Disclaimer - I do not own Warcraft

Illidan was in complete confusion. The last thing he remembered was an earthquake interrupting his battle with Azshara before everything went black. 'If that's the case, then is this the afterlife?' he wondered to himself as he sat up on the bed. He observed the room once more, this time more carefully. He found that it suited his tastes which led him to suspect that he was the one who arranged the room. It looked eerily similar to the one he had when he was with the highborne except this room is much wider, almost as if it was meant for two people. What he found interesting is that there were belongings in the room that he knew wasn't his

Turning his view to a balcony, Illidan's eyes widened. He could see some leaves outside right below the balcony. He decided to gather some more clues as to where he was and walked to the balcony and a hint of nostalgia and anger hit him. The view reminded him very much of Zin Azshari. He was slightly angry at the possibility that this might be Zin Azshari as the last thing he wants is to experience the War of the Ancients all over again. He heard the door open and his blood froze when he realized who had entered due to the voice

"Oh, you're finally awake. I was starting to get worried."

"Vashj?" Illidan said, turning around in complete surprise. His thoughts was confirmed when he laid eyes on who the individual was. Even after ten thousand years, he still remembered what she looked like

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Vashj said as she took off her coat that looked like it was made out of leaves and hanged it by the door. She went over to join him in the balcony. "I'm sorry about that remark. I'm just really glad you're awake. You've been out for nearly a week now."

Illidan was surprised at what he heard. Throughout all his life, he has never been unconscious for that long. The only ones who would have been able to do so chose not to, namely Azshara and some of the highest ranking Burning Legion demons. He was fairly confident that not even Xavius would be able to do that to him as Azshara had taught him exactly how her advisor operates. "What exactly happened to me?" he asked

"Do you remember anything at all?" Vashj asked, wanting to know that before answering. Illidan did not answer her question. "I was afraid of this but at least you still remember who I am." she said in a sad tone which he picked up on. "Around six days ago, the power of the Well of Eternity grew unstable and threatened to tear apart the world. It was soon discovered that Xavius wanted the power of the Well for himself."

'The Well?' Illidan thought in confusion

"Fortunately, Malygos found out what he was up to and with the help of the other Dragon Aspects, was able to stop Xavius. However, in the chaos, you were hit by an arcane blast and knocked unconscious. I was told that if you woke up, you might have lost some, if not all, of your memories. That is why I am relieved that you still remember me." Vashj said with a sigh as she leaned into him

The former half demon couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was well aware that Xavius was the one responsible for attracting Sargeras' attention. 'Does that mean that the War of the Ancients could have happened only a week ago?' he wondered to himself. "What about Queen Azshara?"

Now, it was Vashj's turn to be surprised and she grew worried once more. "Azshara? She has been dead for nearly six thousand years, Illidan."

'What? Where in the hell am I?' Illidan wondered to himself. Azshara, the one who trained him and one of the most powerful beings that walked this world was dead. Age meant nothing to a night elf then that means that the war against the Burning Legion never happened

"Come." Vashj said as she grew an idea

"To where?" Illidan asked as he was dragged to the door

"Outside. I'm worried about you, Illidan. I'm very happy that you remember me but that event has caused your memories to be groggy. Let's take a stroll outside and maybe it will refresh your memories." Vashj suggested as she tossed him a cloak. "Come on. I'll tell you the details while we're out."

'Groggy memories is right. I don't even know a single thing about this reality.' Illidan thought to himself as they went out. While following her, he noticed that their room was at the top floor of the palace, something that reminded him of his fortress in Silvermoon where his own personal chambers were at the peak courtyard similar to Magtheridon's temple

Vashj led them towards a beautiful garden in the back. When Illidan laid eyes on it, the view along with the what he saw on the way here, confirmed that this was in fact Zin Azshari. He knew this garden like the back of his hand as this was one of the places in which Azshara had trained him years prior in stealth. Since this place isn't too far away from the palace, Azshara decided to train him in this place to provide a more immediate challenge for Illidan to figure out how to be as stealthy as possible

"I always enjoyed this garden." Illidan commented and Vashj merely smiled at this

"You used to train in this place with Queen Azshara, in plain sight, and no one even noticed." Vashj said much to Illidan's relief in that some things remained the same. "Six thousand years ago, Xavius made contact with a being named Sargeras and his army, the Burning Legion." she began to explain while they sat in an area that had grass but not flowers. "A war was nearly started then and creatures that are not from this world began to lay waste to the forests. These outworldly creatures were referred to simply as 'demons' and Xavius let them into our world when Azshara was away and locked us out of the palace. We got lucky, very lucky, as Azshara found out about this before the demons could do too much damage and she was able to forcefully enter the palace with a small group which included you, your brother and the Dragon Aspects. Xavius was injured during the battle but managed to flee in the confusion but Azshara entered the portal that Xavius had opened and crossed over to the other side. A massive explosion happened on the other side but the portal closed before it could reach our world. I don't know what happened to her but no one has seen or heard from Azshara since then and has been assumed dead ever since." she reminded him

Illidan listened to all of this in shock. The important event was still there but it was drastically altered from what he knows. "I'm sorry. I forgot about all that." he said while looking down

"Hey, look at me." Vashj said as she held his chin so that he will look at her. "It's alright, I promise. I was more scared about the possibility that you might have lost your memories, all of them." she said and hugged him close. She then decided to finish the story. "Xavius has been hunted down by nearly everyone but he was cunning enough to evade all efforts to track him and in the meantime, he was plotting in absorbing all of the Well's power. It almost worked but thanks to Neltharion and Malygos, we were able to put an end to him but you and many others were struck by energy coming from the Well itself. Many died while only a small handful survived, you among them. Malygos had predicted that it was entirely possible that if you and the others who were struck woke up, you could have lost some, if not, all of your memories."

"I see." Illidan replied before he looked at the ground in deep thought and in complete surprise that Neltharion was not driven insane. He was not entirely sure if this world was real or not but he could not sense any lies or hostility from her. Even though he did not remember the last six thousand years, he was confident that he knew her well enough to tell when she was being dishonest. "Who began to rule over the kingdom ever since Azshara disappeared?"

"After Azshara's disappearance and Xavius' treachery, the ruling of the kingdom was left to her handmaidens, specifically to my mother, as the Queen did not have a successor. My mother died of illness three thousand years ago and that..." Vashj trailed off and looked at him

"Left the kingdom to you, to us." he finished. Beginning to accept that this might really be the afterlife and that Azshara had really killed him, Illidan picked up a flower and gave it to Vashj. "Well, and I'm willing to guess we spend a lot of time here." he said and for the first time in thousands of years, Illidan actually felt at home. For a while, he recalled the memory of his first day of training with Azshara

Illidan walked into the forests near Mfelume Village, which he found ironic since this is where it all began. He eventually found Azshara gazing off into the sky

"You finally arrived." Azshara said before turning to face him. "Listen, Illidan. Before we begin, I want to talk to you about resolve." she said and Illidan looked at her curiously. "Illidan, the most important thing that I can teach you is that life is never, ever fair. If you think you will not be punished because you did nothing wrong then you are sorely mistaken. No matter how much good you do, tragedy will strike sooner or later. If you do not have the inner resolve to move forward regardless of what happens to you, then you might as well give up. If you do decide to train with me, you must do so to the very end and if you turn back midway during training, I will kill you."

XXXXXX

Unknown Lands, Two Days Later

A small group of Scourge forces led by Altruis have landed in the lands that was revealed after Northrend's destruction. There were only ten of them and they only consisted of four death knights and four dark rangers along with Kayn and Altruis

"So, Altruis, what are we to do?" Sally Whitemane asked. All of them knew their main mission but wanted to know the specific details

"Avoid being seen unless absolutely necessary. For now, our only objective is to familiarize ourselves with the area. The Alliance and Horde will make their way here sooner or later. We need to be able to keep an eye on them and know whatever information they find." Altruis responded

"Is that why you chose to bring along those of us who still have most of our bodies intact?" Rivendare asked

"Indeed. Illysanna has agreed to let the mortals deal with whatever they find in this place but it should go without saying that none of us trust them at all. Which is why even if we get spotted, then we won't look hostile but as much as possible, stay hidden." Altruis said and all of the undead left, leaving only the demon hunters that came

"It's creepy." Kayn answered and that was not what the others were expecting. "I'm gonna go ahead and say that no one has been here except for any potential natives. We don't know what's out there and something about this place gives me the creeps."

"That's a good point. We will need to be very careful while we scavenge this place." Altruis agreed, much his companions' surprise. He then began to recall when the Scourge high command gathered after the meeting in Stonetalon Peak

The Scourge high command gathered in their fortress in Silvermoon not even half a day after the meeting in Stonetalon Peak

"Before we plan our next move, what are you doing here, Malygos?" Kel'thuzad asked suspiciously, being well aware that they would go their separate ways after Deathwing was dealt with

The blue dragons with him were offended by the lich's bluntness and were about to retort when Malygos raised his hand. Surprisingly, he was very calm about all this. "Do not be offended by what Kel'thuzad says. Remember, our deal with the Scourge was only to last until we dealt with Deathwing." he reminded his fellow dragons. "If it is alright with you..." he said while looking at Illysanna and Kel'thuzad, the two highest ranking Scourge members after Illidan. "I would like for the rest of the Blue Dragonflight to continue working with the rest of the Scourge."

"Spellweaver, you cannot be serious about this?" a blue dragon raged but Malygos chose not to respond

"And what exactly is your motivation for staying with us?" Illysanna asked

"Illidan sees things as 'what would you choose? Seeing our world destroyed or enslaved?' and given what we have witnessed, we all know what the more sensible choice would be. I criticized him about this but nonetheless kept my end of the bargain. However, after witnessing and experiencing what had transpired in Northrend, his thought process makes sense. While I do not necessarily agree with it, I agree with letting in the mortals in our goals. That way, if they find a more reasonable way to deal with the Old Gods, then we can do it their way but should the worst come to pass, someone has to be willing to do what is necessary, for the sake of all of creation." Malygos began to explain before revealing something that he had realized. "These Old Gods seek to corrupt Azeroth herself, a Titan. The very beings who have shaped the universe as we know it. It should go without saying that none of us want Azeroth to suffer the same fate as Neltharion. If they succeed, there is no telling what a corrupted Titan would do. Illidan's war is not to save Azeroth nor is it to protect life. His goal is simply to ensure that Azeroth, and by extension, the rest of creation, does not fall under the control of the Old Gods nor the Burning Legion even if that means he has to destroy this world himself."

All the Scourge commanders listened intently to the dragon aspect's explanation. Even the other blue dragons listened to his reasoning as it became evident that none of them had the full details of Malygos' understanding

"That does not exactly give us any reason to accept. If you understand Illidan's goal but not agree, why even bother to continue working with us?" Kor'vas pointed out

"Because with you, I will be able to accomplish and discover so much more than I ever will with anyone else. Neltharion was my closest friend outside of my flight yet I failed to realize that he was being manipulated. I refuse to let that happen again. It is obvious that Illidan will go to any lengths just to ensure that Azeroth does not become the Legion's nor the Old Gods' slave. By staying with you, I can ensure that Illidan's drastic view on things will only be acted upon when absolutely necessary and not before, for all our sakes." Malygos explained

"He does make a good point. We have sworn to follow Illidan to the very end but I too would like our world to survive unless we are left with absolutely no other choice." Altruis said

"I can agree. Malygos would also prove to be a great asset in our efforts and more importantly, consistently provide us with a different perspective in our goals. Naturally, this works both ways." Drak'thul said while looking at Malygos for the last sentence

Silence then took over as the Scourge began communicating between themselves on what to do

"Alright, Malygos. You can stay with us but we'll be keeping a close eye on you and the moment you go out of line, we'll kill you and the rest of your dragonflight." Illysanna threatened in a very serious tone

"This decision may be changed once Lord Illidan awakens so keep that in mind." Kel'thuzad added

"I understand." Malygos said without any hints of anger in his voice. The other dragons wanted to object but as the aspect was explaining his reasonings, the more it made sense. With the Scourge's help, they can ensure that they discover more about their world and act appropriately as when compared to the constant disagreements with the other dragonflights

"Moving on..." Agatha said before looking at Illysanna. "You don't really trust the mortals with this, do you, Illysanna?"

"Of course not. That was merely to get them out of our hair. With all of our strongholds, it could end up being problematic if we are forced to stretch ourselves too thin. The only reason I agreed to let them help is so that they can find out what those unknown lands holds and deal with it for us." Illysanna answered back with a scoff. "Besides, they may be naive in thinking that there will be peace after the Battle of Mount Hyjal but they're not stupid enough to just let us do as we please. Sooner or later, they will find out about the lands and I don't want to end up fighting them unnecessarily."

"That makes sense. If they get caught up in whatever they might find, then they'll be the one to lose resources and not us. it puts us in an advantageous position regardless of what happens." Kel'thuzad commented. "You also have a very good point about them trying to do something."

"Indeed." Illysanna said before looking at her best friend. "Kor'vas, do we still have eyes and ears in Kalimdor?"

"We do and I brought more shades when we were on the way to that meeting in Stonetalon Peak." Kor'vas answered

"Good. Ensure that we know exactly when they leave to explore those lands." she ordered. Kor'vas nodded and Illysanna looked at another demon hunter. "Altruis, I want you to head to those lands as soon as you can. Do not do anything to reveal ourselves to any local creatures unless you have no choice."

"So, I take it the only goal is to scout the lands?" Altruis asked

"Yes. We need to be familiar with the area before the mortals do if we are to keep a close eye on them. Also, take note to mark specific spots that would make for a good place for us to station some shades and if possible, familiarize yourself with the kind of magic the locals have." Illysanna answered and Altruis nodded in understanding. "I'll leave it to you then." she instructed before looking at the lich. "How many of the gunships do we still have?"

"Counting the ones we have captured from Outland, we only have eight. We were only able to rebuild three of the gunships as we had to focus on building our strongholds. The other five were the ones you managed to steal from the Legion." Kel'thuzad answered

"That's fine. Make sure that there are at least two gunships that would be able to reach Altruis in less than half a day if he needs it." Illysanna instructed and the lich nodded

"But what about the Emerald Dream? Surely it could prove to be a problem." Ymiron pointed out

"True but Ysera should be on it by now. We don't know enough about the Emerald Dream for us to act on it and we might just end up playing into the Old Gods' hands. It's better if we leave it to the Night Elves and the Green Dragonflight. Instead, I want you and Malygos to return to the Broken Isles and gather as many relics or information as you can. There is still much we do not know about that place." Illysanna said before looking at the val'kyr's leader. "Agatha, for you, I want you to find out which one of the elementals still serve the Old Gods and a way to break open the elemental planes without causing anything out of the ordinary."

"I must warn you that in wiping the elementals could have a disastrous effect. I am not certain of this but it is in the realm of possibilities. In which case, we might as well kill the elemental lord and have someone who rejects the Old Gods be the next ruler." Agatha said

"That's fine. We'll also need to reinforce all our coastal bases while keeping a closer eye over our territory. The forces that Azshara brought to Northrend came from the sea and it will be difficult for us to rely on finding landing spots as they can simply swim underwater and surface wherever they please." Illysanna said the last thing on her mind. "Kel'thuzad, I want you to manage the setting up of defenses and Drak'thul, I want you to be the one to create some sort of spells that would alert us to their presence before they get anywhere close." she ordered and both individuals gave an affirmative response. "Alright, that's all. Move out as soon as you are able to."

"What about us?" Kor'vas asked when they were alone with Maiev, who has surprisingly kept her silence

"You and I will take the first shift in training Vandel." Illysanna replied before looking at the former warden. "Maiev, for now, you take charge of keeping an eye on the mortals."

"Alright." Maiev replied

"What's on your mind, Altruis?" Kayn asked when he noticed him drifting off

Altruis was pulled from his thoughts upon hearing his comrade's voice. "It's nothing too significant. Just thinking about what Illysanna had said. Let's go. The mortals should be here soon enough." he said and the two of them left. "The two of us will head to the western area of this place. We need to make sure we are out of sight when the mortals get here so each of us will take turns in observing far out into the sea."

Theramore Isle

Ever since the battle against Deathwing ended, the Alliance have made repairs to their damaged home and after hearing about the unknown continent, they mainly focused on their damaged ships so they can explore the continent

"So, are you sure about this?" Kael asked as the group that they would send to the continent gathered

"I am. Alleria and myself shall take point and secure us a foothold. Once we have that, we shall move deeper inland." Turalyon answered

"Just as insurance, I shall accompany you." Khadgar added

"Very well then. The Horde and our second wave shall come as soon as we are able to." Arthas said

"Let's get this show on the road." Alleria said after saying her goodbyes to her sisters before moving to her son. "We'll be back soon, Arator."

"I wish I could come, mother." Arator said sadly

"It's too dangerous for you to come with us, my son." Turalyon said

"It's alright, Arator. Your mother will return home safely." Kael said, trying to reassure the kid

"Thank you, Prince Kael'thas." Arator said gratefully before his parents boarded the ships

A small fleet of four ships then set sail towards the direction the Scourge had provided beforehand. They would have taken more but the four ships they had now were the only ones they were able to repair. They had taken enough supply for a seven day trip as none of them knew how long it would take. Some time into their trip, Turalyon motioned for Alleria to speak with her in private

"Alleria, what do you think about all this?" Turalyon asked when they were in a room

"It could be a trap. The Scourge know how to play their cards and put us at a disadvantage." Alleria answered

"As I thought. I do not trust the undead." Turalyon said

"Why is that?" Alleria asked

"Wait, do you really trust them?" Turalyon asked

"I don't, not entirely anyway." Alleria answered and surprised Turalyon. "It is very obvious that Illidan does not care what happens to this world but at the same time, I just don't think we have the resources necessary to take on the Old Gods on our own."

"That's why I don't trust them. I am still skeptical about how Thrall was willing to agree with their terms." Turalyon said

"It was the most reasonable choice. The undead have far more resources than us and would be able to move against our enemies a lot sooner than we would. By agreeing to Illysanna's terms, Thrall has ensure that we bought ourselves some time." Alleria pointed out

"Makes sense. However, this arrangement makes me feel very uneasy. I'm starting to think that Illysanna is more dangerous than Illidan." Turalyon said and Alleria raised an eyebrow in curiosty. "At least with Illidan, we can predict what he will do. He does not seem the type to want to justify his actions so we can make educated guesses on what his next move might be. Illysanna however, willingly confronted us. I think that she knew that at least one of us would react that way and put us in a position where we get in the middle of the crossfire or we sit back and suffer the side effects. Whichever one we choose, it favors the Scourge."

Alleria took a few moments to analyze what her husband had said. "I actually think you're right. Illysanna might actually be more cunning than Illidan himself. She purposefully took advantage of the distrust that we all had about him and used it to ensure that we would not be able to interfere."

"That demon is also very cunning himself. He enacted his plans just a little over a year after the Legion was defeated in Mount Hyjal knowing full well that no one would be interested in another war." Turalyon pointed out

"What exactly are you trying to say, Turalyon?" Alleria asked

"I'm saying that we need to take out Illidan somehow." Turalyon finally got to the heart of the matter

Alleria's eyes widened at this. While she herself was distrustful of the undead, that idea was completely unfeasible within the forseeable future. The Night Elves have been occupied with cleansing their forests from the Legion's corruption while both the Alliance and Horde have focused on building settlements for their people. The Scourge on the other hand, have been gearing up for war ever since. "Turalyon, are you insane? Why would you even want to go to war with someone who has no interest in fighting us? Have you forgotten that the Scourge is willing to leave us alone unless we provoke them? Are you even considering the possibility that they told us of this because they don't want to fight us if we found out about this on our own?"

"So, you really think that they're genuine allies? That they're someone we should trust?" Turalyon countered

"No, I did not say that and I would be lying if I said that I'm fine with having our home under their control. But Turalyon, now is not the time for that. My sister, Arthas and even the Dragon Aspects believe that Illidan has a point which is why we're all willing to put aside our differences to fight a common enemy. Even if we're not and we chose to go to war with him, we would lose, badly, and we would only end up fueling his army. Don't forget, we do not possess the logistics required for us travel across the sea and the Draenei's ships simply aren't enough for us to fully invade the Eastern Kingdoms. The Dragons might be willing to help but that's a bit of a stretch, too much actually." Alleria argued back before noticing something. 'Turalyon, what has gotten into you? This should be more or less similar to the Orcs when we arrived in Outland but this...'

Turalyon merely frowned as this was not the kind of response he expected. He was about to lash out before he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "You are right, Alleria but even then, I still think Illidan has to answer for he's done."

"I agree and the time for that will come soon enough but it won't be just to us that he will answer. It will be to the Night Elves and Dragons as well." Alleria said reassuringly. 'Assuming of course that he doesn't just kill us.' she thought to herself. "The biggest thing we have to worry about is that all of us who reside on Kalimdor which includes the Night Elves and the Horde, have to fully agree in fighting the Scourge. If even one of us isn't willing then Illidan will just exploit that very easily."

"I understand. I just wanted to speak with you about it." Turalyon said with a sigh

"It's alright, Turalyon. Believe me, I'm sure that all of us have similar thoughts on this." Alleria said while putting a hand on his shoulder. Turalyon put one of his hands over hers before leaving. 'This is very strange. Turalyon is usually an understanding kind of person and he knows to keep his emotions in check when in a war. I don't believe this is him simply being homesick either. Something definitely isn't right.' she thought before she walked out and leaned on a railing. 'Sylvanas has experienced Illidan's war firsthand and believes that it is preferable to side with him than his enemies, something that the Dragon Aspects seem to agree with. There's also the fact that he knows a lot more than we do so even if we wage war on him, we need to know what he knows first. This does leave the most important question though, why did he just leave Kalimdor alone? It would be completely to his benefit to have everyone simply join his army. Could something be in Kalimdor that only he knows about? Regardless, this is one factor that cannot be ignored but it'll have to wait.'

Northrend

In the raging waters in the aftermath of the continent's destruction, a familiar figure suddenly surfaced. The individual observed the surroundings, taking careful note of the random floating frozen rocks. The individual grinned at what was the continent has been reduced to

There really isn't much else for me to explain here in the notes. Everything is pretty straightforward as it is about arriving in Pandaria. I'm not gonna comment on anything about what Illidan is witnessing as I don't want to spoil just exactly what it is that's happening with him although you probably have an idea what it is about. Also, no, I'm not gonna give any clues as to who that individual in Northrend is and you're not gonna find out until much later