I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter and World of Warcraft, all rights belongs to their rightful owners.
We are getting closer to the end of what could be the Arc 1, but we still have a few chapters to go. This one is big. The longest one, with a bit over 10000 words.
JUST A QUESTION: do you feel like Mightion and Amaria's relationship is going too fast? Not to spoil much, but this chapter and the next ones will start to put things into certitude, mostly for Amaria as she is the only one still having small doubts about her love.
The next two chapters are almost done, with a third in early development. I honestly have no idea how far this will go, we shall see.
Tell me what you think.
Thank you for your patience and good reading.
Our flight toward Blackrock Mountain was uneventful, just the two of us flying in a near straight line as the peak of the volcano was easily identifiable from afar. We flew above the mountains surrounding Stormwind and then above the darkened ground of the Burning Steppes, the air quickly getting warmer as the heat of the volcano grew stronger.
We flew side by side, not talking but without any awkward silence, a mutual and silent agreement on both of our parts as we started to glide down. We passed by the gate, but ignored it, flying near the mountainside and soon arriving in the open throne room. A first glance showed that nothing had moved, the piles of rubbles that I had removed were still missing and the lava bath I built seemed to have worked well, still warm and nicely filled as the excess of lava flowed down the mountain.
I got in first, staying in my dragon form as Mightion followed. With the massive pillars holding the ceiling, the room felt a little small for the both of us, but it wasn't enough to be a problem.
"So, this is Blackrock Mountain. Can't say I expected any less." Commented Mightion as he looked around the room, taking in its mostly destroyed condition.
"You never came here?" I asked.
"No. I never had any reason to, and once I learned that Nefarian made it his domain, I had a very good reason not to come." He replied.
"Well, its a massive series of rooms and corridors. I explored most of it but a lot of paths are destroyed, some bridges broke down and a few corridors crumbled. There's just the lower part of the city that I didn't went into as well as some sort of large cave downstairs. I think it would be best to close them." I explained, recalling as much as I could from my only exploration of the mountain.
"It would be better, certainly. We don't need to have to worry about any invasion coming from below." Mightion agreed.
"What do you think about it? At least this room." I asked as I turned a claw toward the throne.
"Once we have it secured and cleaned, I'm sure it will be perfect. Soon the Eastern Kingdoms will know that Blackrock Mountain is once again occupied." Mightion said as he nuzzled me.
"Don't say it like that, you sound like a vilain." I said with a small grin.
"Perhaps. Is there anything you would like to do first?" He asked me in high-spirits.
"Why not start with a tour? As I said, this place is massive, I haven't explored it entirely yet." I replied.
"Then we shall use the occasion to make sure that nothing hides beneath our sight." He assured.
Taking back our disguised forms, we started by the small room right next to the throne and checked it briefly, half of it being unusable with the crumbled ceiling filling up more than half of it. The first room after the throne room was a large pathway, big enough for us to walk through in our dragon forms and it continued down to a large room that was the first in a series of many, going straight forward and then down. Lots of old bones were laying around, sometimes piled on the sides, several weapons and armours had been thrown away in another corner with most of them bearing bite marks and burns.
The sheer number of those who died here was mind-blowing, let it be the heroes who successfully slayed Nefarian and all of his minions or the very same servants, mostly dragons and whelps as well as drakonids, probably reaching up to the hundreds. All of these bones and destroyed equipment now testified of what happened here, of all the horrors and deaths that took place here. Some of the skeletons were clearly from experiments, either horribly twisted or simply way too bizarre to be normal.
As we walked, Mightion and me used our powers to either burn the bones to ashes or throw them into nearby lava pits. It took a long time until we reached the entrance of the lair, around two hours, but we were quite happy with what we did. There was still a lot of work to be done, like removing all of the rubbles, clear some of the destroyed corridors and paths, fix some others and get rid of all the junk and useless stuff that lied everywhere. But we also agreed to keep some of them closed, either because we had no use for the rooms behind or simply because it was not worth the time.
"This is way too big for the both of us." I exhaled, happy to finally reach the entrance of the mountain.
"It is clear indeed, that Blackrock Mountain was built as a city and fortress." Agreed Mightion.
With maybe more than a hundred rooms spread everywhere in the city, it was far more than necessary for us to use. And it was without inspecting the lower part of the mountain that was only accessible through a tiny gateway located in the large rock standing in the pool of magma in the center of the volcano. I glanced toward it, thinking about what it could be used for. Sure it was more space, perhaps a last defensive position, but it was too restrictive for us dragons. We would be stuck to the ground in there, not that the lava was a big danger for us, but a grounded dragon made quite the easy target.
"Maybe we should drown the depths of the mountain." I suggested.
"I think so." Agreed Mightion. "Perhaps we should cut the chains of the platform above? With it crumbling down on the entrance, no one would be capable to enter without much hardships."
"You literally need to cross a chain hanging above a pool of lava to get in." I deadpanned. "But yeah, its too dangerous and we already have much to do with the upper part of the mountain."
"Then let's do it." He said before turning back to his dragon form.
I mimicked him and went in the other way, reaching a second chain. Where I decided to got the easy way, melting the massive chain with my breath, Mightion simply picked it up in his jaws and tore it appart with an incredible amount of strength, the iron creaking at first before breaking. As soon as it was done, the weight of the platform brought down the two other chains with it into the lava, crumbling down on the small hidden entrance and crushing it into pieces in a loud rumble, making the whole volcano tremble, and splash as it slowly started to disappear in the extremely hot liquid.
"There. Now, the only way to get in is either by the doors or by flying to the summit. It would be wise to leave guards there too when we are away, if only to make sure that no one will take Blackrock from us."
"I guess. We already have much to do before starting anything else." I stated.
"Certainly. Let's go back up." Mightion said.
I followed him as we made our way to the massive iron doors of the mountain, taking in briefly the still intact bridge in front of us before flying to the throne room where we landed back into our mortal disguises.
There wasn't too much to do at this level, mainly a lot of cleaning and then making the place both liveable and comfortable. I was already trying to imagine how the throne room would look like once cleaned, and it was almost lavish in my mind. Such a large amount of space was simply something I never needed and was never used to. Even if Hogwarts was quite big, the dormitories were quite small when shared with other children. And once I got my own place, it was again not something big and I never had any use of it. But now? After a year spent in the Obsidian Sanctum, I got used to it and my bigger form simply required it.
"Do you wish to make this part our private domain?" Asked Mightion.
"I don't see why not. Sure, its a bit far from the entrance, but this means more protections and we can come and go by the balcony whenever we want. We might need to expand the lava bath to fit the both of us and then clear the king's bedroom. Have you ever slept on a bed?" I asked curious.
"Rarely, but yes. I don't think I've ever used that much my Blood-Elf disguise, I prefer to stay in our natural form." He replied as he walked toward the throne.
"I agree, but a bed wouldn't be amiss. I don't think I've slept in a better bed than those in Stormwind's castle. Too bad I destroyed them." I ended a bit grimly.
"Should we go buy one now?" He asked as he sat down on the stone throne.
"We would need a place to put it in." I replied thinking about how we would need to rebuild the bedroom before smiling at him, looking at the throne that was too big for me and even Mightion was just reaching the right size to not look out of place sitting on it. "Comfortable?"
"Yes. But a bit lonely." He smirked.
"Its too big for me. Too hard too." I told him, knowing very well what he was thinking. Taking a step closer, I sat down on the armchair of the throne, apparently slightly to Mightion's disappointment.
"You know, Amaria, you are quite different from the other dragonesses I used to live with. And I'm not talking about your past, even if its probably the main reason. They were far more opened and direct in our relationships." Mightion said.
"Were they long?" I asked.
"Excuse-me?"
"Your relationships, did they lasted for a long time?" I reiterated.
"A couple of years at most. We met, agreed to be with each other and got to business." He said as if it was the simplest of banalities.
"That's your problem then. What we are engaging ourselves in, its a long, long term relationship. For life, should I say. And I'm sorry, but I don't want to 'get to business' anytime soon. I don't dislike you, and, if I'm being honest, I believe that I do have feelings for you. But I can only ask you to be patient." I said slowly, judging my words carefully as I spoke.
It wasn't an easy thing to say, and I was basically admitting that I was starting to love him, which I wasn't even one hundred percent certain. The idea of having sex, that was something I had considered and was ready for back when I was human. But as a dragon of the other gender, even with plenty of time already to think about it, I wasn't anywhere near ready for anything even remotely related to that.
"I do not mind being patient. It is merely different." He replied.
"Different can be good you know." I shrugged before looking at the throne, not really enjoying my position. "But I think that we will need a second throne regardless of what our relationship becomes."
"I like this." Mightion smiled as he started to reach for my thigh, only stopping before touching me and starting to remove his hand. I smiled back at him and caught his hand in mine, clutching it gently. He had been right to stop there, because I would have considered that off limits, but the gesture was somewhat appreciated. That gave his smile a bit more life and he continued. "We will be the masters of Blackrock. Not that I ever dreamed of anything like that, but the idea of being in command of such a place is very pleasing."
"We are no king or queen." I replied thinking about it.
"It doesn't matter. Blackrock is ours to do as we like, and if this throne is unfit for you then it shall be remade as you like." He assured.
"I guess I will have to settle for that." Giving him a bigger smile, I stood up from my hard chair and walked toward the lava bath, thinking about changing back and diving in before stopping. "I don't think it will be possible to enlarge it without taking too much space from the room."
"Perhaps, but lava isn't amiss in here. We can build another somewhere else. Should we go back to Stormwind? If only to tell Tyrygosa about our little trip." Suggested Mightion as he came up next to me.
"I guess so. We could use the opportunity to get a bed at the same time, as well as whatever we find that might be useful." I agreed. "I'll need to tell mother that I plan to live here though, I don't think I told her about it."
"If we go back to Wyrmrest Temple, I will go to the Obsidian Dragonshrine to get my powers back."
I stopped at that.
"Don't you think that Neltharion might refuse?" I asked.
"To hear you say such a thing is quite strange to me. I've barely heard of Neltharion, I know who he is of course, but Deathwing replaced him so long ago that all I've heard about who he used to be can be resumed on a single page. But I don't think he will stop me. Contrary to the rest of our flight, I refused to obey the old gods. Abandoning my duties of guardian wasn't the best idea I ever had, but it sounded right back then. I fully intend to fulfil them now, and not fail ever again." He explained with a slight frown on his face.
I turned back to the lava bath, looking at tiny bubbles that popped every now and then and followed the little stream that poured any excess toward the mountainside. Neltharion was someone, if a spirit could even be called that, that I met only once and didn't really got to talk with him as it was more him giving me a choice. I wasn't really worried for Mightion, it was more that I simply didn't know if it was possible for him to get his powers back just like that.
But that was a worry for later.
"There was also something else I wanted to talk about." I said a bit more seriously, recalling what happened this morning.
"What is it?" He asked.
"What you did to that soldier, the one you almost strangled." I answered.
He remained silent for a few seconds, and I didn't looked at him, still staring at the lava.
"I understand that this isn't what you wanted. I am sorry." Mightion finally apologised.
"That's it?" I turned toward him, slightly incredulous.
"I don't really see what else I could apologise for." He said a bit confused.
"You almost killed him. Killing someone the way you almost did, there's no apologising for this. Killing in self defence, that I know quite well and wouldn't blame you if it happened. But strangling a man because he insulted me? That was uncalled for." I went off.
"He shouldn't have disrespected you." Persevered Mightion.
"Not as much as he did, he obviously hates me for what happened. It was something out of my control, but I was still part of it even if I was an unwilling participant. He probably shouldn't have acted like that, but I can't fault him for this."
"But why? Why let him insult you like this? You let yourself look weak before him."
"And I don't mind. Had he wanted to harm me, I would have retaliated. Not with lethality, but at the very least to incapacitate him. I don't need to kill to look strong." I started before quickly continuing with more strength in my voice. "Let them see me weak, think that I'm at their command, that I am truly repentant! While only the latter is true, I know very well how powerful I am and I don't need to show it."
I started at Mightion as he took in all I just said, silent again for a brief moment.
"You got more from Alexstrasza than I thought. You care for life. All lives." He said as if he realised something.
"I resent killing if there are other ways." I confirmed, not telling him that I had been this way way before even coming into Azeroth.
"I won't kill for you if that's what you want." He continued.
That was a start, but not what I wanted.
"Thank you. Mightion, I really appreciate you standing up for me, but I don't need it. I'm not afraid to break a few bones if necessary, I can kill if there's no other way, so I can defend myself if I want to. When you told that captain to mind his words, that I truly am thankful for, so you have my thanks for it. But when he insulted me again, it wasn't necessary to go with violence. Not as long as they don't start the fight." I explained, looking at him expectantly.
"I- Amaria, I'm sorry but that's just how I've been doing for my whole life. Not that I went on killing sprees if someone insulted me, but I care more about you than I care for me. I don't really mind insults coming my way from a lowly captain that is blinded by his own hatred, I'll just shrug it off, but if someone targets you now it becomes personal." Mightion replied as seriously, both apologetic and serious about his behaviour.
I didn't really know what to say about that without repeating myself. His attention and care were very welcomed and it made me feel good to know that he felt like this about this situation, it was only his response to it that made me uncomfortable and slightly saddened.
"And I don't want you to go change your way of thinking for me. Just, be a bit more patient if something like this happen again. Please?" I asked him.
"That I can agree." He conceded. "But you should remember this. As much as you may have been a human, you're a dragon now. Our customs aren't the same as humans, just as I'm certain the humans here don't share the same culture as the one in your old world. I will be patient as you are asking me, I will try to not interject if someone happens to be stupid enough to insult you again, but I will crush anyone that tries to kill you."
I was a bit mixed about this, just on that last point.
"Only if its an enemy. I don't want you to kill a child or a desperate person."
"Who do you take me for? I wouldn't even consider a child dangerous, especially a human one." He rose both eyebrows surprised.
I blushed a bit at that, ashamed of what I just insinuated.
"Never mind. We should go back to Stormwind." I said quickly, wishing to put this behind us.
He nodded. "Alright."
We turned toward the open entrance of the throne room, turning back into dragons before taking to the air toward the Human capital.
Our little chat hadn't go the way I thought it would be, maybe I was expecting a bit too much from Mightion. Dragons, from what I've heard, read and been told, including by dragons, can be a bit more aggressive than humans. And even then, I wasn't sure if that counted for the humans of Azeroth who endured hardships after hardships, toughened and made to fight and survive. Humans on Earth were far more protected, and they only had to fear other humans. At least for the muggles, wizards had a bit more to fear but even then the world was safer than on Azeroth.
So it was more natural for the basic response to a threat to be deadly, it was simply a matter of live or die.
Mightion grew up and lived in a harsher world than mine, mostly alone and with a mentality of only having to survive and without any problem with killing if it meant being free. I couldn't blame him for his views and responses to threats, those were justified, but in matters where I was concerned I didn't wanted him to act in my stead. That's all I wanted.
Our flight was quite short once again, simply flying in a straight line until we reached the massive city. We did stopped a few hundred meters before its gates though, landing in the forest of Elwynn just to be safe. The walk to the gate was as uneventful as our flight and no one stopped us at the entrance, thankfully, as we walked along the other people going in and out of the city.
"What do you think of Stormwind?" I asked, curious since he didn't liked humans that much.
"From a defensive point of view? Very well placed, with only an access by the front gate or by the sea, surrounded by mountains. It wouldn't be much against dragons, as Deathwing pretty much destroyed a large part of it without anyone capable of stopping him. Regular dragons might have a slightly harder time, but the close proximity of all these houses means that starting an unstoppable fire would be incredibly easy." He started, with me not really having expected that answer, which he seemed to have noticed as his voice hardened. "But if you talk about its people, then I have no love for them. They can die that I would stand by, watching it happen."
"That's... quite harsh." I replied not really what else I could say.
"They judge us, judge you, on a single action that wasn't even in our control. Our flight has been corrupted for millennia, they have no idea what we had to endured, and what we still suffer from even today. Deathwing, Nefarian and Onyxia is all they know from the black dragonflight." He continued with his tone as hard as before, only softening after. "Though, I am grateful that King Anduin doesn't have the same prejudices as his people."
I thought on his words for a little bit, just as we entered the trade district, before answering.
"You know, I thought that your words were hard and uncalled for, but it would be hypocritical of me to say so. When I visited Stormwind for the first time, I asked around what people thought of the black dragonflight, and their words weren't the kindest ones. Their hatred isn't baseless, that much is true, but hating all our flight for other's mistakes and follies isn't right."
"Are you starting to dislike humans too?" He asked with a smug face.
"Not even close." I replied. "I have faith that everyone can be better. Its only a question of choice, of strength of will, and humans aren't lacking of it. Though some choices can be questionable and people can turn to darkness, not all are like this. What I'm saying isn't exclusive to humans, it can be applied to any race. Of course, cultural differences will make relationships between some races harder, perhaps near impossible, but I'm confident that some people will always fight for what is right no matter their origins."
"You are absolutely certain of it, aren't you?" He asked with a bit of surprise.
"Yes."
We walked a little bit more through the district before reaching a shop that did sell anything for homes, including beds. Walking in, I was surprised to constat that there were very few beds inside, with an abondance of pillows, sheets, duvets and even carpets. A pair of ladies were busy folding a few sheets that they took notice of our presence.
"Welcome, lord and lady. Are you looking for anything to furnish your bedroom?" One of them, apparently the oldest, asked.
"Good morning, we're here to buy a bed and anything going with one." Stated Mightion before I was able to put a word.
"Certainly." The merchant said as she left her colleague finish folding the sheets to bring us toward a section slightly more to the side that I hadn't noticed. There were a few more beds here, simple one, double beds and bigger ones, nearly king sized.
"Don't you have anything bigger?" Asked Mightion.
"They look big enough already." I said as I turned toward him, thinking that he was exaggerating a bit.
"I like big." He replied with a wide smile. "Plus, a regular bed would be nowhere near long enough for me."
"If I may." Interrupted us the lady. "We can order a custom bed to be made for you. It will be a bit more expensive as the sheets and duvets will have to be customised too, but it might be closer to what you're looking for."
"That's perfect for me. But what do you think?" He asked me.
Feeling a bit put on the spot, I couldn't really find any reason to say no. He did required a bigger bed, and it wouldn't be either fair or nice of me to have him sleep in a smaller bed.
"It's fine. How much will it cost?" I asked the merchant trying to get the attention away from me.
"From the dimensions I can expect, I would say nearly five gold for the whole bed including the sheets, duvets and pillows."
Well either that was quite cheap or I had no idea how money really worked here. I only had one purchase of a jewel to compare, after all.
"And when would it be finished?" Asked Mightion.
"Come back in a week and it will be ready."
"Perfect." Said Mightion as he took six gold coins from his pocket before handling them to the merchant who's eyes widened comically. "I want a good and nice looking bed, comfortable and soft. Also, do you have any idea where we could find more furniture? Chairs, tables, that kind of things."
"My brother owns the shop right to the left, you will find anything you need over there." She said with a bit more reverence, quickly putting the gold coins into a small purse at her belt.
Well, it was smart of her to keep the money coming in the family. I also had one other thing I needed to find.
"Does he have brooms?" I asked her.
"Brooms?" Repeated Mightion, freezing on the spot and almost sounding shocked.
"He certainly does, my lady." Answered the merchant.
"Great, we will go see him right now." I quickly added.
Mightion might have remained where he was, still processing my demand, had I not turned around and pulled him by the arm out of the shop. As soon as he was outside, his brain seemed to be done with whatever had froze him.
"Why are you asking for brooms?" He asked me, more accusing than curious.
"You saw how dirty and dusty it is in Blackrock, I don't want to live with that all day long." I replied in a no-nonsense tone, looking for the shop that had been recommended to us.
"Have you thought about the volcano? It rains ashes all year long, you'd spend your days sweeping only to have done nothing at the end of the day. Plus, that's not something dragons do." He added perplex.
"I agree and I don't intend to lift a finger." I replied with a smirk.
That made him frown again.
"Do you want to hire servants?" He asked confused.
"No. You'll see once I have the brooms." I told him.
He didn't said anything else about it so we continued in the furniture shop. Just as her sister said, we were able to find everything we needed in that man's shop, even if a couple of chairs had to be customised to Mightion's size. And much to my pleasure, and Mightion's confusion, I was able to find brooms. With our orders placed, and a few chairs, a table and few closets and cupboards taken in magic bags, I was about to suggest we go find Tyrygosa but was suggested something else by Mightion.
"You go find her, I'll meet with you at the castle in fifteen minutes."
I lifted an eyebrow at that, wondering what he had in mind.
"Do we need to buy something else?"
"Yes." He replied instantly, a bit to my surprise as I was expecting that he wouldn't be telling me.
"And may I know what it is?" I continued.
"No."
"Alright."
I let out a little laugh at how he was the one surprised now.
"Don't you want to know?" He asked slightly uncertain how to deal with my apparent lack of interest.
"I do. But you wouldn't have told me anyway, am I right?"
"You are." He replied with a large smile. "I'll see you later, my love."
I was so caught off guard by his last two words that I could not say anything until he was already lost in the crowd. I knew he loved me, but hearing him say it so casually, it was more than strange for me. Shaking my head, a bit bashful at the fact that so many people might have heard him, I quickly made my way toward the castle.
Not stopped by the guards, even if they all gave me a dark glare, not that it affected me much, I entered the courtyard where I almost instantly caught the voice of a distinguished lady, speaking with obviously high manners.
"And what do they do?! They leave me here! Alone, without telling me anything! With only Humans to talk to!" I heard Tyri complaining, and turning toward her beautiful voice, saw her talking with a male Draenei in an adviser costume that looked bored out of his mind, while apparently being polite enough, or maybe sane enough, not to interrupt her.
"That was certainly not very nice." He let out with a sigh.
"Exactly!" She shouted as if he said the most logical thing in the world. "When I get my hands on them..."
"Hi Tyri!" I said coming right behind her, beaming with joy.
She turned around so fast that I may have missed it were it not for the fact that she was glaring at me. I just gave a glance at the Draenei who looked at the sky in relief before quickly making his way in the castle, out of Tyri's reach.
"Where were you?! I've been looking for you all around this human nest! And where is Mightion? Don't tell me you lost him too?!" She nearly shrieked.
"He's fine, he said he will join us soon. But what do you mean by looking for us? We were the ones looking for you for hours." I said as innocently as possible.
"I casted a spell to find you and you were not here." She glared coldly.
"Oh." I simply said, having momentarily forgotten that she was an accomplished mage. "Well, that was actually one thing me and Mightion had to talk with you and Mother. See, I claimed Blackrock Mountain as mine a little while ago and me and Mightion will start living there from now on."
Her glare turned to a unbelieving look for a second before it returned, albeit lessened.
"You. You, of all dragons, took over Blackrock Mountain." She repeated void of any emotion.
"Sure did."
"What is happening to this world?" Tyri lamented as she put a hand to her forehead.
"Now, now, no need to be dramatic." I said before smirking. "We wouldn't want you to throw another tantrum. Of jealousy this time."
"You-" She started, fuming for a second as she barely managed to restrain herself. "Wait until we're back to Wyrmrest. I'll be grinding you into dust by the time you're done with your portal spell."
"Love you too, Tyri." I replied smiling.
She didn't deign to answer me, only glaring silently as we waited for Mightion to arrive. I started to flex my right hand without thinking about it, trying to dull the pain that was starting to come back along with the slight purple glow, but it didn't escaped Tyri's attentive eyes.
"Does your hand still hurts?" She asked with more kindness than earlier.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, a bit." I shrugged, clutching my hand before releasing it.
Silence returned, leaving us to watch the workers still hard at work to clear the ruins. I was thinking to go there and help, start my sentence a bit early, but refrained to do so. Not only was I certain that Tyri would have stopped me, but both Anduin and Mightion would have disapproved.
Thankfully, we didn't had much time left to wait as Mightion showed up five minutes later, coming toward us as soon as he spotted us.
"Finally. Can we go back now?" Complained Tyri. For once I wasn't certain if she really meant it or if she truly despised being here.
"Yes. Unless there's anything else we need?" Asked me Mightion.
"No, we're good to go." I shook my head.
Instantly starting to gather magic in her hands, Tyri made quick work of her portal that showed the Wyrmrest Temple on the other side. She went first, I followed and Mightion closed the walk behind me.
The change of temperature, while not really affecting any of us, made it clear that we were in a the right place before our eyes even settled on the room atop the temple, with Mother already there in her elven form and watching over a large transparent representation of Azeroth floating in the air.
"I see that you have return. Did everything went well?" Asked Alexstrasza.
Tyri responded by changing into her dragon form and jumping in the air, leaving me and Mightion alone with mother.
"Was it something I said?" Asked Mother slightly confused.
"No, she just don't really like humans." I said as a way to simplify things.
"That is indeed a likely explanation." Regretted Mother.
"But we got to talk with Anduin. He doesn't blame me, but he was sort of forced by the people to have me doing some work to help restore the castle. I will start in a week." I started to tell.
"I was expecting something of that order. Anything else?" She continued.
"Well, sort of. You see, I went to Blackrock Mountain a week ago, and decided to make it my new home. Me and Mightion went back this morning and we decided to live there at full time. At least once Tyri judges me competent enough with the portal spell, again. Actually, do you think that N'Zoth might be the reason why I wasn't able to cast the portal spell easily? Because it seems a bit big of a coincidence for it to simply not work out of the blue." I suggested.
"It is possible, likely even. But, that is something you'll have to see with Tyrygosa. I have no issues with you living in Blackrock Mountain, even if I have no love for this place. Many dark forces made it their domain through the years, its where Deathwing's minions used to reside, and where my dear Vaelastrasz died." Mother replied with a voice filled with regret.
I didn't really know what to say to that. I had completely forgotten that one of her sons there, and I just told here that I would start living in the same place where he died. I don't think it was possible to look more insensible that me right then.
"It will be different, your Majesty." Stated Mightion, getting both my attention and mother's. "We will make it a nice place, for us first and then for others. We already agreed with Anduin to act as chaperonnes of the Mountain to guarantee a safe access to the pass, we won't give it another reason to get a bad reputation."
Smiling at how he put into words what I couldn't even have thought to say, I returned my gaze on Alexstrasza to see her sharing a small smile of her own.
"That is probably more than what this place deserves. I hope your time there will be well and prosper." She said.
"We will go as soon as we're done with all we have to do here." I told her.
"Then go, you have my blessing. And Amaria?"
"Yes?" I replied.
"Think to come see me sometimes." She asked with a kind smile.
"I won't forget." I assured meaning it with all my heart.
"That's all I ask."
"We should get started then." Interrupted Mightion after a second of pure silence. "I will be going to the Obsidian Dragonshrine to swore to fulfil my duties once more. See you soon, my love."
This time he didn't got to leave without me saying a word, less taken by surprise.
"See you soon."
He gave me a bright smile and then turned away toward the edge, jumping in the air as he transformed and flew down toward the Obsidian Dragonshrine, leaving me and mother alone. And I didn't missed the big smile on her face.
"Could you look at my hand again, please?" I asked Mother.
"Of course." She said as she lit up her hand in a red glow.
"I'll be needing my personal healer at this point." I joked.
"If you want to live normally? Then yes. At least for now." Mother replied completely serious as the pain in my hand subsided.
"I was joking." I clarified.
"I wasn't. Daughter, I need to purify the corruption every few hours. It won't do anything more than hurting you, but it can be quite impeding. This will last for a few months I believe, past this, you should only require a healer twice a week or so. It could take up to a year before the corruption is completely removed, perhaps more." She explained as she let go of my hand.
Well, I hadn't thought it would be so long. And I wasn't very fond of the idea of having someone around me everyday just for that.
"I'll try to find someone then." I begrudgingly agreed.
"I will always have the time to do it for you." She reassured me.
"Bothering you with this everyday isn't exactly what I had in mind." I said.
"I'm sure you'll find someone competent enough, it doesn't require much skills to perform such magic. And even then, if you manage to cast your portal spells again, it will almost be like if I'm right next to you. If you live in Blackrock, Anduin will not be far away. As long as it doesn't make Mightion jealous." Mother joked pleasantly.
"Mom! Its weird enough that I accepted to be with Mightion, you don't have to make it any worse." I glowered embarrassed.
She only smiled back, and I'm certain she knew that very well.
"Peace, daughter. You will have to excuse-me, I wont stop to tease you no matter what happens."
"Great." I muttered.
"But more seriously, I believe that Mightion and you will go well together." She continued.
I remained silent at that, not really knowing what to say. The fact that I hadn't rejected Mightion yet or that I didn't minded the attention he gave me made it quite clear that there was something I felt for him. It was only a matter of choice and perspective, but it wasn't a small one.
"Daughter, I know that this isn't easy for you. Mightion probably see it too and I hope that he will be patient with you, until the day you are ready to, lets say officialise things more. But until then, take your time." She told me, putting a hand on my arm.
"I think I do love him." I confessed in a low voice.
"Yes. But it doesn't mean you should fall in his arms right away. As I said, the two of you should take time to know about each other in more detail. Sharing your interests, likes, and dislikes, isn't enough. You need to experience what it is like to live with the other. Past that point, you'll still have the choice of staying with him or not." Mother explained, taking her time.
There wasn't anything she said that I didn't agreed with. Taking time was exactly what I wanted, the thing I needed to acclimate myself at the idea of staying with him or going any further than that.
"Okay." I said taking a deep breath, cleaning my mind of these thoughts and keeping them for later. I had stuff to do right now. "I'll go see Tyri, better starts my lessons now if I want her to leave me alone. I know she's going to bother me endlessly otherwise."
"Then I'll see you later." Said Mother.
Giving her another smile, I turned away toward the edge of the platform and took my dragon form, letting myself glide in the air as I started my descent toward the archives, knowing where Tyri would be either having another tantrum or sulking.
"How come that after all the teachings I generously gave you, you're still so bad?!" Complained Tyri loudly.
Not only had she not been sulking when I arrived, but she was already preparing herself to force me to learn the portal spell. Again.
"I'm telling you, it's my hand. It hurts when I cast too much magic." I complained back.
"Haven't you learn anything? Either use less magic and deal with it, or do it only with one hand even if its twice as long. You're not leaving until I know for certain that you can do it." She glared at me.
I huffed and rolled my eyes, a bit annoyed at her stubbornness but knowing that it was all well meant. At least partially.
Going for the second option, I started doing the movements to summon the portal spell using only my left hand. Which was considerably harder, but not as much as when I learned the spell the very first time, only having to do the movements faster and be certain of having the correct order. I was doing good with the latter, but I wasn't fast enough to cast the spell, most of the magic starting to dissipate after ten seconds when I was just reaching half of the moves needed.
"No, no, you're too slow. Start again."
Tyri was completely merciless and I was starting to think that it was only to get back to me making fun of her back in Stormwind. Which I kind of deserved to be honest, ditching her like that hadn't been nice, but she was a dragon I don't know how many times older than me with far more experience, and I seriously doubted that anyone could harm her in the streets.
"Too slow. Don't be an idiot, put more magic and do it faster." She said barely two seconds after I started again.
"Muffliato." I suddenly casted, turning toward her.
She gave me a wide eyed look, clearly not expecting that, and watched in horror as my spell affected her. And then I got to watch as she, confusedly, looked over herself and even checked herself with magic to find what I did. She frowned and then proceeded to shout at me. At least I presumed so, since all I heard was a faint buzzing sound.
It took fifteen seconds for her to realise that I wasn't hearing a word she was saying and she frowned harshly, casting a spell on herself in what I guess was an attempt to remove the Muffliato spell. And when it didn't worked she tried to scream at me again, barely a few seconds this time, before she started taping her foot on the ground, arms crossed and glaring as coldly as she could.
"Are you done?" I asked.
She didn't took the bait, much to my chagrin, and only gave a stiffed nod.
"Fine." I said as I released my magic.
"I hate you." She spat instantly.
"What I hear is that my magic is better."
"Its horrible! An abomination that doesn't follow any rules except its owns! Even removing all magic around me did nothing!" She shouted, clenching her fists.
"Yes, yes, you said that already. Can we go back to the portal spell? And no need to be snarky or mean this time." I added.
"I'll have you pay for this, one day." She swore with a dark look in her eyes.
"Love you too, Tyri." I said as I got back to practising the portal spell with one hand.
"Finally! I thought we would still be there by tomorrow." Exclaimed Tyri looking at the ceiling.
"Stop exaggerating. You've done nothing but insulting me and telling me to start again. If you didn't wanted to help, you could have just left." I replied, massaging my now slightly sore hand as the portal before me revealed the summit of the temple on the other side.
"Ha! As if you were good enough to learn on your own. I won't have a student failing because of a magical condition, you just have to try harder. You just proved my point."
"Hmm. You might be right about that." I conceded much to her shock. "It was painful, and you were a pain to deal with, but it still helped. Thanks for that."
She stared blankly at me for a second before returning to her usual frown.
"You have no idea how much I despise you."
"I have a pretty good guess." I smirked at her.
"You will have to practice much more, maybe this was simply a fluke." Tyri darkly said.
"Oh! Have you looked at the time? I need really need to go!" I said just as I took a step toward the portal.
"Don't you dare take a step further." She warned me. "We're not done yet."
"We are for today. See you later!" I saluted before going in the portal.
Without even waiting for the next threat, I travelled through space and landed atop the temple, with only Merithra standing there, her beautiful green scales reflecting the light of the evening sun.
"Greeting Amaria, it has been some time since our last conversation." She greeted me with a smile.
"It does feels like it was so long ago." I agreed, looking at the sky slightly surprised to see that it was this late already. I thought I spent an hour or two with Tyri, but it might have been closer to five.
Taking back my natural form, I walked in front of Merithra, just a few meters separating the two of us. She was a kind dragon, a bit shy and doubtful of herself, but even with the little amount of time I spent with her in the last year, this being only a few hours here and there, I knew that she was stronger than she looked. There was a kindness in her, not found in many others, and different from the love that Alexstrasza had for all creatures. Merithra was simply a kind person, a bit like Baine, but not the same.
"How are you fairing? I know that the corruption can be a terrible thing." Merithra continued with a sympathetic expression.
"Honestly? I think I'm doing quite well. It could have left me with far worse than a painful scar. And you? How is your flight treating you?" I asked, remembering that she took over her mother's mantle not too long ago.
"Without a problem, thankfully. A few of them, me included, didn't felt like I would be up to the task of being the new Aspect, but so far I'm doing well." She smiled.
"That's great! And don't worry, you have my full support." I said doubtless of her capabilities.
"Thank you, Amaria. Your heart has always been in the right place."
"Not always. There were plenty of times were I was selfish and just stupid." I countered.
"You can be selfish and stupid and have good intentions all along. It might not be the best combination, but I find that it suits you." She replied, her widening just a second later. "Not that I think you're stupid!"
"Don't worry, I get the idea." I assured smiling, watching as she relaxed instantly at my words. "By the way, have you seen Mightion?"
"Your mate? No, last time I saw him was two days ago." She answered, making me feel embarrassed as I shuffled on my claws a bit.
"He's not my mate. I told him that I needed more time." I replied a bit awkwardly.
The thing was, I never told Merithra about who I used to be. For it didn't really had any importance in Azeroth, so I didn't shared it with many. And I never felt like I had to tell anything to her about it, nor did I felt like telling her now.
"Are you joking?" Merithra asked very seriously, almost sounding offended.
"What?" I asked genuinely wondering what was wrong.
"You have a hunk of a male, clearly looking for your attention, and you're not sure if he's right for you?" She sort of admonished me, looking in slight awe. And not the right kind, as if I was an idiot.
I didn't know this side of Merithra until now, but it made me feel incredibly embarrassed, even more than before. Just the way she talked about him made me feel uncomfortable. I couldn't really disagree with her; looking at Mightion's body from a completely neutral point of view, he was buffed in both of his forms along with being quite handsome, and I guess that for other females he was quite alluring to look at. But I simply wasn't seeing him like them.
"Its complicated." I let out, looking away a bit.
"No its not." She immediately replied, sure of herself. "What is wrong with you?"
"..." I knew what was wrong but I didn't dared say it.
She sighed loudly, shaking her massive head before looking at me again.
"Okay, listen. I don't know what's troubling you, and I'm sorry for asking about what doesn't concern me, but think about it this way. Ebyssian is quite old and as far as I know he isn't looking for love. So either you choose Mightion, a very nice looking male that looked kind and approachable when I talked with him. Or, you end up with Wrathion, a whelp barely out of his shell that can't keep his mouth shut and spends his time plotting away from others." She offered.
And I was instantly appalled by the idea. Wrathion was nearly as egoistical as the Malfoy family, thinking himself better than those around him. I didn't got to talk with him much, but what little time we shared wasn't the nicest, with him being snarky and constantly having an annoying smile on his face. Thankfully, his intentions looked to be pure but his personality was just way too abrasive for me.
"Urg. Well, when you put it like that." I considered her words. "But, we don't even know if they're the last males of the black dragonflight."
"They're not, but the others are corrupted. Finding another one free from the old gods is extremely unlikely, Wrathion was literally purified still in his egg." Countered Merithra, stopping briefly to ponder. "I wonder how Mightion didn't got corrupted."
"His family managed to escape the corruption. But that's not the point." I said.
"Right. Amaria, I won't pretend to know what's making you so unsure about Mightion and you being mates, but what do you want from him?" She asked.
"What do I want? Well... I didn't really thought about it. I sort of like him, he said he loves me, and we agreed to stay together for now. But I don't think I want anything from him." I answered as I looked for something satisfying to give her.
"Take me for exemple. When I was searching for a mate, I was looking for one that would be nice and of good company, willing to have whelps with or be capable to defend me. The one I found didn't had all three of these, he died because he wasn't a very skilled fighter, but he was kind and gave me Gerithus as a wonderful son. What do you think Mightion could give you? Is it something that you don't have and want?" She asked me.
Out of all three criteria she gave, only the first one stroked me as interesting. The third, while not something I was looking for in Mightion as I considered myself self-reliable and capable in combat, was a value that he had. He was obviously strong and I could only guess what his powers would look like if he gets them back. The second was the toughest one. I wasn't ready for it, I already repeated it many times, but was it something to consider in the future? Maybe. I had a year to get used to the idea that I was female, that I would be the one to carry my children. Or eggs, rather. But it was still so odd, even right now, that I couldn't see myself wanting that from Mightion. Lastly, the first criteria, was quite close to what me and Mightion would be sharing. At least I had hope that it would grow like that.
But I was starting to get tired to hear the same thing over and over again by different people, to have to justify myself again and again. Mightion and I would try living together, he was trying to court me, that's it.
"Merithra, can we please stop talking about this? It's not what I need right now." I pleaded her.
She looked at me straight in the eyes, looking for something, but relented with a small sigh.
"Alright. Sorry, if I made you uncomfortable." She said dejected.
"Yeah." I added a bit awkwardly.
We just stood there for a moment, looking at each other without a word until she stood up.
"I'll just- I'll be going back to the Emerald Dream. I'll be there if you ever need to talk to me."
"Thanks. I appreciate it." I gave her a small, sincere smille.
A few steps were taken before she turned around, a slightly resolute expression on her face.
"Look, just a last piece of advice. Try something that you never tried before. Initiate a hug, a nuzzle, be the one to act first. To see if you like it or not." She said.
A small nod was my answer, accepting her words quite easily.
I watched her leave, flying away in the slowly darkening sky. It still had a way to go before night, but the sun would start disappearing over the horizon soon.
Letting out a massive breath of relief that I didn't know to have in me, I walked in the opposite direction from Merithra and stopped right before the edge of the platform, bringing my eyes toward the Obsidian Dragonshrine where Mightion went in hours ago. I'm pretty sure he would have come see me had he left the cave, so I could only guess that he was still inside, which wasn't a really good sign.
I was wondering if I should go, see if he was fine and he managed to recover his powers. But, I felt that it wasn't my right. Mightion was being judged by Neltharion, I had no idea of what the process of recovering his powers entails, but it had been going on far longer than I expected. And it was his trial, it wouldn't be right of me to interrupt it. The spirit of Neltharion that I met, at least as far as I recalled, had been quite partial and fair to me, so I was hoping that Mightion would get the same treatment. Though, he did betrayed his flight's duties, Neltharion would probably have more to talk about with him.
The night fell that I saw no sign of him. I sat there a little bit longer, thinking that I'll see him arrive soon, but it was for naught.
Decided on letting him have his trial in peace, I jumped in the air and flew toward the Obsidian Sanctum, flying around the temple in circles to slowly lose altitude before I entered the chamber with all the portals for the different Sanctums. I thought for a second to go see Mother, but chose not too, not wanting to bother her this late with my worries.
"Lady Amaria." Greeted me the two Drakonids guarding the entrance of my sanctum.
"Hi. Have you seen Mightion come back?" I had to ask.
"Sorry my Lady, but Lord Mightion has yet to return." Informed me the one on the left.
"Did something happened to him?" Asked the one on the right.
"He is going through the process of regaining his powers. It might take a while. Have a good night." I said briefly as I entered the portal, not wanting tos speak with anyone anymore.
"Good night, Lady Amaria." I heard just before I landed into the sanctum, immediately soothed by the warmth of the lava pools.
Stepping forward, I reached the shore and l lay down there, my snout just in front of the lava. I watched lava bubbles pop, listened to the little background noise of lava moving, thinking about Mightion.
The day had been long, but very enlightening. Perhaps more about myself than Mightion and everyone else. My closest friends were now aware of my situation with Mightion, so at least I wouldn't have to repeat myself again, but it didn't made things move any faster. Being honest with myself, that meant confessing that I did had feelings for Mightion, with only a problem regarding anything physical.
It was almost frustrating how they all expected me to simply take things as they were and go with the flow. Even my mother, who knew very well about my past. It wasn't hard to understand why they were all acting like that, but it wasn't making any easier for me.
Merithra's advice came back to me, and I found that out of all she said, it was the one thing that I would be ready to consider. Trying something new with Mightion, perhaps getting out of my comfort zone a bit, might be interesting and helpful. Of course, I wouldn't try anything too extreme or of that kind of thing, but it was worth thinking about.
But for now, my mind returned to Mightion and his trial. I was truly hoping for him to succeed, and I was slightly worried by how long it was taking him. Not worried for his health, I seriously doubted that Neltharion would harm him, but worried that he may not get his powers back at all. But even then, he would remain a absurdly strong dragon.
Letting my head rest on my left claw, I closed my eyes as I tried to calm my mind, inviting sleep to take over me.