"...Perhaps there is still hope." The massive being spoke, the haze of madness and hatred had finally been lifted from his eyes. Millennia he had been chained in darkness, pain and anger had overcome him, and he had vowed to wreak bloody vengeance upon the world that had betrayed him. But now, he had been defeated at the hands of a band of mortals, little more than children in the being's eyes, and yet, together they wielded a strength greater even than that of his captor. He continued speaking, "But, there is a yawning chasm of darkness beneath you mortals, vast, endless, and all consuming. I do not believe that you can correct this doomed course. But... you have earned the right to try. Farewell."
With that the once mighty Watcher Ra summoned what remained of his power, and in a flash of lighting, he vanished. The Heroes of Azeroth having once more saved the world form destruction, returned to their adventures and their constant wars with one another. Ra however, was direct in his course. He travelled to the Pinnacle of Storms, where his captor Lei Shen had stood triumphant not long ago.
The Titanic Watcher stood over the corpse of his ancient jailer, gazing down at what had once been arguably the most powerful being in the mortal world. "Look at us..." He said with a derisive chuckle. It sounded almost alien in his throat, which had for so long uttered only screams of pain. "We've both been broken upon the ages like stone under a hammer. Our time is done... but our power," Raising a hand, he drew forth a crackling ball of lightning, "The world still needs our might if it hopes to weather the coming storm of darkness."
Closing his eyes, the Watcher sat in thought for several days, Plotting how best he could aid the mortals who had relit the fires of hope within him. As he thought, he also renewed his strength, resting peacefully for the first time in thousands of years. At last, he spoke again. "Perhaps, as with our defeat, the mortals hold the answer to this as well..."
Nodding to himself, he rose once more, placing a hand on the dead forehead of Lei Shen, he concentrated for a few moments. Feeling the vestiges of power stir within the corpse, he drew them forth into a small bead that he held gently in his hand, before drawing his fingers down across the ancient dead eyes. "Rest now child. I failed you and your people when I allowed the Old Gods to taint you. I failed you again when you defeated me. I will not fail again." With this proclamation ringing through the now empty halls of the Throne of Thunder, Ra-Den, ancient master of the Mogu race stepped forward, summoned his power over the storm and wind, and in a flash of lightning, was gone once more.
And the world continued on it's course. Not long passed before Garrosh Hellscream made his play for absolute power and was in turn defeated. And while the wars of Azeroth waged unending, a strange cloaked traveller wandered the world. No one could say for sure who, or even what the traveller was, all that they knew was that it wandered to all corners of Azeroth, seeking... something.
All the while, the world continued to turn.
Joseph Rebain looked up into sky and wiped his brow. It was a surprisingly quiet day in the Kraserang Wilds, it almost felt as though the animals in the under-brush were being quieted by something. Rolling his muscled shoulders he turned once more to the log he had been cutting, lifting his axe and bringing it down in an arcing cut that split the log the rest of the way through.
"Good. That at least makes one of you workers who can fill his quota for a day." Foreman Stills said, walking up with his customary sneer and clipboard. "Maybe you'd like to show some of your fellows how it's done eh? After all, you peasants need all the help you can get."
Rebain bit back a retort and simply nodded. He hated Stills, but he knew he couldn't do anything to him. And Stills knew it to. After all, the honourable Foreman was the son of some wealthy political powerhouse back in Stormwind, and was apparently heir to the fortune his family had saved up over the years. "Of course Foreman. I'll help the boys out as much as they need. However, if it's all right with you, that tree was very large. And I've been at it all morning. I'm going to take a few minutes to eat and catch my breath." With that, he turned on his heel and made his way over to where he'd stashed his food for today.
As he walked, he could feel Sills' glare burning into the back of his head. He smiled though, knowing the Foreman wouldn't do anything. He was the best worker Stills had, and they both knew it, and his claims of being hard at work all morning had been true. After all, Stills kept a hawks eye on his workers, and a well oiled whip at his hip, lest they be inclined to take a break before their allotted time.
Sitting down with a grateful sigh, Joseph looked once more to the sky, as his hands almost mechanically pulled out his lunchbox and retrieved the sandwich within. The air here in Pandaria always felt so much cleaner than it did back home. As he munched thoughtfully on his meagre lunch, he watched the clouds drift lazily by overhead.
"Ah, you are here again today?" Rebain looked over his shoulder at the approaching voice. Walking out of the under-brush was Xian Bao, a Pandaren Hunter who lived in the woods nearby. "I must say," The hunter said in his thick accent, "For a human, you have a very Pandaren way of enjoying life."
Joseph laughed, tossing an apple from his lunchbox towards his visitor. "Your homeland brings out the lounger in me. It's so peaceful here now that the Horde's stopped dropping cannonballs on our heads, and this place is beautiful."
Catching the apple and taking a bite out of it, Bao nodded. "Indeed, but your 'Alliance' is always in such a rush to get everywhere, they rarely ever seem to notice beauty. The same can be said for the 'Horde'." He sat down beside the young human, pulling a small wrapped bundle from his pack and handing it to Rebain. "Just one of many reasons I never sided with either of you while you were waging your foolish war on our soil."
Rebain winced slightly as he unwrapped the bundle, his mouth already beginning to drool at the smell of the cooked meat within. "I really wish that our leaders would just get over themselves." He sighed, "This world is more than large enough for all of us." He smiled and shook his head, "My father must be rolling in his grave to hear me saying things like that."
"Oh? You never speak of your family. Why bring them up now?"
"Oh, there's not much to tell. My father died fighting Orcs in the Second War. My mum made me swear to never join the army. She didn't want me to end up like the old man. Not much else to us."
Bao nodded, his mouth curling into a smile, "A humble family is nothing to be ashamed of my friend. After all, it is because of humble men and women like you and your family that kings and emperors can call themselves thus."
"Rebain! Get your lazy ass back to work!" Foreman Stills' voice cut harshly across the clearing.
Joseph winced, glancing up at the sky once more, before wrapping the meat back up and handing it to Bao. The Pandaren however shook his head and smiled, "Keep it. It will keep for a few days more, and should keep you strong enough to work for a time."
"Thanks Bao. You're a good friend." Rebain smiled, before setting his lunchbox back in it's hiding spot, and rising to make his way back towards the fuming Foreman. Taking up his wood axe, he then found his way to a group of other workers, and set to work on the massive tree they were struggling with.
Several hours later, the workers of Lion's Landing trudged their way up the hill towards the fortress that served as both their home, and the primary staging ground for Alliance forces in Pandaria. The sun was low in the sky, just about to begin setting, and the sky burned a beautiful fiery red. Most of the men were almost dead on their feet tired, and very few of them spoke more than a few words.
Trailing at the back of the group, Joseph Rebain paused, turning to gaze back at the ocean. The waves crashed along the beach, glinting in the early evening light. This life isn't perfect... He thought, But I don't think I'd trade it for anything.
Then the thunder rumbled across the Wilds, and everything went still.
Turning his gaze to the north, Rebain's eyes widened in shock. The sky that had been so clear only moments before, was suddenly shrouded in a massive, thick black thunder-head cloud. It seemed to extend from one end of the horizon to the other. For some reason, the sight filled the young human with a primal terror, but he found himself unable to move. As if something had rooted him in place.
The thunder rumbled again.
Rebain suddenly felt as though something was watching him. Tearing his gaze away from the cloud, he looked around him. Seeing that his fellow workers were similarly frozen in awe and fear of the massive force of nature, he returned his gaze to the north, but paused. A small flicker caught his eye, looking down at the stones beneath his feet, he saw tiny sparks of electricity rolling across them in a wild, chaotic dance.
His eyes widened once again, suddenly understanding what was about to happen. "Get back!" He turned and shouted to the other workers, fear and adrenelline freeing him from his paralysis. Rushing forward, he began pushing men up the hill towards the fort. "Go!" He shouted, "Go! It's not safe here!"
Then the thunder rumbled again.
Only this time, there was something else in it. Almost like a voice, deep, and impossibly ancient. Rebain turned, just in time to see the flash.
His whole world seemed to stop. He saw the workers, running towards the fort, shocked into motion by his shouting. He saw the waves, frozen mid crash as time froze. And he saw the lightning bolt, hurtling through the air towards him. He knew he couldn't escape it, not when his body, usually so strong and fast from years of hard work, now betrayed him and locked itself in shock and fear. And so, Joseph Rebain simply closed his eyes, expecting to see his life flash before them. Instead, he saw... something... a force, ancient beyond reckoning gazing down at him with curiosity.
The bolt struck with the force of the world. Hurtling Rebain through the air to land in a heap several yards away. Several workers shouted, rushing towards him. And in the distance, the massive cloud that had moments ago dominated the entire sky, vanished without a trace.
And the thunder rumbled once again.
A world away, something awoke, screaming in pain and horror. It had never felt such a sensation as it had just been awoken by, and that terrified it more than anything it had ever believed possible.
As his servants rushed into the room, weapons drawn, ready to defend their master, Wrathion the Black Prince clutched at his chest, breathing heavily. "Wh...What was that?" He gasped.
Elsewhere upon Pandaria, another being stirred. Roused by a whisper upon the threads of fate, that lesser beings called Magic. Rising into a cross legged seated position, the large creature reached into a small pouch and drew forth several runestones, whispered ancient words of power into them, and cast them onto the floor before it.
General Xiao Liu blinked in surprise as the runes aligned themselves. "That should not be possible... He is dead..." Rising from his seat, he left the runes where they lay, and stepped into the chamber where his troops slumbered. "Awaken my brothers. Your General calls upon you now."
The torches burst to life at a mere flick of his will, and the soldiers within the chamber were swiftly on their feet, ready to enact the will of their lord.
"The Fate of the world seems to have been changed this night." Liu spoke, his gaze falling on each of his soldiers in turn. "We leave at once. To the south. We shall know what we seek by the mark of the Emperors upon it. Regardless what form it takes, we shall claim it. And it shall lead us into a new Golden Age."
"Yes my lord." The voices of his soldiers echoed through the chamber that had sheltered them for the last several months. Nodding in satisfaction, Xiao Liu, one of the last Generals of the Thunder King gestured forth, and lead his Mogu towards the jungles of the Krasarang Wilds.