Hytharion was thinking aloud to Kamara when Kalira and Maxian came rushing in and tackled him. "Oof! Firebug, you're getting too big for this!" he laughed. He hissed in pain as Maxian tried to free himself from under his sister. "Max! Max, you have- ow! Maxian! Sharp elbows!" The little boy freed himself and began laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world. Hytharion couldn't help but smile as he hugged them both tightly. Their laughter was always a welcoming sound when his mind was anxious.
Delania caught up a few moments later and smiled at her children. "Away for a few minutes, and they treat you like you've been gone for a decade," she laughed. "Hello, Kamara! What brings you here? Where did Baladir go?" She looked to Hytharion, and her expression became concerned. "I know that look. What happened?" She came to the couch and sat beside him, holding Maxian in her lap.
"Firebug, why don't you go play with your brother upstairs," Hytharion said quietly, patting Kalira's back.
"Aw, but I don't wanna play with him!" she whined, pulling back to look at him with a pouty face.
"Kalira, I'm serious," he said, more firmly than he meant to.
She shrank from him a little and he immediately felt bad. "I-I'm sorry, Sweetheart. Please, just... I-I need some time with Mama right now."
"Come on, I'll show you two a few magic tricks," Kamara offered. Kalira nodded slightly and signalled her brother to come with her. She leapt off the couch and they followed Kamara up the stairs.
Hytharion waited until they were out of sight before he spoke. "I'm okay," he said as Delania squeezed his hand. "Just a little shaken... Kamara me screaming and came to check on me." He sighed and was quiet for a few moments as he thought. "Sylvanas Windrunner has led the Horde to Darkshore and, of course, Falaria has followed." Delania's eyes widened slightly. "He wants me to find her and convince her that Sylvanas is no good."
"She's not completely sound of mind, but she seems perfectly capable. What does he expect you to do about it?"
"That's almost exactly what I said. He said he thinks that Sylvanas is heading down a dark path, though, that she cares for no one but herself. He wants me to go find her and talk her out of it." He hesitated, knowing what her reaction would be to what he was going to say next. "While I don't entirely disagree with that, it's not why I said I would go."
Her eyes widened. "You said what!? Please, Hythe, don't put yourself in that kind of danger! You're barely healed! You have children!"
"I know, I know, I don't want to... but I have to. I owe him."
"What in the world do you mean? You've told me what you and your sister went through. You owe him nothing!"
His mind returned to the torture again, though this time, he was able to push the memories away before they overwhelmed him. He took a deep breath and was quiet for several moments before he spoke again. "He saved me from the demons. He alerted the Kirin Tor I was missing, and he was the one who led the group that rescued me." He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "I owe him my life. He's the only reason I'm here right now."
She frowned, her brow furrowed. "I get he saved your life, but you could lose your title over this, or worse, you could lose your life and your second chance could be wasted!" She sighed. "But I know you. It's too late to convince you not to go now, isn't it?" He looked away sheepishly as he gave her a nod "Your heart is sometimes a weakness," she said softly, "but it is one of the things I so love about you. And as much as I hate to say it, I understand. If my little sister still lived, I would do anything for her. This is a terrible idea, but if you truly think you need to do this, then I will not try to stop you."
"Eranu shanal. I promise I'll be cautious."
"You'd better be. I'll go let the kids know what's going on." She teleported herself upstairs, leaving him alone. First things first, he needed something to track his sister. He would need something that had belonged to her at some point. Standing up as he looked around, something caught his eye, a small piece of wood carved into the emblem of the Kirin Tor sat next to a painting of their family. Falaria had hand-carved it and given it to him the day he was made an Archmage. Would that work? He went to it and ran his fingers over the smooth surface, envisioning his sister's face. Concentrating, he muttered the words of the spell. The wood flashed brightly and an orb of arcane energy shot up from it, circling his head once before it fizzled out. He nodded his satisfaction. Once he was closer to her, it would set off in whichever direction she was in and lead him to her. I just hope that direction isn't the direction of trouble, he thought with a sigh.
You know invisibility spells, right? You could hide yourself if you got into trouble with the night elves?
Hytharion shook his brother's voice from his head. He closed his eyes, going through an internal list of spells in his mind, and recalled the words of various invisibility spells. He cast one on himself and began counting in his head. Such spells were quite draining, however, and he couldn't hold it for more than thirty seconds. It would hopefully be enough time to hide should the need arise, though. He went to the kitchen and retrieved some mana potions from the pantry. He drank one to restore his energy, shuddering at the taste. It was sweet yet overwhelmingly bitter, and it didn't help that it seemed to want to stick to his tongue. Concentrating on the image of his satchel sitting upstairs in his room, he snapped his fingers. It appeared in his hands a second later, and he stuffed a few of the blue bottles into the bag.
"So what's the plan?"
He swore and nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun to face Kamara. "Anar'alah belore..." he muttered as he put a hand to his racing heart. "Damn it, Kamara, how many times have I told you not to do that?"
"Oh yeah, sorry," she laughed sheepishly.
He gave her a small smile. It was hard to stay mad at her for too long. A few years younger than him, practically still a whelpling, considering how long dragons could live, she did not fully understand some mortal habits and customs. She often came off as somewhat of an airhead and occasionally, just like most other dragons, somewhat arrogant, but she was actually one of the smartest and kindest mages he knew. She had been a good friend for several years, and the bond they had forged while they were held captive had made them even closer. He would trust her with his life, and he knew she would as well. "Sorry... my nerves are just shot right now." He closed his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath. "My plan is to head to Darkshore and use a tracking spell. Not my greatest idea, but I can't think of a better one."
"Without armour?"
He shook his head. "I think it's best to go unarmed. I know how stupid that probably sounds, but my thinking is that if I don't look like a threat, perhaps I won't get shot on sight. That's the hope, anyway. I will do this, though..." He put a hand to his chest, concentrating, and began muttering an incantation. A blue-violet glow began to surround his hand, and then, it spread in two separate directions. One side went up to his shoulders and the other slowly descended to his feet. As he finished the words of the spell, his clothes flashed brightly before slowly fading, though there was still a faint glow around him. His clothes were as hard as the thickest of ice now. While the spell would break after too many hits, it was better than nothing.
"Ooh, an armour spell?" Kamara tapped his now-hard clothes as she sniffed curiously. "Smart! You'll have to teach me that one someday. May I ask another question, though?"
"Hm?"
"How are you planning on getting there?"
He felt his cheeks grow warm. How could you forget something like that, you idiot!? "That... hadn't crossed my mind, actually. Orgrimmar is the closest place I could port myself to. I guess I'll get a wyvern there."
"Or I can take you if you want."
He raised an eyebrow. "Kamara, you can't risk yourself being punished. I doubt your Aspect would be happy either."
"My Aspect?" she scoffed. "Please, Kalecgos disbanded the blue dragonflight years ago, he barely cares about the rest of us. Besides, as long as I don't start a war, he'll probably never find out. You want to get in and out as quickly as possible, yes? I can't help you out once you get there, but I can at least make sure you get there alive. Do you even know how to ride a wyvern?
"No... no I guess I don't. Thank you, Kamara, a lot."
As he drank part of another potion to restore the mana lost from his spell, his family came back down the stairs. Kamara stepped aside as Kalira and Maxian ran to hug him, and both held onto a leg. He knelt and drew them in for a hug.
"Don't go, Papa, please!" Kalira cried.
"Yeah, no go!" Maxian sniffled.
He pulled back and looked at both of them again. "I'm sorry, you guys, but I have to. Aunt Fally is in trouble, and I'm going to go try to get her out of it."
"Can I come? I'll help!" Kalira said eagerly. She managed to conjure a small flame that flickered weakly in her palm. He smiled and took her hand, smothering the fire.
"No, my little Firebug. I appreciate the offer, but I'm hoping not to have to fight anyone. You'd incinerate an army in a second," he said, giving her a wink.
"Can I?" Maxian asked in a small voice. He lifted his hand and stared hard at it, but nothing happened. "Why can't I do that?" he whined, pouting.
Hytharion chuckled. "No, no, you have to stay here too, Max. Keep practicing, and maybe you'll get it." He hugged them again and kissed them both on the forehead before standing. He turned to Delania, kissing her lovingly, and she gladly returned it. He looked back down at his children. "I love you guys. Be good, okay? Alright, everyone. Step back." Delania pulled them away as Hytharion began concentrating on the image of Orgrimmar's portal room. He wished he didn't have to go there. He had been there several times, mainly on Kirin Tor business, but avoided it whenever possible. It was an unbearably hot, dusty, smelly, terrible place that the orcs were idiots for choosing to be their home. It was the closest he could get to Darkshore, though. The night elven city of Darnassus would've been perfect, but he was not familiar enough to create a portal there. Arcane magic was taboo in night elf society. Both it and mages, while no longer outright prohibited, were not exactly well-respected, and the Kirin Tor had little interaction with them,
He closed his eyes and held one hand out, concentrating on the image of the city in his mind. He knew the portal was beginning to take shape when he heard a slight sound of amazement from Kalira. He smiled a little and opened his eyes. The portal was complete. "Will I learn that soon?" she asked excitedly.
"When you're older, Sweetie. Portal spells can be dangerous unless you know exactly what you're doing," Delania told her. She looked back at him. "Please, be careful. I don't know what I'd do if..." She swallowed hard. "I'll be careful," he assured her. "You have my word." He glanced at Kamara as she gnawed at a hangnail. "You might want to change your form, Kam."
She looked up at him, blinking. "Hm? Oh, yes!" She snapped her fingers. There was a puff of smoke, and suddenly, her night elven form changed to that of a blood elf. There was a sound of amazement from both kids. "Let's get this over with. I despise the heat," she muttered. She stepped through the portal, He gave Delania one last quick kiss before he took a deep breath and followed Kamara through the portal. He was immediately hit by a wave of heat and the expected but still unpleasant scent of sweat. They looked at each other, making faces at the smell and started toward the exit.
They got to the main area - the place known as the "Valley of Strength" if he remembered correctly - and looked around nervously at the spikes that seemed to cover every building in sight. He didn't understand why his people chose to side with the Horde. The orcs had attempted to burn down Quel'thalas many years ago now. They claimed to be under the influence of demon blood, but he hardly thought that a good excuse. He had not been born yet, but his parents had defended their home during the Second War and told him many stories growing up.
The Forsaken disturbed him to no end. The Darkspear trolls, while not allied in any way with the Amani that plagued his former home, still looked similar enough to make him nervous. The only races of the Horde he was not bothered by were the tauren and the pandaren, the latter of which had joined the Horde for reasons beyond his understanding. He shook his head. He was not there to stand around judging people. Kamara took on her true form, drawing the attention of more than a few nearby. "Come on, I don't like it here," she said quietly, nudging him gently with her horned nose as she shuffled her wings uncomfortably.
"Y-Yeah, I know, me neither, sorry," he said as he climbed onto her back. She took a running leap and flapped her wings hard, flying up and out of the canyon toward the night elven lands.