Twilight's Hammer

"Excuse me, is this Quel'Thalas?" the child asked. Krasus saw surprise and slight disappointment in his eyes, just as the Red Dragon was filled with questions.

"Quel'Thalas?" Krasus looked at the "intruder" curiously. Clearly, he meant no harm, but the Red Dragon was puzzled as to how the Elf boy had gotten here. The flight point connecting Wyrmrest Temple to the outside world had been suspended a month ago. There hadn't been any visitors for some time. "This isn't Elf territory, child. And certainly, this isn't a place you should be."

Belorell looked at the tall, handsome Elf with an inquiring gaze.

The Elf had pale blue eyes and wore a dark red robe. He looked like a mage, but he also wore a long sword at his waist.

"That's surprising," Belorell murmured. "You shouldn't be an Elf. You don't have the scent of my kind."

"My name is Krasus," the Red Dragon replied.

"You are Krasus?" Belorell barely managed to control his emotions. "I've heard of you. There's a platform in Dalaran named after you. They say you're a Red Dragon."

"I did belong to that place in the past, but not anymore," Krasus replied calmly, smiling slightly at the child. "Now I only wish to stay here and look after the Queen's offspring. But I'm curious why you're here, little one. Can you explain?"

Belorell began to recount how he had slipped away from Quel'Thalas and how he had gotten here, while Krasus magically prepared some pastries and water for him. The Elf boy ate like a hungry wolf.

"You're saying you were brought here by a Gryphon?" Krasus found it somewhat absurd, but upon reflection, it made sense. The child had no reason to lie; he had simply stumbled upon this place.

"Where is this place?" After all that talk, it was finally Belorell's turn to ask.

"This is a sanctuary," Krasus whispered. "It's called the Ruby Sanctum, the true home of the Queen of Dragons, the spiritual home of the Red Dragonflight."

"The Ruby Sanctum?" A crumb of cake still lingered at the corner of Belorell's mouth as he pulled a finely folded piece of silk from his pocket. Krasus immediately recognized it as a map, and one that was far from simple in its craftsmanship, even surpassing that of military maps.

However, the Red Dragon mage couldn't help but chuckle as the boy opened the map. It was a map of the Eastern Kingdoms, and it looked to be from many years ago, before Lordaeron was invaded by the Undead.

Where is this place located on the map?

"I really don't want to disappoint you," the dragon mage replied, suppressing a laugh. "But the Ruby Sanctum isn't on your map, and neither are you."

"Really?" Krasus was completely taken aback by the boy's delighted expression. "So this place is far from Quel'Thalas? Then I can finally relax." Belorell leaned back, crossed his hands behind his head, and lay on the ground, completely forgetting that he was currently in the territory of the Red Dragon.

"Little one, you should go home quickly. Your parents don't want their child running around outside." Krasus sat down next to Belorell, then fixed his concerned gaze on the Dragon Egg closest to him.

Belorell closed his eyes as if preparing to enjoy a good night's sleep, his voice casual and languid. "I have no father, I only have a nagging mother."

"And what about your father?"

The boy rolled over, leaning against Krasus, his voice even softer, "They say my father died before I was born, a heroic death in battle."

Krasus nodded hesitantly, looking with some regret at the Elf boy who was drifting into a dream. This child had been fatherless since birth, and perhaps his father hadn't even had a chance to see him. Such tragedies were common among Dragons; even his queen had suffered a similar fate.

"I hope you have sweet dreams, child."

Krasus prepared to stand up and continue his inspection of the Ruby Sanctum. Suddenly, the mage raised his head warily, sniffing the air. His mortal form did not impair his senses, and he reminded himself that his ears had indeed picked up some faint sounds.

Krasus gave Belorell a hard shove, covered the boy's mouth as he opened his eyes, and made him squint his wide eyes with a shushing gesture.

"Hide behind a tree."

"What happened?" Before Belorell could get an answer, the dragon mage in front of him roared and unleashed a lightning spell in a certain direction. In an instant, Belorell heard a thud and saw what Krasus had seen. There were many people, many people of different races, including even Blood Elf, all dressed in deep purple or black robes.

Krasus did not choose dragon form because there were too many enemies, and if he reverted to his Red Dragon form, every spell he cast in dragon form would cause enormous destruction, and there were still so many Dragon Egg inside the temple.

"Who are they?"

"Twilight's Hammer!" Krasus uttered the other's name with hatred.

Belorell didn't know what it was, but Krasus's angry expression was enough to show they were bad guys. The boy frantically searched his body, hoping to find something to save his life. After searching for a while, he only found a bottle of pink reagent in his pocket.

What is this used for?

The number of Twilight's Hammer members who stormed the temple far exceeded Krasus's expectations. What terrified the Red Dragon mage was that their objective wasn't to destroy the temple, but rather the unhatched Dragon Egg. Krasus gritted his teeth, determined not to let them succeed. He could only unleash his spells even faster, crushing the Dragon Egg eggs one by one without harming them. Yet, the enemies uttered not a single painful cry; some even let out arrogant laughter as they died.

Belorell watched all this, utterly disgusted. These people were insane. He tried to look away, and as he turned, he saw a Troll, out of Krasus's sight, kneeling before a Dragon Egg, channeling a spell the boy had never seen before. Belorell quietly approached and came behind the Troll ...

"What are you doing?"

The Troll suddenly turned and glared at Belorell. Just as he was about to reach out and strangle the Elf, a ring of fire bloomed beneath his feet. Within two heartbeats, he was surrounded by flames, his entire body engulfed in flames, and he turned into charred remains amidst painful howls.

Belorell's face turned ashen, and Krasus, not far behind him, shouted, "Get away from them!"

The Elf boy didn't hear those words; his attention was completely drawn to the Dragon Egg. The eggshell cracked open, and a plume of foul-smelling, purplish-black smoke billowed out.