NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53: The Dreamer
A/N: If you've enjoyed reading this story and want to hop on board my next story right at the moment of its conception, please check out The Soul Engine for me! It just started and I'm really excited for it~
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“Ce… narius? Tyrande? What… what are you both doing here? What’s happened?”
The awkward silence is damn near palpable as the Aspect of Dreams slowly lifts her head, blinking her eyes and staring at her surroundings in abject confusion. She’s clearly still groggy, which made some small amount of sense given what Rognak knew now about that ‘shade’ they’d just fought. It had never been a Shade of Ysera in the first place, but rather the Nightmare Lord Xavius’ last defiant gasp before his final defeat.
There would be no Rift of Aln for Xavius in this version of events. There would be no War of the Nightmare… at least not in the form it had taken from what Rognak recalled of his other life. Things had been dramatically changed, and while Xavius and Fandral’s masters still lived, at least those two were dealt with… permanently.
However, it had not come without great cost. Rognak might not have known just how close to running out Malfurion’s borrowed time had been, but he was observant enough to recognize that this was it. This was the Archdruid’s last gasp, his final sacrifice. And what a sacrifice it had been too. Xavius was gone. The Nightmare was defeated for the time being. He’d saved all of their lives one last time, Tyrande’s included.
Even still…
At seeing her Mistress awakened, Nishera is quick to rush forward, the Garden Keeper bowing low at the waist.
“A-Ah! Mistress Ysera. It is good to see you awake and coherent. Lord Cenarius and Priestess Whisperwind wished to ask for your aid, so I brought them here in the event that you might be able to lend them your strength.”
Ysera blinks tiredly at this, certainly living up to her moniker of ‘Dreamer’. Then, she lifts herself up from her lounging position, pulling herself to her massive clawed feet. Rognak hears more than a few sharp intakes of breath from others as they see just how big Ysera really is, how she towers over them all by several dozen feet. Honestly, he’s pretty damn amazed as well. Knowing how large the Dragon Aspects are is one thing. Seeing on the other hand is, as they say, believing.
Giving herself a good shake, the Aspect of Dreams takes in the lot of them for a long moment in silence, as well as the state of the Emerald Dragonshine. Specifically, her eyes linger on the impromptu battlefield, her lips curling back into a draconic frown at what she sees. Rognak finds himself stiffening as that knowing gaze of hers falls upon him, but only for a second before she continues to soak in her surroundings.
Her eyes linger for much longer on where Malfurion’s portal to the Emerald Dream had been. That must have been a massive expenditure of power on his part, so it doesn’t surprise Rognak that someone of Ysera’s capabilities can sense the lingering effects of his presence and his actions. Finally, sweeping her gaze over the spot where Xavius finally died once and for all, Ysera looks to Tyrande… and lets out a heartbroken sigh.
“Oh my dear child. I am so sorry.”
Tyrande stiffens at that, her tear-stained cheeks obvious even from where Rognak is standing. He doesn’t think anyone begrudges her those tears, however. Not even Kael’thas Sunstrider. But then to be fair, the Blood Elf Prince is much too busy gaping at Ysera’s full glory, his eyes wide and his mouth open in awe now that the Dreamer is fully corporeal and no longer a literal transparent shadow of her true strength.
After a moment of silence, Cenarius steps forward.
“Lady Ysera… it is as Keeper Nishera said. We have need of you. Azeroth has need of you.”
Ysera seems reluctant to tear her gaze away from Tyrande for a moment, but ultimately she does so, turning to her adoptive son, warmth in both her eyes and her tone as she regards the Lord of the Forest.
“Cenarius. What seems to be the problem? What has caused you to lead these mortals here, to this place?”
There’s an ever so slight tone of reproach in her affectionate voice. Not enough to make it seem like a true admonishment, but enough to see Cenarius stiffen slightly in response. Still, the Forest Demigod holds his head high.
“The Lich King, milady. And his defenders, the Scourge.”
Ysera frowns, and Cenarius is quick to explain everything. Rognak listens as the Lord of the Forest recounts their tale yet again, just as he did with Nishera. It’s a little different this time of course. The dynamic between Cenarius and Nishera was very much that of a noble lord and his mother’s servant. Meanwhile, the dynamic between Cenarius and Ysera is much more of a son and his mother.
At certain points, Ysera stops Cenarius and asks him to elaborate on this or that bit of his tale, which he of course does with only a small amount of irritation in his voice. It makes sense, Rognak supposes. Cenarius is used to being in charge. Or, if not in charge… then at least listened to due to respect for his seniority and longevity in Night Elf Society. You didn’t go around disrespecting the Lord of the Forest, not for long.
But here they were, talking with the Dragon Aspect who had RAISED Cenarius after he was born. It was a little jarring, to say the least. Still, eventually Cenarius finishes his tale all the same, getting up to the point where the Bone Wyrm was resurrected with the combined Death and Fel magics in a ritual that had forced them into retreat.
“Where did you say you encountered these undead and their secret weapon?”
When Cenarius tells her, Ysera scowls.
“Could it be? It shouldn’t have been possible… but that location… it’s too close to his lair to be a coincidence. If I’m correct, the Bone Wyrm you speak of is made from the corpse of an ancient blue dragon, Sapphiron. One of my brother Malygos’ most trusted Lieutenants… tch. These Scourge are indeed a grave threat.”
“One that managed to fester right under your noses all this time. The Lich King has been here for years… and the Dragonflights never even noticed.”
Silence falls over the clearing, tinged with disbelief. But then, no one quite knew how to react to Tyrande’s sudden hissed vitriol, least of all Rognak himself. For a moment the orc druid wonders if he should… intervene in some way. However, as Ysera sweeps her gaze from her adoptive son to the Night Elf Priestess, her countenance softens considerably and he can tell that interjecting here would probably do more harm than good. It’s simply not his place.
“Tyrande…”
At Ysera’s mournful tone, Tyrande stiffens, her jaw clenching before she lets out an explosive sigh.
“Lady Ysera… where were you? You and your brothers and sister? The Scourge rampaged across the human lands to the East and brought the Burning Legion back to our world. Then they came to our forests, to Kalimdor. We fought and though we lost much, we managed to beat them back. We managed to win the day. But the Dragonflights were nowhere to be seen. Where were you?”
The accusation in Tyrande’s voice is only matched by the sorrow in her tone. It’s obvious that she’s lashing out based on her own personal losses. Perhaps that’s why Ysera doesn’t take it personally. Or perhaps the Dreamer actually feels at least a little bit guilty over their inaction in the events of the past year.
“… I cannot speak for my brothers. I know that Alexstrasza has… sequestered herself ever since the Battle of Grim Batol. My sister lost much during her imprisonment and freeing her cost even more. As for myself, my presence was needed in the Dream. Dark forces stirred, long before the Legion and their undead puppets turned their attention to this world. More familiar darkness made itself clear in the Emerald Dream, and it was all I and my flight could do to try and contain it.”
Tyrande works her jaw, chewing on this for a moment. But Ysera is not quite done, as she bows her massive head.
“I am truly sorry for your losses Tyrande. The Nightmare demanded my full attention, but I am pleased to see how you and your people have risen up in defense of Azeroth in my absence. Please… allow me to accompany you now. Allow me to make amends by helping you defeat this Lich King once and for all.”
… It was precisely what they wanted. It was what Tyrande herself had wanted, why she’d dragged them here. For a moment, Rognak wonders if she would really be so petty as to turn down Ysera’s offer now, just because of misplaced anger over Malfurion’s death. But… no. Tyrande Whisperwind is resilient if nothing else. Though her voice does sound rather hollow and empty as she inclines her head.
“It would be our honor to have you accompany us North, Lady Ysera. This… this must end. One way or another.”
Perhaps detecting just how much Tyrande has sacrificed at this point, Ysera does something unexpected… or at least, unexpected to Rognak. Quite abruptly, the massive Dragon Aspect transforms, a bright glow of emerald light covering her from her massive dragon horns all the way down to her equally massive dragon claws.
Rognak and everyone else in the clearing is forced to cover their eyes from the sudden unexpected brightness, and when it clears up and they can look again, Ysera is gone… replaced by a Night Elf woman with familiar dragon horns and verdant green armor. Of course, said armor exposes her upper chest and abdomen… but Rognak isn’t about to mention the somewhat revealing state of her attire. Nor is anyone else, it would seem.
Everyone watches wordlessly as the Dreamer steps forward and takes Tyrande in her arms, holding her tightly and causing the Priestess of Elune to stiffen up for a moment before melting into her mentor’s embrace. As Tyrande’s body shakes with sobs, Ysera whispers soothing nothings into the Night Elf’s ear, rubbing circles into her back all the while.
It’s a moment of triumph tinged with loss and sorrow. They’ve done what they set out to do and defeated yet another great evil as well in the process. But at the same time… Malfurion Stormrage is truly lost to all of them now, his mate most of all. The prolonged loss of her beloved has finally come to fruition, and at a terrible time as well.
Rognak doesn’t consider it his place to go to Tyrande and comfort her. Instead, with the help of his fellow orcs, he unroots himself from the forest floor of the Emerald Dragonshine and begins the trek back out into the frozen wastes. It’s time for them to head North once more…
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“You are the one they call Rognak, yes?”
Hesitating only for a moment as he registers Ysera’s presence by his side, Rognak blinks and then nods, a little surprised that the Dragon Aspect is willing to interact with him at all.
“I am. Err… Aspect of Dreams, I would apologize for my people’s crimes against your sister. What the Dragonmaw Clan did to the Dragon Queen was-!”
He cuts himself off as Ysera waves a hand dismissively, surprising him greatly. Seeing this surprise, Ysera gives him a slanted look.
“What the Dragonmaw Clan did to my sister, her consorts, and their children was unconscionable and horrific. Every last one of those orcs who engaged in such actions against the Dragon Queen deserves death. I fully believe that. However… you are not of the Dragonmaw Clan, are you Rognak?”
Rognak works his jaw for a moment before shaking his head.
“… No, Lady Ysera.”
“Nor is the Dragonmaw Clan part of your New Horde, is it?”
This was also true. Though Rognak suspected he would have a much harder time convincing Thrall to keep the Dragonmaw out of the Horde then he had with warlocks and undead. Except, from what his memories told him, the Dragonmaw Clan didn’t respect the Horde anyways, not even when a warmonger like Garrosh became Warchief. Under Thrall, they would never ask to join the Horde to begin with.
He doesn’t say any of that though, he just focuses on keeping things simple.
“They are not, Lady Ysera. As far as I know, what is left of the Dragonmaw remains on the Eastern Continent.”
“Mm, indeed.”
Suddenly, Ysera reaches out. Rognak’s eyes widen as the Aspect of Dreams’ places a hand filled with glowing emerald energy upon his shoulder. All of a sudden, his still-healing body feels great. More than that, the frayed and tattered connection between him and the Drakkari Loa suddenly comes alive once more, strengthened and even broadened by Ysera’s touch.
Staring at her with those same wide eyes, Rognak opens and closes his mouth like a fish, unsure what to say. In response, Ysera chuckles throatily.
“Cenarius has told me much about you, young Rognak. However, I was not told by Cenarius or Elune what had transpired to ensure your conception until after I and my brothers saved my sister from captivity at the hands of your people. I must confess, I was a little relieved when I initially found out that this… Outsider had not included me in his efforts to make an orcish druid. I imagine I was too draconic for his tastes. Now, however, I find myself feeling… slightly left out.”
Rognak stiffens as Ysera suddenly leans in closer, a peculiar look in her gaze. He’s reminded that, for all she spent much of her time sleeping… Ysera did do her best to get the job done once she was awake, didn’t she?
“I am told you have much information in that head of yours, young orc. More even than the Outsider gave to any of your patrons when he made his deals with them. I have to wonder, is any of that information applicable to me or my kin?”
Suddenly, Ysera seeking him out makes a lot more sense. Suddenly, her healing of his body and his connection to the Drakkari Pantheon feels a little bit like a bribe. And yet, as he stares at her with his mouth slightly agape, Rognak finds himself thinking of half a dozen things right off the bat that he could tell her. No… that he SHOULD tell her.
Azeroth is a Death World. And from this point on, almost every other year there’s another apocalypse. Now, some of Rognak’s actions have curtailed these occurrences. However, he can’t be everywhere at once. Nor will he try to be. All he can do is focus on his people and his loved ones and make sure they stay safe.
But… while he might be just one orc, he’s currently looking at one of the Dragon Aspects, a powerful being who not only has siblings just as powerful as her, but an entire flight of dragons backing her up.
Slowly, a big orcish grin begins to spread across Rognak’s face as he looks at Ysera. In response, the disguised Dragon Aspect pulls back just a little bit, slightly taken aback. But Rognak just chuckles and nods.
“There is MUCH I would like to tell you, Lady Ysera. Perhaps more than you want to hear, even. But I will tell you it all the same.”
She gives him a considering look for a moment before nodding her head for him to begin speaking. And so Rognak tells the Aspect of Nature everything that he can as they make their way Northward once more. This time however, the expedition is not just a band of elves and orcs and one Lord of the Forest who’s very far from home. No, this time around, as they once again begin to approach the Frozen Throne, they do so with the Emerald Queen and several dozen green dragons at their back.
This time around, they were playing for keeps.
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