Disclaimer:I do not own Warcraft or its sequels. Blizzard does.
Like always, huge, HUGE thanks to my beta, Dusty the Umbravita.
Selriona
I groaned, opened my eyes, and took in the scene. My head rested in Verthelion's human arms, and my internal clock told me I'd been unconscious for roughly a half minute. Rain fell onto the island, but it was closer to a drizzle than a downpour. The sound of pounding waves reached my ears, as did the massive rumble of the Maelstrom, hidden from view. Red blood covered the ground. Wasn't it supposed to be orange and glowing, like lava?
Go'el lay still on the ground, a Blood Elf fanning air onto him in attempts to awaken him. The corpses of Faceless were sprinkled on the island, and mortals were scattered around the Earthbinder, kneeling as they took in deep, gasping breaths. Infront of us all laid the Destroyer, Deathwing. He armor was shattered, some sparks of electricity still jumping between them. His obsidian scales were tinted red with his blood, limp tentacles hanging down from patches of it, dark blue fire burning along most of his body, his eyes turned from their blazing red to a gentle, but pain-filled, brown. Enormous elementium plates lay scattered around the island, scorched by the lightning storm.
The other Aspects had assumed their true forms, now that Deathwing's form restriction aura had fallen. They gathered around Deathwing, looking down at their fallen brother as he lay at the Lifebinder's claws. He took shaking, gasping breaths as blood flowed freely from the wound in his flank, the wound that pierced his heart. No more fire radiated from him. The black lightning that held him together had vanished, yet he did not fall apart.
"Alexstrasza...", he said, his voice low and strained.
"It is over now. Your reign of terror has come to an end... Deathwing." I noticed it was the first time she had ever said 'Deathwing', not Neltharion.
"No. Not Deathwing. Not anymore. In these final moments, I am Neltharion." He let out a cough, blood coming out of his mouth, and more out of his wound.
Alexstrasza's eyes widened. "Neltharion... is it truly you? How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"What would be the point in lying? I am dying."
"All this time, all this time," Ysera mumbled. "We could have saved you? You were not behind Deathwing's actions?"
A wet cough. "No. There was no saving. Deathwing and I were never separate entities. Just him, the portion of my mind that went mad, and Neltharion, the portion that remained sane. The portion he had chained in the twilight realm as soon as he could." He coughed again, more blood coming out. "There was never any possession. Everything I have done, I am accountable for."
Kalecgos spoke, narrowing his eyes. "You've unleashed unspeakable atrocities, both on this world and on our Flights. If you feel you are accountable for all this..."
"I deserve to die. I realize this." All other activity seemed to have ceased; nothing existed but Deathwing's - no, Neltharion's final words to the Aspects. "In my final moments of life, I just want to say..." He looked up at Alexstrasza. "I am deeply sorry. For everything I have done. None of you deserved what I have put you through."
The Dragonqueen shook her head. "Neltharion... the things you have done..." She hesitated, then sighed. "Were done under the influence of the Old Gods." She stepped forward, placing a foreleg on one of Neltharion's own, lowering her head to look at him in the eye. "You were Neltharion for far longer than you were Deathwing. As the memory of your war fades, I will see to it you are remembered as the former."
He nodded, returning her gaze. "The things I have done can not be pardoned. I have defied the will of the Titans, slaughtered anyone not of my Flight. I have unwittingly allied with those we are sworn to contain, and brought you - all of - anguish through your children, stolen for experimenting." He gave out another bloody cough.
The Blue Aspect shook his head. "I have never known you as Neltharion, only as the one who nearly drove our Flight to extinction. But I have heard of how you were before. If this is truly you, then..."
The four Aspects standing around the one dying Aspect looked at each other for a moment, and an understanding seemed to pass between them. My Queen spoke as Neltharion's breathing began to slow. "After all you have done, all that you feel regret for, dear brother. We forgive you. For everything." A dull roll of thunder echoed throughout the scene.
The Black Aspect took a shaky breath, speaking in a softer voice as his life seeped out of him. "H-how? How can you forgive such... atrocities?"
This time, it was the Timeless one who answered, still of short breath from his injury. "Because all this time, no matter how much it was your own decision to do the things you did, you would never in all of history have done them without the influence of the Old Gods. What you did can not be blamed on you, even if it was your own choice."
Deathwing nodded weakly, looking at Nozdormu, then to Ysera, then Kalecgos, and finally to our queen. "What will... what will you do? Now that my madness has ended?"
Alexstrasza frowned, silent for a moment as if deep in thought. "Could we not heal you? You are your old self again. Things can be set right."
Deathwing - Neltharion, I have to remember that - barely shook his head. "No. I can never protect Azeroth. Not again. Even, even if you were to heal me, the fiends beneath the earth would simply turn me against you again. That was the folly of the Titans, to have me ward over the place where their greatest threats could influence me. My madness has spread to the rest of my Flight. Any that may remain in hiding can not be saved... they will serve the Old Gods to their dying breaths. What will you do?"
"We will contain the horrors unleashed," said the Green Aspect. "We will heal the scars of Azeroth's surface, drive the Twilight's Hammer into hiding, for they are too widely spread to ever be truly wiped out, and do what we have always done. Protect this world."
Neltharion didn't nod. He'd lost too much blood for that, and his voice was barely a whisper. "Then it is... my time. When I face my punishment... I'll always remember the times before. I'll be in peace, knowing this world is free from my... tyranny."
Alexstrasza nodded, standing up. "Then go knowing that we forgive you, and that we shall give you a burial in Dragonblight, with the honored ancients of our kind."
He didn't answer. Instead he simply looked up at the Red Aspect, and continued to do so until his brown eyes closed.
The twilight flame along his scales went out, and his head fell limply to the ground. A black-as-coal crystal rose out of his chest, hovering in the air until Kalecgos pulled it in telekinetically, a blue glow surrounding it as he did.
Neltharion stopped breathing.
For a moment all was silent. The ocean held its breath. The thunderclouds froze in place. Then the Lifebinder spoke, her voice low and sad, looking up at us. "Neltharion deserves a proper burial in the Dragonblight. That is one thing we will not deny him. We will return once we are done for the aftermath of Neltharion's madness." Without word, the Aspect of magic stepped forward, placing a foreleg on Neltharion's wing. The others all lightly touched the Black Aspect as a violet and silver glow engulfed him. The spell flared out, and all five Aspects vanished, gone to place the Black Aspect in Dragonblight.
The Cataclysm was over.
As Verthelion and I sat in our true forms, waiting both for Go'el to awaken and for the Aspects to return, we lashed our tails slowly behind us. The clubs touched occasionally, sending a light jar up my tail. The Kingslayers, having given everything to the final battle, were spent, and sat around a makeshift campfire made of conjured wood in a spot where they cleared away Neltharion's now-untainted blood. The Old God stopped sending tentacles and Faceless ones to attack us; it knew that it had lost. Go'el was placed next to the fire as their druids healed him and poured medicine into him. The others just sat around, silently, staring into the campfire. Were they contemplating our strange alliance? Thinking of loved ones lost to the Cataclysm or other threats that had befallen Azeroth? Were they wondering what came next? I thought of the latter.
Come to think of it, we stared into the fire as well. At least until I heard steps behind me.
Verthelion and I both turned around at the same time to see a black dragon walking towards us. His scales were covered in a thick black film, and the fluid on the sides of his head periodically flew off in chunks as tusks repeatedly flared out. "Did you know," Pallasion started, making all the conscious mortals turn their heads to him. "That the blood of the Faceless, in large quantities," he stumbled as he said this, letting me catch sight of the limp in his right hind leg. "Tastes remarkably similar to the brain of a raptor?" With that, he spat another glob of black fluid onto the ground. He shook his head, sending the blood flying off and revealing the deep indigo scales beneath.
Verthelion smiled. "Nice to have you with us. What took so long?"
He raised his tail and swung it through the air, cleaning it off. "Well, the Faceless stopped coming when I heard Deathwing die, and I took my time coming back, what with my leg and all." He gasped in false shock, placing a foreleg to his chest after he sat down. "You mean, you didn't bother to check and see if I was fine?" He flared his wings, partially cleaning them. "I'm insulted!" He turned away his head, but couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Where are the Aspects?" he asked suddenly, narrowing his pupils and looking back at us.
I sighed, remembering how Deathwing had become his uncorrupted self. "In Dragonblight, burying Neltharion. They'll be back once they're done," Verthelion said for me.
He turned his head to the side, extending a single rear tusk in the place of a raised eyebrow. "Neltharion? I thought he called himself - "
"Neltharion," Verthelion asserted forcefully. Looking back, I saw that the Liberality Confederacy had turned away from our conversation, returning to their own private worlds.
"Okay. So, what comes next? Deathwing has fallen, the world is saved... now what?"
Verthelion shook his head. "I don't know. The Aspects, when they return, will undoubtedly have some things to say to us. All of us. I guess we'll find out then. Until then, well, we wait."
I sighed. "It's finally over."
My mate nodded as Pallasion continued to clean himself. "It is. We teamed up with the other Dragonflights, the Kingslayers, came to Deathwing, boom boom, world's saved - "
"Stag's on us," I said with a smile, remembering the conversation I had with Fuluthlion about Algalon what seemed like an eternity ago, while I was still a whelp.
Verthelion chuckled. "Stag's on us," he echoed. I looked back at the campfire, sinking into my thoughts for a while before I noticed one of the mortals moving. Ellemayne got up, carrying both her bow and Thori'dal away, leaving the others behind, walking to the shoreline, where the waves had been dramatically reduced in power. She sat down on the sand, looking out to sea at the Maelstrom. Wordlessly, I got up and walked over to her, making a circle around the campfire and retracting to my mortal form next to the kaldorei.
"Hey." She looked up at me. "Mind if I sit?"
She shook her head. "No, I guess." I sat. "What are you doing here?"
I traced lines in the sand. "I wanted to talk with you. You do remember me, right? From Hyjal?"
She looked at me, moving Thori'dal from her lap to the sand next to her, away from me. "Yes, I do. My future self..."
"Saved my life, and as a result, the life of my mate."
"You were a drake back then."
I chuckled. "Yes, so I was." I picked up a peddle and tossed it at the whirling, seething torrent. It landed a few dozen meters out with a splunk. "I obviously grew up since. Just wondering, how are you? When your future self met Rom, he asked why she had Thori'dal. You kind of snapped at him." I stopped tracing lines in the sand and moved my hands into my lap.
Ellemayne began tracing her own lines absentmindedly over my own. "I imagine I did. We're all like family to each other. I can't help but feel like I've stolen from him." She snapped her eyes to my own. "What was that whole deal about, anyway? You and the Bronze?"
I shivered at the memories. "The Infinite had been after me for a while, since I lived in Stormwind. In Elwynn forest, I almost got killed by the Epoch Hunter. When I got to Hyjal to save Verthelion from Ysera, one of their drakes slowed me down so that he died before I could knock him out of the way of Ysera's poison breath." My eyes started to warm at the memory of that specific encounter. Ellemayne stopped tracing; her lines overlapping with mine produced a vague outline of the island we were on. "Chronormu took me to the Caverns of Time so that I could fix the damage. As you saw, I wasn't alone."
"My future self. I didn't wonder why I had Thori'dal, not after she told me who she was. I just didn't think anything of it." She leaned over, gently rubbing the bow's orange frame. "Rom died because of Deathwing. Our occupation is a dangerous one. The only reason none of us died to Arthas was because of Terenas and Tirion." I didn't question her about them. "I'm amazed we lost as few as we did to the Worldbreaker." She turned to me. "What will your mate's group do now? Now that Deathwing has fallen? What will you do? Where will you go?"
I shook my head. "To be honest, I don't know. The world is saved. The Hour of Twilight is averted, I can see that much in how the storm is quieting and the sea is calming. I imagine that when the Aspects return they will have something to say to us."
She nodded while she pressed her lips together. "Most likely. Besides you, the only members of your Flight I have ever seen hated all mortals with a burning passion. What makes you different?" I flinched lightly, remembering how many of my kind she must've killed.
"I wasn't different. We're all fooled into thinking you're the evil ones, and Deathwing is - I mean, was - righteous. I got lucky enough to have the opportunity to figure it out, and told the others."
She chuckled. "I wondered why my future self protected a Twilight drake. Guess I know now."
I spread out my hands a little ways, playing with an arc of twilight lightning between them, bathing me in a dark blue glow. I noticed Ellemayne's uncomfortable expression. "Oh come on, I'm not going to attack you. Because I am neither A, evil, nor B, suicidal."
"You can understand why I'm nervous, though."
I laughed lightly. "Yeah, I guess. So, what are you going to do? The rest of your guild, I mean?"
"Well, we're probably going to go help heal the world. There's lots of damage. After that, hopefully, we can rest for a change. Maybe there won't be a new imminent end-of-the-world thing to occupy our time. We can settle down, have families, but we're probably going to stay vigilant. After all, there are more Old Gods out there. We won't pretend for a second that Azeroth is completely safe, but hopefully it'll be okay for a few years yet."
I nodded. "That sounds like a good plan. Hey, try not to die for a few centuries, all right? I still need you to help my past self with the Infinite," I said with a smile, getting up.
Ellemayne nodded, looking back at the jagged stone spires surrounding the Maelstrom's epicenter. "Oh, I will." With that, I turned around, looking at the campfire amidst the darkening sky. No thunder echoed through the heavens. No lightning lit up the sea. The storm was over, and the clouds already began to thin, letting more of the dwindling sunlight pass through. I looked at the Kingslayers around the fire, who had taken up conversations with each other. Go'el had awoken, and a blood elven priest healed him. He took a red potion out of his robes and gave it to the exhausted orc.
I noticed Kolkna, who leaned against a rock. Her sword was next to her, blade imbedded into a patch of glass created by the World Shaman's lightning storm. I let out a large breath. She didn't know that the Twilight dragon she fought with was the same one who killed her companion. She didn't ever need to know, but I felt like I needed to tell her. I'd never be able to stop worrying about her if I didn't. And besides... she couldn't really kill me. Not when I could fade into the twilight realm in an instant.
I walked up to her. Nobody gave me any looks; they were either too tired to care, or genuinely trusted me. "Hey. Figured I'd talk to you about something."
She looked up at me, smiling. No, she clearly didn't remember me. "About what?"
"Well... I need to talk to you alone."
The smile melted off her face. She stood, and picked up her sword, the cracked glass crinkling as she pulled it out. The gesture was clear enough; she didn't fully trust me. "Let's go."
I led Kolkna a little ways from the campfire, far enough so that, if she decided to attack me, we wouldn't draw too much attention. I turned back around to her. "Kolkna, I just want to say, that, I am really, really, genuinely sorry for what I have done to you." I began to prepare a twilight barrier, just in case.
She raised an eyebrow, keeping her sword in one hand. "What you have done to me? I don't remember ever seeing you before in my life."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Remember in Hyjal, when you and Frizzle captured a Twilight drake and delivered them to the World Tree?"
Kolkna hesitated for a moment. "Yes, I rememb - oh." She glared at me, a murderous glint developing in her eyes. "Oh. You." The hand on her sword began to elevate said weapon.
Before she could do anything else, like decapitate me, I quickly spoke up. "Before you do anything else, I really am genuinely sorry!"
She stopped. "Sorry. Then tell me, why exactly did you shoot me down?"
"Because if I didn't, you were going to kill Amanthe and I."
She growled. "Oh yes, your cultist friend."
I shook my head. "No, she's not a cultist. She never was." Though she will be in the future. How else could her future self use twilight flame? "We were friends. I had to fire at you, or you would've killed me. How can you blame me for that?"
Kolkna's expression froze, like she listened to some voice in her head, arguing with it fiercely. She held that pose for one second.
Two.
Three.
Finally, she whispered. "I can't. I can't blame you for that. You fought Deathwing. You protected us from his tainted blood. Your mate helped us free Neltharion and, as a result, save Alexstrasza, and your friend held off the Faceless. You've proven your worth."
I let out a breath. So she wasn't going to kill me. "No hard feelings?"
"Oh, I still hold it against you." She resumed her glare. "I'm just not going to try and get my revenge for it."
The corner of my mouth twitched. "I can live with that." With, that I removed my illusion, looking down at Kolkna and giving a nervous smile, before taking off into the air. For a little time I soared above the island, looking down at it. Black blood created a river at the entrance to the cave. The fire shone with a vivid orange light, reflecting off the patches of glass scattered about to make it look like lava covered the island. Verthelion and Pallasion still sat in the same place, indigo scales tinted a light red-violet by the flames. I hovered over them, and let myself fall down, wings outstretched to slow my descent, landing so that Pallasion and I both surrounded Verthelion.
There was a while where nothing happened. Everyone just fell into silence, waiting for the Aspects to return. Finally, as the clouds began to fade, letting me see the starry expanse of the Circlet of the Titans for the first time in weeks, a shimmer of amber, azure, emerald, and ruby appeared at the end of the island, where Deathwing had taken his last breath.
The Aspects had returned.
Within moments, everybody stood, waiting in front of the assembled Dragon Aspects for what they had to say. My queen opened her jaws and spoke. "The Destroyer's reign of tyranny is over. The Hour of Twilight has failed to fall upon our world, and we owe it to you, champions." She motioned her head towards the Kingslayers, all in one group, behind Go'el and in front of us. "But Azeroth still bears many scars. The Twilight's Hammer still fights for the end of all things, still clutches at any opportunity to bring about the Hour of Twilight." She looked away from the mortals, but returned her gaze to them after a pause. "We shall take the charge of healing this world. Champions, we shall need your aid in repairing the cities of the Alliance and the Horde, which have suffered much damage. You, above all, have voices there, and shall be able to carry about the proper restorations."
Turaniles stepped forward and curtseyed to the Lifebinder. "It will be done, Dragonqueen."
She nodded. "After this, I feel as if you deserve a rest. You have been through much, and have earned a respite."
With that done, Ysera turned to Go'el, shifting to her mortal form. She strode forward, perfectly at ease around the three full-size Aspects behind her. "Go'el, son of Durotan." He knelt down, making her smile. "There is no need for that." He stood. "You have proven yourself time and time again. You represented Neltharion in order for us to defeat Chromatus. Though mortal, you have the power of an Aspect. The Titans sought to watch over the earth, to keep the Old Gods they chained there from surfacing. With Neltharion absent from this task, they have begun to surface. Which is why you, Go'el, will be the next Earthwarder of Azeroth."
The newly-appointed Earthwarder stumbled backward. "Lady Ysera - "
She shook her head. "This is your destiny. Nozdormu knows these things with absolute certainty." Hold on... wasn't it against his charge to divulge the events of the future? "The deep places of the earth must always be guarded. We would grant you immortality to let you see out this task indefinitely, but...?"
"Aggra," he responded.
This brought a smile out of the Green Aspect. "Yes, Aggra. We already have a plan to have a new Earthwarder when your time comes to pass, but we will not trouble you with that currently. You have enough to focus on." The other Aspects shrank to their mortal forms, and Pallasion, Verthelion, and I followed suit.
"M-my Lady. I don't know what to say, about this honor..."
Alexstrasza shook her head. "Do not say anything. You have long since become our equal." She looked our way. "There is just one more thing that we must address, but this is one that we dragons must discuss by ourselves." A cold chill ran down my spine at that. What could she mean by that? She held up her hands, arcane energy flowing along her palms, before she thrust them out, opening a portal to Wyrmrest. "The minions of the Old Gods have submerged back into the earth from whence they came, sensing Neltharion's defeat. We have won."
Nodding, the mortals slowly filed into the portal, and vanished to Wyrmrest. Go'el's expression was hard to read; I couldn't tell if he was anxious about his task, or honored, or even sad. Once they were gone, the portal closed, and we were alone with the Aspects, all in our true forms.
I gulped.
Kalecgos started. "With the fall of Deathwing, our kind faces yet another imbalance in power. Our sacred quantity, the number around which our world revolves, is five. The Titans created us with five Flights, and five Aspects. When Malygos fell, we Aspects were reduced to four. Which was partially why we needed to pick another." I saw the faintest hints of a smile on his face in this serious moment. Of course; it was said 'reduction to four' that led to his appointment as the new Aspect of Magic. "With Neltharion's fall, we once again fall to four Aspects. But this goes further. He himself said that any others of his Flight can not be saved from their corruption. And we have been very thorough in our application of total war against the Black Dragonflight."
Nozdormu picked up the conversation in the Blue Aspect's pause. "The late Rheastrasza has managed to create an egg of the Black Dragonflight that is uncorrupted, however, it is more than likely to be the only one left of its Flight. Once they hatch, and mature, we could in theory grant them the Heart of the Earth, the magical artifact that gave Neltharion his powers, making them into an Aspect, much as Kalecgos was given the Heart of Magic. But for what? They would have no Flight to lead, they would be a solitary Aspect. And Go'el is the Earthwarder. The Black Dragonflight is, for all intents and purposes, extinct. Not long ago, we had to appoint a new Aspect. Now, not only must we appoint a new Aspect, but also a new Flight in whole." With that, Nozdormu looked straight at Verthelion, waiting patiently for the discussion to continue. I wanted to ask where they were going with this, but it was not my position to speak.
It was Ysera who continued. "We have not discussed this yet; the most we have done is create a listing of Flights whom may join us in protecting Azeroth. The first we thought of, the only ones capable of aiding Azeroth, on basis of not being extinct or held inanimate by undeath and the loss of the Lich King, is the Netherwing Flight." The Green Aspect swung her head towards the others around her, including us. "What are your opinions on this?"
Kalecgos shook his head. "The Netherwing have always had a troubled past. They see themselves as abandoned and unloved on Draenor by Neltharion, and throughout their existence, have been used by others for their own means time and time again. Any attempt to coerce them into joining us to help safeguard our world would undoubtedly be seen by them as attempts to exploit them, no matter what arguments are given. Furthermore, their home is on Outland. To ask them to guard Azeroth would be to ask them to abandon the only home they've ever known. No, the Netherwing will never listen to us, not after what they've endured."
Verthelion made his voice known, but stayed relatively quiet and respectful. "What about the stone dragons in Deepholm that I've heard of?"
Alexstrasza contemplated this. "They could in theory be admitted, but have no members who are full grown, and only they are capable of receiving the power of an Aspect. Aeosera, their leader, also has, from what I have heard, regularly needs to be reminded of her position within Deepholm. Yet, that may be simply her ideals against the earth elementals. Then again, we do not know how her kind would react outside of Deepholm. They may find it extremely inhospitable. It is a risky endeavor, and having one of their drakes leave Deepholm to see, and have them possibly perish, would not sit well with the temperamental broodmother either. "
Ysera cocked her head sideways. "Which leaves your Flight as the successor to the Black Dragonflight."
My heart stuttered in my chest and my limbs went numb. What?
She continued. "The others of your Flight are nothing short of outright aggressive towards us. They are, by their actions, evil. However, I assume I am correct in thinking that you three were similar before you cast off the mental veil over your minds?" Verthelion nodded silently. "Therefor, it can be said that the other Twilight dragonkin, if freed, will be similar in mannerism to these three." I noticed that Ysera wasn't talking to us anymore, but rather to the other Aspects. "Of course, not all will. Some would be unable to accept being wrong, or seek out vengeance for a loss. These things are present in every Flight, in every society." Alysra. The traitor Green who freed me in Hyjal. "With them ignored, the remnants of the Twilight Flight, fifteen hundred from what I have been told, would mostly cease hostilities."
Kalecgos narrowed his eyes. "Now, wait a moment. No doubt that these three can be trusted. They've fought alongside us all, and without their aid we would have surely failed, but who's to say they are the average, and not the exceptions? Who is to say that, even if the others of their Flight are shown the truth, that they would become our allies, and not our enemies? If we appoint them to protect Azeroth, then such an occurrence would have drastic effects. Not to mention how young they all are. Few, if any, should be more than whelps without their age acceleration."
Alexstrasza tapped a claw on the stone. "You raise a valid point. As good it would be to simply be able to trust the entirety of the Twilight Flight, such a thing is not possible. A problem extrapolated by their mental youth. Sister, what do you think?"
"We need a new Flight to succeed the Black Dragonflight," said Ysera. "We have already ruled out the Netherwing, and the stone dragons. The Twilight Flight is our best bet. I would be less concerned about their youth and potential continued hostility and more concerned about their power. They are specifically engineered - " That sent a cold chill down my spine, all the way to the tip of my tail. Engineered, like we were a war machine. We technically were engineered, but hearing it from an Aspect... " - to be the most powerful Dragonflight, to inherit the world after Neltharion eradicated us. They have already shown themselves to be several orders of magnitude more powerful than any other Flight, with their flame. Any betrayal would be catastrophic, however I do not feel these fears are warranted. The odds of not three, but seven dragonkin all being the exceptions to such a powerful rule, in a Flight of fifteen hundred, is extremely unlikely. If it were just these three, they could be the exception, but the chances of seven, including the dragonspawn, all being the exceptions, after being from separate locations, is astronomical." Why was Ysera arguing for us? When she had killed Verthelion and came to finish me, she had called us 'twisted, corrupted, heartless, monsters'. Then again, we had fought aside her.
And I had saved her life, taking the death-blast from Neltharion.
Nozdormu nodded. "Indeed, sister. Logic dictates that the Twilight Flight can be trusted. Past atrocities can not be held against them, given the conditioning they have been under. I say that they should be appointed to protect Azeroth."
"As do I," said the Green Aspect.
Kalecgos and Alexstrasza looked at each other, but relented. "As do I," both said simultaneously. Alexstrasza continued. "But what shall they protect on Azeroth?"
Nozdormu had an answer ready. "They shall not watch over anything on Azeroth, not in the sense that we do. Rather, they will watch over the corruptions in the world, keeping them contained. They have already shown to be able to track corruption through the twilight realm; if they didn't, we would not have tracked Neltharion to where he fell. They will, in effect, fight fire with fire, keeping watch over corruption that is present on Azeroth, making sure it does not escalate."
The Red Aspect nodded. "I see. So it will be done. The Twilight Flight is accepted into Wyrmrest." She looked our way, pulling us back into the discussion that we had been watching unfold in front of us. "Your charge will be to keep watch over the corruption in the world, making sure none of it gets out of hand."
Wait, what? Was this actually happening? I must've passed out in the fight. No way that -
Verthelion bowed his head. "I understand." Following his example, Pallasion and I repeated his words and motions. Why would they ever do this?
My queen straightened up. "Now that that is decided, there is one more thing that must be chosen. The Aspect for your Flight. The Heart of Earth can be converted, with the proper procedure, into a different power. Your Aspect must be from you three. You are the only adults who are not brainwashed, hence you are the only ones eligible." She turned her head over towards Pallasion. "Pallasion. Would you be qualified?"
He shook his head furiously. "N-no! Are you - I'm acrophobic. What kind of an Aspect can't fly?" I scoffed in my mind. What kind of dragon can't fly? "No way it should be me."
The Aspects looked perplexed at the fact that Pallasion had a fear of heights, but neither said anything. Alexstrasza turned to me. "And what about you? Selriona."
My heart skipped a beat in my chest. M-me? Be an Aspect? Scenarios began to race through my mind at breakneck speed. Some of joy and success, some of tragedy and failure. Was I qualified for this? The power wouldn't get to me, right? Sure, I had power over Pallasion with twilight prisons, but that was all in good fun, and I could reel it in to not go power-mad, surely. But fifteen hundred of us? Out of the ten of us that we started the journey to Wymrest with, only one betrayed us. Going along with that, I'd have to lead 1,350 others. The number made me dizzy. I didn't even lead the ten of us to Wyrmrest, Verthelion did that. An Aspect had to be a leader, above all, since that's what they are.
Nearly fourteen hundred people, dependent on me... the idea made me sick. I shook my head. "N-no. I'd never be able to lead, not so many people. I couldn't."
Every head turned towards Verthelion, who shuffled nervously. "Okay, I see where this is going," he said. "But, but - "
"Verthelion, face it. You did sort of lead us to Wymrest. You convinced Vajarn, you were the target for rust-poisoning, you walked at the front of our group, AND you were the one who showed our queen that we can be trusted."
"But - "
Pallasion cut him off. "And face it, we aren't qualified. Selriona says she couldn't lead so many, and who ever heard of an Aspect who can't fly? It has to be you. Don't understate yourself."
He took a deep breath, looking up at Alexstrasza. "Okay. Guess it's me, isn't it? I accept the duty."
Kalecgos breathed out a little orb of arcane energy. It condensed into a sphere, out which fell the black crystal that rose out of Deathwing when he died, hovering at our eye-level. The Blue Aspect spoke. "This is the Heart of the Earth. Its power is to allow the recipient to be the Earthwarder, a task that Go'el already has undertaken. As such, it must be... modified. Channel your energy onto it. That will change it to the form of power needed." He looked my way. "Much like the capacitor that she holds."
Wordlessly, Verthelion nodded. I saw him begin to cast a spell, and a twisting beam of twilight energy shot out of his maw, crashing into the Heart of the Earth, writhing around it in thick coils before being absorbed. Slowly, the hue began to change. The crystal slowly became lighter, changing color until it was a dark blue, and then it gave out a spherical pulse of twilight energy. Verthelion cut off his beam, and Alexstrasza nodded. "It is done." She moved a foreleg, red energy glowing around the crystal, moving it towards Verthelion.
The Heart of Twilight.
Kalecgos winced. "The process of receiving it will not be pleasant. Fair warning."
Verthelion didn't react. Instead he kept his eyes trained on the hovering crystal, coming ever closer and closer to him, until it came to a stop, just touching his chest scales, his breathing steadily accelerating. When it stopped, violet beams of energy exploded out of the ground around Verthelion, shadow energy writhing around him. Pallasion and I both took a step back as the beams twisted into him, entering his body, the Heart of Twilight slowly shrinking. He roared, his body growing... and growing... and growing, until he stood at eye-level with the other Aspects. The lights faded. The crystal was gone.
Verthelion took deep breaths, towering above me. Did that really just happen? Chronormu's words from when she first took me the Caverns of Time echoed in my mind. 'You see, Verthelion becomes... somewhat... important later, let's leave it at that.' Oh yes, important indeed. An Aspect? They would be important to save. Were we really one of the guardians of Azeroth, along with the four major Flights? It seemed so unrealistic, so dream-like. I wondered again if I had passed out during the final battle with Neltharion and this was all a dream. But no, if this was a dream Nalestrasza would be insulting me right about now.
My mate - my Aspect - took a breath. "Okay then." The other Aspects still looked a little uneasy, and I knew why. We were the most powerful Dragonflight. Now that we had an Aspect, none of them, save perhaps Nozdormu, would be able to best him in single combat should he choose to attack. But he wouldn't do that, it wasn't in his nature to do such a thing, and no way he was simply 'waiting for their guards to lower'. After all, how could we possibly have known that this would happen? "Okay. Let's see. First things to do. First things..."
Alexstrasza shook her head. "For now, let us return to Wyrmrest. You and the others of your Flight may decide on what you will do there." Kalecgos opened a portal, and the four Aspects shifted to their mortal forms. We followed suit. Verthelion's violet eyes, I noticed, now gave off a slight glow, one that seemed to be slowly, but steadily, increasing. The others left, leaving Pallasion, Verthelion and I alone on the island.
I smiled. "Congratualions, Aspect," I said. If Verthelion was the Aspect, wouldn't that make me the Prime Consort?
He chuckled nervously. "Right. You two did this to me," he said with mock accusation.
Pallasion gave him a reassuring grin. "Relax. You'll do fine. We'll help you."
"Yes. Thanks. Titans know I'll need it. We're not out of the woods yet. We need to find our Flight a home, get established, find the ones in hiding..."
"But we've gotten through the worst of it," I said. "I mean, the world is saved. Our Flight is officially a part of the five guardian Dragonflights. You're an Aspect, for Titan's sake!"
"Yes, I know," he said. "Come on, let's go. We still have a few small things to take care of." With that, we stepped through the portal.
Review, let me know what you think.
Story's not over yet. Still a few things left to do.
