It has been a long time, really long, and I regret to say that this chapter was meant to be out on Christmas, and alongside some chapters for Are We Alone and the Hand of Suffering, but sadly I couldn't do that. I got sick, with something that made my chest hurt and my throat expel all kinds of foul things. But now that is over I was able to power on through and bring you this chapter.
But for some good news, the Bleach Anime is on its way back, new trailer has dropped and it looks great. Cannot wait to watch the final season and hope they do something different with the ending. Really hope so.
But beyond that I am going to be trying to work more on Transcendence, to get more chapters out and get this story to where it needs to go. After all I love this story and it deserves to see itself to completion. So I will waste your time no more, enjoy the chapter and I hope to hear what you think.
Transcendence
Chapter 81: Being Proactive
Theramore
The fly back to Theramore wasn't so bad, although going over the marshlands was not exactly a picnic, those gases really liked to hang out nice and high over the canopy. The smell was terrible, in fact being closer to the ground was better than in the sky, he nearly passed out. He had recalled when they took flight that they would either travel northwards up the coast to Northwatch Hold or south towards Thousand Needles. Now he knew why.
He wondered at the time if he should divert to the north and spend another night away from Theramore or land and walk the rest of the way there. At first he tried to land but the moment he broke through the canopy he found himself landing in a large clearing that was covered in webs. Surprising, no doubt, he had never seen so many webs in a single place before, and then he remembered a little something about the spiders on Azeroth.
They come in all sized, as small as a fingernail, big as a watermelon, big as a fucking horse that will eat liquify your organs and drink you like a smoothie.
He remembered turning around and seeing one of them on a tree looking right at him.
It was the first time he actually saw a massive spider, heard about them all the time, even eaten some of their meat. He never was scared of spiders, not really, but the moment he saw that thing he felt a dreadful tingle go up his spine. But he kept calm, firing off a Getsuga Tenshou, slowly getting back on his Hippogryph, leaping into the saddle and urging it to fly, and he was back in the sky.
It was then and there that he decided on taking a detour to Northwatch Hold.
He arrived a few hours later just as the sun started to move towards the western horizon. Landed just outside the city and walked up to the main gate, they should know him already so he shouldn't have a problem when he announced himself.
Got a nice welcome from the people there, he actually met a few of the Theramore Guardsmen who were on rotation to the Hold. Shared some of the drink he had along with some food he got on his travels through the Barrens, had a little party, very festive. Although he couldn't say that he enjoyed it as much as he would have liked, things have not exactly been going smoothly for him as of late.
Even after he received a farewell from the Hold's commanding officers along with some people he knew it didn't put him at ease.
Not even seeing one of his closest friends upon arriving in Theramore did little to alleviate his discomfort.
"Welcome home, I see you took the scenic route back here." Caren said, strolling forward and putting a hand on her hip, holier-than-though as expected.
"Needed time to decompress, also needed to think things through." Ichigo replied, dismounting the Hippogryph and passing the reigns to the Gryphon Keeper Baldruc. "How have things been here?"
"It's been half a week, nothing really has happened in that time, although Lady Proudmoore has been exchanging missive with Shandris Feathermoon and Tyrande." Caren replied, turning and moving to the Citadel. "How is Adelina doing?"
"She's doing well, I think she will be alright." Ichigo said, smiling slightly at knowing that despite everything she has gone through she was stronger now.
He was surprised at first how bold she had been at the meeting, standing up against the people that tormented her for years, now she was going to be a major player in smoothing relations between the varying factions in the Desolace. Things have definitely changed for her, in spite of all the extra responsibilities she was handling she took to it without complaint, he had no fear that she would thrive in the Circle.
Even if things go bad on his end, if things go down the way he fears, he had some solace in knowing that she would be alright.
"I got some details on what she will be doing, looks like she is shaping up to becoming a leader within the Circle. I am almost jealous of how quickly she has risen through the ranks, but it is well deserved." Caren said, smiling as she uttered those word, clearly she was happy for Adelina and her rising success.
"Yeah, just got to make sure that those assholes from the Peak don't try anything, if they have proven anything it is that they don't let things go." Ichigo muttered, knowing for a fact those guys will be up to something.
He remembered the conversation he had with Jaina and Tyrande after the summit, they had warned that Fandral Staghelm was likely planning something. To be so quick to accept their demands and even provide aid to the Highborne made it obvious he had something in the works. He didn't know what it might be, considering that things were going very smoothly at the moment, but old habits die hard and no matter the race or calling no one forgets or forgives so easily.
Or in this case, considering that Fandral Staghelm was using Adelina and the hatred against her family as a means to remove his enemies in the Circle, he was likely plotting something to bolster his own political power. Jaina and Tyrande had come up with a few theories, all of them made sense, it was disgusting to hear it though.
"We won't be too far away if something happens, besides she has the protection of Romulus on her side, no one within the circle would be foolish enough to try anything with her." Caren replied.
Ichigo knew that as well, but from what he was coming to learn this Fandral Staghelm was not someone who played nice with others. Romulus might lead the Circle but Staghelm held onto it tightly, he had amassed a lot of power since the previous leader had taken a dive into the Emerald Dream. He had accumulated a lot of power, within and outside of the order, the theory that he found most convincing was that he wanted all opposition to his doctrine to help in the Desolace.
Maybe he thought that negotiations will break down, that conflicts will resume, and that they would all be killed in the ensuing chaos. Caren had even asked if he would instigate a conflict to make something like that happen, they didn't answer but they didn't deny it either. Just proved the point that they couldn't expect anything short of treacherous from Staghelm in the future.
"How have you been by the way? You seem well rested." Caren asked, sounding a little guarded as she asked, likely thinking he would brush her off or get snippy with her.
"I'm better, ever since I got to The Moonglade I have been able to sleep without the nightmares." Ichigo replied, it had been the only rest he had received ever since he returned from Maraudon.
He had fallen asleep one night and woken up over a day later well rested, he likely would have slept longer had an attendant not checked up on him. It had been a shock to the system that he was able to actually sleep without waking up in a cold sweat, he was so surprised that he didn't even attack his attendant by accident.
He didn't know the reason he was able to rest there but it seemed to have been permanent, ever since leaving the groove he had not lost a wink of sleep. He had thought maybe he was cured, that whatever was affecting him was gone, but that didn't last long. He learned the truth in the Oasis a few days ago, ever since meeting Zangetsu and looking into his Inner World he had come to realise that whatever was affecting him wasn't going away.
"But I need to talk with Jaina and Aegwynn, I need their help to figure out what is happening to me." Ichigo said, looking at her seriously. "I can't put this off anymore, I can't do this alone."
Caren looked at him for a moment, if he had to guess from the expression on her face, she looked like he had grown another head and was making fart sounds with his mouth.
"I don't like the way you are looking at me now." Ichigo grouched, narrowing his eyes at the mage.
"Can you blame me?" Caren asked, her sarcasm shining through as she gave him an irritated look, as if she was offended by him being offended by her incredulous look.
"Whatever." Ichigo muttered. "But what I said still stands, I am out of my depth here, I need help to figure this out."
They entered the Citadel, walking up the long winding stairs and to the very top of the tower, they found the two people they were looking for waiting for them. Greetings were exchanged, a few pleasantries and some recent news to reach them, and then he got down to business.
They had convened in a private room to discuss the matter, they were aware that something was wrong but not the whole truth. So he decided to give them all the details he knew, along with a few things he learned from his Zanpakuto spirit.
The being he saw in Maraudon, the black liquid that infected him after he killed Theradras, that somehow was able to alter his senses and make him see into the future. How it was appearing as some form of sludge and black mass in his inner world, how it was dangerous for him to interact with. Along with the fact his Inner Hollow was now missing.
He tried his best to explain everything, to make sure they knew everything they could that might give them a clue as to what they might be dealing with. Although, he held back on two or three things that he didn't think they should know about.
"You actually saw the future?" Jaina asked. "Are you certain."
"I saw Adelina after she had been beaten, when I found her at the Peak, it felt like I was in that nightmare again." Ichigo replied.
"Visions of the future are not always clear, in fact from what we know of them they rarely are clear and concise." Jaina said.
"I saw it, this thing is in my head, it is showing me things that don't make sense unless they are somehow visions of the future. It even showed me people back home, it showed me how they died." Ichigo said.
Jaina had heard enough and called for two priests along with a Paladin, and as soon as they arrived they put him through a cleansing ritual to see if they could find out what was inside him. They had done the entire song and dance, prayers along with a few rituals to cleanse his soul of evil. He had at first not wanted to believe it to be anything other than a gimmick but through the entire thing he felt something course through him.
Hard to describe, because it felt both like a pleasant warmth and a burning piece of iron, it was as if he was taking it in and trying to push it out. Maybe that was the case, maybe whatever was within him was pushing back against the Light these paladins and priests use. During the ritual he had tried to enter his Inner World, that failed, he tried to commune with Zangetsu, that failed, he even tried to summon his mask.
He couldn't even do that.
Although it felt different compared to the other two, he describe it.
By the end of it he didn't feel any different, but he did feel like he was still burning, the warmth hadn't dissipated. It lingered, stayed within him for some reason, perhaps it was doing some work but not enough.
"Well, that was a bust." Ichigo muttered, when the priests and Paladin were gone.
"Considering the reaction you had, it helps us determine a few things." Aegwynn replied. "Even if we cannot detect this presence it proves that there is something there, although if it hasn't been removed it may be hiding within your own power."
Ichigo thought for a moment, then it clicked what she was talking about.
"You mean my Hollow powers?"
"Yes, the nature of that Hollow is reminiscent of a dark spirit, a wraith or the like, such beings are vulnerable to the Light. If this power has infiltrated your soul and that dark spirit has disappeared it may be possible it is using it to hide itself away." Aegwynn stated, frowning deeply.
"But I can't sense him." Ichigo replied. "I couldn't even sense Old Man Zangetsu. How do we know it is the cause?"
"It is definitely using your Hollow's power to hide within you, it may even be possible that your Hollow has been taken by this shadowy force and is using it to keep itself undetected." Aegwynn said. "This Hollow is a part of you, as much as it seems like an invasive force, it is part of your being and soul, if it can merge with that and blend itself in than it is not something that can be easily removed."
Ichigo didn't like that idea, if his Inner Hollow was being suppressed by this force and used as a smoke screen to hide itself away as it slowly spread through his body, he was in danger of suffering the same fate. If it kept spreading, then it was only a matter of time before he was taken over, taken away like his Hollow and his body becoming the puppet of this thing.
The only ones that might know anything are out of his reach, the Hollow and Old Man were silent, as much as he hated the idea of meeting the Old Man again he knew he had wisdom he could share. Although with how odd his behaviour had been since Maraudon he couldn't trust his judgement hadn't been clouded by fear.
So he needed helped from people that might actually know what they were dealing with, give it a name and maybe an actual face.
"What can I do?" Ichigo asked.
No one gave an immediate response.
"This is well outside our expertise, you might need to consult others who are more informed than ourselves." Jaina said.
"I would suggest the Green Dragonflight, this corruption within your soul might be tied to the same one that is spreading through the Dream Bough in Feralas." Aegwynn informed.
"The Dream Bough? That place is still standing?" Ichigo inquired, he had seen how bad it had become after the centaur had broken through and into Feralas. That place was filled with maggots and rotting plant life, it was a horrid place compared to what it once was.
"It has deteriorated, Pained is investigating what has occurred there and searching for the other Grooves and Great Trees. These trees are guarded by the Green Dragonflight, I can send a missive to see if she can contact the Flight and learn about this corruption." Jaina said.
"That might take time, the Green Dragonflight are notorious for their lack of appearance in the material world. From what I know they mostly live in the Emerald Dream." Caren said, likely remembering her conversations with Adelina on the subject, something Ichigo also recalled.
"I think I remember Adelina telling me once that the Dream Bough, and a few other places, had those Great Trees planted in them to suppress some sort of corruption that was spreading through the land." Ichigo said. "This could be that corruption, if we find them they should know what this is."
They had a plan now, they didn't know what they were dealing with but they could contact people that do know. If the Green Dragonflight wasn't someone they could contact they could always fall back to the Druids of the Circle and the Keepers of the Groove. Either they knew about the corruption or could lead them in the direction to find the Green Dragonflight. Ichigo recalled Celebras helping him when his mind was being assaulted by the corruption, he would know better than anyone.
The Next Day
A few missives were sent, hopefully they would reach their destinations with haste and then they could learn about the source of this corruption. But until they he was left to his own devices, something he had learned in the short time he had to himself on his journey back to Theramore that he didn't do well.
"What's this word mean?" Ichigo asked.
"Hearthglen. It was a former fortified town in northern Vanwalden, the township was a well-travelled principality that was ruled over by one of the original members of the Knight's of the Silver Hand. Tirion Fordring, known as the Knight of Retribution." Caren replied, giving a long explanation with details that he had little to no knowledge on.
Ichigo nodded despite the information dumped on his head and kept reading, he was still learning the common tongue, speaking came naturally but reading and writing was a little different. All these months here and the most he had done with his time reading is try and remember what each letter and symbol meant, if only to learn enough to read a book or two. Oddly enough the alphabet here is a very simplified and easy to understand language, with some tricky words here and there, usually names of places.
He had also been taking Thalassian on the side to learn some of Adelina's language as well, that was a little more complex. It was even more complex than Kanji, because it didn't have any Homonyms, even his own language had overlapping words that meant either the same thing or a variation of it. Not with Thalassian, every conceivable things had its own word associated with it, made learning it actually difficult.
In fact he remembered that Japanese and English had around the same amount of words in their vocabulary, around half a million to each language. But based on what he was learning from Adelina along with what dictionaries he had obtained the Thalassian language has close to two million words. Learning it would take time, especially when he was still learning common.
Despite this he had taken a keen interest in history, mainly the history of Lordaeron and the Human nations of the Eastern Kingdoms.
His reasons for this sudden change oddly enough came about because of his desire to figure out what he was dealing with. This thing he had faced down in Maraudon had surprised him, shown him that there were things out there that were a threat to him. Going out into the world and expecting to come out unscathed was stupid, he had faced enough life and death situations to know that going in half-cocked wouldn't do him any good.
Also, the last few weeks he had been part of several meetings that discussed how they would be involved with the coming events, he had learned a lot from those meetings. Mostly his own lack of foresight in matters like this, sure he could come up with a plan on the fly but he had to leave the intricate details to everyone else to figure out.
His suggestions and opinions were welcome, but they rarely bore fruit, he wasn't one to plan or think things far enough ahead of a situation. That was a weakness of his, one that he was starting to find was going to cost him, he needed to fix that issue.
While a little reading wasn't going to help much it at least was a nice way to broaden his knowledge.
"How are things progressing in Eldre'thalas?" Ichigo inquired, having heard a little titbit about some developments in the situation, especially since Malluineth and Tylarwin were now free.
Not exactly the best thing to happen, but considering that both of them had been cowed enough not act up they were perfect to be made into puppet leaders. Jaina had said that with them leading the people and keeping them in line it would prevent unknowns from taking up leadership that had hostile motives towards them.
Better the enemy you know rather than the one you didn't.
"The Shen'dralar want to return to the city." Caren said. "They are offering to provide support to the campaign."
"What do they want in return?" Ichigo asked, he knew that their leaders wanted something out of this, as much as they had been forced to capitulate, he knew they had their own motives.
"Don't know, but I suspect they want to try and recover some of their lost treasures." Caren replied.
Wouldn't be surprising, they are giving up almost everything they have, they would be desperate to preserve what little they could. The Shen'dralar was being forced to hand over all arcane texts, something they value more than their own lives in some cases.
"You think they might try something?" Ichigo inquired.
"The Highborne are at a turning point, they are literally being dragged into a new way of life with no way to resist it. Primalism will see the Highborne treading down a completely different path to Arcane magic, something they have practiced for thousands of years. But more than that they have absolutely no way to preserve that past now that it is being taken away." Caren replied.
Ichigo thought on it and he realized that was true, with the loss of all their arcane tools and knowledge they had no way to offering alternatives to their people. Eventually their entire populace would convert and then the Arcane would become a minority within their civilisation. He had to wonder if this was planned from the beginning, that they wanted to remove the danger the arcane arts posed in the hands of the Highborne by forcing them to accept Primalism.
This also could result in a massive shift in power, with a contender to the Shen'dralar appearing in the form of a Primalist coven. If that was the case the Shen'dralar would lose their authority and control, effectively becoming nothing more than a small commune of stagnant mages. That it turn would make them outcasts, not so dissimilar to the Highborne who resisted the Kaldorei's desire to ban the use of arcane magic following the War of the Ancients.
This could be a repeating of history.
"The Shen'dralar are going to resist this change, no doubt about it." Ichigo said. "They'll dig their feet in and fight back against what is happening to them. Hell, they might only be going back to Eldre'thalas to escape the influence of Primalism, returning back to where their influence was strongest. Not the first time the Night Elves have done something similar."
In fact based on what he had read recently the High Elves of Silvermoon were the Night Elves that had resisted the changed made by their brethren and decided to sail to different shores.
"That makes sense, consolidating their people to somewhere that outside influences cannot taint their beliefs, although that is the same principle they performed after the Sundering. Look how that turned out." Caren said, Ichigo had read about that too, the thing with the Highborne and High Elves is that they didn't make long term deals and always broke them off when it was beneficial to them.
Although this was a little different.
"It worked for the most part, they survived ten thousand years without anyone screwing up what they built, hence why they might actually try doing it all over again." Ichigo replied. "When cornered and with no way to fight back they will go to the one place where they felt safe. Also they seem to have trouble realising that repeating history will only alienate themselves from everyone."
If they were that desperate to hold onto their ways that they would attempt to isolate themselves back into their old city meant they are trying to keep their traditions alive they obviously weren't thinking straight. That line of thinking likely wouldn't work considering that the city is not theirs anymore – not that it was even before the Sentinels and Warsong took it over – their former methods of surviving weren't going to cut it anymore.
"Doesn't seem logical to just run back to their old home and hope for the best." Caren said.
"This isn't logic, it's fear, they had a lot of power and now it is gone, they are clinging to what remnants they can just to not feel powerless." Ichigo replied. "Power is a dangerous thing, and when people obtain it, the one thing they fear is losing it."
The perfect example of that might be Maluineth, although her desires focused more on revenge than anything he doubted that she wanted anything less than complete control over the Shen'dralar. There wasn't any doubt that she was going to be a problem in the future, even detained he had heard she was defiant and unbowed by circumstances. Also if the Shen'dralar, a small portions of them anyway, still supported her than that meant she had the power to continue with her own mission.
That was something they had to be on lookout for.
"Is that something you are worried about?" Caren asked.
Ichigo turned away from his book and looked to her, surprised by the question. She was looking at him with oddly, she kept her expression tight, but he could tell she was trying to hide her emotions. But she was easy for him to read, because there was only one thing that she kept hidden like that.
"I think that is someone everyone is worried about." Ichigo replied, he thought for a moment they were still talking on the subject of the Highborne, but this didn't feel right.
"I'm not talking about them." Caren said. "I am talking about power, about feeling powerless, not having the strength to do what is needed."
Now he had an idea what she was talking about, he wouldn't admit that this was a subject he was difficult for him to talk about. He had admitted a lot to them, not everything, but he told them enough to give a clear picture what he was dealing with.
"I think I know what you are asking, but I want to hear you tell me." Ichigo said, putting down the book and giving her his attention.
"When you were talking about your visions you mentioned what you saw, you even mentioned being able to see the future. Not just your own, both others You saw what happened to Adelina at Stonetalon before it occurred, even what happened to your friends back home..." Caren said.
"We don't know if that was true!" Ichigo said, shutting her down before she could finished, he didn't want to believe it was true.
They couldn't all be dead, they were strong and resourceful, there was no way they could have fallen so quickly after his departure. They held out against Aizen's invasions of Karakura Town without his presence or intervention, they couldn't have lost.
"I'm sorry. I spoke out of turn there."
She took a moment before speaking again.
"But you did see Adelina, you saw what happened to her, what was done to her."
"I couldn't do anything… I saw it, I did, but I didn't have any idea…" Ichigo tried to say, he didn't know it was true, he thought it was just an illusion.
But she raised her hand and stopped him from trying to defend himself.
"I am not blaming you, believe me I am not doing that." Caren said. "But I think you are still hiding something, even after telling us everything you saw I think you saw something else, about other people."
Ichigo flinched as she made the deduction, something she noticed, something that seemed to give her pause. She swallowed silently, looking away and tried to keep her expression neutral, it didn't take a genius to know she was trying to ask him in a round-about way if he had seen something similar with her.
"You want to know if I saw something involving you or someone else?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes!" Caren said, her voice shrill as she turned to him sharply. "Yes. Did you see anyone else?"
Ichigo was silent for a moment, he had seen several events unfold within that dark realm and the nightmares that followed, he only recalled three other events. He saw Anaesia die in Dire Maul, gutted by some unknown force, and then he saw himself looking control of his hollow and killing Adelina. The last one, the most obvious one that related to Caren, he didn't know if she should know what he saw.
He dreaded knowing what was coming, with no way of knowing how to fight against it, to do the same to Caren didn't seem fair in his mind.
"Do you really want to know?" Ichigo asked, uncertain if he should tell her.
"If you don't, I won't know what I have to look out for." Caren said, trying to put on a brave face as she made the statement.
It didn't help with Adelina, Ichigo thought angrily. Looking back on his time on Stonetalon Peak he should have seen signs of what was coming, what would have happened if he left Adelina alone. He saw how she was nearly struck and assaulted on multiple occasions, how they treated her compared to everyone else, he should have realised what was coming.
He should have figured it out.
"I saw you… you were arguing with your father." Ichigo said.
He noticed her posture straighten and the look in her eyes became razor sharp, he had all of her attention.
"He struck you, and said that you would not be leaving the mansion, that you would be staying until you learn to behave." Ichigo replied. "He locked you in a room."
He watched, paying close attention to Caren as she stood stock still and then turned to face forward. She was looking off towards nothing, her gaze was unfocused, but her entire body was rigid and unmoving. Only her deep breathing could be noticed, her chest rising and falling quickly as she took in deep silent gasps.
"Caren?" Ichigo asked, reaching towards her.
Before he could touch her she jumped away from his hand, knocking her seat aside and stumbling back. She looked guarded, hiding her fear behind a mask of stoicism, her eyes darted around and took in everything around her as if she was trying to remember where she was.
"Sorry… I… I got worked up just now." Caren said, swallowing and breathing more heavily.
She was also sweating, her brow covered in moisture, and refused to look him in the eye.
"Thank you for telling me, I need to think on this." Caren said, turning and moving out of the library.
"Caren." Ichigo called out, jumping to his feet, worried as he saw her hands shaking. "If you need to talk. I'm here."
"I know, I just need some time." Caren said, not stopping or looking back as she rushed from the chamber.
Ichigo stood there and gazed towards the doorway she fled through, hearing her footsteps in the distance slowly disappear, she was terrified. He had no idea on the true scope of her life back at her family home but he knew it was far from nurturing. He also had to remember that she was the same age as him, fifteen going onto sixteen, she was still young.
He had seen her fight through all kinds of situations without so much as yelping in fright, she was tough as they come. She fought against enemies that outnumbered her and likely outclassed her, gloating in front of dangerous foes, never showing an ounce of fear when facing an enemy. She spoke her mind, bluntly and without a caring for their feelings, and never held back.
But the moment he mentioned her father, said how he would confine her to a room, she was scared. He couldn't begin to fathom what kind of life she led under that roof, what kind of person her father was and what he put her through.
Ichigo fell into his seat, hand going through his hair as he cursed under his breath, he shouldn't have said anything. He should have sorted this out himself, but he doubted that he would be able to do anything about it, there was little that he could do on his own.
"I got to protect her, make sure her father doesn't get close." Ichigo muttered.
Three Days Later
Jaina had been ruminating on the issue plaguing Ichigo for some time, ever since he returned from Ethel Rethor she had noticed a sudden change in him. It had been nearly two months after the Campaign that she had finally discovered the truth behind his sudden bouts of insomnia and night terrors.
He was infected with some form of malicious force that was corrupting his mind, slowly seeping into his soul and attempting to consume it. She had put some resources towards attempting to find out the cause of this presence, but she and Aegwynn had turned up little that could shed some light on what they were dealing with.
"That is the situations, we do not know what this presence is but it has proven to be quite invasive, our attempts to remove it have proven fruitless." Jaina said, sitting with Aegwynn and the recently retuned Pained.
Pained had been out gathering information on recent happening on Kalimdor, and beyond, with the events in Desolace having a ripples effect across Kalimdor they needed to know how it was affecting everywhere else. From what information Pained had procured it seems that the consequences of what transpired there are affecting other regions just as badly.
"I see, how is Ichigo now?" Pained inquired.
"He is better, strangely he has told us that ever since arriving in the Moonglade he has been able to sleep more soundly." Jaina said, that had been one of the first things she had seen to investigating, to learn if there was something there that might have aided in his recovery.
"Have you investigated?" Pained asked.
"We are still waiting for a response, if Romulus has no answers perhaps his brother Zaetar will know." Jaina replied.
Her message had pertained to seeing if there were any unique magical qualities within the Moonglade that could help alleviate Ichigo of this corruption. She had also learned that Quintis had actually received some medicine from the Moonglade for his services and given that medicine to Ichigo, it had an effect and allowed him to sleep when he used it. The nightmares persisted but it seems too have allowed to rest more soundly in spite of this.
He reported this when he was on Stonetalon Peak, having been able to sleep for a few days while there, but the insomnia returned when the medicine ran out. Yet it had not returned since his time in Moonglade, so there had to be some correlation. If there existed a cure for his condition it may lay in that sacred place.
She had also sent some messages to Thrall asking if he could be of aid, the spiritual was not a field she was familiar with. If he could provide her with some knowledge or better yet send someone with shamanistic knowledge to help that would be useful. While bringing them to Theramore would be impossible she could even have the Shamans go to Eldre'thalas during the campaign to help Ichigo during his stay in the city.
Other avenues were being explored as well, she wasn't going to risk Ichigo's safety by relying on one single method.
"Then we have to wait till they can respond. But I do have information that may be relevant to Ichigo's condition." Pained stated.
"What is it?" Jaina asked.
"The corruption affecting the Dream Bough might be linked back to the reason it was planted in the first place." Pained stated. "The Great Trees were planted due to the presence of a strange metal that had necrotic effects on area."
"As far as I am aware those trees were planted millennia ago." Aegwynn said.
"Four and a half to be exact, but based on what I have been able to learn from my contacts there might be a chance this is the corruption that is affecting Ichigo." Pained stated.
"Are you certain? These trees were planted over four millennia ago, why would they fail to contain this corruption?" Aegwynn inquired.
"It seems that the Trees have only suppressed the corruption, but more than that it is possible that the corruption has spread to them as well." Pained stated. "We are moving to confirm but it seems obvious that this corruption is quite potent, in fact, information I come across showed that it overwhelmed the power of a World Tree."
Jaina was shocked, while she had only an inkling of the potential of a World Tree, she knew that to corrupt a World Tree required a power so potent that releasing its power could decimate most of Mount Hyjal. If it could corrupt a World Tree, that spoke volumes on how powerful this force was. Considering that the Paladins and priests she had attend to Ichigo had no effect on this means that it was more potent than she realised. It made her wonder how he was even recovering, if this corruption can persist for millennia and then resurge it might prove that Ichigo might relapse in due time.
"This bodes ill for us, if a World Tree is susceptible than I have to wonder how it was that these Great Trees were able to survive for so long." Aegwynn said, she did have a point. "What happened to this World Tree?"
"It was cut down and destroyed, the Circle was so concerned with the corruption that they believed destroying the trees was preferable to allowing it to be corrupted." Pained said, even as she said it the elven warrior couldn't hide her disbelief.
Not that she could be blamed for doubting this information, the idea of the Circle destroying a World Tree was impossible to imagine. They would sacrifice anything to protect a World Tree, she knew that from how aggressively they held off the Burning Legion on Mount Hyjal. Even when Teldrassil was created, a World Tree that was made illegally by the Circle, was still protected and nurtured.
If this corruption was so bad that they would destroy a World Tree, than it was not something they could take lightly.
"How long ago was this World Tree corrupted?" Jaina asked.
"Less than a century after it was planted." Pained replied. "I have no idea how it was corrupted so quickly, but I did hear the deposit was larger than the others."
"Perhaps the density of the corruption isn't the issue, if the Great Trees remained untouched for so long and the World Tree did not, perhaps an outside force is the reason the corruption now spreads." Aegwynn stated. "Considering the timeframe of events it seems that what occurred in the Desolace has some coronation with what happened to the Groove. Perhaps the unsealing of Maraudon being the catalyst."
That couldn't be denied, in fact what she had learned of what happened there only made it more obvious that whatever was unleashed from Maraudon was going to leave lasting repercussions on Kalimdor.
"How far has this spread?" Jaina asked.
"Within this Groove: the region around the Great Tree is completely tainted, it is spreading slowly outwards and we can expect most of the region around the Twin Colossi to be consumed by years end." Pained replied.
"What about the other Grooves?" Jaina asked.
"We have only found one, and it seems that the Great Tree in Ashenvale is being corrupted at a rate equal to that of the Dream Bough." Pained stated.
"Have you informed the Circle of this?" Jaina asked, considering the situation the Druids should have done something about this by now.
"I have, they have informed in that they will be investigating further, they are also looking to the other Great Trees in the Desolace, to ensure that the corruption hasn't spread to them either." Pained stated. "Given that they are helping keep the Elemental Planes from collapsing into our world making sure they are untainted is paramount."
Jaina leaned back into her chair and signed, why did it feel like she was the only one handling this, she was a mage, not a Druid. This should be their main priority, protecting nature and ensuring that this corruption was contained, but from the sounds of it they were more interested in politics than actually fulfilling their role.
"Do you have hope that this can be rectified?" Aegwynn asked.
"No." Pained said, letting out an annoyed sign. "As much as this is important my agents met resistance when broaching the subject. It would seem that they didn't want outsiders knowing of this."
Jaina couldn't understand why they would be so resistant, they were being informed of a major threat and they allowed foolish prejudice to influence their actions. They had even stated they would be investigating and taking action to rectify this, why so much resistance? Then she had a feeling.
"I suspect that Fandral Staghelm is involved somehow." Jaina said.
"You wouldn't be wrong. It seems that Fandral Staghelm is responsible for planting those trees to contain the corruption, along with the destruction of the World Tree. His druids are being oddly tight-lipped on the matter, focusing more on consolidating power in Ashenvale and Teldrassil." Pained said. "We can't expect much help from them, not in this matter, at least not directly. It would seem that those willing to provide aid in this matter are outside his circle of influence."
Jaina may not have spoken with Fandral before, mostly hearing about him from others, she could tell from a glance he was a politician. She had dealt with people like that all her life, being the daughter of the Grand Admiral of Kul Tiras had its perks, she could easily read a person and figure out their motives. The Archdruid was a mystery, his motives unclear, but he obviously wanted to have complete control over the Circle and the Night Elf government.
Given that he had sent away almost every Druid not within his faction to aid in the upcoming campaign he was likely consolidating power where it counts. You take away any kind of opposition from a place of power and something will come in to fill that void. Fandral had done that, he now was the only voice speaking to the people, he was growing in power and he wasn't going to give it up.
"That still doesn't explain why he would neglect his duties." Aegwynn said, likely just as confused by his unwillingness to do something about it.
"I suspect that they are not forthcoming because they might think we are bringing this up as a way to tarnish their reputation." Pained stated.
"Tarnish their reputation?" Jaina asked.
"Apparently the trees were planted without permission, from Malfurion or Romulus, they stole branches from the World Tree and planted them over the sites. The Great Trees and World Tree were planted illegally, that got them in trouble, and when they destroyed the World Tree it made the situation worse." Pained clarified.
Jaina could guess what the logic behind their actions now, it made so much sense yet at the same time it aggravated her to no end. The reason the Druids in Staghelm's faction were not saying anything or doing anything was because of the sudden change in power within Teldrassil, any information that comes out about the past that might affect them negatively had to be suppressed.
They won't talk because it would affect their status, they had done something illegal that backfired and they couldn't risk it getting out. More than that they couldn't risk getting involved again because if they fail to contain the problem it would only bring the original problem to the forefront and be compounded again. Staghelm knew this, that was a definite, so he was going to keep his head low and wait for the situation to unfold.
This was nothing more than a game of politics now, she hated it when that happens. Who knows how much damage this is going to cause when it explodes, given the proximity of so many to the area there is no telling what kind of chaos would ensue.
"Can we expect any aid from him or his faction?" Jaina asked, even if it meant forcing him to help, they needed all they could get right now.
"No, we can expect a plot if we try to force him act, possibly even spreading rumours of the Highborne's involvement in the corruption of the Great Trees. Considering the fact the corruption began to set in after they stole the Heart of Veles from Maraudon it wouldn't be hard to make people believe that is the case. He can shift the blame to them and fuel the anger towards the Highborne further." Pained replied.
It was a lose/lose situation then, this peace was only being maintained because of cooperation, if there was any major backlash from either side it would spell doom to their entire undertaking. They couldn't risk a confrontation like that, they had agreed not to interfere with the Highborne, that would change if they made a move that they saw undermined their authority.
"Then we need to focus on who can help us." Jaina said.
"Tyrande, Codexia, the Primal Spirits, the Keepers. They are our main points of contact." Pained said.
Tyrande could probably force Staghelm to comply with their demands, possibly, but it wasn't something they could rely on or expect immediate results. Neither could they expect much from the Keepers, this was isolated to Staghelm and his Druids if they acted outside of the Keepers knowledge. But Celebras or Zaetar would be a better option, they may know something, but finding their spirits within the Emerald Dream required resources they had no access to.
So that left Codexia and the Primal Spirits, speaking with the latter was not possible at the moment, but with Codexia acting as a messenger they might be able to gather information. So that was a good start, perhaps sending Ichigo to Dire Maul and then getting him in contact with her could be beneficial.
"What about the Green Dragonflight?" Aegwynn asked. "They maintain the Great Trees, shouldn't they also be sought out?"
"They are missing, and our usual means of contacting them has proven fruitless. We are attempting to search for the other Boughs, but their locations are not well known to our people and they are in hostile territory." Pained said.
"I thought that there was one in Ashenvale." Jaina said.
"It is apparently close to the Warsong Lumber Mill located in the Eastern most region of the forest." Pained replied. "Apart from that I am organising a team to go to Northrend to investigate the World Tree there."
"I will give you some of my people, along with a good ship." Jaina said, Pained nodded in thanks. "Have you been able to identify the entity Ichigo saw in his visions?"
"No." Pained replied.
Jaina was hoping for a different answer.
"Most of what I can gather from the incident shows that the Druids never really investigated this corruption, simply covered it up and tried to seal it away. Now it is buried deep into the earth and from the looks of it now it is starting to rise up to the surface." Pained continued. "We are starting from nothing."
She lamented the fact they couldn't figure out what this threat was, along with how they were meeting resistance and dead ends at every turn, they were fighting to gather what information they could. But there was no way they would be able to find anything quickly, this was something they had never seen before.
Ichigo was also their greatest ally in this, without him they would not have been able to accomplish any of the trials they have faced, to lose him to this corruption was something she did not wish to happen. She needed to figure out her next move quickly, along with seeing if it was even safe for Ichigo to go back into the fold.
Stormwind City, Stormwind Keep
It was always amusing listening to the Nobles bicker and argue over the most trivial of things, over missing gold or someone taking a stag from their lands, but now she had to hold back a laugh as they brushed off the demands of the Dwarven Ambassador. An Ambassador who was demanding they provide all available assistance in rescue it the kidnapped princess of Ironforge.
"This is a request from King Mangi Bronzebeard himself! We have been allies for years, ever since the rebuilding of Stormwind, since the Second War! We need help in storming Shadowforge City to rescue Princess Moira Bronzebeard." The Dwarven Ambassador said, clearly vexed by the lack of respect he is receiving.
"You are asking us to dedicate resources to assaulting Blackrock Mountain, it took the entire Alliance Army during the Second War just to win in the field, you cannot expect us to launch an assault on the very mountain itself. Word is that the orcs still live within its hollow inside." Lord Baurles K. Wishock replied.
He tried to speak politely and with some gusto, as expected from a noble, but all he did was slur slightly as he made up the excuse. He was a drunk that frequented a pub in the Mage District, going there to drown himself into a stupor, he was there only an hour earlier before he had been collected to take part in this meeting.
Although his reason for participating was due to her desire to have someone she could control lead this discussion in the direction she wanted. Along with aggravating the ambassador, Dwarves may be a hearty race that enjoy drinking but they strangely enough hate drunkenness during times of solemnity. She knew that this would cause issue, hence why she did it.
"I would rather leave that decision to a military officer than some pampered boys who seemed to be drunk off his arse." The Ambassador replied, glaring up at the nobles. "Where is Bolvar? Where is anyone that knows how to wield a sword? I want to speak with someone that actually have damn spine!"
That certainly got a few insults thrown his way, how quick a noble was to throw away their decorum and dignity in the face of a few barbed words. It never was dull having these humans behave anything less than expected, so predictable, although at times their stupidity did fray the nerves.
With a titter she turned and walked from the chamber, let them bicker and yell, she had other things to prepare for. Strolling through the Keep she made her way to her private chambers and took a seat near the window, looking over the city and taking a sip of wine she had left on the sill.
She had been here for nine years and in that time she had worked her way into the city's court, gaining many pawns and even the trust of the King and his loyal subjects. Now she was in a position of power and authority that no one could challenge her, the House of Nobles was under her thumb and the King was gone.
His son unfit to rule, the regent was under her spell, and now everything was moving towards her grand scheme.
"We might be able to gain more from this than previously realized." Katrana Prestor mused aloud.
She had no plans to help in rescuing Moira Bronzebeard from the Dark Iron, there was nothing in it for her, in fact she would have preferred the Ironforge Dwarves wasted their resources on rescuing her. But this time, maybe they could gain something from it, maybe not admiration from an ally but perhaps removing an enemy that had been a thorn in their side for too long.
Maybe several thorns in their side all at once.
She looked over the reports from Tyresa Morgan and Reginald Windsor, detailing the Redridge reclamation several months back, it was certainly detailed and fanciful. The losses they suffered there had been a detriment to them, one that had slowed their progress and given their rivals the Dark Iron an edge over them.
Her brother had complained about how useless the Orcs and Ogres were, how they failed to live up to his expectations. Not that she could blame him for feeling that way, short lived lesser races tended to never meet their expectations. But they can serve a purpose if they are put to the right task.
"Galen was meant to die, the fact that idiot couldn't do as was expected of him only proves how useless he was." Katrana said, she supposed relying on a necromancer was bad enough, let alone someone trying to earn the favour of the Cult of the Damned.
She was so merciful to him where she could have turned him in to the Mages, instead she helped him by stealing several artefacts in return for helping him escape. Not only did he fail to secure the artefacts she requested but he even failed to kill Galen when he was captured, instead torturing him for some petty reason or another.
"Why do I trust these humans to do anything?" Katrana muttered, finishing her glass of wine and stepping towards the mirror.
Uttering a few words of draconic under her breath the mirror lost its reflection and soon she was peering into a dark chamber bathed in red light. Standing there was a tall man in dark armour, tanned skin and black hair, he turned his golden eyes towards her.
"Sister, good of you to finally answer my summons." Victor Nefarius said, although not his true name, in fact neither was hers.
"Apologise, human politics have always been tedious and repetitive, so hard to get anything done when bogged down by frivolous happenings." Katrana replied. "How goes your war with the Dark Iron?"
"A continued stalemate, but that may change soon, with the loss of the mine those Dwarves are moving into the Burning Steppes. I am losing resources, manpower, and most of all my experiments are slowly grounding to a halt." Victor said.
"Is the loss of a mine that detrimental?" Katrana inquired.
"It is, because now it is speeding up their own production of golems, if they continue to build up their forces I will be on the back foot soon. Ragnaros will not wait much longer, that elemental may be trapped in the Molten Core but he is not idle, it will only be a matter of time before he takes the mountain." Victor said.
"That would be problematic." Katrana replied.
Ragnaros has always been a problem for them, they were wasting valuable resources trying to keep the Elemental Lord's forces trapped in the lower section of the mountain. They had never had the strength to remove the Dwarves or the Elemental Lord, but contain them they could do, now it was changing.
They were now building golems, using elemental fire to forge stone and give it life, how they came to acquire this knowledge they did not know but she had her suspicions. If this continued they would be on the losing side of this conflict, something she cannot tolerate.
"I might have a way to deal with him, along with getting you the resources you need to continue your experiments." Katrana said, that seemed to catch her brothers attention.
"Has that mage finally been dealt with?" Victor asked.
"Not yet, but I plan to have him out of the way soon enough. More than that I might be able to work around with a few plans and see about gathering a few new allies for ourselves." Katrana said, already figuring out a few ploys she could use to consolidate their hold in the region and remove some obstacles.
"Is that why it has taken you so long to respond to my call?" Victor inquired.
"Partly, I have it under good authority that we might be able to remove several issues in one fell swoop if we work in tandem." Katrana stated.
"And who is the one that gave your such lofty promises?" Victor asked.
"An ally of our father apparently, and his master." Katrana responded, noticing how he twitched at the mention of the two.
She knew her brother desired to surpass their father, to be better than him and achieve more than he had ever done by creating the perfect Dragons. But he still feared him, rightfully so, for while he defied him simply to try and prove himself the better there was one he dared not cross. The one being that held sway even their father could not resist, that they could not resist.
"So, what does he say?" Victor asked, more subdued than before.
"He has given me some information that might be useful, along with a plan that if played perfectly could see to the downfall of a lot of our enemies." Katrana said. "Also, since you seem so concerned, he has even graciously offered a gift to you."
"What would that be?" Victor asked.
"They have been so kind as to deliver into our hands several dragons, from the Bronze flight." Katrana said, smiling as she watched her brother step forward and look her right in the eye.
Greed and excitement shone in those golden orbs, the prospect of experimenting on the Guardians of Time was something that greatly intrigued him. Not that she could blame him, getting your hands on a Bronze dragon was near impossible, with their abilities focusing around time sneaking up on them was impossible.
But it would seem their new benefactor was more capable than previously anticipated.
"I will have them sent your way soon, and not long after that we will have an army of dragons with the power of all five flights. Then we will no longer have need for these lesser races." Katrana said, smirking as their ultimate goal was inching ever so closer to completion.
Her brother shared her lopsided grin, ecstatic to know that he would be adding the Bronze Dragonflight to his test subjects. The Chromatic Flight would reign over the skies of Azeroth, and all the other Dragons in the world will bow to them, with only the Black Dragonflight standing above them.
Soon the Black Dragonflight will rule all of Azeroth, and with them their Old God masters.
Things are moving along now, we are moving into our next arc, if this wasn't clear the next chapter will make it so.
