Valkyr

Onyxia, daughter of Deathwing, sister of Nefarian, the King of Blackrock. Her gaze followed the few Forsaken before her as they moved through the passages beneath Maraudon, her brown eyes narrowing with disdain. Throughout, she remained icy silent.

It had been almost two years since she was captured by these filthy creatures. The Black Dragon Princess discovered that the Forsaken had not done anything to her. They had only put her in Mana-binding Shackles and locked her in a dark underground prison. They had not tortured or insulted her, but instead sent her large amounts of delicious fresh food every day, as if they dared not mistreat her.

This situation may not be untrue; who wouldn't fear her father? Perhaps the Forsaken are trying to curry favor with Deathwing.

But these were all just Onyxia's most optimistic guesses. She had been imprisoned for so long without any movement, and now two soldiers had arrived, telling her that someone wanted to see her. The Black Dragon Princess almost instinctively knew it was the leader of the Forsaken, the one known as the "The Witherer."

What does he want to do?

Onyxia shook her head. Whatever the Undead wanted to do, it was bound to be related to her. She would no longer be imprisoned; things were bound to change today.

To her surprise, she was led to a portal. Through the shimmering, translucent portal, the black dragon saw snow-capped peaks, and there was no doubt that it was not Wailing Caverns.

"Get in!" the Forsaken soldier escorting her said coldly.

Onyxia didn't move, but just stared at the portal with a mixture of disdain and doubt in her eyes.

Another soldier added, "Your master is waiting for you over there; you'd better not let him think you're late."

"I don't like cold environments." Her voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Stop dawdling." The soldier who spoke next shoved her without fear. The Black Dragon Princess glared at him before walking towards the portal.

Reaching the other side of the door, Onyxia found it was nighttime, the air frigid, the chill penetrating her to the bone making her shiver. However, being back under the sky relieved her considerably; the Black Dragon Princess's greatest desire now was to transform back into her dragon form and soar through the air. This thought was quickly dispelled by the dragging chains. She was still a prisoner. The Forsaken all knew how to control this dragon: a certain amount of force was applied to the chains, preventing her from transforming into her true form.

The soldiers who had escorted her hadn't come out yet; two Dark Ranger were already waiting for her on this side of the portal.

"Run!"

Changing the escorts did not change their attitude towards her. Both Dark Ranger nocked their arrows, silently warning Onyxia that if she made any unnecessary moves, they would kill her.

"Where is your master?"

"Don't even think about letting your scheme succeed, Black Dragon." A clear male voice rang out from beneath the Ranger's hood. "Your mental magic is useless against your master. Now, I must remind you, you'd better behave; there are at least a dozen arrows aimed at you." The Dark Ranger then gestured for her to move forward.

The black dragon initially thought she had arrived in Northrend, but her keen perception told her that this was not the far north. There was light beneath the snow-capped mountains, and a majestic, towering city wall stood proudly in the darkness.

"Is this Alterac?" Onyxia was taken aback. She remembered that many years ago, her father had almost become the King of this place in Lordaeron. It was unbelievable that the Forsaken had taken over this place.

Onyxia reached the edge of a hillside. Before she could see the Witherer, she heard the rhythmic clanging of metal. A hint of fire also filled the air.

She finally met the person she was meant to see— the Witherer was forging a bow and arrows by lighting a fire in the night. Besides him, Onyxia also noticed seven magnificent figures flying in mid-air.

"Master, she has arrived."

"A Dark Ranger bowed slightly," he said. Nathanos didn't respond immediately; he held a pair of iron pincers in his hand, his crimson eyes now studying an arrowhead on the pincers. Seemingly not quite perfect, the Witherer tapped it a few more times with his hammer.

"Report on her situation," he ordered.

The Dark Ranger replied, "The people guarding her are absolutely following your orders. They only provide her with food and water each day. No one speaks to her, and they don't provide her with any books or anything like that."

Nathanos had already assembled an arrow and nodded slightly, it was unclear whether he was praising his own work or understanding the Ranger's report.

"Remove her shackles."

"Owner?"

The Dark Ranger blinked, just like Onyxia, shocked by Nathanos's command.

"Then you shall step back," The Witherer said again.

"Master, this dragon is just our prisoner, but she has not yet submitted. Once she is freed from her restraints, she will revert to her dragon form, which will be very disadvantageous to us."

"That soldier has great foresight!" The Black Dragon Princess stood behind, silently sneering. She would indeed do just that, and the first thing she would do after transforming back into a dragon was to burn the Witherer to ashes with her dragon breath.

"Execute my command," Nathanos said calmly. Although the Dark Ranger was still confused, his master wouldn't repeat the order. He glared at Onyxia and quickly untied the Black Dragon Princess from her restraints.

The power has returned! Onyxia closed her eyes and focused on the sensation. She hadn't been free for so long; this feeling was wonderful. She couldn't wait to revert to her true black dragon form; she didn't want to wait even a second longer.

But a sudden pressure shook her to her core, calming the Black Dragon Princess. The two Dark Ranger had already left. She looked up, and seven enormous wings came into view. Onyxia began to tense up. Why did the Witherer dare to remove her shackles? Why did they dare to be alone with her?

What exactly are those angel-like creatures?

"Let me introduce them." Nathanos glanced at the bewildered black dragon. His voice drew the dragon's disgusted gaze back to him. "They are the Valkyr, new members of the Forsaken. They all have names: Agatha, Daschira, Alsurra, Ananid, Kira, Sigrún, and Brynhildr."

"Did you think they could protect you? That they could let you survive my flames!" Onyxia murmured.

Nathanos glanced at her with interest. "No, I'm introducing them to you so you can know who they are."

The black dragon could not take its eyes off the Witherer.

"Why?"

"Because you are the first person to witness their power."