Calling of the Bronze

Honestly, sometimes I need to step away from writing my epic trilogy and focus on something else for a bit. I dwell in the world of my young adult series so much, it's a relief to step into another world and play around for a bit. Fortunately, there are still plenty more Cynlan stories I can tell within Azeroth. (And hey, it makes for a great writing exercise.)

I've written letters and short stories about Cynlan's abrupt departure a few months back, and the situation he now finds himself in, but the actual story that removed him from current events has remained untold... until now. What follows is the first half of the story that explains how Cynlan got pulled away from his Sun's Wrath duties and by whom. Trust me, there'll be more to come.

Enjoy!

*****

“This… is out of the ordinary.”

Champion Cynlan Dawnstrider’s calm words concealed a world of anxiety. He was not one to spook easily, given all that he’d seen in his relatively short life, but the situation he currently found himself in was certainly a new one.

Dalaran had been a busy place despite its relocation over Northrend. It was home not only to the mages of the Kirin Tor but to the Silver Covenant, the Sunreavers, and the Sun’s Wrath, in addition to many other smaller groups. Even on a night like this, the streets were always so busy, with residents and visitors alike running back and forth across the city on one errand or another.

So it was a bit jarring to Cynlan to find the entire city frozen in place, every person stock still in mid-motion, as if pausing for a painting.

“Champion Cynlan Dawnstrider,” a voice called out, catching his attention. He turned about and found himself staring at a sin’dorei of average height and build, his blonde hair and green eyes the same shade as a hundred other blood elves that frequent the Horde’s corner of the city. It was this unremarkable quality that made this elf so remarkable to Cynlan.

That, and the presence of his bronze drake companion, Xadormi, at the elf’s side as if in deference.

“I am Cynlan Dawnstrider, Champion of the Blood Knight Order and First Sword of the Sun’s Wrath battalion,” he answered, drawing himself up to a more formal stance. “And you are…?”

“Perplexed, specifically by the exclusion of another title you hold, Champion Dawnstrider. Are you not also known as the Dragonslayer of your Order?”

Cynlan raised his eyebrows but nodded, curious as to why his first and longest-standing title was being invoked by this mysterious elf with the commanding voice. “I am, yes. If you’ve a dragon that needs slaying, you should know that I’m oathbound by the Wyrmrest Accord never to slay one of their kind without sanction from-“

“-The ruling body of the Accord,” the enigmatic sin’dorei finished for him. “Yes, I’m well aware of your oath. That is, of course, why I’m here. We have need of your talents against an enemy not only to dragonkind, but all of Azeroth – past, present and future.”

Exchanging a brief glance with Xadormi, Cynlan regarded the blood elf before him warily. “Who are you?”

The elven stranger smiled, bowing to Champion Dawnstrider. “My apologies, noble elf. I am Varidormu of the Keepers of Time, and I come to you in dire need of your help.”

And now, the conclusion of our tale!

*****

“What did you do to them?”

Varidormu turned his gaze to the direction of Cynlan’s gesture, looking past Xadormi to the denizens of Dalaran frozen in place mid-action. “I did nothing to them. I think the question you’re looking for is, what did I do to us?”

Cynlan sighed, leaning back on the bench the two elves were sitting on, the memorial for Archmage Antonidas directly across from them. He pulled his goggles down to hang around his neck so he could more easily pinch the bridge of his nose to relieve the growing headache starting to form there. Working with the Bronze flight always did this to him, from the first moment he started working with Chromie. Ask him to reverse-engineer Titan technology, and the Blood Knight Champion was perfectly within his element. Throw temporal mechanics at him, and he wouldn’t know where to begin. Time manipulation made no sense to him, and the games the Bronzes played didn’t make it any easier to understand. “Alright, yes, what did you do to us?”

“I simply removed us from the natural flow of time. We’re conversing in a split second between moments, dwelling in a space where time as you understand it flows naturally for you, but seems to have stopped completely for them,” the disguised Bronze dragon explained, gesturing in the same direction Cynlan had.

“You realize, of course, that I didn’t understand a word of that,” Cynlan stated with an even stare, which the elven-looking Bronze either did not understand or completely ignored. But then, this WAS a dragon, after all. “Right. So, you said you needed my help with something.”

Varidormu nodded in response, his face soberingly grave. “Indeed, the Bronze Flight is in dire need of your aid. Chronormu has informed me that you’re well aware of the Infinite dragonflight and their activities throughout the timeline. Is this accurate?”

“Yes, I’ve aided your flight in defending certain key moments in our history,” Cynlan replied. “I’ve also aided in a few other little errands in our own time period, as Xadormi can no doubt confirm.”

“I’ve spoken with Xadormi at length about your activities, yes. As such, we believe you’re the perfect person to handle a particular task for us.”

“And what would this task be, if I may ask?”

Without missing a beat, Varidormu answered, “Gather an army, and destroy the Infinite dragonflight in their future stronghold.”

Cynlan laughed, and laughed hard, until he realized that neither Varidormu nor Xadormi were laughing with him. In fact, there was no humor on their faces whatsoever. “You’re not serious.” When he realized a joking smile was not forthcoming, the smile faded from his face. “You can’t be serious. You want me to wage war on the Infinite flight?”

“That’s exactly what we want you to do,” Varidormu replied. “We believe we have found the Infinite dragonflight’s stronghold, located many decades from your present point in time. We’ll deliver you to the most optimal point in time for you to gather an army and lay siege to that stronghold. Xadormi will remain with you as liason to the Bronze flight, and we will coordinate our end of the war effort through her. The rest will be up to you.”

“Wait a minute. Back up just a bit. Why me?”

Varidormu looked at Cynlan with genuine confusion. “Why not you?”

Cynlan scoffed and answered, “I’m already in the middle of a war. See this?” he asked, pointing to the badge of the Sun’s Wrath battalion. “I’m neck deep in Scourge right now, and we’re finally starting to close in on the Lich King, the battle I’ve been yearning for ever since that bastard nearly committed genocide on my entire race.”

“And as much as this battle means to you and your people, the war we ask you to fight now will easily mean twice as much in the grand scheme of things.”

“You can’t possibly tell me that, of all the people in all of time, I’m the only one who can do this for you.”

“You’re the only one who fits the requirements for this role,” Varidormu countered. “You are a talented knight, decorated by your own people. You are a skilled leader, hand-picked by your own commander to act as his second. You are charismatic, noble, and selfless, with the determination to see any task you undertake to the very end.” He smiled finally and added, “On top of all that, you are the Dragonslayer. You are the perfect candidate for this task.”

The Blood Knight sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose again in annoyance. “And if I refuse? What if I leave you to fight this war yourself?”

“I can answer that,” Xadormi piped up, turning from her guardianship over the conversation to become an active participant. “Should the Infinite flight go unchecked in this future era, the consequences of inaction will ripple backward and forward through time. Their numbers will swell far beyond those of the Bronze flight, truly becoming infinite, which will leave us unable to stop them from eradicating their targets in the timeline. If this is allowed to happen, everything that you know – your family, your friends, the Blood Knight Order, all of Quel’Thalas – will be erased, undone by their entropic influence. And you, Cynlan, will cease to exist.”

Cynlan considered that for a good long moment. Temporal tampering was never something to do lightly. The slightest deviation from what was supposed to happen, as Xadormi once explained to him, could start a domino effect of epic proportions that would cause a radical and permanent change in future eras. He had no doubt in his mind that everything he was told just now was true, that his refusal to help them could do irreparable damage to the world that he knew. It was just such horrible timing…

“You’re asking me to abandon my post on the cusp of our greatest battle yet. You’re asking me to leave my friends and family, to take Sindrael from her home-“

“No,” Varidormu interrupted, holding up one hand to halt Cynlan’s words. “Sindrael cannot come with you. Her destiny lies on a different path than yours. For her sake, you must leave her here.”

The young Dawnstrider felt a familiar pang of loss in his heart. It was the same feeling he’d had when he realized he would need to leave his first wife to travel abroad on behalf of the Blood Knight Order.

“And so history repeats itself,” Cynlan muttered, frowning at this revelation. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

The two Bronzes watched as the Blood Knight Champion considered carefully his course of action. Finally, he nodded as he came to make the only decision he possibly could, given the circumstances. “Alright, I’ll do it. But when I win this war for you, I return to this place and time to pick up exactly where I left off.”

Varidormu smiled widely, immensely pleased. “For such confidence and surety of your victory, I will agree to that stipulation.” He stood from the bench and walked over to stand with Xadormi, the two of them regarding Cynlan. “Now, if you’ll follow us, your portal awaits in the Caverns of Time.”

Cynlan rose, his jaw set in determination, ready to face the future with honor and resolve. He would fight for them in this far away battlefield, and he would win. And with any luck at all, the world would never realize his absence.