These events take place during Chapter 60


Transcendence: Gaiden

Chapter 09: Aftermath - Willow

Desolace

Two Days before the Battle of the Breach

The roof was creaking again, the winds had picked up, there would be a sandstorm soon. But she didn't mind, such minor concerns never really took her interest, not unlike what was in front of her now.

In her small shack in the middle of this desolate plane, which is where this region's name came from, she did her research for the benefit of her organization. It was here that her efforts were to hopefully bear her fruit in which she may return to her brethren with her head held high and be proven to be right. Recent developments have all but showed she would be returning back to Silithus in the next few weeks.

But in a way she was sad to leave her humble abode.

It was so nice living here, the peace and quiet were just what she needed, away from the buzzing and chittering down south. With all those Hives popping up in the desert it was impossible to get anything done, especially when those damn Silithids kept eating her work. Sure, the Desolace had the hollering Centaur and the demonic chanting of warlocks, just to name a few, and it was a constant hassle to deal with them.

But the last few weeks had seen most if not all of that disappear, making this barely tolerable place to live into a decent holiday home.

She was very happy for that, to no longer have to protect her little rickety hut from those damn demon crazed orcs of the Burning Blade clan. Their fortress was only a few kilometres from here, but a fortnight ago that place all but went up in smoke.

Also with the Highborne attempting to exterminate the entire Centaur race, and doing a good job at it, they certainly had made things quieter. Everything was so peaceful now, she didn't have to kill anyone for a whole two weeks, that was something she hadn't done, well, ever since settling here.

Although, sad to say, things have not been as relaxing for her as one might think.

"Why must I remain here? What purpose would you keep me here corpse woman."

Sad to say things did not improve for her, mostly because while the rampaging orcs and centaur were gone, Willow had two other problems dropped into her lap. One such problem was currently glaring at her from his makeshift cage, which was where he slept and lived against his will.

"I helped you with those Highborne, what other reason could you have for me to remain here?"

Willow turned in her seat and looked at the Night Elf, his black robes were tattered and soaked in old blood. He was worse for wear, even after a month he was still in such a sorry state, but that couldn't be helped since food was scarce and she had been preoccupied in other things then feeding him.

"I demand to be released!"

"Not yet, we still need you." Willow replied, rasping as she spoke as her decaying throat made it difficult to speak. Or it was possibly her lungs, she was not sure, so much of her body had rotted out that she didn't know if she even had most of her organs left anymore.

But she digressed, what possible use could they have for a novice mage who learned from the Warlocks of the Burning Blade. That she did not understand, but when she received a missive to collect him from the fortress she was surprised. He was near dead but her quick intervention saved him, saved him for what came later.

A hard knock on her door brought her from her reverie, and with a quick wave of her hand the lock was unlatched and the winds blew the old worn door open. It smacked against the wall, sand blew into her home and put an even thicker layer on the ground. Quickly someone rushed inside and shut the door, letting out a hack as he spat out whatever had tried to fly down his throat.

"Ah, finally made it back I see." Willow said, smiling as she watched her colleague enter her home. "What took you? From what I know you are not required to remain in Nijel's Point after you completed your mission."

He rolled his eyes at her statement, it was so easy to see he was not in the best of moods. He threw aside his tattered cloak and took a seat, his eyes gazed into her lifeless dead ones and she could see some concern in them. Not for her of course, he wasn't that chivalrous, but there was something that had rattled him.

"I have done everything asked of me, even if most of it was pointless." He replied, glowering as he made the declaration and tossing his had aside. "I came with you to Thuderaxe Hold, took that Elven girl to Nijel's Point, and totally disregarded the fact that the Sceptre of Light I had been searching for was within reach."

"Orders are orders, after all you were pulled off that, they said they would see about collecting it later." Willow replied, giving her dark haired friend a smirk. "Besides, you had the easy jobs, all you had to do was put words into others ears."

"And what words they were. Telling those Sentinels about the artefacts in Sargeron, which we let get taken by the Highborne. Instructing that novice mage on the intricacies of the Obelisk of Elune, how to counter it, and also telling her how to get to Shadowprey Village. Do you understand how hard it was for me to convince her to go there out of the blue? I had not thought of a cover story!"

His rambling was getting a little grating, even if her sense were as dead as she was didn't mean she was deaf. Honestly though, she now understood why he got such a simple assignment, the poor fool was better off scrounging through dirt and rocks to find items. In fact, it was laughable that he said he was part of the Argent Dawn, as if those failing excuses for Paladins would send one of their own all the way out here.

"But matters in Nijel's Point prevented me from leaving quickly. Also the elementals were getting restless; reaching here was not easily done." He glanced off towards nothing, something had rattled him. "We need to leave, the Obelisk is being activated, the clouds are beginning to move over the region, we will not have much time."

"Do not worry, I received word from a trusted source, they say that the clouds will do us no harm." Willow replied, waving off his concern and turning back to the item she was studying. But her colleague was not going to drop the matter so easily.

"Is this the same source that has given us these bizarre orders?" He inquired, crossing his arms and looking even more annoyed, not that she could blame him.

"One in the same." Willow replied, cutting open a single strange of the nimble substance and watching as arcane energies pulsed within the membrane.

"I tire of these games; they make no sense, why were we be made to do this? It makes no sense."

Willow sighed, she was trying to study these Webs and all she could do was listen in on this damn fool ramble on. No wonder he was sent here alone, Azore Aldamort was not the easiest person to work with.

"What we did was to fill in the gaps of a much larger plan." Willow replied, wagging her bony finger – literal bone – at her human counterpart. "Do you actually think that all we did was for some bizarre test to see if we would follow each and every whim of our masters? Loyalty is one thing, but if they make themselves look mad they will lose the respect and faith of others."

"Of that I can agree." Azore said.

"Then perhaps you should look at the bigger picture of what we did and how much we have helped accomplish here, and beyond." Willow replied, because unlike Azore she actually understood that everything that was done here was to ensure things came to a very unique conclusion.

For while she had taken a prisoner, Tyranis Malem, Azore had rescued a prisoner, Dalinda Malem, and brought her back to Nijel's Point. He had become a hero there, helping a respected warrior rescue the daughter of a very powerful merchant family in Darnassus. That gave him the freedom to roam the outpost and have the ear of its commanding officer.

That is where he needed to be, so that he could give wisdom where it was needed. From there he had likely received specific instructions and orders on what to do, she had no idea what they were but if they were anything like hers she wasn't understanding his apprehension.

"I fail to see what we have done here as beneficial, all we did was lose a lot of powerful artefacts to the hands of our enemies and created an unstable situation we are not in control of." Azore said, his tone was irrational as expected before it became derivative the next. "But I assume that this is all part of the grand plan is it not?"

Azore may be a member of the Twilight Hammer, and a trusted agent, but he often lacked the imagination to understand that sometimes orders don't need to make sense. After all, they had achieved great things with only minor manipulations, but he certainly did not see it like that.

"Of course, while you were dallying in Nijel's Point giving directions as they were needed I was doing the same here." Willow replied, before she gave an annoyed gurgle – she tried to huff but didn't have enough lips left to do so.

She had so much to do, so many pieces to maintain and control.

Gaining the compliance of Tyranis Malem, the prisoner that was still sulking in his cage, had been a crucial part to their operation. He had been a key component for setting the events that plunged this entire region into the chaotic battlefield it was now.

She recalled finding two Highborne mages, only a few days after rescuing Tyranis, they were searching for a new source of arcane magic in the region. They had been searching many of the old ruins for any fonts of magical energy, but only ever found demons and a few stray artefacts. Their search would have been fruitless, had it not been for her coming upon them.

Capturing them had been easy, they were weak and drained of their power. Then it occurred to her about the next set of orders she received, about why she needed Tyranis and his skills for this task. For what the Warlocks of the Burning Blade failed in diversity, they made up for it in being masters of mental domination. Something that Tyranis had been trained in.

His purpose had been made clear, for with his help she had been able to use the same mental dominating spell upon them to gleam from them what their mission was. It was not something she wasn't unaware of, in fact it was the reason she also had been sent out to collect them as they travelled near Sargeron.

Rhyanda and Tarelvir, mages sent by Mordent Evershade, they had been most informative and useful. Not for what they knew or what they were doing, but for what they had helped her achieve in the following days. For she did not just gleam knowledge from them, she also gave them knowledge.

She had placed many thoughts into their heads.

Willow had been given clear instructions, what to tell them and what to make them do. With Tyranis' help she had manipulated their memories and been able to control them, allowing her to feed them information and not realize where it had come from.

Even after they had fulfilled their purpose they still served as her thralls, they had done much for her within Ethel Rethor. But in essence they had always done what they needed, after all many of the events unfolding within the Highborne's upper ranks were thanks to Tarelvir and Rhyanda.

"We have accomplished so much here." Willow replied, smiling widely at the possibilities that could come from this.

"And lost a lot as well, not just the Sceptre of Light but dozens of other artefacts, the Twilight Council will be most displeased." Azore stated.

"Oh, I don't think we will have to worry about that." Willow replied, she knew that everything was on schedule and going as she had been told it would.

"I fail to see why we would both not be executed for failing in our missions?" Azore said, before he gave a snort. "What am I thinking, you were kicked out of the order for your wild theories and postulations, me on the other hand have a reputation to uphold. And with that gone I am as dead as you are."

Willow didn't think he understood the irony of that statement, or possibly he did and was going for an ironic twist with it. Either way she didn't really care enough to think about.

"What I have done here will bring me back into the fold, you would be surprised how old fashioned the Twilight Hammer is with its members. If they don't get results they are immediately cast out, look at what happened to Highlord Demitrian." Willow replied, remembering the former Highlord and his fall from grace within the Twilight Hammer.

"That fool stuck to old ways and look where it got him, as subservient to the Elementals as that Codexia." Azore replied. "But I do not know how you think anything you have done here will get you back into the Twilight Hammer."

"Warlock Magic and the Arcane arts have only taken us so far, the old ways are coming back. The ways of the elementals, and I intend to bring all I know back to my masters, along with help them with their plans here." Willow replied.

"What do you mean?" Azore asked.

"Tsk tsk, you should know that is above your paygrade Azore, you are better off finding things and relaying words than actually doing anything important. After all, that is the only thing you have been put towards in this entire time." Willow replied, smirking as she made the quip.

Azore didn't like that, he didn't like being considering inferior to an outcast.

"Careful girl, I am more powerful than you give me credit for." Azore threatened.

"Maybe, but are you as powerful as her?" Willow asked, gesturing to the side and towards her second tenant.

Sitting on her cot was a pale skinned elf, Sin'dorei to be exact, the woman had long auburn hair and glowing green eyes. Along her arms were the same glowing webs that Willow was studying, pulsing with power and ready to unleash them against Azore should she command it.

"Perhaps if you had brought her to our masters personally maybe they would have given praise, but I think it is best I take it instead. For I am the one in control now." Willow replied.

Another victim to Tyranis and his magical arts, the girl had been brought back half dead by Azore and the poor fool had not realized just how valuable she was. As usual, the man simply had no imagination.

"In control of what? A few Warlocks and mages? What could you possibly do with them?" Azore said, backing down from a confrontation.

What could she do with them?

A smirked crossed her face as she realized the possibilities that lay before her fingertips. With Lethtendris and her webs, Rhyanda and Tarelvir within Ethel Rethor, and the good Tyranis Malem being the puppets master that pulls their strings as she commands.

Oh, she could do so much.


The plot thickens.