Aszuna was a strangely broken land with odd inlets and sharp mountains. She supposed the topography had given the region the appropriate name of the 'Broken Isles'. Much of Azeroth had suffered during the upheavals of the Cataclysm but these lands had first been shaped by The Sundering ten thousand years ago. Despite time, the land was still sharp and rugged with sudden canyons and sharp, lifted mountains. Perhaps the Cataclysm had shaped the land more.
Kalec flew over the shattered remains of a night elf city. It had been grand in the past, but now the buildings were faint echoes of their once proud edifices. Much of the city had fallen into a lake, or perhaps it had sunk and the waters had filled in from sea and river. The area around the exposed ruins were suspiciously circular. The air buzzed faintly with arcane energy.
She knew that further down the coast lay the city of Suramar. She could just barely see the edge of the shimmering dome which surrounded the city's remains. Once one of the great Night Elf cities, the populace had locked themselves away in the aftermath of The Sundering. They'd remained isolated for ten thousand years. It was unknown if they were alive or dead behind the massive shielding spell. Popular opinion among mages was divided. If someone was still alive behind the shield, Jaina wondered how they'd fared in the Cataclysm.
North of them was a tall mountain which rose above the dense, coastal forest. Beyond the mountain lay Val'sharah. Jaina could just barely make out the verdant trees far in the distance. With a start she realized she was actually looking at the crown of Shaladrassil, one of the World Trees. She wondered what her tree would look like in ten thousand years - if it would be a beacon for travellers over long distances as it sheltered those below. Jaina hoped it would be so.
Beyond Val'shara, even taller mountains rose- Highmountain. So named because the land held one of the tallest peaks on Azeroth but she knew little of the area beyond that fact. Jaina turned her attention back to the land below Kalec's wings. Their flight had been swift and high after they'd cleared the portal over the ocean. Kalec probably could have opened a portal directly but he'd seemed to need the space to clear his head.
Kalec's shadow sent the horse-like herd animals scattering as he left the ruins and began flying over fields. After some time the fields became forests. The charged feeling of the air rose as Kalec flew, reminding Jaina of the Nexus.
An armored drake rose up to the sky to meet him. Then a second and a third fell into position. Jaina watched their suspicious eyes and sat very quietly on Kalec's back. He landed neatly in a clearing. Jaina slid off his back and he assumed his humanoid form.
The lead drake did the same, becoming a willowy high elf with pale blue hair. She wore a dress - a simple garment and easy to conjure, but she had the weary bearing of a warrior. The drake's eyes were focused on Jaina, though she spoke to Kalec. "Well-met Kalecgos."
"Stellagosa, this is my consort, Jaina. Jaina, this is Stellagosa. She's one of the defenders of the whelplands here."
Jaina inclined her head. "Hello."
Stellagosa eyed her, considering, then turned her attention to Kalec. "Are you here to see grandfather?"
"I would love to speak with Senegos if he has a moment," Kalec said. "But we are also here for leycrystals and leywater and to speak with Coragosa if she is present."
She nodded. "This way."
Hand in hand with Kalec, Jaina walked into one of the last bastions of the blue flight.
She felt eyes on her but couldn't make out the source immediately. She did not see any other dragons besides Stellagosa and a second, silent drake who walked on Kalec's other side. There was rustling in the trees so she imagined their arrival was being monitored even now. Jaina tried to put their judgement out of her mind and instead focused on the area around her.
It was beautiful. The trees were old and massive enough for even an adult dragon of Kalec's size could walk along the paths. Mostly. Some branches dipped down and would likely be caught on horns.
More dragons were visible as they drew closer to their destination. Jaina could feel a further shift in power as they walked, the magic of the area rising sharply as it did in the Nexus. Here now were a handful of adult dragons speaking with one another while lying in the dappled sun. At first she thought one dragon had a massive injury resulting in a lumpy, scarred back. The lumps turned out to be sleeping whelps. The flock awoke as she and Kalecgos passed by. They launched themselves into the air and and made directly for them. The trees around and above her were suddenly filled with the glittering scales and shining eyes of small blue dragons. Above, little claws fidgeted on branches and wings rustled. Jaina froze as the small flock of blues evaded the minders chasing after them and flew towards them. Or rather not at her, but her companion.
"Kalec! Kalec!" half a dozen voices called out as they flew. The flock drew up short, apparently just now noticing Jaina. Two squeaked and flew away, going into the high branches of the trees where other whelps were.
"Who's that?" one of the hovering whelps asked.
"Are you a troll?" one of the whelps in the trees asked.
"He's obviously a human," said another.
"That's a girl, stupid."
"You're stupid."
"Why's she here?"
"Are there more?"
"What's her name?"
"Are you staying this time Kalec?"
"Can you teach me that portal spell now?"
"Children," said a deep voice behind Jaina. Behind and above. Well above. Jaina could feel the deep presence suddenly, the aura rolling in like an ocean wave. The whelps grew quiet, but didn't scatter.
Jaina clutched at Kalec's hand and was silent, lest she offend someone. Kalec tucked her arm into his and gave her a reassuring smile. He drew her around with him and Jaina saw the oldest looking living dragon she'd ever seen.
The image of Oricalgos was the only thing she could make a comparison to. He was massive - nearly Kalec's size. His scales had once been a uniform dark blue. Many glowing sigils marked his body. His wings were scarred and slashed and had been healed many times. Ragged pale scales marked where old scars had healed. He'd grown a thick beard and had bushy tufts over his eye ridges, both indicators among the blues of great age. The scales on his muzzle had gone silvered with age as well. But his horns... His horns were almost entirely crystallized, a process which took tens of thousands of years. A small whelp sat between them, looking down at her from their lofty perch with curiosity. The dragon had a Presence the way Antonidas had possessed one. Jaina found herself dipping into a little bob.
The old dragon tilted his head slightly then turned his eyes to Kalec.
"Kalecgos! It is good to see you again," he said jovially.
"And you old friend. Senegos I would like you to meet my consort, Jaina Proudmoore. Jaina, I would like you to meet Senegos, Elder of my flight. He was a colleage of my father's, and he is the warden of our enclave here in Azuna."
Jaina bobbed another polite bow. "Elder, it is an honor."
Senegos regarded her for a moment then looked at the cloud of whelps in the trees. "Don't you all have lessons?" he said, shooing them away with a great paw.
The whelps whined but flew away, even the one perched between his horns. When they were gone the great dragon settled onto his stomach with creaking bones and a deep sigh. He waved his paw again and a privacy screen went up around their group.
"So, what brings you back to Azsuna?" Senegos asked.
"Jaina is working on an interesting spell," Kalec said. He squeezed her hand and beamed at her.
Jaina smiled a little in response. She cleared her throat and faced the elder dragon. "Kalec can make himself fit easily into my world," she said, her eyes finding her beloved again. "But I should try to fit into his. He is my consort and I love him very much." His smile grew brighter and she felt lighter for seeing his joy. "I want to fly with him. I am attempting to create a transformation spell so I might do that. If all goes as I wish then I'll even be able to keep up with him."
Senegos made a thoughtful noise. "You would take on the guise of one of us then," immediately cutting to the heart of the matter.
"If I am able," Jaina said.
"Hmm. A most difficult spell for one so young."
"I'm not so young among my own people," Jaina replied politely. "And I have done extensive research into other items which have similar effects. It is possible and I intend to do it."
"Other items?" Senegos questioned.
Jaina described the Vial of the Sands as well as Atiesh's raven spell. Senegos asked some strange questions and Jaina realized she was being tested on her magical knowledge. Tests she could handle. She took a seat on a rock so the Elder didn't have to crane his neck so much, folded her hands and answered his questions. Senegos wasn't all that different from Antonidas and she'd had years of experience answering his pop quizzes and avoiding pitfalls. All the while the whelps were hovering overhead or perched in high places, talking among themselves.
Eventually the elder dragon's questions concluded. His great, shaggy brows drew into a frown as he regarded her, but he did not dismiss her. His expression was harder to read than Kalec's, but Jaina was uncertain if it was because she did not yet have a full grasp of draconic body language.
Senegos let her be so he could attend to some other matters. Kalec scooted closer then nudged her with a shoulder. A small class was being conducted on the far side of the glade by the pool. Or the dragon in charge was attempting to hold class and keep business as usual despite the visitors. The adult teaching had to stop frequently to get hovering whelps to land or stop tackling one another or stop setting flowers on fire so they could encase them in ice. Whenever the teacher's attention was elsewhere the others would begin chatting. There were many furtive and no-so-furtive looks over at Jaina.
Most of the other whelps played tag among the branches, sending little gouts of arcane colored fire or small spells at one another's tails, and occasionally hitting unwary adults. Here too they stayed close to either possibly beg the attention of Kalec, who appeared to be a favorite visitor, or to see what she might do.
Jaina leaned closer to Kalec and lowered her voice. "I am beginning to wonder if I should have brought treats with me. If they get rowdy I don't know their minders will like me much more," she said, nodding towards the little class.
"We'll ask them first. Then it is on them and not us. If they don't want to get the little ones wound up then I'll bring the boxes to class with me."
Jaina smirked. "And you think you can handle that?"
He held up a finger, "One, they're teenagers and a couple sweet treats per student won't have that much effect." He held up a second finger. "And two, Modera will be around to help wrangle them."
Jaina laughed quietly. "Living dangerously. She seems the type to take revenge."
"Then maybe I'll have to eat them all."
Jaina poked his side. "That cannot be healthy even for you."
"Probably not," he agreed amicably. "I'll go ask." He rose and made his way over to where Senegos was speaking with a pair of armored drakes and a winged member of the quadrupedal dragonkin.
Jaina looked around the little glade, hands folded on one knee. There were other dragonkin in the area. Most seemed to be watching the whelps carefully. She wondered what it was that would prey on a small dragon in these lands. She watched a frenzied aerial game of tag erupted among a group of larger whelps on the far side of the pool. They flew into the cavern, their chirps, squeaks and growls echoing off the rocks. Heavy wings taking off drew her attention back to Kalec. The drakes launched into the air, going in separate directions. Senegos tilted his great head down to regard Kalec. The two spoke quietly for a moment before the whelp who was still riding on Senegos's head launched into the air. The small dragon made a beeline directly for Jaina.
Jaina leaned back not wishing to be hit. The little dragon drew in her wings and came to a hopping landing just before her.
"Hello!" the whelp said, gathering her paws under her and sitting like a little cat.
"Hello," Jaina said.
"I'm Emmigosa." She thrust out her forepaw. "I'm supposed to do this to greet humans, right?"
Jaina smiled and gently shook the dragon's paw. "It's very nice to meet you, Emmigosa. I'm Jaina."
"I know. Kalec talks about you."
"Does he? Only good things I hope."
"He says you're really good at magic and you've helped him a lot. Is it true the humans mages have a floating city?"
"It is true now but it wasn't always that way."
"Why?"
"There was a war," Jaina said. "Dalaran was lifted away so the ground-based armies wouldn't be able to attack as easily. They wanted our people and our libraries." More little dragons had decided to flutter down and sit on the rocks and ground around her.
"Oh. So are you using an anchoring spell to tie to the natural leylines of the area to keep the enchantment going or are you using stored energy and releasing it over time so the city doesn't fall out of the sky?" she asked.
Jaina blinked. She'd not expected such a sophisticated question but then these were dragons. "Stored energy. We have a rotation among the senior mages to maintain the various wards without anyone having to devote all their time and energy to it."
"Did you have to do a lot of structural reinforcement to get it to move?" another whelp asked.
"Yes there was a lot that had to happen and support is ongoing," Jaina said.
Emmigosa crept forward another hopping step. "Uhm."
"Yes?" Jaina asked, smiling at her.
Emmigosa looked over her shoulder then back at Jaina. "Kalec said you brought cupcakes to share?"
Jaina barely stifled a laugh. There was a great deal of excited chatter among the other whelps as they overheard them. "I did. But only if your minders think it is okay." She smirked. "Has Kalec brought you cupcakes before?"
"Yeah," Emmigosa said, nodding. The other whelps around her were nodding too.
"I see." She looked over Emmigosa's head to where Kalec had joined them along with a very senior looking high elf with long, drooping eyebrows, a long beard and crystal horns - Senegos unless she was much mistaken. "Are they allowed? I thought since Kalec enjoys them so much the other dragons here might."
Senegos arched a bushy eyebrow. "Hmm. Emmi, I do believe you have started the front of the line."
Caught, Emmigosa ducked her head a little but didn't move from her spot. "Maybe?" a couple other whelps bounded forward to sit in a neat queue behind her.
Senegos snorted a laugh "You should be nice to our guest even if she didn't bring treats," he reminded the children who ducked their heads further chastised. "But they may have one each."
The number of whelps had easily tripled when Jaina wasn't paying attention. They all cheered loudly. Somewhat dazed, Jaina blinked as her ears rang. Kalec was grinning broadly. Smiling a bit, Jaina pulled the cupcakes out of the pocket dimension space she'd stored them in.
One by one (or two and three at a time as they grew impatient) the smallest dragons raced up, picked a treat, thanked her, then raced off again. A few raced off then came back and thanked her, their maws stuffed with cake. When they were through some of the older dragons who couldn't resist picked up a cupcake for themselves. These elders came in a variety of shapes and races as some chose their humanoid shapes over those of drakes or elder wyrms. Jaina returned her attention to the younger ones.
It was a massacre. Frosting was everywhere on the whelps. Crumbs and sticky sugar stuck on paws and muzzles. A few of the messiest were scooped up by keepers and hauled away presumably to be clean. It was utterly adorable.
The less messy whelps were busy licking their paws clean. They eyed the boxes still beside Jaina and Kalec.
Emmigosa returned. She had a bit of frosting on her snout.
"Thank you. Are there any extras?"
"I'm afraid there aren't but you have some frosting left on your nose," Jaina pointed out. The whelp hastily cleaned that off and returned to the rest of the flock to report there were no more treats to be had.
"How often do you bring them treats?" Jaina asked Kalec.
"Not that often. But once I discovered Jaxi's baking how could I in good conscience deny them?"
Jaina snickered. A shadow fell over them once more, this time a dainty adult dragon in barding. The dragon bowed her head to Kalecgos.
"Coragosa is in Stormheim, Lord Kalecgos. Grandfather asked me to tell you she is on her way but it will be some time before she returns. He suggests you may wish to show your consort the area or perhaps tour the hunting grounds in the north."
"Thank you Astra," Kalec said.
Astragosa nodded then took off again.
"Am I being politely shoved out of sight?" Jaina asked, pitching her voice low.
"If he were doing that he'd suggest the ruins to the south I think," Kalec replied in a matching tone. "I think he's still uncertain what to make of you. But he suggested the whelplands instead. I think that is promising."
"Should we go?"
"It might be a nice walk," Kalec said. He rose and offered a hand. Jaina took his hand and followed.
"There are ruins here," Jaina said as they passed the third or fourth overgrown building or outcrop. He'd been leading her on overgrown paths and game trails between them. The trees were huge and held many places for young dragons to hide and learn how to stalk and catch food. Or act as target practice as one poor, burned out stump could attest. But during their entire walk there were overgrown walls, ruins and even entire buildings.
"The elves who lived in the ruins to the south had a small estate nearby. Their spirits still haunt the ruins there and the ones to the south. Up here there are no spirits. We leave one another alone," Kalec said as he led her along the path which climbed upwards and deeper into the mountains.
"Did your flight interact with the elves here much before?"
"A bit. Warnings. Observations. There was a magical academy in the ruins to the south. I know that was closely watched."
"What happened? An accident at the academy or was it the Sundering?"
"It happened just before the Sundering," Kalec said as he helped her over a particularly large root a dragon would not mind but which would trip a human. "Their prince opposed queen Azshara and she destroyed his court and cursed his people. They've wandered Azeroth as spirits since then."
"That's terrible!"
"It is."
"And your flight hasn't been able to help?"
"No," Kalec said, "though I'm uncertain how hard we have tried. It happened just before the Sundering and the War of the Ancients. When the Legion came and Deathwing betrayed us. Most of the Blue Flight was killed over a matter of hours." He jumped down a block of stone then easily lifted Jaina down. He left his hands on her hips, holding her close.
"That was when we started bringing the whelps here. There were very, very few blues left at all. My flight decided we needed to split what children remained to prevent the black flight from killing us all in one blow. So some came here, some went to the Mazthoril caves in Winterspring with Haleh, and the rest stayed in the Nexus."
"Are there whelps in Winterspring now?" Jaina asked.
"No more whelps," Kalec said. "A few groups of drakes and our kin have a nesting site there still. We moved nearly all the whelps here because there are so few left. We didn't have all that many to begin with and whelps grow up." He frowned. "I am not sure if that was the right call."
"What did their parents want to do?" Jaina asked.
"A few took their children and went into the wilds. The rest wanted to band together. Azsuna has the best hunting and least chance of serious danger."
"Then they made the best choice they could in a difficult situation." She reached up and touched his cheek. He leaned into the touch.
"I want to do more."
"Aren't you in Dalaran prepping us mortal mages for the wisdom of the blue flight?" she asked.
Kalec rubbed his face against her hand. "A bit. I don't know if my people are ready to begin teaching though."
"You are. You're holding that door open for others on both sides to see the benefit." She placed her hands on his chest. "But I need you to tell me if I am harming your relationship with the rest of your flight. I don't want your plans to unravel because I am being selfish."
Kalec leaned his forehead against hers. "And what if I want to be selfish for once and tell them to go hang by their tails?"
Jaina laughed a little but then sobered. "I don't want to make any delicate situations worse."
"Just be yourself," he said, kissing her forehead. "You're brilliant and insightful. If they gave you and the others in Dalaran a chance they'd see how vibrant the community of mages in Dalaran is!" He sighed. "I just need to give it time."
Jaina rubbed her nose against his. She was about to ask him more of what he thought of her spell when the sound of a muted roar echoed off the trees and broken slabs of stone. Looking up sharply, Jaina tried to find the direction of the sound.
The roar happened again, sounding more furious and more desperate.
"An animal?" Jaina questioned.
"No. Someone's in trouble," Kalec said. "This way." He took off at a sprint through the woods. Jaina followed, mentally thanking Modera for making her run too much and over difficult terrain. Her heart pounded in her ears, but the roaring was still louder. A flash of blue darted through the trees ahead.
"There!" Jaina said, pointing. Kalec had already seen and changed direction.
The whelp was one of the smallest Jaina ever had seen. It was flying as fast as it's little wings could carry it. Alerted by Jaina's shout, the tiny dragon changed course and flew right for Kalec, colliding with his chest. Kalec took a step back as he caught the whelp. What chased the child was on them a second later.
A spindly monster erupted from the underbrush. It smelled of rotting flesh and filth. Its fingers were curved into claws as it reached for the whelp. Kalec snarled a word. There was a flash of arcane power and suddenly a great sword was in one hand and already swinging. The whelp was easily cradled against Kalec's chest with his free hand as he beheaded the monster in one blow. The creature collapsed to the ground, dark blood spraying an arc across the trees, underbrush, Kalec's pants and Jaina's skirt. The head rolled away.
The whelp cried and clung to Kalec, burying his face into Kalec's vest. Kalec looked around for more enemies, eyes blazing with held power. Jaina looked too, but did not see another attacker. The monster was dead but the sound of fighting continued. Handing the crying whelp to Jaina, Kalec took off after the sounds. Jaina followed.
Three monsters were fighting one of the burly quadrupedal dragonkin. Azure scales and hide were ripped and torn to bloody shreds. The defender's actions were sluggish, but he still fought. One of the monsters had gotten onto his lower back and was biting his shoulder. Another was grappling with his arms. There was an odd aura around these beings even from this far away.
Kalec roared and entered the fight. He blasted one monster away with a burst of magic that broke the creature's spine against a tree. It fell to the ground and howled. The second turned to face Kalec and lost it's head. The one riding the dragonkin lept off. It scooped a limp whelp from the ground and ran off. Kalec took a step after it then looked back.
"Go!" the guardian urged. He'd fallen to his knees. "They took two others. Go, Kalecgos!"
"I'll stay with them!" Jaina called. "Go!"
Kalec dashed into the forest.
The broken monster howled where it had fallen. Jaina handed the whelp to the guardian and approached the creature. Dark, leathery skin was stretched over angular bones. There was nothing intelligent in the emaciated creature's eyes. It had been marked by lines too clean to be anything other than tattoos of some sort. It saw her and howled more loudly.
"Be wary!" the guardian called in a rough voice.
Jaina nodded and sent a very thin line of annihilating arcane energy down on the creature's neck, decapitating it. It twitched and sprayed blood as it died, and the sound ceased instantly. Jaina returned to the guardian. She conjured bandages and tried to stop the worst of the bleeding. The broad scale plates had been ripped off, taking chunks of flesh with them. Thin, ragged furrows made by clawed fingers, crossed the lighter scales of his arms and flanks. His armor was askew and bloodied. One arm hung limply at his side, but the other held the sobbing whelp securely.
Jaina kept one eye on the woods around them as she helped the guardian. If she and Kalec had been alerted by the sounds of a fight, other things could have been as well. There was a lot of blood in the air. Even if no more of those ravenous things found them, a hungry featherman or bear might decide they were an easy meal.
"How badly are you hurt?" she asked as she worked to tie off some of the worst of the bleeding. There was a lot of blood. More than would have been survivable by a human, but then the dragon kin was larger and more massive than a horse.
"I won't die on you," he said, grunting as she tightened a bandage around his upper arm. "Probably. One of those damn beasts took a chunk from my leg and I felt something pop in my right rear knee when I tried to stop one of the others."
"You've lost a lot of blood." She conjured a flask of juice and helped him to drink it. Better to keep him alert if she could until help arrived.
"Getting a bit dizzy," he admitted, between guzzling from the flask. "But I'm not out yet," he assured her. "We're built tough."
"I might- Another!" Jaina warned. A shadow lunged at her from the underbrush, spindly arms outstretched.
Jaina knocked it back with a blast of arcane force. It landed on it's feet and one hand, skidding backwards. Thin lips peeled back as it made a warbling yowl. The creature lurched forward again. Jaina hit it with a blast of arcane energy. Instead of falling, the creature seized in a brief moment of practically orgasmic rigidity. Then it came after her with renewed vigor.
Jaina called on ice. She lifted a hand. A spike, made partially of the dragonkin's blood and the juice from her flask, erupted from the ground. It impaled the rushing creature mere feet from them. The monster twitched for a moment then was still, limbs dangling above the ground.
A second creature burst from the underbrush and lunged for Jaina. It hit her and they both went down hard. Jaina's head cracked against the a stone, and she saw stars for a second. Ragged teeth and feted breath filled her vision as the creature pinned her. She struggled as the sharp, jagged nails of the monster dug furrows into her arms.
Jaina blasted her attacker away with an explosion of arcane energy. The creature was knocked back by the concussive force. She followed up with a devastating beam of fire wrought small and focused. The beam made a perfect smoking circle on the beast's chest as the force of the flames pushed it back. Getting to her knees, Jaina conjured three long, sharp spikes of ice. She sent them forward, two into the creature's chest and one through it's body was flung back and pinned against a tree, the still sharp ice biting deep into the wood.
"There might be more," Jaina said, her voice ragged. Her head ached, radiating pain in time with her heartbeat. She panted as she looked around, vision still a little blurred as she carefully got back to her feet. Jaina felt steady enough once she was up and her vision was clearing. "We should try to move away from here. Find a more defensible spot."
"A good idea," the dragon kin said between panting breaths. He'd turned away from the rushing creature, tucking the silently shaking whelp away from the monster's bullrush.
The dragonkin handed her the whelp and slowly got back to his feet. The bandages Jaina had placed grew red as his wounds bled.
"There is a cave we use for shelter when the spring rains come suddenly. It is not too far." He began limping. Jaina followed, ducking a shoulder under his still working arm. The dragonkin grunted in pain but let her help. He was immensely heavy and their progress was too slow. Each of his steps was slower and harder than the last. His wounds were bad, all Jaina could smell was a copper tang. Her head ached from the blow and the wounds on her arms burned. This was not working.
"Stop, stop," she said. She handed the shaking whelp back to him, then focused. Using magic to lift something larger than a horse wouldn't be difficult ordinarily, how however she had to contend with a pounding headache. Circumstances had left Jaina with little choice but to levitate the dragonkin. Creating the working was slower with each heartbeat sounding like a drum in her ears but she pulled herself together and gently lifted the enormous being into the air.
"Direct me," she ordered absently as she maintained her main focus on the cast. Her head throbbed sharply, forcing her to narrow her focus down to just the casting. "Tell me if something is coming for us. Focusing is hard. I won't have the best awareness while I'm doing this."
"I can walk-"
"You'll bleed to death before we get anywhere," Jaina cut him off, "I need you conscious to guide me." She bit back a painful groan and added, more gently this time, "Let's get you both someplace safe."
"As you wish, Lady. Forward in this direction perhaps a thousand paces first," he said.
Jaina carefully walked the levitated dragonkin to the cavern. It wasn't far but the walk was mostly uphill through forest. He was incredibly heavy but Modera had been having her lift rocks his size or worse and then run in circles like an idiot. Or perhaps it wasn't so idiotic, Jaina thought.
"Lady Jaina, focus!"
Jaina paused and recentered herself. The dragonkin had begun to sag in her grasp. She lifted him higher. "Thank you," she said. Head hurting. Problems focusing. She probably had a concussion.
Finally she maneuvered the massive guardian into the tight entrance of the cave. Fortunately the area opened up once they were inside.
The guardian groaned as he was made to bear his own weight again. He found a boulder, settled himself on his lower belly beside it and then leaned his upper torso against the rock.
"My thanks." He turned his attention to the whelp who'd begun to sob loudly again.
Jaina set up a quick sound shield around them to prevent the little one's distress from calling more of the monsters. The sound reverberated oddly inside the cave as a result. She winced in pain as the sharp noise aggravated her head injury and tore at her heart.
"You got away, Astergos, and found Lord Kalecgos. That was very brave little one," the guardian said, his massive clawed hands stroked over the shivering wings gently.
Jaina looked around and found, instead of a firepit, there was a small crystal in a sturdy stone frame. The enchantments on the crystal were familiar in shape and intent though they had not been laid by a human mage. A small bit of power and the gem lit up, giving both heat and light.
"I just flew and then I saw people and I was so afraid!" the whelp wailed. "I couldn't- I couldn't do magic-" the rest of what was said devolved into sobbing tearful words that didn't make much sense.
The guardian cooed and continued to try to settle the young dragon. Jaina kept a wary eye on the cave's entrance as she reexamined the bandages. She found her focus wavering as the rush to flee ebbed away. Eventually the whelp cried himself to sleep, exhausted by the ordeal. Jaina took down the sound shield and conjured another flask of juice as well as some manabread, this time enough for all three of them.
"What were those things?" Jaina asked. She traded the food for the sleeping whelp. The guardian tried to eat and drink to offset the blood loss, but he was looking rather grey around the edges. She didn't feel wonderful either, but she judged herself to be in better shape than his, relatively speaking.
"Withered wretches," the guardian said. "An unusually large pack of them. I killed at least three but there were more." He hung his head.
"You put up a good fight. This little one got away."
The guardian grunted. "But three of my charges did not escape. I did not expect to see them so close to the hunting grounds we use or I'd not have allowed the children to go there."
"This was a surprise attack? They don't normally hunt here?"
"No they do not. Normally they die quickly or keep to the ruins further east of here if they manage to eke out a living. Very rarely do we get packs that large. They compete with one another more often than they work together. This is the first time I have seen one this close to our charges in..." He trailed off, grunting. "Centuries," he said after a contemplative moment. He lifted his eyes back to her. "I thank you for your help, Lady."
"Call me Jaina, please. And your name?"
"I am Mazarin, Lady Jaina," the dragonkin said. "You were hurt. I can smell the blood."
"You should see the other guy," Jaina said dryly.
The dragon laughed, but it turned into a wet-sounding cough. He groaned and leaned against the rock, waving her help off. "You will want to have those injures seen to. They will almost certainly become infected otherwise."
"You're in a worse state," she pointed out.
"True. True. This is not the worst I have seen. Makers willing it will not be the last." He drew in a breath and sighed it out. "I just wish I had been a better minder."
"Kalec will find the missing whelps," Jaina said. "I'm sure-" She paused as she heard a scraping sound. Closer than she'd have liked. She'd lost her focus in talking with Mazarin. Quickly handing the whelp back to Mazarin, Jaina faced the entrance of the cavern, ready for what might attack. She hoped it was someone sent by Kalec to find them.
A withered monster rounded the corner. On seeing them it made a rasping, rattling, hungry noise and shambled forward. Prepared for the attack, Jaina wasted no time in enacting what she felt was an appropriate response. Light chased away shadows in the cavern as she punched a neat hole the size of her fist through the creature's chest. The blast of arcane energy might have been overkill, but help would come soon. And if it didn't then she'd teleport the three of them to Dalaran. To make sure the creature was dead, she sent a smaller blast through the creature's head. The body twitched a bit then lay still.
A shambling shadow fell across the cave entrance. When this withered entered, it found the same fate as the other. Jaina waited but a third did not come. For now at least.
Mazarin sighed and leaned against his rock once more. "I think I should get some rest. I am very tired."
"Actual rest or should I be trying shoving you through a portal and into the hands of the nearest healers I can reach?" Jaina asked, eyes never leaving the entrance.
"Rest, I think," he said after a too-long moment. "Just a bit of rest. Be good and mind the Spell-weaver's consort, Astergos."
"Mazarin?" the whelp questioned, calling his name again.
Jaina looked back. The massive dragonkin had fallen limp. Hurrying over she searched for a pulse and was relieved to find one. "He's just gone to sleep," Jaina told the worried whelp. "Why don't we let him sleep while we wait for Kalec to come back with the others?" she offered.
"He's okay?"
"He said he would be," Jaina said. She picked up a rock from the side of the cavern and levitated it up and over so she had a seat facing the door. "Would you like to sit with me?"
Astergos looked at her warily for a moment then crawled from Mazarin's loose grasp and took a few bounding hops to land in Jaina's lap. He was a very small whelp. "Do you know when Kalecgos will come back?"
"Soon, I hope. He has to find the others. Were they your clutch mates?" Jaina's head continued to throb, but she needed to remain alert. Conversing with the whelp would keep her focused and keep him calm until help arrived. The cave was known and close to their previous location. Surely someone would come.
"No, I don't have any," the whelp said. He settled onto her lap, tucking his legs under like a kitten. "They're all older than I am, they're four and five. But we're a hunting flock."
"How old are you?"
"I'm three," he said. He looked back at the cave entrance then up at her again. "Are my friends okay? Suzugos tried to use magic but it didn't work too well."
"I know Kalec will try his hardest to find the others before they're hurt," Jaina said. She didn't know what the creatures might want the whelps for, she didn't want the sudden, horrible images, but she didn't want to worry this one. At least not more than he already was. The whelp made an unhappy noise. Jaina pulled him into a hug. She didn't want to make promises about the others, but she'd make sure he lived.
Another shadow fell across the entrance. Jaina glared. How many of these damn things were there? She readied a spell and let it fly the moment the first body crossed into her line of sight. The body jerked back out of the blast.
"It's Stellegosa!"
"Oh," Jaina said, letting her follow up spell fizzle away.
The drake had shifted into her humanoid shape. Unlike in the glade, her High Elf form wore light armor instead of a dress this time. She looked around the cave then ducked back, calling out to reinforcements. Stellagosa looked at the dead withered as she stepped over their corpses.
"Aunt Stella!" Astergos wriggled in Jaina's grasp. She let go and he flapped over to Stellagosa, latching onto the front of her leather jerkin. "Mazarin is really hurt and Lady Jaina blasted the withered and they tried to claw her up like they clawed up Mazarin and I tried to get away and I found Kalecgos and did he find the others and are the withered all gone and can we go back home?"
"I'm here to take you and Mazarin home," Stellagosa said. She stepped out of the way as another dragonkin, this one one of the slender quadrupedal females, hurried in to check on the fallen guardian.
"Kalec?" Jaina asked.
"Found the missing whelps. He and a few others went to go hunt any remaining withered," Stella explained.
Another human-shaped dragon entered the cave and began to consult with the dragonkin healer.
"Will he be okay?" Jaina asked, nodding to Mazarin. The healers were rousing him but his responses were groggy.
"Now we have him, yes," Stellagosa said. "Come on, let's get out of their way."
They went outside. A couple more drakes were present standing guard as well as more of the dragonkin. Many more dragons were flying search patterns overhead. Jaina hoped this would not mean the dragons would need to move again. It seemed this activity was unusual. What had caused it? Her head ached. She should probably have it looked at. She wasn't feeling entirely well. Would Modera be angry with her this time? Probably not. Probably.
"Your handiwork?" Stella asked.
"Hm? I'm sorry, would you repeat the question?" Jaina asked, blinking at the drake.
"The impaled withered?"
"Oh, yes I did that. These beings seem very intent on taking whelps. I wasn't about to let that happen. There's a few more not too far from the impaled one."
"Lady Jaina got four!" Astergos helpfully supplied.
"How many attacked you?" Stella asked him.
The whelp ducked his head. "I don't know. Mazarin told me to fly away, so I did. I'm sorry."
"No, you did exactly right," Stella said, lightly bopping the end of his nose with a finger.
"Three were attacking Mazarin when Kalec and I found them. More got away before we got there. I don't know if any of those are the same creatures as the four I killed," Jaina said. "Two ran and Kalec broke the back of another. I dispatched it while he went after the ones who fled."
"There's your mother," Stella said as one of the smaller adults landed; the dainty dragon in barding from earlier. Stellagosa tossed the whelp in her direction and the little dragon flew off with a squeal. His mother shifted into a smaller shape and hugged him tightly, both crying.
"The others are okay?" Jaina asked, her voice low. Stella had not specified earlier when Astergos had been present.
"They will be. They're shaken and utterly drained of magic. Senegos has them soaking in the leywater pools to recover."
"Drained?"
Stellagosa nodded. She did a doubletake, looking Jaina over. "Are you well?"
"I'm fine. What are these things?"
"You're pale as the moon. You're hurt," Stellagosa said. "There's blood on the back of your head. Dara!"
Jaina winced as Stellagosa bellowed. The female dragonkin looked up then hurried over.
"It's fine," Jaina protested. "I'm not as badly off as Mazarin. Probably a concussion but I didn't lose consciousness."
"My lady?" Dara asked, directing the question to Stellagosa when she arrived.
"Head injury. Might be concussed. Can you heal humans?"
"Yes I can. Please sit and I will take a look."
Jaina was firmly maneuvered over to a rock and made to sit. She felt the warm tingle of healing magic on the back of her head.
"A concussion and a cut," the healer pronounced. "I've closed the wound on your head. Give me a moment and I will take the swelling down."
Jaina sighed as a blissfully cool sensation spread from the injury. Her headache faded.
"I'll get those lacerations on your arms and shoulders."
"Thank you Dara. How is Mazarin?"
"He'll live. It will take some time but I think his scales will grow back. He's lost a lot of blood but we have him stable. You helped?"
"I tried," Jaina said. "He said he would be fine."
"Not if the withered had found him in the open," the healer said. "You saved his life."
"I couldn't leave him there," Jaina said. "Maybe I should have opened a portal."
The healer snorted. "Anyone in your floating city knowledgeable about his physiology? Would you have dropped him into a healer's lap immediately or would he have had to walk. No, my Lady, it is best he stayed put. There. Your wounds are closed and I cleaned away any potential infection I could find. I would suggest keeping an eye on it."
"Thank you Dara," Stellagosa said. The dragonkin bowed then hurried back to her other duties.
Jaina watched her go then returned her attention to Stellagosa. "Back to those... things. What were they?"
"We call them the withered," Stellagosa said. They watched as Mazarin was floated out of the cave by the dragon healer. "They're from Suramar."
"That's what happened to the people of Suramar?" Jaina touched the back of her aching head and winced as she found clotted blood in her hair.
"No, only some." Stellagosa shifted into her natural form and ducked a shoulder. "I'll explain on the way back."
Jaina climbed up and held on as the drake took off.
"How much do you know about Suramar?" Stellagosa asked.
"They sealed themselves off ten thousand years ago. No one knows if they're alive or not under the shield. I take it they are alive?"
"Yes, though they are much changed." Stellagosa said. "They knew they would run out of food so they turned to magic. The entire city's population is dependent on a source we learned is called the Nightwell. What you saw is what happens if they do not feed the dependency. When they reach that state it is irreversible. Eventually they die."
"Why were they on this side? Why haven't they taken the shield down?"
"What we have been able to gather is those inside Suramar believe the rest of the world is a destroyed wasteland. They haven't taken their shield down because they believe it would lead to their doom."
"The ones on this side were sent as punishment, then."
"Yes. These are exiles. Because they didn't agree with the leadership or they insulted someone. Or because there were too many for their Nightwell to sustain."
Removal of dissidents. Jaina wondered if the sudden influx was the result of political machinations on the other side of the shield - someone cleaning house and sending their fellow citizens to waste away and die in agony.
Or it could be population control.
"They drain the whelps and anything else they can find," Stellagosa continued. "The males among the dragonkin have fewer casters. Mazarin would have made a poor meal. The whelps on the other paw..." She shook her head. "They're little more than animals when they get to this point. We kill them quickly when they come into our territory."
The short ride ended with Stellagosa touching down in a large clearing near the pools. All of the whelps had been gathered and all were being closely watched by older dragons. The playfulness and games of tag from earlier were notably absent. They all sat quietly in huddled flocks or under the great paws of the adults. Jaina slipped to the ground and Stella trotted forward to make her report to Senegos.
Jaina looked around and could not find Kalec. Not knowing what else to do, she followed Stellagosa. A shadow crossed the glade. Looking up, she saw Kalec flying overhead, massive wings outstretched as he appeared at his full size. Kalec hovered for a moment while the others in his party landed. The former Aspect touched down with a ground-shaking thump and shook out his wings, dwarfing the other dragons in the area. Kalec saw the gathered whelps and snorted in satisfaction.
"We routed those we could find," he said, directing his words to Senegos. "I set up some basic traps with lures. The spells will dissipate in time but they should serve to draw the withered away from the whelps until we can find a better solution." He inclined his head to the Elder.
"Thank you, Spellweaver." Senegos inclined his head back to Kalec, more deeply. "This is an unusual change in their hunting patterns. I am thankful the results were not worse."
"Agreed." Kalec shifted into his smaller shape. Those around him still gave him a differential path as he hurried over to Jaina. His crushing hug lifted her off the ground.
"I'm told you were attacked," he said as he set he down.
"I kept them safe," she corrected. "The withered didn't lay a finger on Astergos. Mazarin was able to direct us to a cave. I held them off."
"She killed four herself," Stellagosa supplied. "And I am told Mazarin was in a much more stable condition than he would have been otherwise." She looked up at the Elder. "Lady Jaina suffered some lacerations and a concussion in one of the attacks. Healer Dara has fixed those for her."
Kalec's grip on her tightened. He pressed his face against her neck. Jaina relaxed, only now aware of the tension she'd been carrying once it was leaving. She shivered a little in relief and fear of what might have been if she'd been slower.
Kalec rested his forehead against hers. "You're okay?"
"Yes."
"Good. Thank you for protecting them," Kalec said.
"How could I not?"
"You could have run," Senegos said. "You were injured yourself. You could have been overrun as Mazarin was, and killed."
Jaina eyed him. "No," she said firmly. "I couldn't run with lives at stake. Especially not with one so young when there are so few. It was in my power to do something, so I did."
Senegos bowed his head slightly, eyes closing. "He told you of our great sorrow then."
"She is my consort, Senegos," Kalec replied, the words having the hint of challenge to them. "It would not be right to keep such a thing from her when it weighs so heavily."
"No it wouldn't," the older dragon agreed. He sighed, long and tired. "I thank you for taking such good care of the whelp and my guardian, Lady."
"As I said, there was never any doubt as to what I should do. Kalec is my consort and you are his people. His family. Which means you are mine as well." It was a rather bold declaration and Jaina felt some surprise by her own words. It didn't make it any less true. She very much wanted to make space for him in her life and that meant embracing his people as well. A growing part of her was curious about the other dragons. Who were they? What did they think? What might she learn? Who might become a friend and ally as Tarecgosa had?
"Hmm," the Elder dragon mused. He shifted shape, becoming the elderly elf once more. "Come along then. Let us get you sorted with what you came for. I'd hate for your research to be slowed on account of those vermin." He conjured a cane then marched off towards the cave with a surprising amount of vigor for one so old. "Come on, don't dawdle. I'm not getting any younger," he called over his shoulder when they did not immediately follow. Jaina and Kalec hurried to catch up.
"You'll have to bring her back sometime when we're not infested," Senegos said to Kalec. "I assure you, Lady Jaina, Azsuna is quite lovely when you're not being attacked."
"I shall do that Elder," Kalec assured, a grin quite evident in his voice.
"And because I am old and don't have the time to dance around such things, I will be quite clear; You are most welcome here among my brood, Jaina. Anytime you wish."
"Thank you," she said, a warm feeling spreading through her chest, chasing away some of the lingering fears. Kalec's hand around hers tightened as the worry he'd held in his shoulders eased.
"Here we are," Senegos said. He lifted an arm and conjured a ball of light. It split into several, illuminating the space. He gestured expansively to the cavern interior which sparkled and glittered. The leystone floor was littered with millions of tiny leycrystal gems. Leycrystal formations as large as a drake was long jutted out from every angle. Smaller crystals grew from clusters around their bases. "Take your pick."
Eyes wide, Jaina walked into the center of the area and then realized the cavern continued around a bend. In this second, larger room, Jaina felt as if she'd walked into the center of a geode. She could feel the intense rush of the Leylines nearby as their energy vibrated and filled the crystals growing inside the cave. She walked up to a crystal taller than she was and saw her own started reflection. This single crystal alone was worth... Jaina wasn't certain she could accurately estimate the price. She placed a hand on the surface and felt the hum of energy in her bones. Turning away, she looked for something that would fit her needs better. It was easy. She nearly tripped over a small cluster of ten such crystals.
Crouching down she examined the crystal in the center, testing it by pulsing magic through the lattice to check if it was structurally sound.
"If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to take this one, please?" She looked over her shoulder back to where Kalec and Senegos had been trailing behind, giving her space.
Senegos arched an eyebrow. "Just the one?"
"Oh, I only need the one for my spell focus," Jaina told him. "I don't wish to be greedy."
"My dear, be greedy." He sighed as he found a seat on one of the boulders, the cane set before him. "Our vassals have not been affected as we have, but we still have fewer of them than other flights and they are still our responsibility to care for. You have saved Mazarin and protected him as one of my brood would have. More than that you have saved one of our last children, offering yourself to great danger to protect him as well. You defeated four creatures so far gone into their madness they might not have stopped at simply draining anyone of their magic."
He leaned on the cane as he regarded her steadily. "Kalecgos has named you his consort. He has spoken well of you; your responsibility and reverence for our gifts as mages, the kindness you have shown, and what you have done to allow him to teach in Dalaran and work among the mages of the younger races. Your aim in all of this is to be able to assume a form which matches his own as he matches yours. I say your heart does already. So," he pointed at the cluster with his cane, "take what you need."
"I-" Jaina looked at the crystals then at the dragons. Kalec smiled faintly, the worry he'd been carrying evaporated like morning mist. He opened his eyes and beamed at her. Too many thoughts and feelings vied for her attention. "Thank you," she said when she found words again. "It seems inadequate."
Senegos snorted and waved a hand. "You are a very kind person, small one. These are poor recompense for the priceless lives saved."
Jaina dipped her head and looked away. "These will do well. I'll take the whole cluster then in case some crack in the process. And if it might be permitted, I'd like to take those as well," she said, nodding to a pair of thin crystals perhaps a meter tall. "We're supporting warfront operations on an alternate version of Draenor."
"A most curious thing, that alternate time and place. Kalecgos has mentioned it, yes. They would help?"
"We're looking to set up additional bases. These would help us to offload the magepower needed to keep those portals open."
"They're yours then. Now, I am most curious about this spell you are working on. Care to share your research?" He grinned.
Jaina's grin matched the Elder's.