Part Two: Preparations
Thera'gon stood gingerly on a branch far above the ground. Below him his pet was ransacking yet another furbolg village. A wide smile crossed his pale, hawk-like high elven features framed by shoulder length blonde hair as he relished in the carnage the beast left in its wake. His red eyes scanned the area as the terentatek picked up a hapless furbolg and ripped it in two. These betrayers would soon be crushed and their existence ended as was his intention. His apprentices would soon unleash other similar beasts on the other races responsible for the disappearance of his beloved queen. The earthen, the taurens, and the furbolgs had all aligned themselves with the night elves in the war long ago. He knew that alliance was why his matron, Azshara, had been forced into hiding. For millennia he had searched for her with no success. Rumors haunted him that she had been changed into a naga and lived deep in the ocean while others said she simply was slain when Zin'Azshari fell into the Well of Eternity as it collapsed on itself. He believed none of the lies saying she was dead or transformed for her perfection could never be tarnished…could never be ended. No…Azshara was simply hiding awaiting her faithful. What he was doing he did for her. She would see his faithfulness and reward him. And when his greatest creations…creations that made the beast below appear tame and timid…were ready to be unleashed upon the dragons and end their existence then she could return to the world and all would bow to her glory, her beauty…her perfection.
Since the Sundering ten thousand years ago he plotted and schemed ways to return the highborn to their place atop Azerothian society with Azshara leading them as it had been before the betrayers had ruined everything. His delving into demonic fel energies had changed his body…his skin paled from its original violet hue to something pinkish like the humans. But even using those energies was not enough. He remembered the felhounds and the doomguard from that war long ago…remembered Mannoroth and Archimonde…all demons and all had failed to save his queen. Fel energies were not the answer, so centuries ago he looked elsewhere for ways to return his beloved matron to her rightful place in the world. It was in Silithus where he came across a strange red skinned man with fleshy tendrils on his face. They battled and the surrounding area was devastated from their attacks, but both men emerged unscathed. His arcane magics had no effect on the red skinned man, and that man could not harm him. After hours of battle they finally called a truce, and as time passed Thera'gon learned a new source of power from that old hermit…the Force. The man's name was Narcis and he called himself a Lord of the Sith. What he was or who he was mattered little to Thera'gon, but this magic the man wielded intrigued the highborn greatly…a source of power on a level with the Well of Eternity yet seemingly at odds with those energies. Most magics on Azeroth, in his mind, came from arcane energies including demonic ones…even those magics wielded by the dragonflights. But this force was something entirely different. With it as a source of his power he could have his revenge on his queen's betrayers and restore her rule and no one on Azeroth could stop him.
Lord Narcis taught him other things as well…things like the beast wreaking havoc below him. These sith, as they were called, possessed knowledge of how to bend, twist, and mutate creatures to their will with this force. He told the elf how to create monstrosities that were untouchable by arcane methods and with body plating that could withstand any weapons present on Azeroth. And Narcis taught him how to control these creatures he created through the Force. He had to give up his dependence on arcane and fel energies, something he was reluctant to do at first, but after a time he realized the Force empowered him more than the previous ever had. He was more powerful than Mannoroth…perhaps even as powerful as Archimonde. When his vision became a reality and Azshara returned to the world he would be second only to her and perhaps as his reward for his faithfulness to his beloved queen she would make him her consort. For all this knowledge and power he gained, Thera'gon felt he owed Narcis a debt and remained at the hermit's side until he died not more than a decade ago. The elf even built a tomb for the strange being in a deep cave in Silithus. To this day he was convinced that when he visited that small shrine he could still feel the dark presence of his former master. Narcis certainly haunted that cave for very little lived within a hundred yards of that foreboding place and what did survive was as twisted, gnarled, and as dark as the presence inside. Even thinking of that place sent a shiver down the elf's spine.
The sound of a hut crashing under the terentatek's massive blows brought the elf out of his revelries. This kind of beast was called such by Narcis, and originally was a furbolg who had been alchemically changed into what Narcis called a terenta, and then they used dark rituals to further mutate the terenta into this terentatek. Thera'gon still heard the screams of the victims in his dreams, but no matter the cost all sacrifices made in the creation of the terentateks were necessary for his queen. The creature's hunger could only be satiated by the blood of furbolgs from whence it came. Thera'gon's apprentices, two other lost highborn like him and new to the Force, each commanded a similarly created terentatek. The one for the earthen originated as a dwarf, and the one for the tauren started as a tauren. Once those races had been dealt with then they would unleash all three on the night elves. In their hunger they should destroy anything set before them before quickly expiring. That last part was Narcis' suggestion and something added during their creation. "Never leave them a chance to turn on you," he had said. "Control of a beast can be difficult when it is faced with insatiable hunger." The end of the night elves would be swift and thorough. Thera'gon was proud of his creation as it crushed yet another hut killing several furbolgs inside. But his greatest creations…those would come once the night elves were eliminated from the face of the world…and then it would be the dragons' turn to face his vengeance and come to fear his wrath. Only then would his beloved queen reveal herself…only then would he finally have all he ever wanted. He closed is eyes as he envisioned her return…could see her perfection…smell her fragrance…and felt the touch of her skin as she rewarded her new consort. He no longer heard the cries of despair and agony of the furbolgs as they were slaughtered or the roars of the terentatek as it continued its murderous destruction of the village.
Celeste sat before the bench with her legs crossed, hands on her knees with palms up, and her eyes closed tightly. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of her brow that was furrowed in deep concentration. Since she had returned from her trek to her master's old ship she had been in the old sith base in Eversong Woods. Daneel had given her a holocron and told her to follow its instructions. He remained at his home. The holocron was a set of instructions from him to her on how to construct a lightsaber. When the holo-image of Daneel mentioned this she was both elated and frightened at the same time. For him to tell her how to make a weapon like his meant she was progressing much further than she imagined, but she was also afraid that perhaps she wasn't ready for such a test. A failure now could be fatal.
She had not slept for the past two days, since before her trek to the old ship, and had spent that morning constructing the shell of her new weapon. Now she was in the final phase of its creation…and her ultimate test of whether she was ready to become a fully trained jedi. During her sparring sessions with her master she preferred the usage of a staff as opposed to a single bladed weapon. She was used to wielding staves…she had used many of them during her time in Dalaran training to become a mage. For her such a weapon only felt natural so when Daneel said nothing about two crystals connecting to her through the Force…because now she understood they were not simply pretty baubles as she originally thought…she simply accepted his reaction. Now before her on the bench was the casing of the new double-bladed weapon she was creating. The first of the crystals she was certain rested properly aligned, but the second was proving a bit more of a challenge. She stretched further through the Force. Only through the Force could one align the crystals to construct a lightsaber and that was why it was the main test to measure if a padawan was ready to be a full jedi. If the crystals were off by even the most infinitesimal amount the weapon could range from not functioning at all to actually blowing up. Some padawans, according to Daneel, had been killed during this test. She tried not to think about that last part as she adjusted the crystal. After a few more adjustments her eyes popped open. Smiling she reached out through the Force to permanently set the crystal and close the casing. With a deep sigh she stood and walked to the bench and reached out for the completed lightsaber. Closing her eyes she activated the switches. Two violet blades of pure energy ignited, one from each end, with the familiar snap/hiss. She opened her eyes and examined her new lightsaber. She was successful…and her master would be proud of her.
About a league outside of Ironforge a group of five dwarves stood over the smoldering wreckage of a large beast. They slapped each other on the back and promised drinks to each other as they celebrated a small victory. The beast lying dead at their feet had been responsible for ransacking a small village not far to the north. These five had come seeking the bounty placed on the creature's head, and carrying enough explosives and firepower to level a city they had found the strange animal milling around in a clearing. With their guns they had shot it, but it seemed only angered at their pitiable attacks. Not wanting to lose out on the gold promised for this thing, they had laid a trap and lured the creature to this patch of woods. Once it stepped inside a secluded area that they had planted with bombs and explosives, they detonated the charges…and the beast crumbled.
At the same time on the opposite side of the world two tauren shamans examined the remains of a ferocious beast they had slain. Using all of their knowledge and the immense help of the elements they had slain this beast as it entered their village. Three warriors had died trying to attack the monster, but their weapons proved useless against the plated skin of the animal. The shamans called upon the spirits of fire and lightning to help them, but in the end it was the spirit of earth that had prevailed. By opening a fissure in the ground beneath the beast they had trapped it momentarily and it almost escaped, but even with its massive size it could not resist the grinding of the rock as the spirits continued to assault the creature. Now all that remained was the mangled body and a pristine massive head with a bony crest with two large tusks coming from the corners of its mouth.
In both places neither the dwarves nor the taurens noticed the seething elves that had been watching their creations. Both escaped notice as they fled the failures of their terentateks…
Except in Ironforge…for none of them, not even the elf, saw the raven haired human woman watching in the distance. Very little of her body was exposed below her chin, but the pitch black robes hugged her body highlighting every feature most men would describe as perfectly proportioned. Her long hair and black cape billowed in the breeze as her steel blue eyes watched the interloper. Strange to see a blood elf near Ironforge, but stranger still was her own presence. Sitting high in a tree appearing completely at home, Kuro watched as the dwarves congratulated themselves on their kill and the lone blood elf skulk away through the trees. The explosion had drawn her attention as she flew overhead and now the remains of the beast intrigued her for it looked nothing like any creature she had seen in all her countless centuries. The elf leaving the area obviously controlled it…perhaps even created it…and she was interested as to what other curiosities the elf might have hidden elsewhere. Focusing on the elf she left her perch and transformed in mid-fall. The wind from her wings startled the dwarves, but only briefly. They never saw her and after a few shrugged shoulders their celebrations renewed oblivious to the leviathan that had just flown over their heads. Kuro ignored the revelers as she concentrated on the fleeing elf and shadowing his movements. He was particularly skilled in the roguish elements of magic as nothing noticed his movements…man or beast…and Kuro found herself even further intrigued by this strange man. He was almost as good at hiding as she was…and since only Wrathion and she remained, to her knowledge, of the black dragonflight her skills in camouflage and stealth were unmatched. She let the winds lift her higher and on a flight path ensuring she left no shadow on the ground for the elf to see. A dragon's eyes were keener than any bird of prey and she had already marked him as hers. She would follow this man wherever he led, but always from the shadows…he must never know she trailed him…not yet.
Daneel leaned over the bed he shared with Demira. On it was an open travel bag; he was packing several days worth of clothing and personal hygiene items. Kalec had left with Shandris the day before and soon he would follow to Darnassus and join them there to meet with Tyrande Whisperwind. He tucked a device for cleaning his teeth into a side pouch and turned around towards the closet in the wall behind him. He reached for a set of brown robes cut in the traditional style of the jedi and stopped. Next to it was a set of white robes he had received on Voss after completing the trials of the mystics. His hand gravitated to the sleeve of the upper tunic and he ran his fingers down its length. It was similar in cut and style of his brocart robes that he was wearing when he first met Demira, and these white robes were the set he wore on their wedding day. Hanging next to it was the white dress she had worn.
"Please don't take those with you," he heard her say behind him. He had not heard her enter the room. "And don't take the set you were wearing when we first met. Those are special and I don't want them to get ruined."
Daneel turned to face his wife. "I wasn't thinking of taking them," he replied. "I was just…thinking."
"What about?"
"That I wish my sister could see us," he said quietly. She walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I think she would adore you," he said as he put his arms around her waist.
"What's bothering you, baby?" she whispered. "What triggered all of this?"
"I was just thinking that the last time I packed like this was just before I arrived here," he replied. "I'll never see her again."
"I'm sorry," she said hugging his head to her shoulder. "I wish I could have met her."
"It's not just that. Last time…everything changed for me. I wouldn't trade it for anything…I love you and our life together."
"Then what's bothering you?"
"I just…you should come with me," he replied. "Pack a bag and come with me to Darnassus."
She pulled his head up and looked at his visor. "You know I don't want to go where the people will constantly stare at me thinking I'm something I'm not. They'll all look at me thinking I am some highborn just like Shandris did. I just don't want to go through all of that. And besides…you'll have Celeste with you. You don't need me tagging along."
"But I do need you," he whispered. "I need you with me. Come with me. Shandris knows you better now that she's gotten to know you a little. She's a leader amongst her people and they will understand that you are not what you may appear to be…"
Her eyes searched his visor. Sometimes she wished he did have eyes to look into, but she knew him well and something bothered him. "What is it, baby. What are you worried about?" Then she remembered what he said about packing. "Are you afraid that this trip…that you may not come back?" She hugged his head back onto her shoulder. "Honey…you are not going to find some spatial anomaly this time…you'll come home…and I will be waiting for you."
"I know that intellectually," he said quietly. "But emotionally…I just don't want there to be any chance of losing you…and the memory of that last trip…"
"I know, baby, I know," she whispered. She realized that as wise and powerful as he was, Daneel was still new to dealing with his emotions. When he thought she might be dying he almost fell to the dark side of the Force and was prepared to destroy an entire city in an act of vengeance. For the master jedi who had cut off his emotions for so many years, now handling strong ones were still a challenge. Packing and seeing their wedding clothes had triggered just such an event, and so for him she reached a decision. "I'll come with you," she whispered to him. "I'll be with you…always."
An hour later she dropped her travel bag next to his in their living room. He had left to retrieve the speeder they would take from the nearby hidden base. As she packed her feelings of dread at the prospect of walking amongst the night elves lessened. She was going for her husband and no one else. She came to the realization that what the kaldorei felt about her would never really matter because of how the jedi felt about and for her. His opinion was really the only one that mattered. So she wore an outfit similar to the one she was wearing when she first met him…red top with long sleeves that left her midriff bare. The matching pants she wore with black boots that came up to her calves. And over it all she wore a red robe similar to Daneel's that was cut in a traditional jedi style. She was the wife of a jedi, after all.
She laid the top robe on the bags and turned towards the kitchen when a bright light flashed outside one of the windows drawing her attention. Raising an eyebrow she walked to the back door to see what had caused the flash. Just beyond the back deck were Kitali and Zharn. She had forgotten they were coming today. Both emerged from a magical portal created by the use of Demira's hearthstone she had given the couple as a wedding gift. They each wore brown robes of a style typically worn by shamans of the Earthen Circle…with the exception that Kitali's midriff was bare like hers and Zharn's muscular arms were completely exposed. A small gasp escaped her as she watched Zharn walking slowly with the use of a cane. The courageous orc's spinal cord was nearly severed when he was attacked by the woman Selene a year past. The blood elven woman was possessed by the spirit of a long dead sith lord, and had Daneel not arrived on the scene when he did the orc would have been killed. As it was they never expected the shaman to ever walk again, but seeing him now Demira was elated. Beaming beside the orc was his draenei wife. They had married just days before that fateful attack despite the misgivings of their respective races, but looking at them now Demira could not imagine a more perfectly matched couple…besides herself and Daneel…of course. The mage ran to the couple and boisterously hugged the draenei and then carefully the orc. After hugging Zharn she leaned back and looked at him.
"You're walking!" she exclaimed. "I can hardly believe it!"
The orc grinned at her. "It was either start walking or spend the rest of my life in that half mechanostrider that Windi Weathergear created for me. I had to get out of that contraption."
"And none too soon," Kitali added. "She is still trying to perfect that rocket chair design she originally wanted." The three shared a laugh. Their history with the gnome involved some fairly outrageous adventures with rockets…and a couple of actual trips into orbit over Azeroth.
Demira pointed to the door of the house. "Let's go inside where you can sit. I imagine you still need to keep off your feet most of the time."
"That's much appreciated," the orc replied. The mage led them into the house. The visitors noticed the pile of luggage as they passed through to the living room. "You guys going on a trip?" We could have waited and come at another time," Zharn commented.
"It's not something we planned," she replied as she sat in a chair opposite the divan that Kitali and Zharn soon occupied. He laid his cane against the end table as the mage continued. "We have been asked to help some folks in Kalimdor." She relayed the events of the previous day with the blue dragon and the sentinel from Ashenvale. The shamans looked at each other and then back at the mage.
"Do you need us to come with you?" Kitali asked. "Or do they need just the 'jedi'?"
"We'll be fine," the mage answered. "And we told them nothing about our Order."
The other two nodded knowing what Demira meant. After the defeat of Selene they had established a new Jedi Order on Azeroth. Although Daneel and Celeste were the only two actual jedi by definition, they had agreed that their order would exist based on the principles which governed the Jedi Order Daneel had grown up in. One did not need to be Force sensitive to live by the Jedi Code. It only made sense to them that other disciplines outside the typical jedi would be needed to protect Azeroth from outside dangers. Shaman, mage, druid, warrior…such distinctions did not matter for them…all were of Azeroth and all could live by the code and become jedi in time. The sith were gone from this world, but they had lived here for over thirteen hundred years. The new jedi's held no illusions that sith impact on Azeroth was over, and that despite their best efforts some legacies of the sith still existed to this day. They banded together to protect their home from those dangers. For now their order was small…only six…but as time progressed and hidden secrets were discovered they knew more would eventually join their ranks…but always it would remain secret from the rest of the world. The less the populace at large knew of these otherworldly dangers the better…for it would lessen their impact upon Azeroth and its people.
"Daneel will be pleased with your surprise, Zharn," Demira said. "He has always felt that he failed you in some way. Had he acted sooner on his vision he could have prevented your injury or so he thinks. To see you walking again will lift his spirits immensely."
"He didn't fail me…I keep telling him that," Zharn replied with a grin. "He saved my life of that I am certain. But my walking is not the surprise we have for him."
"It's not?"
"About a month ago we were in Outland," Kitali stated. "We went there to see the damage done to that world and learn how better to heal Azeroth." Demira nodded. "And you know that both Horde and Alliance have a presence there especially in Shattrath."
"And we discovered someone that has some unique abilities," the orc added.
"Such as?"
"He senses things before they happen," Kitali said. "And he has been seen walking in the streets levitating stones over his hands."
"But he is no mage, druid, shaman, or any other kind of magic wielder," Zharn added. "We think he might be like Daneel and Celeste…Force sensitive."
Demira sat straighter in her chair. What they were saying could mean only two things…they had found a descendent of the sith like Celeste…or they had found an actual untrained Force sensitive native to Azeroth or Draenor. While it was true Daneel hypothesized that mages and other magic wielders could learn to sense the Force and harness it, they had yet to discover a natural Force sensitive like him or his padawan. And because her heritage was mixed with sith bloodlines generations ago the jedi held little hope of finding a native Force sensitive, but now Zharn and Kitali were saying they had found just such a person. "Who is this person?" she asked.
"He is an outcast…like me," Zharn replied with a smile and Kitali with him. "We were walking in Shattrath and had heard stories of this young man. We were looking for him, but instead he found us."
"He is an orc named Grogg," Kitali interrupted. "And he approached us one day. A draenei and orc holding hands in public is not something you see every day. Unlike everyone else around that shied away from us…"
"Grogg walked right up to us and started talking all friendly. He was curious about why we were walking down the street as we were," Zharn added. "He was very forthcoming about himself. It seems that his parents were cast out from the Horde around the time of his birth. They became pirates…"
"Hence his name," Kitali again interrupted.
"And…"Zharn continued with a sidelong glance at his wife, "around the time he was twelve they were killed while raiding an Alliance ship. He survived by hiding amongst the crates in the cargo hold and slipping overboard in the night. He swam to an island and lived there alone for several years until a Horde ship found him. The orcs aboard took him in and trained him to be a warrior, but he was more inclined to diplomacy and peaceful thinking. When they returned to Durotar he was mistakenly believed to be his father and almost killed outright. One of the sailors who had found him quashed that by telling about how they had found him, but once his story was told and his parentage was revealed he was outcast like his parents were…so he wandered the world and eventually to Outland where we found him."
"But why were he or his parents outcast?" Demira asked.
"He wouldn't tell us or he doesn't know," Kitali answered.
"I am inclined to believe he does not know," the orc stated. "In Thrall's Horde there were very specific reasons for one to be outcast. Chief amongst those was consorting with demons…but that was usually a death sentence. Murder was another, but that too was usually punishable by death. But his parents' banishment was before Thrall's time as Warchief…during the time of Orgrim Doomhammer. I'm not sure what could have been the reason."
"Hmmm…"Demira started as she stood up. She crossed her arms over her chest and placed her right hand on her chin much like Daneel did when he was deep in thought. She paced the room before them. "I don't recall those times because sin'dorei weren't with the Horde then. I wonder…could they have been suspected of consorting with a demon but not certain what they were consorting with was actually a demon? So they were outcast because of suspicion?" She stopped and looked at them. "If Grogg is Force sensitive as you think he is…perhaps a sith recognized his potential and approached his parents."
"And no one knew what a sith was or what they looked like," Zharn concluded. "A person with red skin and eyes would indeed be strange and suspected of being a demon."
"You think one was trying to…recruit Grogg?" Kitali asked.
"Think about it," Demira answered. "They were dying out. Few remained and they were fractured. Varok and his daughter were scheming in their own little 'world'. Maktai was hiding in Stormwind amongst human mages…and apparently had a notion in his past of raping night elven women. Tareesha was dabbling in her plans and the Rakata island. The greens that were alive were hanging around places of war, despair, and famine like a bunch of drug addicts. How many other reds were there still living and with schemes of their own? Taking on a native apprentice just might be one of them trying to establish a dynasty on this world. Or what if a sith woman was perhaps seeing a potential mate that could keep a semblance of her bloodline intact?"
"There are just too many possibilities," Zharn concluded. "Too many variables we don't know or haven't discovered yet."
"Which is why we founded the Jedi Order here on Azeroth," Kitali added. "To watch for just these kinds of legacies left behind by the sith."
"I think my husband will agree with me on this, but we'll see what he wants to do. I think you will need to return to Shattrath and befriend this man while Daneel deals with the situation in Ashenvale." Demira sat back in her chair. "Then I think when that is resolved he'll have another padawan to train." Kitali and Zharn both shook their heads in agreement. The small council had made a decision and now only awaited the jedi master's input. In matters dealing with the Force his was the final decision.
