#darnath

[Music]

Jack had left the apartment early that day, entrusting that Jade would be fine by himself. The Raven had yet to emerge from his quarters and Jack was confident that he would be back by the afternoon. With Pepper at his side, the mechanical feline trotted happily, traversing with the dragon as he always did. An endless companion for a timeless creature, handcrafted by Darnath himself, Jack was rarely without Pepper in some form or another. Hells, even a feline who greeted Jade with happy meows, unwavered at the heat the man produced.

Outland was the journey's destination, an old outpost where Ethereals liked to still trade. While Darnath may have been excelling in prosthetics and bringing life into mechanical companions, Jack's tricks stayed closer to his branded 'Ethtech', engineering by Ethereals that he had studied for years before even meeting those in his life today.

The day had been filled with trading and tinkering, gathering the supplies he needed before he was off to Pandaria with Pepper still in tow to head to the Timeless Isle once more. A few weeks there was a mere few hours in the rest of the world, and it would give the dragon time to relax and work quietly by himself.

Each little piece and part was spread out in a familiar cave he and the raven had spent their time in together and one by one, each gear and gadget was placed together, building the perfect shape of something spectacular. Hands became greasy and worn as he worked feverishly for weeks.

Pepper often slept and relaxed nearby, once in a while playing with gears and rivets that rolled around. Jack had begun to wonder if that's what Dar or even Dicenne felt like while working and Jack entertained himself in their workspaces. Such brought a small smile to his face.

Memories flooded his brain during work, some things that he hadn't thought of in a long time, some that he was still angry about, and some that still brought a tint of red to his cheeks even then. He wondered how his friends were doing, those he hadn't seen in ages. Sana, Onyx, Cay... Those important in his life one way or another that he hadn't kept in contact with while 'sorting himself out'. Mayhap a party or a visit was overdue.

By the time he finished his work, Jack packed up the new egg-shaped item and hooked Pepper under his other arm, using a portal to get home once they were clear of the Timeless Isle's magic. He'd set his own companion down and just as he was getting ready to enter, a notification went off on his Tart comm.

Deagra? What did he miss?

"Hey uhh... think I hurt myself a bit in the practice room... little help guys?"

Sent 4 hours ago.

Furrowing a moment, Jackary chewed his lip at having missed the message and typed a quick reply to the group, balancing the attempt to open the door and carry all of his supplies at the same time. A simple 'Everything okay? Just got this' and a hope that someone had gotten to it already.

Naturally the moment he stepped into his apartment, his nose twitched at the scent of the place. Burnt salt, sugar, cleaning products, baked goods, sweat, and ashes... Whatever had happened in here, he was honestly unsure if he really wanted to know.

"Jade?" As he called out and stepped in, his toolbox was set off to the side, followed by Pepper who went bounding into the house to climb his cat tree, initiating weeks of pent-up ZOOMIES all over the house. The mechanical egg was carried over and when he paused at the cookie plate and note scribbled in front of Darnath's door, a small smile crossed his features. With the same amount of care, the item Jack had been slaving over was set in front of Jade's door before he moved his way into his own room. After all, he certainly needed a shower.

The night had been lively and perhaps the dragon had clung to those he recognized a bit too hard and a bit too long, Tris and Dice had been the center of his attention and world and even when Jack had met several new folk to pass the time. But in the end, when the party began to die down and Jackary found himself laying back on the deck of a familiar ship, his blurry vision was hazy, drunken in alcohol that he had consumed well after he’d returned to a private ship deck.

Now alone and with his thoughts, he pursed his lips, wetting them in recollection of what he remembered versus what he had awoken to. The last time he’d been on the ship, it was an invasion not much unlike the Legion and the Broken Shore, but of Horde and Alliance searching for the blood of Azeroth herself. It was a difficult time in life, Jack refused to return to land to face his grievances, his miscommunications and fears of his own partner all while fiercely guarding the demon’s hard work and company headquarters. Perhaps if he had put more time into Darnath than the man’s company out of his own insecurities and fears....

Drunk, alone, even his entire crew was gone, off celebrating a victory that Jack knew nothing of. His eyes began to grow heavy until lids fell closed, but the idea of falling asleep again had him snap awake, inhaling deeply to try and pull himself back into being fully awake. He sat up, groaning from the dizzy sensation before hands moved to course through blonde and green locks, letting the spiky mess fall to whatever direction it wanted to go.

No one home. Feral island, it was all the beast could do to rub his face firmly and think about where to go. “Damnit...” Came a low growl until finally he mage stumbled to his feet and began to trip himself forward. He knew he had one friend, one place he could track down and the Blacksmith’s scent was still on him, still easily tracked. Though he’d never truly been to Dicenne’s place, intoxication would not deter Jackary from showing up at the Elf’s doorstep to knock upon it, truly a hunter in his own right.

Invasion of privacy, or at least a friendly face, one that he trusted enough to try and place the past few years together. Of all things, he just didn’t didn’t want to face the reality of being alone, a fear that would still haunt his waking visions from being quite displaced. He could only hope in that moment, that at least someone would answer.

Crunch.

Crusted iced over snow folded and held. Lyren breathed out, peering out from the crest of the hill into the valley of stone and ice. The howling windows and storms might start up again at any moment and for now, they had a few moments. As Darnath's attention was taken up in engineering, Lyren had offered his help to strengthen the enchantments around the tournament grounds. It helped to keep busy.

But when there was a moment of quiet like now where Darnath was still distracted and he had a sudden spare moment there was nothing to do but think.

Snow and ice and howling winds, nothing but rocks for color. Even he dressed in more muted tones to blend in. It made sense then, that everything, everyone was just a little bit colder. That was the reasonable argument his mind brought up to explain away growing oddities.

It was also absolute bullshit. He knew it. Darnath knew it.

Jaylith would certainly be a dolphin. Intelligent, playful. and kind of an asshole, her playful yet clever personality is basically equivalent to a bottle-nose.

As a fruit, Jaylith would be a cherry. Sweet, though bitter if plucked at the wrong time. Still, she’d be rather delightful with some whipped cream or something cold. Just like her.

To Sunspire the titan tower lit up with runes, glowing brightly all the way to its tip top as the energy charged creating a dome dampening field inside. Magic would generally be deflected and suppressed inside. It knocked out much of the power within Sunspire, Rizzy’s new power lines and street lamps going dark as the sun went down over the port and slowly took to being replaced by the old lanterns and torches that had once decorated the town. Portals would be impossible, projectiles softened in the their strength, only a real invasion force would have a chance walking into Sunspire now.

None of them knew how or why the dome suddenly appeared. The few with knowledge of how it worked would be thankful or curse the trade-lord and his mechanical marvel. None who looked upon it as it went up would know the real story. That at the heart of the ancient power and giants stood a very small, scared, and secluded monk, wrapped in his secrets and humility, he hoped it to always stay that way.

Rizzy stood alone again.

He sent Luce and Teera out into Sunspire to search for weapons and explosives. Vel was off in the distance handling her own fears and planning her side of things. Saeris was still on his own journey, unreachable for a reason. Mavas was at Atlas and while him and the Commander were on their way it would be hours before the Aurora would fly overhead, days before the massive Calypso joined the air defense.

Kurel was mitigating his own side of the issue in Erudition. Defending Demy and Ilyea as was necessary and planning the next step in the chess match against the wolves. Killian was suddenly quiet on the comm, and could be no help considering his tenuous position between the two factions. Even Leona who had become a bit of a sounding board for the assassin, was distanced safely in Pandaria. There was no one to reach out to.

Standing within Kurel’s home - standing among his things that felt nearly as intimate to himself as they did to their owner - was almost too much. Things he had restored with killings and effort, added finances to in just the last few days from similar exploits. Things he was heir to in many ways. He had worked so hard for this. Fought at every pass, forged patience and skills he didn’t know he needed, why was he so terrified?

This isolation. Was this what Kurel felt all the time among them? The weight of the crown as it was often put; it was different than leading an operation or even running the port in ways that made him not Trade Lord, nor Captain, nor Purveyor, but perhaps nearly as important as all three… This was still different.

Riz pulled the titan disc from his pocket, shivering all over with the task at hand. The stone was created to be bound to one blood for life. It would obey that owner’s will no matter where on Azeroth they roamed. They would always be intrinsically linked to Sunspire, and perhaps the first shreds of honor to creep into Rizzy’s skin, or his budding sense of devotion forced him to understand there would be no running away after this.

The monk shut his eyes tight, bowing his head as silent tears fell down the sides of his cheeks. A silent apology reached out from his chest as if Saeris could feel it. Not that he would need nor request it, but Riz had promised him the chance to think about it. The veto power to keep their lives from settling down.

“We don’ settle down. We jus’ keep on ‘avin’ adventures then!” The redhead had soothed him.

“Promise?”

“Absolutely.”

Rizzy slipped the shadow dagger from beneath his sleeve.

“Promise?”

“Absolutely.”

The knife bit into his skin with hardly any pressure. He wouldn’t feel pain until the air hit his exposed insides, for now all he knew was the wet and the red.

“Promise?”

“Absolutely.”

From his forearm the blood dripped over the titan stone, the soft blue glow of ancient mechanics taking life, connecting to him and only him for the rest of his days. Surely if they needed to… someday it was plausible to reset the tower? Perhaps Phantom would succeed in his attempts to destroy it. Perhaps the whole thing would crumble in a decade and fall to dragon fire, who the fuck even knew.

“Saeris… promise me this is the right decision.” He spoke aloud. Riz had never had any gods, it was the closest thing to a prayer he could conceive of.

“Absolutely.”

“Alright tower... show us y’stuff, activate an close down the port.”

The locals were stirred. Worried. Rizzy should be out there comforting them, showing reassurance and strength he blatantly didn’t possess any more… but he knew Riz the Rigmaster now. He even knew Riz the Prince of Sunspire. He could be a ‘grifter’ as Demy called him and play his own face a while. He could be the nameless and hide his fears. He was the Unbreakable Reed after all and he was merely up against a third rate assassin by the title of Phantom. His first duty was to protect Vel. Second was to settle the startle around Sunspire.

The monk bandaged up his wrist and packed away the stone to handle the rest of the evening.

Do you want me to make you one?

TW: Blood | Body Horror | Disturbing Images

-[ MUSIC ] -

Insanity.

In Azeroth, it was known as The Madness, The Darkening, the Dragon’s Sickness... The Nightmare. In many worlds, in millions of languages, it had endless names but it always meant the same thing. A corruption, often brought on by nightmarish feelings or situations, that ate the being alive, twisting it into something else entirely. Dragons fell particularly hard to such a toxic curse, especially.

This was no exception.

“DO NOT LET HIM GET INTO THE FOREST, WE’LL FUCKING LOSE HIM FOREVER!!”

Lokitan screamed as a mere handful of the Heran army raced upon war-bred Granondo, a clove-hooved type horse with coiled horns, best used to ram incoming enemies. Terrifyingly fast creatures that feared nothing in the heat of battle and yet they could not quite keep up with the terror streaking through the rotting fields of a dying wasteland and seemed even less inclined to get anywhere near it.

The target they hunted was a slithering creature running on all fours, bones twisted and inhuman with long tendrils of muddied hair, making the thing look even more sickly in the way that it hung over the face. Now and then, piercing silver eyes would dart back to see just how much closer its pursuers had come in the wild hunt, noting the way the warriors had begun to flank it. If only it could reach the edge of the forest, the beast would have a far better tactical advantage and a speed increase, let alone an easier time to attack those that hunted it.

“Loki!” A voice called out and soon a female rider pushed her steed up to the Dread Prince himself, eyes narrowed, glancing over in his direction. Fire blazed all around her, the snowy locks of her hair wild and free as a hellish set of crimson eyes flitted to the dark-haired rogue. “What do we do if it gets to the forest before we can reach him?!”

“You pray to your mother that we take him down before that.”