This blackness... How strangely familiar... Why can't I move?
Pyravia's body began to shudder as it instinctively began to cough, trying to remove the dried blood from her throat. Her eyes were just barely open, her spectral vision failing her from her long withdrawal from mana. Consuming the nathrezim heart so many years ago had greatly increased the length of time she could go without absorbing mana, though the effects of withdrawal did hit her particularly hard when they finally came. She could faintly feel Illidan's arm around her and his legs beneath her, his free hand on her face, swiping away the flecks of filth that she coughed up.
"You're finally awake...", he whispered, relief heavy in his voice as he pressed his forehead against hers. His thumb gently opened her mouth, leaving her briefly to open a small vial of swirling, ethereal azure liquid. Illidan propped her head up with his forearm as he slowly poured the mana essence down her throat, a thin smile working its way across his face as he felt some of her strength return to her. Her mana cravings were eventually sated, but her injury still rendered her extremely weak and just barely able to move. The holy thread that bound it together, despite its enchantment, did not give her strength. It only served to make sure the fel did not rip open her wound again.
"Don't you have duties to be attending to?", Pyravia feebly mumbled, messily intertwining her fingers with Illidan's as he removed his hand from her face, his talons leaving delicate scratches on her ivory skin. He did not answer, only continued to gaze down at her, becoming entrenched in his own thoughts. "You have blood all over you..."
"It's yours.", he said simply, venom behind the words directed at the fel lord that had nearly killed her. "Can you recall all that happened?"
She nodded, squeezing the Betrayer's fingers. "There was a fel lord, guarding the prisoners... the Legion anticipated our rescue, he immediately called for reinforcements as soon as I began my assault. I was distracted by their hordes and he saw an opportunity...", the Slayer rasped, her lover's grip on her tightening. She sharply inhaled, her hand flying to her stomach as her stitches were disturbed. Illidan exhaled with a shudder, his grip loosening as his barely-caged anger became more and more evident. "It was no one's fault but my own, my lord, I should've brought Sunfury and Bloodthorn with me..", she apologized, burying her face in Illidan's side, her ram's horns gently scraping his ashy lavender flesh. "No.", he growled, shaking his head.
She didn't respond, only flimsily wrapped her arms around his torso. "I should've gone with you.. I was thoughtless.. I vowed to protect you and I failed...", he continued, his breath becoming more labored as he wound his arms tightly around the injured Blood Elf. Pyravia could feel his heartbeat pounding, could almost hear his thoughts screaming. She heaved herself up, putting her arms around Illidan's neck to support herself, his arms around her back and waist.
"This is not your fault...", she whispered into his ear, resting her jaw on his shoulder. He scoffed, his brow furrowed as he looked away from her. "How could it not be?", the Betrayer spat, "Had I gone with you, I could've defended you.. I could've kept those vile creatures from ever touching you."
"Do not blame yourself, Illidan.", Pyravia suddenly said harshly, her gaze hardening as she placed a hand on Illidan's jaw, urging him to look at her. The look in his eye was heartbreaking, despair and anger and self-loathing bled through it. "How can I not? My word is my bond, and I broke it.. You suffered needlessly because of my failure.", he lamented, winding his fingers into her short, onyx hair. "I will not fail again.", he muttered, pressing a gentle but mournful kiss to her forehead.
Illidan watched Pyravia in her sleep, the way she curled up against him and how peaceful she always looked. He could not sleep himself, his mind was too awake, thoughts furiously battling with each other. He wanted revenge, he wanted the Legion to know pain, by Elune he wanted them to know what drastic and grave error they had made.
Thunder cracked outside, lightning illuminated the ocean as the torrential downpour rained to the ground and against the crashing waves. The wind squalled, the rain of the thunderstorm whipping against the rocks and flaps of the tent. The Slayer squirmed fitfully but did not wake when Illidan pulled himself away from her, standing and grabbing his warglaives before disappearing off into the storm.
"Illidari!", he bellowed, waking the few sleeping demon hunters in Legionfall. The majority of them couldn't seem to rest either, fiddling with doodads and itching for some kind – any kind – of action. Their attention was snapped to their master, their feet swung beneath them as they stood and saluted. "Arm yourselves. The Legion will not be allowed the illusion of victory this night.", the Betrayer ordered, raising a glaive of Azzinoth high into the air. No longer caring who heard them, the Illidari cheered and roared their warcries, producing numerous weapons and mimicking their lord.
Kor'vas Bloodthorn and Kayn Sunfury led the warband, Asha Ravensong and Belath Dawnblade in the center, Jace Darkweaver and Allari the Souleater bringing up the rear. The former Lord of Outland was nowhere in sight, he had taken flight and perched himself atop one of the many spires of the Black City. As he had anticipated, patrols of demons marched throughout the dreadful wasteland, briefly illuminated by occasional lightning and the glow of felpools. The rain poured down on to him, the high Kal'dorei tail of midnight hair that cascaded down his back sticking to his soaked skin and heavy.
He dove into a group of wrathguard, sending a wave of felfire around him on impact. He shouted a wordless cry of anger and hatred, of a newfound and seemingly endless bloodthirst. He became a whirling tornado of rage and blades, his arcane tattoos burning with a fierce radiance, his hair circling around him like a mana wyrm.
Illidan thrust his glaive into one of the wrathguard's torso, lifting the demon up and throwing it against of its comrades behind him. "Legion, awaken!", called the wrathguard leader before being flogged with one of the Betrayer's wings, knocked on to its back as the hordes of demons began to form. Shivarra priestesses cackled maniacally as they charged towards the massive Kal'dorei, packs of felstalkers launching themselves into the fray. With each demon he felled, his frenzy intensified, he relished in the sprays of felblood that began to cover him.
The Illdari warband arrived to see their master in the center of an army of demons, corpses and dismembered limbs surrounding him. "For the Illidari!", Kayn Sunfury howled, thunder cracking loudly as he eagerly threw himself into the battle. Rain mixed with felblood, creating an unholy aurora that painted the Black City. Nether portals began to open as the Illidari began their assault, more Legionaries gushed from the black ovals and joined the battle. Allari the Souleater and Asha Ravensong stuck close to each other, back to back and cutting through swarms of felguards and Man'ari eredar. Belath Dawnblade followed behind Kor'vas Bloodhtorn and Jace Darkweaver, picking up their slack and eventually breaking away, metamorphosing into a horrendous, spiked monster.
Illidan's glaives of Azzinoth twirled around the battlefield, swirling in a circle and slicing anything near them to pieces. The former Lord of Outland raged, his talons rending the hide of any demon that came near, their entrails and blood spilling out on to the dusky ground. He growled fiercely as a felstalker threw itself on to his back, grabbing the vile creature by its tendril-like mane and whipping it over his head, slamming it into the ground. Lightning struck a nearby shivarra, shocking her brutally and traveling throughout her metal headdress, her body shaking violently as she turned to ash.
The storm was unrelenting, drenching both Illidari and Legionaries alike, the lightning illuminating the strike of swords, spears, and axes against glaives. Belath went berserk, tackling gargantuan felguards and throwing them into each other. Demon bones audibly splintered and broke as the Illidari fiend rampaged, even Kor'vas and Jace stoppped and gaped at the sheer magnitude of his attacks. Allari and Asha worked in tandem, letting loose explosions of fel and destructive, chaotic eyebeams.
I will not fail again.
Illidan devolved into a maelstrom of talons and blood, flying from demon to demon, showers of felblood following him and erupting beneath his claws.
I will have my vengeance.
He briefly took flight and dove into a fel lord, knocking it to the ground before plunging his talons into its throat, ripping them across and sending a sea of felblood flying to the ground.
This is only the beginning.