Richard Knaak - Night of the Dragon

Dargonax turned ethereal, but not before being slightly burned. Still, he ignored his wounds, so eager was he to claim the life of his hated creator.

Korialstrasz, meanwhile, wondered why the others did not finish what they surely knew was not complete. Glancing down, he saw in the eruption's light that the draenei, clearly the guide, was on her knees. Rhonin, too, looked weak.

Crawling toward them was another figure, the blue dragon. Kalec clearly understood what Korialstrasz did, but weak as he was, it was possible that he would not have the will to successfully help the others.

The red dove as swiftly as he could. Just before he would have crashed, Korialstrasz pulled up. As he landed, he transformed into a more practical form, that of Krasus.

And as Krasus, he helped a changing Kalec to Rhonin and Iridi. Vereesa stood with both her husband and the draenei, keeping them from losing their grips.

"It—It must be destroyed—" the priestess declared to Krasus and Kalec, not needing to explain just what "it" was. "We must... we must focus on the weakness...Zzeraku created! I will guide... guide all the power! But you must give me whatever you can!"

Krasus understood what the flow of their combined energies was doing to her, as did Kalec. The blue hesitated. "No! I won't—"

Iridi stared at him. "You must!"

The dragon mage took the blue's hand and guided it to the staff. The four gripped the naaru gift tight, with Vereesa now helping Iridi to keep the staff pointed where it must.

"Let this...be done," the draenei commanded.

The staffs glow surrounded all of them. Krasus, Rhonin, and Kalec grunted. Iridi made no sound.

A great stream of energy shot up into the air... but this time it struck Dargonax.

As Krasus strained, he knew that the knowledge on which this desperate plan was based was due in part to Vereesa. She had seen the power of Zendarin's staff destroy the indestructible. Why would the same principle not hold true now, even with the shard safely— so the twilight dragon believed—in his gullet?

But it had to be inside Dargonax for what they wanted, nowhere else.

"He shimmered again!" Vereesa called. "Does that mean—" "It means nothing for us unless the shard is also destroyed!" Rhonin responded.

Dargonax suddenly twisted. His body shook and briefly lost cohesion. He was apparently trying to divest himself of what pained him.

And then... a brief golden explosion burst through Dargonax's body. The twilight dragon bellowed. He forgot Sintharia and looked to the ground.

Without a word, Krasus leapt from the group, changing as soon as he was far enough away from the others. As Korialstrasz, he raced into the sky. Now, more than ever, he dared not let the monster reach the others.

Dargonax shimmered. He visibly concentrated, pulling himself together. The twilight dragon eyed Korialstrasz with venom.

"You...I will feed on you slowly, enjoying your torment—"

Korialstrasz cut him off. "She is escaping you!"

Dargonax's reaction was immediate. He turned back to the departing Sintharia—and shimmered again.

"What is—" The gargantuan fiend glanced back at Korialstrasz, who stared determinedly back.

With a mad roar, Dargonax glared at the red dragon... then swooped after Sintharla.

Her wound slowed her too much. Deathwing's consort managed to fly above Grim Batol, but got no farther before Dargonax caught her again.

"Release me!" the black dragon demanded. "Release—" Dargonax clamped his claws onto her torso and wings. The twilight dragon shimmered again and as he did. Sintharia's expression became one of dread. "Release me! I—"

But the Devourer only laughed darkly. "At last!" he shouted. "At last I am free of you—"

Dargonax shimmered once more. He grew as bright as the sun.

The power that he contained burned both him and Sintharia away.

The last shard of the Demon Soul had fed him, but, once destroyed within, it had set loose a chain reaction that fed the slight instability that Dargonax had shared with his twin predecessors but that would not have otherwise proven as fatal as with the pair.

Sintharia managed a muted roar, one that did not hint of fear, but anger. Korialstrasz could almost swear that her last glance was at him, but it might have only been a trick of the flickering light from the eruption below.

And as he thought of that eruption, the red dragon saw with disbelief the flow recede as if some great force sucked it back into the depths of the mount. Wherever there was a crevasse or some other opening through which it had originally flowed, the molten rivers returned.

The eruption was stirred by her power.... Without her, it is receding, for it should have never been in the first place. The magic of the black dragonflight amazed the red dragon and he yearned for the era when once that flight had been friends and allies, not a threat.

But that day has long past. Indeed, we are in some ways very much into the night for our kind....

Shaking off such thoughts, Korialstrasz banked. He descended to the others... and as he neared, the red dragon saw what he had feared might happen.

The others surrounded the draenei, who lay on her back. The priestess still clutched the staff, which glowed ever so faintly, though from what source now, the descending Korialstrasz could not say.

Kalec leaned over her, the blue running his hands above her face and heart. He looked upset and as Korialstrasz transformed into Krasus, the blue muttered a name. Anveena.

The dragon mage immediately touched Kalec's shoulder, whispering, "I am sorry. What she did once, she can do no more. Now, Anveena is with you alone."

"I'd rather that she could save Iridi—"

"Fate apparently says otherwise...."

The draenei must have heard Krasus's voice even though he tried to be quiet. Her eyes opened and turned to him.

"It—it's over?"

"Yes, Iridi," Krasus responded, kneeling by her side. "Hush. There is a chance that if I take you with me now, my queen can save you—"

She coughed. "No...my...my quest...it ends here..." The priestess smiled. "With Zzeraku...praise be to his part in ending this...." Another cough followed, this one harsher. "Azeroth... Azeroth is a world of.. .of marvels...but I miss...I find I miss Outland. ..even with...even with so much struggle...there...I wish...I wish I could..."

She trailed off. Her head fell to the side, the eyes still open. Her grip on the staff failed.

The naaru's gift rolled away with a clatter, the last of its light gone forever. Vereesa started for it, only to have the staff shrivel as if a living thing suddenly desiccated. In mere moments, there was nothing left but a gray, powdery pile vaguely shaped like the original staff.

The four stood quiet for a moment, honoring the draenei for her sacrifice.

"Shall we bury her here?" asked Rhonin, finally breaking the silence.

Kalec reached for the body. His voice shaking, he said, "No. I'll take her there. She deserves that."

Krasus knew exactly where he intended to go. "Is that wise? Will you be permitted by Malygos?"

"Permitted or not by my lord, I'll take her to Outland. That's what she wanted." Carrying Iridi In his arms, the blue transformed. As he stretched his wings, he bowed his head to Rhonin and Vereesa. "I'm honored to have met you both... and am more than a little envious." To Krasus, the blue added. "I understand you better now. I don't agree with all you do, but I understand why you do it...."

Krasus bowed back to the blue dragon. "She will always be proud of you, Kalecgos."

"I still prefer Kalec. She preferred Kalec."

"Then, fare you well, Kalec... and thank you for what you have done...."

The blue dragon rose into the dark sky. Kalec circled over the other three for a moment, then headed in the direction that Krasus knew would eventually lead him to the portal to Outland.