The Beast: Part One
One year prior to the Cataclysm…
She’s gone.
I’m sorry.
Davyn clutched the paper in his hands, a cold, sickening feeling fell into his gut like lead. He tried to stop the tears but they fell like pouring rain. The letter continued on about a horrific slaughter committed by the underhanded betrayal of the Forsaken, and how she fought as valiantly as ever but in the end, fell in battle. A precious, secret treasure he had guarded for years was ripped out of his heart. Davyn had very few friends, turning himself into an outcast for praising the heroics of a creature other humans called a monster. They cared not that she spared his life and risked her own to bring him to the safety of the Eastern Kingdoms. But his loneliness had been thwarted every month with a letter from her, letters of spectacular adventure and epic battles she had fought and won.
But her last battle…won her.
He paced back and forth in his room, the cold shock quickly vaporizing into a fiery rage. Grunting, he dug his fingernails into the walls of his room, wishing for the strength to tear down the walls. The unmerciful moonlight lashed out on his pale skin, and he fixed his eyes upon it in hatred. Davyn felt his lanky body growing, his bloody fingertips blackened and warped into claws. His throat dried up like desert sand and turned his anguished moans into guttural growls. The moon kept its cruel eye upon him, and Davyn started to scream her name, knowing that he could never call her back from the distant heavens.
“Davyn? Davyn, what’s wrong?” Davyn’s mother Annika heard her son’s cries and rushed to his room. She desperately tried to turn the handle of the door but the lock was unyielding. She pounded on the door and cried his name again, but her only answer was the sound of shattering glass. What she feared was the fear of many of the citizens of Gilneas. Many had lost control. She summoned her own inner beast and kicked the door down with amazing strength, but all she found was an empty room, a shattered window, and a crumpled piece of paper speckled with bloody fingerprints. She screamed, and rushed down the stairs.
Davyn ran through the streets, snarling in his breaths and growling out his pain. The city guards tried to confront him, but in their weaker human forms they were no match for his maddening power. Even the arrows that pierced his shoulder didn’t slow him. Annika ran and screamed at the guards to not harm her son. Davyn made a tremendous leap at the great gates of Gilneas, and dug his claws into the wood as he climbed up it. The moon still tormented him, as if it were dangling her soul on the string of fate right between his eyes and just out of his reach. He knew he couldn’t outrun his pain or the cruel white beacon, but he ran just the same. The shouting guards and screams of his mother faded as Davyn disappeared into the forest. The trees tried to shield him but the white orb of fire still seared him.
Fatigue burned in Davyn’s lungs and sapped all of his strength. He fell to his knees, but the rage still boiled his blood. The air was like poison, and Davyn wondered if the poison she had breathed in with her last breaths had smelled the same, tasted the same, and had caused her the same pain. In the distance, he could see the sickening green glow of that very poison, in huge glass and metal orbs stored in the village of the foul abominations that had caused the massacre. Davyn cursed the Forsaken and the moon, vowing to destroy the creatures that no longer deserved to exist.
Traitor…vile fiend…I will destroy you! ALL OF YOU!
Davyn grasped the black tufts of his hair, and threw his head back, crying her name in a final, desperate howl.
“Kersha…!”
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Kingdom Animalia: The Prologue
Our world is disintegrating.
Thousands of years ago, this planet was just like yours, a doppelganger in a parallel plane. With humanity the dominant species of the world, the animals had to struggle against the massive force that was the human's drive to oppress.
Then one day, the universe made us equal.
A shockwave from an unknown source ripped the very fabric of space apart, making all complex organic beings little more than specks of dust for half a millisecond. That moment heralded the extinction of humanity, and the birth of something else. Creatures of half human and half animal DNA.
For years, we struggled to survive, but human intelligence and animal instincts combined to create a world beyond anything you could ever imagine. We are just like you. We have jobs. We have families. We build homes, save lives, invent machines, and study our ever-changing world.
Little did we know that the catastrophic event that changed us into what we are today would bring about an even greater disaster. One that will literally destroy our world. We cannot fight it. We cannot stop it. There is only one thing we can do to ensure our survival.
My name is Jae.
This is Animalia.
Thousands of years ago, this planet was just like yours, a doppelganger in a parallel plane. With humanity the dominant species of the world, the animals had to struggle against the massive force that was the human's drive to oppress.
Then one day, the universe made us equal.
A shockwave from an unknown source ripped the very fabric of space apart, making all complex organic beings little more than specks of dust for half a millisecond. That moment heralded the extinction of humanity, and the birth of something else. Creatures of half human and half animal DNA.
For years, we struggled to survive, but human intelligence and animal instincts combined to create a world beyond anything you could ever imagine. We are just like you. We have jobs. We have families. We build homes, save lives, invent machines, and study our ever-changing world.
Little did we know that the catastrophic event that changed us into what we are today would bring about an even greater disaster. One that will literally destroy our world. We cannot fight it. We cannot stop it. There is only one thing we can do to ensure our survival.
My name is Jae.
This is Animalia.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Blue (part two)
It was weeks before I woke from my long loss of consciousness. I found the night elf woman and later her mate took me to their home in the forests of Kalimdor and kept a ceaseless vigil over me, tending to my injuries and bringing me to powerful healers well known among their people. They even took water from their Moonwells for me to drink so I could heal. I didn’t realize that anything was capable of giving so much love.
They were called Daina and Faleon Cloudshadow. They were both druids, ancient protectors of balance and students of the great Cenarius. Eons ago, before the War of the Ancients, Daina was the servant of a cruel Highborne noble, Narcassia. Narcassia was jealous of her beauty and jealous that Daina was the object of the affection of another, kinder noble, Sha’dren. When the demons invaded, Narcassia chained her unintended inside a tower and sent several of the monsters after Daina to brutally mangle and kill her. Sha’dren managed to escape and rescue Daina, but doomed himself in the process. He thought he could responsibly use the forbidden arcane magic to protect him and his beloved, but he was exposed by Faleon, who had been his longtime friend. Sha’dren disappeared with the banished Highborne, and was never seen again.
At first, Daina couldn’t forgive Faleon for his betrayal, but as time went on, she knew he only did what he did out of love…his love for her. It was a love that survived even his death and undeath at the hands of the Scourge. Daina’s trials and suffering gave her far more wisdom than any I ever saw in her people. This great wisdom gave her strength, the kind of strength I myself needed. She discovered what it meant to survive. She couldn’t just focus only on herself. Daina had always believed that every living creature on the world had the right to exist, and the duty to protect one another. She saw past the strife between the Alliance and Horde, and took a young tauren druid named Satura with an unusual gift of foresight as a student years ago.
As time went on, and we ventured into the world, fighting whatever evil threatened it, following Satura’s visions of people who needed the kind of help only we could provide, others from both sides joined our cause. I came to think of these mortals as my closest friends, and I’ll fight to my dying breath for them. They taught me so much about caring for one another, and they helped close many of the deep wounds I suffered at the hands of Deathwing’s brood.
“I know you must hate the Black Dragonflight for what they did to you,” Daina once told me. “But you must not let that hatred burden you. It will hold you down, steal away all your strength, and eventually bring your untimely end. In order to fight back, you must focus on justice, not revenge.”
I did hate the Black Dragonflight. However, that hatred couldn’t hold me down when Danai and Faleon’s love was lifting me up. As my health returned, I became like their child. They gave me children’s toys to play with, books to read, and brought me to their villages to meet others. I knew I was a dragon but I didn’t want to behave like one. All I wanted to was to rest on Faleon’s shoulder as he journeyed within the forests, and fall asleep in Daina’s arms when daybreak came. They tried to return me to my kin many times. The thought of leaving them was more than I could bear. I didn’t know happiness without them. I was afraid of the world. I knew wickedness, torment, and death were out there. In their home, I was safe.
“I…even feared my own flight. I think…somehow I knew…something was wrong.”
Malygos looked up, silent and thoughtful. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled, releasing a loud, powerful sigh. “You have made your case well. I will spare the lives of your mortal keepers. Bring them to me, and they will be safe.”
“No! Please, my Lord! That was not why I came here! You must stop the Nexus War! Wiping out the mortals isn’t the answer!” I cried desperately. He looked down at me, and I froze in terror as he lowered his massive head and looked me in the eyes. But he did not look angry. His eyes were soft, solemn…hurt.
“You fear me? Do you think I will harm one of my own, one of the few blue dragons that still exist? I will forgive you because you are of my own brood, and it was my fault you were in the Black Flight’s clutches in the first place. It is not your fault you don’t understand why this war must go on. I have failed you. I…I have lost you.”
“You say I am lost, but it is not I who is truly lost.”
“This world is doomed if left in the careless hands of the mortals! It was their carelessness that destroyed our kin! Do your mortal pets know they’re the ones responsible for bringing the demons into the world in the first place! That they put us in the position to be betrayed by Deathwing?”
"No, they are not responsible! Daina and Faleon fought against the demons! As did thousands of heroes during the War of the Ancients and millions in each battle that followed. The mortals have proved themselves time and time again! Whenever one great evil rose, a thousand great heroes also rallied forth to destroy it and protect our world! It was because of them we were able to endure!”
“You don’t understand…you—”
“No. She does.”
I looked past Malygos and saw my friends had entered the Eye of Eternity. Daina and Faleon stood side by side, and behind them were her followers: Satura Featherhorn and her mate Ranu, the tauren druids, Traela Stoutblade, the dwarven hunter, and her mate Gilbert Kettlepop, the gnome mage, Andarien Darkcharmer, the blood elf rogue, his warlock half-sister Astalia, and her father, Josuah Blake the Forsaken priest, even Somnormu, the bronze drake Satura rescued from the Stratholme of yore. I tried to keep them out of this, to sneak away without them knowing but they came. They came knowing full well that Malygos could destroy them.
They came…for me.
“Alexstrasza has sent you lesser beings here, has she not? To fight me? To destroy ME?” Malygos scoffed. Daina stepped forward, and knelt before him.
“My Lord, we did not come here to fight. We came here with the hope that you would see the truth,” Daina said.
“Please, Lord of Magic, you must stop all this!” Satura begged. “I know I am young and I can’t begin to understand what you went through—“
“You are correct. You can’t begin to understand…you could never understand! You come into my domain with your show of peace, but I can see past the ruse that mortals have tried to blind us with! You don’t deserve to live in this world! You are reckless! You understand nothing!” Malygos roared. He stared right at Daina, his eyes blazing with rage. “I’ll give you one chance, for the sake of Ceruligosa, leave this place at once before I destroy all of you!”
Daina held her ground. Her eyes showed no fear, but rather softened, showing sympathy and compassion for the very creature threatening her life. She stood up, and slowly walked to Malygos. Satura reached out to her, but her mate held her back. They all knew that Daina alone had the wisdom and heart to plead for the existence of all mortals.
And if they didn’t know, I did.
“Don’t do this, great Spell-weaver. Please, return to our favor. The Scourge is threatening to destroy everything we’ve spent countless ages fighting for. The Black Dragonflight is still out there, surely plotting the destruction of mortals and immortals alike. Come back to us. Come back to your brothers and sisters. We need your wisdom, your guidance. This world can’t survive without you,” Daina murmured. She reached out to him, and placed her hands on his face. Her touch was powerful, I knew that much. It had the power to heal someone from the inside out. My heart was warmed and swelled with hope as I watched her embrace him. It was over.
“My patience with you…”
“Daina!” Satura’s voice rang out shrilly. It filled the empty space like the death roar of a red guardian falling to the earth in the Dragonblight. There was no time to think about what she saw.
“Has reached its limit!” Malygos let out a strong deep breath, and the force of the arcane magic threw Daina across the platform as if she weighed nothing at all. I stared in horror, trying to comprehend the fact that my friend, my protector…my mother…had died right in front of me. Satura ran to her side, and Malygos roared again and began to charge.
“I will be rid of you!” he shouted.
“NO!” I screamed. I quickly shifted into my dragon form and threw myself in front of them. Malygos’s huge claw plunged into my body, and I could feel my bones shatter from the blow. My breath escaped me in one last gasp. Faleon screamed and drew his runeblade, and Malygos swung his mighty tail at me for a second strike, sending me hurtling into the emptiness of his realm. Numbness quickly invaded my body, effortlessly defeating the pain, and I knew death would follow. I would be lost forever in the emptiness.
I failed…
“Her death is on your hands, mortals! I will suffer no traitors!”
Mother…Father…I’m sorry…
My friends engaged Malygos in a terrific battle atop the platform, which was growing smaller and smaller, finally vanishing from my sight. My eyes grew heavy and I struggled for breaths. I still didn’t know how to willingly walk into the arms of death. Even at the last second, I tried to endure just one second longer.
Survival.
I was a blue dragon. Bred within each of us was the instinct to survive.
Mortals shared this instinct.
We’re not so different…
None of us…
“Cerulee…wake up.”
“Mother…?”
“Cerulee? Can you hear me?” Somnormu asked.
“Somnormu…” I murmured. I opened my eyes, but all I could see was massive blurs of red. My head was aching, pulsing with pain as a low sound rippled through the air. The pain slowly faded away, and my vision became clearer. Somnormu was flying next to me, Daina and the other mortals were on the backs of red drakes, and, high above my head, I could see the Queen of the Dragons, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder.
She was carrying me.
“How did I…?” I whispered.
“It was Somnormu. He snatched you right out of the sky…er…whatever it is we’re flying around in,” Traela said, grinning. “Great timing, no pun intended.”
“Cerulee. You’re all right,” Daina cried. She wrapped her arms around my neck and sobbed lightly into my scales. Faleon embraced me as well, his cool hands gently stroked my brow. I closed my eyes and drank in their embraces like Moonwell water. I stretched out my wings when my strength returned, and Queen Alexstrasza let me go. I flew to the ruby guardian drake carrying Daina, and she climbed on my back, gently stroking my neck.
“I thought I lost you,” I said to her.
“I was afraid I lost you,” she replied.
“What happened to Malygos?” I asked. Deep down inside, I already knew the answer. Daina’s face clouded. I looked down at the remnants of arcane energy below me…up at the remnants above me…at everything that was left of the mighty aspect. It was practically nothing at all.
I mourned his loss, but we lost him long before his death.
“He’s gone,” she whispered.
“Then the war is over,” I said.
“Yes. It’s over,” Queen Alexstrasza said.
“Well, if it’s over, can we get out of here? This place is going to give me epilepsy,” Astalia complained, rubbing her eyes. The Queen nodded at the red drakes, and they left the Eye of Eternity one by one. I stayed behind, and looked at Daina.
“I’d like to stay for a moment,” I said to her. She nodded, and climbed on the back of the drake that was carrying Faleon. They looked back at me wistfully, then traveled through the portal. Soon, the only dragons that remained were myself and Queen Alexstrasza.
“Where do you think he is now?” I asked her.
“I’m not sure. But, wherever that place is, I hope he’s found peace. The world will never see another like him. He gave so much, and found naught but suffering. He deserves a tranquil rest. All of the blue dragons that were lost deserve a tranquil rest.”
I lowered my head. It was overwhelming to think of how many of my kin were gone forever, and now Malygos was gone with them.
So many lost.
And what about me?
Will I be lost forever now?
“What troubles you, little one?” she asked.
“I…I wish I knew… I mean, I thought that I was independent from my flight, that I didn’t need them. I thought I was sure of who I am. But now, I just don’t know. I feel so empty,” I admitted. The gravity of my situation deepened within me. I was one of the last blue dragons left. I was the lost drake. Malygos was lost. My flight was lost.
Lost…
Last…
Lost…
What will happen to me now?” I asked.
The Queen paused.
“What do you think will happen?”
I couldn’t answer her question.
But I will, someday.
They say I am lost, but I am not alone.
The End
They were called Daina and Faleon Cloudshadow. They were both druids, ancient protectors of balance and students of the great Cenarius. Eons ago, before the War of the Ancients, Daina was the servant of a cruel Highborne noble, Narcassia. Narcassia was jealous of her beauty and jealous that Daina was the object of the affection of another, kinder noble, Sha’dren. When the demons invaded, Narcassia chained her unintended inside a tower and sent several of the monsters after Daina to brutally mangle and kill her. Sha’dren managed to escape and rescue Daina, but doomed himself in the process. He thought he could responsibly use the forbidden arcane magic to protect him and his beloved, but he was exposed by Faleon, who had been his longtime friend. Sha’dren disappeared with the banished Highborne, and was never seen again.
At first, Daina couldn’t forgive Faleon for his betrayal, but as time went on, she knew he only did what he did out of love…his love for her. It was a love that survived even his death and undeath at the hands of the Scourge. Daina’s trials and suffering gave her far more wisdom than any I ever saw in her people. This great wisdom gave her strength, the kind of strength I myself needed. She discovered what it meant to survive. She couldn’t just focus only on herself. Daina had always believed that every living creature on the world had the right to exist, and the duty to protect one another. She saw past the strife between the Alliance and Horde, and took a young tauren druid named Satura with an unusual gift of foresight as a student years ago.
As time went on, and we ventured into the world, fighting whatever evil threatened it, following Satura’s visions of people who needed the kind of help only we could provide, others from both sides joined our cause. I came to think of these mortals as my closest friends, and I’ll fight to my dying breath for them. They taught me so much about caring for one another, and they helped close many of the deep wounds I suffered at the hands of Deathwing’s brood.
“I know you must hate the Black Dragonflight for what they did to you,” Daina once told me. “But you must not let that hatred burden you. It will hold you down, steal away all your strength, and eventually bring your untimely end. In order to fight back, you must focus on justice, not revenge.”
I did hate the Black Dragonflight. However, that hatred couldn’t hold me down when Danai and Faleon’s love was lifting me up. As my health returned, I became like their child. They gave me children’s toys to play with, books to read, and brought me to their villages to meet others. I knew I was a dragon but I didn’t want to behave like one. All I wanted to was to rest on Faleon’s shoulder as he journeyed within the forests, and fall asleep in Daina’s arms when daybreak came. They tried to return me to my kin many times. The thought of leaving them was more than I could bear. I didn’t know happiness without them. I was afraid of the world. I knew wickedness, torment, and death were out there. In their home, I was safe.
“I…even feared my own flight. I think…somehow I knew…something was wrong.”
Malygos looked up, silent and thoughtful. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled, releasing a loud, powerful sigh. “You have made your case well. I will spare the lives of your mortal keepers. Bring them to me, and they will be safe.”
“No! Please, my Lord! That was not why I came here! You must stop the Nexus War! Wiping out the mortals isn’t the answer!” I cried desperately. He looked down at me, and I froze in terror as he lowered his massive head and looked me in the eyes. But he did not look angry. His eyes were soft, solemn…hurt.
“You fear me? Do you think I will harm one of my own, one of the few blue dragons that still exist? I will forgive you because you are of my own brood, and it was my fault you were in the Black Flight’s clutches in the first place. It is not your fault you don’t understand why this war must go on. I have failed you. I…I have lost you.”
“You say I am lost, but it is not I who is truly lost.”
“This world is doomed if left in the careless hands of the mortals! It was their carelessness that destroyed our kin! Do your mortal pets know they’re the ones responsible for bringing the demons into the world in the first place! That they put us in the position to be betrayed by Deathwing?”
"No, they are not responsible! Daina and Faleon fought against the demons! As did thousands of heroes during the War of the Ancients and millions in each battle that followed. The mortals have proved themselves time and time again! Whenever one great evil rose, a thousand great heroes also rallied forth to destroy it and protect our world! It was because of them we were able to endure!”
“You don’t understand…you—”
“No. She does.”
I looked past Malygos and saw my friends had entered the Eye of Eternity. Daina and Faleon stood side by side, and behind them were her followers: Satura Featherhorn and her mate Ranu, the tauren druids, Traela Stoutblade, the dwarven hunter, and her mate Gilbert Kettlepop, the gnome mage, Andarien Darkcharmer, the blood elf rogue, his warlock half-sister Astalia, and her father, Josuah Blake the Forsaken priest, even Somnormu, the bronze drake Satura rescued from the Stratholme of yore. I tried to keep them out of this, to sneak away without them knowing but they came. They came knowing full well that Malygos could destroy them.
They came…for me.
“Alexstrasza has sent you lesser beings here, has she not? To fight me? To destroy ME?” Malygos scoffed. Daina stepped forward, and knelt before him.
“My Lord, we did not come here to fight. We came here with the hope that you would see the truth,” Daina said.
“Please, Lord of Magic, you must stop all this!” Satura begged. “I know I am young and I can’t begin to understand what you went through—“
“You are correct. You can’t begin to understand…you could never understand! You come into my domain with your show of peace, but I can see past the ruse that mortals have tried to blind us with! You don’t deserve to live in this world! You are reckless! You understand nothing!” Malygos roared. He stared right at Daina, his eyes blazing with rage. “I’ll give you one chance, for the sake of Ceruligosa, leave this place at once before I destroy all of you!”
Daina held her ground. Her eyes showed no fear, but rather softened, showing sympathy and compassion for the very creature threatening her life. She stood up, and slowly walked to Malygos. Satura reached out to her, but her mate held her back. They all knew that Daina alone had the wisdom and heart to plead for the existence of all mortals.
And if they didn’t know, I did.
“Don’t do this, great Spell-weaver. Please, return to our favor. The Scourge is threatening to destroy everything we’ve spent countless ages fighting for. The Black Dragonflight is still out there, surely plotting the destruction of mortals and immortals alike. Come back to us. Come back to your brothers and sisters. We need your wisdom, your guidance. This world can’t survive without you,” Daina murmured. She reached out to him, and placed her hands on his face. Her touch was powerful, I knew that much. It had the power to heal someone from the inside out. My heart was warmed and swelled with hope as I watched her embrace him. It was over.
“My patience with you…”
“Daina!” Satura’s voice rang out shrilly. It filled the empty space like the death roar of a red guardian falling to the earth in the Dragonblight. There was no time to think about what she saw.
“Has reached its limit!” Malygos let out a strong deep breath, and the force of the arcane magic threw Daina across the platform as if she weighed nothing at all. I stared in horror, trying to comprehend the fact that my friend, my protector…my mother…had died right in front of me. Satura ran to her side, and Malygos roared again and began to charge.
“I will be rid of you!” he shouted.
“NO!” I screamed. I quickly shifted into my dragon form and threw myself in front of them. Malygos’s huge claw plunged into my body, and I could feel my bones shatter from the blow. My breath escaped me in one last gasp. Faleon screamed and drew his runeblade, and Malygos swung his mighty tail at me for a second strike, sending me hurtling into the emptiness of his realm. Numbness quickly invaded my body, effortlessly defeating the pain, and I knew death would follow. I would be lost forever in the emptiness.
I failed…
“Her death is on your hands, mortals! I will suffer no traitors!”
Mother…Father…I’m sorry…
My friends engaged Malygos in a terrific battle atop the platform, which was growing smaller and smaller, finally vanishing from my sight. My eyes grew heavy and I struggled for breaths. I still didn’t know how to willingly walk into the arms of death. Even at the last second, I tried to endure just one second longer.
Survival.
I was a blue dragon. Bred within each of us was the instinct to survive.
Mortals shared this instinct.
We’re not so different…
None of us…
“Cerulee…wake up.”
“Mother…?”
“Cerulee? Can you hear me?” Somnormu asked.
“Somnormu…” I murmured. I opened my eyes, but all I could see was massive blurs of red. My head was aching, pulsing with pain as a low sound rippled through the air. The pain slowly faded away, and my vision became clearer. Somnormu was flying next to me, Daina and the other mortals were on the backs of red drakes, and, high above my head, I could see the Queen of the Dragons, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder.
She was carrying me.
“How did I…?” I whispered.
“It was Somnormu. He snatched you right out of the sky…er…whatever it is we’re flying around in,” Traela said, grinning. “Great timing, no pun intended.”
“Cerulee. You’re all right,” Daina cried. She wrapped her arms around my neck and sobbed lightly into my scales. Faleon embraced me as well, his cool hands gently stroked my brow. I closed my eyes and drank in their embraces like Moonwell water. I stretched out my wings when my strength returned, and Queen Alexstrasza let me go. I flew to the ruby guardian drake carrying Daina, and she climbed on my back, gently stroking my neck.
“I thought I lost you,” I said to her.
“I was afraid I lost you,” she replied.
“What happened to Malygos?” I asked. Deep down inside, I already knew the answer. Daina’s face clouded. I looked down at the remnants of arcane energy below me…up at the remnants above me…at everything that was left of the mighty aspect. It was practically nothing at all.
I mourned his loss, but we lost him long before his death.
“He’s gone,” she whispered.
“Then the war is over,” I said.
“Yes. It’s over,” Queen Alexstrasza said.
“Well, if it’s over, can we get out of here? This place is going to give me epilepsy,” Astalia complained, rubbing her eyes. The Queen nodded at the red drakes, and they left the Eye of Eternity one by one. I stayed behind, and looked at Daina.
“I’d like to stay for a moment,” I said to her. She nodded, and climbed on the back of the drake that was carrying Faleon. They looked back at me wistfully, then traveled through the portal. Soon, the only dragons that remained were myself and Queen Alexstrasza.
“Where do you think he is now?” I asked her.
“I’m not sure. But, wherever that place is, I hope he’s found peace. The world will never see another like him. He gave so much, and found naught but suffering. He deserves a tranquil rest. All of the blue dragons that were lost deserve a tranquil rest.”
I lowered my head. It was overwhelming to think of how many of my kin were gone forever, and now Malygos was gone with them.
So many lost.
And what about me?
Will I be lost forever now?
“What troubles you, little one?” she asked.
“I…I wish I knew… I mean, I thought that I was independent from my flight, that I didn’t need them. I thought I was sure of who I am. But now, I just don’t know. I feel so empty,” I admitted. The gravity of my situation deepened within me. I was one of the last blue dragons left. I was the lost drake. Malygos was lost. My flight was lost.
Lost…
Last…
Lost…
What will happen to me now?” I asked.
The Queen paused.
“What do you think will happen?”
I couldn’t answer her question.
But I will, someday.
They say I am lost, but I am not alone.
The End
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Blue (Part One)
Blue
As I flew across the frozen Dragonblight, I closed my eyes as I passed by my kin, but I couldn’t stop myself from hearing the cries, the loud roars of fury and anguish, and the rumbling of the ground as the massive slain bodies plowed into it. The pointless battle raged on endlessly, with blue and red drakes alike fighting and dying, with the Scourge coming in from the north to pick off the bodies like carrion birds and revive them as repulsive undead. Our numbers dwindled as theirs took a drastic climb. There were no winners in this war, only losers.
The red drakes watched me with suspicion, as they always did, but the Queen’s orders were to not attack me. Like Kalecgos, I was allowed to use the temple as a sanctuary. The other flights welcomed me when they found out I had broken my bond with the Spell-weaver. To be honest, I never felt any attachment to my flight at all. We had suffered greatly for countless years, and I was no exception. But for some reason, I never wanted to return to them. It was as if there was something deep inside me that knew of the horrors that I would find once I made my way to Northrend.
In a way, I could understand why Malygos chose to violently massacre the mortal users of magic. So many problems in our world could be traced to sadistic individuals like Kel’thuzad, whose use of magic brought about waves of devastation and death. But Malygos needs to understand one thing.
I might be the only one left who can tell him.
I crossed the Borean Tundra and looked down at the frozen landscape. The Alliance settlement to my left and the Horde stronghold ahead of me brought back old feelings of frustration. If they only knew the gravity of obliterating who they think their enemies are. They might be willing to wage an endless war, but, as for me, I’m tired of seeing so much pointless death. I looked up and could see the magical energy from the ley-lines funneling to the Nexus. It almost looked beautiful, with arcane wyrms flying around gracefully, blue dragons and young Nexus drakes patrolling around the magnificent structure, arcane energy glittered like the snow that covered all of Coldarra. This was the place where the entire world was being torn apart at the seams. As I neared, I started to doubt this mission I took upon.
What could I possibly say to stop all this?
Will he even listen to me at all?
I’m only one drake…
I almost turned away. I almost flew back to the Dragonblight and the Wyrmrest Temple. It seemed like an impossible task. Not even Kalecgos dared to confront Malygos, and every creature that did suffered a terrible demise. But if this continued, the entire world would be destroyed. My friends, my mortal friends…would be destroyed.
I continued on.
I made my way to the Nexus, and entered Malygos’s domain, the Eye of Eternity. I was astonished at the vastness of the place. Bursts of magical energy flew across the deep space, swirling and rotating around the large platform beneath my feet, flashing lights of every color that dazzled my eyes. Even in my dragon form, I felt small and insignificant. I swallowed back my fear and transformed into my humanoid form, a young kaldorei. In the center of the platform was the beacon, the Focusing Iris. Every blue dragon, even myself, knew that Malygos would come to anyone who lit it. No matter where he was in his realm, he would see it.
I placed my hand on it. The orb glowed and flashed a blinding light deep into the Spellweaver’s realm. Massive wing beats sounded behind me, starting faint but growing stronger and stronger with each second. The platform shook as he landed.
“I know who you are, and why you’re here,” he said. “It’s a foolish venture these mortals sent you on.”
“They did not send me. I came here of my own will,” I replied.
“To beg for their lives?”
“Yes.”
“The lesser beings don’t deserve my mercy, and they don’t deserve your devotion.”
I closed my eyes and hung my head.
“You’re wrong.”
My voice was barely a whisper. I turned to face him, my aspect, our patron, an ancient guardian of Azeroth with powers beyond anything I could comprehend. He stared at me, and I knew he was wondering what possessed me to contradict him. I looked up, and inhaled a strengthening breath. We were both silent, staring at each other for the moments that seemed to slip into a slow crawl.
“Why did you choose the form of a child?” he finally asked me.
“I always considered myself the child of my mortal guardians. If it weren’t for them, I would be dead.”
My first memories were of pain. Unspeakable pain, and fear. I was stolen from my home as were many other young whelps. And not just the blue whelps. Red, Green, Bronze, we were all made into the despicable experiments of Nefarian. We were forced into tiny cages, cut with razors until we bled profusely, dismembered and put back together again in what was coined “The Chromatic Flight,” the ultimate weapon of Deathwing. Our cries for mercy and help fell upon deaf ears. Every night I had to listen to the screams and the crying, and the cheers from the Blackrock clan as they took delight in torturing the helpless whelps who no longer served any purpose to the wicked Black Dragonflight. I didn’t wonder if I was going to die, I wondered when.
My spirits died and my strength waned the longer I was in that terrible prison. When I collapsed after being prodded and assaulted, I merely closed my eyes and waited for the end. I didn’t even have the heart to hate my captors, to fill my thoughts with rage and wish for vengeance. Death was all I could wish for to end the torment.
But a different ending came.
“Invaders have breached the stronghold! We’re under attack!”
“Bandu Thoribas!”
“Destroy them!”
“Fight on, brothers and sisters! Vanquish this evil!”
“These mortals can’t win!”
“There’s too many of them! Warn Lord Nefarius!”
The screams of the whelps turned into sounds of battle. Explosive spells that shook the very foundation of Blackrock Mountain tore through the cursed laboratories, metal clashed against metal and pierced flesh. I could still hear screaming but it was the screams of the minions of Deathwing. The battalion of mortals pushed through, and I felt something for the first time in my life.
Contented.
I would get to die listening to the annihilation of my captors. Though my life was short and full of misery, this one thing was a blessing I would be eternally grateful for. The sounds grew distant and I felt my consciousness slipping away. I heard footsteps nearby, and felt a light touch upon my face. It was soft. Warm. Comforting.
“What heartless creature could do such a thing?”
I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurred but I could see the form of a Kaldorei hovering over me. Her face was pale and her hair was like moonlight. I looked into her silver eyes with a newly rising desperation, a desperation to survive.
“Help…me…” I whispered.
“Faleon! This one is still alive!” she shouted. Another elf ran to her side, a tall golden-eyed Kaldorei with cobalt blue hair. He gently stroked my belly, and took off his cloak. The two elves wrapped it around me like I was a swaddling infant, and the female elf held me closely to her breast. I embraced her warmth and focused on her heartbeats as if they were coming from my own weak, failing heart.
“Take her away from this accursed place. Return home, my love. I will come to join you as soon as I can,” the male, Faleon, said. The female nodded and ran through the dark halls with me in her arms.
“Don’t die, little one. We’ll be out of here soon. Just hold on,” she urged me. I tried to keep my eyes on her gentle face, but my consciousness slipped away.
As I flew across the frozen Dragonblight, I closed my eyes as I passed by my kin, but I couldn’t stop myself from hearing the cries, the loud roars of fury and anguish, and the rumbling of the ground as the massive slain bodies plowed into it. The pointless battle raged on endlessly, with blue and red drakes alike fighting and dying, with the Scourge coming in from the north to pick off the bodies like carrion birds and revive them as repulsive undead. Our numbers dwindled as theirs took a drastic climb. There were no winners in this war, only losers.
The red drakes watched me with suspicion, as they always did, but the Queen’s orders were to not attack me. Like Kalecgos, I was allowed to use the temple as a sanctuary. The other flights welcomed me when they found out I had broken my bond with the Spell-weaver. To be honest, I never felt any attachment to my flight at all. We had suffered greatly for countless years, and I was no exception. But for some reason, I never wanted to return to them. It was as if there was something deep inside me that knew of the horrors that I would find once I made my way to Northrend.
In a way, I could understand why Malygos chose to violently massacre the mortal users of magic. So many problems in our world could be traced to sadistic individuals like Kel’thuzad, whose use of magic brought about waves of devastation and death. But Malygos needs to understand one thing.
I might be the only one left who can tell him.
I crossed the Borean Tundra and looked down at the frozen landscape. The Alliance settlement to my left and the Horde stronghold ahead of me brought back old feelings of frustration. If they only knew the gravity of obliterating who they think their enemies are. They might be willing to wage an endless war, but, as for me, I’m tired of seeing so much pointless death. I looked up and could see the magical energy from the ley-lines funneling to the Nexus. It almost looked beautiful, with arcane wyrms flying around gracefully, blue dragons and young Nexus drakes patrolling around the magnificent structure, arcane energy glittered like the snow that covered all of Coldarra. This was the place where the entire world was being torn apart at the seams. As I neared, I started to doubt this mission I took upon.
What could I possibly say to stop all this?
Will he even listen to me at all?
I’m only one drake…
I almost turned away. I almost flew back to the Dragonblight and the Wyrmrest Temple. It seemed like an impossible task. Not even Kalecgos dared to confront Malygos, and every creature that did suffered a terrible demise. But if this continued, the entire world would be destroyed. My friends, my mortal friends…would be destroyed.
I continued on.
I made my way to the Nexus, and entered Malygos’s domain, the Eye of Eternity. I was astonished at the vastness of the place. Bursts of magical energy flew across the deep space, swirling and rotating around the large platform beneath my feet, flashing lights of every color that dazzled my eyes. Even in my dragon form, I felt small and insignificant. I swallowed back my fear and transformed into my humanoid form, a young kaldorei. In the center of the platform was the beacon, the Focusing Iris. Every blue dragon, even myself, knew that Malygos would come to anyone who lit it. No matter where he was in his realm, he would see it.
I placed my hand on it. The orb glowed and flashed a blinding light deep into the Spellweaver’s realm. Massive wing beats sounded behind me, starting faint but growing stronger and stronger with each second. The platform shook as he landed.
“I know who you are, and why you’re here,” he said. “It’s a foolish venture these mortals sent you on.”
“They did not send me. I came here of my own will,” I replied.
“To beg for their lives?”
“Yes.”
“The lesser beings don’t deserve my mercy, and they don’t deserve your devotion.”
I closed my eyes and hung my head.
“You’re wrong.”
My voice was barely a whisper. I turned to face him, my aspect, our patron, an ancient guardian of Azeroth with powers beyond anything I could comprehend. He stared at me, and I knew he was wondering what possessed me to contradict him. I looked up, and inhaled a strengthening breath. We were both silent, staring at each other for the moments that seemed to slip into a slow crawl.
“Why did you choose the form of a child?” he finally asked me.
“I always considered myself the child of my mortal guardians. If it weren’t for them, I would be dead.”
My first memories were of pain. Unspeakable pain, and fear. I was stolen from my home as were many other young whelps. And not just the blue whelps. Red, Green, Bronze, we were all made into the despicable experiments of Nefarian. We were forced into tiny cages, cut with razors until we bled profusely, dismembered and put back together again in what was coined “The Chromatic Flight,” the ultimate weapon of Deathwing. Our cries for mercy and help fell upon deaf ears. Every night I had to listen to the screams and the crying, and the cheers from the Blackrock clan as they took delight in torturing the helpless whelps who no longer served any purpose to the wicked Black Dragonflight. I didn’t wonder if I was going to die, I wondered when.
My spirits died and my strength waned the longer I was in that terrible prison. When I collapsed after being prodded and assaulted, I merely closed my eyes and waited for the end. I didn’t even have the heart to hate my captors, to fill my thoughts with rage and wish for vengeance. Death was all I could wish for to end the torment.
But a different ending came.
“Invaders have breached the stronghold! We’re under attack!”
“Bandu Thoribas!”
“Destroy them!”
“Fight on, brothers and sisters! Vanquish this evil!”
“These mortals can’t win!”
“There’s too many of them! Warn Lord Nefarius!”
The screams of the whelps turned into sounds of battle. Explosive spells that shook the very foundation of Blackrock Mountain tore through the cursed laboratories, metal clashed against metal and pierced flesh. I could still hear screaming but it was the screams of the minions of Deathwing. The battalion of mortals pushed through, and I felt something for the first time in my life.
Contented.
I would get to die listening to the annihilation of my captors. Though my life was short and full of misery, this one thing was a blessing I would be eternally grateful for. The sounds grew distant and I felt my consciousness slipping away. I heard footsteps nearby, and felt a light touch upon my face. It was soft. Warm. Comforting.
“What heartless creature could do such a thing?”
I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurred but I could see the form of a Kaldorei hovering over me. Her face was pale and her hair was like moonlight. I looked into her silver eyes with a newly rising desperation, a desperation to survive.
“Help…me…” I whispered.
“Faleon! This one is still alive!” she shouted. Another elf ran to her side, a tall golden-eyed Kaldorei with cobalt blue hair. He gently stroked my belly, and took off his cloak. The two elves wrapped it around me like I was a swaddling infant, and the female elf held me closely to her breast. I embraced her warmth and focused on her heartbeats as if they were coming from my own weak, failing heart.
“Take her away from this accursed place. Return home, my love. I will come to join you as soon as I can,” the male, Faleon, said. The female nodded and ran through the dark halls with me in her arms.
“Don’t die, little one. We’ll be out of here soon. Just hold on,” she urged me. I tried to keep my eyes on her gentle face, but my consciousness slipped away.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Arizona's Immigration Law: Constitutional or Not?
Arizona's new immigation law has been all over the news for the past few months. The country is largely at polar opposites regarding their opinions of this new law. Some people claim that this law is discriminatory, giving the police the legal right to practice racial profiling. I don't agree with racial profiling and I'm all for immigration, as long as the immigrants come here legally.
Illegal immigration causes all kinds of problems for our country. It hurts the U.S. citizens, when illegal aliens take jobs and use social services without having to pay taxes. Some (but not all) illegal aliens even commit crimes involving drugs and violence.
Even the illegal aliens who obey the law and are perfectly nice people are hurting the people who did come here legally. I like to think of it as going to college. Imagine spending 4 years going to college, paying through the nose for your education, working hard at horrid part-time jobs, and spending hours studying and doing homework all for the great reward of getting a degree. Now imagine another person can sneak into class and get the same result without having to do all the work involved. How fair is that? It happens every day. If I were a legal immagrant, I'd be pretty pissed off at these cheaters!
They might not know it, but illegal aliens also hurt themselves when they come here illegally. They have to worry about one day INS comes knocking on their door, fully prepared to take them away from their homes, and even taking them away from their children and sending them to a place they haven't been to in years. They are at the mercy of cruel employers who take advantage of them because they know their workers aren't legal. They can't feel safe from crime because if they were to contact the police they risk getting found out.
Nothing in life is free, and anything worth getting involves hard work. It might take years for someone to become a naturalized citizen, but the reward is well worth it. When you're naturalized, you don't have to worry about the police, you don't have to let people take advantage of you, you are a U.S. citizen.
Illegal immigration causes all kinds of problems for our country. It hurts the U.S. citizens, when illegal aliens take jobs and use social services without having to pay taxes. Some (but not all) illegal aliens even commit crimes involving drugs and violence.
Even the illegal aliens who obey the law and are perfectly nice people are hurting the people who did come here legally. I like to think of it as going to college. Imagine spending 4 years going to college, paying through the nose for your education, working hard at horrid part-time jobs, and spending hours studying and doing homework all for the great reward of getting a degree. Now imagine another person can sneak into class and get the same result without having to do all the work involved. How fair is that? It happens every day. If I were a legal immagrant, I'd be pretty pissed off at these cheaters!
They might not know it, but illegal aliens also hurt themselves when they come here illegally. They have to worry about one day INS comes knocking on their door, fully prepared to take them away from their homes, and even taking them away from their children and sending them to a place they haven't been to in years. They are at the mercy of cruel employers who take advantage of them because they know their workers aren't legal. They can't feel safe from crime because if they were to contact the police they risk getting found out.
Nothing in life is free, and anything worth getting involves hard work. It might take years for someone to become a naturalized citizen, but the reward is well worth it. When you're naturalized, you don't have to worry about the police, you don't have to let people take advantage of you, you are a U.S. citizen.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Who Am I and Why am I Starving?
If you're all wondering if I'm malnourished, rest assured that I have an ample supply of food waiting for me in the fridge. There is a quite different reason as to why I refer to this blog as "The Starving Writer's Blog."
First of all, let me start with introductions. My name is Rae, and I live about 15 miles east to the middle of nowhere in central Michigan. I grew up in a small town, a middle class home, with a relatively average life. I loved Choir in high school and am now working on a degree in Creative Writing at college. My parents were horrified to find out that I wanted to be a writer, and the only advice they ever give me is "finish your book so you can publish it and make us some money."
Needless to say, we don't exactly see eye to eye.
I don't write to make money. Of course, every writer likes to see their work in print, and especially when there's a paycheck attached to it. I found this out when I started writing editorials for our campus newspaper and found it quite enjoyable. It didn't matter to me that the payout wasn't that significant, seeing other people reading what I wrote was one of the most fulfilling moments of my life.
I am a writer, that's who I am. So, why am I starving? Well, I used the whole "starving artist" euphamism for my blog page because my mom jokes about me being a starving writer all the time. I'm hoping that just because I don't make a lot of money from my writing (yet), I can still speak my mind and be heard. People tend to let others make decisions for them, and not give a second thought about how they feel about it. The media puts images of airbrushed, painted, size negative three models on huge billboards and tell women all over America and the world that this is what they should look like. Our government works day and night trying to figure out how to turn us into zombies. People all over the world suffer and die and get pushed aside by the latest celebrity faux pas. The world is starving for moral decency, independent thought, and common sense. I hope to change that.
First of all, let me start with introductions. My name is Rae, and I live about 15 miles east to the middle of nowhere in central Michigan. I grew up in a small town, a middle class home, with a relatively average life. I loved Choir in high school and am now working on a degree in Creative Writing at college. My parents were horrified to find out that I wanted to be a writer, and the only advice they ever give me is "finish your book so you can publish it and make us some money."
Needless to say, we don't exactly see eye to eye.
I don't write to make money. Of course, every writer likes to see their work in print, and especially when there's a paycheck attached to it. I found this out when I started writing editorials for our campus newspaper and found it quite enjoyable. It didn't matter to me that the payout wasn't that significant, seeing other people reading what I wrote was one of the most fulfilling moments of my life.
I am a writer, that's who I am. So, why am I starving? Well, I used the whole "starving artist" euphamism for my blog page because my mom jokes about me being a starving writer all the time. I'm hoping that just because I don't make a lot of money from my writing (yet), I can still speak my mind and be heard. People tend to let others make decisions for them, and not give a second thought about how they feel about it. The media puts images of airbrushed, painted, size negative three models on huge billboards and tell women all over America and the world that this is what they should look like. Our government works day and night trying to figure out how to turn us into zombies. People all over the world suffer and die and get pushed aside by the latest celebrity faux pas. The world is starving for moral decency, independent thought, and common sense. I hope to change that.
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