I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter and World of Warcraft, all rights belongs to their rightful owners.
Here's a big chapter, dealing with some of the aftermaths of Amaria's actions (or lack of action, depending how you see it). I waited a bit longer to release this chapter, I wanted to get more replies about what I said in the notes of the previous chapters. There wasn't many reviews but I'll take what I get.
Please comment/review.
Thank you for your patience and good reading.
It might come as a bit of a surprise that it was the sun who woke me up, and not the lava bath's bubbles pops nor Mightion's breath on my neck.
That last thing took me a bit by surprise, but since it wasn't uncomfortable an merely different from what I was used to, I ignored it. I was slowly stirring up, my head resting on my left claw, and took a deep breath, watching the sky still red and dark with the rain of ashes. It might actually be impossible to have a blue sky in the sanctum, I mused quickly. Raising my head, I shook it slightly as I felt Mightion start to move too. He opened his maw and yawned loudly as I looked at him.
"So early..." He grumbled as he stood up.
I couldn't help but laugh at that. It seemed that I was more of a morning person than he was.
"It's not that early. I can almost see the sun through the ashes." I replied cheekily.
"Hmph." Mightion pushed himself up, bringing along the large wing that had been my cover through the night.
As he started to stretch, I felt the pang of hunger striking me hard and it's only now that I realised that I hadn't eaten anything since I woke up. And thinking a bit more made me gawk at the fact that I hadn't eaten anything since my dinner with Anduin, this being more than a weak ago. And it wasn't a meal per dragons standards, barely a snack.
Pushing on all four of my legs to stand up, I was instantly remembered of the injury in my right claw as I hissed in pain. The numbing effects that Alexstrasza applied yesterday had vanished and let the pain return, making me glare in anger at the large purple scar that seemed to be slightly pulsing. But I was brought back to the rest of the world when Mightion growled, and I looked up to see that he was starting at my scar too.
"Does it hurt?" He asked looking both concerned and angered. Somehow, it reminded me a bit of Professor McGonagall.
"It is painful, but not unbearable. I'll be fine." I assured as I let my claw rest on the ground and trying to deal with the pain.
"That won't do. We won't be able to go to Stormwind like this." He said.
I stared blankly at him. He was taking this far too seriously.
"That won't be an issue, I will change into a human and then I won't even have to walk on my claw anymore." I reassured him. "I just need to go find something to eat and then I'll be ready to go."
That seemed to alleviate his spirit quite a lot and I saw him start to smile, a large smile that coupled with the intensity in his eyes made me think I just gave him an idea.
"Then stay here and rest. I shall go hunt for the both of us." Mightion said.
Now that was a surprise. I wasn't expecting the gesture and didn't really know what to say about it.
"I- that would be the first time that someone brings me my breakfast in bed." I said as it was the way I saw it. Even if there was no bed to sleep in for a dragon.
"Let me take care of it, I'm sure I can find a meal satisfactory enough. Let me prove my worth." He proudly affirmed.
It's only now that I realised that it was slightly more than a kind gesture as I recalled my lessons with Azuregos. Dragons were supposed to provide for themselves at all times but when it came to courting another the male had to show his reliability to find food for when the female was busy keeping watch over the eggs. Thinking it in the scientific terms back then hadn't surprised me much but now that I was the target of such attention I was lost for words.
"Well if it doesn't bother you." I started.
"Great! Then I will be back shortly." Mightion replied strongly.
He left before I could even say anything else. I watched him disappear in the portal, not quite sure how to feel about this as I understood the feeling of having someone doing something for you in an act of love. Never before had I experienced this and it was a very, very new emotion. I had friends that took care of my needs sometimes, but having someone in love doing the same for you felt different. The nice kind of different.
So I started to wait, lying down again as I kept looking at my scar and examining the veins spreading in my claw and how the corruption was still present. It was painful and slightly uncomfortable, but as I said to Mightion it wasn't unbearable, just making it hard to walk without limping. I also got to think about today and how I could apologise to Anduin. I already told him as much when I came to from being corrupted by N'Zoth, but I had been in a daze back then, barely able to think straight. I would apologise again, this time truly meaning it and perhaps I would have to beg pardon to Stormwind's citizens at the same time. Even if I wasn't expecting any mercy on that side. I had no idea how to do that, but I was determined to make due for my mistake of ignoring N'Zoth whispers.
Barely twenty minutes after he felt, Mightion came back inside and the least I could say was that if he was looking to impress then he certainly did. He carried a caribou in one claw, spilling blood everywhere, and in his jaw was a large mammoth. The massive body was nearly falling out of Mightion's mouth who clearly had difficulties to bring it over to me, dropping it harshly on the ground as its originally brown fur was tainted in blood.
"That's a lot of food." I noted.
"Then we'll throw what's left in the lava." He shrugged as he sat to my right with the caribou still in his claw.
"I- thank you." I said, truly appreciating what he did.
Yeah, dragon meals lacked any kind of romanticism but hey! It's the gesture that matters right? I decided to gave him a nuzzle on the neck before digging in alongside him, both of us crunching on the bones that broke like roasted peanuts and devouring a very large portion of the mammoth. Mightion actually started by eating the caribou and didn't touch the mammoth, but after I told him that it would definitely be plenty enough for me alone, he dug into it too. Mammoth was something I could have never even think to eat back on Earth, but it was actually a very nice meat, quite strong and hard but with dragon's teeth on my side it simply stood no chance.
When we finally finished, there was just the skull that none of us ate because of the long tusks that made it impractical to chew on. Mightion threw it in the lava where it quickly sank, never to be seen again. Now satiated, it was time to be on our way to Stormwind. Standing up, still with a small limp which didn't escaped Mightion scrutinising gaze, we opened our wings and flew til we entered right in the portal, Mightion right on my tail.
Not wasting a second when we came out on the other side, we exited the sanctums room and flew toward the archives where I knew we would find Tyrygosa. Just before landing, I took my human form and enjoyed the sensation of standing up without pain as soon as my feet touched the floor. Looking into my palm, I watched the corruption that had the exact same pattern as on my dragon claw, spreading from the center to the edges and going up a few of my fingers. Mightion changed too in his elven form that I looked at the office at the front, frowning when I didn't saw the blonde high-elf. We stepped inside and started to go through the alleys, passing by rows and rows of books without any trace of Tyri.
"Where could she be?" I asked aloud.
"Amaria?!" Came a shout a little bit further.
I had no time to react that Tyri rushed where I was, her eyes widening as she saw me. She instantly ran and caught me in a bear crushing hug, both of her arms passing in my back and capturing me as she put her head on my shoulder.
"You stupid, idiotic, imbecile, careless, arrogant, selfish,..." Started Tyri as I could hear her cry at the same time.
I stood dumbstruck and didn't do anything for a few seconds, taking in the fact that she was openly crying. Tyri could get angry, furious even, but she never cried or smiled. She simply looked bored most of the time. But I also knew that she cared far more than she showed. Tentatively, bringing my arms around her as she kept ranting, giving me every insult in the book, I hugged her back and let her empty her heart.
"... mindless, fool of a dragon. Do you have any idea how worried I was?" She finally finished, breaking the hug as I looked in her eyes.
She had tears in her eyes, just as I expected, but she was also smiling. It was simply a little bit out of place on her face, bringing a beautiful side of her that she didn't show often, but I didn't let it bother me.
"I do now. And I'm sorry." I replied with a small smile.
"Sorry won't cut it, Amaria. You almost died. We could have killed you. N'Zoth could have killed you. The corruption could have killed you. All because I was too dumb to listen to you and not figuring what plagued you." Tyri sharply said before softening up again.
"What?" I asked shocked.
"I studied the corruption. Back in Outland, I used to work on eggs corrupted with the twisting nether, I did my best to study and save them. I know what it feels like, I should have been able to recognise it, yet I didn't." She continued.
"It really worked you up didn't it?" I softly asked, only now realising what she went thought. "It wasn't your fault."
"Of course not, it's yours. How stupid can you be? Listening to the old gods? I thought you were above such things!" She chastised me in a way I was more familiar with.
"The old gods corruption can't be easily fought." Cut in Mightion who had been standing nearby all along, a slightly hard edge in his tone.
"She should have been better!" Shouted back Tyri.
"Tyri..." I called her softly. "Even with all the training I had to learn how to shield my mind back on my world, all my occlumency lessons, it was nothing against N'Zoth. It helped, I realised what the whispers were instantly and my mistake was thinking that it could wait. N'Zoth's corruption is far more insidious and vicious than I could have ever imagined. It made me think that I had more important things to do, made me think that you were all trying to delay me. I swear it won't happen again. If you would take me, would you mind helping me working on my mental defences?"
She looked back to me, frowning a little bit and then hardening a lot in the face I knew was all a facade. A well meaning one.
"We will do more than that. First we will work on your your portal spell until you've perfected it, until you've mastered it. And then we will start on your mental defences. I swear, if you can't do either of both I'll keep you in the archives until you can do it. Am I clear?" She commanded.
"Crystal." I replied seriously.
"Good. We'll start once we're done with whatever you need to do with Anduin."
"He isn't that bad, isn't he?" I asked, knowing she was letting her distaste of mortals speak for her.
"He's just a man." She shrugged.
"I would be dead without him. Mightion too." I added a bit sadly.
I got the immense pleasure to watch her face decompose in realisation before she looked around for something that I couldn't see and then sighed loudly, bringing a hand to her head.
"I know that. Just, there are very few mortals that I consider acceptable. Maybe if he-" She started.
"Tyri."
"Fine, fine. He was of great help, just leave it at that, okay?" She groaned.
"Good. Now, let's go see mother and then we will be free to leave." I said triumphant.
The three of us made our way out of the archives and then changed in our dragon forms, flexing our wings wide open and taking to the sky. On the way up I saw a few other dragons who gave me an appreciative nod, a little attention that I enjoyed, and a small glare at Mightion at the same time, which was definitely less pleasant. It had nothing to do with the glares I got on my first weeks here, but it seemed like it would still take time and work to really start changing how the world sees black dragons.
When we reached the top of the temple I got the displeasure to see Devrestrasz, talking with Kandrostrasz and mother, all in their disguised forms, the hateful red instantly glaring at both me and Mightion and stopping dead their conversation. Mother and Kandrostrasz didn't comment on it though it was clear they didn't share his hatred, welcoming us with a nod.
"Daughter, Mightion, Tyrygosa. I trust you are ready to depart for Stormwind?" Asked Mother.
"Yes. Just wanted to say hi." I replied.
"And if you could apply some magic on Amaria's scar, this would be very appreciated." Mightion suggested as I blushed at the attention he gave me.
"How dare you address our Queen without her title? You better learn your place soon, black." Spat Devrestrasz.
"You have no say in my words. Keep playing the little soldier for all I care, you are insignificant." Mightion return the insult, nose high in the air while remaining perfectly calm and collected.
Roasted!
"Your kind is not-" Devrestrasz started again.
"Silence!" Commanded Alexstrasza, glaring hard at him.
"My Queen, surely-"
"Not another word, Devrestrasz." Warned him Mother. "I've had enough of your insolence and lack of respect for your fellow guardians. I tolerated as much as possible your insubordination toward my daughter in the past, but no longer. The black dragonflight is as important as any other flight, they were misguided and tricked by the old gods in madness before, but that is now behind us. If you can't see that I think I shall need to reconsider your position as Commander of Wyrmrest Temple. You are bringing conflict and division in our kind, shame on our flight, and disappointment in my heart. I can only hope that you will see it too."
That shut him up pretty hard and it took all I had to not give him a smug face, enjoying the fact that Mightion was doing it for the both of us. Kandrostrasz looked a bit depressed at that, probably recalling that he had acted just like that before. But I wasn't holding it against him as much as I did with Devrestrasz. Devrestrasz was just too stubborn for his own good.
"Now, let us be. Kandros, please try to make him see reason." Added Alexstrasza.
"Yes, mother." Kandrostrasz replied.
Kandrostrasz went first and Devrestrasz followed, a slightly lost expression on his face even if it was obvious that Alexstrasza's reprimand hadn't eradicated all the hatred he had for the black dragonflight. They transformed before jumping from the platform, leaving for the Ruby Sanctum I guessed.
"Ugh. Males." Mother rolled her eyes once the two were away.
"I know, right?" Agreed Tyrygosa wholeheartedly.
"You're aware I used to be one? Right?" I raised an eyebrow.
"You got better." She playfully replied.
"Right." I gave her a 'I absolutely believe you' look.
"Now, please give me your hand." Mother asked more focused.
Lifting my right hand, Mother caught it in her left hand and used the other to cast a spell on the scar. Once again I exhaled in relief as I felt the pain starting to vanish, watching in fascination the scar's glow subside until it disappeared, leaving only the purple of the scar as I soon flexed my fingers without any discomfort.
"Thanks. I can't learn that spell, can I?" I happily asked.
"Sadly no. But any priest or druid competent enough should be capable of providing as good of a relief." She answered.
"That's not a lot." Noted Tyri.
"Tyri." I rolled my eyes.
"Now, be on your way. I shall see you later, my daughter. Mightion. Tyrygosa." Nodded Mother.
"Thanks." I replied, starting to gather magic in my hands to summon a portal for Stormwind.
Only to have Tyri grabbing my wrist.
"What are you doing?" She demanded.
"Making a portal for Stormwind?" I suggested a bit surprised at her vehemency.
"Certainly not. You're hand is still not healed and who knows if the corruption will alter the spell. Plus, I forbid you to cast any portal spell until me and Mightion worked out why you can't cast them properly. We'll work on it later, I'll make the portal." She said adamant.
"Well, if it makes you happy." I smiled. I agreed with her, maybe just to be nice, but I was slightly confused why she talked about Mightion. As far as I knew, he wasn't able to create portals.
She snorted but didn't said anything else. Tyri got to work, quickly gathering magic and soon projecting it forward as a portal with a picture of Stormwind inside appeared, floating slightly above the ground.
With a last wave and smile to Mother, I followed Mightion who went first just as Tyri followed suit.
Just like the first time I went to Stormwind, we appeared in the portal room of the mage tower, with the very same mage who welcomed me standing a couple of meters away staff in hand and ready to cast a spell, her magic already gathering at the tip.
"And that's one of the many reasons why I don't like mortals. Incapable to stay calm in even the least threatening situation." Came Tyri's annoyed voice behind me.
"Indeed." Agreed Mightion.
In an instant the magic in the mage's staff died out and I turned around to see Tyri who was already casting a spell, purple and blue magic dancing on her fingers as she glared at the mage. I almost felt like rolling my eyes, but when I noticed the glare mixed with fear of the human, I decided to cut things short.
"What have you done?" Asked the woman before I was able to put a word, staring at Tyri while glancing at me and Mightion.
"Don't worry too much, I've just removed your magic. You'll get it back as soon as I stop casting." Replied Tyri.
"You're not helping." I told my slightly frustrating friend before turning to the mage. "Sorry for that, but if we could avoid any incident, would you mind letting us go meet with Anduin? I'm quite certain that he is waiting our arrival at some point."
The mage stared at us, along with a small glare for Tyri, but relented as she placed her staff back on the table next to her. With a far too smug and superior expression, Tyri released the magic in her hands. I would have berated her but I was well aware of how useless it was.
"I believe you know the way?" She asked us.
"Hard to miss a destroyed castle." Snorted Tyri.
"Thanks Tyri, why don't you keep rubbing it even more in my face?" I harshly replied, not needing more guilt for what I did.
"Oh. Right." She said as she shut up, with Mightion giving her the stink eye.
With a tired sigh, I made my way out of the tower with my two companions behind. As we exited, I got a very good sight of Stormwind Castle. The left wing of the castle had been spared, the center part where the throne room was looked damaged with portion of its roof missing and few blocks of stone destroyed but the right side of the castle was completely gone. There was only a big pile of rubbles, cracked stone and burned wood mixed with a few blue roof tiles. It was clear that the workers had already started clearing the ruin, even now we could see a line of people at work to remove as much of the stones as possible.
With guilt clenching my heart, well aware that this display of destruction was all my fault and that I killed many at the same time. I had no idea how many, but I could only hope that it had been minimal.
Walking down the tower, we were stopped right at the entrance by ten guards.
"Halt! By order of the King, you are to come with us immediately." Shouted one with a slightly more sophisticated armour than the rest.
"Is he already aware that we're here?" I asked surprised.
"Silence! You are under arrest!"
"Be careful how you address her, human." Coldly threatened Mightion, glaring at the captain.
"We're here to see Anduin anyway, there's no need to fight." I added quickly, hoping to defuse the situation.
"I said silence, spawn of Deathwing!" The captain spat toward me.
To be honest, this was the kind of reaction I was expecting. I had certainly not improved the image of the black dragonflight, almost doing a repeat of what Deathwing did when he came to Stormwind. I was about to let it slide, accepting that their hatred was well deserved, when Mightion stepped forward.
But before I got the time to reply or do anything else, Mightion had already moved. As if he took a single step, Mightion was standing right in front of the captain. A second later, and the captain was lifted from the ground by the throat, Mightion not even struggling to keep him there and sneering down at the man. The captain was uselessly clenching Mightion's arm in an attempt to free himself, just as the other guards pointed their weapons at us.
"Let him go!" Ordered one of them.
"You pitiful bag of flesh, you will never address my future mate like that ever again." He warned, towering above the man with his gigantesque stature, in a freezing tone while the fire in his eyes glowed brighter.
"Mightion! Stop!" I shouted as the captain tried to breathe.
He turned toward me, a surprised expression on his face.
"I'm only making sure he won't disrespect you anymore." He replied a bit calmer, but still with anger, as if he had no idea what he was doing was wrong.
Which was probably the case.
"There's no need to kill him! Or threaten him. I don't mind." I pleaded him.
"He must not get away with this. He insulted you after I warned him not to do it." He continued.
"And as much as I appreciate your care for me, this isn't necessary. Had he wanted to harm me, I would have defended myself, but there's not need to escalate things any further." I said sternly.
Mightion stared back at me for a few seconds, until he turned back toward the captain, now chocking and turning a bit blue in the face. I was about to press him again that he released the man, letting him fall on the ground harshly, before standing down to catch him by the helmet and forcing him to look at Mightion.
"You live because she wants it. Don't let me catch you again disrespecting her." Threatened again Mightion as he released the captain for good.
"If only they knew their place." Sighed Tyrygosa, obviously not shocked nor condemning Mightion's action.
While I knew they were only trying to defend me, this kind of behaviour was exactly why we had problems interacting with other races. Before things could escalate any further, which would be really, really bad, I moved a hand in front of Mightion as he stopped glaring at the rest of the guards.
"We're not here for to fight. We came to see Anduin, just take us to him. Please." I tried to appease everyone.
With a grunt of acceptance, and a last glare, the guard turned around as the others surrounded us. If it was more for Stormwind's protection or ours I couldn't tell. But having guards lead us through the city made it far easier to navigate through, people standing aside to let us pass.
Mightion was standing right next to me, and I was thinking back on what just happened. In hindsight, I should have guessed that such an outcomes was not only possible but also probable, but it gave me a new side of Mightion that I wasn't really a fan of. I wouldn't say anything right now, surrounded by so many people, but as soon as we would be alone, I would try to talk this out with him.
Not many people gave us much attention, if anything they were more surprised with Tyri's and Mightion's blood-elf disguises, but I did notice a very few glaring at me. Thankfully nothing was thrown at us, I don't know how Mightion would have reacted to that, but we made it to the castle in only five minutes, sticking to the canals and avoiding the more crowded parts of the city.
More guards were present there, maybe twenty who made sure that nothing or no-one suspicious entered the walls of the castle. We had to wait for a cart to pass, charged with blackened stone and rubbles as it left toward the harbour. Were they planing to take the stones somewhere? Before I could think about it in more details, we got ushered through the rows of guards.
Seeing it closer didn't help alleviate the guilt, if anything it strengthened it. The destruction that I caused looked far greater, with the pile of rubbles being far bigger and it also gave me a look of the crater from which everything exploded. There was maybe a hundred workers or so charging carts and helped by a few mages who assisted by levitating the heavier blocks.
We didn't got the time to look at it more that we were directed to the other side of the castle, where I remembered the gardens and the library being. A hand on my shoulder took me out of my reverie.
"It wasn't your fault." Mightion said with a knowing look in his eyes.
"Not fully." I replied.
"Would you have done it without the old gods influence?" He asked me.
"No but-"
"Then it isn't your fault. N'Zoth has destroyed our flight thousands of years ago, you're only one more reason to get back at him." He assured me.
I stood silent at that. Should we go for N'Zoth's head? He obviously had to be dealt with, but it simply looked like an impossible task, one that would require so much more than the two of us. I read about how much efforts it took to get rid of the other old gods, and N'Zoth was apparently starting to return to the peak of his power. Defeating him would take so much more than two dragons. The other old gods fell to some of the strongest and most powerful adventurers of Azeroth. It would probably be necessary to call upon them again to fight N'Zoth.
Clearing my head of such thoughts, aware that it wasn't the moment to think about this, we passed by the throne room which looked mostly intact save for a few parts of the roof missing and the right side being completely crumbled. Taken to the left wing of the castle, passing by the gardens and entering the library, I saw that it had been shuffled around. Most bookshelves had been placed to the side and many tables had been brought in, where a dozen of people were working on with many letters, plans and maps spread everywhere, with the one office at the very back of the room being occupied by Anduin.
He was shuffling through a pile of letters, looking slightly exhausted and I feared how much of it was my fault.
"Your Majesty, we bring you the one responsable for destroying your castle." Accused the captain, as a way of introducing us.
Instantly all eyes turned on us and especially on me. I stood head high, not in a condescendant or above everything kind but rather accepting of their judgement and hatred. What I saw in many's eyes was not only hatred but anger along with a slight fear for some of them.
And I felt deserving all of it.
Anduin looked up to me and I saw none of the expressions of his people's eyes. No, his eyes held only relief and it took me slightly by surprise. I was aware of Anduin's great forgiveness but didn't expected it after what happened.
"Your Majesty." I bowed my head down.
"Amaria, you need not bowing to me. I'm beyond relieved to see you are alright." Anduin said as he stood up, coming right in front of me.
"Thanks. Not sure I deserve it, but I appreciate it." I replied.
"Nonsense. I've been told in great details what the whispers of the old gods are. I won't fault you for what happened that day." He assured me.
"I destroyed half of your castle and killed your guards, how can you not be mad at me?" I asked him, not feeling like I could accept just being told to accept what happened and getting off scot-free.
"What you did was not done under your own will. Mightion has been very helpful in understanding all that it implied and I saw far greater evils than you in our world, you are nowhere near what I would call an evil person." He kept going with a smile.
"Is that it?" I was bewildered.
"You also saved my life. The bracelet you gave me? It protected me from your flames during your madness." Anduin said pointing at the silver bracelet still on his left arm.
I looked down at that, having mixed feelings about this. On one side I was happy that my bracelet saved him. On the other, I was ashamed and angry at myself for having the old gods force me to harm him.
His smile faltered and he took a look at the room.
"We will continue on Jaina's plans later." He said to one attendant before turning back toward me. "Come with me."
Anduin led us out of the library and we crossed back a part of the castle, getting near the entrance but stopping just before, entering the very same room where me and Genn got into a heated exchange. The guards remained outside on Anduin's order, but they would have clearly preferred to be watching us.
Now alone, Anduin exhaled loudly as he looked at me apologetically. "Stormwind's inhabitants will want reparations. They're asking for blood and justice. I already announced that the fault was on N'Zoth shoulders but many still ask for you to be punished, some even wanting your head on a pike just like we did with Onyxia."
A growl from Mightion interrupted him but he was quick to stop, glaring at Anduin yet waiting for him to finish.
"As I was saying," Continued Anduin. "The people of Stormwind want some sort of punishment. While I disagree with their opinion, I also have to acknowledge it. I won't have you going by any sort of physical punishment, the Light knows how much trouble we would get from Alexstrasza."
Well he wasn't wrong on that one.
"Me and my advisers came to the agreement that if you help maybe three or four days a week until all the rubbles are removed, we could consider your debt settled." Finished Anduin.
"Make it until the new castle is done and we're good." I instantly replied, feeling like the punishment he was giving me simply couldn't amend what I did.
"Amaria, I won't ask that of you, especially since you're still recovering."
"Which means that I will be more helpful as time goes by and will be fully cured way before the castle is redone." I argued.
"We don't know that for sure." Interrupted Mightion.
I gave him a small glare but it didn't fazed him in the least.
"Oh for magic's sake! Just accept that before she adds anything else!" Groaned Tyri. "She's just too stubborn for her own good."
Anduin looked slightly uncertain and I replied by giving him a firm nod. But maybe Tyri's idea of more punishment would suit-
"Fine. I will accept that but nothing more." The Alliance's king decided.
Too late.
"Good. Now that you're done, can we go back to Wyrmrest?" Huffed Tyri.
"You can be such a child sometimes." I teased her, feeling slightly vengeful for her interruption.
"What?!" She roared. "Me?! A child?! You're the one who's been acting like a whelp for the last week!"
"Maybe. But who's having a tantrum right now?"
"A- You know what?! You can go back to the temple by yourselves!" She replied as she turned around and took the door, slamming it hard as the walls trembled and leaving us all silent for a couple of seconds.
"Was that wise?" Asked Anduin concerned.
"Don't worry. I'm sure she will go sulk a bit somewhere, annoy someone else for a while and then come back to drag us to the temple. She absolutely want to have me master the portal spell anyway." I replied as I relaxed, waving a hand at him.
"If you're sure."
"King Anduin, there's something I've been wanting to ask for quite a time already. I was waiting for Amaria to be awaken, but could you tell us what happened to the Shard of Light?" Asked Mightion.
I froze for a second, recalling all that happened and all that was saved thanks to that staff. Not only Mightion and me but all those that we could have killed in our madness. With great attention, I listened to Anduin's reply.
"You do not need to worry about it, I had it secured in a new vault, known by only three people including myself." He reassured us with a smile.
"I know this might be asking a lot, but would you be ready to lend us your help again should we find another black dragon in the same situation as we were?" Continued Mightion.
"You may not be liked by Stormwind's citizens, but I consider you as allies. If you ever need the staff again, I'll be overjoyed to bring it to you." Kindly said Anduin.
Mightion let out a big sigh of relief and I could understand him. He lived his whole life trying to fight off the corruption and ended up with all of his flight either dead or corrupted, the chance of saving any of those who remained was invaluable.
"May I ask what you will do now? I get that the two of you are a thing now." Asked Anduin smiling.
"Is it that obvious?" I asked a bit defeated.
"Well, not really, but I have the feeling that each of you go well with the other." He replied.
"It's a recent development, we're not in that kind of relationship." I replied a bit sheepish and smiling at Mightion. "But I think we should go to my... should I say lair?"
"You may call it whatever you want, let it be lair, palace, mountain or just home." Shrugged Mightion.
"Home. I like the sound of that. Then me and Mightion shall go at my home, in Blackrock Mountain." I replied turning to Anduin.
He looked at me slightly gobsmacked, then frowned slightly as he thought for a few seconds.
"You took over Blackrock Mountain?" He wished to confirm.
"Yes I did, right after I blew up on you and Jaina in front of Undercity. I started cleaning it, but it will take far more time to make it liveable, at least for humans." I said.
"I see. I have no issue with you living there, it was merely unexpected. Might I request something out of you in that case?" Anduin asked.
"Sure."
"Blackrock Mountain is an important travelling and military position, linking the Burning Steppes and the Searing Gorge. If you could secure it, it would allow an easier, safer and faster, transport by land and Stormwind would remunerate you in exchange as long as you keep it under your control." Suggested Anduin.
I was slightly surprised by the proposition, but I couldn't deny that it was appealing. A steady income for making our own home safe? It was almost like free money for doing nothing. Yet there was the one downside of having a whole lot of people passing right in our home. Maybe not in the top of the volcano where we would live, but it was still something to take into account. And we wouldn't be able to guard the place at all times. Was it possible for us to bring back dragon guards here or maybe hire guards to keep the entrances safe?
That was a lot of details to think of though quite important in their own right.
Its only after a few moments that I realised that I was thinking in 'we', not 'I'. The idea of being near Mightion simply felt right.
"I think we should agree." Cut me off Mightion.
"Really? I like the idea too, but its quite a lot to think about." I replied.
"Not really. While I do not like much the thought of having mortals near our domaine, we get a steady income just to live and make sure our home is safe." He summed up.
"But what about defending it? I'm no planning to stay there all the time." I told him still unconvinced.
"Then we can summon earth elementals to guard the place in our absence. Or even if we're here, they're only rocks given mouvement, they won't care to stay at the same place for decades." He shrugged.
"Oh." I said surprised before truly understanding what he just said. "Wait, I can summon elementals?"
"Certainly. I would have to regain my powers to show you how to do it, but it isn't hard."
"Why wasn't I told about this before?" I groaned.
"Perhaps because only we black dragons, and shamans in some measure, are able to call onto the earth. Since there's no other black dragons in Wyrmrest I doubt anyone would have recalled that it is an ability of our flight. Other flights simply can't do it." He answered.
That was a good point.
"Any other powers that I didn't know of?" I asked slightly annoyed.
"Not really, but me and Tyrygosa have a pretty good hypothesis on why your portals are so hard to pull of." He said casually.
I stared at him in shock. Why hadn't they told me anything about this sooner? Mightion visibly seemed to get my line of thought as he continued before I did.
"Because of our connection to the earth, our portals needs to be connected to it to be used. The problem is that the Cataclysm and the Shattering have destroyed most of the path used for our magic. Azeroth itself has been wounded with Sargeras' sword in Silithus, making matters worse. The simple fact that you can cast any portal spell at all is very impressive already." He explained. "Its because I know more than you on Azeroth and our flight that I was able to understand why your portals are so hard to make, me and Tyrygosa explored the subject in a bit more depth and that's the conclusion we've reached."
"And why wasn't I made aware of this?" I asked a bit calmer.
"We forgot." He said with an apologetic smile.
I sighed loudly at that. I couldn't really be mad at them with all that happened since I woke up but at least I was happy to know that my magic or my casting wasn't the problem. It was a something linked to all black dragons. I would have to annoy Tyri about that later. Or maybe not, she would certainly said something like 'I knew my teachings were perfect, you were the problem as always.'
"Can you create a portal?" I enquired curious.
"No. I am a warrior, I can cast a few fire spells and call upon the earth but I will need to regain my powers for that. I never bothered to learn magic beyond the most basic of our abilities, so I do not know how to make portals." He answered.
"So can I make portals?"
"Tyrygosa advised not to, mainly because of your hand. While our damaged connexion to Azeroth can make the casting of portals harder, we fear that the corruption in your scar may interfere with the portal. Even basic spells would need to be cast with great caution." He explained.
"Of course I managed to damage my magic." I exhaled sourly.
"It will come back. In time." Replied Mightion, not very helpful.
"Well in any case." I said before turning again toward Anduin. "We accept your offer, king Anduin."
"Wonderful. Then is there anything else I can do for you? I still have an awful lot to do." Replied the king.
"Not that I can think of. We are very grateful for your kindness and acceptance." Mightion said.
"Just one thing. When am I expected to start my punishment? I'm ready to do it now if you want." I told Anduin.
"Absolutely not." Growled Mightion, giving me a glare of concern. "You're still limping, you are in no condition to help right now."
"Is that true?" Asked Anduin looking at me, searching for a wound.
"Yes, but its only in my dragon form." I said showing him my scarred hand.
"And what makes you think you can do anything with only one hand?" Retorted Anduin with a frown. "Don't answer, I know that you could still do something but that's not important. Lets agree on the next week, take some time to recover and then you will be welcome to help."
"Well if everyone is against me helping I guess I don't have the choice." I ranted slightly. "Sorry. We won't be taking anymore of your time."
"At least let me take you back to the courtyard." He offered stepping ahead of us.
Thus me and Mightion followed him as we crossed back the little undamaged part of the castle to reach the throne room and then back to the entrance.
"I just noticed but where's Genn? I would assumed of him to be here to help you." I asked.
"He is helping but his presence was needed elsewhere. It was good seeing you Amaria, I'm glad that you finally recovered." Replied Anduin.
"Thanks. I already spent too much of a lifetime in hospital beds." I grinned at him.
"While I feel that there is a story to that, I'm afraid I need to leave you. Have a good day and stay safe." He told the both of us.
"Thank you, your majesty." Replied Mightion.
"You too. I'll see you next week."
With that said, Anduin left us alone as we turned toward the many workers busy removing the rubbles. It dimmed a bit my happiness of seing Anduin again but I didn't got the time to worry about that.
"Is there anything else that you need here or should we go see your lair?" Asked me Mightion.
"Perhaps Tyrygosa won't like looking for us for hours. But it's not like she will be mad at us anyway, she was the one who left after all. Let's go to Blackrock, I think you will like the place." I shrugged, slightly enjoying the thought of annoying my friend. "And its going to be our lair, not just mine."
We thought about turning back into dragons right where we were but decided against it, seeing as it would most likely only create further panic. Walking all the way back to Stormwind's gates, passing by the water canals and the Trade District, was fairly uneventful and it felt good to simply walk through a crowd again, this time without getting disdain and hatred nor without praises as it was the case back in England as the Boy-who-lived. It wasn't perfect, a few people gave me plenty of hateful glares, but at least these were deserved.
Once we were out of the capital, we walked slightly off the path and turned back in our dragon forms, taking off toward the Burning Steppes and Blackrock Mountain. I was rather satisfied of our visit with Anduin, and maybe we should had at the very least left a message for Tyrygosa, but there was still much to do. First cleaning and officially claiming Blackrock Mountain, then I would have to find some time to go back to the tauren and apologise to Baine for losing the Earth Balm. I swore that I would repay him and I would keep to my promise. Then I also had to go back to Stormwind to rebuild the castle, train with Tyrygosa to master the portal spells and I still wanted to se more of the world.
But it could wait. I would live for thousands of years, I simply had to organise myself and do the more urgent things first.
Little extra, just a little joke I learned in a very famous movie that I grew up with and that a lot of you will probably recognise.
"Your kind is not-" Devrestrasz started again.
"Silence!" Commanded Alexstrasza, glaring hard at him.
"My Queen, surely-"
"Not another word, Devrestrasz." Warned him Mother. "I've had enough of your insolence and lack of respect for your fellow guardians. I tolerated as much as possible your insubordination toward my daughter in the past, but no longer. The black dragonflight is as important as any other flight, they were misguided and tricked by the old gods in madness before, but that is now behind us. If you can't see that I think I shall need to reconsider your position as Commander of Wyrmrest Temple. You are bringing conflict and division in our kind, shame on our flight, and disappointment in my heart. I can only hope that you will see it too."
"And don't call me Shirley." Added Alexstrasza.