Chapter 16

Ikit Claw

Temple of the White Tiger

"Find stupid furry-things gods!" Said Ikit as he walked amongst the crowds of Pandaren, Alliance, and Horde soldiers that were participating in the defense of the Temple of the White Tiger as Garrosh still has loyal followers that may try to free him from captivity. "Must know truth!" As he walked, Ikit could feel them looking at him, both out of intrigue or disgust at seeing a giant rat like him. Ikit, not caring, went on his way as he went to find the gods of the Pandaren as they were the ones assigned to give Garrosh his punishment.

Eventually, after much time searching, he found them after he decided to smash a statue dedicated to one of them out of frustration.

"You seek the us, traveler." Said a white and blue tiger as he appeared before Ikit with several other animals. Though the tiger was enraged to find his statue destroyed, he kept calm, sensing Ikit's own frustration.

"Yes-yes stupid glowing things." Said Ikit Claw as he glared at them. "I heard you are giving brown-Orc freedom! Letting him go free after all destruction he sought! Why you do-do this!? Even Ikit, who has destroyed entire towns and cities in his experiment, knew that he would be killed by the human empire of his world for all that he's done. No exceptions. And so Garrosh, who did similar things, should face the same thing, yes?

"Garrosh Hellscream has done many atrocities, yes, but he deserves the chance of redemption like all beings." Said a red and white crane as it looked upon Ikit. "If we kill him without giving him a chance to redeem himself, we are not better than him."

"That be stupid stupid." Said Ikit as he glared at them all. "You are being fools-fools! If he was being attended by Skaven court, we would eat him alive for all actions against Skaven people! We might even experiment on his corpse!"

"Then he and all Orcs should be glad that he is not being judged by your people." Said a black Ox as he stood stoically against Ikit, who glared at them all.

"Do not try to convince us otherwise, mortal." Said a green serpent. "Our verdict is clear. Garrosh will be allowed to live. That is all." With that, the August Celestials left Ikit, who growled in frustration.

"Stupid gods." Said Ikit before left to go find the Horde and Alliance leaders, knowing that they need to hear this.

Present

Jack

"So, you're telling us that they're planning to let Garrosh live?" Asked Jack, incredulous along with Vereesa, who glared at Ikit, though her anger was directed at the Pandaren and their gods. "After all that he's done?"

"Yes-yes." Said Ikit. "I even went to other Pandaren. They claim Garrosh deserves to live. To be given a chance of redemption." Ikit nearly threw up at saying that. "They not going to kill-slay him! They going to let him go!"

"That's insane." Said Jack as he touched his forehead. "What the hell makes them think this is a good idea?"

"I knew that they would do something like this." Said Vereesa as she went over to a desk and slammed her fists on them. "I knew they would let him go. I was right. The Pandaren are fools. Garrosh nearly destroys Pandaria and they want him to go free!" Vereesa then ruffled her hair in disgust. "I need to inform everyone of this. That the trial is nothing but rigged. We need to figure out a way to kill Garrosh. It's the only thing that we can agree upon."

"I get that, but how the hell can we do that without making Garrosh a martyr?" Asked Jack, also anger at the Pandaren, but also worried that killing Garrosh right now, before his punishment, will just make the crazy Orc a martyr. Vereesa pursed her lips, thinking about something, before speaking to Jack.

"I've been talking with my sister. The undead leader of the Forsaken." Said Vereesa. Upon hearing that, Jack and Ikit looked at Vereesa.

"Sylvanas?" Asked Jack, recalling Lor'themar telling him about Sylvanas Windrunner, how she became an undead, and what she is now compared to what she used to be. Upon hearing it, Jack sympathized with both Vereesa and Sylvanas. Vereesa for having her sister taken away from her only to be turned into a darker parody of what she used to be. And Sylvanas for…well dying and turning into an undead being. "What have you've been discussing?"

"Plans to kill Garrosh, yes-yes?" Asked Ikit. Vereesa nodded.

"We agreed that Garrosh shouldn't be allowed to live. That he deserves death." Said Vereesa. "So, I asked her to give me a poison that can kill Garrosh. It'll be a slow and painful death, just what the monster deserves." Jack and Ikit looked at each other, wondering how the heck this can work without drawing the attention of the Pandaren and avoiding making Garrosh a martyr. Jack, while a bit uneasy with the painful death part of the poison, didn't actually mind it. He's a soldier. People die either gruesome and painful deaths. Or quick and painless ones. Some people deserve the latter. Others the former. It wasn't Jack's place to judge who deserves what. But in this case, he can see Garrosh deserving the former. That and he didn't give a damn if the Orc died painfully. The Orc, for the sake of most people on Azeroth, deserved it.

Ikit on the other hand, didn't care. Orc died and they get to move on. What's not to love about it.

"Okay, but how does this avoid making Garrosh a martyr. Is it traceable?" Asked Jack.

"No, it's completely untraceable." Said Vereesa. "Sylvanas told me that she thought of Garrosh becoming a martyr, so she's placing emphasis on making it untraceable. I'm meeting her soon, so the poison should be ready for Garrosh. We were planning on doing it after the latest meeting, but now that its known that the Pandaren will let Garrosh go, I don't think we need to keep it a secret any longer."

"That good and all, but we still need to deliver position without drawing suspicion." Said Ikit, causing both to nod. "We need to kill brown-orc quietly, without drawing suspicion to us all."

"I'll talk with Sylvanas about it. You two can come with you want." Said Vereesa.

"Uh, doesn't your sister hate the living?" Asked Jack, recalling Lor'themar telling them how much Sylvanas hates the living.

"Don't worry, she won't kill you once she sees you both are on our side. And after you tell her about the rigged trial, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you too." Said Vereesa. "Just…avoid angering her and you'll be fine."

"Then let's keep Ikit's mouth shut." Said Jack, causing Ikit to glare.

"Stupid human. Ikit not going, Ikit will stay here. Brainstorming plans to kill Garrosh if poison fails to kill him." Said Ikit.

"Very well, let's go Jack." Said Vereesa, anger in her voice. "We need to inform everyone of this false trial." With that the elf and human left, leaving Ikit alone. Unbeknownst to all, however, their plan was predicted by someone and they're making plans to stop it.

Meanwhile

Suramar

Thalyssra's estate

"Read them and weep, High Elf Archer." Said Courier as he won again, causing High Elf to yell out in frustration.

"Stop it!" Yelled High Elf as she ruffled her hair. "Let me win once!"

"Not a chance." Said Courier, his helmet off, as he reshuffled his deck. As he was shuffling, he saw Chief outside the estate, looking out at the lake that Thalyssra's estate was embedded on. "Hey, want to join?"

"No." Said Chief, hearing Courier's offer. "I don't play games."

"Come on, John." Said High Elf, comfortable with using Chief's real name, as she walked over to Chief. "You got to step back and enjoy life. You're not fighting a war now. You can just…relax now."

"There's still things that need to be done. There's always things that need to be done." Said Chief after a minute. "Pirates. Thugs. Other species preying on others. These are things I'm supposed to deal with all."

"Yeah, but not all the time, man." Said Courier as he joined the two. "You need a break every now and then. Otherwise you lose sight of what you're fighting for in the first place."

"I always have that with me." Said Chief. "With the people I'm fighting with. Or the people that I save."

"You say that, like you mean it." Said Courier, looking at Chief, still in full armor.

"I do." Said Chief, causing them both to sigh. Master Chief really reminded Courier of Boone. Steadfast, stubborn, and dead-set on being just a soldier and nothing more, believing that it was all he was good for now.

Same for High Elf. He reminded her of Orcbolg and how stubborn he was, dead set on killing Goblins, no matter what they tried to do. He took other quests, yes, but he always had Goblins on his mind, thinking the best ways to kill them.

But what they didn't understand was what drove Chief.

With Boone, it was his hatred of Caesar Legion, a nation that promoted slavery, and his hope of a better future. With Orcbolg, was the hope of ridding the world of Goblins, so that no one can suffer like he did.

But with Chief, they didn't see any of that. He just…did what he did because he was ordered to. He killed people who harmed the innocent, yes, but he doesn't seem to have the drive like they did. He just did it because he had to. Like he was programed to.

"…You weren't volunteered into the Spartan program, were you?" Asked Courier as he looked at his leader. Cortana and Master Chief told them about the Spartan program. Well, as much as they were willing to divulge. It was basically a program dedicated to the creation of super soldiers to help humanity in conflicts to come. Chief said the program succeeded and that was it. When asked for details, the two simply kept their mouth shut, indicating a darker picture toward the Spartan program.

"That's classified." Said Chief as he continued to look at the lake, recalling old memories, back when he wasn't a Spartan. Of more…selfish times.

"That just confirms that something was wrong with it." Said High Elf, looking at Chief, worried for him. "Tell us. What the hell did they do to you?"

"It's classified." Repeated Chief, causing High Elf to groan and ruffle her hair.

"God damnit, you stone-cold bastard. Just tell us!" Yelled High Elf, glaring at Chief, which was hard because he stood taller than her. "We're supposed to be a team. We have to trust each other in order to be a good, effective team. And to trust each other, we need to know our pasts! And if you can't tell us, then how the hell can we trust you!?" Chief just stayed silent as High Elf glared at him.

"You don't want to know what they did." Said Chief simply after a minute, looking back at the lake. Disgusted with the answer, High Elf marched away, eager to get away from Chief. Courier, seeing this, sighed.

"She has a point, man." Said Courier, looking at Chief. "You can't keep this Spartan Program details hidden from us any longer. Eventually you have to tell us. Otherwise, we stop being an effective team. I'll respect your want to keep it a secret, but the others may not. And it's not like we'll going to start a revolution against the UNSC. We just want to go back home. We may be disgusted with their actions, but we can't do anything against them. Right?"

"…If I tell you, I'm breaking several military regulations regarding classified material." Said Chief. "Material that may get you killed or censored if you know about them."

"I'm pretty sure the UNSC doesn't have any influence in our worlds." Said Courier. "Look, I appreciate you watching out for us, but the others now want to know more about you and the more you push, the more you lose their trust and grow their curiosity toward your origins. So, just tell them. Before you lose their trust." With that Courier left to go tend to High Elf, leaving Chief alone. Well alone as he can possibly be in this place.

Looking at the lake, Chief stayed there, standing, for several minutes before Chief heard the sounds of teleportation. Not looking back, Chief could guess who it was.

"Elisande gave her verdict?" Asked Chief as Thalyssra came over to him, a bit surprised to see him out and looking at the lake.

"Yes." Said Thalyssra as she went over and stood by Chief, examining their height and seeing she dwarfed him a bit, even with his armor on. "You'll be pleased to know that Elisande has decided that it's time to release the barrier and begin trade with the outside world. She also decided to ally us with you so long as it benefits both parties."

"Good to hear." Said Chief, happy to have something go through way completely. "We will try to not make you regret this decision." Thalyssra smiled a bit at that.

"I have a feeling you won't." Said Thalyssra as she looked at Chief. "However, just to be on the safe side, I will be assigned to be around you until Elisande recalls me back to Suramar. She wants the first group to be small yet capable in both fighting prowess and diplomacy. Is that fine?" Chief nodded at that, seeing no problem. Smiling, Thalyssra, looked at the lake that chief was looking at. After a few minutes, she spoke. "Do you feel calm watching the lake?"

"It's calming." Said Chief after a few seconds. "Sometimes simple things can help with the mind."

"I can relate." Said Thalyssra as she looked at Chief. "When I'm not attending to my duties as advisor to Elisande or First Arcanist, I often come here to view this lake and its beauty. Its why I built my personal estate on the shores of this lake. Its beauty relieves the stress I cumulate from my duties as First Arcanist." Chief nodded at that before going back to just focusing on the lake. Feeling a bit bold, Thalyssra looked at Chief and spoke.

"Do you need to do the same as well?" Asked Thalyssra, looking down a bit at Chief, who looked slightly towards her. "You do not need to answer if you are uncomfortable with answering it."

"I didn't have much time in doing these things." Said Chief after a brief pause. "I was... in my world, I was constantly fighting. I rarely had time to myself. And there were few times where I could just see a clean lake this and be calm." Upon hearing that, Thalyssra looked at Chief in shock.

"Did you?" Asked Thalyssra, causing Chief to nod. "Were you facing a terrible war? One similar to what we faced against the Burning Legion?"

"No." Said Chief. "It was worse." That caused Thalyssra to bite her lip in worry. Worse than the war with the legion? How could such a thing be possible? Curious, she asked Chief how. Chief, seeing that it would be easier for her to experience, just told her to delve into his mind to see how, surprising Thalyssra a bit.

"Are you sure?" Asked Thalyssra, still a bit shocked. "It's rather…invasive."

"You wouldn't believe me if you didn't see it. But you have to not see my origins. Promise me that. If not, then you'll just have to take my word for it." Said Chief. Thalyssra rose an eyebrow at that.

"Why is that?" Asked Thalyssra.

"…I'm called a Spartan. We were super soldiers created by the UNSC, my government, to fight enemies through covert means." Said Chief. "The way we were created are classified. So, don't try to see those memories. For your sake." Thalyssra, a bit stunned to hear that, frowned but nonetheless complied.

"If that is what you wish." Said Thalyssra. She was rather curious at what the Spartans were and how they came to be, but from what Chief conveyed with his tone, she suspected it wasn't pretty. Out of respect for her new ally, however, she decided to not pry until it became necessary.

Placing her hands on the sides of Chief's helmet, Thalyssra began to conduct the spell necessary to delve into Chief's mind. Going deep into his memories. What she got completely scared her.

In Chief's mind, she could see large aliens, some surpassing her own people in height, killing smaller, pink-skinned humanoids mercilessly, regardless if they can fight back. She saw him, and other armored being, fight them. Despite being outnumbered, they kept prevailing over their enemy. Destroying massive warships that flew, killing them from a distance, and being a sort of symbol of hope for their people. She then saw a massive world burning, the armored warriors falling to the superior numbers of their enemies, and a lush green planet turning to smoldering piles of rock and lava. It was too much for Thalyssra to bear and she quickly screamed out in pain.

She tried to stop the spell, but the memories were so vast and painful that she couldn't concentrate enough to stop the spell.

Seeing this, Chief roughly removed Thalyssra's hands from his helmet and pushed her away. That was a mistake as that nearly caused her to fall to the lake. If it wasn't for him catching her in the last minute, the First Arcanist would have fallen to the lake. Not exactly a good way to start an alliance with a people.

Holding her as he gently sat down, he looked at Thalyssra as she held her head with one hand, the other clutching her chest.

"Are you okay?" Asked Chief, holding Thalyssra as gently as he could do. Tears spilling from her eyes, Thalyssra looked at Chief, scared.

"All that death." Said Thalyssra after a pause. "All that destruction. It reminded me of the Burning Legion. Only on a much grander scale." She then closed her eyes. "And you faced all that? For how long?"

"Almost three decades." Said Chief as he answered the First Arcanist's question. That caused Thalyssra to hold her mouth. Three decades were considered small time for elves, but three decades of war, on such a scale, scared Thalyssra. Especially if such a war caused the destruction of entire planets.

"How…how did you survive all that?" Asked Thalyssra after a minute of pause, looking at Chief with worry and fear. Chief just stayed silent, contemplating if he should tell her or not. There wasn't really anything classified about the scale of the Human Covenant War, especially now that it was over with the truce between the Arbiter's covenant faction and the UNSC. But it may give her false hope. Just because the Human Covenant War was over, doesn't mean that various splintered factions of the Covenant aren't fighting the UNSC right now. For all he knew, the Arbiter's group was wiped out and all that remained were Sangheili that wanted humanity destroyed.

Debating it, he eventually decided to tell her.

"We had a few close calls." Said Chief. "But we eventually survived. Enough of us survived to ensure that we wouldn't go extinct as a species."

"How though?" Asked Thalyssra, fearful of what they did to survive. She knew, more than most, what people would do when they're faced with extinction. Suramar raised the barrier to safe themselves from the Legion. It saved them, yes, but it there were still thousands, perhaps millions, of Night Elves still outside the barrier, fighting the Legion when they made the barrier. Now that she knew Tyrande was still alive, she guessed the Night Elves wouldn't be too pleased to hear that Suramar's population survived, unharmed, while they fought and bled against the Legion. "What did you do to survive such a destructive war?" Knowing that he had to answer it in full, Chief told her.

"When I killed one of our enemy's top leaders, it caused a sort of schism between our enemy's society. I don't know the details, but one of those races, the Sangheili, found out they were lied to by their leaders for a long time. It enraged them to no end, and they joined us out of mutual need. Especially once we had to stop our mutual enemy from deploying a weapon that could kill us all. Me, my race, the Sangheili, and our mutual enemy." Explained Chief. "The weapon was something that could kill anything organic. Like you and me. And its range was immense. Able to kill people from millions of miles." It was far more than that, but Chief doubted he could properly explain the Halo ring's destructive potential to Thalyssra. This was more Cortana's thing and she was back in Torrington with ED-E and BT.

Not that it mattered as Thalyssra widened her eyes in shock.

"Why would they activate such a weapon?" Asked Thalyssra as she tried to process this. All of this. It hurt her brain to even think of all this, especially as the memories she searched from Chief surfaced again.

"They thought the weapon would be the key to godhood. They thought the weapon was a gateway to a plane of existence far greater than our own. When in reality it was a weapon that wipes out organic life. Fortunately, we stopped them from firing it and killed the last of our enemy's great leaders." Said Chief. "Came at a heavy price." Chief thought of his allies Miranda Keyes and Avery Johnson, both lost their lives in the final campaign of the Human Covenant war, joining so many other comrades he lost in that war. Sensing Chief's anger, Thalyssra weakly placed a hand on the hand that was holding her stomach, causing Chief to look her in the eyes.

Despite the helmet, Thalyssra could see the pain and anger deep inside within Chief. Perhaps it was her expertise in the Arcane arts, but Thalyssra could sense the buried emotions in him. And how much of it was dispelled as he fought and killed. It worried her a bit.

"You've lost so much." Said Thalyssra as she placed a hand around Chief's golden visor, tracing it. "It's amazing you're still you despite the amount of anger and pain I'm sensing within you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Said Chief as he allowed Thalyssra to trace her fingers on his visor. "I just do my job."

"That's not a sufficient enough answer." Said Thalyssra. "Nor is it enough for you to remain who you are." She then placed a hand on Chief's chest and it glowed. Closing her eyes, Thalyssra could sense Chief's spirit and was impressed what she saw. Feeling nothing harmful, Chief allowed this to happen, though kept on guard in case Thalyssra tried anything.

After a minute, she let go and gave John a small smile.

"You have such an unbending spirit." Said Thalyssra as she stopped tracing John's visor and just placed hand on his helmet, as if holding his cheek. "Your will is…unlike anything I've ever seen. It never bends, even in the face of overwhelming odds. I'm…in awe of you." Chief simply stayed silent as Thalyssra held his helmet. The two starred at each other for a few more moments before a cough snapped them out of it.

"Excuse us for interrupting, but we got a situation." Said Courier as High Elf was trying not to giggle, a hand on her mouth. Seeing this, Thalyssra blushed, her dark purple skin going even darker as she scrambled out of Chief's arms and on to her own two feet.

Chief went up, Thalyssra no longer in his arms.

"What is it?" Asked Chief, looking at Courier, who sighed.

"It's Jack and Ikit. They got bad news." Said Courier before explaining the situation at Pandaria.

Later

"So, you mean to tell us that those crazy Pandaren want Garrosh to be pardoned?" Asked High Elf in anger. "After everything he did!?" Courier just nodded, pissing off High Elf Archer. "What the hell is up with them!? That guy is beyond redemption!" Chief and Thalyssra, who stayed with them, were quiet as they tried to process this.

"Apparently it's because they believe Garrosh is capable of being redeemed." Said Courier, shaking his head. "Yeah right. And my ass is made of gold."

"This Garrosh." Said Thalyssra. "He's did terrible things, correct?"

"He was also a former Horde leader. Well their head honcho for a time, but we helped dethroned him with the help of the Alliance and some Horde leaders that didn't like his way of doing things. He's done some pretty bad things. We'll explain later, but take our word for it, he's bad. So bad that a lot of the Horde and Alliance leaders want him dead." Thalyssra simply nodded, trusting their word on the matter, especially if so many of these Horde and Alliance leaders want him dead, even Tyrande apparently. Though she didn't know if Tyrande changed much since she last heard of her, if the priest wanted Garrosh dead, then he must be guilty of crimes worthy of such a punishment.

"Anyway, when they told them what the Pandaren and their gods were planning, they were pissed." Said Courier, remembering how Jack described some of the Horde and Alliance leaders. They just exploded in rage and were ready to simply charged right into Garrosh's cell and kill him with their own hands, Pandaren be damned. Jaina especially. "Guess Garrosh really is the only thing they can agree on."

"Doesn't make much sense." Complained High Elf, still angry. "What the heck makes them think he can be redeemed? After all he's done? If he was judged by my people, he would be killed or just placed in jail for the rest of his life." Courier and Chief nodded, also with High Elf on this. Just keeping their anger in control. Thalyssra didn't know, but she suspected she too would support the death of Garrosh once she knew of all his crimes.

"Anyway, moving on, Jack told me that he has a plan with Vereesa and Sylvanas. They're telling them the plan to the others right now." Said Courier.

"How's that going?" Asked High Elf.

Meanwhile

Jack

"This goes against everything the Horde stands for!" Argued Baine as he and Sylvanas exchanged glares at each other. "We cannot resort to such deception and trickery to eliminate Garrosh. It sacrifices the Horde's honor."

"Then do you want him to escape!?" Demanded Sylvanas, eyes glowing red. Well, more than they normally do. "Because that is what the Pandaren are going to offer him in this "trial"." As the two Horde leaders argued, Jaina was arguing with Tyrande about the same thing.

"He doesn't deserve honor! He deserves this!" Yelled Jaina as she glared at Tyrande, who sighed.

"I believe he deserves death too, Jaina." Said Tyrande, attempting to calm the mage down. "But doing this will only incite the wrath of the Pandaren and their gods. If we do so, then we lose them as a potential ally."

"And so will the Horde!" Yelled Jaina as the two continued to argue.

"Well we just opened a big can of worms." Said Jack as he saw all this. He then turned to Vereesa and Varian, both of whom were discussing on what to do. "Sorry for doing this, king Varian."

"Do not be." Said Varian, turning to Jack, full armor on. "You and your compatriot did well to give us this information. Garrosh has committed many heinous crimes. Too many to let him live. The fact that the Pandaren believe otherwise infuriates me." He then turned to Vereesa, glaring at her, causing her to flinch as she never faced Varian's wrath before. "And though you conspired with a Horde leader, one of their worst, behind our backs, I'm willing to let it slide as you both focused on eliminating a war criminal. But do not let it happen again." Vereesa nodded at that.

"I understand your king." Said Vereesa, bowing in respect. "But what do you propose we do about Garrosh?"

"I intend to kill him, of course." Said Varian before knitting his eyebrows together. "But Tyrande brings a good point. The Pandaren will, no doubt, be infuriated with our want to kill Garrosh with poison. Even if the poison is untraceable, they'll pin the blame on us. We are the only ones that want Garrosh dead and are in significant numbers around this temple. Given the resources we spent here, I do not wish incur the wrath of the Pandaren."

"But won't the Horde also lose the Pandaren as an ally?" Asked Jack. "I mean, they will also get the blame."

"True." Said Varian. "But I've lost many men battling the Horde, the Sha, and the natives in this land. I do not wish to let their sacrifice to be in vain." He then frowned. "But at the same time, Garrosh is the reason for their deaths. It's a conundrum." As Jack was thinking with them, he saw Sylvanas walking over, sick and tired of hearing Baine whine.

"I'm glad that the Alliance king agrees with me." Said Sylvanas as she looked at Varian, having heard their conversation from afar. Varian, turning to Sylvanas, maintained a neutral stance as he looked at the undead ranger.

"The only thing we agree on, it seems." Said Varian, causing Sylvanas to smirk.

"Oh, how the mutual hatred of one Orc can bring enemies together." Said Sylvanas before looking at Jack, who was a bit creeped out by her red glowing eyes. He knew that she can make people freeze up in fright, but to actually be around her was nothing compared to the stories Lor'themar told him of Sylvanas. It was like she just radiated coldness, enough to make you pause in thought. And the way she glared at you was enough to make one place a hand on their weapon. But this time, her stare had some respect in them.

"Your part of the group that has ensured our victory against Garrosh in Orgrimmar. Considering how few your group is, I'm impressed. Not many of the living can do what must be done to secure victory." Said Sylvanas. Despite it being a compliment, Jack couldn't help but not want it. "And your group also gave us the information that the Pandaren, damn those fools, are going to release Garrosh, correct?"

"Yes." Said Jack after a pause. "It was my partner. The rat. He's currently brainstorming ideas to kill Garrosh. He thinks its good to have a backup plan in case the poison plan fails."

"Hmph, normally I would be offended at your rat's inability to trust in my plans, but considering the delicacy of the situation, I suppose its warranted." Said Sylvanas before turning to her sister and giving a nod, which was replied back with a smile. Twitching her mouth at that, almost in hesitance, she then turned to Varian, who kept silent. "So, tell me king, are you willing to sacrifice the Pandaren's allegiance to kill Garrosh? The Horde are also sacrificing their chance to gain the Pandaren, so it's not like any of us are gaining something out of this aside from that idiotic Orc's death."

"If I had to choose the two, I would pick Garrosh." Said Varian with no hesitation in his voice. "He hurt my son and some of my closest friends. I will not let him live after all he's done." Sylvanas smiled, showing fang-like teeth.

"I'm so glad that you agree." Said Sylvanas. "The other Horde leaders, even Baine, want him dead. They're only disagreeing with how it's done. Still, they'll come around eventually. If only they do it sooner before the next session." Vereesa, who was silent for the entire conversation, was about to speak when Ikit barged in, yelling out to catch everyone's attention.

"Big trouble! Big-huge trouble!" Yelled Ikit to the top of his lungs. Once he had everyone's attention, he yelled again. "Stupid brown-Orc gone! He escaped!" That sent everyone reeling in shock. Garrosh escaped! Before they could even fully comprehend that, Ikit yelled again. "It recent! He still here! Heard plan to go to trial room with big glass thing! We run now!" With that Ikit ran out of the room to the court room, leaving everyone in the dust.

Sylvanas, recovering first, glared at anyone.

"What are we all waiting for!?" Yelled Sylvanas before turning into her banshee form. "Hellscream is escaping!" With that she flew off, leaving everyone in the dust. Jack, snapping out of it, grabbed Vereesa and ran after Sylvanas and Ikit.

"How the hell did Garrosh escape!?" Yelled Jack at Vereesa, who recovered enough to run on her own.

"It had to be an inside job." Said Vereesa, bringing out a dagger she always had on her. "No one had breached the temple's grounds."

"But who?" Asked Jack as they ran, praying they were able to stop Garrosh.

Meanwhile

Garrosh

"Sto…" The Pandaren that said that didn't say anymore once Garrosh slammed an axe he'd taken from a Horde rebel into his skull. After pulling it out, he looked to see the bronze dragon, Kairozdormu, tinkering with the Vision of Times, an hourglass-like artifact that has the ability to allow people to see visions of the past with no bias from anyone. It also had a hidden ability, kept from the other Bronze dragon that participated in the trial, Chronormu, who was now in a prison cell, unable to stop Kairozdormu from completing his plan. One that Garrosh had no idea of, but didn't care. Once Kairozdormu had helped him escape, Garrosh planned to kill him the first chance he got. But first, they must escape.

"Hurry!" Yelled Garrosh as he tore the head off a human soldier as he attempted to fight Garrosh. He then threw the body across, hitting a Nightelf as she attempted to fire an arrow at the Bronze dragon.

"Not to worry, I'm almost done." Said Kairozdormu, in the form of a high elf, as he tinkered with the hourglass, almost finished. He then summoned a few warriors, primarily Orc warriors from past wars to fight the Alliance and Horde rebels that attempted to stop them. Though they were confused a bit, the Orcs nonetheless fought them all, seeing the humans as enemies and the Horde rebels as traitors for working with humans.

Just as Kairozdormu was finished with the hourglass, he and Garrosh heard the vile scream of a banshee. Knowing who it was, Garrosh growled as Sylvanas made herself known, smashing through a previously locked door and killing a few time-traveled Orcs. Landing before Garrosh, she glared at him, curved daggers at the ready.

"And here I was planning to poison you." Said Sylvanas as she pointed her daggers at Garrosh. "Hmph, I suppose this is better. I won't get into trouble with the others now that you attempted to escape." Hearing that she planned to poison him, Garrosh scoffed.

"I always knew you were trouble, elf." Said Garrosh as he glared at Sylvanas. "You lack honor. Thrall was a fool to accept you into our ranks!"

"Fool he may be." Said Sylvanas as she readied herself. "But at least he is a useful fool that knows when not to be stupid when the situation calls for it." Not wanting to waste any more time, Sylvanas pounced on Garrosh, daggers at the ready. Garrosh roared as he charged at Sylvanas, eager to take the head of the undead ranger.

Dodging an attack by Garrosh, Sylvanas placed hand on his bald head. Using it as a way to stabilize herself, Sylvanas pushed herself higher up and tossed a dagger on Garrosh's shoulder, forcing it deep into his flesh. Garrosh, used to pain, roared as he attempted to swing at Sylvanas as she landed, only for the elf to gracefully dodge it, grab her dagger back and slice Garrosh several times in the gut as she passed him.

"Typical Orc." Said Sylvanas as she continued to dodge Garrosh's sloppy attacks and slash him multiple times. "Sloppy and weak." Garrosh roared at that and attempted to swipe at her again. Anticipating this, Sylvanas attempted to dodge, but was stunned when Garrosh stopped mid-swing and just grabbed her by the throat. He then slammed her to the ground, cracking the stone. He then held her to the ground as he brought his axe down on her.

Snarling, Sylvanas quickly kicked him in the groin, causing him to stop his swing momentarily as he roared in pain, letting Sylvanas go in the process. Before Sylvanas could do more, however, several arrows embedded themselves into Garrosh's chest.

"Get away from my sister!" Yelled Vereesa as she kicked Garrosh in the head, forcing him away from the undead elf as well as stunning him. Looking at her sister, Vereesa held out her hand, which Sylvanas looked at for a moment before grabbing it, hoisting herself up. "Are you okay sister?"

Hearing the caution in her sister's voice, Sylvanas looked at her with cold eyes, something that caused Vereesa to wince. Before Vereesa could say anything, Sylvanas grabbed a dagger from Vereesa's waist and threw it to an Orc that tried to kill them both.

"Keep your guard up." Said Sylvanas as she tossed one of her own daggers on another Orc that tried the same thing, not watching as he fell to the ground, gurgling on his own blood.

Before Vereesa could respond, they heard a roar of a portal. Turning around, they saw Garrosh being carried by Kairozdormu. Upon seeing the dragon, Sylvanas growled.

"That dragon is responsible for all this." Growled Sylvanas as she grabbed Vereesa's bow, much to Vereesa's surprise. Grabbing an arrow from her sister's quiver, Sylvanas fired at the dragon. It would have hit the dragon, but the dragon had brought out an Orc from a timeline in the arrow's path, allowing him to take the hit instead of Kairozdormu.

"You're not getting away!" Yelled Sylvanas as she ran after them with Vereesa following. The two sisters ignored all the carnage around them, their focus solely on Garrosh and the traitorous bronze dragon. As they ran, Jack and Ikit arrived with Varian and Genn. Seeing the carnage, the four were surprised to see it all.

Ikit was the first to recover and saw Kairozdormu attempted to flee to a portal with Garrosh.

"Look-look! Weird thing attempting to leave with brown-skin!" Yelled Ikit as he pointed. Seeing this Varian, narrowed his eyes and launched himself at the two. Genn tried to follow, but was tackled by an Orc. Jack would have suffered a similar fate, but Ikit began firing his warpfire projector at every Orc that tried to get close to them, laughing all the while.

"Watch it Ikit! You don't know if some of them are on our side!" Yelled Jack as he opened fire on Orcs that clearly were fighting Alliance soldiers.

"Don't care! Must kill-kill!" Yelled Ikit as he leapt towards a few Orcs fighting amongst themselves.

Meanwhile, the two Windrunner sisters were getting near Kairozdormu and Garrosh, cutting down anyone that got in their way.

Ducking an attack from an Orc, Sylvanas went after Garrosh straight away while Vereesa slashed the throat of another that tried to kill a Troll that was stunned as she advanced to catch up with her sister.

Seeing the two elves coming at them, Kairozdormu began making a plan to stop them from killing them.

"This ends now!" Yelled Sylvanas as she threw her dagger at Garrosh, aiming for his throat while Vanessa fired an arrow at Garrosh from another angle. Just as they was about to end the tyrant, Kairozdormu brought out an elf from another timeline, one that both Sylvanas and Vereesa knew. Widening their eyes in shock, both of them couldn't do anything as the dagger embedded in the elf's throat while the arrow went through his skull, killing him.

"No!" Yelled Vereesa in horror as she ran towards the elf while Sylvanas tried to process what just happen, frozen in shock. With the two elves distracted, Garrosh and Kairozdormu went through the portal just as Varian came and tried to kill Garrosh, but he was too late.

"Damn!" Yelled Varian as he glared at the portal as it closed, meaning Garrosh managed to escape from justice. Again. As Varian howled in rage, the hourglass that Kairozdormu used broke down into tiny shards. Whatever Kairozdormu did had put a terrible strain on the object. Too into his rage, Varian couldn't do anything as an Orc, one of the few still alive, tried to kill him, only for Genn to tackle him and tear off his throat with his jaws.

Spitting the flesh out of his mouth, Genn got up and walked towards Varian.

"Don't tell me that monster escaped our wrath!" Yelled Genn as he snarled, his Worgen form on. Varian just clenched his fists as he moved on, too enraged at Garrosh's escape. Growling, Genn went to tend to the soldiers while Jack and Ikit helped a Pandaren up.

Looking for the Windrunner sisters, Jack found them over a dead elf. Walking over, Jack could see Vereesa holding the elf in her arms, tears flowing down her face, while Sylvanas was struggling to control her anger.

Eventually the ranger left as Jack approached, the human sensing the immense rage of the undead elf. A bit put off and shocked to experience it, Jack saw Vereesa holding the elf, pain and horror etched into her face.

Looking at the elf, Jack could see that he had bright golden hair and had a fair complexion. But aside from that, Jack didn't know much about the elf to wonder what caused the Windrunner sisters to feel bad about him.

Kneeling down, Jack looked at Vereesa as tears fell down her face.

"We did this." Said Vereesa as she placed a hand on the elf's head, caressing it. "We…killed our own brother." Shocked to hear this, Jack watched as more tears flowed down Vereesa's cheeks as she held her dead brother.

Knowing that he had to do something, Jack let Vereesa drown out her sorrows before making a move.

"He's your brother?" Asked Jack as soon as Vereesa stopped crying and looked at him.

"Yes." Said Vereesa as she looked at the elf again. "He died long ago, back when Sylvanas was still alive. But he's here. Kairozdormu must have taken him from another timeline to distract us. And we killed him."

"You didn't know." Said Jack, struggling to find the right words. "He must have done it just as you were finishing an attack on them."

"And we did so while under the influence of our rage!" Yelled Vereesa as she glared at Jack, tears flowing down her face. "We let our rage blind us to what Kairozdormu did and it cost us our brother's life again." Crying again, Vereesa held her brother's corpse as she closed her eyes. Rubbing the back of his neck, Jack was about to try and hold Vereesa when Ikit came.

"Still other enemy things to kill. Stupid dragon summoned them all over the place. Chaos is everywhere. Must find and kill them." Said Ikit, looking at Vereesa and wondering why she was crying over a dead elf-thing. Knowing that he was right, Jack nodded and told Ikit to go ahead. Once he was gone, Jack gently lifted Vereesa's head and spoke to her.

"If you want to talk about this or have something to beat up over, just come find me." Said Jack. "I'll help you, however I can." Vereesa, still sad, just nodded as she held her brother. Getting up, Jack looked over her one last time before leaving to conduct mop up operations.

Few hours later

Chief

Temple of White Dragon

"By Elune." Said Thalyssra as she saw the carnage. She had teleported them all here after a talk with Elisande. After telling her everything what happened in the outside world, Elisande had seen a rare opportunity for them to discern which super power to ally with or to just have trade relations with them both. Sending Thalyssra with team Sigma to Pandaria, Elisande told her to make contact with the Alliance and Horde. See which one is worthy of the Shal'dorei and Suramar's bountiful treasures. Thalyssra, wanting to see the outside world, agreed and had herself and team Sigma be teleported to Pandaria, after figuring out the coordinates, of course.

"Shit." Said Courier as he watched two Alliance medics tending to a wounded Worgen. "What the hell happened here." Before anyone could tell him, Jack arrived, some blood on his suit.

"Good to see you guys." Said Jack. He looked at Thalyssra for a moment, a bit stunned to see a new elf, before looking back at Chief.

"What's the situation?" Asked Chief, getting straight to business.

"Well…I'll put it bluntly. Things went to shit." Said Jack before explaining. "Garrosh escaped, with the help of a dragon that controls time. To cover their escape, they brought in Orcs of various timelines here and things kind of got hectic."

"Timelines?" Asked Courier, confused a bit. Jack just shrugged.

"I don't know, man. Some magic stuff." Said Jack. "I don't know the details and I think I don't want to know. All that matters, though is Garrosh is gone and likely to be a pain in our necks soon." Chief, angry that Garrosh escaped, clenched his fists before asking Jack of the casualties. "Lots of dead Pandaren, Horde, and Alliance men. Caught us completely off guard. We rounded them all up and locked them up and we're still tending to the wounded. We're not sure how many died."

"I see." Said Chief before looking at Courier. "Go help the medics with treating the wounded."

"Got it." Said Courier before taking High Elf, who had some knowledge on medical training. When the two left, Chief looked at Thalyssra.

"I'm sorry you had to witness this." Said Chief, causing Thalyssra to look at him.

"It's nothing." Said Thalyssra. "I've seen some things from our war with the Burning Legion. Some things that I would like to forget. Stuff like this," She waved a hand to wounded Alliance soldiers. "Is nothing compared to the Burning Legion and the wounds they inflicted on us." Chief just nodded before looking at Jack.

"Where are the Horde and Alliance leaders?" Asked Chief.

"I'll escort you to them. Be warned, they're not exactly in the best of moods." Said Jack before escorting them to the leaders of both Horde and Alliance.

Few minutes later

"We should have killed back in Orgrimmar." Said Sylvanas as she looked at everyone around the hastily assembled room. It was originally just a storage room, but it was retrofitted hastily for the leaders of both Horde and Alliance to talk. Well argue more like.

"For once, I agree with the banshee." Said Genn, angry that Garrosh escaped. "The Pandaren are nothing sort of useless and naïve. We would be better off without them."

"They're philosophy and way of life could be a boon to us." Argued Tyrande. Although she was angry that Garrosh escaped, along with everyone else, she knew that there needed to be calmer heads in a room full of hot heads. Unfortunately, it seemed only her, Baine, and Thrall seemed to be the only ones.

"Enough about the Pandaren." Said Varian as he looked at a map of all known continents on Azeroth. "We need to focus on finding Garrosh before he plans his next move." He then looked at the Horde leaders. "I don't suppose any of you know where he could be hiding?"

"No. That mad-man not be trusting us with any secret locations he's got." Said Vol'jin, the new leader of the Horde. "Besides, that dragon most likely be sending him to different time all together. We be needing to ask the other dragon to help us with this. Even them, it be hard to find Garrosh before he be ready to strike."

"I was afraid of that." Said Varian as he looked at the map. "All we can do then is just prepare as well as discuss reparations from the Horde." Though the Horde leaders were exasperated to hear that, they knew that it was needed to be discussed.

"Very well. Say the time and place for them discussions to start. We be there." Said Vol'jin after glaring at Varian, who glared back.

"We'll have them at Ratchet." Said Varian. "And they'll…" It was then that Tyrande and Jaina perked up.

"Wait." Said Tyrande as she felt a presence of massive Arcane energy. "Something is approaching." Jaina, also feeling it, drew in Arcane energy to the palm of her hands as she turned to the door, leading to the room. As it opened, she was about to throw the Arcane energy when she saw who was entering.

Sighing, she glared at team Sigma as they approached with an elf, but an elf unlike anything they've seen before.

Upon seeing the new elf, everyone turned around, intrigued at this new elf. She looked like a Nightelf, but has darker shades of purple and had silver, pupililess eyes.

"I see you came back from your trip, Master Chief." Said Varian, eyeing the new elf with them. "Who is this." Seeing that he had everyone's attention, Chief spoke.

"This is First Arcanist Thalyssra, a Nightborne of Suramar." Said Chief, looking at Thalyssra, who bowed in respect at the Horde and Alliance leaders. Upon hearing about Suramar, Tyrande widened her eyes in shock.

"Greetings." Said Thalyssra. "I have come bearing a message from Grand Magistrix Elisande of Suramar city. She wishes to establish trade relations with both the Horde and Alliance." Upon hearing that, everyone, aside from Tyrande, who was still in shock, looked at Thalyssra with interest. After a few minutes, Varian spoke.

"Before we do anything, can you tell us about the Nightborne?" Asked Varian, cautious, along with everyone else.

"Certainly. As you may have guessed, my appearance is similar to the Night elves. That is because I used to be a Night elf along with everyone in my city." Said Explained Thalyssra. "During the war of the Ancients, the people of Suramar city used our magical prowess to create a powerful magical barrier that protected us from the might of the Burning Legion. It worked, but it changed us. Quite severely."

"It also meant that you abandoned us." Said Tyrande, now recovered, glaring at Thalyssra, who winced a bit. "Left us to fight against the Burning Legion alone."

"Unfortunately, the matriarch of the Night elves is correct." Said Thalyssra. "We thought that the war would be lost, so we saved ourselves rather than fight a war that we thought would be lost." Thalyssra bit her lips, wondering what else to say without incurring Tyrande's wrath. She always was…volatile when angered and tended to hold grudges. "If we'd known that it was possible for us to win, we would have helped." Though Tyrande looked skeptical, she nonetheless allowed Thalyssra to continue, knowing that Varian would want these Nightborne in the Alliance. And, as much as she hated to admit, she also wanted them in the Alliance. If only to prevent the Horde from getting them and to see her old birth city again, see if anything was like what she remembered.

"Just speak, Thalyssra." Said Tyrande. "We'll discuss what your people should have done in another time." Thalyssra, nodding at that, then went back to the matter at hand.

"As I've said, I'm here to conduct trade relations with the Horde and Alliance. We recently lowered the barrier and wish to establish relations with some of the higher powers on Azeroth. That is if you'll have us." Said Thalyssra. That caused a lot of the Alliance and Horde leaders to look amongst each other. The Pandaren, though naïve, were still worth the efforts of diplomacy and integration in their ranks, but the Nightborne could be also worth diplomacy as well. Perhaps even more worth the efforts.

From what the Night elves have told them, the people of Suramar were some of the best Arcane users on Azeroth with access to Arcane arts that not even the Kirin Tor knew. And they've no doubt advanced their practices in Arcane magic to even greater heights. That, and the fact that both sides were always welcoming to new faces on Azeroth to replenish their numbers, especially after the amount of wars they had against other forces and, on occasion, each other.

After a few minutes, Vol'jin spoke up.

"This be a very interesting proposal, First Arcanist." Said Vol'jin, staring at the beautiful Nightborne woman. "While we be discussing reparations of the Horde to fix the damages we've done, we be more than happy to initiate talks with the Nightborne."

"And so is the Alliance." Said Varian. "We would be honored to conduct negotiations with another remnant of the Night elf empire." Thalyssra bowed at that.

"I'm pleased to hear both responses." Said Thalyssra. "If needed, I'll wait until you've done with your talks with each other so you can focus on what you need to do. We don't wish to intrude upon what is needed to be done for your factions."

"That is appreciated, but unnecessary." Said Varian. "We have more than enough personal to conduct both discussing reparations and to conduct negotiations with the Nightborne. Just name the time and place, First Arcanist."

"Very well." Said Thalyssra. "If it's possible, we'll do the negotiations next week in Suramar. Grand Magistrix Elisande will want to see your negotiators in person." She then looked at them all. "If that is all, I'll leave you all." With a respectful bow, she left them, taking team Sigma with her.

Once they were gone, Thalyssra sighed.

"I expected Tyrande to be a bit angrier with me. Though I expect that she'll wish to talk with Elisande in private." Said Thalyssra.

"You two met?" Asked Jack.

"I only know her of reputation and vice versa." Said Thalyssra. "We've never actually met in person. If we did, I have no recollection of it."

"Will she affect the negotiations in any way?" Asked Chief.

"No." Said Thalyssra. "We Night elves may carry grudges, but we know when to push them aside when it is called for. Well…most of the time. Besides, if she tries to sabotage the negotiations, it'll make the Night elves look bad within the Alliance and Tyrande isn't stupid. She knows of the value Suramar has to this Alliance. She will want that for the Alliance. And not the Horde. They are in war, yes?"

"Not anymore, but goddamn do they fight a lot against each other." Said Jack, remembering a conversation he had with an Alliance soldier, complaining how much the two sides kept working together only for them to fight against each other in a matter of weeks or months. "Even neutral factions will eventually need to side with one or the other if this keeps up." Thalyssra frowned at that.

"I see." Said Thalyssra. "I'll mention that in my report to Elisande. In the meantime, will you show me to your home? Not so I can discern your situation, but out of curiosity? If it's too much to ask, I understand." Jack and Chief looked at each other before Chief spoke.

"Apologies, but that won't be possible." Said Chief, causing Thalyssra to nod.

"I understand." Said Thalyssra. "Forgive me." She then looked around the temple. "Still, can you escort me around this place? You said this Pandaria is quite beautiful. I would like to see it."

"Of course." Said Chief before looking at Jack. "Take her and show her around Pandaria. You know the place better than anyone we have in the group."

"Uhh…can't." Said Jack. "Got to go and talk to Vereesa. Promised her that I would. You can take Thalyssra though." Chief, emotions hidden behind his helmet, just nodded before looking at Thalyssra.

"Shall we ask one of the Pandaren where to go?" Asked Chief, causing Thalyssra to smile.

"That would be exquisite." Said Thalyssra before following Chief to find a Pandaren, leaving Jack alone.

"Huh." Said Jack. "If Davis was here, he would say he loves her or something." With that, he left, going to find Vereesa.

Stormwind city

In Stormwind city, the capital for the kingdom of Stormwind, a priest of the Church of light was handling some documents in his private room. At first glance one would assume them to be documents concerning the Church of the Holy Light, the official religion in Stormwind, they were anything but.

The priest had a pale complexion with graying hair. He was buff, for a priest, but wasn't anything impressive, considering the soldiers in the Alliance. The man was in deep thought on what to do as he was reading what the documents are reporting.

"The cult is in danger of being drive to extinction." Thought the priest. "We must find something to restore our power. But what?" As the man thought of this, a dark voice spoke.

"Priest Farthing." Said the dark voice, surprising the priest. Dropping the documents, the priest looked around.

"Who is this?" Demanded the priest called Farthing, getting up from his chair and channeling the light in his palms. "Show yourself."

"I would advise not making demands of your gods. Unless they're for good reason." Said the voice, darkening the priest's private room. "Bow to your god." The priest then felt a pressure into his mind, causing him to drop to his knees in pain.

"Who are you?" Demanded Farthing.

"I would have assumed you would have figured it out by now. It seems I was mistaken." Said the voice. "No matter. Perhaps this will convince you." With that, the priest's mind showed him a vision of a dark city, filled with ancient species that the priest has never seen or heard of. It also showed him dark, massive beings that the species bowed down to in fear and worship. Now the priest understood what this being was. How it could avoid Stormwind's vast security systems.

"You…you're an old God." Said Farthing in awe. Upon saying that, the visions stopped, and the priest bowed his head in worship. "Forgive me master, I…I had no idea that I would be able to hear your great voice."

"You are forgiven this once." Said the Old God. "Rise and serve your new master, N'Zoth." Farthing then rose and spoke again.

"My master, what compels you to speak to a lowly servant as I?" Asked Farthing. "Do you wish to know of the status of the cult? How we are doing?"

"Yes, I need to know whether or not I can trust the Twilight Hammer Cult to accomplish my goals of claiming Azeroth as my own." Said N'Zoth.

"I'm afraid to say that, after the failure of Deathwing and the death of our leadership, we're at an all-time low." Said Farthing. "Recruitment has slowed to a crawl. Our faith is waning. I've ordered the remnants of our order to stay hidden. To regrow our strength in order to better serve our masters in the future."

"The time to serve your masters has come." Said N'Zoth. "But not in a traditional way. I want you to remain hidden. Recruit as much as you please, but remain hidden. Only act when I say so. Is that understood?"

"Of course, master." Said Farthing. "We serve you and the other Old Gods. We will do as you order."

"Good." Said N'Zoth, satisfied. "I have some tasks for you to do. I want you to send out small, but capable, members to all the continents on Azeroth. I need them to raid certain locations. Locations with items that can bring forth more of my followers."

"Ah, bring forth more creations of the void, correct?" Asked Farthing.

"No." Said N'Zoth simply, confusing Farthing. "These items will not bring forth creatures of the void, no, rather they'll bring something more…fitting for what I have planned. Just find the items and inform me when you do. Is that understood?" Farthing, still a bit confused, nonetheless nodded.

"Of course, great one." Said Farthing. "We will do what you ask."

"Good. Continue to do so and I will ensure that you all have a place in my great empire." Said N'Zoth. "Now, listen close. For I have other tasks for you. First, tell your fellow followers that an Old God is now communicating with them. That should improve your faith. Second, find me the dagger called Xal'atath. It contains a being that can help us fulfill our destiny."

"I'm already working on that, great one. My agents inform me that we're close to finding the dagger. I will inform you when we found it." Said Farthing with confidence.

"Good. I must leave now." Said N'Zoth. "I've stayed for too long. Any longer and those foolish other priests would discover me. Have faith, however, our reckoning will come in your lifetime." With that, N'Zoth left Farthing's mind, which caused the room to immediately brighten up. Not a moment after, the door to Farthing's door opened, revealing another priest.

"Priest Farthing. The morning seminar is commencing soon. Are you ready?" Asked the priest. Shaking his head, Farthing simply coughed a bit before speaking.

"Of course, I was simply going over some documents concerning the church." Said Farthing as he looked at the documents. The priest, believing that, nodded and left him alone. Once he was gone, Farthing smiled.

"The Old Gods time is coming." Thought Farthing as he walked out of his room, locking it. "And both the Horde and Alliance will not stop it."