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| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | The Cobalt Blade (Arthur, Tadget, Thalstan, Vesyllah and Zaara) head into an echo of the mission to the Oculus, a memory of the height of the Nexus War. ~1700 words. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Arc: The Cobalt Blade
Chain: ECHO
The team begins to appear inside an illusion of the Oculus.
Thalstan materializes inside the Oculus, and looks around in wonder.
Vesyllah materializes inside the Oculus, and looks bored…as usual.
Zaara materializes and does not look around, in wonder or otherwise.
"So what fresh hell are we up for today?" Tadget says cheerily.
Arthur appears and summons a supply of mana biscuits.
"I'll never get over how real these seem," Arthur says.
Thalstan casually grabs a mana biscuit from the ones Arthur has prepared and tucks it away. "The Nexus War. Not the real one, thank goodness. Art's safe."
Tadget helps herself to one of Art's mana biscuits, which also seem very real.
"It smells very real," Zaara observes.
Thalstan nods, and starts to get his sword and shield ready.
"It makes sense. What is reality but what our minds perceive and tell us is real?" Tadget stuffs a biscuit in her face.
"Well, ready ta fight some blue dragons?" Thalstan asks.
Ves murmurs a prayer to the Night Warrior and wraps herself in shadows.
They fight some blue dragons. The little ones refuse to group up, instead hanging back at a distance and spitting arcane power at Thalstan.
"Well, very arcane," Thalstan observes, a little singed.
"Yeesh," says Tadget, looking over the edge of the illusory cliff. "Long way down. You think if I jump it'll simulate my gruesome death?"
"We might see it, but I bet it'd jus' knock ye out of the illusion," Thalstan guesses.
"You will gruesomely reset," Zaara suggests.
Tadget giggles.
"They're right hard ta group up," Thalstan says, looking at his sword in frustration. "Jus' flyin' around and shootin' out bolts. I can see why this was a hard war."
The team continues moving forward and fighting for a while.
"What if this was the whole simulation?" says Tadget. "Just walking in infinite circles killing infinite blue dragons?"
"Ugh. They would do that," Ves complains.
One of the dragons tries to root Tadget in place. Gnomelike, she wiggles free.
"I hope we get to see more than tha'," Thalstan says after the next group.
"Portal ahead," Arthur says.
Indeed, the illusion of a portal hovers ahead.
"Anyone know where that goes?" Tadget asks.
"A portal!" Zaara beams.
"Maybe a portal ta trouble," Thalstan says with a grin.
"I can feel it. the air is different,” Arthur says.
"Probably somewhere with dragons. Wild guess," Vesyllah says dryly.
"Looks ominous," Tadget says.
Thalstan nods. "Let's go through it. Worst case scenario is we get this place reset."
On the other side of the portal, Thalstan appears on a platform with an Objective Dragon and three cages.
Ves steps through the portal. "See? Dragon. Well, dragon-thing."
"Big ugly dragon-thing," Tadget agrees.
"Good guess," Thalstan says with a laugh.
“The prisoners shall not go free! The word of Malygos is law!” Drakos the Interrogator yells.
"Big, ugly, stupid dragon-thing," Vesyllah adds.
"Reckon we're ta fight this one," Thalstan says, shifting into a fighting stance.
"Let's make it a big, ugly, stupid, DEAD dragon-thing," says Tadget.
Zaara cheers.
“Gather 'round….” Drakos the Interrogator calls, magically pulling everyone into melee. “None shall escape! I will crush you! It is too late to run!I condemn you to death!”
It is very soon a big, ugly, stupid, dead dragon-thing.
“The war… goes on,” Drakos the Interrogator gasps, as he falls dead.
Tadget peers at the corpse. "Yes, that guy was extremely awful and excessively stupid."
"Kept yankin' me around," Thalstan says, looking at the three figures emerging from the cages. "Oh, these are the dragons Cobalt befriended! Well, some of 'em. Seems we have a lot of dragon friends."
“Thank you for freeing us, mortals,” Belgaristrasz says. “Beware, the blue flight is alerted to your presence. Even now, Malygos sends Varos Cloudstrider and his ring guardians to defend the Oculus. You will need our help to stand a chance.”
"I have a few too many bronze dragon 'friends' for my liking," Tadget says bitterly. "Stupid Ahn Qiraj war thingy."
Thalstan nods. "That must ha' been a rough time. Do a lot of travel in time?"
"Way too much," Tadget says.
"Well, at least these are just illusion o' bronze dragons," Thalstan offers.
Thalstan casually hops on the back of an illusory red drake.
Zaara is collected by a polite virtual emerald drake.
Tadget grumblingly boards a bronze drake.
"Okay, I think we're meant ta flit about and destroy these constructs," Thalstan says, peering forward. "So no time travel today, illusory or not."
The team flits about as indicated.
"How've ye all been keepin, since last time?" Thalstan asks. "I've been spending some time in Dalaran."
"Same," says Tadget. "Great city."
"Aye, they've a lot to offer, even in arms and armor," Thalstan nods.
"And it's such a pretty place, innit?" Thalstan says. "I suppose we fit in there. Art especially, with th' magic."
"Dalaran would be the perfect city if it weren't so full of nerds," Tadget observes.
Thalstan laughs, rustling his beard.
"Nerrrrrrds," says Zaara cheerfully.
"I see some more over on that platform yonder," Thalstan points. "Let's drake fly over?"
They do so.
"That's got the shield down, and now we can get th' dragon!" Thalstan says, peering at the third platform.
"Huzzah," says Tadget flatly.
They fly up to the platform with the objective dragonkin.
“Intruders, your victory will be short-lived,” the dragonkin calls. “I am Commander Varos Cloudstrider. My drakes control the skies and protect this conduit. I will see to it personally that the Oculus does not fall into your hands!”
“There will be no mercy!” Varos calls as he sends magic to attack. “Blast them! Destroy them!”
We are the ones who do the blasting and destroying. We show no mercy.
“They are… too strong!” Varos says, falling. “Underestimated their… fortitude.”
Belgaristrasz’s image appears and says, “The trickster Mage-Lord Urom protects the third ring. He will appear alone and defenseless, but do not be fooled by appearances! Urom is a powerful conjurer who commands a menagerie of Phantasmal creatures. Seek him out above.”
We fly up to an even higher platform.
"I like being this high up," Tadget says. "Even if it's just an illusion."
"Like a cat," Thalstan says with a grin.
Tadget giggles.
"Okay, so this guy is an illusionist," Thalstan nods. "Which is sort of a nested-doll kinda thing, aye? An illusionist inside an illusion crafted by an illuionist."
"My brain just broke," says Tadget.
"Mine also!" says Zaara cheerfully.
Thalstan laughs, his beard rustling. "I'll leave th' arcane understanding to Trouble, myself."
"You know she made this guy super cool," Ves says. "Probably a self-insert."
Tadget giggles.
Thalstan grins. "I bet you're right."
"I wanna stab him,” Tadget says.
"Let's try," Thalstan says.
"Self-insert? Is this appropriate?" Zaara raises her eyebrows.
Tadget guffaws.
“What do we have here… those that would defy the Spell-Weaver?” Mage-Lord Urom asks. “Those without foresight or understanding. How can I make you see? Malygos is saving the world from itself! Bah! You are hardly worth my time!”
Mage-Lord Urom vanishes, leaving behind a smattering of illusory hostile creatures.
"Oh man, what a jerk," Tadget says as the illusionist nopes out.
"Oh, he does seem like the sort of person to self-insert himself," Zaara observes.
"It sounds dirtier than it is, Zaara," Thalstan says with another grin, after illusion-illusion murlocs are defeated. "Just means she based him after herself. Because illusionist."
"And of course we can't kill him right away. See? Self-insert." Ves hmphs.
“Clearly my pets failed. Perhaps another demonstration is in order,” Mage-Lord Urom says, and once again pulls the vanish-and-sic-illusions-on-them act.
"We're gonna have to chase him all over, aren't we," Tadget grumbles
"She's got him a whole arc," Thalstan nods sagely.
"It's exactly as dirty as it sounds. I self-insert all the time," Ves smirks.
"EW Vengeance, TMI!" Tadget says.
Thalstan laughs again.
Zaara nods back in Vesyllah's direction.
"Zaara gets it." Ves nods.
"I HATE THIS GUY," Tadget says.
"And again," Thalstan says, when the illusions are banished.
“Still you fight. Still you cling to misguided principles. If you survive, you'll find me in the center ring,” Mage-Lord Urom shouts.
"I really wanna stab this illusion of an illusion,” Tadget says.
“Poor blind fools!” Mage-Lord Urom says when we approach, and he coats the ground around us with ice. He teleports to the center and begins casting an arcane explosion. “A taste… just a small taste… of the Spell-Weaver's power!”
We duck behind a pillar. When he comes back to attack us, he gets stabbed.
“Everything I have done… has been for Azeroth….” Mage-Lord Urom laments as he falls.
"He even had a monologue," Thalstan sighs. "She went all out. Though I guess this is probably what really happened."
"Surely he wasn't THIS dramatic," Tadget says dubiously.
"I bet he was,” Arthur says.
Thalstan grins at Tadget and Art. "Sometimes people are that over-the-top, aye."
"I would NEVER be that dramatic. EVER!!!!!!!!" Tadget says overdramatically.
And then… we fight!
"Man," says Tadget, "after all that he folded like paper."
"Big buildup," Thalstan nods. "Then over he falls."
"We have one more objective in here — the big dragon," Thalstan says. "Ready for a dragon v dragon fight?"
"I guess," Tadget whines.
The drakes rise up directly into the path of a big old dragon.
“Simpletons! You cannot comprehend the forces you have set in motion. The ley line conduit will not be disrupted! Your defeat shall be absolute!” Ley-Guardian Eregos taunts us. “You brash interlopers are out of your element! I will ground you!”
We attack him! Drakes attack!
“Such insolence… such arrogance… must be PUNISHED!” Ley-Guardian Eregos says, swinging around to knock several of us off our drakes. Luckily there are floating rocks nearby. “Enjoy the fall!”
We keep fighting, from drakeback and from the nearby floating rock. We are tougher than Eregos.
“Savor this small victory, foolish little creatures,” Ley-Guardian Eregos says. “You and your dragon allies have won this battle, but we will win… the Nexus War.”
They won’t, actually. We won that, too.
"Another illusory day saved," Tadget says. "We're super good at saving pretend things."
"Aye," Thalstan says. "I hope soon we get another job savin' real things. That another artifact surfaces. Till next illusion, then, friends. An' I'll be in Dalaran a while yet, I think, if ye'd like to see the sights together or whatnot."
Zaara will not be seeing the sights but thanks for the offer.