FSE

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Chapter 7

"Does everyone understand what it is we're trying to do here?" Drailsin asked everyone about an hour later in The Tower's main floor. They were sitting around a table, with Kat'ern and Tenebrae listening to Drailsin tell them his plans. Kat'ern began asking questions about what it was they were allowed to do to ensure they could get the Dragon Soul without altering time itself.

Liki watched the warlock detail their mission, his ears flicking a little as he could pick up the slight changes in the Worgen's voice as he seemed to still be wrestling with some kind of internal conflict. There were small little shifts in his demeanor that Liki was able to make out as he was carefully watching him. To Kat'ern and Tenebrae, it was probably just him being a little tense about this mission's importance to both Azeroth and as a clue to finding the Spark. To Liki though, the way the Worgen's claws dug into the wood table was more than just being a little nervous.

He was battling with himself over something. For some reason, this moment in time was very important to him. 'But why?' Liki asked himself. Drailsin wasn't alive at the time of The Sundering...

Perhaps he really was just really nervous and Liki wasn't truly understanding the importance of doing everything exactly as needed. As Drailsin was just then explaining to Kat'ern.

"We can't alter time in anyway." Drailsin answered Kat'ern's question. "We know what is going to happen, what has to happen. As much as we may want to, we can't stop The Sundering..." Drailsin waved his paw and made the portal that he had been showing Liki appear, showing the Night Elf with his arms outstretched, just about to touch the Dragon Soul as it floated in the air, the waters of the Well swelling up to swallow him at the same time.

"Whoever this Night Elf is, they touched the Dragon Soul, and I have little doubt that, if they even had a single shred of knowledge about what it was they were touching, they still have it."

"Why hasn't this Night Elf shown themselves already then?" Tenebrae growled lowly. "Azeroth is in danger from Deathwing. If he has the means of defeating him, he should already have shown himself."

"Perhaps he doesn't want to be found." Kat'ern suggested. "If what we've been told of the Dragon Soul is to be believed, it has the power of the Titans themselves. It could very well be the Spark of Beginnings itself, if it wasn't for the fact that Deathwing claims to have been its creator. I wouldn't want to let people know I held such a power if I had it."

"He claims it, but he has no proof of that claim. Either way, it's a very powerful artifact that we desperately need to get a hold of. And the truth as to why no Night Elf has revealed themselves with the Dragon Soul is very simple, he no longer has it. He only had it for a second." Drailsin said, giving another wave of his paw at the picture his portal showed. He pointed at the portal. "This very moment right here, when he vanishes from the eyes of time itself, that is when we'll take the Dragon Soul from him. Since this has already happened, we are just perpetuating the event."

Drailsin rubbed his chin as he spoke. "Since being offered this mission and being shown this small event in time that they plan to send us to, I've been thinking hard on how we could pull it off, and it seems obvious when I think about it. The glow of the Dragon Soul vanished shortly after the Well erupted, presumably destroyed. But, if I look at it differently I can say it wasn't destroyed, its that we snagged it through a portal at that very moment. At the moment that Night Elf grabs the Dragon Soul, I'll open a portal and bring him to us, where we then subdue him before he can use it to fight us. Once we have it, the Bronze Dragonflight will pull us back through time to our present. If we do it right, no one will see what transpired, and the Night Elf will likely perish..."

"And thus close the loop to keep time right just as history has written it." Kat'ern nodded.

Liki was a little lost on how all of that would keep time right, it seemed impossible to do. They'd only have a handful of seconds before The Sundering would wipe out most of the world. If there were that close to the center, there was no way they'd survive.

Tenebrae had fallen silent, and he suddenly stood up and he exclaimed. "You mean we can't...we can't help anyone? We're just going to stand there and wait for it to happen?"

"That's right, we can't help anyone who didn't survive that day live." Kat'ern was the one who answered, looking over in surprise at the druid. "To save anyone who would've otherwise died that day could alter time, however minor. You could save one child from being mauled by demons, but that child may then grow up to be resentful of Night Elf leadership, and blame them for The Sundering; even though it had been Azshara's fault. They might attempt a coup, killing dozens of the very Night Elves that saved others from dying, maybe even kill Tyrande or Malfurian."

"That's right." Drailsin nodded. "Saving anyone who otherwise died that day will change time, however minimal, and create new timeline. There can only be one true timeline, the existence of another would tear both timelines apart. Thankfully, the Bronze Dragonflight will be watching us and trying to prevent any slight mistake we make from changing the course of history, but they can only do so much themselves. We've been asked to do this because they've calculated that we have the least risk of doing something extremely detrimental."

Tenebrae was gritting his teeth but he fully understood the implications and possible problems stopping The Sundering may cause. Queen Azshara would likely remain in power, and would only continue her own tyrannical rule. Without The Sundering, other races that were now prominent in Azeroth would never exist; Blood Elves would not have came to be, as well as other races who would not get the chance to develop their own empires in the wake of The Sundering.

The druid settled back into his chair as he huffed. "I wish we could just outright stop it."

"I won't lie." Drailsin said softly, looking down. "I wish we could too...there was a lot lost that day..."

There was a moment of silence as they contemplated this mission. It would no doubt be their hardest and most challenging.

________________________

"Ah. Drailsin. Welcome, my friend." Nozdormu himself greeted the band of Worgen when they stepped through the portal Drailsin had opened, stepping right in the heart of The Caverns of Time.

This cave was located under the desert of Tenaris. From the entrance of the Caverns, they became more...different the further down one travelled. Sand turned to grass, grass to ice, ice to water and then back to grass. Here, time weaved and interconnected, allowing the bronze dragons to keep watch over all of time.

Liki had been here once before, to help the Bronze Dragonflight in preventing their enemies, the Infinite Dragonflight, from changing the course of history. It was the Bronze Dragonflights duty to keep the timeline pure.

The four Worgen emerged from the portal before a large pedestal, on which Nozdormu lay on his side. The leader of the Bronze Dragonflight looked tired, and there were multiple cuts and scrapes on his body. Several smaller bronze dragons were at his sides, focusing on healing his body of the wounds.

"Nozdormu." Drailsin bowed respectfully, and the other three followed the gesture. Drailsin eyed over the big dragon's body when he stood back up. "You seem to be injured?" He asked it as a question.

"A bit of a fight with myself...to be entirely honest." Nozdormu said bemusingly. "A loop has been closed...and so must this one, it must. This is the only way. It's the only reason I...he would have so vehemently tried to stop us...there must be a possible way to defeat Deathwing and all the signs point to this moment."

Liki was confused. What were they talking about?

Drailsin however, seemed entirely aware of what he was talking about. "So it is done...you have the hourglass ready?"

"Yes. Chromie is awaiting to assist you in this task. I would also follow...but my wounds were many and I am still not yet recovered."

Drailsin nodded and he gave another bow. "I promise you that we will not fail you."

"Drailsin..." Nozdormu said softly, his gaze soft and wise as he looked down upon the four Worgen. "I know you are fully aware of what the risks are, but I must reiterate them. Whatever things were experienced during that terrible time must be recreated to keep the timeline pure. Every last detail..."

Liki watched Drailsin look up at the Dragon. A look of firm understanding was on the Worgen warlock's face. "I see...thank you for the reminder...and I do understand your meaning. Rest assured, everything will come to pass exactly how we had discussed it."

Nozdormu nodded and turned his big head towards a nearby tunnel. "Follow this path, Chormie will be waiting at the end to assist you."

The group of four Worgen gave another short bow and then Drailsin led the other three into the tunnel.

Once they were out of earshot of the other dragons, Liki came up beside the warlock and he asked. "Why wasn't I involved in the talks between you and Nozdormu?"

Drailsin grinned. "Caught on to that did you?" Drailsin chuckled and he explained. "The Bronze Dragonflight are understandably very protective of the Timeline, and this is a very important moment in time for them. As such, they only wanted to speak to the leader of the group."

"I am the leader though!" Liki hissed and growled, folding his ears back.

"Sorry." Drailsin shook his head. "Bad choice of words. It'd be better to say that they wanted to speak with the creator of our group. While you may lead us, I'm the one who will decide who can join The Searchers, and by that extend, they just trust my judgement over the rest of you. They mean no offense by it."

Liki grumbled and he huffed. "It doesn't mean that I couldn't be there during the talks you had with them."

"Like I said, they are very protective. They do not want to trust too many that deeply, that just invites backstabbing. It is impressive they have even opened up to allowing the Alliance and Horde to help keep the timeline stable at all..."

Liki nodded in agreement to that and a short moment of silence followed as they walked through the tunnel. The sand under their paws was beginning to change, becoming more firm and soon, they were walking on polished stone instead of sand. Pillars of rock sprouted up from the ground around them.

Tenebrae whimpered behind everyone, his ears folded back. "Its..."

"It's the Night Elf Kingdom it's the same patterns and style in Night Elf ruins all over Azeroth.." Drailsin confirmed. They paused a moment to look at the pillars of stone around them. "This tunnel will drop us at the Well of Eternity, just outside the building where Queen Azshara was leading the channeling of the Dragon Soul to open the portal for the Burning Legion to invade. We'll have thirty minutes to get ourselves into a position where we can intercept the Night Elf that grabs the Dragon Soul."

"And we still can't fight Queen Azshara or anything...?" Tenebrae whined.

"No, not necessarily..." Drailsin stated, and his brow was furrowed as he was thinking hard about something.

"What ya mean?" Kat'ern asked, putting a paw on his hips as he stared at the pillars, studying them intently.

"What Nozdormu just told us." Drailsin thought out loud to them. "Every last detail must be recreated to the exact moments...I think he does want us to do something important, but I can't say what exactly it is because not even he really knows."

"Hey!" A slightly squeaky voice shouted over their train of thought and the four Worgen looked down the path to see as small gnome waving at them, wearing a light brown cloak and curled buns on top of her head. Her eyes shone brightly and she smiled happily as she called them over. "You four The Searchers?"

Liki looked over at Drialsin. The warlock nodded to him and Liki stepped forward. Time to act like the leader. The situation bemused him. It was always like this sometimes. Drailsin was the true leader and everyone knew it.

"Yes." Liki answered. "We are The Searchers. I take it you're Chromie?"

"That's right!" She came closer to them.

It was strange to think that this little Gnome was actually as bronze dragon. How could such a tiny form hide a massive dragon? She waved eagerly at Drailsin, who grinned slightly and gave a small wave in return. It seemed Drailsin knew nearly everyone...

"Are you ready for this? This is a big moment! We can take down Deathwing when you succeed!"

Liki nodded. "We are as ready as we can ever be. Lead the way Chromie."

Chromie led the group for another few minutes further down the tunnel, the ground and buildings become more and more like that of a city and soon, they reached a swirling green portal, the pillars and ground itself twisting and turning. This was the portal to this moment of the past that the Bronze Dragonflight had created for this exact mission.

Chromie stopped and she stood in front of them, her hands on her hips trying to look all important like, but wasn't very effective on her small frame. The group still stopped with her and listened as he she began to speak in her squeaky, gnomish voice.

"There's one last thing we need to do before I let you through the portal. Worgen don't exist in this moment of time yet! They won't be created for another seven hundred years after The Sundering! So, we need to disguise you. Hold still!"

Chormie snapped her fingers and there was a brief flash of magic around the four of them. Liki jumped just a bit at the suddenness of the flash but it passed after only a few seconds.

"Whoa! Tell me how you did that!" Liki heard Kat'ern shout and he turned around and jumped again. They'd all been turned into Night Elves! The mage was looking at his new body, purple and healthy skinned and still wearing the same clothing, now reshaped to fit his new form as it was enchanted to do. Liki looked over to Tenebrae, who was looking at his body in confusion.

"This is my body before I let myself become a Worgen but...I still feel like I'm in my Worgen form..."

Drailsin nodded, also having been turned into a Night Elf, his eyes glowed a bright purple. "Yes, when sending mortals back to a time where it'd be very out of place for them to be, it is best to disguise them so they blend in. The magic will hide your actual forms but feel natural to you."

Liki was amazed, he pulled up his arms in front of his vision and looked down his body. Instead of the bulkiness of his Worgen body, he was now a slightly taller, lean Night Elf male. Like the others, his armor had changed to match and fit his new form. Despite its new form, it still felt very natural, and he could sense the power of his Worgen body still held inside it.

Chromie giggled at Kat'ern as the mage was rapidly trying to take mental notes on the changes to his body to try and research it later. "You won't be able to reproduce this effect friend, this is magic given to us by the Titans to perform our duty of protecting the timeline."

Kat'ern grinned. "I'll take that as a challenge! I'll figure out how it works!"

Chromie giggled. "I like this group you have Drailsin. They're powerful and very straightforward. He acts as if he won't die from this!"

Liki blinked. "Wait, can we die? I was under the impression that if anything serious happened or if we missed our chance, you could pull us back and we could try again."

At his statement, Chromies cheerfulness went down a few notches. "Well..." She began, trying to keep a bright grin but failing to hide the moment of worry in her eyes. "We can do that but it's not instantaneous. I have to search for and find your essence to pull you back, and that's not easy. We can pull you out of that time, but by the time I manage to find you and actually pull you back, you might already be dead."

"We're aiming for the very moment that the Well of Eternity erupted." Drailsin stated, folding his arms and closing his eyes. "If we aren't quick with taking the Dragon Soul as we planned, we could be destroyed by it just like most of the world was. Chromie will be watching us and she can pull us back, but she's been instructed to only do so at least twenty seconds after she sees the Well start to explode; in order to give us time to secure the Dragon Soul from the Night Elf who had grabbed it." Drailsin kept his eyes closed as his paws gripped his arms tightly.

Liki realized what he was saying. "So if we are killed by The Sundering during those seconds..."

"Even if Chromie pulls our body back to the present, we'll still be dead." Drailsin nodded, his body shivering a bit. "It's this risk that we have all been chosen as the ones for this mission. We have the highest chance of doing it right the first time. I will use my portals to teleport us as far away as I can. Hopefully we won't need a second attempt..."

Liki nodded grimly. "I see. I fully understand the risks now. We could actually die here...this isn't something we could just be healed from..." There was no doubt. If any of them got caught up in the explosion of power caused by the Well collapsing, it didn't matter how powerful they may be. It would be death in just a few moments as the waters would literally tear them apart...

A moment of silence hung between them. Tenebrae had his eyes closed and he seemed to be trying to keep himself calm by reciting druid teachings and even Kat'ern had a look on his face of quiet contemplation.

Liki clenched his fists. "We have to do it right the first time. We won't get a second chance. If we fail this first time, we're not likely to succeed in a second if we all manage to survive, and if one of us does die there's just no way we could ever hope to pull it off."

Tenebrae spoke slowly. "Surviving The Sundering can be a curse as much as a blessing..."

Liki nodded. Yes, Tenebrae would know that quite well, he had survived it himself the first time, by some miracle. "Even if we all survive this, well we even want to try it again? Tene." Liki addressed the druid, who opened his eyes and regarded Liki.

"Are you going to be all right with this? You've already experienced it once, you were a student of the druid arts at the time you told me. You studied under Cenarius and Malfurion right? Do you really want to have to relive this?"

"Malfurion took over my training after the event, but yes, I was a trainee back then, just a small child really..." Tenebrae answered sadly, but he stood firm. "But I will be fine, I will keep my focus...I'm...thinking this is something that I must do. The Sundering was a tragedy, if we can pull hope from the jaws of it, then it'll be worth it. It's my duty to preserve life, and we need the Dragon Soul to do so."

Liki nodded and he looked over at Kat'ern. "And Kat, you know what we're getting into you as well, you've studied the ancient pacts and magics of the Night Elves for years. Azshara's mages will no doubt be very powerful."

"Yeah but they still won't hold a candle to me." Kat'ern said confidently. "The fact that I know all their tricks means I have the advantage, I can finally test my abilities on the magicians of old." The Worgen grinned widely and his paws crackled with Arcane energy.

"Don't be reckless though, remember our mission." Liki said with a slight stern edge, making the mage give a little salute.

"Absolutely, leader!" The mage grinned widely still, making Liki chuckle.

He then turned to look at Drailsin. He didn't really have anything to say to the warlock, as he still didn't understand what kind of connection he held with something that happened over 10,000 years ago, but there was a bit of something he had wondered about. "We're going into the moment when the Burning Legion first invaded Azeroth, do you think you could have any control on them?"

Dralisin shook his head. "No, I won't. As a rule, I cannot make contracts with demons outside my own flow of time, so I won't be able to bend any of the demons there to my will. I can still summon those I have already made contracts with however. They may find it a little jarring once they realize where and when they are but I won't be entirely helpless. And I do still have somewhat of a trump card hehe."

Liki nodded, it would have to be enough. "We might need your demons to hold theirs at bay, how long do you think they could hold out?"

"Depends on how much attention we catch, hopefully it'll be minimal. We may need to fight, but there are other battles happening throughout Azeroth at the time, hopefully we will go unnoticed. It may be best to use your invisibility to sneak into the palace where Azshara is channeling her spell. If my theory is correct we are meant to fight her-"

"I must say, you all are very thorough in your planning, you're all very talented and prepared to handle a lot of situations by leaning on each others strengths." Chromie piped up suddenly from in front of them. She was looking at Liki with newfound respect. "And you have a good leader."

Liki stammered, he couldn't help the blush that formed on his black furred cheeks. "I'm not a very good one...compared to these three all I can do is keep out of sight and take a stab at the enemy when they least expect it."

"That's still a valuable talent for a team to have. Having you in the background ready to pounce when the enemy least expects it!" Chromie chirped and she smiled. "And you are a good leader. You are good with your words. I don't think you realize how tense everyone was just now but after the things you just said and asked them that tension has been replaced by a firm determination."

"She's right." Drailsin quipped. "Once again, you prove your willpower. You know now how disastrous this may turn out to be, but you inspire us to go into this anyway and do our best. That's all we really can do."

Kat'ern and Tenebrae were giving the rogue appreciative looks, as they too recognized and remembered a few moments were they may have given up and then Liki would pick them up with words of bravery or by giving them the moment they needed to recover by surprising the enemy and distracting them long enough.

Chromie jumped up and down a bit and she stepped aside to them into the portal. "I think you really are as ready as you're going to be. So good luck! I'll be watching as carefully as I can!"

Liki nodded to his companions and then he stepped forward past Chromie. He felt a gentle tug on his body as the portal seized him and pulled him into its swirling depths. He had to close his eyes as he fell into the infinite expanse of time and allowed the portal to carry him to when and where he needed to be.

____________________

The ground rumbled under his feet as suddenly Liki felt them touch ground. It shook hard and made him nearly fall over. Kat'ern however, did slip and end up catching himself on the ground.

The group of four had been placed together in small, empty courtyard, close by the palace where Queen Azshara was channelling the ritual upon the Well of Eternity. A massive portal in the sky was already open, through which demons poured into the sky of Azeorth and then flew away to wreak havoc across the rest of the planet.

Kat'ern growled and slowly picked himself up, the sound odd to hear coming from the body of a normal Night Elf as they were enchanted to look like now.

"Looks like the courtyard of the palace." Tenebrae said as he looked around, and he spotted and pointed at a large set of marble stairs that led up into the palace. "That should take us up to the precipice where Azshara is."

"Are we going to fight her?" Kat'ern asked, a touch of eagerness in his voice.

"I believe that is something we will need to do." Drailsin nodded as he brushed himself off a bit. "We all seem in one piece though. There is no time to waste. Liki, if you would."

Liki nodded and he focused. Slowly, his own body faded out, becoming mostly transparent to the other three of them. To everyone else not directly known by Liki, he was perfectly invisible. He breathing wasn't even audible anymore to anyone but the three of them.

Liki focused and extended his will over his friends, and slowly, they too faded away a bit, also becoming invisible to anyone but themselves and the others.

"Let's go." Drailsin gave a soft whisper. "We speak through our mental connection from now on,

The group of four began to make their way slowly across the courtyard to the stairway. They had to remain slow. Liki was focusing so hard on masking everyone's movements. The less sound everyone made, the less he had to mask from the senses of anyone nearby. So far though, there hadn't been anyone. Not a single Night Elf was in the Courtyard.

The ground shook once again, and a lightning bolt flashed from the swirling portal in the sky above. Hundreds of demons continued to pour out. The group heard a loud shout and a large Satyr suddenly crashed down from the air at the base of the stairs.

Liki's focus couldn't hold over him trying to keep his balance due to the shaking impact of the demon crashing down in front of them. The spell he held over the other three faded slowly, but it gave them just enough time to dash behind some pillars before they became visible again. Liki was able to stay in his stealth while he steadied his stance, standing in the middle of the courtyard. If it weren't for his ability to stay unnoticed, the Satyr would've easily seen him.

The Satyr sniffed at the air and it growled out into the air, its gaze scanning the courtyard. "I know you are there little mortal...show yourself."

Liki froze. What? It could sense him? How?!

"I can smell you...I know you are there." He grinned slyly.

"Do you?" It was Drailsin that answered, and he stepped out from behind the pillar he had been hiding behind.

Liki and the others watched Drailsin in surprise, but the warlock's voice called to them through their mental connection.

'I will distract him. Find another way up to the palace balcony quickly, we only have less than half an hour before the Well collapses!'

'Will you be alright alone?' Tenebrae asked, voice laced with worry.

'He is just one Demon, I will be fine.'

Liki took only a moment to decide, they couldn't afford these distractions. 'Be careful, come find us when you are done.'

'Chromie will pull us all out whether we are together or not. So go.'

Liki extended his cloak back onto Kat'ern and Tenebrae and the three of them began to sneak around the edges of the courtyard once more while Drailsin continued to step calmly up in front of the Satyr.

The Satry snarled and it clicked its claws while Drailsin walked into the middle of the courtyard right in front of him and the Worgen in disguise grinned.

"Can I get your name, demon?" Drailsin asked, his eyes flicking just for a moment as he saw his companions sneaking into the palace through a side door. It was just him and the demon now...He was all alone now, good...

"Why would I give you my name mortal?" The demon snarled. "You won't last long enough to learn how to even pronounce it."

Drailsin grinned, and in the language of demons, he spoke to the Satyr, his eyes glowed brightly. "Your name is Peroth'arn."

The Satyr froze in place when Drailsin spoke in the demonic language. He gawked. "Wh-...who are you?"

Drailsin smiled and he waved his arms. Beside him, four portals opened and through them stepped a Doomguard glad in large plates all over its body. It spun its double edged staff around its body as from the next portal, a Succubus cracked her whip and stepped out, crossing her legs and grinning slyly. She wore a very revealing set of battle armor and her whip was covered in sharp, metal thorns.

A Beholder floated through the third portal, its large eyeball shining and its tentacles curling as he growled out. "Are...we where I think we are?"

"The question isn't 'where' stupid, it's when!" A fourth demon answered, this one a waist high, large red Imp who cackled loudly. It started to jump up and down in mad glee as it looked and reached his gangly arms up into the sky. "I think my cousins are there!" He shrieked in his high pitched voice.

The Succubus hummed and she grinned over at her Master. "The Sundering...Master Drailsin, what have you gotten yourself into...?"

"I can explain later, but for now, I need your assistance. Bel'lile, Shami'amourae, Xan'anrth, Mal'thael..."

"Hmmm absolutely...I think this is the most interesting situation you've summoned us for." The demoness named Shami'amourae chuckled and cracked her whip as she strode forward to stand beside the Worgen in disguise. She put a hand on her hip while she eyed the Satyr in front of them up and down. "This should be fun."

Drailsin's Doomguard Mal'thael, unable to speak words, just howled and it charged at the Satyr. Peroth'arn ducked down and used his horns to headbutt the charging Doomguard and tossed it up into the air, but before he could follow up, the Succubus' whip cracked across his chest and he howled as the metal spikes dug into his flesh. He kicked out at her and forced her to take flight for a moment in retreat, while Mal'thael flapped his wings to take flight and regain control.

A ray beam then fired from the Beholder Xan'anrth's eye and seared into his face. Peroth'arn howled out in rage and he tried to take a swipe at the beholder. The eyeball demon floated up quickly into the air to dodge, and the imp Bel'lile jumped up and latched onto the Satyr's swinging arm. He began to scratch the satyr's leathery flesh, the Imp's sharp claws cutting through easily.

Peroth'arn flailed with his other hand and he managed to catch hold of the red Imp and peel him off his skin. He chucked the large Imp at Drailsin. Bel'lile only cackled as Drailsin's eyes flashed and he shouted while flying through the air. "Ready Boss!"

Drailsin snapped his fingers and a portal appeared right in front of him, the front facing Bel'lile. The Imp cackled maniacally as the exit portal deposited him right onto Peroth'arns head, where he clasped tight of his face and began to claw and bite and scratch. "Bingo! Here's a face full of IMP!"

Once again, he grabbed the imp and again threw him, this time at the beholder who was flying in the air as well. Another portal opened up in front of the Imp and Bel'lile ended up falling back onto the Satyrs back this time instead.

"What is this?!" Peroth'arn shouted, trying to reach at the Imp desperately. "What kind of demons are you to follow this mortal?!"

Drailsin grinned and he started to slowly walk towards Peroth'arn, just in time for Mel'thael to land behind the satyr and surprise him in an arm lock. Peroth'arn staggered, but the Doomguard used its superior weight to force the Satyr to his knees. Bel'like giggled and he leaned over the Satyr's ears and blew a raspberry, before jumping off his back and landing next to his Master.

Drailsin lifted a hand, something in the back of his mind made him realize he was forgetting something very important, but Drailsin couldn't remember it at the moment as he basked in this moment. Yet another demon cowering before him and his power exerted.

"Relax." He said softly as a purple fire appeared in his paws and he stepped forward.

"Purple...that's..." Peroth'arn stammered and his eyes went wide. "What are you...?"

Drailsin stepped up in front of the Satyr and he grinned continuing his train of thought. Yet another demon under his command. He respected his four demons here, they were his generals in his demon army. He had very special contracts with them...they would do anything for him as long as he kept his promises, and he always did.

The warlock stopped in front of the Satyr and he snarled. "That's right, purple fire. I'm no ordinary magician."

"Then what are you?" The stunned demon asked. Drailsin grinned and he reached forward with his hand.

"I'm the successor to the Burning Legion..." He reached up and began to place his hand on the Satyr's chest. Peroth'arn stammered and he began to shake, pain suddenly lacing through his body and slowly growing more unbearing. He snarled and bared his teeth as he growled and howled in rage and pain. The purple fire spread through his veins, burning him from the inside out.

"Stop!"

Drailsin paused. He knew that voice. His spell stopped, the Satyr slumping forward in the grip of the Doomguard subduing him.

"Warlock! Enough! You have subdued him, there are more pressing matters to attend to! You must flee this place!" A black dragon shouted as it landed in the courtyard, but Drailsin could sense the dragon's worry. What kind of mortal had such control over demonic energy?

There were better things...? Drailsin thought hard for a moment. The Dragon Soul...ah, he'd done it again, lost himself to a moment of madness. Well...at least this time he hadn't threatened to kill Liki.

Drailsin turned around suddenly and he made a slight slicing motion across his neck while nodding at Shami'amourae, who grinned evilly and she approached the Satyr.

"You traitors will rue this day that you allied yourself to a mo-" His voice was cut off by the Succubus whip cutting across his face, and that was only the first lash of many more to come as Shami'amourae laughed as she kept slashing him across the face.

Drailsin looked at the black dragon and he instantly recognized who he was looking at.

"Bel'thazar?" Drailsin asked, his eyes widened, but he quickly hid his surprise.

The dragon jumped a bit in surprise "You know my name?"

"I know much about you. I have very little time and there is much I wish to explain, but I will give you the short and quick of it. Very soon, you will sense a change in the attitudes your kin have towards mortals and demonkind. You must isolate yourself from them, everyone in your family. There is a darkness growing in the hearts of the Black Dragonflight, and you must remain free of it."

"What? What if I can stop this darkness?" The black dragon balked, disbelieve on its face.

"You will see it, when you do, remember what I say. You will lose your family either way to this evil infesting their hearts, the only thing you can do is to avenge them and...you will find others to be your family for you...I promise you this Bel'thazar, remember the name Drailsin. Remember that name, when it comes time for you to hide." There was a sudden feeling of alarm from inside the palace that Drailsin felt. He realized he had just wasted too much time! There were only a few minutes left!

With a snap of his fingers, Drailsin opened a portal and he vanished through it, leaving the dragon startled and stammering with the message. For a few short moments, the four demons continued to mutilate and torture the Satyr, before portals of their own opened and one by one they stepped through them, the Succubus giving a breif wave of goodbye to the dragon. "Later hon!"

And thus Bel'thazar the dragon was left alone, with lots of thoughts to process.

_______________________

"Wait! Stop!" Tenebrae hissed next to Liki and Kat'ern, making them pause and stop. Demons had begun to invade the castle itself. They were throwing out their pact with Azshara and began to attack the nobles and nearby magicians who were watching over the ritual. This was throwing everyone into a panic and magicians were rapidly abandoning their duties. The ground shook violently as the lack of power was causing the channeling to start to fail.

But among the running nobles and magicians, Tenebrae saw the familiar face in the crowd of a small, young Night Elf and he realized something. Something very important was happening right now...There was something he had to do he realized.

Tenebrae began to move towards the room but Liki's hand grabbed him and pulled him back as he hissed, his voice echoing in his head as he directly spoke to him.

'What are you doing? We can't save anyone! You know that.' Liki scolded the druid.

'Yes but what if I know they are meant to be saved?'

'What are you talking about? How can you possibly know that?'

Tenebrae nodded towards the boy who was attempting to heal a fallen Night Elf who was bleeding from a stab wound they'd received from another Noble.

'That boy there...that's me.'

'I understand. Go.' Kat'ern was the one who instantly responded, surprising Liki. 'Relax, he'll catch up, it won't take him long. He needs to do this.'

Liki was tugged along by the mage, unable to give a proper protest and Tenebrae lost his cloak provided by Liki as he ran towards the Night Elf boy desperately trying to keep the noble alive.

"Stay alive...stay alive...Mother...Please" He was saying while his hands glowed green over the Night Elves body. The light was feeble and weak, blinking on and off as the young druid trainee shook and tears streamed down his face. He wasn't able to focus.

Tenebrae kneeled down on the other side of the Night Elf and he reached down his hands, which began to emit a very bright green glow that bathed the Night Elf's entire body.

"Relax young one..." Tenebrae said, falling into his experienced role as a wise druid.

The Night Elf gasped as the ability to breath quickly returned to her, but her eyes remained closed. The younger Night Elf gasped and leaned back a bit, looking up at the older druid on the other side of his parent.

"Remember that preserving life is always the primary duty for a druid. It is the basis of our principles and the base of protecting all life, just as the Titans instructed the green dragonflight." Tenebrae smiled at the druid, a tear dripping along his cheek as, despite how much he desperately tried to heal the woman who was also his mother, she would not awaken...he already knew she was going to die today.

"You must learn..." He shivered and continued with a shaky breath, "That you cannot save every life, but you must save all life that you can. I will take care of your mother. You have a duty to do, go, protect those that may yet live, run as far away from here as you can otherwise, for it is also your own life you must protect!"

When the boy did nothing but stare at Tenebrae, he shouted angrily "GO!"

This made his younger self jump and get up to run away from the room, never looking back.

Tenebrea squeezed his eyes shut. This was it...he knew this moment. When he had witnessed the start of The Sundering all those years ago. Someone had stabbed his mother because she tried to stop them from leaving, the dagger had been laced with a potent poison. A druid had came and made him leave his mother, saying he would heal her but then they both died. He had promised that he would follow the very words that the druid had spoken that day, the very words he had just spoken once more. If only he had just been as strong back then as he was now, he had told himself.

But he now realized, he never could be, even here, after 10,000 years and developing his magic to a level just below that of Malfurion himself, he couldn't heal his own mother of what killed her in the past, that blasted poison from the stab wound spreading through her veins. He'd never be strong enough to save someone truly important to him like this! Had he just been lucky these last few years with the others?

Minutes passed as Tenebrae kept his hands glowing green over the body of his mother, still desperately pouring his energy into her to revive her from the touch of death.

"Tene...?" his mother's voice pierced the veil of regret and his eyes shot open as he looked down at his mother's face. Her eyes looked up at him, the fog clearing as she woke up.

She was...alive...?

The woman began to grow more conscious and she started to stammer, "You're not Tene...Tene? Where is he?"

Tenebrae was stunned. "I actually...I'm-"

The woman was getting worried though as she forgot he was even there. With her body healed, she pushed Tenebrae away and began to run out of the room, calling out for her son. "Tene! Tene!"

"Wait!" The druid called desperately, but the mother did not listen and he ran towards the door and looked out, but she had already vanished, trying to chase after her son.

She would fail...he knew, he never did find her again and she was as doomed as the rest of the Night Elves who he knew would die today. He clenched his hands tight and closed his eyes as he repeated his own words once more to himself. "You can't save everyone..."

As much as he wanted to save his mom so that his past self could have a little more time with his mother, he couldn't do that, and he realized he had just closed his own loop. He had always blamed himself for not being strong enough to heal her himself. But he was strong enough now. He'd reached that goal now, to save anyone important to him.

His attention snapped back to a brief feeling of alarm from Liki.

Tenebrae's gaze shot down the hallway towards where the alarm came from. Something was happening, and there were only less than a few minutes now before The Sundering triggered...

____________________________________

There was a channeling chamber of sorts where a ring of magicians were chanting a spell and Katern and the others were making their way. The chanting was loud and Kat'ern was listening intently to the chanting, trying to take down mental notes for later study when they were out of here, but as he listened to the chanting and going over the words he was hearing he realized what it was the Magicians were doing and he stopped, forcing Liki to stop once more.

'What now?' Liki's voice hissed in his head.

Kat'ern remained silent as Liki stared at the magicians chanting in front of them through their shared invisibility.

'This spell they are chanting...it'll stabilize the Well if they finish it.'

'Really!? We have to stop them!' Liki said quickly, reaching up to draw his blades from their holsters over his shoulders.

'No no, not we.' Kat'ern answered. This is my duty, you have to go stop Azshara and be there for when that Night Elf jumps and grabs the Dragon Soul so that you can have Drailsin portal him away. I'll take care of these guys.'

Liki looked out at the ring of mages below them, channeling their energies into a glowing gem as magical, arcane energy lashed out from the gem in sparks and lightning. 'Are you sure? That's a lot of powerful magic users to go up against alone.'

Kat'ern grinned. 'I know, and I've studied and honed their own spells and magic to a level they could never hope to obtain now. Remember that I told you I wanted to the lightning before the thunder? It's time for me to really become that and show the ones who abused magic what it can do in proper hands. Besides, we can't let them finish this spell. As much as the world would prefer The Sundering not happen, it has to happen and we can't stop that.'

The mage's hands clenched tightly and Liki stared at his magic using companion. He kind of understood what the mage was meaning, but he was right about one thing. They couldn't let them finish this spell and stabilize the Well.

'All right' Liki nodded. 'I'll leave this to you and get a position at the balcony so we're in a prime position to catch the Night Elf.'

'I'll be right behind you.' Kat'ern grinned and he jumped down from the stairwell they were on. Liki's cloak vanished and he landed in the middle of the circle of mages.

Liki quickly made his exit as the mages' stopped their channeling in surprise and Kat'ern stood up and brushed his robes gently. "Gentleman, might I recommend that you leave?"

"Who in the world are you!? You dare to interrupt?! If we don't stop the leaking energies we will all die!"

"Indeed you will. But would you rather die now or take your chances of surviving The Sundering? I can guarantee that if you don't leave in ten seconds I will kill you all."

Kat'ern grinned and he started to float in the middle of all the magicians.

"Ten..." He started, grinning widely as his blue eyes started to glow brightly and his hands glowed with bright purple energy. The Arcane energy leaking from the cyrstal started to flow into him in a stream.

"He's draining the crystal! Stop him!"

The ten mages around him all threw fireballs and ice missiles at him, but Kat'ern waved his paw and a purple glowing shield surrounded him, absorbing the missiles, causing them to just vanish as they hit the shield.

"Nine." Kat'ern continued to count, slowly floating a little higher.

"He's using the gem's energy as a shield! More!"

The mages started to throw more fireballs and icicles. Kat'ern just grinned as he floated there. "Eight."

His shield held sturdily for the next few seconds as the mages rapidly swung both their arms in circles, each one producing and throwing another missle. He shook his head as he finished counting to five.

"You fools are all going to die either way...Four..." He narrowed his eyes, his grin remaining as he chuckled. "The more the merrier I suppose, I can feel better knowing my magic was better than all of yours...Three"

The spells that were being thrown at him slowed and a few of the mages were starting to back up and look at their fellows.

"Two." Kat'ern counted.

"No! Don't stop attacking him! He's bluffing! That shield will break eventually!"

Kat'ern giggled and shook his head. "Just as I thought. Your arrogance is what brought about your deaths...One"

Kat'ern throw out his hands as a wave of Arcane energy burst from his body. He released all the energy he could into his attack, every drop the crystal and his body could give him.

The ten nobles were blasted into the air and slammed against the wall. They didn't even get a chance to scream as their bodies were incinerated by the dense wave of magic. The pillars and walls of the room itself didn't get away unscathed either, the wave left burn marks along the walls and cracks where it hit the hardest.

Kat'ern fell to his knees and panted heavily, sweat dripping down his face as his heart pounded in his body. He'd given every last drop of energy he had in that attack, something he'd never done before. He had wanted to see if he could do it though, to defeat the so called 'masters' of his craft so he went all out. He'd done it.

"That had been simple...So called Masters-urk!" The mage gasped as from within his chest he felt a deep pain.

Something raged within him, and he knew what it was. The Worgen within him clawed and scraped at the bars of his cage, howling at the mage inside his mind in anger at being locked away and kept from being free.

"No! N-o you d-don't!" Kat'ern stammered, focusing on the point in his chest where he had locked the beast away deep in his heart. "You will stay there!" He had made a mistake, he realized. He had used all his energy, leaving none to power the cage in which he had buried his feral half.

He growled out and shook as he started to rapidly rebuild the cage, pushing the Worgen within him back with his power. "Get back in there!" He shouted and another pulse of energy came from his body and he was left even more exhausted than before, but the Worgen shrunk back whimpering in its cage. In the distant edges of his mind, Kat'ern felt the soft signal of Liki shouting out for him and the others, but he was so exhausted he couldn't hear what was being said..

He chuckled darkly to himself as his vision blurred. "Tenebrae's right...that thing will eventually win out...it was so much stronger than before...I made a mistake..." Slowly, Kat'ern's eyes closed.

He fell forward, and he barely registered the portal that opened up under his body and Drailsin's arms catching him as he fell through it and then passed out.

_________________________

Liki couldn't believe this was happening like this. They were supposed to all stick together! Now he was all alone and approaching one of the most powerful people in known history, hell she was still alive in the future! Somehow having transformed herself and a large number of the Night Elves who had died into Naga...

He was out of his league here...

No! He shook his head and took a deep breath. Everyone else will be fine, he was fine. He knew there was less than a few minutes before the Well would explode. In fact, just then the ground shook and from the balcony he was now watching and hiding over on the top stairwell a mage approached Queen Azshara. The Night Elf Queen was wearing a flowing silken dress that sparkled over her body marviously, showing off her extreme beauty. Liki had to admit as he watched her, he wasn't very interesting in females and she was very pretty. She stared out over the well calmly despite the imminent disaster about to befall her kingdom.

The mage bowed to his Queen and his voice stammered heavily. "M-my Queen, the channelling ch-chamber has been infiltrated and the incantation interrupted..."

There was a moment of silence and the Queen clicked her tongue a moment. "I see...then we must flee as far as we can manage. The Well will soon collapse..."

She turned and her dress flowed behind her as she strode away from the balcony. The mage followed closely, his hands wringing the air nervously.

Yes! She was leaving! This was the moment!

If any Night Elf had been waiting for their chance to try and steal the Dragon Soul, this was the moment Liki would probably see them. Liki cast out his senses, trying to detect any spark of invisibility magic or will that was hiding someone from his sight. But...he felt nothing.

Liki frowned. He tried again, focusing harder. Nothing. What was this? There should be someone here...where was the Night Elf who grabbed the Dragon Soul?

Liki waited, still casting out his senses. There were two minutes left...where was he!?

They had seen it in the portal, they should be somebody here building up the courage to leap over the waters and take the Dragon Soul right? Worry started to creep in on Liki, and he subconsciously sent signals to his companions of his panic. Now less than a minute to The Sundering. Liki watched the edges of the Well start to fall apart, the stone disintegrating in just a few seconds in the powerful magic waters of the Well of Eternity. Above the water, the Dragon Soul sparked as it began to overload. Forty Five seconds.

Drailsin and Tenebrea popped in next to Liki through a portal then, the warlock helping the others answer Liki's distress call. Drailsin was for some reason carrying Kat'ern's unconscious body. Liki lost his focus on his stealth as his companions appeared next to him.

"What's happening?" Liki asked worriedly. "He's not here, there's no one here anymore!" The wind was starting to pick up, the sound of the well breaking apart was becoming more prominent, the ground constantly shaking under them.

Drailsin watched sadly as the well continued to fall apart in front of them. After a dozen more seconds, leaving just half a minute before they'd be caught in the middle of the explosion of energy, he finally spoke.

"We must have messed up somewhere...I don't sense anyone as well...there's no one else here."

"There has to be!" Tenebrae shouted.

Drailsin shook his head. "We messed up somewhere. Damn it! 'Events in time must always remain the same' No matter what...now we've potentially created a new timeline too, if that's true, reality itself for our future will slowly unravel..."

This couldn't be happening! Liki thought to himself as rapidly as he could. Where was that Night Elf! He was supposed to be here! Surely the small detours the others took wouldn't have stopped this from happening. Was he perhaps one of the Night Elves that had been chanting back in the hall? He doubted Kat'ern had left anyone alive...that had to be it.

Damn it, events weren't supposed to be changed. Every last detail had to be recreated, every last one. Just like Nozdomu said.

Liki blinked, his heart skipped a beat as the words of the Aspect of Time threw themselves at his mind. 'Whatever things were experienced during that terrible time must be recreated to keep the timeline pure. Every last detail...'

Every last detail...

They had seen a Night Elf run out to grab the Dragon Soul, but right now, the only Night Elves there were...them...

Liki's heart skipped another beat, and he understood. He jumped from the balcony and Drailsin called after him.

"Liki don't! You'll change history!"

"No we won't!" He shouted back, looking back up at the warlock as he landed. "We saw a Night Elf jump for it, but we're Night Elves now! You know what must happen, Every last detail must be recreated!" The ground shook, the edge of the balcony that Queen Azshara had been standing on just moments ago breaking off to fall into the chaotic waters below, expanding the gap further to the Dragon Soul. A lighting bolt flashed across the sky. There was no time to argue! If he was going to make this attempt it had to be now. He believed in his heart he was meant to do this, he had to trust it.

Liki turned and ran towards the edge of the balcony as Drailsin called out to him again. Liki ignored him. He ran as fast as he could, adrenaline pumping through his body as he sprinted faster then he ever had before and then launched himself from edge of the crumbling building, his hands outstretched to take hold of the Dragon Soul floating in the air.

And then it happened.

With a finally crack, the largest section of the Well of Eternity broke free, and that was the trigger that finally broke its hold on the Dragon Soul. With a thunderous boom, the waters of the Well of Eternity sprang free of its binds and surged up to swallow Liki and the Dragon Soul.

Liki's hands grasped the Dragon Soul. This was it! With the Dragon Soul in his hands, the water took him and it. But it did nothing to him. It did not tear him apart like it began to do the rest of the world. No, he did not even feel it.

Liki's mind raced as he felt the power of Dragon Soul race up his body. He had no idea what he was doing but he could feel that the energy was asking him what he wanted it to do and he could only think of one thing to direct it towards.

The others! Save them!

Liki spread out his newfound power and he and the Dragon Soul vanished into a different space altogether. Floating in empty space, Liki clutched the Dragon Soul and he willed the soul to save his family!

__________________

Suddenly, Liki was dumped onto soft, sandy ground. He coughed violently and he lifted his head up from the ground. He was suddenly on the shore of a beach somewhere, looking out over the sea. What sea was this though? He was back into his Worgen form suddenly. For several seconds, he started out at the glistening sea. There was that sparkle in the water he liked to watch so much...he could see it from here. It calmed him. He heard and felt the soft caress of the ocean's breeze.

Behind him he could sense there was a large jungle, the sound of wild animals was loud and preset. In front of him, across the waters of the sea, pillars of cylindrical spires of rock reached up high into the sky, dotting the landscape. Where was he? Why did it feel...different here. There was a calm in the air, like time itself was standing still. The water was still, just gently lapping slowly at the beach. What was this strange place? The entire world should be shaking violently...it was in the process right now of being torn apart after all.

Liki turned his head to the side and was about to ask Drailsin where he thought they were when he finally noticed the warlock laying in the sand, along with the forms of Tenebrea and Kat'ern close to him, all of them also back in their Worgen forms. Liki watched them a moment, and then realized they weren't waking up, they weren't moving... He noticed the burn scars and marks all over their bodies, fur singed off their bodies and clothing and armor torn and ripped in different areas. Kat'ern was missing an entire leg, while Drailsin and Tenebrea were both missing their feet and the warlock was also missing half of his arm. The Sundering had just started to pull them apart when Liki got the Dragon Soul to obey him and teleport them all to safety.

Liki felt his heart wrench up in his throat, that calmness vanished as he called out to his companions and got up to scurry over to them while still clutching the Dragon Soul against his chest. He hovered over them and he shook Drailsin violently. He didn't respond, he wasn't breathing. Liki wailed in sorrow so potent it felt like being stabbed in the heart three times. He tilted his head back and howled out.

He could feel it in his heart...they were dead...they had all died...he was the only one left, and he had closed his own loop by recreating the very event he had seen in the portal. That was the moment that Liki felt his essence get tugged hard by some kind of force, and he and the other three vanished from this time and were pulled back to their own.

Events must always happen exactly as they are meant to...that was the rule...right?