Waking Up on the Big Day

5/13 morning:

I woke up in my pocket apartment to the rhythmic thumping of Imriss continuing to try to get out of the closet. That wasn't what woke me up. He'd been doing it all night. I was faintly worried he'd hurt himself, actually. He had 110 hours left till capture, and still seemed perpetually sleep walking. I tossed in a standard obedience to aid the retinue and feel good while doing it, and I expanded his "don't hurt anyone" disobedience to include himself. The thumping stopped. Good call. I checked on him, and the inside of the door was covered with acidic green slime; it didn't seem to be damaging the door; if anything he seemed to have mild acid burns all over him. I gave him a quick renew and closed the door. Frickin weird, and a bit uncomfortable to watch.

Today was the big day; the ritual would be at noon. Auffrey would be watching and give us the signal when court was about to start. Unfortunately we couldn't time it perfectly; we'd just have to stack the deck in our favor and hope.

••••••••••

I checked in with Eva, and explained that I needed her to pass out some amulets. I wasn't overly picky today; town councilmen, an officer of the Night Watch, someone rich. All were acceptable targets. "Just choose someone who you believe will take it and wear it. By the way, you're the only enchanter in town, right?"

"Oh yes. The only professional at least. I don't know what hobbies some others may have."

Not perfect, but pretty good. I'd have to accept that level of risk. "Is there anyone here in Duskwood that would be interested in hiring some mercenaries? Only people that could afford them, of course."

"Oh, that sounds like the Carevins to me. They are an odd sort, very intense, very dedicated. They adapted better to the shadows than most, and seem to be waging their own little crusade independently of the Watchers. I think they believe they can, bit by bit, clear out all the threats in Duskwood. If anyone will hire you, it would be Jonathan Carevin."

"Excellent. Could you give him an amulet?"

"Not one that he would wear. He thinks me suspect for the materials I deal with. Foolishness. The whole family became obsessed with the light after the Darkening; anything but committed zeal is suspect to him." Alright. Definitely approaching him as Brother Erich, priest of the Light, then. Shame I don't have more priests on my payroll. No worries; I could address that later. Like everything else in my life, a series of cans being kicked down the road. "Tell me more about them. Who is in charge?" If I could capture one or two key members of the family, the rest would probably fall in line.

"Hmm. Well, Jonathan is the head of house, more's the pity. He went off to war to fight the Scourge and came back with strange ideas. He may be a Paladin but I don't much care for the way he looks at anyone who doesn't praise the light enough for his tastes." I perked up. Paladin? A rich and influential Human Paladin in a town I was planning on taking control of? Now I had to have him.

"Is there anyone who would notice if he started acting a bit odd?"

"His mother. Elaine is a nosy gossip when her neighbors start acting strange; if her son changed at all she'd see it in an instant and probably start trying to figure out why."

Great. Another old lady. Well, she'd be a young lady before long. Hell, maybe she could be a dragon. More dragons is always good. Speaking of which, the Carevins could wait till tomorrow, at minimum. I had two fine gentlemen who needed their second initiation.

••••••••••

The two Mages stood before me, Lividia, and Talaada. They were a bit skinny, even after body tune up. Talaada and I were both Draenei; Lividia was quite stubbornly human. The newbies seemed curious, but not suspicious. We were standing on a nice little cliff on the north edge of the Swamp of Sorrows, which I'd had Talaada and Lividia teleport them to while I waited. I like a bit of ritual when I'm improvising a cult, ok?

"Melaar, I give you this, the amulet that represents my connection to this community, that you may partake of its bounty. In time you will earn an amulet of your own, through an act of faith, dedication, or kindness. Until then, you may rely on my strength."

I placed my amulet around his neck, then held the stone just long enough to connect validation to repeating after me. Lividia was copying me with the other mage, ostensibly because she had been his tutor for the last day.

"Now, close your eyes and repeat after me. 'I am ready to become more fully a part of the Brotherhood of Love and Beauty. I accept that secrets have been kept until I was ready, but I am ready now to hear them in a spirit of Love." They repeated in unison, heads bowed and eyes closed, and I used Talaada's amulet to turn them into nether dragons. They were bigger than Talaada, but not by as much as I might have hoped. Lividia had told me that most dragons who weren't empowered somehow capped out only a bit larger than a kodo, but I'd had my hopes. They were definitely big enough to carry a person or two, though, so I really shouldn't be complaining.

"Now, open your eyes. You have been blessed with the bodies of dragons, and become one with us." The two of them were examining their new draconic bodies with great interest, but they were primed to accept the change. When the initial shock faded, I continued. "However, it is not fitting for one to lose themselves fully in the community, so I invite you to regain your selves through the incantation that Lady Lividia has taught to you. Once more, close your eyes and focus on your truest self. The visage that represents all that you are and all you wish to be seen as. When it is clear in your mind, begin."

The words were not so complicated, and they had gotten them down pat yesterday, so thanks to everlasting talent they could recite them perfectly. In a few moments I had a pair of towering blue men in ornate robes standing before me. Their facial tentacles and horns were perfectly in place, and they had just a bit more bulk than I suspected was normal for a couple of non-combatant scholars, even among draenei.

I smiled at them beatifically, "welcome my friends. You are now full adepts of the Brotherhood of Love and Beauty. Your first task will be as mentors, helping initiates to learn this ritual, and informing me when they are ready, mentally and spiritually, for this transcendence. Adept Talaada will explain the rules an Adept must follow, and lead you back to your dwellings." Lividia and I took back our amulets and vanished. It was time to get ready.

••••••••••

Onyxia awoke in her lair, as she did most mornings that she could get away with it. She stretched out, enjoying the scalding heat of her volcanic cavern retreat. She had gone to great lengths to ensure that she wouldn't be bothered here; only her own blood could open the door, and then only if it were fully infused with elemental magic. As it was when in her own veins, essentially. She kept a few dragonspawn here, infused with her blood as part of the transformation which ensured their loyalty, and they gathered a tribute of fresh meat from the swamp each day, and saw to it that new hatchlings didn't wander off.

Simply put, it was a sanctuary where everything was exactly as she wanted it. One she loathed leaving, but she would never accomplish anything simply dozing here. She knew herself well enough to know that once she was out and about she'd fully wake up and be glad she did. First however, she needed to assume her visage.

https://imgur.com/a/JCXQJzS

Onyxia had no patience for dragons who treated their visages as some kind of artistic statement, or an expression of their "true selves." Onyxia's true self was one that needed to be hidden for now; Katrana Prestor was a useful tool. One she admitted to have grown fond of, but she'd never go so far as to outright live among the mortals for its own sake, or take the form simply to put people at ease. She shuddered at the knowledge that some of the other dragonflights even went so far as to willingly enter into romantic relationships with mortals. Onyxia enjoyed sex; even when wearing Katrana's face, it was one of the least odious ways to ensnare a mortal's loyalty. She had many eggs, and quite a few were fertilized with human seed. That didn't mean she saw them as anything but tools that could occasionally double as toys.

She shrank down into the imperiously beautiful human she had chosen, and quickly teleported to the beacon she kept in her chambers. If she lingered, the weak human body would begin to sweat and there would be questions as to how her makeup wasn't smudging. There was nothing to smudge; she'd simply made her face look appropriate when she'd created this visage. She would have snapped long ago if she'd needed to invest much actual time and effort into her appearance. As it was, people commented about how attached she was to her "favorite dress" frequently enough that she'd needed to work out a schedule for how often she could get away with wearing her default. Changing into a gown was horribly irritating, even with assistance.

Two of her dragonspawn rushed to strip and dress her to attend court. One was a maid who had made the transformation willingly. The other was a bit of gutter trash wearing the face of one who had rejected her offer as her visage. They always worked together, so that the latter's inexperience wouldn't cause problems. She hadn't bothered with most of the staff, but her personal servants and the royal guards at least needed to be under her control, to make sure they didn't do anything stupid, like telling her where she was and was not allowed to be, and Drakefire amulets were far too troublesome to use on replaceable servants.