moonshadows

Birds trailing wings of shimmering notes; cascades of sparkling shapes; rainbows and butterflies and forms that twisted the eye; and in the midst of it all at a kaldorei woman whose lilac skin held an azure tint and whose hair was vibrant blue. Attention wrapped up in the spells that surrounded her, she was only distantly aware that Malfurion had returned and gone to bed, and that Illidan had also returned and was sitting quietly nearby, trying to make sense of the arcane shapes that rippled and writhed in the air.

Azureon bit her lip, eyes unfocused as she watched through one spell. The enchantment stretching from Azshara’s palace to the heart of the Well, among its other properties, was shaped like a loosely-woven tube, and it was bulging.

Something was coming through.

Try as she might, the disguised dragon couldn’t sneak a probe through the writhing, pulsing lattice of the spellwork to identify what was being brought into Azeroth. The magic was too complex, too extravagant and wild, inefficient and glutted on the power of the Well. Whatever it was, it was nearing the end of the conduit now. Any moment, and the invader would be through, and Azureon would be able to identify it…

Something like a butterfly captured the image on one wing, the energy signature on the other. A flower bloomed, and Azureon watched as the invader summoned three semi-familiar creatures. Then the new forms vanished, sent magically elsewhere. A frantic trace only revealed that they were sent to a predetermined location – and the unique signature of magical disturbance the beasts were sent to hunt down.

“Oh dear,” she said absently. “That’s not good.”

“What’s not good, Magus?”

Azureon pulled her attention out of the spells surrounding her. “The Highborne made their move. The first demon has entered our world – and it summoned more.”

Illidan paled. “That’s horrible!”

“What’s really not good is that I think these are some kind of mage hunters – creatures that track by the scent of magic.”

The night elf boy swallowed. “Wh- who are they tracking?”

“Probably Brox. Xavius’s lackey reeeeeally wanted to bring him to Zin’Azshari for some reason.”

“You can stop them, can’t you, Magus?” Illidan asked hopefully.

The disguised dragon cringed. “I’ll need to look at the signature in more detail, but chances are that if they track magic…they also eat it.”

“They’d have to be killed without magic,” the boy said quietly. “And if they’re not stopped…”

“Our trail will lead them to you. I’m sorry, Illidan. We’ve put you and your brother in danger.”

The golden-eyed youth shook his head. “We were already in danger; the whole world is. I’d rather have a chance to meet the danger head-on than have to watch it happen and not be able to do anything-” he broke off, eyes shut tight, hands white-knuckled fists on his knees.

“Illidan?”

“Our parents,” he choked out, tears running down his face. “I was too young – I couldn’t do anything. I won’t let it happen again. If there’s something I can do, I’m going to do it.” He sniffled, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes. “If I’m supposed to have some kind of grand destiny, I don’t want to face it alone.”

“Sounds like you’re not very keen on having a grand destiny,” Azureon said lightly.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, Magus,” Illidan said bitterly. “Everyone is always watching me, waiting for me to mess up somehow so they can point and laugh. I know they’re jealous. I’ll show them all – show them that they’re wrong about me, make them sorry they laughed!” He broke off and sighed, shaking his head, the anger draining out of his slender frame. “Sometimes, I wish it’d been Furion whose eyes were gold, not me. That way, I could just be myself and not have everyone judging everything I do, holding me up to impossible standards and waiting for me to fail so they can feel better about themselves by mocking me. But then I feel guilty for wishing this on him, instead.”

Azureon scooted over to give Illidan a one-armed hug. “Do you not want a grand destiny, then?”

The boy laughed bitterly. “No, I want to be great, to have my name known for generations to come. I want every Highborne who ever looked down his or her nose at us to bow and scrape as we pass because they know that we’re better and more powerful than they could ever dream of being.”

The dragon raised one eyebrow. “’We’?”

Illidan flushed. “He’s my brother. I want to be great, but I want him to be great with me.”

Azureon hugged him again. “Well, I promise you that if your brother manages to become a druid and survive the demons and the sundering of the world, he’ll be as powerful and respected and feared as you could wish.” She ruffled his hair and grinned. “So now we just have to worry about your destiny, hmmm?”

The night elf youth wasn’t cheered. “Be honest with me, Magus,” he said somberly. “Do I really have what it takes to be that good?”

“Because you asked, I will be very honest,” she replied with equal solemnity. “Illidan, your other teachers tried to sabotage you. They taught you advanced techniques without teaching you the basics first. Either they just didn’t know what you’d already been taught, or they didn’t care. Maybe they just thought you were ready for it, or maybe they were hoping you would fail.” Betrayal and despair made the youth’s face crumple, and she grabbed his chin. “Illidan, look at me. Listen to me. They didn’t teach you the basics, but you figured them out anyway. Now, I want to take a little time to make sure you know and understand them properly, and then I want to discuss some very complex theories with you and see which areas your natural talents lie in.”

“And then?” Illidan whispered, wounded hope bleeding from his golden eyes.

Azureon ruffled his hair again. “And then we start feeding that hungry mind of yours as much knowledge as it can hold, and make all the Highborne sorry they ever doubted or mocked you.” She tilted her head. “Did your current master dismiss you yet?”

“No, Magus,” Illidan said warily.

“Go back to him,” she said firmly. “Tonight. Tell him that Magus Azurewing has taken you as a student, and that you’re sorry, but you can’t be his student anymore.” She grinned. “I don’t like to share my students; I don’t want your attention to be divided.”

“I’ll go now,” he promised. Halfway to the door, he paused and looked back with wary hope. “Magus?”

“Mmm?”

“May I call you Shan’do?”

The dragon beamed. “I’d be honored.”

==================================

“Brox, wake up!” hissed a feminine voice. He grumbled, and got an ear tweaked for his trouble. “Wake up,” repeated the voice in insistent orcish.

“What do you want, dragon?” he growled in the same language, reluctantly opening gummy eyes.

An illusion of a tiny felhound snarled at him from the dragon’s hands. “How do you kill these?”

The orc didn’t really care why he was being asked; he just wanted to go back to sleep. “Axe to the skull. No magic, they eat that. Don’t let the suckers get you, they’ll suck your life out. Bad news is they’re fast and strong. Good news is the suckers are weak. Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Go right ahead!” Azureon chirped cheerfully.

Brox closed his eyes.

==================================

As dawn spread pale fingers across the sky and the city of Suramar bustled with early-morning activity, the scent of baking bread and bean soup spread fingers of its own through the cottage. Brox stirred in his corner, shaking his horned head and glowering at his continued status as a faux tauren. The wards on the door chimed in Azureon’s mind as Illidan opened it, and at the same time, Malfurion stumbled blearily out of their bedroom. She handed each of them a bowl of soup, then paused as Tyrande followed Illidan inside and shut the door.

“Illidan told me about the beasts,” she said with a hint of challenge in her voice. “I want to help.” At Azureon’s skeptical look, she raised her chin defiantly. “I can shoot a bow better than either of them.”

“It’s true,” the twins said in unison.

The dragon distributed soup to Brox and the slightly-startled priestess, then calmly began slicing the bread. “Well then, let’s discuss strategy. I’ve learned more about them, and Malfurion hasn’t heard anything about them yet.” She waited until everyone as settled, then spread her hands and a translucent felhound spun slowly in the air. “There are three of these things out there, most likely hunting Brox. See the suckers on the ends of the tentacles? The beast eats magic with them, and that includes life energy. Tyrande, your skill with a bow will come in very handy there. We don’t want to let them get close – they’re strong, and they’re fast.”

“I can help with that,” Malfurion said quietly. “Cenarius taught me some tricks. I can make grass – or roots, or branches – reach out and entangle them.”

“And then we shoot them,” Tyrande added with grim satisfaction.

Brox swallowed his bite of bread. “Keep the suckers off me and I’ll take care of them,” he grunted.

Illidan looked up from his inspection of the illusionary felhound. “Shan’do? How tough are those tentacles?”

“What are you thinking, Illidan?” the dragon asked her student.

The younger mage spread his hands, and the bowl of soup hovered between them. “They can’t eat the magic if it’s not directed at them, can they? I might not be able to get close enough to cut the tentacles off with a sword, but I don’t really have to as long as I can get the sword close enough.”

“I like the way you think,” Azureon chirped. “Now, I don’t want us to split up. These are demons, and they’re dangerous. Malfurion, you slow them while Tyrande shoots and Illidan lops off the suckers. Brox will finish them off with his axe. Hopefully, we’ll only encounter them one at a time but if we don’t, Illidan, I want you to help Brox while Malfurion helps Tyrande. If all three are together…well, they may eat magic, but I have some tricks up my sleeves, so leave the third one to me. Is everyone alert enough to go hunting now? Will daylight be a problem?”

The twins exchanged a look, then nodded. “We’re ready,” Illidan said firmly.

“Good. Finish your soup and we’ll start at Cenarius’s grove. I promised I’d tell him when the Highborne made a move, and this absolutely qualifies. It doesn’t hurt that Brox has spent time there, so hopefully we can intercept the beasts or lure them away from here,” she added in a tone that cheerfully ignored the potential horror of life-sucking demons rampaging through the city.