Black Sun Widow

Chapter 1—The Hunt For an Old Friend

Xhialania flew the long way to her nest, just in case she had any sort of follower. As she landed, her two older daughters met her at the cave entrance. She walked past them several feet before collapsing on her right side.

"Mother?" Cheru—the red drake she had adopted—whimpered. Zellana let out a low growl when she saw the spear wedged in her mother's thigh.

"It has to come out or you'll get infection," she stated. Cheru moved around to see the wound and gasped.

"What happened?"

Xhialania frowned, then grimaced in pain. Zellana was right. The wound would have to be sealed so she didn't bleed, but Cheru could heal enough to do the job.

"I was hunted," Xhialania replied. "I need you two to help me, once again," she whimpered, the pain leaping through her words.

"Anything," both girls responded.

"Zellana, I need you to pull the spear out. Cheru, I need you to heal the skin wound. Don't worry with the scales. For now, I'd like to keep the battlescar."

Both girls immediately nodded and got in position.

"Ready?" Zellana asked. Xhialania nodded weakly. It was hard to be ready for something that would hurt more coming out than it did going in.

Zellana pulled and black blood gushed out of the wound. Cheru began chanting and the wound slowly began to mend, flesh knitting itself together despite the waterfall of blood oozing down her mother's leg. Finally, the bleeding stopped, then the skin caked over the hole forming a thick scab. Another moment passed and the scab shrunk and the black skin replaced it.

"We're done," Cheru whispered, as not to interrupt her mother's gasping for air. Zellana walked to her mother's chin and nudged it gently.

"Lani, you smell like father," Zellana said in surprise. Xhialania smiled at being called by her nickname and nodded.

"I saw him. He saved me…then he said he wasn't safe to be around and left. We're still to remain in hiding, all three of us. We'll trade off on nesting, hunting, and guarding the cave. No one is to enter except our trio. Not even other black drakes, and certainly not red drakes. Am I clear?"

"Yes, mother," the girls replied together. She had kept them alive and safe since they were whelps. It was almost an act of honor to be able to help her.

"When the cave becomes a hatchery, we're going to have to move further in, so whoever is nesting can also look for places to hide the whelps. They are going to be the hardest part of staying hidden. Fortunately, we've still three months before the first are supposed to hatch," Lani explained. She tried to stand only to collapse further and revert to her humanoid form. Both Cheru and Zellana looked worried, and Cheru finally broke the silence.

"I think it was poisoned, maybe," she said. Her voice was timid and shaky, much like her personality.

"Maybe? Well do something about it, Cheru!" Zelanna exclaimed, stomping the ground.

"I am, there's going to be a boil on her left leg shortly. We'll drain it with a claw."

Lani was feeling too sick to argue or even understand what the two drakes above her were arguing about nor did she care. She believed herself on death's door, a failure to her mate and her broods, a failure to all of Azeroth, and all because of a damned orc.

No, I can't blame my weakness on orcs. They are just doing what they need to do for survival. Just like the Black Dragonflight. Sure, the other flights find us terrifying and dangerous, but our place on Azeroth is just as important as theirs. I need to speak to Alexstrasza—perhaps she'll meet me outside the gates of Grim Batol.

"Ow!" Lani cried as she felt a sickly cold liquid run down her thigh. It stung and Cheru quickly snatched a piece of her now robed humanoid body to rub the poison away.

"Weak poison, weak poison," she repeated as she dabbed the remainder of the pus away. "And though a weak poison, still bad. It wouldn't have killed you, but you might have lost a lot of mobility in that leg."

"Is it all drained?" Zelanna demanded, her wings flared angrily. She was patient with Cheru—much more patient than most of the other black drakes living with them—but she had a temper and intolerance for waiting.

"I left a very small amount in so that her body can learn to fight that poison and be less inhibited by it. I would like to inject you and myself so that we can also have our bodies learn to fight it," Cheru replied, her long red hair caught in one of the cave drafts. Her gentle amber eyes met Zelanna's fierce green ones before Zelanna finally nodded. Cheru returned to her dragon form and with the claw that she had extracted the poison from Xhialania with, she swiped Zelanna's front leg. She then pricked the poisonous boil on Lani's leg again before stabbing her claw into her right foot.

"The orcs will have to learn to fight in new ways if they want to defeat us," Zelanna growled with pride, licking the wound. Cheru nodded, also licking her wound.

"Neltharion, come home," Lani whispered as she fell into a deep slumber.

"Mother?" Zelanna called, nudging her mother gently with her snout. Xhialania looked up at her with glazed eyes, a combination of weakness and exhaustion. Slowly, her expression calmed until she sat up, surprised that she had been carried into her room and tucked in under a leather hide.

"Zela, Cheru, what happened last night?" She asked, panic beginning to enter her mind.

"You passed out talking about dad, so we carried you here. A few of the pyrewings went out to get food since the two of us decided to nest and nurse you back to health…and sorry about the blanket. It's a little big, but it's my baby blanket," Zelanna laughed. Lani smiled, patting the leather.

"It's warm and kept me warm. While I appreciate your care and company, I do need some time alone to think."

"I'll be at the entrance of the cave if you need me, mother," Zelanna nuzzled her mother gently before trotting out of the room. Lani stood up quickly, finding a wall to support her dizzy, sick body. She walked along the wall to a small hallway, looked behind her to make sure no one was following, then walked through the tiny cavern. At the very end were various treasures and while Lani grazed her fingers over a swirling black and red stone, she pulled out a small mirror.

"Alexstrasza, the Life-Binder," she stated into the glass. Her nerves began to fray as the mirror shimmered. She was a black dragon—one of the highest ranked—and she had the audacity to ask the Dragonqueen for help. What was she thinking? Worse yet, she could give her position away and kill her entire brood. Was she thinking?

"Xhialania, mother of the Chromatic Flight," a cool voice replied. "Whatever could I do for you?"

"I called because of Neltharion. First, I apologize for his behaviors, but that is really all I can do on his account. I want to save him. I want him to be the Earthwarder again, not this mad, crazed interpretation of a dragon."

Alexstrasza's face softened as she shook her head. "I have tried many things to save my brother. He is lost, but you've given me hope that not all of the Black Dragonflight is hopelessly lost with him."

"I will do my best not to cave in to that calling. Can you answer some questions for me?"

"Of course, of course."

"What made him mad to begin with?"

"It's hard to say…in the beginning, we thought he was just desperate to stop the Legion, but he mentioned hearing voices. In retrospect, I believe he was being tormented by the old gods for eons, making his corruption deep and paranoid. If we had not agreed to the Dragon Soul, or if we'd used Nozdormu's foresight…there are so many things we could have done to save him before he was lost."

"If anyone is to blame for not saving him, it would be Nozdormu, not the other aspects. But Nozdormu is held to an oath to do what is best for the world. If I remember from the stories, had you not had the Dragon Soul, you'd have lost to the Legion," Lani replied.

Alexstrasza nodded. "We gave up much to win that war. I fear we'll give up much to win this war, as well. I must bid you farewell, Xhialania, but know this. I did not want to kill Malygos, my brother, and I do not want to kill Neltharion, my brother. If you can save him, may the Titans guide you."

The mirror shimmered, then cracked slightly around the edge. Lani gently set it down, mumbling as she thought. The old gods. She'd heard of them, but nothing much about them. Somehow, she had to get to a library or find people she could ask about the old gods. Lani had heard rumors that one had been awoken in the northeast of the highlands, and so she decided that her next hunting session would be there.

Old gods, old gods, old gods…could they be the voices he heard? The whispers in the night that made him stir? The reason he distanced himself from us? Onyxia might know, or Sinestra, but I've heard they're both dead. Nefarian couldn't tell his head from his ass, so he certainly wouldn't know. Who could I ask…I could pray. The Titans would know the old gods.

"Mother? We've got eggs hatching with soft shells, help!"

All thoughts of old gods were gone as Lani ran through the hallway and to her hatchery. Whelps were indeed hatching and keening for their mother. Lani transformed into her dragon form and began to care for them. It was too soon for them to be hatching. Far too soon.