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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.

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Thirty-Nine
Athena soared over the land, her large wings tirelessly beating the air every few minutes to keep her aloft. The heat rising from the ground allowed her to float easily, with a tailwind keeping her moving in the direction she needed to go. Next to her flew the bronze dragon Karidormi, now carrying both Shandris and Dashiell on her back. They had landed once, in order to prepare themselves for what they might face ahead, and then had taken off again, heading straight for the Alterac Mountains. For a while, they were holding a northern course, flying hard over land that Athena hadn't seen and had only heard stories of. Then they had crossed over the Thandol Span and entered into the Arathi Highlands, continuing their flight now with Karidormi in the lead.
They didn't talk much since haste was of the utmost importance, but Athena knew that Karidormi was worried. Some small part of her said that she should comfort the bronze, offer the false hope of everything being okay. But that wasn't who Athena was. Comforting for the sake of making someone feel better hadn't been something she did, not even for her own brothers and sister. They were fighting to survive in a world that hated them, and while Athena could sympathize, even empathize, with Karidormi, she certainly wouldn't change her ways just to conform with what was considered normal. She already knew what had happened to the remnants of her flight here - a fate masterminded by her youngest brother, which almost made Athena smile - and she didn't really need the whole of Azeroth coming down on her just because she'd given them a reason to think she was just like the rest.
Of course, Athena was confident of her chances in a battle like that. She didn't think anyone aside from her immediate family would realize what Athena was capable of, and by the time they did, they'd be dead.
Now, though, wasn't the time to be thinking about what ifs and possible betrayal. That's what drove her sire mad, with a little help from the Old Gods.
She looked ahead of her, staying on Karidormi's tail as they crossed snow-capped mountains and gently changed directions, heading deeper into the mountains, where it was warmer.
It hit her like a gronn's fist a moment later, a sudden feeling of heaviness. Athena almost faltered; she flapped her wings hard and kept aloft somehow. She felt as if the entire weight of the earth was pressing down on her shoulders, like she was being suffocated. She could also feel an oppressive darkness, an almost madness, trying to worn its way into her mind. Athena growled at the feeling of intrusion and flexed her claws. If this was what Go’el was facing, then he was stronger than she'd thought, and she could definitely appreciate the type of person he was to take up such a mantle as the Earth Warder, and deal with this without so much as a helping hand. She assumed Go’el did have help from someone, somewhere, but that was only a vicarious thing. In dealing with the powers, dealing with everything the title encompassed, Go’el was no doubt alone.
Well.
Not alone for much longer.
"This way!" Karidormi called, banking around a mountain peak and heading into a hidden vale. Athena followed, her eyes searching for the location that Karidormi was leading her to.
They dove below emerald trees choked with verdant vines, slipping easily between trunks despite their size. Athena's feeling grew stronger with each passing moment. At another time, she probably would've pulled ahead and left the bronze staring at her tail. And that was exactly what her gut was telling her to do. Her mind, though, knew she needed to hold back, not because she might end up getting killed by whoever was with and/or after Go’el, but because Karidormi was the only way Athena would get close enough to Thrall to try to help him and get him back to normal.
"Stop!"
Karidormi filled her wings with air as she leaned back, trying to slow her pace without jarring her two passengers. Confused, she looked behind her at Athena, and saw that the black dragon had landed, her talons churning the earth. "What is it?" Kari questioned.
Athena looked at her, crimson eyes bright. "You can't feel it?"
"Feel what?"
"There's something ahead. Something malignant. If we charge in like we've been doing, I don't think all of us are going to make it through." Athena replied.
Shandris dropped suddenly to the ground, followed by Dashiell. The two looked at one another, then at the dragons. "Change forms," Shandris said. "They'll be expecting dragons, not us. Dashiell and I will go ahead and see what we can see. The two of you should follow, close enough to hear us, but far enough away you won't easily be seen."
Dashiell looked up at Karidormi. "The goal's to make it to Go’el, and you know Khargol's gonna try to stop us."
The bronze looked down at him, then at Shandris. "Be careful."
"I've lived ten thousand years and fought demons. I'm pretty sure I can handle an Orc."
Dashiell chuckled. "These aren't your ordinary orcs."
Shandris let out a quick laugh. "Maybe not, but they're still orcs." She slipped into the shadows, melding with them and vanishing from sight. Dashiell vanished seconds behind her.
A deep breath was all it took for Athena to know where the two of them were and in what direction they were heading. She shifted her weight, almost like an antsy child, then shifted forms. She could feel everything more acutely now, almost like a blanket had been slung around her shoulders and was weighing her down. Athena closed her eyes for a moment, trying to pinpoint exactly where the feeling was coming from.
"Are you okay?" Karidormi asked, also in her smaller form.
Athena opened her eyes and smiled at her. She saw Kari shiver, even though the younger dragon did her best not to. "I'm fine. But I'm assuming we don't have much time, so if we want the world to stay its pretty self, we need to get our butts moving."
Kari nodded. "This way."
The two took off at a dead run, following some hidden path that only Kari seemed to know. It suited Athena just fine; the closer she got to her destination, the more the feelings began to increase. Feelings of dread, hopelessness, anxiety, fear, anger - they all welled up inside her along with fury. Without really understanding why, Athena began to reach out with her mind, gently skimming along the surface thoughts of whatever was arousing these feelings in her. She didn't want to draw attention - yet - but she wanted to get a sense of what she was about to face.
She didn't like it at all.
There were two seemingly similar consciousnesses vying with one another for control. One she could only describe as grounded, a steely presence armed with conviction and shielded by hope; the other was wild, raging, full of anger, wielding violence like a double-edged blade. And she, the silent observer, would soon be in the middle of it, trying to fight her way into wherever Go’el was. More than likely, she'd draw the wrath of the violent entity, while she earned the benevolence of the peaceful one. It seemed like quite the daunting task, and she wondered why she'd even bothered to consider a life different from the one she'd known.
Then Athena looked at Karidormi and shook off the negative thoughts building in her mind. She'd made a promise, and she was determined to see the looks on the faces of everyone who was anyone in Azeroth when they realized they had to deal with her. That thought alone made her smile.
She leaped over the first shaman before he even realized she was there. Her heels hit the ground on the other side, and in a single breath, Athena drew her sword and cut the shaman's head from his shoulders. Karidormi spun around a warrior that leaped up and smashed the knuckles of her right fist into his back, where the curve of his ribs began. There was a sickening crack, and the Orc stiffened, gasping for air.
They didn't wait for him to recover and didn't care if he called reinforcements. The two took off running again, and caught glimpses of Shandris and Dashiell as the two moved through the shadows, drawing most of the attention. Still, green-skinned bodies were visible here and there, some partially hidden, others in plain view. It became clear to Athena that they weren't the only ones fighting in the area, once she began to see corpses mangled with all the ferocity of a wild beast.
"It's just ahead." Kari panted. "Aggra should sense that we're coming."
"I hope so," Athena replied, "or we might just find ourselves on the wrong end of an elemental."
Karidormi huffed out a laugh, or maybe an exasperated sigh - Athena didn't care which - and they started up a hidden trail, moving a little slower than before. Of course, the trail didn't seem all that hidden anymore, since trees had been violently uprooted, grasses scorched, earth churned, as if there had been some great battle between vast armies. Athena knew, though, that this was the work of the earth's fury. She could only wonder at who had commanded it.
As the destruction cleared somewhat, Athena was soon able to see what looked to be a clearing around a cave, still verdant and untouched by the chaos that had erupted in other parts of the forest, even only a few yards away from the beginning of the clearing. She paused at the threshold of the open ground, partly out of caution from moving out of cover and into vulnerability, and also because something didn't feel quite right. Karidormi seemed to have no such qualms, though she paused and looked back at Athena when she realized the black dragon hadn't moved.
Exchanging a look with the bronze, Athena slowly picked her way into the clearing, moving cautiously, her sword at the ready. Gesturing for Kari to keep silent, Athena stepped around her and headed up toward the cave, crimson eyes casting about for anything out of the ordinary. It had become clear to her that this was where Thrall was, and if he was here, then here would be the final confrontation between the powers that were vying with one another for control. She could also acutely feel the two consciousnesses, and knew without even looking that the wild, violent one was starting to gain the upper hand over the calmer one.
"Call out," Athena whispered, stepping to the side a but where she would be out of the immediate line of sight of the cave.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Kari looked about to protest, but instead took two steps back and made herself the center of attention for anyone peering out of the cave. She also had given Athena enough space to retaliate against attack without putting Karidormi in danger. Then she took a deep breath and called, "Aggra? It's Kari! I'm back, and I brought help!"
Silence.
Athena tensed, feeling the two consciousnesses pause in their battle, almost like they were stopping to regard Karidormi's call. Then they began fighting again, with even more violence than before. She couldn't tell if one was trying to keep the other from escaping, or if they were trying to kill each other. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, half-listening to Karidormi's continued calls. Both consciousnesses were struggling more and more with one another, until there seemed to be a victor. The calmer consciousness slithered out from the now-docile chaotic consciousness' lax grip, and then Athena felt a knot of dread beginning to form in her stomach.
She looked at Karidormi and signaled her quickly with two fingers. The bronze nodded and readied herself, and called out, "Aggra! It's me! Answer me; are you there? Are you okay?"
The answer came in a furious gust of wind, aimed straight at Karidormi. The bronze leaped aside, retreating somewhat as Athena surged around the corner of the cave, her sword moving in an underhand cut. A block of stone stopped her blade inches before it hit flesh, and Athena stared into the eyes of the Dark Shaman Khargol for the second time, although now face to face. She grinned widely and saw him actually flinch.
"You didn't think I'd make it this far, did you?" Athena crooned, putting more and more pressure on Khargol's shield.
He grinned in return. "It doesn't matter. You've already failed, dragon."
"Failure isn't in my vocabulary." She pushed, and his shield shattered. Her blade's edge skimmed Khargol's robes, shearing off a thin stretch of fabric. He didn't look panicked, which she thought was brave of him, but she could tell he wasn't too confident anymore in the way he tried to edge his body away from her without being obvious about it.
"There's nothing you can do to stop what's in motion now." Khargol hissed at her. He lifted his hand and gestured behind him. Athena didn't dare take her eyes off the Dark Shaman, but she twitched to make it seem like she'd looked. Khargol grinned. "It's over. You've lost. If you surrender, I'll make sure to use you properly. Our great Warchief will need a mount to ride on while he eradicates the Alliance and the traitors from the face of Azeroth."
"Save me the official bad guy exposition speech. I don't give a shit. I'm going to kill you because of what you've done to my kind back in Blade's Edge, and I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully, just because I don't fucking like you." Athena growled.
Khargol stared at her, like he was in shock.
Just as well, Athena decided, because that moment of hesitation allowed her to pull back her sword and drive it into Khargol's side, cutting flesh and filling the cave with the iron smell of blood. He hissed, surprised, then quickly cast a healing spell. Athena watched the flesh stitch itself up even as she was pressing the attack. He blocked her at every turn now, either with his own weapon or an earth shield. She assumed he had wasted most of his power fighting that other consciousness, since he didn't make an effort to summon an elemental or bring the cave down on her head. Unless he was playing her, lulling her into believing he was weak. She decided to go with her assumption, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction that would come from his success in tricking her.
She ducked low to avoid a strike and brought the dull edge of her sword down hard on Khargol's left kneecap. The bone broke with a meaty snap and she was amazed he didn't scream. He merely grunted, stepped back on his good leg and cast a healing spell. Athena pressed on, switching hands and bringing her blade down in a cross cut for his chest. He avoided it - barely - and spun them so he now had his back to the cave mouth. He grinned at her. "You'd make such a good beast of war."
"You'd make such a good snack with a bit of ketchup."
She lunged at him and drove her sword through his lower stomach, through his intestines, and out the other side. She also released the hilt of her blade when it hit Khargol's resistant flesh, and the force of her dragon-strength backed blow sent him flying out of the cave. She watched with grim satisfaction as he landed on the blade of the sword, and watched as the blade caught in the ground and ripped Khargol's insides to meaty shreds. Athena spotted Karidormi watching open-mouthed and shouted, "Would you move already?!"
Kari jumped and rushed toward Athena even as the black dragon stalked toward Khargol, who was trying to pick up shreds of intestine to put back inside him. He saw her coming, grimaced, and vanished. Athena stared at the bloodstained grass where the bastard had once lain and felt her lips curl in an inhuman snarl. She considered following him - she had a pretty good idea where he'd gone - but she dismissed the idea. Of course she wanted to hunt the bastard down and exact her revenge on his flesh, but that wasn't why she was here.
Spinning on her heel, Athena stomped back to the cave and found Karidormi holding a female Orc who seemed to be just coming around. She had a decent sized goose egg on her head, and a smear of blood on the left side of her face. She had the brown skin of a Mag'har, which surprised Athena. Kari looked up at her as she approached.
"Athena, this is Aggra. She's Go’el’s wife." Kari touched Aggra's shoulder, helping the Orc to steady herself. To Aggra, Kari asked, "What happened?"
Aggra peered up at Athena, as if trying to decide what exactly she was. Then Aggra looked toward the very back of the cave. Following her gaze, Athena saw the shape of another body. "Go'el started waking up." Aggra explained, her voice full of pain. "Your spell was beginning to wear off, so I started to try and talk to him, to heal him. Then that bastard Dark Shaman showed up. I don't know how he found us, but he spoke as though Go'el had led him here. He started to try and wake Go'el up, like he was some sort of servant who was caught oversleeping, so I attacked the Dark Shaman."
“Ah, I see.” replied Karidormi softly.
Athena blinked. The two consciousnesses battling. The chaotic one was her, trying to protect her mate. Athena slipped past Karidormj and Aggra, and approached the prone body of Go'el. She stared down at him, only half listening to Aggra's story. He was covered in the same magma-like scarring Deathwing had been plagued with, but it had more of a fleshy consistency than scale or earth. The transformation hadn't been completed yet, nor had it really progressed. Karidormi was probably responsible for that.
She knelt.
Reached out.
Touched Go’el’s face gently with her fingertips.
Athena sucked in a breath as power flooded her, corrupt and tortured, aching for revenge and freedom. She heard Karidormi calling her, but the bronze's voice was muted, as if Athena was suddenly underwater.
And then she heard nothing at all.
"Who is she?" Aggra asked, staring at Athena.
Karidormi smiled grimly. "Our last hope."
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Dawn of the Dragon