the great beyond

the great beyond(geo alvarez) Prologue

The weather was calm and humid during that day, yet the winds that brushed the walls of the inn were cool, soothing those who were resting and residing there. This was not new for the guardians of hyjal, for the ever stalwart druids knew that this was caused only by the weather of their neighboring lands of winterspring. The druids, both those that were injured during the ensuing battle at the molten front and those that weren’t, did not feel the cold breeze pass through their leather armor, but the eerie aura that has surrounded the great green dragon lady Ysera did.

“She has been like this for days” one druid spoke, looking at the great dragon with increasing concern.

“I heard she had another dream, a vision perhaps, which had put her in this state. I have never seen the lady like this before” another druid added with a low and whispering voice.

“I have witnessed the Lady last night glimmer with emerald light while she bellowed as though she was in great anguish. Then she just gradually fell and lay on to the floor of the inn. Since then, she just wept until the sun aroused.” another one replied.

Lady Ysera was staring blankly upon the blessed lake waters below her that fed the roots of nordrasil. Her emerald eyes, still wet with her tears, glowed like the moon upon a clear night sky as her illuminating hands tightly held upon the wooden railings of the inn. Her facial expression clearly showed the horror of the vision that she saw, an emotion she well remembered during the war of the ancients where her beloved Malorne and the other ancients fell before the might of the burning legion. Yet this one was far more excruciating.

The vivid images of the dream still haunted her mind. Every scene was slowly eating up every hope her immortal soul had, as did every scream of pain tormented her, for she certainly knew what is to come; a fate far worse than the hour of twilight. We have to find it, before it’s too late, before they return, she uttered in her own thoughts.

“THE DRUIDS OF THE FLAME HAVE RETURNED! TO ARMS MY BROTHERS! A druid of the talon yelled, immediately seizing his moonglaive while the rest scrambled in the defense of their post. Their alertness became quite sharper as the archdruid Hamuul had instructed them to be. This has been understandable, for the news of Hamuul being burned and injured by Leyara was not so pleasant to their druids’ ears, which in turn fed their fervor against the minions of the flame. With the guidance of Leyara and the firehawk Alysrazor, the druids of the flame had been frequent with their attacks upon the world tree. Regardless of the efforts of Malfurion, the Avengers of Hyjal and some of Azeroth’s finest heroes, the minions of Ragnaros still strive to burn down Nordrasil, with any means necessary.

The objects that were approaching them from the north were not so clearly visible to the druids eyes, but they knew better to be ready for anything. Inside their thoughts, if they are to stage an assault against the world tree and its guardians, they need to bring an armada of fire elementals to stand up against such a defense. In this case, everyone there only saw two objects move towards the inn.

Everyone was ready for the coming onslaught, except for lady Ysera, who still gazed upon the lake without even a hint of anxiety.

“Stand down, they are not our enemies” Lady Ysera calmly commanded. Her tone both surprised and assured the druids of safety, making them resign their weapons as they watch the objects move in closer to them.

They were moving in with haste, closing in upon the roots of the great tree. But as they came closer to the sight of the druids, it became clear to everyone that they were not enemies, but guests. The great Lifebinder Alextrasza of the red and Kalecgos of the Blue swiftly flew upon the skies above the inn which made a gush of wind that swept the ground and those near it, startling the hypogryphs at a nearby nest. They circled around the post like bees around a flower trying to look for a place to land upon. Then both hovered in front of the inn as their wings flutter, creating even stronger gales of winds which almost blew back some nearby druids. Without any deferral, both dragons quickly glowed with their respective colors, which suddenly became a blinding light that blinded almost everyone around them. As the druids slowly recovered their sight, they saw the dragons transform into their humanoid forms. Alextrasza elegantly radiated with her red mooncloth robe speckled with ruby gems that flicker with every light that it passes while Kalec only wore his tattered clothing Anveena has given to him in the past.

All the druids around them bowed down as they laid down their weapons, paying respect to their humble guests.
But both Alextrasza and Kalec were focused upon their grieving sister. Their expressions were timid and serious, which everyone there had surely noticed. Alextrasza walked in first while Kalec trailed behind her. Their arrival had not even made Ysera move from where she stood and both of them were only welcomed by a long, tensioned silence.

After a long pause, Alextrasza broke the silence. “May we have a word with you sister?” she said with a calm voice. Kalec only stayed silent behind her., but then he said, “We felt your sorrow that burdens you. We wish we could know what troubles you so that we can lend our aid”.

Ysera saw the concern upon Kalec’s and her sister’s face and she knew what her sister wanted to hear. But the emotion she felt from the past hours was already painful for her part, relaying it would not help her recover from this tragic loss. Regardless, she must do so, for it concerns not only the dragonflight, but all the denizens of Azeroth.

She looked upon the guardians around her and gestured them to leave, which they instantly obeyed, leaving only the three of them there.

As the inn became silent with the departure of its inhabitants, Ysera became more eased knowing the druids will not be alerted with the new problem that had just arrived, making them more focused upon the situation at hand. Then she slowly began to convey everything that she saw on her vision. Every word was like a thorn pricked off from her porcelain skin. She even had to force the words out of her mouth because she feared it would only haunt her if she had not spoken them. Detail after detail, her eyes gradually shed emerald tears. Both dragons listened intently, as their fear and disquiet grew bit by bit. After she was finished, she knelt before her sister as her tears flowed like a stream, for the pain was back again, and her burden was not even lessened.

Alextrasza only embraced her mourning sister, giving her a securing sensation only a sibling can provide. Kalec only watched them both from behind.

“this is a tragic loss for us and for the pantheon, but we cannot just sit here and mourn his death”, Alextrasza said, trying to hold her own tears back as she stroke Ysera’s emerald hair, “our duties still stand. We have to safeguard Azeroth from any peril she might come upon, no matter the cost. Do not give up sister, we have faced them before, and we will do so again with the aid of our allies.”

Kalec then said, “I have alerted my sentries at Quel’danas. Surely they will attempt to use the power of the sunwell to summon their master here to our realm. If they see anything suspicious, they will . . “

“they will not need that much power anymore” Ysera abruptly said. “with the fragments at their possession, they will have all the power they need to summon a full scale invasion against our world, and by that time, our forces will be helpless to stop them” Ysera paused to catch her breath “or to even stand against them”.

“Yet you stated it yourself that only a non-evil being can re-forge the fragments together. With that information, the fragments are rendered useless to them” Kalec said with a tone of renewed hope.

“For now maybe, but the vision still remains even with this minor setback for our enemies.” Ysera said, as she stood to her feet and gathered herself.

Alextrasza calmly held her hand as she said “your vision is still fragmented sister. For now, you need to rest and regain your strength. Kalec and I will attend to the matters.”

A petite smile grew on the edge of Ysera’s lips, “has there any word about Nozdurmo’s whereabouts? Does he know anything about the vision?”

Kalec and Alextrasza both looked upon each other, as if looking for answers on each other’s face. Then Kalec replied, “ever since the battle at the temple, Nozdurmo had since been .. absent lately. Anachronos is now charged in guarding the caverns of time for the moment. He too does not know where his father is.” Then his face turned to Ysera, “and yes, he might be aware of the vision that you have just seen.”

“Regardless, we must address this situation with or with his aid.” Alextrasza interrupted, “I will inform Thrall and Furion about what has been done here, so they may report to us anything that might be related to our .. dilemma. For now, it is best that we only limit this information to ourselves and our most trusted allies. We cannot risk letting our enemies know what has transpired here”. Both Kalec and Ysera nodded with agreement. They both trusted Alextrasza’s wisdom in handling delicate situations like this. It is her wisdom which made her the Dragonqueen in the first place.

With that said and done, both dragons took their leave, taking flight on their true form as the druid gazed upon their departure. Back at the inn, the druids returned to their places except for the three who were talking earlier. They approached Lady Ysera with careful steps, then one said “is there anything that bothers you Lady Ysera?”

Ysera only gave them a careful smile as she looked upon them one by one, “I am well my friends, thank you for your concerns. Now let us get back to the ritual”.

The druids saw the sincerity in the dragon’s façade, but they still felt the strain that cloaked her presence. Even so, they gave her an approving gesture and once again commenced the ritual in healing the world tree.

Ysera, however, did not feel the same as with his fellow comrades. Her dishonest statement meant no harm to them, but then again the thought of alerting her beloved druids crossed her mind. Still, she trusted her sister and erased the idea. All she knew now that she had a task that needed to be done presently, but in her mind, she realized that there will be more visions that will come and she grew more uneager to face them.