Second chapter for the year, and it is on time as well, ain't that shocking, usually only the good authors get their chapters out on time, guess I am improving then. Now nothing much to say other than I hope that you enjoy this chapter and also be on the lookout for the TVTROPES page for Transcendence, a thank you again for Stuporman for creating it so that everyone can enjoy it.

Now read and enjoy.


Transcendence

Chapter 54: Divide and Conquer

Ethel Rethor

Codexia strolled forward calmly, in her hands was her staff and sword both at the ready to be let loose against the Highborne warriors defending the main gate. Yet she never was given a need to raise either, it was proving to be quite effective as she passed by several guards without any of them looking in her direction. It was even more profound because she was also leading a group of eight, all of them were behind her and moving down the road with impunity.

"I cannot believe it worked, seems foolish that the Obelisk of Elune would have such a weakness." Mordent said, following Codexia as she led him through the streets and then down an alley to a more secluded section of the city.

"Well, how many races dating back ten thousand years ago actually had the magical means to truly do this, besides your race of course?" Codexia inquired, smirking as she glanced at Mordent.

"None, my people were the only ones capable of harnessing the Arcane, although I find this to be a major hindsight if we could enter the city so easily." Mordent replied, sounding actually ashamed for his ancestors for their lack of skill and ability, and he in turn saw that expression in the reflection off the blade in his grasp.

Codexia would have smiled at him had the situation been different, he was pouting over the lack of foresight on his people's part when it came to their magical abilities. In truth she could understand it considering how they were able to enter the city with little to no use of magic other than the weapon now in Mordent's hand. Allaminar, the blade that had once belonged to Sylerian, had been given to them by Azore Aldamont and Caren Willmourne so that they could bypass the Obelisks defences.

In their studying of the artefact they had found several key facts about the device, from how it functions and the power requirements. The Obelisk required a phenomenal amount of energy to use, and that usually came from Laylines beneath the earth and from the surrounding environment. But it used specific magical enchantments that allowed the object to observe everything within two specific perimeters.

The first Perimeter was often a safe zone near the Obelisk that could be calibrated through the use of special wards, and anything beyond that to its maximum range was considered hostile. It used a Scrying enchantment that allowed for the object to detect objects from great distances and remove them. That sadly was one of its flaws, it couldn't differentiate from friend or foe, but they weren't trying to make it think them a friend.

The problem with Scrying is that it is different from most Divination spells, while most can be interconnected and even enhanced allowing for seeing at great distances and also viewing something invisible at the same time, this Obelisk did not do that. The Highborne did not employ interconnectivity between specific branches within the same School, meaning that seeing at a great distance and through an illusion never crisscrossed. Because the Highborne were still experimenting with this concept it was never implemented into the artefact because it would have caused functional issues with the Obelisk.

So all they needed was a potent enough Illusion to mask their presences, and since that sword was made to bend light to a potent degree it worked perfectly. They could create a pocket that would allow them to walk right towards the city without being noticed.

"Sometimes it is good that things are easy at the beginning, it is what comes next that is truly the hard part." Codexia replied, and she was serious about that.

She knew that entering the city was going to be the easy part as the Highborne would never expect an incursion, let alone an attack from so few. That hopefully gave them an advantage, right now they were in the lion's den, and since they had no support they were left with the most dangerous of missions. Codexia and Mordent had discussed it before they left; their missions came in two stages.

Codexia would ensure that the Storm is stopped at all cost, that means freeing the spirits from captivity and getting them away from the city. Sadly for her that was her secondary objective, the primary was to reclaim the Heart of Veles and get it out of the city and to Maraudon immediately. Reconvening with Cavindra at Nijel's Point and then making an attempt to enter the mountain.

Her mission was straight forward and involved depriving the Highborne of their weapons and tools, but Mordent's was much more difficult.

He had to reclaim the Shen'dralar from the Highborne and then turn those still loyal to him against the Nobles. From there he would fight to kill them and take over leadership of the order, sounds easy but in truth it was likely the hardest thing he was going to do. Especially since he had only seven magi as backup, even if he succeeded there was no telling how many would follow him and who wouldn't.

"You sure you can do this?" Codexia asked.

"I have a plan, do not worry about me, just do what you have to do, if that boy is to be trusted than I am saving the lives of my people from certain death, and I will take that chance." Mordent replied, his face creased with a deep frown.

She hoped he was right, because if he failed than this entire city would likely be put into lockdown and she would have to contend with the entire military might of the Highborne. That wasn't so bad really, of the nine hundred or so Highborne likely in the city only two hundred of them could possibly be fighters. That was also including the Shen'dralar into the equation, they made up about a third of those ranks.

"Good luck to you then, all of you." Codexia replied, turning and moving for the nearby building, planning on hopping from rooftop to rooftop towards the Temple and then busting in.

Mordent turned to his compatriots and nodded to each and every one of them, they knew the plan and he wouldn't need to relay it to them again. The strategy was simple, if not completely suicidal and more than likely to fail, but he just hoped that he survived it.


Maluineth scowled as she realized the depths of the betrayal that had been laid upon her by Mildreas, that bastard had the nerve to attempt this against her. Undermining all her efforts and the amount of blood she had to shed to get her people this far? How dare he do this and think he was above reproach.

Caelyb had revealed much to her, even being that monsters son had not been enough to force his silence. No, the only thing that kept him in line was his sister who was still bound by that man's leash; sadly her fate was something that had spurred the disowned son into action. In a way it was good that Mildreas was acting so rashly, had Caelyb not alerted her of this duplicity she would never have known the depths of the man's folly.

The theft of the artefacts was only part of his mad plans; each of them was an effort to increase his power base so to improve his station and status. His ambitions were growing, even moving against not only her but Tylarwin I turn, he had begun making moves to take some power from within the Shen'dralar. For the artefacts that had been stolen were taken by people that served him, and possibly those that he bribed with the promise of more power, this was not good.

Her hold over this organization was through people she could trust, who would hold others in line, quite literally she led because a large group followed her and the rest followed in line behind them. More than likely it was also the case with Tylarwin and his soldiers, if Mildreas was beginning to try and take over he would likely attempt to bribe the officers over to his side.

"What are you up to?" Maluineth thought aloud.

She had thought on it well through the night, even stealing herself another two bottles of draught to keep herself steady.

What was known is that he used the Brazier to enhance his soldier's physical abilities, while the Handmaiden enchanted armour and weaponry. Along with several pieces of armour such as the Raiment's of General Yealdan, powerful magical armour that were said to be neigh impervious to harm. Caelyb had relayed that both the armour and Allaminar had been taken by his brother, and now both were lost and likely in the hands of the enemy.

Yet there came a singular problem, from what was known the Handmaiden required weapons to be broken at its base and then soaked in the waters of the bowl. While the Brazier required the sacrifice of furs and even blood to bestow healing onto those who washed themselves in the ash, both required sacrifice to function. So how could Mildreas get his hands on enough weapons and furs to sacrifice to the artefacts to empower all his soldiers that went down into the Mountain?

'What about the Fountain?'

So many things were taken and this man was planning something, he had spies in her order and likely within Tylarwin's guard and also was making backroom deals with the other Nobles. He was up to something and she needed to stop him before they had another Tortheldrin on their hands. She scowled; it had gone from having enemies outside their city to having them within their own race.

'It is almost like she was right, that we were doomed to destroy ourselves.' Maliuneth thought, sullenly holding her head in her hand, taking in the last of the draught and feeling some relief. 'I am drinking too much of this, actually thinking Codexia was right, even that damn Spirit.'

"Maluineth!"

She eyes widened as she heard the shout, the voice was familiar and sending a wave of shocked through her system as she realized who had called out for her. Rising from her seat she rushed to the door, her hand wrapping around her staff as she moved to confront the intruder.

Rushing down the hall she moved to the main chamber of the building, she could already hear the battle underway and the damage that was being done. She cursed under her breath on not having potent magical defences in place, she should have known that leaving this place open to a possible attack was stupid.

As she rushed onto the balcony overlooking the chamber she found her people below, her loyal warriors moving to combat the intruder while others stayed back to observe. She scowled at them, she knew what they were thinking and it infuriated her that this had to happen now.

"Maluineth, I have come to take back what you stole!"

"How hypocritical of you! Thinking that this belong to you Mordent Evershade!" Maluineth taunted back, teleporting down to the main floor.

Her eyes landed on the blue robed Magi, finding that he had in his possession Allaminar and she could see that he had magical protection over himself. She could sense the wards and protective magic, he had come prepared it seemed.

"My father was Archmage and leader of the Shen'dralar ever since the fall of our Empire, you were nothing more than his servant! And like the greedy dog you were you betrayed him!" Maluineth yelled, releasing a wave of arcane energy towards the former Archmage.

Mordent raised his staff and created a barrier to hold back the attack, his defences were not overwhelmingly powerful as his opponents, but they did not need to be strong. Over his robes were pieces from the armour of Sylerian, the enchantment had been damaged and drained but they still had enough presence to protect him. That would give him the edge he needed to face her, his powers were still depleted and he needed every edge he could to face her.

"Your father I did not betray! All I did was take up leadership where he was deposed, it was inevitable what would happen when he turned on Tortheldrin!" Mordent yelled back, he needed to keep her occupied and focusing everything on him.

He raised the sword and bathed the room in light, soon four constructs stood beside him, and with a flourish they charged forward. Mordent however laid on an assault, raising his staff and releasing a stream of arcane bolts towards the usurper of his order.

"Inevitable?" Maluineth seethed, summoning a barrier in front of Mordent and disrupting his line of sight with the constructs. "Like your constructs your excuses are easily unravelled! My father only survived because he was to be made an example of!"

Another burst of energy and she lifted up fallen bookshelves and casts them towards Mordent, he raises his staff and the enchantments on his armour expand into a protective dome. As he weathers the attacks he senses the spellwork on the armour begin to falter, it had not recovered from the attack from Ichigo Kurosaki. Whatever power he had used had been potent enough to actually permanently damage the enchantments within the armour; he would need to finish this battle quickly.

"I do sympathise with what happened to him, he was a great man and an even great teacher, I can see his skills are within you." Mordent said, lowering the defences and preparing to go onto the offensive. "It is shameful that you would resort to such underhanded tactics to take something you didn't earn."

Maluineth sneered as she sent a stream of fire towards Mordent, the explosion of pyromancy engulfed the entire chamber wall behind the mage. Mordent was quick to strike back, the barrier holding against her assault as he closed the distance with a teleportation spell, moving in close to swing his blade forward. Maluineth was taken off guard at the tactic, nearly losing an arm had it not been for the wards she placed on herself.

Stumbling away she gathered power into her staff and swung it at Mordent, the headpiece exploded with arcane energy as it made contact with his staff. Both of them struggling to overpower the other, arcane energy coursed through their staves and made the air around them both shudder. But Mordent was unable to hold out, and with a final heave and roar of effort Maluineth cast aside the former mage.

Mordent was sent flying through the air and collided with a stone support, it crumbled as his form flew through it and the upper floor it supported collapsed upon him. Mordent was buried under tonnes of stone and a few pieces of furniture, but even so Maluineth would not give him a reprieve. With a wave of arcane energy the debris was blow off the ground and suspended there, including the dishevelled Mordent.

'She is much stronger than I gave her credit for; she truly is your daughter.' Mordent thought, glancing down at the runes upon his armour, finding them faint and nearly drained, not unlike how he felt now.

"The only thing I am guilty over is organizing your assassination, I should have done this myself, I would have had the satisfaction in beating the one who betrayed my father." Maluineth said.

"And then what? Kill me? Tortheldrin did enough of that, so prove to me how you are no different, prove how unworthy you are to have that position." Mordent replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

She hesitated for a moment, unable to do anything but grit her teeth and take that insult, as much as she despised Mordent for turning on her master it was Tortheldrin who had seen to her father's downfall. Never would she be compared to him, in action or in philosophy, and as much as it galled her to be manipulated by Mordent like that she wouldn't kill him.

"I don't deserve this post because I took it from you, I deserve it because someone better once held it and I will not see it remain in the hands of thief." Maluineth replied, and with a jerk she tossed Mordent towards the wall.

The stonework shattered and nearly caused another collapse, yet all that did break was the last of the protective magic that shielded Mordent from harm. He collapsed to the ground and was quickly subdued by another stream of magic that pulled his sword and staff from him. Then he himself was hoisted up and tossed before the mages who only looked on, her eyes narrowing in on them all.

"This is what befalls those who threaten the stability and sanctity of our race, never again will tyrants rule us." Maluineth said, her eyes moving over the entire order. "And even their pawns will face judgement for the sins their master's employ, let this be a warning to all who think they can gain position and power by serving under those who betray their own kin. For they in turn will be prostrated and make to bask in the light of their wrongs, for all to see."

She knew why many had stayed back and out of the fight, only those who had been loyal to her had attacked and tried to subdue him before her arrival. They held no loyalty to anyone but whoever had the strength to lead, they respected strength and power because in turn it was something that benefited them. They wanted to know who would survive and take to reins, and now that she had proven it she was someone that they could follow without question.

But she had put a warning out, to make sure they understood what would happen if they cross her, if they think they can get away with betraying her. Already there were traitors in her ranks working for Mildreas and possibly others, she needed them to be aware she was onto them. Because as soon as she was done dealing with Mordent she would be moving onto them next.

"Take him down into the dungeons; he can rot there for a while." Maluineth ordered, turning away from the fallen Archmage, she had to prepare for the coming inquisition.

But as she did this she felt something, a tingling in his mind that she had only just noticed now, something was wrong at the temple.

Mordent was dragged across the floor by two mages; he would be taken to the depths of the city and locked away with all those who were against Maluineth and her regime. He would have smiled had he the strength to do so, the girl was so easily mislead.


Temple of Ethel Rethor

Codexia strolled past the two defeated Highborne guardians, their bodies crumpled on the ground and unmoving. Her eyes turned to them for a moment, noticing that their armour was different from those used by Sylerian and his soldiers in Maraudon. That might mean these ones had not used the Brazier to enhance their healing capabilities, it was something to consider.

But she turned toward the three crystals within the centre of the room, locked within the confines of these prisons were the three spirits she had come to save. All of them were being drained of their power, she could see Erebus being used to power the Obelisk of Elune, while Druantia and Thetis had their energies siphoned off and away somewhere else.

"I am here." Codexia said, rushing forward and intending to free Erebus first and hopefully have him free the others.

She did not have much time on her hands, Mordent would likely not last long against the other Highborne and it look her longer than expected to reach here. Who knows how long she had before reinforcements arrive to corner her off, and with limited power she would have little chance against a fully powered Archmage.

She moved towards the Crystal holding the Spirit of Decay, raising her sword and letting the point touch the surface. Slowly she started to press down onto it, if she channelled enough energy into a single area it would penetrate through and create an opening for Erebus to escape.

"So you were able to enter the city, that was seen, but right now you should not be here."

She heard the words of the Spirit move through her mind, echoing and sending reverberating shivers through her entire being. Yet the sound of his words did not give her pause, but what he had said to her, what could he mean that she should not be here?

"I have come to rescue you and also Veles; he was captured by the Highborne." Codexia said.

"We are aware of this, and we know, but there is nothing you can do here now, only you have the means to bring others that can." Druantia said.

Codexia stopped her work and turned towards the Spirit of Life, what could it mean by that? So many questions moved through her head on how she couldn't do anything to stop this and lead others here. Her powers were drained and she had not the power to teleport anyone here or even lead them through the storm. The only way was to stop the storm and that could only be achieved by freeing Erebus.

"I don't understand, I cannot bring anyone here because of the Storm, it encompasses the entire city and beyond and strikes down everyone that comes near." Codexia said.

"It shall strike down everyone in the Desolace if you do not make haste to warn them of the Highborne's plot." Erebus replied.

"What? What is it that you speak?" Codexia said, instead of words greeting her instead it was a vision of a future yet to come.

She saw the storm above the continent of Kalimdor, power swelling as it spread across the entirety of the Desolace and the regions near its borders. Thunder and lightning could be seen and heard as it spewed both hundreds of times in seconds across the already dead earth. Life was destroyed and nothing survived under the dark shadow, while Elementals roamed across the desolate landscape and taking dominion over the lifeless realm.

The vision faded as quickly as it came as she was sent reeling backwards, unable to hold herself up she collapsed to the ground and held her head, unable to stand she lay there trying to recover. Her eyes remained wide and her breathing only grew hoarser with each passing moment, what she had experienced was even worse than a possibly Sundering.

The Highborne were going to exterminate all life in the region, possibly all of Central Kalimdor, they were going to kill thousands, hundreds of thousands. What kind of madness had consumed them that they would resort to this kind of action? Had they been taken over by madmen who want nothing more than to see the world burn around them?

"I must free you!" Codexia said, rushing forward and driving her sword into the stone.

She had to get Erebus out, if she could get him free than at least the storm would be stopped, it was the only way that it could be halted and prevented. There was nothing else that could be done.

"No, go and find your allies, they can help you." Thetis said.

"I have none, I am alone now, I have no one that can help me!" Codexia said, desperate to try and free the spirit.

"You do, the same ally that sent you here and was willing to trust you when no one else would, he is the one you must go to and tell of this." Druantia said.

Codexia tried to process the words and wonder exactly what she was talking about, the ally that sent her on this mission? Then it quickly came to her, Ichigo, he had thought up the plan and gotten everyone working together in the first place and actually made this all work. Maybe he could think of something, hopefully even get some reinforcements into the city so that they could stop this.

"Yes… he could stop this…" Codexia said, even if not, him alone being here could be enough to shatter these prisons easily and even take on the most powerful of the Highborne.

He was what they needed, his raw power would be what they needed to end this, and she had to bring him here.

Immediately the sound of displaced air and the burst of light alerted her to the threat, she ducked and leaped to the side, avoiding a bolt of arcane energy striking her. Rolling to her feet she looked up and scowled, it would seem Mordent didn't hold out as long as she thought he would.

"So you came back, come to save your spirits and your fleeting powers." Maluineth said.

"Yes, didn't take kindly to fools who think they can get away with stealing." Codexia replied, standing back up and calling her blade back to her hand.

Counting the numbers she found that Maluineth decided to bring ten mages with her, and from the looks of it they were setting up teleportation wards around the room. They didn't want her to escape, that was something that Codexia could not have happening.

"So I suspect that you are harvesting the energies from Druantia and Thetis to keep your youth and vitality while using Erebus to power the Obelisk of Elune." Codexia said, flicking her blade to the side and waiting for the right moment.

"Correct, while it doesn't satiate our hunger pangs it does take the edge off enough that we aren't crippled by it." Maluineth replied, waiting for Codexia to make a move, likely she would attempt a teleportation spell or maybe make a break for the exit to escape the wards.

"You know feeding an addiction isn't the way to get rid of it, you should be smart enough to know that."

"And forcing change on others only makes them want to resist it more." Maluineth replied, her smile never dropping, yet it strained slightly to the follow up quip by Codexia.

"Only if you act like an unruly child that is." The Primalist could tell that had struck a nerve, might as well follow Mordent's line of thinking with how to get under this woman's skin. "But considering that everything you have done now is out of some childish attempt at revenge it is understandable why you can't see what you are doing is wrong."

Maluineth decided that waiting for an attack was pointless, and with that thought she put it to action by summoning up three balls of fire in her palm. One by one they fired off towards the Primalist, following her movements as she tried to evade them.

Codexia raised her blade and formed a dome of shadowy energy ahead of her, allowing each ball of flame to explode harmlessly across its surface. But this was a delaying action at best, she had to conserve as much of her power as she could, she had yet to recover from her battle against Ichigo and Sylerian. Escape was on her mind right now and she needed to make sure that she could get away, but to do that she needed to take out Maluineth's allies.

With that thought she watched as a barrage of a dozen arcane bolts stream from Maluineth's staff and towards her. Codexia eyed the closest mage and quickly took off, her form dissipating into a stream of darkness and hurtling towards the mage. As the Highborne attempted to defend himself she deflected his staff and put him between herself and the arcane bolts.

Maluineth saw the danger and quickly raised her staff, halting the orbs before they could obliterate her ally. Codexia saw her chance and swung at the bolts that hung in the air, a wave of darkness swooping over them and sapping them of their energy. Then she followed up by swinging down at her prisoner, carving into his chest and letting him collapse onto the ground.

"You coward!" Maluineth yelled. "Unwilling to face me on the open!"

"Hah! That is rich! Considering you used these same tactics to lure Mordent into your trap!" Codexia yelled, leaping aside and evading a stream of fire from the Highborne mage. "Hypocrisy seems to be a trait of your race, considering that Mordent had to face the coward who didn't have the nerve to do so herself!"

Maluineth scowled as she summoned up another array of arcane bolts, sending them one at a time towards the Primalist who scrambled to defend herself. Codexia had no idea what the hell Mordent was talking about when he said that antagonising her would be a good idea. He said that he intended to drain her of her power through the fight, but if they were harvesting energy from Druantia and Thetis how did he intend to combat a fully powered Archmage?

"How did you get into the city? Are there others?" Maluineth called out, continuing to send out bolt after bolt towards the evading Primalist.

"Not telling." Codexia replied, disappearing into another stream of darkness and moving right towards the Highborne mage.

As the Primalist reappeared she swung at the woman's neck, but a barrier had halted her strike before it could meet flesh. Codexia cursed under her breath as she realized Maluineth had put up wards to protect herself, guess she wasn't taking any chances. Quickly gaining some distance, just as the mage released a wave of fire, Codexia moved for the next mage and struck out. His wards were just as potent as the Archmage's, but Codexia knew how to deal with that.

Her blade glowed as she drew it back and then she struck again, stabbing her blade forward and watching it phase through the barrier, eating the energy within. It didn't reach the Highborne mage, but that wasn't the point, all she needed was an opening to reach him. With a twist in her grip she sent out a pulse of energy the struck the mage and sent him flying into the wall convulsing as the shadows dug into his body.

"All of you leave!" Maluineth ordered. "I will handle this alone."

Quickly the mages obeyed and moved for the doorway, their own wards blocking their means of escaping the same way they entered. Codexia reappeared near the edge of the room, close to the pylons holding the spirits. She suspected that she wouldn't use anything drastically powerful near the prisons, not lest she risks them being damaged and the spirits let free.

"Sending your men away, very kind of you." Codexia said, pacing back and forth in front of the pylons. "Did Mordent receive such kindness? Or was he unworthy of such mercy?"

"He is alive, more than be said for you soon enough." Maluineth replied.

"You really have no regards for anything but yourself don't you?" Codexia asked, stopping in her tracks and glaring at the Archmage. "Do you even care about what is happening out in the world? How much death and destruction your people have caused? About how you are reaffirming old hatred that could have been repaired, but instead you are acting no different than the tyrants that nearly led to Azeroth's downfall."

"We are not people who consort with demons and make bargains, we do not submit to others to prove our strength." Maluineth said.

"No, you slaughter anything in your way and don't give a damn about it because it is not in front of you!" Codexia retorted. "The Centaur are rampaging and are going to spread across Kalimdor, how many thousands will die because of you? How many innocent men, woman and children will die because you sought too much and were willing to kill for it?"

"The Centaur are to blame for that, not us." Maluineth smoothly countered.

"What about the Heart of Veles? The Artefact you took from Maraudon, do you know that it is the cause for the Elementals spreading across the region? That is it causing a rift in the Elemental Planes?" Codexia stated. "You cannot run from the fact that your people have set up a chain of events that will lead to ruin for the world, you have become just as vile as Azshara."

Maluineth released a stream of fire towards Codexia, who ducked down and formed a barrier over herself. As the flames licked at the shield and did not let up she tried to think of a means to actually defeat this woman and then escape. While the Shen'dralar likely knew of her presence here it was other parties she had to be wary of.

Codexia knew that the Archmage thought she could take her along and that nothing would be a threat to her, that was the only thing that was going for the Primalist at the moment. Because when others start showing up and swarming over her she was going to be destroyed.

Then the fires let up, the torrent soon beginning to fizzle out and becoming nothing more than a small beam. Codexia saw her chance; condensing the defensive barrier she pushed it forward as a force and towards her attacker. It seemed to do the trick, as the wall exploded and sent the mage hurtling backward, Codexia rose to her feet and glared at the mage.

"You think I am lying? Or did you attack because you couldn't come up with a retort?" Codexia called out, not moving from her spot as she watched Maluineth rise back to her feet. "Because you stole that Heart there are hundreds of elementals rampaging across the Desolace. More than that you intend to commit genocide against everything in this region and beyond! How can you think yourself anything but evil with the acts you are trying to commit?"

"Be quiet!" Maluineth cried out, releasing another barrage of arcane missiles, yet Codexia noticed that there were few bolts than she usually was able to summon. "Our people are on the verge of extinction! Less than a thousand are left and those people are being threatened by the world, we did not start this! They are the ones who would see us all dead!"

"That does not have to be the way!" Codexia cried out, summoning up protective barriers to hold off the barrage.

"It does! We will not change a history that is over fifteen thousand years old! A history marked with glory and greatness! We proved ourselves the greatest race in the entire world!" Maluineth yelled out.

"And look at what it has led to! Your people are on the verge of extinction and the cause for that same extinction is exactly what you are doing now! Coveting power and unwilling to listen to those outside your species, let alone change even the tiniest speck of your xenophobic and self-destructive philosophy because you don't want to be seen as those who have done the wrong!" Codexia yelled back, releasing a wave of darkness and casting aside the offensive spells sent towards her, before following up with an attack of her own.

Codexia struck out, firing bolt after bolt of dark energies towards the woman and forcing her onto the defensive as her protective wards began to buckle.

"You caused the Centaur to rampage and leave this region, putting the lives of thousands in danger!" Codexia said, releasing a wave of energy with the declaration.

Maluineth stumbled back, her wards flickering and his magical reserves depleting quickly, she scowled as she tried to summon up more power. Yet nothing seemed to come, there was no feeling of fatigue or drain on her yet she couldn't force up the arcane.

"You covet relics from ancient ruins and use them in your conquests! Using profane rituals of sacrificing flesh and steel to make yourselves stronger!"

Maluineth stumbled back against, her wards finally shattering under the barrage, she raised her staff and created a flimsy defence against the mage. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth were just as tightly pressed together, how was it that shew as being overpowered by this woman?

"You murder your own people! You even took part and delighted in the fact! You murdered over a dozen just because of your hate for one man! And they weren't killed because they endangered your race, but because they threatened your hold over your positions and prevented you from gaining more power!"

Her shield shattered and she was tossed off the ground, flying back she hit the ground with a cry of pain as she tried to stand back up. Her eyes found the Primalist stalking towards her, blade at the ready to drive it through her.

"Now you intend to slaughter everyone here." Codexia stood over Maluineth, knocking the staff out of the elf's hand as she tried to lift it up. "You have no care for anything other than yourselves, but Mordent did tell me one thing about you. Why you did all of this."

Maluineth did not respond, all she did was breathe deeply and try to summon up some power, she needed at least one spell to take the Primalist out.

"Do you know what it took for me to realize that I had made a mistake when helping you? It took me realizing just what others thought of me, to understand exactly what they thought I was when they realized the depth of my atrocities." Codexia said, her sword arm slacking as she looked down at the elven mage. "Then with a font of wisdom I realized it too, that I became everything I was fighting against, I became a monster."

Maluineth tried to figure out what was happening, her powers were gone yet she did not feel the debilitating lethargy and pains of mana fatigue. She just felt the soreness of being beaten around, yet how is it that she could have expended all her energy so quickly was. By the Goddess she had drunk enough draught to…

'The Draught…'

Then she realized, the draught had not cured them or given back their arcane energies as they expect, it only took the edge off and kept them stable. Yet how could it be that she did not feel the debilitation of the lack of actual energy within her veins? How was she not slowly going insane from the cravings of the arcane then?

"I want to ask you, you don't have to tell me, but the reason you did this was because of your father wasn't it?" Codexia asked, quickly drawing Maluineth from her thoughts. "You loved him very much, I can tell, I loved my family as well, yet I cannot even remember why I loved them, only that I lost them and it hurt me so much."

Codexia knew that she shouldn't be dwelling on these horrible thoughts, but she needed to remind this woman of something important. For recalling those few brief memories that had struck her in the days following Marta's earth shattering words that had left her numb to the world and its happenings.

"But do you remember him? Do you remember your family and everyone that knew you and how you knew them?" Codexia asked. "Don't you feel any shame? Don't you feel regret knowing that they would look at you and be horrified with what you have done?"

Maluineth did not respond to the statement, she only glared into the Primalist eyes and did not look away.

"Can you say that your family will accept you when you next meet? Can you be the same girl that he raised and brought up all those years ago, can you truly think you did right by them by murdering others and doing all these horrible things?" Codexia asked.

For a moment she wondered herself if this was what her parents would feel if they discovered what she had done. She knew they were dead, gone and lost when she was young, but the idea that the only people connected to her life before she became a Primalist being appalled by what she did haunted her.

Her earliest memories were filled with nightmarish visions and darkness, and the thought of her family during those dark times were the only things that kept her balanced. To think that those people who she loved unconditionally would turn from her because of what she had done crushed any hope she had that she was righteous.

So, in a way, she wanted to see if maybe a different approach could work. That all this effort could not result in the loss of life and the destruction of an entire race of people, that maybe it could be salvaged and amends could be made. That was her hope, yet when she stared at the expression on the elf's face all she saw was contempt.

"I guess I was wrong then." Codexia said. "Know that what comes next will end in the destruction of your people, that was something you could have prevented but now it is too late."

Codexia did not do anything else; instead she just sheathed her sword and walked towards the entrance. Maluineth turned to watched her depart and quickly scrambled to her feet, but before she could even make to step towards the Primalist she was shrouded in darkness and gone.

Maluineth scowled as she watched her leave, that damn woman had gotten out form her grasp and now was in the wind. She didn't have long to think on this failing however, the thundering of metal boots coming from the hallway and balcony above the chamber told her someone else would call her out on it. Soon enough thirty soldiers stormed into the chamber, swords and spears at the ready and leading them was their supreme commander.

"Tylarwin." Maluineth greeted, nodding her head towards the elven warrior.

"From your state I can only assume that the intruder has escaped, do you wish to enlighten me as to how that happened?" Tylarwin inquired, skipping the formalities and even asking if she was alright, she would have taken offence if she didn't know him well enough.

"Codexia was stronger than I anticipated, and also I drained most of my power during my fight against Mordent Evershade and then her." Maluineth replied, and noticed the turn in the general's head showing his very well hidden surprise.

"Mordent Evershade and Codexia Fairchild, here?" Tylarwin said. "I do hope that the former did not escape."

"No, he is in my custody; I have already sent him to the dungeons below the city." Maluineth replied, smiling slightly and stepping forward. "I would like you to accompany me down to the cells, I need to discuss security measures with you regarding our new guests, and to prevent… further complications."

Tylarwin raised an eyebrow at the bold request, what she was asking was not something that required his skills as a leader or commander. The way she had sensually asked of it was very obvious, too obvious, she was laying it on thick and making it appear she wanted something else from him. Whether it was salacious or not he did not know, but knowing Maluineth it was easy to see that she would not spread her legs to anyone.

She was too proud to be like that, this was something else entirely.

"Alright, but I expect to know exactly how those two were able to enter the city despite the Obelisk being operational." Tylarwin replied, turning and moving for the doorway. "Secure the entrance, I do not want that woman getting back in here."

"Yes, my Lord."

Maluineth followed behind Tylarwin, struggling slightly to keep pace, she let out a few puffs of air to try and get her energy back. But the silence was welcome, it allowed her to do two things, catch her breath and also think over what had transpired today.

Yet despite her reasons for wanting Tylarwin to accompany her below the city and also the recent revelations of the betrayal and plots of one of their fellow nobles, she couldn't think of anything else. What had been said to her, what Codexia had revealed had been something that had disturbed her slightly.

The Centaur migration, along with the Elemental unrest that seemed to be occurring, these things had been reported to her. But it couldn't possibly be their doing that caused this, could it? She needed to look into this, but first she needed to see if Tylarwin knew that someone may be out to get him.


"The wounded, how many?"

Mairne turned from the bedridden warrior, his arm had been crushed, and turned to the one who spoke to him. The female had pale grey and white fur, young and holding a large spiked maul in her hands.

"Gurda Wildmane, I had thought you still in the field, decided to get the rest of your armour together?" Mairne inquired, glancing at her very poorly chosen attire.

Tight fitting light amethyst armour that covered only the essentials for one's modesty, yet left open enough to make the imagination something unneeded to discern her figure. A beastplate and steel undergarments made up the piece, along with half thigh armoured leggings that showed off some of her legs. Honestly if he was not so old and serious all the time he was certain she was doing it to get the attention of the males around her. The youth these days.

"I am fully armoured, thank you." Gurda replied, crossing her arms and giving a huff. "Now, answer the question."

"One hundred wounded or dead, we are losing ground too quickly." Mairne said, it had only been a day since his arrival and as night began to fall the post had lost nearly two thirds of their warriors.

At present they had less than forty warriors still in the field trying to hold the Elementals back, he would be out there had his skills not called him away to try and heal the wounded here. In fact their only saving grace was the contingent of Blademasters that came with him, convincing them to fight against the elementals was not hard.

They wanted to prove their worthiness to join the Horde and be accepted, they believed that doing this and protecting these lands and the Tauren people can do that. Mairne accepted all help he could, but the thirty blademasters and two dozen Druids and Shamans in his routine were not going to be enough.

"We won't survive long, we need support, lots of support." Gurda said.

"They will come eventually, but for now we must hold out, that is all we can do until Codexia has reclaimed the artefact from the Highborne." Mairne replied.

"I still do not believe we should trust the human girl, we have seen her handiwork firsthand, it is far from merciful." Gurda said.

Another problem it seems, cooperation was not something Gurda approved of in regards to the Alliance or any of their allies. While the Sentinels and Tauren people have an amicable relationship it was not always born of their races accepting one another. It was born because of the mutual need of an alliance, in Ferelas that was prevalent as they needed to work together to do any good. But elsewhere there still exist blood feuds that date back centuries over matter that the Tauren have likely forgotten.

But her initial concerns lay mostly with the Alliance and Blademasters, the former was obvious due to their allegiance to the Horde and the Alliance technically being 'enemies' to their people by principle. While she had been convinced that the Alliance was not a threat due to their presence being far from them, the Blademasters were another matter entirely.

Her forces and this entire outpost was created for the specific purpose of combatting and wiping out the Burning Blade. So to have their former warriors now working alongside her own left her anxious and very suspicious of their intentions. Mairne had allayed their fears as best he could, yet he could feel the general distrust between the two forces. Also doesn't help that the one person they are relying on to stop this chaos is the one who allies herself with the Highborne and the Blademasters.

Suffice to say Gurda is very reluctant to believe that the Primalist will fulfil her end of the bargain.

"She was betrayed by them, that alone can make a former enemy an ally, and sadly it is all we can hope for." Mairne replied.

"I don't see how you could trust them so easily."

"I don't need to trust any of them, just the one who set this plan in motion." Mairne replied.

He didn't need to trust anyone else but him, because that boy had actually made it possible for these three divided comrades into working together. While his means were amateur in terms of military strategies, it was simple and didn't go too heavy into the details, and considering he did it on the fly was impressive.

Yet it was his ability to understand those around him that made him a valuable necessity in this matter, for his unique way of understanding the hearts of those he meets is what made them able to form this alliance. He didn't need to trust Mordent Evershade, Codexia Fairchild or Iyeana at all, the only one he needed to trust was Ichigo, who in turn, trusted them all to go this far.

"But we must continue on this path, to remove the Elementals as quickly as possible, I can already sense more powerful spirits passing through and into this realm." Mairne said, looking over to the mountain, he knew that as the breach between the spirit realm and this world grew thinner more powerful entities can slip through.

It would be only a matter of time before stronger elemental spirits starts spilling into existence, luckily it seemed that the spirits were still bound to the Elemental Planes and required Bracers of Binding to materialize here. That meant the stronger ones would need time to create them and allow themselves entrance into the material world, but once they start showing up it would be the end game for them all.

"It has only been a day and two nights for us, I do not think we will survive long enough to see the third night I am afraid." Gurda said, she knew that against this many elementals they would only last for so long before they were overwhelmed through sheer numbers. "We may have to resort to retreat, we cannot hold out here forever. Worse yet the Shamans say that the spirits are wild, something below is stirring them to this, and it is something we cannot overcome."

"Retreat is impossible, we can only hold out for as long as we can, if we leave these elementals will spread, we are the only line of defence here, and there is nothing else we can do but hold them here." Mairne replied.

Retreat meant that the elementals would begin escaping across the rest of the Desolace, and from there they would spread and invade the surrounding areas. With the Sentinels held up holding back the Centaur they would stand no chance against holding back the elementals that would fall upon them. After that, nothing would stop them, and nothing would be able to repair the damage that had been caused.

'This has to be stopped here and now, but if Codexia does not return soon we may be unable to continue with our plan.' Mairne thought, narrowing his eyes as he looked to the mountain, feeling the spiritual energies within fluctuate and almost breathe with the way it churned.

"What is that?" A Brave called out.

Mairne turned to the warrior, then to where he pointed down within the Kodo Graveyard. Glancing into the massive expanse of sand and bones he saw a pulse of light and an even deeper darkness than the half-moon night. His senses moved out over the field and he felt the energies of decay wash over him, narrowing his eyes he moved to the slope and slid down the embankment and into the gorge.

He strolled towards the disturbance and he heard the cries of his fellow warriors call out to him, he ignored them as he moved for the disturbance. As he drew close he saw the darkness recede and disperse, revealing a single individual standing in place with her head bowed and breathing heavily.

"Codexia." Mairne called, stopping a good distance from her. "You have returned, was your mission successful?"

She turned to him and for a moment did not speak, her concern was mainly keeping her breathing levelled for as long as possible. Her trip through the Shadowlands had not been a pleasant one, it had taken her hours to escape through that realm instead of a few minutes of travel. Whatever was happening here was affecting more than just the elemental planes, something really bad was happening.

"Mairne, who is this?" Gurda demanded, behind her were a dozen warriors, her eyes narrowing in on Codexia. "Wait… that…!"

"Yes, Codexia Fairchild, she had returned from Ethel Rethor." Mairne replied, not turning to regard the surprised shaman but kept his gaze on the Primalist instead. "Did you retrieve the heart?"

"No, I could also not free the spirits either, we have other problems though." Codexia stated, stepping forward and looking the High Shaman in the eye. "We must focus on taking control of the city, at all costs to get the Heart of Veles back."

"Is infiltration still possible for us?" Mairne inquired.

"No, the method we used to enter is no longer available to us, we don't know of another way, and travel through the Shadowlands is even more hazardous than the storm that hovers above the city." Codexia replied, truly she had no idea what the Spirits entailed for her and how they expected her to get people back into Ethel Rethor.

But right now she needed to warn everyone about what was coming, the Highborne's genocidal plans that would see this entire region reduced to a smouldering expanse of nothingness. That even if they hold the Elementals at bay along with the Centaur it will be for naught as they all will die anyway and nothing will hold them back then.

"Then come, we can discuss it at the Post." Mairne said, just as he felt the ripples from the mountain he felt them from the Primalist as well.

Something dreadful had been learned by the poor girl, terrible enough that her entire being seeped a feeling of dread and horror. He did not know what was to transpire but he knew that their original plans would no longer be effective in countering this issue; it was a shame that they had to be changed so quickly. But if what news brought back from Ethel Rethor was as serious as the expression from Codexia was led to believe, than he must see it to that the Sentinels were warned as well.


There you have it, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Reviews:

Guest #1: You're welcome.

Prince Sheogorath: I actually have a moment like that which will happen in the future, when he is in the Emerald Dream.

Yes he will, magic is going to be part of his repertoire in the near future, he will be flinging fireballs and arcane bolts like no others. But I intend to give him something really special in terms of magical power and ability. Trust me.

Plums: That spirit section was an Omake, an omake that takes place several chapters back. It was a fan requested moment that I put in at the end of the year.

Astroga121: Thank you, this chapter is among my favourites but in this arc I have one moment that I am dying to write up and will get there very soon.

Thank you, I like leaving in little clues and things in that seem to have little meaning but actually have a greater and deeper meaning that last thought. I know how to make a story interesting and to leave interesting snippets in the chapters that relate to later chapters.

Also I do try to make my writing decent and leave you grasping for more, that is how a writer works, they hook you with the words.

Earendil18: The Heart is needed but not because it is the key, more like it is compatible with what keeps the Elemental Planes away. You will understand in time.

Blackcross0: Thank you, good to be back. Yeah, this shows the first real change in Ichigo's character and his development, where he needs to use different tactics for different situations. Really like developing his character in this.

Squadpunk2.0: Yep, the enemy has one flaw, arrogance and self-worth.

Lightbane1905: That it does.

Vinayakdj1: Yeah, but with the hundred and twenty cooldown it would be stupid to use all at once.

Iyeana is a skilled and resourceful commander, she takes her job seriously like any other leader and officer, but she knows when to act and when not too.

The Obelisk just has her name, it in no way holds any connection to the Goddess in any way.

That he is.

Levels don't exist here, but training does. Adelina has many of the totem forms such as the Panther and Bear, but her main skills rely on healing and controlling nature. That is where her talents lie mostly, and she is very good at it mind you.

Mildreas Willowgrave is the father of Caelyb and also one of the Six Nobles leading the Highborne, you may have noticed he is the overly aggressive one.

The Night Elves have no Shamans or are there any Shamans within the Alliance on Kalimdor, all they have nearby are from Stonetalon Peak. That is the only location where they have any support, and they are druids. Also the only other Shamans are from the Tauren and they are being rallied to help face the Centaur.

I plan to give him one, well one that he already has. "I will shatter Fate."

Correct, Rexxar does patrol the Desolace and will be appearing next chapter.

ZiggySmallz: Yeah, you should see him later on, he is really going to be badass.

Falling up: Will do.

There you have it, hope you all enjoyed the chapter.