Part Twelve: Exodus from the Enclave

"Just imagine," Grogg said as he followed Daneel through a magical portal back into the jedi enclave in Northrend. "Everything we have thought about this world...its origins...the Titans...all of it pales in comparison to the truth we've discovered."

"But are you certain that your interpretation of the data is accurate?" the grand master asked. Ahead of them was the usual activity of jedi and visiting dignitaries running around the compound, but the miraluka noticed something slightly off. People from the Alliance and those of the Horde were actively avoiding each other with jedi dispersed with both groups. "Can you be one hundred percent sure that your translation is correct?"

"I can't be that sure," the orc padawan answered. "I'm eighty percent...okay...seventy...more like sixty-five. There were a lot of the words I didn't know, but in context I deduced what made sense. That's why I want to go back and learn what I can."

Daneel stopped and faced the orc. "And what if you find out that you were wrong in your assumptions?"

Grogg held his chin up as he faced his former master. "The search for truth and knowledge is more important than my pride," he responded. "If I am wrong then I am wrong...I can accept that. If a more learned scholar finds that my interpretations are inaccurate and translation false, then so be it. But the discovery we've made...I feel...is extremely important. By learning more we may ascertain why Sargeras is so obsessed with our world and why he keeps returning. It could help us better understand the Old Gods and why the Titans imprisoned them deep underground and on this world. We could learn why Neltharion was seduced by them and perhaps how to prevent another former Aspect from falling under their sway again. The dragons are our friends..."

"Enough, my friend," Daneel said as he reached up to grasp the padawan's massive shoulders. "You are approaching this situation as a jedi. The search for knowledge is important, but never let its pursuit consume you and develop into an obsession. When it becomes that, our perceptions are distorted and we may not recognize the truth. I am glad to see that you are prepared to accept it should you discover it might be counter to what you initially uncovered." He released the orc's shoulders and looked back towards the jedi temple tree. "For now, however, something is wrong here. I can sense tensions have risen in our absence. "

Grogg gave him a somber nod before following the grand master to the giant tree. During their trek they could hear murmurs from the visiting dignitaries about a murder in the compound and the jedi scattered amongst them trying to sooth tempers. They saw wild eyes in some visitors as they stared at those from the opposing faction. Those murmurs turned to shouting within the temple with Zharn acting as an intermediary between those people from the Alliance and those from the Horde as they yelled and pointed fingers at the others. When the shaman saw the miraluka, he shook his head and nodded towards the upper levels with his chin. It only took a sideways glance by the jedi master for Grogg to join the elder orc in trying to preserve the peace inside the greeting room. Daneel left them and ran up the stairwell to the council chambers. The shouting coming from the large room was even louder. He slowed his run to walk through the doors finding Kitali and Cheyuun on one side of the oval table holding back an outraged human diplomat from Stormwind and across from them Demira and Olivaw trying to block the orc from Orgrimmar who was attempting to crawl across the table to reach his counterpart. They both turned their attention to the jedi as he approached.

"You!" the Horde diplomat shouted. "You told us this was a place of peace! And yet while you were off gallivanting after some rumor...a human has murdered an orc and a tauren!"

"The murderer is not of the Alliance!" the Alliance diplomat countered and pointed at Daneel. "He was one of them! Do not place the blame on us!"

"He was no jedi!" Cheyuun bellowed with a slam of his fist on the table. The human looked up warily at the tauren glowering down at him. "That man was an imposter and a prisoner. Do not blame our order for the murders of our friends."

"Scott is gone," Demira stated looking at her husband but still trying to block the orc diplomat. "We confiscated his lightsaber, but apparently he either had one hidden or someone brought him another. During his escape, the two shamans we had guarding him were killed."

"Where is the brother?"

"In the medical wing," she answered. "He tried to stop Scott and confronted him up on the summit. Daneel…they fought and Caidan lost…he'll probably lose his arm." Then as if anticipating her spouse's next question, "Ciara is with him. She did not assist the brother."

"Celeste and Kuro are pursuing him," Olivaw offered. "A human woman commanding a goblin zeppelin rescued the traitor from the summit. Kuro had just returned, and so the two immediately took flight, but that goblin ship is unusually fast and already out of Kuro's sight when they left. It's unlike any other type of airship we have encountered or that Windi has heard of with some sort of propulsion that rivals our speeders."

"You never told us there was a black dragon amongst you!" the Alliance diplomat shouted shaking his fist at Daneel. "Their ilk murdered thousands of humans and tormented many more. We saw it fly from the top of the mountain, and we've already alerted Stormwind to its existence. We will hunt it down and destroy it like we did the rest of its kind!"

"That is one point that we can agree on," the Horde diplomat said as he backed off the top of the table.

"Kuro is trusted by both the Red and Emerald Flights," Daneel said with a slight wave of his hand. "That should be sufficient to convince you she poses no danger to either the Alliance or the Horde."

"Dragons cannot be trusted," the human scoffed. "Some were known to pursue the death of humans and our allies for centuries. One even posed as an influential mage in the Kirin Tor for decades never revealing his true nature until it was discovered. A wolf in sheep's clothing! No…the word of any dragon is not sufficient."

"Too many times a dragon has endangered mortals because we are insignificant to them," the orc added. "They do not think like us. Since our lives are short in comparison, they see us as little more than children or beasts in the fields. Our lives and concerns do not matter to them unless in those very rare circumstances ours intersects with theirs and they need us. If they do worry about what happens to us, they have a very strange way of showing it. Wrathion preaches to any and who will listen that the end of the world is near and gives very little details about how he knows this or how to stop it. That's probably because he is planning it himself!"

"And how often has a dragon gone insane? The Red and Emerald Flights' acceptance of a black dragon just goes to prove they value the lives of their own kind over those of the rest of the races of Azeroth. Perhaps they too have gone insane by forgiving a Black dragon. You know the Blue Aspect went insane and started a war that almost destroyed the world? His replacement has even disappeared to who knows where…probably plotting our demise like his father. Then there was Deathwing's whelps. Every one of them wanted to wipe out all life. Black dragons have fooled us before, posing as human nobles, and that must never happen again! We will hunt it down and destroy it…that is the only solution to guarantee our safety," the Alliance diplomat stated.

"Kuro can be trusted and is one of us…a jedi. She values a peace between the races of the world as much as I do," Daneel replied. "I assure you that she poses no danger to either of your governments or their citizens."

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't trust the word of a jedi right now," the human said as he left the table and stalked towards the entrance. "I am returning to Stormwind as are the rest of my fellow emissaries from the Alliance." He left the room without even a glance back at the grand master.

The Horde diplomat followed his counterpart. "That is another thing that he and I agree upon, Grand Master. This enclave is no safe haven for members of the Horde. The murders have proven that…a travesty that apparently will go unpunished from our perspective." He stopped at the door and turned back to the jedi. "The Horde will remember this day and the injustice that happened here. From what I have witnessed…the jedi have no honor." He then left the room with a huff.

The others left the council chamber in pursuit of the dignitaries leaving Daneel alone with his thoughts. He walked slowly to the table and leaned over it trying to understand how their endeavors to bring peace to the two governments could unravel in such a short time. Worse was that neither the Alliance nor Horde would trust a jedi after this day, and the order would have to work even harder to gain any of it back. The exodus of the emissaries took less than an hour. After Desolace, Daneel had hoped that the jedi and their location could help usher a time of peace for Azeroth. The Horde and Alliance both needed it and actually wanted it even if neither side openly admitted that fact. The battle against the Burning Legion was proof that peoples of both sides were willing and capable of placing their differences aside when faced with fighting to protect a world that both called home. Everything they had achieved here seemed to indicate a lasting peace was possible, and then a single act of violence destroyed everything. After a few minutes alone, he left the council chamber and walked to the upper level and the traitor's room. After a cursory examination, all appeared to be in order except for a section of the wall that had been hollowed out and the picture that hung over it was lying on the floor surrounded by shattered glass from the frame. On the neatly kept bed lay a single lightsaber with a black plasteel hilt. The jedi could feel the damaged crystal through the Force, and with a sigh he left the room and walked down the winding stairwell to the ground level. Half an hour had passed since the diplomats stormed out of the temple, and Daneel watched for a moment as lines of people stepped through open portals to Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Demira and Kitali still listened to the dignitaries' shouting as their people fled the enclave.

The grand master walked across the temple grounds to the secret caves where their technologies and supplies were stored. Unlike Olivaw, Daneel used the Force to guide him through the labyrinth of tunnels and caverns until he stood in the same room where Scott Daniels had been held prisoner after the attack on the praying orc on the summit. He examined the walls trying to determine if his escape was something he engineered on his own or if he had assistance. The entry was sealed by a force field created by Windi Weathergear. Daneel found two of the contacts for the energy barrier had been tampered with, but even with those two damaged the field should have remained solid. He then knelt on the floor and ran his fingers along the stone trying to find any cracks that might have created gaps in the cell, but again he found nothing that could have led to the force field's failure. His only conclusion was that it had been deactivated from the outside. He sighed deeply as he stood, and then he remembered that he had not looked up to the ceiling. That was where he found the crack along the left wall. He followed it with Force Sight. It wasn't very large or deep, but just big enough to hide a single lightsaber. He rubbed his chin as he thought about how the man could have engineered the escape alone. With the hidden lightsaber he could have shorted the energy barrier, or used any of several techniques to trick one of the guards into shutting down the force field. Neither possibility would require outside assistance. Even more disturbing was that the shamans were new enough to the order that they may have been unprepared for facing a foe armed with a lightsaber or shielding their minds against the influence of the Force. He commanded them to guard the prisoner, part of the blame for their deaths belonged to him.

"Cipher is missing," Illiana said behind him causing the thoughtful jedi to return his sight to normal before he turned around to face the elven sith. "We noticed her disappearance just after you and Grogg left to find the troll. I take it you found her?"

"We did and confronted her, but she fled before we could get any answers," he replied and then pointed at the crack near the ceiling. "Did the spy help him escape?"

"We don't think so. I was down here with Ollie, and this was after we noticed that Cipher had gone missing. He was telling me about the confrontation on the summit and the twin's obsession with me personally, so I ran here and discovered Scott had escaped. Ollie stayed with the guards and they were still alive as I followed him back up there and faced him on the summit after he nearly killed his own brother. It wasn't until we brought Caidan back here that Ollie told me the shamans had died shortly after I left them. One suffered a fatal blow from a lightsaber, the other's windpipe had been crushed most likely through the Force. I have seen that technique and used it myself…neither lived very long after the escape."

"Caidan was my first suspect before you mentioned Cipher's disappearance. Despite their differing points of view, they are still brothers," Daneel stated turning his attention back to his fellow jedi. "And the wife?"

"Doubtful because she was with Demira all afternoon talking about magic," the elven sith replied. "She's now with Caidan in the medical wing of the temple. He's probably going to lose his arm. Windi is already hatching a plan to create him an artificial one, but she needs Kai's help to make it work."

"Grogg could assist with the biological part," Daneel offered. "And Ollie knows a little about cybernetics. He had a crew member back on Corellia that had a couple of artificial limbs and quite a few implants." He looked back up to the ceiling and pointed. "I found a damaged lightsaber in Scott's room and there is a crack up here just large enough to conceal another. Could he have anticipated his capture, resulting imprisonment, and then concocted his escape by himself?"

"He easily could have." She walked into the cell and looked up to where he pointed. "If he is working with the sith that has been seeding the hotspots that have concerned us, he just created another one right in our own backyard. A genius tactic if he planned it…certainly beneficial to the sith if he didn't," She looked back down at him. "I'm more inclined to think that he may have figured he would be imprisoned after killing me…if he succeeded. Knowing that we jedi imprison instead of execute…I surmise he planted the lightsaber here for his escape." She looked from the room into the tunnels. "The line between justice and vengeance can be difficult to see. Those who cross it can find themselves in a very dark place…I know this all too well. Caidan's brother now walks a similar path as I did for so many years. He is blinded by his hatred. I can only pity him for what he endures having experienced that same cloud of vengeance myself."

"You want to try and save him," the grand master said behind her. She turned to see him standing with his arms crossed over his chest. "I understand. I would feel the same were I in your shoes, although I would suggest not pursuing him alone. His lust for retribution makes him very unpredictable."

Illiana nodded. "I won't go alone. I already have someone in mind to take with me as I try to find him."

"Ollie?"

"No," she replied with a small smile. "This Scott is too dangerous to have Ollie with me. Too much of a temptation for…distractions." Daneel released a chuckle. "No…I am thinking of taking either Kuro or Celeste. I thought I might ask them when they return." She started to walk towards the tunnels and stopped. As she looked back towards the miraluka she said, "I saw Grogg before I came here. He said something about the sith being named Nyrexia, but that is impossible. That woman died two centuries ago."

"Are you certain of this?" Daneel asked. "There were several hundred sith lords that were not tainted…"

"I am positive," she replied interrupting him. "She was the wife of my father when they first arrived. My husband's people were her prisoners for many years before Talisora defeated her. There were no others with that name aboard the Vindictive."

"Could she have cloned herself like Selene? After her defeat she could have transferred her essence to another body."

"That is possible," Illiana stated as she looked up at the ceiling in thought. "She was close to Varok for a time…she could have convinced him to make her a clone just in case she was killed by some sort of misfortune…"

She stopped in midsentence for several moments. "What?" Daneel asked.

Illiana shook her head before looking back at the miraluka. "Sorry…I just wish I had Father's holocrons. He encoded everything about the sith on them. During my dark years I misplaced them somewhere and I cannot remember where they might be. I've been trying to recall what I did to them ever since that day my memories were restored…but it seems that is one thing I cannot remember. I have been struggling with this because I know they can help us find this woman…Nyrexia or some imposter using her name. Father left clues to every base and every location they lived at since their arrival on this planet. I feel that one of those holds the clue to where this woman is and what she is planning." She looked down at the floor as her brow furrowed. "I remember something about a tomb for one of the original twelve lords…I took at least one of them with me when I searched for it because I used Father's descriptions of the locale as a guide. I remember a desert…possibly Tanaris."

"I thought the Avatar kept you secluded at Drakus' base for those ten years before our first encounter."

She looked up to him with a sly grin. "I would sometimes regain my memories and leave. I know it drove him crazy…me too for that matter because I was still struggling with my pain…but I did escape from time to time when his control over my mind was weakest. I think those were times he was focused on some other part of their scheme to break N'Zoth from his prison." She turned back to face Daneel. "We need to find those holocrons, Grand Master. I know right now is perhaps not the best time for the jedi to be spread apart, but I feel this is the most important piece of the puzzle to understanding this sith. If I am to pursue and save Scott…"

"I will send Adaria after them along with some of the new ones we recruited after Desolace," he said with a smile as he relaxed his arms to his sides. "We still have allies and more jedi now than we did before our encounter with the Burning Legion."

"That is true," she agreed with a nod. "Though it's regrettable that all that you strived to achieve here has been lost in just a matter of hours. I am sorry that our efforts to bring peace to the Alliance and Horde has failed."

"It's no worse than what I had when I first arrived just a few years ago," Daneel said with a grin that caused the elven sith to laugh. "And this is a setback…not a failure. We'll just have to rebuild as the original jedi have many times over twenty millennia."

She pursed her lips as she nodded. "I'll make a recording of what I can remember for Adaria and whomever else you send after Father's holocrons." She took her hilt from her belt and held it up between them. "His last visit apparently was a one-time deal. I could use his guidance right now." She turned and started walking towards the cave entrance and stopped just before entering the tunnel. She looked up to the ceiling and said, "You hear me, Narcis? Any insight into where I lost your gifts? Now would be a good time to tell me that I was a bad girl and where to find my toys."

"That's not quite how it works, I'm afraid," Daneel said after a moment of silence.

"I know," she replied looking over her shoulder to him with a smile. "I had to try, though."

She left him alone in the cave. He looked back at the walls and smiled. The dignitaries had surely all left by now, and like Illiana he hoped that her father's holocrons could help them find the sith calling herself Nyrexia. He decided that he would send Adaria on the mission to retrieve the holocrons of Narcis, and then remembered that she was with Jacen and Kai'moira in the east. As he started to walk out of the cave his thoughts began to focus on the human and missing miraluka spy. Where had Cipher gone? Was she following Jacen as the troll had been? What was her role in all of this?