Ripples of Shadow
Chapter 7 - The City in the Sky

“Mortal races will always dabble in the arts of the arcane. That which they truly yearn to understand, they will pursue. Yet with understanding comes lust, the lust for more power. Power gives way to insanity, and insanity can consume souls. Thus, the Kirin Tor was founded. A shining light amidst the darkness that is the arcane.”

-Peolonius Theldrim, Mage of the Kirin Tor

“Such a wonderful sight there never was. Such devotion does not exist. When a myth turns to legend and legend to reality, the hearts of mankind will rise. Dalaran, she flies.”

-Unknown

Dro’gath held his breath as Narithstraz gained altitude, his great wings beating against the frigid air. It wasn’t precisely that he was afraid, no not that…just anxious. Extreme heights tended to make him wary, and this was most definitely extreme. The party had finally crossed the northern ocean and made their way into Northrend last night. Narithstraz insisted on flying late into the twilight, and they made their camp in the forest known as Crystalsong.

The forest itself was a sight to behold, something out of pure legend. Trees that jut from the ground reached inconceivably high into the air. So high in fact they seemed to caress the sky with the tips of their branches, like so many fingers of an outstretched hand. Yet that was not the most fascinating aspect of it. For the trees seemed to be made of crystal themselves! It was true, from trunk to leaf, the trees seemed carved of crystal, and pulsed with a strange energy that Dro did not understand and even made Kaihlyn pause.

Dro’gath could still see the tops of some of those trees as the dragon continued to ascend higher into the sky. Indeed up and up they flew, for their destination loomed ahead of them. The great city-state of Dalaran itself, floating like some monstrous being above the forests of Crystalsong, stood defiant in the eye of the Lich King. The cavernous underbelly of Dalaran was in plain view. Great heaping mounds of earth and rock provided the foundation of Dalaran back when it lay comfortably amidst the rolling hills of Alterac. When the city was wrenched from the ground, and transported here, it retained that foundation. Now that some of the city was coming into view, Dro’gath quickly realized just what he was beginning to see.

As Narithstraz leveled out, and came within range of the actual city itself, Dro’gath heard gasps from the rest of the party, clinging to their snowy gryphons which were in formation behind the great red dragon. Dro could appreciate their surprise; the city was nothing short of breathtaking. Tall slender towers tipped with violet domes and terraces poked through the masses of buildings which dotted the skyline. Gleaming white marble buildings met at precise intersections, and the whole city itself seemed to flow beautifully from one spot to the next. Never once did a jarring sight ruin the unblemished landscape that met the eye.