"How long will it take them to get there?" Jaina asked.
"At they speed they were flying, not long," Velen answered. He gave her a kind smile. "I thank you for assisting my people Archmage...?"
She blinked. Of course! This Velen had never met her. She bowed a bit. "Archmage Jaina Proudmoore of the Kirin Tor."
Velen chuckled quietly. "Thank you, Archmage Proudmoore. You've met me before, I think."
"I have. In my time, on my world, you and your people are valued members of the Alliance."
"So I have heard. The years have been hard for my people and we have been alone in our Exile." He put both hands on his staff and bowed his head, "Here we thought we had finally found safe haven, and for a long time it was so." Velen sighed, the weight of ages on his shoulders. "And then the Iron Horde rose. But in our hour of need, we were found." He looked up at Jaina. "Truly the Light has sent salvation."
Unsure what to say to that, Jaina remained silent. Khadgar took up a spot beside her.
"Where will Ner'zhul go?" she asked.
"It seems likely he will go aid the Iron Horde at Karabor, and when he does he will bring the Dark Star and all his foul magics to bear." Khadgar said. "According to his mate, Rulkan, he delved into the void to prevent his people from being crushed themselves. But the void... The void only takes."
"He was lost to the darkness then. Corrupted and seduced by the power." Jaina murmured.
"Yes. He has begun to use the spirits of his ancestors to fuel dark rituals. This is why Rulkan and others turned from him and chose exile." He turned to Jaina. "What do you need for the rest of us to do?"
"Once Zaliya is in place it is easier if everyone comes closer. If you and the two Horde mages stand equidistant to one another and me I'll act as focus and move everyone." Jaina drew in a breath and let it out. "If we were on Azeroth, I might not need you all to aid me, but Draenor is unfamiliar."
Khadgar turned to the crowd and raised his voice. "Everyone, gather close! Be ready to aid the forces of Karabor once we have appeared there!" He strode off, Cordana on his heels as he herded everyone into place.
Jaina rolled her shoulders and tried to ignore the press of bodies around her as everyone collapsed inward. She tried to make the unearthly chill of the death knights a distant concern. Likewise, she would not be distracted by the chatter in orcish. Hoofsteps to her left drew her attention and the young draenei paladin in training, Yrel, smiled at her. Her expression was strained but determined. She lifted hopeful eyes over Jaina's shoulder. On Jaina's other side, Prophet Velen stepped in close.
Jaina felt the pressing of will parting the aether and caught the questing tendril of Zaliya's magic, seizing it as an anchor and direction.
"Stand close!" she called above the general chatter. Reaching out she found Khadgar and the other two mages. The troll's magic was wild, favoring fire, the goblin's highly ordered and feeling most of arcane. Khadgar… Khadgar had to be different of course, his power seemed to bounce in place, like a working hound eager and excited to be unleashed. Jaina began drawing their power to hers and spreading it out again in a webwork of spell structure. Her hands moved in familiar ways as she drew down from the other mages and even pulled on the remote connection to archmage Zaliya. She began to channel power into the spell until all her attention was focused on the magic of the small ritual, the feel of air over her hands as they moved, the sensation of energy as she wove it around the group. Jaina opened her eyes, seeing the structure of the spell around them as a dome of flowing lines and glowing sigils, a tent of energy held up by the other three mages with her in the center. She released the energy, completing the spell, and reality winked out around them.
Karabor was burning.
The smell of exploded artillery and burning wood assaulted Jaina's senses as she and the small combined army reappeared leagues away from where they'd been, at the base of Karabor. The combatants spread out at once, running to the aid of the besieged Draenei. Jaina swayed a step back. Yrel took one of her elbows, the Prophet kindly steadying her with a hand on her back. A strange blue dragon swept overhead, pouring arcane energy like fire from her maw. She swept around, avoiding weapons fire and landed on the ground before the bulk of the incoming forces, her claws digging furrows into the ground. Vindicator Maraad hopped off Zaliya's back and the worgen transformed back to her usual shape.
"They're going for the central defense crystal!" Maraad said, pointing a mace at a location higher up the hill.
"Jaina, Khadgar, give us cover!" Zaliya ordered. "Everyone, press forward!" She lifted her staff pointing for where Maraad had indicated.
Kadhar was already lifting a shield around them and Jaina joined her power to his to assist. They began a long march up the hill, the paladins and death knights providing a solid vanguard of blade and shield. Horde and Alliance alike struck and shot at the incoming Iron Horde attackers. As they rolled forward, some broke off to help the draenei or to shore up some position. Others, mostly wounded, found shelter and healing under the moving shield.
The Iron Horde noticed their approach and began to rain destruction down on them as they moved. The sudden barrage weakened the shield and a few arrows and bullets made it through. Cold fingers seized Jaina's heart as she heard the crack of rifles and saw allies fall. Khadgar cursed as his shoulder caught the edge of an arrow which Cordana hadn't quite been able to deflect. A word and a pair of her sentinels raced out to cut down the orc archer who'd harmed her charge. The troll mage was hit with the polearm of an Iron Horde orc as the shield flickered. The goblin mage turned the attacker into violet ash and meat in furious retaliation. Jaina got herself under control and shoved more power into their shield. She was left as the only mage holding the shield while Zaliya turned her combat casting on the enemy, narrowing her focus to clearing the way ahead. Jaina gritted her teeth as their opponents saw the opening and pressed the attack. She stopped in her tracks, bracing herself as an immense rock sailed down from a rylak rider above. It hit her shield hard, the impact feeling as if she'd been the one to take the blow. Yrel steadied her again without hesitation. Jaina glared at the a offending boulder as she flexed the structure of the barrier, sending it right back at the orc who'd dropped it on her. Those around her gave heartfelt cheers as the rylak and its master fell.
"Ha!" Khadgar rejoined his power to hers. "I'll have to remember that trick!"
Jaina shared a strained smile with the other archmage and the group moved forward again.
"We are almost there," Yrel said to the mages who'd come to walk in the center of the formation. The troll mage was limping along, gamely trying to contribute power if nothing else. The goblin mage's jaw was set in a determined line as she walked a few steps to Jaina's right, adding her own power to the shield.
"If we can protect the crystal, their fleet won't be able to withstand its energy attacks," Yrel explained. "They've had to leave their bigger ships out of range and the few transports they've sailed in close are mostly destroyed." She smiled at them and then over at Velen. "We'll survive this yet!"
Velen's smile suddenly turned into a look of horror as he turned his attention back towards the mainland. "No-"
Jaina felt the pulse of dark energy, greater than the one she'd felt back at the fortress, then a column of ghastly light erupted from somewhere in Shadowmoon valley. Virulent purple-white energy, somehow sickening even this far, raced for the sky which began to darken.
"What?" Khadgar asked, looking around in confusion. The cohesive unit the advance force had made up began to falter as the afternoon skies turned dark, the sun suddenly a dim star only slightly larger than the others. And then it was eclipsed. "No," Khadgar said, breathing out the word as he came to the same conclusion as Velen.
The orb which eclipsed the sun raced towards them at impossible speeds. It raked beams of purple-black energy along the ground as it crossed over Karabor, digging into soil, architecture, and bodies of orc and draenei alike. It hovered above the massive crystal that served as Karabor's primary defense, as the orb's shape dissolved into a dark, wildly spinning geometric shape.
"No!" Yrel cried as a vile colored beam struck the crystal and continued to channel, endless dark energy drilling into the focus. The crystal shuddered and cracked with a sound that ricocheted off the walls of Karabor. It wailed like the damned as it began to fail, then shattered completely under the onslaught. The smallest pieces were vaporised, the largest ones shot through the air like missiles, striking combatants from the skies or crushing anything under them as they fell.
Seeing the crystal destroyed, the Iron Horde cried as one bloodthirsty voice and renewed their attack. The defenders faltered.
In the bay, the mighty siege ships of the Iron Horde turned their bows inland and began to power towards Karabor. Smaller outriders filled with invading orcs launched from the larger craft and sped on powered engines to make landfall.
Jaina watched as the fallen Naaru, the Dark Star, turned in the air. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked as she felt it's attention come to land on their advancing party. She thrust more power into the shield, heart hammering in her chest, and felt Khadgar and the others do the same a moment later.
The Dark Star struck. Death rained from above, striking her shield and any non-Iron Horde combatant on the field. Paladins and priests and mages among the draenei raised shields, but many fell before they could defend themselves or to Iron Horde blades while their attention was split. The assault only ended when the darkened Naaru paused to gather its energy for another attack.
"To me!" Velen called out, his calm voice somehow amplified to rise over the sound of combat. All around them, the defenders of Karabor collapsed back to their position. Those who could began to aid the shield Jaina continued to channel, those whose prowess lay in blade and shield fell into an armored perimeter, as much under the shield as they could be.
The Iron Horde pressed in on all sides as the Dark Star readied itself for another attack. A heavily armored orc on an equally well armored rylak flew down and landed amid the rubble of the destroyed defense crystal.
"Lay down and die you fools!" the orc called, laughing at them as the Dark Star struck again. "I claim this land for the Iron Horde!" He lifted his weapon, a massive gun and his orcs cheered, renewing their assault as the Dark Star struck again, dark lances of coherent light striking the shield and into the buildings around them. Walls and towers began to crumble and fall as the beams ate through the masonry.
"We need to retreat," Zaliya growled to the Frostwall commander as she poured energy into the shield Jaina was now the focus for. Khadgar sent waves of arcane missiles into the invading forces, driving them back, before returning his attention to supporting the shield whenever he felt the Dark Star was about to attack.
"Give me twenty seconds or blink me over there, mage, I'll end him!" The orc looked positively gleeful at the prospect.
Zaliya grunted under the impact of the Dark Star's attacks. "Can't split our defenses! If we both die here, you know the Horde and Alliance at home will blame the other," Zaliya snapped. "Garrosh will escape because they'll fight one another."
The orc commander snarled but did not disagree.
Jaina began to look for an opportunity to teleport everyone away, but the Dark Star continued to smash energy against their shield. Whenever the fallen Naarru wasn't attacking, the Iron Horde was, and the siege ships were now in range. They began to hurl cages of flammable rocks onto Karabor and the defenders. One struck the ground near them. Jaina staggered into Yrel who held her and Gerti upright, Khadgar lost his footing and went down, his power winking out as he lost focus.
There was no time! No opening for escape!
Jaina gritted her teeth and strained against the oppressive power of the Dark Star. The void-creature pressed its attack. Concussive bolts of dark energy struck the shield and rattled her bones. Khadgar finally found his feet, and Jaina swallowed a cry of relief as the other archmage added his power to her own once more. If she could transfer the shield to someone else, she could form the teleport spell and get everyone away, but a moment's lapse of focus would mean doom! Everyone present would die. The repercussions would be felt beyond Draenor. The Kirin Tor would have failed its promises, and they would lose two council members on top of the grievous failure. The garrisons would both lose their commanders. She could already hear the shouts of blame. Garrosh would escape because the two warring factions would fall on one another again. Jaina snarled and pressed her will against the dark power.
She would not die here!
Jaina had not survived everything she had to die far from home in a battle she hadn't planned on joining. She hadn't fought to recover just to see her own death be the unravelling of everything she'd worked for, everything Anduin had begun to work towards. She had someone waiting for her at home who loved her and she had plans. Jaina wanted to fly, to see Winter Veil with Varian and Anduin, to see Dalaran thrive, to see a world without Garrosh Hellscream or his like.
The Dark Star turned in the sky, readying for another barrage. Jaina might not have been a battle mage like Modera, but she knew Magic. Yelling her defiance she reached for the leylines of Draenor, drawing their energy into herself to protect everyone.
Her blood boiled with power, the energy opening her mage's sight to the ebb and flow of magic, the ley lines running like glowing rivers. She could see the evil magic that twisted the Dark Star. Sick and vile, Ner'zhul's darkness had infested a creature of Light, twisting it away from its natural state. The auras of the other mages burned like fires, except for Zaliya who glowed like twin moons, and Khadgar who blazed like a small star. She felt the pulse of his intent as he too drew upon the leylines to bolster the shields. The paladins and priests lent their own powers, their energy like a soothing blanket. The Void crashed against them once more, a wave of knives that sliced their own individual lines of pain that she felt like it was against her own skin. Jaina's nerves screamed from drawing too much magic at once, but if she did not, then all would perish.
She did not want to die!
An eternity later, the blast of void energies ceased, and Khadgar, Zaliya and Jaina fell to their knees, unable to sustain the arcane barrier any longer. The goblin woman had already fallen partway through the relentless assault, her power spent. Jaina turned as someone touched her. The tauren paladin had placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Healing Light eased away some of the pain. Jaina looked back at the Dark Star as it readied another attack. This time the only barrier would be the one held by the priests and paladins. Once that was gone….
I don't want to die! she thought, the faces of those she loved most flashing in her mind. Hands shaking, she gathered her strength to try to punch a desperate portal through to Lunarfall, to get as many out as she could before the Dark Star attacked again. With any luck, fewer people would mean a smaller shield.
Then a presence passed by, spreading soothing, healing energy in its wake. Jaina watched as Prophet Velen advanced to the front lines. He parted two vindicators with gentle hands on their shoulders and made a thrusting motion with his staff. The Iron Horde raiders who had been exchanging blows with the Draenei protectors went sailing off into the air, clearing the way.
"Uncle," Yrel called out, her voice watery. There was now a glowing sigil on her brow, and even through her daze, Jaina knew what the Prophet was going to do.
Velen lifted his face towards oblivion and stepped into the shadow of death.
He reached upwards towards the Dark Star. The geometric being focused its energy on him. and the Prophet… dissolved... into Light. A pillar of energy erupted from where Velen had stood and raced for the sky, striking the Dark Star. The creature of Void froze in place. The attacks ceased.
Then there was a tremendous explosion as the purified Naaru erupted from within the heart of the Dark Star. A ring of Light spread from the center of the blast and Jaina felt lighter, her aches, pains and her fears, being brushed away and replaced with comfort. She felt as safe as she did at home in Kalec's arms. Her resolve renewed if not her energy, Jaina struggled to her feet. All around her the priests and Paladins glowed with the Light, wings and runes appearing around them in warm auras. As one, they raced forward to drive back the Iron Horde, Maraad and Liadrin emerging from the tide to lead from the front. Stunned, the Iron Horde began a messy retreat.
The Naaru descended from on high, once again restored to a creature of perfect Order and Light. It sang as it spread healing among the injured and continued to bolster the resolve of the draenei. The unnatural darkness which had spread over the valley began to fade away.
Karabor was won. The Iron Horde routed. But the cost... Jaina found herself shivering.
She was abruptly manhandled into a seat beside the injured troll mage, Val'ket, and the Goblin mage, Gerti.
"You be sittin' and don't give me no lip," a troll healer said, shaking a finger at her.
Too stunned to do anything else Jaina obeyed. Khagdar was frog-marched into the area a moment later by Cordana, one of the Alliance priests hot on their heels. He was made to sit amid much feeble protesting. The two healers, united by common cause, began to fuss over the overworked mages.
"I am fine!" Zaliya snarled anemically as she too was dragged over to take a seat by a much larger worgen in the armor of a warrior. She was dumped into the circle as well. "I am the commander of this expedition!" she said slowly climbing back to her feet. She wobbled in place.
The warrior gave her a dirty look, then looked at Cordana before stalking off to join the other fighters chasing the Iron Horde away. Cordana put a hand on Zaliya's shoulder and pressed down. Zaliya collapsed like brittle wood, landing on her rear with an exhalation and a wide-eyed look of surprise, ears splayed flat, before she began to curse impressively and extensively. Khadgar tried to get up and escape, but Cordana's gauntlet only needed to barely tap him before he was back on his rump. Jaina didn't even bother trying to get to her feet.
"Sit and have a drink," Gerti said, lifting her canteen in an exhausted salute.
All of their potions and restorative draughts had been consumed trying to withstand the attack. Water was pressed into Jaina's hands by the dwarf priest and she drank greedily. When she was finished the healer took the empty mug so he could examine Jaina's hands.
They were red as if she'd burned them in the sun. Angry red lines raced from her fingertips, down the palms and backs of her hands and wrists fading mid-forearm. Khadgar, being treated by the troll healer, was in nearly the same state but the redness wasn't as advanced. The Naaru's burst of healing had helped but that just underscored the total damage they'd endured.
Cordana's hand was firmly on Khadgar's shoulder, keeping him in place, her attention was on the troll healer who was looking at her charge.
"This'll need a salve," the priest decided. "We've been instructed to reserve healing energies for life threatening injuries, Lady. An' I'm sorry 'bout that."
"I understand," Jaina said, voice wavering in fatigue. "Triage is what you should be doing. This isn't the first time I've had this happen," She closed her eyes. I survived today. Perhaps it won't be the last.
"Here, mon," the troll healer said. Jaina opened her eyes in time to see him passing over a jar of pale green paste. He'd already covered Khadgar in it.
Feeling disconnected from reality, Jaina watched as her own hands were covered in the salve. It was cool and after a moment of tingling the ache faded, but the sensation was distant, as if it were actually happening to someone else.
"Thank, ye," The priest said, handing the jar of salve back to his fellow healer. "Come on, let's get you lot out of the way so we can handle the rest," the dwarf said, helping Jaina up to her feet.
The mages, minus Zaliya who insisted on being where she could direct things, were propped up against a wall. Joining them were two shamen and a priest who'd likewise burned themselves out trying to defend against the Iron Horde and the Dark Star. Around them were other injured who were still unconscious or were unable to sit upright.
The dead were beginning to be recovered as they took ground from the Iron Horde. Mostly they were the draenei defenders but there were spots of Alliance blue and gold and even Horde red among the bodies. The numbers were smaller than Jaina had imagined given how badly the tide of the battle had turned against them. But they were still too many.
Jaina looked away. This hadn't been her battle, she wasn't in charge, she reminded herself. She let her head fall back against the wall. The unnatural night had been cleared with the cleansing of the Naaru. The sky was finally bright and cheerfully blue once more.
"We helped," Khadgar said, his voice pitched for Jaina alone. "Don't think of those we lost. Think of the ones we saved."
Jaina gritted her teeth. She knew that. She did not need some nosy, know-it-all old man to tell her that! Jaina huffed out an angry breath between her clenched teeth and tried to mentally take a step back. Anger wouldn't help. They had to be united while the Horde were watching. Anger wouldn't help those who were already dead.
And Khadgar was right. Together they'd help up against the bulk of the Dark Star's attacks, allowing the priests to heal and the paladins to defend. Because they'd been there, they'd been able to save people. They'd been able to survive.
Though it had been close.
"Oh. Finally," Cordana said, drawing Jaina's attention. The Warden's helmeted head was lifted to the skies, focused on the horizon.
Jaina rolled her head to the side and saw reinforcements riding in towards them on gryphons and the oddly over-sized fey dragons. Her breath caught in her throat as her overworked brain realized they were followed by a much, much larger shape.
Kalecgos flew in at speed, soon overtaking the small dots of gryphons and fey-dragons. On his back were some two dozen figures. In the lead was a mage with a tail of silver hair whipping in the wind.
"Oh," Jaina said, feeling remote and fuzzy with exhaustion. "I think I'm in trouble."
"Hmm?" Khadgar said, eyes hardly able to stay open once he'd been successfully stopped and held in place. He cracked open one eye and it eventually focused on what Jaina was seeing. "Oh. I think we both are."
"Huh?" Gerti asked, looking around barely eyed. She squeaked and jerked upright, her ears quivering. "Fuck! That's a dragon!"
"The dragon isn't who we're worried about," Khadgar said. "We just got into a battle and didn't invite Modera first. That's what we're worried about."
"I'm gonna get it, aren't I?" Jaina asked as Kalec swept in to land near the advancing front line. For good measure he blew a gout of flame at the bulk of the nearest Iron Horde, sending them into swift retreat. Jaina watched as Modera jumped down, followed by Lieutenant Thorne and two-dozen or so Alliance soldiers from the garrison bearing supplies and arms.
"Twice over," Khadgar agreed, solemnly. "I'll try to tank the mage. You get the dragon." He giggled. "Watch the tail." He continued to giggle, erupting into the hysterics that only happened when one was that tired.
Jaina giggled and covered it with a hand. She wasn't certain why she was laughing. There were dead and wounded people all around her.
Modera entered the fray with a concussive blast that outright vaporized some two score of enemy orcs and a perfectly spherical section of stone. The orcs slowed or paused in their orderly retreat. Modera's next blast was a delicate set of three arcane missiles which made cannon-ball sized holes in the chests and heads of her targets. The bodies collapsed as she continued her purposeful stride across the battlefield.
The Iron Horde nearest to her fled in an uncoordinated mess, disrupting their orderly retreat.
"Damn," Jaina said. "She's good."
"You pissed her off? You be fucked," Val'ket said sagely as leaned against the wall, a canteen held loosely in the fingers of one hand, the other swathed in heavy bandages.
"No, that's the dragon's job!" Khadgar cackled. Cordana fetched him a light blow. "Sorry," he said, still giggling.
As soon as the reinforcements were off his back, Kalec switched forms. He looked around, found Jaina almost immediately, and blinked towards her. Exhausted and rattled, Jaina made a small 'eep' when he suddenly appeared in front of her, sliding to his knees. Kalec hauled her into a fierce embrace, pulling her into his lap. He pressed his face against her neck with a tiny worried croon. Jaina's eyes burned as sudden tears welled up. She returned the tight embrace and buried her face against his shoulder, crying silently in fear and relief.
Jaina's armor was singed and torn. There was rubble in her mussed hair, but she was alive! Kalec's grip on his mate tightened as she shook with silent tears. He kissed her neck and temple before nuzzling against her again and just breathing in her scent. She was alive. Kalec shivered in relief and kissed Jaina's temple again.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I didn't think it would be that close."
"I'm just glad you're okay," he told her. "I came as soon as I could."
"I couldn't hold the shield longer," she said, voice wavering. "I couldn't open a portal while I held the shield."
Kalec drew one of her hands into his, intending to kiss it, but found it covered in medicinal-smelling salve. her hands were reddened from pushing too much power through them without sufficient safeguards or stabilization. Kalec frowned. Jaina was an accomplished and well trained mage. The reasons for a lack of precaution were few and all likely caused by desperation. He noticed Khadgar was in a similar state.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Had to pull from the leylines," Jaina murmured. Her eyelids were drooping and her voice becoming slow and sleepy in exhaustion. "Had to keep the shield up."
Kalec strangled a cry of alarm. "What were you fighting?"
"That," Khadgar answered, tilting his head towards their enemy.
Kalec followed the direction of Khadgar's nod. He held Jaina tighter and could not stop the choked whelp-like chirp of alarm. It was a Naaru. Glowing in pristine, Light filled, celestial order, the geometric being spun above the bulk of the paladins still fighting the last vestiges of the Iron Horde forces.
Injured Naaru could succumb to the void, or become corrupted by it. A darkened Naaru was terrifyingly powerful. He had been newly liberated from demonic influences when the champions who'd released him had fought one at the Sunwell. Many brave souls had died there.
Jaina and Khadgar had held one off. They had drawn on the wild leylines of Draenor to do so. Kalec turned his attention to his arcane sight, allowing him to see the ebb and flow of magical energy around him. Khadgar was low but recovering at a surprisingly tremendous rate. He was using Atiesh to draw energy. Or perhaps the staff was doing it for its master. Kalec was relieved to see no permanent damage. He studied Jaina. Her mana pool was similarly drained. It was not as bad as when the Red Crane has resurrected her at least, but she would need some time. The cost of being the channel for so much power had left her with more damage than Khadgar, but she would recover. A quick look at the other mages present showed they were in similar states. Given time, all of them would be back at their full power.
Kalec shifted his focus back to reality and the world most other beings saw. Jaina had fallen asleep. He adjusted his grip on her, tucking her head under his chin. The retreating Iron Horde blew horns as their ships departed under the sporadic barrage of arrows and energy. He felt a pulse which drew his attention sharply.
A sphere of light flew from the end of Modera's staff, raced silently across the water and went through one of the Iron Horde ships. The ship exploded from the inside out in an eye-searing ball, sending wood and bodies into the air. The archmage's staff completed the arc and Kalecgos felt another pulse. Like the drawback before a tsunami, he felt the ambient magic in the area draw into her staff. As Modera's staff arced back towards the fleet another deadly ball of light sailed into air. She didn't hit as precisely, but the explosion ate enough of the ship it began to sink, drawing orcs down into the sea and knocking other vessels off course.
Modera leaned against her staff and began to send smaller attacks from her hands, calling out to the other ranged combatants still able to shoot. Under her direction, they focused their fire on individual ships. The Iron Horde fleet finally withdrew from range, but not before they'd taken additional losses.
Kalec returned his attention to Jaina, kissing her forehead. It was then he noticed the goblin mage staring at him. He stared at her. She blinked at him.
"Yes?" he asked.
"You're a dragon," she said.
"And an archmage of the Kirin Tor. I am Kalecgos."
"Oh!" she said, perking. "The new, not insane, not-a-jerk Blue Aspect."
Kalec blinked, surprised, but found his lips pulling into an unexpected if small smile. "That was me, yes. I am no longer Aspect."
"Eh? They kick you out? Seems pretty shitty if they did, just 'cause you're sweet on a human." She jerked her chin at Jaina. "My sis's sweetie's an elf. An' some people don't like that. Don't like they're both girls either. Screw em. They ain't worth my time."
"While I am sure some of my people don't approve of who I've picked as a mate, that isn't why I am no longer Aspect. We gave up our Mantles to defeat Deathwing and save Azeroth."
The goblin blinked at him then frowned a little. "Damn, that's noble." She stuck out a hand, also showing signs of having focused too much power though her fingers. "Gerti Frazzlespark. Thanks for keeping the world from being destroyed."
Kalec clasped her hand briefly. "You're welcome. Thank you for helping Jaina hold the shield."
"Eh," said, shrugging, "I appreciate not being dead, so it was kinda self serving on my part too." The goblin sank back against the wall, losing a lot of the animated energy she'd had moments before. "So, she's legit." She jerked her chin at Jaina. "Dalaran's goin' neutral again."
"That is the plan," Kalec confirmed. "How bad was it today?"
The goblin's ears drooped a little and she looked tired and worn. "We thought Ner'zhul would come here. He didn't. Dunno where he went, but we all felt it when he summoned that dark Naaru." She shivered. "We hit the invasion force of Iron Horde hard but then the Dark Star appeared overhead. She and Khadgar were hanging in the back. They got a shield up around us just before the first blast. Not everyone was inside and the Iron Horde kept attacking."
"He still be out dere," the Val'ket spoke up, his voice somewhat slurring with the effect of healing potions and having to have used so much energy in the fight. "Ner'zhul made an enemy outta dis troll."
"Me too," Gerti said. "And you just know the Death Knights are going to be out for his blood still." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Think we'll get to hunt him down, Val'ket?" she asked the troll.
"Dunno, mon," he said. "Dat be up to de Commander."
"I want in," Gerti said. "How do we find his necromantic ass, you think?" she asked the troll, then included Kalec in the question.
"Dat be requirin' too much thought," Val'ket said. "Ask me tomorrow."
"Cordana," Khadgar spoke up, "you know something about hunting down dangerous and powerful dark beings as a Warden. What would you suggest?"
Cordana straightened in surprise. The warden had been keeping a watchful eye on the area while her charge rested and now she turned her helmeted gaze at Khadgar.
"You cannot be serious, Archmage. You cannot hunt him. You can hardly stand."
"I'll be fine, Cordana. I daresay our compatriots from the Ebon Blade will be ready to continue their hunt immediately. But my question remains; how do we locate him now he has gone elsewhere? We expected him to be here and he clearly was not. Where has he gone?"
Cordana's hands flexed around her weapon as the warden considered the question. The two Horde mages fell silent, waiting for her answer.
"I would ask his mate," she finally said. "She has allied herself with us, and she knows him better than we do. Ask her where he might have gone to for retreat. Potentially another warlock could trace whatever path he took to escape, but first I suggest asking the Shadowmoon Exiles."
Kalec listened with half an ear as he watched Modera and the Naaru take the final long-range shots at the retreating remains of the Iron Horde fleet.
Jaina woke with a jerk, disoriented.
"You're safe," Kalec murmured, pressing a kiss to her head.
Jaina relaxed. "How long was I out?"
"Not very long. Perhaps half an hour."
"The Iron Horde? The Garrisons?"
"The fleet was repelled. They've retreated. Everyone else is tending to the wounded and putting out fires," Kalec told her.
"Zaliya?"
"I haven't spoken with her yet," Kalec said. "She found a second wind somewhere and has been over with Modera, the Ebon Blade commander, the leader of the Draenei and the Horde leadership."
Jaina nodded. She flexed her stiff hands, finding her fingers tingled and ached dully.
"You drew on a leyline," Kalec said.
"Yes." She flexed her hands. "Needed the extra power. Now everything aches."
"You fought a darkened Naaru," he said, tightening his grip.
"I didn't fight it so much as withstand it with the help of everyone else," she murmured. Jaina's throat closed on her words and it took her a moment to collect herself. "I didn't want to die here. I was just supposed to study and go home." He held her as she shivered.
"When we get home do you want me to contact your healer in Kun Lai?" he asked.
Jaina twisted uncomfortably, her emotions just as writhing. She didn't wish to run to Yu'len every time she saw combat, like a child running for her mother's skirts. She'd never needed such things when she'd fought dire odds before. But that was part of the problem, wasn't it? And this was the first time she'd been in combat since the trial. And the Shado-pan certainly made use of their healers. It was a tool, not a crutch.
"Yes," she said. Jaina drew in a deep breath and let it stutter out. "That'd probably be good."
"Okay," he said. "Ah, there's Zaliya and Modera."
Jaina's cheeks burned. She turned her head towards Kalec's shoulder and had the childish thought of possibly pretending to sleep again. Modera would be furious with her, with Zaliya, and with Khadgar. Jaina was furious with herself for not declining a part in the assault.
But then would more people be dead? Would Karabor be lost?
No. It was ego to think she'd have had that much effect on the situation.
Boots on the grass heralded the arrival of the leadership in charge of the assault.
"Can either of you portal?" the orc commander asked her two mages.
"No can do, boss," Gerti replied. "Give me eight hours sleep and a pandaren sized feast and I could get us as far as Zangarra."
"No," the troll said simply.
The orc grunted. "I'll get the elf then," she said.
"Ugh," Gerti complained with feeling. "We going after Ner'zhul, boss?"
"Soon as we find him," the orc commander said. "Itolla and the other death knights are on that for now."
"We callin' this a win, boss?"
"Iron Horde's fleet took a big hit, we dismantled Shadowmoon support for them, too. And we destroyed a dark god. Didn't get the original target but I'll take it. Come on. We're setting up a camp till Dawnstrike gets his ass out here."
"He ain't gonna be happy about that, boss," Gerti said, climbing to her feet.
"Then he can keep his mouth shut when he opens the portals I want," the commander said. She reached down and helped the troll healer haul Val'ket to his feet. She shooed them off and turned to Zaliya. "Nothing went to plan but I can't call this a failure. Commander Vorka is dead and half his fleet are burning wrecks sinking into the sea." She grinned ferally, the first real bit of expression Jaina had seen.
Zaliya growled, baring her teeth in an equally feral smile. "We'll find him and hunt him down."
The orc tilted her head slightly. "Do not think I didn't notice you mages holding that shield up." She inclined her head slightly to both Jaina and Khadgar then strolled off, Liadrin as her shadow.
Modera conjured a camp stool and sank onto it with a string of muttered curses. She cast a privacy spell around the immediate area. "Sit," she ordered Zaliya.
"Can't. Too much to do. Have to make sure no idiots decide to fire on the Horde now." She grunted. "I'd invert their bones… I don't have the energy to invert their bones… Tare doesn't have the energy to do it either."
"How are you even standing?" Khadgar complained.
"I'm cheating," Zaliya said, bearing her teeth in another sharp grin. "No magic but Tarecgosa is helping me stay up. I have about an hour to settle things with my lieutenants and then Tare says I'll be out for half a day at the least." She shrugged. "Small price." She strode off without another word.
An awkward silence settled around their small group. The others who'd been propped up with them had been moved elsewhere, leaving just Cordana watching over her charge like a broody hen, Jaina and Khadgar who were in no shape to really move, Kalec who held her close and was the only reason she was upright at all, and Modera.
Jaina felt uncomfortably like she'd been caught not having done her homework. It had only happened in her a life a handful of times but it gave her rare nightmares. The same feeling of shame in disappointing someone burned on her cheeks and grabbed her chest.
"So," Modera said, eyes narrowed dangerously at Khadgar, "you thought it would be just peachy to enter into a major military action when you know damn well I was working on refining Jaina's training."
"Modera-"
"Ah!" she held up a hand and Khadgar was silenced by a spell. "And you went into battle but didn't think to invite me." She leaned forward. "Rude."
Khadgar glared indignantly back at her.
Modera turned her hard eyes onto Jaina. "And you." The stony expression faded. "Zaliya says she kept you both on the back lines. She said you played focus to hold up a shield against a darkened Naaru."
Jaina sank against Kalec, the tightness in her shoulders suddenly easing when the older archmage didn't chastise her. She nodded mutely.
Modera let out a low whistle. "I'm still not happy you didn't think to invite me either, but I am glad you had the sense to try to stay out of it. And when they needed your help, you were there. Dark godlings are extenuating circumstances." She shook a finger at Jaina, "but don't think this gets you out of class." She let her hand drop to her knee again. "But you might have to forego the homework for a bit."
"I just wanted to study," Jaina said, tensing again. "I was consulting on the other project you gave me." She swallowed, her throat dry. Kalec lifted his hand and conjured water for her, handing her the glass. Jaina drank it. "And it made sense for me to help. Khadgar has been helping."
"And you being there is a hell of a statement," Modera nodded. "Light girl, I'm not a headmaster who's going to make you write lines. Relax."
Finally free of Modera's silence, Khadgar chuckled. Modera glared at him hard enough for his robes to actually catch fire. He yelped and swatted at the fire, putting it out.
"We're going someplace where you won't cause trouble, Archmage," Cordana said. She hauled him to his feet.
"Now wait just a moment!" Khadgar protested. He swayed on his feet as he got more or less upright.
Cordana made an annoyed sound, hooked her weapon on her belt then hauled Khadgar away over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes. His protests faded once they were out of the bounds of the privacy spell Modera had set.
She snorted then looked back at Jaina. "It was bad, wasn't it?"
Jaina nodded wordlessly.
"What happened?"
Jaina sipped her water and then haltingly recounted the entirety of the fight. She began with the Horde crossing over in Zangarra, the initial combat at the fortress and then the decision to stand against the Iron Horde assaulting Karabor.
"We were- I thought we might be defeated," Jaina said, coming to the end. "It kept attacking. There wasn't time to open a portal. And then the Prophet-" she broke off and sipped more water. "The Prophet sacrificed himself to cleanse the Dark Star." Kalec's arms tightened around her briefly and she let her head fall back to his shoulder. "Once the Naaru was on our side, we were saved." She sipped more water, ordering her thoughts. "If the Dark Star hadn't been summoned I believe we could have held off against the Iron Horde. Or if we'd been able to reach Ner'zhul in time and stop him at the fortress. There wasn't time..." she trailed off.
"I think a lot of people are still alive because you and Khadgar were able to hold it together until the Prophet decided to act." She reached over and patted Jaina's knee. "The two commanders are calling this a success and the death knights are even more fired up to hunt Ner'zhul."
"I hope I helped more than hurt."
"I think you may have but only time can tell. In the meantime, we move on." She frowned. "Hands," she ordered, holding hers out. Jaina put her hands in Modera's, wincing at the touch.
"Probably didn't have time to get a proper insulation spell off for something as large as a leyline, huh? Not too surprised. Leylines are tricky, powerful things."
She undid one of her own bracers showing the gemstones and runework done on the inside of the cuff. Modera's wrist was tattooed with thin lines inscribing a small power circle which would mesh with the bracer. "Rhonin had a set which were truly impressive. He never went for the full empowered tattoo like Ansirem and I have done, but they help keep massive flows under control." She smirked. "Us mere mortals need help before heavy hitters like you and Khadgar need it." Jaina rolled her eyes. Modera slid the bracer back into place.
"I wasn't expecting to have to be in a full battle like this," Jaina admitted. "I certainly wasn't expecting to have to help keep a shield up as I did. Or for us to be faced with that." She nodded in the direction of the Naaru. "Or I would have certainly made sure you were invited," she added trying to add some levity to the conversation.
Modera smirked. "Good answer." She sobered. "Go home. Get some sleep. Maybe a drink or two. You did well but then I'm not surprised. This wasn't your first dance, after all. For all I harp on the stuff you're missing, you do have a full suite of skills to draw on, Jaina."
Jaina acknowledged that with a tilt of her head. "I was more mindful of the projectiles and non-magical attacks because of what happened to me." She sighed. "And I have been through several... trying experiences recently."
"Extremely trying," Modera agreed. She turned a critical eye to the area around them. "Might help hunt Ner'zhul if there's opportunity. If not I should return to Dalaran by the end of the day." She rose and banished the conjured seat.
Kalec and Jaina rose. "I've been thinking about what this might do to our announcement timeline," Jaina told her.
"We should go ahead," Modera said, eyes narrowing. "Might mean I don't get to help hunt, but unless I am hip deep in undead I'll be in Dalaran by tomorrow morning."
Jaina nodded. Modera waved her goodbye and Kalec opened a portal back to Dalaran. The sandy feeling passed as she stepped through into early evening.
"Home?" Kalec asked.
"Home," she agreed. She would speak with Yu'len at her earliest convenience. Speaking with Modera had helped a little. After other battles she'd tried to put the violence behind her, to shove the fears to the furthest corners of her mind where they would die, starved of attention. Perhaps that hadn't been the best way to handle such things.
Jaina leaned into Kalec's side, his arm secure around her shoulders.
"Do you want a distraction?" he asked gently.
"I did get to look at Atiesh," Jaina said, feeling a bit silly. Her personal projects seemed so unimportant, somehow.
"And? I admit I am intrigued by what it does. It's an ancient tool. Quite powerful."
"And it has an attitude," Jaina said. "The spell has a deep effect on the caster. It begins to change them. It is such that it becomes easier to cast, but the trade is it reorders your aura to do so." She took a breath and sighed it out. The air wasn't quite chill enough she could see it, but she could see evidence that there had been more snow while she'd been gone.
"Interesting," Kalec mused. "Changes in what ways specifically?"
"He said he's more avian. Or at least he's picked up habits," she admitted.
Kalec nudged her gently. "What?"
Jaina took his hand, winding her fingers in his as she walked silently. Her stomach twisted and her heart pounded. "When we get home," she said, leading the way. Kalec squeezed her fingers and followed her lead.
She didn't wish to become someone else, not when she was finding her voice again, finding herself. She'd started to become something else and Jaina hadn't liked how her friends and family pulled away. She hadn't liked the angry wraith she'd been - who she could still become if she wasn't watchful.
And yet, she wanted to fly. Jaina wanted that freedom Khadgar had spoken of so lovingly. She wanted to share her life with Kalec and their differences were holding them back in this instance.
Jaina wanted to conquer the spell. She wanted to be the one to pull off something so audacious. The research was already fascinating and had given her a hundred other questions or avenues of research she could follow.
But Jaina didn't want to become not herself, and the fear held her tethered to the ground as surely as gravity did.
They arrived home and Jaina went to her lab. A few charms and some moments of intense concentration and she recreated a diagram of Atiesh's transformation spell so Kalec could study it with her.
Kalec joined her with two mugs of hot coco. "I sent a note to Yu'len for you. She hasn't written back yet."
Jaina nodded and traded the parchment with the spellwork on it for the hot mug. She winced as her still raw skin touched the hot surface. Kalec gently took the ceramic from her and after a moment she had a pair of absurdly soft gloves on her hands and the mug was turned into wood - soft but something which wouldn't transfer heat as quickly.
"Thank you," she said as he hopped onto a stool beside her at the high workbench. She leaned against his side. "I don't want to be someone else, Kalec. I want to be me. I want to fly with you, I want to find a way to do that and I do want to tackle this problem. But I don't want to lose me."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Let's take a closer look together to see how it operates. You're not committing to anything and you might find something else. You should be comfortable with what you do, love. You don't need to do this."
"I do," she argued. "This is fundamental part of who you are and somehow I want to share it." She took a breath in then let it out. "And this might not be the way, but it is something I want to do for us." She smiled up at him. "Also I think Tarecgosa was very excited by the prospect of teaching me how to be a proper lady dragon."
"I am both amused and horrified," Kalec informed her, drawing a smile to Jaina's face for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.
Jaina nuzzled his shoulder and then just leaned against him. "I feel like I've suddenly stepped back. I've been in fights before. I've moved armies. I've fought the Legion. I don't like how I'm so... affected by this now."
"You're doing rather well, I think."
Jaina grunted. She closed her eyes and pressed her face against the soft fabric of his vest. It was so very tempting to just wallow in the darkness still hovering in her mind. She would speak with Yu'len soon, and so Jaina, ever the student, though how she might apply the lessons she'd learned. She'd changed in many ways and many times in the last few years, but learning and applying what she 'd learned was comfortably consistent.
She'd survived upheaval before; the deaths of her family, being cast aside by Arthas, the wars, the battles, the birth and death of her city, the challenges here. She imagined her healer would point out that was a lot for any one person to deal with. Yu'len and her words of wisdom were a new tool, one Jaina had probably needed before. So what was bothering her?
"I think I don't like how Modera's been sort of pushing me into things," Jaina finally said aloud, realizing the truth of it. "She knows a lot. She's- Kalec's she's really good. I don't think I realized how good. But I have done some of this well before. I-" she broke off with a little whine. She'd been killed by a sniper rifle because she'd not been paying attention. Modera's battlecasting was just... It was a lifetime of craft.
"She's better. I've done decently and she's even said that but she is better than I am," Jaina said, just letting the words fall. "I don't like that I thought I was good and then someone said I wasn't and I don't like it was a teacher," she finally concluded, grumbling. And even with Modera wanting, eager even, to teach, there was something that wasn't sitting well with her in this moment.
"Did she say you weren't good?"
"No," she muttered. "She said I was decent as a backline caster but I could be really spectacular. I don't know what that means for her and I almost don't want to know." She frowned. "It sounds... destructive." She whined and scowled at the far wall. "I have a lot of conflicting feelings and I'm tired and I was almost blown up by a darkened Naaru and that untamed leyline hurt. And I'm whining like a ten year old."
Kalec set her drink aside, handed her the spell parchments she'd made, and then scooped her up. He began to carry her away.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Therapeutic cuddling, distraction with that spell and possibly a nap," he answered.
Jaina relaxed. "Okay." Her head was filled with too many thoughts some of them conflicting and all of them screaming for her attention.
In a novel, a meeting like this one would have been held in a seedy dive bar in the Underbelly, or perhaps a shadowy back room in a Booty Bay tavern. As it happened however, the meeting took place in a normal dining room. Dinner had been ready when the guests had arrived and by all outward appearance it was a typical gathering. In fact, most of the guests believe it to be a typical dinner gathering. The meal eaten, drinks were served and the true business was started.
"I have called you here to relate some disturbing news," the hostess said, rising from her seat to address the others around the table. "As some of you may have begun to suspect, the rumors are true. The Council in their... infinite wisdom, has decided we will reopen our doors to the Horde."
The guests around the table straightened in their seats, grumbled, and exclaimed in shock and surprise. The reactions were expected by their hostess, for this was the reason these specific individuals had been invited to dine. She felt some satisfaction that she wasn't the only one who'd reacted this way to the news.
"Surely Proudmoore wouldn't allow this!" the burly human to her right said.
"Did they kick her out?" asked the high elf on the opposite side of the table.
"There is no way Jaina would have allowed this," the youngest of the group said, her voice quavering. "Not after- not after what happened."
"The Grand Magus is in full support of this policy," their hostess said, crushing the young woman's hopes. It was painful but it had to be done. Her hero-worship of Archmage Proudmoore would blind her to what would need to be done unless it was handled.
"No," the woman said, the word coming out in a bare whisper. "She would never! Is it that damned dragon?"
The hostess held up a hand. "However she came to this position, be it because she wishes to keep her seat on the council, or because she wishes to continue whatever relationship she has with the dragon, it doesn't matter. The council is in favor and they are acting even now. The various managers and municipal leaders have all been informed and they have, where appropriate, begun to convey this information to their seconds. It is my understanding that the announcement will be soon. Possibly tomorrow."
The large human growled. "We let them into our city once and what happens? I had friends in Darnassus who were hurt. My Prince nearly died!" He growled. "I had friends who did die when Sunreaver's minions fled the city!" He pounded a meaty fist on the table. "I will not let this stand"
"I think perhaps we should listen," said another high elf, who indicated their hostess. "You seem to know the most so I take it you've been informed."
"By Jaina herself. She seems to have fallen back into her old ways of hoping that songs around the campfire will spread peace and love," the hostess bit out. "I lost-" she broke off and gathered herself together. "We have all lost loved ones to the Horde. I do not know if the council is being unduly influenced somehow, but this is the reality." She looked around. "So I ask you this; What are we going to do about it?"