Vela yawned and stretched her large, scaly maw open. For the first time in a long time she had slept in her dragon form, something she thought she would never be able to do with the danger of being caught. But with the help of her slowly improving magic skills, she was able to put a shield around her mind, making sure no one could sense her. With that set in place she was free to shift from her true form to any form she wished, without the constant fear of the other flights finding her.
She stretched her forepaws out in front of her, her claws clacking on the earth beneath her. She crossed her front two legs and rested her head on top of them, looking out over the vast stretch of pine forests a few thousand feet below her. It felt good to be in her true form.
She felt whole, right in the world. She was surrounded by earth, one of her favorite substances since she was a black dragon, and she could easily get up and fly to where ever she wanted. Soon she would go on a hunt, just swoop down upon her unsuspecting prey and kill it with one bite, no thinking or planning needed. Swoop and kill, just like when she was a drake.
Since her life as a prisoner began she never thought she would feel so free. She could do as she pleased, and no one would get in her way and try and stop her. No one questioned her allegiances and whether or not she could be trusted. For the time being her life was simple, and all her worries seemed pushed away, in the back of her mind. For now she would take the rare chance she had to enjoy herself, and indulge in the simple pleasures she didn't usually get in her life.
She brushed her tail against the ground and swung it around to her front, wrapping it around her fore paws. It was late in the morning, the sun already high over the mountains and shimmering over her black scales, warming her to her core. Another simple pleasure she usually didn't get: sunbathing.
The day before she had spent most of her energy during the battle for Thor Modan, using it up when she transformed and created the massive fire ball that wiped out most of the Iron dwarves army. It had been a long time since she made a fire ball, and she had put a lot of magic into the one she made the other day. She greatly over powered her fireball, but it worked none the less. The battle of Thor Modan was won, and she could finally rest at ease that she wouldn't have to deal with the iron dwarves for a while. They was still the threat from the small of amount still in Dun Argol, but she doubted they would be much of a problem with their army destroyed and their capital lost.
The rest was up to the Stone giants. The fate of the iron dwarves and their capital city was in their hands. For the most part the stone giants seemed to be focused on healing their brethren, the giants who had runes imprinted on them by the iron dwarves and were under their control as of late. With the iron dwarves driven out, the remaining stone giants could focus on reversing the effects of the runes on their brethren. What they would do after that Vela had no clue.
Vela's plans remained the same. Even though Grizzly hills was an ideal place for a dragon to live, she was aware that her little show yesterday would bring lots of unwanted attention. There had been no mortals in the Battle for Thor Modan, except for the night elves and dwarves under Tyrisi's command, but someone was bound to have heard the roar she made and the constant clatter of battle. Mortals would come, and they would try and figure out what happened. But Vela would be long gone by then, and they would learn nothing of what had really happened there.
She still planned on getting to Dalaran, one way or another. She was anxious to meet up with her old friends, and let Daena know she wasn't dead. After seeing the visions the puzzle box had given her she wanted to get to Dalaran more and more, just to make sure they were okay. She knew the puzzle box showed her those images only to taunt her, that they weren't in any way real, but she had to make sure.
After that she planned on getting out of Northrend and going somewhere warm, hopefully with a few friends at her side.
A bird flew by over her head, casting it's shadow down over her face. She blinked and stretched her legs out, feeling the urge to eat. The last time she went on a hunt, really truly hunted as a dragon, was back when she was a drake, and she was sure to be rusty. Of course there wasn't any real way she could mess up, she had to bite and kill. She would just have to work on her aim and timing.
She unwrapped her tail and stood, walking out of the cave she decided to make shelter in the night before. The sunlight glimmered over her gray-black scales, and her pupils slowly shrunk as her eyes adjusted to the amount of light. She unfurled her wings and made her way to the edge of the mountain. She looked down at the forest below her and smiled.
She kneeled back against her hind legs and with one powerful jump and a beat of her wings she was airborne. She headed straight up, aiming to hit the clouds. She wanted to get as far up as possible so if anyone looked up while she was flying she would look tiny to them, and they would assume she was a bird.
She began to beat her wings rapidly, aiming to touch the clouds. The thrill of being in the air was indescribable, it was the most exhilarating feeling she had ever had. Be free from the shackles of gravity was amazing, not having to abide by the rules and restrictions of the earth. She could go anywhere, do almost anything she wanted, with nothing but the clouds to get in her way.
The distance between her and the clouds was rapidly shrinking, and she gave her wings and few quick flaps. She raised her head and shot through the clouds, breaking them into tinier clumps. Her skin felt cool as the tiny amount of water that had been in the clouds ran down her neck, and she quickly shook the water from her scales. She flapped her massive wings a few times in order to keep herself from falling before slowly descending.
For being stuck in the form of a mortal for so long her flying skills were not bad. But now came the real test, hunting. This was the one thing she hadn't done in centuries, and she was excited to try out her skills. They were sure to be rusty, but she would probably remember how to hunt as soon as she caught her first bison, mammoth, or whatever prey they had in that region of Northrend.
She came to a point in the sky where she could see the ground and the forest but she was still far enough away that she wouldn't have to worry about any mortals spotting her. Her eyes darted across the landscape, searching for something to eat. There were a few stags, some grizzly bears wandering about, but nothing that would really sate her hunger. She needed something bigger, something filling.
She turned towards the west and flew over a large pine forest, hoping to find something better to eat there. But as she surveyed the area she came up with the same results, nothing but stag, bears, and a few moths. She shifted her wings and let the current carry her to the east.
After a while she began to fly over a very large grassy area of Grizzly Hills, with little to no trees. She surveyed the area and found that there were a lot of runed stone giants, which were useless to her, but besides that she didn't see much that she could eat. She looked ahead and saw a glimmering blue coast, and decided to see if there was anything down there. She had to get food sometime, and she would rather get it sooner that later.
She turned slightly to the right and headed straight towards the coast, where there would hopefully be more food. As she got closer and closer to the water the wind grew colder, even for Northrend, and the air had a salty taste to it. She circled over the land near the coast, searching for prey. She was in luck, there were rams. While they wouldn't completely satisfy her, they were enough to sate her hunger, for a while.
She looked over the herd and picked out the fattest ram she saw. Once she picked it she tucked her wings in and started to descend. The distance between herself and the ground decreased quickly, and as she neared the grass she extended her forepaws and began to unfurl her wings, preparing to catch the ram. Before she could hit the ground she pulled up and grabbed the ram as she went back up into the sky.
The ram neighed in protest and began to wiggle in between her feet, but she dug her claws into it, and it fell limp. It wasn't the best hunting technique, but it worked, and her skills were pretty good for not hunting in over a century. She flew higher and higher until she was level with the peaks of the mountains, and flew towards her cave.
It wasn't long before she spotted the entrance to the cave and began to fly down towards it. As it she got closer to the ground the shapes of Kyragosa and Miri became visible, and she veered slightly to the right so she wouldn't crush them.
A huge cloud of dust enveloped her as she landed, and she snorted. She placed the dead ram off to the side and, once the dust settled down, looked towards Miri and Kyragosa intently.
Kyragosa walked over to the entrance of the cave and looked it over. "It looks a bit small for you, I don't know how you were able to fit inside," she half said half mumbled to herself. She looked to Vela and said "Did you sleep well? We're doing a lot of traveling today, and it wouldn't do to have you wobbling around in the sky."
"I slept fine," Vela said "It was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. I haven't been able to stretch my wings for so long! Not to mention sleeping in a mortal's body is rather uncomfortable." she glanced at Miri "I honestly don't know how you get a wink of sleep at night with all that flesh, I always got bruised when sleeping in mortal form from turning over on the ground."
"Easy, we have beds," Miri said "With pillows and mattresses. We don't sleep on the ground like you do."
"Beds?" Vela asked. "What are those? Are they like those little roll up things we slept in while we were traveling here?"
"You mean sleeping bags?" Miri corrected her. "Yeah, there like that. Only bigger, comfier, and not transportable."
"Well that explains a lot," Vela said. She looked back at Kyragosa "So why are you two here? Is there something wrong with the city? Are there mortals?"
"No, there aren't any mortals," Kyragosa said "Yet. You drew a lot of attention to this place yesterday, and mortals will come soon. We have to be gone by then, which means will have to leave soon. They probably already have scouts headed here. Deathwing wasn't killed that long ago, and the mortals are still hostile towards your flight. Not to mention they think all of you are dead. You know how they will react to you being here."
Vela nodded. She knew exactly what would happen if mortals even caught a glimpse of her, and it wouldn't be good. She mentally sighed, and began to shape shift back into the form of a human. Her wings shrunk and went back into her back, and her neck folded back. Her legs shortened to form a pair of legs and a set of arms, and hair began to protrude from her shrinking head. her fangs dulled into little omnivore nubs, and her horns shrunk back into her head. Finally her scales softened and turned into tan skin.
She rolled her shoulders back, setting the joints back into place and getting used to her new form. She still wore her aspect armor, but she shrunk a few more inches than before to have the same height as a human woman.
"So when do you two want to head out?" she asked "I kind of wanted to stay a little longer and stretch my wings, but I'm ready to go if we have to leave now."
Kyragosa shook her head. "We don't have to leave immediately, but very soon." she said "I have a few things to sort out with the Stone giants, as does Miri with the other night elves."
Vela nodded. "All right," she said "When do you think we'll be leaving? An hour or two?"
"Probably an hour and a half," Kyragosa said. "Give or take a few minutes. If any mortals come we'll leave immediately, but it's early, and I don't expect any to come until later today."
Vela nodded again. "I'll stay up here," she said. "No one can see me from this height, and I can easily spot any mortals flying in and get ready."
"Actually, I need you to come with me," Kyragosa said.
Vela raised an eyebrow. "What for?" she asked.
"The stone giants could use your help with a few things," she said "The city entrance is covered in tons of rock, and the only openings in it are too small for the Stone Giants to get in. If you help them, that coupled with what you did yesterday will earn their trust, and they will keep silent if any mortals do come around."
"I understand," Vela said. She looked over at the edge of the cliff and walked over to it, peering down at the city below. "Should we get going then?" she asked. "It's a ways down, and the clock is ticking. Mortals are going to come, so we'd best get this over with and leave."
Kyragosa nodded. "Yes, I suppose we should get this over with as quickly as possible," she said "I will shape shift into my true form and you two can fly down on my back." she paused "We don't want anyone seeing you in your true form. There could be mortals close by." she added.
Vela nodded. "I get it," she said "Shame, though. I was hoping to stretch my wings one last time before leaving."
"Don't worry, you'll get a chance to fly soon enough." Kyragosa said. "Now," she stretched her arms out and cracked her knuckles. "Let's get going, shall we?"
Miri and Vela got the message and stepped back, giving Kyragosa enough room to shape shift. Being a wyrm with a lot more experience, it didn't take long for Kyragosa to do so. She summoned her magic very quickly, and she grew larger. Her teeth and horns took shape and her wings popped out of her back, growing in size. Fingers became claws and skin became scales, and before long Kyragosa the blue wyrm stood before them, towering over their mortal forms.
"Climb on then," Kyragosa said, motioning with her head towards the notch in between her back and the beginning of her neck. "Make haste, I would like to get out of here as soon as possible. We have a lot of ground to cover."
Both Miri and Vela quickly trotted over to Kyragosa's neck and climbed on, careful not to scrape against her sharp scales. Both of them made a move to sit in the front, and Miri quickly shot Vela a glare.
Vela got the message loud and clear, that was Miri's seat, and she would have to settle with sitting behind climbed on and Vela climbed on behind her, making sure to give the night elf enough room.
"We're ready to go, Kyragosa," Miri said when they were both settled in.
As soon as she said so Kyragosa spread out her wings, which must have been at least ninety feet long if not more, and leapt off of the cliff side, spiraling downwards. Miri clutched the dragons back even tighter as they went down, looking like she was about to throw up.
There pace slowed to a gentle flight, and they began to soar over Grizzly Hills, gradually lowering as Thor Modan came into view.
Vela glanced down and examined the city. Stone Giants surrounded it, most sticking to the entrance and the huge crack in the roof. She didn't see any iron dwarves, but from that height she didn't expect to, they were just to tiny to see.
She sat up straight and looked forward. For the most part the morning was calm. There were few birds flying around, but they were all silent. The creatures that lived in Grizzly Hill were either still asleep or just waking up, and the air still had a cool chill to it from the night before.
A bird, what looked to be a hawk, soared by her head only a few inches away. She looked at it with curiosity in her eyes. It looked a lot like the birds druids shape shifted into.
A thought struck her, and she looked forward at the night elf on front of her. "Miri?" she asked.
Miri glanced back, her face pale. "What?" she growled.
"You're a druid, correct?" Vela asked.
"Yeah," Miri said "What's your point?"
"If you're a druid, then why can't you shape shift into a bird and fly down? Why do you have to ride down with us?"
Miri frowned. "I haven't learned my flight form," she said "I left my village before my training was complete, and I only know a few forms. When I left I wasn't ready to learn my flight form, and so I've yet to learn it."
Vela nodded, and Miri turned back to face the front.
They landed not long after that, right in front of the gate to Thor Modan. As soon as Kyragosa's wings stopped beating Miri slipped off, followed by Vela. Vela turned around to face the blue wyrm and saw that Kyragosa had already begun to shape shift into the form of a high elf. She shrunk down, scales becoming flesh, wings and horns ceasing to exist, and eventually became the high elf Kyra.
Kyragosa began walking over to the entrance to Thor Modan. "Now this will be where I will need your help Vela," she said "My magic can only go so far with moving rock, but your connection to the earth can make this a lot easier. Come, let us take a look."
Vela nodded and made her way over to the entrance, stopping to stand next to Kyragosa.
"I'll meet up with Tyrisi then," Miri said before shifting into her cat form and running in the other direction.
Vela glanced over her shoulder and watched her for a moment before directing her attention back to the entrance. It was covered in rubble, with only a very tiny dwarf sized entrance. She wrapped a fist against the rock and felt the vibrations to see how thick it was. Just her luck, it was at least five feet thick.
She stepped back a few feet and looked up, seeing how high the rocks piled up.
"This could take a while," she said without looking away from the entrance. "But I can think of something. Do the stone giants want all of the rubble out of the way or just some?" she asked.
"Just enough so they can get into the city," Kyragosa said "No more, no less. Can you do that?"
Vela thought for a few moments and then nodded. "It will take time, but yes, I can do it." she said "I'll have to move parts of the ground around though. Moving the ground itself is one thing, that's part of the earth. But boulders are a little harder to move. They're not part of Azeroth anymore, but they still have a remnant of it in them." she paused, and looked down at the ground around them. "I can move the ground beneath the boulders though," she concluded. "Is that good enough?"
Kyragosa nodded. "Better than what I can do," she said "This is your area of expertise, earth warder. Do whatever you think is best."
"All right then," Vela said "I'll get to it then. When do they want this done?"
Kyragosa shrugged. "They don't have a deadline, they just want it moved." she said "But I would like to get out of Grizzly Hills in two days time, so it would be best if you could get it done in about two hours or so. The sooner, the better."
Vela nodded. "I'll get started then," she said "I should be able to get it done within the hour, but I'm not entirely sure. I've never done this before."
"Take your time, I'd rather be a few days behind schedule than have the city collapse on top of us," Kyragosa said.
"All right, I would stand back if I were you," Vela said "I don't know how this will effect anyone near me,"
Kyragosa obliged and stepped back a few feet. Vela closed her eyes and opened herself to the ground, allowing her to feel the vibrations in the ground. She located the ground beneath the boulders and focused on it. She began to draw out her magic, guiding it out of her core and through her body into the ground. That's when things got tricky.
Now that her magic was out of her body it was harder to control and she had to get it to do what she wanted quickly, otherwise it would disperse into the ground. She put her full attention on the magic and guided it through the ground to the city, where the landslide was. The magic began to spread out, little threads of it shooting out and going into the ground as it got further and further away from her. She focused on it even more, putting all of her concentration on getting it to the landslide.
Once the fiber of magic was in the city she carefully guided it over to the earth beneath the rubble blocking the entrance to the city. Once it was there things were relatively easier. She used her new found powers to send vibrations through the ground, feeling for the weakest spot in the earth. Once she found it she used her powers to thrust the earth upwards, shaping it to her liking. This was a lot harder than she first expected it to be. Shaping little pieces of earth was one thing, but this was a much larger piece of land, and it required more energy and magic.
She forced the earth to move to her will, making it surround the boulders that blocked the entrance. She guided her magic through the earth and forced the land to swallow the boulders. Once the boulders were surrounded she forced the land down, returning it to where it was before.
She opened her eyes and walked into the city, looking for the entrance. She quickly found it and was delighted to see that there was nothing blocking it, though there were a few bumps in the ground in front of it. She sent a few vibrations through the ground and felt the boulders, now surrounded by earth.
Satisfied with her work, she walked out of the city entrance to tell Kyragosa of her success. "How did it go?" The blue wyrm asked as soon as she saw her. "I'm guessing you were able to fix everything up?"
"Yes, the landslide is clear and the entrance is large enough for the Giants to get through." Vela said, a triumphant smile on her face.
"Very well," Kyragosa said "I'll be sure to tell the Giant's leader. After that we should get going." She looked around for a few moments. "Would you mind finding Miri for me?" she asked "We'll have to get going as soon as I tell Kurun of our success."
"Sure," Vela said "She's with the other night elves, right?"
Kyragosa nodded. "Yes, right up on the hill overlooking Thor Modan."
"All right, I'll get to it," Vela said before turning around and heading for the hill Miri was supposed to be at.
After jogging up the mountainside and dodging falling rubble Vela came to the top of the hill overlooking the City of Thor Modan. Oddly enough, the night elves and the few dwarves that went along with them had managed to not only find tents but put them up. Most of the group were still sleeping, but there were a few dwarves out and about and even a few night elves, which was even more surprising since they were generally nocturnal.
She quickly spotted Miri and Tyrisi and trotted over to them. Both of the sisters were talking to each other about who knows what, with friendly smiles on their faces that made Vela even more surprised. She had rarely seen Miri happy, in fact she had only seen it once in the entire time she knew her, and she didn't expect to see it again.
Miri looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Don't you have some rubble to move or something?"
"It was a landslide," Vela corrected "And yes, I did move it. Kyragosa says we need to get going soon, before any mortals come."
Miri sighed. "Yeah, I expected that." she said "I was hoping I would get to see Tyrisi a little longer though," she confessed. "I haven't seen her in over a century or so, after all. Well, I guess I'll get packed up, not like I have much anyway. All of my stuff is back in Dun Argol, if the dwarves didn't destroy it already."
Tyrisi, who had been quietly thinking, piped up. "Where exactly are you headed?" she asked.
Miri shrugged. "Into Dragonblight," she said "I don't know which road we're taking though."
"If you're taking the main road then I can come with you," she said "My sentinels and I will need to escort the dwarves back to the Westfall Brigade Camp, after that we're headed to Amberpine Lodge to regroup and recuperate."
"That would be great," Miri said, grinning. She looked to Vela and said "Ask Kyragosa which road we're using. I have a feeling it's the main road."
Vela nodded. "I have nothing better to do," she said before turning around and heading down he hill.
She skidded down the hill, causing chips of rock to crumble down, and hit the ground with a thud. She immediately began looking around for the blue dragon, realizing quickly that she wasn't in front of Thor Modan anymore. She began walking as she did so, following the streets of Thor Modan.
She found Kyragosa in the middle of the city, surrounded by giants. She was in a deep conversation with what looked to be the head of the giants, and Vela assumed they were talking about the city and the giants keeping their existence secret.
She dodged some of the rubble that was left over from the battle and made her way over to Kyragosa. The Blue wyrm heard her approaching and turned towards her, relaxing slightly as soon as she realized it was only Vela.
"Vela, did you inform Miri?" she asked.
Vela nodded. "Yes, I did." she said "She's getting her stuff ready. But she wants to know what road we'll be taking."
"The main road," Kyragosa said. "Why does she ask?"
"Her sister is going along the main road, and if we were too she wanted to go along with us." Vela quickly explained.
Kyragosa raised an eyebrow. "Miri's sister is alive? I thought she died." The blue wyrm shrugged. "I never thought she would be among the sentinels here, either. What a coincidence." she shook her head. "As long as it doesn't interfere with our travel plans I don't see why she can't come along."
"I'll tell Miri then," Vela said, and she was about to leave before Kyragosa stopped her.
"And be sure to tell her that we will be leaving very soon," Kyragosa called over her shoulder "In thirty minutes if not sooner."
Vela nodded. "I'll be sure to," she said before heading back to the hill.
Kyragosa turned back to the giants and began talking to them once again. Vela quickly trotted over to the hill and ran up it once again, quickly climbing up the rocky hillside. She made it up to the overlook once again, and searched for Miri, who wasn't in her original spot. She looked around and spotted the elf's pony tail disappearing into a nearby tent. She quickly ran over to the tent and pushed through the flap.
Miri was gathering her things, which was only some food and water, and shoving them into a leather backpack. She looked up as soon as Vela came in, still stuffing things into her bag as she did so.
"What'd she say?" she asked.
"We're going along the main road, so Tyrisi can come." Vela said "As long as it doesn't interfere with travel plans," she quickly added. She looked down at the food Miri was packing. "Think you can spare some jerky? I haven't eaten yet, I had to abandon my food to come down here." she said.
"Sure," Miri said before picking up a strip of jerky and throwing it to Vela.
Vela caught it and ripped off a piece of it, smiling as the smoked salty taste of the meat rolled along her tongue. She quickly devoured the rest, not leaving behind a single crumb.
She smiled in delight. "Where did you get this food anyway?" she asked.
"Tyrisi and the others found it in the city. There was plenty to go around, so she-" Miri stopped in mid sentence and snapped her head to the left, her eyes narrowed.
She slowly stood up and walked over to the tent flap, elven ears twitching as she listened for something. She put a hand in front of the tent flap, hesitantly opening it a crack. She took once glance outside and quickly closed the flap, whirling around to face Vela.
"There's another dragon in the camp," she said.
Vela tensed as knots of fear shot down her spine. "How do you know?" she asked, her voice a hushed whisper.
"Night elves can easily tell through a dragon's disguise," she said "There's a 'blood elf' out there wandering around and poking his nose in things. I can practically smell his draconic essence." she explained "A century surrounded by dragons tends to make you more sensitive towards their presence, too."
"What flight?" Vela quickly asked. "Red, green, blue?" Her stomach was in knots, and she feared what Miri's answer would be.
Miri glanced outside again. "Red," she said "Definitely a red dragon."
Adrenaline rushed through Vela's veins, making her feel light and unsteady. This was the worst possible situation she could be in. She might be able to take on a red dragon now that she was more powerful, but where there was one dragon there were more, and she did not want any other dragons, especially not the red dragons, to discover her existence. They would tell their Aspect Alexstrasza, and then she would be in big trouble. The dragon queen might have sacrificed her aspectual powers to kill Deathwing, but she was still immensely powerful. Not to mention she would have the help of the other former aspects, and Vela did not want to go up against them.
"This is really, really bad," Vela said "As soon as I walk out there they'll know I'm a dragon! We can't stay here either, they're bound to be here because of what happened yesterday, and they're going to look around."
"Can't you hide or disguise yourself?" Miri asked.
Vela shook her head. "There's a chance," she said "But I'd have to know how old they are. I might be able to cover up my scent around a drake or a dragon, but not a wyrm." she explained "Let me take a look,"
Miri moved out of the way and Vela walked over to the tent flap, cautiously opening it and looking out. She looked at the male blood elf in the middle of the tents, and realized that she'd seen him before.
Fear rushed through her as she realized just who it was. It was Dalgris.
She let go of the tent flap and quickly stepped back, her eyes wide in fear and her heart racing. Somehow he had managed to catch up with her again. During her time with the Iron dwarves she'd completely forgotten about the Dalgris. She'd forgotten about the dragons that were still after her, and would capture her at any costs. She turned around to face Miri, her breathe caught in her throat.
"I know who it is," she finally said, her voice cold. "That dragon is the one who kept me prisoner for centuries. He knows my scent better than the back of his claw, and he will see through my disguise before you can blink."
"Then what do we do?" Miri asked. "How do we get out of this?"
Vela stood there, thinking back to all the times she'd encountered Dalgris. She thought back to the time he'd come to the carriage, and how she'd barely managed to escape him that time. She was able to cover her scent with the help of Grue and get away. But she didn't have Grue this time, or something strong enough to cover her scent. She looked around the tent, hoping there was something she could use to help her. But there was only Miri, herself, and Miri's backpack.
She looked at Miri with a serious expression and simply said, "I don't know."