Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft, which remains the property of Blizzard Entertainment. I make no money from this story, which is purely for entertainment purposes. Credit for this chapter belongs to William King, author of "World of Warcraft: Illidan."
Chapter 6: The Rise of Kruul
Our defeat of Azgoth was one of many such missions the month after we invaded Nathreza. But rather than travel to other worlds, Lord Illidan began sending us to locations all over Outland. We assaulted demon camps in the Blade's Edge Mountains and worked to close portals in the vast plains of Nagrand. By now it had become clear that Kael'thas Sunstrider, lord of the blood elves, had fallen prey to the Legion's empty promises, and we just as often engaged his forces in the Netherstorm. Fortunately, none of the blood elves the prince had left behind felt any desire to return to his service—they were Illidari, now and forever.
Around this time, Vandel seemed to have been singled out as the Master's unofficial right hand. As he had with Kor'vas, Illidan often looked at the older elf with an unknown expression. Satisfaction? Respect? Impossible to say, but it was Vandel who led our expeditions when Illidan himself was absent. And as much as we pestered him for answers, Vandel had none to give. If the Master had another plan in store, he was keeping it a secret.
As for me, I was just grateful that I could finally think clearly. No more out-of-control gorging on demon flesh, no more cowering in fear of my own shadow. I had obtained balance on the edge of a knife, and while being a demon hunter would always be a dangerous art, I was no longer worried about losing myself.
Today our Master had sent us to the harsh wasteland of Hellfire Peninsula. Landing beside Vandel, who had in turn landed before Lord Illidan, I examined one of the metal containers we had seized. My spectral sight told me it contained nothing more than plain rocks. Yet many others glowed with unnaturally powerful magic. Hardly a surprise; in addition to the usual attacks against Legion bases, Lord Illidan had also led us on far more deliberate missions: ambushes against demonic caravans that just happened to be carrying gems of great power. Thinking of the worlds we had invaded in the past, I wondered if the Master was planning to construct another portal.
As Asha and Belath landed behind me, I directed my attention away from our prize to where the skeletal remains of a fel orc floated in the air. Clearly the unfortunate wretch had refused to answer the Master's questions in life; now his bones would do the talking in death.
"Tell me of Highlord Kruul," commanded Lord Illidan.
The orc's remains were lifeless, animated only by fel magic. Yet the jaws still parted as an evil cackle emerged from the empty bones.
"No need, Betrayer. No need. He approaches. Ask him yourself."
Upon the very naming of the Legion commander, I had felt my hair stand on edge. Highlord Kruul…it was a name fit for a demonic general, a monster to be truly feared. I had never met this Kruul, never even heard of him until the Master had spoken his name, but I immediately knew this was so. Perhaps it was my lingering attachment to the wrathguard that filled me with such dread—trace memories of the demon's time serving under this Kruul?
I didn't have to wonder long, for the animated bones had spoken the truth. As if summoned by the orc's defiance, a great wave of fire washed over the land, and I felt myself suddenly flying through the air before the hard, dusty ground rose up to greet me. Vandel, Asha, and Belath had fared little better, and I had to wonder what could have produced such power. Looking up, I found my answer: A great portal had erupted into existence several feet away. I was immediately reminded of the Dark Portal, for this gateway was gargantuan in size, its unrelenting energies blazing across the already-scarred landscape.
And from the fiery depths emerged a figure that was nearly as massive as the portal itself.
I had thought facing down a pit lord had been frightening. Now I knew what it truly meant to face a commander of the Burning Legion. The mighty demon resembled a doomguard, but was twice as large and even more monstrous. His powerful hooves were like boulders. As they slammed down, the sound echoed like thunder across the vast wasteland. Covered in magical, glowing armor and wielding a blade the size of a tree, the monstrosity before us made Azgoth seem like an insect.
This was Highlord Kruul, no doubt about it.
"So, you are the one who defeated Magtheridon," he boomed. "You don't look like much."
Two infernals emerged from the portal behind Kruul. While not nearly as big as their master, the fiery demons were gigantic in their own right. It was clear that the Illidari were outmatched. We had set out to ambush a caravan, and now faced one of the Legion's most powerful generals.
Well, I would fight regardless, and thank my luck that the Master had chosen to accompany us.
"And you look like just another doomguard," retorted Illidan.
A sudden thought occurred to me—was it luck? Illidan didn't appear even remotely intimidated by Kruul's sudden appearance, and suspicion nagged at my mind. The Master always had a plan—he knew Kruul would show up eventually.
This mission had been a trap—but not for us.
"Have you come to see if you can get vengeance for the doom of your brethren's homeworld?" asked Illidan.
Kruul let out a great cackle, again mimicking the sound of thunder.
"That was well done," he conceded. "Destruction wreaked upon the destroyers. But no, I have not come to seek vengeance. I have come to kill you."
The Master readied his warglaives, and the rest of us eagerly followed suit.
"Others have tried," taunted Illidan. "I shall pen you beside Magtheridon and use your blood to build my armies."
"My blood would burn your little pets," sneered Kruul. "You would only have charred husks to serve you."
All this time, the portal behind Kruul never closed. On the contrary, more and more infernals now stepped through. I smiled grimly as I felt our allies also moving into position, undetected by the monsters we faced.
But then the Master's next words caught me by surprise.
"I have charted the portals you have been opening," he said. "You have been busy. Ironforge, Stormwind City, Orgrimmar. Silithus. The Plaguelands. You seek to invade Azeroth once more, do you not?"
I stared in shock. All this time on Outland, and the Legion had been busy amassing another assault on my homeworld? Hadn't this been what we were training for?
But even as I mentally asked these questions, I already knew the answer: of course it was. That was why we had travelled to Legion worlds and laid waste to them. It was why we worked to close portals throughout Outland. Again I reminded myself of the vision I had seen during the ritual, that of the Legion's endless armies decimating world after world across the cosmos. Azeroth was only one of these; I had to remember the bigger picture.
"And I have studied your reaving of our forces," said Kruul, "and I see a pattern to it. You seek to build another gateway, don't you? Ah, but to where is the question. I have heard of your boasting. Could it be you are truly mad enough to seek Argus?"
"Perhaps we will discuss this while I have you imprisoned in Hellfire Citadel," replied Illidan smoothly.
"I fear that your time for discussion has run out," said Kruul, as the last of the demons emerged from the portal.
There were now a total of five infernals…and a core hound. The massive, dog-like creature roared with two monstrous heads, the slavering jaws drooling liquid fire.
But now the Illidari were in position, and as our master leapt forward to strike at Kruul, Vandel led us into battle against the Legion's pawns. The air was suddenly filled with demon hunters leaping out from the hills above. Kayn dug his warglaives into the eyes of an infernal, the momentum of his leap shattering the cluster of fiery stones and sending them rolling across the landscape. Allari began draining the flames away from another, before Kor'vas sawed through its head, having scaled the rocky demon from behind.
The Legion was powerful, but we were demon hunters. This was what we were made for.
To my left, Vandel had engaged the core hound, and I quickly leapt in to help him. The deadly jaws issued forth a terrible stench like rotting flesh, and I had no doubt the foul breath would prove just as fatal as the beast's molten spittle.
Vandel let loose a felbolt that struck one of the heads as I leapt in from the other side to strike at the beast directly. From this position, I dove between the stubby legs to carve into the beast's thick underbelly. The demon roared as Vandel struck from above, digging his blades into the monster's spine.
Even as we continued to chip away at the core hound, the rest of the battle was not going well.
The infernals fell easily enough, but Highlord Kruul was powerful enough to take on multiple foes at once. Even as he traded blows with Lord Illidan, the demonic commander also reached out with dark energies and drained the life from those unlucky enough to draw too near the two warlords.
I felt true hatred rising within me at the thought of any of my allies suffering this kind of torment, but I had to trust the Master to handle Kruul. Instead, I channeled the dark energies at the core hound, and felt grim satisfaction as my warglaives tore through the side of its face. The resulting shriek made my hair stand on edge, but as the beast began to sniff the air in desperation, I realized that I had succeeded in blinding it.
Taking advantage of the demon's loss of sight, Vandel began channeling fel energy between his hands, pouring the destructive power into the beast's foul hide. Still it would not die.
Glancing over at where Illidan continued to battle Kruul, I saw the Master leap into the air and unleash a massive blast of demonic fire. The giant projectile slammed into Kruul and tore into the mighty demon. Smoke curled upward from where it had struck, and even from where I stood, I could smell the highlord's flesh burning.
"No! That is not possible!" roared the Legion's commander.
But despite his power, he was still just as cowardly as any other demon, and as Vandel finally slew the core hound, Highlord Kruul turned and fled back through the portal.
I sank to my knees as exhaustion set in. We had slain entire worlds full of demons and taken on a pit lord. But none of us had been prepared to take on a demon of Kruul's might. Even the lesser demons had been stronger than the usual rabble.
"I'm glad to see you're not among the fallen."
I looked over as Kor'vas sat down next to me.
"Never go up against a core hound alone," I cautioned her.
"I'll remember that," she said. "But that's not what's bothering you, is it?"
It seemed that Kor'vas was just as capable at reading people as I was.
"I heard what Kruul said, when he spoke to the Master," I told her. "The Legion has been opening up portals…on Azeroth. They're launching another invasion."
Kor'vas didn't look surprised by this revelation.
"Surely Lord Illidan knows about this?" she asked.
"He didn't seem surprised," I agreed, slowly rising to my feet. "I just hope he knows what to do next."
"The Master always has a plan," Kor'vas assured me.
I nodded, trying to appear more confident than I felt. But as we marched through the portal that would lead us to the Black Temple, I couldn't help but feel like this was just the beginning.