It was the day of the Embrace. That meant less to Sariona than it meant to most, but it was something she had to pay attention to nonetheless.
The days leading up to the Embrace had been strange for everyone. Sariona had continued to grow, and was now one of the largest twilight dragons besides those that could be considered proper wyrms. In the meantime, the Bastion of Twilight had slowly emptied, as thousands of twilight dragons were called to a mission in Northrend. Sariona suspected that Deathwing was planning to take Wyrmrest Temple while the Wyrmrest Accord was preoccupied with the selection of the Blue Aspect, but she couldn't be sure. What she did know, however, was that they were launching an attack on the Red Dragonflight in the Eastern Kingdoms as a diversion. That was where she would play her part.
Sariona waited behind a ridge between the twilight base and the Vermillion Redoubt. A few hundred drakes sat behind her, waiting for their cue to begin the assault. Sariona wasn't their commander- that honor was left to the higher ranking cultists- but as the largest dragon there, she would be important in intimidating the Red Dragonflight. As far as the Red Dragonflight was concerned, there were only twilight drakes, no adult twilight dragons. Sariona would be the first that they'd see, and she would ensure that it was something they would not soon forget.
"The moment is upon us!" The sound came at last from a cultist using magic to amplify his voice. "Their doom comes on twilight wings! Show the Red Dragonflight what they face!"
Sariona lifted herself into the sky, followed by the first wave of twilight drakes. This amount of dragons would be sufficient to defeat the forces at the Vermillion Redoubt, but there would be more coming after the battle had raged for long enough. Not only was this a distraction, it was an attempt to crush any red dragon resistance close to the Bastion of Twilight. This attack just had to be large enough to divert the Red Dragonflight's attention from Northrend in order to consider it a success, but there was no reason not to score a major victory in the process.
It took around a minute of flying for the first red dragons to come into sight, scouts sent to watch Grim Batol. They caught sight of the twilight dragons almost immediately, and their panic at seeing so many was obvious. Some went back to the Vermillion Redoubt, while a few other drakes seemed to be trying to scrape together some sort of defense. A red wyrm rose from behind a hill, beholding the host of twilight dragons. Sariona could see the fear in its eyes.
The dragons show their teeth! The Masters were gleeful.
They were close to the Redoubt now, and Sariona locked talons with the red wyrm. He had a slight weight advantage over her, but she was still able to force him to the ground, where she pinned him by his wings. The wyrm struggled but was unable to free himself. He opened his mouth to say something, but was unable to get the words out, choking on his own breath. Sariona leaned her muzzle down to meet his, and let out a deep growl.
Make them fear.
Sariona obeyed without question. She slit the wyrm's throat, and his struggles became even more feeble. The twilight dragon rose her head to the sky, and cried, "This is the fate that awaits you all!"
In a swift motion, Sariona released her hold on the wyrm's wings to plunge her talons deep into his chest. At her command, wisps of shadow began appearing on the cream-colored plates of the wyrm's belly, and spread rapidly across his entire body. Sariona released her hold on him, and let the wyrm writhe in pain on the ground. He screamed as the shadow magic burned him from the inside, his cries echoing through the Redoubt and likely some distance beyond.
They know not of the power they challenge. You must teach them to be afraid.
Sariona spent a moment admiring the battlefield. The sky was filled with twilight drakes wherever she looked, and they were swarming over red dragons wherever they could be found. This place was a lot different now than it had been months before, when Sariona came with Araxion to try and take down a few wyrms. No, this assault on the Vermillion Redoubt could hardly be called a battle. It was a bloodbath. The Red Dragonflight never could've imagined that the Twilight Dragonflight had this many dragons.
And Northrend had this many twilight dragons several times over, all preparing to strike when the moment was right.
Another dragon dared challenge Sariona, an adult dragon who thought that she could catch her off-guard. Sariona was larger than this new challenger, and it was fairly easy to gain the upper hand. Once the red dragon was pinned down, Sariona blinded her with shadowfire, and stopped for a moment to think of a method of execution that would please the Masters.
"Why... You... Why?" This red dragon had not lost the ability to speak, it seemed. "I know you're going to kill me. But please, first, tell me why. What do you want?"
"Bold words," Sariona said with a growl. "You're pitiful."
"Please..." the red begged. "Tell me why you're doing this."
She does not deserve an answer.
She tore the red dragon's throat and dragged her talons along the red's stomach plates, before releasing and leaving her to bleed out. Sariona managed to catch a glimpse of the two moons through a break in the twilight drakes above. The moons were drawing closer, but it would still be a few hours before the Embrace proper. Perfect. They could keep the fighting in the Vermillion Redoubt and the Wetlands going for that long, they'd just need to toy with them a bit.
The tree is a symbol of hope. Take it from them.
Ah, the tree. Sariona turned her head towards the massive tree, the most notable feature of the Vermillion Redoubt. She flew towards it unopposed, as the rest of the adult red dragons were being swarmed by twilight drakes. Sariona looked over the tree for a long moment, and then decided her next step. She began tearing away at some of the tree's bark, before she dug her talons in it, similar to what she had done to the first red wyrm. The area around her talons began to harden like stone and turn black, and it began spread. After some time, Sariona released her hold on the tree, and stepped back to admire her handiwork.
The tree blackened and died quickly. The shadow magic crept up the trunk and began infecting the leaves and branches, turning the once-vibrant red leaves a dark purple. As the breeze passed through, several of the leaves came off and blew onto the grass below, starting to leave the branches bare. As she surveyed the battlefield, Sariona could see the expressions of a few of the red dragons as they saw what had become of their precious tree.
They look at what you have done and despair.
But there was still so much more to be done. Sariona made her way back to the fighting. The Embrace proper was a ways away yet.