Well here it is, a little late sadly but that is what happens when you struggle to get a damn chapter done in two days with a deadline. I did get it done but I had to edit it and that takes a damn long time. So sorry for that, and a big sorry for Blackcross0, I had hoped to get it to you sooner.

This chapter came about because of Blackcross0, a late birthday present for him. So everyone wish him a Happy Birthday.

Now onto a serious matter, I plan to continue writing until December 1st, then I will be going on a break till late January. When I return I will be posting a single chapter for all my stories. But on the break I will be doing a lot of work on my stories and actually writing, it is just at a slower and more leisured pace. So when I come back at the end of January I will have something for you all.

But be aware I won't stop writing until December first, so from now to then more chapters and stories are to come.


Transcendence

Chapter 47: Dark Plans in Motion

Ethel Rethor

Codexia was nearly sprinting towards the entrance of the city; she needed to get to Maraudon as quickly as possible. Things had escalated far beyond what she had thought was possible, how she did not notice it or even predict this could be happening was beyond her. Hell she was in the Bone Wastes less than a week ago and did not see a single sign of battle near the mountain.

Truthfully she had been unable to believe what she had been told. But she trusted the source enough to at least warrant an investigation to determine if what was being said was actually occurring. Yet a part of her nagged that this would have happened has she not been bogged down with her own doubts and emotions, that if she stayed focused she would have been able to see this coming from a league away.

The Nobles were taking offensive action against the Centaur? Attempting to claim a possibly dangerous magical source from within Maraudon? Were they completely mad?

"Worse yet, Mordent was leading the Shen'dralar in this assault, if those idiots actually think they can find whatever they are searching for in that mountain they have another thing coming." Codexia growled, remembering her little conversation with the one who told her this.


Codexia scowled as she had found herself barred from the building where the Shen'dralar has set up their new headquarters, the Sanctum they called it. More like a vault filled to the brim with their hoarded knowledge, something they value and would keep hidden from all but themselves. The guards preventing her from entering and also saying that Mordent is not available to speak with her, that she did not believe.

What could that man possibly be doing that would take up his time so? But she did know, and when she asked the guards what could be taking up his time they chose not to speak. Feigning ignorance as to what the Archmage could be doing, even when she made it blatantly obvious as to what he was likely doing.

'I know what you did.' Codexia fumed as she stalked away from the Sanctum.

She had recently heard that there had been a raid on the Satyr ruins of Sargeron, the Shen'dralar leading the attack and reclaiming many magical artefacts. For what purpose she did not know but she vowed to find out exactly what they were up to, the risk of them doing something monumentally stupid was high and she needed to make sure nothing horrible happened.

"My lady Codexia."

The Primalist turned quickly to face the speaker, finding a familiar short white haired mage standing behind her, the orange and red robes standing out against his pale purple skin.

"You are Caelyb Greenearth, Mordent's apprentice." Codexia said, turning to the young mage and scrutinizing her presence before her, what was he doing here and not by Mordent's side?

"That is correct; I wish to speak with you on a matter regarding my master." Caelyb said, before glancing around and then walking away.

Codexia was intrigued, but also suspicious that this young man had come to her like this, he was the apprentice of the man she was looking for and he wanted to speak with her about his master. Her mind was already thinking up so many possible things that could come from following him, yet she needed to know what he knew. Even if it was some kind of trap she could best her ambushers and pry the information from them.

'Now that I know what I am thinking it feels so wrong how quickly I am prepared to resort to such things.' Codexia thought, turning and following the mage.

Several alleyways they passed through before they moved to the southern edge of the city, allowing her to see the coast and singular mountain in the distance. Her eyes scanned the area, her senses extended through more than just her eyes but those tapping into nature and the waters, she sensed no other presences nearby, they were completely alone.

"What is it you wish to discuss about Mordent?" Codexia inquired.

"My master is no longer within the city." Caelyb said, frowning as he turned to regard her. "He has been ordered by the Nobles to assist in a matter regarding the acquisition of a new font of power for our race."

Codexia did not speak for a moment, a cold dread working its way from her stomach and into her throat as she struggled to make an utterance. The Highborne Nobles were trying to search for a new means of harnessing magic? Have they lost all sense? They had already nearly been annihilated because of their addiction to the arcane and they would return to it without a second thought?

"Does this have anything to do with the raid on Sargeron? And the acquisition of the artefacts there? Are they that desperate they would pillage ruins to try and have a taste of magical energies?" Codexia said, she felt infuriated that the Nobles would act in such a manner and think they could hide it from her.

They had seen what harnessing magic beyond their reckoning had done to their leader, what he had done to their people in order to keep it for himself and what that led to in the end. But she knew exactly the hubris of the Arcane; none ever thought that a calamity would befall them, the arrogance that magic breeds made one feel invincible and faultless. Even when one does not harness it, the desire for it and the feeling it brings is all that they desire, power for the sake of power.

"That I cannot confirm, but I have heard whispers, that there are artefacts that were procured for the venture on which my Master now attends to." Caelyb stated, before he turned back to the sea and looked to the lone mountain along the coast. "Recently it was revealed a powerful source of energy resides within Maraudon, the Shen'dralar and the Guard have been sent to locate the source and if possible bring it back."

Codexia's blood went cold, Maraudon held a powerful source of energy; that couldn't be right. She had done a great deal of research into the region and nowhere did she find anything relating to the mountain and some mysterious power source, she found nothing that even mentioned there being ruins or anything within its depths. But if the Highborne actually sensed something…

This had not been accounted for. How could she have missed something like this? While she had never picked the Desolace to bring the Highborne, her original plans never accounted for them, her initial time here had told her that there was nothing that the Highborne could safely harness. Her entire plan hitched on the Highborne being starved of their magic entirely and forced to take up Primalism in an attempt to survive.

"What is this source?" Codexia demanded, desperate to know what these fools were going after, the Highborne needed to be stopped before they brought themselves, along with everything else, to ruin.

"We do not know, but they are close, recent attacks against the Centaur have been…" Caelyb never had a chance to finished, Codexia grabbed him by his robed, and he grew startled by her furious expression.

"Centaur!? You have been attacking the Centaur Clan that resides near the mountain!?" Codexia yelled.

This was worse than she could have imagined, she may not know Centaur customs and traditions or even their guttural language, but she knew enough about Maraudon. It was a sacred and holy ground to the Centaur clans, the Maraudine Clan may be no friend to the other clans but they were seen as sacred guardians to the mountain.

From what Codexia had been told, no clan was permitted to shed blood or invade the mountain, if someone was to ever attack that mountain all the clans would march against the invader. It is probably the only known instance where the warring Clans would work together for a mutual goal that didn't benefit only one of their clans.

"Do you have any idea what this could do, the Centaur could invade the city if we attack them!" Codexia growled. "Worse it could lead them to rampage across the entire region and that would bring the Horde and Night Elves here to investigate!"

"The Nobles believe that there is no need for concern, as we have been attacking them for the last six days, and from what I have heard we are succeeding and driving them from the mountain." Caelyb replied, freeing himself from Codexia and stepping away from her.

Codexia went silent again, surprised by the sudden statement regarding the apparent success of the assault, then she remembered the artefacts Caelyb mentioned. It would seem that the Highborne had the playing field levelled, giving them an advantage over the barbarians, that did not make her feel any better.

"I have been privy to some information, but all I know is that the Centaur are being pushed back and some are fleeing the region." Caelyb said. "My Master was sent to offer his skills with several of his own people, they are to aid in the final assault and enter the mountain to find the power source and retrieve it."

She couldn't allow that, if they were to find another source of power they would fall just like Tortheldrin did, they would put themselves and many others at risk with their actions. If what Caelyb says is true, that the Centaur are fleeing from the mountain, than she may not have much time before the Shen'dralar breach the mountain.

"I need to go now." Codexia said, turning and moving off, she needed to find a mount and get out there now.

"May I suggest the stables near the entrance, I am sure you noticed the horses." Caelyb said.

Codexia did not halt in her stride, it slowed and she thought on where they could have gotten those horses, but she shook off the need to know and continued onwards. Right now she didn't have time to question where the horses came from of what the power source may be, she needed to get into the mountain and stop Mordent at all costs.


She turned off the main street as she strolled towards the large open building, finding many steeds present within. Without a word she took the nearest horse that had a saddle, mounting quickly and forcing it into a gallop, and she was out the gates.

"I should have known, I should have foreseen something like this, why didn't I noticed it?" Codexia chided herself.

The Highborne were incredibly arrogant, they actually thought that they could get away with harvesting the demonic energies from a Void Terror and face no consequences. It seems that lesson did not sink in deep enough, now they seek something else to feed on like leeches. She wondered if they would have sucked the fel taint from the damn ground if it had come down to it, but she doubted that their pride would remain intact after doing something so unfitting of their noble and glorious status.

"I wonder…" Codexia mused, her anger and anxiety washing away as she thought on something. "Had I not fought with Marta, would I have seen this coming and planned for it?"

She had always been careful and knew how to hold control over someone, even when she had to make a change in her plans to involve the Highborne at the last minute she performed perfectly. Manipulating them and bringing their people to heel easily, in fact she integrated and used them for her plans and did not suffer for it at all, and as much as she hated to admit it, she did great.

But with the rising of the city and her own doubts beginning to appear, something that had taken almost all her attention, did she loose that edge that had kept her in control. She had the Highborne populace eating out of the palm of her hand and she was planning to use that, but it was nearly all gone thanks to the criers and Nobles attempts to direct the people's praise towards them. Had she still been who she was, would she have been able to prevent this?

These questions linger on her mind. Had she been more of a tyrant would the Nobles never dared to act against her?


"The Artefacts are ready and waiting, my followers within the Shen'dralar are prepared to act. Also Mordent and most of his trusted routine have left the city to Maraudon." Maluineth said, standing with her fellow Nobles within their court. "The rest that have remained within the city have been captured and subdued without injury."

A'oraen nodded his head, with those loyal to Mordent no longer free to hinder their operations or report to the Archmage they can move ahead with their plans. All that remained was the final two piece of the plan to fall into place, and when the doors to the chamber opened he knew that it had already been taken care of.

"My Lords, Codexia had departed the city, her destination is to Maraudon."

"Very good Caelyb, you have served us well." A'oraen said.

"Caelyb, fetch the gnome and then get the Scribes and Callers ready, we will be making our announcement soon." Mildreas said, glaring at the young man.

"Yes, Lord Willowgrave." Caelyb replied, bowing his head and departing the room, ignoring the derisive snort he received from his father.

"Your son is loyal; I would have expected him to be less inclined, considering you denounced him." Tylarwin said, glancing at Mildreas who only glared at his fellow Councillor, yet he did not falter or even flinch at the man's stare.

"Luckily I hold his ear as well." Maluineth said, smiling slightly as she decided to prevent Mildreas from going into a rant. "I promised him a better position within the Shen'dralar once all was said and done."

"Failure should not be rewarded." Mildreas growled.

"Unlike you I do not require others to elevate myself to higher prestige, I also don't use them as stepping stones if they fail to live up to my outlandish expectations, and that is especially true if they are family." Maluineth said, smirking as she got man to snarl at her.

"Enough." A'oraen chided, he did not like them fighting amongst one another. "Half of our objectives are complete, and the third must be acquired so that the fourth can come into being. I expect you all to hold your tongues when we speak with her, I care not what you feel about this, it must be done."

Mildreas did nothing but scowl at the statement, his own misgivings about this plan were known to the rest, while the others of the court remained neutral in regards to the meeting that was about to occur. But there was some disquiet amongst the Nobles, to rely on someone outside of their faction, let alone their race, was not something they liked. Lesser races should be used for menial tasks that they themselves were above to perform, but relying on them for this important mission felt wrong to some.

On cue the doors open a second time, three individuals entered, flanked by two guards strolled in Marta Gearspanner who glanced around the chamber for a moment before her gaze settled on the nobles. The short woman had a frown on her young girlish freckled face, and she was sending it right towards all the occupants of the room.

"What do you want?" Marta demanded, her tone scathing and irritated.

"We asked you here regarding your stay within our city." A'oraen said, appearing to be quite calm and cheerful as he addressed the Gnomish Captain. "You have been here for two and a half weeks and you have made no move to depart. We would like to know why."

"Why? It is obvious, we were hired to provide a service at a fee, not only have we not been paid for that service but we have squandered resources taking care of a thousand people when we didn't need to." Marta replied, crossing her arms. "And considering the treatment we got from some of you I am not totally inclined to believe I made the right choice."

"I apologize if we offended you so; our people had been displaced quite recently at the time and we were afraid for our future and what it would mean for our race." A'oraen replied, halting any form of outburst that may have come from his fellow council members. "But you could understand that, considering the one who put us in these dire straits is also someone that gambled with the lives of your own people as well."

Marta scowled at the comment, clearly infuriated by being reminded of what happened between her and Codexia after the city had been risen from the ocean floor. She had lost a lot of good people, friends and colleagues; her ambition had been the reason for their deaths.

"Yeah, I do know, but it doesn't change the fact we haven't been paid." Marta said, her glare was smouldering as she looked at A'oraen. "My boys put their lives on the line and they deserve to at least get their money's worth for it, and extra I might add."

"I agree, and despite our resistance to your attempts to plunder the city we have decided to rectify the situation. I am happy to inform you that we have been able to amass a large enough sum to pay for your services, as rendered by Codexia of course." A'oraen said, gesturing to the far wall and allowing six chests to be brought forward.

With a snap of his fingers, a spark of magic appearing between the digits, the chests slid open to reveal an assortment of jewels and gold within. Marta's eyes widened at the treasure within, that was more gold than she was expecting, it should easily fill the quota and then some. But in a way she suspected that there had to be more to this, why give them this money and ask for nothing in return? These guys have been keeping them from making a single copper ever since the city was raised, why the change of heart?

But that was easy to answer, it was so obvious, they wanted something and are dangling the bait in front of them.

"What do you want?" Marta asked blandly.

"Pardon?" A'oraen inquired, his smile never dropping as he cocked his head to the side as he waited for the Gnome to respond.

"I want to know what you want from us, you haven't given us so much as a glance since the city was raised, and don't even think about denying that you don't like us simply because we are not the same smug species as you. But now we have this gold here meant to pay for the job Codexia put on us, and you are paying for it." Marta said, glaring at the man. "I know you have no love for Codexia, and certainly don't give a rat's arse about our problems, so I want to know why you are bailing her out and giving us this money."

A'oraen had to give the gnome credit, she certainly knew when she was being played, not many would look past the gold or suspect something was amiss until the ultimatum was made. It would seem that the legends of the Gnomes being intelligent were true, although Goblins were also said to be intelligent in their own was as well.

"I find it unlikely that you would take up a second job until you have been paid for the first one, so I am settling that right now so that I can hire you and your company for another task." A'oraen said, walking around the small empty well that sat in the centre of the chamber. "And unlike Codexia I can pay my debts as you have seen."

Marta gauged the tall elf for a moment, looking him in the eye and knowing for a fact that he didn't give a damn about her or her company, he would sell her out just like Codexia if it suited him. They wanted something and she was a means to an end, which is exactly what they wanted from her, to use her and discard her when all was said and done. But she had no other choice but to accept, without that money there was no way she could continue to support and keep the Company running.

"How much are you offering?" Marta asked.

"Six more chest, fully stocked just like these ones here." A'oraen replied.

"We will take these chests with us now, I want half on the next job up front before we begin and we get the second half as soon as we are done." Marta said, her terms were swiftly given and also swiftly set off another.

"How dare you make…!" Mildreas prepared to protest.

"Deal." A'oraen said, cutting off the argument before it could happen. "My men will take the chest to the docks and you will receive the next three chests when we are prepared to begin the mission. I will send over the details soon."

"Pleasure doing business with you." Marta said, turning and moving for the door.

Whatever these guys were planning couldn't be good, but right now she didn't have time to worry about that. She had to get the money they were owed so that this Company could continue to thrive and then once everything was done she would sail out of here. Whatever they were doing likely was going to interfere with Codexia's plans for them, in a way she was happy that was the case, all the more better for her to do it.

When the doors closed A'oraen turned to his fellow nobles and smiled, phase three was complete and phase four was right on schedule. In the event this plan with Marta does not pan out they still could rely on phase two to deal with Mordent and Codexia, they would not need many to deal with those two and any of Mordent's supporters.

"Now that all the pieces are in place we can begin to move." A'oraen said. "Maluineth, contact the Shen'dralar, you have a go to prepare the capture of the Elementals."

"Of course, my Lord." Maluineth said, swiftly teleporting from the chamber.

"With your permission I take my leave, I will need to organize the troops that are to be sent, unless there is something else you require of me?" Tylarwin said.

"No, Mildreas has already handled the force that will be travelling with Marta's Company; he has presented his own personal troops to the mission." A'oraen said.

Tylarwin had his doubts about Mildreas sending his own forces on this mission, since he was selecting his own troops he likely was attempting to garner favour now. Considering the man's ambitions it was likely that he was attempting to increase his own image, completing this crucial mission likely would do it.

'More than likely his other son will be taking part, maybe even leading the forces.' Tylarwin thought, he needs to be watched closely it seems, maybe I should make sure he doesn't do anything drastic in the future.

"Of course, I assume that you wish for me to prepare the cities defences then?" Tylarwin inquired, turning back towards the Head Chancellor.

"Correct, I want this entire city locked down for the foreseeable future, your men will be guarding the cells of those that cannot be trusted while also keeping the population in line if things escalate beyond our control." A'oraen said.

"What of our borders?" Tylarwin inquired, and was met with an amused chuckle.

"If Maluineth is able to contain the Elementals and siphon their power your men will not be needed to protect our borders."


Maluineth appeared within the Sanctums main chamber, she turned to the right to see former members of the Shen'dralar being carted off towards a stair well. They would be imprisoned until the situation is resolved, locked in the dungeons below the city.

Good, without any obstacles left she would have complete control over the mages that remained, because they were all loyal to her. That is what she needed right now to maintain control of the Shen'dralar, and once Mordent was dead she would take complete control and the rest would eventually have no choice but to fall in line under her.

"Traitor! You will pay for this!"

Maluineth did not deign to respond to the taunt; instead she strolled past the green haired magi and towards her new head of the Shen'dralar. Tarelvir, a senior member of the order and a skilled magi, he was the perfect candidate she needed to lead the organization in her stead. While she would technically lead the order, she needed a figurehead in the organization that would follow her instructions without question.

"Has everything been made ready?" Maluineth said.

"Yes, the artefacts are ready, the Obelisk is being calibrated as we speak with runes best to counter the Spirit of Decay and our best Arcanists are preparing to face the Spirit of the Wilds." Tarelvir said, handing Maluineth one of the Artefacts that she would use for the battle.

"And the Pylons?" Maluineth inquired, examining the item in question before glancing over towards several magi working on three large crystals.

"Ready, once the spirits are weakened they can be sealed within, and the alterations and seals have been put in place, once they are trapped their power shall be siphoned away." Tarelvir said. "We also have the runes prepared for the Obelisk as well, once we have finished with the Moon Lance Runes we can move onto the Storm Vortex Runes immediately."

"Good, very good, I will move to Temple now and beginning the summoning, prepare the entire order and be ready for battle; I do not doubt that these Elementals will not go down without a fight." Maluineth said, before she strolled towards the exit.

She knew that they had to take these Elementals down quickly and without a prolonged struggle, a long drawn out battle could bring down the entire palace or even the city itself. The other nobles expected of her that this task to be done properly, and she would not disappoint, her appointment and reclamation of her noble title is something she would not lose again. She would not cause a blunder, she would be patient and perform this task to the letter in order to succeed.

A quick strolled down the streets and she was in front of the main palace, the temples pale aquamarine walls stood against that of the white marble of the towering palace behind it. She always hated the contrast of it, thinking that the towering structure of the palace should share in the colour of the temple at its base, but truly it did not matter. As she strolled up the steps she entered the temple, finding it devoid of life as per usual.

'Good, they likely won't be any the wiser.'

"I can tell what you are thinking, and you are mistaken."

Maluineth felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and a cold chill run up her spine, that whisper had come from right behind her, and that sensation came from the single sharp point that trailed up her back. Glancing over her shoulder she found the shadowy figure standing there, towering over her nearly twice her height and glaring down at her with two white orbs within a veil of darkness.

"But to come alone and not expect us to be suspicious? You truly are naïve, for none save our chosen has come here and she has already been driven from the city by your little spy." Erebus said, his form dissolving into pure darkness and reforming near the tree.

From the two intertwined trees water began to flow outwards and take the familiar form of Thetis, stone and metal rising from the ground to form armour and clothing for the feminine spirit. While the trees sprouted vines and bark, which took the form of Druantia, and soon the three spirits lay before her, ready and waiting for her to do something.

"On the contrary I did expect that, trying to get the better of a spirit? Let alone a Spirit of Life. Please, even I am not that arrogant." Maluineth said, smiling slightly as she folded her hands behind her back.

"And yet you try to use subterfuge now, it is no wonder why the other nobles respect you so, manipulating your own people, but in turn being easy to manipulate yourself." Erebus said, scoffing as he sensed her magecraft being cast.

"Surprising then why you do not attack, I would have thought that you would kill me the instant I appeared." Maluineth said, not dropping her smile as she made the inquiry. "After all, no one would want to be sealed away again for several thousand years."

"You have your schemes and we have ours, and I assure you, compared to what we have in the works, what you little bags of flesh can create are nothing more than childish subversions of murlocs." Erebus said.

Maluineth would need to be careful then, she knew that the Spirits had the ability to pierce the future and see what is to come, meaning that this plan may have faults that need to be accounted for. But if they did see a future where they would be freed there was nothing that could possibly be done, fate was something of an impossibility to stop. You can stall and deny fate as much as you wanted, but in the end it always caught up and took its due.

"But do you know why you do what you do?" Thetis inquired, floating forward on a wave of moisture. "You strive so hard to hold this position and appear to be useful to the Nobles, and risking a direct confrontation with us to appease them, but you are unsure of the means and plans that you are about to unfold."

Maluineth did not respond, merely staring at the spirit and wondering what her angle would be, she knew that each spirit had different emotional mediums and they often portrayed themselves differently. Erebus was cold and blunt with his statement, nothing but truth, while Thetis was often nurturing and kind and did not wish to cause harm to those around her.

"You do not trust the nobles, you worry that their methods are no different than Prince Tortheldrin." Druantia said.

"I said nothing of the sort." Maluineth replied, her smile fading as she looked at the elementals, she never doubted them, not even once, so why are they attempting to twist her loyalties. "But I am certain of our goals, we are here to save our civilization, from starvation and from any threat that seeks to end our way of life."

"You crave magic so much, that you would forget the same mistakes your former tyrant made and the consequences of his actions. How long before your peoples blood begins to litter the ground when they do not agree with your decisions." Druantia asked, her serene features not shifting or changing as she spoke. "Even before the madness sets in you are already following in the path your former Prince led you on. You cannot truly believe what you are doing is right, when you are so willing to murder your own people to achieve your own personal goals."

Maluineth remained silent as she listened to the reply, she could feel the power and strength in the words but she chose not to succumb to them. They had all suffered under the tyranny of a mad ruler, and she knew who she could trust and who the enemy was. She hated the Prince and what he had done, and all the pain he had caused their people and herself, and now it was time to make right those mistakes.

"Nothing shall befall my people, for me and the other nobles are united in a single cause and that is the preservation of our way of life and our existence, something we have more right to than anyone else." Maluineth replied, scowling and she unfolded her hands and presented the Sceptre of Light. "You will not subvert our ways; we will continue this path and rise again into glory."

"Arrogance at its finest, you cannot see the wrong you do because you think you are so righteous, I will enjoy seeing that false virtue shatter." Erebus said, an echoing laugh escaping from the confines of his cowl.

"You seek to change us and shackle ourselves to you, who would use us as nothing but vessels to gain power for yourselves, I know of Primalism and how it works, I think it is only fair you learn to feel what it is like to be used." Maluineth said.

Instantly many lights began to form around the chamber, three dozen Highborne sorcerers appeared before the three spirits. The small army was not all that was brought; three large crystal pylons were located just behind Maluineth, and a large obelisk that was lined with multiple rune engraved crystals.

"It is time for you three to go back to sleep." Maluineth said.

"I give one final warning, once you realize the truth do not hide from it, make it right and follow what your heart truly want." Druantia said.

"I know all I need to know." Maluineth said, raising the Sceptre of Light, her form and the staff pulsed with light as she prepared to battle the three spirits.


Nijel's Point

Eight Hours Later

Iyeana glanced down at the ruins below, finding among the massive stone structures to be small signs of battle that could not be but a few days old. Destroyed huts and alters were all around the ground, it would seem that this was the ruins known as Sargeron, and a haven for the corrupted Satyr.

But she saw no other demons below, even as the sun began to pass over the horizon and the coastal storm clouds in the distance she could make out anything below. Her eyes were well trained to see in the dark, yet not a soul or demon moved below them. The entire region had been cleared out and left nothing alive, in fact she saw smouldering piles of blackened charcoal. Flecks of green and orange embers could be seen, at least the Highborne cleaned up after themselves.

Based on Pained's testimony this ruin had been attacked by the Highborne, the intent to raid to claim any lost artefacts within and to bring them back to Ethel Rethor, and the entire Satyr population wiped out. While she would have lauded the fact that these demons were dead it made her question how powerful the Highborne truly were, Nijel's Point had been established nearly a year ago and they had not had this kind of success before.

'If a hundred Sentinels and Theramore Soldiers could not destroy the Satyrs here, then how could a group of magically deprived Highborne do it?' Iyeana mused, but that would have to wait until she reached the outpost, luckily they were close.

"We are nearly there!" Iyeana called out, looking back at the three dozen Gryphons and Hippogryphs that moved in formation behind her.

They had to double up while riding sadly, she couldn't take too many of the Hippogryphs and Gryphons from the forces at the pass. If the Centaur attacked again they would be depriving their allies of much needed support from above, in fact she had been ordered to send back half all the Hippogryphs once they touched down.

'Let's hope that the ten Gryphons we keep with us will be enough.' Iyeana thought.

Soon enough she caught sight of the camp, her expectations were not met when she caught sight of it, there was little to anything but ruins surrounding a clear patch of dirt. While the pretend courtyard leads to an incline towards the mountains where a lodge rested at its base, it was not so much a camp but maybe a poorly hidden enclave.

'This place is meant to guard against possible attacks on Stonetalon, how could it possibly be that they do not have greater defences in place? Where is the rest of the army?' Iyeana thought, this couldn't possibly be Nijel's Point.

Quickly landing in the open plot of land in the midst of the ruins she dismounted, her companions following in on her landing, a few dwarves and elves stepping forward to take the reins of their mounts. Iyeana glanced around at the place and was surprised by the sheer lack of actual defences in place, while there were sentries and guard everywhere there were no major fortifications, elven or human.

Also it seemed that almost every single guard on duty protecting the camps perimeter was the standing force of the entirety of Nijel's Point. She could count about a hundred people were here based on a single glance, and the majority of them were Humans and Dwarves with a few High Elves. Iyeana had only brought along sixty people and was slated to receive more from Stonetalon Peak in the next two days, but even then that was not likely going to be a massive force.

'This place should have had over three hundred Sentinels here, where are they?' Iyeana mused, they were greatly undermanned now, and how were they meant to make a sizable dent in the enemy without an actual army.

She knew that Feralas was having difficulty getting any major support in the last few years but she didn't expect this place to be so lightly defended. How could Shandris or even Tyrande allow such flimsy defences be put in place, the Theramore Guard had more soldiers here and seemed better prepared and organized than the Sentinels.

'I need to find whoever is in command here and find out what is going on.' Iyeana thought.

"Iyeana I presume?"

Iyeana turned to see a Theramore Officer with long orange hair and mutton chops to match strolling forward, he approached the Sentinel and held out hand in greeting. She looked at it for a moment before taking it and giving a shake, and then he turned and moved back towards the lodge. Iyeana was caught off guard by the greeting and then casual dismissal afterwards.

"Captain Pentigast, as your service." The man said, looking relieved as he spoke yet his face was hidden from her, only halting for a moment to glance at her. "It is good you came here when you did, even if the Satyrs and the Orcs are all but a memory the Highborne have been causing all kinds of strife across the region."

"Their activities are just one of many things that I wish to know of." Iyeana said, planning on going after him and demanding to know what the hell is going on in this camp, until he raised his hand.

"In the Lodge we can speak, I will tell you everything there, but first gather your officers and get your troops in order, by daybreak you will need to move." Pentigast said, leaving Iyeana to frown at the second dismissal thrown at her, but he continued on his trek back up the hill without another word.

She did not like that; it was not the short conversation that left her with little to nothing to go on, and the fact that as soon as they had arrived they would be forced into a fight. Dusk was settling in and her troops were tired from the fighting and long journey here and would likely only have tonight to rest.

But she knew that if he was so frantic and continually moving it meant that the situation in the northern Desolace was not as calm as previously thought, just one of many misconceptions it seems. There was a lot going on here, a lot that even Pained did not seem to report, that concerned her greatly if their most trusted source of information couldn't get this information.

"Araesia, Hymaercia, with me." Iyeana ordered, turning to her Sentinels and barking an order. "The rest of you, divide into squads and wait for further orders."

With her two officers in tow she moved up the slope and after the Captain, she didn't have time to wait and see what was going on, she wanted to know everything now. Every detail would be crucial with every decision she was to make, if Shandris entrusted her with this missions he needed to know every scrap of information she can to make a wise decision. She could not fail here, not when so much was riding on her shoulders and the warriors she had brought with her.

Stepping into the Lodge she walked the halls and onto the balcony overlooking the whole camp below, Iyeana was pleased to see her troops divided into three scores and were waiting. But she turned back to Pentigast, seeing him talking to another individual in black and gold robes, and advanced on his quickly.

"Those artefacts they stole, Keeper Marandis said their powers were not to be trifled with." Pentigast said, sounding concerned.

"I would listen to him then, I have been searching these ruins for weeks now and if my discoveries are aligned with hers than we are definitely in trouble." The Dark haired man said.

"Captain, I would like to know what is going on right now." Iyeana said, standing before the Theramore Captain and his associate.

"Of course, but first let me introduce you, this is Azore Aldamont he is the one who informed us of Codexia and her activities." Pentigast said, gesturing to the man.

"We can get to that soon enough, first I want to know where the rest of the Sentinel forces are from this outpost and the limited resources it has." Iyeana said, narrowing her eyes at the Captain.

"Others? We have no one else, this is all we have, all we were given." Pentigast said, and from the sounds of it he was just as unpleased with it as Iyeana was.

"How is it that Nijel's Point has less than two scores of Sentinels when it was meant to be you who was sent here to help in the defence of the camp." Iyeana said, from what she knew of the Outpost the Theramore guards were meant to actually act as sentries and defenders while the Sentinels carried out their mission with impunity and with their full force.

"Because when we got here all we found was a group of Sentinels camping here, they had the lodge and that was all, no one else, not even a commanding officer." Pentigast said, he saw Iyeana's bewilderment. "I know, I was surprised also until I was told that they would be a skeletal crew for the outpost until another contingent could be sent in, but that was two months before I got here, and I got here six months ago."

Iyeana was shocked, eight whole months this place had been undermanned and with little to no defences? How could this have happened?

"That changes everything, I had hoped that I could command the Sentinels here to fight against the Centaur, but it seems that the three hundred I expected will now only be three scores." Iyeana said, without any heavy support they were effectively limited in what they could achieve here.

She often wondered if this is what Shandris had to constantly deal with when trying to get reinforcements from Ashenvale or Darnassus, and coming up short every time. In fact she wondered how she did what she did with so little in terms of military strength, several hundred Sentinels and she could take out thousands, it was incredible how she could do that. Iyeana just hoped she could follow her example and lead her troops through this and to victory.

"For now we need to know what is happening in the region, what do you know of the Highborne?" Iyeana said, it was time to get to the meat of the matter and finally find out what the Highborne were attempting to do.

"I am assuming you know about Ethel Rethor?" Pentigast said, earning a nod from the Sentinel. "Well, after that place rose from the oceans the Highborne have been busy raiding ruins and searching for artefacts. And they have been collecting several of them from multiple sites across the Desolace."

Iyeana scowled, that was just perfect, a bunch of magical artefacts in the hands of madmen, just something to make her life all the more terrible.

"What do we know in regards to these Artefacts?" Iyeana inquired, and it was Azore who responded.

"Little. While we do not know what was recovered from sites beyond Sargeron, I was able to catalog several of the ones that were taken, the ruins providing some clues as to what was buried here." Azore said, presenting several scrolls to the Sentinel, all written in Ancient Kaldorei. "I have not translated all the text I have found but three items I have legitimate concerns regarding."

Iyeana looked down at the passages and found several items of note, the Crown of the Well, the Layline Bracers and the Amulet of Lathar'Lazal. None of them she had heard of, but the text she noted was near indecipherable to her, the dialect was different from the common language of her people. Likely a higher script that was only readable to those of higher birth, something to be expected of their ancient civilization.

"What are these artefacts that have you so concerned?" Iyeana inquired.

"The Brazier of Elune, a magical bowl that once filled with the sacrificial flesh or blood of an enemy will burn and bestow upon the individual the power of regeneration. It is said that it is powerful enough to match that of a trolls, to regenerate lost organs when damaged, and even limbs." Azore said, and his frown was shared by Iyeana's, something like that in the hands of the Highborne was not something that could be tolerated.

"What of the others?"

"Elune's Handmaiden, another sacrificial statue, but it seems to bestow a blessing onto the warrior who brings to it the broken weapons of his enemies. Said to bestow a divine blessing upon him should he bring her weapons that were red with blood, the blessing I can only guess grants the user greater power, but I am not too sure." Azore replied, his hand trailing along the text and frowning at its indecipherability.

As she listened she remembered something of note, if the Highborne are taking the flesh of the Centaur along with their weapons and sacrificing them at these alters than they likely are making themselves stronger as a result. While the idea that these artefacts held the goddesses name and did these things was shocking, or possibly a lie, she could not take lightly that the Highborne would not use them for their own advantage.

"And the last one?"

"The Runes of Elune, it is some form of Obelisk, its purpose and reason for existing is not known but its power is not to be trifled with. It seems to have many abilities, one is to create powerful storms and use it to bombard a region with lightning strikes and powerful winds." Azore said, before he sighed. "Other times it can drain the energies from around it and into a single vessel of great power."

Iyeana did not like that even more, if something like that could create artefacts of great power there was no telling how dangerous the Highborne could become. They needed to stop them from putting something like that into use, yet her fears were lately realized.

"And it is my belief that these artefacts are already being put to use." Azore said, snapping Iyeana from her thoughts.

"How can you be sure?" Iyeana inquired, leaning on the table towards the man.

"Did you not notice the storm clouds above Ethel Rethor? The entire city is being protected by that storm; anything that approaches it is struck down." Pentigast said. "We have sent scouts towards the city to see and none have returned, from what we can determine they all die before they could reach the coast."

Iyeana scowled, not only did the Highborne likely possess great offensive capabilities now but also defensive, it would seem things have grown even more complicated than previously thought. If the city was protected there was nothing that could be done to attack it. She couldn't take on the Highborne directly even if she had the forces to do it, how were they meant to actually end this when fighting the enemy will result in defeat?

"If we cannot deal with the Highborne than we deal with the Centaur." Iyeana said, knowing that they had to solve the only problem they had a chance at fixing, turning to Pentigast. "Do you know the locations of all their camps?"

"Yes, we do, do you plan on fighting them all? There are still thousands of the beasts here in the Desolace and we barely have over a hundred men and even with your three scores we won't stand a chance." Pentigast said.

"We do not need to kill them all, just the right individuals." Iyeana said.

All Centaur clans follow a single Khan, they lead through strength and power and none challenge them because the Khans know they are indisputably the strongest. But there is a single weakness in their hierarchy, they had only one leader and when that leader is killed a new Khan will step forward to try and take his place. But often that Khan is assassinated or killed by other eligible candidates for the position, meaning that the Centaur would be killing each other just to decide who gets to lead.

This can take days or weeks to settle before a single Centaur takes powers and is able to hold it, if she assassinated every Khan in the Desolace at once than they would be fighting each other and themselves for weeks. More than that, any sort of alliance that could have been formed between the different clans could be shattered and they would turn on each other in a heartbeat.

"Kill the Khan and the clans will turn on each other and look for a new leader." Iyeana said. "The faster we do this the better our odds will be later on."

"Then we can focus on the Highborne and figure out a way to enter the city and end this madness." Anaesia said, receiving a nod from Hymaercia.

"While attacking the city is impossible we may be able to capture some of their soldiers, the Highborne still attack the Centaur and if they were to be pushed back or annihilated we may be able to stop the Centaur's exodus of the region all together." Pentigast said.

"Yes, they are attacking Maraudon correct? Apparently there is something there they are searching for, a source of power within the mountain, some think it is Princess Theradras." Iyeana said, in truth she knew that the mythical Elemental existed but she did not think that the creature itself could be the source of power.

"They would not be wrong."

Iyeana turned to the voice and was surprised by who appeared, walking down the main hall was a large entity. He stood on four powerful legs of its stag body with a powerful muscled physique of a Night elf. He regarded them with a serious frown that seemed to be chiselled into his visage, that face was framed by a flow of leaves that made up his hair.

Some of the less knowledgeable of the world would think this a Centaur, but they are not like him. For the Centaur are bastard offspring of beings such as he, impure creatures of an unholy union. This creature before them was a Keeper of the Grove, a half night elf and stag, a descendant of the Demi-God Cenarius and powerful wielder of druidic magic.

"Keeper, it is an honour." Iyeana said, giving a bow to the great Woodland Protector.

"There is no need for formalities; time is not on our side to stick to conventions and niceties, the Highborne are treading along a path that could spell destruction for us all." Keeper Marandis replied, walking forward and standing between the Alliance Captain and the Sentinels. "Maraudon is an ancient vault that holds Princess Theradras, the daughter of the Elemental Lord Therazane the Stonemother."

That did not come to much of a surprise to those that were present, the Captain Pentigast and Azore having heard the tale many times, while the Sentinels have heard the legends and stories. Yet still that left them concerned with the prospect of a powerful elemental escaping from the confined of the vault and into the world again.

"Then the Highborne need to be stopped at all costs, me and my Sentinels can easily launch an assault against their forces and remove them from play before they breach the mountain." Iyeana said, before she looked to Pentigast. "We only need a location and an idea on the number of soldiers they have at their disposal."

"I have both, luckily they rely on using their artefacts to overwhelm the Centaur, the beast are easily cowed by the arcane and do not attack in mass or regularly. It has been why the Highborne are so successful in their attacks." Pentigast said. "But there are fifty in total, twenty or so are magi while the rest are heavily armed knights, we have scouts continually watching them, and they can fill you in on the details when you are close."

Iyeana nodded her head, receiving a small map of the region and with a circle and cross that said where the enemy was located. It would take nearly half a day to reach the area by foot, but a few hours by Gryphon, although she did not wish to approach in the open but it had to be risked. If they drew close to entering the mountain they could do something to release Theradras, and while her existence may be considered a myth, the word of a Keeper is proof enough she exists within Maraudon.

Ichigo will be needed for this; if things turn for the worst she would want him on the front line leading the charge against the Highborne. She had seen his power and the miracles he seemed to be able to perform simply by being within the vicinity, something she desperately needed in this fight. Her eyes drifted to the West where she could make out thundering clouds in the dusk sky, blue thunder cried from the blackened sky and forewarned of terrible things to come.


There you are, hope you liked it, and for those who wanted some Ichigo, well I cannot disappoint you now can I?


Omake: The Prophetic Angler

Theramore Isle

Ichigo was a little annoyed, not something uncommon these days, and all that came from the fact he was dealing with someone that just utterly baffled him. He along with Adelina and Caren had come to the docks, the purpose to the visit had been to relax and maybe do some fishing to take up their time.

Truthfully Ichigo never really had done any fishing before, not if you count that one game you play at the annual fair back home, and never really saw the interest. But really he had nothing better to do, and after beating up the guards again and no longer being allowed inside the Citadel unless called personally by Jaina he had a lot of free time on his hands.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo grumbled, looking at the man in his late twenties who was smiling broadly.

Ichigo could tell that the smile was real, despite the width and the sheer ludicrousness of how it looked, and it baffled him how he can be this happy. For that reason it was annoying.

"Why my boy I am Nat Pagle, the Angler Extreme!" The choclate brown haired man said, giving a toothy grin and thumbs up. "The greatest fisherman in the world!"

"Never heard of you." Ichigo replied, and wasn't that the truth, although he had said it to be both derogative at this moment, the guy was just rubbing him the wrong way for some reason.

"Hahaha! A young man like you! Hah, I expect you to be fishing for the fish on land than that in the sea!" Nat said, slapping him on the shoulder, and completely missing Ichigo's annoyed glare. "So how can I help you three youngsters?"

Caren stepped forward and in her usual way beseeched three fishing rods from the Greatest Fisherman in the whole of Azeroth. Really this was not going to make him relax at all, especially if he was going to be dealing with this man. So when Caren had asked for three fishing rods to use, and from the look of it the mage probably didn't know what a fishing rod looked like.

"Of course milady, I will give you three my best rods!" Pat said, turning around and opening his trunk.

Before pulling out three rods and presented them to the three youths.

"I give you the Nat Pagle's Extreme Angler FC-5000, the best rods I have ever crafted and guaranteed to make your first line in the water to catch you your first fish!"

Ichigo looked at the plain and utterly normal rods, made of simple wood and having a thin interwoven string acting as a line. Looking around at the other fisherman on the docks he could see that they all had the same kind of rods. So either Nat was peddling his equipment, which is likely no more extraordinary than a normal fishing rod, to everyone, which is not impossible to believe, or the guy was lying that the poles were special.

"Why do I believe that you're full of crap right now?" Ichigo snark reply came through near instantly, only to get a whack in the stomach from Caren's staff.

"How much will they be?" Caren inquired, not even dignifying the substitute she hit with a glance after she hit him.

"Three gold sovereigns… each."

"Now I know you are trying to rip us off!" Ichigo yelled.

"Please my young man, I am being serious here, these poles have been enchanted." Nat said, raising the three up and giving a winning smile. "They magically can make anyone who hold them better at fishing!"

"That is the biggest load of sh-" Ichigo tried to say, before another thump to his gut stopped him.

"We will take them, Ichigo, pay the man." Caren said.

"Me? Why the hell should I give him nine gold?"

"Ten gold." Pat corrected, raising all of his fingers and wiggling them.

"Are you trying to skim money from me now!?" Ichigo yelled, glaring at the man and pointing a finger at him.

"It's for private lessons! I cannot have three novices use such expensive pieces of equipment without at least teaching them!" Pat said, although his eyes were solely on Adelina and Caren when he said that. "Now which of you lovely ladies wants to hold onto my rod?"

"Are you fucking with me!? Fishing lessons my ass! It's plainly obvious you are trying to get laid right now!" Ichigo yelled.

"Ichigo stop complaining and just pay the man, the sooner we get those rods and know how to use them to sooner we can final relax." Caren barked, glaring at Ichigo.

"God dammit." Ichigo grumbled, pulling out his coin purse and producing ten coins, all the while mumbling under his breath. "Here you go, you thieving bastard."

"Excellent! So who here wants some wine? I have a bit on hand, and fishing is always a good time to drink… heavily." Pat said, swiping the coins from Ichigo and turning back to his female companions.

"Are you trying to get them drunk?! What kind of twisted bastard are you?!" Ichigo yelled.

The lessons came and went along quickly enough, something Ichigo was damn thankful for, and the guy knew his stuff when it came to fishing and using the rod. He would never admit that out loud because he was certain the bastard had it in for him, likely because he kept ruining his attempts to flirt with Caren and Adelina.

"Excellent work, you are all naturals, even that short tempered delinquent over there." Pat said, smiling approvingly.

"Want me to throw you in the ocean!?" Ichigo yelled, glaring at the back of the guy's head, that angler really wanted the substitute to snap, because he was getting close to going through with his threat.

"Now, that will be one gold sovereign please." Pat said, extending his hand towards Ichigo.

"Why?" Ichigo barked.

"For completing the lesson and actually taking in what I said, I do a half and half payment plan, if it doesn't take you don't need to pay the second half. But only an idiot couldn't follow my simple instructions." Pat said, smirking at the young man, Ichigo knew he was messing with him, he just had to be.

"Do you want to die?" Ichigo asked, wishing he had brought Zangetsu with him, seriously this guy was nearly as bad as Urahara.

No, he was worse, Urahara never tried to swindle money out of him, never once did he do that.

"I-I think I caught something!" Caren called, quickly reeling in her line and soon a fish shot up out of the water.

"A Sagefish, a good catch, don't see those types around here often, nicely done Miss Willmourne." Pat said, smiling broadly and seemingly forgetting about embezzling money from the substitute. "Hah, I knew you three would do well, I can predict these kinds of things."

"Why can you see the future or something?" Ichigo asked sarcastically.

"Yes my boy, I can," Pat said.

"Bullsh-Ow!" Ichigo started, before yelling out when the Sagefish smacked into his face as Caren reeled it in and onto the dock.

"Excellent work Caren, very nicely done!"

"How is hitting me in the face meant to be Excellent!?" Ichigo yelled.

"Because it is funny! And you should never be too serious when your fishing, takes the fun out of it." Pat called back, laughing to himself.

'I am going to murder this guy!' Ichigo growled.

"Now onto the story of a great man with a mighty gift. Me!" Nat said, planting his hand over his chest and putting a foot on a crate and presenting himself to be larger than life.

Or in Ichigo's case, a completely self-absorbed jackass.

'Of course.' Ichigo thought.

He went on to describe how he predicted the events of the last five years. From the Fall of Lordaeron to the undead Scourge appearing, as well as the Crown Prince becoming the Lich King and killing his father. Another prediction was of the Horde Warchief, Thrall, escaping from his Internment Camp and leading the Horde across the sea.

"Incredible." Adelina said.

"I know, in fact I still have them today!" Pat said, smiling wide at the praise he was receiving.

"Maybe you should stop drinking so much." Ichigo said, eye twitching as he listened to every single tale this guy spun to try and big note himself.

It went on like this for minutes, Caren and Adelina listening to his fantastical tales of his ability to see the future, and Ichigo was growing ever more annoyed with it. Eventually he got so fed up that he got ready to just toss the bastard in the ocean and be done with it, but he said something that made Ichigo pause.

"I had a dream of a young man, fiery hair and who was named after a fruit! But he is a great warrior and would be known throughout the land." Nat said, smirking proudly as he told the two lovely ladies his story and recent premonition.

Ichigo looked at him for a moment, surprised that the Angler had said something like that, could he actually be referring to him? Even though he got the intended naming convention of his name wrong he still said that he had fiery hair and was a warrior. Could it be possible that he did see the future and may have perceived his own destiny down the line?

"His skill and ability will be known throughout the world, his power and prestige unmatched by any other." Nat said. "He would be lorded as a god, great and powerful, yet having such a merciful and gentle touch."

Ichigo was starting to get the feeling these visions might be spot on, he was technically a god in terms of what these people believed and held great power. Something like that would make him known throughout the world, and be seen as great and powerful to some. Also he was merciful to a degree and he had a gentle… wait what?

"While his power and skill with the sword is known, he holds and even greater skill within another domain that is said none can match." Nat said, smiling in a manner that reminded Ichigo of Urahara when he was about to say something dirty. "In the bedroom, he could please any woman with a few strokes of his hands and would be lorded for making virgins cry in pleasure on their first night and to be admired by all women no matter what race or creed. And his tongue would…"

He never got to finish, a fist connected right to his nose and sent him flying back and into the water. Ichigo had a vein popping along his head; this guy was somehow fucking with him on a scale that he couldn't possibly imagine, that was utter and complete bullshit!

"Why did you do that?" Caren asked, shocked by the substitutes sudden violent attack.

"He deserved it. He deserves everything he gets." Ichigo mumbled, grabbing his fishing rod and skulking off the docks, he didn't want to fish anymore.


An Omake for you all, hope you liked it.

Reviews

Vinayakdj1: That you are.

Zangetsu Ossan: Glad you liked it. Also the Hand is a crest of Mimihagi, yes.

Blindluck92: Classic, good ol' Skyrim, Need to play that again.

Oh my friend, this arc is the one where all things begin to shift and change rapidly, what happens here is basically the beginning of the end of the world. Haha! Well that is Codexia for you, unwilling to give the finer details of what she wants and because of that problems arise.

Guest #1: What? I can't hear you! Or understand you! Or bother to…

Reality Deviant: The Dragons will be appearing later on again, and they might talk with him in person. It will be interesting when Ichigo is training with a Demon Hunter to control his inner demons.

AresLaw: Yep.

Guest #2: Yeah, Mimihagi-Sama!

Black Cross0: No, the crest will be touched upon later on and will be delved into the describe what it is and how Mimihagi is on it. Cannot reveal anything but it will be revealed in time.

The Unsung Hero: Don't worry, the reason for the mark has been planned out and the purpose of it will be explained in time.

Kragh50: It has been a while, good to have you back. Yeah, I get that a lot about the Codexia arc, but it is needed you know? Because I cannot just have it going between Codexia in the Desolace and Ichigo in Dire Maul doing almost nothing.

As for Ichigo's return, it will happen eventually but it is a long ways off, so do not worry.

I know, the mark is a symbol of who he is and it will be a major part of the story as time goes on, trust me when I say that the mark will be more than just a symbol associated with him. But actually a mark of authority from a higher force.

Jahm: Oh my friend, Full Vasto Lorde Hollow Ichigo is coming, I assure you it will appear and it will be badass.

Krazyfanfiction1: Yeah, the Bronze have a shield around him, or is it them who put it up? Mysterious~

Crono3553: Thank you. Also I was technically incorrect about his loss of power, more along the lines is that his powers can be accessed and used it is just that he is limited by his own body. Harming it and also the environment he is in. Kind of like his in the Royal Palace he couldn't would on air or summon platforms beneath his feet. His abilities are still there it is just circumstances that prevent them from coming into the story.

Chris009: Yeh, Mimihagi to be precise.

Astroga121: Thank you, I do try to make things suspenseful at times, make for a more compelling read. Well I cannot confirm or deny that, so you will have to continue ready and enjoying it.

Oh man, the day Ichigo and Chromie finally meet will be legendary and from that point forward it will be awesome! Also glad you like this arc and the others, I can tell you that this is going to get better as time goes on, trust me, it will be great.

Daio Ine: Well that is nice, a good short review so thank you… ah crap. Tonnes of text.

Truthfully the Bleach ending left me with a sour feeling toward Bleach in terms of the abruptness and lack of in-depth about it. It just ended like that, I would have loved it to have gone to chapter 700 just to get the context and details in. In this story and any Bleach story I do I will be fixing it and changing things and if not massively it will at least have a legitimate and be explained clearly.

The canon material is basically going to be changed massively, without Ichigo there to stop Aizen things are going to get bad, really bad. So imagine what would happen if Ichigo never came to Kararura Town after the Hueco Mundo arc, what would happen with Aizen and such.

Arthas will be a unique villain for Ichigo, I intend to make the dynamic between Ichigo and Arthas almost similar in a way to a rivalry similar to Aragorn and Sauron. As for the Hollow thing, that is something to consider but I promise you that Hollow form will come about way earlier than the inevitable fight between these two juggernauts.

His Zanpakuto could hold out against the Runeblade and not suffer for it but in turn there is something to be feared about Frostmourne and its power.

Ichigo will fight a dragon, or two, sometime in the near future.

As for the romances, maybe in the next arc you will see moments where Ichigo could do something rather important that makes someone consider him more than just someone they know.

Xbox432: Glad you liked it. Technically yeah, if I do make a Fullbring arc like in Bleach he will get a Glaive, for sure.

Prince Sheogorath: Demon hunter is up for debate. But if he did, yes my Daederic Prince of Madness, he would gain such a gift.

Umbra Venator: Thank you.

Luna's Meow: Hey man, sometimes opinions differ and go in different directions, doesn't mean one is right and the other wrong, we just go with what we feel makes sense. Technically I believe that Zangetsu was made by the Old Man as a Spirit Weapon but acts as an Arrancar's Zanpakuto. Doesn't mean I am right, just my opinion based on what I know.

Evil Reviewer: Damn you! I shall smite you villain!

Leapinglemur: Thank you, they certainly did help. Also the chapter was fun and easy to write because everyone was just perfectly in place.

Ben 10,000: True, while it is Ichigo's choice to make a friend needs to be worried about another friend, and if there is even a slight chance he could be hurt they will be worried about him.

Star: Huh? Oh, damn that was a goof.

Those Ancients serve Druantia, and technically they Sentinels cannot command them, no matter what they desire. Also it would take too long for them to reach that area of Feralas, they are trees after all and not exactly the fastest movers. Also remember that these guys have limited resourced so far south from Ashenvale, Feralas is a sort of lower priority compared to Ashenvale and therefore doesn't get the resources like it does.

No, he cannot, Shinigami do this by forming reishi barriers beneath their feet but it requires a certain amount of reishi in the air to form. It would be like exposing air in a vacuum, as soon as it appeared it would disperse very quickly and Ichigo would fall. In the right environments it can work but in spiritually deprived areas it is near impossible.

Mountain Giants are strong, but Magic is dangerous because it is powerful and often unpredictable. A group of Shamans could take down a large earth elemental with some effort, a large number of them could take down Mountain Giants.

Ichigo has always been willing to go for the kill, he nearly killed Renji when they first met, and the second time they fought he would killed him when it came down to it. The main reason he had never killed anyone is technically because of his unique sense of honour and the strength of his opponents. If it came down to it to save lives he would kill the enemy to protect those that are in danger, allies specifically.

Mimihagi, look it up.

Ysondre is not a Nightmare Dragon YET.

Fathira: No problem dude, my English is bad to.

Thank you, glad to have another fan. Glad that you find the story to be well balance, I do try my best to make it legit when it comes to the characters in terms of powers and such. Also glad you like it and that this is the First Warcraft story you have read. Also I recommend you get the games, very fun, start with the Real Time Strategies, you will like those.

As for the time flow, you are lucky, because I actually have a timeline for this. Ichigo has been on Azeroth for a little over eighty days. Basically nearly three months. Actually calculated all the days and such and bodged up a good timeline of how long things took and how long he has been on Azeroth.

Well here is the next chapter.