"Nefarian! Capture him alive!" Galen's booming command echoed across the platform, a stark directive that reached Altairus's ears. The Storm Dragon, already being mercilessly battered, felt a surge of profound insult, his eyes blazing blood red with fury!
As a storm dragon, a creature that had long held a place at the apex of Azeroth's food chain, how could Altairus possibly endure such a humiliating order? To be "captured alive" was an affront to his very being!
However, before Altairus could unleash his pent-up rage and attempt to turn the tide against Nefarian, the Black Dragon Prince acted decisively. Nefarian, with a shimmer of arcane energy, transformed into his human form, a golden staff materializing in his hand. He immediately began to weave powerful Holy Light spells!
It was no exaggeration to say that Nefarian, excluding the five Dragon Aspects and the truly ancient dragons, was arguably the strongest of all dragon offspring.
One need not even mention the other dragon offspring who rarely appeared on the grand stage. Even the likes of Anachronos, the esteemed hero of the War of the Shifting Sands and a direct descendant of Nozdormu; Merinthra, the beloved daughter of the Green Dragon Queen Ysera; Kerestrasza, the valiant son of the Red Dragon Queen Alexstrasza; and Arygos, the son of the Blue Dragon King Malygos—all were, in Galen's estimation, slightly inferior to Nefarian in raw power and magical prowess.
Especially after Nefarian's Lightforging by Galen, the insidious curse within his body had been purged, and his mind was no longer tormented by the insidious whispers of the Old Gods, becoming increasingly clear and focused. This dragon, possessing incredible physical might, was, ironically, a master of magic!
"Holy Light Chains!" "Holy Light Imprisonment!" "Holy Light Sanction!"
With the rapid-fire casting of three Holy Light spells, each a unique creation of Nefarian's own design, the formidable Storm Dragon Altairus was bound tightly into a golden, shimmering "dumpling," his struggles futile. He was then unceremoniously escorted to Galen's side.
"Master," Nefarian inquired, a hint of confusion in his voice, "although this elemental dragon possesses the strength of a high-level legend, he can only truly exert it within the elemental realm. What purpose is there in keeping him alive?"
Nefarian genuinely didn't understand Galen's decision to capture Altairus. In his view, these wind elemental dragons, much like the Val'kyr storm dragons, were merely a sub-species, incapable of even transforming into human form. What strategic value could they possibly hold? At most, they were cannon fodder!
"Nefarian," Galen replied, his tone patient and instructive, "the number of Golden Holy Dragons is limited, as you well know."
As one of the top ten most powerful individuals within the Crusader system, Galen was always willing to explain his strategic intentions to his most trusted lieutenants.
"I understand!" Nefarian's eyes widened in sudden comprehension.
The core members of the Golden Holy Dragonflight were, almost without exception, former members of the Black Dragonflight. While most had survived the brutal War of the Ancients, they had suffered heavy losses over the millennia, constantly hunted by the other four chromatic dragonflights. At present, their numbers barely exceeded two hundred.
In recent decades, Nefarian himself had desperately sought to increase the ranks of the Golden Holy Dragonflight. However, while the aptitude of dragon eggs was influenced by both parents, the power and essence of the mother dragon were absolutely crucial to the quality and potential of the offspring. Ordinary mother dragons, he had discovered, could only produce ordinary dragon eggs, resulting in ordinary dragons.
The only true hope for a significant increase in their numbers lay with his sister, Onyxia!
(bro don't go there Nefarian)
Also a direct descendant of Deathwing's bloodline, and a demigod-level dragon in her own right, the whelps hatched from Onyxia's dragon eggs would undoubtedly become the new, powerful force of the Golden Holy Dragonflight!
But... for reasons unknown to Nefarian, Onyxia had been unwilling to produce dragon eggs, even refusing to mate with other male dragons.
This had been a source of immense frustration for Nefarian, causing the ambitious plan for the Golden Holy Dragon's resurgence to be indefinitely shelved.
Therefore, as soon as Galen uttered those words, Nefarian understood his meaning perfectly. While these wind elemental dragons, living within the confines of the Skywall, might be somewhat weaker than their chromatic counterparts, they were, nonetheless, dragons.
The origins of all current dragons, tracing back hundreds of thousands of years, lay with the original proto-dragons of Azeroth. Their only difference now was that one branch, the current Guardian Dragons, had accepted the transformative energy of the Titans, while another branch had rejected the Titans' gift, choosing instead to align themselves with the raw power of the elements.