Karp
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Chapter 158
🕑 Added 2025-01-28 20:30:19 +0000 UTCLeaving Syra's dream, Varrus opened his eyes, and felt a tight, bone crushing embrace wrap around his chest and spine.
Looking down, Varrus saw blonde hair, and tears.
“There, there.” Varrus patted Syra on the head, and messily ruffled her hair.
“I came to rescue you, but you were the one who found me. I failed you by being late against Nozdormu, now I failed you again.” Syra's tears continued to pour down her face as she rubbed her cheek on his chest, like some sort of cat or loveable household pet.
“You’re here now. That's better than anyone else can say.” Varrus said in a hushed whisper.
Raising her by the chin, Varrus tenderly kissed Syra on the lips. Her hot breath mixed with his, and Varrus couldn't help but grin.
“You rogue.” Syra clunked her forehead onto his, the beginnings of a small smile started to blossom across her face.
“Ruff, ruff!” Omen barked, and wagged his tail.
Running up and circling the couple, Omen sniffed at Syra, and happily nuzzled up against both her and Varrus.
Syra froze, and narrowed her eyes at the mutt.
Varrus was quick to place his hand behind her waist, and hold her close, lest she react with violence.
“This is Omen, a new pet companion I made during this excursion into the Emerald Dream. He'll make an excellent playmate, and guardian for our children.” Varrus hastily explained.
“Arf!” Omen happily barked, and sniffed at Syra's hand.
“Go on, give him a pet. He's a good boy, and saved my life in a fight earlier.” Varrus talked up Omen's accomplishments for good measure.
Syra reluctantly held out her hand, and scratched the golden retriever under the chin.
Omen leaned into her, and wagged his tail merrily at the attention.
Varrus sighed in relief as this support dog seemed to draw in Syra's curiosity.
Omen's insane doggo energy was quite infectious.
Looking at his wife, his heart tightened. He wondered how aware she was of what had transpired within her dream. Or perhaps it was an episode best forgotten. What had almost happened was the worst outcome of his entire second life. If she didn't bring it up, it wasn't something he wanted to dwell upon.
What mattered is they were together again. Because as long as they were with one another, there wasn't anything they couldn't take on.
Holding Syra close, it was Varrus's turn to feel emotional.
His beautiful wife looked incredibly adorable as she ran her long fingers through Omen's fur.
Such a scene made him want kids more. That was her dream, and if it would make Syra happy, then he would have to oblige.
Sighing to himself, Varrus glanced around, and took in the area around him.
In his mad flight over here, he never really paid attention to the scenery, but now that he had a moment to spare, he saw that he was within an idyllic grove.
Surrounded by towering trees and wide open clearings, a massive marble temple-more fortress than place of worship-loomed above him just a few miles away. Vines, moss, fog, and other overgrowth covered this mysterious looking structure.
Flying about a mile away, a group of Dragons and their spawn seemed to be eying his group wearily.
Meanwhile, Nightsong was a few steps away, a canvas was in front of her, and she was painting the scene.
Valanar, for his part, had emerged from a tunnel, his giant worm companion was shrank down, and he was watching everything from a healthy distance away.
It was during this moment of inspection, that a green light flashed on the horizon, and a massive Green Dragon flew out of the temple.
Varrus surmised that it could be none other than Ysera, Aspect of Dreams, and leader of the Green Dragonflight.
Syra also seemed to notice this, and rose up from petting Omen, then drew her buster sword.
“Grrr.” Omen's tail froze, and he turned to growl at the one who interrupted his head pats.
As she drew near, the Dragon landed to a spot a few feat away, and transformed into that attractive, scantily clad High Elf that Varrus had communicated with earlier.
“Greetings, Varrus, Syra, Nightsong, Valanar, and Omen. As you have likely guessed, I am Ysera. I apologize for the misunderstanding, and hope we can come to form an alliance. I am eternally grateful to all of you for freeing me from Xavius's prison.” The lady deeply bowed, and smiled radiantly at them.
Expecting his wife to try something funny after such a beautiful woman made herself known, Varrus barely held Syra back from rushing headlong at Ysera. Wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, Varrus held her tight, and barely placated her with a kiss.
“Yes, we saved you, Lady Ysera, and it was no easy feat. With Xavius's demise, the Emerald Dream is free once more. We of the Covenant are always seeking new allies, what is it that the Green Dragonflight has to offer?” Varrus asked in as diplomatic a tone as he could.
It was rather difficult and felt strange, what with his wife being held in his arms. But he could care less. This whole venture into the Emerald Dream had been an unexpected, almost nightmare.
Ysera had better come up with a good proposal, otherwise he would very seriously consider a fight. While he was mentally exhausted from all the tomfoolery Xavius had put him through, he still had some fight in him.
Besides, with Omen and Nightsong fighting at the demigod tier, he was confident against any lone demigod.
“Yes, the entirety of Azeroth owes you a debt, Varrus Vandercross. Xavius planned on merging the dreamworld with reality, such an event would surely spell doom.
As for our alliance, while the Green Dragonflight is small in number, I have much to offer. The dreams of Azeroth's denizens offer a plethora of information, ripe for your perusal. If there is something you want known, it shall be yours. With the power of dreams, your enemies shall suffer nightmares, and all your allies shall experience a good night's sleep.
Additionally, the Emerald Dream can be used to swiftly travel between locations, and used as a communications hub. Occasionally, the dreams of creatures from other planes breach this realm, and travel to other locations, unlocking new and unique magics/resources becomes a possibility.
Lastly, my final offer to you is knowledge of a different sort. Time is experienced more quickly in this realm, every minute spent here is 10 seconds on Azeroth. This is an ideal state for studying. I invite the members of the Covenant to enter the Emerald Dream, and study in my vast library. The druids, and other members of my flight have recorded history, rhetoric, natural truths, and dreams of futures past.” Ysera finished her offer of alliance by bowing, and looked at Varrus with a hopeful expression.
As she was speaking, Varrus internalized her offer.
Simply speaking, it was actually pretty good. While there was no direct promise of military aid, she practically offered herself to become his spy master. Such an offer wasn't exactly trustworthy given her track record, but between Rho'dan & Faedra, he already had two sources of information. Adding a third wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Heck, countries like the US had the FBI, CIA, NSA, and God knows how many other intelligence agencies. As far as Varrus was concerned, the more the merrier.
Another thing Ysera said that struck home with him, was actually the offer of good sleep. A genocidal plague and zombie apocalypse had just swept through the Eastern Kingdoms. It could not be understated how important a night of rest was for the people. Mega PTSD was sure to be a result of the Scourge invasion, and while he may be a bit of an asshole, that didn't mean he wanted the people to suffer. This was lowkey, a great offer.
Moving on, using the dream as a means to communicate vast distances, or even possibly hop from one end of the world to the next was significant. It could not be understated how important swift communication and travel were when conducting war. Elven portals and scrying orbs filled this role for the Covenant at the moment, but the Emerald Dream would serve as an excellent alternative. Varrus once again was of the mind that you could never have enough backups and contingency plans.
As for the implication that the dreams of other planes sometimes entered this realm…yeah, that was something Varrus didn't want to touch with a 12ft stick. He had enough shit on his plate to deal with without messing with other realms. What if it was a dream from Oblivion, or the Twisting Nether? Yeah, no thanks.
Now the library actually didn't interest Varrus whatsoever. He felt pretty comfortable with his knowledge of Warcraft lore, and couldn't see himself using it. However, it would serve as a valuable resource for the super nerds in his empire. The likes of Telonicus, and Tae'thelon would salivate over such a place. In Varrus's vision of a unified coalition of races under the Covenant, he had always wanted to establish a university where they could come together and learn. This could serve as the ideal place for them to gather.
What really interested Varrus in that last statement of Ysera's was the mention of the time dilation.
That was a 6 to 1 difference! Every 6 seconds in the dream, 1 second passed in reality. That was patently insane! While it didn't seem like much on the surface, it was significant!
If 24hrs had 86,400 seconds in it, then by dividing by 6, that's 14,000s OR only 4hrs!!!
Every 24hrs spent in the Emerald Dream was 4hrs in reality!
This was big news to Varrus because he still felt pressure to grind. This latest experience when his enchanted items failed to work taught him that his base stats were incredibly important. That without his gear, he was probably no better than a low to mid-tier Hero in terms of strength.
With this time delay, it would grant him an excellent opportunity to raise his level. Soul Gems were great and all, but it would be best not to forget what had made him strong in the first place.
Thinking all these complex thoughts, Varrus caught himself staring blankly into nothing, and realized Ysera had finished speaking at least an entire minute ago.
“Ahem, that is quite the substantial offer, Lady Ysera. Please, grant me a moment to think it over. For now, however, it sounds like the beginnings of an excellent alliance.” Varrus said in an even tone, and pulled away to discuss this with his family.
“I am happy you find such an arrangement so amenable. Before you go, I noticed you haven't acclimated to the dream yet, and only your illusion magic remains untouched. As a sign of appreciation and good faith, please, allow me to unlock your potential.” Ysera said, and then with a few muttered words chanted the words to a spell.
Before Varrus realized what was happening, he felt a green glow suffuse his body. A moment later, he checked his status, and noticed that his debuff was gone! He could now cast any type of magic within the dream with impunity!
“My thanks, Lady Ysera.” Varrus inclined his head.
“I shall await your decision.” Ysera smiled.
Varrus felt Syra bristle, yet his wife allowed herself to be carried away.
As he walked to a clearing out of ear shot, Varrus cast a shroud of Muffle over his group.
“So what do you all think?” Varrus eyed his companions, and spoke with as neutral a tone as possible.
“She is crafty. An alliance would serve as a great boon, however, such a creature requires constant tests and scrutiny.” Nightsong offered her advice.
Varrus nodded his head in thanks, then turned his head to Syra.
His loveable wife wasn't looking at him, and in fact, was staring daggers towards Ysera.
‘Yeah, not touching that one.’
“Valanar?” Varrus questioned.
“Hm? I didn't know I was part of this?” Valanar whimsically played with a butterfly and looked at Varrus with a perplexed expression.
“...Never mind.” Varrus sighed, and face palmed.
It was times like this that he wished his number one adviser and confidant was present.
Pulling out his scrying orb, Varrus tried to see if Rho'dan had ever replied.
‘Huh, that's odd. Rho'dan is always so prompt.’
Varrus frowned to himself, and began to worry that his stalwart guard had gotten himself into trouble. He was going to ask Ysera if she could track him, or spot him in the dream, when suddenly, the entire realm began to shake.
“Ysera, what is happening!” Varrus yelled at the Green Dragon matriarch.
When he turned to look at her, he saw that the beautiful woman's face had a look of fear and panic on it.
“Mine was not the only seal Xavius had in place. With his death, another was broken. But I don't understand, I placed a seal over his back then, only true loves kiss can break it!” Ysera said in a panic, and pulled at her hair.
Varrus narrowed his eyes. He then recalled Merithra, her obsession with Rho'dan, and the fact that Omen had focused on killing her over all else.
“Ysera, get a hold of yourself. Who has been freed?” Varrus harshly questioned, barely holding himself back from slapping some sense into her.
“The Avatar of Vaermina.” Ysera coldly whispered.
Comments
CunnyEnjoyer
Wrong
Smitty
Vaermina would make a better ally than the dragon
