A/N: Because this chapter is so short, it was published at the same time as chapter 25. You'll want to go back and read that if you haven't already.
"You're beautiful, Lady Sariona," one of the naga sorceresses said.
Sariona held out one of her hands and flexed her claws. It was disorienting to adapt to such a different shape, but naga, at least, were more similar to dragons than elves.
The naga are our work, as are you. It is a natural fit.
The mortal form that Sariona had chosen was that of a naga sorceress, covered almost uniformly in dark purple scales. The frills on her back and tail were just like the wing membranes of her draconic form, a pinkish gradient. The difference in coloration made it obvious that Sariona was a dragon and not a true naga sorceress, but that was fine. She would have no reason to hide what she was once she arrived in Nazjatar.
"Will the Queen consider this form satisfactory?" Sariona asked, slithering forward a short distance, testing her new method of movement. "I'll admit that the change from dragon to naga is disorienting."
"That's to be expected," said Navaxia, the black drake that had been helping Sariona with her humanoid form. "Mortal forms are always strange at first. You'll adapt."
Sometimes mortals and their shapes prove themselves useful, even if dragons hold more power.
"Naga are also designed for moving in the water, not on land," Lady Nir'vash, the leader of the sorceresses, added. "It will feel much more natural once we get you to the sea."
"Either way, I certainly expect that the Queen will approve of the form you've chosen," another of the sorceresses said.
Sariona moved away from Navaxia and the naga in order to find room for her draconic form. "Ever since you've started preparing me to go to Nazjatar, it feels like the ocean has been calling to me, somehow," she admitted.
"That's good," Lady Nir'vash said. "We'll be bringing you to Nazjatar soon, I expect. But there's one last battle the Queen would like you to participate first participate in. A battle here."
Sariona shifted into her draconic form. In a few short weeks, her body had changed so much that even Araxion, her closest friend, would have difficulty recognizing her. She had grown significantly and was no longer a drake, but an adult dragon, courtesy of the naga's magic. But that was not all- her wings had changed shape and were now attached to her body all the way down to her tail, and webbing was present between all her talons. Her head and eyes were more like those of the naga now, to make aquatic life easier. Her scales had darkened to an extent, but for the most part, Sariona's color scheme was one of the only thing's that was the same that it had been. She was still undeniably a dragon, but her body had been designed for aquatic life.
"One last battle," Sariona repeated the naga's words. "The Queen's business isn't so urgent, then?"
"Deathwing and the Twilight Dragonflight are going to be launching a massive assault against the dragonflights on the day of the Embrace," Lady Nir'vash said. "The Queen's work is important, but it can wait. As an adult dragon, you will be a great asset to the effort here. Keeping you here also shows that it was not a mistake to send you to Nazjatar, and that you will still be aiding your dragonflight despite being sworn to the Queen."
The Naga Queen's choice in you is ironic. Many things and many beings lay forgotten in her realm, and these you will deal with before long.
"I look forward to seeing what she has in store for me," Sariona said. "And to the battle coming up. What do we know about it?"
"We're splitting our forces between here and another location elsewhere on Azeroth," Navaxia said. "But you'll be remaining here in the Twilight Highlands. You'll be briefed with the other adult twilight dragons when the time comes."
It is then that twilight will truly begin to take hold. It will be magnificent, the Masters promised.
"It will be magnificent," Sariona said, echoing the whispers in her head. Her will had never entirely been her own.
"It will," Navaxia agreed.