Chapter Text
She emerged at the edge of the Dragonblight. When she'd arrived here earlier, she'd expected that the next time she ventured here would be at the conclusion of her life. A small part of her had welcomed the idea of rest and of seeing her Beloved again. She had been wrong to think such things though; there was still much to do. Riding the chill northern winds, Alexstrasza turned towards the north and Ulduar.
She landed on snow covered peak overlooking the site. A dwarven expedition, now looking far more permanent than temporary, filled one of the exterior courtyards before the high gates of the complex proper. Her son settled in to land a wingbeat after, golden eyes scanning the immediate area for threats, though Alexstrasza expected none.
"What are we doing here, Mother?" Ravi asked.
"Hopefully finding some answers," she told him then briefly gave him the same outline she'd given to her handmaidens. Her son pondered that then nodded.
"I will follow your lead," he said, inclining his head.
Ravi looked very much like his sire with the same golden eyes and dark garnet scales and bold markings in colors many of the other races couldn't see and didn't have names for. He was far more serious than even her Beloved had been. Usually. He had the same sweetness though he kept it under a tough exterior. Xerestrasza could waltz right past his well-intentioned defenses and serious mindset. She was glad of such a mate for her too-serious son.
"Mother?"
She gave him a quick nuzzle, which he endured with only a small indignant huff, then took off, angling for the entrance to where the Keepers still lived. Hopefully.
She flew high enough to avoid notice of the encampment below then landed before the Antechamber. The interior wasn't quite large enough for her to fly through, though she didn't need to shift into her humanoid shape. She had a general idea of where to go and proceeded inside, tucking her wings to her sides and being mindful of her tail. The whole complex had been built to accommodate the massive scale of the Keepers, and she had ample room to walk in her natural form.
All around she could see evidence of ongoing archeological study with areas gridded off by ropes and scaffolding restoring fallen and damaged stone. There were a few groups of archeologists who looked up from their work as she and Ravi swept by, heading for the inner sanctum. She didn't pay them much mind save to keep from stepping on anyone. She had a mission and her heart burned in determination.
A large construct lay in pieces on either side of an expanse, apparently shattered at some point in the past, the torso forming a bridge. She easily leapt across. This was the observation ring which had once looked down on the imprisoned Old God. A field of energy now covered floor and the prison was empty thanks to the actions of some heroes years before. The Old God was finally slain and though his seeping corruption remained, it was dissipating. Alexstrasza could feel the life energy of Azeroth, so very strong here, fighting it off like a disease. She smiled as Ravistrasz growled, finding satisfaction in the corrupting being's demise as well.
Circular doors were placed around the edge of the room. These were currently closed off, but the sigils they bore were of Keepers she was familiar with; Thorim, Hodir, Mimir, and the Keeper she sought, Freya. Alexstrasza crossed to Freya's door and considered the heavy slab for a moment. She then lifted a paw and knocked. The sound echoed in the otherwise silent chamber. Sitting before the door, she waited a few minutes then knocked again.
Whispers reached her ears from the back of the hall. The archeologists had gathered at the entryway and looked on curiously. Alexstrasza had lifted her paw again when the gemstones set into the doorway flared to life. She felt the tingle of a magical scan and sat still, waiting to see what happened next. Her son flared his wings, looking for a threat. The scan ceased and she waved him down. She could hear muffled clanking from behind the door. The gemstone sigil on the front glowed then the door opened, rolling away to one side with a low grinding sound revealing a titan construct and a floating geometric shape which projected a Lore Keeper.
"Dragon Aspect Designate: Alexstrasza," the Lore Keeper projection said. "State your purpose."
"I would speak with Keeper Freya, please. I have a matter of importance to discuss with her."
"Enter with your companion," the Lore Keeper said. The construct moved it's huge bulk out of the way.
Rising, Alexstrasza gestured for her son to follow. The door rolled shut behind the two dragons.
The conservatory of life filled Alexstrasza with a warm feeling as she stepped inside. The air was humid and the soft sounds of animals blended in with the susurration of leaves in the trees and the muffled roar of a waterfall. The ground was soft under her paws and the air fragrant with flowers. Life energy danced along her scales, winding languid and catlike through the glade, wonderful and vibrant. She paused to draw in a deep breath and turned to regard Ravi.
Ravi wore a faint smile as he looked around, still alert as ever but the taciturn expression had eased. He met his mother's eyes and grinned more broadly. No words were needed for the two red dragons; this sanctuary was a good place. Smiling to herself, Alexstrasza returned her attention to the path ahead
Keeper Freya was seated before a pool fed by the waterfalls. She looked up, fathomless blue eyes glowing, and beckoned to the two dragons. Her expression was gentle even seemingly carved from living stone; exactly the same as it had been the day Freya had blessed her with the mantle of Aspect and crowned her Dragonqueen.
Alexstrasza faltered a step as the emotions of millenia hit her for the second time that day. The memory of her ascension, fresh in her mind, was brought up again by the timeless Keeper. Had she kept her charge well? She had tried her best.
Feeling every one of her years yet paradoxically as spry as a hatchling, Alexstrasza trotted forward. Keeper Freya's smile increased and she reached out to embrace the dragon as an old and dear friend.
Yes, the Keepers had withdrawn from the world, leaving the dragons to handle things. Yes, she had every right to be somewhat angry with the absentee Keepers, but Alexstrasza couldn't hate someone who'd held a role so much like hers and for far longer. Freya was a living being, created to protect and watch over the world. She had shaped so much of it. So many beautiful places and beings. Despite Freya's mistakes, Alexstrasza loved her anyway.
"It has been a long time, brave dragon," Freya said. "You have done well, I think. Possibly better than we have."
Alexstrasza barked a laugh. "We have had a hard time of it, but Azeroth still lives."
"That she does. What brings..." Freya trailed off as she beheld the dragon, her expression falling into a thoughtful frown. "Oh, my. The blessing... Alexstrasza, what has happened?"
Alexstrasza sat on her haunches. This would be a long tale to tell the Keeper. She drew in a steadying breath then began to tell the Keeper of the Demon Soul, of the Corruption of Neltharion, the Madness and death of Malygos, the future death of Nozdormu, the return of Deathwing, the ascension of Kalecgos, the bravery of the mortal races and the sacrifice of the Aspects. Finally Alexstrasza told her of the current Sorrow facing the dragonflights and the loss of their ability to bear children.
When she was done she felt drained, but lacked the dark cloud that had hung over her for years now. She and her brethren had accomplished much and without assistance for so long. And when they had called for assistance, they had been given it; the younger races they had sought to protect for so long reaching out to aid them in the Hour of Twilight. The Keepers had left the dragons to their own devices for ages. Unless their circumstances changes the dragons were about do the same, though unlike the Keepers they were being forced from their roles as protectors.
"This should not be," Freya said once Alexstrasza's tale had ended, frowning as she rose. "Come with me," she invited, walking toward the waterfalls. A gesture and a glowing forcefield parted the waterfall to either side revealing a Keeper-sized doorway built into the mountainside. Freya led the way, closing the door after the dragons had passed through.
The room they'd arrived in was enormous and smelled a bit like a barn with fresh hay and the natural scent of well-kept animals. Smaller constructs moved around between pens and cages attending to various forms of life. Under a glowing crystal a small garden of plants moved on their own, growing under the light. One end of the room appeared to be more technical than the other and contained a workbench sized for the keeper as well as glowing displays and floating sigils.
Freya led the way, frowning in thought as she spoke. "The fact that the blue dragon, Kalecgos, could be granted the mantle of Aspect indicates that at least some of the backup systems we encoded are functional. When Malygos died, his power was sent to the appropriate receptacles."
"Receptacles?" Alexstrasza asked.
The Keeper nodded. "Vessels aligned with your unique powers. Should any of your have died your power would have been partially distributed to your flights to facilitate choice of the next Aspect, and the majority would be contained elsewhere. Archaedas designated the two moons for the Arcane. For you, it would have been in the fauna of Azeroth and for your sister, the flora. Nozdormu's power would have been within the sands and sea, and Neltharion within the hearts of active volcanoes and deep core. Please step onto the diagnostic scanner."
Alexstrasza frowned but, trusting Freya, stepped onto the indicated disk. A soft blue light glowed from under her then around her, pulsing streams that seemed to rise to the ceiling. She was lifted into the air and bright lights swirled around her body and limbs.
"My concern," Freya said as she manipulated the controls, "is that your powers have been violently dispersed to such an extent our systems were unable to enact a recovery protocol. Which should have kicked in another failsafe."
"Did it fail?" Ravistrasz asked. He'd found a clear space and sat on his haunches, tail neatly tucked out of the way of the working constructs.
The Keeper spared him a look then returned to her glowing panel of crystals, runed-covered buttons and levers. She worked the controls for a moment before answering. "I think it may have."
Alexstrasza was gently deposited back on her feet as the lights faded. She shook herself all over to get rid of the strange tingling feeling. "What was supposed to happen?"
"In the event of a catastrophic incursion to Azeroth, you were all supposed to be able to give up the full power of your mantles," Keeper Freya said, her eyes scanning over the depths of a glowing blue orb.
Alexstrasza blinked. She and the others had no known that was an intended possibility. "What?"
"It's an option of last resort. Naturally we didn't want you to have to use it at all," Freya said. "But the we knew that something truly terrible could happen. If it did, we wanted there to both be a way that you could bring the full might of your patron to bear, and also that there would be a way for the dragon's Aspects to regain their powers." She manipulated controls and buttons as she spoke, eyes never leaving the glowing sigils displayed before her. "If the original designates died during that process or by other means, then worthy successors like Kalecgos of the blue would be chosen as Aspect. If you yet lived, your powers would return to you in time."
"I have not regained my powers as Aspect and neither have the others." Alexstrasza shook her head. "We are still among the most powerful dragons, but the power of the Aspects is gone with our ability to have nests."
Freya's great shoulders drooped as she rested her hands on the console. Alexstrasza walked over and leaned her shoulder into the Keeper's side, wrapping a wing around her back and offering what comfort she could. She didn't know what hurt Freya, but she didn't need to know.
"If any of you sacrificed your mantle, then that would have alerted us and it would have alerted the Pantheon," Freya explained. "All of you gave up your mantles. We did not get the alert."
"Did what Neltharion do harm us that much?"
"Perhaps." She brought up an image of Alexstrasza.
Bold blue lines ran throughout the translucent image, pooling in some places as bold swirling maelstroms and flowing out and around like a circulatory system. Alexstrasza recognized the image immediately. All living things had a network of such personal ley-lines; flows of energy that could be channeled, used or even damaged. All dragons were highly magical creatures at their core, though what they could manipulate was very different. The Keeper overlaid that image with another Alexstrasza was not entirely familiar with though she felt some recognition.
"The damage is throughout your energy matrix," Freya explained. She gestured over a few areas along Alexstrasza's body. "These areas should be far brighter than they are. This is where the Titans anchored their blessing into you five, body and spirit. It looks like the Demon Soul as you called it attempted to sunder your connections. It wasn't perfectly done and it left some damage that began to heal over time, but it will still damage."
The areas indicated looked ragged somehow, as if something had been partially ripped and partially burned. Alexstrasza frowned at the damage, recognizing it as such, but unable to see how to heal it. She'd felt these wounds with what ability she retained but it was somewhat like trying to interact with a projective image; she could see it and she knew it was there but she hadn't been able to touch it. It had been maddening to feel an absence, like touching scar tissue.
Freya turned to her, wearing a frown. "You know the Aspects are- Were constantly bolstering their flight? More than just your powers extended to your people?"
"Yes, I realized that after the Demon Soul was first used." Alexstrasza nodded. "Malygos's lethargy and timidity extended to his blues for generations. Neltharion's madness infected his blacks."
"Helped in no small part by the remains of the Black Empire," Freya said, shaking her head sadly. "And likely their whispers helped him get the idea for the demon soul. His goal was to strip you over your powers and redirect them to himself. From there he could be merged or consumed by one of the Old Gods who remained, or possibly be transformed into a new one."
Alexstrasza shuddered. Neltharion had been well on his way to becoming such a monstrosity when he'd finally been defeated at the Maelstrom.
"But back to the problem at hand. The relationship between Aspect and Flight is somewhat reciprocal. Because you were missing some of your power, you drew on your flight's collective strength. The existing system was already weakened and prone to failure. Even Kalecgos would have inherited some part of that weakness because he would have... Caught the damage from Malygos when he was still alive, I think is the best way to explain it. When you gave up your mantles, our systems didn't just break, they shattered. The damage was spread to the rest of the dragons through those same channels."
"What? I did this?" Alexstrasza reared back in shock.
Freya put calming hand on her shoulders. "No. You did not do this to anyone. It was done to you, dear champion. This was a power backlash unlike anything we ever anticipated."
Alexstrasza settled back to all four feet. Freya sighed, returning her gaze to the display.
"You should have experienced a full and complete reboot. What should have happened is that your powers should have returned eventually. When they did, they should have fixed the damage in you and the others and then spread to the rest of the flights. It would have been as it was just after you'd been granted your mantles."
Freya frowned as she turned back to her panels and readings. "There would have even been a new black Aspect to take over Neltharion's power and new dragons born to the flight wouldn't have caught the corruption. Your people might have experienced a year or two of widespread infertility and general issues controlling your powers, but then it would have subsided."
Freya stopped her manipulations and set her hands on the control panel. "The Titans would have been summoned by all of you losing your mantles at once. They would have set things right without a wait. They would have ensured whoever was the new black Aspect was untainted by the Old Gods. They'd have acted to safeguard you all from further incursions."
"Why are we still suffering then?" Ravi asked.
Freya looked down. "Eonar and the others may be gone."
"Gone? Too far away?" Ravi asked, but Alexstrasza felt a frisson of fear race down her spine.
"No." The Keeper shook her head then lifted it to look into the distance, as if she could see further than the bounds of the world. Perhaps she could. When she spoke again there was sadness and loss in her voice. "Some time ago I received a very confusing and garbled message from Eonar. I tried to contact her but could not." She looked at Alexstrasza. "Your powers have not returned because Eonar is not alive."
"No!" Both dragons reared in shock in denial. Eonar dead? Unthinkable! The Titans were remote constants, as solid and enduring as Azeroth; perhaps moreso.
"I have hoped it would not be so, but after so much time, it is the only logical conclusion," Freya said. "The dispersal was too complete for your powers to be recovered even given time. The violence the Mantles suffered due to the demon soul and then your voluntary sacrifice has... damaged your spirit as well as your body. You and all dragons have been... disconnected from the natural cycles. The magic burned from you. The damage is pervasive and exists on a fundamental level."
"Are we perhaps blocked from speaking with the Titans?" Alexstrasza asked.
"No," Freya said, shaking her head.
"Do you have the power to fix us? If not to re-grant the power of Aspects at least fix the infertility issue? You are Eonar's keeper. Can you not grant us life?" Alexstrasza pled.
"I will try my best," the Keeper said. "Stand on the platform again. We will be able tos ee if the damage is repaired immediately. if this is successful you will need to bring in the other Aspects to receive the same treatment."
Alexstrasza hopped onto the platform. "There is an uncorrupted black dragon. He is four years old. There are very few black dragons left. At least on Azeroth."
"Then we'd need to bring him in too," Freya said. "I apologize if this hurts."
"I understand," she said, bracing herself.
Even with the warning, a small noise escaped her clenched teeth. Power probed the ragged hole around that strange absence, like salt in a wound, tongues of flame, searing heat and burning acid. The pain was excruciating but it was nothing to the dead chilly nothingness inside the edges of that hole. She squeezed her eyes shut and endured the pain. If this was their salvation a moment or two of this eternity was worth it; new life always started with the pain of laying after all and that was worth every moment.
Standing under the focused power of the Keeper, Alexstrasza also learned the shape of what ailed her and her people. There were currents and connections in all things and power of all kinds flowed like lifeblood through these rivers and streams. There was a gaping waterfall into nowhere, a wound where her mantle had once connected. The same spot she could see in her son, smaller but no less a spot of utter void. All at once she understood that vital connection was the key that Freya had recognized. It should have been smooth but it was a tear in her being where there should have been a tether. She could feel Freya's power, the magic of life itself, begin to try to heal over the gap in her soul, but the tear would not close. Power was ripped away as it approached the edge. She watched as Frey attempted several different approaches to close the breach and heal the wound, but it would not seal. Finally the Keeper's hands fell, the pain subsided and Alexstrasza collapsed to the ground with the Keeper.
"Did it work?" Ravi asked.
Both Alexstrasza and the Keeper shook their heads.
"I do not have the power," Freya said. "I know where the fix should be implemented and what should happen, but I cannot do it myself."
"It is like an endless maw," Alexstrasza said. "Is this why we have fallen so far into depression?"
"Likely," Freya said. "This is unnatural."
"More than backlash?" Ravi asked.
"Yes," Freya said, one hand going to her head. "I believe you can be fully healed. I was able to begin the process but it is all or nothing. I do not have the power to heal you, dear dragon." She touched Alexstrasza's cheek with a gentle hand. "Whatever gift Eonar may have given to me I cannot feel or has already gone." Her glowing eyes grew determined, giving Alexstrasza hope. "However there may be one who does have the power. Highkeeper Ra went south. He was always the most powerful of us. We in Ulduar have not heard from him in ages but he may have the ability to restore your children at least."
"Where was his last known location?" Ravi asked, seizing the information. He stepped forward to stand beside his mother and provide a shoulder for her to lean on.
"His rule was the South. Uldum, Ahn'Qiraj and the Vale in the southern continent are likely locations to find him." Freya stood and Alexstraza got to her feet as well. "None of us have heard from him since we last heard from the Pantheon." Freya made a fist and rested it on the console's surface. "He must have understood immediately."
"Does he yet live?" Alexstrasza asked.
"That I do not know," Freya said.
"Then we will travel south," Alexstrasza said.
Freya put a hand on her shoulder. "Take a day to rest. The glade here is safe and will help you recover from the attempt we just made. The flight south is long even if you use portals to cross much of the distance." She smiled tentatively. "And perhaps you can tell me more of the world outside of Ulduar."
Alexstrasza considered the request, evaluating how she felt versus the bright burning in her chest to seek and find a solution. She took a deep breath then let it out. She would do no good if she fell from the sky. Finally she nodded.
"We will stay the night and leave in the morning," she decided. "Then we fly south."