Chapter 2: First Steps

You hate them, don't you Earth-Warder?

They are the reason you had to make the Dragon Soul,

You should put them in their place and end them.

While you're at it, end that wretched Life-Binder and show your power to all!

"No, the mortals are not the reason I failed Azeroth, a-and Alex cares about me!"

So naive Deathwing.

She doesn't care about you,

She only cares about your knowledge and your strength,

Your usefulness to her; so why not take back your place as king?

"NO! She cares about me. I may be useful to her, but she has to deal with everyone questioning her about why she let Deathwing live and deal with the massive fallout of my return. She cares, now begone!"

It's not that easy Deathwing.

We are a part of you, now and forever.

Pull the strings—show Death over Life.

Free yourself, don't deny yourse—

Neltharion's head pounded as he heard a voice cut through the cursed whispers.

"Nel. Nel! Are you alright?" he heard Alexstrasza say.

She's using you…

Neltharion stirred into consciousness, seeing her at his side. "I heard you yelling, is everything okay?"

"Yes, it was just a n-nightmare, no need to worry, not now at least," he responded, letting a slight chuckle leave his mouth as she left where he was. He wouldn't admit it, but what the Old Gods had said made him start thinking about his sister's motives. Why did she want to save him? Thrall could have been the new Earth-Warder, one without all the baggage that came with Neltharion. Letting him live only brought difficulty to her already delicate life. With the loss of a flight, an Aspect, and many dragons, ruling over all dragonkin was a tedious task, and adding an infamous and unstable dragon to it would only further complicate things. He was the oldest Aspect and was also considered the wisest of them all. Being the Earth-Warder gave him the answers to many questions mortals couldn't even think of yet. Either way, he wanted to learn why Alexstrasza saved him and why she was spending so much time tending to him, and he was going to find out in time. Neltharion put his arms on the edges of his pool as he lifted himself out from his healing area. He climbed out and stood up while lava dripped off of his obsidian scales.

Almost a full three months had passed since he first went into the lava, and he had healed greatly. He finally returned to his normal size and his wounds had closed. His strength had fully returned, but he still needed one thing in order to be fully operational again. His wounds had closed, yes, but they only stayed closed because of the lava that healed the microtears in his skin before they turned into full ruptures. If he wanted to be able to move freely without the lava he would need a new set of plates for his scales. He wanted to see his own flight again, but he needed those plates to appear strong when he makes first contact with them since he was Deathwing before, a tyrant who ruled in fear.

"What are you doing?! You need to stay in the lava or else you might start to tear apart again!" Alexstrasza scolded as she returned to the main hall of the lair.

"Yes, yes, but it's time; I must seek out my flight and unite them, but I need plating first."

"Don't worry Nel, I already had some made for you out of the same metal as your old plates. But remember, you don't have to face your flight unless you're ready," the Queen responded while moving next to Neltharion.

"I am ready but I need to get used to my new form since I will be stuck with it for now as a reminder of my fall to darkness. I think it's time we pay King Varian and the Alliance a visit," he concluded while gesturing Alexstrasza to follow him. The two went towards the exit of the cave and opened up their massive wings. They leaped out of the volcano entrance as they began to glide across the sky before flapping themselves high into the air with a few powerful wingbeats. "We fly towards their capital, Stormwind. If we show up on their king's doorstep then they will have to listen to me. I need to express a few things to let them know that I mean them no unwarranted harm." Alexstrasza stared at him as he said that, in shock of his bold plan, even though she felt that it would probably work.

"I miss this you know," she spoke into the wind.

"Miss what Alex?" he asked her.

"Our flights together, just the two of us enjoying the landscape you built and I gave life to. Back then, you felt you could do anything, proving it as you reshaped the land to give a better life to the mortals that lived below. So… what changed?"

"I changed, Alex. I learned what true torture is and I learned what loss feels like. Back then, there was no real danger to us while we cared for the world freely. Since then, Old Gods have risen, demons have invaded, and an original Aspect died. We lost one of our own, our brother. I have seen what pain is, and I have felt it as well. Now I know all that I have to lose and realize as well how quickly they could be taken from me again…" "Anyway, I do miss our adventures. We would see the world we made, and sometimes I would change it as we flew so you could experience something new in the world for the first time while on our flights," he replied, reminiscing of the times before Deathwing's existence. The moment became bittersweet as he started to remember what came after those memories: the beginning of the endless whispers that intruded into his mind, splitting him apart from the inside and forming a new being that brought ruin to all that it touched.

Neltharion put his mind back on his current task as he sped up his wingbeats towards Stormwind. The stone castle quickly came into view as the two beasts drew near. The capital of the Alliance was a giant stronghold made of white stones that formed into towers and walls. Multiple layers of walls protected the innermost portion of the castle, which was where the king would be. The other layers held many civilians and their houses, and some held the many soldiers that protected its occupants. On the furthest layer, there were stone towers that shot high into the sky where archers were ready to rain down upon enemies approaching Stormwind. No matter how many archers stood on those towers, they became pointless as they saw what was coming.

The ground rumbled and shook as the archers ran to their positions and looked out in front of the castle, expecting to see a force of beasts riding towards the gates. Instead, they only saw two beasts, but one of them was The Black Wyrm. The archers began to ready their arrows as they started to shake as what they thought was Deathwing thrust his wings towards the ground as he shot straight into the air. The pure force of that threw the archers to the ground, their bows flying out their hands. He then fell towards the front gate of Stormwind as fire engulfed his entire body. The archers looked in even more fear as the dragon shrunk down into the size of a very large man while the fire dissipated. The black dragon's arrival allowed for Alexstrasza to fly down to the entrance of Stormwind and shift into her mortal form.

The man stood up from his knees as two guards started to approach him from each side. Neltharion had to get to Varian before every guard in the castle came after him, so he did not have time to deal with the guards. He flicked his hand upwards, causing the guards to freeze in place as they felt an invisible force holding them away from Neltharion.

Neltharion's human form was not any less baleful than his dragon form. His jaw was one of metal, and his skin was pale like the moon. His hair was silky black. He was at least seven feet tall and his body was incredibly muscular, reflecting his raw strength. Most of his body, from the neck down beside his bicep areas, was covered in obsidian armor. Spikes came out from it near his shoulders, and his gauntlets had them as well. His chest had cracks of lava on it similar to his draconic form, but his eyes were still emerald green. He put his hand out in front of him, summoning his weapon. A black mace formed in his hand, obeying its master's call. Its head was made of spikes that came out of a flaming center that sent fire throughout the weapon. Neltharion attached it to his side, and the mace vanished.

He walked up to the gate and pulled the metal bars apart while giving himself a way through. The metal began to melt as he walked through the gates of Stormwind and then began walking towards the king's chambers. Alexstrasza chased after him as she tried to catch up with him. He reached the long flight of stairs that led up to the chamber and he jumped halfway in one bound, cracking the stone beneath him. He then leaped one more time, landing at the entrance to Varian's location. He strode into the building as he saw the golden throne of the king. Varian Wrynn sat upon it, with five guards around him. "Hello, Varian."

Neltharion froze the guards in place as he began to walk around the edge of the room. "I am no longer Deathwing, I am no longer the Destroyer. Deathwing was a separate being that controlled my body and trapped me within my own mind because I succumbed to the Old Gods and gave them the chance to trap me and create that monster. Because of that, I would like to say that I am full of regret for what happened to your Alliance as a result of my actions. I am now trying to prove myself once again worthy of the title, Earth-Warder, by redeeming myself in the eyes of those that I hurt. I also apologize for the slight damage I caused your castle, but I only did it so I could speak to you immediately without having a swarm of guards descending upon me," he explained to Varian, releasing the guards at the end of his statement. Varian sat up from his throne with anger in his eyes.

"It does not matter. A mere apology does not suffice for what you have done! It was your body that killed countless members of the Alliance, and you should be held accountable for your actions Deathwing!" Varian yelled out in anger as he stared at the Aspect. Alexstrasza ran into the room, appearing behind Neltharion as he began to retaliate.

"You dare to judge me mortal? Your kind still kills members of my already weakened flight even though most of them have turned back into what they once were before Deathwing. And you want to speak of accountability?! You have no idea what it was like for me, I did not have a choice while Deathwing controlled me; I am not him!" he roared out, the ground shaking with his angered words. He began to lift his hand up, about to collapse the ground around the king, but Alexstrasza grabbed his arm before he could. He looked at her, and the smoke in his eyes faded back into emerald as he calmed. Instead of injuring the king, Neltharion looked straight into his eyes while his own eyes flashed with fire. Suddenly, Varian heard endless, tormenting whispers in his head starting to scrape his mind.

"Stop. Make it stop! MAKE THEM STOP!" Neltharion looked back into his eyes, ending the whispers that plagued Varian.

"I learned a few tricks from Deathwing that I did not use before, so do not think that just because I am seeking redemption I won't smite you for your crimes against me and my flight," he spoke out in a cold tone as the guards began to move towards him. He flicked his hand as they froze, and Neltharion quickly walked out of the throne room, unfreezing the guards once he left. Alexstrasza came forward to Varian's seat.

"Please forgive my brother; he is still dealing with the consequences of his actions thousands of years ago. He means well, but he is not a force to be provoked. Despite his words, he wants to do something, a show of good faith, to show his commitment to regaining the trust of the mortals. So please, give me something for him to do to start gaining your trust and forgive his actions today," she pleaded to the leader of the Alliance. Varian shifted in his seat as he rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I will forgive his actions here today, but I will not trust him because of one sign of 'good faith.' If he is committed as you say then there is something he could do. Recently, one of our outposts was raided by a group of organized bandits called the Red Cloth. The outpost was in Dustwallow Marsh, in Kalimdor, and was burned to the ground by those thugs. If he can find the leader of the Red Cloth and bring them to me to be tried for their crimes, then I will feel it is a start for your Deathwing."

"Thank you, Varian. By the way, his title is Neltharion the Earth-Warder now—no longer is it Deathwing. Peace be with you," Alexstrasza finished in a bow before leaving to catch up with Neltharion. She chased after him as he began to blend into the crowd of the city. She saw his black hair bouncing up and down as he quickly walked through the inner gates of the city.

She finally caught up to him before he could leave Stormwind and pulled him aside to a small alley. She threw her fist at his face, punching his metallic jaw. The blow hurt her fist a lot, but she was not going to let that show. "What is wrong with you?! You say you are trying to gain the trust of the mortals, yet you assault their guards and fearmonger their leader!" Alexstrasza yelled in Neltharian's face. He only rolled his eyes to this. "You cannot force them into accepting you, that's something Deathwing would do!" she added.

"Watch your tongue with me Alexstrasza, or I will—" he started to yell out before being interrupted.

"Or you will do what? Hurt me? I thought you wanted to regain their trust, our trust, but I guess I was wrong…" she said as her anger suddenly vanished and was replaced with sadness while she started to walk away. Neltharion digressed as he grabbed her arm to pull her back to him. He saw the elven female staring into his own mortal eyes.

"I'm sorry. I do want their trust, but it will take some getting used to. The reason I barged through the castle and into the king's chamber was that I knew Varian would not want to hear me otherwise. If I had asked to see him then I would have been denied, which is not an option right now. So I decided to go the more aggressive way… land on their walls, burn through their gates, freeze the guards, and put a spell onto the king," he spoke as the ruby dragon chuckled at his last remark. "I know his type well. I gave him fear, just enough where he realizes that he should be on my good side. That way, he would give me a task to do, and it worked. And don't worry, I would never hurt you, Alex," he continued, putting his hand on her cheek. "Anyway, I should probably get to my quest. Return to Wyrmrest and continue your daily routine while I take care of the so-called Red Cloth. See you soon," he concluded, letting his hand return to his side. He turned around and jumped. He summoned a gust of wind that lifted his human body high into the air. He started to transform, returning to his draconic form. As the flames engulfed him, a black dragon appeared within the blaze. He flapped his wings as he began his flight to Dustwallow Marsh, where he would take down a fleeting gang to help prove himself to Varian and the Alliance after overhearing what he had said to his sister.

Neltharion saw the swampy land of Dustwallow Marsh come into view as he flew towards the shore. As he angled down he began to shift his form. He changed from the titanic beast he was into a much smaller black dragon. His new appearance was one of a black drake, a much less threatening dragon than that which used to be Deathwing. Neltharion continued his descent as he glided down and into the streets of Theramore Isle.

The city was one of the main ports for the Alliance on Kalimdor; ships traveled through there every day. The city was also there to serve as a defense against the dragonkin in the region. Onyxia's Lair was only a short distance from Theramore itself. To Neltharion's dismay, a group of warriors had gone into the lair and slew his daughter not too long ago. If only he could have broken free from Deathwing's prison to save her, but that was the past he told himself. He landed at the gryphon roost within the city where he saw a dwarf tending to the flying animals. The dwarf turned around, only to run towards his rifle.

"Wait, wait, wait! Calm down, flight master. Do not worry, almost all of us black dragons have reverted back to the protectors we once were. I am here on King Varian's orders," Neltharion reassured the dwarf before he blasted him.

"The king's got dragons doing his work now?" the dwarf chuckled. "You made me jump, but I must say, I have never seen a talking dragon, let alone a black one. Who are you?"

"Let's just say I am one of the higher-ups in my flight, an ambassador of sorts. Anyway, I am here to hunt down the leader of the Red Cloth and bring them in."

"A bounty huntin' black ambassador dragon, ain't that the craziest thing I've ever seen. Well, I'll tell you this: the Red Cloth has been terrorizing this area for months now. At first, they robbed ships at our port, but then they raided an outpost and burned it to the ground. That's when they became terrorists instead of thieves. Point is, everyone and their mother in Theramore knows about them. Ask around and see what the citizens know, but I heard that the blacksmith knows more about them. Nice to meet you…" the dwarf told Neltharion, extending his hand.

"Call me Nel," the dragon replied, shaking the dwarf's hand with his claw. "And who are you?"

"I am Baldruc, the flight master here in Theramore Isle. Good luck, Nel."

Neltharion nodded his head and then walked away and into the street. He followed along the stone path, receiving strange looks from the people within the town's square as he trotted. He looked at the various signs on the town buildings until he saw one with an anvil on it. He could see a balcony on the building where a dwarf was hammering a piece of red-hot metal. Realizing the building was a shop, Neltharion walked up to where the dwarf was working. He went up a small set of stairs that led to the dwarven forge area. He accidentally knocked over a piece of armor on the workbench with his wings, alerting the dwarf. Neltharion tried to dodge the object, but instead, he was hit with a hammer on the head. He growled as he felt some of his molten blood in his mouth. The dwarf looked at the beast in front of him and seized up as it lifted its head up while opening its maw.

"That hurt you know! Look before you throw next time. I am Nel, a dragon sent by King Varian to bring down the Red Cloth. I was told by Baldruc that you knew more about them, do you?" Neltharion spoke.

"Yes, I know quite a bit about them. Supposedly, their leader was a former agent for the Alliance—how the world can change. The outpost they recently razed was Blackwatch, a very small outpost. The outpost had only a few stationed guards, but the Red Cloth killed them all. One of those guards was my son, Henry. After they destroyed Blackwatch, soldiers came here to find them, forcing the Red Cloth to go into hiding. The soldiers left, they thought that the terrorists had left Dustwallow Marsh and retreated further inland, but they were wrong! I have seen light coming from the dragon's lair; that is where they are hiding. I heard that some of Theramore's denizens have heard high-pitched cries of a dragon coming from the cave when they travel along the nearby roads as well."

"Dragons rarely cry, especially in a high pitch. Also, why would a dragon be crying from mortals—unless…" Neltharion reasoned, his eyes forming fiery slits at the end of his words. His wings flung to the ground as he shot into the air. The dragon flew towards the cave that used to be his daughter's home. He flew over the treetops as the fire in his eyes continued to burn. He saw the cave appear as he lowered to the ground, stirring dirt into the air. He could see fire from the cave as well as hear quiet voices that only his ears could hear.

"You dare?! Come out of hiding mortals! If you show yourself now I will give you the mercy of a swift death. If you don't…" Neltharion spoke, the rocks of the cave grinding out his words. He waited there for a moment, not seeing anyone. "Then I will end you!" he roared as the chasm began to shake. Back at Theramore, waves began to crash on the ships harbored at the docks. Everyone within the city could feel the wrath of the dragon Aspect as the ground rumbled. "The world trembles with my rage, nothing can save you from me! I am the planet itself, there is nowhere you can hide, nowhere you can run where I won't find you. So, this cave will be your tomb!" he bellowed as his eyes began to burn brighter. The floor of the cave started to open up, creating a massive hole.

Suddenly, dozens of men ran out of small openings in the lair, trying to dash to the exit. Neltharion only laughed at their fleeting attempts to flee. "Did you really think you could hide from me? You have made a fatal mistake…" Neltharion said as he collapsed the entrance of Onyxia's Lair, blocking the way out while crushing a couple of men. He could hear one of them yell out that they are assassins, while another said that together they could take him. He watched as they all charged towards him. Even in his current form, he could kill them all. The black drake spun around, slashing his talons through two men, slicing them in half. Leaping into the air, he knocked over those around him. He rammed into a man, throwing him into the rock walls of the cave. The dragon continued slaughtering his enemies until only two men were left standing. One of them was the leader since he wore all red leather armor. Behind him, Neltharion could see a small black whelp hiding in the corner. He leaped past the men, landing in front of the other dragon. He put his wings out, protecting it, and with a wave of his hand, the man next to the leader started to fall as the ground below him collapsed. The dragon started to talk to the leader.

"You stole one of my children, and you thought you could hide from me?! As I said, there is nowhere you can hide from me." Neltharion scooped the whelp into his arm, shielding it.

"Who… what… are you? You are just a drake," the leader replied in fear. The ground started to quake as parts of the cave's ceiling broke off and fell to the ground. The fire in the black Aspect's eyes burned brighter than ever before as he started to shift in form. The black drake, barely larger than five humans, became something much larger in size. He put the whelp into his hand and closed it, hiding the young dragon away.

"I am the black Aspect, I am the world's fury! You are lucky I have to take you alive to the king, or else I would make you disembowel yourself out of fear, mongrel. But that doesn't mean I can't have my fun…" He looked into the leader's eyes and the man fell onto his knees. Within his mind, flames engulfed his entire body as he watched himself burn to a charred husk. The searing pain did not stop though as he turned to ash, it only increased. The fire began to burn so strong within his mind from what the dragon had done that his physical armor was starting to smolder. The man cried out from the unyielding pain of the flames.

The cave ceiling started to collapse in on itself as the black dragon became even larger, slowly turning into the form of Deathwing. He grabbed the man and wrapped his claws around him. Another ground tremor erupted from him, but this time it shook the face of the planet. Everyone as far as Ironforge could feel the ground rumble. A massive wave crashed onto Theramore, causing the citizens to run out of their homes. They only looked in fear as they saw a beast growing in the distance. Neltharion became larger and larger until his body broke the rocks around him apart, completely destroying the lair. He roared out as the ground pulsed once more, causing a smaller wave to hit Theramore again. With a flap of his wings, he was soaring through the sky as a blast of fire spread out from his launch point, charring the nearby trees. He flew across the sea towards Stormwind once again, his anger dissipating as the water below him began to steam.

When Neltharion arrived, he saw something with his eagle-like eyes that he had missed the last time he was here. He saw Nefarian's head upon one of the ramparts, chained up like a trophy. He kept calm as he turned back into a larger black drake than he had recently been. He glided over the city as he landed at the throne room, throwing the leader of the Red Cloth tumbling onto the ground. "Here is their leader. I see you still have Nefarian's head hung on display within Stormwind. I have righted a wrong against your faction, it's time you right one for me: let me take his head," he said.

"Thank you Neltharion. You can do with the head as you will, let it be a sign that black dragons are hopefully no longer our enemy. As I told your sister though, this is only a start to us trusting you again."

"Yes, well you know what they say about baby steps. Hopefully, this is the beginning of an alliance Varian. I will see you soon," Neltharion told the king as he began to leave. He took flight once again and flew up to where his son's head was. He broke the chain off its hook as he wrapped it around himself. He flew higher into the air as he flew towards Northrend.

He felt the blackened stone on his talons as he walked into the Obsidian Dragonshrine. He had turned back to his full form now that he was in Dragonblight. He took off the chains around his body as he grabbed the head they were holding. He laid it down next to the bones of his kin. He let out a sigh of dismay as he saw the number of corpses within the dragonshrine. So many of his flight had been killed, and even more that could not be laid to rest in this sacred place. The time had come for Neltharion to bring his flight back together before it was too late. He left the shrine after wishing his kin farewell and walked to the nearby Wyrmrest Temple. He called out his red sister from the ground, and within a moment the ruby dragon descended from the top of the temple.

"You return Nel!" Alexstrasza yelled in glee. "I felt the earth shaking a couple of times, is everything all right?"

"Ah, that. I may have let my anger get the best of me, but it's all sorted now. I finished Varian's mission and found something along the way," Neltharion replied, opening his claw. Alexstrasza stared in disbelief at the black whelp in his hand. She was surprised to see a newborn since the black dragonflight was still scattered across the planet.

"H-how did you find it?"

"I found him trapped in Onyxia's Lair by a group of humans that were hiding there," Neltharion replied. "This is great Alex! You know what this means right?" She sat there with a confused look on her face. "This means there is still a female alive. My flight isn't doomed!"

"Wonderful, you just have to get her to return to the flight! How are you going to do that by the way?"

"Simple, I will tell them all to fly to the Obsidian Dragonshrine so they can rejoin the flight."

"I suppose that could work, as long as the Old Gods no longer have a hold on them," she said to him.

"I guess I will find out, just a second." Neltharion closed his eyes as he concentrated his mind. "It is I, your Aspect. I command all black dragons to fly to the Obsidian Dragonshrine immediately," he spoke within his mind, sending the message to every black dragon across the planet. "It is done. Now we just have to wait a day or two for them to get here and then we can greet them. In the meantime, I will drop this whelp off at the shrine, one of the ambassadors will be there soon and keep it company, then I will get those plates you mentioned hammered in. There is also one thing I must do for someone…" Neltharion finished as he started walking away. "See you soon Alex." He hopped into the air once again, a smile on his face.

Neltharion looked out at his handiwork in satisfaction. The once incinerated outpost of Blackwatch was now a graveyard, one with the bodies of those murdered buried beneath the ground to rest for eternity. He knew Bladruc would be pleased to know that his son was given a proper burial in the place he died protecting. Neltharion flapped his wings, causing slight pain in his side as he dusted the area. The new plates still hurt him, for he had only been wearing them for about a day, having them put in just an hour after dropping off the whelp. He would have to get used to wearing them again. He dusted his claws off as he shot into the air to return to his home in the Burning Stepps. He would be able to enjoy a nice, warm sleep in his lava-filled hot tub. He eventually reached the entrance to his lair, swooping into it. He quickly climbed into his pool and let his thoughts fade away as he invited sleep, awaiting the arrival of his flight.