AN// This is the sequel of 'That first step'. I recommend reading that first. It can be found...
Spread your wings.
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AN// This is the sequel of 'That first step'. I recommend reading that first. It can be found here: http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/that-first-step-si.5342/
Now, on with the story.
_____________________________
Everything was white.
There was no thought, just the feeling of floating.
It lasted forever.
And then it didn't. The white light faded away and there was the feeling of slowly falling as my lungs drew air for the first time.
I was slowly laid out on the hard stone, instinctively drawing breath.
Everything felt so... strange. Alien. Everything looked much clearer than I could remember. The shape of my jaw was all wrong.
My body was... strange. Things were in the wrong place, bent the wrong way.
But somehow, it felt natural. Somehow.
"Easy." Somebody said and a large shape passed into my field of view of my one eye that was not aimed at the rock beneath me, "Stay down. Breathe. Give yourself time to recover."
A large blue dragon. He had a name.
What was it?
Targos. Targos was his name.
I choked out a sound at him.
He just chuckled, "Easy. Close your eyes. Sleep. When you wake up, everything will be clearer."
Sleep.
Yes. Sleep good.
I closed my eyes.
XXXXXXXXX
My eyes flew open and I instinctively rolled onto all fours.
Well, I tried to. I stepped on the flight skin of my right wing and only managed to faceplant onto the rock beneath me.
Ow.
A soft chuckling could be heard and I jerked in surprise, lifting my head to look around. Targos was laying at the other side of the chamber, next to one of the four megaliths that had been channeling the energy into me.
Me. The ritual.
I am human. From planet Earth. My name was... My name is Atreus. I blinked in surprise. It was all coming back to me now.
The fall, the recovery, the traveling.
Venir.
Shaking my head to clear it I blinked again, looking around. Everything looked smaller than I remembered it.
Of course, I was larger.
As I turned my head I noticed something odd. My field of view was wider. I could see directly to the sides as well as focus my eyes forward.
...why was there a small horn at my nose?
I glanced over at Targos. He had it as well but his looked larger.
Oh, brilliant. Having that in my field of view won't get annoying fast.
I was actually surprised I was able to move at all. I guess it really is instinctive for dragons. Kalecgos did say that dragons are able to hunt for their own food within hours of hatching.
Well, at least it seemed like most of my mind survived whatever the ritual did to me. Not that I would be able to tell if it didn't.
Letting my wings, and that was a strange thought, do their own thing and fold up on my back, I slowly tried to move. One limb at a time. I didn't try to get up again or something stupid like that, I just turned my head, looking myself over the best I could.
Blue scales, wings. Four legs and a tail. A pinecone like growth of bone or horn at the end of my tail like a club.
Raising my right frontleg I inspected it closely. Three large, sharp looking claws. No thumb.
"How are you feeling?" Targos asked from across the room and I turned my head in his direction again to answer.
"Igrrrooe."
That was not what I tried to say.
His lips parted in what I assumed was a grin, "Speaking is not automatic, you will need to learn it. But it should not be difficult since you already know how. You just need to stop using your tongue. Speak with your throat."
Oh yes, just speak with your throat. Easy.
Speaking of which though... I stuck my tongue out, going crosseyed at it. Long. Using it I carefully felt across my teeth.
Big.
Ow!
Sharp too.
I pricked my tongue.
Damn, need to be careful with that. That made me frown, though.
Teeth like that were for a reason.
Looking down I inspected the three large sharp claws on my right frontpaw. Claws like that were for a reason as well.
I never did ask what dragons ate, did I? I should probably have thought of that before agreeing to this.
A meaty thump pulled my attention from my paw to the dead deer laying on the floor in front of me. Turning my head I stare over at Targos who looked far tooamused.
Turning back I stared at the dead animal on the stone floor in front of me.
Oh.
Ick.
AN// A big bucket of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this part.
Now, on with the story.
_____________________________
Everything was white.
There was no thought, just the feeling of floating.
It lasted forever.
And then it didn't. The white light faded away and there was the feeling of slowly falling as my lungs drew air for the first time.
I was slowly laid out on the hard stone, instinctively drawing breath.
Everything felt so... strange. Alien. Everything looked much clearer than I could remember. The shape of my jaw was all wrong.
My body was... strange. Things were in the wrong place, bent the wrong way.
But somehow, it felt natural. Somehow.
"Easy." Somebody said and a large shape passed into my field of view of my one eye that was not aimed at the rock beneath me, "Stay down. Breathe. Give yourself time to recover."
A large blue dragon. He had a name.
What was it?
Targos. Targos was his name.
I choked out a sound at him.
He just chuckled, "Easy. Close your eyes. Sleep. When you wake up, everything will be clearer."
Sleep.
Yes. Sleep good.
I closed my eyes.
XXXXXXXXX
My eyes flew open and I instinctively rolled onto all fours.
Well, I tried to. I stepped on the flight skin of my right wing and only managed to faceplant onto the rock beneath me.
Ow.
A soft chuckling could be heard and I jerked in surprise, lifting my head to look around. Targos was laying at the other side of the chamber, next to one of the four megaliths that had been channeling the energy into me.
Me. The ritual.
I am human. From planet Earth. My name was... My name is Atreus. I blinked in surprise. It was all coming back to me now.
The fall, the recovery, the traveling.
Venir.
Shaking my head to clear it I blinked again, looking around. Everything looked smaller than I remembered it.
Of course, I was larger.
As I turned my head I noticed something odd. My field of view was wider. I could see directly to the sides as well as focus my eyes forward.
...why was there a small horn at my nose?
I glanced over at Targos. He had it as well but his looked larger.
Oh, brilliant. Having that in my field of view won't get annoying fast.
I was actually surprised I was able to move at all. I guess it really is instinctive for dragons. Kalecgos did say that dragons are able to hunt for their own food within hours of hatching.
Well, at least it seemed like most of my mind survived whatever the ritual did to me. Not that I would be able to tell if it didn't.
Letting my wings, and that was a strange thought, do their own thing and fold up on my back, I slowly tried to move. One limb at a time. I didn't try to get up again or something stupid like that, I just turned my head, looking myself over the best I could.
Blue scales, wings. Four legs and a tail. A pinecone like growth of bone or horn at the end of my tail like a club.
Raising my right frontleg I inspected it closely. Three large, sharp looking claws. No thumb.
"How are you feeling?" Targos asked from across the room and I turned my head in his direction again to answer.
"Igrrrooe."
That was not what I tried to say.
His lips parted in what I assumed was a grin, "Speaking is not automatic, you will need to learn it. But it should not be difficult since you already know how. You just need to stop using your tongue. Speak with your throat."
Oh yes, just speak with your throat. Easy.
Speaking of which though... I stuck my tongue out, going crosseyed at it. Long. Using it I carefully felt across my teeth.
Big.
Ow!
Sharp too.
I pricked my tongue.
Damn, need to be careful with that. That made me frown, though.
Teeth like that were for a reason.
Looking down I inspected the three large sharp claws on my right frontpaw. Claws like that were for a reason as well.
I never did ask what dragons ate, did I? I should probably have thought of that before agreeing to this.
A meaty thump pulled my attention from my paw to the dead deer laying on the floor in front of me. Turning my head I stare over at Targos who looked far tooamused.
Turning back I stared at the dead animal on the stone floor in front of me.
Oh.
Ick.
AN// A big bucket of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this part.
Strangely enough, eating raw meat was not the most difficult thing.
Learning to speak without biting my own tongue was. It got easier when I realized that the tongue was not actually used for talking. It was all in the throat.
"Feeling better?" Targos asked as he walked into the chamber in human form.
I raised my head to look at him before I nodded, "I groo. D.. Do." before I growled in annoyance at my inability to speak properly.
"You are making good progress. It takes most welps over a year to learn to talk. You have only been at it for a couple of days." He said and looked around, "You have been cooped up here for a while now. How about we go outside?"
I tilted my head at that and then very carefully got onto my paws. It was getting easier, at least I didn't trip on my own wings any more.
What I found is that as long as I didn't think of them, they did their own thing and folded up on my back.
"Come." He said, heading down the hallway at a leisurely stroll, leaving me to struggle to keep up. I couldn't help but think that these instincts that replaced my old ones helped a whole hell of a lot to help me move, but I couldn't help but wish they helped more.
Even so, it was easier to do when I didn't think about it.
I followed him through the pathways until suddenly, bright light made me narrow my eyes against the glare and we were in the sunlight.
Bright!
My paws hit snow and I looked down at the cold powder. I scooped some up on my claws the best I could before letting it drop again. It felt cold but... not cold? Or rather, not uncomfortably cold.
I'm resistant to cold?
Targos stood to the side, letting me look around. I never was outside here before. Both times I arrived via portal. The air was crisp and clear, the skies blue. There was not a cloud in the skies.
Behind and above me was a tower... a tower made up of floating rings and ice.
And dragons. Not many. A couple of dozen maybe, most my size or smaller.
"We lost many in the final battle." Targos said sadly and I turned my head to look at him in surprise.
"Wut?"
Great, now I sound like a internet misspelling.
He sighed and shook his head, "We thought we had more time. Time as Deathwing gathered his forces. Turned out that we didn't. A week ago, a couple of days before you came out of the ritual there was the battle. All the Flights, mortal soldiers, adventurers, heroes. All stood together." he said before he chuckled, "In the end... it was a mortal who did it. Thrall. He finished Neltharion."
"Y agic ot edded?" I asked as I laid down in the snow. Deathwing was dead? They killed it? I was hardly a expert, I barely knew the minimum common knowledge things from listening around town, but..
Damn. The fact that it took all the Dragonflights along with help from others to do it said a lot.
Targos shrugged, "Not against Deathwing, no. But there is still the Old Gods. They were behind him and they are not gone. If anything, they are at their strongest since the Titans walked this world."
I nodded, "I helb.". Damn it. "Help."
He grinned, "That is the deal. But there is more you must know." he then continued with a frown, "The aspects are gone. The flights... at least as they were, are no more."
I didn't bother to speak up this time, I just make myself look foolish. Instead I tilted my head in question.
"After the defeat of Deathwing, the aspects felt that it was time. They gave them up. I do not know why and it is not my place to ask." he said and sighed, "The flights were... we served, protected the Aspects. The aspect of magic in our case. Now..." he started before he shook his head, "Now I'm not sure. Well, we are still the Blue Dragonflight, aspect or no."
No more Aspects? Damn, I was lucky I didn't delay this. Only the aspect of magic could have initiated the ritual.
"Is Kalegos oke?" I asked before shaking my head in frustration over my throat's inability to cooperate.
Targos nodded, "He is fine. He is currently taking up residence in Dalaran."
Nodding, I looked around, "Agic ow?"
That broke him out of his pensive mood, "Well, I did think you would fit in." he chuckled, "When you can speak clearly. No point until then... but until then, you have other things you need to learn."
I frowned and then nodded, tilting my head again in question.
"Well, flying and hunting of course. Normally, you would know how to hunt when you got out of the egg instinctively, but you have too much rattling around in your head to be able to listen properly. Same with flying." He said before he grinned, "And that you need to learn."
Fly and hunt.
Hunt live prey.
Wonderful.
AN// Cuddles is the one to be thanked for betaing this section.
Learning to speak without biting my own tongue was. It got easier when I realized that the tongue was not actually used for talking. It was all in the throat.
"Feeling better?" Targos asked as he walked into the chamber in human form.
I raised my head to look at him before I nodded, "I groo. D.. Do." before I growled in annoyance at my inability to speak properly.
"You are making good progress. It takes most welps over a year to learn to talk. You have only been at it for a couple of days." He said and looked around, "You have been cooped up here for a while now. How about we go outside?"
I tilted my head at that and then very carefully got onto my paws. It was getting easier, at least I didn't trip on my own wings any more.
What I found is that as long as I didn't think of them, they did their own thing and folded up on my back.
"Come." He said, heading down the hallway at a leisurely stroll, leaving me to struggle to keep up. I couldn't help but think that these instincts that replaced my old ones helped a whole hell of a lot to help me move, but I couldn't help but wish they helped more.
Even so, it was easier to do when I didn't think about it.
I followed him through the pathways until suddenly, bright light made me narrow my eyes against the glare and we were in the sunlight.
Bright!
My paws hit snow and I looked down at the cold powder. I scooped some up on my claws the best I could before letting it drop again. It felt cold but... not cold? Or rather, not uncomfortably cold.
I'm resistant to cold?
Targos stood to the side, letting me look around. I never was outside here before. Both times I arrived via portal. The air was crisp and clear, the skies blue. There was not a cloud in the skies.
Behind and above me was a tower... a tower made up of floating rings and ice.
And dragons. Not many. A couple of dozen maybe, most my size or smaller.
"We lost many in the final battle." Targos said sadly and I turned my head to look at him in surprise.
"Wut?"
Great, now I sound like a internet misspelling.
He sighed and shook his head, "We thought we had more time. Time as Deathwing gathered his forces. Turned out that we didn't. A week ago, a couple of days before you came out of the ritual there was the battle. All the Flights, mortal soldiers, adventurers, heroes. All stood together." he said before he chuckled, "In the end... it was a mortal who did it. Thrall. He finished Neltharion."
"Y agic ot edded?" I asked as I laid down in the snow. Deathwing was dead? They killed it? I was hardly a expert, I barely knew the minimum common knowledge things from listening around town, but..
Damn. The fact that it took all the Dragonflights along with help from others to do it said a lot.
Targos shrugged, "Not against Deathwing, no. But there is still the Old Gods. They were behind him and they are not gone. If anything, they are at their strongest since the Titans walked this world."
I nodded, "I helb.". Damn it. "Help."
He grinned, "That is the deal. But there is more you must know." he then continued with a frown, "The aspects are gone. The flights... at least as they were, are no more."
I didn't bother to speak up this time, I just make myself look foolish. Instead I tilted my head in question.
"After the defeat of Deathwing, the aspects felt that it was time. They gave them up. I do not know why and it is not my place to ask." he said and sighed, "The flights were... we served, protected the Aspects. The aspect of magic in our case. Now..." he started before he shook his head, "Now I'm not sure. Well, we are still the Blue Dragonflight, aspect or no."
No more Aspects? Damn, I was lucky I didn't delay this. Only the aspect of magic could have initiated the ritual.
"Is Kalegos oke?" I asked before shaking my head in frustration over my throat's inability to cooperate.
Targos nodded, "He is fine. He is currently taking up residence in Dalaran."
Nodding, I looked around, "Agic ow?"
That broke him out of his pensive mood, "Well, I did think you would fit in." he chuckled, "When you can speak clearly. No point until then... but until then, you have other things you need to learn."
I frowned and then nodded, tilting my head again in question.
"Well, flying and hunting of course. Normally, you would know how to hunt when you got out of the egg instinctively, but you have too much rattling around in your head to be able to listen properly. Same with flying." He said before he grinned, "And that you need to learn."
Fly and hunt.
Hunt live prey.
Wonderful.
AN// Cuddles is the one to be thanked for betaing this section.
Last edited:
"RAAAAAAA!"
Ground! Ground!!
I beat my wings but I kept tumbling down towards the ground, spinning faster and faster before something slammed into me, grabbing me firmly and then swooping upwards with powerful wingbeats.
"You can't beat your wings one at a time, little one. You have to beat both in sync." Targos said as he lifted me high into the air again. "Listen to your instincts. You have them. Use them." he said and let go again.
"RAAAAAAAA!!" I screamed as I plummeted through the air. Fuck instincts!
Okay. No fear, you are safe. You have wings and are in the air. You belong here. Nothing dangerous.
I had thirty seconds to the ground. Think. Aerodynamics. Okay. Nose down first.
Trying not to think of the seconds ticking away as the wind whipped past me I half extended my wings into the airflow, trying to change my orientation. That was easy enough.
Okay. Wings out, catch the air. Lifting surface.
Ground.
Fuck!
I beat my wings, catching the air and suddenly I was moving horizontally instead of vertically!
"RAAAAA!" I screamed. This time not in terror, but in exaltation! I was fucking flying!
I started to slowly beat my wings to keep my speed up before I stopped and let myself glide through the air high above the plains far below. Carefully I cupped one wing slightly more, turning to the right.
"See? Not difficult." Targos said as he dove down next to me.
Smug bastard.
Ignoring the larger dragon, I turned to the left and kept beating my wings, flying higher into the skies. Guess thinking of something other than moving my wings let my instincts take hold.
Just enjoying the feeling of... it wasn't even freedom. It was more than that. Not even gravity could bind me anymore.
Looking at the horizon I just kept flying. Targos seemed happy enough to just let me fly for now and give me time to think.
Home. Earth.
I wanted back. I wanted... internet and TV and frozen pizzas. But this was not something I would ever have experienced back there. Even if I got back... even after I learned to take human form... I would never quite fit in again, would I?
Did I need to fit in?
If I learned a way to go back there, I could learn to go back here as well. I could... live in both worlds.
See my family again. To find out who I was.
Without giving up what I had here.
Hell, if I went back, I would not be able to fly like this. I would end up on somebodys radar as a UFO within ten minutes. In twenty I would have a fighterjet on my draconic arse.
I didn't want to give this up.
"We should fly lower." Targos said, breaking the silence. "Prey that is the right size for you is to difficult for you to spot from up here."
Oh yes. Second part of the lesson.
Wonderful.
Taking a slow, deep breath I stopped beating my wings and just let myself glide through the air, slowly going into a shallow dive.
He was right, though.
I did not think of asking what I would be eating before agreeing to this. Now I would have to live with it and I needed to learn how to feed myself.
Would knowing it have pushed me to make the other choice?
No. Unlikely.
Just until I learned how to take human form. It was just until then.
"There." Targos said and I looked down at the ground a couple of hundred meters below. At first I didn't see anything but then I quickly picked up some shapes against the brown ground. They almost melted into it.
Mammoths.
I turned my head to look at my teacher, "A it ig for me." Hey! I managed an M!
"Not for me. Observe. I will show you how it's done." He answered before he half folded his wings and dove like a fifty ton hawk.
AN// *Pull a rope, dropping Grey Rook though a trapdoor into a pile of Thanks*
EDIT: Also, I found this last night. It's pretty close, remove the runes and ignore the armor for now.
EDIT2: There will be a part tomorrow, but much later than normal.
Ground! Ground!!
I beat my wings but I kept tumbling down towards the ground, spinning faster and faster before something slammed into me, grabbing me firmly and then swooping upwards with powerful wingbeats.
"You can't beat your wings one at a time, little one. You have to beat both in sync." Targos said as he lifted me high into the air again. "Listen to your instincts. You have them. Use them." he said and let go again.
"RAAAAAAAA!!" I screamed as I plummeted through the air. Fuck instincts!
Okay. No fear, you are safe. You have wings and are in the air. You belong here. Nothing dangerous.
I had thirty seconds to the ground. Think. Aerodynamics. Okay. Nose down first.
Trying not to think of the seconds ticking away as the wind whipped past me I half extended my wings into the airflow, trying to change my orientation. That was easy enough.
Okay. Wings out, catch the air. Lifting surface.
Ground.
Fuck!
I beat my wings, catching the air and suddenly I was moving horizontally instead of vertically!
"RAAAAA!" I screamed. This time not in terror, but in exaltation! I was fucking flying!
I started to slowly beat my wings to keep my speed up before I stopped and let myself glide through the air high above the plains far below. Carefully I cupped one wing slightly more, turning to the right.
"See? Not difficult." Targos said as he dove down next to me.
Smug bastard.
Ignoring the larger dragon, I turned to the left and kept beating my wings, flying higher into the skies. Guess thinking of something other than moving my wings let my instincts take hold.
Just enjoying the feeling of... it wasn't even freedom. It was more than that. Not even gravity could bind me anymore.
Looking at the horizon I just kept flying. Targos seemed happy enough to just let me fly for now and give me time to think.
Home. Earth.
I wanted back. I wanted... internet and TV and frozen pizzas. But this was not something I would ever have experienced back there. Even if I got back... even after I learned to take human form... I would never quite fit in again, would I?
Did I need to fit in?
If I learned a way to go back there, I could learn to go back here as well. I could... live in both worlds.
See my family again. To find out who I was.
Without giving up what I had here.
Hell, if I went back, I would not be able to fly like this. I would end up on somebodys radar as a UFO within ten minutes. In twenty I would have a fighterjet on my draconic arse.
I didn't want to give this up.
"We should fly lower." Targos said, breaking the silence. "Prey that is the right size for you is to difficult for you to spot from up here."
Oh yes. Second part of the lesson.
Wonderful.
Taking a slow, deep breath I stopped beating my wings and just let myself glide through the air, slowly going into a shallow dive.
He was right, though.
I did not think of asking what I would be eating before agreeing to this. Now I would have to live with it and I needed to learn how to feed myself.
Would knowing it have pushed me to make the other choice?
No. Unlikely.
Just until I learned how to take human form. It was just until then.
"There." Targos said and I looked down at the ground a couple of hundred meters below. At first I didn't see anything but then I quickly picked up some shapes against the brown ground. They almost melted into it.
Mammoths.
I turned my head to look at my teacher, "A it ig for me." Hey! I managed an M!
"Not for me. Observe. I will show you how it's done." He answered before he half folded his wings and dove like a fifty ton hawk.
AN// *Pull a rope, dropping Grey Rook though a trapdoor into a pile of Thanks*
EDIT: Also, I found this last night. It's pretty close, remove the runes and ignore the armor for now.
EDIT2: There will be a part tomorrow, but much later than normal.
Last edited:
It was a week since the hunting/flying lesson before I was able to speak well enough for Targos to think that it was worth continuing the magic lessons.
I lifted my head, looking at the candle placed in front of me before I extended my right frontpaw towards it, going through the steps I remembered from the book.
The tip burst into flames as it lit up nicely.
Inner magic as I had come to call it, the normal magic... it was different from the kinds I had used so far.
It didn't have any real feeling to it. It didn't feel cool or hot or anything. It was just energy. It didn't have a... taste.
"Good." Targos said and removed it, instead putting a bowl of water in front of me, "A sphere, please."
I raised my eye ridges and sighed before I raised my claws above the bowl and closed my eyes.
I never managed this before with the cold magic. Shapes, cold.
Focus.
Breathing slowly I channeled my new magic instead of the blue one, forming and shaping it into what I wanted it to do before I pulled my paw back and opened my eyes to look into the bowl to see a spherical shape. Not perfect, but better than before.
"What am I doing wrong?" I asked, lowering my claws back to the stone floor.
Targos shrugged, "Nothing really. It is a matter of practice. Considering that you are technically a couple of weeks old, how you look non withstanding, you are making excellent progress. Most dragons don't touch any magic but their breath until they are at least two years old."
"That isn't exactly helping, you know. Because no matter how old this body is, I am not a couple of weeks old and you know it."
He snorted, "You are from a world with no magic. You are starting from scratch just like if you were a hatchling. Trust me, you are doing fine."
Sighing I cast the third level of illusion magic, causing a swarm of fireflies made of light to swirl around me using my cold magic.
"Yes, I can make pretty lights. Wonderful."
He just shook his head and rolled his eyes at that.
Having had enough for now I stretched my wings wide as I tried to get the stiffness from staying still for a couple of hours as I sat up, "Speaking of which, I think it is your turn to be the student."
He nodded and scooped some water up in the palm of his hand, closing his eyes.
"I have news of your friend." He said as he simply stood there, focusing on the water in his hand.
"News? How is she?" I asked as I sat down, folding up my wings.
"Alive and well from what I know. Apparently they cleaned out a local spider infestation in Darkshire. She stopped by my store in Stormwind before they headed out again. She wondered how you were doing."
I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, "Where did they go next?"
He shook his head, "They wasn't sure. Southeast she thought."
Frowning I looked down on the floor. Southeast?
As my teacher attempted to use the cold magic, I tried to remember the map I studied while we were crossing the ocean on that boat.
"Swamp of Sorrows?" I finally asked.
He nodded and took a slow deep breath, "Through deadwind pass most likely." he said before there was a blue swirl of energy around his hands and the water froze into solid shining ice.
I blinked in surprise as Targos grinned.
"I did it." he said as he reopened his eyes. Using some normal magic he unfroze it before he used the cold magic to freeze it again.
This time in a perfect sphere in the palm of his hand.
...Seriously? His second try and he...
"Show off." I grumbled as I laid down on the stone floor.
"Sorry. Had to try it." He said and floated the sphere of ice into the air above his hand, "It feel like you describe it. A kind of... comfortable, refreshing cold. Like water on a hot day. Amazing. Why has nobody managed this before? It's not that difficult. I only practiced for a couple of months."
Apparently, dragons couldn't pout. I tried.
"If everyone has the normal kind of magic, why try something else?" I grumbled as I gave the bowl by my paws a poke with my claw before carefully lifting it in my mind, setting it aside so I didn't spill the water. At least telekinesis was something I could do, even if my range was like half a meter. Not as good as opposable thumbs, but it worked well enough.
He nodded, "Very true. There is no elemental or nature spirits to help guide you to it like the shamanistic and druid magic. No Faith to cause it to happen on it's own. Why look for something you don't know exists." he continued before taking a step to the side and suddenly there were two of him, "It seem to work illusions as easy as ice."
Sigh.
Great. He learns how to use it and five minutes later he is better than me at it. Guess I might need to revisit my plan to rely on enchanted equipment again.
Just now without actual hands to hold it in.
...Fucking...great...
AN// Many thanks to Firethorn for betaing this section.
I lifted my head, looking at the candle placed in front of me before I extended my right frontpaw towards it, going through the steps I remembered from the book.
The tip burst into flames as it lit up nicely.
Inner magic as I had come to call it, the normal magic... it was different from the kinds I had used so far.
It didn't have any real feeling to it. It didn't feel cool or hot or anything. It was just energy. It didn't have a... taste.
"Good." Targos said and removed it, instead putting a bowl of water in front of me, "A sphere, please."
I raised my eye ridges and sighed before I raised my claws above the bowl and closed my eyes.
I never managed this before with the cold magic. Shapes, cold.
Focus.
Breathing slowly I channeled my new magic instead of the blue one, forming and shaping it into what I wanted it to do before I pulled my paw back and opened my eyes to look into the bowl to see a spherical shape. Not perfect, but better than before.
"What am I doing wrong?" I asked, lowering my claws back to the stone floor.
Targos shrugged, "Nothing really. It is a matter of practice. Considering that you are technically a couple of weeks old, how you look non withstanding, you are making excellent progress. Most dragons don't touch any magic but their breath until they are at least two years old."
"That isn't exactly helping, you know. Because no matter how old this body is, I am not a couple of weeks old and you know it."
He snorted, "You are from a world with no magic. You are starting from scratch just like if you were a hatchling. Trust me, you are doing fine."
Sighing I cast the third level of illusion magic, causing a swarm of fireflies made of light to swirl around me using my cold magic.
"Yes, I can make pretty lights. Wonderful."
He just shook his head and rolled his eyes at that.
Having had enough for now I stretched my wings wide as I tried to get the stiffness from staying still for a couple of hours as I sat up, "Speaking of which, I think it is your turn to be the student."
He nodded and scooped some water up in the palm of his hand, closing his eyes.
"I have news of your friend." He said as he simply stood there, focusing on the water in his hand.
"News? How is she?" I asked as I sat down, folding up my wings.
"Alive and well from what I know. Apparently they cleaned out a local spider infestation in Darkshire. She stopped by my store in Stormwind before they headed out again. She wondered how you were doing."
I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, "Where did they go next?"
He shook his head, "They wasn't sure. Southeast she thought."
Frowning I looked down on the floor. Southeast?
As my teacher attempted to use the cold magic, I tried to remember the map I studied while we were crossing the ocean on that boat.
"Swamp of Sorrows?" I finally asked.
He nodded and took a slow deep breath, "Through deadwind pass most likely." he said before there was a blue swirl of energy around his hands and the water froze into solid shining ice.
I blinked in surprise as Targos grinned.
"I did it." he said as he reopened his eyes. Using some normal magic he unfroze it before he used the cold magic to freeze it again.
This time in a perfect sphere in the palm of his hand.
...Seriously? His second try and he...
"Show off." I grumbled as I laid down on the stone floor.
"Sorry. Had to try it." He said and floated the sphere of ice into the air above his hand, "It feel like you describe it. A kind of... comfortable, refreshing cold. Like water on a hot day. Amazing. Why has nobody managed this before? It's not that difficult. I only practiced for a couple of months."
Apparently, dragons couldn't pout. I tried.
"If everyone has the normal kind of magic, why try something else?" I grumbled as I gave the bowl by my paws a poke with my claw before carefully lifting it in my mind, setting it aside so I didn't spill the water. At least telekinesis was something I could do, even if my range was like half a meter. Not as good as opposable thumbs, but it worked well enough.
He nodded, "Very true. There is no elemental or nature spirits to help guide you to it like the shamanistic and druid magic. No Faith to cause it to happen on it's own. Why look for something you don't know exists." he continued before taking a step to the side and suddenly there were two of him, "It seem to work illusions as easy as ice."
Sigh.
Great. He learns how to use it and five minutes later he is better than me at it. Guess I might need to revisit my plan to rely on enchanted equipment again.
Just now without actual hands to hold it in.
...Fucking...great...
AN// Many thanks to Firethorn for betaing this section.
Weeks passed. A month. Month and a half.
As it turned out, with somebody who actually knows how to use magic, it was significantly easier to figure out the limits of this special magic of mine.
The cold magic was focused on water, ice, illusion and mind magic according to Targos.
The fire magic was fire, earth, energy, electricity. Emotion and passion.
He called them Blue and Red. I guess that kind of fit. Blue of water and Red of fire... helped differentiate them from ice and fire magic.
I lowered my left wing, slowly swinging around as I approached the icy island of Coldarra and I could see the Nexus in the distance as I crossed out over the water separating the Island from the Borean Thundra.
Hunting took some getting used to.
But I had to eat. Every couple of days, at least.
There was nothing else to it. I tried a fire a couple of times. While it removed some of the 'modern human' problem with it, the taste actually got worse. I stopped trying it.
Fish was apparently a alternative but quite frankly I didn't think I was good enough to catch some. Fuck that, I know I wasn't. I had tried swimming in the ocean, but I was not fast enough. Sure, I could use a fishing rod but do you have any idea how much fish I would need to catch?
Simply not practical.
Spreading my wings I caught a thermal as I crossed the cliffs and stopped beating them, simply letting the air lift me before I started my glide towards the Nexus.
Soon enough I could see the other dragons.
I had talked with some of them. Not entirely sure how I learned Draconic so fast. Did brain damage translate over when you have a new brain or something?
They seemed friendly enough, if a bit wary of me. Not that I could blame them for that.
The dragonkin, though, were... different. Not dragons, not mortals. They were... not servants, more like loyal vassals. All the Dragonflights had them.
Descendants of mortals that served and worshiped the Dragonflights for so long that they were centaur-like half dragons themselves.
They seemed to find me fascinating.
Quite frankly, though, I found them a tad creepy.
Most of my time was spent studying with Targos, sometimes with Kalecgos. Sometimes just reading. They had the most amazing collection of books I had ever seen. It was not a library, it was The library.
I had been getting better as well. Oh, I still pretty much sucked. But I could do the basic exercises and I was even able to do things like fireballs and frostbolts with enough time to concentrate. Like ten minutes with silence and calm to focus on it. Not exactly practical in a fight.
At least I managed to learn to use my ice breath. Now that would have been a special kind of a pathetic if I was unable to.
The only magic I actually was on the curve with was illusions. They depended more on imagination and mental strength. That's nice and all, but Illusions are harder to work in a fight than a fireball.
Targos thought that I might also be good at mental magic because of it, but I'm not experienced enough to start trying that yet.
I was not actually bad at magic. I was actually pretty decent at the low power, high control stuff... at least for somebody who had only done it for two months.
It was just when the power went up my spells tended to lose structure and collapse. My teacher said it was a issue of practice. I'm not so sure.
Slowly swinging around the Nexus I slowly swooped down for landing.
Now that was difficult to get right. I provided all the dragons in sight much amusement the first dozen flights I did each time I went in for landing.
Slow down, pull up hard, cup wings, two hard beats and... touchdown!
I stretched my wings before folding them, heading towards the tunnels leading in under the 'tower'. Is it even a tower if most of it floats in the air?
My only warning was a split second of shadow before something hit me hard from the right, sending me rolling across the snowy ground.
Snarling I dug my claws into the ground through the snow, scrambling onto my paws and turning to face my attacker.
She was almost my size, slightly larger. Wider wingspan, scales like sapphires in the bright sunlight.
I barely had time to face her before she was in my fact again, snarling and slashing with her claws.
Ducking under her first swipe I lowered my upper body before I slammed forward, tackling her of her feet as I pounced in return, jaws snapping for her throat.
She dodged to the side, slamming the knuckles of her left wing straight into my snout. I was barely able to get out of the way as she spun in place, aiming to slam the club at the end of her tail against my head.
Seeing it coming I was barely able to duck beneath it.
I growled and I tried to counter as she pounced again, but she compensated and slammed into me, using her superior size and weight to push me over on my back, pinning me.
Trying as I could, she slapped my attempt to claw her aside and her jaws found my neck.
I froze as her teeth pressed against my scales.
She held it like that before a couple of seconds before she let go and moved of me with a snarl, sitting down as I shook my head and rolled onto my paws to get up, shaking the snow off of me.
"Slow, but better." She said, "You need to work on your situational awareness."
"I just ate, Rengosa. Do you have to randomly ambush me?" I growled as I laid down in the snow.
Well, mostly the other dragons were friendly but wary. At times I wished more of them were like that.
Rengosa had been asked by Kalecgos to help instruct me how to fight. Hard for him or Targos to do, they are like ten times my size.
She took to it quite happily and had been kicking my tail for the last month or so, both during practice sessions and random ambushes.
But that was not the worst of it.
"Like some dragon hunter or undead monster will wait until you are finished digesting." she snorted, shifting her wings. "Targos asked for you to meet him. He said he had some information for you."
I nodded and got up. "I see. Well, I better go see him then."
Rengosa nodded and got up as well. "I have a study session in the lower library. You are welcome to join me after your meeting." she said and rubbed her side against mine as she moved past towards the tunnels.
That was the worst of it.
Somehow, and I had no idea why, she liked me. As in was attracted to me. Every brand new instinct I had screamed that at me as soon as she was in the same general area.
I suppose she was... impressive enough. Pretty colors.
But I was not a dragon. Okay, I was a dragon but my mind was mostly human. I didn't find her attractive.
Oh, I bet I would when she learned to take mortal form. I liked her personality even if she was a tad aggressive. But as a dragon?
I sighed. One girl I couldn't stay with. Another had no interest in me. One that was interested in me, I couldn't find attractive in that way.
...At least not yet. My mind was certainly different from when I was human. Even I could tell that much. Who could say how much it would change during the next forever.
I felt bad for her. I knew how it felt to like somebody who was unable to return it.
I wasn't even sure I felt the same about Venir any more. I missed her, but was it more than as a friend?
Well, that was my good mood ruined.
Better go see what the boss wanted to talk about before I manage to make my day any worse.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
As it turned out, with somebody who actually knows how to use magic, it was significantly easier to figure out the limits of this special magic of mine.
The cold magic was focused on water, ice, illusion and mind magic according to Targos.
The fire magic was fire, earth, energy, electricity. Emotion and passion.
He called them Blue and Red. I guess that kind of fit. Blue of water and Red of fire... helped differentiate them from ice and fire magic.
I lowered my left wing, slowly swinging around as I approached the icy island of Coldarra and I could see the Nexus in the distance as I crossed out over the water separating the Island from the Borean Thundra.
Hunting took some getting used to.
But I had to eat. Every couple of days, at least.
There was nothing else to it. I tried a fire a couple of times. While it removed some of the 'modern human' problem with it, the taste actually got worse. I stopped trying it.
Fish was apparently a alternative but quite frankly I didn't think I was good enough to catch some. Fuck that, I know I wasn't. I had tried swimming in the ocean, but I was not fast enough. Sure, I could use a fishing rod but do you have any idea how much fish I would need to catch?
Simply not practical.
Spreading my wings I caught a thermal as I crossed the cliffs and stopped beating them, simply letting the air lift me before I started my glide towards the Nexus.
Soon enough I could see the other dragons.
I had talked with some of them. Not entirely sure how I learned Draconic so fast. Did brain damage translate over when you have a new brain or something?
They seemed friendly enough, if a bit wary of me. Not that I could blame them for that.
The dragonkin, though, were... different. Not dragons, not mortals. They were... not servants, more like loyal vassals. All the Dragonflights had them.
Descendants of mortals that served and worshiped the Dragonflights for so long that they were centaur-like half dragons themselves.
They seemed to find me fascinating.
Quite frankly, though, I found them a tad creepy.
Most of my time was spent studying with Targos, sometimes with Kalecgos. Sometimes just reading. They had the most amazing collection of books I had ever seen. It was not a library, it was The library.
I had been getting better as well. Oh, I still pretty much sucked. But I could do the basic exercises and I was even able to do things like fireballs and frostbolts with enough time to concentrate. Like ten minutes with silence and calm to focus on it. Not exactly practical in a fight.
At least I managed to learn to use my ice breath. Now that would have been a special kind of a pathetic if I was unable to.
The only magic I actually was on the curve with was illusions. They depended more on imagination and mental strength. That's nice and all, but Illusions are harder to work in a fight than a fireball.
Targos thought that I might also be good at mental magic because of it, but I'm not experienced enough to start trying that yet.
I was not actually bad at magic. I was actually pretty decent at the low power, high control stuff... at least for somebody who had only done it for two months.
It was just when the power went up my spells tended to lose structure and collapse. My teacher said it was a issue of practice. I'm not so sure.
Slowly swinging around the Nexus I slowly swooped down for landing.
Now that was difficult to get right. I provided all the dragons in sight much amusement the first dozen flights I did each time I went in for landing.
Slow down, pull up hard, cup wings, two hard beats and... touchdown!
I stretched my wings before folding them, heading towards the tunnels leading in under the 'tower'. Is it even a tower if most of it floats in the air?
My only warning was a split second of shadow before something hit me hard from the right, sending me rolling across the snowy ground.
Snarling I dug my claws into the ground through the snow, scrambling onto my paws and turning to face my attacker.
She was almost my size, slightly larger. Wider wingspan, scales like sapphires in the bright sunlight.
I barely had time to face her before she was in my fact again, snarling and slashing with her claws.
Ducking under her first swipe I lowered my upper body before I slammed forward, tackling her of her feet as I pounced in return, jaws snapping for her throat.
She dodged to the side, slamming the knuckles of her left wing straight into my snout. I was barely able to get out of the way as she spun in place, aiming to slam the club at the end of her tail against my head.
Seeing it coming I was barely able to duck beneath it.
I growled and I tried to counter as she pounced again, but she compensated and slammed into me, using her superior size and weight to push me over on my back, pinning me.
Trying as I could, she slapped my attempt to claw her aside and her jaws found my neck.
I froze as her teeth pressed against my scales.
She held it like that before a couple of seconds before she let go and moved of me with a snarl, sitting down as I shook my head and rolled onto my paws to get up, shaking the snow off of me.
"Slow, but better." She said, "You need to work on your situational awareness."
"I just ate, Rengosa. Do you have to randomly ambush me?" I growled as I laid down in the snow.
Well, mostly the other dragons were friendly but wary. At times I wished more of them were like that.
Rengosa had been asked by Kalecgos to help instruct me how to fight. Hard for him or Targos to do, they are like ten times my size.
She took to it quite happily and had been kicking my tail for the last month or so, both during practice sessions and random ambushes.
But that was not the worst of it.
"Like some dragon hunter or undead monster will wait until you are finished digesting." she snorted, shifting her wings. "Targos asked for you to meet him. He said he had some information for you."
I nodded and got up. "I see. Well, I better go see him then."
Rengosa nodded and got up as well. "I have a study session in the lower library. You are welcome to join me after your meeting." she said and rubbed her side against mine as she moved past towards the tunnels.
That was the worst of it.
Somehow, and I had no idea why, she liked me. As in was attracted to me. Every brand new instinct I had screamed that at me as soon as she was in the same general area.
I suppose she was... impressive enough. Pretty colors.
But I was not a dragon. Okay, I was a dragon but my mind was mostly human. I didn't find her attractive.
Oh, I bet I would when she learned to take mortal form. I liked her personality even if she was a tad aggressive. But as a dragon?
I sighed. One girl I couldn't stay with. Another had no interest in me. One that was interested in me, I couldn't find attractive in that way.
...At least not yet. My mind was certainly different from when I was human. Even I could tell that much. Who could say how much it would change during the next forever.
I felt bad for her. I knew how it felt to like somebody who was unable to return it.
I wasn't even sure I felt the same about Venir any more. I missed her, but was it more than as a friend?
Well, that was my good mood ruined.
Better go see what the boss wanted to talk about before I manage to make my day any worse.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Tracking down Targos was not that difficult. When he was at the Nexus and not in his store, he usually spent the time he didn't spend teaching others how to use the new magic doing research or teaching me normal magic in one place.
I followed the tunnels until I reached his lab. Actually finding your way in this place was not easy, there were no signs or anything but after a month I knew the general areas and the places I visited a lot.
Like Targos lab.
Entering the chamber I looked around. It was quite big and full of all kinds of arcane equipment. The place was scaled for a wyrm like Targos, but it was so full of stuff that I could barely move without knocking something over or breaking something.
He used his mortal form when in here, for obvious reasons.
Well, there was pretty much zero chance of tracking him down in this mess. He had been hoarding and researching magical objects and just interesting things since around the time of the formation of the Roman empire. During that time you tend to end up with a epic ton of shit. Hell, I doubt this is even all his stuff.
"Targos!" I called out.
"What took you so long?" he said from directly behind me, causing me to almost stumble into a shelf containing green potion bottles in surprise.
Bloody hell.
He raised an eyebrow at me as I carefully turned around to face him with a small snarl of annoyance. He enjoyed doing that way too much.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked and sat down, for once looking down at him.
"Yes. I figured you wanted news about your friend." He said as he waved for me to follow him. "I received a letter at my store this morning. It is addressed to you."
I perked up at that.
We had exchanged a couple of letters, but considering that the mail of Azeroth was via Gryphon riders, it was not the most reliable way to communicate.
While my grasp of telekinesis was thankfully good enough for most things, writing was not one of them. Not yet, anyway. Having to have somebody write it for you was a bit humiliating but it beat the alternative.
He waved to the right. "Scroll is on the desk." he said as he continued towards a blue glowing orb, "Did you know that you can use druid magic in the Sholazar Basin using your kind of magic?"
I paused on my way to the desk to look back at him. "You can?"
Targos nodded and explained: "I discovered it yesterday during a experiment. The Blue and Red don't work but some druid spells do, like plant growth and regeneration. I call it Green."
"How did it feel?" I asked as I tilted my head in curiosity.
He frowned and crossed his arms in thought. "Like...hunger. Hunting. The thrill of the hunt and the beauty of an untouched forest." he said and snorted, shaking his head. "This magic is so strange. I'm planning a research trip to gather a full set of data on this, try to get a full theory on why some magic works in some places and not others."
"I want in on that."
Targos nodded. "It won't be for another couple of months. I want the others to learn how to do it before I get started, just in case. Just so it doesn't die with me... and you if you come with."
Good idea, if a bit morbid. Everything had been written down and recorded, but it was much easier to learn from a living teacher.
I nodded back, turning to pad over to his desk before floating the still sealed scroll up with a quick telekinesis spell and turned it around so I could read it. Oh nice, she was doing good.
Protected a caravan to Nethergarde Keep through the Swamp of Sorrows. Guess the Guard saved some money there... it would be cheaper to hire a group of adventurers than to use a company of soldiers.
Three seconds later I dropped the scroll and spun to face him. "Outland!? What is she thinking!?"
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
A week ago they passed through The Dark Portal to Outland. A different world, once completely overrun by Demons. The Burning Legion.
Even now, when the war was over and the demons in Outland defeated... from what I learned, that place was still one of the most dangerous places on the planet. Roving bands of remaining demons, hostile Orcs... hostile wildlife. Dangerous magical events.
Well, not on the planet, but you get my drift.
"Calm yourself, Atregos. Their group has clearly proven themselves to be more than capable to take care of themselves." Targos said with a sigh. That was my name in the Flight now. Not all members of the blue dragonflight had names that ended in gos of gosa, but in my case, it was figured it would help me blend in.
I didn't really care, my other name was taken as well.
"This is different!"
He shook his head, leaning his back against a pillow holding up a purple glowing cube as he crossed his arms. "You are nowhere near able to take a mortal form yet. You can't even do a normal polymorph yet."
"So I go like this."
"Atregos, think things through first. You can't go rushing off like a gnome with a idea. There is no reason to believe your friend is in any more danger now than a couple of weeks ago."
"It's Outland. I know you have read everything I have and more." I growled in annoyance. Damn it, I couldn't just sit here when Venir was battling demons!
"I have been there." Targos returned, "Since the Burning Legion was driven from it, it is... not as bad as it used to be."
Now it was my turn to raise an eyeridge.
He grimaced and sighed, rubbing his forehead. "...You won't let this go, will you?"
"I'm going."
Targos nodded, looking somewhat resigned. "Very well. Can you delay for three days? I'll prepare some equipment for you, some books and scrolls so you can continue your education."
"... Thank you."
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
I followed the tunnels until I reached his lab. Actually finding your way in this place was not easy, there were no signs or anything but after a month I knew the general areas and the places I visited a lot.
Like Targos lab.
Entering the chamber I looked around. It was quite big and full of all kinds of arcane equipment. The place was scaled for a wyrm like Targos, but it was so full of stuff that I could barely move without knocking something over or breaking something.
He used his mortal form when in here, for obvious reasons.
Well, there was pretty much zero chance of tracking him down in this mess. He had been hoarding and researching magical objects and just interesting things since around the time of the formation of the Roman empire. During that time you tend to end up with a epic ton of shit. Hell, I doubt this is even all his stuff.
"Targos!" I called out.
"What took you so long?" he said from directly behind me, causing me to almost stumble into a shelf containing green potion bottles in surprise.
Bloody hell.
He raised an eyebrow at me as I carefully turned around to face him with a small snarl of annoyance. He enjoyed doing that way too much.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked and sat down, for once looking down at him.
"Yes. I figured you wanted news about your friend." He said as he waved for me to follow him. "I received a letter at my store this morning. It is addressed to you."
I perked up at that.
We had exchanged a couple of letters, but considering that the mail of Azeroth was via Gryphon riders, it was not the most reliable way to communicate.
While my grasp of telekinesis was thankfully good enough for most things, writing was not one of them. Not yet, anyway. Having to have somebody write it for you was a bit humiliating but it beat the alternative.
He waved to the right. "Scroll is on the desk." he said as he continued towards a blue glowing orb, "Did you know that you can use druid magic in the Sholazar Basin using your kind of magic?"
I paused on my way to the desk to look back at him. "You can?"
Targos nodded and explained: "I discovered it yesterday during a experiment. The Blue and Red don't work but some druid spells do, like plant growth and regeneration. I call it Green."
"How did it feel?" I asked as I tilted my head in curiosity.
He frowned and crossed his arms in thought. "Like...hunger. Hunting. The thrill of the hunt and the beauty of an untouched forest." he said and snorted, shaking his head. "This magic is so strange. I'm planning a research trip to gather a full set of data on this, try to get a full theory on why some magic works in some places and not others."
"I want in on that."
Targos nodded. "It won't be for another couple of months. I want the others to learn how to do it before I get started, just in case. Just so it doesn't die with me... and you if you come with."
Good idea, if a bit morbid. Everything had been written down and recorded, but it was much easier to learn from a living teacher.
I nodded back, turning to pad over to his desk before floating the still sealed scroll up with a quick telekinesis spell and turned it around so I could read it. Oh nice, she was doing good.
Protected a caravan to Nethergarde Keep through the Swamp of Sorrows. Guess the Guard saved some money there... it would be cheaper to hire a group of adventurers than to use a company of soldiers.
Three seconds later I dropped the scroll and spun to face him. "Outland!? What is she thinking!?"
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
A week ago they passed through The Dark Portal to Outland. A different world, once completely overrun by Demons. The Burning Legion.
Even now, when the war was over and the demons in Outland defeated... from what I learned, that place was still one of the most dangerous places on the planet. Roving bands of remaining demons, hostile Orcs... hostile wildlife. Dangerous magical events.
Well, not on the planet, but you get my drift.
"Calm yourself, Atregos. Their group has clearly proven themselves to be more than capable to take care of themselves." Targos said with a sigh. That was my name in the Flight now. Not all members of the blue dragonflight had names that ended in gos of gosa, but in my case, it was figured it would help me blend in.
I didn't really care, my other name was taken as well.
"This is different!"
He shook his head, leaning his back against a pillow holding up a purple glowing cube as he crossed his arms. "You are nowhere near able to take a mortal form yet. You can't even do a normal polymorph yet."
"So I go like this."
"Atregos, think things through first. You can't go rushing off like a gnome with a idea. There is no reason to believe your friend is in any more danger now than a couple of weeks ago."
"It's Outland. I know you have read everything I have and more." I growled in annoyance. Damn it, I couldn't just sit here when Venir was battling demons!
"I have been there." Targos returned, "Since the Burning Legion was driven from it, it is... not as bad as it used to be."
Now it was my turn to raise an eyeridge.
He grimaced and sighed, rubbing his forehead. "...You won't let this go, will you?"
"I'm going."
Targos nodded, looking somewhat resigned. "Very well. Can you delay for three days? I'll prepare some equipment for you, some books and scrolls so you can continue your education."
"... Thank you."
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
I burst through the portal, quickly spreading my wings again as I started to fall.
That was tricky. The closest portal stone capable of producing a portal I could fit through was in Stranglethorn Vale, to the west of the Blasted Lands.
Sure, there were several able to accommodate human sized people, but the only one I was able to fit through was this one.
Only reason I was able to get through this one was because I could walk through one side of it with my wings closed.
But to avoid being spotted, the exit point had to be high in the air.
This unable to take mortal form yet was annoying as hell, even ignoring the... dietary requirements.
Too slow. I half-folded my wings, letting myself fall as I half-spread them again, picking up speed before I leveled out, spreading my wings fully and starting to beat them through the air, starting to rise again now when I had a bit more speed.
The ground was a mat of green far below. It looked like a rainforest from this attitude. A quick look around at the sun caused me to turn forty degrees to the right, heading directly east.
The map had been pretty clear. Fly East until you reach the coast, then follow it to the North to the Blasted Lands.
And stay high, out of sight.
Quite frankly, I had enough problems without getting a bunch of trolls on bats on my tail. Especially carrying my current load.
I really didn't like waiting for another three days. But Targos really came through. Enchanted armor, enchanted to make it easier to channel magic.
It was pretty amazing. Yeah, sure, it didn't let me fling fireballs at will, but with a bit of additional practice, it might actually let me do full-blown Mirror Image illusions. Maybe. Illusions may be my best school, but Mirror Image is not easy stuff.
It also provided some nice protection, covering the bridge of my head with a nice solid layer of metal as well as plates along my spine. It also covered the lower half of my legs but left the paws and claws mostly free to move. It was made from a bronze-like material but I doubted it was actual bronze.
Sadly, that was about as much protection as I could get without getting too heavy to fly and restrict my movements too much. The rest of it consisted of leather straps keeping it in place and a pair of satchels full of books and scrolls.
Seriously, it was somewhat tricky putting it on with those straps, even with telekinesis, but it was worth it just for the enchantment, even if it didn't offer much protection.
Half-closing my eyes in focus I called on my magic, weaving a simple illusion around myself. Nothing complex actually even for me. It just made me blurry at a distance. At this altitude, especially against the blue skies, I would be invisible from anyone on the ground.
Finishing the spell I opened my eyes fully again, checking my general course before speeding up.
Venir's group had a week and a half of a headstart.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Following the coast was a hell of a lot better than flying over that damn jungle. There were steep hot, cliffs. Cliffs meant updrafts.
Which meant not having to do a hummingbird impersonation.
Damn, I needed to practice long distance flying.
Spreading my wings wider to catch the thermals I let the wind lift me, flying north along the coast.
The landscape had started to change, from lush jungle to sunbaked earth and dust.
In the distance I could see a constant dark cloud over a speck of black.
The Dark Portal. Yeah, I could see why they called it that. That thing looked like something Sauron would design, even at this distance.
As I got closer and the sun started to set, I found a problem.
The portal had some construction around it. Solid rock battlements with torches along them. Battlements meant people.
People willing to fight to protect the portal.
From what I could see, there were two layers of battlements. One aimed out to keep the portal protected... and one aimed inwards, keeping anything from coming through the portal from running wildly through the world.
Even with the rising tensions between The Alliance and The Horde, I guess this was something they could both agree on.
But that caused a problem. Outright invisibility was way out of my league, it was only distance that kept me invisible from the ground with my current 'Blur' spell. Technically it was a training spell for invisibility, but nowhere close to the level needed.
Which meant... waiting.
I kept circling in the thermals by the beach, staying high, relaxing as much as I could as I waited for the sun to dip beneath the horizon. As darkness started to fall I stopped circling, renewing the blur spell as I went into a shallow dive towards the portal.
This needed to be fast.
As I got close, I increased the angle, going into a full dive before pulling up about ten meters up, turning my vertical speed into horizontal, jetting across the landscape and suddenly the walls were in front of me.
As the guards yelled in surprise I pulled up just enough to rise above them, flashing across the battlements before anyone could react.
The portal came up quick as I hugged the landscape.
It must have worked. Nobody shot arrows at me as I entered the event horizon.
AN// Many thanks to NullVoid for betaing this section.
That was tricky. The closest portal stone capable of producing a portal I could fit through was in Stranglethorn Vale, to the west of the Blasted Lands.
Sure, there were several able to accommodate human sized people, but the only one I was able to fit through was this one.
Only reason I was able to get through this one was because I could walk through one side of it with my wings closed.
But to avoid being spotted, the exit point had to be high in the air.
This unable to take mortal form yet was annoying as hell, even ignoring the... dietary requirements.
Too slow. I half-folded my wings, letting myself fall as I half-spread them again, picking up speed before I leveled out, spreading my wings fully and starting to beat them through the air, starting to rise again now when I had a bit more speed.
The ground was a mat of green far below. It looked like a rainforest from this attitude. A quick look around at the sun caused me to turn forty degrees to the right, heading directly east.
The map had been pretty clear. Fly East until you reach the coast, then follow it to the North to the Blasted Lands.
And stay high, out of sight.
Quite frankly, I had enough problems without getting a bunch of trolls on bats on my tail. Especially carrying my current load.
I really didn't like waiting for another three days. But Targos really came through. Enchanted armor, enchanted to make it easier to channel magic.
It was pretty amazing. Yeah, sure, it didn't let me fling fireballs at will, but with a bit of additional practice, it might actually let me do full-blown Mirror Image illusions. Maybe. Illusions may be my best school, but Mirror Image is not easy stuff.
It also provided some nice protection, covering the bridge of my head with a nice solid layer of metal as well as plates along my spine. It also covered the lower half of my legs but left the paws and claws mostly free to move. It was made from a bronze-like material but I doubted it was actual bronze.
Sadly, that was about as much protection as I could get without getting too heavy to fly and restrict my movements too much. The rest of it consisted of leather straps keeping it in place and a pair of satchels full of books and scrolls.
Seriously, it was somewhat tricky putting it on with those straps, even with telekinesis, but it was worth it just for the enchantment, even if it didn't offer much protection.
Half-closing my eyes in focus I called on my magic, weaving a simple illusion around myself. Nothing complex actually even for me. It just made me blurry at a distance. At this altitude, especially against the blue skies, I would be invisible from anyone on the ground.
Finishing the spell I opened my eyes fully again, checking my general course before speeding up.
Venir's group had a week and a half of a headstart.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Following the coast was a hell of a lot better than flying over that damn jungle. There were steep hot, cliffs. Cliffs meant updrafts.
Which meant not having to do a hummingbird impersonation.
Damn, I needed to practice long distance flying.
Spreading my wings wider to catch the thermals I let the wind lift me, flying north along the coast.
The landscape had started to change, from lush jungle to sunbaked earth and dust.
In the distance I could see a constant dark cloud over a speck of black.
The Dark Portal. Yeah, I could see why they called it that. That thing looked like something Sauron would design, even at this distance.
As I got closer and the sun started to set, I found a problem.
The portal had some construction around it. Solid rock battlements with torches along them. Battlements meant people.
People willing to fight to protect the portal.
From what I could see, there were two layers of battlements. One aimed out to keep the portal protected... and one aimed inwards, keeping anything from coming through the portal from running wildly through the world.
Even with the rising tensions between The Alliance and The Horde, I guess this was something they could both agree on.
But that caused a problem. Outright invisibility was way out of my league, it was only distance that kept me invisible from the ground with my current 'Blur' spell. Technically it was a training spell for invisibility, but nowhere close to the level needed.
Which meant... waiting.
I kept circling in the thermals by the beach, staying high, relaxing as much as I could as I waited for the sun to dip beneath the horizon. As darkness started to fall I stopped circling, renewing the blur spell as I went into a shallow dive towards the portal.
This needed to be fast.
As I got close, I increased the angle, going into a full dive before pulling up about ten meters up, turning my vertical speed into horizontal, jetting across the landscape and suddenly the walls were in front of me.
As the guards yelled in surprise I pulled up just enough to rise above them, flashing across the battlements before anyone could react.
The portal came up quick as I hugged the landscape.
It must have worked. Nobody shot arrows at me as I entered the event horizon.
AN// Many thanks to NullVoid for betaing this section.
There was a split second where everything was very familiar and there was a feeling of tearing winds and then I burst out of the portal.
Wow.
Now that was a sight.
There was a second armed camp on this side, almost identical to the one on the other side, but they were no more ready for me than the camp in Azeroth.
I beat my wings, flying faster as I flew over the walls to the sound of shouts of warning. Ignoring them, I banked to the right, following the landscape to get into cover behind a ridge to keep me arrow and spell proof.
Who knew you could learn this stuff by flying arcade flight sims on the internet.
Hugging the landscape for another ten minutes I climbed again, flying up to a tall cliff to land on the narrow tip before pulling up and flapping my wings twice before I landed, digging my claws into the red rock of the cliff as I folded my wings.
I looked back at the portal and armed camp in the distance before I looked around, taking in the view.
Wow.
There were planets in the skies, streams of yellow-green energy crossing the purple skies. Uh. Wow.
Was this a moon or something?
Then I looked to the other side and found that there was no more planet. Now, I did read that Ourland was heavily damaged, but there is one way to know it and another to see it.
The ground just stopped and then there was a drop.
Okay, so not a planet or moon or there would be no atmosphere. Screw it, I'll figure that out later. Right now it didn't matter.
Now I needed to find my friend. Well, I was at the right planet. Moon. Rock floating in space, whatever.
Problem... I could hardly ask somebody for directions.
Well, I could, but it would be difficult hearing the answer over all the screaming.
Which meant looking for myself.
Luckily... not completely from scratch.
Floating a bowl from my satchel I put it on the rocky ground. A quick spell... well, quick and quick, it took almost ten minutes to condense enough water... and it was about half full.
Good enough.
Nodding I turned to peek into the right satchel. Now where did I put... there.
Floating a needle capped with a pair of pieces of cork.
I taking it in my claws I closed my eyes, channeling magic into it. Scrying... not my best school of magic. That's saying something as well. But it was hardly my worst either.
But it was important enough for me to put special time into learning how to do it. It worked best with blood, belongings... that kind of thing. Memories could be good enough if you knew the person well.
I knew Venir. I spend over two months with her in close company. I knew her.
Targos said that somebody who was good at it could make pictures show up. Hell, he showed me a real time feed of his shop while he wasteaching me how to do this.
I couldn't do that. Sure, give me half an hour of preparation and a bunch of props and I can look into the next room, but that's about my limit when it come to the advanced stuff.
At any distance, I was screwed. I simply was not good enough to manage it. Getting an image got exponentially harder with range.
However... this was not the advanced stuff.
Opening my eyes I dropped the needle into the bowl. It swung around a couple of times before pointing to the... actually, I have no idea what direction it was. It was towards a mountain far into the distance.
I looked in that direction before looking back down to the needle again, giving it a poke and turning it to the right with my claw tip before letting go.
It spun back to point towards the mountain in the distance.
I can not get a picture. Not at a distance, not with just memories as guide. But I could get a direction.
The best part of the three days waiting for Targos to get the gear together was spent practicing this.
Venir was in that direction.
Nodding, I scooped the needle up with my claws, gave it a small shake to remove most of the water before I dropped it back into my satchel before I lowered my muzzle and took a long drink from the bowl of water.
Waste not and all that. A small drink and then I put the bowl back into the satchel.
I looked over at the mountain again and then I spread my wings.
Halfway towards the mountain and then I'll take another reading. Not the fastest way, but it will lead me towards her.
Sooner or later.
Hopefully I will get there before she need my help.
I took to the strangely colored skies again.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Two days later I was floating on the thermals high in the air, scanning the horizon and ground beneath me.
The search was slower than I would like. I had done several more scryings, continuing to update the direction.
Sadly, I also needed to search for food and water. Food was not too bad, there were these hordes of... strange animals.
The porcupine-pig thing didn't taste as good as deer or mammoth, but it was edible. Burning it actually made it taste better for once.
The biggest problem was water. It was warm and I needed a decent amount. There were no streams so I had to spend a couple of hours a day condensing water from the air so I had something to drink.
At the very least, the sunbaked red earth below gave the most amazing thermals, making it easy to keep afloat with a minimum of effort.
In the distance there was a massive dark-brown wall stretching between the cliffs, a massive fortress. The wall was broken in several locations. Luckily the scrying trace did not point directly towards it, instead heading off to the left.
I frowned into the wind as the sun started to set in the distance. I would need to find somewhere to land to sleep soon. Yes, I could fly through the night but I could very easily completely miss her group then.
That's when a flash of light in the distance caught my attention.
That was a fireball.
Beating my wings I sped up, banking slightly to change my course slightly. In the distance I could see some tents around a burned out firepit.
That's not where the light of the fireball was through, that was about a kilometer further away.
I kept flying as I wove the Blur spell around me again to keep me from being spotted.
It was them!
They were running towards the camp. Five of them. Marcus, the warrior in his shiny armor was easy to locate, as was Sheila, the mage in her white robe. From time to time she turned to fling a green fireball at the chasing group of red skinned Orcs.
The Gnome was riding on the back of a large purple cat and...
Venir. She was running, Tiral fluttering along as she stopped, from time to time taking a potshot at the chasing Orcs with her crossbow.
I growled and banked around as I flew above them under my Blur spell, going into a dive that would bring me up behind the Orcs.
One of them stopped running and pulled an arrow from his quiver, taking aim with his bow.
No you don't.
Skimming the earth I hit him from behind, my claws digging into his back as I pulled up hard, pulling into a rolling immelmann turn, letting go at the peak, causing him to fly through the air, screaming.
Banking around I channeled my magic, taking a deep breath and as I passed above the main Orc group I let lose my breath weapon.
At least this was something I could do! It would take a especially pathetic dragon not to manage that!
Icebreath might not have the same 'punch' as acid or fire, but there is something to say for instant frostbite.
My wings dug into the air as I banked again, coming in for landing between the orcs and the group of adventurers, letting out a loud roar at the orcs.
The orcs seemed to be brighter than they looked. They turned and ran for the hills.
I snorted, growling as I looked after them before turning to find that the adventurers had stopped running, instead aiming their weapons in my direction.
I sighed, sitting down on the sun baked earth, folding my wings up as I titled my head, eyeing them.
Nobody said anything for a long moment as I turned my head to look at Venir. She looked good. Brand new black leather armor. It was much more coveringthan her old stuff. She was even wearing a helmet.
Her crossbow was also new. It looked heavier, sturdier.
Venir slowly lowered her crossbow and took a couple of steps closer. "...Atreus?"
"It's me." I said, lowering my head in a nod. "It is good to see you again."
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Wow.
Now that was a sight.
There was a second armed camp on this side, almost identical to the one on the other side, but they were no more ready for me than the camp in Azeroth.
I beat my wings, flying faster as I flew over the walls to the sound of shouts of warning. Ignoring them, I banked to the right, following the landscape to get into cover behind a ridge to keep me arrow and spell proof.
Who knew you could learn this stuff by flying arcade flight sims on the internet.
Hugging the landscape for another ten minutes I climbed again, flying up to a tall cliff to land on the narrow tip before pulling up and flapping my wings twice before I landed, digging my claws into the red rock of the cliff as I folded my wings.
I looked back at the portal and armed camp in the distance before I looked around, taking in the view.
Wow.
There were planets in the skies, streams of yellow-green energy crossing the purple skies. Uh. Wow.
Was this a moon or something?
Then I looked to the other side and found that there was no more planet. Now, I did read that Ourland was heavily damaged, but there is one way to know it and another to see it.
The ground just stopped and then there was a drop.
Okay, so not a planet or moon or there would be no atmosphere. Screw it, I'll figure that out later. Right now it didn't matter.
Now I needed to find my friend. Well, I was at the right planet. Moon. Rock floating in space, whatever.
Problem... I could hardly ask somebody for directions.
Well, I could, but it would be difficult hearing the answer over all the screaming.
Which meant looking for myself.
Luckily... not completely from scratch.
Floating a bowl from my satchel I put it on the rocky ground. A quick spell... well, quick and quick, it took almost ten minutes to condense enough water... and it was about half full.
Good enough.
Nodding I turned to peek into the right satchel. Now where did I put... there.
Floating a needle capped with a pair of pieces of cork.
I taking it in my claws I closed my eyes, channeling magic into it. Scrying... not my best school of magic. That's saying something as well. But it was hardly my worst either.
But it was important enough for me to put special time into learning how to do it. It worked best with blood, belongings... that kind of thing. Memories could be good enough if you knew the person well.
I knew Venir. I spend over two months with her in close company. I knew her.
Targos said that somebody who was good at it could make pictures show up. Hell, he showed me a real time feed of his shop while he wasteaching me how to do this.
I couldn't do that. Sure, give me half an hour of preparation and a bunch of props and I can look into the next room, but that's about my limit when it come to the advanced stuff.
At any distance, I was screwed. I simply was not good enough to manage it. Getting an image got exponentially harder with range.
However... this was not the advanced stuff.
Opening my eyes I dropped the needle into the bowl. It swung around a couple of times before pointing to the... actually, I have no idea what direction it was. It was towards a mountain far into the distance.
I looked in that direction before looking back down to the needle again, giving it a poke and turning it to the right with my claw tip before letting go.
It spun back to point towards the mountain in the distance.
I can not get a picture. Not at a distance, not with just memories as guide. But I could get a direction.
The best part of the three days waiting for Targos to get the gear together was spent practicing this.
Venir was in that direction.
Nodding, I scooped the needle up with my claws, gave it a small shake to remove most of the water before I dropped it back into my satchel before I lowered my muzzle and took a long drink from the bowl of water.
Waste not and all that. A small drink and then I put the bowl back into the satchel.
I looked over at the mountain again and then I spread my wings.
Halfway towards the mountain and then I'll take another reading. Not the fastest way, but it will lead me towards her.
Sooner or later.
Hopefully I will get there before she need my help.
I took to the strangely colored skies again.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Two days later I was floating on the thermals high in the air, scanning the horizon and ground beneath me.
The search was slower than I would like. I had done several more scryings, continuing to update the direction.
Sadly, I also needed to search for food and water. Food was not too bad, there were these hordes of... strange animals.
The porcupine-pig thing didn't taste as good as deer or mammoth, but it was edible. Burning it actually made it taste better for once.
The biggest problem was water. It was warm and I needed a decent amount. There were no streams so I had to spend a couple of hours a day condensing water from the air so I had something to drink.
At the very least, the sunbaked red earth below gave the most amazing thermals, making it easy to keep afloat with a minimum of effort.
In the distance there was a massive dark-brown wall stretching between the cliffs, a massive fortress. The wall was broken in several locations. Luckily the scrying trace did not point directly towards it, instead heading off to the left.
I frowned into the wind as the sun started to set in the distance. I would need to find somewhere to land to sleep soon. Yes, I could fly through the night but I could very easily completely miss her group then.
That's when a flash of light in the distance caught my attention.
That was a fireball.
Beating my wings I sped up, banking slightly to change my course slightly. In the distance I could see some tents around a burned out firepit.
That's not where the light of the fireball was through, that was about a kilometer further away.
I kept flying as I wove the Blur spell around me again to keep me from being spotted.
It was them!
They were running towards the camp. Five of them. Marcus, the warrior in his shiny armor was easy to locate, as was Sheila, the mage in her white robe. From time to time she turned to fling a green fireball at the chasing group of red skinned Orcs.
The Gnome was riding on the back of a large purple cat and...
Venir. She was running, Tiral fluttering along as she stopped, from time to time taking a potshot at the chasing Orcs with her crossbow.
I growled and banked around as I flew above them under my Blur spell, going into a dive that would bring me up behind the Orcs.
One of them stopped running and pulled an arrow from his quiver, taking aim with his bow.
No you don't.
Skimming the earth I hit him from behind, my claws digging into his back as I pulled up hard, pulling into a rolling immelmann turn, letting go at the peak, causing him to fly through the air, screaming.
Banking around I channeled my magic, taking a deep breath and as I passed above the main Orc group I let lose my breath weapon.
At least this was something I could do! It would take a especially pathetic dragon not to manage that!
Icebreath might not have the same 'punch' as acid or fire, but there is something to say for instant frostbite.
My wings dug into the air as I banked again, coming in for landing between the orcs and the group of adventurers, letting out a loud roar at the orcs.
The orcs seemed to be brighter than they looked. They turned and ran for the hills.
I snorted, growling as I looked after them before turning to find that the adventurers had stopped running, instead aiming their weapons in my direction.
I sighed, sitting down on the sun baked earth, folding my wings up as I titled my head, eyeing them.
Nobody said anything for a long moment as I turned my head to look at Venir. She looked good. Brand new black leather armor. It was much more coveringthan her old stuff. She was even wearing a helmet.
Her crossbow was also new. It looked heavier, sturdier.
Venir slowly lowered her crossbow and took a couple of steps closer. "...Atreus?"
"It's me." I said, lowering my head in a nod. "It is good to see you again."
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
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"Venir... What is going on..." Marcus, the warrior, slowly asked, his sword in hand, his shield not quite lifted in my direction.
"It's Atreus... my friend. You met him before...It's okay. It's safe." she said and lowered her crossbow slowly, seeming a bit shocked at my appearance.
Trying to be as non-threatening as I could, I lay down, crossing my frontlegs and resting my head on them, "I told you what would happen.", I said.
"This is the scholarly looking guy we saved from Deadmines!?" the gnome asked, his eyes wide, "He was a dragon!?"
"I am a dragon." I answered for her. She seemed to have stayed quiet about what happened. It was a secret of The Flight after all.
Venir let her crossbow hang in it's strap and slowly removed her helmet as she started to approach. "You... did say what would happen. But seeing it is..." she started to say as she stopped a couple of meters away from me, "It's... different."
She seemed nervous.
Damn it. It hurt to have her look at me like that.
"I'm still me." I said softly.
Nodding she moved up to me, kneeling next to my frontpaws to look into my amber right eye. "I believe you." She said as she reached out, putting her hand on my neck, her hand shaking slightly.
I didn't move.
"Did it work?" She asked softly and I glanced at the rest of her group. They kept their distance and had not put their weapons away, but at least they were not aiming them in my direction.
I nodded, "It did. My magic works like it should now." I said softly back.
She smiled faintly. "Worth it?"
I tilted my head in thought. "Not sure. I have learned a lot, though... I think it might have been. In time, I will learn to retake mortal form. Might take a while though."
Venir nodded, running her hand along my neck. "Why did you come here?"
Snorting, I shook my head slightly. "I got your letter. I was not about to let you face this place alone."
She sighed. "Well... I'm glad you did. The orc bandits we were hired to drive away turned out to be... a bit more numerous than we were told. Thank you."
"Your camp was the one I saw on the way?"
Venir nodded again, pulling back. "It is. We were on our way there. The mounts are there, we could have used them to escape. Come on, we should get going to camp. It's going to be dark soon."
I nodded and got to my paws, stretching my wings for a moment. Damn, I really need to practice long distance flying more. I was sore all over.
"Venir! Can we talk to you for a moment?" the the human in the armor called out to her as the cat changed back into that purple skinned elf with the long ears.
"Give me a second?" she asked before walking over to join the group.
I simply sat down and waited as they had a whispered conversation that involved a lot of gesturing in my direction.
Looks like her companions were significantly less comfortable with my presence. Not that I could blame them.
I did look somewhat scary and I was a dragon. Even after the defeat of Deathwing when the flights worked together with the mortals, I doubt that they would forget all the damage he caused. Never mind the trouble Malygos created for the flight in his madness.
It took a couple of moments before she walked back to me.
I frowned. "Your group did not seem happy about it."
"Tell me something only Atreus would know." She said with a smile.
I tilted my head in thought and snorted in amusement, "First thing I did after waking up was to try to take apart your fathers magical lamp."
Venir grinned at that, turning back towards her group, "It's him. Now can we get going!?"
The trek back to camp was pretty quiet, the rest kept shooting looks at me. I ignored them.
"How have you been, Venir?" I asked on the way, padding along with her behind the rest of the group.
"I have been... good. It's different from what you and I did. Less... sitting around being bored. It's not all danger either. A lot of it is simpler jobs like clearing spiders off a farm." she said as she walked along. Tiral, her moth, was keeping his distance from me. A lot of distance. "And you?"
How the hell did I answer that.
"It's been... interesting. Everything has been very different. Honestly, the worst thing has been eating raw meat. Cooked actually tastes worse." I answered with a small sigh.
She snorted at that. "Well... maybe it's best for everyone that you don't need to cook any more."
I chuckled and shook my head.
Well, she had a point there.
AN// Several thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
"It's Atreus... my friend. You met him before...It's okay. It's safe." she said and lowered her crossbow slowly, seeming a bit shocked at my appearance.
Trying to be as non-threatening as I could, I lay down, crossing my frontlegs and resting my head on them, "I told you what would happen.", I said.
"This is the scholarly looking guy we saved from Deadmines!?" the gnome asked, his eyes wide, "He was a dragon!?"
"I am a dragon." I answered for her. She seemed to have stayed quiet about what happened. It was a secret of The Flight after all.
Venir let her crossbow hang in it's strap and slowly removed her helmet as she started to approach. "You... did say what would happen. But seeing it is..." she started to say as she stopped a couple of meters away from me, "It's... different."
She seemed nervous.
Damn it. It hurt to have her look at me like that.
"I'm still me." I said softly.
Nodding she moved up to me, kneeling next to my frontpaws to look into my amber right eye. "I believe you." She said as she reached out, putting her hand on my neck, her hand shaking slightly.
I didn't move.
"Did it work?" She asked softly and I glanced at the rest of her group. They kept their distance and had not put their weapons away, but at least they were not aiming them in my direction.
I nodded, "It did. My magic works like it should now." I said softly back.
She smiled faintly. "Worth it?"
I tilted my head in thought. "Not sure. I have learned a lot, though... I think it might have been. In time, I will learn to retake mortal form. Might take a while though."
Venir nodded, running her hand along my neck. "Why did you come here?"
Snorting, I shook my head slightly. "I got your letter. I was not about to let you face this place alone."
She sighed. "Well... I'm glad you did. The orc bandits we were hired to drive away turned out to be... a bit more numerous than we were told. Thank you."
"Your camp was the one I saw on the way?"
Venir nodded again, pulling back. "It is. We were on our way there. The mounts are there, we could have used them to escape. Come on, we should get going to camp. It's going to be dark soon."
I nodded and got to my paws, stretching my wings for a moment. Damn, I really need to practice long distance flying more. I was sore all over.
"Venir! Can we talk to you for a moment?" the the human in the armor called out to her as the cat changed back into that purple skinned elf with the long ears.
"Give me a second?" she asked before walking over to join the group.
I simply sat down and waited as they had a whispered conversation that involved a lot of gesturing in my direction.
Looks like her companions were significantly less comfortable with my presence. Not that I could blame them.
I did look somewhat scary and I was a dragon. Even after the defeat of Deathwing when the flights worked together with the mortals, I doubt that they would forget all the damage he caused. Never mind the trouble Malygos created for the flight in his madness.
It took a couple of moments before she walked back to me.
I frowned. "Your group did not seem happy about it."
"Tell me something only Atreus would know." She said with a smile.
I tilted my head in thought and snorted in amusement, "First thing I did after waking up was to try to take apart your fathers magical lamp."
Venir grinned at that, turning back towards her group, "It's him. Now can we get going!?"
The trek back to camp was pretty quiet, the rest kept shooting looks at me. I ignored them.
"How have you been, Venir?" I asked on the way, padding along with her behind the rest of the group.
"I have been... good. It's different from what you and I did. Less... sitting around being bored. It's not all danger either. A lot of it is simpler jobs like clearing spiders off a farm." she said as she walked along. Tiral, her moth, was keeping his distance from me. A lot of distance. "And you?"
How the hell did I answer that.
"It's been... interesting. Everything has been very different. Honestly, the worst thing has been eating raw meat. Cooked actually tastes worse." I answered with a small sigh.
She snorted at that. "Well... maybe it's best for everyone that you don't need to cook any more."
I chuckled and shook my head.
Well, she had a point there.
AN// Several thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
10
I sighed softly, relaxing with my head against my paws as I floated the book in front of my snout. The light of a illusionary light above my head giving just enough light to read by.
The group had retreated to their tents.
Sheila and Venir shared a tent and Marcus and Sparklight did as well.
Shieldforest, the druid had turned into a big cat and curled up by the fire.
The camp was pretty small. A couple of tents and a firepit. Two other things also stood out. A white gryphon was laying at the other end of camp next to a gyrocopter.
A pair of flying mounts. Well, transports. But there were only two... The gyrocopter only had one small seat and the gryphon could no more than carry three people. I assumed Shieldforest flew on his own.
Everyone was tired though, there had not been much time to talk, not even with Venir. They just had a short meal and then headed for bed.
Understandable, they had been fighting and running for hours.
The druid kept quite a close eye on me though, you could see his half closed eyes glint in the light of the dying fire as he watched me from across the camp.
Well, I wouldn't have trusted me either.
It seemed like a good group. Like they had a handle on what they were doing.
Movement in the corner of my eye pulled my attention from my book on fire magic to see Venir exit her tent. She looked around and then headed in my direction.
"Hey." she said as she dropped down next to me.
"Hey." I answered quietly as I closed the book and floated it back into my satchel as I cancelled the light, "Thought you were sleeping."
She shrugged, "Couldn't sleep." she said as she looked at me, "...I can't believe it's you."
I snorted softly, "Yes you do. I don't think you would be this close to a random dragon."
Venir smiled slightly and poked my neck, "You know what I mean."
I nodded and sighed, closing my eyes in focus to undo the leather straps keeping my helmet on before floating it off me and putting it on the ground next to me, "I do. How do you think it feels from this side? I still find myself tripping over my own wings sometimes."
She snorted at that and ran her hand along my head before shifting to sit with her back against my shoulder, "Now I know it's you."
"Very funny."
As I turned my head to put it on the ground next to her so I could watch her, she rested her hand on it between my horns.
Venir sighed softly, "I'm glad you are here... You really saved our hides earlier. We might have made it back to the mounts, but we might have just as easily been caught before we made it. Thank you."
I shifted my wings slightly at that, "What happened?" I asked, shifting the subject slightly.
She shrugged, "Information we got was wrong. Orc bandits have been hitting caravans going through Hellfire Peninsula. We were told that there were eight of them and that they were holed up in a old fort a couple of hours of walk from here. Turn out that there was not eight. More like forty. They spotted us when we tried to abort. You know the rest."
Nodding I frowned, "So why Outland? Not enough work back on Azeroth?"
"Better pay for the same work. Danger is higher but... well..." she answered and sighed, "We thought we were ready to handle it."
"If the quest was as advertised, I'm sure you would be." I said before I raised my head and looked over at the Gryphon who was watching me in return, "Did the Orcs get the rest of the mounts or something? I only see two."
Venir grinned at that, "Sparklight has his machine, Marcus has his gryphon. Shiela has a flying carpet in the tent and Shieldforest can fly on his own. I'm saving up for my own gryphon, but they are expensive. I have been riding with Marcus."
I blinked and looked at the white gryphon before turning my head to look at Venir, "Not any more. I can carry you."
"You would do that?" she asked with a small frown, "Really?"
I nodded, "After everything you done for me? Of course. There is no way I'd abandon you here anyway. If I'm already here, I might as well be of some use."
Venir leaned down and hugged me around the neck, "Thank you."
Not being able to hug back kind of sucked.
"So what is the plan now?" I asked as she let go, returning to leaning her back against my shoulder.
She shrugged, resting her hand between my horns, "I'm not sure. Marcus is the leader, I'm sure he will have a plan tomorrow. We might need to abandon the quest though, there is simply to many of them."
"Even with a dragon on your side?" I asked, glancing up at her.
She slowly started to grin and hugged me around the neck again, "Missed you, Atreus."
I leaned into her touch, "Missed you too."
AN// All the thanks to tkioz for betaing this section.
Also, I'm cutting down to posting on just weekdays now, no weekends. Give me time to tinker with other hidden fun stuff on the weekends.
The group had retreated to their tents.
Sheila and Venir shared a tent and Marcus and Sparklight did as well.
Shieldforest, the druid had turned into a big cat and curled up by the fire.
The camp was pretty small. A couple of tents and a firepit. Two other things also stood out. A white gryphon was laying at the other end of camp next to a gyrocopter.
A pair of flying mounts. Well, transports. But there were only two... The gyrocopter only had one small seat and the gryphon could no more than carry three people. I assumed Shieldforest flew on his own.
Everyone was tired though, there had not been much time to talk, not even with Venir. They just had a short meal and then headed for bed.
Understandable, they had been fighting and running for hours.
The druid kept quite a close eye on me though, you could see his half closed eyes glint in the light of the dying fire as he watched me from across the camp.
Well, I wouldn't have trusted me either.
It seemed like a good group. Like they had a handle on what they were doing.
Movement in the corner of my eye pulled my attention from my book on fire magic to see Venir exit her tent. She looked around and then headed in my direction.
"Hey." she said as she dropped down next to me.
"Hey." I answered quietly as I closed the book and floated it back into my satchel as I cancelled the light, "Thought you were sleeping."
She shrugged, "Couldn't sleep." she said as she looked at me, "...I can't believe it's you."
I snorted softly, "Yes you do. I don't think you would be this close to a random dragon."
Venir smiled slightly and poked my neck, "You know what I mean."
I nodded and sighed, closing my eyes in focus to undo the leather straps keeping my helmet on before floating it off me and putting it on the ground next to me, "I do. How do you think it feels from this side? I still find myself tripping over my own wings sometimes."
She snorted at that and ran her hand along my head before shifting to sit with her back against my shoulder, "Now I know it's you."
"Very funny."
As I turned my head to put it on the ground next to her so I could watch her, she rested her hand on it between my horns.
Venir sighed softly, "I'm glad you are here... You really saved our hides earlier. We might have made it back to the mounts, but we might have just as easily been caught before we made it. Thank you."
I shifted my wings slightly at that, "What happened?" I asked, shifting the subject slightly.
She shrugged, "Information we got was wrong. Orc bandits have been hitting caravans going through Hellfire Peninsula. We were told that there were eight of them and that they were holed up in a old fort a couple of hours of walk from here. Turn out that there was not eight. More like forty. They spotted us when we tried to abort. You know the rest."
Nodding I frowned, "So why Outland? Not enough work back on Azeroth?"
"Better pay for the same work. Danger is higher but... well..." she answered and sighed, "We thought we were ready to handle it."
"If the quest was as advertised, I'm sure you would be." I said before I raised my head and looked over at the Gryphon who was watching me in return, "Did the Orcs get the rest of the mounts or something? I only see two."
Venir grinned at that, "Sparklight has his machine, Marcus has his gryphon. Shiela has a flying carpet in the tent and Shieldforest can fly on his own. I'm saving up for my own gryphon, but they are expensive. I have been riding with Marcus."
I blinked and looked at the white gryphon before turning my head to look at Venir, "Not any more. I can carry you."
"You would do that?" she asked with a small frown, "Really?"
I nodded, "After everything you done for me? Of course. There is no way I'd abandon you here anyway. If I'm already here, I might as well be of some use."
Venir leaned down and hugged me around the neck, "Thank you."
Not being able to hug back kind of sucked.
"So what is the plan now?" I asked as she let go, returning to leaning her back against my shoulder.
She shrugged, resting her hand between my horns, "I'm not sure. Marcus is the leader, I'm sure he will have a plan tomorrow. We might need to abandon the quest though, there is simply to many of them."
"Even with a dragon on your side?" I asked, glancing up at her.
She slowly started to grin and hugged me around the neck again, "Missed you, Atreus."
I leaned into her touch, "Missed you too."
AN// All the thanks to tkioz for betaing this section.
Also, I'm cutting down to posting on just weekdays now, no weekends. Give me time to tinker with other hidden fun stuff on the weekends.