Disclaimer - I do not own Warcraft
Theramore Isle
With the Horde having sent their own expedition a few hours earlier, it was time for the Alliance to send in their own reinforcements. Within this second expedition, Jaina, Arthas, Nathanos and Sylvanas would join in and rendezvous with the space that Alleria and Turalyon should have secured and create a forward base
"Everything's ready." Sylvanas said as the zeppelins that the Horde lent them were finally finished. They chose not to use zeppelins for Turalyon's group as they were bringing in more supplies than the second groups was. "Try not to get into a fight with the Horde or the Scourge, Prince Kael." she teased
"I'll try but no promises." Kael said with a smirk on his face
"Take care of yourself, alright, little sister?" Sylvanas said as she walked to her
"You know me, sister." Vereesa responded
"Alright, let's go, before the Scourge decides to change their minds about this." Arthas said and soon enough, they left, only six hours after the Horde sent their group. "Falric, Marwyn, for now, you stay behind, alright? Protect our homes."
"Yes, my lord." both men replied in unison
Mount Hyjal
At Mount Hyjal, Nordrassil suddenly began to slowly pale with branches falling off in various areas of the tree. This did not go unnoticed by the night elves who quickly went to check what was going on. A few minutes later, a portal to the Emerald Dream suddenly opened at the bottom of the tree and came out Eranikus and Merithra
"Eranikus? Merithra? What's going on?" Tyrande asked, hoping that her fears would not be confirmed
"It was a trap. All of it." Merithra said before the corruption began to take hold of the tree. "Come on. Let's move. We need to get out of here, now!" she said urgently and before any night elf could object, she took them in her claws, making sure that they weren't squeezed too tight and flew straight towards the main sentinel base
"Priestess Tyrande? What is so urgent?" Shandris asked worriedly when she noticed the look on the dragons with them. Tyrande also looked at the dragons expectantly as she wasn't informed of it yet
"I don't know the details but we managed to locate what appeared to be the source of the Emerald Nightmare however, turned out to be a trap to lure in Lady Ysera, Malfurion and Cenarius and corrupt them. We barely managed to escape but it is safe to assume that the rest of the Green Dragonflight has fallen under its influence." Eranikus explained and horrified all the night elves. As if hearing Cenarius was back wasn't enough, the demigod was also corrupted
"We were fortunate that after it has corrupted its targets, the corruption began to significantly slow down. We need to get out of here and regroup before the corruption claims us as well." Merithra finished the story
"Wait, you want us to just leave?" Naisha asked in complete surprise
"Yes, we have one of the artifacts that Lady Ysera made to make them immune to the corruption but we do not know how, but the corruption managed to bypass it." Eranikus explained while holding up a dragonscale
"When we were making our escape, we noticed that Lady Ysera, Cenarius and Malfurion were pierced by what appeared to be crystals. I suspect that those crystals being directly in their bodies is what allowed the corruption to negate the Dragonscale's effects." Merithra explained. "This is why we should get out of here. We will need outside help in order to fight the corruption."
"Priestess?" Shandris asked with uncertainty while Tyrande was in complete disbelief
It took a few minutes before Tyrande could even recollect herself and actually concentrate. "As much as I hate to admit it, Eranikus and Merithra are right. We don't know enough about the corruption for us to recklessly stand our ground. We may end up being corrupted ourselves if we do." she declared before looking at the dragons. "Who else would know how to deal with this corruption?" she asked
"Lady Alexstrasza should have some idea but I doubt it will be enough. We will need the help of some of the mortals to figure this out. Maybe Thrall or his shamans can help." Merithra replied
"In that case, we need to travel to Durotar as soon as we can." Tyrande said right before the corruption finally took hold of Nordrassil. A gateway was soon created and this time, two corrupted green dragons came out while the corruption began to affect the ground itself
The night elves looked at what was happening and realized that the dragons had a very good point. This corruption was far too unknown for them to fight at this very moment
"Quickly, evacuate the forest. Get as many people as you can out of here or the corruption will claim you as well! Move as far to the south as you can!" Shandris yelled out once she saw one of the larger branches fall off from the World Tree. "Let's try and see if we can hold off these creatures in the borders between the forests and the barrens."
All the sentinels quickly moved to spread the word. It became clear that some things just did not at up. The Emerald Nightmare was taking over the land at a very slow pace, something that was the opposite of how it corrupted the Dream, although the same couldn't be said for the Nightmare creatures. Fortunately for them, the Nightmare creatures couldn't spread the corruption, the lesser ones at least as only the more powerful ones can corrupt another being
Many of the night elves that weren't part of the sentinels were surprised at the sudden order. While many wanted to object, they eventually yielded as they knew that Tyrande wouldn't order such a thing without good reason
Eventually, the sentinel base came under attack by the corrupted treants and spiders. The night elves tried to fend them off but soon, it became clear that the Nightmare forces weren't trying to kill them. They were merely trying to knock them unconscious so that the more powerful Nightmare minions could corrupt them
"There's so many of them." a sentinel said
"Retreat. Everyone, retreat, now." Shandris said and even Tyrande listened to her
"Merithra, we need to split up. You go inform the Bronze Dragons and inform them of what is happening. This crisis could spread far beyond than just Ashenvale Forest." Eranikus warned after killing some of the Nightmare creatures
"I understand." Merithra said before looking at Tyrande. "Priestess, you should head on ahead to Durotar and inform them of our situation."
Tyrande was uncertain at this as she did not like the idea of just leaving her people to fend for themselves. Shandris noticed this and knew her adoptive mother very well and put her hand on the priestess' shoulder. "It's alright, Tyrande. We need you to inform Thrall personally otherwise we would have little to no credibility. We'll catch up with you as soon as we can."
Still uncertain, Tyrande eventually released a deep breath and agreed. "Alright, be very careful, Shandris." she said. Having already lost her lover to the corruption. She didn't want to lose her adoptive daughter as well, something that Shandris noticed. "Let's go, Eranikus." she said to the green dragon
Durotar
Given the distance in Kalimdor, it did not take more than an hour for Eranikus to arrive in Orgrimmar, where they hoped to find the orc warchief. None of the Horde warriors were the slightest bit threatened by the sight of a green dragon flying above them. Upon finding a clearing, Eranikus landed and Tyrande hopped off him before the dragon transformed into his elven form
"Priestess Tyrande, and a green dragon?" an orc warrior said as he went to greet the group. "To what do we owe the visit?"
"I need to speak with Thrall. The World Tree has been corrupted and I fear that this corruption will spread to all of Kalimdor." Tyrande said
WIth how urgently the night elf was speaking, the orcs couldn't really deny her request. Having been corrupted once already by the Legion, they most certainly don't want to be anyone's slave ever again. "Follow me." the orc said as he led them both towards where Thrall was
The warchief was in the main building of Orgrimmar tending to the deals with the goblins concerning the zeppelins when suddenly, the doors to the room was burst open
"Warchief"! the orc warrior said
"What is it? And Tyrande? What are you doing here?" Thrall asked after noticing the distressed look in her face
"Mount Hyjal has been corrupted, Thrall. Even Ysera is now under the influence of the corruption that the Scourge told us about. I do not know how long but it is more than likely that the Emerald Nightmare would spread to everything that lives here in Kalimdor." Tyrande said with a hint of urgency
Thrall almost immediately dropped whatever it is he was doing as this took top priority. "That means that our expedition to the south will have to fend for themselves." he said before looking around the room. "Vol'jin, would you be able to send a familiar to inform them of what is going on here?"
"Yes, Warchief. I'll send it to dem immediately." Vol'jin said as he left the room
"We would need to tell the Alliance about this. Velen may be able to help us with this since the Draenei have focused on building defenses in preparation for a potential Burning Legion invasion." Thrall suggested
"Then we need to get a move on before the corruption becomes irreparable." Tyrande said and they all left the room. None of the other high ranking Horde members did not object and decided to give orders while Cairne decided to go with the warchief and the priestess
Upon getting outside, they were all greeted by a very surprised Horde by the urgency. "Warchief? What's wrong?" an orc guard asked
"We need to talk to Velen. Kalimdor is in great peril. Sound the horns of war. We may have one sooner than we expected." Thrall said
"But against who, Warchief? Nothing has been happening ever since da undead defeated Deathwing." a troll warrior pointed out
"What we face is something similar to Deathwing." Tyrande answered for Thrall. "We suspect that the masters that Deathwing have also corrupted the Emerald Dream and from there, they are beginning to corrupt our forests. I imagine they would eventually make their way here."
"This corruption shall not claim the Horde." an orc warrior said proudly, ready to fight any attempts to control them again
"Do not underestimate this corruption. It has claimed even a Dragon Aspect." Eranikus warned much to the Horde's surprise. "If Lady Alexstrasza come here, please tell her where we have gone. We will need her help as well."
"Very well, dragon." the orc warrior said
Theramore Isle
Two hours later at where the draenei ships were, the remaining alliance leaders were gathered along with Alexstrasza, Thrall, Tyrande, Eranikus, Merithra and Soridormi. Tyrande's group has already informed them of what has happened and why this was so urgent
"I can't believe it. Ysera is actually corrupted." Soridormi said in complete shock at how easily one of the most powerful dragons has fallen under its influence
"There's no time for us to dwell on that now." Alexstrasza quickly reminded them before looking at Eranikus. "I assume you managed to gather something that could help us?" she asked and Ysera's consort merely grabbed the dragonscale he had on him and handed it to the dragonqueen, who observed the object but had little idea of what it could do. "This is the Dreamglow Dragonscale right? I thought there was only one?" Alexstrasza asked
"There was but from my understanding, Cenarius and Lady Ysera managed to replicate its power in order to shield themselves from the Nightmare." Merithra answered
"This corruption you speak of, this isn't the fault of the undead, is it?" Kael asked curiously
"No, it is not." Merithra answered him. "As a matter of fact, this is on us for not realizing that our own domain was corrupted and that said corruption has reached up to this point. If anything, we owe the undead for informing us of this otherwise I have my doubts it would have been discovered at all."
"At least the undead have done something in our favor." Vereesa commented. "Should we ask for their help on this?"
"Absolutely not. If we ask for their help, I have no doubt that they would agree but at the same time, they would completely destroy our homes." Kael said strictly and in shock that someone would suggest such a thing
"Prince Kael'thas makes a good point. However, regardless of our course of action, we should prepare an immediate evacuation plan should the worst come to pass." Velen suggested
"But where would we even go? I doubt that the Scourge would be willing to allow us into their lands and we still do not have the resources for an full scale evacuation." Rhonin pointed out
"So, I guess our only choice is to stand and fight." Thrall concluded
"Why are we even talking about evacuating? Are we really willing to just let the Nightmare drive us out of our homes, again?" Kael asked and ended the discussion
"Kael'thas is right. But first, we need to find a way to prevent the corruption from affecting us otherwise this would only amount to nothing." Soridormi pointed out
All of them then looked at the green dragons among them, hoping for a plan
"We will need to a sample from a Nightmare creature if we are to have any hope of this otherwise we will never figure out just exactly what this is." Eranikus said eventually. "But I will need the help of your shamans..." he said while looking at Thrall. "As well as yours, Lady Alexstrasza."
"There is also something of note about the corruption." Merithra spoke out, sharing we she learned and said to the sentinels. "The corruption is passed on by tendrils that comes out of the corrupt creatures. If you manage to cut them off, then it may be possible to avoid falling under the Emerald Nightmare's influence."
"At least we have this for now. The rest of us will try and hold the line against the corrupted creatures." Thrall declared
"The rest of my people are right around the borders that separates the barrens from Ashenvale Forest. We will buy you as much time as you need." Tyrande added
"Then we better get to work before it becomes too late." Kael said and they all departed
Mount Hyjal
After the night elves have been driven out of the deeper areas of Ashenvale Forest, Malfurion and Ysera gathered around the World Tree that was slowly being corrupted
"It is only a matter of time before Nordrassil is fully corrupted." Malfurion commented
"The tree's corruption is irrelevant." Ysera said before looking at the corrupted night elf druid. "Would we be able to use the power of the Well of Eternity beneath the tree to bring forth our masters?"
"I am not entirely certain. Only my brother knows the secrets of the Well and most of its power has been used up when I killed Archimonde. It is doubtful there is enough for us to free the masters." Malfurion replied. "What about Azshara's people?"
"It will not work." the voice that was present when the trio were corrupted suddenly spoke. "Azshara has never mentioned the Well's secrets to anyone but Illidan Stormrage. The original plan was to have her use the Well's powers but she has been missing."
"This presents a complication. Getting to my brother will not be easy and we won't just be dealing with the Scourge. The mortals of Kalimdor will fight us as well and it will become a war on two fronts." Malfurion pointed out. "The masters will not be pleased we have hit a dead end."
"We will deal with it when the time comes. Even as we speak, more of us are gathering what we need. For now, bring all of Kalimdor under our control. Only then would we have the necessary forces to challenge the Scourge." the voice declared
"As our masters will it." the duo muttered in unison
Cenarius then walked up to his corrupted allies. "The Night Elves have left the majority of Ashenvale. They are gathering to the south."
"There is no doubt that they will retreat to the Barrens when the battle is lost. Kill them as soon as you are able." the voice ordered. "Ysera, remain here. While I may not know how to manipulate the Well's powers, I know how to drain it. Follow my instructions."
Without so much as a response, the Cenarius and Malfurion left towards southern Ashenvale to do their masters' bidding
At that same time, Shandris and the rest of the sentinels have already made a perimeter in southern Ashenvale and finally began to make their stand. It had been some time since the Nightmare forces have begun the corruption of Nordrassil. Having regrouped, the night elves were able to hold off the Nightmare creatures from spreading more of the corruption elsewhere
The night elves were barely losing any of their soldiers ever since they regrouped. Suddenly, acid rained down from above. The elves looked at the sky and noticed three corrupted green dragons coming their way. The dragons almost immediately broke a small part of the night elves defense. Fortunately for the night elves, they were still dragons and after Shandris managed to shoot an arrow into the eye of one of them, they realized that it wasn't a lost cause
"Kill it! Kill it now!" Shandris yelled out and an ancient walked over and slammed a tree into the neck of the dragon, bringing it down. The ancient then blinded the other eye before one of the sentinels managed to run a poisoned sword at its neck, finally killing it
The dragons in their corrupted state made the fatal mistake of fighting the night elves in close combat in an attempt to devour them. They managed to kill a good number of the night elves but in the end, they were eventually killed. The fact that the night elves also had mountain giants to aid them ensured that it won't be a one sided massacre in favor of the Nightmare
"Why are the dragons only attacking now?" Naisha wondered out loud after the last dragon was finally killed
"Are you really complaining about that now?" one of the sentinels asked
"I am, because if there is a reason as to why the corrupted Green Dragonflight took this long to attack, then there might be something we can use." Naisha answered back
"Naisha has a good point. There is something odd about how the Nightmare is doing this. Maybe their goal is something else entirely." Shandris pointed out
Silvermoon
Kel'thuzad and Drak'thul have come to the main courtyard of the fortress. They have returned to the main fortress some time ago in order to check on their master
"How is he?" Illysanna asked when they met up
"Still the same. His body is fully healed and his power has not waned." Drak'thul answered
"This is bad. He's been out for nearly a week and we still have no clue how to wake him up." Illysanna said
"Things are about to get worse." Kor'vas said as he approached the group, who eyed her curiously. "Maiev has discovered some seals in the Tomb of Sargeras and according to Allari, the energy within them were similar to the demon gates which means that this has something to do with the Burning Legion."
"Yes, that's why I sent Sevis and Candrael along with a small army to maintain eyes on the Tomb." Illysanna replied. "But how does that translate to 'worse'?" she asked and she was curious since Kor'vas was supposed to be training Vandel
Kor'vas was surprised at how quick Illysanna took action but then again, that was in her nature. "Well, that's not what was necessarily worse but it does force us to stretch our forces." she pointed out. "Anyway, that isn't why I stopped training Vandel for. Our shades in the Horde have revealed something. Apparently, the World Tree has been corrupted."
"What?!" the other three said in unison and disbelief
"I don't have the details yet but the shades were able to confirm that Ysera has fallen under the influence of the Emerald Nightmare. With that in mind, I don't think it is unreasonable to assume that Malfurion is corrupted as well." Kor'vas said
"If Ysera has fallen under the corruption's influence, then that would mean that the rest of the Green Dragonflight has been corrupted as well." Kel'thuzad added
"What about Tyrande?" Illysanna asked
"She's fine. From the shades, she was the one who informed Thrall of the corruption along with one of the Green Dragons. By now, I assume that they are planning something to cleanse the corruption." Kor'vas answered
"Pull back all the shades." Illysanna ordered after a while
"What? Why?" Kor'vas asked in confusion
"I don't mean pull them out of Kalimdor, I only want them out of harms way. They might be invisible but I know that the Night Elves have ways to see invisible beings and the mortals might find out that we've been spying on them. Instead, just pull them back to monitor the outer landscape and ensure that if they suspect that the Nightmare's forces can see them, to retreat immediately." Illysanna clarified
"I understand." Kor'vas said before looking at the lich and warlock. "You said that what's going on with Illidan is with his mind. Have you found out anything else?"
"Not much. The only thing we have discovered now is that there is nothing we can do. Illidan seems to be in some sort of, for the lack of a better word, trance. I would dare say that his mind is trapped in an alternate reality but that has yet to be confirmed." Drak'thul answered and it was a cause of immediate concern. They had no idea where Azshara was at this moment and if she was powerful enough to trap Illidan in an alternate reality then their problems just got a lot more complicated. "At this point, the only thing I am certain of is that this is completely in Illidan's hands."
XXXXXX
A few days after Illidan began to find the first clues on what was wrong with his new life, he began sneaking out to gather clues as to what could be the cause of all this. As he expected, Vashj may have proven to be very good in hand to hand combat but she wasn't trained to be sneaky like he was. Her instincts are not as sharp as his own so Illidan was able to sneak out every chance he got without arousing her suspicion. The former demon hunter wondered if part of the reason was because the two of them were really close so there was no reason for Vashj not to trust him if he goes out on his own
The former demon hunter went to one of the places where Azshara had trained him prior. It was where the queen had truly pushed him to his limits in hand to hand combat. 'What are the chances that Vashj is what's keeping me here?' he wondered to himself as he let some slight nostalgia hit him. The area was surrounded by lots of trees so he was not only trained in hand to hand combat but in using the surroundings to his advantage as well. He remembered the times Azshara abused whatever is in the immediate surroundings against her opponent and he was on the receiving end of that
Casting a few spells, Illidan checked for anything out of the ordinary but again, there was none. 'Even here there is nothing.' he thought after his spells revealed nothing. 'Maybe I'm thinking about this all wrong. Is it possible that Azshara is the one responsible for this one? She has been gone for thousands of years so that could very well be the case but she couldn't have done this from a different world. I doubt even Sargeras would be able to do that.' he began to reason. 'I'm missing something here. Assuming that this is an alternate reality or something similar, then that means that my body is unconscious. There's also the fact that I ended up with Vashj and no one else was aware of our attraction to each other. We never made it look more than just two friends hanging out and there was no one on that balcony that could have seen us before I aided the resistance.' he continued to think about his situation with the evidence of his suspicion completely contradicting that of his memories
Noticing that it was already getting dark, Illidan decided to slowly go back to the palace. Everyone is already aware that his memories have returned so he was aware that there was no reason for Vashj to be worried about him, or at the very least, be as worried as when he still did not regained them. While on the way, he recalled another very important lesson that Azshara had taught him about three weeks before they had finished training.
Azshara had once again instructed Illidan to meet her in the forests. It took him a couple hours before he arrived at the designated location and he released a sigh. 'Why am I not surprised that she's not here?' he wondered in annoyance. At this point, whenever their meeting place was empty, Illida knew that it was best to be on guard, or be more on his guard than he already was. He heard a sound behind him and quickly threw a dagger at the direction. A forest troll was behind him and was hit right between the eyes, instantly killed. After the first troll died, seven more appeared. 'At least there is something to do.' he noted and was rather eager to fight them
"Kill da elf!" their apparent leader said. To his surprise, Illidan was on a whole new level of combat skill. They expected this to be an easy ambush and they never expected to fight someone of this caliber
Just as Azshara had taught him before, if he found himself fighting multiple enemies, then the trick is to stay in the middle of their formation. By staying in the middle, Illidan left himself open but at the same time, it would also cause his opponents to think twice about attacking thanks to the possibility that they would end up injuring each other. If they don't care about hurting each other then they'll simply kill each other for you. Of course, one had to be highly agile to even attempt something like this and thanks to Azshara, Illidan's own speed was at its peak
'Azshara really was right. People would actually hesitate to attack if they could end up killing each other.' Illidan noted after dispatching one of the trolls while another gravely injured one of their own. When he saw the trolls hesitate, he took advantage of the opening and finished them off. Only the leader was left standing
"Ya damn elf. Ya will pay for that." the troll said
"Make me." Illidan said and quickly charged at the troll. The two ended in a sword lock. When it appeared that they were even and Illidan took out another dagger. In a panic, the troll tried to shake him off but Illidan simply threw it above, distracting the troll. With that opening, the would be demon hunter kicked his attacker before finally slicing the head off. "If that's what you call training, you need to do better, Azshara." he commented. As he was about to relax, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. 'What? Malfurion? Here?' he asked in surprise. "Brother? Is that you?"
Before Malfurion could respond, a black dragon shot its breath in between the two brothers. Both were forced back as the dragon landed in between them. It quickly tried to attack Illidan but he was able to dodge. Having to fight a larger opponent, Illidan couldn't really fight back until he can find an opening. Malfurion was the one who found that opening and quickly climbed the dragon's tail and managed to wound it. The dragon hissed in pain and with a single swing of its tail, it threw Malfurion right into Illidan, sending them both flying
Illidan was the first to get up. "Damn it." he cursed before looking at his brother. "Malfurion? What in the hell are you doing here?"
Malfurion then slowly got up and groaned. "I was sent here by Cenarius when I heard something happen." he replied. As his brother was about respond, the dragon attacking them suddenly roared. "Why is it attacking us?" he asked but didn't bother to wait for a response as he grew some vines to wrap around it
'That won't hold it for too long.' Illidan thought before coming up with a plan. "Malfurion, listen. Can you use your powers to hide me?" he asked and his brother merely nodded. "Block its vision and keep me out of its sight. I'll sneak up and kill it." he said but he knew there was a great risk to this
"Alright. Be careful brother." Malfurion answered and with great difficulty he hid Illidan while still trying to pin the dragon
Illidan, hidden from sight, snuck around the area. When he was about to get into killing position, the dragon broke free and devoured his brother. 'No!' he thought but was forced to keep shut. He knew the invisibility spell would wear off shortly and if he didn't act, he too would be dead so despite just seeing his brother die, he finally killed the dragon with one strike to the neck and another to one of its eyes. The dragon soon dropped dead and Illidan quickly rushed over to his brother. "Malfurion, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been afraid that I would reveal this to you." he muttered sadly. Out of nowhere, a familiar clapping suddenly happened. Illidan turned to where it came from and saw Azshara sitting on the branches of a tree and his eyes soon narrowed in suspicion. "Let me guess, another lesson?"
"Indeed, Illidan." Azshara said before casting her magics, revealing that the one who died was not Malfurion but in fact, a troll, much to Illidan's surprise. "It's an illusion spell, one so potent that it can deceive just about anyone."
Growling in irritation, Illidan threw the corpse aside before throwing a dagger between its eyes. "Azshara, just what the hell was that?"
"Your next lesson, sacrifice." Azshara answered. "Listen, Illidan. This is a common misconception in just about everyone is that the ultimate sacrifice is simply giving your life for a cause. Nothing could be further from the truth." she said before looking at the sky, noticing that it was starting to get dark. "No, it's true meaning is giving up something for the cause."
"And that would be?"
"Whatever it is you hold dear to you." Azshara answered him. "You did that just now. You know that Malfurion's reaction time isn't that great when it comes to direct combat yet you used him as bait. You could have told him to land the finishing blow because you knew that you could dodge the dragon a lot more easily."
"That was an error of judgment."
"Perhaps, but you still chose to risk him." Azshara pointed out. "In any case, if the time comes that you fight powerful opponents, then there is a strong possibility that you will be forced to give up something dear to you. Should that event happen, it will break you and you will lose your will to do anything. That is why I kept testing your resolve" she explained. "That was merely a taste.. I was going easy, very easy, but when it comes to real enemies, they won't be."
"I hate it when you start making sense." Illidan grumbled before sheathing his sword. "So, all of that was just an illusion?"
"Not really. The only illusion was when I disguised the troll as your brother. The rest were real. Those were prisoners Ravencrest found and I made them an offer that if they can manage to kill you, they're free while that dragon was just one who wasn't satisfied with its life so a simple offer of gaining unlimited access to the Well's powers was enough to get it to cooperate." Azshara answered, not seeing any need to go into full detail
Illidan hummed in thought. "And you just decided to use them like that?"
This made Azshara smirk. "What can I say? I like to recycle."
Finally making it back to the palace, he went straight towards the dining room and as he expected, Vashj was preparing dinner. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for what he was about to do, all his other options exhausted
"Illidan, hey. You're just in time." Vashj greeted him but was curious when Illidan suddenly brought her into a hug
"Vashj, I'm very sorry." Illidan said with complete sorrow in his voice. Before Vashj could ask what this was about, she suddenly felt a dagger being stabbed right at her chest. Right as Vashj fell to the ground, Illidan retrieved the dagger before falling into his knees and crying over her body
Illysanna then came to the dining room after some training and was horrified at the sight, her father standing over the body of her mother. "Mother!" she yelled and ran to her mother's side. She looked at her father for information and realization dawned upon her that he was the one responsible of this. Before she could say anything, Illidan suddenly did the same to her
"I'm sorry, Illysanna." Illidan said. When his daughter finally hit the ground, he quickly fell into tears. He always kept in mind about what Azshara had said about the ultimate sacrifice but ever since the world was sundered, he had taken comfort that it would never happen to him. While he was crying over the bodies of his family that he just killed, a massive pain suddenly struck his body
Illidan slowly began losing his eyesight and after a few minutes, his spectral sight and the tattoos from Sargeras returned. A few seconds later, he twisted his body in pain as the powers from the Skull of Gul'dan returned before finally, he felt his power grow even more as the powers he took from Ner'zhul returned as well. Still on his knees, he was gasping for breath but the pain of killing those he held closest to him was still weighing on his shoulders
Suddenly, the bodies of both Vashj and Illysanna began to slowly disintegrate until they were nothing but dust. In their place, someone else began to materialize but the appearance was different. It was none other than his mentor, Queen Azshara, who looked like a hybrid of when she was a night elf and after she became the Old Gods' servant. Her body was still in the shape of an elf except her body had scales instead of skin, she had two tails that were similar to her octopus form and she had four arms. Her tails were slim, unlike the tentacles in her octopus form. She was also taller than when she was still a night elf. Illidan had grown in height when he absorbed Ner'zhul's power but it was barely noticeable and it wasn' too much that it made that big of a difference. Azshara now was just as tall as he was
Illidan glared at his mentor with nothing but pure hatred in his eyes. "YOU!"
Yeah. This is the end of Illidan's new life. It is an alternate reality. I actually got this idea from the DC storyline called 'For the man who has everything'. It's a story where Superman was trapped in a dreamscape where he had everything he could ever wish for. I decided to base this part to something similar to that one so that I can highlight parts of Illidan's training with Azshara and to setup their inevitable encounter
Speaking of, this is another thing that I decided to add to really strengthen the mentor student bond between the two. While in the canon of WoW, Illidan's own words made sense but the problem was, where did he even learn about sacrifice. I don't count having his eyes burned to be a sacrifice since he willingly accepted it so he had the option to always turn back. However the part about being prepared could be theorized with his dealings with Kil'jaeden and what Sargeras had shown him so that part made sense. Regardless, I decided to make it that Azshara had taught it to him firsthand
On the topic with Azshara, I decided to have her assume a form similar to the one she had when she was still a Night Elf. How that happened will be explained in the next chapter but I decided to do this for two reasons. One, I didn't like Azshara's octopus like form in WoW and two, she doesn't seem to be able to move as easily. I will not comment on that any further since the next chapter will explain how it all happened anyway. For reference purposes, Azshara's new form will be referred to as 'hybrid form'' while her octopus one will be referred to as 'naga form, or in Azshara's specific case, 'octopus form'
Lastly, that part about sacrifice is just my own interpretation of it. Sacrificing yourself is one thing but willingly giving up something dear to you and living with it seems a lot more difficult to me since you would beat yourself up for the rest of your life. It's like those times where you regret something you did and you ended up hating yourself for some time. While the part about staying in the middle when fighting multiple enemies is just made it. I don't know if that is true but I just added it for the fun of it. I also added in the part where Illidan grew by maybe around half a foot when he became the Lich King. It's not too much which is why I never bothered to mention it before since it barely makes any difference whatsoever