…sensed it and been driven to fury by the discovery.
It is you! I felt it immediately! They keep you at the Eye! I should’ve known! The audacity…and the foolishness of them in the end…
Eranikus. Malfurion sensed that he had just set Thura down near where Broll would find her. Now, though, having sensed his queen’s desperate contact with the archdruid, there was but one pressing thought in the male dragon’s head…to free her.
Heed me, my mate, Ysera pleaded, seeking to stop him. Your place is with the efforts of Malfurion —
No! I will save you! Eranikus interrupted, his words coming so forcefully that they gave Malfurion and Lucan pounding heads. I swear so!
Ysera forbade him, but Eranikus refused to listen. Malfurion, caught between conflicting choices in the matter, started to speak with the male. However, before he could, a hand violently shook him, breaking contact.
“Mal! Beware!” Tyrande cried.
He focused on his surroundings again.
Shadow satyrs were everywhere.
No…these were not shadows. They were very solid, very real. These were living satyrs, including those of Queen Azshara’s Highborne servants who had followed Xavius into damnation. Seduced by the power the reborn Xavius had wielded, they had given up their handsome forms for these monstrous ones, all to serve the ultimate cause of the Burning Legion’s lord, Sargeras.
And their numbers seemed endless. Malfurion was stunned. Clearly, all this time, the satyrs had been hiding the truth, no doubt gathering in long preparation for these dire events.
My children have awaited their chance for glory! the Nightmare Lord gleefully mocked. I have deigned to grant them such…
The satyrs had horns and though their faces retained most of their original features from before their corruption, there was a bestial touch to the demons’ expression. Savage grins revealed sharp teeth. Coarse brown fur covered their arms, backs, and hooved legs. They had shaggy manes and beards that added to their grotesque appearance and their eyes had a foul green cast.
It is him, indeed! Xavius declared to the oncoming satyrs. The cursed Malfurion Stormrage…
Several of the satyrs let out howls of anticipation as they charged the pair.
Tyrande took up a stand in front of the archdruid and threw the moonlight glaive.
“I know that you must focus on the true battle!” The high priestess shouted as the spinning weapon slashed through the first of the satyrs. The three sharp blades cut deep into two of the sinister creatures before returning to her. The glaive’s victims fell, the upper halves of their torsos nearly severed from the bottoms.
The merciless and efficient strike caused the satyrs to falter somewhat as they tried to divine how best to get around Tyrande and the deadly blades.
But Malfurion did not want to leave her to face them by herself. “You can’t hold them all off!”
“With the others’ help, perhaps I can at least delay long enough!”
Before Malfurion could ask who she meant, Tyrande brought the glaive up in a salute and murmured something in the hidden tongue of the Sisterhood. At that moment, the satyrs regained their courage and charged.
The Mother Moon’s light shone down in front of Malfurion, bathing both Tyrande and the areas to each side.
As Malfurion stared, a line of glowing figures somewhat resembling priestesses in battle garb took up a stand with Tyrande. Indeed, each even bore some resemblance to her.
Tyrande had prayed to Elune for aid and it had come as she needed it, in the forms of guardians created from the moonlight. With glaives, bows, swords, lances, maces, staves, and other weapons, the gleaming line decimated the foremost satyrs. Yet more continued to pour forward.
Malfurion did not remain idle while Tyrande and those she summoned defended him. Aware that she was correct in her assumption that he had to focus on the true battle, Malfurion turned his attention on two things.
The first was to reinforce his original decision upon Varian and Hamuul. The Nightmare must be fought in the Dream! he pressed. The core of the Nightmare’s strength comes from the sleeping and from what it has thus far managed to tear from Ysera! Force it to draw its power there to defend itself!
To their credit, they acquiesced. Still feeling guilty that so many would likely perish despite this being the best hope, Malfurion then reached out to Broll.
Have you found Thura?
Broll Bearmantle’s response was immediate. Yes, Shan’do! But she’s not able to fight effectively here! Let’s return her to Azeroth, then —
No…you know what I need her to do.
As with Hamuul and King Varian, Broll agreed.
Malfurion looked to Tyrande again. She stood defiant against the odds, just as she had so often during the War of the Ancients. Face so very dark — the night elf version of being flushed — she threw the glaive again and again. The gleaming weapon severed limbs, cut deep into chests, and even removed the head of one satyr.
But the archdruid noted that the moonlight around her had grown slightly dimmer and as it did, so dimmed Elune’s guardians beside her. It was not merely physical foes that the high priestess battled; Xavius was feeding his gathered power into the satyrs, strengthening especially those that fought Tyrande. She was the nexus around which the guardians drew their substance. If she fell, they would quickly dissipate.
Malfurion turned to the second of his problems. He quickly sought out the mind of the male dragon.
Eranikus! Think this through!
No! I will not leave the Eye without her!
The night elf’s view shifted. Malfurion saw through Eranikus’s gaze as the Aspect’s consort descended. The dragon was nearly at his destination.
The Eye was not as the archdruid recalled it. Even as Eranikus approached, its appearance wavered. The structures became jagged, toothy things that looked ready to impale the dragon. The buildings began to change places with one another.
They can’t fool me! Eranikus said to him. Hide her in a thousand such places and they will fail! She and I are linked again and this time nothing will ever sever the bond! I will always find her!
Be wary! Malfurion called futilely.
Eranikus dove toward the least impressive of the structures. As he did, it suddenly began to grow.
You see? he said triumphantly. She is in the great building, though they tried their best to make it look other —
Malfurion, paying more attention to matters in the Eye beyond that of Ysera, noted a shift in the Nightmare.
Eranikus —
Lethon materialized above the fixated dragon, then dropped upon him.
Welcome back, brother Eranikus! he mocked as his talons dug into the other leviathan. The corrupted dragon sent entrails of dark green energy into Ysera’s consort.
Eranikus shrieked as his body pulsated madly. His scaled hide twisted and shifted as if some great worm bore through flesh and bone and sought to now burst to the surface.
Your greatest nightmare comes true… Lethon cooed. Welcome back to the fold…
Malfurion sought to maintain a link to Eranikus’s mind, but although he managed to do that, the link was so weak that he could not sense what, if anything, the dragon thought. Moreover, none of his attempts to make Eranikus understand him succeeded, either. The archdruid feared that Lethon spoke true; Malfurion was well aware of Eranikus’s dread concerning once more becoming one of the corrupted.
Indeed, the dragon moaned loudly as the foul energies of the Nightmare sank into him. Although still aloft, Eranikus curled as much as possible into a ball.
And then, with a raging roar, let loose his own power upon Lethon.
Caught overconfident, the corrupted behemoth hurtled back as the attack struck. With a painful roar of his own, Lethon went spiraling from the Eye of Ysera.
Again without hesitation, Eranikus returned his attention to where his queen was imprisoned. He sank all four sets of claws into the structure.
The prison shimme
red. The green dragon was assailed by more of the Nightmare’s taint. Eranikus’s shape twisted, perverted, as the corruption sought to overwhelm him. Yet he steadfastly held on, pouring his own might into the edifice.
Already focused on so many directions, Malfurion could do little, but he gave Ysera’s consort what support he could. Between the two of them, the spread of the taint toward the male dragon halted.
The prison shook. The attack on Eranikus abruptly ceased. The leviathan let out a triumphant growl.
But then a powerful force ripped him from Ysera’s prison. Lethon, aglow with the Nightmare’s awful energies, swooped down to batter his adversary.
Malfurion tried to help Eranikus regain his momentum, but the dragon now refused his aid, shouting in the archdruid’s head, No! She’s nearly free! I’ll hold him off while you finish it!
The night elf could not argue. Freeing Ysera was far more important. She was the mistress of the Emerald Dream, bound to it and versed in its very essence. The Nightmare needed her to strengthen its connection to the Emerald Dream in order to manipulate its magic even more. Whatever the cost, Ysera had to be freed; the act would surely weaken the Nightmare’s hold and, thus, further the defenders’ chances. Indeed, Malfurion could now sense the Aspect herself testing her weakened cell. Eranikus was correct; there was far greater hope now of success.
Concentrating, the archdruid attempted to draw from both Azeroth and the stricken Emerald Dream as much as he could. He was surprised at how easy those forces, especially from the latter realm, came at his request.
Then Malfurion decided that it could not be by his doing alone; Ysera had to be assisting somehow.
As he struggled alongside the Aspect to free her, Malfurion felt Eranikus’s battle continue. The two dragons grappled, their power washing over one another. Neither at first seemed to have the upper hand, though the night elf feared that before long their surroundings would finally grant that to the corrupted beast.
He felt Ysera pushing harder from within. Yet her concern was not for herself, but rather her consort, Malfurion, and Lucan.
Save him first, for he is not bound by any of the Nightmare’s spells as I am, she commanded of Malfurion, indicating the human. Although he had been able to enter the golden dome, it seemed that now Lucan was too exhausted to make use of his odd abilities. His rescue was the least of problems for Malfurion, who was able to bring the cartographer back to Azeroth and near where Hamuul stood.
Ysera pressed harder. The barrier weakened. Malfurion could feel it straining…
No…not quite! Lethon, manipulating the powers of his master, nearly crushed the efforts of the pair.
Malfurion’s mind became awash in fear-stirring images of all his actions creating greater disaster for those he sought to protect. The archdruid knew that they were nightmares raised up by the darkness, but it took tremendous effort to not only deny them but still maintain the assault on the Aspect’s cell.
Lethon abruptly cried out. Through his own thoughts, Malfurion caught images of a very scarred, halfdistorted Eranikus gripping his corrupted counterpart through both claw and magic. Eranikus had clearly been much ravaged by the other, but sheer determination for the moment swayed the fight to his direction.
But that could surely not last long. Reluctantly, Malfurion started to abandon the efforts to free Ysera.
NO!! Eranikus thundered in his head. She must be saved! I will finish with Lethon!
Lethon apparently caught this, for the tainted behemoth laughed at such hubris. The power of the Nightmare filled him. He was now larger than the consort.
It is you who are finished, Eranikus! Give in to the Nightmare! Let it embrace you! The walls between Azeroth and here are also weakening! Soon, I and the others like me will be able to fly Azeroth’s skies unimpeded…
Azeroth’s skies… Eranikus repeated.
A glow suddenly surrounded Ysera’s mate. The dragon’s face bore a grim aspect. At the same time, Lethon’s expression grew uncertain.
What do you do? he demanded of Eranikus.
But the other dragon said nothing. Instead, Malfurion sensed him drawing upon other energies. Only then did the archdruid understand Eranikus’s ploy.
And as both titanic figures began to fade, so, too, did Lethon understand…but much too late. You can’t! Do this and you’ll destroy yourself, too! I swear! The instability will take you with me!
So be it, then, Malfurion heard Eranikus reply.
My mate! Ysera called…but too late.
The Nightmare sought to make both this realm and Azeroth one. Then the power of this realm would be impossible to overcome.
But that shift had not yet completed…and here, in the vicinity of the Eye, a nexus of the Emerald Dream, Malfurion saw that the shredding boundaries between the two realms were so unstable that to be at the center was to invite annihilation.
Eranikus refused to release the corrupted creature. The pair crossed into the instability suddenly existing between the two realms.
As Lethon had warned and Malfurion and Ysera feared, the desperate villain drew the power of his master into himself in a futile attempt to avoid the inevitable, but it was too late.
The monster howled as he was torn asunder. The fearsome forces that he in turn had been summoning were unleashed.
A fiery maelstrom erupted where Lethon had been. That maelstrom swallowed up Eranikus, who made no move to escape it.
The wild forces struck out everywhere. Malfurion felt Ysera urge him to do something to contain them. Not certain what she expected of him, the archdruid nevertheless tried.
A desperate plan came to him. He managed to steer those energies to a chosen spot.
They struck Ysera’s prison, reducing the center of the Eye to nothing but vapor…and freeing at last Ysera.
Roaring her relief at her release, the mistress of the Emerald Dream rose above what remained of the place of her confinement. An emerald aura surrounded her, an aura that briefly brightened the entire Eye.
But mists began converging on her, seeking to recapture. Ysera let out another roar and the aura trebled in scope. Whatever it touched suddenly returned to the full, lush life and beauty for which the Emerald Dream was known. The mists immediately retreated —
And in that precious moment, the Aspect vanished.
Malfurion no longer sensed her in the other realm. Instead, Ysera had retreated to Azeroth. Aware more than any how the bonds between the two places worked, she materialized near the druids fighting out of Darnassus.
Thank you…Malfurion Stormrage… she said with much sadness. You…and Eranikus…
He did what he had to, the archdruid replied quickly, honoring the male dragon’s sacrifice but aware of so many other sacrifices taking place even now. Still, his hopes were high, now that the mistress of the Emerald Dream was free, Xavius had no powerful captive. With Ysera’s power to guide them —
No — Malfurion — I fear — I fear that there is little I can offer you…the effort to keep the Nightmare from utterly using me has drained me more than — I — imagined…
The words so stunned Malfurion that he almost lost his link to the others. He had waited for this hope! What power was greater than hers when it came to the Emerald Dream and the taint spreading through it? The only reason that she had not been able to vanquish the Nightmare before had been due to his own foolish capture.
If not for Xavius being able to draw upon his meager abilities, none of this chaos would have happened —
Un-untrue, Malfurion! It was clearly an effort for Ysera to stay conscious. You know the forces at work here and how long that they have been in play!
But what does it matter? he retorted. If even you are not able to put an end to this, we are lost!
The Aspect was losing consciousness. It was all she could do simply to protect herself. There is hope…I am
…I am of the Emerald Dream…but you…you are of the Emerald Dream…and Azeroth! In that…there is a chance —
<
br /> What do you —
She broke contact. The Aspect had failed in her battle to remain conscious. The strain had been too much.
And as her thoughts vanished, the Nightmare Lord’s laugh seemed to echo in Malfurion’s head.
Ysera had left the fate of both realms to Malfurion…who had no idea what he could do.
28
BEFORE THE TREE
Broll Bearmantle struggled to keep Thura from racing ahead of him.
The orc insisted that she had to push on, even though they were in possibly one of the worst places of all.
The night elf was here because Malfurion needed him here.
Malfurion had not said exactly why, but Broll trusted in his shan’do.
Still, he wished he knew why the orc was also desired. Thura had no useful weapon and her headstrong ways were going to get her taken by the Nightmare.
“It’s this way!” she snarled, not for the first time. “This way!”
They had not been impeded other than by the cloying tendency of the mists. Broll did not think that good fortune. The Nightmare likely did not believe them much of a threat by themselves, and the druid was inclined to share that opinion.
What are you planning, Malfurion? Broll wanted to know. What?
Ahead, the mist suddenly did a new and disturbing thing. It receded. Not all of it, but a fairly wide path more than sufficient for the pair to move side by side.
And Thura, of course, headed right into it.
“Hold back!” the druid called.
But she ignored him, instead picking up her pace. “There it is!”
Broll, more concerned with their lives — and their spirits, should the Nightmare take them — did not at first understand what she wanted. Then he saw the ax.
The magical ax. Small wonder that Thura wanted it. With the weapon, she could confront the shadows and nightmares.
But the druid doubted that regaining the ax would prove so simple as merely picking it back up.
Thura reached for it…and the ax flared emerald green.
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