Chapter 4: The Path of Fate

While they were no longer in the belly of the beast, Malekith still felt an uneasiness as if he was being watched or followed. He and his new unlikely companions had traveled a considerable distance in a relatively short time as they progressed along on their journey. Within assumedly hours they were fast approaching the swamp that Oxyotl mentioned earlier.

They had passed through a disturbingly disgusting forest along the way. The trees within were made of flesh, bone, and sinew. Some even had eyes that followed them along or aggressive fauna that would try to ensnare the trio. It was clear they were getting closer to Nurgle's Realm since the landscape was starting to look rotten.

Oxyotl was nimble and alert enough to dodge all of these things with a knowing calmness. The reptile was clearly experienced in dealing with all the various types of terrain that the realms of chaos had to offer. Malekith on the other hand would simply just burn or cut away anything that got in his path. Shen Zoo had mostly stayed right next to Malekith for the majority of the fast-paced trek. She also had some knowledge of how to deal with the chaotic fauna as her Hysh magic would cause the plants to recoil and clear away a path for them.

The mysterious chameleon skink, Oxyotl, had barely spoken at all except to point out obvious dangers or inform Malekith of something telepathically. The skink seemed uneasy himself from what Malekith could sense through their mental link, but not about him or any of the nearby dangers. He could feel a foreboding dread and anxiousness in the reptile as well as a strange confusion.

The elf himself barely spoke much during their arduous trek except to either affirm something said or to make Shen Zoo stop talking. She had been the most vocal and sociable during the journey and seemed annoyingly persistent in her attempts to get either one of them to converse with her.

While she didn't seem nearly as perturbed by Oxyotl as the skink did to her, Shen Zoo did send the creature numerous intense stares as she attempted to ask him questions. Oxyotl did not speak to her once, which only seemed to irritate the Cathayan dragon more.

"Are you sure the lizard knows where he's going? When are you going to tell me what the deal with this creature is? Malekith? Hello?" Shen Zoo interjected to break the silence.

Malekith almost couldn't blame her for acting this way. Everyone had their own ways of dealing with stressful situations and it seemed that she was trying her best to cope with the horrors of the realms of chaos by interacting with other sane beings. The elf continued to ignore Shen Zoo's persistent questions as he looked over at the crestfallen lizardman.

"What's bothering you, Oxyotl?" Malekith asked Oxyotl telepathically.

"Do you want to understand why this puzzle box was so important for me to retrieve?" the skink replied grimly.

The elf stared at the reptile curiously as they kept walking, "I was wondering if you were going to elaborate on that and the prophecy."

"The Puzzle Box of Xholankha is the key to achieving the Prophecy of Dawn. Literally it is a key and some type of power source as well. Its ability to dilate time isn't just magical…it's science far beyond anything the beings of our world could comprehend. Arcane science even Slann Mage Priests don't understand well. From what I've learned of it, the box can integrate with Old One technology and control it. Lord Pocaxalan used it to empower the geomantic web before he died. Oxyotl saw entire temple city of Pahuax levitate before it was ripped into realms of chaos. I don't understand how it works, but the puzzle box isn't just a magical artefact or trinket. It's a technological marvel from the stars. It's made out of a metal not from our world. The box is indestructible and immune to all forms of hostile magic. It can be used as a conduit however, which is what Lord Pocaxalan did when he plugged it into the geomantic web." The skink explained.

Malekith was a bit baffled by this concept but followed the reptile's explanation as best he could, "So it's otherworldly advanced technology? That's interesting to hear. According to your people, what's out there in the stars anyways? When I was younger, I had a fascination with astronomy, but nobody seemed to really know the truth or care to find out. Are there truly other worlds like ours?"

"Oxyotl doesn't know…even younger Slann mage-priests don't. Some believe Old Ones had an empire in the stars and other worlds like ours. They had ways of traversing the cosmos through the material and immaterial worlds," the chameleon answered distantly.

"That's quite overwhelming to imagine. How did the Old Ones come to this world originally then? They are gods, right? According to some elven historians the Old Ones changed the world into a paradise when they came and abandoned it when the polar gates collapsed," Malekith noted.

"Old Ones came on star ships according to Lord Pocaxalan. It isn't well known to even most of my kind. Most of the warrior caste or the worker castes like me aren't told these things and they could never understand what Slann Mage-priests know. Our masters know things we can't even fathom and even they don't know the entire truth. Having learned some of the truth for myself, it's been enlightening and horrifying. Compared to them, we're savages…barely sentient animals that make ritual sacrifices to gods like tribal warm-bloods instead of trying to understand the technology the Old Ones left behind for us. I found a library here in the daemon realm that revealed a lot of lost knowledge about the Slann and our gods. The Old Ones are gods, but not quite like the ones warm bloods know. They were more advanced and ascended than we can even comprehend. Old Ones are aliens. Most of the cold-bloods like me have devolved into tribalistic superstition ever since they left. Only blessed chosen ones or oldest Slann mage-priests can comprehend what they truly were and why they created us. That ultimately isn't important to my mission though. Understanding the Old Ones is not my purpose. The puzzle box was left so that we could find lost Xholankha and bring him back to the world." Oxyotl replied.

The elf's eyes widened in disbelief, "How could this thing bring back Xholankha?"

"I believe it can open some kind of doorway to the Old Ones' realm…at least that's what Lord Pocaxalan told me." Oxyotl added.

"So, it opens a portal to the heavens or something like that? No wonder the daemons want it. Is that what the Prophecy of Dawn is? Some kind of divine intervention?" Malekith asked.

"The Prophecy of Dawn is not a well-known part of the Great Plan. There are many interpretations and conflictions due to the different messages and paths various Old Ones left behind for children. The Prophecy of Dawn was interpreted from Old One Xholankha's last message to slann mage priests. Xholankha encouraged cooperation between warm-bloods and cold-bloods. Slann taught humans north of Zlatlan how to make pyramids and elves and humans how to use magic. Some believe it was a mistake to do this since the warm-blooded races have only abused this knowledge in opposition to the great plan. The cold-bloods who live outside of Lustria are…more primitive, but in a way it makes them more willing to accept coexistence. I've heard skinks across the world pond even use warm-blood weapons like bows. Helping your kind is a very divisive interpretation and belief among my kind. Slann in Southlands across world pond believe in coexistence more than Slann in Lustria do. Those in Lustria believe we should purge warmbloods and that they are too fallible to daemon corruption. I never quite agreed with that belief, and working with you in this place has only confirmed that Xholankha was right. My kind alone can't save the world from its doom. We're all part of the Great Plan…and even someone like you has an important purpose in defending the world. You're clearly a person of great infamy, but Oxyotl believes that some must walk the path of damnation for the greater good. You're merciless enough to do what must be done, but you think logically, and are willing to walk the thankless path. I can sense it in you…you're lonely and you want your sacrifice to atone for this existence. In that way we're very much alike and it's why I trust you enough to share this insight." The skink elaborated.

'Wait…so the Nehekarans learned how to build pyramids from their kind?!' Malekith thought to himself. He found that bit of information fascinating. Logically it made sense, but he had never given it much thought before. He brushed those thoughts aside quickly as he reflected on Oxyotl's remark. It was very unusual for him to be cross-examined by a reptile and in some ways uncomfortable as it showed a vulnerability in his iron-willed and stoic apathy. Granted, Oxyotl was right and in some ways Malekith felt a bit of reassurance that the skink could relate to him in this particular way. Having another empathize for him was not something Malekith was used to at all.

"The Prophecy of Dawn was passed on to Lord Chiccotta and taught to younger Slann. My master Lord Pocaxalan was one of the few Lustrian slann who believed in it. He believed I was a special spawn because of a blessed marking I had linking me to prophecy. He never actually told me the prophecy entirely though. He only told me that I was meant to open the box one day and that if he ever died, I should take it. That's why I need to get to Zlatlan and get an audience with Lord Chiccotta. He alone will understand what my true purpose is. I'm certain he would also have insight into yours if Malekith would care to hear such things," the skink emphasized importantly.

"I'll make sure you get out of here to fulfill your quest. I certainly owe you for saving my life back there. For better or worse, this entire experience has changed me and given me a clear perspective on what I'm supposed to do. It feels strange to say, but I'm glad we crossed paths. If more of your kind were like you, I'd have great respect for the Lustrians," Malekith noted.

"Coexistence is part of the Great Plan. Old Ones would not have created warmbloods otherwise," Oxyotl noted.

"So Malekith, I have a wonder if you would be so kind as to answer me," Shen Zoo interrupted the silent mental conversation between the elf and the skink.

Malekith glanced back at the dragon woman and sighed, "What is it?"

"Oh, so you're finally going to talk to me? About time…anyways, that lord of change mentioned something about helping a reptile find a relic. Is that what you and this creature were doing in there? What is this relic he mentioned?" Shen Zoo wondered.

Oxyotl then looked back at her and spoke to the woman for the first time, "Important trinket belonging to Slann Mage-priest."

"I gathered that much…I mean what specifically is it?" she persisted.

Oxyotl then held up a fist sized object to show Shen Zoo, "This."

Malekith stared at the puzzle box curiously. For whatever reason, he hadn't even bothered to look at it yet. It was not at all what he expected it to look like. The box resembled a hexagonal bipyramid shape and was covered in alien runes and symbols. It looked to be made out of a material Malekith had never seen before and was a strange gold and silvery color. The markings on it were bluish-green and they had a very sophisticated and complicated hieroglyphic pattern linking them all together. There were a few areas not lit up on the puzzle box where Malekith could see empty sockets and a strange silvery shell of metal covering parts to prevent the fragmented sections from moving. That implied the puzzle box was missing some parts to be completed.

"What is that?" she asked inquisitively.

The skink kept walking as he faced forward again, "Nothing that concerns you dragon spawn. It is important to Slann mage-priests."

"You don't trust me? Typical lustrian lizards are so annoyingly secretive. Fine, keep your secret then," Shen Zoo huffed at the skink before looking at Malekith, "Are you certain you can trust this creature, Malekith? The lizards are notoriously deceptive according to my father. I find it quite strange that this one seems to like you."

"I trust him more than I trust you," Malekith shut down her protests immediately.

Shen Zoo sent him a sharp glare, "What's that supposed to mean? You don't trust me after we escaped from that place together?"

"I don't even trust my own mother or my dreadlords. Why would I trust a daughter of the Dragon Emperor of Cathay?" Malekith countered.

The woman's eyes widened in shock that Malekith knew that as she gawked in silence for a few moments. The elf's green eyes pierced through her cyan ones as an eerie silence filled the air.

"You didn't even know I was a dragon and now you know that?! How?!" Shen Zoo finally asked.

"Slaanesh told me who you were," Malekith stated factually.

"So…you really did set Slaanesh on fire then? That's actually quite remarkable," Shen Zoo tried to evade the subject.

"I don't know anything about you besides that, but perhaps I'd be willing to trust you more if you'd elaborate on it," Malekith took the opportunity to press Shen Zoo for some information.

He found himself genuinely curious about this mysterious woman and how she could transform between a human and a dragon. He also wanted to know more about Cathay and whether or not he could trust her. She seemed determined to follow him, so he figured he might as well learn about her.

The dragon woman sighed heavily, "Well…if it will dispel the tension here and make you talk to me, then I suppose I'll speak about it. I'll only do it if you promise to answer my questions too. You've been ignoring me for hours now and it's getting on my nerves!"

"Fine…we'll talk now then since we're out of immediate danger and have nothing else to do on this long walk. Start by explaining how you got here and why you were looking for your brother," Malekith replied.

Oxyotl silently watched Shen Zoo as they trekked along but telepathically spoke to Malekith again, "Try to convince dragon spawn to fly us, Malekith. We're not far from the swamp now."

"I'll do what I can, but don't hold your breath," the witch king responded mentally.

"Well, I suppose you should understand my family more before I delve into that. Have you heard of the nine before?" Shen Zoo asked.

Malekith shook his head, "No, I don't know what that is."

"Can you please take off that helmet? Your voice is annoyingly metallic, and I already know what you look like, so what's the problem talking to me like a civilized person?" Shen Zoo interrupted.

Malekith sighed heavily as he reached up to lift his helmet off and show his face again, "Old habits die hard. I keep forgetting that I can take it off now. Is that better, princess? I didn't realize my helmet frightened you."

"It doesn't frighten me…but it is rude to wear that absurdly evil looking thing when we're having a conversation here. Besides, I'd rather look at you face to face when asking my questions. I get a better read of people when I can see their faces." she countered.

"Just get on with it already. What are the nine?" Malekith rolled his eyes at her as he side-stepped a nasty baubling puddle.

"The nine are the nine children of the Celestial Dragon Emperor Xen Yang and the Moon Empress Quai Yin. My parents are immortal dragons who ruled over the eastern part of the world long before the Old Ones came from the stars. Some of my siblings were also alive back then. I am the youngest of the nine and I was not born until after the Old Ones arrived," Shen Zoo explained.

"So, you're how old exactly?" Malekith wondered.

"About as old as the first generation of Slann," Shen Zoo answered.

"That doesn't tell me anything other than you're older than I am," Malekith sighed in annoyance.

Oxyotl looked at Malekith and spoke aloud, "She is probably fifteen to twenty thousand solar revolutions old. Astromancer priests started tracking planetary revolutions differently when world changed orbit and warmed up."

"You mean after your Slann changed the orbit! Ughh…I'm way older than you and that's all that really matters, okay?" she huffed.

"You certainly don't act like it…then again neither does my mother." Malekith mumbled loud enough for her to hear. To his amusement, Oxyotl actually nodded in agreement.

"It's rude to ask a woman her age, you know…and I don't need an elf trying to imply I'm immature." Shen Zoo scoffed.

"You're not a woman though…you're a dragon. A very posh and childish one too," Malekith countered.

Shen Zoo huffed at him girlishly, "I'm both. The Cathayan dragons have long ruled over and intermingled with the humans of our lands. Many of my siblings even had children with humans over the generations. They are the shugengan dragonborn. Having the blood of our family, they are more magically adept like elves and many live longer lives compared to regular humans. They are able to pursue the way of Feng Shi."

"Dragons breeding with humans…that sounds like something I'd expect to see in Slaanesh's realm." Malekith shook his head almost disgusted by the thought, "So how you do transform between a dragon and human form? Can these shugengans do that as well?"

"Only true dragons can do that…which means my parents and the nine. Direct descendants might be able to, but we don't really teach them that. My parents discovered how to do it in order to guide the humans of ancient times into harmony. They saw in them a young and impressionable race with great potential. My mother in particular has great love for the lesser races and especially humans. She believes it is our duty to guide and protect them. My father is more aloof, but he realized that our family would be far safer if we united with humans and that they could be bulwark of order in the chaotic world if led down the path of harmony. Humans are also the least stubborn race to lead. Elves and dwarves are too proud and beilligerent. Considering how the dwarves of the ancient age reveled in their dragon hunting, and the power the ogres once had…I believe he made the right decision in doing so. Cathay would be a land filled with monsters if not for our family and the humans we rule over." the dragon answered.

"So, who are the nine? What are their names and what do they do in your society exactly?" Malekith asked.

"My sister Miao Ying is the oldest of the nine. She is the storm dragon and she rules the northern provinces. My father gave her the honor and duty of guarding the Great Bastion. Since I doubt you know what that is, the Great Bastion is a massive wall we built millennia ago to keep the barbaric northern humans and chaos out of Cathay. It is south of the eastern steppes and the red wastes. Our Great Bastion has repelled thousands of attacks from Kurgans, Tong, Hung, Hobgoblins, beastmen, and especially daemons. Miao Ying is also my father's favorite…and she doesn't let anyone forget it," Shen Zoo began.

Malekith nodded, "We have something similar to this Great Bastion in Naggaroth. I ordered the construction of the northern watchtowers along our entire border with the chaos wastes. It's attacked on occasion, but the humans are usually too terrified to attack Naggaroth and risk becoming slaves. The Hung and the Aghol tribes are our biggest annoyance from the north. We sometimes see Kurgans crossing the Ironfrost glacier, and daemons too."

"You have a bastion as well? I didn't know that…it's strange to think of dark elves holding chaos at bay," Shen Zoo wondered.

"It's often a duty reserved for people who get on my bad side. They get sent to the watchtowers or they get sent to the southern borders near Ssildra Tor. It's a punishment in Naggaroth, but many choose it over death. We typically see invasions long before they happen though since our sorceresses watch the chaos wastes from Ghrond. The only real dangers Naggaroth faces from invasion is the reptiles to the south and the chaos dretches to the north. Attacking the coast is suicidal even for Asur. All of their attempts ended in disaster and their invasion fleets are no joke." Malekith shrugged.

"Interesting…well since you're willing to tell me about Naggaroth, I'll keep going. My brother Zhao Ming is the Iron Dragon and the second oldest. He rules the western provinces from Shang Yang and is Lord of the Jade-Sworn and the Sky Road. He borders the Great Maw and the Mountains of Mourn. He usually coordinates most of our caravans to the western world. He's a lot like my mother…he really cares about the humans of our land. I believe he's her favorite…though mother isn't one to say such things aloud. Some of my siblings think he's crazy because he spends too much time near the great maw and in the warpstone desert. He also pushes the boundaries on what is socially and culturally acceptable. Zhao Ming also likes dwarves, and he has the most experience in dealing with the nations to the west," Shen Zoo paused to make sure Malekith was following.

"Great Maw? What's that?" the elf interjected curiously.

"It's a massive crater that was created when my father threw a meteor at the heart of the Ogre Kingdoms when they were trying to conquer Cathay. It wiped out most of them millennia ago and it left a strange, mutated mouth of some kind. I believe it's a mutation from all the warpstone, but the Ogres worship it as their deity apparently. Zhao Ming hears voices in his head a lot…most of us believe it's the Maw itself corrupting him. I try to be empathetic though since Zhao is always looking out for me and he's really selfless compared to my other siblings. That's his best quality. He doesn't do things for his own sake…it's always for others," she answered thoroughly.

"Can you spare me the long version and just tell me the basics?" Malekith got the conversation back on topic.

Shen Zoo sighed, "The third oldest is my brother Yuan Bo. He rules the central provinces and father made him the administrator of all Cathay since he has a skill for tactics, harmony, and statecraft. He is the jade dragon. I'd even wager he's the best spellcaster among the nine. Yuan Bo is very kind but traditionally strict. He has to deal with keeping most of our siblings from fighting each other. It's a tough job since none of them truly respect him or his power. The fourth oldest is my sister, the spirit dragon Xiao Wu. Almost nobody remembers her name since she's been gone for a long time. Xiao Wu is half alive and half dead. Her power still affects Cathay though and many pay homage to her as the guardian of the spirit world. She is the favored dragon of funeral directors and spirit monks. Some vampires even worship her oddly enough. I am sworn not to reveal her location or what happened, but she doesn't really rule any province in Cathay. Xiao Wu was loved by everyone…though she had the closest bond with Yuan Bo," Shen Zoo said melancholically.

The elf stared at her confused, "So…she's undead?"

"I won't speak any more of it. Mother forbade me to," the dragon evaded his question.

"This is really getting off topic…" Malekith sighed.

Shen Zoo crossed her arms, "I think it's important you understand these things if I'm going to tell you about what I was doing. Would you rather I keep it to myself? You're the one who asked me about my family in the first place anyways."

"Fine…just finish your biography of the rest of the family. It's not like we have anything else to do," the witch king said dryly as he looked forward again and burned away rotting foliage.

"The fifth oldest is my brother Li Dao the fire dragon. He rules the southern provinces on our border with Ind and Khuresh. He's a hothead and a classic middle child who always wants to prove himself. None of our siblings like him except for me and Yin-Yin. He's often overlooked by mother and father. He hates Miao Ying and Yuan Bo and is rivals with Zhao Ming. He and Zhao got into a huge battle once over who the most powerful son was. Father had to stop them personally. Li Dao is vitally important to Cathay however since our southern borders are equally as dangerous as the north. He is the fire dragon and unsurprisingly thinks that we should burn down the entire jungle and build another great bastion in the south. Mother forbade him to destroy the jungles of Chi'an and he's been upset about it ever since. When I last saw him, he was worried about Khuresh expanding north and was angrily worked up about something Ind did. I often try to visit him since nobody else does." Shen Zoo got back on topic.

"So, which one is Yin-Yin?" Malekith interrupted.

"I was just getting to that. My next oldest sibling is my sister Yin-Yin. She is the Sea Dragon. She rules the eastern provinces and commands the grand dragon fleet. She dislikes elves and most of the other human nations. She thinks everyone who isn't Cathayan is a savage. She is probably the most bigoted and ambitious out of all of us. Every few centuries she gets it in her head that we should expand Cathay. First it was the disastrous Southlands invasion…then Khuresh…then the Lost Isles. Yin-Yin has been trying to conquer Nippon lately, but that's easier said than done. Their armies are no pushovers and Nippon has never been occupied by foreign invaders before. Between dark elf raiders and Nippon, it's a full-time job keeping the Jade Sea under control. She's desperate to earn our parents' favor but has a habit of biting off more than she can chew," Shen Zoo elaborated.

"You mentioned that she knew a lot about me and Naggaroth…" Malekith interjected.

"I don't know entirely what she knows about your people, but she does know a lot about the elves since she studies them. I do know that she's obsessed about putting a stop to dark elf raiders. Unlike the jade sea pirates or even Nippon, dark elves are much more difficult to fight since you have those city sized fortress ships in your fleets. Fighting them in open water is foolhardy, and Yin-Yin failed to destroy one that had a gold kraken on its hull. Father destroyed one once with a giant tidal wave. In seafaring combat they're practically invulnerable to cannons and boarding. Yin-Yin hates them," Shen Zoo noted.

"So, your father was the one who destroyed the Talon of Agony? I always assumed it was an Asur fleet since we learned how to navigate those waters by following their trading fleets. Those city-sized ships are called black arks. We have dozens of them. The one with a gold kraken would undoubtedly be the Blessed Dread which belongs to the Fellheart Clan. They're the best corsairs in Naggaroth and that ark is undoubtedly the most infamous. I'm not sure when your sister battled it, but Laithikir Fellheart took an interest in raiding the east after finding a way through the boiling sea and had the most success raiding Cathay. Lokhir Fellheart, the latest patriarch of the clan raided Ind I've heard and made his redblades from treasures there. Think what you will of my people, but the druchii fleets are the most powerful in the world. The asur are a close second only because high elves are better seafarers, and they have Dragonships…which is the only thing capable of destroying black arks typically. Sigmar's empire or yours might have more ships, but they're laughably inferior to any elven made vessel. I don't know what your fleets are like, but I highly doubt they're equipped to fighting black arks if they're anything like the fleets of Sigmar's empire." The elf shook his head.

"Well…it would be interesting for you to meet Yin-Yin. She says she wants to conquer Nippon so that she can mount an offensive against Naggaroth. Mother told her it was a terrible idea to fight the dark elves or draw the Witch King's attention, but father let's her do these things. When she's not trying to conquer the world, Yin-Yin sometimes helps Li Dao defend the south. Ironic that the Sea and Fire dragons get along so well. They're both united in their disdain for Miao Ying it seems. I'm lucky they both like me though since they're the two most volatile siblings I have." Shen Zoo laughed.

"Cathay aspires to invade Naggaroth from the west? Not even the Asur can invade Naggaroth. Good luck with that…the boiling sea is treacherous even to our ships, and most of Naggaroth's settlements are on the eastern shores. The only way to get there from the west is through the underworld sea and it's full of monsters and autarii clans. If she tried to land on the west coast and march to our cities, there's a desert and the Iron Mountains to cross. You'd have better luck crossing Ironfrost Glacier. I have no interest in meeting her. From what it sounds like, she's not very good at mounting invasions and she hates my kind," Malekith scoffed.

Shen Zoo frowned at his dismissive attitude, "One could say the same thing about you? Haven't you failed to conquer Ulthuan several times? I hear that elven civil war has been going on for thousands of years."

"That's because Ulthuan is the most powerful nation in the world with the greatest soldiers, spellcasters, and dragons. Even in decline and fractured from the collapse of the Elven Empire, they could certainly defeat any human nation with ease…as could the druchii. The only reason humans have become so prolific is because the elves are busy fighting each other and the dwarves have lost all of their holds to greenskins and skaven. The Asur are no joke. They would have won the War of the Beard as well had they not been fighting dwarves and druchii at the same time," Malekith shot back curtly.

"Hmph…so sure of that are you? You have an awfully high opinion of your mortal enemies," Shen Zoo noted.

"Why do you think I wanted to be King of Ulthuan instead of Naggaroth? No nation can compare to it," the witch king countered.

"That may have been true millennia ago, but elves have fallen behind on the times. Your people don't even use gunpowder or steam. You're stuck in the past…" the dragon countered.

"You make it sound as if humans invented those things. They have only copied the technology of the dwarves. They also have pitiful knowledge of magic, seafaring, and they live short lives. The only human nation I actually had any respect for was the Nehekarans before they became undead. Though admittedly I don't really know much about places like Ind, Cathay, or Nippon. Perhaps the nations of the far east truly are marvels as you claim them to be." he shrugged.

"Must you be so insufferably arrogant?! Humans are not as weak or useless as you think they are! Besides, didn't YOUR kind learn magic from HIS kind! I've seen humans do great things…and they do more for the good of the world than any elf or especially lizardman has in recent millennia!" the Cathayan dragon pointed at Oxyotl.

"Elves maintain the vortex, and the reptiles maintain what's left of the geomantic web. That's the only reason our world isn't overrun with daemons. Humans fighting off northmen doesn't even compare to what elder races do for the world," Malekith dismissed her claim.

Shen Zoo leered at him for his remark and scoffed, "Elder races…pfft. This is why I don't like your kind…you refuse to believe that anyone other than yourselves are capable of great things."

"With all that said, I believe you are somewhat correct in your assessment of the modern elves. They have done nothing in millennia and have been declining. I don't particularly care for guns, but I do admire the industry that humans are capable of doing. If directed correctly like your family has done, they are formidable in unified purpose. There's no reason in arguing about this. I'll concede in admittance that the elves are stuck in the past and that this civil war needs to end. Just get back to what we were talking about." Malekith sighed in concession.

Shen Zoo gave him a perplexed look, "Huh…an elf who can admit he's wrong? Now I've truly seen everything. The end times really are upon us, aren't they?"

"Your glibness does you no credit, girl…" Malekith said dryly.

"Don't call me girl…I'm older than you are. The only reason I even tolerate your lack of honorifics or respect is because you're a king and you saved my life," Shen Zoo huffed.

Malekith gave her a careless stare, "For a being close to the age of a moon or star dragon, you certainly don't behave like it."

"Well…I suppose you're right about that. I have always been the odd one of my family," Shen Zoo nodded in admittance.

"So, your parents leave you all the run their empire for them? What do they do other than handing out orders? Where do they even live?" Malekith changed the subject.

"My parents are usually in the celestial court…our floating palace above Wei-Jin the capital. It's in the Northeast part of the empire not far from the turtle gate of the Great Bastion. As for what they do…it's not our place to ask. Father rarely shows himself to the public, and mother has taken a keen interest in gardening. I am usually in the company of one of my province-ruling siblings as father asked me to help everyone whenever needed. I usually spend the majority of my time with Li Dao since he needs my help the most…even if he won't admit it. Plus, he and Zhao Ming seem to get along when I'm around," Shen Zoo replied.

"Okay…so that's seven dragons down if I include you as well. I'm guessing your lost brother is one of the other two left?" Malekith asked.

"After Yin-Yin is my lost brother, Yien Li …who I was pursuing through the chaos wastes. The chaos tribes I encountered apparently call him Yien-Ya-Long which is what he goes by now. I pursued him all the way to Zanbaijin, through the chaos wastes and eventually to Norsca. He was searching for something…a relic of Gospodar people that once lived in the Eastern Steppes. They live near Norsca now. We battled over Norsca and I almost won, but he injured me and fled north to the northern polar gate and I chased him here to the realms of chaos. He stole something precious from my family that I had to recover…and none of my other siblings were willing to pursue him outside of Cathay after he fell to chaos," Shen Zoo concluded.

"Why bother chasing after him at all? If he's fallen to chaos then there's no saving him," Malekith said dismissively.

Shen Zoo glared, "I know I can't save him! But he stole a powerful heirloom of our family! I can't let it fall into the hands of the Great Enemy!"

"Yet nobody else thought it was worth pursuing him for? Hmm…why wouldn't your parents do something about it if they're as powerful as they seem to be?" Malekith asked.

The woman frowned as she looked down, "I don't know…but I refused to stand by and do nothing. Our family hasn't been the same since it happened. Father was away at the Lost Isles at the time and mother was visiting 'an old friend' she said. Yien Li wouldn't have dared attack Cathay otherwise. He was different than the rest of us. Yien Li didn't really have an alignment to any of the winds, but he was particularly skilled with arcane fire and ice magics. He was also Yin aligned unlike the rest of my brothers."

"What exactly did he take and what was he looking for in Norsca?" Malekith wondered.

Shen Zoo shook her head, "He stole a family heirloom and that's all I'll tell you about that. As for what he was looking for…I don't really know. Yien Li fell to the corruption of Chi'an Chi and he became obsessively adamant about unraveling ancient mysteries to gain power. He spent a lot of time researching the remnants of the Scythian Empire north of the bastion before he went insane."

"Scythian Empire? What's that?" Malekith asked.

"It's what the Kurgan, Hung, and Tong tribes used to be before they fell to the worship of the dark gods. Their ancient cities in the Eastern Steppes were Scythian cities and have been twisted into dark fortresses now," Shen Zoo sighed.

"Well since we've already gone into excruciating detail about all of this, tell me who the last of the nine is," Malekith requested.

"The last of my siblings is my older twin sister the shadow dragon, Jen Zi. She ventured out to that peninsula northeast of Cathay that we call Goguryeo. For whatever reason, Jen Zi believed she could civilize the barbarians that live out there. Prior to Yien Li going crazy, the two of them spent a lot of time researching out there. I honestly don't know what she's been doing up there. She never comes back to Cathay and Miao Ying thinks she's trying to build her own kingdom. Figures that the shadow dragon is the most mysterious one of the family. Jen Zi is a bit estranged from the rest of our family, but Yuan Bo and I still tried to keep in contact with her. She angered mother a while back and hasn't wanted to come home since. I think father visited her, but he wouldn't tell any of us how it went," Shen Zoo added.

"So much drama for a family of immortal dragons. Has it always been this petty, or was that only after your brother fell to chaos?" Malekith shook his head.

"It's always been tumultuous, but things only got worse after Yien Li's fall. Ever since he fled, all of my siblings have been less trusting of each other. Most think Zhao Ming is likely the next one to go crazy and that Jen Zi has no intention of ever coming back. I…sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who even cares to keep our family together. Zhao Ming tries, but he's disgraced by father, and nobody trusts him anymore. His excessive use of warpstone and pursuit of taboo things are only alienating him further. I hope he's okay…nobody except me or mother really cares to check on him." Shen Zoo said with distant sadness.

"It sounds like your brother Zhao Ming and I have a lot in common. My siblings thought I pushed boundaries and was crazy too," Malekith eased the unusual tension as he looked away unsure of what else to say.

"You have siblings as well?" Shen Zoo perked up curiously as she walked up closer to Malekith's side to match his stride.

"Had…Yvraine and Morelion. They were my older half-sister and half-brother. Their mother was Everqueen Astarielle. My mother was Morathi…who was originally a lowborn sorceress. They saw me as a royal bastard," Malekith answered her. He wasn't sure why he felt willing to tell Shen Zoo about himself, but it seemed appropriate considering how much she had already told him about her family.

For reasons beyond his comprehension, Malekith was actually starting to enjoy his conversation with the dragon, and it felt kind of nice to talk to someone normally like this. Part of him hoped to get an unfiltered opinion about how messed up his life was as well.

"I answered your questions…so now I want my questions answered from you, Malekith. How did you get here to the Realms of Chaos?" Shen Zoo redirected the conversation to a more personal inquiry.

The witch king kept walking in silence as he refused to meet her gaze, "My reasons for being here aren't as noble or heroic as yours appear to be."

"How so?" she tilted her head in anticipation.

There was a long pause before Malekith met her gaze again, "I was attacking Ulthuan with a massive army. In a battle over Finuval Plain, we were on the verge of victory against the Asur. That was until I was challenged by a meek looking mage named Teclis. He's a descendant of my brother and a greater mage than I am. Teclis ignited the Flames of Asuryan within me. The same flames that burned me long ago. They were going to kill me…so I hurled my own body into a portal and landed in the Realms of Chaos to escape them. I wasn't about to let the Asur get the satisfaction of seeing me die. The flames didn't go out when I got here though. They burned until I died. When I died…I received a vision from the Phoenix God Asuryan. He gave me an ultimatum to prove I could be as my father was and sent me to the Palace of Slaanesh to recover my lost sword Avanuir and to prove I was truly worthy of his blessing. He brought me back to life and healed my burns in the process. This armour I wear is called the Armour of Midnight…it was forged for me after I nearly died to the flames before the Sundering. I was bound to it until just recently and always in pain. Now, the pain is gone…and so are my burns. It allows me to think more rationally again."

"So…you succeeded in your mission?! Then those flames you used to break the barrier were the Flames of Asuryan? Your god's own power? You have his blessing?" Shen Zoo remarked with great interest.

"I believe so…" Malekith nodded.

The dragon's eyes lit up with fascination, "And you used those flames to set Slaanesh on fire too?"

Malekith nodded, "Yes…"

"No wonder those Slaanesh daemons were in a full frenzy trying to kill us. So…you can also open portals to the realms of chaos? How did you learn to do that?" the dragon wondered.

"True Dhar. I've dabbled in dark magic for millennia. I even had N'kari bound to serve me prior to this whole ordeal. I saw daemons as tools to use against my enemies. The spell that brought me here was the inverse of a daemon summoning. I'm surprised it didn't permanently kill me to be honest," Malekith answered.

Shen Zoo shook her head, "That's the kind of thing I'd expect from chaos dwarves. You can't control daemons…nor should you even want to."

"Before you get all sanctimonious on me, I don't plan on ever doing it again. Having seen this twisted hellscape for myself, I have no intention of ever conspiring with daemons anymore. In fact, I plan to purge anyone remotely associated with the dark gods henceforth. I was blinded by my own rage and pride. What I did was an insult to my father and what he died for. I should have realized that a lot sooner. Sometimes the ends don't justify the means. A shame that it took me this many millennia to come to terms with it," Malekith answered with grim honesty.

Oxyotl was silently staring at Malekith during this explanation, and he could feel the skink's concern over such information. Most likely the part about summoning daemons himself.

"Warm-bloods have to learn the hard way it seems. At least you've wizened up to the horror of the otherworlder fiends. That's rare for anyone to overcome them after falling prey." The skink noted.

Shen Zoo glanced at Oxyotl curiously, "Why are you helping the Witch King, little reptile? Do you even know who he is?"

"Dark elf king. Rules the frozen wastes north of Quintex. I understand what they are now, and I think Malekith is wise for an elf. He has been honest the entire time and he seems a lot like me. Destined to fight chaos for the Great Plan. Oxyotl trusts Malekith as an ally against daemons and his sincerity in pursuing the right path," the skink replied.

"You trust someone who knows how to summon and bind daemons, but you despise humans and other elves who wander too close to Lustria or the Southlands?! Make it make sense to me. I'll never understand your kind," Shen Zoo scoffed.

"Malekith is immoral and dangerous, but I have sensed no ulterior motives from him during our brief time together. He knows the tongue of the cold-bloods and was willing to help me and trust a skink. That's a rare thing to see in any warm-blood. He also passed through this place without falling prey to temptation or corruption. Considering his past, it's remarkable how logical and strong-willed he is when it comes to the pursuit of purpose," the skink answered.

"How odd that a dark elf of all things could get one of the Lustrian lizards to trust him. You're truly not what I imagined the Witch King would be like Malekith. Well, that explains why you were there…but what I don't understand is what are the Flames of Asuryan exactly? And for that matter, what does it mean now that you have your god's blessing? Will that make the high elves not want to fight you anymore?" Shen Zoo wondered.

"They will never accept me as king. That is not something easily explained to someone who isn't an elf. Out of courtesy for your help and your explanations, princess, I will do my best to explain the cultural animosity between Asur and Druchii. It all stems from my father Aenarion who was a controversial figure during his time for being a great hero and a ruthless tyrant. Before the Sundering and the fracture of the elven race, my father Aenarion was the first Phoenix King and the chosen of Asuryan. He was also the chosen of Khaine. He was a great hero who saved Ulthuan and died during the creation of the vortex which was made by Caledor the Dragontamer. Druchii primarily came from the colonies and Nagarythe which was where Aenarion was from and where I was born. The druchii are descendants of the elves that followed me and the Asur are the elves who denied me my birthright," Malekith sighed.

Shen Zoo narrowed her gaze, "Caledor the 'dragontamer' eh? How arrogant can your people be to wear a title as brazen as that. I've heard about the vortex from my mother…I've always wanted to see it."

"Caledor was my father's best friend, and he established the kingdom of Caledor and befriended the ancient dragons on Ulthuan. From what I understand, 'dragontamer' was not a title of his choosing, though it is appropriate in regard to his power. Caledor is the greatest mage the world has ever seen. He created the vortex and even to this very day he and his archmages forever hold it open on the Isle of the Dead in the heart of Ulthuan. They're trapped in time forever. Elves are the reason daemons can't freely manifest in our world except for in places of high corruption and magic. But I digress. Your question was about what the Flames of Asuryan were. The story was that my father beseeched Asuryan to save the elves from Chaos after the polar gates collapsed and the world was overrun. My father was the greatest elf to ever live, and he was selfless…unlike me. He sacrificed himself by hurling his own body into the Flame of Kings for a divine intervention. He was reborn like a phoenix and wielded Asuryan's power as his mortal avatar. He was the first and only true phoenix king. All of the subsequent future phoenix kings had to pass through the flames to earn Asuryan's judgment in determining their worth as king. The flames reside at the Shrine of Asuryan and are sacred to the Asur. My disgust for the Asur comes from the fact that they celebrate Aenarion now, but they hated him when he was alive and spat on his legacy and on me despite all the sacrifices Nagarythe made to save the world from annihilation. These false phoenix kings that followed my father's reign were unworthy in my eyes. They didn't enter the flame of kings the way my father did or the way I did. They enter it ceremoniously with magic instead of burning to death like you're supposed to. The Asur are formidable and culturally unrivaled, but they don't know sacrifice the way I do, and they would sooner watch Ulthuan sink beneath the waves than crown me. I can't even blame them for feeling that way. Those who wronged me died long ago and now their descendants know nothing but generations of half-truths and self-righteousness hatred for the Witch King. I stepped into the flames long ago after I killed the second phoenix king Bel'Shanaar and I was afraid to die in them. I was unworthy and selfish in the eyes of Asuryan and it left me burned. My mother beseeched a great smith of Vaul named Hotek to forge this armour that I wear. It is made of meteoric star metal, infused with runes, and magically enchanted to preserve my body. I haven't taken it off since the day it was put on me. I wasn't even aware my body was healed until N'kari ripped off my helmet and escaped to the Palace of Slaanesh. The greatest boon Asuryan's blessing has given me is the ability to live again. He gave me a second chance to earn penance in the eyes of the Cadai. I believe I received Asuryan's true blessing like my father once did which would mark me as Asuryan's chosen phoenix king according to Asur customs. With all that said, it's not something I feel much pride in. The Asur will never accept me as the Phoenix King even with this blessing. I've committed great atrocities against Ulthuan and I've killed a lot of elves. In the past I believed I had to be phoenix king in order to save the elves from themselves. Now…I don't really care about the throne. I'm already a king and I've neglected my own kingdom for too long. The Asur can keep Ulthuan and die there like the craven snobs they are. I don't need a crown or a throne to be Aenarion's true heir. My true purpose is to save my own people and the world from Chaos. I don't plan on attacking Ulthuan again. I just want this war to be over," Malekith answered calmly.

Shen Zoo tilted her head in bewilderment, "That's surprising, but I'm glad to hear you're willing to make peace. Why did you start the civil war with the elves? Was it just for the throne?"

"It was my intention to prevent a civil war and a collapse of the empire since the colonies were in full anarchy…but fate has a cruel way of leading us to self-fulfilling prophecies. I served the second phoenix king, Bel'Shanaar, for over a thousand years. I was his emissary, his greatest general, and his thankless rival. The other princes crowned him king over me because they didn't believe someone with the Curse of Khaine, who was an heir of Aenarion, was fit to rule in a time of peace. They claimed that I couldn't marry the new Everqueen, my half-sister Yvraine, either. It was all a lie and nothing but superstitious fear and prejudice. They saw me as a royal bastard and a warmonger. So, I left Ulthuan after the vortex was created and I traveled the world fighting monsters and establishing elven dominance in the age that followed. Many of the ancient elven colonies are places I've established or defended. I was even friends with the first high king of the dwarves, Snorri Whitebeard. He has the son of the dwarven ancestor gods. We united our forces to wipe out the remaining vestiges of chaos. Snorri said something interesting to me once…'Dawi don't believe in nepotism, Malekith…if you have the blood of Aenarion then you're the elven equivalent of my blood to Grungni and Valaya.' Even the dwarves thought I deserved to be king over Bel'Shanaar and they respected me for leading the elves in battle instead of frolicking in peace back at Ulthuan. Snorri actually found it offensive that the princes and phoenix king of Ulthuan sat comfortably in peace for centuries ruling over an empire that my father, my people in Nagarythe, and I fought to preserve. Looking back at it now, it seems like everything started to unravel after Snorri died," Malekith trailed off as he thought about that day. The full clarity of the memory showed in the emotions on his face.

'I shouldn't have gone to Vorshgar. I should have kept looking for Allisara...' Malekith thought to himself.

"It sounds like you really cared about him. It's strange seeing an elf and a dwarf being friends. So, you spiraled into depression after he died?" Shen Zoo asked.

"That was just the start of it. Then my wife abandoned me, and I received a vision about the end of the world on an expedition I took to the chaos wastes. I was never quite the same after that. To be honest, I feel like my old self again prior to that expedition," Malekith admitted.

Shen Zoo perked up with great interest, "You were married?!"

"I'd rather not talk about that, but yes I was," Malekith sighed.

"Touchy subject...I understand. So where exactly did you go to in the chaos wastes?" Shen Zoo wondered.

"A place called Vorshgar...it was an ancient city from a long dead empire. I think it even predated the elves. Why do you know anything about it?" Malekith asked.

Shen Zoo shook her head, "I've never heard of it, but my father probably has. He knows about all the ancient civilizations of the world."

"Where was this city?" Oxyotl cut in inquisitively.

"Far to the north beyond Naggaroth and Norsca. It had interesting architecture and a lot of obsidian. The people that lived there were all dead and they only left skeletons behind. I couldn't tell if they were human or some other type of being, but it was a heavily enchanted and dark place," Malekith answered with just enough detail to sate their curiosity.

Oxyotl didn't respond, and Malekith couldn't help but wonder if the skink knew about Vorshgar and its dead humanoid inhabitants.

"So, you came back from this expedition, and you were different after receiving a vision about the end of the world. But why did you kill the second phoenix king though if you served him for so long?" Shen Zoo wondered.

"I did not think of Bel'Shanaar as weak prior to the end of his reign, but he had lost control of the colonies and a large host of our armies believed I was more fit to deal with the issues instead of him. He was a warrior prince from Tiranoc and their kingdom saw its fair share of warfare unlike the princes of inner Ulthuan. I was resentful of Bel'Shanaar, but I did not think him incompetent until the last few centuries of his life. Ultimately, I chose to kill him because I believed in my vision and because my mother had been imprisoned for creating pleasure cults. I believed that I alone had the power to stop it and that his weakness would cause the Elven Empire to crumble. Ironically however…I was the architect of its destruction. If I could do it all over again…I'd most likely kill my traitor mother instead of him." Malekith explained.

"Wait a minute…so you regret killing him? I thought you hated him though!" Shen Zoo seemed to be in disbelief.

"I did and I still do…but he did not hate me. He trusted me and I betrayed that trust. If there's one life I regret taking in the entirety of my own, it's his. My life is nothing but regrets and failures. I don't feel pride the way you think I do…the way the smug Asur do. My entire existence has been one of regret. Everyone wishes I was never born. The only thing that motivated me was spite, pride, pain, and purpose. I held on to the belief that I could fix things if I became king. That others would see me the same way they saw my father. Now I know it's not true. Before I came here, I wanted to die…to let go of this pain and to just accept the fact that I was never meant to be more than what they saw me as…" he trailed off.

"And what is that?" Shen Zoo hung off his every word with surprising empathy and interest.

"Aenarion's bastard son. A betrayer. A monster. The world can curse my name until the end of time, but I intend to honour my father's name and repay Asuryan's trust in me before the end. I will rage against the dying of the light and die thanklessly and alone for the rest of the world to celebrate once I've done what I have to do," Malekith answered distantly with a strangely twisted look on his face.

"That's a bit self-pitying and grim. So…what are your plans when you get back to your people?" Shen Zoo wondered.

Malekith looked away as he sighed, "My people…they're not really my people. Those depraved selfish hedonists who rule druchii society are not like the grim warriors of Old Nagarythe. They're not like me and I hate them just as much as I hate the Asur who denied my right to exist. I'll try to save the ones I can…and kill the ones who can't change. I will make Naggaroth a real kingdom and I will enforce long overdue changes."

"What do you mean? You plan on changing things in Naggaroth?" Shen Zoo asked inquisitively.

"I do…and that's all I care to tell you princess. Be grateful I even shared my inner thoughts and my past with you at all. You've already learned more about me than most elves ever will," he shut down her eager curiosity.

"Well…I'll let it be then. I do have a request though. Would you be willing to meet my father and mother?" Shen Zoo asked.

Malekith looked at her baffled, "You make it sound as if we're getting married. Meeting your parents…what's next, do you want me to open trade negotiations too? Maybe build an embassy while I'm at it?"

"That's a great idea! You would do that?! Wait…married?! Are you making fun of me?! I'm serious about this…my father will be grateful for what you've done to save me. It's a great opportunity for our two kingdoms to improve relations and-" Shen Zoo never got the chance to finish her statement as Malekith interrupted.

"Don't delude yourself into thinking I'm a good person. I'm just as ruthless as I've ever been. I can promise you one thing, princess. I'll cease the raids on Cathay if only to spare us the trouble of having to deal with your dragon emperor sinking black arks. I care little for the far east and I see no benefit in us warring with you. Don't expect good relations with druchii though. You'd have better luck convincing a dwarf to forgive a grudge. The only thing that motivates druchii is ruthless tyranny, merciless consequences, and fear. I doubt I can change that anytime soon. My people don't actually like me the way yours probably like you. Most of my dreadlords would gladly kill me if they could. I want to permanently remove dissenters and those seditionists," the witch king shook his head.

"I…never expected this to be honest. Everything I've ever heard about the Witch King said that he was evil and power hungry. You're annoying and disrespectful, but you don't seem like some evil villain to me. Plus, it's so strange seeing an elf with self-awareness and remorse. Well, I sincerely hope that you can help your people change for the better. I think it was good you opened up to me. Speaking these things into existence will make you more accountable for them," Shen Zoo replied optimistically.

Malekith frowned at her, "Was that all you wanted to ask me, princess?"

"I did have another question…" she trailed off a bit nervously, "Why did you ban male sorcerers in Naggaroth? I've been wondering about that ever since I learned you were the Witch King."

"It's related to a prophecy called the Prophecy of Demise. A dark sorcerer was destined to overthrow me. Any male caught learning sorcery is sentenced to a fate worse than death. Male sorcerers are reviled in Naggaroth. Few would risk harboring one and fewer would risk becoming one themselves. They're also hated because they don't learn magic from the dark convent which implies, they learned their magic from either a traitor or an outside source. It's also an open act of defiance against me which usually bodes poorly for most people. I do this to prevent the Prophecy of Demise and also to keep a monopoly on dark magic in Naggaroth. If someone wants to enlist the aid of the covens, then they have to deal with the sorceresses. That gives me a greater level of control and insight into what all the dreadlords are doing at all times," he answered.

Shen Zoo tilted her head in bewilderment, "That seems a bit extreme…wouldn't your kingdom be a lot stronger if it could train males to be mages too?"

"I've actually given that some thought as well. My obsession with stopping the prophecy might actually be the thing that leads to its result. Depending on how things go with me taking over Ghrond, I might change that as well. The Dark Convent is loyal to my mother and not to me. I need to train my own sorceresses and sorcerers. I'd probably only allow male sorcerers if they were black guard. They're the only druchii who I can actually trust since they're raised as orphan soldiers to be loyal to me. There is one male sorcerer that I let live freely, but he is a special case. His name is Furion…and he's served me for thousands of years. He lives in Clar Karond. The only reason I allow him to be a sorcerer is because he was born in Nagarythe originally and was a member of my first cabal of mages. He's never once tried to undermine me and the spies I have watching him report that he shows me loyalty even behind closed doors. Being from Old Nagarythe, Furion thinks like I do and doesn't have petty ambitions of overthrowing or killing me. He followed me into hundreds of battles. I wouldn't call us friends, but he was grandfathered in as the humans like to say," Malekith shrugged.

"I would love to see you and Yin-Yin talk about Naggaroth. Last time I saw her, she was really obsessed with learning more about the dark elves. She wouldn't believe me if I told her all this stuff. I had no idea you were friends with the first dwarven king. You really should come with me to Cathay. Maybe you could convince her that the dark elves aren't planning to invade us and that you're stopping the raids," Shen Zoo lit up.

Malekith deadpanned at her, "Again with that? Why would I waste my time going there? It's on the other side of the world."

"Listen, meeting my family would be a great honor! We've turned away high elves countless times who requested an audience. You have no idea how unprecedented it would be for you to visit Wei Jin. I honestly think it would be good for repairing relations between our two peoples and I'll vouch for your unexpected integrity as well. If you tell my father what you told me, he'd probably even want to help you." she tried to convince him.

"What makes you think I have any interest in going to Cathay to meet your family? There's no benefit in it for me. Quite the contrary…they would want to kill me. I didn't survive all of this just to be publicly executed or imprisoned in a foreign land." He sighed.

"I wouldn't allow that!" Shen Zoo protested.

"And you have the authority to stop them from killing me? It sounds like you're the runt of the family. Your older siblings probably don't even listen to you…let alone your parents. I'm not risking my hide going to Cathay with you unless I have an army of druchii and it benefits me in some way," Malekith scoffed.

"Ughh…c'mon Malekith! Please?! They won't believe me unless you return with me! Yin-Yin will say I was imagining things or hallucinating, and Miao Ying will too!" she whined.

The elf stared blankly and callously at her, "That sounds like a personal problem…but I'm not in the damsel rescuing business and I don't really care about Cathay at all. I have far more important things to do in Naggaroth."

"I'm NOT a damsel. I'm a dragon in case you forgot already!" she shot back.

"Woman…dragon…make up your mind. I thought forest dragons talked too much, but you Cathayan dragons are clearly a level beyond that. You talk so much that you've even made me talk more than I have in years. Truly remarkable…my people could learn a great deal about interrogation from you," Malekith couldn't help but smirk at her antics. For whatever reason, Shen Zoo had put him in a better mood.

Shen Zoo gave him a pouting huff as she crossed her arms, "Are you laughing at me? Okay…well maybe I'd be willing to fly you if you came with me."

"What?!" Malekith gawked at her disbelievingly, "after that huge rant about your pride as a dragon, you'd suggest that?!"

"If it will make you come with me, then I'll do it. A fair deal, no? I've never let anyone ride me before. Obviously, I'd ask that you keep it a secret if only to spare me ridicule from my siblings. I'm even willing to do that. I want to help Cathay like my other siblings do…and this is how I can. Even if nothing comes of it, I'd at least like to see my father reward you for saving me. It might even snap you out of this doom and gloom nonsense you keep spouting off about dying. We should be allies and not enemies." She added.

Malekith glanced over at Oxyotl briefly as he wondered what the skink would think about that. Oxyotl's eyes met his, but no words were spoken for a moment.

Finally, the skink spoke telepathically, "Meeting Dragon Emperor sounds like a bad idea, but if you're wanting to return to the world before too much time passes, then it's probably the best opportunity we'll get to convince dragon spawn to fly us. Oxyotl recommends you find another way though."

"I'm not going to Cathay…I'll ride a chaos dragon home if I have to," Malekith finally broke the silence.

"Eww…you'll what?! You think you could ride one of those deformed creatures? How do you plan to do that?" Shen Zoo scrunched her face in disgust.

The elf nodded, "By forcing it into submission. Compared to my great dragon Seraphon, it would probably be relatively easy. Though I suppose the chaos wastes have plenty of wild manticores as well."

"Your dragon? I should have figured YOU were a dragon rider too. How do those western dragons put up with it? To lower themselves to being beasts of war and mounts," Shen Zoo sighed.

"I'm surprised you've never asked the western dragons," he shrugged.

"You dark elves have black dragons right? I've heard about them…they're feral and crazy. Yin-Yin says they can't even speak. I wonder what your dragon pet would say about you," Shen Zoo wondered.

Malekith glared at her, "I don't consider her a pet. My dragon's life is worth more to me than any elf in Naggaroth. She was from Sulekh's clutch, the first black dragon and my original one that the Asur killed. If Seraphon were here right now, she'd be flying me home to get away from your endless diatribe and rambling."

"She huh? So Seraphon is your dragon? It sounds like you actually care about her. What's she like?" Shen Zoo seemed oddly curious about this topic.

"She has all the best qualities one could find in any female. She's loyal, she doesn't talk, and she does whatever I tell her to," Malekith replied sharply.

"You're so…awful," Shen Zoo huffed at him in disapproval.

Malekith looked at Shen Zoo curiously for a moment before speaking again, "I'll go with you if you can tell me how you transform. Seraphon would be far more useful to me if I could bring her everywhere."

"You…what?! Absolutely not! Why would I teach a western dragon how to do that…let alone a black dragon. It would be the equivalent of you teaching a monkey how to use magic," Shen Zoo rejected the proposal immediately.

The elf gave her a careless stare, "Humans are practically monkeys and they're able to learn magic…what's your point? If you won't do it, then I see no other benefits in going to Cathay then."

"Humans are NOT monkeys. We actually have monkey men in Cathay, and they are nothing like humans. Okay…you know what? Fine…I'll do it AFTER we get to Cathay," Shen Zoo stated confidently.

"I need some kind of guarantee you'll deliver on that promise. Or a down payment. Maybe teach half of the method now and the rest when we get there?" Malekith suggested.

"You're serious about this? If I actually tell you, then you'll come to Cathay?" Shen Zoo asked slowly.

Malekith shrugged, "I will, but I don't see the point in meeting your family. It's not like it will lead to any diplomatic boons. I have no political authority to speak for Naggaroth until I return and restore order. Assuming a century or so has already passed on the mortal plane, they're likely in full anarchy and already branching off into warring city-states and different factions. Clar Karond and Karond Kar are likely already at war. I'll have to personally kill dissenters when I get back and remind them who their king is. The Hag Queens and sorceresses won't serve dreadlords. The dreadlords won't serve sorceresses or hag queens. The prominent noble families and drachau tyrants certainly won't follow someone they see as a peer either. Most dreadlords won't serve my mother since she's not royalty like I am. My black guard won't serve anyone except for me so I can at least be assured that the tower masters of Naggarond will stay loyal. I'm Aenarion's heir, and by my blood I am the only rightful dread king of Naggaroth. The only thing that keeps druchii society from collapsing is me. I designed it that way intentionally so I could never be replaced and so that they would kill themselves. It of course has its drawbacks…since without me druchii society can't really coexist. I assumed that if I ever died, then at least those mad, bloodthirsty killers would die with me. Gods only know what they're doing without me there."

"It sounds like the whole kingdom is a cult of personality revolving around you. That's incredibly selfish and foolish if you ask me. You seriously set it up to where your kingdom would collapse if you perished? What if you died of old age? Don't you have any heirs?" Shen Zoo asked incredulously.

The Witch King frowned and answered grimly, "I'm immortal, like my mother, so dying of old age was never a factor to me. With that said, I never assumed this war would last this long. Druchii society is what it is out of necessity though it has only spiraled into depravity and hedonism at this point. I initially intended to conquer Ulthuan and correct it later. Though that seems to have been a mistake. I should have done what I originally planned to do and built a proper kingdom from the ground up. Instead, I allowed the use of slaves and encouraged our cutthroat warrior culture as opposed to forcing us to rebuild normally. My mother talked me out of it since it implied I would be giving up on the Phoenix throne and make me look weak. I was convinced that we needed to retain our warrior culture to give us an edge over the Asur. Unfortunately, all that has done is make the druchii belligerent and unproductive as a society. How could I expect to run Ulthuan if I can't even keep my own people in line? It's not something I'd really given much thought to in the past several millennia."

"Slavery is despicable…" Shen Zoo shook her head.

"I regret it if that makes you feel better, princess. Not because I feel morally appalled by watching Norscans get worked to death but because it only made the druchii less willing to put down their spears and swords and learn to live normal lives. The highest calling for the lowborn druchii is to be a reaver, a warrior, and a slaver...that's a problem. I see what they do to slaves, and it sickens me. They torture them for fun, they rape them, and they don't give them proper incentive without killing them. They do it out of sheer cruelty and not efficiency or purpose. I don't have a high opinion of humans, but I don't see much value in keeping this cycle going if Naggaroth is to become a proper kingdom. I'll probably redirect slaving to strictly Northmen and figure out a way to revise our slaving economy. With the way things are now, it's not like I can free them right away. I eventually want to remove our dependance on slavery. I'll give the redeemable slaves the opportunity to work for their freedom and spend a few centuries encouraging and incentivizing the citizens to develop infrastructure skills. I also want to reward druchii lords who are willing to create more settlements across Naggaroth. As it is right now, most refuse to carve out their own territory and prefer to kill each other for some measure of control over the great cities. Granted that's all hopeful thinking and not something I can concern myself with now. It's my eventual plan if the world doesn't end soon," Malekith shrugged.

"That's commendable I suppose. At least you're willing to put an end to it now. So…you said you're immortal? How does aging work with elves anyways? I know some of you can live for a few millennia, but others die in a few centuries. I wasn't aware your kind had true immortality," Shen Zoo wondered.

"Elves usually die of world weariness. Those without a purpose tend to die of old age…though all elves do age slowly. The average lifespan is about a thousand years for non-magic users and two thousand years for mages. Some live longer or shorter depending on their purpose and their willpower. The captain of my black guard, Kouran Darkhand is almost a thousand years old, and he shows little signs of aging. Since I value his life, I would certainly prolong it with magic if I had to. My sister, the Everqueen Yvraine only lived about two millennia before she passed. It's likely she could have lived longer if she wanted to. Aging in elves usually starts with body frailty. That is then followed by lethargy and then one will become gaunt. The ones who live past two millennia can develop wrinkles and their hair usually turns white. True immortality is usually only acquired by elves with some kind of connection to the gods and with great magical power. In my case it's both. It's a well-kept secret discovered by my mother. She lords it over the Hag Queens to keep them begrudgingly loyal as they all wish to remain young and beautiful forever. The oldest hag queen, Hellebron, was actually the daughter of my former lieutenant and friend Alandrian. She's the high priestess of the Cult of Khaine and the Blood Queen of Har Ganeth. The hags use the blood cauldrons of Khaine to prolong their lives with blood magic…but it's all a sham. The blood cauldrons have diminishing returns and most of the ancient hag queens only regain their youth and beauty temporarily forcing them to mass sacrifice victims to the blood cauldrons in ever more obscene ways. This is encouraged in order to keep the Cult of Khaine strong in our culture. My mother is fairly cruel and evil by most standards, but I would consider that the cruelest thing she's ever done since it's unnecessary for masters of Dhar. The real secret to immortality involves a Dhar blood ritual known only by the original cabal of Dhar users. Of the surviving ones, they include my mother Morathi, Anethra Helbane, the sorcerer Furion, and me. We are the oldest and most powerful mages in Naggaroth and were all alive before the Sundering. None of us actually require the cauldrons and in my case, I was also bound to my armour which magically preserved my body as well. My mother taught me how to do this ritual, and it creates a blood elixir. She wanted me to live forever because her only connection to the royal lifestyle she craved was through me. It's not something other elves truly understand or could do unless they were masters of True Dhar. Though she has never admitted it to me, I don't think she was the creator of this ability or the original pioneer of Dhar magic. It certainly has some connection to chaos."

"The Naga of Khuresh can use a strange type of dark magic that I'm unfamiliar with. That could be Dhar. Maybe she learned it from them?" Shen Zoo suggested.

Malekith's eyes widened in horror at the thought, "I've never really considered that possibility…but I don't know enough about Khuresh to denounce it. My mother is beyond ancient. She's never actually told me how old she is. She taught me and all of the original dark cabal how to use True Dhar. She says she learned it from Hekartii."

"I think it's connected. The Naga are also masters of blood magic and they don't age as far as I'm aware," Shen Zoo noted.

"Dhar magic is not to be taken lightly. I have always used it with great caution. As you might not know this, the improper use of Dhar and a botched attempt at this ritual has dire consequences. Take the parlor trick known as necromancy for example. It's not something humans should ever attempt. Some of the original druchii dark mages taught Dhar to the magically skilled Nehekaran Nagash after they were captured, and it resulted in the creation of undeath and vampirism thanks to his foolish misuse of it. The ritual for immortality is similar to that…though incorrectly attempted by humans, it resulted in the creation of liches and vampires. I suppose you could also blame me for vampires existing as well since this never would have happened had I not started the elven civil war," Malekith elaborated with detail.

"That's crazy…so you're indirectly responsible for Nagash and vampires too?!" Shen Zoo gawked.

"I'm amazed you even know who Nagash is out in Cathay…" Malekith stated condescendingly.

Shen Zoo scoffed at him, "Of course I know who he is…we traded with Lahmia all the time before they turned undead."

Oxyotl looked over at Malekith, "Who is Nagash?"

"A Nehekaran sorcerer who became a liche. He also turned all the Nehekarans undead and has spread the curse of undeath across the world. Nehekara was near the northern deserts of the southlands. The same humans your kind taught how to build pyramids," Malekith answered.

"That would explain Lustrian contempt for warm-bloods using magic. If that's the case, then it is Malekith's responsibility to purge these creatures. Slann will also be able to confirm if your dark magic is related to the Naga," Oxyotl stated calmly.

Malekith sighed, "Add that to the ever-growing list of things I intend to do once I repair druchii society. Though it's easier said than done. Rooting out vampires is about as tedious as hunting Skaven. Chaos is a much bigger problem than undead are. Vampires are more of an Old World problem. Humans fear necromancy, but we don't consider it a threat in Naggaroth. Some vampires are formidable mages and warriors, but they prey on humans and lose regularly to them all the same. Vampires know better than to challenge elves since we're not as incapable of dealing with their magic as humans are."

"We have vampires in Cathay as well. The Jiangshi Jade-blooded…they're a nuisance that Yuan Bo has been trying to eradicate, but they're almost as annoying pests as Skaven. Even he can't get rid of them it seems and he's good at most things," Shen Zoo sighed.

"The only undead we see in Naggaroth are usually in the deserts or the vampire pirates that are bold enough to sail close to our shores. They rarely survive for long, and most are terrified of our sorceresses," Malekith shrugged carelessly.

"So, vampires exist because they did this dhar blood ritual wrong?" Shen Zoo confirmed.

"Yes and no. Nagash obviously had his own hand in the creation of undeath and vampirism. I am not entirely certain what he did to alter it or how he came to acquire insight into the ritual, but the original attempt to create an elixir of life came from my people and Nagash attempted to replicate it. From what I understand, one of the Nehekaran Queens acquired a flawed version of Nagash's elixir and incorrectly used it to create vampires. My mother and I spoke of it at great length a few centuries ago when we captured a Lahmian vampire and tortured her. My mother believes vampires could possibly cure their bloodthirst if they drank the blood of someone who properly did the ritual. She told me it would be useful knowledge if I ever wanted to convince a vampire to serve me," Malekith noted.

"Not all vampires are evil…some are just cursed and can't help themselves. Maybe you can help break their curse then?" Shen Zoo said optimistically.

"If it's truly a technique that my mother learned from the Naga, then I doubt it would be that simple. From what I've heard of them, Naga have insatiable bloodthirst as well. My mother obviously tampered with their ritual if I had to guess. With that said, I don't see a point in helping vampires. They're parasites that deserve to be purged. I've never met a vampire that I didn't want to kill. I'd sooner send druchii fleets to help the Empire conquer Norsca," Malekith countered mercilessly.

"Some Naga mage priests are close in power to Slann. They were originally Old One creations but were deemed as failures in the Great Plan. Lord Pocaxalan said they were trying to invade the Southlands and Lustria across world pond prior to the great catastrophe," Oxyotl stated rationally.

Shen Zoo rolled her eyes at the reptile, "Great Plan this, old ones that…do you lizards even think for yourselves? Why are you still helping Malekith if you have your little trinket now? I sincerely doubt your 'wise' high and mighty Slann lords will want anything to do with the dark elves or anyone else in general. What makes you think Malekith is part of the 'Great Plan' huh? You have suspicious trust in him considering the things he's admitted to us."

"Dragon spawn knows nothing of Great Plan. Elf king Malekith understands his purpose now and it aligns with children of the Old Ones. Oxyotl can't speak for Slann mages, but they are wise and see greater picture. Dragon spawn is driven by emotions and not logic. Slann lords will help if Malekith commits to Great Plan. Oxyotl imagines they will be pleased to see a warm-blood with priorities for the greater good. His past isn't important to us. Only what he can accomplish for the world," Oxyotl countered.

"Tsk…you reptiles are so insufferably delusional. Your Old Ones abandoned you after they ruined the world. We're going to save it in spite of your kind and not because of them. All your stupid Slann do is sit around for centuries looking at the stars while the world burns around them. They've done nothing to fix the mess the Old Ones left behind and I find it rather ridiculous that you have the gall to insinuate that the humans and elves should listen to you. There is no Great Plan," Shen Zoo scolded.

Oxyotl stared at her blankly and showed no emotion to her remarks. He then looked over at Malekith completely unfazed, "Fixing geomantic web up north would help a great deal. Oxyotl will inform Slann Mage-Priests if you're interested in doing that. I have no authority though, so I can't make promises, but Slann will see benefit in repairing northern web if elves cooperate. Before I came here, Slann lords were concerned about the web nexus at Quintex going down," Oxyotl stated.

"Hmm…that would be a good idea. Though I don't imagine your people are too eager to help mine. Perhaps in the future and if your Slann believe they can do it," Malekith replied.

"Lord Chiccotta will help," Oxyotl stated assuredly.

"You're willing to do diplomacy with the Lustrian lizards, but you won't with Cathay?! Don't tell me you actually believe in this Great Plan nonsense, Malekith…" Shen Zoo shook her head.

Malekith glanced at her and sighed heavily, "I believe that I'm going to die alone fighting daemons like my father did. I at least want to leave the world in a better place before I meet my end."

"You're so grim and depressing. So, do you have any heirs Malekith? I would assume so considering your age and heritage. You never answered that part of my question," Shen Zoo changed the subject much to Malekith's relief.

"I don't have any druchii heirs. I do have a child though that I've never met. My wife was the younger sister of the Queen of Athel Loren. So, my heir is an Asrai or a wood elf as humans call them," he answered distantly.

"So, the dark elf king has a wood elf heir? That's interesting. You never met your child? Don't you want to?" Shen Zoo seemed fascinated by this insight.

"I highly doubt it would go well. Who would take any pride in knowing their father was the greatest villain in elven history. I'm curious about it, but not enough to focus my efforts on pursuing it. Asuryan was the one who told me about this lost child. They're supposedly still alive thanks to the strange dilation of time in Athel Loren. The Asrai don't hate me the way the Asur do, but my mother killed my wife Allisara. I have not seen Ariel in thousands of years, but I heard that she became queen of the Asrai and is supposedly some kind of demigod now. Meeting her would certainly not be in my best interest. She would probably want to kill me and likely blames me for her sister's death. My mother killed her sister Allisara when she tried to return to me in Naggaroth after the Sundering. It would seem my mother believed that Allisara would weaken me if I reunited with her. According to Asuryan himself, Allisara was coming to tell me I had a child in the hopes that it would bring me back to my senses. She abandoned me before the Sundering and took the child to Athel Loren. That's all I know about it. I wasn't aware of this lost heir until just recently or I would have discovered who it was by now," Malekith answered grimly.

Shen Zoo sighed and shook her head, "Your mother sounds like a terrible and evil person. Why do you keep her around if she's done all these monstrous things? I can't even imagine one of my parents being like that."

"No…but your brother is. Do you want to kill him?" Malekith countered.

The Cathayan dragon frowned as she looked away, "I get what you're saying…it's hard to kill someone you love."

"Love…maybe I loved her once, but I don't love Morathi. My mother is very powerful and intelligent. I always saw her as a necessary evil and a useful political asset since she controlled the Dark Convent and indirectly the Cult of Khaine. She was also my own blood and saved my life after I nearly died to the Flames of Asuryan before the Sundering. Part of me felt indebted to her…I shouldn't have. You ask what I intend to do when I go back to Naggaroth? Destroying her and the twisted mockery of Old Nagarythe is what I intend to do. If it's the only good thing I ever do, then at least my life wouldn't have been a waste," Malekith sighed.

"I can see why you're adamant about getting back to Naggaroth then. I suppose you could come to Cathay after you've resolved that turmoil in your own kingdom. Well, since you've been so open with me, I'll just tell you how we transform. It's a form polymorphism from what elves call Ghur. You're familiar with the concept of this wind I assume? One can use it to transform and shapeshift into animals and beasts. We used the combined wind version of this with Feng Shi. I can't really teach it to a western dragon though. They can't learn Yin and Yang magic. Only those with the blood of our family can use those combined winds. I use Feng Shi and Yang magic specifically to transform. I suppose if another dragon could theoretically understand how to harmonize the winds, then they could do it too…though western dragons are primitive compared to us. I'd say we see them the way you elves see humans. Considering that your dragon doesn't even speak, you're probably not going to be able to teach her magic," Shen Zoo finally gave in.

'Yin and Yang magic…so that was what she was using earlier? It looked similar to Qhaysh. So, if Yang magic is like Qhaysh, then maybe I can use Qhaysh and develop some type of transformation spell myself to use on Seraphon,' Malekith pondered the information.

"Do you have any ideas how I can make black dragons speak? I've found myself pondering it many times over the years," Malekith asked.

The Cathayan dragon frowned, "I'm surprised you'd want her to speak since you apparently think I talk too much. Well from what I understand, black dragons don't have any mentors or elder dragons to draw wisdom from. The other types of western dragons are raised in clutches and brooded by their parents. They are protected and fed by the mother until they fledge, but the father is important in their development and learning. Fledged female dragons typically stay with their fathers until they find a mate and leave the flight. You dark elves probably separate them from their parents and train them like beasts of war. A dragon isn't an animal, but if you treat it like one and raise it like one, then is it really any surprise when they act like them? I've seen the same thing happen with humans. Raising them like animals from childhood would make them savage. If you want your dragon to be more like me, then you should mentor her and treat her like a person instead of a beast."

"We've arrived at the swamp. Crossing it will be difficult on foot and dragon spawn is wasting our time by not flying us," Oxyotl interrupted as the trio came to a halt.

"Then go…nobody is keeping you here, skink." Shen Zoo rolled her eyes.

"Can you please fly us, Shen Zoo? At least until we're out of the Realms of Chaos? Do you really want to cross this swamp on foot?" Malekith asked the dragon woman.

She crossed her arms and groaned begrudgingly, "Only because you said please and have been surprisingly civil about this whole thing. You promise you won't tell anyone?!"

"Why would I? Embarrassing you presents me no benefits. I've actually learned a lot speaking to you. I didn't hate our conversation." Malekith replied assuredly.

"Ughh…very well, but ONLY until we're out of the Realms of Chaos and ONLY if you promise to meet my parents after you resolve your political issues in Naggaroth. I know you're probably concerned about it, but my father is honorable, and he would never stoop to treachery. I won't let them execute or imprison you. I swear by my family's honor," Shen Zoo stated.

"We have a deal then," Malekith extended his hand towards Shen Zoo. She grabbed it as the two shook hands cementing their agreement.

"You're not seriously going to meet them, are you?" Oxyotl asked telepathically.

"I'd prefer not to, but it's doubtfully going to happen anytime soon," he responded.

"It's not really Oxyotl's place to tell you what to do, but if you do meet dragon emperor, be cautious. Dragon spawn said her kin invaded Southlands. I don't trust them. There's only one reason the dragons would invade the Southlands…to hunt Slann. The Dragon Emperor likely knows a great deal if he's been alive since before the Old Ones came," the skink warned him.

Malekith put his helmet back on as he chose not to comment on Oxyotl's concern.

"Well…let's get on with this," Shen Zoo groaned with dramatic dread as she lit up with magic and transformed into her dragon form.

With his circlet of iron back on, the elf hoped to get a better insight into what Shen Zoo was doing specifically to transform. Malekith watched her closely as she did it and had a strange epiphany from seeing the transformation, 'I get it...it's a combined wind transformation spell and it binds her magic and her soul to the human form. No incantation either…the winds converge after casting the initial spell. It's a two-part spell then? Binding the spell to the human form would make it permanently default, wouldn't it? Maybe that's why she turned back into a human after falling unconscious? Interesting...'

"I think I'll die of shame if anyone ever finds out about this…tell anyone and I'll kill both of you!" Shen Zoo reaffirmed her displeasure with letting them ride her.

"You have my gratitude, princess," Malekith tried his absolute best to be civil as he climbed onto the dragon. It felt weird talking with someone like this. Malekith couldn't remember the last time he truly meant something gracious to another person. Yet for whatever reason, he actually somewhat liked Shen Zoo even despite her talkativeness.

"You're quite welcome, Malekith," Shen Zoo replied.

"Go that way past swamp," Oxyotl spoke up.

She snarled at him as she ascended into the chaos-filled skies and soared at high speed, "The sooner this over the better. Hey! Don't touch me there!"

"How else are we supposed to hold on? It's not like you have a saddle," Malekith countered.

"AS IF I would EVER allow such an indignity! Don't get used to this! I am NOT a mount!" she huffed.

'This is going to be a long journey…' Malekith thought miserably.

Some Time Later, Southern Polar Gate

After a very unpleasant and awkward flight, the trio were finally nearing a massive structure as they passed over a plague-filled valley. Malekith was utterly relieved as he looked down at the baubling swamps and forests covered in visible pestilence.

He couldn't even imagine how taxing it would have been to cross on foot and was quietly admiring his good luck and Shen Zoo's help. For whatever reason, ever since his talk with Asuryan, luck had been on his side. It was a strange feeling as he was used to things always going wrong. While he did find Shen Zoo unusual and somewhat annoying, he was very grateful that he had established some decent amount of rapport with her.

None of them spoke much during the flight as Malekith and Oxyotl were focused on trying not to fall off and Shen Zoo was extremely uncomfortable and stiff most of the trip.

While he had no hopes of any good relations with Cathay in the future, Malekith would not soon forget Shen Zoo's help in this twisted hell.

"Southern Polar gate is there. Something's wrong…it's unguarded," Oxyotl spoke up.

"There goes my streak of good fortune…" Malekith sighed grimly as Shen Zoo descended towards the massive portal.

They were thankfully past the Nurgle infested landscape and now on a more neutral looking chaos area. Shen Zoo didn't land, but came close to the ground before speaking up, "Where's the northern polar gate from here?"

"Closer to Brass Citadel, that way," Oxyotl pointed in the distance, "it would be smarter to just go through Southern polar gate instead of staying in here longer.

"Absolutely not…if I go through the northern polar gate then I can get to the Great Bastion and Malekith can get to Naggaroth way sooner. We don't live in the southern hemisphere, lizard and I would rather take my chances with the Eastern Steppes than with Ind or Khuresh," Shen Zoo protested.

"We shouldn't linger…Oxyotl will go from here. Follow the gorge that way Malekith and you should find Northern gate between Khorne and Tzeentch realms. It's between the two territories where the ground turns purple," the skink informed them.

"I vaguely remember what it looks like. Let's go Malekith," Shen Zoo interrupted rudely.

"I appreciate your aid in this place, Oxyotl," Malekith stated.

"What about your bracer?" the elf followed up telepathically.

Oxyotl then jumped off of Shen Zoo and approached the open portal cautiously. He spoke telepathically to Malekith as he stopped in his tracks, "This is a trap. I hope you're ready to fight."

"You think it's Kairos Fateweaver?" Malekith asked.

"What's he standing there for? Are you going or not, skink?" Shen Zoo asked.

Her question was answered a moment later when a winged figure landed in front of the portal facing away from them. Iridescent blues, pinks, and whites erupted in all directions as the figure slowly turned around to face the three of them. It was a lord of change and true to Oxyotl's belief, it was indeed the two-headed Kairos Fateweaver.

Malekith readied his swords as he leapt off Shen Zoo and walked in front of Oxyotl. The sky seemed to change color as the daemon's magic shrouded the surrounding horizon from sight. The bipedal bird then slowly spoke in two voices, "You arrived quicker than expected and you even saved Shen Zoo. This is indeed the path of eternity. All according to the Great Plan."

"You're Kairos Fateweaver…" was all Malekith could think to say as he found the daemon's appearance unsettling and bizarre. Tzeentch's greatest daemon was standing right in front of them, and it had an otherworldly eeriness to it.

Malekith almost found Kairos more unsettling than the Slaaneshi daemons as the lord of change stood there with a knowing arrogance and a purely stoic demeanor.

"And you are Malekith…Heir of Aenarion, Witch King of Naggaroth, Chosen of Khaine." One of Kairos' heads responded.

"Also, Phoenix King of Ulthuan, Champion of Asuryan, and hero of the mortal world," the other head noted.

"Maybe both? Or perhaps you are the chosen one of the ancients?" the two heads spoke rhetorically in unison at the end.

Malekith snarled at the daemon's contradictory statements. From what he understood, one of Kairos' heads would always lie and the other one would always speak the truth. That in addition to the avian monster's otherworldly insight into the fates of all things mortal or otherwise seemed to imply that Kairos was mocking him.

"I take it you're here to stop us…" Malekith stated the obvious. Malekith felt a bit anxious and slightly fearful of Kairos, but he maintained his stoic façade none the less.

"Not in the way you think. We are here to ensure the proper path is followed for the most optimal future. Oxyotl cannot keep the Octahedron. It is far too powerful to exist in your world unless we ensure it is used correctly. It cannot remain in his hands," Kairos replied with both heads.

"Well, aren't you just the selfless type to care about the world," Malekith said dryly.

"A two headed Lord of Change?! You said his name was Kairos Fateweaver? I've heard of him…was he the oracle that the other daemon was talking about?!" Shen Zoo remarked with notable worry as she flew lower and poised herself for a fight.

"We know you are quite familiar with who we are, Shen Zoo…dragon of light. Your sister battled against us once and even she failed to defeat us alone. What makes you think your power compares to hers or to any of your siblings. You are the weakest, the youngest, and the most naïve. Even now, you cling to Malekith for leadership since you are nothing on your own," Kairos taunted the dragon.

"Your words mean nothing to me fell creature! I am a daughter of Xen Yang, and I don't fear you just as I don't fear any daemon! I'll honor my sister by destroying you!" Shen Zoo responded proudly.

Kairos stared blankly at them for a moment before replying, "You fear the same thing Malekith fears…irrelevance, stagnation, and powerlessness. Above all else you fear the unknown. It is the same thing all the chosen of Tzeentch fear. Chi'an Chi has been paying close attention to you, dragon child…though you already knew that didn't you? Do you think it is a mere chance that all of us are gathered here and now? Your fate is already known to us."

Shen Zoo seemed stunned by the daemons words as she couldn't even muster an angry denouncement or protest.

"Your advice about the flames was correct…" Malekith stated factually as he pondered how they were going to deal with this monster. Kairos Fateweaver was unquestionably the greatest daemon sorcerer. This creature knew every spell in existence and had otherworldly knowledge of practically all things. It could see all possible futures. How in the world could anyone fight something like that?

"That is merely a fraction of the insight we have. Our purpose here is beyond your current ability to understand. This reptile you've aided is deceiving you, Malekith, just as he is deceiving himself. Oxyotl does not know what the octahedron does or what it is, but we do…and we cannot allow it to fall into the hands of the lizardmen or the skaven…particularly the latter. They are but children trying to use the tools of the gods," Kairos stated knowingly.

"The fact that you're so adamant about stopping it tells me that it's probably involved in your undoing, daemon. Since you can supposedly see all possible futures, you must be quite confident that you can stop us, or you wouldn't dare get in my way. My father once defeated you and I will as well," Malekith countered.

Kairos was silent for a moment as both of his heads looked away in opposite directions. After an unusual silence he spoke again, "Whether or not we could defeat the three of you is irrelevant. We came prepared to deal with this predicament. Before you challenge us to combat, at least hear what we have to say first."

"Daemon spawn will not interfere with the Prophecy of Dawn! The Old Ones will punish you!" Oxyotl replied hatefully before readying his magical blowpipe.

"The Old Ones are not coming to save you, Oxyotl. They care little for the overrun zoo that you call a planet. The entire star system is merely a backwater outpost to them. Your Slann believe your world is special, but if that's the case, then why did their masters leave? You think you shall find deliverance from the End Times by blindly handing over the octahedron to your Slann, but they will only die just as Pocaxalan did because they don't know anything. You think Chiccotta will have answers for you…but he died to purge the Southlands of daemons. The oldest living Slann is Mazdamundi and if you deliver the box to him, it will never be opened. He will hoard it selfishly in vain and never find the keys. He will lose it to the skaven as well. Your kind does not know just how dangerous that object is. You cannot be allowed to keep it. Xholankha's prophecy is beyond your comprehension." Kairos explained.

"What in the world is this thing talking about? Just what is that trinket you two found? Why does Kairos Fateweaver want it?" Shen Zoo asked confused as she looked down at Malekith and Oxyotl.

"What is the Puzzle Box of Xholankha? Why do you want it?" Malekith decided to humor the daemon's vague ranting and ask.

"The octahedron that you call the puzzle box of Xholankha is actually a webway generator…a very old and powerful one. In its current state, it can open pocket dimensions and be used as a conduit for magic by directly tapping into the aethyr or the warp as it were. If properly assembled with its three missing keys and the necrodermis pylons opened, the puzzle box can be used to directly breach the webway which the Old Ones sealed off after they left you all to die," Kairos answered almost wisely.

"What is the webway?" Malekith asked confused.

"It is a realm that exists between the Aethyr and the materium. Think of a tunnel through time and space that one could walk through. Or imagine taking a portal into a stellar highway that exists between reality and the realms of chaos. The polar gates were originally massive webway gates, but they were sealed off after they collapsed and tore open the realms of chaos into your reality," Kairos answered with convincing honesty.

Malekith shook his head, "And why would we allow you to reach this place? What's there that you want so badly?"

"Freedom from this endless cycle," Kairos replied vaguely.

"That tells me nothing…I have no idea what that means." Malekith scoffed hatefully.

Kairos was silent for a moment before responding, "You will before it's over."

Malekith had no idea how to respond to such a vague statement and decided to ask another question, "What happened to the Old Ones? Why did they leave?"

"When the polar gates collapsed, they were cut off from the webway. They had no choice but to traverse the warp in their ships and leave their zoo behind. Due to a break in causality, it also caused a time loop which endlessly repeats itself every time the world is destroyed by chaos. Your world is but one of many that they tend to, and they saw it as beyond saving since they did not get to finish their work. Xholankha was absent long before this occurred, however. His puzzle box is the only way to escape this time loop and we will have it," Kairos answered.

"A time loop? That doesn't make any sense. How would that affect you in the realms of chaos? This thing is clearly insane…the world hasn't been destroyed multiple times! That's ridiculous and we have no intention of believing ANYTHING you have to say, monster!" Shen Zoo countered.

Oxyotl leered hatefully at the daemon as spoke in a low hiss, "Lord Xholankha left the puzzle box so that he could save us. You will never have it!"

Kairos ignored both of them as he looked down at Malekith, "There are three keys required to open it. One belongs to the Naga Blood Queens of Khuresh in the Lost City of the Old Ones. They have been using it as a power source to reopen the geomantic nexus and seek to uncover the secrets of the Old Ones with it. Nakai the wanderer, the oldest living kroxigor is currently there trying to recover it. He is the most devout worshipper of Xholankha in the world and believes in the Prophecy of Dawn just as Oxyotl does. Another belongs to Chiccotta who is buried and mummified beneath Zlatlan. The final key once belonged to the same beings who created your Circlet of Iron and was looted by the ancient Scythian Empire. It was lost to time until recovered by the Gospodar Khan-Queen Miska. She found this fragment in the ruins of the Scythian Empire and it greatly enhanced her knowledge of magic. It currently belongs to the royal family of Kislev."

"Why are you telling us where the missing pieces are?" Malekith asked confused.

"Why indeed?" Kairos started to cackle as his entire body lit up with arcane energy.

Oxyotl didn't even hesitate to open fire on the daemon with his blowpipe as he launched a salvo of magical darts in quick succession. Kairos warded them off with magic as his staff lit up with blue and pink light.

Eldritch fire erupted in all directions as it weaved in their direction. Shen Zoo took the initiative to block it with a wall of light before exhaling her fiery dragon breath in retaliation. Realizing that having a magic duel with Kairos would end about as poorly as his battle with Teclis, Malekith immediately charged into melee range. He ran through waves of spells during a magical deadlock between Shen Zoo and the daemon and almost covered the gap before Kairos flapped his arcane wings and blasted the elf back with a sonic wave of power.

The lord of change swiftly ascended into the air as he let out a deafening caw and launched a colossal bolt of blue fire penetrating Shen Zoo's barrier. She immediately flew after him in the air and coiled around aggressively delivering spells, breath, and clawed swipes in an aerial flourish.

To Malekith's dread, he watched as Kairos seemed to move with otherworldly anticipation by narrowly countering or dodging her attacks without even looking.

"Change is inevitable! We will all play our part in this!" the daemon announced loudly as he nimbly flew around Shen Zoo's flying charge and cast an ice scythe over his arm and sliced all the way down her underside. This deadly counter pierced her underbelly and left a huge slash wound on the dragon. Shen Zoo didn't even have time to react to what had just happened before nets of light and crystalline ice formed over her limbs weighing her down. Kairos then ripped a floating boulder out of the air with magic tossing it for Shen Zoo's head. She was nearly hit by it, but Malekith managed to redirect the boulder's trajectory with a soul quenching bolt of Qhaysh.

As if expecting this already, Kairos had already conjured a tempest overhead and blasted Shen Zoo midair with a wickedly powerful streaks of lightning. She could no longer remain airborne and cried out in pain as her draconic form slammed into the ground sparking with electricity. She tried to move, but the magical lightning seemed to keep her pinned with static.

Shen Zoo roared loudly as her body lit up with magical light and she broke free again. She fired a heavy breath in Kairos' direction and reinforced her attack with what appeared to be yang magic fire.

This shattered Kairos' barrier and caused the daemon to fly back defensively. Malekith didn't waste the opportunity to join in as he ran in to flank Kairos and fired off several doombolts and fireballs at the daemon. To his utter frustration, Kairos avoided or repelled all of these attacks.

Malekith continued to launch any long-ranged spell he could for the following minute, but nothing they did seemed to make a dent in Kairos' precognitive awareness and defense. As they continued to battle him, Malekith noticed that Kairos was charging up his staff for some reason and casting combat spells with his free hand.

Oxyotl seemed to share the elf's concern over this as he loudly chittered, "Hold him in place! We need to interrupt that spell he's charging!"

Malekith and Shen Zoo both did that as nets of light and tendrils of shadow from each of them managed to ensnare Kairos in the air finally.

Oxyotl then fired off his blowpipe from impressive range and hit the daemon in the hand with it causing Kairos' spell to preemptively miscast. A surge of magic exploded in all directions as the daemon was shot out of the sky and crashed to the ground.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?!" Shen Zoo taunted the lord of change as Kairos swiftly got back to his feet.

Before he could get airborne again, Malekith conjured up more shadowy tendrils to wrap around the daemons leg and pull him down. Kairos immediately dispelled them with hysh, but Malekith followed up by countering with ghyran roots as vines materialized out of the ground and wrapped the lord of change up both of his legs. He found it much more effective as he mimicked the exact same thing Teclis did to hold down Seraphon. As Kairos tried to burn them away, Malekith pumped out dark ice magic to protect the roots from burning. He then flourished Avanuir and Destroyer with a ruthless swathe of magically enchanted slashes.

Avanuir, being a spellsword, was more powerful with its magical arcs of fire, but Kairos had no issues warding the magic with another barrier or grounding them. Destroyer on the other hand, did exactly what Malekith forged it to do. The blade cut through Kairos' magical barrier like air and managed to shatter it after a few strikes. This delivered a brutal slash against the avian monster's body causing it to bleed.

Despite Malekith's success, Kairos was still much larger and stronger than him and the daemon began to start parrying the follow-up attacks one handed with his staff as he charged up lightning in his free hand. As the surge of electrical magic shot towards the elf, Malekith held up Destroyer to block them as he tried to push closer through the stream.

He then began to gather the nearby winds in masse as they began to swirl over his Circlet of Iron. Like conductor, his horns glowed brightly along with his runic armour as he began to absorb Kairos' magic and charge it up for a counterspell.

To his surprise, the greater daemon immediately ceased his attack and teleported away just in time to dodge a massive streak of black lightning. The daemon then nimbly dodged a leaping Oxyotl midair and flung the lizard back with a gust of arcane wind.

Shen Zoo seized this opportunity to fly in for a charge, but before she could get there, something unexpected happened. A salvo of blue firebolts pelted her from both sides and above out of seemingly nowhere. They were so devastating that Shen Zoo collapsed on the ground as she burned in agony.

Malekith looked up for the source and was horrified to see not one, not two, but three additional lords of change now on the battlefield. They all swopped in with arcane light as they fired additional barrages of magical missiles at the downed Shen Zoo.

Without even hesitating, Malekith was forced let off the offensive as he ran in to block the spells with a barrier of his own magic. He strained under the onslaught of raining spells as the barrier began to crack and flicker.

Holding the barrier up with one sword hand, he did his best to use healing magic on Shen Zoo to rouse her back to form and put out the flames. She quickly snapped back to fighting form and began to heal herself as well, much to Malekith's relief.

Right as his barrier was about to shatter, Shen Zoo flew over towards him and picked Malekith up flying into the air and dodging the raining fire and metal from the tzeentch daemons.

"Climb on my back Malekith and try to watch my blind spot!" Shen Zoo instructed.

Sheathing his swords, Malekith quickly climbed her arm. With some difficultly, the elf managed to do so without falling off. Upon getting behind her neck, he tightly clasped one of the spines on Shen Zoo's back as he stayed on his feet.

The dragon and the elf briefly fought off and magically battled the greater tzeentch daemons, but they had almost forgotten about Oxyotl and Kairos.

"The skink! Where is he?!" Malekith asked confused as he looked around the battlefield for any sign of Kairos or Oxyotl. To his utter disbelief, he saw Oxyotl was on Kairos's back and repeatedly stabbing the daemon as it ascended in the sky.

"Fly us to them!" Malekith commanded as he flung a doombolt to counter one of the pursuing lords of change.

This quickly turned into a magical deadlock as black lightning and blue fire pushed against each other. Fortunately, Shen Zoo had maneuvered them well enough to close the distance to the daemonic bird allowing for Malekith to fire off jagged ice spears at the creature. Several managed to pierce it, but he couldn't revel in his success as the other two lords of change quickly moved in to flank.

"Close your eyes Malekith!" Shen Zoo instructed before releasing a blinding wave of light in all directions. It seemed to stun and disorient the lords of change long enough for her to close in on Kairos and Oxyotl.

Kairos seemed oddly calm about receiving stab wounds as he managed to fling the skink from him in the air mere seconds later with a force barrier. Luckily Shen Zoo had arrived in time for the skink to land on her back, but this diversion seemed preplanned as a portal opened overhead and pelted Shen Zoo with shards of razor-sharp metal fragments.

Kairos then flew in for another attack as he perfectly dodged blowpipe darts and spells from Malekith. Before Malekith had even realized what the daemon was doing, he felt Shen Zoo jerk still midair as Kairos cast a strange spell at the dragon hitting her directly in the head.

This was perfectly synchronized with a three-pronged barrage of pink fire from the other lords of change who were now in a triangle formation overhead. Shen Zoo cried out in pain as this attack managed to hit all of her weak spots seemingly at once.

She immediately lost altitude and fell to the ground once again. Fortunately, they weren't too far from it due to her swooping in, but Shen Zoo was now heavily injured. Malekith expected her to get up again like she did previously, but she did not this time. He looked at the wounded dragon concerned as he and Oxyotl managed to avoid any serious damage and regain their bearings.

Light then erupted from her body as she reverted back to her humanoid form and rolled over to cough up blood. Her clothes and armour were fortunately not tattered, but Malekith could see the wounds she took in her dragon form all over her body.

"We have to leave, Malekith…to the portal. We can't win this fight right now," Oxyotl spoke telepathically to the elf as he looked around anxiously at the four lords of change circling overhead.

"I think you're right. I'd rather not cross through the southern portal, but we can't stay here," Malekith replied in agreement.

"The dragon is injured…you'll have to carry her. I have an idea. Kairos Fateweaver wants the puzzle box, so I'm going to distract him by running for the gate. You keep the dragon alive. When I get close, I'll teleport you to me and we'll slip through the portal. Daemons won't be as powerful in our world. We'll gain some distance and fight them again when we're out of the daemon realm," Oxyotl stated.

'If I knew how to use the teleporter on these bracers, I could have teleported him to me and spared the dragon princess from getting this injured to begin with,' Malekith thought frustrated as he watched Oxyotl make a run for the portal.

The skink weaved and zigzagged the onslaught of spells with masterful dexterity as he swiftly approached his destination. True to Oxyotl's insight, all four of the lords of change pursued him as they flew in with feverish purpose ignoring Malekith and the injured Shen Zoo.

Oxyotl nearly got to his destination and would have were it not for a wall of fire blocking his way forward. Kairos dramatically landed in an eruption of arcane might as he bound all of Oxyotl's limbs with multiple spells.

He then fired a point-blank fireball at the skink, but to Malekith's shock, the skink wrested an arm free and held up the puzzle box to counter it. The mysterious item completely nullified Kairos' magic and seemed to absorb it. Oxyotl nimbly managed to rip his other arm free as he shot a blowdart right at one of Kairos' necks.

Without wasting a moment, the reptile held up the puzzle box to dispel the firewall and got mere feet away from the polar portal. His bracer of Xholankha then began to light up as well as Malekith's.

Shen Zoo was still conscious despite all of her injuries and to her bewilderment she was slung over Malekith's shoulder. She stared at the bracer on his arm lighting up as a golden aura enveloped both of them.

"Malekith, what's happening?" she asked.

The elf didn't answer her as he readied himself to be teleported by Oxyotl. He watched from afar with anxious concern as Kairos managed to grab ahold of the puzzle box from the skink's hand. With his circlet of iron, he could see their magical silhouettes, but the details escaped him.

Right before the teleportation could succeed, Malekith noticed something very strange happening. Kairos slammed the puzzle box against Oxyotl's bracer causing a massive eruption of magic followed by a blinding light.

Malekith covered his eyes and tried to close the distance to figure out what had happened. As the light cleared, he felt something materialize in his hand. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked down in disbelief to see that he now had the Puzzle Box of Xholankha.

"Oxyotl, what happened?! Are you alright?!" Malekith asked the skink telepathically.

There was no answer and in fact, he could now clearly see that the skink and three of the lords of change were gone.

Kairos stood right at the front of the portal and looked back with disturbing confidence. The lord of change laughed as he looked at Malekith, "Exactly as planned…the puzzle box will be ours. Good luck catching up with Shen Zoo in that condition."

Before Malekith could say or do anything, Kairos then left them there and flew into the southern portal. 'What in the world just happened?! Does he not know I have the puzzle box?' Malekith thought confused.

"Malekith...why did they leave?" Shen Zoo grimaced in pain.

"They are after that trinket Oxyotl had. The skink teleported it to me before he ran through the portal. I think he was trying to draw them away so we can escape," Malekith surmised.

"That's awfully noble for a Lustrian to do…" the Cathayan woman noted as Malekith pulled her off his shoulder and helped her to her feet.

The Witch King sighed, "Oxyotl managed to avoid that creature for a long time. I think he'll be okay. I'd prefer not to leave him after all the help he's been, but I think he wanted me to take the puzzle box in case something happened."

"Forget the skink. We need to get to the northern portal before they realize you have that thing…" Shen Zoo stated the obvious as she whimpered in pain and nearly fell to her feet again.

For whatever reason, Malekith actually braced her and allowed the woman to hold onto him for support. She looked at him almost disbelievingly for doing so but smiled in light of the horrific situation they had just eluded.

"Let's go find the northern portal. I think I'm okay to fly, but I'd appreciate it if you'd do your best to heal me once we're up in the air. We can't stay here much longer, and I can endure until we get back to our world," the dragon said with relief.

'Kairos can't sense the puzzle box since it's immune to prescience, so he must think Oxyotl still has it. I hope he'll be alright. I'll die if he does since we're still linked with these bracers. I can't believe he trusted me to take it…' Malekith thought bewildered by the events that just unfolded.

"Let's go princess…we need to get out of this place before more daemons show up," Malekith sighed as he tied the Puzzle Box to his waist.

The Northern Portal, Later

The journey to the northern polar gate had been surprisingly calm and uneventful, much to Malekith's relief. Shen Zoo was still injured, but thanks to both of their magics, she had managed to maintain enough strength and willpower to fly them nonstop. He noticed her flying slower and weaving strangely in the air, but the dragon was surprisingly tough as she showed remarkable endurance despite the injuries she had received.

They spoke a decent amount along the way, but mostly about the puzzle box and what Kairos was talking about.

"I mean…a webway to some other reality. I've never heard of anything that outlandish before, but maybe my father will know what it is," Shen Zoo noted.

"I have a request, princess…I would prefer you don't blather about this puzzle box to anyone. The less people know about this thing, the better," Malekith replied.

"I don't think it's a good idea to give it to the lizardmen or to anyone. My father will be able to keep it out of the hands of dangerous people," Shen Zoo suggested.

"Honestly, it's not mine to give away. Oxyotl entrusted this relic to me, and I will hold it until I meet him again. I intend to discover for myself what it is before I make any decisions like that," Malekith shot down her suggestion.

"Are you going to look for the keys?" Shen Zoo wondered.

Malekith sighed, "It seems I have no choice. We can't let Kairos Fateweaver have them. Plus, I'm likely to run into Oxyotl again if I go to one of the three keys."

"Well…Khuresh is extremely dangerous. I wouldn't recommend going there without an army. My brother Li Dao would help, but only if you told him what you were doing. We can discuss it later…that looks like the portal. Is that the brass citadel in the distance? By the emperor it's enormous," Shen Zoo remarked.

"Don't even land…fly straight in. When we get to the mortal realm, we can part ways," Malekith instructed.

Shen Zoo said nothing in response as she flew into the northern polar gate. Passing through it was a strange and trippy experience, but after what felt like a minute, the dragon and Malekith burst out of the portal and went back to the mortal realm.

After passing through, they found themselves in an icy glacier surrounded by chaotic corruption. Shen Zoo continued to fly until they were a safe distance away before touching down for a landing after a few minutes. Upon landing, Shen Zoo allowed Malekith to get off. To his confusion, she then transformed back into her humanoid form and collapsed to her knees almost immediately.

"I don't feel so well…I…Male-ki-th," Shen Zoo fell over completely unconscious and Malekith looked at her somewhat baffled.

'Is this some kind of joke?' he thought annoyed. They were finally back on the mortal plane, but for whatever reason Shen Zoo had just fallen unconscious. It was odd to him that she was as powerful as she was but simultaneously seemed fragile and defenseless. He couldn't just leave here in the north pole completely unconscious, even if she was a dragon.

Reaching down, Malekith placed a gauntleted hand over her forehead. Even through his own armor, he could feel heat radiating out from her body. He stared at her as she let out weak and labored breaths and started to shiver. There was no doubt in his mind…she had a fever and a very bad one too.

'I didn't realize she was in this bad of a condition. She really endured a lot of pain to get us back here without any rest. Ughhh…what do I do now?!' the elf thought annoyed.

"DAMN IT!" Malekith growled in frustration as he shook his head and began to pace around.

'I can't stay here…I need to get back to civilization. I can't bring her to Naggaroth though. It's too dangerous for someone like her and the last thing I need is mother sinking her claws into some innocent girl like this. If I leave her here, she'll die or worse…become prey to chaos creatures or northmen. I suppose I have no choice but to start bringing her to Cathay. Hopefully she's well enough to travel on her own before I get all the way there. This can't be happening…Malekith the rescuer of damsels. I can't wait for my public execution in Cathay. Worst case scenario I'll just fight my way out. At least I'm finally out of that gods forsaken hell, and I owe Shen Zoo a lot,' Malekith brooded over his predicament.

With a heavy sigh he hoisted the woman over his back and held on to her right arm with his left as he drew Avanuir and started making the long trek south.

'Which way is Cathay?' he thought curiously as he focused his circlet of iron to see where all the winds of magic were blowing. He could see where a lot of them were converging in the distance which was clearly the direction of Ulthuan's vortex. Using his geographical knowledge, he then began to head in the opposite direction from where the vortex was.

'This is going to be tedious, but compared to daemons, I'll gladly deal with hobgoblins, hung, kurgans, and tong. I can't believe I'm actually going to Cathay. This stupid girl just had to get injured. Well, it will be interesting to see the Great Bastion at least. I wonder how pitiful it will be compared to the northern watchtowers?' the witch king mused.

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Alrighty boys and slaaneshi people, that was the end of chapter 4, and what an uneventful (but informative) chapter it was. Seriously, like three quarters of it is them talking. I apologize for the exposition dump, but I want to get all this out of the way before they start doing stuff. Sorry if that part bored anyone, but I prefer not to offscreen everything, and we needed a brief interlude before the next action chapter. Malekith needs to know all this shit for his trip to Cathay and so do you guys since I'm not sure how many of you actually read my notes at the end. At least I gave you a fight scene at the end. We'll be having plenty of those…especially at the Great Bastion. All I'm going to say is Helm's Deep meets Mulan. The good stuff is coming now that Malekith is back in the mortal realm.

Anyways, I guess I should go into unnecessary and excessive detail about the various conversations our beloved companions had together. We'll start with the most obvious and interesting thing they talked about. Shen Zoo told Malekith about her family and I name dropped all of the dragons. So, you probably recall my last A/N mentioning how we didn't know the names of three of the dragons which were the spirit dragon and the other two. I named the shadow dragon after a Jade Empire character. I know…I'm shameless. I decided to just make it a girl since why not…everyone likes more girls. Plus, I thought the Light and Shadow dragons being twins would be cool and Shen Zoo and Jen Zi do strike me as names twins could have. I imagine they're fraternal.

I made an interesting reference about her though. She went to the peninsula off the Cathayan Coast that is essentially the Warhammer fantasy equivalent of Korea. I thought that was a neat idea for one of the dragon kids to go up there and a good way to build that area of the world into its own distinctive identity separate from Cathay. I named the spirit dragon Xiao Wu after the girl from Soul Land. Obviously, the resemblance isn't quite the same, but that's how I imagine the spirit dragon sort of looks like. I'm not sure if we'll ever get a canonical name or appearance reveal, so until then we're going with my interpretation and if necessary, I'll retcon it later or if you have a better interpretation then let me know. I made her the fourth born since death is often associated with the number 4 in east Asian culture and she is the spirit dragon after all. Also…let me know if you want some fantasy Korea lore in this story. As far as I'm aware, there's not much canonical info on anything up there. You know what I call that?! FREE REAL ESTATE! AND of course, you KNEW Malekith was going to end up in Cathay the moment Shen Zoo suggested it. He's going to have a good time immersing himself in human culture there.

Also, I feel like it's worth mentioning some obscure lore about the Dragon Emperor and Moon Empress that I learned in an interview from the writer Andy Hall. They disappeared for about 400 years in 1980 I.C. and that was when the dragon siblings started breaking off into a civil war over who should be in charge. This time was also heavily influenced by Tzeentch (Chi'an Chi) and specifically the Changeling who turned them against each other. During this dark time, the monkey king took over the kingdom since without their parents to keep them in line, they didn't get along or work together. Shen Zoo mentions that some of her siblings like and hate each other, but she's completely unaware of all the crazy infighting they had while she was gone.

I'm not sure when Shen Zoo officially left and until we get some lore on that, it's up to me to fill in the blanks. Needless to say, she doesn't know shit about the monkey king taking over Cathay. He ruled over Cathay until the Emperor and Empress came back in 2380 or something like that on the imperial calendar. It was the same year the dragons kids united and kicked him back to the mountains of heaven where he and his monkey people are from. The Mountains of Heaven are on the border of Ind and Cathay and are like the Himalayas. Li Dao got his ass kicked by the monkey king and many of his siblings blame him for not securing the southern border. According to the lore, it took Yin-Yin, Li Dao, and Yuan Bo to defeat the monkey king so he's super powerful, but not necessarily evil. In the modern era, they're sort of allied with him, but Li Dao still hates him and begrudgingly has to call on him for help sometimes.

Tzeentch despises the monkey king and has heavily influenced propaganda in Cathay against him. Though the monkey king isn't evil, he does do some weird shit. Fun fact…he promoted a clan eshin skaven to be one of his advisors…which obviously pissed off the dragons but I think it's awesome. During this whole ordeal, Miao Ying ignored the takeover and simply just kept watching the bastion much to the dismay of her siblings. She considered guarding the bastion more important than retaking Wei Jin and knew her parents would come back eventually. Yuan Bo also tried to take charge after their parents left since he is the administrator of Cathay…but all of his siblings think he's a weak politician and nerd. I have no idea what Zhao Ming was doing at this time, but he probably had to keep an eye on the Mountains of Mourn and protect his own provinces.

Now the way I see things (at least in the context of this story's narrative) Shen Zoo left centuries ago and journeyed to Zanbaijin in pursuit of Yien Li, through the chaos wastes, and eventually to Norsca and Kislev. Malekith enters the Realms of chaos in 2302 but Shen Zoo has been gone since before 1980 I.C. So, she'll have probably been gone 600 years or so when she gets back to Cathay in the modern 2500 I.C. timeline. It's possible that the Emperor and Empress went to go look for her, but I honestly have no idea why they left and I'm not so sure GW or CA will give us a reason. They're literally older than Lord Kroak and essentially gods so who knows what they were doing. Shen Zoo remarks that all of her siblings like her, but she doesn't specify which one is her favorite. Based on how she described them, her brothers Zhao Ming and Li Dao are her favorite siblings, and she concerns herself the most with their well-being. Miao Ying really cares about her as well since Shen Zoo is her only sibling that doesn't have any sort of contempt for her and the blatant favoritism she receives from the Emperor. Miao Ying literally describes Shen Zoo as the light that holds their family together…so she's really beloved there. Malekith saving her is going to be a BIG deal to Cathay.

Moving on, let's address the next big, weird thing I did that will doubtlessly leave some confusion. So…it's confirmed that Nagash learned Dhar from the druchii. We know that certain dhar users like Malekith, Morathi, Furion, and Anethra Helbane are all still alive (implying the original dhar users are also immortal through the use of magic). All of them were original members of Malekith's dark cabal of mages. Using logic in reference to the witch elves sustaining their lives with blood magic learned from Morathi, and Neferata creating vampires with a blood elixir improperly copied from Nagash…I'm just saying it makes sense to me that it's somehow connected. It's not canon, so don't go crucifying me for making that connection. Nagash also uses warpstone. Blood magic and Dhar are also used by the Naga of Khuresh according to super obscure lord tidbits and they were around long before the elves…so it's possible Morathi learned it from them.

Supposedly Morathi (the pioneer of Dhar) learns it from Hekartii the Hydra Queen. (Hydras and snakes seem connected). Dhar is a combined wind that crushes magic together chaotically. What it does is it rips all available magic around and creates a twisted amalgamation of the winds. It's referenced a lot as being black magic but it is all encompassing when describing stuff like necromancy, chaos magic, and even warpstone magic. Humans can learn Dhar and there are many variations of it since it's just the reckless use of multiple winds together. The type Malekith and Morathi use and the one I'm referring to when I mention Dhar in this story is called True Dhar which completely combines all eight magical winds into one swirling mixture. It also taps into the Aethyr as well allowing one to manifest magic in the absence of winds (this makes it very chaos like since this can open portals to the realms of chaos). True Dhar is super dangerous, and it requires one to be a megalomaniac with absurd willpower, borderline insanity, and dark emotions to actually use. People that know True Dhar are characters like Malekith, Morathi, Nagash, and Ariel. The first three are literally crazy and Ariel is a demigoddess who is also possibly crazy. Malekith and Ariel (presumably Morathi as well) can also use Qhaysh which requires a tranquil, focused, and patient mind to use which is the complete opposite of the dark emotions required for Dhar. I see this in a particular way. For those that know Avatar the last airbender, Princess Azula could use lightning (which required a tranquil mind) and firebending which required extreme emotions because she was crazy and could separate those emotions and still be patient and balanced. I see Malekith very much the same way. He's always pissed off, but he's extremely mentally disciplined and willful unlike most druchii.

Think of Qhaysh (high magic) like a rainbow that harmonizes the colors together and Dhar being a mixture of every color of paint (which makes black). Dhar permanently damages magic and the world when it's used. Now vampire magic and necromancy is a type of Dhar magic…so it's obviously one of the most powerful. Malekith and most dark elf magic users don't take the undead very seriously (except for Nagash himself) because they are dhar users too and they consider necromancy to be a cheap mockery and imitation of their magic.

Now as far as the blood cauldrons are concerned…I know they are connected to Khaine, but I believe that the process of using them is different than what Morathi did to make herself immortal. It just seems interesting to me how this stuff could be connected so I decided to go with it. I believe Nagash (at least in this story's narrative) learned this blood ritual of immortality from dhar mages that were originally part of Malekith and Morathi's cabal and it's where he got his blood elixir idea from. I think he obviously modified it a bit or didn't get the entirety of its design from the dark elves and that King Lamashizzar and Neferata's flawed blood elixir created vampires since that one was different than the one Nagash used. (Insert conspiracy theory meme with me hunched over sweating). I really do get into the weeds with the lore, but I want to justify and elaborate on this stuff so you guys can understand where I'm coming from and my justifications for everything.

All of that stuff isn't really important though except to affirm that Malekith will be making vampire friends whether he wants to or not in this story. The real question though…is it going to be a Lahmian, a Jade-blooded, a Von Carstein, or a blood knight? He will cross paths with Nagash eventually. Trust me guys…I'm turning this plot up to 11 once Malekith gets back to Naggaroth. Shit is going to go down.

Somehow, I find it kind of funny how Malekith is making unusual allies in this story. It's probably going to get to the point where most of the elves will hate him, but he's liked by a lot of other factions. The biggest irony would be humans seeing him as a hero and elves being pissed about it. It will also open the door for future Malekith and Teclis interactions since they will both be the most proactive in elven diplomacy. Well…with that said since Malekith is going to Cathay and that means he has to go through the Great Bastion. Perhaps he'll get to meet everyone's favorite dragon waifu Miao Ying. Trust me when I say that him rolling up on the Bastion is going to be extremely fun and exciting for me to write.

A very peculiar thing I referenced in this chapter was Kairos calling the puzzle box of Xholankha an octahedron. That's just the shape it is since it's not really a box. He did tell them though that it was a webway generator. Now…I know most people don't reveal what the mcguffin is this early if at all, but I have some fun plans for the puzzle box. Malekith will be using this thing throughout the story and could possibly learn secrets and acquire power in the process. For anyone that knows Warhammer 40k, you know what the webway is and you know what a webway generator is for. Now GW has gone through extensive pains to insist that the WH Fantasy and 40k are not connected in any way, but I find that odd since they have all these easter eggs that elude to it in some form. Examples include the Skaven fucking around with lizardmen devices and hearing elven (Eldar) languages respond on the comms. Things such as the Chainsword existing in universe…which is a 40k weapon. There are other examples, but I digress. Let me emphasize that I don't believe the two universes are directly connected. I do think there is some inherit connection though through the warp. Fret not…I don't intend on making this a crossover or destroying the Warhammer fantasy lore by making it some irrelevant part of the bigger 40k galaxy. Just think of it as some bigger existential thing that we and the characters will never truly understand but can allow for some 40k things to be in the universe. Malekith will gain an eldar boon from this puzzle box at some point. Something you might not expect but will be awesome. Don't worry…it won't be crazy OP, just useful and unique for his world saving mission.

With that said, let's focus back on the plot. Poor Oxyotl got separated from the crew thanks to Kairos and his bullshit shenanigans. Although if you pay attention to what Kairos was saying, you may find yourself asking…why did he tell Malekith where the keys were? The witch king believes Oxyotl gave him the puzzle box before luring off Kairos, but was it in fact the daemon himself? As you've probably realized already, Kairos wants Malekith to gather the keys for him. He also focused on injuring Shen Zoo so Malekith would have to take her back to Cathay. Kairos will be a main character in this story, so expect to see him again. What's he up to you might wonder? Well, let's just say he's not on the Archaon bandwagon.

So, knowing where the keys are, you can expect a future run in with Nakai in Khuresh, a fun little trip to Kislev to meet the Ice Court and the Empire, and an eventual reunification with Oxyotl in the future. Both of them still have a bracer of Xholankha which will allow for them to communicate and regroup in the big scary world. Something else you may have noticed about all of this is that this narrative kind of explains why they're in their various Immortal Empires start positions. Honestly, I didn't even realize that until after I had written most of this chapter…so it's kind of a neat little description of why Kairos and Oxyotl are in the southern chaos wastes and why Nakai was in southern Cathay. It wasn't intentional but purely coincidental at first.

All of that important stuff aside, we also got a nice long back and forth between Malekith and Shen Zoo as the witch king explained his past and what he wants to do when he gets back home. Ironically enough, Malekith is saner than he's been in millennia and the druchii and Asur are going to think he's gone batshit crazy when he gets back there and starts talking about ending slavery and not warring with Ulthuan anymore. They'll also find his 'friendship' and allegiance with other species to be bizarre. I can't wait to write that shit out.

The final thing I wanted to mention was Malekith has a very high interest in figuring out how to give his dragon a humanoid form. After his Cathay excursions, he might even rival Imrik's dragon whisperer abilities. Will he be able to give Seraphon a humanoid form? Will Imrik be jealous of Malekith meeting the Cathayan dragons? These are the things you'll have to keep reading to find out.

There's a lot more I could drone on about, but I've already written a damn essay down here. Those are the main points I wanted to cover. Feel free to PM me if you want more insight. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I hope you're excited for Malekith and Shen Zoo's fun little trip through the Eastern Steppes next chapter.