' = Internal dialogue

ยจ= Normal speech

* = Sounds / Etc

-Chapter 27 Start-

After giving my introductions to Jaina, we packed up whatever we needed, we had no horse or anything to use as a pack mule, so I became one briefly until I decided to test out my new ability, namely portals with Warp.

So I closed my eyes briefly to see the space around me and then willed a small opening before us as a sound like shattered glass was heard. A pocket-sized hole in front of us started getting distorted until a purple sphere began forming in the air. I focused on an area outside our gates in Azshara, then a clear view mirrored the sight of a gate within the purple sphere and widened enough for us to pass through.

Jaina froze, looking right at the sphere in front of us, Calia just shook her head, and Valeera charged through the portal happily without even waiting for my signal. I just sighed and nodded toward Calia as she went through the portal.

Jaina stood there looking at the portal like it was the greatest mystery she had ever seen and weakly muttered, "But... there's no mana supporting its structure... How is this possible?"

'It seems like our portal differs huh? That's odd.'

I grabbed her hand and led us both through the purple portal. After a brief moment of disorientation, we both appeared on the other side of the portal as it closed behind us as the purple sphere cracked. Then a sound of glass breaking was heard again as the sphere slowly winked out of existence.

She then turns to me and says, "You have to teach me how to do that! You actually supported your portal without mana! How!? My portals or teleports drain me to the point of exhaustion if I have to do it more than twice!" I could swear I saw stars in her eyes briefly, "I didn't. It's just another type of portal I guess? I can't use it more than once a day, though."

Then I let go of her hand, which she still hadn't realized she didn't let go after I took hers when we traveled through the portal.

I turn to see Calia smirk at me, then quickly turn her head away and towards the town's gateway.

Where we were met by the same dwarf guard as always, standing on top of the gate shouting down at us, "Oy', who goes there!" This time I could understand him not recognizing me but not seeing Calia or Valeera walking in front of me? The dwarf certainly was a good guard, but he really sucked at remembering figures of importance.

Calia sighed and responded to the guard while I was shaking my head. Jaina was looking at the gate curiously as she noticed a few small green rocks on the outer layer of the wall.

Jaina and Calia walked with us until we reached my... Tower... No, I couldn't call it a tower yet. It only had three floors, meaning it was around ten meters tall. Still, if its actual height had come to light, then it would have been quite the sight because when we got close, one of the dwarves I had given access to build inside informed me that I now had a basement. There was one more floor which he said had a surprise, and he had moved the incubator down to the basement.

Jaina had wanted to come with Valeera and me when we parted ways with Calia as she was dragged away. The reason for this was the ambient mana around my...building? Yes, building.

The first thing Valeera did when we got inside was rush to her room, get some swimwear, rush up the stairs, and promptly jump into the pre-heated bath that the dwarf which had access to my... building had prepared.

'Now, when I think about it, isn't that dwarf just a glorified butler at this point? Naaah...'

When Valeera went upstairs for a bath, I felt something was off and went toward a cupboard where I felt the feeling of wrongness emanate from.

I had stored three glowing runeblades inside, and my face went serious for a moment as I realized.

'Now, when I think about it, when I apparently finished off Tichondrius, it said *Defeated* and not *Slain*. Does this mean that these runeblades contain the souls of the death knights I finished off back in Lordaeron? Better find a safer place to store them until I can rid myself of them safely because having them here in the open is reckless as hell.'

So I grab the three runeblades as I make my way down the basement in hopes that it is possible to find safer storage than a cupboard. It was swiftly proven right as the dwarves had installed several secure containers, and I noticed a note on top of one.

It described that I had to infuse my mana into the containers as they would only open up to my mana signature once I had imprinted it.

'This is getting increasingly suspicious, these dwarves... what are they up to?'

I shrugged that thought away for something of the future me to deal with. For now, I would deal with the fact that one of the hydra eggs in the corner of my vision was moving and tumbling around within the small incubation chamber.

Shortly after, three curious heads peak out from behind their eggshell, and their eyes made eye contact with my own. Its eyes were glowing purple, just like mine, then two of the heads went on to eat their eggshell while the third one, the middle head, was still focused on me. As if recognizing me, it cried out in happiness as I approached.

When I bent down and put my hand towards it, it nuzzled its head into my palm with a purr. Then the other two heads eating the eggshells were done as they turned to my palm and looked at it for a moment before they, too, began nuzzling and purring. To put it into perspective, this hydra was not bigger than my hand. One of its heads was as thick and long as my finger.

I sat down and played with the little hydraling for a few minutes until I picked it up and returned to the first floor, then proceeded to the second floor, where Valeera was floating around and enjoying the pool.

Then I approached the pool while the hydraling gazed at everything with childish curiosity. I made myself known to Valeera when I came close to the pool, and her head whipped around to see me. When she finally looked at what I was holding in my hands, she rapidly approached us as I put the miniature hydra on the floor.

The hydra was looking at Valeera for a moment before it reacted violently, two of its heads snapping in her direction and barred its small sharp teeth her way; meanwhile, the middle head looked at me first, then to Valeera, then back at me, somehow realizing the creature in front of it was of no danger it calmed down the two aggressive heads.

Valeera had held her hand towards the hydraling when it lashed out at her and was shocked, almost to tears, but then she saw the eyes of the one which seemed to have the most intellect, the head in the middle, then she calmed down and observed it.

Soon the tiny hydra wobbled towards the edge where Valeera stood, then Valeera slowly put her hand forward, and to her surprise, it didn't bite. It nuzzled into her hand for a moment, then promptly ignored her, jumped into the water, and let out a satisfying cry of joy.

After letting the mini hydra play around in the water for a few minutes, we were interrupted by Lanira the dryad, who rushed right at me, crashing into me with a hug as we both crashed into the water, scaring the tiny hydra, it sailed away crying dramatically, until I lifted it up to my head. It held on as best as it could with its little paws.

Shortly after that debacle, we all made our way out of the pool. Lanira apologized, she had apparently heard from the blonde woman who was with Calia that I was apparently injured in battle and had to spend an entire week recovering, but the reason she made her way to me was that there was a grumpy-looking elf outside the gate asking for Jaina.

That made me curious, and I told her I would join her in a moment, and she could wait outside.

After making Valeera babysit the hydra, which took quite a bit of convincing since she would do it only if she had a cloak just like I had, she won that discussion. Now I owe her a complete set of high-quality leather armor and a hydra leather cloak that will... take some effort, considering that there was very little remaining leather after making my armor. Even so, I agreed because, in the worst-case scenario, I'll get her something similar.

After leaving Valeera and the wailing hydra behind, I met with Lanira at the door, and we made our way toward Calia's house. I had never really been at her house before.

It was a cozy house, not too large or too small. Her clinic was beside it, and on the opposite side was the church. A few priestesses were working there currently; they all waved at us when we passed them while having a smile on their faces.

Right before I knocked on the door, I heard three voices inside. I still knocked, though. Leaving a sour-looking elf at the gate for too long didn't sit well with me for some reason.

Calia opened the door with a smile and waved Lanira and me inside, where Belmont sat talking with Jaina while having the high elf child at his side, serving him a cup of tea.

While we were walking in the door, I heard Belmont say, "So, you are making a settlement down south, you say? I can try to help with that if I can place some of my people within your settlement, but are you willing to set up a trade with us eventually? As soon as this whole ordeal with the goatmen and demons gets solved, that is."

Then Belmont turned to me as his eyes widened and said, "What the fuck happened to you? Did someone smack you so hard that you ended up on the opposite side of the beauty scale? Also, did you eat a fucking giant? Because what the fuck, is that really you Medan?"

I stared at him for a moment with a deadpan look and nodded, then I sat down in the chair beside him, which the little elf girl had put there when Belmont started talking to me.

'Devoted little girl, that one.' I thanked the girl, looked at Belmont again, and said, "I got a few speculations on how I became... This, first, would be when I met my dad. The second reason would be... something of a bit more personal nature, though in the end, it doesn't matter." said and sighed

"I'm just glad that I managed to deal with that damn Dreadlord, never had a fight like that before. The only reason I managed to defeat him was basically using every trump card I had, and I can't even remember how I defeated him." I shrugged. And looked towards Jaina and continued,

"Enough of that. We have one sour-looking elf outside asking for you. She probably has been standing there for a while now due to Lanira over here managing to overhear what you said about me being injured and all." she had the decency to look away as I told her the last part.

I looked towards Belmont and said, "Do you have time to talk soon? There's something we need to discuss."

Belmont nodded, and I turned back to Jaina and said, "Ready to leave? I'm curious what this female night elf wants and how she knew you were here, considering we used a means of travel that I doubt can be traced by any normal means."

That got a reaction out of her when she realized, "Oh, I might have told Thrall and Cenarius that I would follow you back to where you had established yourself. Maybe that's why she's here?" Jaina said while looking thoughtful.

We told Calia goodbye, then Jaina, Lanira, and I left the cozy home and went to the gate where our sour elf was probably waiting for us.

As we get to the gate, I can see the elf outside stomping her feet on the ground in irritation while being decked out entirely in armor, wearing a bright yellow glowing two-handed sword on her back. She had visible dark scars across her face and arms that was visible between her armor. She wore no gauntlets on her hands, so I could see deep scars covering all the way up her wrist.

After a moment of studying the elf, I signaled the dwarf, who kept forgetting who I am, to open the gate.

This, of course, takes a little while until I heard another guard yelling at him *It's bossman! Open the fucking gates! Bob! Why do you keep doing this shit!?*

'Maybe I should promote that guy if I actually can. Belmont is the appointed leader of the guards, though... Somewhat this guard recognized me even now after my... Transformation to...What I am now, oh well, it might be what I'm wearing, as I've seen no one else wear anything similar.' I considered when I saw the other guard yelling towards the dwarf called Bob from a distance.

Just as the gate goes down, the elf comes over to us and looks at both Jaina and me passively, and says, "My name is Pained. Lady Tyrande Whisperwind assigned me to guard you, Lady Proudmore."

And that was all she said as we stood in awkward silence for a full minute, waiting for her to continue.

Jaina was the one who broke the silence with a cough and said, "So, got any reason to be sent to guard me in the first place? I mean, I am a capable mage, and I do know how to defend myself."

Pained scoffed, then said, "Magic is for cowards. It's nothing but a hindrance against true warriors."

That left Jaina and me speechless as almost the same thought crossed our minds.

'Why would the the high priestess send someone to defend a highly skilled mage if said bodyguard is against the use of magic?!'

After the introduction, I asked Jaina if she wanted to see where my upcoming mage tower would be constructed. I wanted to talk with her about portals and teleportation because my ability was unique.

So learning from a mage experienced at making portals would surely be rewarding on its own.

Just as we arrived at my home and made ourselves comfortable in the living room, Lanira served both me and Jaina tea and fruit. Meanwhile, Pained looked like she was disgusted at being here. It could be the magic coral doing that.

The thing practically overflowed the whole floor with magic. It would be utterly uncomfortable for anyone without the ability to sense magic.

After talking briefly, Jaina spoke with the elf standing at her side and asked her what she could do and if she had any specialties.

The elf named Pained truly did not get the irony of her mission to defend Jaina. Pained said, "I can proudly say that I am one of the strongest warriors of my kind, and I have been taught warfare since I was young. Among other things, I am very good at getting information."

While Pained had been explaining this, I felt something come from the elf and looked deeply into her eyes; when she suddenly looked right back, I could see darkness, but it was not evil... no, it was of anger and helplessness, beneath the surface she had so much rage, so much sadness.

Without knowing it, I walked toward the elf woman and grabbed her hand. As she stared at me, horrified eyes looking back, she kept trying to pull her hand away from me until she froze, literally.

Her body was encased in a layer of ice, and the elf visibly relaxed and closed her eyes, seemingly in comfort. Jaina, meanwhile, had almost stepped in to stop me from whatever I was doing but stopped when she realized I wasn't hurting the female elf.

Once I exited my trance, I realized what I had done. At the exact moment that happened, the elf got out of the thin layer of ice, the scars on her face and arms were now gone, and I felt the darkness within her disappear too, as the ice melted into the floor while black ooze vanished along with it, as the ice disappeared into nothingness.

Pained fell to her knees and put her hands in front of her as she gasped when she saw it.

A silent laugh was heard as tears fell down her face. She smiled brightly while looking at her hands, turning her palm repeatedly as if she thought it was a dream. I walked over to one of my cupboards, took out a mirror, walked back toward her, and handed the mirror to her.

She just looked at my hand for a moment, but her hand carefully grabbed the mirror while shaking like a leaf. Then she understood the gesture and turned the mirror towards her face, then the tears became a flood. As she cried out loudly, Lanira heard her pained cry and went over and embraced Pained in a hug.

It was the only reasonable action for a dryad to do as they were empathic to most living beings.

While Jaina and I stood on the side watching all this unfold, I told Lanira she could bring her to the guest chambers when I noticed Pained doze off in her embrace.

After Lanira had carried the elf out of the room, Jaina and I sat back down, then she stared at me and asked, "What was that? Why would you do that to someone you just met?"

I pondered that too, then I told her, "Instinct?" I explained helpfully.

"Something told me that there was something wrong with her, and I confirmed that fact when I noticed the black ooze coming from her body, as she seemed to have been heavily cursed by something. I have never seen anything like that, except maybe... No, never mind."

'The only time I have ever seen someone cursed to this degree was when Cho'gall made my mother become a sleeper agent when she tried to kill Varian...'

I continued, "I don't regret doing that for her, I have had some personal experience with curses, and I wouldn't let one like that ever affect people if I can help it."

We sat there silently for a little while until she started talking, "To be honest, I thought you'd be much more selfish. Mages at your level tend to keep everything to themselves and refuse to help the common people without proper pay or compensation for their troubles. It's one of the things I have grown to despise after my time among the... Mages in Dalaran."

She sighed and leaned back into the chair, then continued, " The reason I came here in the first place was to see how it truly was. What Calia had told me was unbelievable. To make something like this place within a few months, having a mage like you... being able to take on that Dreadlord all by yourself..."

"How come I have never heard of you before? How did you suddenly appear in Lordaeron without anyone hearing of you before? I had a chat with Calia about this. Until I arrived here today, I had honestly thought she was lying or had been under the control of mind control magic because the prophet had specifically told me that I was the only one fleeing with the humans of Lordaeron."

'Damn... father is still complicating things for me while probably on the other side of Azeroth...'

She looked me deeply in the eyes and continued, "Excuse me if I am too intrusive in asking these questions, but I simply cannot let this go unless I get an answer."

I leaned back in my chair and looked at the ceiling momentarily until I turned my eyes to Jaina again and considered what to tell her, if I should tell her anything at all.

"I find it weird by now that you haven't considered my name properly, as you undoubtingly have heard that one of the names I mentioned in the history books," I told her with a sly smile.

She looked lost at my reply until something lit up in her mind, her eyes sharpened, and she said, "Your the son of the greatest traitor our world has ever known!?"

Her response was slightly amusing and a little hurtful, as most people don't know the truth. I did not expect her to have much insight due to this.

Before she can continue to rant, I stop her with a cough and say, "The prophet ... Or Oracle as you might call him, is my father, and he has been helping you and pretty much every important figure out in an attempt to secure a future for our world for a while now, there is much you don't know about this subject, and I do not trust you enough to tell you in-depth of why he did what he did... yet." I looked back to the ceiling and sighed.

Jaina looked at me pensively until she shook her head and said, "I apologize. I should not judge the father's sins on the son. If I do that, I'd be a hypocrite. Your family is not the only one with such faults."

'I beg the differ. My father opened up the world to the Burning Legion itself, though it wasn't my father doing it and more like Sargaras taking control...' Which was left unsaid.

We sat in comfortable silence for several long minutes, sipping tea and eating delicious fruits until I decided to break the silence by saying, "So, want to see what a hydra hatchling looks like?" to which she responded by nodding her head rapidly.

I smiled as I led her down the floor and into the basement, and we made our way toward where Valeera was babysitting... five additional hydra hatchlings were covered all over her, leaving her sprawled out on the floor as we heard a weak voice calling out.

"Help?"

-Chapter 27 End-