Disclaimer - I do not own Warcraft
Ten Days Later
Most of the Old Gods' influence over Azeroth have greatly been reduced. The mantid have been wiped out by the Scourge and the Sha were defeated. Pandaria has been freed from the Old Gods' hold. The only places that they have their hold on is wherever the naga are, Ahn'Qiraj and N'zoth's prison
After the events of Pandaria, the Alliance and Horde have returned to Kalimdor. Fortunately for them, their ships and zeppelins were left out of the battle. Their journey back to Kalimdor took eight days. Like with their homes, they were once again, saved by the Scourge. The Emerald Nightmare has truly crippled both factions. They suffered great losses, the night elves' home was tainted far worse than the Legion ever did, and their major cities in need of immediate repairs. Pandaria, although finally free from the Old Gods, was also greatly damaged. After thousands of years of peace, their citizens were slaughtered by the mantid and Arthas
The Alliance were the ones that suffered the most thanks to Arthas being chosen as Y'Shaarj's vessel. The Horde only suffered some near fatal injuries but were not targetted specifically. There were questions as to why only the Alliance were corrupted as not a single one of the high ranking Horde warriors had died
The Horde on the other hand, considered themselves as fortunate but they were growing more concerned. While they had the same questions on why their high ranking members weren't killed, their greater concern was the Alliance, especially Jaina
Regardless, everyone in Kalimdor were on high alert. The Scourge had mentioned that one of the Old Gods was there and the odds were greatly not in their favor. Two of the dragon aspects, Ysera and Alexstrasza, were still not back at full strength. The night elves still had their own issues with their destroyed home while the Alliance were in a deeply emotional state. If Arthas' emotions got the better of him, then there is a strong possibility that more of the Alliance would be targetted. As the Scourge had mentioned, it doesn't have to be anyone significant. The Old Gods can choose anyone of their choosing and they can greatly empower whoever their servant is as shown when Arthas grew powerful enough to near single handedly defeat both the Alliance and the Scourge in Pandaria. As such, it was mostly the Horde who had a clear mind and was the one who was guarding all possible ways that would lead into Ahn'Qiraj
In the meantime, the Scourge has begun studying the magical seals that were found in the Tomb of Sargeras. It was confirmed that it was to reopen a gateway but they weren't able to figure out just what exactly was the source of the powers. The only thing they found was that it harnessed the powers of five artifacts, each of them hidden in different locations around the world. It soon became clear that whatever these artifacts were, they would be capable of destroying an Old God as they rivaled the Eye of Sargeras in power. However, there was not a single clue that would determine where to even begin looked or what to look for. Even with that, the entire Scourge has been on the hunt for anything suspicious, even the demon hunters. They were at a rotation duty with at least one of them always being in the Tomb to guard it against any intruders
Not even Illidan had a clue for what the seals in the Tomb actually are as Azshara had never mentioned this to him, something which made him suspicious. Illidan, under the assumption that Azshara wasn't lying about fighting the Old Gods, had suspected that the queen knew about this all along but could not risk him using it in his endeavors. There was also the possibility that Azshara had always planned to reopen the gateway and allow the Burning Legion to invade again to finish off the Old Gods in the event Illidan had failed. As much as Illidan hated it, he was, once again, impressed at how far Azshara had thought ahead. It did solidify when Azshara had told him that she had her own reasons for wanting the Old Gods dead, she wasn't lying about
Ever since the Emerald Nightmare was destroyed and Xavius killed, Illidan had been trying to come up with a spell that would force the waters of Azeroth aside, or anything that would leave N'zoth's prison vulnerable to a direct attack. He did this for one reason, to save Vashj from the Old Gods control. Thus far, he had no luck in doing so especially since he had no objects of power like the Eye of Sargeras at his disposal. Destroying a continent was far easier than manipulating the vast waters of Azeroth. No one was aware of what he was planning as he didn't want to give it away that he had a weak spot. He was even pretending to be in some kind of depressed state when he was really trying to figure out this kind of spell. He knew that the Scourge would not judge him for it but he wasn't willing to risk the mortals finding out especially since he was aware that his war against the Old Gods was only reaching its boiling point and he most certainly did not want the Old Gods killing Vashj
Khaz Modan
The land that was once the dwarven kingdom of Khaz Modan is now nothing more than another outpost for the Scourge. It was the one that was the least defended but it didn't need that kind of defense. The lands' natural terrain already gave them a huge advantage against anything that wasn't a Legion gunship or dragons. What the Scourge didn't know is that one of the powers harnessed by the seals in the Tomb of Sargeras had its source hidden deep below it
Outside the Scourge's outpost, Azshara had made her way into the lands as stealthily as she could. Without a demon hunter present, it was almost child's play for her to remain undetected even with the Scourge's shades around. She did have to be careful about her new body. After using Illidan's power to alter her appearance in his mindscape, she had to get used to her new body again especially since she was no longer slithering. It proved to be annoying at first but just like with Illidan after he became a demon, she was able to easily adapt to it and fight effectively. That was all out in the open and if she was to remain undetected, she would have to be careful about her tails not being left out in the open
A Scourge patrol was suddenly moving around the area Azshara was in but as expected, they were completely unaware that someone was lurking in the surroundings. The queen move quickly through the area, easily avoiding the undead. 'Gotta hand it to Illidan. He has learned better than I thought. Using the natural terrain to his advantage.' she thought to herself as she observed the little amount of undead warriors
Later, Azshara eventually reached Ironforge itself. The area was more defended than the outside so the queen carefully made her way to the entrance. This time, she had to use more magic to hide herself from the Scourge's own magical defenses. Inside, everything was as she expected, at least when the Burning Legion invades. 'The city itself is destroyed and Illidan didn't even bother to rebuild it. Not that rebuilding it actually matters. Everything worked out. Sabotaging that second gateway the Legion wanted so long ago worked better than I had hoped.' she thought as she walked deeper into the destroyed city
Eventually, she made her way to the lowest point in the city, one where it was basically where the dwarves buried their dead. 'The dwarves thought that this mountain is just an ordinary one. They didn't know exactly what lay beneath it.' she thought. Since the Scourge forces weren't this deep into the city, Azshara was free to drop her invisibility spell. While she was fairly certain that the undead wouldn't think to come here as there is no reason for them to do so, Azshara didn't take the chance and created some wards that would alert her if anyone was heading this way.
The queen then began tracing her hand along the walls carefully, trying to sense what was on the other side. While she was doing so, she noticed something. "Nothing about the walls seems to have been tampered with. For over ten thousand years, nobody ever bothered to check here? That's a surprise even for the mortals." she muttered and soon found an area that wasn't too thick. Channeling her powers into that specific area, she learned that there was a pathway hidden behind the wall. Slowly but carefully, she began to destroy that area. Azshara had to do it slowly otherwise it would attract the Scourge's attention
It took even Azshara nearly half an hour to carve up the wall to lead to the pathway. Upon entering, she used her magics to create an illusion that would make it look like nothing ever happened while she followed the pathway, which led deeper underground. The pathway was dark so the queen was forced to use her magics to create light. "It hasn't changed at all." she commented while continuing to walk. "There it is, untouched by anyone." Azshara spoke when she reached a large room. At the center of the room was a pedestal with a hammer on it. Azshara grabbed hold of it. "The Hammer of Khaz'goroth, one of the Pillars of Creation, and one of the very few things in this world capable of destroying an Old God." she said to herself. 'At this point, I am certain that the Old Gods have finally found a champion to use. Without me, their chances of standing against Illidan and the Scourge is very unlikely.' she analyzed the situation while channeling the Hammer's power. 'That whole Emerald Nightmare fiasco was just another diversion. Corrupting Ysera might have been useful but in the long run, there is no way that Illidan would just let that happen. I wonder if he has realized that by now.'
After she has fully activated the hammer, Azshara summoned three large stones. 'The Tidestone of Golganneth, the pieces of it at least.' she observed the stone. It took her well over a week to move from Kalimdor to retrieve the Tidestone and head to Khaz Modan without alerting anyone to her presence. She still remembered the day when she shattered it from a distance with nothing but her raw power, which really impressed Archimonde and even Sargeras. The queen had been forced to do that otherwise the Legion would have seen through her facade of loyalty. She had since regretted having to do that and was angry at herself for not being more careful. 'At least now, destroying the Tidestone wasn't all for naught.' she commented and began using the hammer's power upon the Tidestone. 'Illidan, it won't be long before I will make my move. I hope you are ready for an unexpected conflict.'
Two hours later, Azshara had finally finished her craftsmanship, the Tidestone has been reforged with using the Hammer's power to turn fix any missing parts. "Finally." she muttered. The queen then spent the next few minutes using the soul shackles on both Pillars of Creation. With the great power they possess, it wasn't easy. When she was finished, Azshara was slightly irritated at how long that took, decided to just get the hell out. "Now, then, it's time to kill you, N'zoth." she said and began channeling a teleportation spell. With her wards still active, she knew what was going on outside. None of the undead have even ventured into this area and since this chambers was even deeper underground, it would take a decently powerful member of the Scourge to detect something was going. Soon enough, Azshara vanished from the chambers, not at all caring that the illusion spell she had used would wear off in a few more hours as he knew that Illidan would be able to figure out who was responsible, or should be able to
Orgrimmar
"What is the situation, Samuro?" Thrall asked, gathering a small council of Horde leaders
"It is still the same, Warchief." Samuro replied. "As you ordered, we have began blockading all the roads that would lead towards Ahn'Qiraj. We didn't go anywhere near the temple but so far, nothing has been happening."
"It's only been two days since we became aware but it's been a while since the Nightmare was defeated." Thrall said. "There could be a lot more we have missed."
"The undead keeping this information to themselves is not helping either." Drek'thar added
"There is one interesting thing we have discovered, Warchief." Samuro asked and the entire room perked their ears. "Our shamans believe that there is an incredible barrier hidden in plain sight that surrounds the entirety of Ahn'Qiraj."
"A barrier? How did that get there?" Thrall asked in surprise
"We are still figuring that out, Warchief." Samuro answered. "Vereesa Windrunner and the Alliance mages she brought with her have their own suspicions that this barrier is made out of arcane energies. However, they are not certain who would have that kind of power to erect a barrier that powerful."
"Could it be Illidan?" Cairne asked
"It could be but Khadgar has also personally studied the barrier. He had his doubts that even Illidan would be able to create that kind of barrier without some kind of artifact." Samuro replied
"I see." Thrall said, adopting a thoughtful expression on his face. "At any rate, just continue monitoriing Ahn'Qiraj for now but make sure you can retreat to Durotar if needed."
"Yes, Warchief." Samuro replied and left
"We need to find a way to find out what we don't know." Thrall said, referring to what the Scourge knows
Theramore Isle
As expected, the Alliance were mostly in disarray. The journey from Pandaria to Theramore had taken a few days. Due to how fast events had happened in Pandaria, no one was able to send a message back home which meant that the expedition had to inform the rest of their people in person. Rumors soon began to spread on who else might be targetted
Arthas' captains, Falric and Marwyn, both of which had remained behind to take charge of the defense of Theramore under Vereesa, guarded Jaina honor their fallen prince. To their great concern, Jaina has mostly locked herself in her and Arthas' room ever since they got home. Until the others had mentioned what had happened, no one had any idea as to why she didn't speak with anyone when the ships and zeppelins landed
While both captains were still guarding Jaina's room, Kael'thas walked up to the both of them. "How is she?" he asked
"Still the same, Prince Kael." Marwyn replied. "Ever since they got back, she hasn't left her room since."
"We were at least relieved that she would take the food that we would bring but we haven't been able to do anything." Falric added
Kael just sighed at this. Years ago, he and Arthas had a spat because of the female archmage. However, those wounds soon mended when the Legion arrived and the high elf prince made peace with Jaina's decision. Now that the human prince was taken by their enemies, Kael was greatly worried at what Jaina would do. 'Her grief over it might make her vulnerable to the Old Gods.' Kael thought as he observed the door to her room. 'However, she should be aware that she shouldn't trust anything that she doesn't know. The worst that can happen is that Jaina would trade herself in Arthas' place but in the end, that wouldn't accomplish anything.' he continued to think
"Prince Kael?" Falric asked when the high elf prince ended up staring at the door for five minutes. "Is something wrong?"
The high elf prince shook his head. "Nothing, I'm just worried at what she might do." Kael said. "Just focus on being there for her unless you are really needed elsewhere, alright?"
"Yes, Prince Kael." both men said in unison. The high elf prince soon took his leave after that
Inside her room, Jaina was laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Since their return, she has done nothing but isolate herself from everyone else in Theramore. She was weeping and blamed herself for what had happened to Arthas. If she wasn't weak and didn't leave herself open, maybe Arthas wouldn't have been targetted. Those thoughts plagued her mind ever since she was told what happened to him. Now however, Jaina had decided that just crying and blaming herself for everything would not change anything. She wanted to save Arthas. But there was a problem, she didn't know how to save him
'Illidan would, if he is interested in saving him.' Jaina realized the only one who would be able to help her. 'No, it won't work. If I try anything, the Scourge would just straight up kill me.' she thought and looked out the window. 'There is also the problem of how I would sneak out without anyone ever noticing.' steeling herself, Jaina decided on her course of action. 'I have to try. At the very least, I should make contact with the Scourge. They would know immediately what my purpose would be.' she thought
Jaina then walked towards the window in the room and began planning her escape. "The only problem would be leaving Theramore. I should be safe as long as I put some distance between Theramore and myself." she whispered. Looking at the sea, the only way to sneak out would be to use a ship but she can't just get on one and get away with it. The guards would no doubt alert Kael or Khadgar. 'Oh wait, Khadgar. I really need to deceive even him but is he even here?.' she thought in realization and not knowing what the other archmage was up to. She wasn't too worried about Kael as he was busy dealing with his leadership duties and the high elves' hunger for magic. Jaina then looked at her wardrobe. "I'll have to dress like one of the people we have that goes fishing." she said as she began looking for clothes that would make her look like an ordinary citizen
When she finally found one, she quickly returned to the window and casted an invisibility spell. If she was serious about sneaking out, then going out the front door is out of the question. There were a few people below and Jaina wasn't skilled in direct combat, which would include sneaking around like this. However, she wasn't going to let that stop her and jumped down the window, which her room was in the second floor of the two story building which was her new home
'I'll have to find a fishing ship that have very few people on it.' Jaina said as she snuck around Theramore. While she was still invisible, she knew that other mages would be able to sense something is off
Upon arriving at the docks, Jaina dropped the spell and pretended to be an ordinary citizen while disguising her staff as a makeshift cane. She made sure to double check that her face would be covered as to not give away her identity. The archmage waited for nearly three hours before there was finally a fishing boat that wasn't too crowded. Getting onboard, the fishermen were surprised at the new person. Jaina gave the excuse that it was her first time fishing which the others were all too glad to teach her. Their lives have mostly returned to normal after the Emerald Nightmare was defeated and with the sea being one of their sources for food, many fishermen needed to bring in more fish
The time was right around sunset while the fishing boat was just floating at sea, waiting for the fish. Jaina finally realized that they wouldn't go any further. Subtly, she dipped her staff into the water while releasing small bits of energy that would push them in the direction of the Broken Isles. It was so subtle that the other fishermen assumed that they were moving because of the waves
After a while of them moving, one of the fishermen suddenly yelled out. "Look out!" as a few undead gargoyles
'Oh hell. I didn't account for this.' Jaina thought in a panic as the other fishermen desperately tried to go back the way they came. To their surprise however, the gargoyles had no intention of killing them but were instead simply harassing them. 'I guess the Scourge were serious about not wasting time and resources.' she noted. Jaina decided to follow Sylvanas' example and tried to turn this situation to her advantage. Looking to the distance, she can barely make out an island and she knew that her teleportation could reach that range. In the middle of the harassment, she created a small wave that rocked the ship as they were being chased and using the distraction, she pretended to fall into the water
One of the fishermen tried to reach for her but underwater, Jaina released another wave that pushed them away and the gargoyles further made it more difficult for them to even try to rescue her. When she thought it was safe, Jaina finally surfaced. She knew that she wouldn't last long out here in the water so the archmage casted her teleportation spell. In doing so, she nearly drowned in doing so but she was able to make it to the shore, barely. 'I made it.' she thought while panting for breath but all her energies were spent and she collapsed. Jaina then began to regret her decision as she had a feeling that the Scourge is going to kill her for just being here
Theramore Isle
At around the early evening, Falric brought some food over to Jaina's room. He knocked a few times but got no response, not knowing the archmage wasn't there anymore. "Lady Proudmoore?" he asked again but still no response. "I'm coming in, Lady Proudmoore." he said and motioned for Marwyn, who brought over a spare key. When he opened the door, he was so surprised to find it empty that he dropped the tray
Marwyn was surprised at his comrade's reaction that he quickly walked over to him. "Falric, what's wrong?" he asked and took a peek in the room, realizing what was going on. "Wait, where is Lady Proudmoore?"
"I don't know. She must have snuck out." Falric said as he closed the door. "We have to go inform Prince Kael. I just hope Jaina did not go where I think she did." he said and started to run down the hall, Marwyn following him
Broken Isles
Hours later, it was already dark when Jaina began waking up in what appeared to be a small camp. There was even campfire nearby. 'What? How did I?' she wondered but heard footsteps behind her. Her eyes widened as she recognized the death knight standing before her. "Uther? Is that really you?" she asked in surprise
"It is, lass. You should rest." Uther said while adding more wood to the fire. "I found you unconscious in the shoreline. No one knows that you came, am I right?"
Jaina shook her head. "No. I wanted to get into contact with the Scourge to see if I can get some help in saving Arthas." she answered. "If they would even listen to me anyway." she muttered in a low voice
Uther however, heard it. "They won't. That's why I'm the one who rescued you." he said. "I've been made aware of what had happened to Arthas and as you might have imagined, Illidan does not care one bit. As much as I hate to say it, I really can't blame him since he barely even knows the lad. I left my post because I had a feeling that you would come. I know that Kor'vas had told you that the upcoming battle might be in Kalimdor and with your lack of resources to travel across the sea in large numbers, you would focus there instead."
"Wouldn't you be in trouble for abandoning your post? And doesn't Illidan control you?" Jaina asked in concern for her lover's former mentor
"Not exactly. There are actually two ways for the Lich King to control us undead who have our own minds." Uther began to explain. "The first one is just telling us what to do and we are free to carry it out as we see fit. This is how Illidan commands the Scourge and for the most part, he has an even easier time because most of his warriors serve him out of loyalty similar goals. In a sense, he is just controlling us like how we used to with our own troops. The second way is for Illidan to directly control our actions. It isn't the easiest thing to do as while Illidan is powerful, he would have to concentrate. He rarely does this and now that I think about it, I don't think he has done it since he became the Lich King."
"I see. So, I take it the Scourge hates the Old Gods a lot more than being undead." Jaina commented
"Yes." Uther nodded. "However, I have my suspicions that Illidan already knew that I would do what I am doing now and that I would defy orders to go and save Arthas." he said and got up. The death knight then extended his arm when Jaina mimicked his actions. "Among the trees over there..." he said while pointing to his right. "Is a small hut. It is where Illysanna stayed before but it's empty now. You can use it if you really intend to stay here."
"Thank you, Uther." Jaina said gratefully
Silvermoon
Along with Kel'thuzad, Drak'thul and Malygos, Illidan was figuring out how to shift the waters of Azeroth out of the way. With nothing happening in Ahn'Qiraj, they knew that whatever was coming would come in N'zoth's prison. Like with their attempts to find out about the seals found in the Tomb of Sargeras, they have no luck thus far. Out of nowhere, Illidan just smirked
"Something wrong, my king?" Kel'thuzad asked curiously
"Nothing." Illidan replied. "It's just as I thought. Jaina Proudmoore has left Kalimdor."
"You don't seem particularly concerned about it?" Malygos asked
"Why would I?" Illidan said with a shrug. "I was well aware that Arthas was the real target after Amira had mentioned that Jaina was injured by the Sha and it would only be a matter of time before she would try something like this. What I find really intruiging is that Uther is with her right now."
"He left his post?" Drak'thul frowned. "Should we just let him just do as he pleases?"
"It hardly matters. Controlling him myself would take too much effort. It's far better to use them to locate Arthas for us. Trying to stop someone who are desperate is simply not worth the trouble." Illidan pointed out
Suddenly, a very strong earthquake suddenly struck. Illidan quickly sifted through all of the undead and found that it was not their doing. The Scourge was not doing anything other than searching for anything that would reveal what the seals were and the mortals did not have the capability to do something like this. The Lich King also knew that it wasn't the barrier he made on Ahn'Qiraj as shattering it would not cause quakes that would reach here. Things soon began to get more complicated as a huge amount of arcane energies were released into the sky in the general direction of where the Broken Isles were
Illidan instantly knew who was the one responsible for what was happening. "Azshara..."
Nothing too much to talk about here since this chapter is mostly about the prelude to the next part of the story. I will say that this was very fun to write. Jaina is one of my top ten Warcraft characters and I wanted her to do something that isn't too protocol. That's why I had her sneak out and make contact with the Scourge. Whether or not she and Uther save Arthas is something left to be seen
Aside from that, I did change where the Pillars of Creation were hidden. How and where they're hidden will be revealed in a later chapter. As for Azshara, there is a reason for how she knows all these things and I kept the part where the Tidestone was destroyed by her during the War of the Ancients. However, I did change her reasoning for doing so. In the canon, it was because of her loyalty to the Legion while here, it is to maintain her facade of loyalty
That's about it for this one