#dawnwatchwra

[ Music: The Guess Who - No Time ]

In the closing hours of Dawnwatch’s rousing success the final loose ends of the Legion plot comes into view. Da’na’shan, the eredar haruspex, offers little at first in the efforts of Sunsheer and Pratchett, leading the two to find a proper prison to hold the Legion commander.

A proper prison surrounded by Illidari all-too-happy to interrogate.

By morning they have their answers. The vague concept of elemental energies and temporal powers aligning was more than correct; it could have even been possible by all accounts. Taking raw, empowered elements from various points in time aligned to their natural resonance (timeless fire, drastically-changed water) combined with key moments of the Burning Legion reaching into Azeroth (earth from the Well of Eternity during the War of the Ancients, air from the very top of the canopy of the World Tree, Nordrassil during the conclusion of the Third War) and combining them with aspects of Azeroth’s parallel-connected dimensions (living essence from the Emerald Dream, essence of undeath from the Shadowlands, mana from the Twisting Nether), could very well have caused the artificial timeways generated by the Kiel-Succor to have become permanent and expansive. A single Burning Legion is infinite; multiplying the Burning Legion any number of times could lead to their immediate victory.

The Illidari consider it to be an insane plan, destine to fail because of temporal mechanics and general chrono-problems. But the risk was too great.

If only people had listened the first time.

The information, corroborated by the supporting cast of Timewalkers, Kirin Tor, Call of Azeroth, Illidari, and various other groups helps to solidify a very important observation from all of the above; Hamathiel Sunsheer was right. By chance or by decision he was the first person to identify the problem and address it. By all counts, he is the reason this scheme didn’t come to fruition.

It’s leverage for the future, in assets and credibility.

The combat itself might not have been constant, honorable, or even remotely fair at times; but the willingness to engage in it is enough. Though he may not have landed the killing blow, Akitear Blackvale is at least recognized by his peers among the Order of the Broken Temple. Avenging the deaths of so many by helping to defeat Tei’shan Reh'zah, it affords the grumpy monk a modicum of respect. And potentially access to greater teachings on chi and its application, if he can sit still long enough. Maybe even a sip of Stormbrew...

With no real desire for fame, fortune, or glory through the entire mess, there isn’t much for Syllandra Emberdawn to get out of the entire experience; except for the experience itself. Alchemic resources in the form of the raw elements gathered by the Da’na’shan. Exposure to further forms of alchemical and magical transmution from Tei’shan’s encounters (transmute pants to meat!). And a glimpse at what might have been thought possible only under the guidance of Elune.

[ WARNING: Gore, Stylized Sexual Situation ]

“You are insane, Sunsheer. You should know better than to ask that of me.”

The arcane magic bristling in the air spoke what remaining words the nigh colorless elf dared not hiss through snarling teeth. He could feel the warning in it; sizable fingers extended from Inathorel into the ephemeral threads of magic pervading the space around them, flirting far too close to a threat for his wearied tastes. He must not have been the only one to take note of their conversation’s shift. The anxiety in the innkeeper’s squinting eyes from across the dimly lit common room was near as palpable as the force threatening to smother him on the spot.

“And you should know I would never ask this if circumstances were not as unstable and dire as they are. As it stands, I do not know if this would even help our cause in the end.”

“You would ask me to risk myself on such uncertainty?” His jaw sealed together in an aching deadlock as he watched the pale man scowl openly at him. “The answer is the same as I told you the second you found me: no.”

Hamathiel set his tensing arm up on the table, giving in to the building, exasperated tick to use that newly establish support to cradle his head and massage at his own furrowed brow. Whatever approach he took, this would be difficult. He came to grips with that fact the instant he forced himself to make his decision. Diplomacy with a creature who knew him for what he was as much as he knew its own nature was near impossible, and dancing around the issue to lessen the blow would only aggravate Inathorel all the more.

Upfront honesty was his only express choice if he was to have any chance in acquiring assistance, and for as much as that fell in line with his own preferences, it made the intended discussion no less volatile. In what years he had known Larinath’s quiet aid, to the point conversation was what had worked, too.

Yet never had he expected the cleric’s unconventional shadow to be a dragon, and a nether dragon of all things.

His unwelcome introduction to that fact lent him all the less ground to make use of in speaking to Inathorel on finding the man-- dragon, he was a dragon-- off taking leave from the Shore. The subject matter in question hardly did him extra favors, but too much time had already sloughed away needlessly on his part. He needed to act, and it was now or never. Taking his hand back away from relaxing features, he righted his posture and set Inathorel with an abruptly stolid gaze.

“You can continue to refuse and do so once I have finished, but I ask that you hear me out to the end. Please.”

The request came out infinitely quieter than he intended, no more than a bare whisper amid their already soft-spoken dialogue. Whatever cord he hoped it would hit looked to connect nevertheless, thankfully. Agitated as Inathorel clearly remained, the overt hostility creeping into anger narrowed eyes had begun to abate little by little. The willow thin elf’s body language looked no less bent on snapping across the table to strangle him by the time their conversation resumed, but what jagged edges had soured Inathorel’s silvery voice were smoothed out once more.

“Then speak, and speak quickly. My answer will undoubtedly remain the same, but I will... listen. For now.”

Hamathiel held to the quiet Inathorel’s tightly pursed lips enabled that little stint longer to nurse his cooling coffee, acrid tang sobering as much as it was a begrudging relief. He was going to need it today.

“You have heard my mention of the Kiel-Succor and what I wish of you, but you have not let me speak as to why. Your time on the ship has left its mark on you--”

“Sunsheer--”

“-- and we both know that,” he continued through Inathorel’s short snap, the flash of pearly teeth across the table almost looking sufficiently sharp to glide through flesh. “The nature of the fragmented portal would be made easier with your attunement to the ship, as well as the extra assistance in refining said portal with Mar’cadus’ hold having sapped away Willaude’s magics. You would not even be required to follow us through.”

That belatedly introduced fact wore at Inathorel’s rigid expression further, glower molding to one of bemusement as his out sunk in. “You mentioned I may not have an impact, lest you forget that detail. Why would that be the case if you are adamant my presence would make it an easier task?”

“Because of the where as well as the when of our destination. The Isle may be static in where it appears to be stuck amid a daily stratum of time loops, but the cause and effect of actions do clearly have an effect there. If they did not, the likelihood of running into yourself or other duplicates of people would be nigh guaranteed if you arrived in the same place each time. So, there is a possibility of being able to get to a specific when of the Isle’s existence in theory. My only doubt is that if that theory manages to hold water for us in practice once the appropriate means are aligned.”

A distinct disquiet he merely assumed the existence of to that point inched across Inathorel’s frown. “Say that I assist you in stabilizing this portal. What’s to say they do not take that as a means to find me again as well? I have been free of them to this point. Why in all of creation should I help you with this, let alone any further than that as you have made unsubtle hints at?”

“Because if they succeed at whatever gambit they have in motion, there will be no place or time that you will keep you from Da’na’shan’s machinations. Even if you do not take into consideration the massive damage this could cause to other people and parts of the war effort, we are both intimately familiar with how demon’s are with their grudges-- and their prizes. We cannot fail in this, and for that, we need every possible edge we can muster. Whether or not it does anything in the end, I am not willing to rush into this any more blindly than we have to.”

His utterance of the eredar’s name cowed Inathorel down in his seat just as he anticipated it would, and the rest of his segued pledge visibly wore at the obstinate fury woven through the foundations of porcelain features.

“You continue to make my life hell, Sunsheer, but you are correct. Running would... it would avail me little in the end. You know I cannot take--” Inathorel’s cheeks puffed out like sheer curtains around a sigh. “The portal will be anchored, but anything else... I will have to think about whether I agree to it or not. When would you have me do this?”

A tentative spark of surety slipped down his spin, bowing it forward as he leaned his arms over the table in a glaringly conspiratorial fashion. They might have a better chance of this than the catastrophe he had been silently fearing over the past week. Shaky as that good news was, he would take it where his group was concerned. “How soon will you be able to make yourself ready?”

Inathorel’s ears made an apprehensive shift back through mindfully kept sheets of platinum blond. The man’s-- dragon’s-- uncertainty was mounting in his expression by the second, yet Hamathiel found himself an answer in shorter order than even he had been expecting. “... tonight.”

“Then tonight.”

-

Walk in the Park: Part 2 - (Wild) Wild Life

The forests around the city of Suramar are home to beautiful flora and fauna, as well as a dizzying amount of breathtaking vistas. Yet this beauty and variety hides a dangerous threat…

"GET ME IN CLOSER!” the goblin yelled over the wash of the sea and battering rains. “I WANT TO HIT THEM WITH MY SWORD!”

It was hard for the Jandvik to argue, even if he was so small and nerve-wracking. The captain bellowed his orders in an echo of the goblin’s words, sending the various vrykul scrambling to get the ship to the correct part of the stormy seas.

The new Jarl instructed them to fight with the Outlanders as the Nightborne called them. Ally with these people from far away and work at facing against the Naga, Helya, and everything else that sought to stand in their way.

They saw the goblin for what he was, though. One of the constructs of the Makers. A being forged in the crucible of their Gods. They called him Titanforged, and he didn’t argue.

He just wanted combat.

His thirst for battle and desire to face against the darkest depths of the sea was all the vrykul needed to hear to allow him on one of their ships. Though his equipment was strange and his manners foreign, he acclimated well with their values. Strength, honor, duty. Respect which was earned. Indulgence in what life has to offer.

But mostly battle. He instructed them where to go and whom to fight, and never gave them a disappointing encounter. Now they rode the waves and sliced the seas to find another foe. A great speaker of the dead raising the corpse of a kraken for Helya’s forces. And it had just appeared on the horizon.

Jax was getting used to this, fast. He leaped from tentacle to tentacle, cleaving them apart with his fiery blade and moving on to the next in a whirling dance of burning flame and shining titansteel. His shield came up to deflect a volley of sharpened bones cast by the dread necromancer atop the risen kraken corpse, the goblin-mech pausing for a moment to sneer underneath his engineers’ mask before rocket-booting across the gap between himself and the spellcaster.

He hit the necromancer with everything he could, sending the woman flying off the side of the undead monster she rode and into the water. He didn’t stop there, riding the woman through the air with his shield between them, pummeling her with the butt of his blade. His words come out one-at-a-time, every blow to the woman’s face and head accentuated with his annoyed voice.

“TELL. HELYA. JAX. SAYS. LIKE. A. BITCH.”

They splashed into the water and the goblin mech’s weight was enough to drag them both down. Water filled her lungs, robbing her of air. The pressure of the depths closed around her body, robbing her of movement. And Jax drove his blade square into one of her eyes, robbing her of her life.

Paperwork had started to pile up in the little alcove they claimed was his office. The extended halls of the Kirin Tor could hold an almost infinite amount of supplies, books, research materials, and reagents.

Sun forbid they give us enough space to stretch our feet.

It was an ungrateful thought, considering all the work the Kirin Tor had done for Azeroth and specifically, his people. There were rough parts, but for the most part he couldn’t complain.

Especially while they stay out of my day-to-day. Now where did I...

Walk in the Park: Part 3 - Take Me to the River

The forests around the city of Suramar are home to beautiful flora and fauna, as well as a dizzying amount of breathtaking vistas. Yet this beauty and variety hides a dangerous threat…

Walk in the Park: Part 1 - Life During Wartime

The forests around the city of Suramar are home to beautiful flora and fauna, as well as a dizzying amount of breathtaking vistas. Yet this beauty and variety hides a dangerous threat...

Post-rebellion! After addressing other threats while the majority of the Alliance and Horde forces focused on reclaiming the Nightwell and Eye of Aman'thul, Dawnwatch is asked to investigate a newly discovered ley-line in Suramar.