Speech = ``…..….. ´´
Thoughts = …..
Inner voices "…..."
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Black rock mountain: Throne room.
Nefarian
Nefarian liked to believe he was a god, and his followers worshipped him as such….
Today he was an angry god, a very angry god...ever since the blunder of the second war their forces as well as their plans had been in a somewhat slow, yet non paused decline. Followers were growing scarce, funding was even harder to come by...
He gritted his teeth. These events had being akin to blood been spilled in the water, everyone of notice had taken notice of his brief weakness and tried to either abandon him or try to take portions of his territory.
The insolence of those worms! How dare they stand up to him in such a brazen open manner!? How dare they challenge the son of the Destroyer as if they were robbing a mere mortal? He would, yet the silence of his master only soured his mood and embolden those vermin even further...
Now he no longer did posses the backing of the many strong allies he had previously held under his pawn, and it painfully showed….
But things usually took a turn for the worse thanks to and the antics of her sister who still at this day denied any sort of participation in such obvious attempts to sabotage his efforts...
As if she thought he would not connect the dots to how those feeble meat sacks could pinpoint with such accuracy the location of his bases!
He would make her pay for such insolence, no matter what. It only bothered him that he could not enact his vengeance right away, nor directly when back a few hundred years ago he would have just gone to her den and rip her throat, but now?
There were to few of them in existence to entice the idea of killing each other to solve this dispute, at least...on paper. But given their nature everything was allowed for the fight for the first place under their masters side…
Everything…
He would have to get creative.
He had previously thought the possibility to black mail her, force her to aid him to get back to the top of his game again against her own expense since he was one of the few who knew what she was doing in the human kingdom…, exploit her position within a real that hated their kin and would throw everything in hopes of slaying them.
But much to his dismay he had the feeling that would not work as intended...
His minions, better or not, for a lack of possibilities were not…..as versatile or skilled in the arts of subterfuge, nor he had the necessary patience to pull it through without trying to rile her up in the process. Speaking of his minions...
Orcs, dwarfs and other beast under his command….they were made for fighting, their very nature asking for the blood of their foes while the foul energies woven into his flesh that he had granted them soaked their resolve with unending determination.
They were clearly not made for sneaking around like those flimsy and cheap draconoids Onixia enjoyed so much to employ...but rather for the carnage of war and the glory of conquest.
It would be just a waste of the scarce manpower he held, let alone a stupid way to expose himself and his plans in the process to their foes if he even tried. Which only enraged him even further when even in what they were supposed to be good at they failed, repeatedly….
Blasted mortals, blasted adventurers and damn their reality breaking luck!
His blood started to boil inside him, his claws tearing apart chunks of rock before he smashed his fist onto the ground, leaving nothing but a prominent crater on his wake. Embers flew from his nostrils as he took a long deep breath.
But not everything could be blamed on the sub-par ability of his minions, no…even though their lack of competence has done nothing but derail his efforts.
Slowly, he approached his throne..., a massive, monstrous edification made out of molten magma and bones from various beasts he had bested and devoured in the past, the world shaking with each step.
It stood at the very far end of the cavern at the very depths of his fortress, the warm, orange like hue light from the magma sliding down by various holes on the walls granting it a malevolent and threatening aura to any of those who glanced at it.
His previous seat of power had been at the very spires of the mountain, where he had a far easier time acceding it through the air, but with the last attack by his foes it had been damaged. Which could have been repaired in time had that stupid thorn of Ragnaros decided not to send a new onslaught of fire elementals.
So he decided to take what it once was the biggest base of operations of that fire bastard and set his eat on power right onto his very nose. Sealing the way down...
He stopped just as he reached the last steps...
Seeing what it had taken place already one would have thought that nothing more could go wrong, at least the idea of improvement could be considered. He could not have been more wrong with the last chain of these most unspontaneous and unfortunate events.
The Scourge…..
His tail slammed down the ground, leaving nothing but a large gash on the stone floor, spider webs forming around the ruined chucks of the stairs. Even thinking about those worm crawling maggots brought a sour taste to his mouth.
To get a good grip of the new landscape that was forming years after their defeat, he had seemed fit to invest so much time and effort into that measly human kingdom to get a good grasp of their power structure and society before the next time to strike came to be.
Making whatever few manpower able for the task he had to recruit, which had consisted with what humans and few non dark dwarves he had managed to sway to his side for he doubted that they would even allow one of his orcs anywhere near their settlements unless they were skewered into a porcupine.
The first years had been nothing but a slow, almost to a crawl agony to his mental health with the problems and obstacles that started popping out one after the other, who would have thought that administration would have been so hard?
Hiring men, granting them or just making the tools from scratch, searching for buildings they could accommodate their operations without drawing to much attention, having to deal with the lack of privacy from the townsfolk, making enticing offers as-well having to find a way to pay their salaries so that they did not had to resolve to rob them blind and get the Paladin order on their asses...
His only saving grace was that the populace was far more busy dealing with the orc presence in their kingdom, whether imprisoned or not and reconstruction of their homes to pay them too much heed as-well as the fact that some noblemen were disillusioned with the way things had gone for them after the war.
It was a slow process indeed, but with one steady step at a time he had managed to create a firm grasp over the kingdom, like the roots of a tree, deepening everywhere. The two consecutive bad harvests coupled with rising taxes and the brutality of a nobleman or two here and there for their whims only served to push those brainless sheep more and more into the fold.
A few more years and he would have been ready to carve a little kingdom for himself if he were to grow impatient and start right away with his father's plans.
And yet, before he could even rip out the rewards the cities had fallen into disarray, sickness had spread far and wide, scaring and killing his minions wherever they were. Turning them into mindless sacks of rotten flesh or scaring them witless….
And so far they had proven hard to find and drag back to his domain with all the chaos erupting through the world.
The flesh and bone of the living had always been useful, no matter how primitive their minds worked they all had their purposes. Yet a corpse was the complete antithesis of his powers, there was nothing to twist, to corrupt. They were of no use to him…, not even for nourishment for his experiments.
He growled, shaking the very walls around him as if they were made of gingerbread instead of volcanic stone.
Those bastards were unknowingly screwing with his preparations and he could not touch them.
Dam them!
His personal moment of brooding alone was interrupted when someone stepped into his personal chambers. An old looking black orc, one of his oldest followers by the looks of it if some of the scars over his body and the scent of the void he carried with said anything about it.
Looking at the myriad of scars that were carved into his muscles as-well as the eye patch covering one of his eyes he realized that the primitive beast standing before him was his vanguard captain. A miserable fool who thirsted for the blood of his foes half the time he was awake while the other was spent brooding.
He had served him better than others…, that did not stop him from glaring with barely contained hatred at him.
How it irked him to no end the fact that he would come in so blatantly, without the slightest shred of decency into his inner sanctum.
He should better have a reason to disturb his peace or else….
``What is it, servant? Speak fast before I leave nothing of you but molten pebbles...´´
He commanded, his voice echoing through the cavern with the raging crackling sound of the fire brewing inside his maws.
``Master, forgive this lowly servant, but there is an emergency!? An intruder has breached our defences´´
``What!?´´
Even before he had even finished that sentence his entire body had sprung in alarm, jumping down from his very throne into the ground below with just a whip of his wings. The entire area trembled as his body collided with the ground, magma spilling out from the gorges in the ground in all directions.
He did not care as he approached the former green-skin. This was a serious matter that had to be addressed immediately...
``Where are they? How many? And what is our forces doing about it?´´
``They were last spotted in the inner atrium my master, our forces do not know how they managed to elude our tight net of our defences and went to confront the foes, myself included….and is just one mage´´
They have ventured that deep already and I have not been aware of it!? Unforgivable, though the lack of alarms spoke much of the nature of who they were facing. An army could never hide away from his spies, this had the foul stench of special forces written on the wall.
SI7 with a battery of champions or veteran adventurers, or perhaps the Horde had deigned itself to welcome itself inside his lair to claim his head with their best warriors. He would have almost felt honoured that they would send the best of the best from their pitiful factions to match against him, a full fledged black dragon…
If they were not just bothering the hell out of him...
He was about to bark an order when his eyes widened in shock, a realization striking him when he recalled something that the meagre, barely sentient piece of flesh had just said.
One.
One mage had infiltrated his sanctum…
Not an army, not a group of specialised warriors...just one man.
He could not contain it any more as he sent a baffled look at the one eyed orc, his fair draconic features hampering the gesture slightly yet the tone of his words could denote rather easily what he thought of his affirmation.
``It cannot be, one!?
He had barged into his inner sanctum for one measly intruder!? No, one pitiful creature had managed to slip past their defences and was strolling around like was going to pick up the milk!?
Useless, the lot of them….
Whatever meagre faith he had in the primitive tools at his disposal plummet even further into nonexistence. How incompetent could they be!?
``My lord, if you allow me to explain-….´´
``One? Did you really came all the way here to cry about one measly intruder? Just. One!? ´´
``My apologies my lord, we just do not know what to do. We are uncertain how he managed to get inside.., slipping through our defences like they were never there. Our warlocks did not detect anything at all so its probably that here could be passag-´´
``Why do I employ the likes of you if you are unable to take action by yourselves, bothering me with every decision making. Kill him already you useless piece of mortal grox manure...!´´
``B-but we cant…´´
He lowered his large head down onto the brutish warrior, barring down his burning amber slitted eyes onto the orcs remaining one, who could barely hold his gaze by the scorching heat emanating from him.
``Are you refusing my order?´´
``N-no my lord…., w-what I mean is that we tried to slay him, but we could not succeed. I do not believe that is possible´´
``And why is that? Have your minds regressed to the point that you challenge the wretch one by one or have you lost the strength of your arm Rend Blackhand? You surely cannot be thinking a sole man could best all of your men, no matter how little we have now...´´
``N-no! By the darkness that you command no. but I am afraid that he was just too strong, he swat us aside like mere flies before moving on….´´
``Is that so..?´´
``Yes master, it is as I have described..´´
``If so strong he was that even you could not avoid trembling at the thought why are you still alive?
``W-hat?´´
``Why am I still listening to your pitiful voice? Why do I have to continue to suffer your presence if you faced an otherworldly individual?´´
``He did not kill any of us…sire. None were felled by his blasted evil arts...´´
``He spared you..?´´
He asked, sparks of hellfire spilling out of his eyes as he planted the question to linger in the air. His voice echoing softly into the air, not resembling the dangerous, terrific visage he was presenting the mortal fool.
The thin mask of politeness of a beast, barely holding together as it played with its food for a little longer before it grew tired and lunged forward for the kill.
His eyes, now two two unblinking burning coals as they glared down his captain. Waiting, waiting for any sort of response for the orc as his claws started chipping away chunks of volcanic rocks, his tail sweeping the ground more and more vigorously.
But Blackhand did not answer…, he would not. The terror and shame that he had been trying to keep away under his false pretence of bravado had been swept away. Leaving nothing but the purest and rawest expressions of honesty from his trembling body.
He could not…, for the truth was so much worse than that. And he could already taste its bitter scent...
``You ran away...´´
The words were uttered slowly, almost dragging through the ground. Reverberating over his ears like a faint echo lost in the large cavern…a stark contrast with the storm that the orcs flinching had served as confirmation of his suspicions.
Not only had an enemy infiltrated his base of power, but had bulldozed his way down to a point that even his self proclaimed champion could only cower in fear, running away with a tail between his legs.
This was not just a challenge, but a humiliation!
``No! I-I merely thought prudent to-ouch..!´´
A large clawed pawn stretched forward and graved the orc, lifting him from the ground and raising him just into his eye level as he held him tight as he roared with all the anger and frustration he had bottled up until them into the unlucky fools face.
``If my greatest warrior has the guts to lie so brazenly to his master for his lack of courage on the battlefield, then you are no further use to me…´´
``Master! Please, I beg you, have merc-AAAAaaaargh!´´
His pleads rang over deaf ears as he started closing in his hand into tight fist, enjoying the way the orc tried to squirm his way out his grip, his pathetic attempts growing more wilder and desperate as fortune gifted him with the sound of his bones breaking down, one by one. Blood coming out freely and rapidly from both his eyes and mouth into the ground below, his face stuck in an eternal grimace of shock and despair until his body gave in…
What fell into the ground on a puddle of blood was akin more to a crushed grape than a former sentient being.
At least that form befitted the coward, if he had a brain inside that miniscule head of his he would have known that only damnation awaited him for his deeds. Killing him felt good, though it would bring more problems in the near future.
Still, he was sure that his predecessor would not bat an eye when he held the powers Blackhand once did.
With a barely contained scoff he decided to move to the upper levels to face this intruder himself, after all..it seemed that if one someone something done well they had to do it themselves.
That was the idea, had a voice not stopped him.
``Well, now that is a pity….´´
Between surprise and bewilderment he turned around, not really sure whether he had just imagined the comment. Sometimes the voices spoke to him too…, but as he would soon find out, they had nothing to do with that disruption this time around.
There was a man just right next to him. He looked old, ancient... almost decrepit.
Dressed in a simple dark tunic with the occasional star or blue eye on the fabric which covered most of his body, he would easily be able to mingle with the human mages in Dalaran. A hood and disorganised beard concealed most of his face, but did not hide his murky eyes.
He could not help but feel that even though there was no way it to be true, they were following him.
Studying him...
His hands were busy holding an ebony wooden cane that ended in a dying head, the agony on its visage carved with great detail into the material to the point it threatened to come out to life. The other hand however held what could only be described a rather heavy book. Its cover damaged by the passing of time...
``You..´´
``Me..´´
``You surely must be either brave or foolish to come meet me...´´
He said as he started to rise to his full height. Spreading his wings far and wide as he looked down onto the mortal whelping. A visage that would have terrified any one had they stumbled inside. Only for the human to ignore him as he approached the orcs corpse.
A strange expression over his features.
``These days finding goons to your biding is becoming harder and harder, to waste such resources with the flick of your hands.., wait, is it pawns? Claws? With dragons one never knows´´
``What..?´´
``I thought that you were gonna incinerate him for a second, but death by crushing? Well… I suppose that it was not like you could throw him from the skies into the ground…, though there is a nice river of lava just right next to you...´´
``….´´
``Speaking of where we are, why would you make your lair deep underground rather than at the top? It looks rather counterproductive for such a winged creature such as yourself…´´
``Shut it!´´
`` Hmm, my apologies...sometimes I lost myself rambling about, though where was I? Ah! Yes...how could I forget!? Don't you think that for such a powerful creature is not a wasteful behaviour to throw away some good meat for no good reason?´´
The human vanished in a blink, a few seconds before a large boulder crashed just where he had been standing. Appearing over the stairs now, playing with his staff as if it were a flute.
``I suppose not everyone can take critics these days…, what a troublesome situation, though nothing that a lengthy conversation could not resolve. How about we stroll and get to know each other a little better?´´
His left eye started to twitch with annoyance.
``How about you die!?´´
He rebutted with a loud snarl as he lunged forward, closing in the distance between the two in an instant before he snapped his jaws down over his midsection. He saw his body disappear as he did, yet his knife long fangs did not hear the familiar sound of flesh being punctured and bones breaking like twigs, but rather the echo of air being displaced as he closed his maw with force.
With nothing between them...
``Well, I did not take you for the timid kind, guess that under all those black scales there is a comfy, heart...´´
..Of course, he teleported away..
He cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing into two thin slits as he tried to look for a better answer to his predicament. Brute force was not gonna cut it this time…
How...vexing
``What do you want...´´
``Now you are asking the right questions my friend, though now that I think about it. What are questions really? Are they the representation made manifest of a mortals own ignorance? Or are they perhaps merely the throws of something else? Pushing us further and further for more knowledg-..´´
A large, black scaled tail slammed down into ground, snuffing the mage out of existence. Dust and pebbles flying around as a result.
``Well, well...that could have hurt really bad. You should know that is not of good manners to interrupt someone when they are speaking right?
``Silence and go to the damn point before I lose what little patience I have left!´´
``Oh look at that, we have drawn quite the attention…, oh I adore it when there is an audience to impress. Wouldn't you say the same?´´
The mage said with childish enthusiasm as he looked somewhere else in the room, a direction that he too, reluctantly followed. It was not small his surprise when he found that a large number of his minions had arrived.
Glaring at them….
Their eyes locked in place, not even blinking….
Such details were quickly ignored as he felt emboldened by their presence. Yes, his army had proven useless to stop this man from snooping and around and yes, he had proven..inadequate to deal with him himself. But such failures could be considered because the mage had dealt with them individually.
With everyone here.., even if the mage could teleport from harm there was just as much as he could do. He will either get tired or make a mistake, and he only needed one to swat him down onto the ground like the fly he was.
``You impudent fool, this time would be the last that you mock me! Kill him where he stands my minions...´´
He ordered, his tone not able to contain the glee from the imminent sight of blood sprawling out from the old man's body just like he had done to Blackhand. He could just not wait…, but when a second passed, and then another without nothing happening he realized that something was going wrong.
Looking back towards his minions he found the fools in the same spot. He gritted his teeth in rage. For how long would he have to suffer their incompetence?
``What are you doing!? I command you to-...´´
``Yada yada...I don't think they would want to enter into the crossfire of such...uncaring master´´
He said calmly as he diverted his attention towards the splattered body laying on the ground.
``What did you do?´´
The old man merely shrugged, offering him a toothy grin that revealed those sickly, yellowish fangs into the air.
``Nothing really, they were merely very eager to change their mind when presented with a counter offer….´´
Nelfarian could only growl in anger, the crackling of a thousand furnaces spilling through the flames licking his teeth. Spelling embers from his maw into the air…, of course, he had bewitched them with a spell.
No wonder they remained put like a bunch of statues, the mage did not brought them here because he needed them. He paraded them to tell him how insignificant he was to him.
``You will pay for it with your blood, I will feast on your bones and-...´´
``Ah, and here we go again…., with the petty threats and overall drama that seemed to have come out of a children's fairy-tail. I would give you a seven in drama, but a two in execution, you need to put more effort in making it more believable. It feel like you were just spitting out lines you have been rehearsing´´
``What..?
``And why threaten someone with death? Do you not know how boring that is? So overused? So final? So..quick? Do you know what, why not threaten someone with life? I bet they would never expect the likes of you to come out with that?
``What are you-...´´
``I mean, think it this way…. while Life though finite is so full of possibilities, sometimes with some more horrifying than others though, but possibilities nonetheless. Why settle with the same routine when you have a whole universe to choose from...? Surely a beast such as yourself would not lower itself at the level of mortals..?´´
``You dare-...´´
But to wonder which one could be used and end up happening could be so thrilling. After all, is not custom for simple mortals to make gods kneel…?´´
``Silence wrench!
He roared into the air, the entire mountain shaking and breaking down around them before a powerful stream of fire come out from his mouth, flying with ease through the air and bathing the nagging fool in a sea of flames.
He would have cherished it as he observed how the ground melted under the heat, if he did not know he had missed again as he now spotted him to his left.
Damn that mage and his teleportation abilities!
``Truly, the description of your flames pales in comparison with reality, Nelfarian the stupendous..´´
You think you can walk into my layer, stroll around and make a mockery of both my army and myself? To challenge me and try to take my head from my shoulders and mount it as a trophy? No I don't think so...´´
He said as he lunged forward, raising his claws and striking down onto the old man's body only for it to vanish into thin air.
``I think you are taking things out of proportion...´´
``As if! No amount of trickery and flimsy wordplay will save you from my retribution when I get my grasp on you, old man...´´
His nostrils flared with disgust as they caught on a stink coming from somewhere else, an odour new...yet awfully familiar. He growled, ragged eyes darting around, searching for the pesky little pest but finding nothing.
His senses betraying him at every step of the way, calling him out towards different directions, sometimes many at the same time as the sound of footsteps and laughter echoed endlessly in his mind.
``Well, human! I smell you, I hear your breath, I feel your presence in the air. Where are you!?
``A wizard is never late, my scaly friend. He arrives precisely when he means to...oh, I think I chose the wrong quote for the occasion, my bad..´´
``The mountain will crack under my fury, the rocks will melt under my touch and your cheap bravado will falter...For I am fire, I am death...´´
``Now that is an outstanding declaration, far better than the poor attempt earlier on. Someone give him a prize because that is some serious effort for a winged lizard ´´
``Any last words?´´
``Behind you, I guess...?´´
..Wait, what!?..
His body writhed immediately even before the voice finished on sharing his carefree message, he could feel how his wings lurched to the sides not able to follow as swiftly with his body as he finally could gaze at the direction of where the voice originated from...
He did not know why he was not surprised when his eyes found its vanishing target.
He had not lied, he really was behind him...or rather now, in front of him…, but that was not the worst part.
The bastard was now resting rather comfortably on the throne, his throne as he smiled down at him. Those cloudy eyes glinting with amusement as they followed his every movement, acting so high and mighty as if he was in control.
The fact that a seeming-less defenceless man was doing that to him only added salt to injury.
``You have a lot of nerve coming here alone, you must think yourself very highly to come to kill me..´´
``Kill you...? Why would I even do that for...?´´
The mage asked, rather taken a back before he started stroking his beard. Each tug changing its shade...
``No, no, no…, you misunderstand me my big winged friend. I have not come here to fight you or kill you for that matter, not at all... unless you were to consider our word by word as a sparring match.
``What I want is to help you..´´
``Help me...?´´
He could not help but ask, puzzled by the strange request.
``Indeed, two strange little words aren't they? Capable of making from the lowest of pawns to the mightiest beings to backtrack and consider them, even if for amusements sake´´
``You speak too much...´´
``So I have been told, it has never stopped me though. Now, what do you say? Would you humour this fragile old man wishes to aid a fellow mood kindred? I promise...I wont bite´´
``It amuses me how such a pathetic life form dares imply that his betters would fear it…., like a little whelp, his chest beaming with childish pride while standing in the way of the very forces of the world. Truly, ignorance is a bliss….´´
``Oh no! Your words are too much for the feeble heart of this old man, what I am gonna do!?
``Cease your nonsense, the only reason I have not ended you is because I find your idiocy mildly amusing, mortal´´
``Oh!? I knew that you would come around eventually. Though I am afraid I can not abide by such request, after all...why would I have a mouth if not to use it?
`` When I rip your tongue throughout your throat and make you swallow it you may reconsider it´´
``And how would I help you without the beauty of my singsong voice..? The stars would weep while the oceans would bleed for such loss´´
``Quite your japing. I don't need the help
``Oh, but I bet you do…´´
``I do not!´´
``The sorry of your fortress and the even more lacklustre show of your minions speaks that you are in your last legs, though I suppose that acknowledging that would be too hard for someone who was in the top of the game once...´´
``You dare-´´
His words are interrupted when the wizard rose a hand to scratch his chin, hidden underneath the unkempt state of his beard.
``Bare with me, thinking about it, even for a second if you might but have you not taken notice of an even awful truth?
``And what would that be? Go on, indulge me..´´
He rasped with distaste now that he realized that there was not an ounce of fear, common sense or dignity in that little head of his to cower in fear of him.
``You are alone ´´
``What..?´´
``Alone, abandoned, isolated….and you will die as such if you don't do anything about it. Merely a stepping stone in your fathers and sisters plan. A name to mourn a second and discard the next for eternity´´
``You lie!´´
``How come..? Is not like I have anything to gain from it...´´
``They would never betray me…, we are not like the rest of the flights who sold their souls to the Titans and their machinations. We have a unity of purpose!´´
He exclaimed, only to be met with a chuckled from the diminutive man.
``Machinations? Unity? Oh, please... you know better than that, after all…you too have betrayed them for your own interest. Kin slayer, or did you think that your actions would not be discovered by them?
``I did what I did for the sake of the plan, nothing else!´´
``I know, and so do they...but that has allowed them an excuse to spurn you out. They know of your power child, of your ambitions and they are afraid of them´´
..Afraid..?
The thought was inconceivable, a mirage of the mind even for there was no place in this world and the next that the Destroyer could fear him…, though why did he not say it? Why did he not rebuke it?
In any other situation he would…, if a part deep inside of him did not already agree with it. A truth that he had yet to recognise as such.
``Your sister is as crafty as she is ambitious, but she lacks power to back it up, while your father as mighty as he once was, now has now to rely on the aid of others for much was lost during this last battle against the aspects and their allies..´´
A mighty bastion of power now crawling in the shadows from the sight of the Aspects.
A haughty bitch who never stopped pestering him with her bullshit as if he had the time for that.
``Always depending on you, always having you doing the hard work…, always having you clean up after them while they reap the rewards of your work. And for what? Another defeat? Another humiliation granted to yours truly by those you considered lesser? Forcing you back to the scrip table to start the cycle once again?´´
The words stung a bitter cord, one that he had wished was buried deeply within the darkest pits of his soul. Especially when it came about their defeats...
The second war as the mortals called it had been a clear example of it.
While the continent bled, drowning the fields in blood they had managed to wipe the board with their greatest threat, capturing, slaving and killing as many reds as they could. Throwing them to fight the other already weakened flights. And when the leaders of the traitors came they had been incapable to face his master.
One by one they fell, blood and scales falling to the ground as his majesty drove his fangs and claws deeper into their flesh. Victory had been theirs, it should have been their moment of glory…
And yet their foes reaped their victory from the jaws of defeat. His master plummeting into the ground after he was blasted down by their combine might once the demon soul broke.
Where had the strength he had previously showed gone? How could he lose after the injuries he inflicted them before the plan backfired? Where did his masters confidence go?
``I see now which was your true objective coming here, seeking to sow distrust between the black dragon flight. Mortal…´´
It was not a question, but a statement as he growled at the man with nothing but distaste, but not without a hint of respect drawing out on his tone. No one had ever managed to leave him second guessing as much as this man had.
``Was I too obvious...?´´
The mortal chuckled, his laughter echoing freely through the cavern like a broken, gurgling mess that even him could not stand before he waved a hand at him dismissibly, clearly not bothered by his accusation or perhaps he was messing once again with him.
Unknowing whether there was some deeper scheme behind his words or just more nonsense that accidentally made sense.
He really could not read him…
``If you think I will fall to your petty manipulations you have a thing coming mage, we dragons are not like the rest of you mortals who can be swayed with fancy wordplay´´
Are you sure? After all, aren't you bitter at the need to follow each of their orders like they were your law? Been slighted by your lesser sister without even the capacity to fight back? Do you not fight their enemies day and night in the name of a cause that has never been your own?´´
``No, you are blabbering nonsense again. I believe in my fathers work, and I am proud to fight for it... ´´
He retorted with what he supposed was confidence, the mage was unmoved.
``Do you believe in the cause or you were made to believe in the cause?´´
``What is the difference?
``Everything..´´
``Speak plainly mortal!´´
``I believe I have, you...are merely refusing to listen. And speaking of which, I have yet to heard anything about the rest of your statements….´´
``…..´´
``And even if it were wrong... can you tell me if my words do not ring true..? Tell me Nelfarian, how many of your men were sacrificed on the altar of progress, only to have nothing to prove or be given in gratitude for it? Four hundred? One thousand? Perhaps more…?´´
..How could he know?..
The human took a step forward, opening his arms to the sides as if he were to embrace him. His staff rotating over the air, waiting for its master to call upon it once again.
`` How many of your resources you had to scrap from the ground, debasing yourself from your high place time and time again, only to lose them in the most of humiliated of forms by the intervention of foes who should not have been aware of your presence?´´
``Shut up, shut up!´´
He roared, letting loose another stream of fire, this time aided by a wave of magic, enhancing its destructive capabilities.
But just before the attack could reduce him to dust the mage vanished again from his sight, appearing right behind one of the pillars to his left while the room was filled with dust and pebbles from the explosion.
``Now, now…, there is no need for anger here, Nelfarian. After all, what's the point of denying the horrifying truth? In fact, what is even there to be upset on the behalf of people who do not even respect you?
The human inquired innocently, a tone that did not mirror his twisted smirk.
``What..are you talking about?´´
``Please, you are a smart dragon...perhaps the smartest of the bunch. You who have led your kin into battle and led the spearhead of the new world that is to come, surely you must have seem the sneers and folly of those around you directed at you for no reason. How through false amenities they have kept you from succeeding in your own tasks...´´
``No, they…would never do such thing´´
``Are you sure, is it not the nature of the strong to the weak? What makes you think they would want to be lead by you if that meant they would be considered weak? They have too much pride to allow that..´´
``….´´
``Though if you think about it, they are just like you….aren't they?´´
He gritted his teeth, sinking his fangs into the flesh hidden below the thick scales of his body, yet even the brief taste of blood did manage to break him from his anger to swell and whirl within, seething deeper and deeper...
``What? Not gonna dispute my claim? ´´
The man asked with what could have been easily interpreted as a mocking tone, no matter how much he tried to embellish it.
``Silence wretch...´´
He growled, though this time it was far weaker than he could have ever imagined, like a dying fire.
``The gears of fate are rotating and soon it will be too late to not be trample below their weight. And they know that too…., what are you going to do about it? How will you meet your end? Combat….or on your knees?´´
``Your plan, is not working...´´ He hissed.
``Plan? What plan? Do I even look like I am a man with a plan?´´
The man exclaimed with confusion, popping out of existence a few times as he wailed his arms around in a rather comically fashion before stopping at the very edge of the lava pool.
``No, I don't have a plan...I am like a dog chasing stars. I would not know what to do when I caught one´´
He said with passion, a mischievous glint appearing on his murky eyes soon after while a smirk warped around those dried lips
``For you see…, I just do things, here and there...up and down. Never stopping in the same place, never repeating the same chord...´´
``That is hard to believe...´´
``You hurt my feelings my friend´´
``I doubt you even have those...´´
``Touché, dragon..touché. Now where was I? Ah yes the plans that are not quite plans...´´
``I really don't wanna hear it..´´
He said, but was mostly ignored.
``The humans have plans, the dragons have plans, Neltharion has plans…, you what they are? Schemers…, children trying to control their little words. I however am not, I merely attempt to show the world how pathetic their attempts of control really are...which I don't know what speaks about those who are not even aware they are being puppeteered like you..´´
He slammed his tail onto the mage, the cave shaking as his appendix struck the ground with a loud thud.
He had failed killing him of course…., already sensing his presence right behind him, possibly with one of those annoying smirks of his. By this point he was not expecting to get him anytime soon anyway.
How vexing...
``Thinking about it, have you noticed that nobody panics when things are going according to plan, even if the plan is horrifying? It would explain why they were so bothered by your success, but not so much when your dreams were crushed under the weight of the Scourge, so much for unity...´´
Surprisingly the voice reached him from above, prompting him to raise his head...only to find the little pest floating above his head. The bearded fool was barely touching the sharp edges of the ceiling, but not close enough to actually land his feet over it.
Though floating without direction, he was clearly mimicking the way he would move by walking through the air.
He could not say whether he was surprised at the level of expertise he was showing or baffled at the mundane use he made of it.
He truly was mad as a hatter….
`` Alone they could not defeat you if you were to break your chains… That is why they have set you to fail...´´
He wanted to scoff, to laugh and dismiss his words which were clearly insinuating statements part of his plan since he could not just kill him. And yet.., no matter how much he tried to deny it, there was a voice at the back of his head that whispered of his delusions, striking a cord deep inside.
Their endless streak of failures...
The sabotage and backstabbing of both his sister and fellow kin...
And the utter silence from their master as everything he had worked so hard crumble around him, thrown down the drain.…
There were too many coincidences, too many memories flashing before his eyes were he now recollected instances where now he could not erase the looks of disgust and contained repulse from them. Their very presence turning foul and loathsome with every passing second.
He tried to rein himself in, attempting to control the rage consuming him like a wildfire, to deny the human the satisfaction of seeing how his words were affecting him. More than anything in the world...
And yet he failed, it was just too much.
``No! I will not be cast low by the schemes of my sister and his pathetic minions nor I will be lost to the passing of time as another stepping stone in their goals. I will surpass them!´´
``Not as you are now though.., hiding in this rock, licking your wounds and throwing a temper tantrum when things don't go your way. Strong, yet so imperfect….you ambitions are vast, but your reach has yet to match them´´
With the flick of his hand his staff flickered with a dim light, transforming into a strange looking book, his slender, brittle fingers rubbing against the obviously ancient sheets filled with an amalgam of symbols.
It reeked even more with that absurdly distasteful smell...
``But perhaps you could become...more, yes...yes indeed, like a small slug flourishing into a butterfly. Shedding down your ugly carapace into a new, pristine form...´´
``What makes you think that I would even consider it?
He barked with a growl, his amber eyes burning two holes into the man's skull as he did. The reason he had asked was not because he would directly refuse him, but wished to know what sort of plan laid below those conniving teeth of his.
What sort of answer he would come out with if he closed that venue he seemed so hell-bent in tacking….
If the mage felt slighted by his tone he did not seem to mind, tapping his staff in his hands before sending a playful grin at him.
``Let me answer you with another question of the sort..; what do you have to lose...?´´
``Prove it. Show me that you have the kind of power you boast about´´
He challenged, a calid steam of ashes prowling through his maws, the same polite promise of death he had given his former servant even though now he knew he was not the one holding the knife towards the others throat, but refused to admit it...
The mage remained calm though, portraying a stoic composure...and yet he had the feeling that he was smiling underneath.
``And here I thought you were not gonna ask...´´
He simply answered before holding out a slender, crooked hand, an appendage that became encased in crackling, multicoloured energy while the book he had been holding with his other arm started floating around.
The very fabric of reality almost seemed to retreat from this power, as if afraid of it. Then he pointed out towards the bloodied, broken corpse of his minion that had laid forgotten there for a long time and let the energy flew into the body.
Not even before all of the energy had been seeped away the body took a sudden gasp. Its back bent at a ninety degree angle, even when its broken bones and spilled guts were still been pulled back into place at a rapid speed. The sound of the gruesome endeavour barely facing him...
Then like a puppet on strings, it rose off the ground and back of its feet.
He was bigger than ever, having gaining a few more pounds of flesh and muscle in a few seconds whatever armour he had had fallen into the ground or was barely hanging by a thread. His ashen skin had now turned a blacken void, with his veins colouring it with red stripes, like molten magma while spikes of bone too had popped out from his body in different directions...
But that was not the only difference he could sense; his tusk had grown half their size while also growing another smaller pair inside his mouth. His eye patch falling into the ground, revealed not one, but two glowing eyes that moved by themselves at different directions. His rough, cumbersome hands had grown as-well, ending now in razor sharp claws, breaking his poorly maintained gauntlets
He had been witness of the changing powers of the other factions could have on the malleable flesh of mortals,
but this...this was different. It was worse than his wildest dreams…, horrifying to comprehend and yet no less exiting. Whatever malignant energies had been used to bring back the useless pawn were nothing that he had ever seeing before.
``How could this be possible...´´
He mumbled, unable to contain any longer his confusion.
``Meh…, it was not my best works, perhaps I should have gone with my original idea and pop up a flying monkey, with a fruit basket...everyone loves those..´´
It was only that the easy going, almost nonsensical banter of the mage reached his ears that he could muster enough strength to regain some of his composure. Eyeing the human, no…, whatever he was with an ounce of respect.
To bring back the dead without the use of necromancy was a true resurrection, few could pull it, mostly depending on the powers of third parties to achieve it or artefacts. He had need none...
He really wasn't a mere walking bag of flesh...
``You reek of sickness, of power and I no matter how much I observe you I can not decipher your intentions. Who are you really...?´´
``Me..?´´
The question seemed to entice some sort of strange reaction from the senile old man as he cocked his head to the side, before clasping his hands loudly with one another. A twisted smiled warping around those dried lips.
``I am merely an actor in the stage...I come and go wherever I am needed or want to, playing different roles and none at the same time when the dices are cast on the table….´´
He said with unexpected passion before he whirled towards him.
``Tell me, what is your hearts desire Nelfarian, what do you want?´´
Quite the question was it not? And one that he could not answer easily for there was no small amount of things that he fancied. Things that would never come to fruition before or now as he was, but perhaps it did not had to last for long.
Indeed, there laid the answer to his query. He may believe that he was using him, that he had deceive him... but he would be the one to use him, to squeeze every last spark of magic from him, before he would eventually discard his services into the deepest of hells before he broke him.
``I want it all...´´
He said out loud before he started walking away from his sanctum towards the upper levels to get a situation report from those vermin that thought themselves as his steadfast soldiers.
``One chain at a time my friend, one chain at a time….´´
The mage spoke humorously, but he never heard it, and so remained oblivious to the real threat it posed the snake he had allowed to whisper honeyed words into his ears.
