Above all, Seryth wanted to escape his past. He put on hold any ideas of journeying to the Sunwell. He was now strong enough to make the jump into the Shadowlands without more mana, he believed, but he felt like doing so would seal a kind of finality into his destiny. If anima was like fertilizer, and his crippled soul was like a sapling twisted by corruption, imbuing himself with anima would only make that corruption worse, the tree growing up as twisted as it had started. If he was going to shape himself, strive to be something he had not been for most of his life, that time was now.
He secretly looked forward to the attempt. As much as he tried to forget it, the shaping of his fel-corrupted experiments had fed a scientific curiosity in him. Was it even possible to manipulate souls in the way he wanted…?
Necessity guided his first steps. His supplies of food were getting low. He journeyed to one of the eco-domes of the Ethereals in Netherstorm.
The lushness of the eco-dome reminded him uncomfortably of Val’sharah, and Seryth jumpily kept expecting to turn a corner and meet a druid who would recognize him. He bought supplies quickly and moved on again, this time heading due south, to Hellfire Peninsula, where he had heard the land was barren and war-torn — hardly a place druids would be interested in visiting, or so he thought.
Brown-skinned orcs eyed him dourly from the ramparts of Mag’har Post as Malfas’ wings darkened them from above. Seryth had heard many stories of the orcs growing up, of course, particularly of their corruption and then redemption. Intrigued, he circled the ramparts, but the orcs continued to scowl at him, a few grabbing bows, and Seryth was forced to turn Malfas away before they attacked.
They instead landed a little further away, in a draenic settlement.
While strolling through the settlement — the draenei called it the Temple of Telhamat — Seryth heard rumors of an expedition from the Cenarion Circle that had come to Hellfire to study the environs. Fear gave Seryth wings, and he ran back to Malfas and urged the dragon back into the air, plans to study the orcs aborted.
Not even a wasteland was safe from the druids. Malfas brought him to the Dark Portal and obliged to circling above it while Seryth scanned its broad steps for anyone who might attack him. Where could he go? He was truly in exile, and he felt very much alone.
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