A/N: so, bad news and good news. The bad news… the unintended hiatus over the last month. I burnt out and needed to step back from everything for a while to recharge. Good news: we're closing in on 100K words! To celebrate: throw me suggestions for the next Tales From the Citadel. A character you want to see (or see more of)? A situation? An event? Some fluff? Some angst? Catching up on a loose end? 4000 words of the magic nerd squad being nerds? Let me know! :D


Song: Mitternacht by E Nomine


"It's been a week," Jaina said.

"Thirteen days," Soffriel interjected.

"Thirteen days!"

Kel'Thuzad appeared behind Jaina and Kinndy's attention bounced from her fuming mentor to the lich. He was barefoot, wearing only a shirt and trousers, and his hair was tousled.

"What's this about dragons?"

Jaina handed the letter over her shoulder to him without turning. He scanned the lines and raised an eyebrow.

"The trial was set to start today." Jaina's cheeks were pink with anger. "How did Garrosh know a bronze dragon? That's awfully convenient. How did they get to him?"

The goblin postal worker cleared his throat and shifted his mailbag from one hip to the other. "That's all I have for ya, ma'am."

Jaina turned her attention to him. "Thank you. I'll see to it that you get a proper tip."

The goblin knew when he was being politely excused and bowed out of the conversation.

Kinndy continued. "Why escape into the past? I mean, if he had a dragon on his side, he could pretty much go anywhere. Why would he go anywhen instead?"

"There must be something he has- or can acquire- in the past that he can't by simply escaping into the present… This was planned. He had a plan." Jaina began to pace. "He chose this course of action on purpose."

"It's definitely gonna be more difficult to track him down. How do you even- how do you make a portal into the past? Is it like a kind of summoning or…?"

"The Lorewalker says that Archmage Khadgar knows more."

"Then we should go see Khadgar."

Kel'Thuzad returned the letter to Jaina and she tucked it back into the envelope. "Before we do anything, we'll have breakfast. Empty stomachs make dull minds. We'll meet in the lab in- let's say one hour."

"Okay."

The door closed with a soft click and Kinndy turned to Soffriel as they left.

"Things always happened in other parts of the world. I wasn't involved or, like, affected. And now we're here and things keep happening."

Soffriel nodded. "I had not thought of this when I asked to be Kel'Thuzad's apprentice. He is very much in the middle of things."

"Yeah." Kinndy narrowed her eyes. "And he's in Jaina's room."

"Yes."

"Ugh. People say she has terrible taste in men but…" Kinndy wrinkled her nose, then lowered her voice as they passed Martin Starkweather walking the opposite direction down the hall. "Him? Really?"

"Ah. I don't believe they're lovers, if that's what you mean. Ysa says he stays with her when she is too- when she is as she was after the siege. While she was healing."

Kinndy halted and looked up at Soffriel. "After the siege?" After the siege when Jaina wasn't even strong enough to wake up for two days. Kinndy tried not to think about the silent clock ticking down in her mentor's body.

"She was injured," he said.

"No, she was exhausted." They stared at each other for a moment. "...oh. You know, don't you? About what's happening to Jaina."

Soffriel dropped his gaze to the floor. "I was a healer of the living once," he said softly. "I still recognize death, even a long, quiet one."

Kinndy blew out a deep breath. "I was wondering if you knew, if she told you, or Kel'Thuzad told you, or you weren't supposed to know- I'm glad you know. I guess Ysadéan knows too."

He nodded. They continued on in silence for a moment.

"He stays with her when she's not doing well?"

He nodded again. "Ysadéan says he's her servant-"

"Technically he is. The whole Scourge is."

"-but I have never seen them treat each other as anything but equals."

"Yeah, that's why I- Ugh. It's not our business."

Soffriel pursed his lips. "Mmm..."

"It really isn't our business."

"It is though. She is your mentor and he is mine. What happens between them affects us. Their respect for each other is… a thing that cannot be taught with words."

Kinndy frowned to herself. "I never thought of it that way." But it was more than respect. They were curious together, problem-solved together, cast together- and spent time together that had nothing to do with magic. They were friends.

"So like… does he just watch her sleep or what?" That sounded like the sort of creepy thing Kel'Thuzad would do.

Soffriel hummed for a moment, then leaned down and whispered, "Ysa says he reads to her."

"Reads?"

"Stories, not magic books."

"That's nice of him."

It was nice of him and Kinndy felt an unexpected stab of jealousy. Jealousy of whom? Of the time Jaina spent with him rather than her? No, that was selfish. Jaina was far more than Kinndy's teacher and Kinndy would never expect her to be anything less. She certainly wasn't jealous of Jaina spending time with the lich- except…

"They're really good friends." Her tone was more sad than she intended. "I've never had a friend like that."

"I don't think I have either."

They walked in silence for a few strides. "Does he need to sleep? Kel'Thuzad? What about you? Do you sleep?"

"I sleep sometimes-"

"When?"

"When? Er. When I'm tired?"

"Okay, well then they almost definitely slept together last night because you don't come to the door looking out of sorts like he did if you've just been sitting around reading."

"Probably."

"But neither of them seemed like they'd been, you know, not sleeping- which means they were sleeping, which means Kel'Thuzad was actually tired enough to sleep."

"Yes…"

"Which begs the question: what made him tired? Because I saw the stuff he did during the siege and he wasn't bothered at all afterward so what can make him actually tired enough that he wants to sleep?"

"That… is a valid question."

Kinndy narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to find out."

Soffriel went on ahead to the lab while Kinndy swung by the mess hall and acquired apples, a square of cheese, a couple of muffins, and a human-sized mug of coffee. She hadn't liked the coffee she got in Dalaran or Theramore but whoever made Icecrown's coffee was some kind of alchemical genius because it tasted like it smelled, with a hint of cinnamon. It was also so strong that Kinndy swore she could see into another dimension if she had more than one cup. Jaina drank the stuff like it was water.

Kinndy set her breakfast items on a side table and ambled over to Kel'Thuzad's workbench. Soffriel had a couple of texts and a notebook open by his elbow but his attention was focused on a metal pan with something in it.

"What's that?" Kinndy had learned to ask and get some warning before approaching Kel"Thuzad's side of the lab.

"It's just a rat."

"One of the pickled ones?" She edged around the table.

"Yes."

Kinndy hopped up on the bench beside him. There was a white rat in the pan, laid on its side. Its skin was greyish and it smelled strongly of chemicals. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Reanimate it, and then care for it-"

"So you're making a pet?"

"Not really. It's a way of practising the upkeep of an undead body."

"Can you do your own, um, upkeep? Like on yourself? Is that a rude question?"

"I don't consider your questions rude. I can't yet, no. I am…" He held out his hand, palm up, beside the bedraggled body of the rat. "Can you see the difference in the magic?"

Kinndy frowned. "Uh... no. There's no magic at all in the rat. And you don't… I never thought about you being magical." She leaned closer and stared. "I guess I don't think of necromancy like other kinds of magic. I don't think I perceive it very well." She looked up. "Is there magic in the rat?"

He nodded. "Just a little." He picked up the rat and let it drape limply across his palm. "A small spell to keep the body pliable, rather than stiff."

"I really can't see it. At all."

"Here. I'll remove the spell and then cast it again so you can watch."

The process took less than a minute and Kinndy sat back in surprise. "Wow. I can barely sense it. The smell of the chemical stuff is getting in the way of the magic. I've never had that happen before."

"Do you only sense magic by smell?"

"Mostly. I can taste it if it's really powerful. What about you?"

"Light. It's always been light and colours." He gently laid the rat back in the pan. "Fortunate, considering I can't taste or smell anymore."

"For sure." Kinndy was still squinting back and forth between Soffriel and the rat. "One of my friends in Dalaran sees colours and light, too."

"I think it's a fairly common form of perception."

"Another one of my friends feels heat and cold. And Jaina says it's like a storm for her. She feels pressure and electricity."

"I've never heard of that before, even among druids."

"Same. What about Kel'Thuzad?"

"I know he can see it like I do but I think there's something else too. He senses things that I can't see."

"Maybe it's just practise. Hey, are you going to give it a name? Your rat?"

He touched the edge of the pan. "It… The spells for this kind of reanimation give no individuality to the target. It won't be anything but a moving corpse."

"Oh. Can you fix it later? Restore it to it's real rat-itude?"

Soffriel side-eyed her. "Perhaps." He paused. "Much later. I don't have nearly enough skill yet. Can I ask- about your sense of magic- how do you perceive me?"

"You smell like a forest. Like being deep in an old forest. It's kind of unnerving. Not because it's you but because I'm not really a forest person- I haven't spent time in them except for a few vacations. I'm afraid I'd get lost or eaten by something."

"A forest?"

"Yeah."

He smiled. "I like that. You're pink, by the way. All of your magic is tinted pink. I think it's you- you put yourself into your magic."

"That's so cool! My friend says I'm pink too!"

"Is that- is that your natural hair colour?"

Kinndy fluffed up her pigtails. "Yep. What colour do you see for yourself?"

"Blue. A dark blue."

"What about Jaina?"

"She's like the aurora- green and purple that moves. Sometimes there are red flashes. I haven't figured out what that signifies, if anything. And you?"

"She's like the air here. Sort of dry? I guess it's how the tundra smells. Like melting snow and- and life persisting in an unforgiving climate. Like sunshine on the black rocks." She bit her lip. "She doesn't smell at all like Theramore or Dalaran. And Kel'Thuzad- whoof. He smells like the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. My friend and I were hiking, in Khaz Modan, in the mountains, and there was a storm at night. There was a lightning strike and it set the forest on fire. It didn't just smell like a wood fire. It smelled like roast meat and burning hair and smelted metal. It smelled like death and destruction."

Soffriel's eyes widened. "How did you escape?"

"Running. Just running. Neither of us knew how to teleport. I've never been so scared. We made it to a little stone keep by a lake- it was barely more than ruins- and we burned a circle around the lake, then we jumped in. The fire went around us but it was still hard to breathe for hours."

"That's terrifying."

"Yeah. And that's Kel'Thuzad. But I can only sense him like that when he's actually using magic. Otherwise I can't sense him at all."

"I think that's part of his being a lich. He's… not whole. I too can only sense him when he casts."

Not whole. Kinndy shuddered. "Oh! Speaking of things that aren't whole- I got an idea about Jaina's cape. Hold on." She retrieved her notebook and brought it back to Soffriel. "Here. I was thinking about the volume problem and how your approach is magic-energy conversion rather than manipulation. See? I thought the transformation from flowers to fur had to be a direct physical parallel and we were confused about what to do with the water in the petals because there's no water in fur or fabric, but without it there isn't enough material to make up the full volume of the cape."

Soffriel nodded. "Yes…"

"But you can turn the water into energy and then turn that energy into something completely different. I was too focused on the water being water."

He tapped her notes. "If you first turn the water to ice, it releases heat energy and gives us a small amount of extra energy to work with."

"Oh my god that's so smart! Yes!" She quickly scribbled his idea into the mess of notes. "Matter-energy conversion seems to be more useful overall than material manipulation."

"I don't understand why mages treat them as two separate subjects."

"What do you mean?"

"There is energy in all things. It can be manipulated just as matter can be. Material manipulation is one way of changing the shape of energy."

Kinndy took a second to process his statement. "Is that a druid concept?"

He nodded. "Nothing is static. Everything is in motion. We figure out ways to push the natural motion into shapes we want."

"What about dead things?"

"Decay is a powerful change in matter and energy."

"What about… rocks?"

"Rocks are always changing. They're formed by the living processes of the earth- the fire beneath us, in layers over aeons, crushed and melted. eroded by wind and water, and sometimes animated by the elementals."

"When druids talk about the planet as a living thing, I just think about green growing things."

"Yes. That is what many people think of. Ah. Does it make more sense to say the planet is an active thing?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that makes more sense." She rested her chin on her hands and cocked her head to look at him. "Can you use your druid magic at all anymore?"

"No. It is… a door bolted shut from the inside. I have accepted that I cannot open it again."

He didn't sound like he had accepted it. "...what about undead? What kind of activity is there in them?"

"A lot. Decay, of course, slowed with magic. The spells of reanimation. A soul and the bindings of it. Sometimes plaits of magic to replace missing muscles or even limbs-"

"Like Zaphine."

"Yes. It's all in motion, shifting and changing to respond to the person. And there are the spells grafted to us, to the Death Knights. They are the most static magic I have ever encountered but they were engineered to be used as tools by anyone, rather than spells to be formed by an individual. Still, they strengthen with use or atrophy with neglect."

Kinndy was ready to ask about the spells themselves when she heard footsteps in the corridor outside and the pitch of Jaina's 'put me in a room alone with Garrosh Hellscream for three minutes and then bring a shovel' voice.

"...thought that far ahead! I'm not blaming the Pandaren of course, but-"

"Ooh, are we blaming Khadgar then?" Kel'Thuzad, speaking with undisguised glee.

"I wouldn't lay the blame at the feet of any one person."

"So we're blaming him a little." Kinndy assumed there was a sharp look from Jaina. "He's a terrible jailor."

They entered together, looking as well-kept as ever, clothes straight and tidy, hair neat. Jaina was leaning hard on her cane despite the glitter of the support spells up and down her body.

"I got you a cup of coffee." Kinndy offered the mug to Jaina, who accepted with a smile and settled in a chair beside the desk.

"Thank you, Kinndy."

"So… what are we going to do about Hellscream?"

Kel'Thuzad folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. "It's not our fight. The fools who allowed him to escape can clean up their mess."

Jaina furrowed her eyebrows. "He'll be back. I know it. Somehow. He'll find a way."

Kinndy gripped her staff with both hands. "We should find out about the dragon."

"What about it?"

"Who it is. If we know that, maybe we can find a clue about where- when- Hellscream went."

"That's a good place to start. I'll send your suggestion to Khadgar. Beyond that, I-" Jaina sighed. "I'm so tired of holding out a hand and being ignored."

"Then don't. We have our own priorities."

Kinndy eyed Kel'Thuzad. What priorities?

"Icecrown's involvement isn't necessary."

"Until it is. When he returns- and he will- we'll be waiting, regardless of who sends us a letter, or doesn't."

There was a beat of silence and then Soffriel spoke up. "Is it possible to learn how far into the past this man travelled?"

Jaina shook her head. "I have no idea. This time travelling stuff has never made sense to me."

He continued. "I think we should put the question to the Archmage then."

"Why?" asked Kel'Thuzad.

"This may be wrong but- the Emerald Dream is our world, yet not. It is a place we can go from here, if we know how." He paused. "I have seen Ysadéan walk through walls by entering the Dream in one place and exiting in another. And- Have you noticed her antlers this morning?"

The three of them exchanged puzzled glances. "No," said Jaina. "Why?"

"They were mere buttons last night. She spends time meditating in the Dream now and then, to regain her strength or seek clarity, and though it is only hours for me, it might be days or weeks for her. Time is different in the Dream. It can be what is needed. Last night she entered, and this morning her antlers are spikes nearing their first branch."

"Holy crap," said Kinndy. "Sorry, that's just- that's- wow."

"The Emerald Dream moves forward, never back, but if this bronze dragon could put a man backwards in time, he might be able to emerge whenever and wherever he wanted after many years passed."

"Enough time to mass an army," Jaina whispered.

"Yes."

"He could bring an invasion force to our very doorstep, without any warning."

Kinndy felt the colour drain from her cheeks. "We have to tell Khadgar. I mean, he might already know but if he doesn't, we've gotta tell him!"

Jaina nodded. "Kinndy, would you like to bring him this information, as a messenger for Icecrown?"

"Really?!"

"I have priorities here and I think he would be glad to see you again." She looked up at Soffriel. "Would you like to go with her?"

"Yeah! Come with me! You can explain the Emerald Dream stuff better than me. Khadgar might have questions I can't answer."

Soffriel made a deep nod or a shallow bow. "I will."

"Road trip!" Kinndy stage-whispered to him. "And important mission. Road trip."

Kel'Thuzad was wearing a barely-there smile that nevertheless radiated bad intentions. "I'll have some proper attire prepared for you."

"Er…"

"No apprentice of mine will represent the Scourge in half a suit of battered platemail."

"Give Khadgar your suggestions and bring back what information you can about time magic. I don't even know where to start investigating it."

"When are we leaving? And, uh, where are we going?"

"Dalaran first. The Council will know where Khadgar is. Return here and I will make a portal to his location, unless the Council will do it for you." She looked from Kinndy to Soffriel. "And if you find yourself on the edge of battle- if Hellscream finds his way back to our time with an army- come home. I will not have you endanger yourselves."

Kinndy was nodding fervently. "Yes. Yep. Of course. Absolutely. When do we leave?"

"I'll write an official introduction for you both and apparently Soffriel needs new clothes, so give us a day."


The pen slipped from Jaina's grasp. Suddenly she was overcome with a numbness from chin to toes and looked on in horror as her body slid sideways. Ysadéan caught her but Jaina couldn't feel her touch.

No no no no no! She wasn't really thinking in words; it was a battering panic as she reached out for Kel'Thuzad's mind. Stop! Stop! I can't breathe-

Ysadéan's hands were on her cheeks now, holding her head still. Jaina was dimly aware of Kel'Thuzad's jaw pressed against the back of her head. He wasn't thinking in words either, just images of her slack shoulders and his arms around her, holding her up.

Ysadéan yanked her veil back and despite her foggy eyes, Jaina felt her piercing gaze. Her vision tunneled to a pinpoint, focused on Ysadéan's silver eyes, and then it closed and Jaina was swallowed by darkness.

You are not alone.

A tiny light sputtered to life and Jaina found herself standing in featureless darkness. No, not standing. Her toes hovered above a nothingness that nevertheless felt like it might be solid. The light brightened and Jaina blinked.

Ysadéan stood before her. Jaina recognized her though she looked nothing like the woman Jaina knew. She was taller, leaner, her layered robes replaced with tight, knee-length breeches and a sleeveless vest that bared her midriff. No, not her- him. Ysadéad. And his antlers… they spread out like the branches of an ancient tree. Jaina's view fluttered and briefly inverted and his antlers became fingers of lightning.

Her panic bled away and she took a deep breath. Yes, she could breathe again.

You are safe.

Where am I?

Safe in your room. Do not be afraid.

But where is this?

It is an in-between place; it exists because of you.

How are you here?

You let me in.

Her skin crawled for no conscious reason.

What's happening to my body?

I am working on it. Do not worry. It is easier with you in this place.

I've never been here before.

Yes, you have. Once.

I don't remember. How do you know?

Kel'Thuzad told me. This is the place where you chose.

I don't understand. What did he tell you?

It wasn't on purpose. That wasn't Ysadéan/Ysadéad's voice and Jaina turned. Kel'Thuzad, in all his twelve foot tall lichly glory, hovered behind her. It was buried so deeply in your mind that neither of us saw it. Jaina, this is where you chose to take the Lich King's power.

I don't-

But she did.

She remembered her anguish beside Arthas' body and the helpless feeling of reaching out to touch whatever scrap of him remained- Jaina had never trained herself in mental magicks like telepathy or shielding- she reached, untaught, untrained, with her extraordinary strength, forcing her grieving will past the limits of knowledge, powered by consuming emotion.

And she found something, something like a door.

And she pulled it open, curious, desperate, still reaching.

It exploded into her consciousness: this place, where a pitiful ghost of Arthas faded between her reaching fingers without farewell- where she found something else. The Helm floated before her. She raised her hands and framed it between her palms, not yet touching, curious but wary. Jaina knew power when confronted by it.

She would learn nothing by just looking. She laid her hands against the metal.

Lines of light- no, it was a darkness so intense that it burned like light- lines sprang out from her touch. They ran, twisted, curved, spun-

The whole Helm unravelled between her hands, wrote itself out of solid form into three dimensions around her. Her jaw dropped and she turned in a slow circle; her vision inverted again and she found herself moving on some other axis as the Helm unfurled beyond the edges of her vision.

This is it. This is everything.

It was amazing, beautiful, so intricate, like no other magic she had ever seen, laid before her, offered to her, and she could take it.

The Helm coalesced in her hands again.

She could have it.

She could leave it.

Her fingers stroked the metal.

If she took it, it would crown her with magic like nothing else, make her something that wasn't meant to exist, give her answers she didn't have questions for- and it would kill her.

If she left it, she would still die, but she would die wondering.

Jaina frowned. Yes, it was fascinating- so incredibly different- but it was more than an artifact. It carried a weight beyond magic, an enormous duty that would change her life.

I can bear it.

And Jaina put it on.


"She's cold! Do something!" Kel'Thuzad snarled at Ysadéan. His vision wobbled between the material world and the immaterial bridge where Jaina stood motionless, entranced by something only she was experiencing.

"I am!"

He buried his face in her hair and closed his eyes. Something changed in the darkness where Jaina hovered. Her eyes smouldered with magic, her hands raised before her face as though she were holding something at eye level.

I'm here.

She didn't acknowledge him. Her hair lifted on unreal currents, spread out in a blazing fan, as bright as Ysadéad's antlers, edged with a blue that writhed and curled like flame. The space between her hands began to glow. Lines of runes poured from her fingertips, swooped around her body like his floating chains, looped and looped, slowly drawing shapes he recognized, tightening, solidifying, and finally they rushed upwards in jagged lines, attempting to wrap around her head.

The fringes of blue flame roared down her whole body now, rendering her a shadow within their light, and the tightening runes pulled back, wavered, and began to draw new shapes. Finally they rose to circle the crown of her head, still jagged but formed to fit her and then her feet settled against the nothingness beneath her.

Jaina turned to face him. She was clad as a battle mage, in armour made of magic shields, but it was black, trimmed with fur, recognizable with silver-wrought skulls, the heraldry of the Scourge. She raised her hands and between them she held the Helm- but not the Helm as it had once been. It was a circlet of black metal, trimmed with sharp points, set with a purple stone. She placed it on her blazing hair and smiled at him.

"I can bear it."


Jaina woke with a shallow gasp. She lay on her bed, on top of the covers, a single blanket tucked around her. The blanket tickled against her skin and she breathed an unsteady sigh of relief. Slowly, she tested each limb. They responded as they should and she sat up with some effort.

Kel'Thuzad lay beside her, his back pressed against her hip. He didn't stir when she moved.

"How do you feel?"

Jaina turned and found Ysadéan sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"No different than before I passed out. Thank you."

"It is my honour, as always."

Jaina tugged at the blanket. "I think we found the edge."

"Yes. It was much closer than any of us knew."

She glanced at Kel'Thuzad and then back to Ysadéan. "Is he okay?"

"He is-" She made a grasping motion with one hand. "In a deep sleep? Something like that. It is strange to me; I cannot explain his magic or his use of it."

She sat in silence for a moment. "The place where we were- in my mind-"

"No, Lady Jaina. Not inside your mind. It was a place made by you but others can visit, if you allow them."

"I don't remember allowing you. Or Kel'Thuzad."

Ysadéan leaned forward, rested her elbows on her knees, and laced her fingers together beneath her chin. "You pulled us in, despite resistance. You were frightened. You did not understand what happened. You wanted allies."

"Sorry about that."

"You need not apologize. I understand."

Jaina tried to replay the experience. She remembered the runes, the Helm-

"You were a man. When I pulled you into that place, I saw you as a man."

Ysadéan smiled. "That does not surprise me. When I use a skill that I learned in one form, I associate it with that time and sometimes return to that form. I was a man when I first learned to walk in the in-between places."

"In-between-" Then Jaina remembered placing the Helm on her head. "...in between choices..."

It wasn't a memory. It was now. I had a choice and I chose again. I pulled Ysadéan and Kel'Thuzad in with me but I took the Helm. I chose myself.

She struggled to maintain her composure.

That place- that's where I can pass the Lich King's power from myself to another person.