Araxion landed in one of Hyjal's most isolated glades, and took a moment to marvel at it. The area was empty of people, and seemingly of animals; the only sounds were the wind blowing through the trees' leaves and the stream bubbling around the rocks. He took a moment to relish the relative silence, perhaps the only true quiet he had ever known. This was a little shard of paradise just on the outskirts of a war zone, one of the few places not tainted by violence and bloodshed. It was beautiful, but he felt out of place in it, seeing his black and blue scales juxtaposed against the pastel colors of nature.

The silence was soon broken by the sound of unfamiliar wingbeats, and another dragon had arrived. The familiar cold feeling returned to Araxion, and he first thought that it came from himself; perhaps he was afraid. The other dragon was blue, not twilight, and did not appear to be at all hostile. He stared for a long time at Araxion, his expression unreadable, his tail absolutely still.

"I take it you are the blue dragon I was told to meet," Araxion resigned himself to break the silence.

"That would depend," the blue answered. "Were you the one who was told to meet me?"

Araxion's mind struggled to make sense of the words for a few moments- it was a mind game, he realized. "That would be a yes," he said. "I just need the papers from you, nothing more."

"The papers, of course," the blue said. He glanced back at a satchel tied around his midsection and shoulders, in front of his wings. "But come on, I know it's no fun in those camps. And I have no fun socializing with those fools at Nordrassil. What's your name, twilight?"

Araxion hesitated for a moment, uncomfortable. It did not feel as though he should be talking to the blue drake, and something deep inside him was afraid of this other dragon. "I'm Araxion," he answered.

"My name is Eryigos," the blue drake replied. "You know, I did something like this myself as a drake. I had to get information from this dragon named Sirastrasza, said that she didn't think Alexstrasza was harsh enough with the mortals. She gave us a lot of valuable information, you know. We killed her a week later, when she decided that maybe she was wrong after all."

Araxion stared at Eyrigos for a long while, and blue dragon stopped pretending to fetch the papers. "Are you blueborn?" Eyrigos asked, "You look like it."

Araxion shook his head. "Black," he answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Again, you just look like it," Eyrigos replied. "Black then, huh? Sending their best to meet me?"

"I don't know," Araxion said. "I don't know if there was a particular reason why they sent me, except that I was there."

Eryigos chuckled, and Araxion could not quite tell what he was thinking. "You know, you remind me of myself back in the Nexus War," he said. "Surely there's something you'd like to know. Some pressing question you'd like to ask somebody from the other side."

"I... I don't think so," Araxion answered, puzzled.

"Are you so defined by the war that you see me as an enemy, nothing more?" Eryigos asked. "Don't you know curiosity? I know you don't trust me, but certainly you know that it would be a death sentence for me if I were to kill you, or even hurt you."

The twilight inched away slowly, hardly noticing his own movement. "I never said that I didn't trust you," he said.

"You don't have to tell me, I already know," the blue dragon answered. "Would they tell me to come to some isolated area of Hyjal, and meet a young drake if they trusted me? Would you be so afraid if you trusted me?"

"I'm not afraid," Araxion took a few steps closer, spreading his wings slightly in an effort to look more intimidating.

Eryigos laughed. "What you are," he said, "is a liar."

There was a moment of silence, and Araxion said, "If I'm so much like you were, than you were afraid once, too."

"So you have a bit of sense in you, don't you?" the blue noted. "During the Nexus War, when it began, I had no fear. I was Eryigos, a drake of the Blue Dragonflight, doing Malygos's work. Everything I did was justified, was for the greater good of Azeroth. No mortal or red dragon could harm me, because nothing could ever happen to me. As long as I did what was right, I could not get hurt, I could not die."

"But then I grew up," he said. "And I fought, and I saw my friends die. Do you remember Sirastrasza, the red wyrm I mentioned? She was so passionate about what she believed in. She was so confident that she was right- just like I was. I had a friend, named Virigosa. When Sirastrasza decided to betray us, and came to face us in battle, Virigosa destroyed her. I could hardly recognize her at the end of it all. We left her body to bleed out in the snow, we left her for the wolves. But her beliefs never changed; only the means that she thought was best to accomplish them. That was really the only difference between the sides in the Nexus War. But it opened my eyes."

"You aren't invincible," Araxion noted.

"Of course not," Eryigos answered. "And I learned this. At the same time, I did not let war define me."

"What do you mean?" The twilight drake asked.

"I still know my friend Virigosa," Eryigos said. "She still lives every day of her life in the shadow of the Nexus War. She sees it when she dreams, whenever she closes her eyes. Whenever she sees another dragon, she does not think of them based on who they are, she defines them by what side they would've fought on. It's a different war now, but she simply can't let go of the old one. You know, I prepared these papers in front of her. I gave her the flimsiest possible excuse I could. And she believed me, without question, because all she saw of me was her friend from the Nexus War."

Araxion was more confident now, more willing to converse with the blue dragon. "Yet you're not defined by that war at all," he noted. "In fact, you're on our side now. You've changed from it."

"I'm not sure I'd agree the way you phrased it," the blue dragon answered. "I'm more pragmatic, I suppose. I pick the battles that I can win. And my opinions from the Nexus War never really changed, not even my opinions on the means to achieve our ends. Do you wonder why I serve your side? Why I risk my life day in and day out to bring you information? It's because I see so many flaws with this world. Mortal use of magic run amok, corruption so deep in this world, the Burning Legion desperate to destroy us. It pains me, but I want to see this world burn. I want to see it put out of its misery. It's kinder than what we've been doing to it."

"And your friend, Virigosa, do you think she could be convinced to our side then?" Araxion asked. "If she woke up like you did, do you think that we could have her as an ally?"

Eryigos chuckled. "To be honest, I think she can't get over the war because a part of her, deep inside, liked it," he said. "There's a thrill to it, whenever she sees blood spilled. I don't think she can really handle it, she can't help herself. You know, there was a contingent of three twilight drakes dispatched to Nordrassil a few days ago for Alexstrasza's arrival. They had a little magic charm, that hid them from the mortals. I tried to make them something better, but no, they told me not to worry. And guess what? Virigosa got just a taste of their magic, and she saw right through their illusion. The first twilight drake that she saw, she tore to bits, worse than she did to Sirastrasza. I think she was so quick to violence because she likes it, because she doesn't know what to do without it."

Araxion froze at the mention of the twilight drakes, and tilted his head with interest. "Do you remember the name?" he asked eagerly. "Was the drake named Kasiona?"

The blue drake looked curious, and nodded slowly. "Yes," he answered. "Why do you ask?"

"She was from the same camp as me," Araxion said. "She was a friend, and from what I remember, talented. Virigosa did that?"

"Indeed she did," the blue dragon replied. "But if it's revenge you want, you've already got some. Virigosa was almost killed later on that day, took an attack that was meant for Alexstrasza. Had the Dragonqueen not been right there, Virigosa would be dead. But you won't have to worry about her for a long while."

"That's good to know, at least." There was silence for a little while, a solemn sort of silence that neither Araxion nor Eryigos wanted to break.

Finally, Eyrigos slipped the satchel from his body and began to drape it over Araxion's neck. The blue dragon took a step back to inspect his handiwork, but Araxion interrupted him. "The longer you spend here, and the more you tell me, the more dangerous it is for you. So why? Why have you told me all of this? Why are you so eager to share your life story, to play these little mind games?"

"Because I, unlike my friend Virigosa, can see the writing on the wall." Eryigos answered.