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On a hill in the highlands of eastern Kalimdor, there is a grove of trees whose leaves blossom blood-red all the year long. Nestled in their roots and shaded by their mighty branches is the clutch of the Aspect of the red dragonflight, Alexstrasza the Life-binder, Dragonqueen. She reaches out to caress her eggs with a slim hand modeled on the elves who have their kingdoms to the west. They will hatch soon, she knows.
dragon!revan in azeroth
"Of the five main dragonflights, each was given responsibility for a part of the world by the Titans, who shaped Azeroth when it was young, because I and four others did them a great service. To Neltharion and the blacks, the earth, its substance and form. To Malygos and the blues, magic and all its uses. To Ysera and the greens, nature and all growing things. To Nozdormu and the bronzes, time and its conservation. And to me and my reds, they set the task of protecting all life, dragon and mortal alike."
"Not all, perhaps," Alexstrasza smiles. "But yes, as much as you can manage. Your brothers and sisters and cousins and I are also here to do the same."
"I try very hard, but I'm little and don't know enough and things don't occur to me! I want to be better at it."
"Yes. So I just need to wait and explore and help with things and I'll learn a lot!!" She gives a little happy squeak and snuggles closer into Mom.
"It is where members of our flight are returned to the earth when their time has come, and where we pay our respects to them."
Later arrives eventually, as laters are wont to do. Ask any bronze and they'll tell you all about it, though you will need to set aside a while of your immediate later. Actually on second thought, it would be better to not ask a bronze and just take it as read.
The dragonshrine is too far for Ranaex to fly on her own, so she can ride on her mother.
'Too far to fly on her own' is a very exciting distance! She has never been that distance before, and so she's looking forward to it very much! She is an excellent passenger for her mother, sending lovelovelove all the way as she watches the land below speed by.
The land flows on and on underneath Alexstrasza's shadow as she flies tirelessly across rocky mountain and secluded vale, placid lake and ancient forest.
To pass the time over the days of flight, she tells stories of days gone by, of adventures with the Titanic Watchers. Mighty Odyn, who generaled the armies that beat back the Black Empire. Fierce Ra-den, who subdued the rogue elemental lords and sealed them in their planes. Vigilant Tyr, who roamed the world as the first warning of danger.
Oooo. These are excellent stories!! She listens to them raptly, and asks leading questions and about where all of the involved people have gone and what they're doing and if she can ever meet them. Will the Black Empire ever be good? Can they be friends with everyone else and then everybody gets a happily ever after, once everyone has learned how to be better and understands everyone else's point of view??
Mostly the Watchers have retreated their citadels and remnant Titan installations. Their great tasks are done, and the world now belongs to those they made it safe for.
The Black Empire was made up of the forces of the Old Gods, and the Old Gods are embodiments of the Void, which is hostile to all life. They wish nothing more than for the world to be wiped clean of all inhabitants and torn asunder into its constituent parts, as it was before the Titans came. Even their own servants they drive unto madness, twisting them until they tore each other apart as much as those who opposed them.
Oh. Okay, so those guys are no good and cannot be redeemed and are distinctly not friend material. That's a pity, but oh well, Ranaex understands and thinks it's good to know these sorts of things early. Any other groups that are distinctly not friend material that she should know about in case they want to drive her mad or eradicate all life or something?
There are still some Twilight cults that pop up from time to time, but there aren't really any remaining forces that pose the same level of threat.
(Alexstrasza is quietly relieved.)
Oh! Okay, good, that's how things should be, then. Ranaestrasza is pleased that the world is so conveniently nice.
They pass by a large, ornately scuplted tower of white stone. This is Wyrmrest Temple, says Alexstrasza, and it was constructed as a neutral place for the dragonflights to meet when something important needs to be discussed.
Ooooooooo. That's smart. Wait, they need a neutral ground? Do the dragonflights fight sometimes? Is it a just-in-case precaution if they start fighting later so they can have peace talks??