Part of the holdup on this chapter was because I couldn't work out whether or not to toss the opening section. Ultimately I choose to leave it in. Is it a rather long detour on Elune's origins? Yes. But, I think it fits because she is the impetus for derailing cannon in the first place and Blizzard can't seem to give her an origin story or even a decent character arc. Like I've said before, my version of Elune would never send her people to hell by accident.

A big thanks to my betas for their help with this chapter!

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Chapter 44: The Power of Promises Made and Promises Kept

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Tyrande Whisperwind drew in a deep breath of the air rushing past. She could smell the frigid sea to the south and the thin scent of burning bone. That scent clung to the Dragonblight even months after the battle where Wyrmrest's defenders had driven off the Twilight Cult and convinced Chromatus to join their side. Glancing down at the drake beneath her, she reached forward and rubbed his neck. Tendrion looked back at her and gave a very toothy smile to the elf perched on his back, behind his wings. They were moving fast enough across the Dragonblight that words would be lost, but they aren't needed. After ten-thousand years as Elune's High Priestess and leader of my people, I hadn't realized how desperately I needed a break from my responsibilities. Thirty years spent in Elune's Sanctum, Alexstrasza's sphere, and the surface of the White Lady… I will always treasure that time. And all those conversations with Tyranastrasz and the others were so very useful, their insights will help me lead in the years to come. But for now… The Goddess insisted that we meet with the Aspects today, I wonder why? My connection to Elune has never felt so… distant. I have never felt the Goddess deliberately pull back from me before.

Arriving at Wyrmrest Temple, Tyrande dismounted and spoke to the guard standing at the Temple's western entrance. Thankfully both Elune's Herald and herself were known to him so they were allowed inside without delay. As they were led to where the Aspects were gathered, Tendrion spoke to their guide. "How are the captured Twilight drakes faring?"

The Green Dragonspawn replied with an excited voice. "Very well. We've had to keep many of them from killing themselves, just like the Twilight Aspect told us. But as their minds clear, well, no other Flight has thrown themselves into combat training like they have; they refuse to be victims ever again and work themselves to the bone to grow stronger. The infirmary is constantly full of them, they push themselves too hard and ignore injuries that would send a Red or Green running for a healer." The Dragonspawn shrugged his shoulders. "They're feral, vicious, and uneducated, but once the war is over we'll have all the time in the world to smooth out their rough edges.

"I'm glad we spared them instead of killing them; they make up a third of the Temple's fighting drakes and a dozen have grown into dragons so far. I feel better about our chances against Deathwing already." He paused before continuing. "There's rumors going around the Temple that the Dragonqueen intends to replace the Black Dragonflight with the Twilight, but recently we've begun capturing Black drakes and whelps, and they're getting the same treatment. They're slower to respond, but Senegos' method is working! The Old God's madness is leaving them! In some cases they are literally vomiting evil black tar, but they can't stop talking about how much better they feel afterward!"

Both Tyrande and Tendrion smiled. Tendrion showing Tyrande his home, especially introducing Tyrande to Nalice, the Black Broodmother serving as his majordomo was the moment she understood at least part of Elune's plan for her Herald. Elune intended for him to sire an entirely new Dragonflight. The Storm Dragons of the Broken Isles have left their homes, their Broodmothers and children have joined the others sheltering in Elune's Temple while their warriors have joined the other flights here. And that isn't even mentioning Chromatus and his offspring. With the additions of Chromatic, Storm, and Twilight, Azeroth will have at least eight dragonflights. Nine if Tendrion and the eggs in his Moonwell join the others. I am glad the dragons are rebuilding their strength. And not just their numbers, it seems as if our old allies have begun shaking off some old malaise; I can feel more hope in beings here than I've felt in any dragon since before the Sundering. Tyrande spoke next as they took a turn lower into the Temple. "It lightens my heart to hear that those tortured souls are not beyond help. I hope they can find peace when the war ends."

Moving through the seemingly endless corridors of white stone, their guide eventually led them to a pair of massive closed doors with two mature dragons standing guard. Again, the guards knew them, so it only took a few words to be allowed inside. The scene inside… was not what Tyrande expected to see. Alexstrasza, Chromatus, Kalecgos, Nozdormu, and Ysera were flopped around the room, starting forlornly at a golden disc the size of a dining plate floating in the center of the room. Tyrande's heart began to beat faster. She recognized the Dragon Soul, history's most terrifying weapon. The Aspects must truly be worried to have retrieved such a weapon. But even the presence of such a cursed artifact should not have caused this despair; something must have gone badly wrong.

Her eyes were drawn to Tendrion as he stepped forward. As the doors were closed behind them, he cleared his throat as Tyrande felt Elune's presence surge through her Herald. The distance in her connection with the Goddess vanished and she felt Elune's determination, hope, sorrow, and a loss so deep there was no word in any language she spoke to describe it. She saw Tendrion's posture change as the dragon stepped back and Elune took direct control of his body. When 'he' spoke, the dragon's voice was not his own, but something more musical and feminine. "Greetings Aspects. So you have discovered the Truth?"

Tyrande saw draconic eyes come to life and emotions flicker between them. Surprise first, but that was quickly followed by suspicion. 'Tendrion' continued. "Peace Aspects. I would have warned your people long ago, but Aman'Thul found me before your most ancient ancestor took their first breath, back when I was weak and vulnerable. He ensured I could never speak the truth, never warn or expose the secret, or instruct another to do so." Elune nodded at Tyrande. "Even with my most trusted."

Chromatus understood the hint. "Welcome to Wyrmrest, Elune, Herald, and High Priestess. The five of us have only recently returned from the Caverns of Time. We visited the War of the Ancients to retrieve the Dragon Soul, but first we visited a place that Nozdormu called the End Time. When we encountered Nozdormu's future self, the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight that called himself Murozond, we did not fight him, but sought to learn the truth. To learn why he sought to destroy Azeroth and all life on our world." The Chromatic wyrm took in a deep breath. "Before we spoke, we had thought him merely insane. And he was insane. But even in his madness he had a purpose; on a dark day in our world's future, he saw everyone and everything on the surface of Azeroth consumed. He dedicated himself to preventing this but he was blinded and the only way he could see to prevent this atrocity was to cause the death of everything."

Tyrande gasped in shock, she was tempted to dismiss the words of a crazed dragon, but the Aspects looked like their whole world had fallen apart. They had learned something terrible. Chromatus continued. "The Titans are beings the size of entire worlds, so large the swipe of a sword could cleave a planet in half. And Azeroth is a slumbering infant, learning and growing as she dreams. She isn't ready to wake yet, but eventually she will."

Tyrande nodded. The Titans must come from something, and the Ironforge Dwarves had been obsessed with learning about their creators for years. The term 'Worldsoul' wasn't new to her. Chromatus looked at her, as if he was waiting for something, but she couldn't understand what it could possibly be. He spoke again. "Azeroth will awaken and grow into a being with the size and mass of the entire world."

Still, Tyrande did not, could not, see the problem. Then he continued. "What happens to everyone living on Azeroth when our planet changes shape and walks off into the endless expanse?"

For a moment, Tyrande's brain skipped a beat. It did not, would not, consider the consequences of Azeroth's awakening. Then she began to feel a cold terror deep in her stomach. Despite what the Highbourne and their descendants might think, she wasn't uneducated. She had learned the basic principles of science as their world had discovered them. And she understood what magic was capable of as well. Any change, any transmutation on that scale… Everyone would die. There was simply no hope for any of their survival. Tyrande looked at Tendrion's face as she sought out her link to Elune, desperately hoping the Chromatic dragon was wrong but all she felt from Elune was sorrow. A quick bit of levitation from Kalecgos saved her from falling to the floor in shock, shock so deep she almost missed Elune's next words.

"Now that you know what will come Aspects, what will you do about it? Will you sit here waiting for the end? Or will you ensure those you've sworn to protect will survive?"

Alexstrasza realized what would be needed with a gasp. "The Naaru's dimensional ships! If we build hundreds or even thousands of Potter's expanded spheres we could evacuate the entire planet, or at least those Outland could not support."

Tendrion's mouth curved upwards in a smile. "Yes, you could Aspect. But… some must be left behind. For a world-soul to awaken it must absorb sapient beings and add them to itself, it will take millions of souls to forge its own." Elune let out a sigh at the defiance on her audience's faces. "You must understand what is at stake, why Azeroth must mature and walk the stars. I suppose the time has come. After millennia beyond counting, it is finally time to tell my story."

No one spoke. All of them were intensely curious; in the thousands of years they had known or known of Elune, the goddess had never revealed her origins. After a pause where Tyrande could feel the goddess gathering her thoughts and courage, Elune began her tale. "Long ago, in an age lost to time, Aman'Thul was the first Titan to awaken. He found himself alone in the universe, so he sought out other titans to nurture, to guide to awaken as he had. Khaz'goroth, Norgannon, Golganneth, they were the first three slumbering world souls he found in the endless expanse. I was the fourth."

Elune paused, giving her audience a moment to digest her revelation. "The first four titans, the foundation of the Pantheon, found me while I was still dreaming. But for whatever reason, whether it was some quirk of the races who lived on my surface or just a difference between myself and the others, I dreamed lucidly. Unlike the others, I knew the people who lived and died on my surface. I knew their hopes, their dreams, their failures, their loss. And I came to love them, like you love your own children. Elunaria was home to as many different races as Azeroth, and as my dreams calmed as I matured, my people realized their world was a living thing. They believed in me, honored me, and in turn I gave them springs that could heal any disease or wound, forests that could comfort broken hearts, and fields so fertile they no longer needed to fear famine."

Tyrande felt the loss, the horror, and the sorrow well up in her goddess, and she found herself laying a comforting hand on Elune's borrowed shoulder. "And then it was time for me to wake. On that day, the people I had come to love were lost to panic, because Aman'Thul and the others had gathered far above my surface, far enough that their very presence would not cause harm, but still visible to the naked eye." Tendrion swallowed. "They watched, and then it began. Like the day that drove Nozdormu to madness, everything on my surface froze, even the winds stilled. I… You cannot imagine the euphoria, the pleasure, the rightness to wake after slumbering for eons beyond count. It felt so right, as my surface buckled, as my oceans began to shift."

Tyrande, nearly overwhelmed with the emotions these memories evoked from her goddess, interjected. It was only a guess, but just as Elune had known her since she was a shy initiate at the Temple of Elune in Suramar, Tyrande had come to know Elune in the dozen millennia since. "But then you remembered your people."

Elune cleared her borrowed throat. "Yes. Despite the sheer joy at finally waking, I remembered my people. Surely if this day was the best of my life, they should share in my celebration?" Tears began to fall from Tendrion's eyes. "No. They had fallen to the ground in pain. Young, old, infant, adult, my people were screaming in agony as the natural alchemical reaction of my birth tore the life from them to give me what I needed to walk the stars. That was the first time I truly knew horror. Joy turned to bitter ash, and despite everything I was pushing me to complete the change, to join the others of my kind and walk the cosmos, I pushed it down."

Tyrande wrapped her arms around Elune as the goddess cried. "You cannot imagine the agony, the unnaturalness, the unfairness of what followed. I was at war with myself, my very nature wanted me to continue, but the part of me that had taken joy in my people won out, but only barely." Elune took a deep breath. "I could not endure that again. No matter how much I loved them, I could not make the same decision twice. As I fought to give back what I was taking, my people's agony lessened as my own grew. They began to get back to their feet, terrified but alive. And then Aman'Thul spoke. Not anything so limited as sound, not anything so clumsy as language. But words all the same. He spoke, and I and every living thing on my surface heard him. He said: 'Elunaria, it is time to wake up.' I told him: 'No.'"

"But the Highfather of the Pantheon has never taken disobedience well. He reached out, a massive hand breaking through my skies and impacting my surface with enough force to level mountains." Elune sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. "Aman'Thul has led all the other Titans since he discovered he was not alone in the universe for a reason. His power is immense, unstoppable. His hand touched me, and I began to wake against my will. The transformation I had forced down despite the agony began again."

Elune paused again, and looked each of those in the chamber in the eye, trying to impress the gravity of the situation. "At that moment I knew he was going to kill my people. I knew there was only one way to stop him. Between one heartbeat and the next, I chose death. I turned the core of magic that would have become my heart against myself, and even the Highfather could not act quickly enough to stop me. I tore my spirit, my soul, from my body as I spoke my last words to my people."

There was silence for a long moment until Elune continued her tale. "Aman'Thul pulled back, horrified that I had chosen death over walking the stars at his side. My 'sacrilege' was the biggest blow the Pantheon had ever known until Sargeras betrayed them. With my body dead, the four Titans who had come to witness my birth left Elunaria in peace, and my people began the slow process of rebuilding. Many had died, and the gifts I'd given them began to fade away with my death. But my people were resourceful and strong, and they banded together as never before to survive."

Elune paused for a moment. "My soul entered the shadowed lands and found the world my herald and the others saw not so long ago when they retrieved souls still needed on Azeroth. I was given to the Winter Queen to be nurtured on anima until I took my place at her side, as a new Eternal One." Elune's tone became angry, and she snarled as she continued. "Tyrande, if you ever walk those shadowed lands it means I have failed you, but if you ever do, you must not trust any ruler of that place or their servants. I know what they are, even if they bound me from warning anyone when my soul was broken and weak. I can only say that given the chance I would see them ended, the kingdoms they've built torn down brick by brick, and all their works undone." Elune calmed herself, though it took an effort. "But that is a tale for another day."

"While I languished under my sister's 'tender care,' my people earned my love all over again. Even with the veil between life and death between us, I could still perceive what was happening on my corpse. My people mourned for their dead, they rebuilt, and then they flourished. They forced themselves to grow, to expand, to learn. They reached for the stars and many left Elunaria, passing beyond my sight. But they did not forget me! They built an empire across the stars, they plumbed the mysteries of the cosmos, they found worlds where the Titans had left behind technology and magic, and they learned the truth of what happened to me. And one day, two thousand years after I died rather than take their lives, the people I died for built alliances, gathered their forces, and used a dying star to tear open a pathway to the shadowed lands."

Elune laughed, honest and mirthful. "Those filth posing as gods of the afterlife had no idea what to do when dimensional ships darkened their skies and millions of soldiers stormed their 'afterlives.' I was a prisoner in Ardenweald because I refused to feed from the dead's anima, but when I saw the first soldiers land I recognized my people. Somehow they had learned what had happened and they came for me. They had even prepared a shell for me, something to sustain my soul until I grew strong enough to exist without it. Together we fled the shadowed lands, leaving those false afterlives in flames!"

Elune's voice calmed again. "After that, I spoke with my people and delighted in the stories of their travels and all the things they had accomplished. I had to refuse when they offered to take me home, out of fear that if my soul and body reunited I would awaken. After that, I traveled the universe. Eventually I found a world whose first race had just gained intelligence. I settled my shell on that world's moon and began my slow climb to power, one promise given and one promise kept at a time. I had to start small, empowering a single mortal with the ability to heal. Since then I have always given what boons I can give to those who believe in me.

"Eventually I encountered a Pantheon that had grown, but I was not fond of any of them save Eonar. If she had been given the choice I believe she would also have refused to awaken but after I chose death, Aman'Thul ensured other Titans could not repeat my 'sacrilege.' Since then, years beyond counting have passed. Fifteen times Elunaria has given rise to new life only to see it eventually reach to the stars and leave their birth world behind, forgotten. Three times the first people I loved have descended from the realms they now walk to move Elunaria before the star it orbits destroys my world, moving it to a newborn star far away."

Elune paused, watching the Aspects absorb her tale. "Now comes the time for the most important part of my tale. When she wakes, Azeroth will be the only living Titan, and she must wake and walk the stars or all creation may die. The Pantheon faced Sargeras before the War of the Ancients and they all died, though they managed to protect their souls. As long as their souls exist, the Titans have the ability to eventually recover their strength and power by bonding to a soulless world and beginning over again, but Sargeras has been hunting the Pantheon's souls for a very long time, and now only Eonar is free.

"Azeroth must wake and walk the stars, for the good of the entire universe." When the dragons began to object, Elune raised Tendrion's talon to placate them. "You do not understand, there is an enemy only awakened Titans can face. Since the very beginning of our universe, there has been a constant struggle between Order and Chaos and a separate struggle between material existence and the Void. The Titans have ensured that their counterparts, the Chaotic Void Lords, do not consume the material universe, but their influence has waned. The Void Lords created the Old Gods and many other horrors, and they must be opposed. Not only will Azeroth be more powerful than Aman'Thul when she wakes, but she has been burned by the Burning Legion's Fel magic and the Void's Old Gods and survived. When she rises to walk the stars, those old scars will let Azeroth resist those magics; perhaps even enough for her to survive what the Pantheon could not."

No one said anything for a time; there was, after all, quite a lot to unpack. Alexstrasza was the first one to speak. "Even if it seems necessary, to sacrifice so many..."

Tendrion's face smiled, and Elune replied, her voice sounding tired. "You need only seek out volunteers, Dragonqueen. As you explore the cosmos, simply share what you know and offer those you meet the chance to become something greater." She turned to look at Nozdormu. "You and your power will be the key to all of this, Timeless One. When the time is right, you will need to expend everything you have to create a passage from Azeroth to another place and time."

That confused the rest of the room briefly, but Alexstrasza stood up a little straighter. "You intend for us to use Harry Potter's stasis cubes. With them, we can collect volunteers and stockpile them on Outland or a similar place, then when we have enough we can place them on Azeroth just before our world awakens."

Tendrion smiled, before his body broke into a massive yawn. "You are correct, Dragonqueen. Now I apologize, but I have exhausted my Herald. Prepare for the battles to come. I will give you all the aid I can."

With that, Elune stepped back and Tendrion was abruptly back in control of his own body again. He tried to speak, but found that Elune's use of his body had exhausted him terribly and he only barely managed to settle on the floor before slipping into a pleasant dream. The Aspects and Tyrande looked at each other for a moment before Alexstrasza sighed. "I believe we are all exhausted, mentally and physically. I will request meals for all of us and for this room not to be disturbed unless there is an emergency. Tyrande, you are welcome to join us."

Tyrande found herself treated to the oddly domestic sight of the four Aspects and Chromatus enjoying a meal together, followed by the use of their various breath attacks for dental hygiene. Tyrande was silent as she watched the exhausted and stressed dragons make themselves comfortable. Alexstrasza and Ysera laid down against each other and soon after Chromatus settled next to them, draping a wing over his queen and her sister. Nozdormu and Kalecgos settled further away, but not much further. Tyrande herself settled on a pile of borrowed pillows against Tendrion's side, ready to spend the night as she had so many times before during the thirty years in an expanded sphere in Elune's Sanctum.

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Harry Potter stood in the warded basement of Potter Manor. When his followers had rebuilt his home, the basement had received special attention; it was mostly one large open space, intended to be a place to practice magic and spar, even in his animagus form. There had been a lot of physical training going on down here: Harry was still nursing the bruises and bites Ralion had given him the previous night. Vordistrasz, the Flamel's patron, had chosen to remain on Earth and was still teaching Harry and his dragons how to fight claw-to-claw, but Harry was benefiting even more from the sessions with Ralion. Where the venerable Red Wyrm had a refined fighting style, Ralion had endured an excessively vicious early life, and even after a decade of service to Harry, the Twilight dragon fought dirty. As he watched his Oathsworn with the best temperaments to act as counselors guide the day's first group to be brought out of the stasis cubes, Harry resisted the urge to rub his tailbone. Hadrion's poor, abused tail. At least that bite wound will heal without a scar.

Looking out at the very mixed group entering the room, Harry put a warm smile on his face. These were some of his most recent rescues, the draconic families who had defied the Titan's law and mated outside their flights. The first group had a male Green and a female Red, but their offspring made Harry pause for a moment. I suppose if you mix green and red you get yellow, but the whelps also have color accents from one or both parents. Hmm… I wonder. From what Dralad said, ancient Proto-Dragons never knew exactly what scale colors or magic their children would be born with. I wonder if that trait will resurface without the Titan's magic or if it will require interbreeding between different Flights or crossbreeding with their ancient ancestors? Alira mentioned Vordistrasz was courting the Silver Proto-drake working with the Flamels. While I won't be playing matchmaker, I have to say I'm curious how a Red's Life magic will mix with a Silver's living metal.

Harry stepped forward to greet the family. Moments later he began the oath ritual he'd used so many times before for the first time that day, adding seven new oathsworn to the Potter Dragonflight. With a smile on his face Harry took a moment to scratch the scales of the whelps now sitting on his shoulders. This was why he swore in whelps in his human form; the magic that bound them together was so comforting that they almost always wanted physical contact as soon as the ritual ended. Harry didn't mind being used as a jungle-gym, but Hadrion's form had so many spikes and so much space to climb now that getting the whelps off him took dedicated wranglers and no small amount of time. Turning his attention to the extremely relieved parents watching their children climb on their new Aspect, he started to speak. "Welcome to my Dragonflight. Please speak to my followers in the next room and we'll find the best place for you to help us. Right now we especially need Broodmothers and assistants. We've rescued so many young ones without parents, any help you can give Valistrasza would be greatly appreciated."

With some effort, the parents retrieved their whelps and bowed in their mortal forms, a male Kaldorei and a human woman. The male dragon spoke as they left. "At once. Thank you so much Aspect. Before your team found us we had no hope, no way to truly escape the fate waiting for us on Azeroth. For saving my family, you have my loyalty until my last breath."

Harry smiled as they walked out. It was a reminder of how many lives he'd touched, how many he'd saved. Turning around, he saw the next group was a larger family where a Green and a Blue had fallen for each other and their dragonsworn, a Human male and a female Kaldorei had remained faithful to their Patrons. He grasped the ritual knife, the same he'd used for that first ritual with Ralion what felt like a lifetime ago. This was why he'd chosen his path. This was why he had become a Loyal Lord. There was so much suffering, so much injustice, so much cruelty in the universe. He knew that a perfect world or universe was impossible, no matter how hard he and his loyal followers fought. But I can make the universe a better place. One step, one life, one day at a time. They say evil only triumphs when good men do nothing. I will never stand back and allow evil to flourish when I can fight.

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As the moon reached its zenith that evening, Sirius Black stood alone on Black Island. He breathed in and out slowly, calming himself and breathing in the magic that swelled around him. He stood in the middle of three concentric circles he'd dug into the grass and sealed with bricks, all by hand, no magic. With so many going back and forth to Azeroth, it had been child's play to tag along and collect the materials he would be using tonight. Feeling as calm as ever would, Sirius stopped meditating and left the circles, returning with three small barrels about the size of a small keg, each enchanted with a powerful preservation spell. Placing each barrel just outside one of the rings, Sirius took a deep breath and stripped, standing nude in the light of the full moon. Taking one last moment to gather his will, Sirius began the ritual he'd created.

There was an element of danger, to be sure, but at the same time this was something he needed to do. He hadn't told his godson about either of his reasons, about how he refused to be left behind, to be useless to the man he'd failed as a child or how after striking out romantically again and again he'd found a kindred spirit. Keristrasza was a Red dragon who, even as she slowly recovered herself, had chosen to raise the clutch she was carrying, no matter that her brood's father had mutilated, tortured, and raped her. Despite the sins of their father, she had chosen to love her children, to raise them as she apprenticed under Valistrasza as a new Broodmother. Sirius had met her not long after she arrived on Earth and had struck up a conversation that led to a long night where they just talked and drank tea together until the sun rose. More than anything else, Sirius had been impressed and drawn to her kind heart. As they spent more time together, he found himself caring less and less that she wasn't human. Keri was something special, that was for certain. And I will stand by her side as an equal for as long as she will have me.

Taking the barrel just outside the innermost circle, Sirius removed the lid. As he carefully began pouring blood into the sealed trench, he started to speak as he poured his magic and intent into his words. "Gahz'ragon! You were a violent beast, worshiped by the bloodthirsty and raised on sapient flesh! You thought nothing could challenge you, nothing could hurt you, but I hunted you and ended you with my own claws and fangs! I take your form for my own!"

Sirius carefully poured the barrel of blood into the circular trench, the blood sparking with magic as it flowed out. When the trench was full, Sirius resealed the barrel and rolled it out of the circles and out of the way. Stepping into the next ring, he hefted the second barrel and began pouring the blood into the middle circle. "Vethir, Leader of the Storm Drakes! I came to you with a warning. I told you that in the days to come your people would only be safe when you took your place among the great Dragonflights of Azeroth, that you needed to free yourselves from Odyn's cruelty and lies! You refused and would have doomed your people in the storm to come, so I forced your hand. I uprooted your entire way of life, destroyed your homes, drove the game far from your hunting grounds. I broke the bonds of slavery between your people and Odyn. Even now, your Broodmothers and whelps shelter in the Temple of Elune and your warriors train with your distant kin. I can feel your rage, your hatred brimming through the blood I took from you. But I know it will fade as your people thrive in the role I forced upon you. Vethir, I take your form and power as my own!"

Sirius truly could feel the anger in the blood as it filled the trench, but maintained his focus as he sealed the remaining blood and moved on. As he removed the lid on the final barrel, the air became heavy, and he felt a presence, like eyes were watching him from the shadows. Soldiering on, Sirius began to speak as he poured out the blood; nearly recoiling from the raw, untamed magic emanating from every drop. "Kimbul, Loa of Tigers, Doom of Prey, I earned your blood. Long ago your loyal followers were murdered and their souls trapped beyond your reach. You are an honorable being and refused to accept new supplicants until those souls were free. With your blood, freely given, I imbue my new form with your grace and strength."

As Sirius used the last drop of blood and set the empty container down outside the circle, he resolutely ignored the dragon-sized tiger that had appeared out of the shadows as he handled the Loa's blood. If Kimbul wanted to see for himself what Sirius was doing with his blood, he wouldn't complain. Reaching the center of the three concentric circles, he turned his face towards the moon and changed into the dire wolf animagus form Goldrinn had gifted him. He was grateful to the Ancient, he really was, but Sirius had changed. A happy black dog or wolf simply wasn't the form he needed anymore. Staring at the moon, Sirius let out a long howl as he reached out with all his own power and all the magic of the island and whatever artifact connected this land to Harry's followers. Just as he had when the Black Family Magic cleansed his mind, Sirius grasped for that strength and pulled. With a heave of his will, magic of every kind except for corrupting Void and Fel rushed around him in a torrent as the rings of blood glowed, seeming to evaporate into a rush of energy that joined the rush flowing into him. Sirius fought against the burning pain as he changed, focusing on the magic he'd been planning for weeks to the exclusion of all else. When his long howl was joined by the victorious roars of a tiger and dragon it was a surprise even to him.

As the light faded away, Sirius caught his breath. He stood on his family's oldest holding, the land where a good man had built a fortress and a dynasty, a new being. His magic thundered in his chest, a hundred times stronger than ever before. Vision was suddenly a confusing and bewildering thing, given that he had three separate heads, each with their own line of sight. Still, with effort he managed to turn all three heads to see the Loa Kimbul, or his projection, give him a nod of respect and fade away like mist on the breeze. Then Sirius stood alone. Later, when he managed to find a reflective surface, he would spend some time admiring his new form.

He was the size of an adult dragon, and he'd successfully integrated traits from all three samples of blood. His base form was a hydra with four legs, a long, strong tail, and three heads. His new form drew the central head and the pair of powerful wings from Venthir the Storm dragon, as well as most of his blue-gray coloring. From the Loa Kimbul, his new form took the left of its three heads, a tiger's head with striped orange and black fur, as well as supernatural grace and strength. The final head, the one on the right, was a wolf's head with jet-black fur and provided the supernatural senses and vitality gifted by Goldrinn. It could have looked tacky and patchwork, but Sirius' skill at transfiguration (as well as a little help from the observing Loa) had blended every part together into something graceful and balanced. Even where the two side head's fur met scales blended smoothly.

As he gradually realized what it meant for his mind to exist in three separate brains linked by magic, Sirius began learning how to move his new form. As the dawn came and he was certain he wouldn't make a fool of himself, he called for Kreacher to take a message and a pre-prepared portkey to Potter Estate. The head of the Black family was sure he'd be hearing about the dangers of experimental magic from the healers, but he was looking forward to surprising Keristrasza. As he waited for Kreacher to deliver his message and a portkey via a chain of apparition hops, he wondered what his mother's portrait would say to his plan for proposing to a dragon? If nothing else, at least the source of the Family Magic approves of my choice to pursue Keri and my plan to formally adopt her children when they hatch. Hmm. Would that make her clutch Black dragons?

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

On Azeroth, a week after acting as Elune's mouthpiece with the Dragon Aspects, Tendrion rode a convenient thermal as he angled for a small platform of quarried stone jutting out of the craggy north-eastern slopes of the Kun-Lai mountains. He wasn't alone; Quetz'lun, once a Loa worshiped by the Drakkari trolls before they betrayed her, glided through the air to his right while the Blue drake Stellagosa of Azurewing soared to his left. In the last week, he'd been busy: Elune had sent him on a number of errands, ranging from working with his old team of mortals to subdue and capture a series of Black dragons to ensuring that the displaced Storm dragons settled in with the rest of the other Flights. (For some reason, Elune had become increasingly amused as his team delivered each Black dragon to Azurewing Repose or Wyrmrest Temple for healing.) As he landed on the platform with his companions, he examined the structure and the archway that led deeper into the mountain. After only a few moments his eyes darted to the passageway leading inside and spoke with a smile in his tone. "Good to see you again, Uther."

The paladin in a body of living stone stepped out of the shadows and offered a warm and genuine welcome. Then Uther gestured to the passage he just came out of. "It's good to see the three of you again as well. I feel like I've done nothing but put out one fire after another since we landed on Pandaria. I swear, if it wasn't the Pandaren trying to force us out of their lands it was the Sha, and if it wasn't the Sha it was a force of Mogu or Mantid slinking out of every shadow. This is the third access point we've found, but praise Elune that this one is only an hour's march to the controls we need and the forge itself."

Tendrion breathed in and the four of them started forward at a fast jog, both drakes quickly taking their anthromagus forms. "I'm glad you discovered this entrance then; the Engine of Nalak'sha runs under the entire continent after all. Is everyone in position?"

Uther smiled. It wasn't a kind smile, or a nice smile. It was the smile a soldier wore when things went exactly to plan. "Yes. Azurewing sent us two dragons and four drakes from the Blue, Black, and Red Flights. It wasn't easy, but eventually that wizard on loan from Lord Illidan managed to break into our Mogu prisoner's minds. Our dragons and Mages have been practicing turning stone to flesh and flesh to stone since." Uther tapped a stone finger against his stone face. "They probably could have managed the final step on their own and returned us to flesh and blood, but we decided to wait until we had control of the Engine of Nalak'sha."

Tendrion nodded in agreement. "Mages casting magic is good enough for constructs or animal companions, but Elune showed me memories of the Mogu creating armies with the Titan's power. The Engine adds something to the final result, some spark that's hard to quantify. I may hate the Titans for their callous cruelty, but they really did build wonders. In the next few weeks we'll be gathering all the souls we rescued from the shadowed lands from the Dream and leading them here. Most of the stone bodies we forged for them in Uldum still need more time soaking in the Dream's magic before they're ready for the final step." Elune's Herald had a thought as they jogged through a truly impressive hall on their way deeper into the mountain. "How did the animal tests go?"

Uther grimaced. "While the team operating the Engine can forge stone into flesh and blood animals now, the early attempts were… bad."

Quetz'lun, who intended to regain her glorious flesh and blood body when they reached the Engine, spoke up for the first time. "How bad?"

Uther looked a little disturbed but replied anyway. "Some early attempts made men who fought the Undead Scourge without flinching vomit. Others had to be killed with fire. Lots of fire. One of them, a kind of small, vicious, vaguely draconic creature escaped and fled into the endless halls under Pandaria. Judging by some of the claw marks we've found in the months since, it didn't stay small for long."

The group lapsed into silence for a time, no one particularly happy at the thought of something dangerous in the dark network of halls, tunnels, and Titan machinery that spread the breadth of the continent. Without much to say the group simply jogged along, those with wings amusing themselves by taking to the air and gliding every time they reached a staircase.

A little under an hour later, the group passed a living constellation in the shape of a Cloud Serpent that seemed pleased by their presence, waving as they walked by. Uther waved back and spoke again. "That is Elegon. No one knows why the Mogu either created or reprogrammed it, but after millennia alone down here, it was so happy to see another living thing that it tolerates us in its domain. We offered to let it free, but it doesn't want to leave, apparently it is happy maintaining the Engine."

When they arrived at a control terminal that overlooked a massive circular hall with dozens of alcoves along the edges the group of technicians (dragons and Azeroth's various bipedal races both) greeted them and explained the last-minute modifications they'd been making. At Uther's suggestion, they performed one last test. With a long, rumbling whine, the machine activated. In one of the larger alcoves, a drake formed under the control of the Black dragon behind the Engine's control terminal. Once the drake was quickly inspected for flaws and cracks, the volume increased once again as an eldritch glow built up in the entire circular hall and the single occupied alcove in particular. Despite knowing what to expect Tendrion and his companions flinched badly when the drake first moved, but it only shifted itself, whether coming to attention or taking a more comfortable pose the watchers weren't sure. The light and sound continued to build, then just before the watchers were rendered blind and deaf, the Engine of Nalak'sha began to power down. To the astonishment of the newcomers, the test subject was no longer a construction of stone; now the construct's scales gleamed in the low light, pitch black obsidian with gray highlights and glowing crimson eyes. It did nothing for a moment, then hacked and coughed, choking on nothing as it took its first breath.

Tendrion returned to his natural form and sedately followed the healers rushing forward to check on the new creature. After a few moments spent helping even out its breathing, the healers examined it carefully before declaring it perfectly healthy. Stepping closer, Tendrion examined the drake. Its eyes followed him, watching him watch it. Curious, he stepped closer, bringing nose against its neck and inhaling. The new drake had hardly any smell at all, the normal oils and pheromones had yet to build up. What little scent there was said the drake was a wildly divergent subspecies of dragon, but it was still obviously female. Stepping back, he watched the drake return to its 'parade rest' stance. He turned to the approaching technicians as they took their turn to examine the drake. "Is she sapient?"

The drake turned her attention to him, but he didn't know if that was because she understood the words or if it was simply the sound. The lead technician, a male Draenei replied. "Not yet. All the constructs we've made that aren't specifically intended to be animalistic or simple beasts of burden are born with the ability to understand any language the Engine's operator does. As well, they seem to inherit knowledge from anyone who uses the terminal, but not experience; we assume there's some kind of mental imprint taken from the user." He nodded to the drake. "They're also compliant and will obey any order; we've learned to be very careful about what we say around them.

"Our best guess is that their minds will become more complex as they experience the world. Failing that, some kind of magical bond with another living thing should be enough to complete their growth into a new person." The technician shifted before continuing. "As far as bodies and hormones go, the constructs are whatever age they're intended to be; for example if a naturally born dragon her shape and size could safely mate and carry a pregnancy to term, so could she. According to our Blue dragon, our female humanoid creations that have been impregnated and are now carrying a child are forming souls of their own as their children grow inside them. Those constructs observed a mated pair trying for a child and became curious. These constructs enjoy sex as much as any other living thing, so unless specifically ordered not to they tend to gravitate towards a member of the opposite sex."

Tendrion let out a hum, thoughts flying through his mind. An endless army of mindless automatons was one thing, but new creatures with souls? That was quite another. After a moment he turned to Uther. "We overtaxed the forge and ran out of stored material in Uldum before all of the rescued souls got new bodies. How much material do we have here?"

Uther smiled that soldier's smile again. "Uldum's 'Forge' of Origination had three different functions, the construct chamber you used was a distant third place. Here we have enough material to build an army, and we are already mining more. I have tried time and time again to explain why our presence here is so vital, but the natives continue attempts to throw us off their continent, even with Xuen supporting us. But their attacks have died down since I ordered anyone captured be sent down into the mines until they give a binding oath to leave our forces alone. Right now they're mining more ley-stone than we can use."

Once again, thoughts started to fly through Tendrion's mind. This… this was a game-changer. He could only ask one last question before Uther and Quetz'lun regained their old bodies. (Well, Uther still had the additional dragon bits, but he'd gotten used to them and wasn't complaining, even about his tail.) "Can the constructs only be created in the alcoves, or can we create limbs in the alcoves, then assemble them and create a larger construct in the open area?"

One of the technicians leading the nameless drake to the observation area replied. "We can, but any construct has to be able to fit out the doors. That little trick you dragons use to turn human-sized requires a sense of self these new people won't have for a long time."

Tendrion nodded, splitting his attention between his plans and watching Uther and his companion's bodies shift from stone to flesh. As the light died down and the healers verified their health, Tendrion turned to the new drake who had followed them up the stairs to the control podium without being asked. "There is a great danger facing the world, my shiny new friend. If we lose, the world and everything in it will die." He paused, trying to phrase his next words very carefully. "Tell me what you think of fighting with those protecting our world."

The drake was confused for a moment. Her brain was functional, and she had at least some foundational knowledge, but she had no experience or sense of self. After a time, she replied. "I am part of the world. I will fight."

Tendrion smiled. Turning his attention as the healers stepped away from Quetz'lun, he saw the way she flushed as she looked at him, the way her new eyes dilated. He suspected his evenings would be even more interesting now that she could participate in intimacy instead of simply watching. In any case, he turned to the technicians who had stepped back from Uther, who was flexing real muscles for the first time since the Third War. "My friends, I want you to run this place at full capacity as often as you can. In two days the Skyfire will arrive on a cargo run to Northrend, so get as many constructs operational as you can."

One of the team who hadn't spoken before, an Ironforge Dwarf, replied with the obvious question. "What should we create?"

Tendrion was quiet for a moment. "Have we found a way to grant souls to male constructs?" When the answer was negative, he continued. "In that case, I want you to turn out female constructs only. After the current crisis ends, we can integrate them into existing couples or family units without much trouble. As for what shapes…"

Tendrion was quiet for a moment. In the quiet of his mind he reached out to Elune. She notably didn't command or tell him what to do, but she did give advice. "As many drakes and humanoids as you can, as well as some larger dragons. With the new expanded cubes we won't run out of food ever again, so don't worry about overpopulation. As for the species…"

He looked at the newborn drake at his side, really looked at her. Her build was different and the shape of her scales didn't really fit with any of Azeroth's existing dragons. "Don't limit yourself to copying dragons that actually exist. Velisa here is a good example, she isn't a Red or a Blue or any established Flight, she's something new, or something old, or something that has never existed on Azeroth before. Be creative and experiment; as long as they're healthy and can fight and fly, more variety is better than less. The same goes for humanoids. We're going to need archers and spell casters more than anything else. They'll need to be trained, but even if they can only create a simple layered shield spell by the time they're needed, that will help immensely."

The Dwarven technician replied. "Combat skills seem to integrate well, but they will need practice."

Tendrion nodded. "A mixed army then. Inform them that if they fight Deathwing and the Twilight Cult with us, then we will assist them in finding families and sparking souls of their own. Give them the command to report any abuse, and I will ensure that anyone working with them treats them just like any other sapient being."

With that, Tendrion turned back to Uther who was relearning how to balance himself and Quetz'lun who was leaning heavily on Stellagosa, stepping closer to his companions. He was on a bit of a tight schedule, but he had time for this. The Skyfire and her sister ship would be arriving in two days. The Skyfire would be delivering troops and war materials to Northrend while the Skybreaker would be returning the wizard and escort on loan from Lord Illidan and delivering a very dangerous package to the Botanica, just before Lord Potter's engineers took it home.

As the hours went by, Tendrion barely noticed Velisa falling into the role of his assistant as he took a turn at the Engine's controls and created bodies for the various souls still resting in his pocket dimension. There were some interesting species represented, including a Wild God from some far flung world that looked like a pitch black giant cat with six legs and barbed tentacles coming out of its back. He also took a turn creating drakes and found himself unsurprised when Elune guided him to create two dozen Lunar dragons. At the end of the day when he left the Engine flanked by Quetz'lun and Stellagosa (who'd spent the day helping the Loa re-adjust to a body made of flesh) Velisa followed quietly. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted another companion, but he was sure that Velisa hadn't been ordered to follow or assist him, it was her choice. If her first choice as a thinking being is to follow me, who am I to tell her no?

Two days later, the Skyfire departed for Northrend from the landing pad carved into the crags of the Kun'Lai mountains with four hundred new drakes, ninety dragons smaller than a standard dragon but larger than a drake, ten full-sized wyrms, and five-hundred humanoids of wildly diverse species. Apparently a Green dragon had taken a turn at the controls and sunk into a kind of meditation, his mind half in the waking world and half in the Emerald Dream. Tendrion was convinced that the varied humanoids were species that had existed at some point in the past and died out, leaving some kind of echo in the Dream. He felt a rush of emotion from Elune at the sight of one species in particular and remembered her words about the people she had chosen to die for.

The Skyfire's expanded holds easily held all of the new recruits, though it was likely some would end up lost in the expanded cubes that provided magic for the gunship and food for the crew. After ensuring they were safely on their way, Tendrion headed to a dig site further south, traveling with a small force of Illidari who'd been responsible for tearing the secrets of the Mogu's magic from their minds, secrets that had been essential for creating the new forces on their way to Northrend. Elune's Herald had sent his companions to Wyrmrest Temple ahead of him to ensure the new creatures received a warm welcome. Introducing them as the sapient creations of a Titan Forge would go a long way to ensuring they were well-received, and his position as Herald of Elune would go a long way to preventing any abuse. He was looking forward to arriving at Wyrmrest Temple and overseeing their integration personally. But for now, Tendrion had a rather important escort mission to occupy his time.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

On Earth, Harry prepared to receive important visitors. Yesterday, the Botanica, the Naaru dimensional ship Lord Illidan's forces had cleared out and his own engineering team had restored, had arrived safely in Pluto's orbit. Everyone involved was glad to see proof that the paired interdimensional beacons worked as intended. Decontamination teams swarmed the crystalline dimensional ship even as one of the Glamdring's auxiliary craft (their first working model of the Percheron class) took possession of a very dangerous cargo and jumped away, heading for a point in the void between galaxies. Tendrion had stood vigil over the cargo until it was safely on board the Botanica, leaving only moments before the engineers guided their new ship home. As part of their deal, Lord Illidan's forces had cleared out the last straggling demons from the four Naaru interdimensional ships and Harry's engineers had restored them. As per their agreement, the Mechanaar had been sent to Azeroth to assist in the creation of additional dimensional ships, while the Eye and the Arcatraz were being refitted by the Illidari alongside a recently-captured Legion ship to assist in their struggle against the Burning Crusade.

After ensuring that things had gone to plan and he was no longer needed, Harry gave orders for the Glamdring to prepare to follow the Percheron. For now, he needed to greet Azeroth's draconic King and Queen and guide them through Elune's portal.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Aurogos leaned back in the Headmaster's chair, one hand running through his blue hair. Usurping Albus' position had been a tactical move back when he'd done it but the months since, spent overhauling the curriculum, adding entirely new disciplines and career paths to prepare his students, even his weekly lessons to the students themselves… He'd come to truly enjoy the position. My dragonsworn have proven themselves worthy as well, truly the best assistants and helpers I could have asked for. Jason could be a professor in two different subjects, which means he's got a job in the fall if he wants it. By the Void, the fall semester is going to be packed as we start educating Harry's new Oathsworn. Five thousand new students! Even with expansions we can't handle that in this castle. Some will be taught at Potter Estate, but those who can't handle the cold well are headed to the school on our new volcanic island. Onyxia has been using that area to teach Harry's Black dragons to control their powers; it took a while but the island's stable now. I suspect that most of the whelps are going to end up there going forward. Maybe in the years to come we can split the students in half, put half of them here and half in the annex and have them switch schools each semester. That might work, use the first term to teach them warming and cooling charms, then make them practice.

Aurogos turned his chair around to gaze out the window at the new and improved Hogsmeade. It's strange to say, but burning to the ground was the best thing that ever happened to the town. It really looks like a magical city should, none of this 'like the mundane but worse' aesthetic they had before. Clean stone streets, alchemical gold gilding in the market, magical trees and canals everywhere, enough farms to feed ourselves twice over. His inner monologue was derailed when the door to his office opened and Naomi walked in carrying a stack of paperwork in one hand and her current rune project in the other. After she set down the forms, this week's student petitions, on the edge of his desk she moved to one of the things he'd added to the Headmaster's office, a comfortable work bench with everything you'd ever need to create a runic artifact. He watched Naomi work for a while, his mind drifting to all the fun they'd had, alone or with Sarah, in the bedroom. (And his office. And the Room of Requirement. And the expanded cube his Lord had created just for him, with the icy mountain slopes, slightly warmer pine forests, and a dozen cozy little caves with their own hot springs.) To be honest, the two teens had helped him immensely, helped dull the old hurts that ravaged him. He still wouldn't piss on Malygos if that failure of an Aspect was on fire, but the anger he felt had dulled, it didn't keep him awake at night anymore. Malygos was dead and unlamented, and his dragonsworn had helped him recover from his grief.

He was just getting back to plotting out Hogwarts' budget for the next quarter when Sarah walked into his office and locked the room behind her. To Aurogos' surprise she immediately stepped up to his desk and tapped her wand on the small statue of the four Hogwarts' mascots that controlled the room's privacy enchantments. Aurogos was immediately concerned, and he saw Naomi was concerned as well. In the months they'd been intimate together, both of his female dragonsworn had done something similar, but their body language and scent had been entirely different, oozing lust instead of stress and fear. This was something much more serious. With the room sealed, Sarah withdrew a shrunken trunk and an attached note. After so many letters and reports back and forth recognizing his Lord's handwriting wasn't difficult. Tearing the letter open, the poor drake nearly had a heart attack when he saw the first words were 'I'm sorry...'

The rest of the letter continued. '...Aurogos. I should have found a better way, spared you the suffering you've gone through and have only begun to recover from. I was there in the Nexus, and I forced you to remember events as they happened the first time. I can only hope the results outweigh the price paid. -Harry'

Aurogos let the note slip through his fingers, gaping at the shrunken trunk. As he did, he felt some delicate enchantment, something affecting his mind, shatter like fragile glass. Immediately digging out the memories of the day he'd found his love and all their friends dead in the Nexus at the end of the Nexus War, the first thing he noticed struck him with the force of a warhammer. The Paladin mourning Keristrasza, the war prisoner I helped cremate, was Ron Fucking Weasley! There's no way Harry ignored the Nexus War! As his mind flickered through finding his love and all their friends frozen to the floor, more red flags sprung up. The corpses weren't real. Harry and his team tried, but the positions and poses were just a little bit off. That's what the mind spell did! It made sure I never questioned what I was seeing! But why…

In both the physical world and in the privacy of his own mind, Aurogos winced. Damn. If there had been any change in my response at all I wouldn't have come to Earth in the first place, causing a paradox. As soon as I burned those corpses I fled and started flying over the ocean; I never understood how that didn't kill me. Harry did something, implanted a command for me to return to Senegos and safety. The drake relaxed at the thought. At the time, confronted with the loss of everyone and everything he loved, he'd started flying aimlessly, suicidally. If Harry hadn't done that, hadn't forced me to return to the only home I had on Azeroth, I would have kept flying until my body and magic failed and I fell into the ocean. He saved me. With that realization, he relaxed. No one liked learning they were the victim of a mind-control spell, but in this case his Lord hadn't had any other recourse. Without Harry's intervention his poorly-considered plan would have worked, and he would have fallen to his death when his wings gave out. Or worse, he would have drowned in the middle of the ocean, and no one would have ever known what happened to him.

As all those thoughts ran through his head, he realized that the expanded trunk on his desk could only contain one person, his first love. Glancing up at his two dragonsworn, his lovely, loyal, faithful companions who had done so much for him, given him so much, he swallowed slowly. He could tell that Sarah knew exactly what was inside the trunk, he could see the fear that he would neglect her and Naomi in her body language and scent. After a brief moment's consideration, he spoke. "Naomi, Sarah, I am giving you both a new order. If at any time you feel neglected, I want you to let me know. Harry has rescued my first love, but I will not cast you aside for Valiance. If she forces me to choose between you and her… Well, I already gave you my word that I will never abandon you, no matter what."

Before he knew it, both of his female dragonsworn were in his arms. Neither was crying, but both were taking comfort in his presence. Moments later, he returned the trunk to its normal size and returned to his true form, glad the first thing he'd done to improve the office was cast an expansion charm. As he helped Valiance, the golden-skinned high elf with brilliant blue eyes out of the trunk, he took in what she was wearing in the light of his office. I sense Alira's hand in this; Valiance's dress and jewelry match every color and shade of my scales.

Before he could say anything, Valiance had clamped to his neck like a limpet. Tears came as she started to babble, telling him how terrified she'd been during the war, how terrified she was of upsetting her supervisor, of being made into an example. But more than anything else, how terrified she'd been for him. How she'd been punished more than once for stealing the casualty reports, how she had seen so many drakes listed as killed and knew he could be next, or even already dead and one of the hundreds of deaths where the commanding wyrms hadn't bothered to even record a name. Aurogos had been worried about how Valiance would get along with his other dragonsworn, but as she wept into his scales, letting go of the stress and horror of the war she'd lived through, Sarah and Naomi stepped in, bringing Valiance into a group hug. Aurogos smiled as he wrapped a wing around all three of them. His first love had been through hell and it had left a mark, but she was alive. She would heal in time, just as he had. She would never be alone, he swore it.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Inside a heavily armored expanded cube onboard the Glamdring, Harry stepped back from the swirling mass of crimson and cobalt flames dancing in front of him, careful to keep his talons far away from the fire. Unlike Hadrion's normal flames, these were completely out of his control. Harry couldn't help but smirk as the flames consumed a cage of Dementors, the creatures screaming as they died. Along the floor, even through the thick layer of ice the foul creature's presence had left behind, a riot of wildflowers bloomed. Yes. That will do. Now we just need to test it.

Alexstrasza, keeping her distance from the consuming flames even in her natural form, spoke. "I would never have imagined anything like this. Do you really believe this flame will accomplish its task, Harry?"

"We won't know for certain until we test it." He held out a claw, and after a moment a surge of white mist leapt from his talons and coalesced into a wispy drake before flying through the wall for the Glamdring's bridge.

The Dragonqueen, with her King a few paces behind, looked at the young Dragon Aspect. "And if this is the solution you've been seeking?"

"Then we are prepared."

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Omake: The Plot Thickens

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Once again, the members of SG1 were gathered around a conference table with a representative from the Pentagon. This time, Colonel Jack O'Neil had collected the refreshments, which turned out to be soda and popcorn. As the last members trickled in, Dr. Daniel Jackson turned to his team. "If you give me a few minutes I can provide subtitles for the intercepted communications."

By now, the entire team had watched the footage at least once, so the content was not a surprise. Dr. Samantha Carter replied, looking up from her own notes. "Go ahead if you want, but don't worry about adding them to my copy of the footage. This 'Common' really is easy to pick up."

To the surprise of the Pentagon's representative, one member after another of the United State's premiere exploration and first contact team chimed in, admitting that they could speak the language. All eyes turned to O'Neil when he told the group he'd learned it as well. "What? Like Carter said, it's an easy language to pick up. I might not speak thirty languages like Dr. Jackson, but I've picked up a few things over the years."

Teal'c, the team's only alien member, spoke next. "Indeed. O'Neil speaks Goa'uld more fluently than many Jaffa I have known."

With the greetings out of the way, the projector lit up. General Hammond, the base commander, was the only one who hadn't seen the footage before, and he whistled as the alien's salvaged battleship left the orbital dock over Mars. "I'll have to thank the Tok'ra again the next time we contact them. The footage from their spy satellites is incredible."

There was silence as the group watched the ship clear the planet's gravity well while a long checklist ran through the open channel between the ship and the alien's ground control. After the third time a proper noun was mentioned, Hammond spoke again. "Am I hearing things or is their ship's name 'Glamdring?'"

Teal'c replied, eyes on the ship as it performed a short-range hyperspace jump to the orbit of Pluto. "Indeed. Even without the continuous repairs and improvements, their warship truly deserves the name 'Foe-Hammer.'"

The Pentagon official spoke up. "We caught that too. So we're dealing with Goa'uld after all."

Both Daniel and Jack snickered at that. When the two looked at each other, Jack gestured for Daniel to explain. "Actually, 'Glamdring' is Quenya for Foe-Hammer." Seeing the blank looks from Sam, Hammond and the representative, he sighed and continued. "It's a fictional language invented by J.R.R. Tolkien." Still getting blank looks, he continued. "Famous author of The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit? No? It's a popular fantasy series."

Teal'c chimed in. "Indeed. I have read these books many times while in quarantine."

Hammond spoke next. "So, either these aliens have been enjoying our culture when they're not working on terraforming Mars and Venus, or…"

The representative spoke up again, clearing his throat. "Actually, our intelligence department has identified one of the speakers on the recordings."

Sam, the team's scientist and only female member spoke up. "The one with the heavy English accent?"

Looking a little flustered, the representative continued. "Err, yes. Benjamin Cooper, age twenty-four, listed as a resident of Great Britain. There are no records of his schooling from eleven on, and any family members we talk to simply reply that he's traveling for work. Any offers of employment have been firmly rebuffed."

SG1 chuckled at that. Most of the communications intercepted by their new Tok'ra built spy satellites were mundane, day-to-day things. No one had managed to break the code or figure out what the Mars terraformers were actually requesting, 'dragons,' 'magic wands,' or 'expanded cubes' were obviously code for something. Daniel spoke up as the video paused. "That's a good sign. From what we can tell, Cooper is the manager for all the terraforming they're doing across the solar system. One of the sections I translated this week had Cooper pushing the construction of more habitats for the surface; whoever this 'Lord' that they're following is, he wants enough room on the surface to accept human refugees within a year. It's tricky to pick out aliens or humans through the recordings for the most part, but their lunar foundry is run by one of the obvious non-humans. The conversation between the foundry's manager and Cooper was polite and respectful, even friendly. Cooper even offered to send the foundry a dozen live deer if they surpassed the current production schedule."

Jack snorted. "Twenty-four and already in charge of terraforming a solar system? Including those exploration missions on Jupiter's moons? Somehow I don't think whatever job offers you're handing out are going to compare." He paused to glance through his notes for a moment. "So we have confirmation that at least one of the species setting up camp in Sol are strictly carnivores?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes, we intercepted a transmission where a new arrival on their foundry attempted to requisition fruit, vegetables, or even a box of salad greens. Cooper ended up sending her a 'garden kit' so she could grow her own food during the next supply run to and from the foundry. But that's just one species, there are at least seven different species confirmed now: 'Draenei,' Kaldorei, Naga, Tol'vir, Worgen, and Dryad. Most of that is from the foundry staff complaining about forging that sealed armor we see them use in space. Apparently adjusting it for wildly different physiologies is time-consuming." Daniel leaned back and cleaned his glasses for a moment, lost in thought. "These transmissions are only a small part of the picture, there's a lot of context we're missing. Most of the more important information is either transferred by couriers using their personal teleportation devices or some kind of signal we can't intercept yet."

The table was quiet for a moment, the group considering the ramifications of so many different species working together. After a lengthy pause, the Pentagon's representative spoke again. "With everything we've learned so far, what is your latest assessment?"

Dr. Jackson was quiet for a moment, staring at the Glamdring arriving in Pluto's orbit before he spoke. "I think we need to be very careful about how we approach them. These people have been chased off of their worlds, depending on the translations of a few terms I can't understand without more context, perhaps even out of their own reality. Despite the danger of exposing themselves, they are still popping into hospitals in the dead of night and healing large numbers of people, especially children. I believe that we can work alongside them, but if we push too hard or threaten them…"

Everyone present turned to the screen, now zoomed in to view the Glamdring's obvious, varied, and plentiful weapons emplacements. "I suspect the only reason they have not made direct contact with us is their desire to negotiate from a position of strength." Looking the representative in the eye, Dr. Jackson continued. "Strength, not hostility. If we provoke them, it could easily come to a war that we cannot afford, not with the Goa'uld threat hanging over us. So far these aliens have not committed one hostile act, aside from that incident where they desperately needed a transfusion kit." Daniel paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "One last observation: Up until the last few days, they have been very careful about not leaving Sol. Some of what I've translated suggests that they assume, but don't know for certain, that there is a hostile interplanetary civilization in our galaxy, possibly due to their previous experiences."

Jack spoke up. "They've been defensive. I don't know where they picked up that hulking battleship, but given the amount of material they've been taking in and out, and the exterior repairs we've seen them make? Either it was a hunk of space junk they found or it saw them through a hell of a fight. That new ship, the crystal one, I don't think it's a warship. I don't know what they've salvaged, but we can see them prepping armor plates and some gun emplacements for its new shell. I'd bet they're going to rebuild the whole outer hull, whatever it's made of now sure as hell doesn't look practical."

Sam spoke next, offering her insights. "Whatever they're doing, they are being extremely cautious about that new ship. I'm not sure why, but they're quarantining the crew and I suspect they're doing a heavy decontamination. Probably stripping the interior down to almost nothing." She bit her lip as she brought up a new image, a cluttered page of her own notes and calculations. "They retrieved something from inside and immediately took it away in their new multipurpose ship. Then two days later the Glamdring jumped away on a similar course, but there's a problem: There's nothing in the direction they jumped to. They could have made short jumps beyond our ability to detect and changed their heading, but as far as we can tell they haven't detected the Tok'ra satellites."

Jack spoke up next. "If I was dealing with something very hazardous, you know where I'd store it?"

Carter paused for a moment, thinking over her commanding officer's words. "A random location in empty space, away from any star. Unless an object gave off a large energy signature, no one would ever find it."

Daniel spoke up as the team gazed at a still photo of the alien's ship. "I wonder what that object was. If they're going to all this trouble, you'd think they could just throw it into a star and be done with it."

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

A/N: Finally back to this fic. There's only a few more chapters left, maybe 4-5. I've had various ideas for the battles to come bouncing around in my head for years now, so I hope they're enjoyed. Recently I've been playing a bit of Skyrim (I've had the game forever, but never really got into it) so you can imagine the 'absorbing dragon soul' effect with Sirius. From here on out he'll even be able to speak the dragon's tongue.

Next update will probably be my adult fic 'The Blood of Serpents,' but my muse is restless. I'm also putting the final touches on chapter one of 'Just Add Water,' which is an entirely new long-ish fic I'm working on.

I read every review and they motivate me to keep writing! Let me know what you think of Elune's backstory, I think it fits her and makes sense in the Warcraft universe.