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Dawn of the Dragon	By : RotSeele Category: +S through Z > World of Warcraft Views: 3875 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
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Sixteen
Anduin came to slowly, his head pounding. He groaned as he started to sit up, then jerked as he felt hands on his shoulders.
"Relax," said Karidormi, "you're safe."
Anduin turned to look at her and grinned. "You're okay!"
Karidormi gave him a little smile. "A little beat up, but nothing healers can't fix."
Anduin turned to look at her more closely. Karidormi was sporting some rather nasty bruises on her face, and one lip was still swollen and cut. He didn't doubt she had other wounds elsewhere. "And the others?"
"Dashiell's out trying to figure out the best way to get out of here without offending our hosts and Shandris is outside the door, keeping a very stoic guard."
"And Wrathion?"
Karidormi bit her lower lip and winced as she put pressure on a bruise. "He's alive."
Anduin frowned. "Is he okay?"
"They think so."
"They think so? Who's they?"
Karidormi shifted. "The Mag'har healers. It seems a few were on their way back to Nagrand when they happened to find Dashiell and me. A few of their warriors then went looking for you."
Mag'har. Anduin looked away from Karidormi, around at his surroundings. They were in a tent, one made of elekk leather and other animal skins he couldn't recognize. It made sense then, especially about the Orc girl. Or at least, Anduin had thought she'd been an Orc. He hadn't gotten quite a good look at her beyond her brown skin and small tusks. Makes so much sense. He thought. He looked back at Kari. "And the two shaman?"
"They're no longer our concern." Karidormi said in a tone Anduin was all too familiar with.
No, the two shaman weren't their concern anymore. Even if they weren't dead, which Anduin fully believed they were, the Mag'har would take care of the remains. "So what about Wrathion?" He asked once more.
Karidormi shifted again. Anduin sensed she was reluctant to say anything, maybe as a fellow dragon. Anduin didn't know, and he didn't care. Before he could say that Wrathion was his friend and he deserved to know the Black Prince's condition, Karidormi said, "Whatever the shaman did to him is having a terrible effect on him. He's fighting it, which is good, but his body is starting to accept it, which isn't good. The healers are confident they can stop the corruption, even heal it. But..."
"But?"
"But it all depends on him. If he's strong enough to fight off the corruption."
"Of course he's strong enough! He fought through it to save me." Anduin rose and wobbled as his equilibrium struggled to correct itself. Karidormi rose too and moved after him. Anduin didn't care if she was going to try and stop him - he was going to find his friend and tell Wrathion if he so much as started spouting the name Prestor or started talking about sticking adamantium to his body, Anduin was going to kick his ass halfway across Outland and leave his boot so far up his ass Wrathion would be able to taste the leather.
He left the tent and emerged into glaring sunlight. Anduin shielded his eyes and peered out at a small makeshift village full of Mag'har. Karidormi was right behind him, her hand extended to catch his shoulder. Anduin avoided her and headed in the direction that seemed to be where most of the orcs had gathered. Before Anduin could even come close, a sword blade appeared in front of him, effectively blocking his path. Anduin turned to the person holding the sword, and swallowed the words that were ready to come out.
She wasn't fully Mag'har. He could see it in her features. They were much softer than an orc's, but not quite a draenei's softness. Human then. Her eyes were a sapphire blue, definitely a color not common amongst orcs. Her skin was a light brown, and her hair as black as night. She had small tusks that were barely above her lip, so they were only visible if she moved her lips in just the right way. She looked, well... She looked almost like Med'an, if just in a different way. She wore leather and mail armor, and had another sword kin to the one she was holding out sheathed at her waist. Her eyes were focused on Anduin's, and weren't wavering.
For a moment, Anduin forgot he was a prince, and he forgot he was worried about Wrathion, and was just a boy. And the first thought he had in that moment was: By the Light, she's beautiful. Then he mentally shook himself, because there were more pressing matters at hand than staring at a girl and thinking about how pretty she was. "Step aside." He said in his best authority voice.
The girl, damn her, smirked at him. "And who are you to tell me what to do?"
"I'm Anduin, Prince of Stormwind. And Wrathion is my friend."
Her brow rose. "Oh? And what does His Highness, Prince Anduin of Stormwind, think he's doing out here instead of his cozy little castle?"
Anduin tried not to grind his teeth. "That's none of your business."
"Then I guess what our healers are doing to your friend is none of yours."
Anduin sputtered. "Of course it's my business! He's my friend! Wouldn't you want to know what someone was doing to your friend?"
The girl cocked her head to the side. "I would. But I would also respect the healers, especially after they've asked for privacy."
Anduin stared at her. Okay, now she wasn't that pretty anymore. Anduin reached up and pushed down her arm. As he did, he stepped past her and started for the healing tent. She was beside him in an instant, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him so he spun. As he did, Anduin saw her fist coming for his chest and brought his own hand in between their bodies to catch her wrist. He twisted her arm, shrugging off her hand as he sidestepped around her. She moved with his motion, and somehow - Anduin couldn't figure out how - she managed to get behind him and lock his arm behind his back. Karidormi stepped forward, but before she could do anything a gruff voice barked "Shalya!"
The Orc girl stopped immediately, quickly releasing Anduin from her hold. Anduin held in his grimace as he rotated his shoulder back into its proper place, and stepped away from the girl, Shalya, as she headed toward a wizened old Orc who wore soft brown robes and carried a thick wooden staff that he was using as a walking stick. The old Orc looked at Anduin and Karidormi, then gestured for them to follow. Anduin took a deep breath and hurried after the old Orc and the half-Orc girl, Shalya.
The old Orc led them into another tent nearby to the one Wrathion was in. Sitting there already were Shandris and Dashiell, both of whom looked uncomfortable to be in the same room together. The old Orc gestured and said, "Please. Sit."
"I don't mean to be rude, sir," Anduin began, "but my friend-"
"Will be fine. The healers are purging the corruption from him now, and he will be on his feet in mere minutes. Enough time for you to tell me why the Prince of Stormwind is traveling Draenor with only a night elf, a blood elf, and two dragons as company."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Karidormi pale a little. "You know what she is?" Anduin asked.
The lines around the old orc's eyes deepened as he smiled. "I'm old, boy, not senile. She wears her chosen skin well, but I know the feel of dragons. Are you part of the flight that inhabits the Blade's Edge?" He asked Karidormi.
"No. I am of the bronze flight."
"And the child?"
"Azerothian Black Flight." Karidormi said softly.
The old Orc nodded. "I see. That explains why our healing spells seemed to have no effect on him." He paused for a moment, then looked back at Anduin. "Now, shall we discuss why you're here?"
Anduin glanced at Karidormi, then at Shandris. The night elf commander only nodded. Anduin took a deep breath. "Well, it started like this." As Anduin went into the story in detail, he watched the old orc's face darken. Then when Karidormi added what she knew, including her dream and the current condition of Go’el, the old Orc seemed even more concerned.
They sat in silence for a long time. Anduin flicked his gaze toward Shalya. She had a stern look on her face, like she was trying to puzzle out the mystery the strangers had put before her people. Then she looked at the old Orc and said, "Grandfather, you can't possibly think that..."
"I'm afraid so." The old Orc shook himself, then looked at Anduin and Karidormi. "You two are caught up in this more strongly than I previously believed. As is your young friend lying in our healing tent. I cannot say if all of this is good or not, nor what it portends for the future, but I can say with confidence you are the only ones who can do anything about this directly." He took a breath. "Draenor and Azeroth share a future. Of that I'm absolutely confident. Where that future leads is entirely up to you."
Karidormi shifted. "That's why we need to reach the black dragons in Blade's Edge. If one of them has managed to escape the madness of Deathwing, then that one should be able to take on some of the power of the Earth Warder."
"And why not the dragon in the tent?" Shalya asked. "What's wrong with him?"
"It's because he was born on Azeroth through unnatural means, yes?" Asked the old Orc before Karidormi could reply. Anduin glanced at Karidormi's face. Her expression, though unsure, spoke volumes about why she was seeking a candidate other than Wrathion. Anduin, too, hoped that they'd find someone else to do the job. Not that he didn't think Wrathion would make a good Earth Warder; it was more the fact that Wrathion could barely keep his temper in check sometimes, even on a good day. The old Orc hummed. "It'll be a little while longer before your young friend will be able to move. We'll see to it that you're well-prepared for the journey."
"Thank you, but you don't have to." Anduin said.
Shalya shot him a glower. "Until you reach the Cenarion Refuge in Zangarmarsh, there's no place safe to rest. Beyond the Druid holding, the land is harsh and filled with monsters and naga. Even after you enter the mountains, there are shale spiders and ogres. If you don't have this proper weapons or supplies, you might as well fall on your own sword. It'll hurt less."
"Shalya." The old Orc said softly, sounding all the more harsh for its softness. "Go gather the supplies they'll need. And if the dragon boy is awake, send him over here."
Shalya looked about to refuse, but then thought better of it. "As you wish, Grandfather." She tossed another look Anduin's way, then swept out of the tent.
The old Orc let out a long sigh. Anduin looked toward him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. The girl is too much like her mother some days. Willful and over-protective." He chuckled. "But unlike her mother, she knows when to yield to her elders."
"She's a half-breed." Shandris said, almost distastefully.
The old Orc smiled. "Only half-right."
"She's like Med'an," Anduin said suddenly. "A third Orc, a third Draenei, and half human. She keeps calling you 'grandfather'."
"My name is Alhroun," said the old Orc, "and yes, her father was my son. He was the half-breed. Her mother was human." He paused. "There were many things that happened during the time of the Old Horde, but not all of us chose a life of war. We Mag'har are living proof of that. I met her grandmother on a trading trip. And as you humans are fond of saying, it's history after that."
"She doesn't resent that?" Karidormi asked. "Being from all three races but never wholly belonging?"
Alhroun shook his head. "Skin and race and that like doesn't matter to us. What matters is the love we share for each other and the land. But she hasn't encountered very many children her own age. Seeing you, she's probably began to wonder again about the world beyond our small clan."
Anduin looked up as Wrathion entered the tent. He looked tired, but sane. He gave them all an apologetic smile and joined them, sitting close to Karidormi. Anduin wasn't sure if it was because she was another dragon and he felt safer near her, or for some other reason. He also didn't miss the way Dashiell's eyes slightly narrowed. Before he could say anything, Alhroun rose saying, "We will get you prepared for your journey. Please rest. I will have food and drink brought for you."
"We don't really-" Shandris started, but the old Orc was already gone. She frowned at the closing tent flap, then looked at Anduin.
The Prince of Stormwind could only offer her a shrug in reply.
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Dawn of the Dragon