Enter, the Deciever.
"And you're sure this spell will keep her passive? We cannot afford any mistakes at this crucial stage."
"I promise you, my prince, the spell will keep her contained until the ritual is complete." Dar'Khan said in his silkiest voice.
"And when it is finished?"
"She may be the first sacrifice to our lord." The dark-haired elf said nonchalantly. "Keeping her alive after it is done would not be advisable, she would only…"
"Endanger my plans, I know." Kael'thas interrupted. "Is the ritual itself ready?"
"I just need a little more time, I shall begin once everything is in place."
"Good. Do not fail me, Drathir, or it will be you I sacrifice to Lord Kil'Jaeden."
"I will not fail you, my prince." Dar'Khan bowed low.
The mage teleported himself and the bound Sylvanas away in a bright flash, leaving Kael'thas alone in the Silvermoon throne room. But he was not alone for long, as his newly appointed Captain of the Guard hurried into the chamber.
"The borders of our kingdom have been closed upon your orders, my prince," the armoured woman bowed. "This will arouse the suspicions of the kings of Lordaeron…"
"I suspect we were not the only ones attacked by the Legion by treacherous means, they will be too focused on their own problems to notice us moving to protect ourselves."
"Yes, your grace." Lady Liadrin hesitated.
"What troubles you? Speak!"
"Your father decreed that Lady Sylvanas was to stay far from Quel'thalas, that we would be safer if…"
"My father was mistaken," Kael'thas snapped. "We cannot stand against the might of the Legion without the light of the Sunwell empowering and emboldening our people. We need every advantage we have at our fingertips, and the Sunwell is our greatest strength, our ancestral pride and glory, but in its current state it is little more than a shadow of its former self."
"I… I understand, but surely it would be safer to allow Lady Sylvanas to continue wielding the power of the Sunwell against the Legion."
"She is a child playing with the sun, she has barely scratched the surface of what the Sunwell's power can do in the right hands, its power is safer on Quel'Danas with the people who've sworn their lives to protect and channel its power responsibly."
"But what if it becomes a second Well of Eternity? Its power flows from the same source."
"I will not fall to the Legion's corruption as easily as Queen Azshara did."
Liadrin had no response to the Prince's statement, instead standing to attention so she could be dismissed from his presence.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX Flash forward to the present XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Did you deal with our uninvited guests, my prince?" Dar'Khan asked as Kael'thas stepped into view on the upper level.
"They will not make it through the protective shield before the ritual is complete," Kael'thas puffed out his chest with pride. "Lady Jaina is a formidable sorceress, but her abilities pale in comparison to mine."
"You should have just killed them, their continued presence on the island endangers your vision."
"Remember your place Drathir!" Kael'thas snapped. "I will not be lectured at by the likes of you, your position here is solely due to your knowledge of the Sunwell's magics, do not think yourself safe simply because you are willingly going along with my designs."
"Yes, my prince. I did not mean to speak out of turn, I was merely suggesting what you could have done to ensure we do not fail Lord Kil'Jaeden." Dar'Khan bowed his head in supplication.
"Begin the ritual at once, or I shall vaporise you where you stand." The prince turned his nose up at the other mage, his eyes turning to the suspended figure of Sylvanas Windrunner.
The Ranger-General turned Paladin was now imprisoned within a glowing golden orb made from her own power; nothing else could contain the power of the Sunwell than the energy itself. The Prince felt it had been his finest work to turn Sylvanas' borrowed power into that which bound her to be sacrificed for a higher purpose; if she felt proud of her accomplishments fighting with the strength of the Light flowing through her, her death would put all those accomplishments to shame.
Kael'thas then looked down with contempt at the other pawn in his plan; the sycophant Dar'Khan Drathir. The Magister had always had an overinflated opinion of himself, and both Kael'thas and his father had stomached Drathir's pretensions as he had helped establish and keep Quel'thalas safe over the centuries. After the Sunwell's power had diminished, it was Dar'Khan who had been the intermediary between Kael'thas and the Lich King, and eagerly helped his Prince in exchange for more power; both political and magical.
Naturally, Kael'thas had no intention of giving Dar'Khan anything for his spellwork but a quick death; the Magister had betrayed his king, his friend Lor'themar, and Kael'thas expected that he would be betrayed once Kil'Jaedan was summoned, if given the chance. The energy in the chamber was amplified in an instant, and the golden floor of the Sunwell chamber was scarred by the glowing green symbols and spellwork Drathir had cast in order to summon their demon lord.
'The damage will be temporary, a necessary sacrifice on the path to our glorious ascension!'
The Prince watched as energy flowed from Sylvanas in her orb down into the Sunwell, and he smiled as the familiar aura of the Sunwell enveloped him once more.
'Anar'alah belore!'
There was an almighty crash, and Kael'thas whirled to see his uninvited guests had gotten around his barrier by smashing through the wall.
"How primitive." He mocked as they approached. "But you are too late to stop us now."
The Prince summoned a stronger barrier between the intruding heroes and the Sunwell chamber, and he stood in the way of the only route to the chamber; their only options to stop the summoning was either undoing his superior spellwork, or surpassing him in a fight.
"Sylvanas!" Arthas yelled, hurrying to the barrier and slamming his fist against it.
"She can't hear you," Kael'thas smirked. "She's suspended in a magical coma; I doubt she realises where she is right now."
Jaina moved to stand between the others and Kael'thas, clearly ready to engage the Prince in a contest of spellwork.
"You are no match for me, Proudmoore," he reminded her. "But if you wish to die at my hands instead of Lord Kil'Jaeden, I will happily fulfil your request."
"I don't need to beat you, just hold you back long enough."
"Long enough?" the Prince laughed. "It won't be long until Kil'Jaeden walks upon the surface of Azeroth, the more time you waste only works in my favour."
"Sylvanas! You must awaken from this vile spellwork," Uther yelled. "You are being used as a pawn in the Legion's plans!"
"So narrow-minded."
"Sylvanas! Please wake up!" Alleria pleaded. "You can break free of the Legion's chains! I escaped their clutches!"
"Like wolves howling at the moon." Kael'thas mocked them again, before all eyes turned to the chamber, where foreign winds were swirling around Dar'Khan. "Behold, the saviour of my people comes."
"You have doomed your people and your world because of your greed." Yrel snapped. "Azeroth will become as accursed as Argus, just another steppingstone on the Legion's march to wiping out ALL life."
"And what of your people who remained faithful to Lord Kil'Jaeden? Those who didn't flee? What has become of them?"
"They're monsters, enslaved to the will of the Legion." Yrel moved to stand beside Jaina. "Death would be a better fate for them."
"Your words will not sway me," he bristled.
"Cease your stalling, whelp!" Kil'Jaeden's voice boomed from the slowly growing portal. "Drain the girl. Drain her power until there is nothing but a vacant shell!"
"At once, O great one!" Dar'khan loudly replied, increasing the speed of his summoning, visibly drawing more energy from Sylvanas.
"No!" Alleria yelled, her cry was so loud that Dar'khan momentarily flinched in the midst of his spellwork.
As more energy began to flow out of Sylvanas, she began to stir within her golden prison.
"Sylvanas! You have to fight back before it's too late!" Arthas yelled, while Alleria knelt before the barrier.
"It already is too late, young prince," Kael'thas swelled with pride. "Kil'Jaeden comes, Lady Sylvanas will give her life to save her people from the Legion's flames, and you shall be the first to be sacrificed to our saviour."
Arthas moved to attack the prince, but Lor'themar stepped into his path.
"The time has finally come!" Kil'Jaden's voice boomed again, as a large red hand slowly emerged from the glowing Sunwell plateau. "I shall succeed where so many have failed and bathe this impudent world in the Legion's flames."
"Sylvanas!" Several voices cried in unison.
Alleria bowed her head, and in the silence that followed Kil'Jaeden's presence entering the chamber, her quiet singing carried loud and clear.
"Anar'alah, Anar'alah belore Sin'dorei."
Everyone just stood and stared at the kneeling ranger, who in the midst of a demon lord being summoned into their world, was singing an ancient lament.
"Shindu fallah na, Sin'dorei!" Alleria's voice grew louder, and much to everyone's surprise, Sylvanas stirred again, and the energy flowing from her slowed despite Dar'khan's efforts.
"Anar'alah, Shindu Sin'dorei," Lor'themar and Halduron knelt beside Alleria, adding their voices to hers.
"Cease this prattling! I shall not be denied!" Kil'Jaeden roared.
Uther and Arthas both moved to stand with Jaina and Yrel, now blocking him from reaching the three singing Quel'dorei.
"Do you really think this will work?" The prince mocked.
Kil'Jaeden's head and torso emerged from the portal, with Sylvanas suspended in the air just above his crown, but it was clear the demon lord's presence on Azeroth was tenuous.
"Shindu fallah na, Sin'dorei. Anar'alah belore. Shindu..." they continued, their voiced growing ever louder to be heard over the whirling portal through which Kil'Jaeden was half-emerged.
"Sin'dorei. Anar'alah belore." Sylvanas' lips mouthed the words her sister was singing to her, as her body began to move independently from the listless floating she had been doing before.
"Drathir, finish the summoning!" Kael'thas barked.
"Sylvanas, close the portal!" Arthas yelled, but Alleria and Uther both overruled him with a different suggestion.
"They want the Sunwell, sister," Alleria rose to her feet.
"Show them the power of the Light." Uther finished.
"Belore!" Sylvanas' eyes snapped open, revealing two pools of glowing golden light.
"No!" Kil'Jaeden and Kael'thas roared, but it was too late.
Light erupted from Sylvanas in every direction, as the Ranger-General turned Paladin unleashed all the energy within her that Dar'khan's ritual was attempting to siphon; but unlike the ritual, she did not hold back, nor did she attempt to channel it toward a select target or goal. Uther, Arthas, and Yrel all used their own command over the Light to shield themselves and their allies, as supernatural holy energy erupted from Sylvanas' body, bathing everything in a blinding light that almost overwhelmed their combined efforts.