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Thanks to dharak for looking over this chapter!

Chapter published 3/16/13

Sargeras

"The time has come," I said to my servants. The dark sky rumbled with lightning. Ialion sat before me on his haunches, blank green eyes staring intently at me, waiting for my order. Kil'jaeden stood at his full size, his hands behind his back. He had his wings out, and wore a replica of the necklace he had lost at the Sunwell so many years ago, amplifying his already notable arcane power. Mephistroth, current leader of the dreadlords, stood with his blue armor, wings folded tightly against his back. All around us, demons and Faceless worked tirelessly to put the final touches on our weapons and machines, keeping a respectful distance from us. It had only been roughly a week since I established an alliance with the Old God, and now it was time. The Twilight's Hammer gets things done when under the direct orders of an Old God, hunted or not.

"Tsa'thannon has sent us the message that, in a few hours, we shall be ready to embark to Azeroth. The defenders of that pitiful world have foiled several of his portal attempts, however. Ironforge, Darnassus, the Exodar, and Silvermoon City will not be accessible to us directly, and neither shall the Searing Gorge. The locations that shall be accessed are the Darkwhisper Gorge, which shall be our staging ground towards the World Tree. Un'goro is also being worked on by the Twilight's Hammer, and the supervolcano can be expected to erupt a few days after we begin our invasion."

I looked around at them. They were still listening intently. "Stormwind, Orgrimmar and Darkspear Isle, Thunder Bluff, Lordaeron and the corresponding Undercity, and Bilgewater Harbor are all ready to be opened to us, as is Ulduar. Mephistroth."

"Yes, Lord Sargeras?"

"You shall take the forces I have given you and lead them along the Eastern Kingdom, ensure that minimal support leaves the cities for the World Tree's defense. Use the cannons I am giving you to siege the enemy, and plan your attacks around the bombardment schedules I have given you. You may delegate any of your subordinates that you wish to carry out the same strategy among the cities that are in Kalimdor. Burn their ships, shatter their air power, destroy their morale. Your goal is not destruction, we can worry about that later. Priority number one is keeping the mortals bottled up. Our satellites report that most of their armies are within their cities, so keeping them immobilized as best we can is our first priority. They will escape eventually, through portals, but they will be forced to leave some behind to defend. Of course, if the opportunity arises, raze everything."

He bowed, a clawed hand crossing his chestplate. "It shall be done, my Lord."

I turned to the Deceiver."Kil'jaeden, I am putting you in charge of the World Tree offensive. Your task is to set up a heavily fortified base and, with the aid of Tsa'thannon, push to destroy Nordrassil as quickly as possible. You shall have fel-reavers, cannons, and a large part of our forces."

I focused my dark gaze on the fel wyrm. "Ialion, you shall come with me to Dragonblight. There, I shall destroy Wyrmrest to demoralize the dragons, and give you your army to command. You have the communication implant, yes?"

He raised a foreleg, showing the black ring inside the bone. "Indeed, Lord Sargeras. I have been practicing with it, and am able to use it with great ease at command."

"Good. Once you have your army, divide power among smaller groups. Then communicate with Mephistroth and Kil'jaeden as to who needs how much aerial support. Most likely, it will be the World Tree offensive that needs the most, since the dragons will defend it with vigor. Comprehend?"

He nodded, green mist undulating around his skull. "Understood, my Lord."

"Excellent. Once I have finished with you, I shall head to Ulduar to lead the army taking it, and once that is done I shall go to the World Tree, provided it is not destroyed. Now, the defenses we have spotted around Mount Hyjal..." We spent the remaining length of our time outlining the specifics we'd learned from our satellites. The current location of the Alliance and Horde aerial fleets, places to fortify, other locations to leave open, so on and so forth. Our armies already knew where to go when the portals opened, and would automatically follow the leadership of my servants when they arrived.

A shivarra tentatively approached me, bowing deeply once I turned around to her. "My Lord, a message has come from the Old God. It is time."

"Then what are you standing here for? GO!"

"Right away," she said, turning around and sprinting towards the portal she was supposed assigned to.

I looked back at my three servants. "You know what to do. Kil'jaeden, Mephistroth, go. Ialion, with me." There was a chorus of three 'As you wish', and then the two of us were alone. I held out my left hand, a vortex of arcane energy materializing briefly and dropping my scepter into my grasp. I spun around in a circle, weaving arcane magic on to it. My jeweled scepter shone with silvery blue light, which expanded in an orb to engulf both the fel wyrm and I. Within moments, the scenery around us changed.

All around us was an endless sheet of ice, farther than even my eyes could see, with a pillar of metal and light far in the distance. The red-hot metal of my body melted the snow beneath me and made steam rise up. Gargantuan bones the size of Ialion's stuck haphazardly out of the ground, with some being picked by vultures. Some of these vultures noticed my arrival and attempted to flee.

I stepped forward and extended my scepter, channeling darkness along it. Shadowy ropes shot outwards, wrapping around the avian creatures and reeling them in, dead by the time they reached me. A sizzling sound made me frown and look at my scepter. It was sparking, white lights shooting off of it. It had damaged it so much just to bring myself and Ialion here? That disgusting orc had ruined it. It would be days before I could use it again. No matter.

I tossed it into the air, once again placing it into a pocket dimension.

"Well then," I said. "Let us begin. Ialion, do not send your forces after Wyrmrest. It shall be rubble soon enough, understand? Take most of them, including yourself, and head to Hyjal to aid Kil'jaeden. Divide power among them as you see fit. Remember how I taught you to raise others?"

"Of course, Lord."

"Use that on any dragons you kill. Every one of them that falls shall bolster your forces. And now..."

I raised Gorribal into the air, channeling vast amounts of fel energy, the huge amounts of magic heating up my iron vrykul body even more. I let the spell fly, ribbons of fel magic extending in all directions, seeping into the snow and ice below us.

The ground heaved and shook. The bones around us and below us began to change their form, moving and shifting and cracking. One very large group of bones, however, refused to move no matter how much energy I channeled. Very well. Once I have my true power, that giant dragon too shall serve me. Perhaps even replace Ialion, depending on how much intelligence it retains.

A dozen at a time, the ice-covered snow burst upwards. Bony claws gripped the surface, leaving long gashes. Green wings reached to the sky. Roars of anguish and victory filled the air as I rapidly broke each one of them to my will. It only took a few minutes, but before long there was an army of thousands of fel-wyrms encircling me, choking mist spilling from their bodies and across the shattered and cratered snowy wasteland. I telepathically reached out to them.

'You shall follow Ialion to wherever he may tell you! You answer only to Ialion and I, and other leaders he may appoint within your ranks.' I turned my telepathy towards Ialion. 'Now, go! Lead them across to sea!'

"It shall be done, my Lord." He must've sent a telepathic command across to the assorted wyrms, because they took to the air with roars. The flapping of wings filled the air, wind buffeting me from all directions without effect as the aerial army left, flying full speed towards Hyjal.

I looked after them until they were gone. Then I let the pain I'd been holding back show through. I knelt, groaning. That spell hadn't been good to me. Channeling such high magic through such a weak body had heated me up dramatically, and the icy cold caused me intense thermal shock. It was painful, but as I cooled back down the pain diminished to an insignificant ache throughout my body. This place was too cold. I'd better change that.

I spun around with Gorribal in a circle, the flames along it leaving a fiery ring around me. I envisioned the flames being grabbed by an invisible hand and forming a field of scorching heat around me, and the vision became reality, melting the snow around me and increasing the ambient temperature. I spotted Wyrmrest, and sprinted there as fast as I could. With my titanic strength channeled through an iron vrykul, it was quick. My powerful legs propelled me at high speed towards the spire of disgusting light and hope and order. Patrol dragons and drakes filled the air, but it was easy to send felfire pyroblasts at each of them, the fireballs impacting with unerring accuracy. One shot, one kill, none to go back and report. Not like it would matter soon anyway.

I stopped outside of Wyrmrest. The draconic defenders were already mobilizing. Red, green, purple, blue and bronze drakonids and dragonspawn rushed at me from their patrols, and drakes of all colors filled the sky above me. I paid them no mind as I planted Gorribal into the snow beside me, the flames along it melting a puddle around the shattered sword. I relaxed myself and looked down to my right. I curled my right hand towards me, a shimmering orb of black in it, closing as I clenched a fist. I took a step back and thrust my right hand out, unleashing hell.

A gaping black vortex opened in my palm, exerting an inescapable gravitational field before me. Snow crumbled, rising and falling into the black hole in heavy chunks, leaving me and Gorribal before a great cliff, my force of will directing where the gravity acted. The fire keeping me warmed was pulled in almost immediately. The attacks fired by the incoming dragons all veered off course, absorbed harmlessly by the event horizon. Wyrmrest began to groan in stress, air forming visible belts as it flowed into the black hole to be lost forever, the occasional flash of dim red light along the black hole indicating the last cry of a piece of matter.

Dragons fell in, caught by the intense gravity. They screamed in pain as they neared the event horizon, the rapidly scaling gravity tearing their bodies to bloody shreds before they fell into the singularity's grasp. Some tried to fly away. Most of them were already too close and fell in despite their best efforts, but a few managed to go away, heading for the top of Wyrmrest.

The first pieces of the Temple began to fall off, Wyrmrest Temple falling to pieces under the sustained assault of my cosmic spell. No more dragons were coming my way, they were instead fleeing. The purple and dark blue ones were making them vanish into thin air. One of them, with a shredded left wing, ran along the ground for a few seconds before vanishing as well. Were those the twilight dragons, showing me their control over this realm they had? Curious.

The Temple was absolutely falling apart by the time the Dragonqueen herself made her appearance. Her ruby form twisted in the air, fighting desperately against the air currents. She craned her neck back to catch my gaze, ember-filled eyes meeting space-black eyes, before she too vanished into thin air.

I sustained the black hole for a few more minutes, Wymrest continuing to crumble with a deafening clamor, like thousands of bones being broken all at once. Slowly at first, but building up, until finally it crumbled to entropy and was swallowed by the event horizon, never to be seen again. I stopped the spell and pulled Gorribal out of the ice, grasping its hilt tightly. I growled in pain as the effects of the spell took hold of my, my body yellow-hot. There was actually a crack in my body, a narrow severing in my right shoulder. I pointed my left index finger at it and fired a narrow jet of flame, telekinetically pushing the metal back together, welding it back into working order. I had to get out of this cold, but not before ensuring victory at Ulduar. That was paramount. Eventually, the pain faded, my color turning back to red, and I examined the destruction I'd wrought. I couldn't help the malevolent smile that graced my features.

The ice of Dragonblight had been carved out, forming a massive chasm before me, almost perfectly smooth due to the roughly uniform effects of gravity. The few clouds that had been in the air were disrupted, forming rings above me. The Path of the Titans was torn and crumpled, barely recognizable anymore. Wyrmrest was almost entirely gone, however a bottom layer still existed. It was a vast chamber, dwarfing even Alexstrasza with its radius, and if I remembered the architecture the Pantheon liked to make when ordering worlds, it would have been a meeting ground for the Aspects, or something along those lines.

I tensed my legs and leaped forward. With a flick of my will gravity's hold on me lessened, allowing me to float into the middle of the chamber easily. It was in utter disrepair, much to my delight, metal fragments and crushed drakes littering the area. The five portals around the area had been untouched.

I walked up towards a green drake, who's rasping breath let me know he still lived. He turned his head towards me, but that was all he could do, buried under rubble as he was. Even though his eyes were closed, he seemed to notice me. "W-wait - "

I shot a shadow bolt at him from my left hand, instantly killing the drake. I went around, killing any survivors left, before levitating the debris off them and moving it away. Then I raised Gorribal to the sky and channeled fel lightning into them, dissolving their flesh and will. That done, I sent the fel-drakes in the direction Ialion had taken his army.

I looked at the five portals. One was a swirling ruby vortex, another azure, then emerald, amber, and lastly amethyst.

I walked towards the ruby one, and pondered. It was curious how the dragons had abandoned their holiest of places without so much as even trying to fight me once I created the black hole. Did they know who I was? Possible, they had long memories. So did they simply recognize it as hopeless, seeing the intense power I held? Good. The more I demoralized them, the better. Still, it was a double-edged sword. On one hand, I could make them think 'We lost Wyrmrest, what hope do we have?'. However, there was also the chance for them to think 'For Wyrmrest!'. Possibly both, varying from member to member. Still, my display of power, however self-destructive in this freezing wasteland, was likely to shift their moral to the former possibility, rather than the latter.

Once inside the portal, the scenery changed. I was outside, standing on a plain of green grass. Red-leaved trees and flowers of all kinds dotted the area. Spiky red eggs were laid in clutches to the sides, with dragonspawn tending to them. The grass around me immediately caught fire.

Ah, now I understood. The Sanctums were secure places to store eggs, among other things. Probably for very important eggs, such as the children of Aspects. If I knew my organic genetics correctly, the children of Aspects would be more powerful than other dragons. Best to put them down quickly. The dragonspawn too.

I charged forward, the nearest group of dragonspawn turning around to see me. I was upon them in a moment, slashing and casting, effortlessly shrugging off their attacks. I tried to raise the dragonspawn, but their skeletons simply turned to dust. I made my way to the middle of the Sanctum and channeled a massive fire nova. The radial blast of flame cut through the eggs smoothly, destroying the whelplings within. They to were unable to be animated. I left the Sanctum in flames, leaving the pocket dimension and turning around. I sliced Gorribal at the portal frame, destroying it.

I repeated the same with the remaining four Sanctums as quickly as I reasonably could. While destroying the portal frames themselves would annihilate the pocket dimensions, and all within them, it would be prudent to see if there was anything within I could use to my advantage.

The Emerald Sanctum was very similar to the Ruby Sanctum. However, there was a green mist hanging in the air, and simply being in the region made a slight sense of drowsiness tug at the back of my mind. It was easily defeated, as were the eggs and dragonspawn, but for lesser invaders it might've been a powerful deterrent. Nothing of value.

The Azure Sanctum was far different from the previous two. The ground was covered in snow, arcane crystals jutting from the ground in the place of trees, crackling with might. They almost instantly began to batter me relentlessly with arcane missiles, forcing me to reach my magic into them and reprogram them to be inert. It let the dragonspawn defenders score a few hits on me, to no effect. Needless to say, embedding them with explosives seeds of corruption made short work of them. Surprisingly enough, there were actual whelps there, not just eggs, along with the bones of animals they must've eaten. Groups of tiny blue things that attacked me with desperate ferocity in a single mass group of a hundred. A few of them tried to bite me with their fangs or slice me with their claws, while others blasted me with arcane missiles and frostbolts. They succeeded in nothing, rewarded with a singe from my red-hot skin when they got too close. I swept Gorribal through the air, rending them to pieces easily with delightful shrieks of pain and agony. In seconds, there was nothing left of them but body parts and blood.

I snapped some of the arcane crystals off and sealed them in the same pocket dimension I kept my jeweled scepter in. I would have taken them all, but at my current strength I could not store enough in an alternate realm. But the ones I had with me would be very useful. Later.

Three down, two to go. The Amber Sanctum was a desert wasteland, much to my delight, with a sky that undulated many different colors. Red, green, black, white, bronze. I growled, the heat of my feet glassing the sand. This realm stank of my brother's power. I took great delight in dismembering the dragonspawn there with my flaming half-a-sword and telekinetically ripping the whelplings to pieces within their own shells. All in all, though, there was nothing useful there besides an annoying slowing defensive mechanism that had little to no hold on me. And I would never stoop to using my brother's power.

The last sanctum was covered in dark purple stone. Torches alight with dark blue fire provided the only illumination besides me, my red glow cutting sharply through the gloom. There was no defensive mechanism here, nor did I see anything particularly useful. The dragonspawn I took care of by lifting them into the air with my mind and tossing them so high up that when they fell back down from the black sky, they left indiscreet marks on the stone floor. There were also animal bones, and whelplings that had eaten them. Dark blue fire peppered my shadow-reinforced skin. It was... strange magic. It had the heat of fire, but chilled to the touch. The telltale mark of shadow power, but a little... different in a manner I could not put my finger on.

Of course, that didn't stop me. I grabbed them and crushed their throats, released shadow bolt volleys that overwhelmed their -admittedly- impressive shadow resistance with brute force. I stabbed my sword forward, slicing several of them in half with one stroke, dismembering and maiming the others, grounding them without their wings. I left the final Sanctum and shattered it behind me. That was done.

I looked out at Dragonblight from where I stood in the chasm I'd carved with my black hole. There were surely more skeletons for me to raise and send after Ialion, however I couldn't go out of my way to get them all; I had somewhere to be. Still, I'd ressurect all that were in my path.

'Mephistroth, how fares your situation?'

'Excellent, my Lord. The signal for bombardments has been sent, and we shall begin the first fel-cannon barrages on the cities in a few minutes.'

'Keep me posted.' I changed the direction of my thoughts. 'Kil'jaeden, what is the situation at Hyjal?'

'Escalating rapidly, the guardian night elves here have already staged a failed assault on us. The secondary fortifications are going up as we speak. We will be impenetrable within minutes, thanks in large part to the Twilight's Hammer.'

'Good.' I changed to Ialion. 'And you?'

'We are currently above the open ocean, my Lord. Nothing to report. Shall I inform you the moment we reach land, or when we reach Kil'jaeden?'

'The former.' I changed my thoughts again, this time seeking something much more hidden. A massive, massive body far beneath the earth, almost at the planet's mantle, hidden beneath the Undercity. 'Tsa'thannon, anything you wish to share?'

'What's there to share that your minions haven't already?' I bristled. He'd been listening in. How dare he! 'Well it's in my best interests to know what how my allies are doing. You might want to shield your thoughts, by the way. It doesn't take an Old God to read them as it stands now.'

'Noted.' I raised my left hand to my head and wove the magic, blocking any invasive telepathy. 'Done.'

'Splendid. Anyhow, there is some bad news. I have been unable to persuade the naga to fight for me. They do not sound keen to fight against us, but we can not count on them; I doubt I shall break them before this war ends. On the other tentacle, things seem to be going well everywhere else. I shall do my best to mentally wear down the dragons.' Tsa'thannon's voice turned bitter. 'Especially that traitor.'

'Excellent. I hope to see you freed soon, Tsa'thannon.'

'And I hope you see you in your true form once more, Sargeras.' The link went silent, and I turned my way towards the northeast, towards the Storm Peaks. Towards Ulduar.

I had somewhere to be.

Verthelion

"Wyrmrest is... gone?" I asked in surprise. Alexstrasza nodded, sitting in her true form before me. We were sitting outside Grim Batol. Beside her were Kalecgos, Ysera, and Nozdormu as well, each of them fiddling with their claws nervously, save for the Timeless One, who seemed as unfazed as ever.

"Yes, it is," said my queen.

"Define 'gone'," I repeated.

"Obliterated. Absorbed by a tear in reality, so that it now ceases to exist. So many of us died," she said. "We barely got away. From what you've told us, it sounds like Sargeras has arrived upon this world."

I sucked in a breath. "Already? But, there's no signs of any other demonic invasion. He would've needed some sort of portal at first, wouldn't he? Not as big as the Well of Eternity, he's not in his true form, but still!"

"Apparently he's found a way," Kalecgos said. Wyrmrest has fallen. And..." He looked down, something glistening in his eye. The other Aspects all dipped their heads in mourning. "And so did the Sanctums."

My heart clenched and twisted painfully in my chest. "The... the broods there. Selriona..."

"She got away, but our clutches are... are lost," Nozdormu said.

"But, couldn't you have brought them with you?" I asked, turning to Alexstrasza.

A pained expression crossed her fangs. "There wasn't time," she said lowly. "By the time we realized just what was happening, it was too late. The tug of that spell was... tremendous. I barely got away myself. I am sorry, Verthelion."

I closed my eyes, my form shifting haphazardly between the physical plane and the twilight realm. After a few moments I got control over myself. "It's started, then. It's started." I let out a deep breath. "Come with me to Grim Batol. We'll armor up and then go... go where?" I couldn't help but shout at myself mentally. Stupid, stupid, stupid! This is the sort of thing we're supposed to stop from taking place! Now look what's happening!

Ysera answered me, her shifting eyes shimmering more than usual. "Hyjal is under heavy assault. The Guardians of Hyjal have requested desperate aid, from both us, and the Horde, Alliance, Earthen Ring, just about anyone."

I grounded, rubbing my neck with a wing talon. "Anywhere else that's being attacked?"

"Several of the Alliance and Horde capital cities, so far as we know. The Earthen Ring has also said that the earth and fire elementals are extremely frustrated."

"When was this?" I asked, somewhat annoyed, hiding my sorrow. My brood, lost. All gone... "Why was I not informed right away?"

"We did not call the meeting," Kalecgos said. "Alexstrasza was about to go get you when they found us, and the Liberality Confederacy, and told us of the situation. We had to let them, this is too important to stall. Now you know too."

I groaned. "Alright, well, come on in," I said, turning around. "Let's get our armor on." I took to the air, the other Aspects behind me, and entered Grim Batol. We had to use mortal forms there, else our size would be too much to maneuver safely. As we passed, members of my Flight dropped to their forelegs in respect for the five Aspects passing through. After a few minutes of leading them through corridors that were as convoluted as my thoughts, we found ourselves in what had been dubbed by myself and the dragonspawn who often used it as the Armory.

It was a large chamber, more than large enough for one Aspect at a time. It was divided in three main 'sections'. The raw materials we'd scavenged from Grim Batol when we took it so many centuries ago formed the first section, to our right. Iron, Steel, Adamantine, Elementium, weapons melted down for their raw metal, had all been piled in large groups to the right of the room, covering the pedestals where there had once been dwarven statues. It had been a very unorganized cluster, but now it was empty, the spare metals we had after armor and claw sheathes were taken care of given to the mortals for their military efforts.

The second section was before us; the forge. It used the lava spouts the dwarves had installed in Grim Batol, though I had next to no understanding of how it actually worked. Still, it let us produce all the items in the last section, neatly organized to our left. Hundreds of claw sheathes were lined up in rows, cornucopias of metal with spikes that could dig into our claws to secure them. They were painful to put on and take off, but the holes in our claws healed quickly. Next to them were stacks upon stacks of enormous metal plates, which came in several colors. Almost all our elementium had gone into making them; it was a tough metal by all accounts, surpassing even saronite in its durability and flexibility. It also didn't drive you insane, which was a major plus.

I looked over at the dragonspawn general who ran the forge, who had dropped to his forelegs upon seeing me enter. "Aspects, I am humbled. What brings you to the Armory?"

"It's time, Irolion." Nozdormu cleared his throat lightly. "We need our armor on."

His yellow eyes flickered, the slit pupils turning thinner. "So... it's happening then, is it?"

I frowned. "Yes, it is. Go and find anyone else needed to place our armor on, and bring them here right away. Send the call for Emergency Protocol... what was it... ah yes, BLI-1."

"That bad, Aspect?"

"Sargeras himself walks this world," I said. "I'll fill in the details later, but go!"

He nodded. "Yes, of course." Then he faded into the twilight realm, using its empowering aura to hasten himself.

I sighed, looking at the four other Flight leaders next to me, waiting anxiously. Even Nozdormu looked slightly worried. "And now, we wait. Don't worry, he'll be quick. BLI-1 is the plan for Burning Legion Invasion danger level 1, the highest. No messing around if that's called."

Kalecgos nodded, the arcane light in his eyes flickering on and off haphazardly now and then. Sleep deprivation. What was causing that? "Good, good. When we're done here, I'll go back to the Nexus and have the banishing crystals and banishing weapons moved to Hyjal as well."

Before too long, several dragonspawn and a few drakes arrived, Irolion with them. I turned to Alexstasza. "Would you like to go first, my queen?"

For a moment she hesitated, and I flinched. Residual mistrust? Fear of a trap? But she smiled warmly and nodded. "Yes, thank you," she said, stepping forward. The others before us went to the piles of armor and began to fish out the ones colored a brilliant red, applying them to the Dragonqueen one at a time. They weren't completely like the ones Neltharion had worn. They didn't need to be bolted into our flesh, or applied while they were still red-hot. They were linked together as well, almost like puzzle-pieces, to make tearing them off exceptionally difficult, but still provided incredible protection. The dragonspawn and drakes worked together, applying the armor one at a time to Alexstasza. We weren't idle this time, however. We teleported around, telling our Flights of what was to happen, rotating between who was being armored. I sent messengers through to watcher's whose positions I knew of. I was about to track down Selriona and ask her to tell her mortal friend of the situation when Ysera arrived.

She was covered in green-painted armor horns to tail, barely letting me see even her iridescent eyes. Her tail-club was deadlier now, the armored club having very large, very sharp spikes that far exceeded the natural barbs in lethality. Her claws were sharper, her horns razored. The only parts of her body not armored were her eyes and her wing membranes. The wing bones had been armored, however.

"Verthelion, your forgemaster respectfully asked me to send you for armoring."

I nodded. "Thank you, Ysera. I'll go at once." Our forms began to shimmer and swap. While I expanded to my true form, Ysera's contracted to her mortal form. It had changed. Gone was the flowing green cape, and the mail armor. Gone was her emerald hair and skin. She was now essentially a walking metal-elf, covered from retained horns to toes in green armor, which also made her fingers clawed.

She sighed. "It makes flight... difficult."

I sighed. "Yeah, we'll have to get used to that." I took to the air and headed towards the Armory. Before too long, I was inside.

The drakes and dragonspawn were already preparing my armor. Kalecgos and Nozdormu's color-coded armor still resided off to the side, but the purple plates of mine were already being brought out.

"Alright," I told them. "Let's get this done. We need to hurry."

Slowly, they swarmed over me, fastening armor and tightening plates. They started at my tail, fastening the club-plate, slowly but steadily working their way up my tail, then my stomach, my legs, claws. At several points Irolion asked me to stand, or lower myself to the ground, move a recently armored limb, to aid with getting the armor on and to test the armor already on, tightening where it was needed. They worked their way over my back, up and down my wings. My flanks, my neck, my crest, and finally my head and horns were finished.

"Excellent," Irolion said from before me. I flexed my forelegs, lifting one up and twisting the paw around. It felt strange, unruly. Even breathing in and out took slightly more effort. But I was an Aspect; what was a bit of extra weight? "Can you breathe a little fire?"

I opened my maw, which took an unusual amount of effort. I brought flames into my crop and exhaled a tiny fireball. While it was still in the air I willed its energy to disperse into nothingness.

"Good, good. Everything seems to be working. Shall I send a messenger to the Spellweaver, or will you go yourself?"

"Send a messenger," I said, looking down at him. There was a shadow of black around the edges of my vision, the armor around my eyes close to restricting my vision. They didn't quite obscure my sight, but they came very, very close. A necessary sacrifice. "I will start preparing the rest of our Flight for war."

"Of course, Aspect. Shorliona!"

A dragonspawn appeared next to him. "Yes, Irolion?" she asked, tugging on her cowl.

He wove together some arcane magic and, after a few seconds, opened a portal to the home of the Blue Dragonflight. "Go through and tell the Spellweaver our Aspect says its his turn for armor. Be quick about it!"

She nodded, turning to the portal. "Right away." She went through, and vanished. I also turned around and left the Armory. I had to contract to my mortal form to get through the corridors, however.

Just like Ysera and Neltharion before us, my armor shrunk to fit my mortal form. The helm was a jagged thing of purple elementium, with a single eye-slit. All along my body was metal plating, encasing me entirely. It felt even more awkward than the armor in my true form. How did mortal warriors wear this stuff? It was so... stiff and flimsy. This couldn't actually protect us, could it?

No, I told myself. It was made of elementium. I'd tested the metal myself; it held firm against my blasts. Neltharion's elementium armor protected him against the fury of four Aspects. It would work. It had to work. There wasn't another option.

I found Selriona near one of the lower platforms, sitting on her haunches, looking down at the pool of magma below us. Her wings were tight against her back, the shredded one letting me see through the her thick back-scales. Her breathing was heavier than usual.

"Hey," I said, sitting down next to her with a metallic thump. "It's time."

She nodded. "I heard." Her claws tightened on the stone, carving gashes. "Our brood, all gone. Our entire brood, only a few days old..."

I squeezed my eyes tightly. "I - I know. Sargeras himself was there. What was it like?"

"It was... horrible. There was a shout that we were under attack. I wasn't in the Sanctum at the moment, I was just returning from a magnataur hunt. But before I could go outside I saw through the door. I didn't even see Sargeras. There was just this... this huge black void in the air, pulling in everything. Even the air, me with it. And the dragons who got pulled too close were just..." She took a deep breath. "They were just torn apart. There wasn't any time to rescue the whelplings! We barely got away as it is, by the time we realized what was going on - "

"You don't have to defend yourself," I said through a tight throat. "Sargeras would've gotten you anyway if you'd taken the extra time."

"Yes, he would've," she hissed. Twilight fire began to illuminate her claws. "I swear on Aman'thul's name I am going to kill him. I'm going to rip that vrykul body to shreds, tear his soul out with my fangs and kill him!" Something dripped into the magma below and vaporized. From both of us.

"Don't do anything rash, please. You already make me think you're dead often enough! Don't make it a reality by attacking Sargeras himself."

She nodded, shaking her head and steadying her breathing. "You're right. We need a plan. What is it?"

"We Aspects are armoring up. After that, we're distributing the sheathes. I need to talk to you about your Dragonsworn, our eldest member."

She nodded, looking up at me curiously. "Yes, what about her?"

"She's in..." I wracked my memory. "The Storm Peaks, right?"

"Right...?"

"I need her to check on Ulduar. The Legion is attacking from many places at once, and Sargeras possessed an iron vrykul. There are a lot worse things in Ulduar. He might make a move to possess one of those constructs, and then where would we be? Have her check on Ulduar, then come to Hyjal to aid in the defense."

"Right." She grinned. "Anything to screw with the Burning Legion." She closed her eyes, probably communicating. After a few minutes, her grip on the stone relaxing, she opened them again. "Alright, she's on her way. Apparently, her mate's choosing to follow her as well. So, should I go for the claw sheathes?"

I shook my head. "No, not quite yet. Wait until Nozdormu and Kalecgos finish before going. For now, spread the word, help tell anyone still out in the field to return here immediately."

"Of course, Verthelion. BLI-1."

"BLI-1," I repeated gloomily. She got back on her paws and turned around, walking up the ramps and stairs. I looked after her for a moment, watching her tail-club drag along the ground, until she vanished from sight.

I looked down and sighed, a headache rapidly developing. "What are we gonna do?"

Nothing to do, nothing to live for, said a faint voice at the back of my mind. I perked up for a moment, before deflating.

"Oh no."

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