Hey guys, back again. Sorry for the delay, was hoping to get this chapter out in a week but it turned into six. I have a reason for this, and it is actually a good one. Both as an excuse and also for my life. I have a new job, having gotten it right after posting the previous chapter and I have been there six weeks.

I am doing well and so glad that I am working again, I am having a blast there and I feel a lot more alive now. The last few months of having no job has been listless for me and having one again and a routine to take up all my time has been something I desperately needed.

Sadly this has also eaten away at my free time and often when I am at home I tend to just lay back and read rather than write. So that has been keeping me occupied. But I am now getting used to being back at work, being active again and feeling energised is something I am happy about. So I do plan to do some more writing now, since I am actually in a better mood both physically, financially and mentally.

So, with that out of the way, I leave you with this chapter.

Transcendence

Chapter 87: Regicide

Caverns of Time

When Chromie arrived back in the Caverns of Time she was immediately caught up in the wave of hundreds of her kin rushing into the chamber. Everyone had come back to their domain after they sensed the massive disturbance at Blackrock Mountain, something that had such a reverberation through time she doubted any of the Bronze Flight had not noticed it.

It had taken a prolonged period of time after that for everyone to get themselves into order, they had all come from across time. Some had even come several times over, with several variants of themselves appearing in the cavern, they had to find the oldest out of them to prevent potential paradoxes occurring when they went into battle.

But the moment all the trivialities were out of the way they were out the door, there wasn't any big speech or plans laid out for them. They had planned for this moment a long time ago, they knew what needed to be done and there was no need to discuss it, there was only one thing left to do and that was wait for it to happen.

Their best had gathered, along with anyone else keen to get their claws bloody, and all of them were going to Blackrock Mountain to find out what caused the disturbance. Whoever was responsible would be facing the entire might of the Bronze Dragonflight coming down on them, might seem like overkill but given how elusive this threat has been for the last few months it was better to utilise all their resources lest they risk the enemy escaping.

While hundreds of their forces were moving through multiple portals to their destinations Chromie remained back. Standing beside Soridormi, consort to Nozdormu, the leader of the Scale of the Sands, a secretive order of the Bronze Dragonflight meant to serve Nozdormu himself as his personal agents. Meant to protect major events in the past and future to ensure that the True Timeline remained pure, something they had been struggling to maintain at this point.

"What happened?" Chromie asked.

"We don't know." Soridormi said, uncertain as she gazed at the Hourglass of Time.

"What changes occurred in the timeline?" Chromie asked.

"None… at least, nothing drastic…" She replied, looking at the temporal investigator. "Everything seems to be going according to path of the true timeline, nothing has changed…"

Chromie stepped forward and looked into the hourglass, observing it and trying to see what was occurring, immediately seeing what was happening. This was the rescue mission for Moira Bronzebeard, although there were a few differences than how it was originally meant to go, very different. The team was much larger than it should be, several times larger, and instead of it being led by a group of random adventurers it was military personnel from Stormwind and Ironforge.

But given the changes in the timeline that have occurred over the last few months it made sense that things would have changed, but what she was seeing now was not overly drastic compared to what has happened in other regions of the world. This was relatively tame.

But still it made her wonder how the Eastern Kingdoms were being affected so, forces that should be completely isolated from these changes were acting differently than before and moving when they shouldn't. In fact, who she was seeing there now made it obvious that something drastic had changed.

"The Veiled Blade… weren't they meant to invade the spire rather than Shadowforge City?" Chromie mused, she knew a little about this group having come across some of their members in the past and future.

Around this point in time, they should still be in Lordaeron fighting the Scourge and gathering members, working alongside the Argent Dawn and being hired out by Scarlet Crusade. They weren't meant to come here for maybe another three months until they were sent into the Spire to confirm the existence of the Dark Horde's alliance with the Black Dragonflight.

It made her wonder why they were there earlier than expected, along with a few Argent Dawn Paladins, this was a menagerie of forces that shouldn't have been part of this operation. Definitely not the original group that was brought in to invade Shadowforge City, looking at it they were likely not going to get out of it alive.

"This doesn't seem to be so drastic." Chromie mused, although she doubted this was the case, this could be some kind of stepping stone to something major.

The presence of Abraxus in Dire Maul wasn't seen as anything drastic, look how that turned out. Likely there were unseen agents or individuals with temporal shields hiding their involvement in future events that would cause drastic changes.

Perhaps the Infinite were now making waves in the Eastern Kingdoms. Although based on her investigations they have already made some changed in Lordaeron, something that she was still trying to determine the motive behinds.

"It doesn't matter their reasoning, we have an opening to capture them, they seem to be operating in force here." Soridormi said.

"How many?" Chromie asked, curious to know how many they might be facing in the coming engagement.

"We do not know, but we are sending out everyone we can, we are done taking any chances here. We will not underestimate this threat."

That was a wise decision, they had literally no data on who these Infinite were or how powerful they were. They didn't know if they were a group of mortals that got ahead of themselves and started exploiting time magic, which was highly unlikely. Another idea was that they were a force from a very distant alternate reality that had hopped into their reality to cause havoc, which was slightly more plausible.

Another was that this was a ploy by the Old Gods…

Which was less of a probability and more of a certainty, which made it possibly the worst thing they could be dealing with.

But the issue remained as to who was carrying out their will, the Twilight's Hammer wasn't as powerful as it will be in the future and the Old Gods didn't have many on their side. Although, there was a single group that likely could be responsible. The Black Dragonflight, they had not considered it before, but with the proximity to Nefarian's Domain and his experiments on the Dragonflights perhaps they are the ones responsible.

There were many in the Brood of Nozdormu that were disappointed they could not change events to prevent the son of Deathwing from capturing members of their Flight. The experiments that the captured dragons endured were debilitating and would see them suffer for the rest of their lives, regardless of how short or long it was. But what really concerned them was giving Nefarian access to their brood and also their abilities to control time, something they were certain the Black Dragonflight should not have any control over.

"Let us depart." Soridormi said, turning and walking towards the nearby portal, a force of Draganoids walking beside her, glaives and shields in hand.

Chromie stepped up beside her and walked through the portal, immediately she felt the change in temperature and the taste of ash in the air. Her eyes drifted around the landscape and immediately she caught sight of the battle before them, her eyes widened as she took in the conflict.

They had made several miscalculations.

The first was that the enemy wasn't here in a small force, they were here on mass and had forces that either matched what they brought or completely eclipsed it. The army that the Brood of Nozdormu had brought with them to face down this threat was already scattered and divided, having to fight off enemies in single combat and sometimes outnumbered two to one.

The second thing was…

"Above us!" A Drakanoid shouted, raising his shield along with the other guardians to shield herself and Soridormi from an attack from above.

A massive form attempted to crush them but was repelled by the combined might of the dozen Drakanoid, and with a mighty heave they pushed the aggressor back. The massive beast leaped back and glared at them balefully with glowing white eyes, that pulsed with strange energy that Chromie couldn't determine.

It's body was covered in blackened scales as if turned to charcoal, while cracks crisscross over its body from head to tail, from these tears a strange white glow pulsed as if threatening to tear its way through the entities body. Their appearance was unsettling, but what truly put Chromie on edge was the sensation she felt when observing them. It was likely looking at an anomaly, something paradoxical, which should not exist and was stuck in a state of existing and not.

Whatever this creature was it was saturated in temporal energies, so much that she doubted that it was even truly alive. It was as if this entity had somehow been subjected to an event that literally suffered the effects of time itself breaking apart and devouring itself. She couldn't describe it, this being was a walking contradiction to itself.

But there was no mistaking what this creature was, for its broken form and complex nature, standing before them was most definitely a dragon.

"You will not interfere! We will not allow you to undo what must be done!"

It roared, its words echoing as if spoken several times forward and in reverse, Chromie could actually feel it's very presence causing distortions in time. Now she understood how these guys had evaded them for so long, they were temporal beings.

"So, it is you who are responsible for the changes in the timeline, you will answer for your transgressions!" Soridormi yelled, transforming quickly into her true form, Chromie soon followed her example.

"Fool! We do what you are incapable of doing! What you fear doing! Rewriting fate itself! We are unbound to the failing machinations of the Titans! We will destroy their designs! We will undo the True Timeline!"

With a final roar the dragon lunged forward.

Shadowforge City, The Lyceum

Their forces had just broken through the Crypt of the Patriarchs, after having to fight off a small group of spirits that had barred their way. It had been another costly engagement for them, five more dead, at the moment they had lost a third of their strike force to reach the Palace. They had fought through hundreds of Dark Iron warriors, who had proven themselves more well equipped and trained than the scouts they had dispatched outside the city.

Yet as horrendous as their losses were against the Dark Iron defenders, they didn't make their force bleed as badly when compared to the Elemental Spirits and Golems that the Dwarves used to bolster their forces. The Garrison they had breached from the Highway was thought to be the centre of their military operations. It had been their hope that destroying the command structure protecting the walls would give her forces a chance to breach the city's interior before the Dark Iron discovered they had been invaded.

They put too much hope in small mercies.

Clearing out the Garrison had not been difficult, over a hundred of enemy warriors were dead and they had only suffered a fraction of the losses in comparison. Then they found what appeared to be a foundry, a massive workshop where the Dwarves were constructing Golems. They had not considered there would be many golems, seeing only a dozen or so being built through the cavernous chamber. But the moment Tyresa had brought in her entire force the Dwarves had balked and decided to bring in reinforcements, hundreds of Golems were sealed up beneath the foundry waiting to be let loose.

Tyresa regretted not signalling the retreat quicker, they lost many fine warriors because of her hesitation, they might have escaped the Garrison without have so many pursuers.

Since then, it has been an uphill battle to reach the Imperial Palace, which they fought tooth and nail to break their way inside to complete their mission. But the deeper they moved into the city it became clear that they underestimated the strength the Dark Iron possessed, for there were just as many golems and elementals roaming the streets as there were Dwarves. Like many times before their expectations had been shattered, their belief that this force would be enough to infiltrate the city and reach the Imperial Palace had been grossly overestimated.

A third of their forces were gone, half of which she had to sacrifice as a rear guard as they fled, but they had been able to escape the Dark Iron and with some impunity reached their destination. But now they were on the clock, they had to get Moira and then flee the city before the Palace was surrounded and their only way out was cut off.

"Lock down the entrance!" Tyresa barked, making sure they barricaded the entrance to the Palace.

She turned and looked into the massive open chamber, cavernous in both height and breadth, large pillars took up most of the chamber's space. Looking further in she noted a raised dais in the centre of the chamber, surrounding it was a large force of defenders, upon it was a dozen or so dwarves in finery that were rallying the warriors.

"Brothers! Sisters! The Imperial Palace has been breached, slay these intruders and do not let them reach our king!" A robed dwarf bellowed, raising his sceptre and spurring the warriors into a frenzy.

The Dark Iron forces roared as they turned towards them and charged, there had to be a hundred or more coming for them. A fight was unavoidable, but simply engaging and beating them wasn't going to do them any favours, they had to reach the Throne Room and get to Moira. The longer this took the harder it would be, they didn't have time to win every fight, which meant she had to do something very risky.

"King's Guard! Up front! I want a shield wall! Anthion, get your men in there for support!" Tyresa barked, if they could slow the enemy down to a crawl that would work. "Get between the Pillars! Use them to form a perimeter!"

They did their job well, the King's Guard slammed into the enemy charge and halted them, and slowly pushed them back and between a set of pillars. With the Kings Guard and the Veiled Blade holding the line here the rest could march ahead and get to the Throne Room.

"Alright! I need a rearguard on this door! Make sure nothing get's through!" Tyresa barked, directing a team of ten to hold the entrance. "Stand strong men, you are our last line of defence!"

With that she waved her hand a released a wave of Holy Light to wash over them, their wounds and fatigue disappeared as she blessed them. That was the last gift she could give before she led the team to rescue Moira. She turned to what remained of her soldiers, a small group of ten warriors, they were the best fighters that their force had left. They would be her entourage to the assault on the throne room, she couldn't go with anything short of the best, if she hoped to succeed in rescuing Moira she would need their strength.

"Let's go!" Tyresa ordered.

Her party circled past the fighting, keeping their distance to ensure that nothing was drawn their way, her eyes drifting towards the stalwart defence the King's Guard and Veiled Blade erected. They were surrounded on all sides by raving madmen, outnumbered and tired, but they were holding the enemy off. That's all they had to do, they didn't need to beat them, they didn't need to win, just to hold on long enough for her to get Moira.

On the opposite side of the chamber was the only other portal out of the room, there didn't seem to be any sort of mechanism that controlled the door. All that was present were two large braziers that were unlit, looking at the door she noted that it was covered in runes, likely this was a simple mechanism.

"Trenton." Tyresa said, looking to the mage in her group. "Set those braziers alight."

He did as instructed, forming two fireballs in his hands, tossing the flames into the unlit braziers and igniting them with a flash of fire. A few moments later the doorway began to creek open, she turned to her soldiers one last time. They were charging into the unknown, she had to make sure that they were focused and didn't have any doubts about going forward.

"Expect enemy resistance to be highest here, the throne room will have soldiers that are the best that the Dark Iron can produce. Fight together and…"

Her words were interrupted when something slammed into the door, the metal bent outwards as a massive body pressed against it. Tyresa and her forces backed away as the large molten giant pushed open the doorway and lumbered into the chamber. Of all the things that could be guarding the throne room it had to be a giant made of fire and lava.

"Spread out!" Tyresa yelled, thrusting her sword forward and releasing a wave of Light that drew the elementals attention.

Her forces scattered, leaving her to draw the elementals spirits ire, it moved forward and attempted to squash her underneath its massive foot. Tyresa leaped to the side and channeled holy power through her blade, with a mighty heave she cut into its leg and sliced through its molten skin. It roared in pain and tried to reach for her, but a barrage of ice smashed into its back, it howled as it started to freeze over.

Then Derrick, a warrior that had shown himself to be almost superhuman in terms of raw strength, leaped up and slammed his massive maul into the giant's frozen back. The ice shattered and took chunks off the beast's body, another howl escaped its fiery maw, it shook off its attacker and retaliated. As it tried to crush Derrick he leapt aside and smashed his mace into its injured leg, causing it to take knee. Derrick backed away quickly as the mage and marksman unleashed a barrage of spells and bullets on the elemental being.

As more of its body was frozen over, along with being shattered by precise shots from the marksman, it covered its face and howled in rage. Having enough of the harassment the elemental raised both hands and smashed them into the ground, a bone shattering shockwave knocking everyone off their feet. They tried to return to their feet quickly, Derrick was not fast enough, the giant reached forward and took the warrior in its fiery grip. He screamed out in agony as the fire ate away as his armour, the dark grey metal turning red and white as it began to heat up and melt.

"Trenton! Freeze the limb!" Tyresa ordered.

Not a moment later the elementals limb was encased in ice, the elbow freezing over as the giant roared in rage.

"Maelin! Blow that limb apart!" Tyresa barked.

A shot rang out and the limb exploded, the dwarf was someone that favoured explosive ammunition, said that it was good against Dark Iron armour. Something she didn't doubt, having seen him prove his claim time and time again, but considering what it had done just now she wondered if he was being modest.

"Get Derrick out of danger!" Tyresa yelled, drawing back her shield and bathing it in holy light.

Swinging it in a wide arc she released a discus of Light that sailed towards the giant that exploded against its face, staggering the elemental and leaving it blind. She charged in and gathered her power into her sword, she buried it into the leg and released it in a burst of energy that shattered the limb. The giant fell onto its back, blinded and vulnerable, two men charged forward and tried to deal a finishing blow. The giant turned to roar at them and spewed fire from its mouth, the two screamed as they were engulfed, they would have been reduced to ash had the flamed not been held back.

Othello had changed in between the flames and the two warriors, the Argent Crusader raising his shield and holding back the flames with it and his holy magic. As he defended the two men they fell to the ground, screaming in pain, they were alive by some miracle. A moment later they were being tended to by Mathew, another paladin from the Argent Dawn, who was slowly healing their wounds as Othello held back the elemental's flames.

The elemental continued its barrage, attempting to overwhelm Othello's defences, it may have succeeded had someone not struck while it was distracted. Derrick had charged in and slammed his hammer down onto its face, halting its fiery breath and deforming its head. Tyresa noted that he was no longer in his armour, likely having discarded it after his rescue, wearing only a burnt tunic and a pair of briefs.

The elemental giant groaned and tried to turn to look at the warrior, but the mace hit it again and caved in an eye. Lava spurted from the orifice and another howl escaped its maw, but considerably weaker than before, but it was drowned out as Derrick continued to slam his weapon into its head.

"Othello! Mathew!" Tyresa called out to the Argent Dawn Paladins, they looked to her and she raised her blade. "With me!"

Bathing her sword in light she prepared to end the elemental, she leaped up onto the chest of the elemental and buried her blade in its heart. The two paladins rushed over and grasped the handle of her sword, together the three of them pooled their collective powers together.

"Derrick!" Tyresa roared, looking to the near naked warrior. "Hammer it in!"

The man leaped up and onto the giant's chest, raising his maul above his head and readied to slam it down onto the pummel of her blade. She, along with Othello and Matthew, leapt to safety as Derrick swung down hard, the resulting explosion threw all of them further away than intended, she rolled as she hit the ground and pushed herself back to her feet.

The elemental was down, and from the looks of it there wasn't much left of its body to do anything. Staggering forward and saw that its entire torso had been reduced to rubble, the flames that animated it slowly ebbing away and leaving behind charred stone. Letting out a breath she slowly walked forward and reclaimed her sword, examine the blade she was happy to see that despite being buried in the elementals chest and struck by Derrick's hammer it had not been destroyed.

A little dull and maybe a bit warped by the heat but it was still usable, salvageable if she was lucky.

"Call out!" Tyresa ordered, eyes drifting away from her weapon and towards what remained of her party. "How are the wounded?"

"Nathanial and Urgran are burnt bad, we need to get them to a healer." Othello said, helping Mathew to try and alleviate the two men's pain and heal their injuries.

The man and dwarf had severe burns on their bodies, their armour had also melted under the intense heat, if they were lucky they would only loose a little bit of flesh when it was peeled off. She turned to look at Derrick, he was wheezing as he hobbled forward. Probably had a few broken ribs considering the bruises, not counting the severe burns that were now visible on his fully exposed chest. If he had been able to fight despite those injuries than she was impressed, but he was in no shape to keep going.

She wasn't going to risk taking him into the next engagement while he was injured and had no armour.

"Derrick, remain behind and treat them, use what potions you have." Tyresa said, before turning to the rest of her men. "Hand over any potions you might have to him. Keep them alive, we will be back soon."

Three warriors down, seven left, she hoped that they would be enough to end this. She couldn't waste any time on treating the wounded, it would be better to leave them here to recover while they continue forward.

"Gather up, let's move." Tyresa ordered, leading the charge up the long hallway towards the throne room.

It was a long run down the corridor, thankfully without anything to bar their way, when they reached the end all that stood in their way was a simple doorway. Pushing it open they stepped into the Throne Room of the Imperial Palace, the seat of power of Emperor Dagran Thaurissan. She took the lead as they marched slowly into the room, her head on a swivel and took in everything little detail she saw, taking note of the enemy numbers and their placement.

"Why aren't we just rushing in and killing them?" Brok asked, the Dwarf had his shield up and was anxious.

"Because that's what will get us killed." Miranda replied, the woman brandished her two blade by her side and scanned the surroundings. "Sharpshooters on the balconies."

Tyresa looked, there were half a dozen or more on the balconies on either side of the room, but the vast majority of their opposition was ahead of them just at the base of the throne. On that throne sat the Dark Iron Emperor himself, Dagran Thaurissan, looking over them like the tyrant he presented himself to be. But the while standing beside him scantily clad was Moira Bronzebeard, wearing nothing but a pair of lace undergarments with a bit of silk to dress it up.

A part of her was repulsed at the possible reasons she was wearing such attire, she hoped that only the Princess' dignity had been tainted rather than anything else.

However, those two were not the only noteworthy figures near the throne, one stood out amongst the rest. It was a troll in dark purple robes, an oddity that she might not have paid much attention towards, but the last few hours have been very strange and many oddities she had seen. Her mind drifted back to the Orc she had spoken too several hours before, who had claimed that the Dark Horde was gathering allies across the continent. A part of her wondered if perhaps they are also trying to make allies with the Dwarves, an absurd notion that would hold no chance of coming true let alone being seen as possible.

Yet it did linger in her mind.

Beyond the troll's presence in the chamber, which she put out of her mind for the time being, she kept her eyes on everyone that was within her field of view. They were outnumbered nearly three to one, that wasn't good odds, especially if they were dealing with elite guards. They needed a plan, along with some time to make one, so perhaps she can buy herself a few moments to think something up.

"We take out the sharpshooters first, Mathew, Othello, Brok, Trenton, make sure their first shots don't reach us. Wait for my signal." Tyresa whispered. "Anyone without a shield get behind someone that does."

They came to a halt at the centre of the room, looking up towards the throne and its occupant, delaying wouldn't do them any good but if she could buy some time it wouldn't hurt for her men to be ready to engage.

"Emperor Dagran Thaurrisan, I am Captain Tyresa Morgan, Paladin of the Knights of the Silver Hand and an officer in the Stormwind Army. Under the authority of King Varian Wrynn and King Magni Bronzebeard, I have come to retrieve Moira Bronzebeard and return her to Ironforge. Surrender her to us and there will be no further bloodshed." Tyresa said, her eyes roaming around the room as she made the declaration.

She got a solid headcount now, eight shooters on the balconies, with two more near the throne. On the ground floor she could see about fourteen guards, heavily armed and armoured – silvery blue as well, not the usual dark iron metal their kind were named after. While the rest of the chamber was made up of robed dwarves that didn't seem to have weapons on them aside for sceptres, they likely were sorcerers or shadow mages.

"Get rid of them!" Dagran barked, raising his hammer and jutting it forward. "And you councilmen better get into the thick of it as well! I will not tolerate you disrespecting my authority any further!"

"Shields!" Tyresa barked, raising her shield and feeling several projectiles ping against it, oddly enough she watched as it cracked as a bullet nearly penetrated her defence.

Turning she noted that Brok crumbled, one of the shots had actually broken through his shield and nailed him in the chest. Miranda grabbed him as he fell but he was already dead, the shot had even gotten through his chest plate, that wasn't a good sign. Those sharp shooters must be using hardened ammunition or tipped it with something, either way they had to be dealt with.

"Take out those shooters! Focus on them!" Tyresa barked, turning back to the small army that was rushing towards her, this wasn't going to be an easy fight.

Charging into them wasn't going to do her any favours, she had to level the playing field, right now those sharpshooters were the biggest threat. They had to be taken out as quickly as possible, but they needed some breathing room to do that.

"Othello! Mathew! Up front!" She barked, calling the two paladins forward as she back-pedalled towards her group, they broke away from their wards and came to her side. "Block them with a firewall!"

They gathered their Holy Power together and threw it forward, bathing the area ahead of them in Holy Fire. That would hold them back for a time, enough hopefully to deal with the sharpshooters, she turned and raised her shield and felt another bullet strike her shield. It left a sizeable dent in it, what could have made such a sizeable dent in her shield? This shield was reinforced with Truesilver and magical enchantments, along with the fact it was made from Arcanite, Dark Iron shouldn't be able to pierce through it. So, what were they using?

Turning she saw Othello drop to a knee, a hole could be seen in his armour, he had been shot through the shoulder. Looking up, she saw two more up on the balcony, looks like her people had taken some of them out.

"Mathew! Focus on those shooters!" Tyresa barked, before turning to her allies. "Take them out!"

S he raised her shield and bathed it in Holy energy, and with a swing she discarded the energy as a discus towards the shooter. It smashed him in the chest and threw him back, it may not have killed him outright, but it was good enough just to take him out of play. The one next to him fell shortly after, a barrage of arcane missiles smashed into his position and sent him flying away.

Tyresa turned and then cried out in agony as something smashed into her shoulder, her sword dropped from her hand as she reached for her shoulder. A bullet had hit her head on, clear in and out, she pushed as much holy energy as she could into the wound. It needed to be sealed, the pain was already disappearing, all that was left was to close it and get back into the fight. With a grunt she lifted her shield, fight back a curse as her wound flared, she moved forward and covered the still wounded Othello.

Another shot hit her shield, this time she could see the bullet protruding from the metal, it was a larger caliber than she usually saw. Long as her finger and just as thick, meant to go through armour considering how it went through her shield without much effort.

"Finish them!" Tyresa barked, glancing over her shield to see three more still up there taking shots at them.

She raised her empty hand away from her shoulder, holding onto what holy energy remained and formed it into a hammer. With a roar she threw it with all her might and struck one of the shooters, he fell back dead with his head likely caved in. The shooters turned to face her, she reacted quickly and crouched down to cover herself, Mathew followed her lead and they both covered Othello.

Another shot impacted her shield, this time the metal cracked noticeably, it wasn't going to survive another hit. Only question was if that next hit also decided to take her with it, not that she was going to give them a chance. She discarded her shield and thrust her hand forward, releasing an unformed mass of Holy energy that knocked the two back. They staggered and that gave the rest of her forces to exploit and opening, a shot rang out and a head blew apart, then another barrage of arcane energy came and the last shooter fell.

"Regroup!" Tyresa barked, turning and reclaiming her sword and quickly discarding her shield, it wouldn't help her now.

Turning she noted that three more men were down, only herself, Othello, Mathew, Trenton and Maelin remained alive. Only the five of them were left and they still had to fight through the two dozen enemies on the other side. Luckily they were kept back by the Holy flames, which would last only for a few minutes longer.

"Everyone ready?" Tyresa asked, knowing that they had to push through.

"Got a plan?" Mathew asked.

"Yeah, but first let's soften them up." Tyresa said, raising her free hand and summoning a Hammer made of Holy energy in her hand.

Othello and Mathew followed her example, forming weapons of their own, while Maelin loaded his rifle and Trenton prepared to unleash a spell.

"Can you unleash a barrage across the area ahead of us?" Tyresa asked, looking to the mage.

"Yes." He said, gathering as much arcane energy as he could, and a few moment later he unleashed a barrage of arcane missiles through the Holy Flame and into the ranks of Dark Iron beyond.

She heard the screams of shock and pain as the barrage tore through whoever was on the other side, as that happened she raised her hand and with a wave she pushed the walls of flame forward. They washed over the enemies ahead of them, the flame wouldn't do anything too damaging but they would at least daze the already disorganised force ahead of them. Holy magic can burn you, but not as intense or painfully as actual fire, its energies worked differently and mostly acted as fire and caused a burning sensation rather than actually burning you.

Unless you were undead or a wielder of shadow magic.

As the wave washed over the threat and moved ahead she threw her hammer forward, striking the nearest warrior and knocking him down. Her fellow Paladins did the same, knocking away the bigger threats, Maelin fired a shot and watched as the bullet exploded into the chest of a Dark Iron guard. They all fell down, but they didn't stay down, to her surprise the ones they had targeted were all getting back up, none worse for wear.

"What in the nether are they wearing?" Trenton said, surprised that not a single one of the guards was dead.

"Keep hitting them until they stop getting up." Tyresa said, rushing forward and taking a swing.

The Dwarf blocked with his sword, she noted that the weapon had the same sheen to it like his armour, she followed up by swinging her other hand around and forming a hammer. It slammed it upside his head, throwing him aside, she turned and threw the weapon at a charging dwarf and knocked him flat on his back. Moving over she tried to stab him in the jugular, but he raised both arms and shielded his head, her weapon scraped across the surface of his bracers and jabbed into the floor.

With no other choice she stepped forward and slammed her boot into his head a few times just to make sure he didn't get up, but even then her attacks didn't seem to deform his helmet. Out of the corner of her eye she saw another coming towards her, twisting on her heels and bathed her blade in holy energy, taking a swing at the next enemy. He raised his battle-axe as her sword collided with it, the holy energies exploded against the Dark Iron Dwarf, but he held his ground despite the use of holy magic enhancing her weapon.

'What is this metal?' Tyresa thought worryingly, only enchanted items could hope to stand up against her blade.

With a grunt she punched the Dwarf in the face, he staggered back, and she winced as her own gauntlet deformed from the strike rather than his helm. She bit back a curse and then swung again and struck the dwarf in the chest, he was knocked back but her blade did not pass through him. This wasn't going to work, the best they could do was knock them down, they would just get back up unless the killed them with a lucky strike.

"You killed all my Senators!" Emperor Thaurissan bellowed, stepping down from his throne as his two guards stepped up beside him. "Doing away with them was kind of you, but there will be no mercy for any who intrude upon my Kingdom!"

Tyresa summoned a hammer and threw it towards the shooter, he was knocked away, then she jabbed her sword forward and released its energy towards the second shooter before he could fire at her. With them both down she had a chance to kill Thaurissan, he was alone and defenceless.

"Hold them off!" Tyresa yelled, charging in to kill the man.

He blocked with a hammer, she continued to duel with the tyrant as the battle raged on around her. She was able to land a lucky strike against his shoulder, which she made worse by ripping her blade free. He fell to his knees and yelled in frustration and pain, she prepared to deliver the final strike. Before she could she was overwhelmed by pain, her grip on her weapon slackening as she stumbled back, turning she saw Moira Bronzebeard has cast a spell upon her. Every nerve in her body flared painfully and she was paralysed by the agony, all the while she could only wonder why the Princess had done that.

Fortunately her suffering lessened a moment later, but the lingering trauma left her staggering in place, as Moira had shifted her attention towards Dagran and began to heal him. His wound was closing quickly, the holy magic Moira was employing repairing the damage, it wouldn't take long for Dagran to get back on his feet.

"What are you… doing?" Tyresa rasped, trying to fight off the pain and gather her own holy power to fight off this spell.

"I will not let you harm him!" Moira yelled.

Was she being mind controlled? That might explain a few things. Looks like she would have to kill him while also defending against Moira, Tyresa knew she had to be careful otherwise she might harm the princess. With that in mind she countered the spell she was under with a burst of Holy energy, the pain vanished, she felt relief course through her being as she turned towards the two adversaries.

Gathering another swath of energy she threw it forward and knocked back Moira Bronzebeard, she was thrown off her feet and send rolling aside. Reaching down Tyresa reclaimed her sword and charged the mad emperor, her attempt to impale him failed as he knocked aside her blade with his hammer.

Backing away quickly as he swung back at her she collided with someone, turning she only had time to notice it was a Dark Iron warrior before an axe bit into her side. Biting back a curse she seized the dwarf's helm, ripped it off, and then decapitated her attacker. Her free hand went to her wound she tried to heal it, all the while preparing herself as another came rushing towards her.

She knocked him back with a burst of holy energy, engaging them in a prolonged fight wasn't going to work, she had her hands full with Dagran and Moira. Speaking of which, she turned around sharply to face the Emperor, the moment she looked she was struck in the head by a hammer.

Tyresa fell to the ground, her vision swimming as the world around her blurred and all sounded became muted, rolling onto her back she looked to see Thaurissan looming above her. He glared down at her, a mixture of hate and glee reflective in burning eyes, with a vicious smirk just noticeable behind his black beard he raised his hammer. Tyresa could do nothing but watch as the man prepared to end her life, even in such a delirious state she couldn't help but feel that this should have been different.

Her end however was put on hold as a barrage of arcane missiles collided with Dagran Thaurissan and knocked him back.

He stumbled away from the attack and then raised a barrier of fire, warding off the arcane bolts that exploded around him. Tyresa turned and saw Trenton unleashing the barrage, his entire focus on the emperor, until he was struck in the back with an axe. He fell to the ground, letting out a short scream of pain before going silent, he was dead for certain. Looking around they weren't doing well, Othello was down as well, all that was left was Maelin and Mathew who were standing together and trying to hold the enemy off.

"Dammit…" Tyresa growled, pulling herself up and turning towards Thaurissan, who had dismissed his shield and was charging in to finish her.

She summoned a hammer and tossed it at him, he swung with his own weapon to deflect it and staggered back a step. Shaking off the dizziness Tyresa took up her sword and prepared to finish her duel with Dagran, he charged in roaring loud, she blocked his strike and threw him off her blade. Attacking her strike was blocked, holding her back but unable to break the lock, she pushed down hard and tried to break through his guard.

"We are leaving here with her, and we will take you down!" Tyresa growled.

"Hah! I have been given a great boon by the Firelord, I am the envoy to Ragnaros himself, his gifts have seen to our prominence and soon we will wash over the other clans and your city!" He barked.

Ragnaros? What the hell was he talking about? Did he think that the Elemental Lord was still here?

"Your Firelord isn't here!" Tyresa barked, pushing him back and swinging again.

Then she noticed Moira rushing over and releasing a shadow spell, Tyresa raised her hand and created a barrier against the attack. Not a moment later she was joined by the troll, who also supported her with dark magic, leaving her at a disadvantage. Thaurissan pushed her back and took a swing, she staggered away and put some distance between her and the emperor.

The battle continued from there, a dance between herself with three enemies before her, she struggled to defend herself while also trying to defeat Thaurissan while evading every strike sent her way by the troll and Moira. It continued on for a few minutes before she noted something changed, glancing towards Moira she saw that the troll had seized her and was holding her back.

"Release me you damn beast!" Moira howled, trying to break free.

Not certain as to what caused this Tyresa took the chance and attacked with everything she had.

She summoned a hammer in hand and attacked Thaurrisan, who could only raise his own hammer in defence, it was knocked from his hand with an explosion of force leaving him stumbling on his feet. Tyresa seized the chance to leap forward and impale him, her blade went right through his chest, he let out a startled cry as he tried to pull himself free from the weapon. She then pulled out her combat knife in her boot and then buried it into his throat for good measure.

His eyes widened and for a moment he was frozen in shock, before the fire in his eyes faded, and his body went limp on her sword. With that she had killed Emperor Degran Thaurissan, which seemed to calm things for a moment, looking around she found that she was the only one left. Maelin and Mathew had fallen a few moments ago, both had been hacked into and left bloody and broken, she was the only one left to get Moira out of here.

Pushing the dead Emperor off her weapon she turned back to the Princess, who had gone slack in the trolls hands. Said creature frowned in irritation before quickly releasing Moira and stepping away, his eyes were narrowed but made no move to try and impede her.

"Moira… I need you to get up… I need you to come with me." Tyresa said, slowly approaching the dazed princess who kneeled in a catatonic state.

But to Tyresa's surprise as Moira shot up and rushed forward, pushing past the Paladin and towards the dead emperor, and with a wallowing cry she fell over his corpse. Tyresa tried to grab for her but failed, having her grip broken as the Princess thrashed against her, all the while trying to heal the wounds that had been dealt. To no avail, for her power was not strong enough to raise the dead, and after a few moments she let out another wail of despair.

"Moira, we need to go, right now." Tyresa said, looking at the many Dark Iron soldiers that remained, about eight were still standing but that was more than enough to end her.

"Why… why did you kill him?" Moira cried out, cradling the body of her captor.

"Listen, you have been manipulated, mind controlled, he kidnapped you." Tyresa tried to explain.

The guards were closing in, she needed to get Moira out of here now, every second she wasted her was another that would see them both dead.

"I loved him… he loved me, he was the only one that cared about what I wanted, he was honourable and cared for his people, and you took him from me!" Moira cried out. "My husband… the father of my unborn child…"

Tyresa didn't like what she was hearing, this wasn't good, she was carrying the child of her father's greatest enemy, and it looks like she was still under the effects of whatever manipulation that was controlling her. Tyresa turned when she heard footsteps, the troll looking out over the carnage that had ensnared the chamber, he turned and glared at her.

"Dis be wrong… you came wit' too few." The troll growled. "D'ere should be more… why is he not 'ere? Everythin' be wrong…Dey say it be so… Why dey tell me to change it?"

Tyresa didn't pay attention to his babbling, she had to get Moira out of here, reaching for the Princess she was unable to reach her. Turning she saw the Princess was standing up and glaring at her, tears in her eyes, a vicious grimace marring her features.

"Run back to Stormwind…" Moira said, rage shining in her eyes as the tears flowed. "Go and tell my father that his unborn grandchild will be the next heir to his throne, that it will be a Dark Iron that rules Ironforge when he passes!"

Tyresa knew she had no hope of getting her out of here, if she was going to resist there was no way she could hope to drag her out and away while being persuaded by these dwarves. Seeing no other choice she had to flee, she turned and rushed forward and leaped into the air, summoning a large hammer in her hands and slamming it down into the ground. The wave of force knocked aside several enemies around her and gave her path to escape, she batted aside anyone who got close but she was able to flee from the chamber.

"This is worse than I thought." Tyresa spoke aloud, running down the long hallway and back into the chamber.

She came across Derrick, standing guard alongside a mostly healed Nathanial and Urgran, they looked at her and she ushered them to her.

"Where is Moira?" Nathanial asked.

"She's not coming, we have to flee, we got enemies in pursuit." Tyresa said, rushing towards their forces and finding them recovering from the engagement.

The battle looks to have ended only recently, they had fortunate only taken a few casualties, they were already healing up their wounded. They wouldn't have time to prepare for an assault, even if they healed up and set up a barrier they wouldn't get out of this quickly and with minimal bloodshed.

"Olaf! Get the men up! We are leaving!" Tyresa yelled, they had to escape the city, there was no way they could remain here.

"What happened?" Olaf called out, but she didn't answer.

"No time! Get to the gate, we need to get back to the Garrison! We need to run!" Tyresa said, moving for the entrance and gathering her forces together. "Open the door, we are leaving!"

They did as instructed, as they did several Dark Iron soldiers charge in, they were dealt with quickly with a barrage of gunfire and some quick blade work from their forces. She turned back towards the entrance to the throne room, she noticed a dozen figures coming their way, she didn't want to risk a confrontation, it would just delay them.

"We run! No stopping! We go back the the way we came and get out of here through the Garrison, understood?" She barked.

"Yes Commander!" They chorused, she nodded and rushed out of the chamber and into the crypt where the dead Sorcerers of old were entombed.

Several city defenders waited for them, they killed them as they came close, she slashed and hacked her way forward and didn't stop to look back. They didn't have time to stop and engage everyone they came across, proven when she noticed down in the city hundreds of warriors charging in their direction.

"Move! Move!" Tyresa yelled, cutting her way down the stairs and to the city.

Her forces joined her a few moments later and then she noticed the movement of the enemy, towards the path they had taken to reach here she noticed dozens of golems. Too many to get through safely, along with the army that was bearing down on their position it was obvious they would be fight to the death if they didn't find an exit.

"What do we do?" Anthion asked, looking nervous as the enemy forces drew closer.

"We keep running." Tyresa said, looking for a possible way to escape.

But where in the nether do they go? There was no way they could fight their way through the cities entire army, if they went back they would trapped in the Imperial Palace with no way out and with an enemy all around them. They had to run, there was no choice, but they couldn't fight or go back the way they came.

They were trapped.

She didn't know what to do.

"Hey! There's the passageway down here!"

Tyresa turned to man, who was pointing to a large doorway located between the two stairs leading up to the Imperial Palace. It was made of Dark Iron, ornate and well designed, and she knew exactly where it led. It was the entrance to the Molten Core, the place she had been fortunate to have avoided, but now it might be their only hope of escape.

Looking back at the approaching army, hundreds of Dwarves were charging their way, they were reinforced with elementals and golems. They didn't stand a chance against a force that large, there wasn't a choice anymore, they had only one way to go.

"Everyone through that door!" Tyresa barked, pointing to the doorway. "Marksmen! Mages! Throw as much as you can at the enemy, keep them back!"

Rushing forward with what men were able they braced themselves against the doorway, they pushed against its frame and slowly forced it open. It had taken several seconds to open it enough to pass through, those seconds felt horrifically long, what was worse was the time it took for everyone to squeeze through.

"Let's go! Get inside!" Tyresa yelled, ordering the force to fall back, ushering everyone inside.

As the last one went through she squeezed between the doors, as she stepped into the dark tunnel she took aside a mage.

"Freeze the door shut behind us."

He nodded and began encasing the doorframe in ice, it wouldn't stop an Elemental for long, every second counted at this point.

With their rear covered she followed her forced down the dim tunnel, moving through a long hallway lined with intricate statues of warriors and elementals. It was a tense few minutes for them, the hall was long and sound carried very well, they could hear the dwarves behind shouting and cursing. At least they would know when they were coming, their shouting would be louder.

Eventually they came to a large cavern that was filled with lava and flames, across a large stone bridge was an imposing door similar to the one they had seen on the Highway outside the city. That had to be the entrance to the Core, their last hope to escape from Shadowforge City, as unlikely as it sounded this was their only chance of survival.

But there was a threat ahead of them, two fire elementals that were guarding the entrance.

"Of all the things to be in our way." Tyresa growled, preparing to engage them. "Mages! Open up with a barrage!"

The half score of mages they had left unleashed their full power against the elementals, barraging them with ice and frost that countered their fiery essence. The spirits of fire resisted as best they could, yet they still buckled under the barrage, but Tyresa knew that the only way to banish them was to destroy their bracers.

She bathed herself in a protective aura, it should protect her from the heat long enough to destroy the bracers, beside her half a dozen fellow paladins joined in her charge. Tyresa held back as the creature swiped at them, she held back her fellow Paladins, saving herself and them from being tossed off the bridge. She could not say the same for the others, one man was knocked off the bridge and into the lava below. Raising her sword and bathing it in holy energy she swung down onto the bracer, the metal cracked under the strike but did not break. Leaping away she allowed the spirit to take another swipe at them, but this time it didn't expose itself, it wasn't stupid and knew that if she got another strike in it would be banished to the Elemental Planes.

Luckily the opportunity presented itself when another barrage of ice slammed into the elemental, allowing her to come forward and strike at its bracer. It cracked further, with one of her comrades coming in to damage the other one, she leapt away and prepared for her next strike. But she was not fast enough and was knocked away, she hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop several feet away. Looking up her comrades rushed in to try and take down the creature, but their strikes missed their mark and it cost them.

One was knocked aside and near fell off the bridge, while the other was enveloped by the elemental as it wrapped its arms around him. He screamed as he was set alight and began to burn, even his protective aura was failing to save him from the intense heat of the elemental. Tyresa jumped to her feet and charged the elemental, bathing her weapon in light and slamming it down on the bracers as it smothered her comrade.

Her weapon clashed with the brass bands with a thundering boom, and she watched as they shattered, the elemental roared as it reared back and let go of the burnt corpse. Tyresa gave it a glance, knowing there was no saving him, before focusing on the elemental and releasing a burst of Holy Light that blew it apart.

Turning she saw her allies faltering against the last elemental, charging forward she gathered her power once more and struck at the bracer as the spirit reared back its arm. She then moved forward again and slammed down her blade on top of the other bracer, shattering it and dazing the creature. A barrage of spells collided with the elemental, keeping it suppressed, a shot rang out and exploded against its last bracer, shattering it.

The elemental tried to retain its form, but the combined efforts of the two paladins beside her were able to dispel it without any effort. With them defeated she began to usher the forces forward, they had to get beyond the gate and into the core.

"Hold the bridge!" Tyresa called out, before turning towards the gateway, similar in size as the one in the highway. "Get that gate open!"

"If we open the gate we won't be able to close it, they will follow." Anthion said, already directing his men forward while Orin began mustering his King's Guard to the defence.

She thought for a moment, quickly deciding on the next course of action, although she had no idea if any of the Paladins had the strength left to do it. If they could pool their power they might be able to bring down the bridge.

"I need all Paladins and priests by my side!" Tyresa called out, gathering about twenty to her and laid out the plan. "We care going to create a Hammer of Judgement! As large as we can and drop it on this Bridge."

"Why not use the mages?" A Paladin called out.

"We are going to need them for the Core, if it is as hot as I felt back on the Highway then we are going to need them to keep us from being cooked alive." Tyresa shot back, flexing her hand and trying to summon up the Light, it flickered for a moment but it came none the less.

She had been using it heavily these last few hours, healing, attacking, and defending herself, but there was a limit to what someone could do to channel this power. It took patience and effort to call forth the Light, she had mastered calling it forth with only some effort, but even then this was something she never done to such a degree before.

"Together now." Tyresa said, raising her hand and holding it in front of her with her palm facing upwards. "Nos autem in luce. Nos autem eques auratus protectotshorum Regna. Nos autem in scutis, quae defendere infirma."

Their power began to rise as they began their chant, the vows of the Silver Hand were known to all Paladins, it was often used as a prayer in indication when joining the Order. It was a good way for them to maintain a similar sense of purpose as they channeled the light.

"Nos autem in lucem. Nos sunt Paragons iustitiae pro populo. Verba nostra non sit falsum, aequum iudicium erit."

She heard the gunfire nearby, the enemy had reached them, they would have to hold on for as long as possible.

"Nos autem in lucem. Nos autem Malleus in otio hostibus nostris. Qui volunt nocere innocentem faciem iram."

Shouting reached her ears, they had engaged in melee, it wouldn't be much longer now, she could feel the radiance overwhelm the room. The intense heat was replaced by a warm radiance that held back the fiery aura around them.

"Nos autem in lucem. Nos sunt naves maxime Sancti, et ambulamus in virtutibus iter, et ducibus omnes qui volunt participes in gratia."

Her eyes flew open as she looked up at the ethereal hammer high above them, radiant and looking as if it was composed of crystal rather than light. She looked to the fighting in the distance, they were holding, but the enemy was starting to get more numerous.

"Nos autem in lucem. Nos autem apostoli de misericordia. Misericordiae et tenentium erit gratissimum."

The hammer glowed brightly, it was nearly complete, just a little more power and it would be ready to bring down onto the bridge. Tyresa stepped forward and past her brothers and sisters, gathering some power to try and cover their retreat.

"Nos autem in lucem. Nos milites de manu argenteum hoc pignus: fides nostra non remanebit. Numquam vota nostra contrita. Numquam honore."

She felt a wave of force from the ethereal hammer, it was ready and pulsing with power, good.

"Retreat back to the door!" Tyresa ordered, throwing her hands forward and summoning up a barrier across the bridge.

It wouldn't last long, but they only needed a minute or two for everyone to retreat to the entrance. The King's Guard started running, while the Dark Iron remained trapped on the other side of the barrier, she only had to hold out for a few more seconds.

"I'll bring down the hammer! Just get that door open!" Tyresa barked, as her forces retreated towards the door.

She heard the the clanking of gears as they discovered the mechanism to open it, that was good they only needed a minute or so before it was open. Her barrier was not going to last that long, but that didn't matter, all she needed to do was turn and run back to them and bring down the hammer. And after she reached her limit she turned and fled back down the bridge, raising a hand up towards the pulsing holy hammer calling to it and trying to direct it downwards.

As she passed under it the weapon began to descent, not as quickly as a massive object it itself should, but if she was not quick she was certain she would be caught up in the collapse. Rushing to the door she heard bullets and magic missiles wizzed past her as her allies fired onto the oncoming enemies.

Just as she reached the door she heard a magnificent boom behind her, propelling her forward and into the hard silver surface of the door. The force of the detonation kept her pressed against its surface for a few seconds before it let up, as it let up she slid to the ground and looked to see the fruits of their labour.

The bridge was gone, any who was on it is likely just as pulverised, and with that they were safe for the time being. Pulling herself up slowly she looked at their handiwork and was glad that they were given this small reprieve, just as this happened she felt the door behind her move.

Stepping away from it she watched as the massive thing moved inwards, a gap forming and allowing the hot air within free, the scorching air that hit her face made her eyes water and lips crack. Even as she quickly summoned up an aura to protect herself, but even then it did little to repel the heat. Her comrades beside her reacted very much the same, shielding their faces and even screaming as the heat hit them.

"Inside." Tyresa ordered calmly, taking the first step into the Core.

They entered with a few protests, many were complaining about the heat, the mages already at work trying to keep them all cool so they didn't die from the heat. It was going to be difficult going through here, not just because of the heat, she suspected that this place was more than just an old cavern that still bore the mark of the Firelord's summoning.

If what Thaurissan said was even the little bit truthful than there was a chance Ragnaros still played a role in their society. Which she didn't doubt given the amount of elementals that had appeared here, in service to the Dwarves no less, that wasn't something she could play off. Her only guess was that the Dark Iron had enslaved those elementals to their cause, something not unheard of considering some mages can do the same.

But she had a horrible feeling that the Molten Core might be home to something worse then mere elemental spirits, she had the feeling that the Firelord himself was down there. It was a gnawing feeling that made her dread coming down here, but there was no going back now, this was their only way out.

"How are we suppose to find our way out of here?" Anthion asked, his lips looked dry and cracked already, she also noticed the sweat on his face was evaporating.

"Galen…" Tyresa said, but quietly hoped that Ichigo was still down here. "We find Galen and Ichigo."

If anyone could survive in a place like this it would be Ichigo, he was their best bet of getting out of here alive and in one piece now. She just hoped they found him before something else did.

Latin Prayer translated into English.

We are one in the Light. We are the Knightly Protectors of these Kingdoms. We are their shields that defend the weak.

We are one in the light. We are the Paragons of Justice for the people. Our words shall not be false, our judgement will be fair.

We are one in the light. We are the Hammer of Retribution against our enemies. Those who wish harm on the innocent shall face our wrath.

We are one in the light. We are the Vessels of the most Holy, we walk a virtuous path and guides all who wish to share in its grace.

We are one in the light. We are the apostles of Compassion. Mercy and kindness shall be our tenants, and all are welcome to it.

We are one in the light. We Knights of the Silver Hand make this pledge: Our faith shall never waver. Our vows will never be broken. Our honour never forsaken.

Hope you like the chapters, let me know what you think. I know that there is no Ichigo in this chapter and that might be disappointing but this is an important section for the story and delves more into the narrative. What happens here is important.