Richard a. Knaak

TWENTY-THREE

There was lava everywhere and although Korialstrasz had earlier used it to heal himself, as he had explained to Vereesa, there were limits to how long he could survive in it in general.

He had just about reached those limits.

Where Sinestra was, the red dragon could not say. There were too many primal forces and energies around him. Grim Batol was so saturated with magic that it was impossible to ever fully comprehend the magnitude of those energies. Each time Korialstrasz had thought he knew all, the mount proved him wrong.

The heat began to take its toll on his body as he fought ever upward. More than one patch of scales was already burnt. Korialstrasz began to doubt his chances of escaping this particular menace—

But then his head burst through cooler rock and dirt, followed almost immediately thereafter by precious air. Korialstrasz let out a roar that was more a gasp for that air plus a pleading to escape the burning. The red dragon tumbled haphazardly over the top of the ruined mount, then, unable to

keep his momentum, he crashed into the far side of it...and rolled down to the base.

There were two others desperately seeking their freedom from the catastrophe wrought by the black dragon. Kalec shielded both he and Vereesa as best he could, although after all his trials, the young blue was more than willing to admit he was near to being finished. Yet, visions of Anveena in his head combined with his concern for the ranger to keep him pushing on.

And then, with lava seeping around them and no good place for the weakened blue to transform, a startling figure materialized. A human wizard with red hair. Kalec knew enough from both Vereesa and his own flight's information on mortal spellcasters that this had to be Rhonin Draig'cyfailL.although in the eyes of the great Malygos, calling him "Dragonheart" was a rather sweeping statement since, rightly or wrongly, the Aspect of Magic saw him as the most tolerable of an intolerable order.

In this and other things, Kalec had found himself much in disagreement with his lord, but at the moment he only cared that this human was the mate of this high elf and might be able to get her out.

"Vereesa!" Rhonin shouted the moment he saw her. Like Kalec and the ranger, he was, for the moment, shielded. However, his shield was even closer to collapse than the blue's. Kalec had to act fast.

"Take her with you!" he ordered, thrusting her into his arms. "Get her out of here! This passage is about to join those below in being deluged!"

"What about you?" demanded Vereesa. "What about you?" Seeing the pair together, the young blue wondered what might have been, if the destinies of he and Anveena had been meant to be the same. That decided matters for him. He did not wait for the obviously weary human to attempt to take the high elf to safety. Kalec did it for them.

The transparent, blue orb encircled both. It was a visible variation of the shield already around him. Rhonin and Vereesa looked ready to protest, but Kalec gave them no chance.

"With your magic, you can guide this out! Go!" As an impetus, he sent the sphere on its way, assuming that the wizard was smart enough to keep it moving afterward. The orb and its occupants burrowed up through the crumbling walls.

Now at last Kalec could try what he had dared not to for fear of endangering his companion. It would require all his focus, all his remaining might...and all the faith Anveena had ever had in him.

He transformed, at the same time molding a greater shield around his expanding form. As this all happened, the blue also sought to rise up.

Kalec tore through ton after ton of hard rock and earth. He did not go directly up, but on more of a slant, for it was his desire to reach one of the vast caverns he knew pocketed that side. That was where the nether dragon had been secured and it was the blue's intention to see if the other leviathan was still imprisoned there. Kalec knew that he alone could not take on Dargonax, but with the nether dragon's aid—assuming that was possible to gain—there might be hope.

The lava continued to explode through Grim Batol. This was no natural eruption, that he knew. The mount should have been far more stable. He could only think it the work of Deathwing's

consort, likely as a strike against the red dragon. Kalec wished that he could go and help—assuming that Korialstrasz still lived—but he felt Dargonax the greater threat. Sinestra did not know what she had created. Somewhere, somehow, the abomination would turn from servant to master.

The rock before him suddenly crumbled away. His snout entered a shattered cavern, but one that also was not yet flooded by lava. Grateful for that, the blue dragon burst through.

A powerful black radiance washed over him. Kalec roared, then crashed against one side of the cavern. His limbs froze. He could not move at all.

"Well, not the fool I was expecting!" Sinestra crowed from somewhere in the darkness. "But you will do..."

Her claws wrapped around his legs and she carried him away with her.

Zzeraku was dying. Iridi could both see and sense that. She knew that a nether dragon's essence was finite and, after so much torture, there was not much left. He surely recognized his imminent doom, but not in the least did Zzeraku appear eager to escape it.

And it was not because of pride or simply that Dargonax had to be stopped. No, as Iridi had discerned earlier, it had to be because the nether dragon hoped to somehow save the others—save her— from death.

But I can't let that happen! I won't let him sacrifice himself for me or anyone! the draenei desperately thought. Thus it was that she slipped around the dwarves and even the raptors—who were clearly headed back to the ridge that took its name from them—and wended her way to a spot where she could observe the two giant combatants as closely as possible. Iridi had no idea whether or not her plan would work, only that surely if Dargonax could feed on the staffs power, then so could Zzeraku.

Summoning the staff, she pointed the larger crystal at the nether dragon. The priestess recalled all her training in the area of inward focus; she could have no distraction. All her concentration had to be on this moment.

And on preventing Zzeraku from giving his life for her.

Eyes fixed on the crystal, she channeled the power of the naaru's gift into the great beast...and prayed.

A great rush of energy filled Zzeraku. With it came wonder at this miracle, wonder and then understanding. He knew the source and knew exactly what it was costing the draenei.

And the fact that she was willing to give of herself again to save him filled Zzeraku with something else he had never truly experienced...pride in not only what he was, but what he had become. Nether dragons had no true past, no true legacy upon which to draw; they were, he had discovered from another, the product of the warped eggs of the very same black dragonflight from which Dargonax had also been created.

The only difference was that, unlike Dargonax, Zzeraku now rejected any such tie. He was not destined to be evil; his fate was his choice, whether it be life or death.

Glowing bright, the nether dragon summoned his magic again. A new and more turbulent storm of lightning bolts assailed the Devourer, who withdrew in surprise.

Zzeraku laughed...and dove forward in pursuit.

The two titans swooped over the burning mount like a pair of huge carrion crows fighting over the dead of a battlefield. Dargonax dropped down upon the nether dragon, but the two once again passed through one another.

Iridi felt that Zzeraku was still not strong enough to defeat Sinestra's creation. The draenei dropped down on one knee in order to preserve her strength as she forced the staff to give of itself—and her—even more.

As the new burst of energy filled him, Zzeraku roared to the draenei, "You must not do more! Go! This one is mine now to fight!"

But Dargonax, peering down at the priestess, roared back to the nether dragon, "Fear not for your little pet! She and the power she wields will make me a fine meal soon enough...."

Iridi knew that most dragons were highly intelligent, but Dargonax had a cunning far in advance of his meager life. All about the twilight dragon was more than should have been possible. Sinestra had accelerated both his physical and mental growth beyond any measure. How deadly would Dargonax be if allowed to live even a year?

That fear made her all the more determined. The priestess looked into herself for that tiny part that in almost any mortal creature always held back. Yet, for the sake of Zzeraku, iridi could no longer permit that.

And so she gave that part of her, too. Through the staff, all that she was helped feed the nether dragon yet more.

Zzeraku swelled again. More fearsome than ever, the nether dragon beat his wings, creating with both them and his magic a gale force wind that buffeted Dargonax. The twilight dragon reverted to ethereal and yet still Zzeraku's wings battered at him, for in that wind was also the powerful energies that the staff—and Iridi—provided.

On one of Dargonax's wings, a spark of light burst into being. A second materialized on his lower right leg and a third on his torso. Each time, the twilight dragon groaned.

It's working! Although Iridi felt as weak as death, her heart leapt. Zzeraku was moments from destroying Dargonax.

But then, from the fiery mount shot forth a black radiance. The draenei expected it to strike the nether dragon, but instead it hit Dargonax from behind.

Yet, the twilight dragon did not roar in pain, but rather bellowed in pleasure.

"Yesss!" He called to all that could hear. "More! I would have more..."

And before a startled Zzeraku could move, Dargonax flew forward, grasping the nether dragon by the wings with claws that glowed onyx. Despite the fact that Zzeraku was incorporeal, the twilight dragon suddenly had no trouble keeping a savage grip on him. The nether dragon tried to twist free, but his monstrous foe held fast.

"You've fed me many times," Dargonax mocked. "Now you feed me one last feast!"

The twilight dragon drew back his head. Zzeraku shrieked and his body rippled as if not real. His shape then twisted, as if beginning to melt to mist.

"No!" screamed Iridi. She had been so close to saving Zzeraku. "No! Please!"

Zzeraku felt himself slipping away. He was doomed. His only

desire now was to keep the brave little draenei from perishing with him. How grand she was! How brave and loyal! He cursed himself for having thought so disdainfully of not only her but all the tinier creatures! Despite their size, despite their soft, easily-crushed bodies, they were far more admirable than he.

But although he tried to break the link, Iridi refused. She was still as determined to help him as he was her.

He had only one other chance. With a last defiant roar, the nether dragon tried to disrupt the spell that enabled the Devourer's claws to hold his incorporeal form.

As Zzeraku attacked, he felt something within Dargonax react to his power. The Devourer shrieked in turn, then, almost immediately pulled himself together.

"No..." sneered the dark beast. "No, you will not..."

Zzeraku felt tendrils of power tear at his very being. He was literally being torn to pieces and there was nothing more he could do to stop it...or help the draenei. The nether dragon tried to maintain his cohesion, but felt himself slipping away. As the twilight dragon took in more and more of what was his foe, he now swelled to horrific proportions. Zzeraku's mind splintered. He no longer even looked like a nether dragon, but rather some grotesque, monstrous blob. He managed one last coherent thought focused at the draenei.

/ am sorry! I am sorry.. .friend—

And as Dargonax absorbed Zzeraku's full essence, he also took into him from the staff...and Iridi.

The draenei shook. She tried to keep to a kneeling position, but even that was not possible, anymore. With a groan, Iridi fell forward. The staff dropped from her grip...but this time did not vanish. Instead, it clattered on the rocky ground several times, then came to rest near her feet.

The light of the great crystal faded, leaving only a dull stone.

I've failed... the priestess knew. All that and I've failed you., .brave Zzeraku.. .friend...

She forced her head up, hoping against hope that Zzeraku could still prevail—

But with a wail, the nether dragon dissipated into a swirling cloud of energy, which Dargonax took in with a single inhalation. As the twilight dragon roared his pleasure, he seemed to swell even more.

More than her own suffering, this last terrible vision was too much for Iridi. Her body wracked with pain, she laid her head down...and lost consciousness.

The sphere carrying Rhonin and Vereesa alighted on the ground near the dwarves, then opened. As the two stepped through the gap, the huge orb vanished.

Grenda rushed up to the pair. "Vereesa! Wizard! Praise be! And the others?"

Rhonin shook his head. "I can't say with any certainty about anyone...except Iridi and Rom."

"Rom?" The female dwarf looked fearful. "Do you say—?"

"He perished in battle, bringing some drakonid with him."

"Rask, most likely," Vereesa added.

"He—he shall be honored," Grenda replied, her face flushed as she fought to contain her burning emotions. Clearly trying to set her mind on other things, she asked, "What about the draenei?"

"She should be out here somewhere...." The fiery

illumination sprouting out of Grim Batol made it possible to see quite far, if in odd intervals at times.

At that moment, a roar made all peer up. Dargonax fluttered above the landscape like some infernal god. In the eruption's glow, he was frightening to behold.

"What happened to the nether dragon?" the wizard asked.

"A terrible black force shot forth from Grim Batol and it strengthened the beast. There was a pale blue light that touched Zzeraku and made him stronger for a time, but it wasn't enough—"

"A pale—Iridi! She must've been trying something! I hope she wasn't hurt by—"

But before Rhonin could say more, Dargonax looked down at the tiny figures and laughed. "Gaze well upon this wretched place surrounding you and savor that view, little morsels...for it is the last sight you will live to see..."

The wizard grunted. "Why do they always say something like that?" He stepped in front of Vereesa and Grenda. "All of you scatter! There may be a chance I can hold him off long enough for the rest of you—"

"I will not go without you!" the high elf declared.

"And no dwarf runs anymore from an oversized lizard!" Grenda cried, her remark sparking shouts of agreement from those warriors nearby.

Rhonin had no time to argue. Dargonax was already descending. The wizard thought of everything that he had learned about dragons and hoped that something would give him a notion of what to do. He was already exhausted and even at his best, he doubted that he was good enough to beat back a behemoth such as this. But still he cast.

White tendrils materialized around Dargonax. They were akin in look to what had held Zzeraku at bay, but with a more intricate matrix to their design.

They enveloped the twilight dragon, binding the wings that had stretched out for as far as the eye could see. Dargonax roared his fury as he fell toward the ground.

But suddenly he grew translucent. Rhonin's magical bonds continued their descent without their prisoner.

Dargonax shimmered momentarily, then solidified once more. Shaking his head, he continued his dive toward the tiny figures below.

We're doomed, Rhonin realized. We are about to die and I don't even have the strength to cast Vereesa to safety.... Dargonax opened his huge maw.

A sharp pain was what finally caused Korialstrasz to stir, a sharp pain in a familiar place.

The red dragon raised his head and stared at the area where he had been wounded by the black crystal. Yet, it did not strike him that the crystal was to blame...but rather something that had been hidden by the crystal's more obvious presence.

And now, here in Grim Batol, away from all else, he could finally sense it. Korialstrasz could finally tell what it was.

Ever you haunt me, child of Neltharion! The crimson behemoth concentrated his sudden fury on the spot. He twitched as renewed pain coursed through him, but did not give in to it. This time, Korialstrasz would cleanse himself.

From his scaled hide there suddenly shot out a small group of tiny shards. Most were of the black crystal and, thanks to his

earlier efforts, absolutely harmless.

But with them was one golden piece no larger than a tiny pea.

"Curse of my life!" Korialstrasz growled. "Damnable Demon Soul!"

Dismissing the other shards, he summoned the lone piece of the Demon Soul to him. It landed in his paw, so tiny and yet so insidious. With it now discovered, the red dragon could sense the secretive spell cast around it.

Already he felt stronger. Korialstrasz prepared to destroy the lone shard—then shut his palm around it. He looked to the chaotic fury going on atop Grim Batol, then stretching his wings full, rose into the air.

Sinestra watched with glee as events unfolded. In her mind, all went exactly as she desired. That Grim Batol itself was in dire turmoil did not matter. What did was that her creation had proven to be all she had hoped for and more...and would be outshone by the next generation she created once all those who sought to interfere were eradicated.

The black dragon leaned over the blue, who lay frozen at her feet. In her hand, she held one shard of the Demon Soul. It was all Sinestra needed to achieve her glorious future. Let a hundred dragons come; so long as Dargonax obeyed her, they would perish as Korialstrasz had...and the blue eventually would.

A steady golden glow surrounded Kalec. He was not unconscious, merely unable to move. Worse, once again his very essence was being drained, albeit in a more indiscriminate manner than previous. But with her other devices and spells unavailable to her, Sinestra now used herself to help focus the energies to their final destination. Through the shard and herself, the mad dragon sent them forth in the form of the black radiance to Dargonax.

The nether dragon was no more, but his essence had not gone to waste. Again, thanks to her efforts, Dargonax had been able to ingest that essence and make himself even more powerful.

"Perfect..." she murmured. "It has all come to pass...."

Then, the one thing that could shatter her insane confidence suddenly flew up from seemingly the dead to approach Dargonax. Sinestra roared her fury at the sight of Korialstrasz. The red was moments from reaching the monstrous figure.

And even from where she stood, Deathwing's consort could sense through the shard she held what Korialstrasz carried with him. It was no longer where her long-ago plotting had dictated. Secreted by the sorcerer under her control, under the guise of another magical attack. Now, her cunning trick to see to it that Alexstrasza's meddling consort would never face her with his full strength or faculties was coming back to haunt her.

If Korialstrasz willingly carried with him the piece of the Demon Soul once infecting him, there could be only one reason. It was a mad plan and surely could not work.

It surely could not...

Sinestra leaned forward. Korialstrasz was no match for Dargonax, no match for what she had wrought. There was no need to do anything but continue draining the blue and using it to feed her child. Dargonax would devour the red much as he had the nether dragon. There was no doubt of that.

And yet...it was Korialstrasz...

Sinestra glared at her creation, seeking any hint of trouble...and found something. Something that had been altered in Dargonax and gave Korialstrasz a chance after all...

Something that only the unique energies of a nether dragon might have caused...

With an outraged shriek, the black dragon held her own shard close to her as she soared after the hated red.

Sinestra's foul get was gargantuan. He was not quite as huge as an Aspect, but he certainly was as massive as Korialstrasz and certainly much more refreshed at the moment.

Nevertheless, the red leviathan did not hesitate. Indeed, it was vital that he close with Sinestra's abomination. Only then could he use the shard and hope that he had guessed right. At this point, there could only be one manner by which Deathwing's consort could control such a monster, the same manner by which Korialstrasz hoped now to destroy the fiend.

The hope was a desperate one and not likely to work, but it was all Korialstrasz had. He doubted Sinestra would leave such a weakness in Dargonax and yet...

The other dragon did not see him, the creature in the midst of diving down to terrorize and destroy the dwarves—and Rhonin and Vereesa, Korialstrasz sensed. That further spurred on the red dragon; he was already certain that Kalec was dead, Kalec who had rightly claimed that too many of those who had become involved with Korialstrasz over the centuries had paid the price for that association. The red dragon could not let that happen to the wizard and the high elf, especially not them.

He bellowed as loud as he could, demanding his foe pay mind to him, nothing else. The amethyst leviathan obliged him.

"The red one..." Dargonax hissed slyly. "Krasus or Korialstrasz, yes? I sense your great power...your energy..."

Korialstrasz said nothing, soaring toward Dargonax. The fiend sounded as mad as his creator.

The twilight dragon's eyes became slits. The blue told me you were cunning, but I see only a fool! I will enjoy devouring your essence as I did the nether's—"

"Would you rather not be free?"

Dargonax came up short. Hovering before the oncoming red, he growled, "What do you mean? What trickery is this?"

"She will always command you, always keep your head bowed to her! Would you rather not be free of her mastery, you who are clearly more than any dragon ever born?"

"Oh, yes, I would be free..." Dargonax shimmered, "...but not as you'd like!"

He turned ethereal just before Korialstrasz, with a last, sudden burst of speed, tried to thrust the shard into him. The red dragon flew through his foe.

But even in failure, Korialstrasz learned much. First was that there was no shard inherent in Dargonax's physical form. The second was that the shimmering was not a part of his transformation to the ghostly form. Indeed, when it had happened, the red had sensed something altered at Dargonax's core, something that hinted of another force...one akin to the energies of the dead nether dragon.

The red dragon's hopes renewed. Banking, Korialstrasz turned for a second attempt.

A plume of lava struck him full in the chest. Stunned and out of control, he spun around and around. Only barely did he

continue to hold onto the shard, although a part of him wondered if it was worth it.

As his head cleared, he saw Sinestra above Dargonax. The twilight dragon looked from one to the other and the loathing he had for the black was clear to Korialstrasz, although Dargonax was careful to hide it from her.

"For shame, Korialstrasz!" she mocked. "You'll not take my Dargonax away from me!" The black dragon held her paw forward. "He will always be mine...as Azeroth shall be..."

"Your insane dream stops here, Sinestra! Deathwing's insane dream stops here!"

As he had expected, mention of Neltharion threw her into a rage. Wings outstretched, she looked to Dargonax. "He is—" Sinestra unexpectedly paused. "Ah, well done, Korialstrasz! You did want me to send him at you, did you not?" She cocked her head. "No answer from you? Perhaps this will open your mouth!"

The red dragon roared as his paw suddenly thrashed uncontrollably. He opened his paw—

The shard that he had hoped to use on Dargonax was now no more than a puddle that dripped through the air...and with it went Korialstrasz's last hope.