally said. "The more she's exposed to Azeroth, the better prepared she'll be when the time comes."
Nellie, seemingly done with her castle, finally looked around and noticed the elder dragons, all in their mortal forms. She changed shape as she ran over to them, shouting, "Auntie Alex! Uncle Kory! Auntie Chromie said you'd come visit, but then I asked her when, which was pretty silly of me, wasn't it, 'cause she said that you had already visited, and were visiting, and were going to visit soon. I get confused when she talks like that." Nellie's human form looked to be about ten years old, with long, straight black hair, pale skin, and eyes the color of fertile earth. Despite her bubbliness, the girl took a moment to curtsy to the Dragonqueen and her consort, then rushed into the hug offered by the dragon matriarch.
Korialstrasz smiled as he, too, received a hug. "I wouldn't worry too much, Nellie. You'd have to be a bronze to fully understand what she meant. The rest of us just smile and nod." Nellie and Chromie both laughed, and Alexstrasza smiled at her consort. He had been distant toward Nellie at first, but the young dragon's warmth had eventually won him over.
"Oh! I have something I wanted to show you! Stay right there, and close your eyes." Nellie ran back to her sand castle, not bothering to shift back to her dragon form. Turning back to her elders and seeing their failure to follow her directions, she said again, "Close your eyes! It's no fun if you don't close your eyes." Obligingly, the elder dragons all closed their eyes, though Korialstrasz also moved half in front of his queen, as if to protect her from any possible danger. There was a brief flash of intense heat, and then Nellie called out, "Okay, you can open them now."
In place of the sand castle, there stood a gleaming, crystal-clear glass palace. Nellie beckoned the other three over to examine her masterpiece. They came, none of them entirely sure what to make of this new development. "See? This way they don't fall over or blow away, and they're so pretty! Some of the details are harder to see, 'cause they all kind of run together when it melts, but I'm getting better at that." She looked up at her elders, expecting them to ooh and ah at her display of skill.
Alexstrasza recovered from her shock quickly and leaned down to examine the glass castle more closely. "It is very pretty indeed, Nellie. You know, your talons are probably hard enough now to etch the details back in. You would have to be very careful not to cut too deep, though."
"That's a really good idea! I'm gonna go try it on something else. I'll be right back, okay?"
The Dragonqueen nodded and, once the girl was out of earshot, turned to Chromie. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" she asked the smaller dragon gently.
"I'm so sorry," Chromie said, looking distressed. "I forgot that this happened so early. But yes, I remember now, she can only produce bursts of heat for now. She still hasn't come into her true strength but, well…you can see she's plenty strong just the way she is."
Alexstrasza looked at her consort. "Korialstrasz? I know you have an opinion about this."
The male dragon was still looking at the glass castle, his head tilted to one side as he considered his response. "I'll admit, I was alarmed at first. She is very young to display this level of power. Just imagine what she'll be capable of when she reaches maturity. Her might will be truly staggering." He paused a moment as he considered the ramifications.
"But?" Alexstrasza prompted her mate to continue.
Korialstrasz turned to look at his queen, the love of his life, the center of his universe. Though he had been skeptical about this plan at first, now he was beginning to hope. "But…she used that power to create something beautiful. It is as Chromie told us earlier: Neltharia will be a creator, not a destroyer."
At that moment, Nellie, more properly known as Neltharia, came bounding back up to the adults. She held something behind her back, and she was struggling to contain a smile. "I have something I want to give you, Auntie Alex, but first you have to close your eyes again. Oh, and hold out your hands."
With a gentle smile, the Dragonqueen knelt so that her eyes were on a level with Nellie's. She silently did as the girl asked and felt something cool and slightly textured being put in her hands. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Nellie had given her a remarkably lifelike glass dragon. Its wings were outstretched and its legs pulled up against its body, as if it were gliding on an air current, and its wingspan was slightly wider than Alexstrasza's palms as she held them side by side. Its features had been etched in, making it seem that much more real. "It's beautiful. I almost expect it to float away on the wind," Alexstrasza said with perfect sincerity. She moved to give it back to the girl, but Nellie shook her head.
"I want you to have it. It was one of the first things I melted, and it came out like a dragon-shaped blob, but then you suggested the etching, and I thought I should fix it and give it to you as a thank you."
"I'm honored, Nellie, and I'm very glad you could put my suggestion to good use. I'll find someplace special to put this when I return home."
Nellie beamed. "Come on, I have other things I want to show you."
Alexstrasza stopped her before she could run off again. "Neltharia, wait. I'm afraid I have to go now. I came to make sure that you were happy and that you were doing well. I know now that you have and are everything I could have wished for. You have given me more hope than I've had in a long time. Still, I have many duties waiting for me, and I must return to them."
Nellie looked crestfallen for a moment, but her expression quickly shifted back to its normal cheerfulness. "Will I see you again soon?"
"I will come as often as I can, dearest. Now, give me one last hug to hold me over until I return." Nellie complied, and Alexstrasza whispered in her ear, "Thank you again, Neltharia. It has been a long time since anyone has given me such a lovely gift."
Nellie held Chromie's hand and waved as the Dragonqueen and her consort walked away. After a few steps, they began to fade into the blowing sand, and after a few more, they were gone completely.