A/N: I'm well aware that the mechanics and existential behavior of the Dragon Aspects would be HIGHLY BORING for many readers, and for that, I apologize xD All I can say is that this chapter has a second part that might be more interesting for you and, for the first time in a few chapters, advances the plot. I do say that in jest- yes, the story has stopped for story/character stuff (I strongly felt that Ysera's motives needed more explanation) and while Colin's flashbacks to his childhood were probably boring, they are for a purpose that will become clear sooner than later.

This is still getting views, so I hope there are people still keeping up/interested in it! This stuff is, literally, what interests me the most from Warcraft- when I started this, I wanting a love story and something to do with the Dragon Aspects, and by now, I've pretty much done what I've wanted xD So yes, we're heading for the ending from here on out, so I hope you all enjoy the ride!

If you're still waiting for the love scenes, you're not alone- I started writing one in my head the other day and was all "No! They're literally in the exact wrong place for that!". Especially since I'm still reading up on Warcraft lore and coming up with even more symbolism to go along with it all. Ugh.

Over the course of their traveling together, Kyra Shadowmoon's reverence had wanted toward a massive sort of general respect toward Cenarius, particularly due to his continued speaking. As if he were wholly unaware of his status, Cenarius just went along as if talking to an old friend, even asking Kyra rather personal questions relating to her family. It soon occurred to her that, as far as he was aware, she and her family were fairly known to the Old God, simply by virtue, she figured, of them being gods in general. She then wondered about the very idea of him asking questions in the first place, though he seemed to catch on, quick, to her inquiry.

"Such questions," he mused, looking down toward her with a grandfatherly smile.

Kyra blushed, as if unknowingly offending him, "S-Sorry."

Chuckling with a warmth that radiated from his body, Cenarius shook his head, "My child, do not apologize. I'm merely asking questions for your sake. Well, to a point. If I remained high and mighty, that might very well defeat the purpose of my very life, sort of being a bridge between you beings and those like my father."

He shrugged, helplessly, "I see other gods take to haughtiness and it saddens me. Ursoc would enjoy life more if he embraced it, though I understand why he chooses not to do so."

Looking down toward Kyra, he asked, graciously, "So if I were to ask about your father, I do know that he is alive, in relatively good health, and that he has shed the bonds he carried by the feet of the Illidari. What I do not know is how you might answer, dear Kyra, which may not add to my knowledge of your father, but will certainly allow me to know how you feel about him, his life, and your lives together."

Kyra nodded, reverently, noticing her posture straightening as if she'd just been scolded, though after a moment of silence, Cenarius grinned, reaching a limbed hand out to direct her, lovingly, "That was your cue to answer, child."

"O-Oh!" she replied, surprised, continuing on quickly, "W-Well, my whole family has had a lot of healing to do; what with my brother and all. My father has taken it in stride; I admire his ability to…I guess, his ability to be so loving while also offering a firm, guiding hand. Though, I suppose that's always been the case. Mother was always the authoritative one, but even she, you know- I'm still shocked that she'd taken to Colin as easily as she has."

"That surprises you?"

Kyra's brow sank as she thought deeply, "Well… With all of the kids, she was so emotionally distant. Not that she was anything less than a great mother, but there was always a sort of disconnect; I always figured it was due to her time in the Shadowleaves; she just had it ingrained in her. But father was always the loving of the two, at least more so."

"Hmm," Cenarius groaned in thought, "And how is it different with Dumerval?"

"Well, I mean," Kyra scratched her head gently, "She just seems to be more willing to being that sort of loving parent that father always was."

Cenarius inquired, sincerely, "Perhaps she's making up for the guilt she feels over your eldest brother?"

"What?"

The Old God chuckled, "Just the musings of an old soul, but perhaps she feels her lack of emotion led, in some way, to your brother turning away?"

Kyra's eyes narrowed critically, quickly looking up toward Cenarius with a quick response, "Is that the correct reason?"

The Old God began to bellow with laughter, sending gusts of winds out from all around him, catching Kyra's hair and sending it fluttering in every direction until she quickly caught it with her hands. Cenarius quickly apologized in the middle of his outburst, though went on with loud, disjointed aftershocks of laughter before finally stopping, his voice taking on a lighter air to it.

"My child, I may know the workings of the world, but imagine the chaos if I went around spouting off such things!" he amusingly relayed, grinning widely down toward Kyra, "Though, as a sort of 'bridge' between this world and the others surrounding it, I'm not exactly above offering insight when it's needed."

Kyra's eyes lowered suspiciously, though she was careful to respectfully keep her head turned away as she did so, asking lowly as if to feign ignorance where it not heard, "Is that why you're here..?"

His booming voice breaking her vein of silence, Cenarius replied warmly enough, "Ha ha! Was is not you who called to my power for aid?"

"Many men have who have met with worse fates…" Kyra noted, gravely.

Cenarius breathed, sending a cool breeze flowing through the woods, "Well, my child, even you are aware of the unnatural circumstances that surround you. or your mate, as it were. I can't help but offer some insight in penance for my mentor's errancy."

Kyra turned to stare up at him as he reached up, massaging his chin in reconciliation, "Hmm… I loathe that word. In my mentor's imminence, I suppose would be more appropriate of a term."

"Mentor…" Kyra wondered aloud, attempting to recall her labyrinthine historical knowledge that she'd neglected in the last year.

Cenarius only chuckled, as if confused by her inability to simply ask, "Your Emerald Lady."

Holding back a shocked expression, Kyra stopped in her tracks, whipping her head toward Cenarius as she spoke up, loudly, "Did she send you with something to tell us?!"

The massive elken body continued moving along as Cenarius chuckled, "Jumping to conclusions is not becoming of a Silverwing, I imagine? To answer your question, no, she has sent me, as you say. As I said, you were the one who invoked my name, and in the spirit of tackling two birds with a single grasp, I figured I would aid you while also offering some insight to one of the Wild Gods of this land."

His face visibly turned distant as Kyra began toward him, again, to catch up, his voice lowering while his eyes slowly peered low toward her, "Or three birds. were I to offer some insight into my mentor's mindset. I imagine, especially given everything that transpired last year, she has been rather unable to reveal much of anything in the way of revelation."

Kyra's brow furrowed angrily, "I understand, quite well, that her promises are not exactly what I would expect of a demigod."

"And what would a mere mortal know of what is to be expected of the Dreamweaver?" Cenarius spoke, rather heatedly, though with the sort of instructive air that accompanied an elder, "She offers your mate something as extravagant as immortality and you dare to question who she must question for such things?"

Rebuffed, Kyra lowered her head regretfully, though Cenarius immediately released a deep sigh, reaching down to push a gentle hand against her shoulder, "I understand your spirit, child. That is why I have come to make things rather clearer for you two, for I want nothing more than my mentor to see her works bear fruit after all is said and done."

Hearing this great being speak, Kyra suddenly realized that she knew very little of what had gone on between her mate and these gods, and understood even less, it seemed. Considering that, as far as Colin and she were aware, he had attained his goal of immortality, and as such, not much was questioned in the last year. They would include the name of Ysera with the prayers to Elune that Kyra would teach to Colin, but given Ysera's demise at the had of Xavius-

"Is it because she ceased to exist in this realm?!" Kyra asked, as if coming to an earthshattering conclusion, though Cenarius only grinned, rather childishly.

"Very astute, young one, and though that's part of it, its only half of the equation, so to speak," he explained, his head tilting as he po deer's for a moment, "Actually, it is, indeed, half."

For the first time since he'd begun walking, Cenarius stopped in his tracks, crossing his arms as he spoke up, the ground beneath his unmoving hooves bursting to life continuously, with insects bursting into existence and flowers sprouting further and further out from his attatchmenrs to the earth below. He narrowed his eyes as he thought to himself, less for incredulity's sake and more so thinking of how to explain such esoteric ideas as he looked down upon Kyra's curious stare.

"My mentor is the Dreamweaver, correct? Well, that's only half of what it means for these gods to commune with the beings of this world. The other half is her sister, the Life Binder. In these two beings, all life is encompassed," he paused, closing his eyes.

Kyra felt the wind around them suddenly turn still, almost unsettlingly so, as if all life around them had…paused. Cenarius breathed deeply, speaking with closed eyes as he went on, much to Kyra's apprehension, given the air around them.

"Alexstraza relates to the physical forms of life, as well as the world around them. Even your home, Teldrassil, owes its current prosperity to her blessing, even if she did not do so from its beginning. See, the Life Binder is very methodical, seeing things very much in black and white; to equate it to your situation, the idea of offering such a gift as immortality to a single being, that would be an abomination to all that life is, and were she to offer it to one being, where would it stop? Your people have already demonstrated that having immortality does not necessitate good will."

Cenarius paused, noticing Kyra's downturned expression at the thought, though he continued on, smiling softly as if to comfort her, "Ysera, however, would be the one within that gray space between the two extremes Alexstraza inhabits. The Emerald Lady relates to all living being's thoughts, wishes, desires, aspirations. She knows what they're capable of, what holds them back, what drives them to the edges of insanity, even how far they're willing to go for things such as love, renown, or power."

He quietly went on, lowly, "Despite what Ysera wished for your companion, here, she could not have wished to do so without her sister's agreement."

Kyra glanced up to him curiously, "Then why promise something she would be unable to assure?"

Cenarius sighed, wondrously, "I've thought over that for quite some time. For one so easily able to know the thoughts of mortals, knowing the thoughts of gods, particularly the one who mentored me, is another ordeal."

His eyes lit up, curiously, as he opened them back up to the world, the life surrounding them suddenly bursting back into motion, "I believe that it might have been her plan all along, to be honest."

"Her plan?!" Kyra shouted back, loudly, "I watched him lay for nearly two weeks hovering between life and death, all due to a promise she didn't intend to keep?!"

"Must I remind you how different her mind's eye is to yours? Had these events not even began to transpire, would've you even had this human to have and hold?" Cenarius asked, critically, "Were it not for Ascal's flight from Moonglade, you would still be serving in Ashenvale at this moment. Your parents would have still be atop Mount Hyjal, possibly with your father having died- Would you so easily say this promise, true or not, was worthless?"

Kyra sighed, "No… No, not at all. I was just-"

"Hasty, as you tend to be at times, I know," the god grinned, looking inward as he began to walk along once again, Kyra following along after reaching up toward Cenarius' back, running her hand along Colin's shoulders as he passed by.

"Why did she even choose us?" Kyra wondered aloud, sadly, her eyes sinking at the thought of losing the man who had become so much of her world.

Cenarius answered easily, "Who's to say? Perhaps she doesn't even know. No matter who she had chosen, this portion of their lives would seem so much like the beginning of a new story in their lives. That being said, if you're wondering as to why she set this chain of events in motion to begin with…"

He turned quiet for a moment, running a hand along his chin as he seemingly stared off into the nether, "The Aspects were not always gods; that much I can say. Eonar chose them and brought them up to their godly forms, but I believe that, perhaps intentionally, their former mortal selves allow them all a figment of consideration when putting their feet in human or elven shoes. That's being said, I wouldn't be surprised if other things still remain…"

"I believe, after spending so many millennia being among so many dreams, my mentor, quite naïve one might say, seems to have become quite enamored with certain aspects of mortal life that she may or may not be able to experience herself, choosing, for either reason, to view it vicariously. Especially now, given her…more spectral existence," Cenarius finished, sadly.

Kyra looked off into the distance, "Hold on; you're saying we were chosen because-"

"You were not chosen, remember; though it might not be too far off to suggest that the Emerald Lady is rather intrigued by how far two people are able to be torn asunder while remaining bound to one another."

Nearly rolling her eyes, Kyra groaned, "Sounds like a game to me."

"Does it, now?" Cenarius grinned, wryly, "She has offered your mate the opportunity to defeat time itself in order to remain at your side and you refer to that as a game? You mortals, sometimes…"

Kyra's shoulders shrunk, "You know what I mean…"

"That's nothing to say of what she has in store for your old friend, Ascal," Cenarius nodded, "I have my suspicious as to why she's involved with you two, but as for him…I can't say for sure. Perhaps she doesn't know either. As long as they're inevitably bound to their origins as mere proto-dragons, they ultimately, though damped over the millennia, retain quite some bits of mortal emotions, curiosities, among other things. The Emerald Lady, particularly, perhaps because of her place among dreams, seems to be far more attuned to such things."

"So," Kyra began once again, noticing Cenarius' slowing pace, "Where does that put the two of us?"

"Well, my child, I can't very well meddle in your affairs," he spoke in reply with a serious expression, though in a quick moment, his lips crept up into a smirk as his eyes slanted down toward Kyra, "Though, at this point, if your mate sees immortality in front of him, I would suggest he simply go for it. Take it. My mentor will take care to ensure his safety…I hope."

He came to a full stop not long after speaking, looking off into the thickening underbrush, "Here is where I must leave you. I hope I haven't bored you, child."

"N-Not at all!" Kyra replied in reverence, quickly rushing to the Great Stag's side to retrieve Colin from his back.

He chuckled, reaching back to help pull Colin's body from off his elken hide, "Good. Now, you promised to protect this man, correct?"

Without a thought, Kyra nodded, "I did. Wholeheartedly."

"Then I suggest you keep a more serious eye on him," Cenarius muttered amusedly, "My mother seems to be quite fond of this one. Even if he may still be unsure of such things, you're not the only moon watching over him."

As Kyra pulled Colin's body from Cenarius' back onto her shoulders, the God released his grip, allowing the back of his hand to run along Colin's cheek, a sharp chill running down the Stag's hide, nearly causing him to shiver. He nodded respectfully as his body was alleviated of the physical weight, recognizing Elune's touch against his skin.

"Yes…" he whispered, more to himself, before speaking up to Kyra, "Take care on your way back, child. You'll need it."

Kyra nodded authoritatively, "Yes sir! On my reputation as a Silverwing."

"Good," he grinned in reply.

And with that, just as Ursoc had done, Cenarius spun away before walking off into the thick forest, a sudden, dense mist quickly surrounding him as he faded from view, leaving Kyra alone to stare into the nothingness around every side of her. She turned to where Cenarius had previously been walking, continuing along as she held her mate over her shoulders, easily, taking care not to stumble or make any step of hers any bit uncomfortable for either of them.

Ulric's eyes shot open as a sudden chill ran though his body, pushing himself up off the muddy ground beneath him onto his hands and knees, looking around rapidly in a confused, hazy state of mind. All he remembered was running through the woods, after Shadowmoon, he recalled, though his mind went blank after thinking of the blur of trees all around him as he rushed through the forest. He vaguely recalled tripping and hitting the ground when, suddenly, a sharp pain rushed across his face as he quickly threw his hand up to hold himself there, trying to quell the sharp pain while also surveying his surroundings.

His eyes shook worriedly as the Grizzly Hills had turned into a dark, purple hole in the ground, the ground mired in filthy mud, forcing Ulric to quickly attempt to push himself to his feet, though when his lower limbs fails to respond, he simply fell back into the pile muck, his teeth gritting as he came to the realization as to what had happened to him. He suddenly turned his head, looking around desperately before finally eyeing a small pathway that led out of this pit that resembled something like the inside of a cave system, him being in a dead-end.

"Come out!" he shouted, angrily, his teeth still bared, "Get the fuck out here!"

As the muck beneath him began to churn, a collection of fingers slowly appeared from the pathway, clutching at the wall as it pulled the rest of its owner's being closer into Ulric's sight until he finally saw two ugly, long spires of horns appearing from around the corner, followed by two demonic eyes that illuminated a cackling grin from beneath them, the entire face of this being having come into view.

"Y' rang?" the demon lipped, its face turning sinisterly as it watched Ulric squirm on the ground.

The human grunted loudly as he battled the muck beneath him without use of his legs, grabbling with the ground in an attempt to push himself away from the filth that clung onto him, "Why did you bring me here this time?!"

The demon's face immediately turned a shade of crimson as its sinister crick on its face turned into a dramatic, saddened frown, "I was just cheekin' up on ya. Y' know, I git whirred about ya at times. Espec'lly when I'm stuck down here and you're, ya know, enjoyin' life 'n all."

Ulric immediately recognized this being's guilt trip, pausing his struggle as the demon exposed the rest of its lithe body, walking toward Ulric as its demonic face twisted and turned as anger bubbled up from within him, "Enjoyin' life…AND NOT DOIN' WHAT WE AGREED!"

In a second, Ulric's body flew up into the air and smashed against the wall, his body exploding into a gasp as the wind was knocked out of him, the muck still collected around his body, holding him against the wall. His body went limp as it hung there, his lungs desperately attempting to catch up as the demon's satyr body entered the only source of light in the room, a purplish sort of light coming from a single hole in the wall. Ulric's breaths wailed pathetically as his face winced in pain, which seemed to amuse the demon.

"Glad t' see yer experiencing somethin' micrascopic to all the terture I've endured," the satyr's eyes drew forward viciously, "Now, why do ya finally have 'n ace in the hole, yet yer not-"

"I know," Ulric breathed laboriously, "Fuck, I know, Aerxaxx."

The satryr's eyes drew deep into Ulric's face, critically, before his head spun sideways, his ugly teeth showing as he gave a sort of growl while speaking, "See that ya do, human… If you deesplease me much further, I have no probl'm ripping that god damned snout outta yer face myself."

"You gave me a human," Ulric continued, breathing shakily as he hung there, feeling his breaths grow more and more shallow as his brain constricted, "I'll get you a dragon."

The satyr, Aerxaxx, seemed pleased as he leaned away from Ulric, shrugging quickly and allowing the muck to fall to the ground, Ulric's body following suit as he failed to brace himself, simply hitting the ground head-first, laying there as his arms crawled up to check on himself as his body shook from lack of oxygen. Aerxaxx cocked his head back as he turned away, strutting toward the hallway with a lowly scoff at the state Ulric was in.

"You sh'uld feel so lucky," Aerxaxx sneered, dismissively, as he exited the room, "Me allowin' you to serve me while gettin' yer revenge at the s'me time. I swear…"

Ulric collected himself, his entire body quaking in pain, still unable to move aside from pulling his body along the ground from his elbows, his body still covered in mud. His fist clenched angrily as he eyed the way out of this room that he would be bound to as long as he remained in the service of this demon, the satyr, Aerxaxx. Blood began pouring from between his fingers as his nails tore through his skin, his face sneering.

He'd get out of here soon enough. Telling himself that was all he could do to keep crawling, again and again, out of the room.