Chapter 153

Half an hour had passed since the army of dreamfolk had launched their attack on Syra & company. 

For Syra, it was half an hour of excitement, and retribution. 

Facing off against five Heroic true Dragons at once, and the combined attacks of several hundred Elites, she had never fought so many powerful opponents at once! 

Parrying a blast of green energy from a Dragon's breath, Syra cleaved through the stream, and performed a headlong rush towards the beast that was attacking her. 

She must've caught the Dragon by surprise, because it rapidly blinked at Syra, and tried to flap its wings away. Yet Syra was too fast. 

Thanks to the duel with Grom, she had gotten a measure on her speed enchantments, and could outpace any Hero that wasn't at the very top of the totem pole. 

As a result, she had emerged from her sprint in front of the Green Dragon that was attacking her in practically an instant. Sword stabbing forth, her shining Holy Void blade pierced the roof of the beings mouth, and exploded with purple-gold energy out the roof of its head. 

The Dragon wailed in despair, turning to the other four Dragons in pleading horror, but there was to be no rescue. 

Syra heaved her sword, and slammed the lizard to the ground. 

Falling down along with it, Syra pressed into the ground like a meteor. 

Channeling her magic into the tip of her sword, she pointed toward the earth, and when she made contact, erupted in a wide, dome-like explosion. 

Holy Void mana spread everywhere. The power contained within her attack spread to a radius of 5 miles. Whereupon it incinerated dozens of Elites, and thousands of Regulars. 

Standing atop the corpse of the Heroic true Dragon, her long blonde hair whipped in the wind, and a smile stretched from ear to ear. 

This was living! 

Glancing about the battlefield, Syra saw Valanar hiding at the edge, fighting with his worms, and Nightsong had already slain 3 out of the five Heroic Dragons that had tried to kill her. 

Syra withheld a grimace. This was no competition, and there was no dishonor in being slower than the preeminent legend amongst the Highborn…but Syra wanted to be better! 

She didn't care for glory, or any of those wasteful platitudes. All she wanted, was to be the strongest woman in House Vandercross. 

To be the sole idol for her children! 

Dodging another concentrated blast of green fire, Syra looked up at the remaining Dragons murderously. 

The only thing missing from this fight, Syra concluded, was Varrus. He would have loved collecting the Soul Gems necessary for his enchantments. 

Her heart ached just thinking about him! 

Dropping her grin, Syra lost all pleasure she had from this fight. Varrus's whereabouts were still unknown. She didn't have time to enjoy this! 

Jumping towards another Dragon, Syra's form took on a deep umbra hue bathed in golden light. 

She zig-zagged from point to point, dodging every blast of energy that came her way. 

Leaping into the air, Syra was quick, like a comet, and decapitated her next foe with ease. Springboarding off the Dragon's body, she swiped her sword at the next one. 

'I'm coming for you Varrus!' 

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From within her temple, Ysera watched on in frustration as the army she had spent the last 10,000 years constructing was washed away like a sand castle at high tide. 

She had dreamed them all onto existence, and had taken great pride in their creation. Ysera wouldn't go so far as to call them her children, but she had had her fun playing Queen and having them as her faithful servants. 

Even the true Dragons under her service were not real, as Ysera had never truly found anyone who impressed her. Perhaps that red headed beast of a man, Rho'dan was a curiosity, but even he did not meet her high standards. As a Dragon, she was only interested in the strong, but as a woman with fine taste, she wanted to be cherished by a fair man as beautiful as she was. 

Growling to herself, Ysera stomped her foot, and was angered at how summoning Varrus Vandercross had created an uncontrollable spiral of chaos within the Emerald Dream. 

Chiefly, she was disappointed at how easily her army was falling apart. 

This force made up of dreams was designed to counter the malignant cancers of nightmare. It was extremely effective against other beings of unreality. Demons, Daedra, Elementals, they would slay with ease! However, they were no match for the novel use of magic that was the combination of Light & Void energies. 

Her one and only solace in all of this, was that those annoying druids had met their demise, and that Xavius was-ironically-due for a nasty nightmare. 

She had been keeping up to date with the ongoing battle within the lands of Nightmare, and she had been joyful at first. The way Varrus Vandercross survived such a harrowing fight, then his burning of that corrupted land. Why, it could make an old woman blush in shame! What she had been preparing for for countless years had been solved in a matter of hours! 

Such a man was much more useful to cling onto than the likes of Malfurion! All talk, no action! Ysera had tried to seduce the famed druid multiple times, to try anything to get him to fight. Yet all he was interested in was talk! 

Meanwhile, this rough, brutal attitude that Varrus was taking truly struck a chord with her draconic heart. 

Whilst she was all about preaching the peace and sanctity of nature, at the end of the day, nature was not inherently friendly! 

No matter what some druids preached about meditation and tranquility, nature would as soon as bite your head off as it would approach you for a scratch under the chin! 

That being said, Ysera had been mentally preparing herself to throw herself at his feet if it meant she could remain as the ruler of the Emerald Dream. She had caught glimpses of what happened to Nozdormu. 

That was a fate she had to avoid at all costs! 

As a transcendental beauty, and mature woman full of grace, poise, and incredible power, she would act as the perfect mate for the equally powerful youth. 

Then the wife had gotten herself involved! 

Ysera was confident that she could win against Syra, afterall, the Elf was not a Demigod. However, Nightsong would be an issue. That was a fight that Ysera thought she could win as well. But the impact of their clash would be so monumental, it would be sure to draw Varrus's attention. 

It would not be a good look to be seen killing his mother and lover. 

And so, Ysera was in a bind. 

Her hopes of finally finding a powerful, handsome man had been dashed, and her empire of dreams was slowly coming into ruin. 

Biting her thumbnail in anxiety, Ysera continued to watch her illusions fall to the wayside. 

"I have not seen you so panicked since you discovered the infiltration of the Emerald Nightmare." An ethereal, mature woman's voice rang out. 

Entering Ysera's chambers, a floating blue mass of mana in the shape of a woman's face made her presence known. 

It was Aessina, the Wild God, and Mother of Wisps. 

"Aessina! You are a welcome presence! I had thought you were recovering after Malfurion sacrificed so many of your children at Mount Hyjal!" Ysera exclaimed. 

"I was, my dear, yet the events in the dream do not allow rest. What have you gotten yourself into, girl?" Aessina lightly admonished in a playful, yet serious tone. 

"Oh Aessina, it's dreadful!" Ysera explained, and then began to share all of the events that had transpired over the last few hours. 

After a quick recap, Aessina hummed in thought. 

"Why my dear, the solution to your woes is simple." Aessina laughed. 

"Do not hold me in suspense, Aessina, what wisdom do you have to share?" Ysera dropped her pride, and asked the Wisp Queen. 

"Varrus Vandercross, he is the crux of this situation, is he not? Even now, he turns the nightmare into ash, as his wife turns the dream into a wasteland. Xavius must be panicking the same as you. Now is the perfect time to rid yourself of that viper, and ally yourself with a new mortal servant." Aessina twirled her giant ethereal head in a perfect circle, and winked at Ysera. 

When Ysera was about to respond, her scrying orb began to ring, interrupting her thoughts. 

Glancing at it, she recognized the mana signature trying to reach out to her.

It was Xavius! 

Ysera contemplated blasting the orb to smithereens, and even raised a hand filled with mystical power to complete such a task, however, she was stopped by Aessina. 

"Wait! This is an opportunity! The Nightmare King must be truly desperate to be calling you now. Now is the time to ply him for all he's worth. His 'assistance' is the key to victory." Aessina suggested. 

"...that could work. Xavius is a coward, one who would grasp at any straws to survive. Like a rat on a drowning ship, he would reach out to any safe harbor, even me." Ysera paced around the room, and plotted her next move out loud. 

"Precisely, my dear. Put that innocent womanly charm of yours to good use for once! Draw the arrogant paramour in with your beauty, and summon him atop Syra's head. This way, you can kill two birds with one stone." Aessina suggested with a joyful, teasing tone in her voice. 

"Then once Xavius has slain and defiled her, I can swoop in, and avenge her. Varrus, heart stricken, shall be mine for the taking!" Ysera paused in her pacing, and exclaimed. 

"Wrong! Try again dear. I know you are looking for love, but this is the incorrect path." Aessina tutted like a disappointed mother. 

"But Aessina, I have finally done away with that brute Malfurion, and a handsome, powerful man is coming to my rescue. It will be perfect, just like in the fairy tales!" Ysera argued. 

"Still a little girl." Aessina shook her head from left to right in disappointment. "From what you have told me, Varrus just finished killing your brother, showcasing he is very much capable of slaying you. Furthermore, Nozdormu had plotted to slay Varrus decades ago, and it is by your hand that the Elf is in the Emerald Dream in the first place. Do you truly think he wouldn't find you culpable in Syra's death? Think, girl!" 

"...fine. I'll summon Xavius, then notify Varrus about his wife, and my intentions to ally with him." Ysera crossed her arms, and pouted. 

"There, there. It is better to live and fight another day, then to blindly pursue love scorned." Aessina said comfortingly. 

"Haah, thank you for sharing your wisdom as always, Aessina. Now go, I must prepare myself to make contact with that vile lecher." Ysera said. 

"Best of luck, dear." Aessina smiled, then hid herself out of sight. 

Ysera then took a deep breath, and forced herself to cry. 

Accepting the call, Ysera took in Xavius's smug self assured form, and barely withheld a smile. 

The Satyr remained silent for a couple minutes, clearly trying at some power play. But the longer he remained quiet, the more pathetic he seemed to Ysera. 

Seeing as the arrogant prick was just going to keep sitting there and ogling her without saying anything, Ysera decided to play with him. 

"Here to gloat, are you? Well, get on with it, I only have so long to live." Ysera spoke morosely. 

"Now, now my dear, gloating does not become esteemed beings such as ourselves. We have a reporte, Ysera. While we were never friends, I at least have the respect to know how to accept defeat with dignity and grace." Xavius replied trying to sound cultured. 

Ysera internally rolled her eyes. This was too easy. 

Xavius really thought he was going to take her? 

Please, as if she would ever lay with something so vile! 

Once she was done with this call, she would contact Varrus. The Emerald Nightmare was finished! 

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