Disclaimer - I do not own Warcraft
Ashenvale Forest
It has been two days since Xavius was finally killed. All of the Scourge's forces, minus the shades, have left Kalimdor while Malygos was left with the night elves as the Scourge didn't really have the means to heal the living. The blue dragon aspect's injuries was not as severe when compared to Alexstrasza's or Ysera's so at this point, he was in better condition than the other two. Healing them was made a lot easier when the draenei aided them in the endeavor
Illidan, along with Illysanna and Maiev, have returned to Ashenvale, mainly to check on Malygos but also to take a second look at the Well of Eternity. They arrived on a sky barge that was left on the coast of Ashenvale, the very same one where Maiev had chased Illidan from after the battle of Mount Hyjal. Soon enough, they came across the temporary settlement the Ashenvale inhabitants were staying in
"Where's Malygos?" Illysanna asked the guard, getting straight to the point
"He's over there." the guard said, pointing to the center of the camp. "Alexstrasza and Ysera have also regained consciousness but they're still pretty shaken after the whole ordeal."
"Thank you." Illysanna said gratefully. As they began walking towards the mentioned area, they noticed that the former warden was lagging behind. "Maiev, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing. Just go on ahead. I'll catch up with you." Maiev answered before heading off in a different direction
"What do you think is going on with her?" Illysanna asked when the death knight left
"It's Naisha." Illidan answered. It took a few seconds for Illysanna to recall that she was the only warden that survived along with Altruis and Maiev's former second in command. "After I regained consciousness, she wanted me to release her soul from Frostmourne. I'm guessing that's where she's going now."
"Now that you mention it, Maiev did seem to be avoiding a certain Night Elf." Illysanna noted and began walking again
While Maiev went away, one of the Sentinels gave orders to another. "Inform Priestess Tyrande that Illidan Stormrage is here." she ordered and the other left
"Illidan, Illysanna." Malygos greeted the two when he noticed them approach. Unlike the other two dragon aspects, he was in his elven form
"How are things here?" Illysanna asked
"It's going rather well. Alexstrasza and Ysera will live but it will take time before they're fully healed. The forest however, is a different story." Malygos answered. "It will take a very long time for this corruption to be purged."
'Like there'll be enough time for that.' Illidan thought to himself with a frown. He knew that as soon as he was done with the Old Gods, he would go after other real target, the Burning Legion. "Malygos, come with us."
The blue dragon aspect looked at the demon hunter curiously. "Where to?" he asked
"To the World Tree. We're need to know what Xavius has done with it." Illysanna answered for him
Malygos raised an eyebrow at this in confusion. "Haven't you checked it out?" he pointed out, knowing that it was not like Illidan to just leave things the way they are
"I did but I want to know your opinions on it." Illidan answered and the blue dragon understood. The Lich King then led the way towards Mount Hyjal
The other night elves observed the three former elves ever since they arrived. Most were pretty tense while others were not the least bit surprised. Some were indifferent and some blamed Illidan for what had happened. Regardless of how they viewed the one that was considered as the Betrayer, they did not do anything knowing full well that the demon hunter turned Lich King was more than powerful enough to finish what the Nightmare started and he simply ignored them. It was only when Illidan and the others left for Mount Hyjal that Tyrande finally made it back
The high priestess was surprised upon she was told that Illidan had already left. 'He really didn't stop for any small talk.' Tyrande thought to herself. "Where did they go?" she asked the guard, who did not mention where he went
"They went to Mount Hyjal, High Priestess." a sentinel said
"Thank you." Tyrande said gratefully before she decided to go after them. On the way there, she noticed Maiev speaking with Naisha. The priestess was aware of what had happened after the former warden chased after Illidan so she decided to leave them alone
In the meantime, Illidan, Illysanna and Malygos were already at the World Tree. Even though they no longer lived here, both former night elves felt a slight bit of sorrow especially since the World Tree itself was near broken and the area in general was corrupted far more than the other parts of Ashenvale
"What do you think?" Illysanna asked the blue dragon after a while
"It is as Illidan said. It's powers had been drained. No, not just drained." Malygos said, making the two anxious to hear his thoughts. "It's more along the lines of transferred."
Even Illidan did not expect that. "Transferred? To where?" he wondered
"Hold on, if it has been transferred..." Illysanna said, fearing the worst. "Does that mean that the remaining Old Gods are free?"
"Malygos." Illidan spoke with a questioning tone, thinking hard about how the dragon had worded things. "You said transferred, right? You never said used?"
"What difference does that make?" Illysanna asked in confusion
"Because if Xavius used the powers of the Well to release N'zoth and C'thun, they'd already be free by now. But if it was transferred, then that means some other servants of the Old Gods are using its energies for that very purpose. In other words, they are still using the powers of the Well, just indirectly. Think of it as using the Well as simply a power source." Illidan explained
"Exactly. Which means we still have time to figure out what they're up to." Malygos said, a little impressed at how quickly Illidan picked up on it
"How much time do you figure?" Illysanna said, thinking about how they lack the necessary resources to destroy an Old God and knowing full well that Yogg Saron was still severely weakened. The other two looked at each other grimly
"We don't know. It could happen today, or tomorrow, maybe even years from now." Malygos answered
"Worse yet, I have no doubt that they will only make their move when we least expect it." Illidan said grimly
"The most vulnerable moment someone is..." Illysanna said, recalling the words Illidan had said when he trained her after she became a demon hunter. "Is when they have their backs turned."
While they continued trying see what else they can learn, Illidan suddenly began looking around with an uneasy expression. It did not go unnoticed by the other demon hunter
"What's wrong, Illidan?" Illysanna asked curiously
'She is perceptive. I'll have to be careful of what I say.' Illidan thought to himself. "Nothing too significant. Just observing the surroundings in case there is something else we might have missed."
Illysanna raised an eyebrow in curiosity but said nothing. 'I suppose that makes sense. Illidan was always very careful.' she thought, not even considering the possibility that his reasons was someting else entirely
The true reason for Illidan growing suspicious of the surroundings was none other than Queen Azshara. Her appearance still remained the same after her encounter with the Lich King in his mindscape. She had used her magics to listen in on their conversation but it was near impossible with how potent Illidan and even Illysanna's spectral sight were so she was forced to disguise it to take the form of the corruption that was still present. Azshara even disguised herself to appear similar to the corruption. 'I trained that guy a little too well.' she sighed to herself. 'That damn spectral sight makes keeping an eye on him near impossible.' she complained and continued to listen to them. 'He figured it out. The Old Gods will only reveal themselves when Illidan leasts expects it. I have no doubt that Xavius transferred the Well's power to the Naga as Nazjatar is the only place out of the Scourge's reach. I'll have to force the situation where N'zoth's prison would be left vulnerable so Illidan will have no choice but to fight him head on. Forunately for me, the Old Gods still do not know I am alive and there are some very crucial things that I have kept from Illidan. It seems even that has paid off.' she reasoned but she suddenly froze in complete shock as she just realized what would happen if she did that. 'But if I do that, I would...' she thought to herself. 'No, I have to do it. I owe him at least that much and his sacrifice would have been in vain.' she continued to think things. Azshara was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed Tyrande arriving and she remembered that she shouldn't linger too long and promptly left
"Illidan." Tyrande called out, causing the three to look at her
"Tyrande." Illidan said with a slight hint of surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Tyrande asked in confusion before adopting a sad expression. "I'm sorry about that. I actually came here to see you."
Illysanna noticed the slight tension between the two and she was aware that they were both childhood friends. "Illidan, you should go speak to her in private." she said and both him and Tyrande were surprised. "Malygos and I will continue to see what we can find. You two look like you need to settle something."
Tyrande looked at her with a grateful expression before turning to Illidan. No words were spoken as she understood that he was fine with it and decided to lead them away from the immediate area. "We haven't really had any chance to talk since you were imprisoned."
Illidan simply stared at her. "What do you really want, Tyrande? You wouldn't have bothered to approach me like that if you only wanted to make small talk and you don't seem to be upset with me. What exactly are you thinking?"
'I should have expected that.' Tyrande thought to herself. "Why did you think I would be upset with you?"
"Considering how you reacted after I absorbed the Skull of Gul'dan and how I nearly tore the world in half, do you really have to ask?" Illidan repeated her question to her
The high priestess released a deep sigh upon hearing that. "I'll be honest with you. I was upset, no, angry at you. I didn't know what you were thinking when you created the Well and even absorbing the Skull. I even blamed you that you were going after Deathwing without the slightest bit of regard for us. However, after I heard that Azshara knocked you out, I genuinely considered the possibility that you were dead and I finally decided to stop blaming you for everything. I started to think that regardless of what you've done, all of us, myself included, are also guilty. Azeroth is also our world and in the end, you are just fighting its enemies. While you were out there risking your life, we were just content to live our lives in peace and hoping that the peace we enjoyed would last. Thinking about it from your perspective, you probably think we were just begging to be killed." she explained, looking at him right in the eye. "Tell me, Illidan, do you believe in hope?" she asked
Illidan listened intently to what she said and released a slight chuckle. "No, I don't and I haven't for a very long time. I can't even remember the last time I hoped for something. Since we're being honest, hope is nothing more than the illusion people create because they don't have the will to force events to happen the way they want to." he answered
Tyrande was not the least bit surprised at his response. "It is as I thought. With that thought process, it would explain why you choose to handle things the way you do." she said. "I know it doesn't change anything and I am just speaking for myself, I just wanted to apologize for the way I treated you. After we were forced out of Ashenvale, only then did I realize that we were so conceited to think that we will be able to defeat anything that tries to attack us. The Nightmare just proved us wrong."
"I suppose I understand. I'm not going to apologize for what I did because this is far from over." Illidan said. Seeing no reason for the conversation to continue and not wanting it to turn into an argument, the demon hunter turned around and walked back
"He never changes, does he?" Tyrande commented to herself once Illidan was out of hearing range
Some time later, Illysanna and Malygos found Illidan atop a small hill conducting a ritual of some kind. At the center of the ritual was an image made out of fel energy that took the shape of a temple
"What are you doing, Illidan?" Illysanna asked, observing the energies that were swirling around the image
The energies then suddenly transformed into the shape of a force field around the image as Illidan ended the ritual. "Before the Well was destroyed after the war, I saved seven vials of its waters. I used three of them to create the Well at Hyjal while one was stolen by Sunstrider." he explained. "I just used the last three to create a barrier around Ahn'Qiraj where one of the Old Gods is."
"I see. You set things if that if Ahn'Qiraj is where the energies of the Well was transferred, then they'll have to use most, if not, all of it to break the barrier." Malygos said in realization
"Indeed, assuming of course that Ahn'Qiraj was where it was sent." Illidan said
Shando Pan Settlement, Pandaria
By daylight after the battle in the Jade Serpent Temple, Sylvanas' group finally made it back towards the settlement. Alleria' group was already back. The ranger general's was the last one due to Turalyon taking a very long time to heal the archmage. While she was stable at the moment, she was still unconscious and showed no signs of breathing. Sylvanas dreaded telling Arthas about what had happened to her
"Sister? What happened?" Alleria asked when she noticed her sister arrive later than her
"Where is Arthas?" Sylvanas asked with a long face
Alleria frowned. Something did happen and it was clear it concerned Jaina. "He should be coming back here from guarding the wall anytime now." she answer. "It's about Jaina, isn't it? What happened?" she asked grimly
"She was nearly killed in battle. Turalyon has manage to stabilize her condition but she's still unconscious." Sylvanas answered
"This is not good." Alleria said
A few minutes later Arthas returned right as Baine decided to take over taking charge of watch over the Serpent's Spine. As she ordered, Sylvanas was quickly notified of his arrival. Arthas was still at the entrance area of talking some stuff with the pandaren guards when the ranger general approached him
"Prince Arthas." Sylvanas called out
Arthas looked at her curiously. "What is it, Sylvanas?" he asked. The prince noticed her hesitate and had a bad feeling about it. "Sylvanas?"
"It's Jaina. She's injured, badly." the ranger answered him
"What?!" Arthas said in complete shock. "Where is she?!" he demanded to know
"She is in the main building. Turalyon already healed most of her injuries but she is still unconscious." Sylvanas answered. Without even saying a word, Arthas quickly ran over to where Jaina was. "Arthas, wait!" the ranger general yelled but fell on deaf ears. "Damn it."
The pandaren who were standing guard in the main building were surprised when Arthas just pushed them aside. They were about to demand what was happening but a human soldier told them about the relationship between the two
"Jaina!" Arthas barged into the room, finding two healers tending to her. He shoved them aside in panic as he got to his knees. "Jaina! Can you hear me?! Jaina?!" he said desperately
"Prince Arthas, calm down." one of the healers yelled
It did not help Arthas' mood at all. "Calm down?! What happened to her, damn it?!" he yelled . At that moment, the door opened. Sylvanas and Turalyon entered the room. As expected, Arthas quickly grabbed Turalyon by his collar. "What happened to her?!" he asked while shaking him. "Tell me now, god damn it all!" he said, this time gripping the ranger
"Arthas, calm down." Sylvanas said, not taking offense at his behavior and put a hand on his shoulder. Keeping her patience, she observed him trying to calm himself down and Turalyon as well kept his silence, understanding what the prince must be going through. It took him a good half an hour before he was finally ready to listen. "Are you ready to listen now, Arthas?" she asked softly
"I guess so." Arthas said, taking a long look at his lover
"The Sha we were facing was the Sha of Doubt. Whenever we feel doubt, it grows stronger." Turalyon began. "In the middle of the battle, the Sha was able to avoid all of our attacks for a short amount of time. At that moment, I am certain all of us had doubts on whether or not we would be able to defeat the Sha."
"Jaina was targetted by the Sha as she was wide open. The others were injured by the Prime Sha and we were attacked by more of the lesser Shas." Sylvanas added, referring to Turalyon and herself. "All of us would have been killed by the Sha but a death knight was tailing us and saved us. That death knight was the only reason we made it out alive."
"Indeed. As much as I hate to say it, the death knight's timing allowed me to heal Jaina before it was too late. I was able to stabilize her but I am not certain when she'll regain consciousness." Turalyon said as the young prince listened with a grim expression. 'If she even regains consciousness at all.'
Sylvanas observed the elder paladin's expression and noticed that Arthas missed it. 'Does he think that Jaina would never regain consciousness? If that's the case...' she thought to herself. She nudged the paladin and motioned that they should leave them alone. "Arthas, we'll leave you alone. We'll take shifts guarding the Wall. I'll take you off the rotation until Jaina is fully recovered." she said. Arthas didn't bother to respond as he sat on the bed holding Jaina's hand. Sylvanas had expected that and along with Turalyon and the other healers, left the room
"How did it go?" Alleria asked upon seeing the four of them exit the building
"Badly. I honestly thought he would tear the room apart." Turalyon answered dryly. From his facial expression and tone, he was not kidding at all
"Arthas is still so young. He may have lost his father and Uther to the Scourge but he has never been in something like this where he is helpless to save someone close to him." Alleria commented sadly. "We should just leave him be for the time." she suggested and they agreed
Rather than go with the others, Sylvanas went to another part of the settlement. "Nathanos."
"Sylvanas." Nathanos greeted back. "You look troubled. What's going on?"
The ranger general just sighed. She had told him about what happened before Arthas came back. "I told Arthas about Jaina's condition."
Nathanos frowned upon hearing that, hoping what he was thinking wasn't true. "I take it he reacted badly?" he asked, now knowing where the general had been. Sylvanas merely nodded. "How bad?"
"Worse than expected. He took a long time to calm down." Sylvanas answered before she sat down across him. "Listen, Nathanos, I need you to do something but keep it between us and don't make it obvious."
"Of course, Sylvanas. What do you need me to do?" Nathanos asked
"I need you to keep an eye on Arthas. If he does something reckless, stop him." Sylvanas said. "We still don't know much about this place and we most certainly don't know what other influence the Old Gods might have."
"So, you're thinking that Arthas is targetted?" Nathanos asked curiously
"Indeed. Before we stormed the temple, we were actually tailed by a death knight and I asked for her help to guard the entrance. She agreed for as long as I tell her of what happened in the battle. She didn't keep her word and continued to tail us. It was fortunate for us as we would have been killed by the Sha, all of us." Sylvanas explained what had happened, having not told him the details yet. "Before we met with the Scourge after Northrend, I had a little chat with Anya Everwind."
"One of the ranger captains? She's been reanimated?" Nathanos asked in surprise and slightly angry at that fact
"Yes." Sylvanas answered. "While we were talking, she gave the vibe that Illidan does not believe in coincidences until proven completely. I've been trying to adapt to that kind of mindset given the capabilities of our enemies."
"I understand. Arthas is the most emotional among us and you think that Jaina being targetted was to lure him into a trap." Nathanos said and she nodded in confirmation. "I will do my best, Sylvanas."
"Just don't be too reckless, Nathanos and no matter what, just make sure you know where he is." Sylvanas said. "Also, you might not be alone." she said and he grew confused. "I am certain that the Scourge is also aware that Arthas is prone to getting his emotions out of control. It may be possible that they might also keep an eye on him."
"Should I engage them?" Nathanos asked
"No, don't. We may not be friends with the Scourge but they don't want us to be controlled by the Old Gods as well. With that in mind, it's safe to assume that they would kill Arthas if he tries something, which is why I need you to keep an eye on him as well and stop him before he does something and before the Scourge kills him." Sylvanas clarified. "Normally, I would do this myself but I can't exactly be found doing something out of the ordinary. I'll take over your duties from this point on and I'll tell the others that I sent you to the Krasarang Wilds to investigate the area."
"Alright, Sylvanas." Nathanos said and she gave him a grateful look
Arthas was still in the room, sitting by Jaina's side. The others have left earlier but he didn't care. He stayed by her side for the last two hours
'They can't save her. None of you can.' the voice from before rang in his head again
The prince released a small snort at this. 'As if you can.' he thought in his head
'Indeed I can but only with your help. At the moment, I am powerless to do anything. If you come seek me, I can heal Jaina Proudmoore completely and I can help you bring Illidan Stormrage to justice.' Arthas' ears perked at hearing that. Without even the slightest hesitation, the prince laid a kiss on Jaina's forehead before he left the room. By now, he was desperate enough to do anything to help Jaina as when he examined the wound earlier, she could just as easily die. 'Should you come seek me out, do not tell anyone where you are going and come alone. The others will not realize the necessity of your actions.'
Arthas left the building after hearing that. He was now completely desperate to save Jaina. With his father, he knew that that situation was completely out of his control. This one, he had an actual choice and he was more than willing to take it
"Prince Arthas? Where are you going?" a human guard asked when the prince arrived at the entrance
"I need some time to think. I'll go for a walk to clear my mind." Arthas said, following the voice instructions. Unbeknownst to him, Nathanos saw him leave the main building and from a distance, kept an eye on him
'I am in a vault deep below the Mogu'Shan Palace in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The entrance is hidden in the forests near the Valley of the Four Winds.' the voice instructed
Growing more desperate by the second, Arthas followed the voice's instructions. Nearly three hours later, he finally made it to the valley of the four winds
'You are being followed. Shake your stalker off and do not make it obvious.' the voice ordered
Arthas immediately suspected the Scourge to be responsible. Instead of heading straight to where the voice mentioned, he decided to go into the thickness of the forest. He was aware that if anyone was stalking him, then the stalker would keep his or her distance so if he hid in the bushes for a while, he could cover his tracks. Arthas did just that and hid among the trees and bushes. 'This will only shake my stalker off for a while. I'll have to setup false tracks.' he thought to himself and after some time of hiding, he began breaking some parts of the trees which led away from his destination
In the meantime, Nathanos lost track of Arthas when the prince suddenly went behind some trees. 'He couldn't have gone far.' he thought and began looking for anything out of the ordinary
'You are in the clear. Head to the entrance before your stalker finds out that you setup a false track.' the voice ordered the prince and guided him to the entrance. Upon arriving, Arthas found that the entrance was hidden among the hills. It was covered in vines and various plants which hid it from the ordinary sight and it was so out of the way that almost nobody would come to this specific place. 'Put your hand on the door and it will open.' the voice said and the prince obeyed
Inside, Arthas was surprised. It was mostly a very large corridor which led to a place he did not know. All of his instincts were telling him that he should turn back but he was still desperate to save Jaina so he continued to follow the voice and eventually came across a large room. "What is that?!" he asked himself in surprise as he saw what was in the room. It was a large object that was hanged by chains. 'Is that a... heart?' he wondered after taking a long look at the object
'It is. I am the source of the voice.' the heart said directly to his head. 'Release me from these chains and I shall heal Jaina Proudmoore.'
Against all his instincts and better judgment, Arthas did as instructed and destroyed the chains, causing the heart to drop to the ground
"I did as you told, now, heal Jaina!" Arthas demanded
Instead of giving a direct response, the heart instead warped the surroundings and showed him the room Jaina was resting in. To his surprise, Jaina's face began moving and she started to breath again, much to Arthas' relief
'Touch the heart, Arthas.' the voice returned again. 'And together, we shall bring Illidan Stormrage to his knees.'
This time, Arthas did hesitate for a bit. However, he was not going to deny that he blamed all of this on Illidan. He was aware that the Old Gods have been here since before his race even existed but what he blamed the demon hunter was on how he kept all of them in the dark. After a while, he did touch the heart and he began screaming
Before anything else, I want to explain the timeline of events. The events in both Ashenvale and Pandaria happened on the same day which means that the war against the Emerald Nightmare ended two days ago. Since the group in Pandaria only received the message a day ago, that means that the familiar spent nearly a whole day travelling just to inform them of the message
With that, I had Tyrande and Illidan fully reconcile in this chapter. Yes, it isn't much but at the very least, she finally acknowledge her mistake. Part of the reason why I wrote the Emerald Nightmare arc the way I did was I wanted to add something that was similar to what Sylvanas did to Teldrassil, only worse. When Illidan was exiled after doing exactly what Tyrande asked in the canon, I legit hated the Night Elves and was laughing when Sylvanas burned Teldrassil. However, rather than dwell on that, I instead decided to have them survive and acknowledge their mistake in story. Obviously that will never happen if Illidan was the one who forced them out so I instead used the Emerald Nightmare for that very purpose
The mystery with Arthas also just gets weirder doesn't it. In case it isn't clear, the stuff he found is the Heart of Y'Shaarj. I don't know or care where it was originally located in the canon so I just put it underground. It was far easier to do it like that than base everything on the canon. I mean, that's why one writes fanfics in the first place
Well, that's about it for now I guess