' = Internal dialogue

ยจ= Normal speech

* = Sounds / Etc

-Chapter 36 Start-

As I got through the portal and it closed behind me, I felt some kind of magic lock on me, it wasn't any scrying magic I felt before, instead it was focused on checking out the portal's location until it's attention turned toward me after studying the space around the area.

I just stood still and studied the thing. It looked like a very small mana wyrm with intelligent eyes gazing at me curiously. Until I heard a dull thud in the distance, then the small wyrm faded out of existence as its mana-filled body evaporated, leaving me puzzled over what was happening.

Though I just shrugged and went on with my journey toward Dustwallow March, I ended up strolling around at first just to look around my surroundings for the source of that small mana wyrm due to curiosity however.

But after half an hour of looking for the source of mana, I gave up, so I decided to go by air. Imbuing myself with air, I shot off the ground like a missile toward the southeast while several hundred meters above the ground.

The landscape was barren for sure, except for an oasis here and there, though more often than not, those places were occupied by several camps of centaurs. A few of them pointed toward me in the air, looking utterly bamboozled. I probably didn't look like any bird they had seen before.

I spent several hours just exploring the area far above, hoping to find whatever tried to scry me earlier.

By impulse, I turned more to the left because part of me wanted to see how the place Orgrimmar came to be, so flying through the air effortlessly toward where I assumed Orgrimmar was meant to be built, I went further up in the air so people wouldn't be able to see me.

And when I finally see several tents at the foot of the mountain where there were signs of an mining operation taking place, I then realized that Thrall had left some people behind as he gathered his *Horde*.

Now as my curiosity was sated, I started heading south. After flying for a while, I passed by what I would believe would be Ratchet in a few years. Suddenly a tiny red house shimmered into existence in the distance, almost as someone or something had attempted to hide the structure, and as if realizing I could see past the mirage, a Blazier lit up in blue flames, obviously a magical fire outside the entrance door as I noticed it, even while a few hundred meters up in the air, I could see it activate.

The moment I considered what to do as I still flew at high speed, I was met with a *BAM* as my face collided with something invisible mid-air. The impact ended with me losing focus of my flight as I felt myself fall at an unnaturally high speed, almost as if something was pulling me down.

I stopped falling just before I hit the ground as if something had caught me. During all this, I was aware of what was going on but decided to see what would happen, as the fall wouldn't really do much to me either way, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that whatever was doing this had no direct hostile intentions.

I was promptly released from the spell and hit the ground with a *Thud*, "So, what brings a being like you to my humble abode?" An aged but powerful voice sounded from the hut a few meters away.

'Wait... that voice... no way...'

Just as I thought that, I saw the one who spoke as she walked out from the hut, becoming more visible with each step. It was someone I knew but had no idea I'd meet here.

It was a blue-robed woman with purple shoulder pads standing up around her shoulders and behind her head, a large purple staff which thrummed in power, as white hair cascaded down to the side with a tinge of yellow, her eyes shone in a weak purple tint while she had no pupil.

My grandmother, Aegwynn, had made herself known.

I groaned in frustration after I realized she didn't recognize me, I knew Father would tell her about me, but after my total makeover, it was not weird that she would not remember me.

I sat up, "Have you, by any chance, talked to a man resembling a crow lately?" I said dejectedly as this hit me harder than it honestly should. The fact one of the closest to me wouldn't recognize me hurt me on a level I wasn't prepared for.

Aegwynn stood still momentarily, studying my face and mana signature, until her eyes widened. Suddenly, she put her staff aside, ran over, and embraced me, "Ahh, I have waited so long for this. My idiot of a son never told me that you now have the height of a tauren.. I apologize, you have caught me entirely unprepared for such a reunion." She said before letting me go from her embrace with a smile.

"And I do apologize for the rough welcome. I was currently scrying for any magical signature in the area, as I had caught a trail of a demon with a grudge. I am slightly weakened, so I must be cautious." She said, genuinely sorry about how our first meeting turned out.

"No harm done, though; why are you living out here? I haven't seen a living soul for a few miles." I asked with a smile.

She sighed and looked over to her hut, "Well, I thought I'd retire and spend the rest of my days away from the world. After resurrecting your father, I lost almost all my magic. The only thing I have left is what keeps me from dying of old age, a few wards that can defend me against normal threats, and simple scrying spell I can utilize to track down creature's mana signatures."

The news shocked me. I couldn't recall that Aegwynn was that weak back in my time. She was one of the most powerful mages I had ever felt walking beside me, and by no means weak.

"This scrying spell of yours... does it by any chance summon a small mana wyrm to the area you target?" I asked her after some consideration.

"Well, yes? Oh! Were you the one who had come through a portal earlier today? You were completely blank, and I could only see you because you were the only creature not indicating having a mana signature. Which kind of outed you and made you visible in the end." She said thoughtfully.

"Good to know. I went looking for that wyrm for quite a while but found nothing... By the way, who is this demon you were talking about? Does he have a name?" I asked as she was leading us both inside her small hut.

"Well, yes, he goes under the name Zmodlor, and the grudge he has against me is the fact I ruined his plans when I had just ascended to become the Guardian. The demon had infiltrated Tirisfal and was planning to sacrifice an entire college of new initiates to the order. And is to this day one of the most foul demons I have ever had the displeasure of meeting..." Aegwynn said with a hateful tone.

'Zmodlor? Never heard of that one...' I thought, as I genuinely hadn't heard the demon my grandmother had faced in my timeline. She obviously had her secrets and maybe didn't feel it was worth her time to bring them up.

"But enough about that, do you think you can indulge your grandmother about what you have been doing until now? I know we might not have that relation in this timeline, but I have seen your arrival happen before through powerful scrying, though never like this... You have the right mana signature, but you seem... different..." She said as she led me through the door, which revealed not the small interior I assumed from the outside but a large room with a table in the middle.

"I don't see why not. I did gain a growth spurt due to the help of father, apparently I have become one of the Eternals." I gestured to my eyes, and Aegwynn stilled for a moment then returned to her previous self and nodded with a smile as she led me to a table, conjured a chair, and indicated me to take a seat as she got some refreshments.

She came back shortly and sat down beside me as I started telling her my recollection of the events that happened after I appeared in Dustwallow March, from the first murloc I ended up murdering in cold blood up to when I fought Tichondrius on my own. She listened with rapt attention while nodding and interjecting with a few questions to clarify certain things.

Several hours later, we sat in comfortable silence as she processed my story before she nodded and leaned back in her chair, "It sounds like you were hit by a temporal rift spell, an very advanced one at that... Especially so if you ended up without your magic, that's very interesting..." She started looking at the table as she opened a small section, making some sort of water appear underneath her hands as the area I first had appeared came on display.

Apparently, her divination tool was a manawell, much like a moonwell, which would act like a medium for her if she cast any scrying spells, resulting in practically no use of mana.

"I cannot see further than the fact you have undoubtingly been pulled from one timeline at some point... and into ours by a miracle because from what I can tell from the residue mana at the beach, you appeared... It should not be possible because whatever kind of temporal rift was cast had no anchor...

And no anchor means no temporal spell... Almost like a portal, you cannot summon a portal without anchoring your spell to a location before channeling your mana and intent to the area you will it to appear in. I have doubts that even the Titans of old have this kind of power..." Aegwynn explained slowly and paused.

Then she suddenly seemed to ponder something else as she continued, "In other words, reality allowed itself to be pried open, allowing you a passageway through several layers of reality without an anchor... This is practically impossible. It would be like comparing a simple blink spell to be powered up enough to casually make you jump through space and time to appear at a specific point and time as if it was a normal occurrence..." Aegwynn kept talking out loud about her speculations about my situation.

Being the genuinely knowledgable mage she is, she kept speculating what to do if something similar were to happen again, and maybe how to prevent such a thing, but her mood visibly deflated the moment she realized her power was so minuscule she couldn't even cast a teleport.

After considering what happened to Jaina almost a week ago, I thought deeply until I realized it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Grandmother, I might have a solution about your magic... Some time ago, I accidentally seemed to have charged up another mage just by touch. Are you willing to see if the same works for you? It might make you regain some of your power, even in my time... I can't recall you... Sorry to be so blunt... But you are too weak to handle anything more than scrying or sacrificing your life force to power up your magic right now."

I told her, In hopes she would see reason. I wouldn't be able to sleep well at night if I didn't know she could defend herself, especially so when I no doubt have changed any plot regarding her by now. Just the fact she was standing before me alive made me realize how much I wanted my family back.

"Medan, dear... I am old, I have done more for this world than countless Guardians before me, and I have erred more than my son in this regard. I do not see the purpose of extending the time I have left in this world to regain some semblance of power. I will admit your offer is tempting; however, I do not have the motivation to delay my demise for much longer." She said with a sad smile.

I sighed but tried again, "There is this mage, she has more potential than anyone I know, she is young and has only had guidance from a few Archmages over the years.
If you come with me to the place me and my friends have built, because you see... from my memories, she had you as her mentor and advisor. I doubt she can tap into her potential without your guidance. She's also your biggest... fan."

Aegwynn smiled slightly as I told her, "I see you hold this mage in high regard... I will see if she has the requirements for me to mentor before deciding to take her on as an apprentice; however, I am glad to see you are clearly surrounded by people you trust. It will undoubtedly keep you down to earth and sane with all that is happening in this world, or at least what will happen... Yes, I will take this branch you are offering me just because you are the one asking."

I just sat there and blinked owlishly. 'It was that easy to convince her?!'

"Erm, yes, the city would undoubtingly not exist if it wasn't for the people close to me. By the way, does this mean I can attempt to give you some of my magic? I have never tried to do this intentionally before..."

She sighed with a tired smile and nodded. "I'm willing to be your test-subject in this matter after hearing you have a potential apprentice that requires my help to shine and that you are attempting to give me my magic back, it would be rude to further attempt to decline your offer."

We both turned silent at her reply, and then she looked toward me with a gentle smile, and I asked, "Willing to put it to the test to see if you can get your magic back?" She just nodded with the same smile, and I rose to my feet, walked over to her, and paused.

I reached out to her with my hand, and she did the same toward me. I grabbed hers gently and then closed my eyes in focus.

[Aegwynn Magna PoV]

As my grandson grabbed my hand, I could feel the air around us swell with power, unlike anything I had ever felt. Even with all my experience over a millennium, I had nothing to compare this with. Even at my peak, I could only easily display such power if I tried to go all out, to the point of destroying my body in the process.

When I thought the air around us would calm down, I heard something akin to glass shattering as small pockets of dimensional tears in the space around us started appearing, but they were soon filled by purple specks coming directly from him.

Then I saw it, his power was alive... when I gazed toward my grandson, I could see a barely visible copy of him towering above both of us, almost as a giant were looking down on a mouse, though this being looked directly at me, I would have been slightly frightened if it wasn't for the gentle smile on the figure's face.

This ethereal being seemed to close its eyes as well in focus when power like never before hit me like an extremely violent storm, no.. not a storm, a maelstrom of power that obeyed its liege's commands.

My house started shaking violently after a while until the ceiling was torn right off by a particular strong blast, the sky above was displayed in all its glory when I finally realized we were in the heart of something, as the air around us was unnervingly calm. It was then I saw it. Far above us, I could see the blue sky through a small hole between white clouds. We now stood in the heart of a magical vortex.

Oddly enough, the vortex did not move an inch, and when I turned back to my grandson, the ethereal being now gone.

Then my heart thumped so loud and quick I thought I was having a heart attack, but soon it was calmed down by a feeling of strength returning to my body. This was more than just a small amount of power. I felt every part of my body swell with power, almost to the point that I would explode. This would undoubtingly place me near my prime, if not stronger.

As soon as the feeling faded, it started anew. Now my staff floated toward me, my loyal artifact. It felt what was going on and flew to my hand as it joined in on receiving the magic in the air that had escaped Medan.

*BOOOOOOM*

Now my walls blew themselves outward, and right into the tornado covering the area, and the storm above us started fading out of existence,

'It would seem my house just wasn't meant to be...'

Then when I looked back at my grandson, I could see sweat appearing on his face as this undoubtingly was very demanding of him. I tried to loosen my hand until he suddenly let go and fell backward. He would have hit his back if I didn't put a slow fall on him and sat him down in the chair as he gasped for breath.

"I'm... out..."*Huff* "Of... mana... give... me... a... minute..." He said shakily.

In the side of my vision, I could see that my hair, all the white was gone, and in its place was a clear gold color, with a strange purple tint at the tips.

So I took out a small mirror I had used as a medium for my scrying before, though this time, I pulled it out of my pocket just to see my reflection.

I gasped in surprise when I could see my face. I was... young again, or not... young, but now I looked like I did in my mid-thirties, and my eyes, instead of light blue, had taken on a darker blue, almost transforming into purple, but compared to before now, my eyes was overflowing with power.

'I'm... as strong as I used to be in my prime... This... This is too much...'

I look at my exhausted grandson with a warm smile, 'I think you extended my lifespan a little too much for my liking, young Medan... But I will use the time I have gained to assist you with your adventures and defend the ones dear to you... This, I swear.' I said to myself.

He did not need to know. He is family and perhaps my only hope of redemption for my past mistakes.

As I sat there and waited for him to catch his breath, I conjured a mana gem to use when he was ready.

[Back to MC Pov]

'Holy fuck, I went down into negative mana, and it drained my HP almost down to zero.'

The process happened automatically. I had lost control when I initiated the contact with Aegwynn. For some reason, I couldn't stop when my mana bottomed out, and the following agony was... Painful.

When I finally could open my eyes, I saw the gentle face of my grandmother holding her hand toward me as she grasped some sort of gem.

"Take it. I can feel your reserves being utterly empty. This will alleviate some of the mana sickness." She said. I grabbed the gem while my hand shook and held it for a moment before it shattered into dust, and I felt the mana enter my body, almost like a gentle layer of cooling water.

As the pain disappears, I slump further down into the chair, then I notice her... house... It is no longer...

"Ah, you noticed, did you? Now I have no choice but to come along and ask my grandson for a place to stay after he decidedly made my house disappear, hm?" She said I could hear the warmth in her voice even when she tried to sound accusing.

I turned back to her and noticed now that she no longer was an old woman with spells keeping her young; apparently, my magic managed to turn back her biological clock back to forty? Her eyes now resembled mine, purple-blue, except hers were still a darker shade of the latter.

A few minutes later, my mana reserves were almost full. I sighed in relief. I was not doing it again unless absolutely necessary...

I turned to Aegwynn and asked, "By the way, do you think the demon you were dealing with is easier to find now?"

"Oh, yes, it should be quite easy." she said with a smile

'Somehow, I feel sorry for this so-called Zmodlor now. Oh well.'

-Chapter 36 End-