Lyra, Trixie, and Azuregos returned their attention to the ruins of Zarkhenar, where Runas pointed out the four ley siphons that they needed to take out if they wanted to weaken Ael'Yith and restore power to Senegos' mana pool. The three of them knew that stopping Ael'Yith would be a more permanent solution, or rather his death, so they focused on where the lone Nightfallen elf was standing. It was clear that the elf believed himself to be some sort of prince, as it appeared that he was putting himself over the rest of his kind, but even so the trio knew that he had to be dealt with before they could even start their quest to find the Tidestone.
Once the three of them agreed on a course through the ruins, which would allow them to hit all of the siphons and get them to the stairs that would take them to Ael'Yith, they started moving forward. Fortunately they had already cleared part of the ruins, as the enemies in the area they had been on had been taken care of, though when they walked down into the lower area they had to deal with some more Nightfallen that wanted them dead. As Lyra held the attention of the elf in front of them, Trixie and Azuregos called the whelplings over and beckoned to the siphon that was close to where they were standing... to which the whelplings circled around the device for a few seconds, before they loosed a mana charge that ripped the entire device apart.
That got a reaction out of the 'Nightborne Prince', as Ael'Yith shouted in anger when he saw them destroy one of his siphons and threw a barrage of missile attacks at them, though the group dodged the attack and continued towards the second siphon.
Fortunately the second siphon wasn't even guarded, by the withered or by the Nightfallen, to which the group smiled as the whelplings flew into the area and circled the siphon they had secured, to which they shattered that one into a thousand pieces. Lyra spotted the third one resting down the stairs in front of them, where she gladly used the Twinblades to cut down the Nightfallen elf that was standing guard, allowing Trixie and Azuregos to repeat the process with the group of whelplings that was following them. When the third siphon tore itself apart, and they were no longer being harassed by the elves that had been guarding it, they walked back up the stairs and headed towards the set of stairs that would take them up to their real target... though before they began their ascent they targeted the final siphon and made sure that the whelplings blew that one to pieces as well.
With the four large siphons destroyed, and the ley energy was no longer being taken from the ground or from the dragons in the Repose, the group walked up the stairs and engaged the few elves that were up there, to which they dispatched them and their magical construct before they made their way towards Ael'Yith's 'throne'.
"Did that dragon send you to stop me, interlopers? Or was it that beggar, Runas?" Ael'Yith asked, though at the same time he chuckled as he turned to face the trio as they entered the chamber he was in, indicating that he found something funny, "In the end the answer doesn't really matter. Soon all of you will be bowing to Azsuna's new prince."
As the battle with Ael'Yith started the group discovered that he was going to fire magic at them until they submitted, though at the same time he summoned arcane spheres that detonated when they were struck, where Lyra noticed that the spheres moved around the area. Trixie and Azuregos determined that, in the room they were in, that this wasn't the best place for Lyra to fight, as with her new speed she was more likely to accidentally hit one of the spheres and hurt herself in the process. Lyra agreed with their statement, to which she stepped outside the room and watched what was happening, though she also informed them that she would help if they truly needed her assistance.
Trixie and Azuregos, however, separated from each other and moved to the side of where Ael'Yith was standing, effectively forcing him to pick who he wanted to attack and who he wanted to leave himself open to. The Nightborne Prince, however, called his magic to him and started throwing it at both of them, causing them to move and throw their magic back at him. As the battle between the three of them started magic flew around the room they were in, though those that missed crashed into the walls and blasted small holes in the pillars. Trixie, however, still had a trick up her sleeve, as Aluneth had given her an ability to use when she had first tamed the staff and she hadn't had the opportunity to use it in combat yet... to which she raised the staff and called upon it's power, which caused a rune to appear beneath Ael'Yith's feet and started dealing damage to him.
Despite the power of her staff, and the rune that she used, Ael'Yith still proved to be a powerful opponent, as he resisted the damage Trixie had dealt to him, but Azuregos was able to do some damage while the two of them, against all odds, managed to avoid taking any damage... though before they could kill their opponent Ael'Yith moved to one of the balconies that the room had and growled at them.
"Forget the ley-lines, brothers!" Ael'Yith shouted, to which he jumped off the balcony he was standing on, though that caused the group to run up to where he had been standing, where they watched as he rode a large magical construct away from the ruins, along with his army following close behind him, "We shall feast on the dragons instead!"
"Oh no!" Trixie said, as she immediately knew what the Nightfallen elf was talking about, because he intended to go for Senegos and the rest of the Azurewing dragons, which caused Azuregos to growl in anger, "Don't worry, we'll be sure to stop him and put an end to his schemes."
It was in that moment that Stellagosa showed up and stopped next to the balcony that Ael'Yith had been standing on a few moments ago, to which she called for them to hurry so they could stop the incoming invasion. Azuregos jumped into the air and transformed into his true form, to which he beckoned for Trixie to climb on before they got underway, leaving Lyra to climb onto Stellagosa's back again. Once they were all ready to go they departed from Zarkhenar and began the short flight back to the Repose, though as they did so they all noticed that a large number of withered elves were making their way over the mountain... indicating that Ael'Yith intended to swarm the Repose with sheer numbers and wear everyone down until something terrible happened.
The sight of the Repose under attack by the withered, however, did nothing to sooth the anger that both Stellagosa and Azuregos were feeling at the moment, though as they landed they all got prepared for a fight.
"You bested their leader in combat, and then he came here to take what isn't his for his own personal gain." Khadgar commented, only speaking once he noticed that Trixie and the others had landed outside the Repose, where he happened to be standing at the time, though as he spoke he swung his staff and loosed a volley of arcane blasts that sent his targets backwards, "Some of these withered are already dying, despite what their leader promised them before they turned into this state, so our only course of action is to kill as many of them as we can and save as many dragons as possible."
"I will take to the skies and kill as many as I can," Stellagosa stated, flapping her wings for a second, just to show that she was serious about this, "you should take that ley crystal you picked up in the Whelplands and heal any injured dragons you come across... just so we can truly save as many as we can."
Trixie and Azuregos were the first to take action, as they charged into the battle that was unfolding in front of them and started throwing arcane blasts at any of the withered that dared to attack Senegos, though the ones that were already attacking him were being thrown into the rocks walls all around them and crushed by the dragon's mighty claws. Lyra, on the other hand, let out a sigh as she made her way around the battlefield, using the ley crystal to heal the wounds of each dragon she came across. Some of the dragons that she healed continued to fight against the withered elves, allowing her access to more of the wounded, while those that were too young to fight flew away so they could save themselves and wait until the battle was over. Lyra also had to use the Twinblades to cut down several enemies that thought she was easy prey, though she silently allowed the warglaives to absorb the soul energy of those she slew, knowing that at some point she would have to return to the forge and see what happened next.
After at least ten minutes of healing the dragons and killing many of the withered elves, which helped turn the tide of the battle in Senegos' favor, the trio returned to Khadgar and noticed that Stellagosa was resting before she resumed the battle once more.
"Well done. I saw the other drakes take to the skies," Stellagosa commented, though she sounded pleased with what they had done, while at the same time noticing that one of the whelplings was flying near the group and refused to leave, "though it appears that Emmigosa has taken a liking to all of you. Maybe she'll be safer in your floating city... away from all of the Nightfallen and their withered counterparts."
"One of the dragons I healed mentioned that one of the Nightfallen went into the cave the crystals are being held in," Lyra said, remembering what the dragon in question had said, though based on the look Stellagosa was giving her she guessed she knew which dragon she was referring to.
"So Cedonu saw a Nightfallen elf go into the Leyhollow... I don't like the sound of that." Stellagosa replied, to which she turned her attention to the group at the moment, while noticing that the whelpling had moved over to the Archmage's side for the moment, "Grandfather seems to be holding his own, but just in case something happens Khadgar and I have agreed to stay out here and watch him... which means that you three should head into the cave and stop whoever went in there, though a part of me hopes that it was Ael'Yith that went in there."
The trio nodded and headed towards the cave that held the crystals they had used to help ease Senegos' pain earlier, though as they entered the Leyhollow they kept their weapons at the ready, just in case they found whoever had entered the cave while they were fighting. When they rounded the corner, however, they came upon the small mana pool that rested before the entrance of the section of the cave that contained all the crystals, to which they found Runas kneeling in the mana infused water.
"Runas?!" Trixie asked, because this was the last person they expected to find in the cave, though at the same time she noticed that he was shivering more than the last time they had seen him.
"Trixie? Is that you, my friend?" Runas inquired, causing him to turn his head and look around, indicating that he might have actually lost his sight, though the action caused his body to shake as he violently coughed a few times, "I am weak. The hunger is devastating, my friend. I understand now why your dragon rests in these pools. I came to warn you but... it looks like I was too late. I hear him outside now. Ael'Yith... is... here..."
"Good. Then we can finish this madness once and for all." Trixie replied, though while she knew that anger could spell disaster for her, if the events of what happened in Pandaria with the Sha was any indication, but she couldn't let the monster that tried to ruin the Azurewing get away with his deeds.
"This hunger is consuming my very mind. It is taking every ounce of my energy to just... just..." Runas explained, causing the group to wonder if he had possibly lost his hearing as well, though at the same time his body was rocked by a fit of coughing again, "Can you hear me, my friend? I... I can not see you anymore. I think... perhaps it is time to say goodbye, then. Thank you, my friend, for letting my last few hours mean something."
Trixie and the others watched as Runas shook once more before he violently transformed before their eyes, becoming one of the withered that they had been fighting since they came to the Repose... to which Trixie looked over at Lyra, who sighed as she held her Twinblades up and delivered the killing blow, allowing Runas to pass on without having to live as a withered for more than a few moments. A few seconds later Trixie growled and charged out of the cave they were in, leaving Lyra and Azuregos in her dust, though when she reached the entrance she found Ael'Yith standing on the back of a large arcane construct... which seemed to be stealing the power that Senegos had, if the stunned form of the ancient dragon was anything to take into consideration.
"Yes, yes!" Ael'Yith shouted, as if he was proud of what he was doing, which only served to get on Trixie's nerves and remind her of the anger she had for Maiev, "Surrender your power, dragon. These pools belong to the Nightborne now!"
Trixie growled as she charged at Ael'Yith and his large construct, to which she tapped back into Aluneth's powers and threw the powerful rune at the construct, where the rune dealt damage to the construct, but not nearly enough to stop it in its tracks. Ael'Yith noticed that she was attacking him and launched several arcane blasts at her, intending to keep her away from his construct so he could completely steal the power of Senegos and further empower himself, but eventually Trixie forced him and his construct to focus on her. What she wasn't expecting was the construct to advance on her so quickly, as she barely had time to realize that she had gotten to close to it before it swung at her... to which the arm of the construct hit her and sent her flying passed Senegos.
Lyra and Azuregos just happened to be leaving the cave, after dealing with Runas and realizing that Trixie had already left, when they watched Trixie's back collide with the rock wall next to Senegos' pool... to which she fell into the mana pool and sunk into the mana infused water.
"TRIXIE!" Lyra shouted, knowing that her fellow Equestrian had been through too much to be killed now, by some random upstart that was calling himself a prince, but when she didn't resurface Lyra felt her anger rise as the fel energy inside her ignited.
Lyra charged at the construct and leapt into the air, to which she morphed into her Havoc Form and landed beside the construct, where she brought her warglaives down and carved off the arm that was near her. Ael'Yith noticed this and commanded his construct to attack her again while he cast spells at her, though as Lyra tore into the construct Azuregos used his magic to cancel out the spells the Nightfallen elf was throwing around. It didn't take Lyra long to completely dismantle the construct that Ael'Yith was commanding, discarding the various pieces all around her, before she started to approach the elf that had done in her friend.
Ael'Yith, however, slowly backed away from Lyra as she and Azuregos focused on him, though before he could get too far the mana pool rippled for a few seconds, causing him and his enemies to glance at it. A moment later a blue dragon, who was an inch or two shorter than Azuregos' dragon form, suddenly erupted out of the mana pool and landed on the ground near Ael'Yith... though that was followed by the dragon bringing it's arm down and knocked the elf onto his back, before trapping him under its claws. Lyra and Azuregos were surprised by what they were seeing, because there hadn't been a second dragon in the mana pool, but they watched as the dragon pressed its claws against the elf, intending to crush him under the weight of its arm... to which they witnessed the death of Ael'Yith, causing his withered followers to flee from the Repose.
With the deed done, and Senegos restored to his full power for the first time in years, the new dragon collapsed on the ground before a light emitted from its body... though when the light faded it was revealed that the blue dragon had been Trixie, though Lyra noticed that she seemed to be sleeping now. Lyra had no idea what had happened, but at the moment she didn't care, because her fellow Equestrian was alive and well... and slightly changed from her ordeal. She sheathed the Twinblades and approached Trixie, knowing that it might be some time before her friend woke back up, though she was sure that they could spend some time letting her rest before they continued the search for the Tidestone.
Once Trixie had rested, and came to terms with what happened to her, the three of them would see if Senegos knew where the Pillar of Creation was located... and hopefully stop the naga from claiming an artifact that was important in their fight against the Legion.