Dawn of the Aspects: Part II

by Richard A. Knaak

  Malygos quickly explained what had happened, including Ysera’s current thinking.

  The fire-orange female hissed in growing frustration as she listened. “Must go to her!” Alexstrasza snarled as soon as Malygos had finished. “This must not be!”

  The male proto-dragon blocked her path. “Wait! Ysera will not listen!”

  She glared at him but finally nodded. “No. Ysera will not listen. She will die.”

  “Will not die,” Malygos insisted. “Ysera will not die.”

  Alexstrasza shook her head. Yet rather than shove past her companion, the female proto-dragon hesitated. She wanted to believe Malygos.

  “Coros not good,” he informed Alexstrasza. “Coros always lies.” It was a simplistic declaration but, from what Kalec could glean from Malygos’s memories, close to the truth. “We watch Coros. Find truth. Show Ysera.”

  While Kalec’s host did want to help the sisters, the icy-blue male also looked forward to revealing his rival as he knew him to be. Coros was one proto-dragon Malygos would not have minded being devoured by Galakrond, provided Coros could be prevented from rising from the dead afterward.

  Cocking her head, Alexstrasza considered his words. It did not take her long to nod eagerly. “Yes. Prove Coros false! Ysera will see truth!”

  Kalec was not so certain about the merit of Malygos’s suggestion, but he distrusted Coros as much as Malygos did. Kalec suspected that Coros thought he could take advantage of everyone, even Galakrond, while raising his status among the other proto-dragons in the process. It was a foolish, dangerous notion—

  A familiar roar thundered across the heavens.

  Immediately, Malygos and Alexstrasza dived from their perches into more shadowed regions below. Neither proto-dragon cared about dignity. Malygos found an overhang that had enough room for one and left it to Alexstrasza, who reluctantly accepted his sacrifice. The male moved on until he came to a depression in a hillside. It was not large enough to fit him, but he nonetheless planted himself against it, then held his breath.

  And barely had he done so than a darker, vaster shadow engulfed everything. A hulking form covered the sky: Galakrond, on his endless hunt.

  Despite his much too near proximity to the insatiable leviathan, Malygos forgot his danger as details of Galakrond’s underside swept past. The smaller proto-dragon even slipped out of the depression as he stared at the growths more and more dominating Galakrond.

  Growths that had an odd resemblance to unfinished body parts.

  Kalec watched with equal horror as Malygos glimpsed one rudimentary limb after another dangling from random locations. There were forelimbs and hind, with partial paws. Vestigial wings flapped futilely in the wind caused by Galakrond’s swift flight. What might have been a partially formed head—a head!—thrust out of a region near the behemoth’s hip.

  There were other shapes that neither Kalec nor his host could identify but that both assumed were just as unnerving. Malygos sat where he was, entirely oblivious to the fact that all Galakrond had to do was glance back to see him.

  Fortunately, the gigantic proto-dragon continued on, not only racing beyond view mere seconds later but also heading in a direction that would not set the two smaller ones on the same path. Malygos exhaled as Galakrond vanished; then he quickly joined Alexstrasza.

  “Must go now!” the fire-orange female urged. “Now, before Galakrond comes again.”

  “Now,” agreed Malygos, following as Alexstrasza took off. However, unsaid by the male proto-dragon—but sensed by the ever-present Kalec—was the thought that even if the pair flew faster than Galakrond, it might already be too late to avert catastrophe.

  • • •

  The two proto-dragons headed toward the region where Talonixa had previously called the gathering. It had not yet been discovered by Galakrond, but Talonixa had already used the growing risk of that happening to stir the other proto-dragons toward mounting their attack. Her sense of urgency, fueled by her desire for vengeance, clearly still prevailed.

  “More of us here!” she roared. “So many more! Galakrond cannot fight all! Cannot!”

  Proto-dragons everywhere hissed and roared their agreement. Kalec judged that Talonixa had been speaking for some time, which gave credit not only to her relative eloquence but also to her continued domination of the others.

  “There!” rumbled Alexstrasza. “She is there!”

  Following her gaze, Kalec’s host beheld the smaller sister not far from Talonixa’s rocky perch. Coros stood next to her, his three comrades a little farther back and looking as if they did not wish to be anywhere near the pair. Both Malygos and Kalec found that odd, especially where the trio’s leader was concerned. Why avoid Coros?

  Talonixa hissed in pleasure at the gathering’s response. Coros chose that moment to ease up to her. He leaned close and whispered in her ear. Her black eyes narrowed as they fell upon Ysera. Coros immediately retreated, his expression veiled.

  The dominant female unleashed a mighty roar that made Kalec’s host cringe as he landed, for surely every living creature within half a day’s flight could hear it. Still, out of respect to Alexstrasza, Malygos did not depart for safer climes. Instead, he alighted with her at a place where they could view the tableau unfolding.

  “This runt speaks,” Talonixa declared, with one wing indicating Ysera. To Alexstrasza’s sibling, she curtly added, “Speak!”

  Ysera looked to Coros, who merely nodded.

  Alexstrasza growled low at the male’s action. “He leaves Ysera alone!”

  “That is Coros.” Malygos had already expected his rival’s support of Ysera to be weak. Coros would do what he could to deflect focus away from him unless it served to raise his status. If Ysera managed to sway the majority, Coros would suddenly be there beside her.

  The yellowish female pulled herself up to her full height. While she was not a very impressive proto-dragon when compared with Talonixa, there was something in Ysera’s manner that Malygos—and Kalec—found admirable. Weak though she was, Alexstrasza’s sibling had an inherent determination that made her seem larger, more dominating, than she physically was.

  “We are many!” she began, her first statement receiving a chorus of approving hisses. “We are many . . . but Galakrond is Galakrond!”

  The approving hisses faded as the gathered proto-dragons tried to digest what she meant by the last.

  “Galakrond is strong! Galakrond is powerful!”

  “We are many!” one of the listening crowd roared back. Others hissed in agreement.

  “We are many,” Ysera repeated with a nod. “And many will die against Galakrond.”

  Several of the listeners glanced with unease at one another. Seeing this, Talonixa unleashed an angry hiss.

  Ignoring her, Ysera pressed her case. “Many can be saved! Peace will save them!” She stepped toward the thickest part of the gathering. “Must talk with Galakrond! Galakrond talked before! Remember when Galakrond was with us! Hunted with us! We talk peace, Galakrond will listen—”

  A thundering laugh cut her off. Talonixa looked around at the other proto-dragons as she mocked Ysera’s earnest words. “Galakrond will listen? Ha! Galakrond hunted with us? Galakrond now hunts us, yes? Listen? Never!”

  Ysera tried to interject, but she was drowned out not only by more laughter from Talonixa but also by the laughter of those joining in with the larger female.

  Alexstrasza growled. She started forward, clearly wanting to stand by her sister.

  Malygos cut in front of her. “No. Ysera will not like that.”

  The fire-orange female almost snapped at him, but then she hesitated. She eyed Ysera, wanting to comfort her, then finally nodded. “Yes . . . would not like that. Never liked that.”

  Malygos and Alexstrasza—and Kalec, who initially had expected Alexstrasza to fly to Ysera, something he would have done
in her place—could only watch as Ysera’s effort fell apart. Ysera looked crestfallen and confused. She glanced around as if seeking someone who was clearly not there.

  “Coros,” Kalec’s host rumbled. “Where is Coros?”

  Indeed, the other male had vanished at some point, along with his three comrades. Malygos searched the gathering and caught a glimpse of what he thought was one of the trio disappearing over a distant rock.

  Before he could decide what to do, Talonixa seized control of the gathering again. With a tremendous roar, she silenced those who had been mocking Ysera with her.

  “No peace!” she called. “Never! Galakrond hunts us. We now hunt Galakrond, yes?”

  Roars of approval reverberated through the area. Ysera, her head low in a submissive posture, crept back. Alexstrasza, looking more distraught than ever, pleaded with her eyes to Malygos.

  Kalec’s host nodded. “Yes . . . now good.”

  As she rushed to console Ysera, Malygos quickly sought out Neltharion. Finding neither him nor even the brown male, Nozdormu, Malygos climbed down from his perch in search of them, just as Talonixa took further advantage of Ysera’s failed attempt for peace.

  “We are many! We will win—”

  “Attack now!” urged one proto-dragon.

  “No! I decide! Others come! Three suns pass, and we attack! Galakrond falls!”

  Malygos paused at hearing this decision, the first time Talonixa had proclaimed it. He hissed, not liking that things were abruptly moving so fast.

  As the other proto-dragons drank in this grand proclamation and began to cheer, Malygos caught sight of Coros himself. The other male’s head had risen above an outcropping farther to the north. Coros immediately sank out of view, but without seeing that Malygos had spotted him.

  More distrusting of his rival than ever, even in this dire time, Malygos scurried faster among the rocks. He did not want to be seen in turn. Coros intended something sinister, and both Malygos and Kalec were in agreement that he needed to be followed.

  Crawling along the landscape like one of the tiny lizards that made for the good occasional snack, Malygos circled around the area, seeking some hint of Coros or his companions. In the background, Talonixa continued to proclaim to the other proto-dragons. While Malygos could not understand her words anymore, her tone preached triumph over Galakrond.

  Pushing aside all thought of what would happen three suns from now, Malygos increased his pace as best as he could in such an awkward position. He yearned to fly but dared not until he knew where those he hunted were. Kalec, with no body of his own, more than understood.

  Then, as if something sensed their desire, a single shape rose in the distance. It was followed by a second, then a third and a fourth. Coros and his followers flew low and quickly vanished over the northern horizon.

  Malygos kept equally low as he pursued. He still had no proof that Coros was up to something, but the simple fact that it was Coros was all that mattered. Kalec mostly knew of the other proto-dragon from Malygos’s memories, but what little he had seen of Coros matched well with what his host thought of his rival.

  Malygos wished that he could have located at least Neltharion, but there was no time. Coros’s speed indicated urgency. Malygos needed to know where he went, and because of that, so did Kalec.

  More than once, Malygos lost sight of the four, but persistence enabled him to regain the trail each time, until the point where they descended over a series of ridges.

  Malygos hissed angrily as he smelled the air in hopes of locating the four. He knew Coros’s stench well enough, yet he could not locate it.

  But another, unsettling scent wafted past his nostrils. It was fainter yet so distinct that the proto-dragon could not help but focus on it. There was something about it that spoke of a strength different from that of one of his kind.

  Despite wishing to follow Coros, Malygos veered toward where the scent had come from. Kalec, too, was intrigued, but for other reasons. There was something familiar not in the scent but rather in its very existence.

  Malygos followed the trail a short way before it abruptly vanished. He alighted on a high rock and searched his surroundings but saw nothing—

  And he suddenly had the sensation that he was being observed.

  The proto-dragon quickly peered over his left wing. Both Kalec and his host expected to see nothing, yet this time, they were wrong.

  The figure was tiny in comparison with the proto-dragon, but neither Malygos nor Kalec truly believed that it lacked the power to confront Malygos should that be its desire. While the proto-dragon vaguely recalled a glimpse of this creature, it was Kalec who was most stunned. It was the same figure he had seen in other flashes of vision, even in his own time.

  Who are you? What are you? Kalec demanded uselessly.

  “Who are you?” Malygos also demanded, echoing the thoughts he could not have heard. “What are you?”

  Even as he repeated Kalec’s questions, both found themselves staring at empty space. However, barely had this registered with Malygos than he noticed the figure at the edge of his vision. Turning that way, the proto-dragon again confronted the billowing shape. While Malygos tried to make sense of not only the rippling appearance—not having any notion of what garments were—but also the creature’s ability to vanish and reappear elsewhere, Kalec noted the powerful magic the mysterious form wielded.

  Powerful magic that might at some point have created the infernal artifact.

  When the figure did not answer, the proto-dragon snarled and leapt closer.

  The cloaked and hooded form vanished again, this time reappearing farther to the southeast.

  It’s leading us somewhere, Kalec thought. The answers that he so desired looked to be just beyond the nearby rocks, answers that might end his curse.

  A hiss arose from the direction in which Malygos had flown. Kalec’s protests went unheard as his host immediately reacted. Although it was only a hiss, Malygos knew who had spoken, knew all too well.

  There was no glimpse of Coros, but Malygos was certain he had heard his rival near. Kalec’s host leapt into the air to give chase, then hesitated as memory of the mysterious figure resurfaced. To Kalec’s relief, Malygos looked back.

  But of the figure there was no sign. It did not reappear anywhere.

  That decided it for Malygos, if not Kalec. Coros was again the subject of his hunt. Malygos’s rival had to be very near.

  A proto-dragon of Coros’s coloring briefly rose above the hill ahead, then dived down. Malygos dropped to just a few yards above the ground. A sulfuric scent assailed him as he neared the area. Malygos was not familiar with this region, but he knew of some such regions. The world was unstable there, sometimes as violent as a beast.

  After landing against the hillside, Malygos drew to the top. He heard voices, one of them that of his rival. The proto-dragon bristled at the sound.

  “He comes here! Always comes here!” snapped Coros.

  “We should not be here!” protested one of his followers.

  The protest was followed by a snarl and a whine. As Malygos thrust his head over, he saw Coros looming above the proto-dragon who had complained. That proto-dragon now had a long, bloody gash across his forehead. Nearby, one of the others watched the pair with some trepidation. Of the fourth there was no sign.

  “We will live!” Coros sneered. “They will die! All will die! We will live!”

  The other two nodded. As they did, all three took turns looking to the north.

  Malygos also looked there and saw a dark, massive shape forming on the horizon.

  “He comes!” Coros hissed triumphantly. “Coros called him, and he comes! Galakrond comes!”

  Galakrond! Malygos stiffened, and Kalec would have done the same if it had been possible. Coros had summoned Galakrond?

  Malygos and Kalec had expected treac
herous behavior from Malygos’s rival, but neither had thought that Coros would have the audacity to reach out to Galakrond on his own. This could have nothing to do with either Ysera’s hope or Talonixa’s plan, except to bring ruin to both.

  Malygos cautiously wended his way down the hillside and away from Coros as quickly as he could. The proto-dragon’s mind raced as he tried to decide what to do. This was beyond the sort of plotting that even Malygos would have anticipated from his rival—

  There came an angry hiss from behind him. As Malygos started to turn, another proto-dragon—the missing fourth—crashed into him.

  Malygos tumbled and plunged through what had initially appeared to be solid ground. The proto-dragon battled to free himself but succeeded only in becoming more mired in the soft, hot, and sticky tar previously hidden under a thin layer of normal dirt.

  Gasping for air, Malygos managed briefly to push himself to the surface. As he did, he and Kalec saw two things. One was the fourth proto-dragon vanishing over the hill toward where Coros and the other two waited for Galakrond.

  The second was a short, so very short, glimpse of the hooded form peering down at the struggling Malygos just before the ground again swallowed him up. Kalec watched as the world vanished in darkness. Yet this time, it was the smothering darkness of the tar pit engulfing not only his host but also Kalec, who, despite his every effort, could not wake.

  NOTES

  The story you’ve just read is the second in a five-part serial adventure, based in part on characters, situations, and locations from Blizzard Entertainment’s computer game World of Warcraft, an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. In World of Warcraft, players create their own heroes and explore, adventure in, and quest across a vast world shared with thousands of other players. This rich and expansive game also allows them to interact with and fight against (or alongside) many of the powerful and intriguing characters featured in this serial novella.

  Since launching in November 2004, World of Warcraft has become the world’s most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The latest expansion, Mists of Pandaria, takes players to a thrilling and never-before-seen corner of Azeroth: the mysterious continent of Pandaria. More information about Mists of Pandaria and previous expansions can be found on www.WorldofWarcraft.com.