The Prison of Yogg-Saron

Ulduar

Gouts of flame singed the flailing hide of the writhing tentacle. Cayden kept the pressure on dousing any and all challengers in a searing inferno. A snapping appendage erupted from behind and whipped down where the mage once stood. His arcane prowess allowed him to blink just moments before the attack could land and leave behind a glowing red rune that would encapsulate the vicious limb with a chaotic strike of unyielding flame.

The Templar Knights fought soundly. They ensured the Keepers were well out of the Old God's reach. Ademski and Marcus were especially adept at working with one another. The warrior would smash the head of the tentacles and capture their attention while the draenei came in and forcefully detached them cleanly from the root on.

Saelena hid herself behind the pillar where Mimiron stood. The Keeper promised to put this monster back in its cage. She made it her duty to protect him. A constant stream of bullets exploded from her rifle. They tore into the tentacle's flesh with disgusting savagery until they fell lifelessly onto the ground in a heaping pool of its own blood.

The gnome was holding his own bouncing from priest to priest while they let out constant bursts of holy flames upon their enemies. The Legend twins needed much more time to cast their spells than Cayden so Weasel promised to defend them with eager swipes of his daggers and keep the appendages at bay but did little to stop them entirely. He wasn't as equipped as the dreanei and warrior but the gnome was no slouch in the speed department. Weasel ensured that not a single silver lock of hair would be harmed upon their heads. It's what he would have done after all.

The only one who hadn't entered the fray was Narula. She was still on her knees shocked at the events that just transpired. The night elf watched Rayne flee into the gaping maw of the Old God and vanish in an instant. When he needed her the most, she had utterly failed him. Narula promised to always protect him and yet, she allowed him to slip right through her fingers. If she was not strong enough to keep him safe then perhaps she would no longer be allowed to stay by his side.

That haunting thought kept the night elf constantly battling her emotions. She didn't want to live in this kind of sick world that would allow such a noble being to be taken from her so abruptly. Not after all of the pain and sacrifices she had to go through in order to walk proudly alongside him. Sadly, there was nothing she could do. It was his will after all and after seeing everything come to fruition, Narula had no choice but to obey.

"Narula!" Yelled the warrior. "What the hell you doing?!"

The fleeting sounds of combat began to wane. Their task would soon prove to become a pointless exercise. No matter how many tentacles they defeated, the Old God had a limitless amount at his disposal. Battling his limbs was futile. They needed to strike at the monster's big black heart. The creature dared to take Raymond away from her. It would soon learn how foolish that action truly was.

A sliver light began to glow beneath the night elf's feet. It spread outwards forming a small circle. Wisps rose like glimmering lanterns and faded into the air granting their caller all of the energy within their essence. Nature's divine presence swelled around Narula's gracious body.

Anger brewed deep within her heart. It called out to her, crying for release once more. She rarely took up this form only in times of deep and utter desperation. The last time the night elf summoned this chaotic strength she was with him. And she did it to protect him. Now, she's doing it to inflict unbridled wrath on the one that would dare take him from her.

The air swirled around her. It lifted her hair from gravity's cloying grasp. The blessed energies of Elune funneled through her bloodstream. Narula opened her eyes and shot a terrifying gaze at the Old God. Pillars of roaring flames replaced her amber irises. The buried rage buried deep within her heart was finally returning to the surface. In just a few moments, Yogg-Saron would face the rampant fury of the druid's ultimate form.

Black lightning bolts erupted from the val'kyr floating above. In the night elf's moment of blinding fury, she had completely forgotten about their additional adversary. The energy struck her body. She shrieked in anguish as the horrifying power enveloped her completely. Narula's nerves exploded all at once shouting as loudly as her mind could process. The shadows engulfed her being and used her most powerful weapon against her.

The night elf collapsed to the ground. She continued to reel over the lingering effects wrapped over body. The world grew hazy and dark. Narula could not find her bearings no matter how hard she searched. Horrid screams could be heard in all directions. She begged her mind to stop shouting but it wouldn't listen. Her eyes scanned the battlefield in order to make sense of it all. It only proved to driver her heart deeper and deeper into the void.

Samuel crashed into Thorim's pillar. His head cracked against the metal surface. Blood spewed from the large gash staining his shimmering silver locks in a pile of crimson goo. His sister fell atop his body. She screamed at the top of his lungs crying out his name.

Tentacles continued to lash out at them. One clasped the mage by the throat. It squeezed his flailing body until his face turned into a similar color as his robes. Marcus and Ademski struck the appendage with all their might but they could not bring him down. A second limb slapped them away viciously driving them into the ground. Cayden's arms no longer contained the strength to keep fighting. His hands slipped off the slimy blue surface and hung at their sides.

An explosion detonated nearby. The limb carrying the mage flailed wildly and sent him crashing into the nearby wall. Cayden's body slammed into the masonry leaving a large crack at the point of impact before slumping to the ground in a slump of lifeless flesh. The tentacle's destroyed limb fell beside him and slowly coiled around his fiery robes before crawling to a skittering halt.

Saelena continued to fire upon the growing appendages. With more of her companions down, she had little time to reload and spent more of it fleeing from danger. The silent draenei stomped her hooves around the outskirts of the room drawing as much of their attention as possible. Sadly, this strategy exposed Mimiron to danger and without him, they were as good as dead.

Try as they might, the Templar Knights were no match for the Old God. Even with the Keepers fighting alongside them, they couldn't even remove the barrier surrounding Yogg-Saron's haunting visage let alone end his terrible reign.

Your will is no longer your own...

Flashes of red flickered in her vision. The Old God's image began to fade away as did the rest of her companions. Despite not being able to move fully, the anger in her heart continued to grow. She no longer saw allies or enemies surrounding her. The entire room became her arena. Everything was out to get her now. There was nothing she could do to stop them.

The maddening voice continued to claw at her mind. Narula desperately fought back, clutching her skull and screaming at the top of her lungs in order to stop it from spreading. She cringed hard forcing her thoughts to focus on a single point. All of her druidic training taught her the proper methods of medication and how to overcome the chaos of the true world. However, none of her peers or teachers ever mentioned about the cruel insanity of an Old God's touch.

The night elf's eyes were forced open. She stared off into the darkness surrounding her. A faint light came into view. It slowly began to take shape in the center of the area. A vague humanoid with long hair stood in the light. The night elf didn't need to look for a second longer to know exactly it was.

Raymond…

Sadistic red creatures began to pour in from the edges. They were surrounding him. They were going to harm him. The rage quelling within her being was on the brink of bursting.

I shall always protect you.

The Mind of Yogg-Saron

Ulduar

The clashing of metal echoed into the saronite filled room. Lorelei swung the greatsword with unfathomable savagery. Her blade slashed against the paladin's barrier. Cut after cut she attempted to slice right through it and destroy the soft flesh hiding behind.

Rayne parried the first attacks with his shield. He didn't block the strikes outright but rather, rolled them through against his shield and absorbing only part of the blow. The young elf was too wild and unfocused. Lorelei used the sword as if it were a club. She did not wield the same skill or finesse as her brother. However, she more than made up for it with brute force strength. All she would have to do was keep swinging away until one of them ran out of gas. At this point in the battle, the young elf definitely appeared to have the stamina advantage as well.

"Why Lorelei?!"

The paladin shouted over another devastating attack clanging against his shield.

"Why did you embrace this madness?!"

Lorelei's eyes sharpened. She lifted the sword above her head and drove it down in an arching slash. Piles of cracked masonry split and rose into the air in the wake of the brutal attack. Rayne had dodged the attack but he was not out of danger yet.

"Why?!" Barked the young elf. "How dare you?!"

Her blade sliced into the air manically as she gave chase to the paladin.

"You did this to me!" She snapped. "You took him away from me! Murdered him before my very eyes!"

The greatsword rose and hammered against the steel barrier. Rayne was sent skidding backwards on his greaves. The plate armor dug into the hardened stone floor and left a long trail of rubble in its path.

"If you hadn't have killed Jean…!" The elf angrily stammered. "None of this would have happened!"

There was a slight crack in her voice. Rayne sense his words were getting through to her. He wasn't about to turn his blade against hers. Right now, this fight was a battle of wits versus wills. The paladin prayed his body would be able to hold out long enough to claim victory.

"Do you think I wanted to kill Jean?!"

The young elf leapt into the air and drilled her sword downwards. It cracked the saronite-laden ground where Rayne once stood as he dodged to the side. She quickly separated the blade from the crack ground and swung it wildly at his new residence.

"I never wished to fight him with that intention!" He countered.

"Intentions are irrelevant!" She opposed. "The fact is he's dead and you were the one who killed him!"

The two blades met one another. Rayne parried the blow heading straight for his head and braced the red sword against his shield to stifle the attack outright. He pushed her greatsword back and resumed his defensive stance.

"I considered Jean a friend!" The paladin cried. "I only wished he was never assigned to that dreaded fortress in the first place! We were never meant to fight each other!"

Rayne dashed forward as the young elf drew her weapon back for another attack. He pressed his shield into the hilt of her blade and drove her backwards off her feet. Lorelei tripped over the damaged rubble. She kicked off the ground with what little balance she had left and flipped a few yards back.

"Do you think I'm remotely happy that he's gone?!"

The young elf's gaze furrowed. Her expression swelled with anger. She clutched the greatsword tightly as she dived in for a renewed onslaught of attacks.

"Why wouldn't you be?!" Lorelei cringed while swinging the blade furiously. "You got what you wanted!"

Their swords clashed once more. Rayne met her blade and stopped it outright without any added support from his shield.

"I didn't want this!"

The paladin's voice softened. The weapons continued to dance on the edges alongside one another. Neither was giving an inch. They were at a stalemate. Lorelei's resolve was finally waning.

"I never wanted to make you suffer."

"Shut up…!" She winced. "Shut the hell up right now!"

The young elf's voice had dropped. Her words still carried tinges of anger but their tone was drastically reduced. The poison slipping from her tongue was no longer as potent as it once was. Rayne immediately dug in to exploit that fact.

"You have no idea the torment his death put me through," the paladin brewed. "Watching him fall. Carrying his spilled blood upon my body. Listening to his final words."

Rayne paused for a moment. His piercing blue eyes bore into the teal infused glow of the young elf.

"If you believed that you have been agonizing all this time by yourself then you are gravely mistaken."

The paladin channeled the light within his gauntlet. He pushed against her blade. A flash of golden rays exploded on contact. They jumped backwards simultaneously and maintained the distance for a moment without raising arms against each other.

It finally hit him like a ton of bricks. All of this time he had been grieving in silence. This wasn't just therapeutic for Lorelei. Rayne needed to finally confront the demons that had grasped at his heart. He was on the path to forgiveness and it needed to start with himself.

"I admired Jean in a lot of ways," he began. "Your brother had an incredible resolve and presence."

"Stop it…" Pleaded Lorelei.

"Jean was a great swordsman; much better than me," confessed the paladin. "I was at his mercy throughout our encounter. Had it not been –"

Rayne stopped himself mid speech. He was trying to avoid confrontation once more by sugar coating what really happened. The only path to forgiveness was down the straight and narrow road that the truth lied upon.

"I got lucky!" Rayne fired back. "Don't you get it?!"

This was much harder to admit than the paladin realized but he pressed on without fail.

"If it weren't for that damned shield returning… Jean would have won. It was inevitable. That fight was never mine to win. He would have killed me."

"I don't want to hear this…" She menacingly groaned.

Rayne braced himself. He watched as the young elf's grip tensed upon her blade.

"All of time I had believed that my heart was turning cold as so many others have strayed from the path. When, in reality –"

"Don't you dare say –!"

"It was an accident!"

"Stop it!" She snapped. "Just shut up! I don't want to hear this anymore!"

The paladin firmed his stance. His conscious slowly lifted upwards. The light was clearing his mind. A great weight was being lifted from his shoulders.

"Just because it wasn't my intention does not mean it negates my responsibility. Regardless of my feelings, the fact remains that I did kill Jean Starstrider."

Saying the words aloud with such resolve cured the numbness in Rayne's heart. He finally confronted the darkness head on. The light guided his path through ever step. He could

"My burden is clear. The only way I can atone for this tragedy is by continuing the legacy he left behind."

"What are you saying?!" She violently yelled while clutching the greatsword in a striking position. "What legacy?!"

Rayne took a deep breath. He dropped his guarded stance. The sword and shield relaxed at his side. He could sense the light cracking through the darkness in her mind. The only thing he had left to do was get her to believe in him once more.

"You, Lorelei Starstrider," the paladin boldly stated. "I will take responsibility for my actions by protecting the one thing he loved most in the world."

"What…?!" She gasped. "How could – I… How dare –?!"

The young elf fumbled over her words. Light had pierced through her thoughts. It was growing thicker as it battled against the madness. She continued to fight it with everything left in her.

"Stop talking! I don't care about Jean's will anymore!" She begged. "The only thing I have left in this world is to take my revenge!"

Lorelei sprang forward. Her attacks flailed into the air. The strength they once carried had waned. Rayne didn't even bother to try and block or parry them anymore. He didn't have to. She was getting frustrated and tired. Her heavy pants echoed into the atmosphere between whizzing slashes.

"Killing me is all you have left in this world?" Rayne sternly asked. "How truly sad."

The paladin avoided an arcing slash by spinning through to the side. He slapped the young elf with his shield and pushed her forward. Lorelei winced as she stumbled ahead and dropped to her knees.

"Jean will not come back when I die. He will only slip further from your grasp. With both of our deaths, it would only leave nothing but emptiness in your heart."

"Shut…! Up…!"

She was breaking down before Rayne's very eyes. Her back slowly curled as she rolled into a clutching position. One hand pressed against her face while the other loosened its grip on the greatsword.

"What will you have to live for when I'm gone?" He posed. "Do you think Jean wished such a depressing path for his beloved little sister?"

The young elf didn't answer. She continued to pant and shudder over the words pouring over her.

"I may be the last connection you have left to him," he stated. "Are you willing to throw that all away to temporarily sooth the anger in your heart?"

She remained silent. Her once threatening stance had been reduced to the tender visage of a frightened young girl.

"I may be unable to change your mind but I know for sure that I cannot allow you to kill me Lorelei."

Rayne clearly saw her flinching. This was it. The light at the end of the tunnel was well within his grasp.

"Try as you might, I will continue to live on. It is my duty. As long as I am alive it will give you a reason to live and spare you for descending into a void of sadness for the rest of your life."

Tired breaths funneled out of her lungs. She was not carrying the same rage-filled aura that once filled this room. This would be the deciding blow. Rayne had to remain firm; for her sake and for his.

"It took a long time for me to learn to forgive myself for what had happened," he sorrowfully said. "The journey will be tough and painful. Nothing ever worth having comes easy. I hope that one day, you will find it in your heart to forgive me as well."

The room stood quiet. Lorelei's breaths had calmed down considerably. The paladin had broken through. He defeated the darkness within his own heart and now freed the young elf from the same crippling grip. His heart was at ease for the first time in what felt like ages. There was a long road ahead of them but at least they were both willing to take the journey.

You are a pawn of forces unseen…

Rayne's eyes snapped. His ears tingled with a maddening sensation. A voice had called out to him. He was sure of it. It spoke directly in his mind. The Old God was not going down without a fight it would seem. If this little exercise was part of his doing than the paladin was more than willing to battle him without hesitation.

"Please stop…" The young elf begged.

The grip on his blade tightened. Lorelei must have heard it as well. She collapsed her hands over her ears. The hilt of the blade pressed upon her cheeks as she still refused to release the weapon.

Hope is an illusion...

Rayne's chest thumped. Who Yogg-Saron was speaking to was indeterminable. What he was trying to do had just come to light. Creating a discord between them was its only option now.

"Lorelei!" Called the paladin. "Don't listen to it! You can do this!"

The young elf continued to squeeze her head. Her breathing grew more erratic. The Old God was assaulting her with everything it had. She had already been broken once. She could easily fall again.

"I can't," she wept. "I don't want to live like –"

You will be alone in the end...

"Fight it!" Rayne shouted. "Don't give into the darkness!"

She continued to tremble on her knees. The teal glow on her skin fluctuated in various degrees of brightness. The Old God was attempting to corrupt her once and for all. If Rayne lost her here, there may be no turning back.

It WAS your fault...

The paladin's heart stopped beating. His skin began to crawl. Rayne knew exactly what Yogg-Saron meant with such harsh words. It would lead the young elf astray from the path of redemption. Only darkness awaited her now.

"No! No! No! No! NO!"

Lorelei rose to her feet. She tightened her grip upon the blade and shouted back at the voice with blinding fury.

"It was him!"

Tears welled in her eyes. They poured down the sides of her face and drained onto the floor.

"IT'S ALWAYS BEEN HIM!"

Her greatsword swung forward in a thundering fury. The young elf cried out with her unholy power renewed. Clouds of darkness rose from her eyes. She wailed as the weapon came bolting downwards at the paladin's skull.

Rayne's instincts kicked in. His mind was no longer in control. The paladin raised his blade to catch hers. He did not nearly possess her strength and speed.

Time slowed to a crawl. The memories of Wintergrasp flooded his vision. He begged the light to bestow him a blessing: do not let history repeat itself.

The swords clashed together. Metal cracked violently. The Red Sword of Courage snapped madly into the air. Its blade shattered sending fragments raining down upon the ground.

Rayne gasped as the young elf's swing barreled through his broken weapon. The edge of the greatsword sped in front of his very eyes. The irony was that history was repeating itself; just not the one he originally envisioned.