I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter and World of Warcraft, all rights belongs to their rightful owners.
Hello everyone! Back for another chapter!
I re-did the last chapter a little while ago but I'm not sure if it sent any notification about it. Go check it out and tell me if its better, many of you pointed out many flaws last time and I hope that this rewrite solved most of them. The main one was the corruption of Amaria, this is what I essentially rewrote, making it a bit harsher than it was and hopefully a bit better.
I took a more head-on approach this time so tell me if its better. At least it should be, its less like it just happened and Amaria got corrupted.
Now, I can't promise the same publishing schedule as before, but don't worry, for the story will still be updated whenever it can be.
Thanks a lot for all the reviews, I keep reading every single one of them and try to take in account all of them. Just want to add that I can't make some of the changes suggested, either because it wouldn't fit the story or because I haven't found a way to incorporate them yet.
For all of those that commented about the grammar, pacing, repetition and so on, thanks a lot too. I know its far from perfect and I try to re-read, correct and learn as much as possible to make the story better. I'm still going back to the previous chapters and I am looking for mistakes, corrections and things that don't make sense so I will update them at some point, though it will probably be once the story is over.
Please comment/review.
Thank you for your patience and good reading.
For some reason, my eyes were focused forward. Nothing that existed in this moment could have distracted me from going to Stormwind, with perhaps the exception of Mightion, but I was doing this for him.
My wings were beating quickly as I passed above the Burning Steppes and Blackrock Mountain, which actually attracted my eyes for a few seconds. I had already decided to make it my new home but now it could be mine and Mightion's, a safe place where we could be together for all of eternity.
'Focus. Get the Shard of Light.' Reminded me the master's voice in the back of my mind.
My head snapped forward as all my thoughts were being replaced with the mission I had. Getting the staff was the priority, anything else didn't mattered.
It took a small hour for me to reach Stormwind, in the early hours of the day as the sun was barely raised in all its glory. Yet my eyes remained fixed on the Alliance's capital and more especially on the large castle, the place that was holding the only solution I had to save Mightion. It was an affront that couldn't stand.
Diving straight toward the courtyard, I passed above the high towers and walls as shouts erupted all around, with dozens of soldiers rushing around just as I landed in front of the gates. They were trying to distract me, shouting words that I could barely hear and standing between me and my prize. Yet I had to turn back into a human, I wasn't strong enough to demolish the castle nor would I fit inside its corridors as a dragon. Plus, there was the risk of burying the staff if I started to destroy everything in my way.
Adopting my human disguise, I looked at the many soldiers standing ten meters away from me as well as Genn Greymane, staring at me warily. He was an obstacle.
"Lady Amaria, what brings you here?" He asked curtly.
I barely heard him, like if there was a fog in my ears muting the world around me, but I still looked at him, or rather toward him, behind his shoulders and starting at the gates.
"Shard of Light." I replied blankly, empty of any emotion as if my focus on the staff grew even stronger.
"You can't just come here and-" He started.
'The old wolf obeys the boy-king, press forward.' Told me the master.
I raised my hand and summoned my magic, creating a wave of flame in front of me that forced all the soldiers to take a step back and Genn to transform into a worgen to jump away, barely escaping as his fur gained a few burned marks. Landing a few more meters away, he and all the soldiers around pointed their weapons at me as far more shouts erupted all around me. Not that I cared.
"What are you doing?!" He growled and snarled.
"Out of my way." I said before unleashing all the spells in my arsenal.
Fireballs were short from my right hand as I used the left one to cast a shield around me, protecting me from all the soldiers trying to get at me as well as the many projectiles sent at me. A few spell-casters tried to stop me, but I focused my attacks on them first, making sure that they wouldn't stop me as I started to ascend the stairs toward the castle.
"What are you waiting for?! Stop her!" Bellowed Genn as more spells were shot at me.
Most of them were simply blocked by the shield but a few did had some effects, like slowing me down or creating an ice wall in front of the gates. I merely gathered a large fireball in my hand and threw it at the wall, destroying it as shards of ice flew around me.
'Don't stop. Find the vault.' Reminded me the master.
"The vault." I said aloud as I entered the castle. "Fiendfyre." I casted, bathing everything around me in flames.
'Nothing must stop you.'
I didn't noticed but flames erupted around me, devouring my dress as it was slowly replaced with an armour that protected almost my entire body except my head. It was dark iron, carved with many runes that glowed an eerie orange and deep purple with dragon parts forged a bit everywhere. Heavy plates covered my chest, stomach and legs, the same for the hands and feet with chain mail in between.
A dragon head made out of flames appeared behind me, dashing to the entrance of the castle and darkening the stones in its way. It stopped there, a true wall of living flames that made sure that no reinforcements would come in from outside. A few soldiers rushed in and were severely burned as the living flame attacked them, biting those close enough and roaring fire on the mages trying to put it down. I didn't listened to the cries of pain, the shouts and the panic spreading outside, I had more important things to do.
One foot after the other, still casting spells without any care of my magic reserves or about those at the receiving end of it, I kept going. I only stopped when I reached the throne room, filled with soldiers but without any sign of Anduin. Not knowing where to go from there, I summoned a wall of flames behind me to make sure that no one from the outside would interfere.
"Where is the royal vault?" I asked, not realising that my voice had gained a darker and deeper tone and that my eyes were turning a deep shade of purple.
"Charge!" Yelled one soldier.
They all did just that, trying to kill me only to be stopped by my magic shield and forced to take cover behind their own shields when I unleashed my flames on them. In barely half a minute, a couple of guards were already down, severely burned or knocked out after having been hurled through the room. One got close enough for me to grab him by the wrist and threw him behind me, right in the wall of fire. They were like a swarm of flies, very annoying and distracting but incapable of harm.
Stopping for a moment to cast fireballs, I lifted one downed woman with telekinesis and brought her through my shield. She tried to slash me with her sword even if she was in mid-air, but I used my inhuman strength to catch the blade, snatching her sword from her before throwing it away. Before she was even able to react, I stretched out my armoured right hand and caught her by the neck.
Gasping, slowly being lifted up in the air as I increased the pressure around her neck, there was nothing she could do to escape. Her struggles were strong but pointless, clawing at my hand, trying to punch me, even the kicks in my stomach did not phased me.
"Tell me where the royal vault is." I asked, making sure to crush her windpipe a little bit more.
"Ah! I- I'll never! Tell!" She replied between gasps, incapable to breathe.
'Burn.' Commanded me the master.
"You will. Fiendfyre." I said just as my hand around her neck started to glow, turning hotter and hotter each passing second as flames started to lick the soldier's neck.
Despite lacking in oxygen, her scream of absolute pain was barely registered to me as I watched the skin around her neck start to run a brilliant red, covered with blisters and burning away slowly. I forcefully controlled the spell to not kill her, needing the information and making sure that it was as painful as possible. For some reason I felt that it should have disturbed me but found myself incapable to be so. Outside of my shield, the other soldiers were doing their best to save their sister-in-arms from the horrible torture, their swords crashing down on the magic barrier without piercing it, and a few of them stood horrified at what was happening and completely helpless.
"I'll talk! Ahh! B-by the light, I'll talk!" Finally surrendered the woman, sweating and panting hard. I had no time for her, Mightion and the master were waiting.
Stopping the flow of fire running around her neck, I unleashed my grip slightly but kept her in the air.
"Talk!" I ordered.
"Right corridor... straight ahead and... last door on the left." She said between a few pained breathes.
Casting her aside, letting her tumble to the ground and not caring for her pain in the least, I turned to the right. There must have been twenty soldiers still able to fight around me by now, but they would not stop me, not so close from my objective. I started to make my way to the corridor, pushing away the soldiers before me with flames.
'You are close.' Assured me the master.
I had barely entered the corridor that something heavy stroke me in the back, breaking my shield and hitting my shoulders harshly. The shock sent me flying forward and I tumbled to the ground two meters away.
Cheers erupted behind me, and I stood up instantly, briefly holding my right shoulder that was a bit sore, the armoured shoulder pad broken from the impact. Genn was standing right there, his coat and fur almost entirely singed and the large arm of a statue in his massive claws. That was certainly good enough to break through my shield and I was glaring at him, he who choose to stand again in my way with a fierce look on his face.
"Don't stand up again Amaria." He warned me.
"Out of my way! He needs me!" I yelled in reply, jets of flames coming out of my hands.
Aiming at him, the old worgen had no choice but to duck and cover behind a wall. I kept showering them with fire as I walked backward until I reached the last door of the corridor. Trying to open it was for naught, locked by a large lock and barely bulging when I pressed on it. Keeping my fire strong with my left hand, I used the right one to summon a ball of magma on the lock, slowly melting it.
"Amaria!" Came a shout from the throne room.
I turned away for a second, looking at Anduin standing just out of reach of the flames, staring at me with both concern and disbelief on his face.
"Stand down Amaria! I'm sure we can talk this out!" He called out.
"Don't try to stop me Anduin! Mightion needs me!" I shouted back.
"I don't know what troubles you, but this is not the right way!" Anduin replied.
Talking had been a good enough distraction, with me not having casted my shield spell again, for a few archers to fire at me. A couple of arrows landed right next to me, one bounced on my left greave but a last one aimed true. I shrieked as the hand I was using to cast fire at them was struck, the arrowhead having pierced my palm as I staggered backward in pain. The blood was flowing out strongly, quickly covering all of my forearm as I clutched my teeth long enough to break the arrow and pull it out. There was hole in my hand.
'Don't listen to the boy-king, ignore the pain, the staff is in your reach.' Strongly said the voice of the master.
Clutching my wounded hand briefly, I poured more power in my flames, watching Anduin and his men walk back in cover as the lock on the door melted. Pulling back my good arm, I punched the door open and sent a last wave of flame toward those who tried to get in my way before running straight in the path that was going down in the earth.
It barely took me half a minute for me to reach the royal vault, but it wasn't what I was expecting. First I had to break a second door, which didn't stopped me for more than five seconds, and then the sight of a room filled with a dozen of chest and pedestals stopped me from going forward.
There was quite a lot of objects in here, varying from beautiful sculptures, precious jewels or armours and weapons more or less used but all of it obviously stored with great respect.
But there was no staff in sight.
'The chests! In the back of the room!' Urged me the master.
Frantically running forward, I pushed aside anything that wasn't a staff and started to rampage through the chests without success, sending them toward the door every time as despair started to grow in me. My left hand was throbbing in pain, leaving bloody hand marks on every chest I opened, slowing me down enough as the muscles inside could barely move.
'Focus. Keep searching!'
I did just that, opening the next chest when I heard the ruckus of many men rushing down the stairs. Before they could bother me any further, I gathered a large amount of lava in my right hand and sealed the entrance with a wall far too hot to be crossed and hardening quickly.
"Amaria!" Shouted Anduin from the other side, his voice muffled.
Not caring about him, I returned to the chests. I opened one, and another, and another, only to find useless trinkets and gold.
"Where is it?!" I raged, taking hold of another chest.
A loud shock echoed in the room and I looked at the door, hearing another boom as I realised that they were trying to break down the wall. I crushed the chest before me, letting its content roll on the ground as I noticed a series of longer and flatter chests just a meter away, looking more like large cases.
Grabbing the first one, I opened it to find a staff but this one clearly had no magic in it. Throwing it away, just as another boom echoed in the room, I reached for the next case and found a second staff. This one was magical, and I grabbed it for a second.
'No.' Told me the master.
Casting the staff aside, I opened a third box and found a long, thin staff. The tip of it was a series of golden pieces levitating together, emitting a low glow of light with the main part of the staff was made of a very precisely carved wood. Its mere presence was enough to calm me, like if a veil had been put over my mind.
'This is the Shard of Light. Take it!'
Reaching for it, my eyes stuck on its beauty and the meaning of finally have a way to save Mightion, I could barely believe that I had it. A strong feeling of peace and calm taking over me as I tightened my grip on it. I didn't realised that for a few seconds, the purple in my eyes left. With this, Mightion would be saved. He could be cured from the corruption of the old gods.
"Corruption?" I said slowly, realising for a moment that something was wrong.
I did not noticed the growing chill in the vault until it was too late.
A cold wave of air busted into the room; the wall of hardened lava reduced to pieces as the room was stormed with soldiers. I barely got the time to grab the staff that something hit me in the back again. Yet this time it was something incredibly cold, freezing me to the bone. Rolling away in pain, I looked up to see several people in the entrance of the vault.
First of all was Jaina, that annoying mage that already made a very poor impression on me last time and back again to stop me. Next to her stood both Anduin and Genn, respectively looking concerned and furious.
"Surrender Amaria!" Shouted Jaina.
"You don't understand! I'm trying to save him!" I snarled as I stood up, small pieces of ice falling from my left shoulder. At this point my whole left arm felt dead, dangling in the air as I couldn't move it anymore, blood falling from my fingers quickly.
"What happened to you Amaria? I thought you didn't wanted to harm anyone!" Said Anduin.
"This isn't about me!" I replied, thinking about how I could bring the staff back to Mightion.
'No. This is futile.'
"What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly very unsure and feeling a wave of calm coming from the staff.
'Break the staff.'
What? What did the master meant by 'break the staff'? It couldn't be right.
"W-What? But what about Mightion? He needs it." I said, my voice faltering slightly.
"Amaria? Who are you talking to?" Asked Anduin with worry, like a few other in the room that had a bad feeling about this.
'You and him shall be together for eternity one way or another. You already belong to me, break the staff and Mightion shall join you. Join me.' Told me the master.
"Break it? This- this isn't how- it shouldn't…" I said, my eyes running frantically between the staff and my right hand, the iris of my eyes switching to their usual red to purple back and forth.
A sudden rush of new footsteps came from the corridor and a few seconds later a familiar figure entered, a High-Elf with golden hairs and wearing beautiful blue clothes and armour. She was slightly out of breath and barely looked around the room before her eyes fell on me, with so much fear and concern in them that I faltered a bit in my resolve.
"Amaria!" Shouted Tyrygosa.
"Tyri?" I replied uncertain, raising my eyes from the staff for a few seconds.
She exhaled loudly in relief, yet instantly focused back on me.
"I know what plagues you Amaria. Don't listen to the whispers! The old gods are trying to manipulate you!" She called to me strongly.
'Don't listen to her! Break the staff and you shall be with Mightion forever!' Shouted the master, a sensation of power and weightlessness overwhelming me.
"There are no whispers anymore. Only the master's voice." I said as my emotions were suddenly dulled, my eyes turning purple again.
Grabbing the staff tighter with my right hand, I started to gather power to destroy it, a red glow growing around it.
"Amaria, please! Don't do this." Pleaded Tyri. "I- you've become one of my only friends! I don't want to lose you. Think about Alexstrasza, about me, about your mate. You will lose all of us if you do this."
"Lose? No- no the master said-" I stopped startled.
'Obey! Break the staff!' Commanded me the master.
"He lies! Don't listen to him. Trust me, you will lose us all if you follow the old gods." She said, walking past Jaina and coming closer.
Was she right? Would I be losing them all? Breaking the staff would give me Mightion. But it wasn't Mightion? I wouldn't be him. He wouldn't be with me. It would be both of us as servant of the old gods. Without mother, without Tyri or anyone else.
'BREAK THE STAFF!' Boomed the master's voice.
Breaking the staff. It wasn't what I was supposed to do. I should have brought it back to Wrathion, to save Mightion. But destroying it could also give me Mightion, he would join me.
"Amaria, please. Let go of the staff. We can make everything better. I swear it." Tyri said, right in front of me and talking with a great deal of softness in her voice. "You just need to let go of the staff."
Could it be that easy? Just dropping the staff and it would be alright? I looked up in Tyri's eyes as she reached for the staff, her hands barely a few centimetres away.
'If you let got of the staff, Mightion will die.' Warned me the master.
Just as Tyri's hands were about to grab the staff, I pulled it back closer to me, taking a step backward.
"No. I- I can't allow this. He can't die! If- if I drop it he'll die!" I blurted out.
"No, he won't." Assured me Tyri absolutely certain of herself, locking her eyes into mine.
I froze, feeling the sincerity and truth in her words. Tyri wasn't lying to me. She was not trying to tell me something to make me feel better. She was giving me facts, pure and unaltered truth. It would be alright.
She got closer and placed a hand on the staff, then the second one, smiling at me all along as I felt the power of the staff over me grow stronger.
'You are MINE!' Bellowed the master's voice.
A pain that reminded me of the one I had in my scar back when Voldemort was trying to corrupt me exploded in my head. It was a hundred times more violent, far stronger that it suppressed any thought I had.
I cried in absolute pain, bringing my hands to my head before a heavy curtain of darkness fell upon me, all sensations leaving my body as I lost consciousness.
All the treasures present in the room were sent flying away as an explosion destroyed almost everything inside. The walls and the ceiling came down on everyone and, if it weren't for Jaina's quick reflexes, they would have been buried alive.
Only two weren't taken out with her as she, Anduin, Genn, and the soldiers appeared in the courtyard. For no dragon could be teleported by mortals.
Where the vault was, only rumbles remained as a part of the castle fell down on itself. Cries of surprise and fear echoed through the city as all the civilians and servants rushed outside the castle, leaving the space for the soldiers to gather. A large fire was already devouring the castle as a few people had formed a chain, carrying buckets of water in a vain attempt to stop the fire. A couple of mages were helping by casting water spells everywhere, also summoning water elementals to contain the flames.
A bellow of pain boomed from the castle, putting everyone on guard and briefly stopping those fighting the fire, before it morphed into one cry of agony and then rage. A fury that was rarely seen on this world.
Stones and roof tiles suddenly flew everywhere as a large blue dragon came out of the destroyed vault, growling in pain briefly before flying back toward them. Morphing back into a high elf right as she touched the ground, Tyri landed without any grace as she held in one hand the Shard of Light thankfully intact and using her other hand to hold on to her ribs. Her mortal disguise couldn't hide the many bruises she had a bit everywhere and the few holes in her armour.
"Tyrygosa!" Called Jaina, coming close to the wounded Blue.
"I'm fine, it's nothing serious. Have you seen Amaria?" Asked Tyrygosa.
"No. What happened there? What is this staff?"
"The Shard of Light. It belonged to my great-great-grandfather." Said Anduin as he walked next to them, keeping a sad eye on the burning castle.
"We came thanks to a message came from the Black Prince. He said that the old gods had corrupted Amaria. As soon as I learned, I understood why she was acting so weirdly earlier. I opened a portal and came here as fast as I could. Alexstrasza had something to do but followed me soon after, she should be here shortly." Explained Tyrygosa.
"The old gods… N'zoth." Whispered Anduin, frowning at the revelation.
"Yes."
"And Amaria?" Asked Jaina.
"She's alive but I fear that the old gods have-" Tyrygosa started.
A new roar of rage came out from the rubbles, this time followed by a shower of stones. All eyes converged on the castle as a large black wing pierced the ruins, soon followed by a second one and then a spiked tail.
"Stand your ground!" Shouted Genn, reorganising the men.
"Can she be saved?" Asked Anduin, looking at Amaria as her head came out of the rubbles.
"Perhaps. This staff is supposed to clear one's mind, it could be used to save her." Replied Tyrygosa.
Bellowing strongly, Amaria finally got out of the rubbles, roaring in anger and pain. It was obvious that she didn't escaped the explosion, several of her scales lacking and blood pouring out of a few wounds all over her body. Her left forearm almost completely limp as the hole inside was clearly visible. Yet she was standing taller than before, her body infused with the power of the old gods that pushed her to the maximum of her limits.
As soon as her eyes fell on the courtyard, she growled before attacking. It was clear that to all that there was no reason behind the fiery eyes of the black dragon, only a deep anger and taste for blood. Spreading her wings wide, she jumped while taking a deep breath as an orange glow grew in her mouth.
"I'll hold her down! Use the staff!" Shouted Tyrygosa.
She threw the staff at Anduin who barely caught it, jumping in the air, surrounded by smoke and a few blue sparks as she turned back in a dragon.
The two colossus met halfway in the air, roaring at each other as they fell back to the ground, crushing the statue in the middle of the courtyard at the same time. Tyrygosa was still bigger than Amaria, but the black dragon had the advantage of having jumped from higher, falling down on Tyrygosa as the two of them hit the ground.
All the soldiers around ran away, completely useless in this fight unless they wanted to be crushed. Biting down on Amaria's neck, Tyrygosa stopped her from breathing fire at her at the cost of her back and wings being crushed under both of their weight. They wrested for a few seconds, crushing everything around them, each trying to gain the upper hand on the other without success.
A large flying ice shard suddenly came from the side and pierced Amaria's left shoulder, distracting her shortly as more blood flowed on the ground, barely giving more than a glance at Jaina before focusing again on Tyrygosa.
Growling in pain, Amaria clawed at the blue dragon beneath her in an attempt to free her neck. Even Tyrygosa's scales couldn't protect her from Amaria's claws, and she had to move back, being into a disadvantageous position. Pushing back the smaller dragon, Tyrygosa used the moment to stand back up and snarled at Amaria.
Both of them were facing each other, standing still for a few seconds before Amaria charged forward, limping quite a lot. Roaring, she aimed at the back of Tyrygosa's neck, in an attempt to earn a quick victory.
Yet, Amaria, even in her frenzied state that forced her to ignore her wounds, was not only smaller than Tyrygosa but also far less experienced. Ducking to the right, the blue dragon aimed right where Jaina's ice spear was still lodged and bit down right there. Bawling in pain, Amaria tried to bite back but Tyrygosa already moved away, turning around with her teeth still sunk in Amaria's shoulder.
"Hold on!" Shouted Jaina.
A cone of frost spread at Amaria's feet, freezing in a large ice block her two back legs and a large part of her tail. At least partly immobilised, Amaria couldn't do much more than try to claw and bite Tyrygosa who always managed to stay out of reach, slowing down as her already weakened strength started to fail her.
Twisting to the left, Amaria was trying to pull herself free from Tyrygosa's bite, only to offer the rest of her body to Jaina's magic. Barely three seconds later, another frost wave caught Amaria's right forearm, reducing her mobility to almost nothing.
Taking everyone by surprise, Amaria opened her mouth and blew a stream of fire in front of her. She wasn't aiming at Tyrygosa this time. The flames travelled through the air for a few seconds before hitting Anduin directly, the young man having started to run toward Amaria with the staff.
Many held their breath as the fire exploded on the king.
"Anduin!" Shouted Jaina.
Fire blew around Anduin for a couple of seconds before dissipating, leaving a darkened ground and a completely unscratched Anduin who had his arms in front of his face, eyes wide open as even he didn't seemed to believe what just happened.
Before anyone was able to say anything, another wave of frost hit Amaria and froze her snout shut. Jaina sighed briefly, happy that Anduin was fine and that Amaria wouldn't be able to take them by surprise like this again.
Assured of Amaria's restricted movement, Tyrygosa let go of the shoulder in her teeth as litres of blood flown down from the deep wounds. While it saddened her to come to such extremes, Tyrygosa knew that there was no half measure against the old gods. Mindful of Amaria who was still trying to get free, she got slightly more to the right before jumping on the black dragon's neck, using her claws to force Amaria to the ground, barely struggling to keep her frozen body in place.
"Anduin! Use the staff!" Called Jaina just as she sent another ice spell right on Amaria's body, reinforcing the ice prison.
Having waited for the opportunity, Anduin rushed around the two dragons until he was behind Amaria's head. He looked at the staff for a few seconds, feeling the power of the light imbued inside, trying to call on its power.
"How am I supposed to use it?" Anduin replied.
"Just like a healing spell! Focus on the will to heal and the staff should do the rest!" Replied Tyrygosa, using her own weight to keep Amaria on the ground.
Looking at the corrupted dragon, Anduin focused on the power that ran through the staff, letting it fill his mind and appease his own thoughts before he got right next to Amaria. Taking the staff in his two hands, he closed his eyes as the golden shards at the top of the staff started to glow stronger, soon turning into an almost blinding light.
Only wishing for Amaria's salvation, he planted the staff in the ground. The golden glow that had been growing suddenly exploded, spreading in all directions before tendrils of light appeared and started to surround Amaria's body.
The downed dragon let out a pained growl as the light engulfed her entirely. Quickly, the light started to fuse in Amaria, absorbed in her as her struggles suddenly calmed down. Her eyes, that had been frantically looking around in a desire of ultimate violence since her corruption, froze. Her eyelids slowly closed right as her body shrunk down back to her normal size, eliminating all traces of the old gods' corruption, and closing all but the biggest wounds to replace them with many scars.
Ultimately coming to a complete rest, Amaria stood half frozen in ice as Tyrygosa rose, stepping aside the black dragon with a sorrowful look on her face.
"It is done. We won't know if she's alright until she wakes, but there's nothing else we can do for now." Said Tyrygosa staying in her dragon form.
Joining Anduin's side, Jaina and Genn looked at the resting dragon. A wave of Jaina's hand banished all the ice away, letting Amaria fall on her left side, almost perfectly immobile if not for the slow rising of her chest.
"Back in the vault." Started Anduin solemnly. "You and Amaria talked about another dragon."
"Mightion. I learned about him yesterday. He too is falling to the old gods corruption; Amaria was trying to save him." Replied Tyrygosa.
"And yet she was the one to fall first." Noted Jaina.
"I believe that in her fear of losing him, Amaria only made a bigger prey of herself for the old gods. She is too young, too unprepared to face them. As soon as their whispers caught her, they played on her feelings, toyed with her despair, and lied to turn her against us and herself. Perhaps even sooner than that, it was a massive mistake on our part. We assumed that since she was uncorrupted, she wouldn't fall easily to the corruption. But maybe she became an even easier target, unprepared and undefended." Tyrygosa explained sadly, realising the weight behind her own words and pained that she hadn't realised such a possibility.
"Anduin? How did you survive her flames?" Asked Jaina turning toward the young king.
"Believe it or not but I'm alive thanks to Amaria's gift." He said grabbing a small bracelet on his arm. "She enchanted this to protect me from dragon fire as a show of good faith. Back then I thought that it was a nice gesture, I didn't really expected it to save me from her."
They all looked at the bracelet, realising the sheer luck that had saved Anduin. Had he not choose to wear the bracelet, they were certain that the Alliance would have needed a new king.
All of them then looked at Amaria, with more or less regretful expressions, each thinking about how all of them had already tried in the past to save some of their loves ones. Or how the influence of the old gods and N'Zoth in particular kept making their life worse. But their silent thoughts got interrupted by the sound of massive wings coming closer, enough for them to figure out the direction from which it was coming. Looking higher, toward the mountain that towered behind the castle, they all saw a massive red dragon flying down quickly.
Barely ten seconds later, Alexstrasza was transforming into her elven form. She gave barely more than a glance toward Tyrygosa and the humans, her eyes focused on her daughter's sleeping form.
"My daughter. I'm sorry for being too late." She said, placing her hands on Amaria's snout before hugging her larger frame as a tear rolled on her cheek.
"My Queen, she is going to recover." Calmly comforted her Tyrygosa.
"I know. But after all these millennia, I thought I would be able to recognise the signs of corruption that afflicted her." Mourned the Queen. "Yet not only did I not see, but we were too late to stop her."
"If its of any consolation, neither did I. But she is safe now, hopefully out of danger from N'Zoth for good." Added Tyrygosa.
A few moments of silence passed, with Alexstrasza gently petting Amaria's cheek and sending small waves of red magic through her hands. While she wasn't capable of using the same healing magic as priests, Alexstrasza was the Queen of Life; her powers were far more powerful in the regard of curing life. And right now, she was doing her best to help her daughter to recover faster, focusing on the left forearm's shoulder and claws, where the wounds were the deepest.
The others merely stood aside, watching the display of affection and magic as the many people behind still fought the fire, slowly managing to contain it.
"Shouldn't she be waking up already? The Shard of Light healed her wounds." Noted Anduin.
"While her wounds are no more than scars, the corruption has depleted her strengths. But you are right. She needs to wake up now, she knows where Mightion is, and he still needs our help before it's too late." Explained Alexstrasza.
A red glow appeared on Alexstrasza's hands and engulfed all of Amaria's body, beating like a heart for a couple of seconds before dissipating. Taking a step back, Alexstrasza looked in anticipation at Amaria's eyes, waiting for her to wake up.
Several insufferably long seconds passed, with more and more people gathering outside the castle as word of what happened started to spread through the city. Yet it didn't took long for what they were all waiting for to happen, Alexstrasza more than anyone else.
Very slowly, barely a flutter at first, Amaria opened an eye.