This is going to be a slow-burn Viravos fic with some dabbling in my theories on Aaravos's character. It's all obviously not canon and for mature readers only. All characters belong to Wonderstorm! Ah, and needless to say, spoilers follow. Read at your own risk!

The glowing light of the chrysalis made it nearly impossible to sleep, but Viren still managed to find some shut eye here and there. He lay there on the cold musty ground, back toward the pulsing sack of magical goo, breathing heavily in a deep sleep. He was twisting and turning, feeling as if something were crawling all over him. A moment finally passed where he felt nothing, and then... A small dragonhead caterpillar crawled across the ridge of his ear, hovering above his eardrum.

"What is it you dream of?" whispered the sultry voice of the elf.

Viren sat up suddenly, awakening from his dream with a start. He turned to face the chrysalis, still glowing, the creature within writhing from its transfiguration. Nearly every time Viren managed to fall asleep in the wretched cavern, he dreamed of the bug on his ear, asking him all sorts of questions ranging from his dreams to his deepest fears. Viren narrowed his eyes at the chrysalis in suspicion.

It had been three days since he had woken up from the other side, Claudia's relieved yet sheepish expression greeting him timidly. He'd be okay now, she said. That was all that mattered. Of course, he had lost nearly everything in the fall from the storm spire, including his staff. But yes, at least he was okay. And all he had to show for his trials and tribulations was several broken bones and this nightmare of an animal familiar. Perhaps what would emerge from the cocoon was strong enough to help him with his conquest. But for now, he had lost all communication with the startouch elf, and had no idea what to do.

Viren turned to see Claudia still snoring in her corner of the cave. He sighed, moving with several grunts of pain and frustration so that he was sitting upright against the cavern wall.

"Claudia," he said.

Nothing.

"Claudia!"

"Wha-what?" Claudia started awake, eyes wide. She tucked her hair behind her ears, the whitened side glowing purple from the light of the chrysalis. "Oh, you're awake," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," said Viren. He rubbed his eyes. "Can you get me some water?"

"Yes, of course." Claudia rushed to dig around in her pack, searching for the waterskin she had filled the day before. Once she found it, she knelt beside her father and handed it to him.

Viren drank thirstily, coughing lightly when he was finished. He was certainly grateful to have only broken bones in his legs - having full use of his arms made things much easier. But not being able to stand without Claudia's assistance, stuck in this cave with the horrible creature gestating beside him... he felt rather helpless. And now that he'd lost nearly everything, he wondered if it was even worth fighting for anymore. He wondered many things during his boring days within the cave. Often his mind wandered to Harrow. What would he do in this situation? Ah yes, that's right. He would lay down his life in the name of pride.

"Any progress?" he asked Claudia.

"Yes, actually," she said cheerily. She lifted the tome from her pack, flipping through its pages quickly. "Ah, here it is. An earthblood rune! Now all we need is..." She sighed, frowning slightly. "A primal stone."

"Come now, Claudia," said Viren. "Your magical expertise is the reason I still live." He smiled at her. "Surely you can find a spell that imitates the results of the rune?"

"I've tried, Dad," said Claudia. "I don't have any more components. Even if I wanted to try imitating it, I'd need to venture out into the heart of Xadia on my own."

Viren narrowed his eyes, then glanced toward the chrysalis to his right.

"If you would just let me use some of it," Claudia said quietly, "I may be able to fix your broken leg."

"I already told you, Claudia," said Viren. "Whatever emerges from that chrysalis may be our only answer. We cannot compromise it."

"I understand it was your little bug pal," Claudia said. "But look at that thing!"

Viren did. The creature within had been growing day by day, growing long and sprouting limbs. As it turned within its hardened shell, Viren could make out the slight curve of horns atop the anthropomorphic head.

"It's not a bug anymore," Claudia said. "Whatever it started as, it's definitely turning into an elf."

Viren had of course entertained the possibility that the startouch elf was gestating within the disgusting cocoon; it was the only thing he was hanging onto for hope. If he had lost his communication with the powerful mage, then truly all would be for naught. But if it was indeed the elf growing within the chrysalis, then perhaps he could regain everything he had lost atop the storm spire.

"Do not touch it," he said sternly.

"Dad, aren't you forgetting something?" Claudia said worriedly. "It's an elf! It's Xadia, the enemy! And as I recall, we're not on very good terms."

"Perhaps," said Viren. "But we leave the chrysalis alone."

Claudia sighed. "Whatever you say," she said.

Viren turned to the chrysalis once more. The figure inside looked more and more like the elf with every passing minute. The long ears, deep purple skin... He was even able to make out shimmering white freckles across his body, down his limbs and covering his strong back. Viren felt his face warm slightly as he noticed Claudia's eyes on him.

He cleared his throat. "My bones will heal," he said with a note of impatience. "My main concern lies with the elf. While he could be useful to our success, he is bound to be incredibly powerful. We need a safeguard, something to guarantee our protection when he emerges."

"How do you know he's bound to be powerful?" said Claudia. "What if this is how all elves are born? They start as those icky bugs and spin a chrysalis?" She made a face. "Ugh, so gross."

Viren sighed impatiently. "I highly doubt it." He didn't quite know how to explain it to his daughter, that he'd been in constant communication with this elf since the other kingdoms had denied their alliance against Xadia. He sighed again. "Claudia, I know you've done so much for me, and for us. I owe my life to you, literally." He smiled at her, eyes softening in the purple haze. "But you have to trust me."

After a brief moment, Claudia smiled back. "Of course, Dad," she said.

"Good. Then don't worry about my legs for the time being," said Viren. "Focus on finding a spell that will protect us from the force of an archmage."

Claudia raised her eyebrows. "An archmage? Aren't they the most powerful elves in all of Xadia?"

"Yes, which is precisely why we must find a way to defend ourselves against one."

She motioned to the chrysalis. "You think that thing is an archmage?"

"Trust me, Claudia."

She sighed, looking down again. "Right. Of course." Suddenly she looked back up, eyes wide. "I almost forgot!" She began digging through her pack, retrieving a small glass vial. It appeared empty, but she carried it with such delicate hands that Viren could only assume it was one of the rarest magical components in the entire world.

His eyes widened slowly, realization dawning on him. "Claudia, that's not..."

"Yes," she said with a timid smile. After all this time, her expression betrayed no pride or confidence, only the pure and childish hope that her father would be proud of her. "I was there when you fell, and I...managed to capture your last breath."

"I had assumed you used it to bring me back," Viren said.

Claudia's expression grew dark, and she looked away, breaking eye contact. "I guess I thought that if I saved it for you, it would be more useful. That's why I..."

Viren understood. Claudia had disposed of the soldier's body several days ago, after the smell became too much for the small enclosed space. Viren reached out to take the vial. He examined it like a father examining his newborn child.

"Claudia, you truly are a genius," he said with a smile. "I am so incredibly proud of you." He watched his daughter's face beam in the dim light of the cave. "With this we can bind the elf's life to my own, ensuring he won't hurt me."

"That's a great idea," said Claudia. "But what if he attacks me instead?"

Viren looked at his daughter. Once upon a time, his initial thought would have been to deny the importance of such a suggestion. Sacrifices are necessary, Claudia, is what he would have said, back before Claudia risked everything, including her own morals, to bring Viren back from the dead.

"You're right," he said quietly. "We'll have to think of a spell that will protect the both of us."

Besides, with Soren out of the picture, who else would uphold Viren's legacy as the one who freed humanity from Xadian oppression?

The rest of the day passed as all the others before them - Claudia went in search of food and Viren sat completely useless in the cavern. He spent some of his time leafing through Claudia's tome, researching what kinds of spells would either heal is broken legs or somehow magically bind his life to the elf's. He did wonder how good an idea it was. If for some reason they had to dispose of him, Viren's own life would be risked. Without his staff, he wasn't even able to trap the elf's spirit within the shiny, reflective surface of a coin like he usually did, saving their vital magical power for a rainy day. Perhaps there was a way to seal his magical power instead, as opposed to his life? Yes, perhaps if the elf killed him or Claudia, it would somehow sever his connections to the arcana instead of taking his life? That way the spell wouldn't be as harmful to the humans if they had to kill the elf.

It could work, but it was risky, and required more components than they had quick access to. It would require something strongly linked to the star arcanum, something only startouch elves could utilize.

Something like the chrysalis. Viren sighed. Claudia had been out for some time now, and Viren had no way of telling how long she'd be. He glanced to the chrysalis. It had stopped squirming so much, the form of the being within much more still than usual. His back was facing Viren, sharpened horns almost ready to pierce through the tough carapace. Viren wondered how much time they truly had to find out a solution.

Fatigue dragged at Viren's eyes. He couldn't imagine why, for he spent nearly all his time doing next to nothing. He thought it might have something to do with the lack of good, deep rest that came with sleeping in a cave, alongside a ceaseless source of light. It couldn't hurt to get a little more shut eye while he waited for Claudia to return.

Sleep came quicker than usual, and Viren found himself in his recurring dream. This time he was watching however, and something rather new happened. The chrysalis peeled its way open to reveal not an elf, but a larger-than-life butterfly. It resembled one of the Xadian insects he kept in his chamber back in Katolis, solely for maintaining his appearance after utilizing dark magic. Its wings were large and glittery, hued a dark purple that faded into the lightest lavender. When they unfolded they covered the entirety of the cave's ceiling, giving Viren the illusion of the night sky.

"Viren," said the butterfly, it's beautiful wings flapping slowly as if to dry them. It was that voice, silky and deep, the one Viren had missed, although he hated admitting it.

"Aaravos?" he said weakly.

"What is it you dream of?" the butterfly said, gazing down at him from its perch on the ceiling with star-filled eyes.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Viren said, voice lined with something like desperation. Everything around him felt ethereal, hazy, like he was trying to get his footing in his own dream.

"Your dreams for Katolis, for humanity, for yourself." The voice almost sounded smoother than he had ever remembered it, like a cosmic wind blowing through the cavern. "What are they?"

"I... I wish to save humanity," said Viren. "I wish to save..."

"Yourself?" the butterfly finished.

"I don't need saving," Viren said, although his tone didn't even convince himself.

The butterfly laughed, a fluttering sound, not quite like Aaravos's usual laugh. "You already did. Your daughter saw to that. And now, you have no magic."

Viren frowned. "What is going on? Why do you keep coming to me in my dreams?" Things were starting to feel more solid, although Viren couldn't place why.

"You and I are connected, Viren," said Aaravos. "It is through you that I now live. It is because of your actions that I can retake my bodily form. And it is through the power of our connection that I am able to speak with you still. You have rekindled the star arcanum."

"The star arcanum?" Through all of Viren's studies on the magic of Xadia, he had never been able to find any information on the star arcanum.

"Where the earth arcanum deals with the physical body, the star arcanum deals with the spiritual one," Aaravos continued. "Dreams are the territory of the cosmos, where you may project your own spiritual self. You, as you appear right now to me, are not in physical form. Your dream body, on the other hand, is not bound to your...physical limitations."

Viren widened his eyes, looking down at his legs. Slowly, he moved them one by one. Of course, he thought. Why wouldn't he be able to move in a dream? Gradually, he got to his feet. He looked back up to the butterfly, but it had disappeared. Floating there, as if he were laying upside down on the ceiling, was the ethereal form of Aaravos. He grinned down at Viren with slightly hooded eyes.

"You may project your image however you wish," said the elf. He raised his arms so they were folded underneath his head. "You could choose to be a crippled, broken shell of a man... or the mighty King Viren, ruler over all of Xadia." He grinned almost maliciously.

When Viren looked down at his own body again, he was wearing the vestments of the King of Katolis - or was it Aaravos's robes? his dreaming mind couldn't quite tell the difference, although he lifted his hands to feel the Katolisian crown atop his head once more, undamaged. He even stood a little taller.

The upside-down floating figure of Aaravos's head appeared before him, smiling as usual. "That's better."

"What is the meaning of all this?" Viren said.

"Am I not a sight for sore eyes?" Aaravos said, placing a hand on his chest for emphasis. "You certainly are. You are, after all, the reason I am free."

Viren narrowed his eyes. "Not yet."

"Yes, I have heard your discussions over what to do with me when I wake."

Viren froze. "You...can hear us?"

Aaravos smirked. "Every last labored breath."

Viren suddenly found himself remarkably embarrassed. He'd been unable to move from the cave for quite some time. Thankfully Claudia had fashioned a very weak sort of crutch to help him move elsewhere to perform most of his bodily functions, but having no other privacy from the elf, for weeks... The thought made his stomach churn.

"I must say, I am hurt that after everything, I still haven't earned your trust," said Aaravos, feigning disappointment. "You truly believe I do not have your best interests in mind?"

"Somehow, after losing everything atop the storm spire, no," said Viren. "How can I tell if this hadn't been your plan all along, to use me to get whatever power you needed then steal that power for yourself? So you could grow your disgusting worm into a new body?"

Aaravos, still upside-down, made a face of what could only be mild annoyance. "I see," he said. "Yes, I can see how the turn of events might make you think I've only been acting out of self-interest. Perhaps, if you were to allow me one more ounce of your trust, I could prove my devotion to you when I wake?" The wily elf's expression turned back to its usual cunning smile.

Viren raised an eyebrow. "Ah. And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

"It wouldn't be trust if I simply told you, now would it?"

Viren was growing frustrated. "I could burn the chrysalis to the ground," he said.

"You won't," said Aaravos arrogantly. "You didn't destroy the mirror. You followed my every instruction, even when you thought I had betrayed you. And, you have prevented the girl from harvesting my chrysalis for components." He smirked. "Even if it would save your own legs. What true loyalty." He almost sang the last part.

The look in Aaravos's eyes burned a fire within Viren's chest. He wanted to reach out, to strike the blasted elf, but he stayed his hand. "You have said many times that you wish to serve me. What is your gain?"

"My gain?" Aaravos shook his head. "Maybe our gains are the same, you and I."

Before Viren could say or do anything else, he found his eyes fluttering open. The image of Claudia hovering above his head, shouting for him to wake up, assaulted his senses.

"Dad!" she yelled. She reached out and began shaking his shoulders. "Dad, wake up!"

When his eyes had fully opened, Viren sat up. "What is it?" he said.

She wordlessly pointed to the chrysalis. It had begun to fracture where the elf's horns pierced through the top of the hardened - now flaky - shell.

"What do we do now?" she said.

Viren couldn't find his voice as he watched pieces of the shell fall to the ground. Inch by inch the elf's skin was revealed, deep shades of purple dotted by shimmering stars. He suddenly stretched out an arm, reaching all four digits of his hand out as if to touch the ceiling. With a great sigh of what sounded like relief, Aaravos rolled his shoulders and fell from the husk of the chrysalis. He landed on his side with a mild thud, completely exposed.

Viren heard Claudia gasp beside him while his eyes fixated on the slumped form of the startouch elf. His long white hair was slicked to his skin, falling across half of his face. His left leg was mercifully folded over his midsection. Viren couldn't stop his eyes from tracing the slender curve of his form. He was somehow both so powerful looking and so lithe.

He heard the faint shuffling of Claudia's belongings beside him. She appeared by Aaravos's side with the vial of Viren's last breath, her eyes clouded over with the unmistakable purple haze of dark magic.

"Claudia, wait!" Viren shouted, lifting an arm to try and stop her. He couldn't reach, cursing his broken limb.

Thankfully she heard him, and lowered her hand. "Dad?"

"Just...wait." Viren looked to the elf once more. He had landed a few feet away from where Viren had propped himself against the cavern wall; it felt strange to be in such close proximity to the being who had been no more than a hallucination only weeks ago. His mind was racing, with Aaravos's words resonating through it like a storm. He knew he shouldn't simply trust this entity, especially considering how things had turned out atop the spire. But he had nothing left to lose. His only hope rested in the help of this elf - and he refused to let his pride get in the way of his life, like Harrow did.

Aaravos slowly opened his eyes. The smoky irises glowed lightly purple in the fading light of the chrysalis as they made contact with Viren's. A grin appeared on his star-freckled face.

"Claudia, bring him your cloak."

Claudia turned to Viren with wide eyes. "How do you know we can we trust him?"

Viren narrowed his eyes as he continued looking at Aaravos. "We shouldn't." He watched Aaravos's grin widen. "Yet..."

Claudia blinked. "I don't think this is a good idea, Dad."

"Claudia, I won't say this again," Viren muttered. "You need to trust me. Above all else. Now, bring him your cloak."

Claudia didn't say anything more. She leaned down to where she'd neatly folded the cloak she'd worn while escaping the battle at the spire and brought it to where Aaravos lay. She placed it on the ground beside him.

"Leave us," said Viren.

Claudia clearly wanted to protest, but upon looking at her father's expression, held her tongue. She balled her hands into fists, and then released them with a sigh. With that, she turned and left the cave.

Viren lifted himself with a grunt of pain, sliding across the cavern floor so that he sat beside Aaravos. The elf had closed his eyes again, exhaling deeply as he continued rolling his shoulders as if to awaken them from their long sleep. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes again with a deep exhalation of equanimity.

"Finally," he breathed. With a single gracious movement, Aaravos lifted himself so he was sitting up, face to face with Viren.

The human was suddenly hyper-aware of how close they now were, the elf still slick from his rebirth and...rather indecent. Viren cleared his throat, his face flushing slightly. "Uh, here," he said, reaching for the cloak. As he moved to hand it to Aaravos, the elf's hand reached up and took hold of Viren's wrist. He grinned, eyes filling with what almost appeared to be a look of true gladness.

"You have no idea how long it has been since I've felt the skin, the touch of another," Aaravos said. He traced his fingers along the length of Viren's arm, eyes hooded as he reveled in the sensation.

Viren swallowed, eyes wide. He felt something stir within his gut, or maybe deeper... He almost said out loud that he reciprocated the elf's feelings, except that for him it had been more like a few years rather than a few centuries. Something about the elf's touch on his skin made a chill spark down his spine, and it certainly confused him. He snatched his arm away, not knowing what to say.

Aaravos looked up at him, a tilted smile appearing on his lips. "Forgive me, my lord," he said.

Viren steeled himself, finding his voice once more. "This is your final chance, elf. Give me one good reason to not have Claudia return and end your life before it's even begun."

Aaravos's smile turned into a grin. "Ah yes," he said. "Your trust shall not be wasted." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment, he reopened his eyes to reveal a vivid green light within them. He lazily drew a rune in the air, the same earth rune Claudia had found in her tome, and then pressed both of his palms to the ground. He slowly moved them upward until they were right on either side of Viren's legs. Another moment, and Viren could feel the life surging through his limbs once more, weaving and mending where his bones had fractured. He wiggled his toes.

"You...healed me?" Viren said.

Aaravos's eyes returned to normal. "It's the least I can do to earn your continued trust. I am finally here in the flesh to be your humble servant." He pressed a palm to his bare chest, right over the star insignia that seemed to be branded into his skin. "And I never lie." He grinned back up at Viren.

Viren watched the elf carefully. His leg was completely healed now, along with the many bones in his other foot. He could move them freely and without pain. But he stayed where he was. Eventually, he took the folded cloak and covered Aaravos's still-slick midsection with it.

"I will consider your offer," Viren said in a low voice. He got to his feet. "For now, you are my prisoner." He reached for the extra chains Claudia kept in her bag and recited the dark magic spell. "Mih dnib leets gnirehtils." The chains morphed into hissing snakes and curled themselves around Aaravos's wrists, forcing them behind his back. When Viren turned to look at him, the elf was sneering up at him with a cheeky expression.

Viren turned to leave the cave.