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Chapter 8: Magical Lessons
Alexstrasza sat in the lounge of the Xiao-Long household with a book in her hands. It was early evening, and the sun was setting, its soft orange glow illuminating the lounge. Even though the remaining sunlight was sufficient, a lamb was lit by her side to allow clear sight of the work of literacy in her grip.
She flipped the page as she moved onto the next chapter. It was a historical retelling of the Kingdoms and how they advanced to the point they were in the present.
Alexstrasza had to say she found the progression of events both novel, and disappointing. The humans of Mistral and Mantle were both extremely short sighted in their thinking when it came to their solution towards the ever-present threat of these Creatures of Grimm.
Since the creatures in question found their prey by sensing negative emotions, the high class of both Kingdoms decided that the cessation of all emotion was the best solution. Which was an absurd concept even on the most basic level. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Dragons and even the elementals feel emotions. It is not something you can turn off, even with the most severe mental conditioning. The gruesome experiments Neltharion committed that she had put an end to already proved that. Even if they boiled the plan down to 'make everyone perpetually happy to keep negative motions away,' to do something like that on masse would be impossible.
The only beings she knew that could potentially perform such a feat were the slumbering Old Gods. Even then she wasn't sure as she had the fortune not to encounter the power of one directly in her long life.
The plan required absolute control as a necessity to even function on a rudimentary level, and that's not even taking the consequences into account. Emotions are something all beings feel and more importantly need. They are not just motivators or survival mechanisms. They help give life its flavor, its meaning.
Without emotion, they would be nothing more than flesh based contracts. Machines made of meat and bone.
Whomever came up with the idea must have been nearly as stupid as the ones who had thought it would be a good idea to try and implement it. Without even a trial period on a small scale to prove it even worked no less!
While this appeared to be the first stages of what would be known as this world's Great War, Alexstrasza highly doubted that this was the only thing that led up to it.
There was most likely more to it. Someone who was greedy for more power somewhere or blinded by their vain desire to be the one to save humanity by shackling them. The Dragon Queen had no doubt that someone was pulling the strings somewhere. Bad times do not simply come about without some great, and terribly obvious, calamity beyond the control of mortals. They are orchestrated, whether deliberately or by the blind optimism of the well intentioned.
However, it is likely that by the time Vale had engaged Mistal and Mantle, this hidden group had most likely lost control and decided to try to make the most of their circumstances.
Alexstrasza was not blind to the fact that the world needed leaders. Unity cannot be held by the will of the many, it needs guidance. But it has become clear to her that humans had supreme difficulty in finding the leaders they truly need. The ones who understand the responsibilities and burdens that come with wearing the crown.
Sighing, she paused and set the book aside. Humans were a complex race to understand, even when they shared so much with the Elves, Dwarves and even the Dragons.
She glanced at the avian form of her sapphire blue brother who stood perched at the opposite end of the sofa with a book floating in front of him. A small pulse of magic casually flipping the pages before him. A smile graced her lips at the sight of this. It was genuinely good to see him so focused on some literature again. It had been too long since the last time she had burst in while he was absorbed in his work.
While he was still less stable than his old self, it was a marketable improvement. And to think, all it took was her being captured and tortured for years on end to pull the real Malygos out from the prison of his own mind. The thought almost made her scoff in self-deprecation at how abysmal her leadership of the flights had gone since the sundering.
Looking to the book again, she wondered just how much peril one must be placed in to even consider such foolish notions in order to mitigate a threat.
These Creatures of Grimm must be something most troublesome. Ultimately, they were the reason behind all that blood and death, even if the actions themselves were done by human hands.
But she was still in the dark about their true nature. Just what were they?
"Malygos?"
The blue owl swiveled his head towards her while the books before him froze in place. Only his head moved while the rest of his body remained perfectly still, not a feather out of place.
"Something troubles my sister?"
Alexstrasza takes up the book again and flips to a page where there is an illustration of one of the lupine Grimm creatures. The one humans referred to as a Beowolf.
"These dark creatures that roam this world. Have you encountered any of them while?"
Malygos studied the image she presented towards him. His bird head tilted and swiveled several times before he stopped and answered.
"I stumbled upon such gnats while I searched. Little beasts, little beasts, drawn to my fear. They had fangs and claws, but mine proved sharper."
"What is your assessment of them? Any theories on what they are?"
She knew that her odds of getting a proper answer were shaky, but he had already shown him rejuvenating intellect since he found her. Perhaps putting it to practice would help his ailing thoughts and grant her some insight at the same time.
"They are odd. Oddities of oddities."
"In what way?" asked Alexstrasza.
"Encountered their kind before we have. But not the same, not the ones from before."
The Dragon Queen blinked. They had fought these creatures on Azeroth?
"When was this? I do not recall seeing these creatures on Azeroth."
Malygos bristled his feathers, as he was likely recalling something unpleasant.
"Not the same. These… Grimm are not the same. Too neat. Too orderly. A parody of both their own true nature and the natural cycle they fail to mimic! Bah! Not even as spikey as before!"
"Malygos," said Alexstrasza, doing her best to keep her brother from falling into a rant which was all too common when she visited him in the Nexus. "When did we encounter these creatures before?"
"After the war with the Incarnates," Malygos said in a whisper, which only happened when he was about to bring up their fallen brother. "After Neltharion brought Iridikron to us."
The Dragon Queen nearly sat up straight as the memory of the aftermath of what was supposed to be a relieving end to a pointless was turned into a nightmare.
"I remember now. The tunnels."
"The rift Neltharion missed," said Malygos. "The one the Stonescaled opened as his final gambit."
Alexstrasza took a breath as she recalled events that she wished could simply be purged from her psyche. Iridikron, the leader of the Primal Incarnates had prepared a final surprise in the tunnels beneath the surface of Azeroth after his kin had been captured. The Stonescaled likely planned to unleash it on Neltharion when it came to their confrontation. However, Neltharion had somehow managed to overpower Iridikron before the Incarnate could reveal his trap.
Shortly after Iridikron was contained with his kin, excluding the chaotic Razageth, it soon reached the Aspects that something had happened at the site where the final confrontation had occurred.
The Aspects went to investigate personally as a group of dragons had been lost before. Neltharion had been their guide and what they found down there in the dark had horrified them. Even Nozdormu, normally the most serene and composed of them all was shaken.
Iridikron had opened a void rift, and a rather large one. How he managed to achieve this and where he had gained the knowledge from was unknown, even to this day. Likely lost in the desperate struggle that followed the Aspects discovery of this violation of their world.
From the rift, foul entities of pure void energies spilled forth, intent of corrupting and consuming everything in their path. They showed no rhyme or reason to their actions other than those basic concepts. And worst of all, throughout the conflict that followed, the voices of something unknowable and terrible called out to them all from beyond. Beckoning them to help it, to allow it to present them with gifts in exchange for their assistance while its mindless lesser kin tore and ate at everything around them.
They had shut the portal, thanks to Malygos leading the effort. He just so happened to get a little too curious around Tyr and poked around for knowledge of the void.
None of them ever brought up that day and after the Sundering, Alexstrasza wondered if that event was what allowed the Old Gods to compromise the mind of Neltharion. She would never know.
It was difficult to recall what the creatures looked like, as the event was not just something she wished to forget, but also something that happened a very, very long time ago. Even someone with her memory would struggle after several dozen thousand years. She was not a Titian construct after all, but with what she could remember, she recalled that most of the creatures were made of almost pure darkness, with hints of bone jutting out at random as their sudden freedom from their natural environment caused them to rapidly adapt. They were eager to exploit the rules of reality and despite their mindless actions, proved to be most creative with their own forms.
Many of them had appearances that made the maddened Malygos' transformed state look utterly docile by comparison.
"Are you saying these miniscule creatures are the same as those abominations?"
"No doubts in my mind of their origins, sister," answered Malygos. "They have the essence of the dark in their being. They vanish when slain, just like any voidborne. They also show the same tendencies, however minuscule and sullied."
"But that does not make sense. Would the world not be overrun if that were the case? According to the mortals, they have always been here."
Malygos tilted his head and closed his eyes. He was thinking, a habit he had not shown for the longest time. This pleased Alexstrasza despite the subject matter. It showed he was truly recovering at last as now he was putting serious thought into his words other than blurting out whatever deranged ramble came to mind.
Spending time with the children was doing him a lot of good along with being able to relax for the first time since the Sundering.
"It is possible that these have been curated somehow. The Old Gods were known to have many lesser minions that even a well trained goblin could defeat."
Alexstrasza blinked as the implications rang in her mind. "Someone could have created these beasts deliberately? Is that even possible on such a large scale?"
"All the evidence points to this conclusion. They are lesser creatures but still lethal to the average mortal. However, they are too organized, they roam in packs and the mortals claim to have known of them for the vast majority of their history. This implies that the mortals are acclimatized to their presence, which means that this is not some form of void incursion as we experienced. Not to mention their appearances are far too uniform for their kind. It has to be dictated by some form of design. They ape the forms of animals and even some of the more exotic creatures that we could find back on our world. While they adopt the characteristics of their animal forms, this is ultimately a means to facilitate their lethal purpose. They are made for destruction, nothing more, as all of their kind are. The fact that they have not simply ravaged this world in a mindless rampage tells me that something else is at work."
Alexstrasza took in his words. Malygos sharp mind resurfacing as a result of her questioning the nature of their strange new foes. Thes Creatures of Grimm were a clear threat to life and that made them her enemies. However, she needed to understand them before casting judgement.
Their conversation was cut short by the front door suddenly being flung open and a pair of joyful youths ran inside with their arms outstretched to her.
Alexstrasza could not contain her smile as she braced herself against the impact.
Yang and Ruby threw themselves at her, dropping their schoolbags and jumping up towards the Dragon Queen. The pair of them crashed into her, forcing her back against the sofa and a laugh to burst out as they tried to squeeze her to death.
Which was impossible. She may be in human form, but her body still had the constitution of a dragon. Even if they were fully grown and had the strength of their father, it would be a futile endeavor.
The pair of children laughed as they continued to squeeze and Alexstrasza feigned pleas for mercy.
"Oh, oh no. Please spare me little huntresses. Please. I have done nothing to deserve this."
"Liar," said Ruby in between giggles. "We saw you taking the milk from the fridge last night. That's not yours."
"And we know you went outside after curfew," added Yang. "You know that's not allowed."
"I have been caught," Alexstrasza cried with false distress. "Please, I beg of you, show this foul one mercy. Please."
"Never!" cheered both of them.
Alexstrasza then squirmed in their grip, pulling one of her arms free. "Then I am left with no choice but to fight back."
She reached down and grabbed Yang's stomach and began to tickle her. The blonde girl laughed hard as she was tickled and released the dragon, freeing the other hand.
Ruby backed away as she witnessed this tide turning against her and made to flee, but Alexstrasza was faster. Catching the child before she could jump off the couch, Alexstrasza tickled her mercilessly.
Ruby laughed and gasped for air, managing to breath out one last sentence before the sensation overwhelmed her.
"Run Yang! Hahahaaha! Save yourself!"
As she struggled against the Dragon Queen, Yang climbed on the couch and jumped on Alexstrasza's back, trying to pull her arms away from the younger sibling.
"Let her go!"
Alexstrasza took her turn to laugh. "Not until her lungs explode."
"Nuuuuuu!" gasped Ruby in playful despair.
The three of them laughed together as Taiyang walked through the front door with a pair of grocery bags in his hands.
"Alright girls, that's enough."
Alexstrasza released Ruby who took in fistfuls of air and Yang dropped to the Dragon Queen's side.
Taiyang looked over the trio and then glanced at the blue owl on his couch, which was not paying any attention to the playtime of his draconic sibling. Instead, Malygos was simply engrossed in his reading once again.
Taiyang shook his head, but Alexstrasza could see that he was not upset. "Girls, you know the rules. No playing until you finish your homework."
"Aww," groan the children.
"But dad…" started Yang but Taiyang cut her off.
"No buts young lady. You especially need to study. Or have you forgotten that you have a test tomorrow."
Yang frowned but perked up when she felt Alexstrasza patting her on the head.
Looking up, violet eyes met amber irises. "Go on, Yang. I'm not going anywhere. Take your sister and finish your homework."
"Okay, mo… ugh, Auntie Strasza."
As the child hopped off the couch, Alexstrasza gave only a warm smile. Watching the two as they gathered their school bags and ran up the stairs.
"Sister?"
Alexstrasza turned to look at her brother, who was watching her with his glowing, owlish eyes.
"What is homework?"
"It is a form of academic assignment given to the youths by their educators. It is mean to test them to see what they have learned and to ensure that they have taken in the lessons that they have been taught."
Malygos tilted his head while Taiyang walked into the kitchen, ignoring the harsh syllables of the draconic tongue.
"And this is supposed to be done without the educator present and within the home?"
"Yes."
"For such younglings who are incapable of seeing the value in knowledge without the guiding hands of their mentors? Do they do this for all the whelps?"
"That is how is has been done according to the humans."
Alexstrasza could see that her brother was becoming annoyed. It made sense. The education of his whelps was something he took pride in in the time before the Sundering. His methods were not the same as the one's humans took as they required more effort from the mentor and a more subtle touch with the students.
She could not recall exactly what he did as she was quite busy in those days, but his flight were not the most intelligent for nothing.
Malygos' feathers bristled again, and his small body shook in frustration. Alexstrasza prepared a counterspell just in case he went wild. Malygos was improving, but now that the children were no longer present, and worse he believed they might be getting cheated, he could go off.
"Idiocy! Idiocy!" he cried, flaring his wings, making Taiyang jump from his place in the kitchen. "Such lackadaisical practices! Trying to create a mass production method to learning? Ludicrous!"
Malygos flapped his wings and took to the air. Only utilizing his wings as an owl, much to Alexstrasza's relief and more so to Taiyang, he was not trying to attack anything.
"I cannot allow this to continue. No whelps I know shall be subject to this subpar education!"
With that, he flew up the stairs and towards the children's bedroom. Taiyang watched him go with stress lines forming on his face.
"Is he going to do something dangerous?"
Alexstrasza narrowed her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet. "I do not know. I've never been able to test his response to something like this before."
"Then we should go up just to make sure he doesn't do anything to hurt them."
Alexstrasza nodded. "Yes, just in case."
Malygos cast a cloak of invisibility over himself as she flew through the door to the whelplings bedchambers. He fluttered silently over to the two who were looking over their textbooks. Both of them looked bored. As if the act of trying to attain greater understanding was some sort of chore rather than an act of passion.
This made Malygos incensed, as he took this as an insult to what he had striven for with his flight. These human educators should be ashamed of themselves. Do they not know that such practices only breed resentment towards the education process? Children need to be supervised when they learn. Their young minds get bored incredibly easily and require stimulation or a means to utilize what they are learning. Practicing theory is not meant for young minds unless they are already showing an aptitude for it.
Malygos loves theory, but he has enough foresight to understand that the mind does not simply hold onto new information unless it serves some sort of purpose. If what the children learn serves no immediate use that the child can recognize and see the value in, then the information is completely forgotten. Worse still, the child's faith in the concepts of learning and study are damaged.
Perching on the bedpost beside the girls, he could see that very process beginning to form in their minds. That this is a waste of time and once the words in those books stop serving their function they shall be immediately forgotten.
But first he needed to assess the subject of study first. He watched and listened. Waiting for them to break the silence, as he knew they would.
Whelps needed attention. Not just for their safety, but because they were naturally driven to do whatever it took to get it unless it involved an imminent threat.
Which meant that one of them would desire to converse with the other. This was one of the main reasons why whelps were never left to study alone within the Nexus. They need that attention to assign value to something. If they are doing something alone it isolates them and they either lose interest in what they are doing or worse, become used to it and distance themselves from the rest of the flight.
The constant supervision of one of their parents was needed. One does not learn by brute forcing it, his fallen brother tried that, and it was a bust, just as Malygos predicted. They must desire the knowledge enough to seek it on their own.
However, whelps are still whelps and are always in need of assistance.
The very idea of assigning such things as homework to children is laughable. They need guidance and must be shown what they are doing is correct.
"Yang?" asked Ruby.
And just as predicted, the two were beginning to converse.
"Ruby, I'm trying to study."
"But I'm bored."
Yang put down her book and stared at her sister. "It hasn't even been five minutes."
"But I'm boooorrreeed!" whined the brunette as she flopped on the bed and kicked her legs around.
Yang sighed and opened her book again. "Okay, maybe we can study together then. Since you think you're as smart as me."
Ruby stared at her with a pout. "I am as smart as you. Dad says so."
Yang smirked and said, "He was just being nice."
Ruby sat up and crossed her legs while punching the mattress. "No, he wasn't. I am smart."
"Okay, then what's four times twelve?"
Ruby pressed a finger to her chin as her eyes wandered the room and Malygos waited almost eagerly for her answer. It was not ideal, but having the whelps test each other was also a viable method, if supervised.
"Ummm… Forty-two."
Yang snickered while Malygos fought down a shiver of anger. So close, but that only showed that her understanding was flawed and that was when the mentor was supposed to step in. Mistakes must be corrected immediately, lest they sink into the mind and rear their ugly heads at the worst possible moment.
"Wrong," said Yang with obvious ridicule. "It's forty-eight."
Ruby shook with he anger Malygos felt.
"Give me another one," demanded the smaller whelp.
"Fine. Six times nine."
"Ummm… Sixty-six."
"Wrong again," sang Yang.
Ruby grumbled and punched the bed again. Malygos' bird talons gripped the bed so hard that it created minor indents.
"Ragh. One more!"
"Sure thing. Seven times five."
"I'll get this one right," said the whelp with a grumble.
Closing her eyes, she crunched the numbers in her head.
"Thirty-seven."
Yang kept on smiling. "Wrong~"
Ruby's angry pout became sad as she looked at the mattress. Those silver eyes became watery as she looked like she was about to cry. Yang realizing what she had done, dropped the book and was about to comfort her sister, but a new voice startled both girls into alertness.
Malygos let out a cry of outrage. Dispelling the illusion shielding him from the children's eyes, he hopped from his perch and marched up to the pair.
"No! No, no, no, no, no, no."
He did not cease his little tirade as he walked past the two and proceeded to stomp on one of their textbooks as a way of venting his frustration towards the educators who were responsible for the youths beside him.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."
Each syllable was met with a stomp from his talon. Not enough to damage the valuable source of knowledge, but enough to show how incensed he was.
When his rage had been fully vented, he turned to the girls who both wore confused expressions.
"Are you okay, Uncle Maly?" asked Ruby, her bout of sadness at her perceived ignorance forgotten.
"Okay? Okay!? I'm infuriated!" he cried, spreading his wings.
The girls just looked at each other since they did not know what the word infuriated meant.
"Why?" asked Yang.
"This!" Malygos pointed a wing at the textbook he was stepping on. "And your attempts at independent study at your age. This is not how it is supposed to be."
"But all the other kids in class do it," chirped Ruby.
"Others?" inquired Malygos. "There are other children in your study group in this school of yours?"
Both girls nodded.
"How many?"
"Ummm…" stammered Ruby.
"Thirty?" said Yang unsure of her own answer. "I think."
"And there is only one educator for all of you?"
Both girls nodded again.
Malygos' owlish eyes blinked several times before he began to shake again. Before long he let out another cry of frustration.
"Lazy! Lazy! Cheap! Cheap!"
The textbook flew up from the bed and opened itself before the Spellweaver. He analyzed it thoroughly. Reading every page with a pace that would make the children and even their educators believe that he was simply browsing its contents rather than scrutinizing every detail.
He flipped through the pages rapidly, not managing his pace as he did with the book downstairs. He was not looking through this one for his personal enjoyment. This was a matter of principle for him.
After reviewing the contents of the book, Malygos scoffed and presented the open book to the children.
"This is what they give you? This and they don't bother to help you through it themselves?"
Yang meant to say something, but Malygos spoke first.
"Pathetic! Ineffective! Your teachers do not know what they are doing."
Ruby lowered her head. The kind soul that she had left her in a difficult position when it came to blaming others for her errors.
"That's not true. I'm just not that smart."
"Ruby…" began Yang, but Malygos, cut her off.
"No!" he yelled flapping up to the girl and landing on her dark hair, and then proceeding to repeatedly slap her cheeks with his wings.
"You shall say no such thing to me. Not smart? Not smart! Nonsense! Nonsense!"
Ruby tried to batter the wings away, but he moved too quickly for her. Malygos then leaned over, and his body somehow elongated to the point where he was bent upside down and staring into the girl's silver eyes.
"You are not dumb. Do not say such things," he said, his voice now taking on an edge of sadness that resonated with the children around him.
"Listen to me child. You are not dumb. You are young and getting things wrong when you are young is normal. It is how we learn. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes."
Hopping back down to the bed, he looked to Yang and pointed at her with his wing. "And you! Instead of simply telling her she is incorrect, you should be telling her how she is wrong and helping her. Are you not her big sister?"
Yang looked away in shame. Malygos did not blame her, in all likelihood she was just trying to play with her sibling but was unaware that she was chipping at the self-esteem of Ruby.
But now he was here, and things were about to change.
"Neither of you are dumb," he said, pointing to one then the other. "There are no bad students, only bad teachers."
"But what if I keep getting things wrong?" asked Ruby.
"Then this is not the subject for you," answered Malygos simply. "All creatures that can think can learn, it is simply a matter of wanting to learn and having the proper guidance. As such, it is my duty as your mentor to find the path to knowledge best suited for you."
Both girls blinked as they took in his words.
"Are you saying you want to teach us?" Yang asked as Ruby appeared to brighten up like the morning sun.
"Yes," said Malygos with enthusiasm. "Your teachers are ineffective and unsuited for their role. Education is not meant to be some automated mass production system. Young whelps are not the same and cannot be expected to learn using the same methods."
Malygos looked to the door, suspicious that he would be interrupted at any given moment.
"So, I shall teach you, and I shall do a better job than those cheap pretender scholars at your school."
"Really?" asked Ruby, getting excited now. "Can you really make me smart too?"
Malygos then let out a bark of laughter. "What sort of question is that? I am Malygos the Smart. I am the master of magic and hold the greatest store of knowledge on Azeroth. When I am done, you both shall be the smartest humans in your age brackets. This I promise you."
Ruby clapped her hands excitedly and Yang smiled at seeing her sister so happy again. Malygos knew that the way to get through to the elder sibling was to use the younger. Was that slightly manipulative? Yes, but it was the best way to make sure neither had an issue with this.
"You are going to teach us now then?" asked Yang.
Malygos paused and stared at the book. "You are preparing for a test, yes?"
Yang nodded. "The teacher said it was an important one. It would decide a big bit of my grade."
Malygos chuckled. "Well then."
With a sudden burst of magic, the book floated into the air, and it flipped open. Starting with the opening questions, Malygos cast his spell and shrouded the tomb in a blue light. The inked words and numbers on the paper took on a ghostly glow and began to detach from the book and grow in size.
Words and equations presented themselves before the two girls in spectacular fashion. Causing both of them to stare in wonder.
"When this night is done, you shall have no worries or concerns about any test your teacher can give you," promised the Blue Aspect.
From the door, Taiyang and Alexstrasza watched the scene unfold with relief and delight.
Taiyang being in relief that the dragon who was reported to have gone insane was not in the mood to attack his daughters. The only reason he did not charge in when Malygos was slapping Ruby with his wings was because Alexstrasza held him back.
She had warned him not to intervene until it was clear that Malygos was hostile towards the children and not at the ones behind their education. He was simply venting his frustration, not trying to hurt them.
He took her word for it as she was on the receiving end of his anger when he was even more unstable.
In the end, he was not sure how he felt about this magical creature from another planet teaching his daughters anything. However, as he watched the magical projections of numbers and symbols floating in the air, he saw the looks of wonder on the faces of his children.
The last time he saw them in this state was when Summer was still present, reading them stories of heroes and noble knights on quests to save their kingdoms.
He had tried to replicate that, but he didn't have Summer's flair and passion for inspiration.
And if he could deliver on what he promised then it would be a huge load off of him when it came to the girls' grades. If he really could deliver, then the girls' futures would be wide open.
And their dreams to be come huntresses. Something he still has a lot of mixed feelings about. Maybe having so many choices would deter them from following down his path.
"Fat chance of that if they're anything like their mothers," he thought to himself.
Alexstrasza watched the scene in the bedroom with barely restrained joy.
She had brought whelps to him before in the hopes that the prospect of sharing his knowledge with them would help cajole him out of his stupor. However, he never took the bait and often reverted to mourning the loss of his own whelps.
While watching her children playing before him brought a sense of peace, he always had that sorrowful look in his eye.
She asked him about it and he responded, 'Remember, dear sister, when all the flights' whelps would play together on the isle? Time gone by, times to never come again. When he is gone, and his whole flight taken with him. His children, filled with the taint he was too fearful to reveal to us. Now his whelps shall never play with innocent joy, and mine shall never live to know the give you bring to me.'
But now he seemed to have broken free from his doldrums. Whether this was due to the situation they were in or due to the return of his powers, or even just how insulted he felt at the education system of the humans, she was happy for him.
He got so much joy in the entertainment of his guests, and he rarely ever did it when the Night Elves came into power. They in their vanity believed that they knew magic better than even him simply because they had access to the most potent source of it on Azeroth.
Seeing him now, she could not bring herself to step in and stop him.
Deciding to take her leave, she pulled on Taiyang's arm. "Let's go make some dinner for them."
Taiyang raised an eyebrow. "You want to help me cook?"
She smiled. "I am staying here at your insistence, but I still plan to make myself useful. Since Malygos is watching the children, why don't you show me your recipes. Perhaps I can take some back to Azeroth and treat the rest of my flight to something different."
Taiyang peaked through the door one last time. His daughters were completely absorbed in what the small blue owl was telling them. And Taiyang had to be honest, what he heard through the door did sound interesting. Almost enough to make him stay and listen in on the lesson.
However, he knew he had his own responsibilities. So, he turned to the red dragon in human form and gave a shy smile of his own.
"Sure, let's go then."
And off they went to prepare a hearty meal for the two little scholars in the room beyond. Taiyang was happy, but he still felt he needed more context.
Halfway down the stairs, he brought up his concerns. "So, what was up with him? I mean, I don't like homework either, but he sounded properly peeved."
Alexstrasza chackled. "It is something he takes rather personally. The education of the young is a topic that is rather close to his heart. Most of his whelps were taught by him personally, and that experience has taught him much."
Reaching the bottom of the steps, they turned to go to the kitchen. "He does not like the idea of a regimented educational structure. In fact, when our brother, Neltharion, proposed such an idea, Malygos vehemently opposed it. That was one of the few times when they ever argued. As on most topics they easily come to a compromise."
Stepping into the kitchen, Taiyang opened the closet and pulled out his apron. "So, what is his idea of a proper education for the kiddies then?"
Alexstrasza watched him tie the apron around him. "He believes that whelps learn best when they can use what they learn in a practical sense. The young mind is motivated by action more than thought itself. The developing body is just as important as the developing mind. For the young it is essential to nurture both."
"Let me guess," said the Xiao-Long patriarch as he finished tying his apron. "He learned this after he couldn't get them to sit still?"
"You have had a similar experience then," she giggled as she walked around him and looked inside the closet. "He understood they trying to force the whelps to stay still for no reason that they could understand was counterproductive. So, he found a way to make it… fun."
Reaching inside the closet, she dug around while Taiyang got his pots and pans on the stove. "Until what age did he think that would work?"
"In human years?" Alexstrasza pulled out an apron for herself, this one having a red flower, and vines embroidered on it. "I would say around twelve was the number he preferred, and then he would begin to transition to more serious methods. However, in the beginning stages, I recall he would give them tasks that were both physically demanding and required you to utilize the knowledge he gave."
"Such as?"
"Oh, nothing dangerous. He would ask his children to fire a certain number of arcane bolts at him while only being allowed to cast the spell a certain number of times while keeping them all the same. Meaning they had to calculate how many bolts they had to manifest per cast."
She began to mimic the process Taiyang had done to secure the apron straps around her waist and over her shoulders.
"And what do you think he's going to do with the girls?" asked Taiyang as she turned on the stove and poured some oil in his pan.
"Oh, nothing extreme. Most likely more of what you saw already. He will dazzle them with his illusions and elaborate illustrations to make sure the information he provides to them sticks in their memories longer than it would in a silent and empty room. As for what he would do later, he needs to give it some thought, because this is the first time he has been around human children."
Taiyang, satisfied with this rationale, at least for now, decided to put his faith in his red-haired friend and placed the pan down to heat up.
"Well, I'm not a scholar and my experience is only in strength training so I suppose I'll have to trust…" Tai turned away from the stove and paused when he saw the Dragon Queen.
His sudden silence did not go unnoticed by her. Turning to face him, she asked, "Is something the matter?"
He remained silent for a moment but managed to find his voice again.
"Why are you wearing that?" he asked, pointing to the apron.
Alexstrasza following his finger in puzzlement. Upon realizing what he meant, she clasped the garment.
"Oh, this? I put it on because I presumed that this is what you wear when you cook. Have I misread the reason?"
Taiyang shook his head. "No, that is right. It's an apron. You're supposed wear it to keep your clothes clean when you are cooking."
"Then is there something wrong with this one?" asked Alexstrasza as she examined the article. So far, she could not find a single flaw in the fabric or the interwoven pattern. In fact, the one she had on was of a superior material to Taiyang's.
"There's nothing wrong with it. It's just…" Taiyang paused, and Alexstrasza noted that he was almost having a hard time looking at the thing. "It's hers. My late wife's I mean. She always wore that one. Even embroidered the flower pattern on there since she used it so much."
"Oh," said the Dragon Queen, shame coloring her voice. "I apologize for my thoughtlessness."
"It's alright, you couldn't have known."
Alexstrasza began to untie the straps. "I shall return it at once."
"No," Taiyang shook his head. "No. It's alright. Just…"
He let out a sigh. "Just keep it. I'm sorry, just seeing it again… It made me think of her."
Leaning over the counter, he took in deep breaths. He still felt the sting sometimes. That aching emptiness that formed in his chest on that day. The day when he learned that his leader and wife was gone forever.
"I still miss her. Even though it's been years."
Taiyang felt a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. He did not react as Alexstrasza pulled him into a comforting embrace.
"The loss of a loved one is not something that is supposed to be easily accepted. Even though all those around you say you must…" Alexstrasza paused and Taiyang felt her hold tighten. "It is not something anyone can simply do. Even when you reach that state, there will always be some part of you that wishes they could return. Even for a little bit. You just want to see them again."
"I'm guessing you've had more than your share of losses," said the huntsmen without looking at her.
"So many that I fear I am beginning to forget them."
Taiyang said nothing after that for a full minute. After everything he had been through in his life. The loss of his family in Mistral, the long and hard trek to Vale, forming a new team, a new family. All he wanted was for it to flourish. To see them all live happy, full lives together.
Yet Ozpin and his stupid war took that from him. His first wife fled out of fear or distrust, he honestly didn't care for which it truly was anymore. Then he lost his second wife. One who was willing to do anything for her loved ones.
What could he do? How could this being who was hundreds of times older than him even stay sane, when he was on the verge of breaking down?
How could she go forward? Going forward? Was that really his only choice?
No, but it was the only one Summer would expect him to do. If she had seen how he neglected the children during his depression, she would have given him a beating that would make even Raven think it was overkill.
Letting out a breath, he pushed himself away from the table and as he did, he felt Alexstrasza release him.
She looked at him with the eyes of someone who understood, who genuinely understood the pain he felt.
He was aware of those who were her lovers. She had told him that they were all dead bar one. Yet here she was, still smiling and even showing her love to his children. She should be angry, sad and resentful, but she is not.
And if she has the strength to move on, then what excuse does he have?
Taking another breath, he relaxed himself. "Thanks. If I have another episode like that, I'll call you," he said jokingly.
"You need not request my presence at all. I offer my help gladly," she replied, her smile returning.
He decided to reflect the mood with his own goofy grin. "Well then, let's get to cooking. We've got two little gremlins who will be running down those stairs and a hungry dragon with mental issues to feed."
With those words, the pair of them began to prepare their feast, and Taiyang felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Hello. This one took longer to get down than it should have.
I apologize for that; however, I have my reasons.
As I know some of you are aware, it took me longer than usual to get this chapter out. I am working on a new system for my releases.
I shall be writing three chapters per story before moving onto the next. Meaning there are still two chapters on this one to go before I leave it for a while.
I hope you all understand. This is in an effort to speed up the story without sacrificing quality.
Also, I have a request, please do not ask when the next chapter is coming out, especially if you have a guest account, because I cannot give you an answer. Life happens and I cannot control everything that goes on. I have precious little control in fact.
All I ask for is some grace.
I hope you enjoy the chapter.
