It was late in the evening when Jerastrasza and Ebyssian arrived in Nethandris's camp, and the sun was just beginning to set. The red wyrm landed next to the lake, allowing Ebyssian, in his tauren form, to slip off of her back. Nethandris was away at Wyrmrest Temple, and so Sathius was the one to greet them. The green wyrm was standing just a short distance away in his elf form, and he looked very pleased.

"Ebyssian," Sathius greeted, and the two wyrms pulled each other into a brief, friendly hug. "It's been too long. How have you been?"

"The war has left the Broken Isles alone, for the most part," Ebyssian said. "Still, we get occasional reminders of what's going on elsewhere. My tribe has found a few dead twilight drakes, but I don't think there's much of interest for them in Highmountain. Further south... There's Senegos's brood. Jerastrasza told me about what happened to the Blue Dragonflight."

Sathius's face darkened. "Have you spoken with them?"

Ebyssian shook his head. "We rarely do," he said. "I'm not sure if they'd know what happened yet."

"Someone will have to tell them," Sathius said. "But enough of that. We have a twilight drake here that we'd like you to take a look at. I trust Jerastrasza filled you in on the details?"

"She did," Ebyssian said. "I haven't seen a live twilight drake up close before, and I'm very curious as to why you think this one can be an ally. I'm ready to take a look whenever you are."

After getting him something to eat, Sathius led the black wyrm to the cave where they had chained Araxion. The twilight drake was still sleeping, curled up in the middle of the floor. Each leg was chained to a different part of the wall, tight enough to hold him but not so much so that he wouldn't be able to move. His wings were given less mobility, both of them bound together and chained to the wall behind him. A light cloth had been placed over his scales to prevent chafing while he slept or when he woke up.

"Interesting way to treat a potential ally," Ebyssian joked. He looked interested, but didn't take a step closer just yet. "Is it your magic keeping him asleep?"

"It is," Sathius said. "As for the chains, well... We haven't actually spoken to him yet. But one of our associates claimed to have met him, and she said that he was friendly. And, when we found him, it looked like he had killed a black dragon overseer. I'd say he has a better chance of being an ally than any random twilight drake."

"I'd say so as well," Ebyssian said. "I don't think this one is corrupted. Not significantly, at least."

"What?" Sathius asked. "You can tell that easily?"

Ebyssian took a few steps forward, reaching up to run his hand along Araxion's head like he was petting an animal. "I told you, I've ran into a few dead twilight dragons," he explained. "A few live ones from a distance. And they're definitely corrupted. The best way I can describe it is... It's a sort of cold feeling. Not a physical cold- it can make you shiver, but you know it's not real. A dead twilight dragon radiates it, and I imagine a live one definitely should, too."

"And this one doesn't?"

"There is a trace. But it's not coming from him. Well, technically, I suppose it is, but..." Ebyssian shook his head. "A corrupted item, animal, person, whatever, they become a source for the Old Gods to spread their corruption through. They begin to produce it themselves. This dragon's magic is actually expelling the Old Gods' corruption in large amounts, rather than reproducing it like a corrupted dragon should. It's remarkable. My own magic does exactly the same thing, and allows me to detect corruption elsewhere, but that's because of the influence of the Titans. I can't imagine the Old Gods would've let him use an artifact that could do that if he's ever heard their whispers."

"So, what does this mean?" Sathius said. "Is it possible to inoculate dragons against the Old Gods? Did they somehow do that accidentally?"

"I don't think so," Ebyssian said, carefully lifting Araxion's head and lifting the drake's lip to get a look at his teeth. "I do have an idea of how he came to be like this, but as for what it means, there's a lot of possible answers. I think it's likely that the Twilight Dragonflight has become sloppy. They're so desperate to increase their numbers, they don't check for dragons like this. That being said, I don't think there are many like this. He might even be the only one."

Ebyssian moved away from Araxion's head and traced the shape of one of his scales, clearly checking for something. He took one of the drake's wings and spread it as far as he could with the chains. Gently, he felt the shape of the wing membrane, then returned the wing back to a comfortable position as carefully as he could. He turned back to Sathius, looking excited.

"Jerastrasza tells me that twilight dragons are corrupted from the eggs of other flights," Ebyssian said.

"That's right," Sathius said. "Then the Twilight's Hammer does... something to them. The documents we've seized suggest that they usually use Faceless corruptors, cultists when they have to. We do know there are twilight broodmothers, with natural-born eggs, but our understanding is that those are very rare."

"His horns, the scale shape, his wing structure, they all tell me that this drake would've been a black dragon if he wasn't twilight," Ebyssian said. "That's very interesting. There is a precedent for black dragons who were naturally resistant to corruption and able to detect it. I've found records that detail them being used for various purposes- the Old Gods' minions and the remnants of their kingdoms are underground, so the Black Dragonflight needed to know where they were. Of course, then the flight fell under the sway of the Old Gods themselves, and then I imagine any dragons resistant to corruption were killed."

"Do you think there might be hope for the Black Dragonflight, then?" Sathius asked. "Free of corruption?"

"I don't," Ebyssian said, shaking his head. "You know how I feel about restoring the Black Dragonflight. I'm not fond of the idea. And in any case, I can't imagine we're dealing with a large number of dragons who are resistant to corruption. In the single-digits at most, maybe just this drake. Even if they don't hear the whispers, some will still serve out of their own free will. For fear of their lives, maybe."

"But you think this drake might be an ally?" Sathius said.

"He could be," Ebyssian said. "The fact that he doesn't hear the whispers means that we can reason with him, at least. I can't tell you anything beyond that. I can detect corruption, not read minds."

"Then you should be the one to talk to him, not me," Sathius said. "I can't imagine twilight dragons have ever seen green dragons as anything but an enemy. He has a better chance of trusting you."

"I'd be happy to help," Ebyssian said. "I'd like to rest for a while, and then I'm ready whenever you are."

"We'll wake him in the morning," Sathius said.