The line between life and death was fine and at times difficult to see. Virigosa, in her youth, had spent much time listening to her flight's elders. They had often pondered the nature of the world: to name a few, the nature of magic, of morality, and of death. Virigosa had not listened to many, yes, but a few she had taken to heart and began to ponder for herself. Death was one of those subjects that she occasionally wondered about, but she did not dare let her mind linger on it. It was a dark subject, and considering the nature of war, one that hit all too close to home.

Lost in that darkness, however, Virigosa found that she had much time to ponder. Was she truly dead? She didn't know. Pain shot through her with every movement she made, waning and intensifying periodically. Her state was unlike sleep in that she was fully awake, and could see her own body. Her forelegs as she moved them, her wings just on the edge of her vision; they were visible, as always. And all about her, there was a curious feeling of fatigue, as though every step was the last she would have the energy to take. Yet she could take a step after that, then another after, and she never became more or less tired.

She did not know how long she spent wandering that maddening darkness. It had a terrible, cold feeling to it, that seeped below her scales and clung to her bones, until she did not think she could take it for even another moment. Over time, the blue of her scales began to darken and fade into the blackness, until she could see them no longer. At times she wondered if she could truly feel herself, or if it was all a trick of the mind; perhaps instead of flesh and blood, pain and fatigue were all that she was ever made up of.

Eventually, she resigned herself to her miserable fate. She gave into the fatigue, letting her invisible body drop to the void that was the ground, and laid there. The pain came in cycles, waxing and waning, sometimes a dull ache and at times a pain that was so extreme, she could wish for nothing more than an end, nothing more than the respite of death. That was when she realized that she was not truly dead, not quite; death could not be so painful. She wouldn't let it.

And then, eventually, the pain faded to an ache and stayed that way. It was uncomfortable, yes, but far better than the agony she had been in. And soon, she was still exhausted but not quite so tired; she felt as though she could fly if she really needed to. The cold faded soon enough, being replaced by almost a sickly warmth. She was still confused, and still felt awful, but it was not quite so bad.

Then, she started to see herself again. Her legs, her wings, were visible once more, but the shade of blue was different somehow. She could not quite feel her body, but the legs and wings had to be hers; they moved on her command.

Finally, Virigosa decided to try and sleep. It seemed insane, perhaps, but maybe she'd be able to leave all the pain behind her for just a while. She laid on the ground, shutting her eyes and tucking her wings in close to her. It seemed to work; the blue's pain and fatigue seemed to subside, her thoughts quieted into silence, and the state was just like normal sleep.

Virigosa awoke to voices chattering away in Draconic. Her eyes opened slowly, as if they'd be stuck closed. Her first realization was that she was laying on a soft surface, similar to a bed, but large enough for a dragon. Her second realization was that almost her entire body was bound with bandages, preventing her from moving. Her legs, her tail, her wings; everything but her head was completely immobile.

A shadow fell over her bed, and a crimson wyrm looked over her. "Virigosa! You're awake! My name is Heristrasza." It was said with a cheeriness that the blue had not heard much from the Red Dragonflight. "You've been through a lot. How are you feeling?"

"I can't move," Virigosa said, trying to make small movements with her tail.

"The Dragonqueen herself dealt with most of your healing, she wanted to know when you awoke," Heristrasza informed her. "It was a big undertaking... So many of your bones were broken. She had to remake your scales and wings almost entirely from scratch, there was hardly anything left to work with. If the Aspect of Life hadn't been there, you'd be dead."

The drake turned to try and look at her wings, but her body was too covered. "Why would she do that?" she asked.

Heristrasza leaned over, beginning to undo some of Virigosa's tail bandages. "She admired your courage," the wyrm explained. "You were so willing to sacrifice yourself to save the Dragonqueen, for the sake of Azeroth... She could save you, so why shouldn't she?"

The last of the bandages came off, and Heristrasza neatly swept them off to the side. "Try not to move too quickly, your body's changed and it'll take some time to adjust," she warned, walking to the other side of the room to check on the other patient.

Virigosa shifted slowly onto her side, moving to finally behold herself. The Dragonqueen's healing was incredible; there were no scars, not even those from the Nexus War, and while the drake's muscles were still sore, she could feel that they were stronger than they had ever been.

However, her body was completely different. Her scales were still blue, and she was still a dragon, but she looked almost nothing like she had before. Her scales were a deep, bold shade of blue, as opposed to the far lighter color before. Her wing membranes were a lighter blue and partially transparent, and they were attached not just at the shoulders, like they had been, but the membrane was attached all the way down her tail. All of the runes that had once covered her body were gone, but that was to be expected; she could replace that. She could not see it, but had a strong feeling that her face looked completely different, too.

It was strange, but Virigosa felt a sadness for her old form. By the Blue Dragonflight's standards, she was more beautiful than she had been, and she could feel how much stronger she was. But this was not the form she was born with, and she felt a longing for her old scales, her old wings, her old body.

"I am different," Virigosa remarked, distant, as Heristrasza returned.

"Yes, but you're alive," Heristrasza answered. She dropped a piece of meat in front of the drake. "Eat now, dear. I sent a messenger to inform Alexstrasza that you're awake. She'll be down when there's a moment."

Virigosa ate slowly, unsure of how her stomach would feel. It was only after she began to eat that she realized how hungry she was; she must have been unconscious in that strange void for a number of days. Still, she did not ask for more, only eating again when Heristrasza offered another, much larger slab of meat.

Some time later, she heard footsteps descending down the stairs into the room. Virigosa could sense the presence immediately, and looked up. The Dragonqueen herself, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, had entered into the room. She stood in her mortal form beside the drake's bed. "Virigosa, it's good to see you awake and well."

Virigosa started shifting in bed, attempting to get into a kneeling position, but Alexstrasza stopped her with a hand gesture. "I appreciate the formality, but there is no need. I do hope you feel alright."

The drake nodded, shifting back into a more comfortable position to rest her sore muscles.

As if she could tell, the Life-Binder added, "I expect you'll feel sore for a while. So much had to be done," Alexstrasza ran her hand along Virigosa's flanks, as if feeling for anything that she might have missed. "I could not reconstruct your body how it originally was, and my deepest apologies for that. There were hardly any scales, hardly anything left of your wings, and there wasn't enough time to fetch someone who might've been able to tell me how you looked."

"I'm alive, and it's an honor beyond imagining to know that you've done that for me," Virigosa responded.

"Your courage is admirable, Virigosa," Alexstrasza said. "Had it not been for you, I would be dead now, and so many others. Ensuring that you live is hardly a repayment for what you've done for me and all of Azeroth."

Virigosa felt that there should be something she had to say to the Dragonqueen, anything that would be more meaningful than simple silence. After so many years first honoring Alexstrasza as the Dragonqueen, and then hating her as an enemy of the Blue Dragonflight, there had to be something to say now that Virigosa was face-to-face with her, having a conversation. All she could bring herself to do was smile, and nod, and listen.

The Nexus War. The memory of it came bubbling up in Virigosa's head. Did Alexstrasza know that she had fought on the opposite side? If the Dragonqueen had known what Virigosa had done, would she be acting the same, would she be saying all these things?

"We brought you here to Wyrmrest Temple as soon as we could, once my visit to Mount Hyjal was over," Alexstrasza explained. "I expect it will not take you particularly long to recover; Heristrasza will help you as you need. I must attend now to my duties, but it's good to meet you at last, Virigosa."

Virigosa nodded pleasantly, tired and longing to sleep again. She's acting so nice to me. "I'm honored by your visit, my queen," she said.

Alexstrasza turned to leave, smiling. "You're a noble drake, Virigosa," she said. "Before you leave Wyrmrest Temple, do feel free to visit me again, when you're feeling better. I'm sure there's much more you may like to say."

Then she was gone, and Virigosa once again slipped into sleep.