Karp
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Chapter 162
🕑 Added 2025-02-03 12:19:46 +0000 UTCAN: Well, you voted for this.
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After activating Dream Geas on himself the second before Ysera entered his dream, Varrus had found himself within a lucid dream.
Or in other words, he could basically do whatever he wanted, or conjure up any item, thing or anything that stretched his imagination.
Within his mind, he was king.
Furthermore, since this was all an illusion, all of the previous buffs applied.
The first thing he did was make a city to distract Ysera, and see just how strong she was. While Varrus was confident since he had control of his mind-unlike Syra when Xavius had infiltrated her-however, he didn't want to be arrogant. Ysera was the Aspect of Dreams after all. This was her domain, and it was best to test her, and see just how powerful she was.
If Ysera threatened to destroy his consciousness in any way, Varrus was willing to go scorched earth.
As to why he didn't do so from the get go?
Well…he saw Ysera as being kind of pathetic. A misguided, cowardly girl who only ever saw the real world through dreams. In a way, she was like someone who terminally lurked reddit without ever interacting with people in the real world.
Varrus didn't hate such a lifestyle, and spent most of his time online too, but he still had to deal with bullshit real world responsibilities.
Ysera, from as far as Varrus could tell, always shucked anything negative against her onto someone else. Malfurion, adventurers, they always had to save her. He was assuming a lot here, but based on her lore, Ysera seemed to avoid responsibility like the plague. As a result, she was rather sheltered, and a bit obsessive. He kinda saw his wife in her, and for that, he took pity on her.
That is why Varrus didn't immediately try to yeet her into the next dimension, and absorb her soul. That, and whenever he conquered new realms or other people, he tried to minimize casualties.
Taking over Quel'Thalas & establishing the council was relatively bloodless, excepting the imprisonment of Koren's brother, Koren's father's murder, and the murder of Lord Sanguinar at his wife's hands.
When he went on a diplomatic mission to the Kobolds homeland, they only murdered the leader. Likewise in Gilneas, they went for the head, along with some nobles, whilst the commoners were left alone.
Ysera, for all her faults, still had potential, beyond his sympathies for her. From a utilitarian perspective, he still hoped to use her as a counterpoint for the Avatar of Vaermina.
While Rho'dan had worked his masculine magic, and wooed a fucking Goddess, love was a tether Varrus was loathe to rely upon.
Daedric Princes were known to be mercurial. That they often changed forms, or played games for amusement. Should she tire of Rho'dan, or if heaven forbid, his chief guardsmen perish, Varrus could foresee Vaermina transforming into a top tier threat.
With that in mind, Varrus very much wanted Ysera to hold down the fort, and act as a counter to any potential Daedric shenanigans.
The important thing now, was to discover if Ysera truly wanted to ally with him, that she harbored no malicious intent, and was simply acting out in one foolish blunder.
OR to discover if she was secretly an ancient trickster using this persona as nothing more than a tool for Varrus to let his guard down.
Underestimating a 10,000+ year old Dragon would be the height of stupidity. Frankly, Varrus couldn't 100% trust the obvious answer, that: Ysera really was that childish. So that's why he had made this city, and bought time, so that he could also come up with a plan.
Whilst Ysera began to destroy concrete blocks, and other buildings, Varrus-from within the depths of a sewer-plotted Ysera's downfall.
After some time, and once she had turned the entire city, Varrus had realized a path to sussing Ysera out.
Having a brief chat with Ysera on a TV screen, Varrus tore apart the city, and exploded the entire scenery, replacing it with giant-skyscraper sized-falling rainbow colored glass.
Hidden within one of the shards, Varrus initiated a sense of falling, as if the shards were moving downward into an endless black chasm.
The feeling of falling was further exacerbated, as Varrus moved the glass in such a way that Ysera would be feeling butterflies in her stomach.
Part of his plan was to confuse, and overstimulate the Green Dragon. Once he had her in a mentally exhausted state, then he would swoop in, and perform his magic tricks.
Chuckling to himself, Varrus started to up the ante since he knew he had to break her, and began to get creative.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ysera finally cast a spell that pointed in the direction of Varrus's subconscious.
Glancing across this realm of vibrantly colored crystals, Ysera realized her target was dozens if not a hundred miles away.
Trying to see if she could fly there, the second Ysera flapped her wings off the ground, an incredible gravity pressed her down, and she felt as if she were going to be squashed!
Mumbling angrily to herself, Ysera erupted in a burst of power, and erased Varrus's presence around her. Flapping her wings once more, Ysera found she could take flight.
However, peering over the edge of the falling crystal, there was nothing below but a vast empty chasm. Feeling butterflies in her stomach, Ysera ruled out flying.
That only left teleportation.
This was somewhat dangerous, as long distance teleportation always carried with it some risk. If Varrus interrupted her mid incantation-which he very well could do-then she might have some of her body parts spliced into these crystals. Even in a dream, this was a less than ideal outcome.
Rolling her eyes at Varrus's unwillingness to see her, Ysera firmed her resolve, and tried to warp over to his position. However, as soon as she was going to complete the spell, she felt something in her throat!
“Heuk, heuk, heuk!” Ysera coughed, and wretched as it had the consistency of hair!
She hadn't experienced such a flavor since she had hunted with her siblings millenia ago.
Eventually, she spat the object out, and to her surprise, it was a hairball!
“Eww!” Licking her claws, Ysera tried to get the disgusting flavor of-unbelievably-cat hair out of her mouth!
However, when her forked tongue extended to taste anything other than furball, it licked the webbed feet of a duck.
Blinking her eyes, Ysera just about had a heart attack when she saw that her claws had been replaced with webbed toes, and her snout, her snout had a bill on it like a platypus!
Catching her reflection in one of the many crystal mirrors that surrounded her, Ysera just about had a heart attack!
“Varrus!” Ysera angrily yelled into the crystalline void, but received no response.
Ysera rolled her eyes, then grinned-or grinned as much as a bill allowed her anyhow-and transformed herself into a naked High Elf.
Without even needing words or focus, transformative magic was one of her fortés.
Striking a pose, and admiring herself in a crystal mirror, Ysera knew that her Elven form was highly attractive. Flaunting her stuff, Ysera cocked her hips forward, and practiced a smug smile she had seen a thousand thousand times in Highborn dreams.
“Come play with me~” Ysera said, and bounced up and down in place, making sure her everything jiggled.
‘If that doesn't bring him to me, then I'll have to resort to grabbing him myself!’ Ysera clenched her fists, and pouted.
“Ha ha ha, like a kitten. Honestly, you are attractive.” Varrus's voice boomed throughout the realm.
“Then you'll come to me. If there's anyone I'd like to share my first time with, it'd be you…” Ysera whispered quietly, and looked down at the floor bashfully. Rubbing her toes back and forth along the rainbow crystalline surface, Ysera slowly smiled with a hint of nervousness.
Unbeknownst to her, a silent red orb containing a fear spell travelled through the distance, and struck her in the back.
Upon taking effect, Ysera's entire demeanor took a drastic shift.
Heart racing a million times a minute, Ysera genuinely wished Varrus had seen the light, yet a small part of herself hated that she had resorted to this. That they couldn't have gotten to know one another. That they could have gone slow. Done things like spending moments together on the beach, watching sunsets, learning one anothers favorite foods, and so much more. She wanted to be able to pick clothes out for him, and know what styles, and colors he preferred, to explore what literature he liked, so she could commision works for him.
After thinking this all through, those prior emotions of vindication, self empowerment, and success scattered to the wayside like petals from a rose on a windy afternoon.
Dripping from her face, a single tear transformed into a waterfall.
Rubbing at her cheeks, Ysera tried to be happy, that the man of her dreams was surely on his way to make love to her, but deep down, she knew she wasn't good enough.
None of the boys she had invited over the years had met her high standards, and the one that finally took her fancy was so magnificent, that it almost seemed impossible.
Repelled the Scourge invasion, defeated a surprise Troll invasion, warded off betrayal, slew his own father, fed his peoples addiction keeping them from civil war, crafted masterworked gear, rebuilt Silvermoon, cleansed the uncleansable plague, won over several nations, defeated her brother at the height of his power, and destroyed her mortal enemy that she had been fighting for thousands of years in one afternoon.
Varrus Vandercross was extraordinary. Someone she coveted, and wanted to be with. But after thinking about what she wanted from him, she realized she had been too selfish. She loved the idea of Varrus more than the man himself.
She didn't know his favorite foods, books, music, or a thousand other tiny idiosyncrasies that made up who he was. All the while, she had been attracted with what he was, what his accomplishments were.
It disgusted her how shallow her thoughts had been.
“I'm the worst. I don't want to sell my body for false love. I want real, emotional love too.” Ysera mumbled to herself miserably, and sat down in a fetal position, her arms covered her legs and she rested her head on her knees.
“If this is an act, then you're one scary lady, Ysera. Buuut, if you're really remorseful…hah, this is really complicated. I was planning on putting you through a playdough machine, experience drowning, an epic boss fight, and so much more,I wasn't expecting well, this. In fact, kitten, you crying like this makes you even prettier. If I wasn't married, I'd be by your side in a heartbeat. But I cannot be yours, Ysera, I am sorry.” Varrus's voice sounded from a nearby crystalline-humanoid construct.
Ysera wiped her tears, and mumbled incoherently to herself as a warm blanket was draped over her shoulders.
~~~~~~~~~
Sighing to himself, Varrus could only shake his head in pity.
He knew what it was like to be lonely, to be unloved, to lose friends and family.
Watching Ysera tremble, despite having the blanket placed over her, Varrus, for the umpteenth time sighed.
After blasting Ysera with a fear spell, he had planned on activating the Soul Crusher perk should she prove more resilient, or antagonistic. However, in her current, raw state, that hardly seemed necessary.
He had been prepared for some final, epic duel even, but magic was funny. Not every ending to a conflict was due to a fiery explosion, or gore caked duel to the death.
Today, loneliness & depression had won him the battle, yet it left Varrus feeling hollow. There was no cathartic release like when he cut Xavius from stern to stem.
But perhaps, peace didn't have to be achieved through violence this day.
Viewing the trembling girl, Varrus emerged from a portal behind her, and held out his hand, hesitating.
Worry that this was some sort of trap niggled at the back of his mind. Ysera did, afterall, turn on him earlier.
Hesitating. Varrus very seriously considered using the other function of Dream Geas upon Ysera, which had the feature of making the victims of the spell into thralls. Yet that notion left a sour taste in his mouth. It wasn't that he was unwilling to go that far. Varrus had practically done the same with his Dead Thrall spell to Starbottle, and Dawnbringer, but those were two national icons that brought much needed support to Quel'Thalas. In this circumstance, did he really need to enslave such a vulnerable girl?
Hand mere inches from her back, Varrus ultimately placed it on her head, and gave it a few gentle pats.
“There, there, kitten.” Varrus said comfortingly, and said in a quiet voice.
At the same time, he did two things. One, Varrus activated the perk, Dream Charm, which helped improve Ysera's disposition towards him. Secondly, he cast a calm spell, so that Ysera would stop freaking out.
It was a band-aid solution, but Varrus was no psychologist. He was a magician, if he could make someone better with magic, then that's what he'd do!
“Will.” Ysera barely said, looking up at Varrus hopefully from the ground. She clenched the blanket tightly, then skittishly looked back down.
Varrus patiently waited for her, and conjured up some hot cocoa for the both of them.
Taking a sip, Varrus closed his eyes, and enjoyed the flavor.
Eventually, after a few sips, Ysera seemed to gather her courage.
“Will you be my friend? Like, not lovers or anything like that! But just friends, like people who hangout and stuff.” Ysera spoke quickly, as if she were afraid she wouldn't get it all out, or that Varrus would be quick to deny her request.
“Of course. Here, to new friends.” Varrus clinked his snowman themed mug against hers.
Ysera rubbed her eyes, as a fresh wave of tears spilled down her face, except this time, she was smiling.
“To new friends!”
~~~~~~~~
AN: That pretty much does it with the Emerald Dream arc, maybe 1 or 2 more chapters with recap/MC’s plans moving forward, then it’ll be back into the action. Sorry for not ending in some cataclysmic fight as usual, haha. However, we'll be pivoting to the Plaguelands very soon. I DO have a cataclysmic ending planned for that arc. Arthas is no joke. GG
Comments
Michael DiVelbiss
Just like I thought. You made a convincing and disarming path for a dragon to redeem themselves. The real question is how much Syra is gonna traumatize her. Good show. Glad this is over. These last 2 arcs felt incredibly substantial. Mainly because the threats were so powerful. But yeah, now it's time for Arthas. That'll be something
Jar Jar Bingus
That was cute; I'm not mad at her now
