Part One: Plans within Plans
Two months after the elven-sith hybrid and jedi, Illiana, buried the remains of her father next to her mother in Northrend on the mountaintop near the jedi temple, a woman in dark red robes walked through ancient elven ruins in the heart of Mannoroc Coven. Satyrs and fel orcs watched her and her companions from a distance. Behind the woman trailed another standing a foot taller and wearing black robes and a hood that obscured her face. At this woman's heels scampered a five foot tall creature with white hairless skin hunched over on two legs with two beady eyes above an overly large nose. Beneath that nose formed a mouth filled with pointed teeth. Several black bony spikes rose from the top of its head and the backs of its forearms and legs. It snarled and drooled as it stayed close to the feet of the woman in black. The leader, her hood pulled back to reveal a slim face with red skin, reddish yellow eyes, and raven black hair, led her companions directly towards a round eight foot tall structure, open in the center, affixed upon a raised dais in the middle of the ruins. Arcane writings etched into the ring began to glow as the two women approached and swirling green energies formed in the center. The three beings stopped ten feet from the portal as those energies coalesced to form a green light that illuminated the immediate area.
"Why have you come here?" a booming voice asked from the center of that green light. "Your kind failed my mandate centuries ago."
"The failure was yours…not the sith," the red woman retorted. She looked around the area with a smirk. "In fact…isn't this where the jedi defeated you? Another failure, yes?"
"Your arrogance is amusing," the voice replied. "But know your limits, sith. My patience with your kind is already worn thin. Push further and my amusement will end with your death."
"I've been dead once before, Sargeras," the woman said turning her attention back to the portal and with a wave of her hand. "And yet here I stand and there you are out there…wherever that may be. I assure you I come with something much more interesting than your amusement. But my proposal requires you rectifying your failure when you brought my people to this world."
"I did not fail, little sith," Sargeras boomed. The demonic followers cowered despite their distance from the structure, but the sith and her companions remained unfazed. "You were charged to create the plague and yet your people failed to deliver on your promise…"
As the demon lord spoke, the sith woman removed the glove on her right hand and held it up as she interrupted the powerful being on the other side of the portal. A green blotch marred the otherwise completely red three fingered hand. "Your taint is what caused the failure, not the rituals or us! This corruption distorted the ritual. Neither the ritual itself or the sith who performed it are to blame. Your blasted corruption that was inflicted upon us when the underlings drank your blood is the cause for the failure. You are to blame." She lowered her hand to her side and stepped closer to the portal. "But if you remove that which you inflicted upon me then I can successfully perform the ritual and create the rakghoul army you desired when you approached us on Alzoc centuries ago. I can still repay the debt that is owed for our salvation…if you cleanse me of this curse."
"Isn't that a rakghoul scampering at the foot of your companion?" Sargeras queried. The white skinned creature hissed as it reared its head like a cat. "It would seem that your claim is unjustified. You did create the creature before me now, yes? Its existence causes me concern, little sith. Who failed who? What have you withheld from me?"
The sith turned and motioned for the rakghoul to approach the portal. It looked up to the hooded woman before moving forward after she nodded slightly with her head. "It is a failed attempt to fulfill an oath I made long ago," the sith said looking back towards the portal. "In the past the amulet we originally forged worked only on those of us whose skin had turned green. The more of the taint present in our bodies, the more susceptible we were to its influence. Varok destroyed the original after his own daughter turned and he was forced to kill her." She placed her hands behind her back and began pacing before the portal and the rakghoul scampered closer to the arcane ring. "After my own death at the hands of a jedi, my essence was transferred into the clone body you now see before you, but your corruption is genetic. My clone body is as tainted as my original was and therefore when I tried in recent years to perform the ritual again the result is the same."
The hooded woman reached up and pulled back her hood revealing herself as a troll with blue skin, small tusks barely long enough to reach her upper lip, and long fiery red hair. Her eyes reflected her immersion into the dark side of the Force as she stared at the portal with red and yellow irises. Around her neck she wore a small golden chain with a black amulet. In its center sparkled a reddish green crystal.
"My apprentice possesses the talisman I created and we tested it on one of the local species…an orc. We found this one, referred to as a peon by its peers, slumbering alone in a valley not far from one of their encampments. Because much of his race bears the marks of your corruption he was turned quite easily, but when we tried later to convert a night elf it failed. That is the proof of my claim as to why we originally failed. Your taint ensures that the ritual and its resultant plague affect only those who bear the marks of your corruption. I assume you prefer the plague to convert the untainted more than those you have…touched. Am I correct? To convert those not already converted?"
"I am unmoved, Nyrexia," the demon lord said. "My understanding was that once converted, a rakghoul spread the plague by bite or scratch. If this one exists then I would presume that…"
"That information is false," Nyrexia interrupted. The troll behind her whistled slightly and the rakghoul returned to her side. "Karness Muur created the rakghouls, but even he had to reengineer it into a plague. A two-step process is required to procure the army you desire. This creature represents only the first stage."
"Then complete the second stage and honor the agreement we made. I want my rakghoul legion!"
"I cannot," the sith answered. She stopped to stand directly near the center of the portal. "Only Varok knew the second part and only he possessed Muur's holocron which detailed the ritual. But…I know where it is and I can learn the second stage. If you remove the taint, then I can replicate the original plague which is much more potent. It will affect all species and not just those touched by you or your minions."
Silence was her answer as Sargeras pondered her offer. The fel orcs and satyrs cautiously closed around the two women and the portal. Nyrexia, once killed by the jedi Talisora centuries ago and then reborn into the body of a clone she kept in stasis while still on friendly terms with Varok, turned her attention to her apprentice and the rakghoul leering at the encroaching satyrs. The sith gave a slight nod, and the troll whispered to the creature. It growled as it jumped through the air at the nearest intruder. Sharp teeth and claws shredded the larger being's flesh and the other satyrs and fel orcs ran from the area in fear upon hearing the screams of the rakghoul's victim. Within a minute the creature returned to the side of its master with ichor dripping from its claws and lips. The corpse it left behind was barely recognizable as a satyr. Nyrexia turned her attention back to the portal. Again she held up her hand showing the green blotch to the demon lord on the other side of the portal.
"As fearsome as this beast is, it is only a controlled beast because it came from a peon. More formidable beings transform into even more formidable rakghouls. That is what you want, Sargeras. But as long as this is in me then all I will ever create are beasts." Her eyes widened as the green blotch visibly disappeared. Sargeras had given his answer. "Thank you, my lord." She started to turn from the portal and stopped. Looking back over her shoulder she smiled. "I need one more thing."
"And that is?" the voice boomed from the portal. "You have already asked for much…far much more than I would normally grant a lesser being such as yourself. You should be grateful I granted your request at all and not killed you when you first arrived before me."
"I require a diversion," Nyrexia answered with a smile as she turned back to squarely face the portal. "Varok stored the holocron far in the north. Now I can reach it and I will unlock its secrets, but your minions are the only other species on this world with red skin like mine. The natives of this world kill those with red skin on sight. Get your minions and devotees to create a crisis that will draw the attentions of the natives. Bring back old dangers, machinate new ones, I don't care. Whatever you unleash doesn't even have to be successful. What matters is that while they are concentrating on your schemes I am left free to proceed with our plans for the rakghoul plague." Her smile widened. " Last thing I need is to find the holocron and then have to deal with the natives before I can complete the rituals. Those take time and that's what your diversion will give me…time."
"Are you not concerned about the jedi? I know firsthand his potential and of those who follow him," the demon lord stated. "I can easily distract the natives of that world, but the jedi could prove more difficult. They are quite diligent and formidable."
Nyrexia's smile waned. "My apprentice and I have already taken steps to occupy the jedi. I have dealt with their kind before on many occasions and I know exactly what concerns them. This Alliance and Horde…those are the people I need your assistance with."
"That can be arranged," Sargeras replied. "But know this, little sith, that if you fail me again my retribution will be worse than anything you can imagine. That I promise you."
"You will not be disappointed," Nyrexia said as she turned to walk away from the portal.
The troll apprentice followed suit as did the rakghoul near her feet. The energies in the portal subsided and the glowing writings on the ring diminished. The dark lord and her acolyte continued walking without word until they have left Mannoroc Coven. Fel orcs and satyrs mirrored them to the edge of the demon controlled region. They travelled another hour and clear of any demonic spies before the troll, Zirani, spoke the first words between the two women.
"Master, you do know that Sargeras will kill you once he has the talisman that creates and controls the rakghouls."
"I am counting on it," the sith answered as she turned to look into the eyes of her apprentice. Both stopped on a makeshift path through the desolate region. "I have learned this about the ritual since the arrival of the jedi from my home galaxy. Muur's spirit persisted in the talisman after his death, and he controlled those who possessed it and through them the rakghoul army. I plan to do the same with the Sargeras."
"Is that possible?"
"The demon lord is powerful…perhaps the most powerful being in all the universe, but he is obsessed with this world and those who are obsessed can be controlled. You saw how I was able to convince him that his taint was the cause of the initial failure. While that was partially true, I am certain I can recreate the plague even with the corruption to my body. However, his taint would block any attempt I would make to control him once he possesses the talisman. It serves as a means to subjugate those he dominates. I cannot influence him while he has a means to reverse it. Now that I am free of that leash I can continue towards gaining the ultimate power, and I did not lie when I told Sargeras that I needed time. I require the secrets to engineer the rakghoul condition into a plague and only Varok possessed that knowledge on this world. The diversion I demanded serves not only to divert the natives but also him. As obsessed as he is with conquering and destroying this world he will never discover my intentions until it is too late for him." She looked ahead to the wasteland surrounding them. Piles of bleached white kodo bones littered the landscape and dark sky occasionally lit by lightning. "The jedi have the map we left behind in Lordaeron and some of those places marked have begun their own little distractions. What I need from you now is to proceed to Galen's castle and perform a ritual I will teach you to stir unrest amongst his ghosts." She began walking the path as the troll fell in step beside her. The rakghoul remained close to the apprentice's feet as they continued their journey. "Besides the miraluka...that hybrid daughter of my former husband concerns me most. Our spy has informed me that her memories have returned and with them the full power she possesses. Alone they are each a formidable opponent and perhaps stronger than I am currently. Together…"
"Can we trust this spy, master?"
"She killed his sister years ago," the sith replied. "He is highly motivated to remain loyal to us." The apprentice simply nodded. "Drakus possessed a great number of the holocrons we brought with us containing some of the darkest secrets of the Force. I know she learned from those old devices powerful rituals and techniques that remain a mystery to even myself. Should she discover us and what we plan then all is lost." She stopped to look at her apprentice. Zirani halted with her and bowed her head to her master. "The hybrid spent some time with Galen, so when his ghosts begin losing their senses he will have no recourse but to turn to the only living person he feels he can trust. She will answer his pleas and assist however she can. In that aspect she is weak like her father. If you perform the ritual correctly she will never ascertain that we were the cause behind the ghost's disturbances."
"And the miraluka?" the troll asked keeping her head bowed. "What of him?"
"Our diversions will keep the rest of his jedi occupied," Nyrexia answered as the two women resumed walking along the path. "He will remain in his tree coordinating the others. As long as they are bewildered by what is happening in those areas marked on the map…seemingly random occurrences…then so too will he be distracted and unaware of us and the true danger we pose to his kind."
