Post by Nahlia "Nah" Lifebloom on Oct 19, 2022 21:23:35 GMT
Echoes from Another Life
A Dragonflight Pre-Pre-Patch Story starring Nahlia “Nah” Lifebloom
In all known realms of the cosmos, time flows forward, ever forward. Chaotic energies in places like the Twisting Nether can affect how quickly it flows, but it only flows forward.
Once an event happens, it cannot be changed. These events and choices, made up of all creatures and forces in the cosmos, join together like a river, sharing the same reality. Different choices and different possibilities naturally spin off the river of time like small creeks and estuaries, ebbing and flowing for a while. If these shades of what could have been are left alone, they will eventually dissipate into nothing. If efforts are made to preserve them (or alter them), they can indeed remain in existence indefinitely. They can even be made to feed back into the main river—dead creatures can seemingly "live again," and the past (or future) may literally come back to haunt you. This is not a natural phenomenon, and the inhabitants of the main timeway will often find these experiences to be quite alarming.
But the only timeway that has a permanent effect on the cosmos is the main timeway. Creatures like the bronze dragons, who have command of temporal magic, can see all the countless tributaries of alternate universes and timelines, and they can even move back and forth along the stream to observe the past and the future.
If that main river is disrupted, it could spell doom and disaster. All life on Azeroth depends on time to flow ever forward. Without the surety that the sun will rise and set each day, the seasons would not pass, the cycle of life would become meaningless, and all living creatures would eventually die from being unable to sustain themselves. It is the most sacred mission of the bronze dragonflight to keep that from happening. - World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3
Lorekeeper: We’ve done some stuff that’s involved with time travel and alternate realities. What happens to those souls when they pass on? Do they go to the Shadowlands?
Steve Danuser: This is a complicated question. How do you deal with things like alternate Draenor? There was a Draka there. What is that Draka? Is she alive? Is she dead? Is she related to the Draka in Shadowlands that we see? Or is there another Draka? We know that in Warlords of Draenor, Velen of that universe died. Does that mean there is a Velen in the Shadowlands? But what about the Velen in Azeroth? All these things are very complicated questions.
The way I would have you think about it is think of a rope… If you look at a rope, it is one thing, right? It’s something that you can grab onto, you can hold it, you can see it; think of that as a character. Think of that rope as Draka or Velen.
If you look at that rope more closely, you can see there are different threads that make up the rope. There are different twines that pull together, and you can pull off one of these threads if you want. But it’s still a rope, and each of those threads you can think of as one of the realities of the character, one of the streams of time… There is a thread that is the Draka from Draenor we visited in the Warlords of Draenor. There is another thread that is Draka on Azeroth as we know her… And there are many other threads that could be other realities that we never peered into. But all of those threads at some time come together to make that rope. And remember also that, as you’ll see, that there are many characters in the Shadowlands when they refer to time, they usually say that time is not a construct of Death. Time and Death are not related. Death is about eternity, not linear time. The manner in which these threads come together, that can take a very long time from mortal perceptions. Those threads can be separated for a time, but sooner or later, they do combine to make one rope that is that character. You can think of it as the threads of that rope, all the individual threads, are just waiting. And over time, they will come together but they can exist as separate entities for a time. That still doesn’t change the fact that they are part of one rope.
“Heyya, Whitewind Company. This is your CEO, Lady Nah, speaking. Recently, I’ve gotten some reports that there’s something going on at the digsite in the Badlands. Something about suspicious figures looming around Uldaman. Probably some drunk dwarves or some troggs or whatnot, but I’m going to scout ahead, since I’m already in the area. If anything happens to me, you know where to find me. Anyhow, see ya when I get back!”
Nahlia “Nah” Lifebloom - or, rather, just Nah - clicked off her communications device and stowed it away into her usual jacket attire. Smirking to herself, she looked down from the red-orange cliff face she was precariously standing on, the old, teal-green murals and columns of Uldaman sticking out like sore thumbs against the meza that was the Badlands. As small figures walked and worked the earth beneath where Nah stood - the local Dwarves still undoubtedly searching for more - the Kaldorei carefully made her way down a nearby slope. After landing quietly on a patch of red sand next to a tall, brown monolith with a green runic symbol on it, Nah began to stealthily approach the entranceway to the Uldaman digsite. Sapping a nearby Surveyor with a snicker, her entrance was made easy and simple; not a soul spotted her outside of one confused Dwarf. The well lit interior of the cavernous site was occupied by many a dwarven Digger; not a one, however, managed to spot the shadow of the Kaldorei that passed them by. The near-labyrinthian nature of the cavern meant that Nah had to pass through tunnel after tunnel, until she reached a sort of large, open area, the entranceway into the Titan facility of Uldaman.
“Hmm… nothing unusual here, I’ve noticed…” Nah thought to herself, as she scouted around, her golden eyes examining each of the dwarves in her line of sight, “No possible Nathrezem… that I can tell. Not yet, anyway… perhaps they’ve gone further inside…”
Onward the Kaldorei went, cautiously entering the main way into the titan facility of Uldaman. Passing around a nearby column, she hid from site from even the local Explorer’s League-affiliated Dwarves, instead intent on locating any oddities amongst the locals within. Rogue troggs still roamed the area, but Nah chose not to engage any of them, at least… not right now. Passing through Uldaman’s Hall of the Keepers, she entered the Map Chamber, where she noticed that something… was off. Turning her head to one side, she noticed a chamber that - to her knowledge - had not been opened before. Double-checking the map that was drawn of the area many years prior, she squinted at the doorway leading into another tunnel, beyond the miniature Uldaman on the floor.
“Strange… is that a recent discovery…? I haven’t heard anything about this…”
As Nah stepped towards the doorway, an uneasy feeling immediately began to wash over her; something wasn’t right… something was very, very wrong. Three steps into her approach, and the sound of rushing sand and magical discourse immediately caught her attention, and she jumped back as a temporal portal opened up before her! Emerging from the portal was an individual - masculine and elven in appearance - yet distinctly darkened by some twisted magic. He was chuckling darkly to himself as he stepped out of the portal, his eyes fixated on Nah.
“Well, well… right on time, Nahlia Lifebloom,” the newcomer remarked, his voice distorted and echoing, even more so than would be natural in that cavernous chamber, “And here, I had almost pondered if I had entered the wrong timestream!”
Emerging from stealth - seeing as how she was seen regardless - Nah snickered, looking at the Infinite Dragonkin in her usual style of blatant defiance. “And whatever would an Infinite Dragon want with me? What, trying to prevent me from seeing what’s beyond that door behind you?”
“That would very much be -one- reason for my being here, Nahlia… but, in truth, I have something of a personal intrigue about you,” the Dragonkin spoke confidently, “My task is to ensure that you and your mortal kin do not enter that chamber, and yet… I must admit, I am displaced from my own duties. As I saw into what mortals I would encounter - what mortals I would dare to face in combat - I had noticed you among the innumerable Champions of Azeroth. And I must admit that… you fascinate me.”
“Aww, smitten by a single Kaldorei Champion, huh? I don’t know whether to be honored or disgusted, given the context.”
The Dragonkin chuckled as his eyes scanned Nah’s figure briefly, his grip on his stylized bronze staff tightening as he replied:
“You may be but one of many, Nahlia, but your fate - rather, the intricate weaves of your timelines - are so vastly… different from one another. I have seen timelines where you have taken on such completely different roles, where your personalities have become so disjointed from one another, that I would’ve mistaken one version of you for another. Were I to compare you to a rope… I’d say that the threads that make up that ‘rope’ are all sorts of different colors, of different materials, lengths, and so forth. You are one of a rare few that have such bizarre weaves… and so, I was tempted away, to look into your timelines more thoroughly. Your pasts, presents, futures; all are known to me, and what I found has been nothing short of incredulous, Nahlia.”
“Now you’ve just gotten into creepy stalker status, dragon. Why me out of thousands upon thousands of individuals!?”
“Admittedly, you were one of the first I foresaw meeting… but you will not be the last! Once I, Chrono-Lord Genos, am through with you, I imagine I will find more interesting Champions whose weaves of fate I could tamper with! But, I am getting ahead of myself… my duties remain, after all, and I shall see your timelines end!”
Nah grinned, flourishing her twin flintlock pistols - the Negotiator and the Re-Negotiator - and aiming them at the Infinite Dragonkin before opening fire! Chrono Lord Genos, however, seemed to have predicted this, as he immediately Blinked out of harm’s way, the portal behind where he once previously stood before slowly closing, fading away into nothingness. Nah looked around, trying to locate where the Dragonkin had fled to, before noticing the sound of rushing sand coming from behind her. Turning about face, she had just enough time to evade a bolt of golden Arcane magic, which erupted with force upon impact with the ground. Time itself seemed to distort, speeding up in Nah’s perception, as she saw Genos approach with his staff at the ready. Quick as she was, the temporal distortion was very much in the Infinite’s favor, as he gave Nah a strong jab of his staff into her stomach before swinging with such force that Nah was sent flying, crashing into the ground moments later. As she got back up to her feet, the Slow spell wore off, and Genos was practically cackling to himself.
“Aaah… now, that felt exhilarating! I rarely get the opportunity to use this staff as an actual weapon!” Genos exclaimed, before he began to charge the Arcane in the palm of his free hand.
The Kaldorei troublemaker saw the trouble that was coming her way and she smirked, before she was suddenly launched towards Genos. Even he was caught off-guard by how suddenly she moved, and his spellcasting was interrupted by a Kick to his gut. Genos staggered back and before he knew it, Nah had drawn a blade overflowing with green energy and a dagger laced in poison. She slashed across Genos’ chest with her energy blade, then stabbed into his side with the poisoned dagger, all in one fluid motion, before she withdrew her blade, held up her Negotiator, and opened fire again, piercing the Dragonkin’s chest with a round as she smirked her grin. Genos staggered back, his free hand now clutching his chest in agony as he bled, his robes stained red. He looked up towards Nah and glared with a grimace.
“How… How did you…?!” the Dragonkin exclaimed, before he noticed something small retreat away from him and onto Nah’s person.
“Grappling hook, pal,” Nah said, still aiming the Negotiator at Genos, “I thought you said you knew what I was capable of, pal. I guess I’m still too unpredictable if you didn’t see that one coming!”
Genos growled angrily, before he slammed his staff into the ground beside him. Temporal energy swirled about his person like flowing sand, and after Blinking away to place some distance between him and Nah, the Dragonkin barked a laugh as two more temporal portals opened up.
“I should have known…! I should have seen such a parlor trick for what it was!” Genos laughed, as his elven visage became distorted, revealing the Dragonkin that he was. “Typical Nahlia, through and through, and yet, I still didn’t see it coming…! Hahahaha!”
“Laugh it up while you still can, ‘cause here I COME!” Nah exclaimed, before she began to sprint towards the Chrono-Lord, energy blade and poisoned dagger in hand. But as she approached, she noticed something leap forth from one of the two portals, and she immediately pulled a Feint and darted away, just in time to avoid a large, spiked figure slamming into the ground with a thunderous impact. Turning around to see what had landed with such impact, Nah was shocked to discover that a Demon had emerged from the portal. A large, hulking, feminine creature with dark purple skin, glowing Fel-green tattoos, innumerable spikes across the length of its shoulders and arms, two massive horns, four massive spikes protruding from its backside, and blindfolds that barely hid the Demon’s two Fel-green eyes that glowed as brightly as its tattoos.
“A Demon Hunter…?!” Nah exclaimed, her attention wholly focused on this new adversary. The demonic entity leapt once again towards Nah, but she tucked and rolled backwards and away as it crashed into the ground where she once stood. Enraged, the Demon Hunter unleashed a powerful wave of Fel Devastation, forcing Nah to Feint a retreat to avoid it, all the while Genos cackled maniacally.
“Ah, but you, poor mortal, have yet to realize just whom I have brought forth to greet you. Nahlia Lifebloom! May I present to you…”
Suddenly, the Demon Hunter’s demonic visage exploded violently in a wave of Fel energy, leaving only the Illidari’s true form… one that Nah’s golden eyes were quick to pick up on. Her eyes widened as the grip on her weapons tightened as she realized exactly what Genos had done.
“...Nahlia Felbloom.”
“Impossible! You’ve… how… why are there TWO of me?!” Nah Lifebloom exclaimed, the Rogue glaring between her Fel “twin” and the Chrono Lord floating overhead.
“Impossible? No, no… across the various timeways that make up an individual - or individuals - there are a near-infinite number of possibilities. Take, for example, this one: a Nah who, during the events of the Fourth War, was corrupted by the whispers of N’Zoth. Or… how about this one…?”
From the second of the two temporal portals came a freezing wind that suddenly flooded the Map Chamber from beyond its spiraling energies. Stepping forth was a familiar - and troubling - sight for Nah to behold: saronite armor, a runeblade in each hand, and an presence of terror; a Death Knight had emerged, bearing a similar physique to the Kaldorei Troublemaker herself.
“...What is the meaning of this…?” the female Kaldorei Death Knight said, in a reverberating voice that Nah recognized as her own, but twisted.
“That’s what -I- want to know! Let me guess… Nahlia Deathbloom, or something like that?” the original Nah retorted, looking towards the Death Knight mirror of herself.
“...Indeed. And you… are me, but alive?”
“Nahlia Deathbloom, as you might imagine, was you after you had fallen during the Third War of another possibility,” Genos explained, a smug look on his draconic face, “Risen by the Lich King - by Arthas Menethil - to do his bidding. But, you would fight for the Alliance - for the Ebon Blade - and that you would ultimately fight at Wrath’s Gate, at again within Icecrown Citadel. Time and again, Nahlia Deathbloom would reveal herself a champion of Azeroth. But, does this not prove a point to you, Nahlia Lifebloom? That I have seen into the possibilities surrounding you, and how wildly - how vastly - things could have changed with you. And now… I shall have your possibilities collapse! You will die here, Nahlia Lifebloom, either by my hand… or by theirs!”
Nah turned to face her Illidari counterpart just in time to block a thrown Warglaive with her green blade. Her Death Knight alter ego, however, stepped in at this rate, Death Gripping the Demon Huntress towards her and clashing her runeblades with the Demon Hunteress’s Warglaives.
“…I choose not to be played by some Infinite Dragon,” Deathbloom retorted coldly, before giving a look towards Nah. “...Go! Deal with that Chrono Lord…”
“Hmhmhm… oh, but if only it were that simple, Nahlia Deathbloom,” Genos retorted, raising his staff into the air before slamming it down once again. Within mere moments, a sudden sandstorm was stirred up - conjured, even - into being. Nah closed her eyes and braced herself, as she heard the clanging of steel and angry battle cries from her twisted alter egos. Before she could catch onto what was happening, Nah was suddenly sent flying back by a cold blast of frigid ice hurled her way. Landing on the ground a ways off, Nah tried to ascertain where she was relative to the other combatants, only to wind up slammed into the ground by her Demon Huntress self. She gasped in pain as she felt a Warglaive to the back of her neck.
“Gul veni amanare, romathis,” Felbloom utter in Eredun, which Nah took to mean “Say your prayers, illusion.” However, the Rogue would feel the weight of her Fel self get yoinked away by another force - another Death Grip, Nah presumed - and she managed to get back onto her feet, shivering. She took a quick sip of a Crimson Vial before Vanishing to hide herself within the sand storm. However, no sooner had she managed to regain her bearings did she hear Felbloom exclaim: “Zar tiros parn raka ze, rakir!” From the sands, Nah was slashed across the chest by a thrown Warglaive and she was forced to stagger backwards, her back pressed against the wall of the Chamber. Grunting - and in a lot of pain - Nah felt herself getting weaker, as fel embers burned at her open wound and as symptoms of Frost Fever began to become apparent.
“Nnnhg… gaaaah… w-why…?” was all that Nah could groan out before the sand storm finally began to subside, revealing that both the Demon Hunter and the Death Knight variants of Nah herself were still going at it, their bladed weapons ringing out with each clash. Genos, himself, had begun to approach Nah from the other side of the Chamber, chuckling darkly as he brought his staff around.
“I never said that you would die by -their- hand… but it was always a possibility, I suppose,” the Infinite Dragon said slyly, “Nevertheless, your time has come. And once you are finished, I shall dispose of these two possibilities, and then all of you - all of Nahlia Lifebloom - will be no more!”
“Not on MY watch, Genos!”
“What… who?!”
To the surprise of the three Nahs and to Genos, a mysterious third portal opened up in the center of the Map Chamber. From this portal flew forth a humanoid drakonid of some kind, whom swiftly used swiped its tail to sweep the legs of both Felbloom and Deathbloom, causing them both to fall towards the ground. However, the drakonid flapped its mighty wings to buffet the two, sending them both skyward into the air before blowing the both of them back against the fall wall with a powerful Fire Breath. The drakonid then took to the air, Soaring towards where Nah and Genos were, and - with Nah immediately recognized as Bronze Dragonflight magic - restored Nah’s wounds by Rewinding Time around her, much to her surprise and Chrono Lord Genos’ dismay.
“You…! You are one of the Dracthyr! One of Neltharion’s failed experiments! But, you were not supposed to awaken for some time yet!” Genos exclaimed, readying his staff defensively against the approaching drakonid.
“While that might be true as of this time, you forget… that we Dracthyr - particularly myself - can Evoke the powers of the five Dragonflights,” the Dracthyr explained, her bronze-colored scales glistening with Bronze energy as she glared towards Genos, “And of those five, one of them is temporal Bronze magic that I specialize in! And I will not allow you to misuse time to torment a single Champion of Azeroth, Genos!”
The Infinite Dragon grumbled angrily, before slamming his staff into the ground, summoning yet another portal before shifting back into his elven visage.
“I will not allow you - either of you - from stopping me or the Infinite Dragonflight! I shall retreat for now… but mark my words, there will come a time when I will see your demise through, Nah…”
“On the contrary…” Nah said as she got to her feet, smirking a mischievous smirk, “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to live any longer, Genos!” Suddenly, fires her Grappling Hook forward and retracts it quickly, launching herself at Genos once more! The Infinite Dragon, surprised once again, barely had enough time to raise his staff up to defend himself before Nah launched a strong punch against him. The momentum from Nah launching herself sent both her - and Genos - through the portal he had summoned, and the Dracthyr went to pursue, only for the portal to close itself behind them.
“Wait, no, NAH--! Aww… she’s… she’s gone. Blast… I’m going to have to find her and Genos before it’s too late…” the Drakthyr said to herself with a huff, before looking towards the unconscious Felbloom and Deathbloom on the other side of the room. “But, first… I should try to clean up this mess Genos has made… somehow…”
A Dragonflight Pre-Pre-Patch Story starring Nahlia “Nah” Lifebloom
In all known realms of the cosmos, time flows forward, ever forward. Chaotic energies in places like the Twisting Nether can affect how quickly it flows, but it only flows forward.
Once an event happens, it cannot be changed. These events and choices, made up of all creatures and forces in the cosmos, join together like a river, sharing the same reality. Different choices and different possibilities naturally spin off the river of time like small creeks and estuaries, ebbing and flowing for a while. If these shades of what could have been are left alone, they will eventually dissipate into nothing. If efforts are made to preserve them (or alter them), they can indeed remain in existence indefinitely. They can even be made to feed back into the main river—dead creatures can seemingly "live again," and the past (or future) may literally come back to haunt you. This is not a natural phenomenon, and the inhabitants of the main timeway will often find these experiences to be quite alarming.
But the only timeway that has a permanent effect on the cosmos is the main timeway. Creatures like the bronze dragons, who have command of temporal magic, can see all the countless tributaries of alternate universes and timelines, and they can even move back and forth along the stream to observe the past and the future.
If that main river is disrupted, it could spell doom and disaster. All life on Azeroth depends on time to flow ever forward. Without the surety that the sun will rise and set each day, the seasons would not pass, the cycle of life would become meaningless, and all living creatures would eventually die from being unable to sustain themselves. It is the most sacred mission of the bronze dragonflight to keep that from happening. - World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3
Lorekeeper: We’ve done some stuff that’s involved with time travel and alternate realities. What happens to those souls when they pass on? Do they go to the Shadowlands?
Steve Danuser: This is a complicated question. How do you deal with things like alternate Draenor? There was a Draka there. What is that Draka? Is she alive? Is she dead? Is she related to the Draka in Shadowlands that we see? Or is there another Draka? We know that in Warlords of Draenor, Velen of that universe died. Does that mean there is a Velen in the Shadowlands? But what about the Velen in Azeroth? All these things are very complicated questions.
The way I would have you think about it is think of a rope… If you look at a rope, it is one thing, right? It’s something that you can grab onto, you can hold it, you can see it; think of that as a character. Think of that rope as Draka or Velen.
If you look at that rope more closely, you can see there are different threads that make up the rope. There are different twines that pull together, and you can pull off one of these threads if you want. But it’s still a rope, and each of those threads you can think of as one of the realities of the character, one of the streams of time… There is a thread that is the Draka from Draenor we visited in the Warlords of Draenor. There is another thread that is Draka on Azeroth as we know her… And there are many other threads that could be other realities that we never peered into. But all of those threads at some time come together to make that rope. And remember also that, as you’ll see, that there are many characters in the Shadowlands when they refer to time, they usually say that time is not a construct of Death. Time and Death are not related. Death is about eternity, not linear time. The manner in which these threads come together, that can take a very long time from mortal perceptions. Those threads can be separated for a time, but sooner or later, they do combine to make one rope that is that character. You can think of it as the threads of that rope, all the individual threads, are just waiting. And over time, they will come together but they can exist as separate entities for a time. That still doesn’t change the fact that they are part of one rope.
“Heyya, Whitewind Company. This is your CEO, Lady Nah, speaking. Recently, I’ve gotten some reports that there’s something going on at the digsite in the Badlands. Something about suspicious figures looming around Uldaman. Probably some drunk dwarves or some troggs or whatnot, but I’m going to scout ahead, since I’m already in the area. If anything happens to me, you know where to find me. Anyhow, see ya when I get back!”
Nahlia “Nah” Lifebloom - or, rather, just Nah - clicked off her communications device and stowed it away into her usual jacket attire. Smirking to herself, she looked down from the red-orange cliff face she was precariously standing on, the old, teal-green murals and columns of Uldaman sticking out like sore thumbs against the meza that was the Badlands. As small figures walked and worked the earth beneath where Nah stood - the local Dwarves still undoubtedly searching for more - the Kaldorei carefully made her way down a nearby slope. After landing quietly on a patch of red sand next to a tall, brown monolith with a green runic symbol on it, Nah began to stealthily approach the entranceway to the Uldaman digsite. Sapping a nearby Surveyor with a snicker, her entrance was made easy and simple; not a soul spotted her outside of one confused Dwarf. The well lit interior of the cavernous site was occupied by many a dwarven Digger; not a one, however, managed to spot the shadow of the Kaldorei that passed them by. The near-labyrinthian nature of the cavern meant that Nah had to pass through tunnel after tunnel, until she reached a sort of large, open area, the entranceway into the Titan facility of Uldaman.
“Hmm… nothing unusual here, I’ve noticed…” Nah thought to herself, as she scouted around, her golden eyes examining each of the dwarves in her line of sight, “No possible Nathrezem… that I can tell. Not yet, anyway… perhaps they’ve gone further inside…”
Onward the Kaldorei went, cautiously entering the main way into the titan facility of Uldaman. Passing around a nearby column, she hid from site from even the local Explorer’s League-affiliated Dwarves, instead intent on locating any oddities amongst the locals within. Rogue troggs still roamed the area, but Nah chose not to engage any of them, at least… not right now. Passing through Uldaman’s Hall of the Keepers, she entered the Map Chamber, where she noticed that something… was off. Turning her head to one side, she noticed a chamber that - to her knowledge - had not been opened before. Double-checking the map that was drawn of the area many years prior, she squinted at the doorway leading into another tunnel, beyond the miniature Uldaman on the floor.
“Strange… is that a recent discovery…? I haven’t heard anything about this…”
As Nah stepped towards the doorway, an uneasy feeling immediately began to wash over her; something wasn’t right… something was very, very wrong. Three steps into her approach, and the sound of rushing sand and magical discourse immediately caught her attention, and she jumped back as a temporal portal opened up before her! Emerging from the portal was an individual - masculine and elven in appearance - yet distinctly darkened by some twisted magic. He was chuckling darkly to himself as he stepped out of the portal, his eyes fixated on Nah.
“Well, well… right on time, Nahlia Lifebloom,” the newcomer remarked, his voice distorted and echoing, even more so than would be natural in that cavernous chamber, “And here, I had almost pondered if I had entered the wrong timestream!”
Emerging from stealth - seeing as how she was seen regardless - Nah snickered, looking at the Infinite Dragonkin in her usual style of blatant defiance. “And whatever would an Infinite Dragon want with me? What, trying to prevent me from seeing what’s beyond that door behind you?”
“That would very much be -one- reason for my being here, Nahlia… but, in truth, I have something of a personal intrigue about you,” the Dragonkin spoke confidently, “My task is to ensure that you and your mortal kin do not enter that chamber, and yet… I must admit, I am displaced from my own duties. As I saw into what mortals I would encounter - what mortals I would dare to face in combat - I had noticed you among the innumerable Champions of Azeroth. And I must admit that… you fascinate me.”
“Aww, smitten by a single Kaldorei Champion, huh? I don’t know whether to be honored or disgusted, given the context.”
The Dragonkin chuckled as his eyes scanned Nah’s figure briefly, his grip on his stylized bronze staff tightening as he replied:
“You may be but one of many, Nahlia, but your fate - rather, the intricate weaves of your timelines - are so vastly… different from one another. I have seen timelines where you have taken on such completely different roles, where your personalities have become so disjointed from one another, that I would’ve mistaken one version of you for another. Were I to compare you to a rope… I’d say that the threads that make up that ‘rope’ are all sorts of different colors, of different materials, lengths, and so forth. You are one of a rare few that have such bizarre weaves… and so, I was tempted away, to look into your timelines more thoroughly. Your pasts, presents, futures; all are known to me, and what I found has been nothing short of incredulous, Nahlia.”
“Now you’ve just gotten into creepy stalker status, dragon. Why me out of thousands upon thousands of individuals!?”
“Admittedly, you were one of the first I foresaw meeting… but you will not be the last! Once I, Chrono-Lord Genos, am through with you, I imagine I will find more interesting Champions whose weaves of fate I could tamper with! But, I am getting ahead of myself… my duties remain, after all, and I shall see your timelines end!”
Nah grinned, flourishing her twin flintlock pistols - the Negotiator and the Re-Negotiator - and aiming them at the Infinite Dragonkin before opening fire! Chrono Lord Genos, however, seemed to have predicted this, as he immediately Blinked out of harm’s way, the portal behind where he once previously stood before slowly closing, fading away into nothingness. Nah looked around, trying to locate where the Dragonkin had fled to, before noticing the sound of rushing sand coming from behind her. Turning about face, she had just enough time to evade a bolt of golden Arcane magic, which erupted with force upon impact with the ground. Time itself seemed to distort, speeding up in Nah’s perception, as she saw Genos approach with his staff at the ready. Quick as she was, the temporal distortion was very much in the Infinite’s favor, as he gave Nah a strong jab of his staff into her stomach before swinging with such force that Nah was sent flying, crashing into the ground moments later. As she got back up to her feet, the Slow spell wore off, and Genos was practically cackling to himself.
“Aaah… now, that felt exhilarating! I rarely get the opportunity to use this staff as an actual weapon!” Genos exclaimed, before he began to charge the Arcane in the palm of his free hand.
The Kaldorei troublemaker saw the trouble that was coming her way and she smirked, before she was suddenly launched towards Genos. Even he was caught off-guard by how suddenly she moved, and his spellcasting was interrupted by a Kick to his gut. Genos staggered back and before he knew it, Nah had drawn a blade overflowing with green energy and a dagger laced in poison. She slashed across Genos’ chest with her energy blade, then stabbed into his side with the poisoned dagger, all in one fluid motion, before she withdrew her blade, held up her Negotiator, and opened fire again, piercing the Dragonkin’s chest with a round as she smirked her grin. Genos staggered back, his free hand now clutching his chest in agony as he bled, his robes stained red. He looked up towards Nah and glared with a grimace.
“How… How did you…?!” the Dragonkin exclaimed, before he noticed something small retreat away from him and onto Nah’s person.
“Grappling hook, pal,” Nah said, still aiming the Negotiator at Genos, “I thought you said you knew what I was capable of, pal. I guess I’m still too unpredictable if you didn’t see that one coming!”
Genos growled angrily, before he slammed his staff into the ground beside him. Temporal energy swirled about his person like flowing sand, and after Blinking away to place some distance between him and Nah, the Dragonkin barked a laugh as two more temporal portals opened up.
“I should have known…! I should have seen such a parlor trick for what it was!” Genos laughed, as his elven visage became distorted, revealing the Dragonkin that he was. “Typical Nahlia, through and through, and yet, I still didn’t see it coming…! Hahahaha!”
“Laugh it up while you still can, ‘cause here I COME!” Nah exclaimed, before she began to sprint towards the Chrono-Lord, energy blade and poisoned dagger in hand. But as she approached, she noticed something leap forth from one of the two portals, and she immediately pulled a Feint and darted away, just in time to avoid a large, spiked figure slamming into the ground with a thunderous impact. Turning around to see what had landed with such impact, Nah was shocked to discover that a Demon had emerged from the portal. A large, hulking, feminine creature with dark purple skin, glowing Fel-green tattoos, innumerable spikes across the length of its shoulders and arms, two massive horns, four massive spikes protruding from its backside, and blindfolds that barely hid the Demon’s two Fel-green eyes that glowed as brightly as its tattoos.
“A Demon Hunter…?!” Nah exclaimed, her attention wholly focused on this new adversary. The demonic entity leapt once again towards Nah, but she tucked and rolled backwards and away as it crashed into the ground where she once stood. Enraged, the Demon Hunter unleashed a powerful wave of Fel Devastation, forcing Nah to Feint a retreat to avoid it, all the while Genos cackled maniacally.
“Ah, but you, poor mortal, have yet to realize just whom I have brought forth to greet you. Nahlia Lifebloom! May I present to you…”
Suddenly, the Demon Hunter’s demonic visage exploded violently in a wave of Fel energy, leaving only the Illidari’s true form… one that Nah’s golden eyes were quick to pick up on. Her eyes widened as the grip on her weapons tightened as she realized exactly what Genos had done.
“...Nahlia Felbloom.”
“Impossible! You’ve… how… why are there TWO of me?!” Nah Lifebloom exclaimed, the Rogue glaring between her Fel “twin” and the Chrono Lord floating overhead.
“Impossible? No, no… across the various timeways that make up an individual - or individuals - there are a near-infinite number of possibilities. Take, for example, this one: a Nah who, during the events of the Fourth War, was corrupted by the whispers of N’Zoth. Or… how about this one…?”
From the second of the two temporal portals came a freezing wind that suddenly flooded the Map Chamber from beyond its spiraling energies. Stepping forth was a familiar - and troubling - sight for Nah to behold: saronite armor, a runeblade in each hand, and an presence of terror; a Death Knight had emerged, bearing a similar physique to the Kaldorei Troublemaker herself.
“...What is the meaning of this…?” the female Kaldorei Death Knight said, in a reverberating voice that Nah recognized as her own, but twisted.
“That’s what -I- want to know! Let me guess… Nahlia Deathbloom, or something like that?” the original Nah retorted, looking towards the Death Knight mirror of herself.
“...Indeed. And you… are me, but alive?”
“Nahlia Deathbloom, as you might imagine, was you after you had fallen during the Third War of another possibility,” Genos explained, a smug look on his draconic face, “Risen by the Lich King - by Arthas Menethil - to do his bidding. But, you would fight for the Alliance - for the Ebon Blade - and that you would ultimately fight at Wrath’s Gate, at again within Icecrown Citadel. Time and again, Nahlia Deathbloom would reveal herself a champion of Azeroth. But, does this not prove a point to you, Nahlia Lifebloom? That I have seen into the possibilities surrounding you, and how wildly - how vastly - things could have changed with you. And now… I shall have your possibilities collapse! You will die here, Nahlia Lifebloom, either by my hand… or by theirs!”
Nah turned to face her Illidari counterpart just in time to block a thrown Warglaive with her green blade. Her Death Knight alter ego, however, stepped in at this rate, Death Gripping the Demon Huntress towards her and clashing her runeblades with the Demon Hunteress’s Warglaives.
“…I choose not to be played by some Infinite Dragon,” Deathbloom retorted coldly, before giving a look towards Nah. “...Go! Deal with that Chrono Lord…”
“Hmhmhm… oh, but if only it were that simple, Nahlia Deathbloom,” Genos retorted, raising his staff into the air before slamming it down once again. Within mere moments, a sudden sandstorm was stirred up - conjured, even - into being. Nah closed her eyes and braced herself, as she heard the clanging of steel and angry battle cries from her twisted alter egos. Before she could catch onto what was happening, Nah was suddenly sent flying back by a cold blast of frigid ice hurled her way. Landing on the ground a ways off, Nah tried to ascertain where she was relative to the other combatants, only to wind up slammed into the ground by her Demon Huntress self. She gasped in pain as she felt a Warglaive to the back of her neck.
“Gul veni amanare, romathis,” Felbloom utter in Eredun, which Nah took to mean “Say your prayers, illusion.” However, the Rogue would feel the weight of her Fel self get yoinked away by another force - another Death Grip, Nah presumed - and she managed to get back onto her feet, shivering. She took a quick sip of a Crimson Vial before Vanishing to hide herself within the sand storm. However, no sooner had she managed to regain her bearings did she hear Felbloom exclaim: “Zar tiros parn raka ze, rakir!” From the sands, Nah was slashed across the chest by a thrown Warglaive and she was forced to stagger backwards, her back pressed against the wall of the Chamber. Grunting - and in a lot of pain - Nah felt herself getting weaker, as fel embers burned at her open wound and as symptoms of Frost Fever began to become apparent.
“Nnnhg… gaaaah… w-why…?” was all that Nah could groan out before the sand storm finally began to subside, revealing that both the Demon Hunter and the Death Knight variants of Nah herself were still going at it, their bladed weapons ringing out with each clash. Genos, himself, had begun to approach Nah from the other side of the Chamber, chuckling darkly as he brought his staff around.
“I never said that you would die by -their- hand… but it was always a possibility, I suppose,” the Infinite Dragon said slyly, “Nevertheless, your time has come. And once you are finished, I shall dispose of these two possibilities, and then all of you - all of Nahlia Lifebloom - will be no more!”
“Not on MY watch, Genos!”
“What… who?!”
To the surprise of the three Nahs and to Genos, a mysterious third portal opened up in the center of the Map Chamber. From this portal flew forth a humanoid drakonid of some kind, whom swiftly used swiped its tail to sweep the legs of both Felbloom and Deathbloom, causing them both to fall towards the ground. However, the drakonid flapped its mighty wings to buffet the two, sending them both skyward into the air before blowing the both of them back against the fall wall with a powerful Fire Breath. The drakonid then took to the air, Soaring towards where Nah and Genos were, and - with Nah immediately recognized as Bronze Dragonflight magic - restored Nah’s wounds by Rewinding Time around her, much to her surprise and Chrono Lord Genos’ dismay.
“You…! You are one of the Dracthyr! One of Neltharion’s failed experiments! But, you were not supposed to awaken for some time yet!” Genos exclaimed, readying his staff defensively against the approaching drakonid.
“While that might be true as of this time, you forget… that we Dracthyr - particularly myself - can Evoke the powers of the five Dragonflights,” the Dracthyr explained, her bronze-colored scales glistening with Bronze energy as she glared towards Genos, “And of those five, one of them is temporal Bronze magic that I specialize in! And I will not allow you to misuse time to torment a single Champion of Azeroth, Genos!”
The Infinite Dragon grumbled angrily, before slamming his staff into the ground, summoning yet another portal before shifting back into his elven visage.
“I will not allow you - either of you - from stopping me or the Infinite Dragonflight! I shall retreat for now… but mark my words, there will come a time when I will see your demise through, Nah…”
“On the contrary…” Nah said as she got to her feet, smirking a mischievous smirk, “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to live any longer, Genos!” Suddenly, fires her Grappling Hook forward and retracts it quickly, launching herself at Genos once more! The Infinite Dragon, surprised once again, barely had enough time to raise his staff up to defend himself before Nah launched a strong punch against him. The momentum from Nah launching herself sent both her - and Genos - through the portal he had summoned, and the Dracthyr went to pursue, only for the portal to close itself behind them.
“Wait, no, NAH--! Aww… she’s… she’s gone. Blast… I’m going to have to find her and Genos before it’s too late…” the Drakthyr said to herself with a huff, before looking towards the unconscious Felbloom and Deathbloom on the other side of the room. “But, first… I should try to clean up this mess Genos has made… somehow…”