Outland, One month before the Fall of the Black Temple
The Shadowmoon Blood Elven outpost was based on an old Draenei ruin. It was a strange place, mostly due to the fact that although Shadowmoon Valley was bathed in fel green and black in its entirety, the ruins of Eclipse point held a deep blood red haze. Grand Commander Ruusk, an old acquaintance of Thalia, was both surprised and pleased to see her but could not give her any insight into their Prince's recent activities.
"I'm afraid that the last time I saw the Prince, was three months ago when he ordered me to remain behind with my forces and aid Lord Illidan in his missions. Since then, all we've been doing is raiding Demon Hold along with him and the Demon Hunters and defending Shadowmoon Valley from any threats. And lately, such threats included attacks from the Sindorei of the Sanctum of the Stars base, the Wildhammer Dwarves, the Shattari Draenei, and the Shadowmoon Village Horde troops. Even the Sindorei within their ranks are harassing my forces. Why would they do that? I understand the Scryers' behavior, they are blood traitors who fell victim to Voren'thal's lies, but why would the rest of our kin attack us? Don't they understand what we're trying to do here in this Sun-forsaken place? Have they lost faith in our Prince? All he ever did was try to find a cure for our affliction and fight the Legion. Why are they attacking us?", the Commander pored some more wine in Thalia's and Telarius' goblets.
"They are all convinced that our Prince has betrayed us all and is serving the Legion now. They believe the same about Lord Illidan and his Illidary. Our mission is to find the Prince and prove everyone wrong. You should know Ruusk, that there's a bounty on your head. The rest of your forces as well. As a matter of fact, everyone under Lord Illidan's and Prince Kael'thas' banners have a price on their head. You should inform your troops, everyone in Karabor knows about it already, Lord Illidan should have informed the Illidary council by now, and Telarius and I will inform everyone else from Firewing Point all the way to Tempest Keep. Please be careful. Thank you for your hospitality.", Thalia gave the Commander a peck on his cheek and stepped through a portal an Eclipsian Battle Mage opened for her and Telarius for Firewing point.
They stepped out into a massacre. Everyone was dead, either stabbed shot or hit by a magical spell. Other's were maimed by a beast, either a hunter's pet, a feral or guardian druid. The entire outpost was set aflame and the two Elves could see a Calvary riding towards Shatrath city in the distance.
"A raiding party.", Telarius rasped, "those cowards attacked our people, sacked the outpost and stole anything of value. I can spot different kinds of races among them, it was a joint attack from both Horde and Alliance races. Aww, how endearing, bitter enemies united against a common "foe". Fools! Our people could not have died more than an hour ago, Lady Thalia. Do you think that you can revive them?", the Demon Hunter's sightless gaze fell upon the Priestess with a hopeful look on his face.
"I can sure try, Telarius. And please call me Thalia. We are partners in this mission, I'm not your superior officer.", Thalia lifted one hand in the air, while she stabbed the ground with her staff and begun to chant a prayer to the Light. A beam of Light came down from the sky and connected with her outstretched arm. She glowed gold, her hair, robe, and cloak billowed behind her as the Light reached her staff. Dragonwrath glowed white in turn and the beam of Light extended like an umbrella all over Firewing Post, covering it completely.
"ANAR'ALAH BELORE ANARAL SHINDU SIN'DOREI!", Thalia roared and the fallen children of Quel'thalas rose to their feet, alive and well. "Telarius, Magi, get everyone out of the burning buildings before they are burned to a crisp", the Priestess bellowed as she casted additional healing spells to those whose fatal injuries were more gruesome. Soon all the mass resurrected Sindorei and their leader Sharth Voldoon were gathered at the outpost's square and were updating Thalia and Telarius about the sneak attack that was most likely orchestrated by no other than Voren'thal the Seer himself.
"He came to us a week ago, Lady Thalia. He informed us that the Prince has betrayed us all and is not serving Kil'Jaeden. He demanded that we should defect from the Illidary immediately and pledge our allegiance to the Scryers and the Horde. Naturally, we refused to denounce our loyalty to the Prince and Lord Illidan and asked him to leave Firewing point and never return. So a few hours ago, they attacked us from all sides. Horde, Alliance, Scryers and Aldor, fell upon us like locust, screaming something about me ordering the detonation of a mana bomb at the Cenarion Thicket and constructing another one in my "secret lab". It's no secret that Pathaleon the Calculator sent me the schematics and codes to create a mana bomb, but it was going to be used against the Legion, not against the druids of the Thicket, nor Shatrath city. Why would we want to destroy the home of a bunch of weed smoking, tree hugging hippies who just want to heal this world? Until recently, we considered the residents of Shatrath as potential allies and thus a friendly party. The attack against the Druids took place a day ago. And the Scryers believing that it was us attacked us, though we had nothing to do with all that mess. Not that they would have believed me if I told them that. I was not here when the attack began. I was returning from Shatrath city where I spent five days buying supplies and listening to what people were saying about us. I must admit that I was shocked by the lies those treacherous Scryers have spread about the Prince and those of us loyal to him. I pretended to be a pilgrim, a simple charm concealed my true identity. The shopkeepers and the patrons at the "World's End" tavern were trying to "convince me" to not travel to Tempest Keep, but rather bring my family to Shatrath and pledge allegiance to the Scryers. Ha...as if! Anyhow, I teleported back here, right in the middle of the massacre. As I was trying to defend my people from those vermin, a group of mercenaries run out of my tower and informed their commanding officers that they had just killed me right after they witnessed a secret communique between my self and Lord Pathaleon that proved beyond doubt that we were behind the attack on the Cenarion Thicket. I was still under a disguise, they did not realize that they had just killed a doppelganger, probably a Dreadlord who staged that whole charade to incriminate the Sunfuries for something we didn't do.", Sharth Voldoon explained as Thalia casted Light spells on him trying to purge the poison that coated the daggers of the Gnome Rogue who sliced his heels, causing him to fall to the ground writhing in agony thus giving his attackers the opportunity to close in and finish him off with their swords and arrows.
"It is horrible what happened to you, and what makes it even more horrendous is the fact that you were attacked by someone who until recently was one of your leaders, a father figure, a protector, one that you went to for comfort and counsel. And he betrayed you in the most heinous of ways. He will pay for what he did, this I promise you. I will speak with Kael'thas about it, and his punishment will be swift and very painful. So when was the last time you saw the Prince or had any contact with the Sunfuries, Sharth?", Thalia smiled at the Blood Knight as she gave him a blood replenishing potion.
"Less than three months ago on his way to Netherstorm. He was in good spirits, confident, optimistic and very eager to explore the land that potentially holds the key to our salvation. He ordered me to defend this outpost against the Legion to the best of my abilities, obey Lord Illidan's commands and protect the people under my command. They then portalled out of here. He did not inform me whether he would be making any other stops. I honestly do not know what happened up there, Lady Thalia, but one thing's for certain. I will not pass judgment on our Prince until I have all the facts. I want to know the reason why he ordered an attack on Shatrath, and whether he is truly serving Kil'Jaeden. Until then, I will remain a loyal subject of the Sunstrider royal line and I will lay down my life for my Prince.", Sharth brought his fist over his heart in a Sin'dorei salute.
"I know that you will, Commander. I know that all of you will and the Prince will be very touched and proud when he hears about how bravely you defended this outpost and his honor.", Thalia saluted back and turned towards the rest.
"Is anyone missing? Are you all accounted for? We need to decide where you all shall go now.", the Priestess feared that being so close to Shatrath city, the Firewing Point Sunfuries were at great risk of being attacked again once the Scryers and rest discovered that they were still alive. The Priests within the Sunfury ranks informed her that everyone was present.
"I believe that it would be best if you all returned to Karabor and inform Lord Illidan about what just happened. He needs to know and prepare against the local and Azerothian forces. It would be best if the Firewing Sunfuries bolstered the Karabor and Eclipse Point's forces.", Telarius rasped and Sharth and the rest of his forces nodded their heads in agreement.
"Well then, in that case, the magi should begin opening portals to the Black Temple and perhaps open one for the Coilscar Reservoir for us", Thalia decided and several magi opened portals to Karabor and one for the Priestess and the Demon Hunter in the end. Soon there was nothing left at Firewing Point but the smoking ruins of a once powerful outpost.
The hot and steamy air of the Serpentshrine Cavern hit Thalia like a ton of bricks. She had heard all about what the Naga leader was doing to the marsh by Rommath and did not agree with her plan to coerce the Outland inhabitants into joining forces with them by controlling all the water supply. Rommath assured her that neither he nor Kael'thas agreed either, but every time they had tried to inform Illidan about what Vash was really doing at the marsh, he would reply that he had the utmost faith in Vash and all of his commanders. He trusted them so much so, that he did not feel the need to breathe down their necks at all times. They all had free reign to do anything that would bring the end of the Burning Legion. So the two Sindorei would shrug and go about their business. It wasn't that what Vash was doing had any real impact outside Zangarmarsh. Nagrand had its own independent source of water and so did Terokkar Forest, Blade's Edge Mountain and some parts of Netherstorm. It was Hellfire Peninsula and Shadowmoon Valley that suffered from aridity, but the latter got it's water supply from elsewhere, while the former was so sparsely inhabited, that the drop of the lakes' water levels had no real impact on the inhabitants. As for Zangarmarsh itself, Vash felt confident that the Draenei and the other local's resolve would soon falter and they would pledge their allegiance to the Illidary. Thalia felt that at another time she would have voiced her opposition to the Naga's plans, but her Prince' s fate was more important now. So she smiled at Vash and asked her about Kael.
"I have not ssseen young Kael in three monthssss, young Pristesss. I know nothing about hisss planssss. Lord Illidan never told me anything about what he isss doing up there, and I never bothered to asssk. I have more presssing mattersss to deal with, forcesss are amassing, both Horde and Alliance, ready to ruin my plansss, but I will not allow this. They will bow down to me and the Naga.", the sea sorceress hissed at Thalia.
"Don't you mean that they will bow down to Lord Illidan and the Illidary?", Thalia raised an eyebrow.
"Yesss, of course. That'sss what I meant. Now if there iss not anything elsse you need young one, I'll portal you to the edge of the marsssh to speed up your journey north. I cannot do more than that, I need to reserve my power to bolssster our defencesss. Essshnu Falah' Nah to the both of you.", Vash raised two of her hands and teleported them at the opening of the cave that connected Zangarmarsh to Blade's Edge Mountain.
"But I had more questions.", Thalia protested, but it was too late. Telarius shrugged and pointed towards the entrance of the cave.
"It's a two weeks trek to Gruul's Lair, Thalia. The sooner we get there, the faster we can get mounts to fly us the rest of the way.", he rasped and walked into the cave. Thalia sighed and followed him.
The cave was large, filthy and crawling with hundreds of different creepy crawlers of many different sizes, but Telarius' "Eye Beam" took care of them before Thalia could even raise her hands to cast a Smite. To say that she was relieved to see the daylight at the other side of the cave two days later, was an understatement. Not that the rest of the journey was easier. When the natives of the land did not attack them, the Horde and the Alliance forces did. Thalia remained in Shadow Form at all time, lest the Sin'dorei Horde troops recognized her. That delayed their journey further, the two Elves reached Gruul's Lair twenty days after they entered the cave at Zangarmarsh. Only to discover that it was littered with the bloating corpses of the Ogres that used to call Gruul's lair their home. The two Elves covered their faces to mask the smell of death and approached Gruul's cave, but stopped abruptly a few yards away from it and gagged by the stench emanating from inside. It did not require a genius to realize what had happened there. The Horde or the Alliance attacked Gruul and managed to kill him.
"We need to find mounts and get out of here fast. Times's running out for me. I only have ten more days to discover what happened to Kael, before they realize that I'm missing from Quel'Danas.", Thalia looked at Telarius and was shocked to discover that he was grinning. And soon, she knew the reason why. High above them alone Netherdrake was circling the carnage scene that was once Gruul's lair, probably searching for his dead master. With a high pitched whistle, Telarius called the great beast to the ground. He approached it slowly and extended his hand to it. The drake sniffed it and licked it. The Demon Hunter patted his head and the beast began to purr like a kitten.
"You seem to have a way with animals, Telarius", Thalia grinned and approached them, cautiously.
"I was a drake tamer another lifetime ago, Thalia", Telarius shrugged and mounted the drake, extending his hand at Thalia.
"Well let's get going", Thalia secured her self behind the Demon Hunter and hugged his torso as the drake kicked off the ground. The Shadow Priestess inhaled sharply and closed her eyes as they crossed the great void between the two continents. Telarius had opted to fly north of the small strip of land that connected the two large land masses, in order to avoid detection from Horde or Alliance patrols. Netherstorm was an even more unwelcoming continent than Hellfire Peninsula and Blade's Edge Mountains. Bereft of all plant life, only scavengers and rogue Elementals roamed the barren land. The two Elves spotted a large structure close to their position and flew towards it. As soon as they landed on a small hill behind it they saw that it was occupied by dozens of Blood Elves who were scurried about working on something that neither of them could understand. Thalia made to go and greet them, but Telarius stopped her.
"They're not Elves.", he hissed, "My spectral sight revealed their true identity. They are Nathrezim of all shapes, sizes, and genders."
"But what happened to my kin then?", She whispered devastated.
"I believe I can answer that, Priestess", a deep voice made both Elves jump. Telarius drew his glaives and Thalia shifted into her shadow form as they both turned around to face the new perceived threat. Thalia gasped at the sight of the creature. He seemed to be made of mist, as a matter of fact, the only indication that he actually had a form was the large strips of gauze that were wrapped around him from head to toe. Even his "face" was concealed by the cloth.
"Wh...what are you?", the Priestess whispered.
"An Ethereal. A species residing in Outland, but it's not of this world.", Telarius answered her question.
"Correct. Like the Draenei, we lost our world to a devastating foe. Only in our case, it was not the Legion, but the Void. It not only took our home, but it stole our corporeal bodies as well, damning us to wonder the Cosmos in our spiritual form forever.", the Ethereal sighed.
"I'm sorry to hear that. You have the Sin'dorei's sympathy for what has happened to your species. Can you please tell me what has happened to mine here in this Light-forsaken place?", though curious to learn more about this new species, Thalia was more interest to know what happened to her before she had the luxury to satisfy her own scientific curiosity.
"It all started about six months ago. Back then, this continent was a large and luscious rainforest, until the Legion came and begun to enslave the locals and corrupting the land. Then three months ago, the Elves came and begun to push them back. They had almost annihilated the devils, but all of a sudden the entire army withdrew, leaving only a handful of fighters at the outposts all around this land. Soon, another Elven army came and attacked them. The defending Elves seeing that their magical defenses crumbled before the might of their kin, escaped by means of portals, to where? Only the Void knows. The new Elves built these monstrosities all over this continent and begun to harvest the chaotic magical energies of this land, stripping it of all of its resources and damning it forever. These Elves are responsible for the current state of this continent. Only two small pockets of vegetation remain, my people had created two oasis' in order to preserve whatever flora and fauna remained on this continent.", the two Elves were speechless as the Ethereal concluded his narrative.
"You should know, that none of the residents of that "mana forge" are Sin'dorei. They are Nathrezim who took my kin's form for Light knows what purpose. That's what we' re here to discover.", Thalia explained to the Ethereal.
"Be that as it may, they must be stopped. I'm afraid that my people have no army to spare, but I've heard that the Horde and the Alliance are amassing strike forces to destroy these abominations. Here are the coordinates of the other "mana forges", should you wish to inspect the damage they have caused to this land. They're yours in exchange for those lovely emerald earnings dangling from your pretty ears, my Lady. ", Thalia could sense that the Ethereal would have grinned if he still had a face. Like goblins, these creatures didn't give anything for nothing. She shrugged and removed them. They meant little to her, she bought them years ago at an open market in Stormwind, a day after the crowning of King Llane. Thalia and Kael sneaked out and explored the city alone without any guards to bother them. The merchant was very old and senile and did not realize the true value of the earrings, thinking that it was just green crystal. When Thalia realized that they were emeralds, she tried to find him and pay him the difference, but he was already gone. Now she handed the earrings over to the Ethereal and he gave her the crystal with the coordinates. With a quick nod, Telarius climbed on the Netherdrake and helped Thalia climb behind him. The Priestess activated the crystal and told him the coordinates. The drake kicked off and headed towards the east. Thalia was saddened to hear from Telarius that the Elves there were all replaced by Dreadlords. The same motif repeated it self several more times as they visited all of the mana forges. They noticed that all of them had large pipes leading towards the southeast, so they decided to follow them and see where they ended. A majestic crystal fortress came into view days later, surrounded by three smaller ones. They were all suspended high up in the air at the edge of the Netherstorm continent.
"We have to move with caution, Thalia. Every place we visited so far was infested with demons, we should not expect anything different here.", Telarius rasped as they approached a small Goblin outpost underneath the fortress.
"I need to see for my self if my Prince has been replaced by a devil and discover his fate, but you're right. We need to be careful. They can't know that I came with you, they will think that Lord Illidan sent you. I must appear to be alone. Is there a way for you to remain hidden?", she gasped as a column of shadow replaced the Demon Hunter and he vanished.
"I'll take that as a yes, then.", she chuckled and moved to the front of the drake as Telarius jumped up and glided behind her.
"They'll never know I was there and should they attempt to harm you, they will taste the wrath of my blades.", he whispered in her ear as he wrapped his large tattooed arms around her. Moments later the drake landed on the platform of the largest of the crystal structures. Four warriors were guarding the entrance, two females and two male, clad in red and black plate armor. A black tabard with a double-headed red phoenix covered their chest.
'The Mark of the Sunfury Elves, Kael'thas' loyal forces who blindly followed him here from the Scourge ravaged and of Quel'thalas just to meet their end in this Light-forsaken land. All stunningly beautiful and all blond of course, just like their leader.', Thalia stopped at her tracks when all four of them raised their weapons at her.
"Halt. Who goes there? How dare you so brazenly walk into our Κing's domain unannounced? Identify your self at once.", the leader of the four ordered her. 'They don't recognize me, though they should. I was their prince's consort for almost a century, they know me by name and so do I. All of them. Clearly, they're impostors, I don't need Telarius' spectral site to confirm it. Better play along and pretend that I don't know them either.'
"I'm Lady Thalia Lightcaster, High Priestess of Quel'thalas and member of the Silvermoon Convocation. I respectfully request an audience with the Prince.", Thalia lifted her chin and sneered at them, assuming the role of a snobbish, spoiled noble.
"His proper title is the "Sun King" now. See that you remember that when you address him, lest you wish to be reduced to cinders, my Lady.", the leader sneered back at her as she waved her hand to open the gate.
It was a majestic place, there's no denying that. Thalia was in awe. Gleaming red metal walls of various shades merged with gray metal floors, sheer purple ceilings, and large bay windows, giving this place an out wordly hue. It was no wonder that Kael'thas was so taken with this place when he first discovered it, it was absolutely stunning. And Elves are known for their love fr everything beautiful and elegant. Thalia nodded at the guard who was dispatched to escort her to the throne room and followed three steps behind her as it was customary for high-ranking guests. Her breath hitched at the sight of A'lar, she hasn't seen him in years and she missed him so. She recalled how Kael would summon him, lift her up into his lap wrapping his arms around her as they flew around Hillsbrad foothills and the Eversong Woods in supernatural speeds, soaring through the clouds chasing the sun or the moon and landing on remote mountaintops where they would make love till sunrise. There were also occasions where they made love on top of A'lar as he flew through the sky. Now the great bird sang to her mournfully but did not approach, sensing the direness of the situation.
'Bless him, he knows that something's amiss and does not want to blow my cover, Phoenixes are truly amazing beings', Thalia gave A'lar as a small smile and continued to ascend the platform leading to a corridor on her right. Warriors, Blood Knights, Rangers, Magisters, Priests and common folk walked past her or huddled together on corners talking not sparing her a glance and she continued her ascent towards the throne room. Thalia recognized the majority of those people and she was certain that even those she did not know should recognize her since she had been a very public figure for over a century.
'What happened here? Where are my people? What have the devils done to them? Oh blessed Light, let them be safe wherever they are. Please don't let them be dead or worse.', the Priestess silently prayed as they approached the arch leading to the throne room.
'Blessed Light, give me strength.', Thalia took a big breath and walked into the throne there he was. At the far end of the cavernous chamber, surrounded by his trusted advisers, looking more regal and stunning than ever, stood Kael'thas Sunstrider. The Sun King. 'By the Light, the title suits him well, he shines brighter than the sun.', the priestess marveled at her former lover's splendid physique. At six foot five, he towered over his subordinates clad in red and golden robes as was customary for Highborn royalty. Robes that instead of concealing the fact that he had a body of a god, they emphasized his broad shoulders and large arms. Arms that used to to wrap around her lovingly and protectively as he brought her to new levels of ecstasy each time they met in lust. Waist long golden hair fell down his shoulders and three verdant spheres circled his head, their greenish glow doing nothing to overshadow his beautiful facial features. As if chiseled by the finest craftsmen of Quel'thalas, the "King's" face looked as if it belonged into a painting at the wall of a museum where thousands would come and marvel at its splendor, rather than being hidden here in this Light-forsaken desolate land. In her lifetime, Thalia had been in the company of many gorgeous men, but none them held a candle over Kael'thas. Not even Arthas, though he was much broader and bigger than the "Sun King". Despite being overwhelmed by his appearance, Thalia realized that the man before her was not Kael'thas Sunstrider. The moment he turned is head and locked eyes with the Priestess, Thalia knew that she was not approaching her Prince, but rather an impostor. There was no sign of recognition in those fel green almond shaped eyes, just curiosity. The curiosity of a predator stalking its prey. The Priestess pushed her feelings of dread deep down, smiled and bowed at the impostor, as her escort announced her.
"High Priestess Thalia Lightcaster of the New Silvermoon Convocation", the "Sun King" raised an eyebrow at that.
"Welcome to Tempest Keep, Lady Lightcaster. What brings you here, so far away from Quel'thalas? I do not recall ordering the presence of a Priestess out here, nor do I need a member of the council to pester me with useless advice. You better have a valid reason for your presence. I will not suffer such nonsense when there's important work to be done here and back home.", even his voice was the same, though it lacked the warmness and kindness Thalia was accustomed to hearing whenever the Prince spoke. All she heard now was malevolence and cruelty.
"All hail to the Sun King, your majesty. I humbly apologize for disturbing your important work here in Netherstorm, but I needed to bring to you in person important news from home", Thalia continued to bow low before her "king", showing him the back of her neck as a sign of complete submission to his authority in order to prove to him that he has fooled her and she truly believed that he was her sovereign. And it worked like a charm. 'Stupid, vain devils', she smirked inwardly.
"Rise then Priestess and inform me.", the fake Kael flicked his wrist in a bored manner and stared at her intently.
"As you well know sire, after the way the Humans treated us in Dalaran we seceded from what was left of the old Alliance. After we have proven our worth and in order to maintain Sylvanas' continuous military support at the Ghostlands, we joined the Horde.", Thalia noticed the flicker of surprise in the impostor's eyes, that he quickly masked with an eye-roll and a bored nod. 'So he didn't know that we serve the Horde now'. She smirked again.
"Of course I know about all that. Get to the point, Priestess.", the false king growled.
"Well, after the defection of that treacherous worm, Voren'thal, Warchief Thrall became convinced that you and your forces had joined the Legion and has ordered your executions. I came to warn you all about the impending danger. The High King of the Alliance has also ordered your executions, so you should expect a joined attack. The same execution orders extend to Illidan Stormrage and his followers at Shadowmoon Valley. They have already wiped out Firewing Post, they massacred your forces there and they are now heading towards Shadowmoon Valley and here. Gruul is already dead and Lady Vash is fortifying her defenses at the Coilscar Reservoir. Both Azerothian factions have decided that you and Illidan pose a threat to them and the Draenei and wish to wipe you all out from the face of existence.", Thalia deliberately omitted the fact that they all suspected that he had joined the Legion, there was no need for him to fear that they were on to him. She also did not feel that the impostor needed to know that the Firewing Post forces were alive and well back at Karabor, he would have demanded to know the reason why they did not come with her to Tempest Keep.
"You have indeed provided me with very useful information, Lady Lightcaster. Know that from this day forth you have the Sun King's favor. Now go, return to Quel'thalas and continue your noble work. I'm afraid that we are very busy at the moment and extremely overstaffed, so there's no space to accommodate your needs. I suggest that you fly down to the Goblin outpost and spend the night there before you begin your long journey back home. Give my regards to the council. Shorel'aran, Priestess.", the "Sun King callously dismissed her and turned towards his advisers. Thalia was quick to bow to him again and head back towards the exit as fast as she could without raising any suspicion. The moment she climbed up on the Netherdrake and felt Telarius' arms around her, she breather a long sigh of relief. She commanded the drake to kick off and soon they were standing on solid ground, south of the goblin outpost. The Demon Hunter materialized in front of her with a grim look on his sallow face.
"Well, now we have all the proof we need, Thalia. Your Prince and all of his people have been replaced by Dreadlords.", he rasped.
"But where are the real Sin'dorei? Where is my Prince? What have those devils done to them?", Thalia was on the brink of tears. She was certain that they all died horribly at the hands of the Dreadlords.
"I believe I can answer that, Elf", a menacing voice hissed behind her. The two Elves jumped around and came face to face with "Kael'thas" and his council. Telarius growled and removed his warglaives while Thalia shifted into her shadow form.
"I have to admit that you had me fooled, clever little Priestess. I honestly believed that I had pulled the wool over your eyes and you believed that I was your Prince. But luckily for me and very unlucky for you, my loyal minions searched the records and discovered that you and the Prince are not strangers. In fact, you were his concubine for almost a century, a position you will soon resume after I break you.
"I was his consort, demon. Not that filth such as you can recognize the difference. What have you done to my Prince and my kin?", Thalia growled at the impostor.
"Not as much as I hoped to do unfortunately. It only took us a day to overwhelm the forces of Tempest Keep. Your Prince though very successful in decimating our ranks here in Netherstorm while researching its magical energies, he worked himself and his people to exhaustion. All we needed to do was possess an overworked engineer as he repaired a conduit outside the keep, to give us access inside. He unknowingly deactivated the wards of the fortress and we fell upon your kind like felfire. Arcatraz, the Mechanar and the Botanica fell in a matter of hours. The Magi amongst their ranks seeing the futility of their situation, teleported everyone at the Eye to join your Prince in defending his last bastion. We had them cornered at the bridge, where he and his Magisters magically barricaded and sealed the two entrances. By the time we broke through, they were gone. The cowards had portalled out of Netherstorm. To where? Only Sargeras knows. But one thing's for certain. They could not return to Shadowmoon Valley or anywhere else in Outland. As a matter of fact all of Azeroth is also blocked from their magic. We made sure of that, after you brethren was quick to abandon their posts and teleported or portalled at the Eye. "Live to fight another day." Isn't that your motto? They are now wondering the Great Beyond with no way to return home. We made certain of that. Kael'thas may have robbed us from the opportunity to break him and your kin to our will, but we had robbed him from the chance to ever see his home again. They would have served us well with their powerful magic and ingenuity. They were all cunning warriors of different specializations and talents, led by a genius, whose power can only be surpassed by that of the Betrayer's. I must admit, your Prince was indeed a force to be reckoned with. No matter though. The damage I failed to inflict upon him in person, I accomplished by destroying his reputation. You see, he pledged allegiance to that mongrel Illidan and by doing so, he sealed his fate. He aided him into sealing our portals to this world, he allowed many of your kind to become Demon Hunters, bolstering thus the Betrayer's forces. He assigned a significant amount of his forces to that mongrel who were utilized to decimate our ranks in Shadowmoon Valley and used the rest to do the same here. But your Prince's biggest crime, was his part in the destruction of our world. Had he not allowed so many of your kin to become Demon Hunters, the Betrayer would not have succeeded in destroying Nathreza. Now he and everyone else will believe that Kael'thas has betrayed them all and joined the Legion. Whatever is left of your keen will be treated with distrust and disdain and I will plunge them into civil war as an added insult. Your Prince's name will be known in infamy, it will become synonymous with betrayal and your kin will curse him until the end of their days. And that end will come sooner than later, for I will ensure that what Arthas failed to do six years ago, the Horde and the Alliance will in a few months. They will exterminate your kind for your "betrayal", we will incriminate your council, by making it appear as if they were all complacent to Kael'thas' plans. Two of your council have already incriminated themselves by using Mu'uru 's power to fuel their magic and create those fake Paladins you call Blood Knights. I had agents placed within the Exodar disguised as Blood Elves who wreaked havoc at the Draenei's new home on Azeroth. And that mongrel Illidan will pay for his insolence and for failing our lord Kil'jaeden twice. What the Betrayer built these past six years in Outland has already crumbled to dust and in a matter of days he will have lost everything he has fought for. Gruul is dead, Vashj is dead", Thalia raised her eyebrows in surprise at that.
"Didn't you know that, little Priestess? The Horde and Alliance fools attacked her stronghold and left none alive. The Betrayer is now left without any allies. "Kael'thas" has betrayed him and will "perish" soon and all the mortal forces of Outland and Azeroth are marching against him, lead by those vile Naaru creatures. And when he is finally dead, he will face eternal torment at the hands of our master, Kil'jaeden. Perhaps he will turn him into a wraith like he did with Ner'zul. Who knows. Whatever he's planning for him will not be pleasant. And the destruction of our world will finally be avenged.", the fake Kael'thas grinned, causing Thalia to push down the bile that was threatening to come out her mouth.
"Your plans will fail, demon. I will warn Lord Illidan, A'dal and the whole Azeroth about your vile plans. And you will fail once again.", Thalia hissed and called upon the powers of the Void to Vanquish the foul demon who orchestrated the annihilation of her entire species. "Kael'thas" laughed malevolently and transformed before their very eyes into his true form, his minions following suit.
"I am the Dreadlord Mephistoph, gaze upon me and despair", he cackled and took a step towards the Priestess. Only to be stopped at his tracks by Telarius' "eye-beam", as Thalia set mind benders upon the demon and his minions, followed by consecutive "pain" spells that summoned dozens of shadowy apparitions from the void who fell upon the demons like locust. Dread lords were no strangers to the void, being creatures of the shadow realm themselves, so Thalia's spells had no real impact on them. They merely brushed off their effect and moved towards her laughing. 'Crap, I forgot about that', Thalia bit her lip and shifted out of her shadow form and called upon the powers of the Light, while Telarius "fel-rushed" Mephistoph and performed the "Blade-Dance", a maneuver which dealt significant damage to the demon lord as well as his minions. But that did not slow their advance enough. With a growl of frustration, he performed a "Vengeful Retreat" while Thalia casted a "Holy Nova", that caused significant damage on the lesser Dreadlords, but not Mephistoph. They were two against five, and more demons were approaching their position, the two Elves realized too late the direness of their situation. Not only there was no chance in fel to vanquish Mephistoph and his minions, but odds of escaping with their lives were slim to null.
"Thalia, you need to go. Warn Lord Illidan and the others, I'll hold them off. Trust in Lord Illidan's plan, he is our only hope. Eshnu' Falah' Nah, sister.", he rasped and summoned the Netherdrake with an ear piercing whistle. The great beast landed hard on the ground flapping its wings at the dread lords and throwing them away from Thalia. Before the Priestess could protest, Telarius lifted her off the ground and placed her on the back of the drake. He slapped the beast's hide and it kicked off the ground with great speed. With an ear-splitting roar, the Demon Hunter "Fel-Rushed" at the advancing Nathrezim, and casted another "Blade Dance", in order to keep them away from Thalia and the drake. He realized the futility of his attempt, but he had to give Thalia a chance. And against all odds, Fortune smiled upon the two Elves that day. Portals, the likes of which he had never seen before opened behind the Nathrezim. Unlike the Arcane blue or the fel green portals he was used to, these ones were pitch black as if all light ended in there and died. And out of the maws of those Void pockets came armed Ethereals, who promptly began to attack the Nathrezim.
"These vile creatures destroyed this land. We may not be able to destroy them all today, but we can at least thwart one of their plans, their leader roared, and Telarius recognized him as the Ethereal who spoke to Thalia and him when they first came to Netherstrom.
"You are all most welcome to join the fight, brother. Thank you. Let's teach these creatures a lesson they will never forget in the ages to come.", the Demon Hunter grinned and "Fel-Rushed" the demons again.
Approaching the edge of the world fast and Thalia needed to make a choice. Should she steer the great beast East and return to the Black Temple via the Blades Edge Mountains and Terrokar forest, or cut through the terrifying void that separated Netherstrom and Hellfire peninsula? 'The stakes have never been higher, I need to cross the Void or die trying, the fate of my race is in my hands.", the Priestess bit her lip took a deep breath and urged the drake to move forward and fly into the void. She knew that if she continued into that heading, she will eventually reach Hellfire Peninsula. What she didn't know was how long she would have to fly into the absolute darkness of the void to reach the "Throne of Kil'jaeden". There was no turning back anymore, the land behind her disappeared and she was now enveloped into the shadows of the Dark Beyond. She could only move forward now. As the darkness thickened and embraced her and the Netherdrake, Thalia could only do one thing. Repeat the same mantra:
"Blessed Light, give me strength, guide me through this darkness and deliver me to safety so I can save my people..."
Author's Note:OK, I know I know I've stirred from canon a lot, but it just doesn't sit right for me that Kael'thas suddenly turned evil after Warcraft 3, became KJ's bitch and did all those things. So I decided to go with that scenario. As for the Elves of Eclipse and Firewing Points, this is from their POV, so of course, they would seem nice. After all, think about who gave us the quest to kill them all. Voren'thal and some Ashtongue Deathsworn at Shadowmoon Valley that I can't recall his name. Akama's tribe. So forgive me if I just don't believe those two guys.
I don't remember where I read it, but someone said that the destruction of the Cenarion Thicket was a result of pieces of the Exodar falling from the sky, as the Draenei were fleeing Outland, so I chose to blame its destruction on the Dreadlords instead of Kael, Pathaleon, and Sharth Voldoon.
We don't really know if it was Illidan himself that ordered Vashj to drain the all the water at Zangarmarsh, or it was by her own initiative, so I chose the later.
"ANAR'ALAH BELORE ANARAL SHINDU SIN'DOREI!", roughly translates into "By the Light of the Sun, rise fallen Children of Blood...well, at least in my books. And if Anduin can mass-ress the entire Alliance army, so can Thalia...lol