Devrialstrasz had been dead for fifteen years. Fifteen YEARS. Yet it felt like only yesterday. Ebonia couldn't believe it.
She wondered what he'd think of her now. Traveling across Teldrassil in the company of a night elf, fighting off the various threats to it. It just didn't feel right.
Not to mention that Ebonia was still killing things, heck, even somewhat enjoying it! She felt awful thinking about it, even though she knew it was necessary. She was concerned that, wherever Devrialstrasz was, he was frowning down upon her for it.
She knew that was wrong. Devrialstrasz would never frown upon her.
But on the other hand, she just couldn't shake that feeling away.
Then she started wondering. Where was Devrialstrasz now? Where had his soul gone? Would he even be able to see her? Would she ever see him again, or was he gone for all eternity, for even when she died? Would she NEVER see his smile, or hear his charming voice, or feel his warmth ever again?
She didn't know. And she hated it.
Faewing perched on her shoulder, seemingly sensing her feelings. Ebonia smiled slightly, even as she felt depressed inside. Faewing didn't know about Devrialstrasz. He didn't have to suffer as Ebonia did every day she remembered his loss.
It was enviable, in a way. But Ebonia also knew that if she DIDN'T feel this way, then their love wouldn't have been real.
And that knowledge would've been even worse.
So as miserable as she felt, and how pained her heart was, she wouldn't have sacrificed it for anything.
She was distracted from her reverie when Eludian asked, "So, what are you thinking about? You've been lost in thought ever since we left Dolanaar."
Ebonia realized that she'd never told Eludian about Devrialstrasz. As far as he knew, she was just a black dragon that for some reason was much nicer than normal and had attracted the attention of Ysera. He did not know WHY that was.
And perhaps, since he'd shared the details about his father's past, she could share something of her own.
"When I was still serving my father.", she began, "I met a red dragon."
Eludian looked intrigued, but remained respectfully silent.
"At the time, I had no friends, no one I could talk to or adventure with. I used to not care about that, heck, even enjoyed it. But then this red dragon flew in, and changed everything."
Ebonia smiled at the memory. "His name was Devrialstrasz. He was so sweet, and charming, and handsome, and caring, I just couldn't help but fall in love with him. And he fell in love with me."
She reached up to her neck, and smiled wider as she held up her silver dragon pendant. She had almost forgotten it was there, what with all that had happened, but now that she was holding it again it felt warm, and she felt happier than she'd been in a while.
"This was a gift from him.", she said, "It came with a proposal. Together, we would fly away and build ourselves a den, where no one could ever bother us. It was a dream come true."
Ebonia's spirits came crashing down as she remembered what happened next.
"But it was not to be.", she said, her eyes growing wet, "The very next day, there was an attack on the fortress we had been living in. During the battle, I foolishly challenged my father, thinking that there was nothing he could do to stop us. He struck me down, and when Devrialstrasz flew in to help me..."
Ebonia began to sob as that one image flashed vividly in her head - her claws outstretched uselessly, as Devrialstrasz fell burning from the sky, dead before he even hit the ground.
Eludian reached out to her, a sympathetic expression on his face. "I'm so sorry."
Ebonia wiped away her tears. "It's been fifteen years, but it's like it was only yesterday. But I have to stay strong. I MUST stay strong. Or else...he'll have died for nothing."
Faewing nuzzled her cheek. "Don't be sad, friend. We're here! It'll be okay!"
Ebonia smiled, and petted Faewing. "I guess...it does feel a little better, having told you guys."
Eludian nodded. "Although I don't have any personal experience with something like this, I have heard it's better to let out your feelings than bottle them up. And I can promise you that I will do anything I can to help..."
He froze, looking at the sight ahead of them.
Ebonia was similarly shocked.
The road led up to a small village, or at least, it had.
But now the houses were destroyed, and fire blazed across the rooftops, licking hungrily at the leaf-covered sky. There was sounds of joyous barking and triumphant roars, and Ebonia could see several large, hairy humanoids dancing around the destruction.
She sheltered her blind side and readied her staff, knowing that they were about to have a fight. Eludian did likewise, and Faewing took a deep breath and arched his back to make himself look bigger than he was.
"I knew the furbolgs were causing trouble, but this...this is something else.", Eludian said, "This is WAR."
"Let's go kill them! No one hurts friends of Faewing's friends!", yelled Faewing, "Kill kill kill!"
His shouting attracted the attention of the furbolgs, which turned to face the three of them. They growled threateningly, readying axes, spears, or staffs.
Now that Ebonia could see them better, she could tell that they were humanoid bear people, wearing loincloths and necklaces of animal teeth or claws. Their fur came in shades of brown and black, although there were a couple white ones here and there. But they also looked somewhat wrong. Surely their eyes did not normally have that green, hellish glint to them.
With a start, Ebonia realized that they kind of reminded her of Nekros's eyes. The orcen warlock had had eyes like these, although they had glown far brighter...and eviller.
Although Eludian had never known Nekros, heck, probably didn't even know his name, he knew there was definitely something wrong with the furbolgs. "They must've been corrupted, or something.", he whispered, "Like the spiders in the cave."
"Well, they definitely want to kill us!", replied Ebonia, "And I certainly won't let that happen!"
One of the furbolgs barked an order, and then they charged, ready to tear them to shreds.
Ebonia noticed the fire on the buildings again, and focused on it. As the furbolgs advanced, she bent it to her will, and suddenly it roared forwards, creating a wall that several of the furbolgs ran right into.
Their screeches of pain brought a sense of satisfaction to Ebonia, but it was quickly drowned in guilt. How could she feel good about ending life, even if it was trying to kill her?
Her hesitation caused the fire to subside, and the furbolgs didn't hesitate. They charged straight through it, trampling their fallen brethren as they roared for blood.
Next to Ebonia, Eludian paled. "This isn't like them.", he said, "Furbolgs always take good care of their dead. They don't just crush it underfoot, as if their lives were meaningless."
"Well, these ones are, and they're not going to stop!", Ebonia replied, "Here they come!"
Eludian narrowed his eyes, and suddenly thick vines ripped out of the path, wrapping around some of the furbolg's paws and tripping others. Faewing yelled fiercely and flew right for a furbolg's face, latching on and using his claws and teeth to tear it apart like a fruit.
Eludian looked like he was going to be sick, but Ebonia was no stranger to blood. She had lost much of it and shed much more. She charged forwards, swinging her staff and smashing it into the furbolgs, breaking limbs and noses and skulls. She fought with the ruthless determination of a predator, because she was one.
Needless to say, the furbolgs did not last long. Ebonia stood over the bodies, breathing heavily. Several new clawmarks had been ripped across her body, primarily on her right side, but her draconic scales had prevented them from being any more than scratches, even in her mortal form.
However, her clothes were a mess. Even with a staff, Ebonia had drawn a lot of blood out of her opponents.
Eludian was breathing heavily too, but from horror more than exhaustion. "That was terrifying.", he whispered.
Faewing looked up, his face covered in blood. "Mmm, these bad guys make good eats!"
Eludian threw up.
Ebonia's head cleared from her battle rage, and she realized just how disgusting this must look to the druid. It had been self-defense, but Ebonia knew that this bloodbath might've been unnecessary.
But those green eyes...she still remembered Nekros torturing her beloved's queen, and it filled her with rage all over again. This time, though, she kept herself under control.
'Oh, Devrialstrasz.', Ebonia thought to herself, 'Why does this have to be so hard?'
Eludian recovered from the horrific sight in front of him. Weakly, he said, "I know that they were trying to kill us...but please. Please don't do this again."
Ebonia felt tears coming to her eyes again, this time with shame. "I'm sorry.", she whispered.
Eludian replied, "It's okay. You're a black dragon. You were probably trained to attack savagely and mercilessly. But..."
He sighed. "I don't know what I can say. Let's just see if we can find Gaerolas here somewhere, assuming..."
Assuming he's alive. Ebonia and Eludian both knew that that was unlikely at this point.
Faewing swallowed another mouthful of furbolg flesh. "Okay, let's go!", he chirped, sounding so cute for something that was covered in blood and had been eagerly devouring the bear-man it had just savagely murdered.
As they walked towards the ruined village, Ebonia only began to feel worse about herself. It was clear that her fighting had greatly disturbed Eludian, who was one of her only friends. Although he had forgiven her, she still felt awful about it.
It didn't help that she knew Devrialstrasz would have hated the carnage, too. He would've also forgiven her, but it wouldn't have made her feel any better about it.
But Ebonia did not know what she was supposed to do instead. She highly doubted those furbolgs would've listened to reason.
As they walked into the burning town square, Ebonia noticed another one of those totems, like the one in the spider cave. It was cracked, and she noticed it had some strange glowing green moss inside it. She did not like that.
Looking around, Ebonia realized the only building that was still mostly intact was the two-story tavern ahead of them. Although it had clearly been pillaged already, there was still a chance that Gaerolas could be there.
Nervously, she and Eludian pushed open the broken front door, clearly smashed in by an axe. Inside, stools and tables were scattered everywhere, similarly smashed. A few empty wine bottles were scattered across the floor, along with a few burnt books.
There was a pained moan from upstairs. Eludian and Ebonia shot each other a knowing look, and hurried up the rickety stairs, which creaked threateningly beneath their feet.
At the top of the stairs, they saw a night elven man, groaning in a puddle of blood. He looked up as the two of them approached, and gave a smile. It looked more like a grimace, however.
"Good...", he groaned, "I knew Athridas...would send someone...after me. It's too late for me, I'm afraid. But you...can save the others."
He coughed harshly. "The Gnarlpine have been corrupted. Their chieftain, Ursal the Mauler, has succumbed to...the fel moss, and is using it...to corrupt his brethren..and all the other denizens of the World Tree. They're going...to attack Ban'ethil Barrow, and...kill the sleeping druids there. You must...warn Athridas...immediately..."
He gave one last sigh, and closed his eyes, his soul passing away.
"May Elune bring you rest.", whispered Eludian.
He turned towards Ebonia. "We have to hurry."
Ebonia nodded, and the two of them raced off, followed by Faewing. They could not let the furbolgs succeed.*