Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 309, Section 66: A Dark Dream Come True - Yrel, You Take the Helm of Lightforged! - Bonus Chapter [15]

(Bonus chapter for "Huo Zheng Ting Hao" [1/5])
The Stormwind Kingdom has now taken in many of the rescued green dragons.

When the Nightmare Tyrant was killed at the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, the Dragon Soul caused the deaths of more than a dozen green dragons, including Valithria the Dreamwalker, Merynthera's sister.

These green dragons lost their dream power and turned into large, winged green lizards. They were very weak and could only stay in Stormwind Kingdom to recover. In order not to frighten the civilians, Marshal Lothar specially arranged for them to stay in Echo Mountain Valley of Northshire Abbey.

It used to be a mine, but it was shut down due to the war. Although the environment was terrible, the green dragons were too busy with their disaster to think about housing right now.

Somehow, these green dragons ended up befriending the forest elves of Draenor.

After the seeds of the World Tree Tayara were planted in the valley of Northshire Abbey, the Green Dragons moved their base here, partly to recover their strength with the life force of the World Tree, and partly to help the World Tree grow better with their deep connection with nature.

They are essentially a group of free "gardeners".

The forest elves were very welcoming of this. There were no dragons in Draenor, and they were very curious about these powerful natural beings, but they also had some reservations about their "weak" habits.

To the forest spirits who worship wild nature, the green dragons were fully qualified to reshape the natural order of Azeroth, yet they shamefully served as the Titans' lackeys. Fortunately, the green dragons' dream powers were stripped away, turning them into pure dragons; otherwise, a direct confrontation between the two sides would have been inevitable.

Do not ask!

The answer is that the fierce and brave Lin Jing will never be friends with Titan's lackeys!
The green dragons rescued by Teregosa and her companions were also placed here. Valithria the Dreamwalker personally cared for and treated several of the green dragons, but Mylinsera did not participate much.

The reason is the same as for Teregosa: she has not yet adapted well to her new identity.

Furthermore, with the fate of the Green Dragon Queen Ysera currently unknown, the Green Dragons have no interest in discussing those complex matters related to the Star Soul and the Titans.

However, after hearing that "Stellagossa" had also come, Diakum, despite his busy schedule, took the time to come and see her.

“I admire your courage, young girl, for a young dragon to dare to travel all the way from the Nexus through the chaotic Northlands to the Burning Steppes in search of your missing friend. But given the context of the demon invasion, your decision is somewhat too risky.”

The Vigilant healed the young blue dragon's wing laceration with holy light, then shook his head and said:

"Besides, your identity is too special. After learning the truth from Teregosa, you should have realized that your 'disappearance' in the Nexus would cause trouble for your sisters. Teregosa and the other Worldguard dragons are not yet ready to completely sever ties with the Dragon Aspects."

Faced with the warning from the person on guard, Little Star couldn't offer any constructive response.

In reality, her mind was in a mess, still immersed in the shock of having just watched Tyr's memories on the Platinum Disc.

Those memories from the Titan Guardians completely overturned her understanding of the honorable identity of "Guardian Dragon," and could even be said to have shattered her pride as a guardian of magic.

"Little Star needs some time to process all of this, Vigilant."

Teregosa whispered:
“She is still young, she has always been proud of her identity, but she has a strong sense of justice, and I believe she will make a rational decision.”

"You're the one who needs to be prepared!"

Diakum said to Teregosa:

"Lothar is determined to deal with that green-skinned Shadow Tower in Elwynn Forest, and the dragons won't stand idly by the Dragon Soul in Zul'Thuzad's hands. I suspect they'll act soon."

The two sides may even cooperate to resolve this potential problem.

What about you?

"Onyxia aside, Chromie's situation is special and doesn't need to be considered, but you, Mylinsera, and Rheastasza can't stay out of this. What role will you play in this?"

"We absolutely must rescue Queen Ysera first!"

The great blue dragon clenched her fist and said:

"Speaking of destroying that evil thing called the Dragon Soul, do you and Lady Aegwynn still need to obtain it? After all, if the Star Soul Lord needs the dragons to return to purity, the Dragon Soul is a very good tool to remove the Titan's shackles."

"It's no longer necessary."

Dick waved his hand and said:
"The fog of the world is dissipating. As long as the Dragon Islands appear in our sight, even without the Dragon Soul, we can dispel the Titan powers. Most importantly, the Black Dragon's unusual movements indicate that Deathwing also intends to take advantage of the current chaos. The Red Dragon Queen and the Blue Dragon King should preserve their strength to at least withstand Deathwing's madness."

The matter of protecting the dragons requires careful consideration, but if Deathwing obtains the Dragon Soul, the problem could become quite serious. Zul'Gurub is merely using the artifact, but Deathwing is its master.

Personally, I'd prefer to destroy it, but leaving it is also an option. It's one of the few artifacts that can truly harm Deathwing; Aegwynn might find it useful.

"Yes, thank you for your understanding. We do not want to see more of our compatriots tormented by that evil thing called the Dragon Soul."

Tyreggosa said through gritted teeth, then watched the Watcher leave.

She knew that the Vigilantes were going to deal with the black dragons that had been captured. As for their fate, just look at Onyxia; this could be considered a kind of "reformed" example.

“Those black dragons. I overheard their conversation!”

Little Star suddenly raised his head. Although his eyes were lifeless and he was clearly in a state of "broken heart", he still gave Tyreggosa important information.

she says:

"They say their 'Prince' is coming and plans to join forces with the green-skinned orcs! They capture these green dragons that can't escape into the dream world to be used as test subjects for their prince, and they even say they'll turn me into some strange 'colorful dragon'."

Black Dragon is definitely up to something strange!

"Teresa, we can't let them succeed!"

"Okay, I understand. You need to get some rest now."

Teregosa comforted the wounded and weakened Stellagrass, whispering:
"Once you've recovered from your injuries, go back to the Nexus. Although we said before that now wasn't the right time to hand over the Platinum Disc, since you're here, you can act as a messenger and help us send Tyr's Memory Disc back to the Spellweaver and the Red Dragon Queen."

These matters should be decided by them; they are the parties involved.

"You say you've seen the Soul of the World?"

Little Star whispered:

Does Mother World really think we are bad people?

"No, Lord Star Soul still considers us to be His children, just that we have gone astray. As long as we realize our mistakes and return to the right path, He will still accept us."

Teregosa whispered:
"We were merely deceived by the Titan Guardians, but we haven't done anything to harm this world. We've always protected it—except for the black dragon! However, you're asking this because you want..."

“I want to see Mother World. I want to apologize to Her. Alas, we naughty children must have made Her very sad.”

Meanwhile, in the starship hangar of the Exodar.

As Diakum stepped out of the elevator, he saw Saloras performing a "Curse of Flesh" reshaping and corruption removal on a black dragon prisoner.

Although she has only just begun to learn the path of "Twin Light and Shadow," Saloras is quite talented on the path of shadow. She is a demigod spellcaster and has Diakum's personal instruction, so her learning progress in the great mystery of the Curse of Flesh is incredibly fast.

With the help of the Twilight's Hammer, she cleansed the corruption inside the black dragon very smoothly. Next, she would reshape the black dragon's body according to Onyxia's biological template. Then, either Diakum or Allethris would complete the lightforging, making them "behemoth units" of the Lightforged Chapter.

"I have a question, sir."

Seeing Diakum approach, Saloras frowned and said to him:
"The mental corruption of these black dragons is much more severe than that of Lady Onyxia. Although the black dragon princess is closer to the source of Deathwing's corruption, she has been resisting the complete embrace of the Void's corruption, and thus she can still maintain a certain degree of sanity after flesh regeneration and lightforging."

But these black dragons won't do.

Their unwavering loyalty to Deathwing's corrupt beliefs makes them capable of any evil and revel in the pleasure of corrupting everything.

Such a mindset is simply incapable of lightforging, even with your involvement.

"So, what's your solution?"

The vigilant looked at his disciple, and the Archbishop of Holy Twilight hesitated for a moment before whispering:
"I want to reshape their minds, or to put it more directly, tear apart their original ugly personalities, use the power of the void to stitch together the fragments of their minds, create new personalities for them, and then use the path of light and shadow to make them complete the light-forging."

This process is cruel.

This is arguably the most terrifying form of mental torture in the cosmos; it seems hardly the way a follower of the Holy Light should resort to.

Let's do it this way.

Diakum stood in the darkness, stroking the Heart of Azeroth ring on his finger, and said gently:
"If these black dragons were once scum who took pleasure in corruption and destruction, then they should receive their due punishment before being reborn, using the retribution of the void as a tool to forge dragons that can protect the light."

This aligns perfectly with the principles of light and shadow.

Although the methods are dark, they can ultimately protect all living beings. This is the path to redemption that the Star Soul Lord hopes to see for the Black Dragons. He does not want his children to become the claws of the Void that harm the world. We have an obligation to fulfill this wish for the Star Soul Lord.

In addition, I have decided to appoint my apprentice Yrel as the 'Lightforged Craftsman'.

"I will grant her a portion of my power, allowing her to use my naaru power to complete the 'Lightforged Rebirth' for the fallen black dragons and other fallen beings." "Why Yrel?"

Saloras said in surprise:

“That young woman has a somewhat unconventional personality, and I worry that she may not be able to shoulder such a mission.”

Faced with this question, Diakum shrugged and said:

“There is a kind of ‘demonic’ nature in Yrel’s heart, perhaps it is her innate sense of justice at work. Although she hides it very well, I can still feel that she occasionally has the urge to use ‘Lightforged’ to solve all problems.”

Especially when under a lot of pressure, this thought would appear in her mind like a spell.

The appearance of the 'Time Eater' elf is one example.

I put her in charge of the Lightforging powers in the hope that she would correctly understand the extreme consequences that Lightforging can have when used for punishment, and thus realize that Lightforging everyone cannot bring her the happy ending she wants.

Because she is still young, she still has potential.

Yrel is destined to become the leader of the Draenei clan, and if we cannot correct her dangerous thinking before then, I fear that Draenor may face some unnecessary risks at some point.

These words silenced Saloras.

The archbishop then whispered:

“But Aures and I did something similar in the Holy Light Universe. Although you said you wouldn’t comment on this behavior, in reality you don’t approve of what we did; you consider it a mistake.”

"Yes, so you also need to correct your mistakes."

Dick looked at her and said:
"Recognizing your mistakes is the foundation of growth. We've all made mistakes, and mistakes themselves aren't unforgivable. The important thing is not to fall into the same trap again. Doing nothing means you won't make mistakes, but do you think that's the kind of behavior the Holy Light wants to see?"

Bearing the burdens of mistakes and failures, yet summoning the courage to continue forward—that is the true essence of the path of holy light.

------

Black Stone Mountain, upper level of Black Stone Tower.

Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer is receiving several mysterious "guests".

These towers, built inside the mountain, were once part of the Dark Iron dwarf city of Darkforge, but were seized by the War Horde as a base during the conflict between the orcs and the Dark Iron dwarves.

Thanks to Orgrim's diplomatic maneuvering, their relationship with the Dark Iron dwarves has improved somewhat.

Especially after the Warchief and the Dark Iron Emperor agreed to attack the Bronzebeard Dwarves together, His Majesty Thaurissan even generously allowed the Greenskin Orcs to continue living in those towers and provided them with some necessary military equipment at a high price.

Both sides are currently preparing troops and supplies in Blackrock Mountain, eagerly preparing to attack the province of Thelsamar in the Dwarf Kingdom through the Scorching Canyon and completely seize that fertile land with a pleasant climate.

"You mean, you want to cooperate with us to defeat Stormwind Kingdom together in this demonic invasion?"

The Warchief sat on his solid stone throne, looking at the hooded "humans" before him. In response to the request made by their leader, Orgrim stroked his chin and asked:
"It seems that you guests have investigated the conflict between orcs and humans beforehand, and you are also very clear about our internal structure. Generally speaking, outsiders would think that Zul'shid is the leader of the orcs."

"Yes, compared to that Dragonmaw chieftain who has a brilliant record and takes the initiative to attack, you, the great chieftain of the War Tribe, are a bit too 'low-key'."

The human male, draped in a black robe, let out a hoarse laugh and said:

"Even among the orc bounties in Stormwind, the bounty for your head is only the same as that for Lord Zul'hild. Most humans who hate orcs to the core have never even seen you."

After all, you haven't set foot in the core territory of Stormwind Kingdom since the conflict between Stormwind Kingdom and the Orcs.

You seem to have no interest in taking Stormwind, and have only sent Chieftain Zul'Farrak to lead the war in the Kingdom of Stormwind. But if I may be so bold, that warlock may be powerful and ambitious, but he is certainly not a capable general.

Despite having an army of nearly 100,000 orc warriors, Anduin Lothar managed to hold off most of the attacks with his pitiful army.

On the surface, the War Horde seems to have the upper hand in Stormwind Kingdom, but anyone with a little strategic vision can see that Zul'Gurub has run out of options.

Even if he could control the undead, he couldn't launch another attack on Stormwind. Of course, that was before. Now that the demons have arrived, Chieftain Zul'Gurub has more troops at his disposal.

He could no longer contain his ambition.

But what about you?

The human looked around and even made a "sniffing" motion, saying:

"There isn't a single demon in the entire Blackrock Spire. It's unbelievably 'clean.' So, you who have drunk demon blood and are already half-demons, don't you plan to take advantage of this precious opportunity of demon invasion to gain more victories?"

Orgrim had no intention of answering the question.

He waved his hand and said:

"As a 'guest,' you've said too much. If you intend to get involved in the war against the Stormwind Kingdom, then go find Zul'jid. His Shadow Council would be happy to recruit a mysterious fellow like yourself."

As for my army
Well, I don't have any need to recruit right now, so I can only apologize and ask if you would like me to write you a letter of introduction.
This will make it easier for you to join the Zul'Gurub chieftain's ranks.

“That would be perfect, Great Chief.”

The man in black robes nodded in satisfaction, then said:

"I'd like to rent your abandoned dwarven palace at the top of Blackrock Spire, along with its associated secret chamber."

"No, I won't rent it."

The chieftain, without even looking up, said:
"That place was used to raise dire wolves."

"I can provide money, food, military supplies, and so on. Just ask, and I can get it for you."

"I don't want the money, but I won't rent it. Please leave."

Orgrim stubbornly spread his hands and sighed, saying:

"We, the War Tribe, value the spirit of contracts. These things are provided to us by goblin merchants from venture capital firms, and I do not accept any other help from dubious sources until their contracts expire."

But I think Zulushid would need it, so a guest of unknown origin with malicious intent.”

The high chief tossed a hastily handwritten "letter of introduction" to the human before him, saying:

"Take this letter and get out of my sight! Immediately! Oh, look how rude I am, I forgot to say 'please,' but that's how we uncultured Draenor barbarians are."

"You green-skinned bastard, don't be so arrogant!"

The black-robed man's guard couldn't hold back any longer; he shouted:

"How dare a mere orc?"

"puff"

The battle axe that flew from behind spun and slashed into the body of the rising servant, easily tearing apart his limbs protected by dragon scales, smashing through his heart and all his sternum, brutally splitting the man in two.

Amidst splattering blood, Grom Hellscream, shirtless and having just finished his day's training, walked into the hall. He calmly glanced at the "humans" before looking at Orgrim.

Does that mean, do you need help seeing the guests off?

"Don't be so rude, Grom. If word gets out, people will think that our War Tribe has no manners at all."

The chief waved his hand and said:

"I'm sorry, your guard seems to be 'asleep.' Would the tribe like to compensate you, guest?"

The human in the black robe reached out and wiped the blood from his face.

His dark eyes were fixed on Orgrim, and the Warchief looked at him with a cold, even mocking gaze.

A moment later, the mysterious guest laughed and waved his hand, saying:
“You are truly remarkable, Warchief. I admit I underestimated you. Well then, that’s enough for today. A gift will be presented later to apologize for my undignified servant. Well then, until the end, Orgrim Doomhammer.”

He took the letter and turned to leave.

After Grom watched them disappear, he turned back and asked:
"What's the origin?"

"They're just bastards with a belly full of evil who want to drag us into the mud. Don't worry about them; they have nothing to do with our goals."

The Great Chieftain stepped down from his throne and waved to Grom, saying:
"His Majesty Thaurissan sent word that Gorehowl's reforging is complete. Let's go retrieve your axe and discuss our next steps along the way. That great demon who brought us the demon blood..."
Found it!

(End of this chapter)