V
"Ahhhh..." Garrosh said with a gleeful smile upon his face. "Desu, desu, bitches!"
He looked up just as several tanks rolled up and fired their cannons upon the white, palisade that protected Northwatch Hold. The Cataclysm that had torn through the Barrens, splitting the land in two, had weakened the stone fortifications of this large Alliance stronghold. They crumbled before the might of Garrosh's army. Zaela ordered her drakes to lay siege to the walls, setting fire upon the rafters. Garrosh's golden eyes lit up, as that smile curled even tighter across his face when he saw an explosion light up the north wall.
"Yes!" he called. "Yes!"
Garrosh gripped his great axe, Gorehowl, tightly, his heart thumping against his ribcage when he saw a gryphon rider fall, her mount bloodied in the claws of a Dragonmaw black drake. The communication towers were warped from the heat, bent over in a shambling steel skeleton.
They were caught off guard, most of the watches settling down for the night while only a few lit fires and spotlights scanned the savannah. The first moment of alarm was the dead silence coming from the static of the radio connection with Theramore, the next was the sudden explosion of every siege cannon mounted on the walls. The next thing the Alliance soldiers at the Watch saw was the blinding light and thousands of Horde soldiers spilling out from a gigantic portal, a portal that could very well rival the Dark Portal in shear size. But unlike the Dark Portal, this one was made locally as a means to allow the army to jump a great distance in a short time. They first appeared about ten miles north of Northwatch, sent his men to start taking out the guards, and then made the final jump.
Garrosh took in a deep breath, inhaling his ingenious ego and the smell of burning Alliance bodies and stone into his wide nostrils.
He mounted upon his black furred dire wolf and began his own charge, joining the glorious battle. With one slash, and a splatter of blood, down went an Alliance soldier. He heard the sound of his soldiers calling out in support. His own soldiers lined themselves behind a few pieces of the blasted sandstone wall from the hold, firing their rifles upon the Alliance. The sound of gunfire rang loudly in his ears. The orc surveyed the battle, his wolf pausing to a small hill.
Tauren shaman called upon the forces of fire and wind, knocking Alliance soldiers from their mounts and then burned their bodies in the searing heat. Troll druids shifted into their bear and cat forms, tackling the other soldiers. Garrosh heard a crack and turned to see his dark shaman, the former Twilight Hammers stomp their feet all in unison. The ground quaked and opened up, swallowing the Alliance soldiers.
Neltharion is going to hear that, he thought.
With the power they wielded, they overturned three heavy Alliance tanks and sent one flying, only to be slammed against the slope of the cliff in a violent, fiery explosion. He watched as they moved heavily, dispersing and then reforming a new position upon the ground. Each shaman lined up, their position looking like a shadow of four gigantic feet, all spaced out to represent a gigantic, four-footed creature. Garrosh smiled, recognizing what they were making. To wield nearly an eighth of the vast stores of elemental resources that the Earth-Warder can with a simple stretch of his body, that being the very planet of Azeroth itself, these specially trained shaman hand to think exactly alike, move as if they were one being.
As if they were Neltharion himself.
They moved exactly like he would. The Earth-Warder needed not to ask permission from the elements, or to call upon the spirits with the help of their totems. No, the Earth-Warder was the planet in dragon form. He commanded the elements. He moved, they moved with him. They obeyed him without question.
This was his statement that anything Neltharion can do, Garrosh can do better.
He loved to watch them work, to see them move like him. Though, the downside, they were limited to roughly two elements. Their anger fueled the fire they wielded, their uniformity and strength fueled the power to move mountains. But to access all of Neltharion's elemental abilities, it required mental sacrifices that none of the former-Twilight Hammer shamans were capable of doing. Their connection to the Old Gods blocked their abilities to control water and wind. But the Earth-Warder could control all four elements.
The shamans swept their feet and thrusted their fists, the gaping crack in the ground closing and the horrible sounds of the screaming soldiers soon became silent. Then they shifted again. The rock wall trembled violently, cracks splintering up the surface, rising like twisted talons from the ground. The wall came crumbling down. Thousands of orc soldiers poured on through.
Garrosh turned as his Kor'kron guards swiftly come to his side. There, the leader of his guards, Malkorok had gutted a dwarf soldier, his great axe now stained with fresh blood. The gray-skinned, Blackrock Orc threw back his head and let loose a mighty, triumphant howl. Garrosh only could give him an approving nod.
"We're knee-deep in Alliance blood, Warchief!" said Malkorok.
Garrosh's lip curled in his crooked smile at the victorious boast. Though, there were many who did not exactly share this gleeful victory of the crush of the Alliance. Those were the leaders of the Trolls and Tauren, Baine Bloodhoof and Vol'jin. Vol'jin had his eyes to the pale blue sky, looking at it nervously. Baine had his dark eyes on the ground, scrutinizing every rock, every lump of dirt, every dry crack in the red clay. His eyes broke from the ground and the Tauren Chieftain eyed Garrosh Hellscream when he heard another thunderous, earth-shattering crack of his Dark Shaman working their wonders. He snorted, his nostrils trembling, and his eyes stared darkly upon the shaman as they sent several other Alliance tanks flying towards the hard rock face of the steep hills.
"I can feel the Earth Mother shifting uncomfortably as Hellscream's shamans perform their skills," he said somberly.
"It leave me to ask, mon," began Vol'jin. "What Garrosh is doing. Should any one have dhat kind of power? To call upon it so easily––"
"Good question."
Vol'jin turned his eyes to the sky once more: "How long would it take dhe Earth-Warder to fly here and kick our asses back to Orgrimmar?"
"Three hours," said Baine.
"And how long have we've been fighting?"
"Two."
"One hour left to go."
"My eyes are on the ground."
"And mine, in dhe sky." The Troll's eyes narrowed when he saw small, white fluffy cloud float idly by. "I don't like dhe way dhat cloud is floating, mon."
Blaine snorted and then said gruffly: "And that rock looks funny."
At the corner of his eyes, he caught a strange, unnatural green glow. The Tauren looked up and his heart froze as dark, ominous clouds rolled over the battlefield. A flash of lightning streaked through the clouds and suddenly, green flames poured down.
"That is not Neltharion," said Baine.
As the balls of green fire landed, exploding in acrid light, the flames burned upon the attacking Horde. Blain could smell skin cooking, a fowl scent of burning tar and fur. The explosive bombs of green fire looked like rock formations. Then, they cracked and trembled, rising and unfolding their legs and arms.
"Infernals," said Vol'jin. "Dha rumors from Orgrimmar were true. Dha Alliance be usin' Fel Magic!"
"Warlocks," said Baine. "I never knew how desperate King Wrynn was. He has the Earth-Warder, why would he subject himself to this?"
"He no trust dha Earth-Warder, remember?" said Vol'jin. "He cannot trust Neltharion, dhen what else can he trust?"
"But demons who call the Burning Legion allies," said Baine.
"Sometimes ya take what ye can get. Deathwing and the Burning Legion. Dha best he can muster."
The rocky, skeletal forms of the giant, green fiery infernals slugged their way through advancing orc forces. The green fire rose high into the sky and Blain could feel it's sickening, torrent energies spidering up his shoulders. Vol'jin turned as another flash of green, a horrible whistling noise, and followed the direction of the green fireball. Those specialized Dark Shamans, the ones who kept knocking back thanks and other heavily armored vehicles, paused and looked up. They clapped their hands and then raised them to the sky. The ground quaked around them and splintered. Large, fractured, slabs of brown rock rose up around the shamans, protecting them as the green flames impacted the surface.
Garrosh sneered as the fel fire reflected off of his golden eyes, turning them a strange, sickly green. A hulking felguard rose up from the flames, gray, pebbling skin, bulging muscles and spines, and brandishing an enormous battle axe, cast his shadow over Garrosh and his Kor'kron. Malkorok's red eyes sparkled as the demon tore through several of Garrosh's guards. Heads were pulled loose with bloody spines and veins still dripping from the bones, bodies cut in half.
"For the Alliance!" Garrosh heard the triumphant call of an Alliance Warlock.
"No!" Garrosh heard Malkorok's defiant cry. "For the Horde!"
The Blackrock orc leapt upon the back of the felguard, the demon itself was nearly three times as large as he was. The demon roared out, feeling a knife cut along his flesh, his black ichor oozing forth from the wound. It flinched and flailed, swatting at the smaller orc with the flat of its axe. Malkorok held tightly, digging his nails into the dark gray skin. Green glowing eyes of fel fire flashed wildly as the Blackrock Orc drove his axe's blade deep into the demon's back. Malkorok pulled himself behind the handle of his battle axe and then kicked off with his legs from the nape. With his own weight guiding him downward, Malkorok tore a gaping line down the demon's spine, splitting his back open and revealing the meat. With one defiant roar, the felguard toppled over as the orc pulled his weapon free. He turned to see the warlock who summoned the demon attempt to cast another spell. Shifting sparks of red and orange formed at the human's hands. Malkorok charged for the human. The Warlock began to step backwards as he continued to chant, calling upon something, anything to defeat this powerful orc who killed his demon. With a mighty, beastly roar, Malkorok tossed his axe and it impaled itself deep into the human's skull. The Warlock stood there, nearly frozen in mid-casting of his spell, the light of his fel magic fading from his hands. The heated wind blew across his robes, his rich blood splattering upon his chest. Then, the Warlock toppled back, his body falling limp. Malkorok snorted as he approached the human. He kicked the body, trying to see if by some miracle, he survived. Then, the orc knelt to take hold his axe. He gripped leather bound handle tightly, jerking it to and fro, seeing the legs of the human twitch involuntarily. With a sick crack, he pried the axe from the skull of his enemy and turned back to Garrosh. The Warchief nodded his approval and Malkorok raised his axe up with another roar of victory.
Garrosh pulled up beside the head of his honor guard and grinned.
"Send in the shamans, show them what strength the Horde has," he said. "If the Alliance can bring forth demons, then let them see what we can bring forth."
"By your word, Warchief," said Malkorok. He pulled free a ram's horn and blew it loudly. Its haunting call echoed towards the Dark Shaman. Malkorok lowered the horn and then ran for a ledge of rock, jumping towards the edge. He blew it again. "Shaman, show them! Show them what their precious Earth-Warder has taught you! Show them Deathwing's might!"
The Shaman turned to Malkorok. Their eyes flashed like burning coals upon his voice. As one, they all nodded, dipping their heads slowly. Then, they looked back at the rock face that contained Northwatch Hold. They started stomping their feet rhythmically, repositioning again to represent Neltharion lifting his feet one at a time in a walk. Malkorok watched, breathing heavily with anticipation. The dust around them flowed in a spiraling column, as if to take on the form of the Earth-Warder himself. Fiery cracks formed along the dust, sparked by lightning, further giving the draconic form its familiar ire.
"They command him," said Malkorok.
Baine slammed his golden hammer down upon another Alliance soldier. Then, he paused, his eyes lighting up with horror at the dark, draconic, fiery form he saw.
"Deathwing," he said.
"Aw, no, he can't be here, mon!" said Vol'jin. "It be not but two hours and thirty minutes!"
The Dark Shaman lifted their heads and called forth in a horrible roar. Baine shook his head.
"No, those are Garrosh's shamans," he said. "What––what are they doing?"
"Dhat power, mon," said Vol'jin. "It's not right."
The stone of Northwatch trembled violently, boulders falling free from the cliff. The rock itself started to burn, fading almost to a sickly, blue black. The top exploded forth, belching forth black ash, fire, and rock. The air became tinged with the putrid stench of brimstone.
"A volcano?" Vol'jin asked, slumping his shoulders in disbelief. "Dhere be no volcano here."
"This––this is a mockery," said Baine. "What has Garrosh done?"
Lava spewed forth in a fountain of fire, slinging hot rock everywhere. The black, choking cloud continued to rise as the lava spewed forth, melting away the stone of Northwatch. Then, the lava began to wrap itself, forming horrid tendrils. The tendrils thicken, looking like long, jagged, but muscular arms. Fingers formed from the stumps of the arms, becoming two huge, grasping hands. More tendrils formed, following the first as more arms and more hands rose from the lava. A powerful, muscular, etched by the fire inside, rose up upon thick, pillar-like legs and wide feet. Eyes filled with the fiery heat of the planet cast their gaze upon the Alliance soldiers. They looked up, trembling at the sight of the fiery, stony creatures that had formed from their own base. The gigantic beings of earth and fire loomed hundreds of feet above them. One of the creatures raised its foot and slammed it down upon the summoned Infernals wielded by the Alliance Warlocks. It crushed them like a tiny nut upon the ground. The Warlocks fired their fel fire upon the gigantic monstrosities of elemental power, but they were nothing more than tiny sparks, not even singing the rocky hide.
"In the name of the Earth Mother and the Worldmender, what have you done, Garrosh?!" shouted the tauren next to Baine.
"What dha hell are dhose things?" Vol'jin asked.
"Molten giants," he replied. "The Earthen Ring, under the wisdom of the Worldmender, has forbade their use."
"If there is anything that will call Neltharion here to stop this, it will be those creatures!" said Baine. "Please, tell me, what exactly are they doing? How are they able to create those giants?"
"They are wielding the power of the Worldmender," said the shaman. "Those shaman are from the Twilight Hammers, Chieftain."
"Which means dhat when Neltharion was Deathwing, he must have taught them some powerful tricks, mon," said Vol'jin. "Even to come close to wielding his power."
"Neltharion specifically stated that the control of elementals such as those could very well finish what Deathwing started––finish the Cataclysm!" said the shaman. "That is why he forbade it."
"Even the Black Aspect we once fought understood to live in peace with the Earth Mother," said Baine.
The Alliance soldiers were terrify beyond reasoning as they fell before the feet of the molten giants. While some attempted to hold firm to their fleeting courage, others dropped their weapons and bolted for cover, for the hills, for water perhaps. Anywhere to escape the monsters of fire, rock, and the planet's fury. Baine spied a lone Alliance shaman, a Draenei begin to stomp her purple and slate black hooves in the similar fashion that Garrosh's Dark Shamans did in order conceal the movement of the Horde's vast armies across the Barrens. Another Alliance shaman joined her, this time a Wildhammer Dwarf with a fiery beard and wild mohawk. They stomped and shifted, and dragged their feet upon the ground in the similar strange dance the Dark Shaman did.
"Shamans taught by the Earthen Ring," said Baine's own shaman. "Neltharion taught us some abilities as well."
"He did?" asked Vol'jin. "Can you do what dhose Dark Shamans are doing? Can you stop those monsters?"
"There's not enough of us," said the shaman. The tauren closed his eyes and felt the vibrations the Draenei and Dwarf were doing. "No, they're calling Neltharion."
A hot boulder of volcanic rock flung towards their direction. Trolls and Tauren scattered, rolling out of the way as the boulder impacted a few paces behind them. Blaine rose up from the ground, his skin shivering as he felt the heat off the boulder.
"Kador," he said to the Shaman. "Start stomping!"
"Yes, Chieftain," said Kador.
He began his own rhythmic dance of stomps of thrusts of his fists, mirroring that of the Draenei and the Dwarf.
Baine looked back at the giants. They roared, in utter elation over the destruction they were causing. The ground continued to crack as they made their way, through the Alliance ranks. One of the giants looked towards the two Alliance shamans, and slowly lumbered towards them. The shaman kept up their dance, the ground beneath their feet now trembling in reply to their call. Kador paused in his own dance and then slammed his foot straight into the ground. Up from the cracked dirt came a boulder of sandstone as big as he was. With an angered cry, he punched the boulder, sending it flying for the knee of the giant. The giant paused to look at him, but then raised its fist up towards the Alliance shamans. With one smooth movement, it smashed the two shamans upon the hill. Baine's eyes widened as the giant rose up, looking towards his group. The giant started for them.
"The Dark Shaman no longer control them," said Kador. "Now the molten giants control the Dark Shaman!"
Vol'jin's breath quicken as he looked towards Garrosh. The Mag'har orc was too busy laughing in almost maddening glee at the destruction his giants were causing.
"Behold the power of the Horde and die!" Garrosh called, raising Gorehowl up.
Kador thrusted his hands to his sides and two rocky, cylindrical formations jutted forth from the ground in a cloud of brown dust. The two formations slammed against either side of the giant's knee in attempt to keep it in a tight vice. He took hold of the leader of the Darkspears Trolls and his Chieftain and kicked off the ground, forming a rolling wave of dust and dirt. The shaman started to skate upon this wave, being propelled swiftly away from the giant. The molten monstrosity roared angrily as its next victims skittered from it. The giant tossed another flaming black boulder at them and Kador slammed his fist into the ground, calling upon a large rock wall to protect them. The boulder collided with the wall, causing it to crack and shatter into a pile of rubble.
"I don't have the strength to take on that thing!" he said.
"Just call him!" said Baine.
"He's not answering," said Kador.
"Ring louder, mon!" said Vol'jin.
The shaman cried and started thrusting his fists into the dirt as rhythmically as he one did with his feet. Baine could feel the earth start trembling again under his feet as his shaman continued to beat the ground.
"Shaman!" called Vol'jin. "Dhose creatures are no longer under dha fool Garrosh's control! Start calling dha Earth-Warder here to stop dhem!"
Malkorok looked on coolly as the raging elementals continued their fray across the land. Behind them there seemed little left of the burnt, blacken bodies of the Alliance soldiers. What feeing soldiers were left were quickly swept up by advancing Horde soldiers. It was a bloody landscape. Dragonmaw Black drakes scattered, rising higher above the giants and circling the battlefield. He turned his head as he watched the elementals and then towards the Dark Shamans. Though the shaman continued their dance, he could see their strength weakening. They fought to try and keep in step and each time one of them fell out of step, he heard the elementals roar. Now the elementals, each time the Shaman fell out step, started attacking a few Horde soldiers as well. He looked to Garrosh.
"Warchief!" he said. "The Shaman tire. They're losing their hold on the giants."
"Bid them to continue on!" said Garrosh. "Wrynn will pay for trying to use demons against me!"
"But they are killing some of our own as well!" said Malkorok. "We won't have enough for the siege if even our men die here."
Garrosh sneered over his tusks and his thick lips parted, ready to reprimand his honor guard's concerns, but a single, almost painful bellow echoed out from one of the raging giants. The molten giant faltered, throwing its arms up to grasp its head in agony, its fiery maw opening wide. Then, it fell to its hands and knees. Garrosh's eyes widened as he noticed a pair of rocky, bat-like wings sprouting out the back of the creature.
"Well," he said as he saw a thrashing, long tail sprout out from its buttocks. "Guess who decided to make it to the party after all? I wasn't expecting to meet him this soon though." He turned the Tauren braves paused to watch the giant. He spied one Tauren, a shaman stomping his feet. "Looks like Baine and I need to have a small chat."
The haunched over giant's body morphed, draconic, thick claws sprouting from its hands and feet. Its head morphed, sprouting two enormous horns from its crown and a small horn upon its nose as its nose grew into a thick, toothy, box like snout and jaws. Two fiery eyes opened and looked around at horror of the devastation caused by the Horde to Northwatch. Then, the enormous, rock and lava dragon turned to the other two giants. It stomped its foot down and called their attention. The dragon raised a claw and the two elementals lifted the heads up, their mouths gaping wide. Wider and wider, their mouths grew, until the fiery hole split their heads, slowly cracking through their necks and torsos. Bubbling lava popped and fizzled as the elementals lost their cohesion, becoming nothing more than a mass of smoldering rocks and the smell of burning brimstone. The dragon then turned to the only one it knew who could have caused this, Garrosh Hellscream. The Warchief started to laugh at the stony face of the dragon, not even phased by the hot gaze. Then, he rose two thick fingers and pointed to own eyes, and then he pointed right at the dragon.
I see you, Deathwing! he thought with a grin.
Then, the dragon lifted its head up and its mouth gaped open wide, much like the giants did. And much like the giants, it lost its form as soon as it gained it, melting back into burnt earth that it came from. Garrosh chuckled, grinning even wider.
"There are no more Alliance," said Malkorok. "None for all the eye can see save for corpses."
"Not only have we've proven ourselves with this victory to best the Alliance here," said Garrosh. "But we have mastered the elements."
"With a minor hiccup," said Malkorok. "Unfortunately the Earth-Warder––"
"Yes, I saw," said Garrosh. "I saw. So what if he now knows. His 'neutrality' still stays his hand. He can't get involved."
"I beg to differ, Garrosh Hellscream!" came a voice heated with fury.
Garrosh turned to find Baine Bloodhoof walking up towards him, his hand tightly around the neck of his dwarfish, golden hammer, and his eyes in utter rage and disgust. His armor was dripping in the blood of his enemies, much like the armor of Malkorok and other orcs, but he took no joy from it.
"What you have done was reckless and stupid!" Baine continued. "If it weren't for the Worldmender coming here on short notice––"
"Enough!" called Malkorok. "You will not speak to the Warchief in such manner. And you shall address him properly!"
Baine looked to the gray-skinned orc and sneered at his outcry. Then, he turned to Garrosh who looked upon him with an expectant frown.
"Very well, Warchief,"said the Tauren Chieftain, though it sound more like he was spitting upon the word "Warchief" rather than granting Garrosh any sort of respect for his title. "Kador has informed me that what you have done goes against the regulations set by the Earthen Ring. The usage of these molten giants insults and infuriates the Earth Mother. I could feel the earth twitch in pain as those monsters took a step. It took the will of the Worldmender to even halt this desecration before another Cataclysm could even begin! Apparently he has learned much from the devastation he wrought during the last Cataclysm, so why haven't you?"
"I have made the power that fat, bloated, drunken reprobate of an Earth-Warder work for us!" said Garrosh, shouting high above the still roaring fires. "The power that he wields, I shall make my own! Yes, I have learned much from Neltharion, much! And I have learned from his Cataclysm as well. The power the Earth-Warder commands––to bend the planet to his will, that power shall be mine!"
"The power of the Earth Mother is not for one like you to command," said Baine.
"And look what Deathwing did with it!" said Garrosh. "And look what we can do with it!"
"The Earth Mother has forgiven the Worldmender," said Kador. "For using her gifts for such evil. These gifts are not to be used lightly."
"I intend not to use them so lightly, Tauren," said Garrosh. "This was the first step. Next we march on Theramore Isle. I shall use whatever tool to achieve that goal!"
"You shall not endanger anymore––"
Malkorok took hold of Baine's arm and shoved his face right upon the Tauren's snout.
"Silence! You serve at the will of the Warchief! Do not offer him insult. Or I shall challenge you to mak'gora!"
His lip trembled and he seethed with fury, hoping that the Tauren would take his offer and lunge for him. But Baine Bloodhoof was too much like his father, cool and calm-headed. Besides only taking up such a challenge would only prove that the orc had won the battle in controlling his emotions. No, he saw no honor in this and he backed away, keeping his emotions compressed, swallowing his own fury for this one orc.
"I wouldn't want to see anymore loyal Horde warriors fall this day," said Baine. Then he turned to Garrosh, his eyes growing dark. "I only speak of concern, for the well being of the Horde."
"Duly noted," said Garrosh, the corner of his mouth twitching in a cold, crooked smile. Though, Baine could hear a slight slant of snide insult upon the Mag'har's lips. "But know this, what I am doing is also for the best of the Horde. Too long, we've allowed the Alliance to have these little bits and pieces of Kalimdor. No longer. I shall cut off the supply trails leading into Theramore. Once I am done with Theramore, the Proudmoore bitch and her ideology of happy peace and prosperity will be destroyed and trampled beneath my feet. Next, I shall look to Feathermoon Stronghold, Teldrassil, the Moonglade, Lor'danel, all places where Alliance stand––I shall wipe them out one by one! Until all of Kalimdor belongs to the Horde!" He puffed out his chest. "And the Earth-Warder, even he shall bend to my greatness."
"You cannot destroy the Earth-Warder," said Baine. "It will––"
"I know," said Garrosh. "I have no intentions of destroying him. No, he's much too valuable as a tool to be used rather than a trophy hanging in Orgrimmar. No, I have plans for him. Yes, he must remain alive." He laughed. "And once all of Kalimdor is mine and the Earth-Warder mine as well, then, I shall accept your apology."
"Of course, Warchief," said Baine, his ears flattening. Then, he gave a bow and walked away, leaving Garrosh and his loyal remaining Kor'kron guard to bask in their tainted victory. As he left, Kador following him, Baine was once more silenced into deep thought. Everything that he had seen today, it was a painful poison inside of his heart.
He only cared to keep his people safe. But to do so would mean he had to perform acts he knew in his heart was wrong. There had to be a way to set things right. The Horde marched on and then set up camp for the night. Behind them were the bodies of the dead. Garrosh left some Horde behind to keep watch over what little stone remained of Northwatch. As they camped for the night, Baine retired to his traveling teepee and lit an incense burner. Then, he made a decision, they had to be warned. Baine took hold of the hammer gifted to him from Anduin Wrynn and walked out, calling for Kador.
"I come as you command, Chieftain," said the shaman.
"Normally I would send a Longwalker for this task," he began. "But this requires the Worldmender's aid one more time. Where is he, though?"
Kador stamped the ground and closed his eyes to listen to the beat of the heart of Azeroth reply back to him.
"Still in Tanaris," he said. "After what had happened, I would figure he'd be flying madly back to Theramore to warn them about what just happened."
"And he should," said Baine. "But I want you to send a message to him to send to Jaina Proudmoore. Garrosh plans on cutting off her supplies for one. She has to know what is about to come––and––to send a message to Anduin. Tell him––I'm not worthy to wield the gift he gave me. Tell them both that it pains me to betray them both."
He knelt down and began to wrap the hammer up carefully in fur and leather, decorated with the finest beads and feathers. As he wrapped the weapon up, he felt his heart quiver.
"And tell the Worldmender, I apologize for Garrosh's transgressions against the Earth Mother," Baine said. "Maybe he will––think of those of us a bit better..." He sighed. "There is no going back after this."
Baine handed the hammer to Kador and placed it into his hands.
"Take Fearbreaker," he said. "I can only hope that they all will forgive me for what I am about to do."
"If she is the gracious person that you have spoken about, then she will," said Kador. He bowed respectfully to his Chieftain and exited the tent. Kador began his run, sneaking out of the camp and into the growing night. He made it to the edge of the forest where the last of the savannah lowlands met the fresh green forest of the highlands and the swamp covered jungles of Dustwallow Marsh. There, Kador set the hammer down and began knelt to the ground. He started thrusting his fists upon the ground, rhythmically. The earth vibrated with every movement, waves like the ripples on a pond echoed out from the sound. Then, every rock began to quiver as they started to coalesce right in front of him. The gray and black stones started to take shape, rising up to form a hulking dragon, about the size of a large night saber. Eyes opened, the color of the finest emeralds. Moss dangled like a long braid from the dragon's chin and fresh iron ore lined the dragon's back like armor. Kador dipped his head in respect to the avatar of Neltharion, the Aspect of Earth.
"Greetings, Worldmender," he said.
"You were the one who called me during the battle?" said Neltharion.
"I am," said Kador. "Please, I ask that you forgive the actions that had transpired today."
"Were you responsible for raising those elementals?" the Black Aspect asked. "To destroy that post?"
"No, Worldmender," said Kador. "It was Hellscream's decision. His Dark Shaman were the ones responsible."
"Then there is nothing to forgive."
"You must know, it breaks my Chieftain's heart to––see such an atrocity," said Kador. "It was not in our best interest for Garrosh to go on his warpath. And it wounds him even more to see Garrosh use such dastardly methods to achieve his cheep victory over the Alliance. Baine Bloodhoof despises these actions, but he had conspire with the Warcheif's plans for the protection of his people."
"I can understand that," said Neltharion. "We have to do some horrible things when our family's protection is threatened. But your Chieftain."
"He bares no love for Hellscream, Worldmender," said Kador. "He is further disheartened that you would think ill of him because he must work with the likes of Warlord Zaela and her Dragonmaw all because she holds many of your own family under her control."
Neltharion bowed his head: "I am afraid that all the vibrations caused by so many cannons going off, I could not get a good picture of the battleground with my––Vision. Tell me, were any black drakes––"
"A few fell, Worldmender. But others have survived, still under the control of Zaela."
"I––wish I knew how to help them," said the Great Black. "I hope you and your shaman have forgiven me for my outburst at the Earthen Ring meeting. I––was angry at those strange riders––who rode on my children's backs. Now, I'm even more angry at Garrosh for his actions. I can't let your Warchief go unpunished for what he has done, you know that?"
"We Tauren understand if you feel that you must punish him for this insult to the Earth Mother," said Kador, his ears twitching. "We will not question what actions you shall take, Worldmender. But do know that this wasn't Baine's idea."
"Garrosh is all that I want," said Neltharion. "I have no quarrel with Thunder Bluff or its High Chieftain. But Garrosh and his Dark Shaman will pay for this. I'll have to go to the other Aspects for their wisdom in this, though. I don't want to make my actions against Garrosh look like I'm turning back into Deathwing again." He sighed. "Now I'm gonna have a good talk to Nozdormu about this...my eldest brother, the Time Lord, saw this coming."
Kador waited patiently as Neltharion mumbled off his thoughts, still grasping the covered hammer. Then, the Black Aspect turned to him, his eyes coming upon the bound leather in the tan and dark brown Tauren's hands.
"What's that?"
"This," began Kador. "This is to be given to Lady Jaina Proudmoore."
"What is it?"
"It is Fearbreaker, it belonged to Prince Anduin Wrynn," said Kador. "The Prince of Stormwind gave this to Baine after Cairne Bloodhoof was––"
"I am sorry for his loss," said Neltharion, catching the painful pitch of the Tauren's voice.
"Thank you," said Kador. "Baine has carried the hammer it since. However, because of what will happen, he feels unworthy of carrying it now and only asks if it returns to its former bearer. So, I have asked you if you could––take me to Theramore Isle and help speak on my behalf––and the behalf of my Chieftain."
Neltharion dipped his head: "I can do that." He paused. "Garrosh wants to head for Theramore."
"Yes, it's obvious now, isn't it? But there is much more he wants than Theramore."
"The whole continent?"
"Got it in one, Worldmender."
"Yeah, I know his type," said Neltharion. Then, he chuckled only half-heartedly. "I was his type." He cleared his throat. "Alright, I'll get you to Theramore. But there is something I wish for in return."
"And what is that, Worldmender?"
"I'll discuss that with you after you tell Jaina what that idiot is planning."
The rocky avatar took hold of the Tauren shaman and suddenly they both dove right into the ground, with barely a mark left behind to show that they were once there.