After listening to Jaina's complaints, the group fell silent. This was a difficult situation to manage. The Black Dragon couldn't control the Blue Dragon, Deren couldn't control the Archmage of Dalaran. But he couldn't ignore Aegwynn's matter. He couldn't really send her back to Karazhan to hibernate, though that was just a joke on her part. It also showed how annoyed she was by the current situation.
Deren racked his brains but still couldn't come up with a solution. He almost wanted to sit cross-legged, draw circles on the left and right sides of his head with his fingers, and then have a wooden fish tapped next to him.
After a long silence, Deren stroked the stubble on his chin and said in a deep voice, "It's not like there's no way. Krasus, what do you think?"
"That Archmage from the Kirin Tor?" Jaina's eyes widened. "Can he really do it? The Red Dragon mage who ran away before the defense of Dalaran. Red... dragon..." Jaina finally realized what she was saying. "He's Red Dragon mage. Brilliant! I get it!"
In her excitement, Jaina rushed forward and hugged Deren. This immediately drew the ire of the Black Dragon standing nearby. "Hey, that's enough! Hugging my pet in front of me is going too far!"
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Jaina quickly apologized. Turning around, she hugged Onyxia as well. "This trip was worthwhile; we finally solved a big problem. Thank you both!" Before the two could react, she teleported away.
"What's wrong with this little mage?" The Black Dragon was completely confused and hadn't yet figured out what had just happened.
"I sent him to Krasus of the Kirin Tor in Dalaran," Deren confidently counted on his fingers. "First, he's Red Dragon, a seasoned adult Red Dragon, giving him a natural advantage over Kalecgos, the Blue Dragon. Although he failed to persuade him to stop being obsessed with the Sunwell last time, persuading him not to get too entangled with Aegwynn shouldn't be a problem; second, he and Antonidas are old comrades-in-arms, having worked together for so many years, they know each other inside and out. Antonidas will always maintain the dignity of the Chief Mage of Dalaran in front of him; third—"
He winked mysteriously. "He does have a wife. And it's Alexstrasza Red Dragon Queen! The super-powerful kind. I guarantee there won't be another horny, perverted Red Dragon."
Onyxia suddenly let out a hearty laugh, her scales shimmering along her neck. "So you're planning to cramm another dragon into the Mage Tower? To have that old fogey act as the mediator?"
"It's better than this," Deren shrugged, deftly dodging his wife's dangerous tail entanglement. "At least Krasus won't be chasing after Aegwynn. Aren't the Red Dragonflight supposed to be the most family-oriented? Unless he wants to be abused by Alexstrasza."
"Haha--" Onyxia clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she almost fell over. "This is hilarious, absolutely hilarious! You genius, how did you come up with such a brilliant idea? Using dragons to control dragons, using the law to control the law."
Deren shrugged, implying that he was quick-witted!
The following evening, Theramore Harbor was bathed in the golden-red glow of the sunset. In the living room of the Deren family, Onyxia was gracefully peeling open a fruit with her paw—preparing to feed it to Deren. Suddenly, Portal opened in a corner of the living room.
Emerging was Aegwynn's long-absent smiling face. The young guardian was unusually dressed today in a light purple dress, even the Arcane radiance swirling in her hair seemed more vibrant. Jaina followed behind, carrying a bottle of elven wine.
" Deren, you're a genius!" Aegwynn twirled lightly, her skirt billowing like Moonlight Flower. "The moment Krasus arrived, Kalecgos was like an Ogre struck by Frost Nova!"
Jaina put down her wine bottle and added, " Krasus just glared at him, Kalecgos, rose in hand, shrank into the corner. At least he wasn't as stubborn as he was during the Sunwell incident, 'I won't!' You should have seen what happened then—" She mimicked Krasus's stern expression, "' Kalecgos, as the Aspect of Magic, you're indulging in romantic entanglements. It seems I need to seriously consider having Malygos confine you for a while.'"
Deren poured everyone a cup of tea. "Where's Antonidas?"
"Much more restrained," Aegwynn smiled, the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes indeed gone. "In front of his old friend, he finally remembers that he is the Archmage of Dalaran, not some naive young boy." She suddenly lowered her voice, "But last night I discovered he was secretly using divination magic to calculate my compatibility with Krasus."
Onyxia brought out refreshments from the kitchen, her dragon tail twirling around the fruit platter with delight. "So the problem is solved?"
"Pretty much," Aegwynn said, taking the gold-rimmed teacup. "It's because Krasus said he also wanted to learn ancient magic from me, so..."
"So the Mage Tower now has another dragon?" Deren raised an eyebrow, watching Jaina guiltily lower her head and play with her fingers.
"Yes, I sent Magic Transmission to the Kirin Tor early this morning, and Archmage Krasus over immediately. When he saw the younger version of Teacher Anthony, he was almost speechless. That's when he understood why he'd been summoned. His old friend had actually found love again."
Jaina recalled the day's events with a wry smile, "Then I threatened Kalecgos, who was reciting love poems while holding a rose. I didn't expect Kalecgos to still be afraid of Krasus, so he maintained a degree of rationality within Krasus's sight. I guess he was afraid Krasus would tell Malygos, and then he'd be taken back to the Nexus."
After a pause, Jaina continued, "Then, Krasus encountered Nefarian, who was loitering in the Mage Tower. The Red Dragon Black Dragon almost came to blows. He thought the Black Dragon was up to some kind of scheme."
Nefarian explained that he was simply learning from a teacher. Krasus refused to believe that Black Dragon would learn from any teacher. It wasn't until Aegwynn appeared that the misunderstanding was cleared up. Krasus was also amazed by Aegwynn's magical prowess, but only by her level of magic. He asked to stay and learn from her as well. His teacher needed him to mediate the conflict between Kalecgos and Antonidas, so he agreed.
Deren nodded helplessly. "But at least the world is at peace."
Outside the window, the setting sun bathed Theramore in gold. Deren gazed at the distant Mage Tower, then suddenly realized something. "Wait, three dragons are hidden in the Mage Tower too? I have five here... Good heavens, Theramore has suddenly crammed in eight dragons? Hasn't it become a dragon's lair?"
Aegwynn slammed her teacup on the table. "You mean...?"
Deren grinned slyly. "Maybe next time we'll see the Red Dragon Queen personally 'discipline' her man. And what will she think when she sees a bunch of dragons settling down in Theramore?"
Onyxia's dragon tail excitedly wrapped around Deren's wrist. "Then I'd better get ready, this kind of excitement is hard to come by."
Aegwynn sighed, wondering how waking up from hibernation to deliver a message could lead to so much trouble. But then, stroking her youthful face, she felt it wasn't a complete waste.
Second update.