Alright all, Enjoy
They sat still for a few moments longer then needed. He didn't fight him on this. Kal had spent a lot of time around kids in his time and he knew that this one, Anduin, needed him now. Not even him, just anyone really. He's been through a lot, and he just needed to get over the shock of it all, he's been kidnapped, not treated the best and nearly killed. Even grown men have been beaten by that, never mind a kid who seems to be around eleven or twelve. The hill they were on that overlooked the marshes stayed the same, save for a couple of gusts of wind that blew by, the sun was still high in the sky and it wouldn't start to set for a good couple of hours.
The head on his shoulder started to shift slightly and he looked down at him to see that he was starting to compose himself. Moving his arm that was wrapped around him, the prince gave one last sniff before he pulled away completely. They continued to sit for a moment as they looked out over the landscape "Who are you?" he asked as his head turned to look at Kal.
The alien looked back and gave him a small smile "my names Kal, your father sent me to get you back. Though I think it would be best that I make sure something like this can't happen again" he added as he looked back onto the marshes.
While he could admit, it was good looking in its own way. He wasn't really looking at the landscape but more so what was inside of it. Right now, he could see the large black dragon was raging all around her... cavern? Lair? He didn't really know. But he also knew that something like that would need to be dealt with soon, he's never fought a dragon before and he wasn't happy with the idea of what that would be like but he did know that he couldn't let a creature like that just roam free, Rao only knows what would happen then, no matter how smart and capable of thought she seemed to be.
"No, I mean. What are you? How did you do that? How did you find me? What kind of magic is this?" the questions the prince gave him were in the rapid excited tone that only a smaller kid could do and get away with.
He let out a small chuckle at them "well, were to begin" he started as he looked away from the black dragon so far in the distance that only he could see them "My people are called Kryptonians, I did what I did with the powers that I have, I found you using what your father and his advisors told me as well as my own skills, plus it wasn't hard" he let out a chuckle "I mean the entrance to that place is a giant dragon head cut out of a stone so... you know. And it's not magic, it's a mix of science and biology. Very little magic is involved with me" he said answering every question that was asked. As Anduin opened his mouth again, a loud bang could him off and he looked in the direction it came from. While he couldn't see anything, Kal could. His eyes narrowed as he saw that the large dragon was now in a rage and was starting to tunnel her way out of her home, destroying the rock and everything else that got in her way and she just then smashed the large entrance and was now taking off, flying above the wetland.
When she started flying, he could hear Anduin's heart picking up and he started to shuffle closer to him "she has to be stopped, the kingdom was thrown into turmoil because of her" he listened to every word that was being said "she almost turned everything upside down without turning into what she really was, with simple manipulation. She can't be allowed to escape or she will simply do it again" there was a firmness to his voice that Kal found himself respecting, it reminded him of himself when he was younger. He would bet that if he could, the prince would try and stop her himself, despite the fear he was feeling.
"She won't" he said back as he stood up and starred at his target for another moment, then he turned to look at Anduin was he found was standing up with him. He smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder "I need you to stay here for me, I'll go deal with her then I'll come back and take you back home. Ok?" he asked. He looked like he wanted to fight him on it but he didn't say anything back to him, he looked down and nodded "good man" he said back before he let go and started to fly into the air, then he turned around and launched himself forward. The force of the wind he created was enough to knock Anduin on his back but despite the shock of it all, he found himself smiling at it.
He flew through the air at great speed, something he only does when he's in a real rush. Which he is now, if he let this admittedly big dragon go somewhere else then who knows how much damage she could cause as he tries to bring it down. Well, he says try but he knew he will. When he first attacked her, he knew how much strength he would need to bring her down. So he waited for a few moments, just until she was on the coast between the marshes and the sea. That was when he attacked.
But there was a problem, she was fast. Magic was definitely involved with her, no doubt about that but the way she flew made no sense. With how fast she was flying her wings would have had to have been flapping as much as a bees would be when they flew, that was not the case with her. As he looked, her large wings beat every few seconds but the speed in which she was flying was way more than it should be. It almost caused Kal to miss his chance of an attack. Almost.
Just before she could begin to fly over the ocean, he dive bombed her from above. His hands clasped together, and he slammed them into the snout of the dragon's nose. The force of the blow was enough to create a small shock wave. The large body of Onxyia coming to a sudden stop at the speed she was flying caused her body to start to flip over Kal who continued to move downwards, he could feel the powerfully magical bones crunch under the force of his attack and the black dragon let out a bellow of pain and anger.
As the large body started to fall to the ground, Kal flew after it but it seemed that she wasn't out of the fight yet as before he could react, the large, spiked tail smashed into him and the magical scales of the beast caused him to become dazed for a moment and the two fell to the ground. Though neither were completely knocked out as they both landed on their legs, causing the ground to shake as they did so. Though it was clear that was due to the large form of the dragon and not the man-sized Kal.
There was a good distance between them as they quickly gathered themselves and looked to each other. That sand crunching underneath their weight and the sea ignoring them as it always had. The dragon rose to her full height causing Kal to look up in order to maintain eye contact "before I kill you" she snarled at him "I would have your name"
He was so amazed that she could speak so clearly despite having the completely wrong mouth for it "my name is Kal-El" he said reaching behind his back and pulling the trident free. Holding it firmly, he placed the tip of the spear into the ground next to him "you tried to kill I kid" he said with a firm tone.
"I have flown the skies of this world for fifth-teen thousand years" she said to him as her large form began to move and wanting to keep a distance between them, Kal did the same and they found themselves circling each other on the coast "I killed so many of them that I couldn't tell you the number, as if age truly matters" she said to him.
Kal felt his eyes narrow even more as he heard this, for a moment he didn't even care to hear how old she was, though he would admit that it was impressive "So... what? You think just because you're old you have the right to do as you please?" he asked.
She snarled at the question "I know that once you kill enough of those little mortal ants, you truly begin to understand just how inconsequential they truly are. But this conversation as begun to annoy me" her chest began to glow with an orange Laver colour "Now tell me 'Hero of Silithus' how do you choose to die?" she spoke, quickly moving forward with her mouth open as if to eat him.
Not that Kal took that laying down, he acted quickly but he didn't retreat. Instead, he moved forward to meet her, Rising the trident into the air. He caught the prongs at the top of her mouth and used his left hand to hold the bottom one in place. The magical heat coming from her mouth was hotter than he would have thought and he knew it was going to get deadly. So, he acted quickly, taking in a deep breath of air. He blew right into the dragon's mouth and just at the back of her throat, fire met frost.
The black dragon was clearly not happy with what was happening and so began to move further. As Kal held her mouth open, her entire body began to move and he found himself raised into the air as he continued to fight her breath with his own. Onyxia stood on her hind legs and slammed her mouth right into the ground, not that it effected Kal much. What did however was the magical energies coming from the dragon that seemed to be weakening him. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to stay in this place for much longer, he found a way out.
As the trident held the top of her mouth in place and his hand did the same with the bottom, he quickly reached out with his hand and instead of holding her scaled lip in place, he reached out and grabbed one of her teeth. Using his great strength, his fingers began to dig into the tooth and with a great yank, he pulled it free, snapping it in half.
As he did so, Onyxia let out a loud bellow which stopped her fire attack, giving Kal the chance quickly back away from the large mouth, taking the trident with him. The large creature jumped, moved and slammed her feet into the ground as the pain of a tooth being pulled out affected her. Looking to his left hand, he quickly examined the large K9 before tossing it to the ground. He flew forward at great speed and went past the large body, spinning between her legs, until he reached the tail.
Grabbing one of the larger spikes that was imbedded within the tail, he used his strength and flying skill to quickly pull the dragon upwards and she was so surprised by what was happening she momentarily forgot about the pain in her mouth, though it didn't help her by much. Kal didn't take her too high, just high enough to do some damage. With some effort from him to overcome the magical energy around him due to the dragon, he was able to spin her over his head and slam her into the ground with a large thud.
She didn't stay down for long however, even though she landed on her back, she quickly began to turn around and get back on her feet. Not that he would allow that, he wanted to end this fight as soon as he could. Flipping the trident in the air he placed his free hand out in an aiming motion, and he threw the golden weapon with a strong throw. The trident moved quickly, so quickly in fact that only powerful eyes such as his and others could see. And it found its target.
The stem that attached the wing to the body, it broke right through the scales and bone. The large left wing fell to the ground and the trident imbedded itself into the scales just next to where the stem used to be. The scream of pain that came from the dragon was unmatched by all that came before, it was so loud that the nearby trees nearly fell over and Kal himself had to wince at the noise. But he wouldn't allow himself to feel bad for this creature, not after all that it had just said. As the dragon thrashed around in pain and its remaining free wing started to beat as if she was about to fly but even with the magic she possessed, it seemed that she was now unable too.
Knowing that he now had a chance to end it all, he turned his body and began to fly down. Pulling his hand back he started to vibrate it to give that little more power and when he neared his target, he struck the centre of the dragons head and with his fist connected a loud shockwave occurred. The screaming stopped and Onyxia dropped to the ground, far too dazed to remain standing. Knowing that he shouldn't wait, Kal flew to his trident and yanked it free causing the dragon the grunt in pain.
He flew back to her head and reached for his waist, freeing the lasso of truth from its holder, just as the dragon started to recover from the not only the head trauma but the pain as well. A bright golden lasso was thrown around her neck and a great force pulled her head to the ground with yet another large thud.
Kal looked into the silted fiery eyes of the dragon as they looked right at him and narrowed "Yield!" he shouted at her as he held the lasso with one hand and pointed the trident with the other. He growled at him at started to lift her head up, before she could however, Kal gave the lasso another tug and her head fell back down to the sand and he dug the sharp points of the trident just shy of her eye causing her to hiss in pain "I will not ask again"
She remained still for a moment, quite and the eye blinked at him once before the entire body of the dragon started to crackle and fade away as if it was made of red embers. Kal found himself tempted to end her here and now just in case this was another trap but stopped himself as he saw that the lasso was still attached to something.
His eyes narrowed as he saw what just happened, the large form of the black dragon gave way to that of a human woman smaller than he himself. She was well made robes, had long black her and brown eyes. Though she looked at him with a great deal of rage, he did not let that get in his way, he tightened the lasso and pressed the prongs of the trident right under her neck "you think this will hold me?" she snarled at him, the trident seeming to be the only thing keeping her from leaping at him and trying to claw his eyes out.
He took a step towards her "I know it will" he said back with a cold voice "turn. Around" he ordered and the lasso glowed even more under the order, she tried to resist him but it seemed she was unable to go against him. When she did, he imbedded the trident into the ground and pulled her hands together. Using more of the lasso's rope, he tied her hands together.
Now being held by her hands as well as her neck, he flew up into the sky and brought her with him. She flew under him like a real-life pinata "where are you taking me?!" she shouted at him.
"Somewhere you can pay for your crimes" he said back as he began to pick up his speed.
One hour, that was how it was since he left the prince. Thankfully it seemed he was able to listen to him and didn't move from that one spot. When he did see Kal again, he let up with a smile and asked what happened. He simply told him that the threat had been dealt with and he didn't need to worry about the dragon again.
Then came the second matter, making sure he got home safely, and he knew what the best way to do that was. Which is what led them to where they were now. The prince was laughing loudly as he sat on Kal's back, the alien taking a moment every few minutes to remined him to hang on as he flew them back to Stormwind but he couldn't blame the kid. Flying really was a fun thing and it was something that he would admit, could get a bit boring at times. Having someone around you who doesn't know what it's like, especially a kid can have the habit of bringing a smile onto your face. Which may also have led to a handful of flips and tricks, flying close to the water, above and through the clouds. Which he would admit, he was happy as Anduin seemed to love it.
As Kal saw the city of Stormwind coming closer, he started to get closer to the ground and based on the way the prince lowered his arms that he had been holding out like he was pretending he was a bird. He placed both his hands on Kal's shoulders in order to steady himself as he leaned forward to get a better look. Much like last time, he flew over the city and made his way towards the palace.
There were many guards standing ready when they landed and when Kal's feet hit the ground, much more gently than he did last time. Many of them reached for their weapons, however when Anduin jumped down from his back. All of them quickly moved forward towards them.
"The prince"
"Alert the king"
"Drop your weapons"
There were many different voices all shouting at once and as the squad of troops got closer to them, one tried to place a hand on the princes back and pull him away from Kal but Anduin shook himself free from the grasp and instead took a step closer towards Kal, practically hugging his side. He didn't fight Anduin on it and thought it would send a better message, as the circle of guards seemed ready to draw their weapons, a loud voice interrupted them "ANDUIN!"
The circle of guards immediately parted and they both looked forward to seeing the king rushing forward towards them "Father!" he shouted back as he didn't think twice before leaving Kal's side and rushing forward. The king dropped to one knee and wrapped his arms around his son. Just behind him, he could see that Bolvar and Valeera standing behind them, smiling brightly as they looked down to the prince. Though when they looked up at him they both gave him a nod in thanks for what he did.
It took a good ten minutes for the king to let go of his son and usher him inside, telling his guard to stand down as he did so. The group all walked into the palace together and made their way into the thrown room. When they came in, a woman in a bright white robe was waiting for them, upon seeing the prince she smiled brightly at him "Anduin, go with her. She'll make sure you're all healed up alright" he said to him.
Anduin looked up to his father before giving him one last hug, something that he returned. The prince started to head out with the woman before smiling at Kal. He nodded back at him as he saw him leave.
As the two left, the king made his way back to his throne and sat down with a heavy sigh, like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders "you have my thanks for his return" he started as he looked to Kal who stood in the middle of the room "what became of Onyxia?" he asked with slightly narrowed eyes.
From there, Kal thought that he had the right as a father to know the truth. So that is what happened, he told him about how he arrived in the nick of time to save Anduin as he nearly escaped from her himself. Something that the king smiled proudly at before a large rage overcame him when he was told that Kal had only just arrived in time to save him. He took the prince away from the dragon and made him wait somewhere safe while he dealt with her "You didn't kill her?" Bolvar asked him with crossed arms.
He didn't answer that question immediately but he did tell them the truth "she's been beaten and detained, I have her somewhere she'll never be able to escape from without dying" he told them.
"Death should be the punishment that she suffers for her crimes" Varian said from his throne, he clearly wasn't happy with it but based on the way he was still sitting down and not holding his sword. It seemed that he was willing to let Kal have this one as payment for getting Anduin back.
"You're probably right, by I don't kill unless I have to and she was beaten. She will not be a problem for anyone again" the firmness of his tone seemed to be enough to get the point across that he would not be moved on this and so the rest of them let it go.
"We'll have you escorted to one of the palaces guest rooms" Balvor said getting the attention of the others "the return of the prince calls for celebration and the great service you did should be recognised"
"I appreciate the offer, high lord" Kal spoke calmly "but messing around with politicians is not something I do unless the world is about to end and I have work that I need to complete" he turned around and started to head for the exit "if you have need of me, you know where to find me" was what he said before he lifted himself into the air and began to fly away.
With a great heft, he placed the last of the large panels on the ground. With that done he looked around him and could see a good half mile of solar panels all laid out in a tight formation on the top of the canyon walls, near the back of Orgrimmar.
It's been two days since he left Stromwind and from there he just continued on with his word that he would get the power up and running around this settlement. Within the centre of the fields was a small container like structure that acted as the control centre for them, all he had to do now was set up the power lines and wait for Thrall to find someone smart enough who Kal could teach about running and maintaining the panels. For now though, he would have to wait for the right person to be chosen, not that they could do much now anyway. Just because the panels were set up, that didn't mean everything else was. Hearing the sound of an a Monitor, turning around to look over his shoulder, he could see a group three of them, underneath them connected by a small cable were the rest of the supplies.
They were all tight secured and organized, one carried all the different poles that would be used to connect the wires, the wires themselves were already prewrapped around the top of each pole. The second carried a large amount of furnace's that he promised would be able to fit into every home and the last carried an assortment of lights that he would need to distribute throughout the rest of Orgrimmar.
As they got Kal closer, Kal had them set everything down into the open space in the middle of the plant and when the Monitors started to head back to the Fortress, the sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears. Quickly making a mental note in his head of everything he's got and the best way to dish them all out. He turned and was surprised by the sight of Thrall's second, a troll Vol'jin approaching him "Greetings mon" he said to him as he offered a small wave when he got closer "Thrall be sendin me ere to make sure that da work be going smooth" he greeted.
Kal nodded back with a smile "Well, it's going well. The panels themselves are set up and ready to start generating power and with all this" he gestured to the new supplies "we can start setting the city up proper, I just need a list of all the places you'd like them to be and we can get started on that"
"That be good mon, before ya get that far tho" the troll said as he stepped closer to him "I bin asked ta get a better undestandin of how this works. To ease the minds of the tha more... conservative members of da Horde. Would ya be willing to walk me through tha process?" he asked him.
A small chuckle escaped Kal's mouth as he heard that "Politics doesn't change, does it?" he joked.
"Seems to be a universal problem mon" the two sheared a laugh at that statement.
Kal quickly nodded back at him and agreed to his request. He went into a detailed explanation about how the solar panels and what they could do. He was asked about how much power they could generate, and he was assured that it would be enough to power whatever they put in Orgrimmar. He also went on to explain that while solar power was useful, it wasn't even close to the most powerful type of generator he could come up with but he assured Vol'jin that the Horde didn't require something that powerful and if it did, then they would need a massive amount of space in order to build something that large. He didn't tell the troll that he had other more powerful and easy to build alien technology that he could give them as he didn't want to give anything away just yet.
Once Vol'jin felt that he had a good understanding of how this would work when completed, he took Kal into the city and began to show him all the spots that the lamp posts would need to be placed, which was simple as it seemed that for now. They would simply need to swap out the torch lights for these ones, with every spot Kal saw he made mental notes that he would not forget. He told the Troll how the spotlights that they could put on the top of the outer wall but also made it clear that they shouldn't be on all the time, or they would mess with the close wildlife as the animals might think it's day when it's night.
When all was said and done, Kal had a great understanding of what the best way to do this would be. He decided that they should hold onto the furnaces until everything else was set up which would take a day or so. While he could get it done within an hour, he also didn't want to spook the members of the Horde anymore then he already did so. So, over the course of the next day, he set up the wiring and lamp posts, they would go down the cliff wall of the canyon and move from the top of post to post until they were spread throughout every section of the large settlement or small city, whatever you prefer.
He got many different looks when he did this of course, some where happy, uneven and downright angry. But if Kal could give Thrall credit on anything it was the hold he had over his people, the Horde really do take his word as law, and he could respect that. Unfortunately, he still didn't have anyone to look after the controls of the panels and make sure they were all clean. For now he would have to make do with one of the Monitors doing that, something he knew members of the Horde wouldn't like but until they find someone who wants to do it they would have to make do with what he provides.
Once all that was done, he just waited for nightfall and asked that the torches be put out. Once that was done, it was a simple flip of a switch and boom. All the lights turned on and the Horde could see just how much more efficient they are compared to wooden fires, the guards on the outer wall seemed much happier as well with powerful those spotlights where. Once that was done, the next morning, everyone seemed much more open to the idea of allowing him into their homes and providing them with a furnace, it would be electric and not gas of course but it would do the job. All in all, things were going well over in the Horde capital.
Kal stood strong with a powerful figure, his head held high and his arms crossed behind his straight back. In front of him the cell that she would never be escaping from was his most recent enemy. Onyxia has yet to say a word since being brought to her new home, no. That's not true, she ranted quite a bit when she first got here but now she was much more subdued.
A ten-by-ten square feet cell within the Fortress, coming equipped with a bed, table & chair and a small toilet that was hidden behind an opaque piece of glass, one could still be seen but couldn't see anything to clearly. Not that it would work on him of course, but it was the illusion of privacy that mattered in the moment.
"How are you settling in?" he asked her, standing in front of completely see-through wall that separated them. She didn't say a word to him, she just kept starring at him from her place on the floor leaning against her bed. It would be understandable that she would be in a less then fine mood as her once well-made and no doubt expensive clothes had been replaced by a prison style white onesie, but the most noticeable change to her wardrobe was the collar around her neck. Something she really didn't like, so much in fact that when she found out about that, she went as silent as she was now.
Not that he could blame her, who wanted to go around with a laser collar around their neck. A very powerful one as well, if she so much as changed her skin texture it would go off with the heat of the sun and she would be decapitated "how long are you going to go without talking to me?" he asked her and again, she remained silent "fine, don't talk. But I would like it if you listened to what I'm about to tell you. I've spoken with your old work colleagues in Stromwind, they weren't happy to find out you're alive but I think as a favour to me for bringing Anduin back. They're allowing you to remain in my custody, which means you're mine to do with as I please" he took a step forward and he was right up against the see-through wall "you are going to be staying here for a long time but how comfortable you are during that stay is completely up to you. If you cooperate with me, I can give you more comfortable accommodations and additional benefits such as good food, entertainment, clothing. That sort of thing, do you understand me?" he asked her.
Her red eyes narrowed at him even more before she looked to the ground and let out a defeated sigh. Though she didn't nod at him or say she agreed, she didn't argue or disagree with it either. To Kal at least, that was something. He gave her one final look before turning and moving away, letting her have time to herself.
Now of course he could just use the lasso in order to get what he wants from her but at the same time, he didn't want too. Despite everything that's happened, he still believes that people can change, and one method of that change is rehabilitation. Plus, he wasn't aware that she knew anything that he needed to know about at this time so he was more than willing to wait a while if that meant he could get her to give up any information freely.
"hhhhhhhmmmmmm hmm hhhmmmm" he stopped walking mid-step as the sound hit his ears, he had no idea where it was coming from and he started to look around himself in order to make sure that it wasn't a member of this world he hadn't who could sneak up on him. But there was nothing there "hhhhhhmmmmmmm hhhhhhmmmmm hmm" and there it was again "Kelex, are you hearing this?" he asked out loud.
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of Kelex's own voice sounded in his ears, this wasn't from a type of com system the fortress has but it was just his hearing picking up what Kelex said from wherever he was "I am detecting no sound frequency's aside from the norm for this time of day, Master" he said back to him, causing Kal's eyes to narrow slightly. Where could that have come from then? He looked around himself again but found nothing, knowing that it wasn't simply his mind playing tricks on him because his mind wasn't something that did that, he went about what he was doing but there was more of an edge to his step.
He continued to walk through the fortress towards one of the many different labs he had ready and entered one of the containment chambers. In the room he quickly grabbed a nearby hazmat suit and sealed himself up, he doesn't do this normally but when magic is involved, all bets are off. Making sure he was completely sealed up before he stepped into the decantation chamber, once he was, he entered the lab. It was as pristine as the rest of the fortress, but it was full of hazardous materials that he didn't want getting out.
Moving over to one of the tables that was full of beakers and test tubes, he started to run his tests on the purple substances. The samples that he took from the Old Gods body when he had a moment to himself "Alright" he said to himself "let's find out what you are exactly" he added as he got to work examining the samples of the body and trying to find out just what exactly these things were and what the best way to kill them was.
There was nothing more than a stunned silence for a solid five minutes as those around the table looked on to what Jaina had just showed them. She had kept her word to Kal and as soon as she left his home, she immediately went to Dalaran and called a meeting with the council of six and informed them of what she was told about. Unfortunately, not all members would be able to make it at this time as the mages were not as unified as people would like to think, they would be informed separately. Though she did doubt they would believe what they were told and she wouldn't blame them.
As of the moment, the members of the council present all looked at the holographic image of Azeroth that showed the image of the... whatever it was inside of it and it was complete silence. Every single person present going over all the different scenarios in their heads trying to find some way to explain this.
"Can we trust this information?" Rhonin, the leader of the council was the first one to speak and all others turned to face him when he did so, but he was looking right at her.
"Yes" she said quickly "I believe we can" and she had to admit, she found herself surprised by how quickly she said it as well. Did she really trust Kal that much?
"We need to summon a gathering if that is the case" Aethas Sunreaver added getting the attention of the others "this changes everything we thought we knew about our world. Everyone who lives here needs to be made aware of it"
It was a good idea they all could agree with but there would be a large problem with the plan, because of course things were not allowed to be easy "I can't think of one time a member of every single faction has been able to meet together in one place" Jaina said back with a dour expression "they didn't even do that for the Legion"
"This may finally explain why the Legion has been so interested in our world in the first place" Rhonin added "they can't afford not to find out about this"
"The largest reason as to why they would never meet with each other is because they would never trust the meeting location" Krasus added from his own chair "doesn't matter where it would be, it's either a Horde or Alliance location that not everyone would like"
That was when an idea came into Jaina's head, though she had to admit she had no idea if it would be a good one or a bad one "What about Kal's home?" she asked them all.
"The crystal Fortress?" Aethas asked, of course having heard about the large structure that made itself on Mount Hyjal.
"Mount Hyjal is one of the most neutral places in the world due to all the truces the Alliance and the Horde put into place after the Third War. Not to mention Kal himself has not chosen a side. In fact, he's done the exact opposite and helped both where he could" she listed to those present and they listened closely.
"There could be worse options" Rhonin said as he looked to the others "and this Kal-El is the one who found out about this in first place, chances are he knows more about it now"
"Maybe it would be best to hold on for a moment" Krasus added causing the others to look at him speculatively "it's not that I don't think people shouldn't know, they most defiantly should. It's simply that we do not know much at this time, if we bring everyone together now and give them this, they will leave with more questions than answers. I am simply suggesting that we wait until we can gather more information about... her" he nodded towards the image "then when we have the basic understanding of what this is, then we should inform the others"
"We've never known about something like this before, in all our time on this world, we've never had even the most basic of ideas about this" Aethus spoke "not even the wildest theories out there suggested something like this"
"We did not know about her because we never truly looked" Rhonin added causing the others to look at her "Krasus has a point, maybe we start to commission some studies on her ourselves and see what we can find, discreetly of course, we don't want to start a panic. Aethus and I can get started on that. Jaina, would you mind heading back to Kal-El and make a requested on behalf of the Kirin-Tor that he focuses his efforts on the study of her" he nodded at the image before turning to Krasus "and maybe it would be best for you to head back home, if anyone knows about this then it will be the Aspects. Do you think you can ask your consort?" the leader said to them all.
Krasus looked at Rhonin for a moment before nodding and standing up "While I can say that no dragons I know of knew about this, it is also possible that they were instructed by the Keepers to not speak of it. However, I do not need she who is life to inform me of the details, just whether or not she knows of it" he said before he turned to look at Jaina "do you think I will be allowed to take that device? it would be a good way to show my love what I am speaking of" he asked.
Jaina herself stood up as well and made ready to leave "I think that should be fine, just try not to damage it. It is Kal's after all" she added before she turned and made her way out of the council hall, moving towards the teleport hall in order to make her way back to Mount Hyjal.
His body was still, within his home that he made himself with his own power of druidism. Fandel Staghelm laid back and to all it would see him was simply asleep but that was not the case. For he was using a technique he learnt a long time ago, he and many others. He may look asleep but in truth he had left his body and now stood within the realm of the Emerald Dream. A realm that mirrored his own world in all things except for one, within the dream it looked like the world if no intelligent life grew from it.
A pure vast wilderness. It was here the Fandel met his master.
Soon after his son was taken from him, he lost himself within the Dream. Trying to find some sense of purpose, trying to find some way to forgive himself for what happened. Then it came, the voice within the wind, the presence under the ground. It came to him and showed him the way forwards, it showed him what he must do. It told him the truth.
He was told about what the real enemy to the world was, he now knew the truth. The Old Gods were this world's first inhabitants, they came so close to achieving their goals of a perfect world and from there and perfect universe. But the Titans came and stole that from them, they took the Old Gods and imprisoned them to suffer for eternity. Something that Fandel wanted to make right.
Fandel was never the same after he lost his son and the Old God Yogg-Saron came to him with hope, once it regained it's power and was released from its prison. He would be able to reach out into the afterlife and bring his son back to him but first, he must be freed.
So, Fendel swore himself to the service of the Old God in return for his son and so he went to work. The first thing he did was get rid of his biggest obstacle, the Arch Druid Malfurion Stormrage. The first Night Elf druid, the one who saved their people from the Burning Legion, he was a threat to the Old Gods plans.
He was no fool, he knew that he couldn't take on the Arch druid in a fight. No, that is a battle he wouldn't win and so he had to be more cunning. So he enacted his plan, as Malfurion entered the Emerald Dream himself. Fendel would enact his plan. He would go out into the real world and kidnap the arch druids body from his own grove without any discovering him. While within the dream, Stormrage was attacked by his master and his new partner. The traitor, Xavius. The former High Councillor to Queen Azshara herself and the first Satyr. A Satyr being a Night Elf who was transformed by the power of the Burning Legion in exchange for service. It seemed that after the War of the Ancients, Xavius was able to enter the service of the Old Gods, he didn't know how that happened and he didn't care enough to ask.
With the power of the Old God within their hands, Malfurion was able to be captured. He was now their captive both within the Dream and without. The best part in Fandel's mind was that not even the dragons would be able to help him, they were too preoccupied with their master to find him. That was when Fandel could see a small fraction of his masters true power, for the great Yogg-Saron was able to somehow begin to corrupt the very dream itself and is using that to keep the powers of the Green Dragonflight at bay and even bring them to his service as well.
"There is a threat" the voice of his master echoed throughout his mind as Staghelm stood at the base of a large mountain that was better known as mount Hyjal "the new interloper must be eliminated"
"Kal-El" he said back out loud to the open wind, he could understand his masters concern, this new alien being processed a power that has not been seen on this world in a very long time. He could become a threat if he was left on his own to his own devices "It shall be done" was all he said back as he began to walk upwards towards the very peak of the mountain. Right towards where Kal's ugly crystal fortress would be in the real world, behind him a small army of creatures created by the master influencing the inhabitants of the Emerald Dream followed him. Ready to do his bidding.
It did not take long to reach their destination, nor to find what he was looking for. Near the peak of the mountain suspended in the air was a simple seed. Nothing special about it except for one thing, it looked exactly the same to the one he placed when he first entered Kal's home. For he knew that it would come in handy one day, a little further away was another, matching the second one he dropped. And that fool Kal never thought for a moment to check for them, now his naivety would be his undoing. Reaching out with his hand, the seed started to shake mid-air until a large root sprout out from under it and shot into the ground, followed by another and another.
The seed grew and contorted until it was a large circular gate way, as of the moment it was completely see-through as he had yet to activate the portal that will allow the army behind him to invade Kal's home directly. A grim smile came onto his face, a part of him didn't want to do this as Kal-El did avenge his son's life but at the same time the master claimed he was a threat and so he will be dealt with as such.
He lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers, using a small vestige of his power to open the twin portals and the army began to run forwards towards them immediately. He was planning on going in himself to ensure that Kal was killed, however as soon as he turned around. He only caught a flash of a silver blade coming towards him followed by a tint of gold.
Kelex hummed to himself as he looked through all the different set of eyes he had. From his home within the A.I core of the Fortress, he could see everything around him. If it wasn't done visually then it was through all the different radars and sensors that was built into him. He was a pure intelligence caring for the master and his family for over four hundred years, in that time he has seen many different things, but this world was something else. Even if it hurt his logic circuits to think about, he had to admit there was small marvel to it all.
Despite how different this world was from everything he's seen before, he had to admit that even with everything he was doing, it felt like a holiday for him. After how hard he worked during the Apokolips War, what he was doing now was a breeze. Even with what he was doing, his eyes were everywhere. He could see the patrol drones making their way through the forests, some doing nothing more than observing wildlife while they patrolled, others deep within the ocean doing some mining for minerals ready for the refinery.
Though he was keeping an eye out for those intelligent marine lifeforms that seemed very similar to some of the Atlantian life that's been catalogued in the past. They didn't seem violent, but they are clearly intelligent based on the way they carried weapons and had the sense to try and stay hidden.
He would bring that up with Master Kal-El later when he was done with his work in the lab. Something he was helping him with adding what he could when asked, of course the nonactive protocols where going over everything that was in a computer checking for anything that stood out or if any connections where made.
On the other side of their territory, he could see a standoff was happening between an Orc patrol carrying weapons that held guarded stances as they tried to throw things at the monitors present in an attempt to scare them away, it did nothing of course. Kelex let out a hum to himself as he acted. One of the monitors fired its primary weapon, which was a high intensity plasma beam, it hit the ground just shy of the lead Orcs feet and burnt the ground in front of it. Thankfully it seemed that the message was sent, and they started to back away.
When the cameras within the Fortress began to sense an anomaly. He was already giving it most of his attention and within three microseconds, he was preparing the appropriate response to whatever it turned into. It started as a seismic change, when he saw it, he could see a small seed was at the centre. Going over the camera feeds that focused both on the entry hall and the command centre where another seed showed itself. As they started to grow, he went over all the footage in an attempt to find out where they came from as he was well aware they were not here when they left Earth.
When large roots came from the seed and made their way towards the ground. The roots slammed onto the ground in an attempt to break through the floor but the Sunstone proved too strong for them, and roots had to settle for a spiral pattern in order to stay up right. Just before they stopped moving, Kelex was able to see that the seeds came from the male Night Elf, Fandel Staghelm when he and the others came inside.
When that connection was made, he had to make a decision. A Night Elf was responsible for whatever this was and he did not know whether or not he acted alone. He had to make the choice that was for the betterment of the master and the fortress. The front door to the fortress which was left ajar in order to be more welcoming to the other members of mount Hyjal slammed shut and the defences turned themselves on. All the shielding's turned on, cutting off the large crystal structure from the outside world.
As one, all the monitors around the territory began to fly towards the fortress, abandoning their patrol routes. All around Mount Hyjal, the Druids, Shamans, priests and Sentinels all started to look in alarm as a small cloud of monitors started to create a Criss-cross line formation around the top of the fortress.
When the seeds new round doorway like shape started to shimmer with a portal, he activated one of the Fortress most primary of contingency plans. As one, Sköll and Hati moved from a guarded stance into an attack ready one. Kelex could tell that the habitants of the mountain upon seeing the two war machines take new stance started to get much more nervous and in some other cases outright scarred. However much to their shock, they simply disappeared from view.
Kelex gave both of the dumber A.I systems all the information he had and allowed them both to act as they were programmed too. As one, they both teleported into different sections of the fortress, both of which appearing at the same time, Sköll in the entrance hall and Hati in the command centre. Without any input from Kelex, both of the fortress guards moved into the portals and out of view. For one millisecond, Kelex was too stunned to act on anything. He did not expect them to act.
Within the Emerald Dream, Fandel Staghelm looked down to the large blade that stuck into his chest, before he slowly looked up to see the glowing red eyes of Sköll "AAAHHHH!" he screamed in pain as he was lifted from the ground, blood gushing from his stomach and mouth "threat to fortress detected" the loud and heavily synthesized voice spoke out loudly.
He was in so much pain that he didn't notice the heavy thudding of another, he didn't time or he would have seen the large golden form of Hati moving to stand next to them "Hostile forces located" Hati spoke as he spend his large double-bladed weapon and raised its shield. The ranged weapons on his shoulders locked onto targets and the three smaller mortar like canons loaded with plasma rounds locked onto the larger enemies "priority targets highlighted"
Sköll tossed the body of Staghelm to the ground and did the same as Hati, readying its weapons "commencing eradication" it said before the two charged towards the small army.
Throughout the Emerald Dream, every druid and every green dragon could hear the sounds of battle as Sköll and Hati battled the monsters of the Nightmare, with the intent of eradicating the threat to their home.
Ok everyone, we'll leave it there for now. I just wanted to clarify some things, no Staghelm is not dead. If you die in the dream then you just wake up in the real world, at least I think that's how it works. If it's not, then please let me know.
For those of you who think Kelex is making a mistake, just remember that they haven't been here for long and as far as he knows, Tyrande and Shandris could be working with Staghelm but they don't know for sure. Also, as you should know by now, I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to the early game lore so I hope Staghelms reasons for what he did are at least somewhat similar to how they are in game.
To those of you who think that Sköll and Hati are no were near strong enough to do this. Just keep in mind a couple of things, one they are strong enough to last a couple of minutes against Darkseid and Doomsday and you all know how strong they are. They are a mix of so many different alien technologies, put together by Superman, programmed by Cyborg and enough said.
Next chapter we get Tyrande and Shandris arrive to find out what is happening. Kal arrives and sees whether or not he can trust them. Jaina shows up at a bad time and tries to act as peacekeeper between everyone. All the while Sköll and Hati take the fight into the heart of the Emerald Nightmare and take the fight to Xavius himself.
Next Story update: Return of Hope
P.S: I think I'm going to keep that next time thing in the other story's, do you like it or is it a spoiler? Let me know.