Much thanks for the positive messages regarding the previous chapter. It always warms my heart to see that people are still vapidly engaged with my writing. Enjoy the next chapter! ~F
Chapter 145
Chiefs of the Eredar
Nobu'tan felt truly alive as he fought the Deceiver.
Magic that he had pushed down deep within, saved since he traveled through time and fought Archimonde under the shadow of Nordrassil, burst violently to the surface, and he effortlessly slipped into his metamorphic state, taking to the air alongside the Blue Dragon, darting out of reach of the claw of Kil'jaeden, and leveling destructive magic all around the Eredar.
Shadow, flame, and even fel lightning flew from the demonic warlock, but Nobu'tan was far too nimble in the air to be struck. Kil'jaeden's laser focus on Nobu'tan solely was something of a massive blind spot, as the rest of the Dark Horde was free to act and harass the demon while his eyes were fixated elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Nobu'tan was wielding both Aetish and the Elder Wand, carefully conjuring wards and shields where stray spells would fly after him. "Do not engage the Deceiver directly," Gul'dan whispered to him, "Draw out his strength, and wait to use it against him."
Nobu'tan had no reason to doubt even a remnant of his master's knowledge, and obeyed. He would stall until Kil'jaeden turned his focus away. Eventually he would have to, if what he had planned with Blaise and Teg'Ramm went as expected.
And how it did… the Eredar bellowed in surprise and anger as a flare of Fel magic rose up all around him. Both high ranking warlocks, drawing excess power from the Felblood Elves, began to enact a complex banishment ritual. Naturally it wouldn't be strong enough to actually sent Kil'jaeden back to Argus, not with the Sunwell as well as the artifact in his hand keeping the summoning channeled, but it was enough of a threat to his spell that the Eredar lord would have to split his attention.
"Who can you trust, little warlocks?" the demon said, already casting a spell to try and turn the members of the Dark Horde against one another. But Nobu'tan had long ago prepared for such madness-inducing magic, and around the necks of the four that had accompanied Nobu'tan were pendants to keep their minds their own.
The Felblood, however, were not so fortunate, and had to be incapacitated. Luckily, they were part-demon, and as such there were ways for the warlocks to control and subdue them. Within moments all the Elves were on the ground, unconscious as their Fel-imbued halves were suppressed through the residual energy of the banishment ritual.
"Another Step toward destruction," Kil'jaeden taunted, suspecting incorrectly that all the Elves had been slain, and that the remaining force was all he had left to face in order to escape the Sunwell.
"Prepare mortals, Chaos will take you," the demon bellowed, even as he closed his wings around him, shielding him as he started to summon a great deal of shadow magic.
At the same time, orbs of magic blossomed into existence, floating over Kil'jaeden and bombarding the surrounding area with bolts of pure shadow.
The dragon conjured a massive shield of arcane energy, absorbing many of the bolts that assaulted him, while Nobu'tan was forced to execute many aerial stunts to keep out of the path of the many bolts of destruction.
"Keep yourselves down; I will layer magic to protect us from the Deceiver!" the dragon shouted, even as four shimmering orbs of arcane magic flew from the beast's maw. They scattered across the chamber, connected by cords of magic, weaving a net of power over them all.
"Oblivion awaits!" Kil'jaeden roared a few moments later, unveiling himself and releasing a storm of power across the entire chamber, which reflected and negated the overwhelming magic. Nobu'tan could feel what remained of his body hair standing on end from the crackle of raw power that had just passed over them. If not for the dragon, many of those on the ground would have been dead.
But now, with a vast amount of power expelled from Kil'jaeden, Nobu'tan had a moment to strike back. Tapping into the power he had experienced once before, the Grand Warlock displaced himself from Time itself, allowing him to act faster than all those around him. Ice, Arcane, Flame, and Fel poured from staff and wand as he chanted Latin phrases as quickly as he dared.
The devastator missile formed in a flash, magic aligning so perfectly balanced and ready to become a torrent of destructive power in a heartbeat. But Nobu'tan was not content with just one this time. The fight with Archimonde was merely a stalling tactic, but here, he was going for the kill.
Digging deeper into the store of magic from the Well of Eternity, Nobu'tan pushed himself faster, altering time further and slowing everything in the reach of the Sunwell to a fraction of their speed. He must have disappeared from sight due to his speed, as the extremely slow reaction of Kil'jaeden showed surprise.
Darting around, Nobu'tan repeated the complicated process of creating the devastator missile, until a half dozen of the powerful spells were waiting in the air, all pointed and waiting for the command to propel themselves into the Eredar's flesh.
Even with all his excess magic, and that of the Sunwell that he was leeching where he could, his hold on the individual spells holding the missiles together was tenuous.
There would be only one shot. Once he released those missiles, there would be no stopping them. Nobu'tan was only worried about one thing. The scepter in Kil'jaeden's hand was something he was not familiar with. He had never seen the demon with it before over the handful of times he had ever glimpsed the Eredar. While he wasn't sure what the purpose of the focus was, the tremendous power that crackled within it could not be ignored as a clear and pertinent threat to defeating Kil'jaeden.
Nevertheless, he couldn't halt or alter his attack strategy now, and once the tax of magic started to become noticeable, Nobu'tan released the spells holding his missiles back and resumed the normal flow of time.
The half dozen blocks of enchanted ice flew at the demon from all sides, streaking flame and Fel in their wake.
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Jaina had expected to have some manner of reception waiting for her, what with Varian and those at the keep avidly awaiting any report from Quel'Thalas, but to run into the Malfoys, Lucius looking like he had gone through the rougher end of a fist-fight, was so completely out of character that Jaina stopped in her tracks.
"What happened?" she asked, quickly glancing around them, partially expecting a hidden attacker to burst from the shadows.
"Just a small misunderstanding with the local SI:7…" Lord Malfoy waved off, still pressing forward toward the throne room, Narcissa keeping close to him and looking as though she thought he might collapse at any moment. "But that is not the concern right now. The entire city is in danger, and with our intelligence operatives running around chasing ghosts, they have neglected necromancers infiltrating the city once again."
"That is the same reason that I have come," Jaina said quickly, following in the pair's wake. If they had firsthand knowledge of the Cult of the Damned already making moves in Stormwind again, then Thrall's knowledge would hold significantly more weight with Varian. The King of Stormwind was no fool, and would listen to the Warchief's advice, but his mistrust of the orcs ran very deep, and there was none who could really blame him.
Jaina had been a very young girl when Stormwind was first assaulted and destroyed, but from what she had learned about it, Prince Varian hid witnessed his own father, King Llane, be assassinated in the old Keep, before Anduin Lothar had saved the young prince, and all the people who could flee the city.
They found Varian with his son, and Anduin waved at Jaina as he lowered the practice sword he had been swinging. It was endearing to see the pair together, even if they were in the midst of lessons in preparation for Anduin to eventually take the throne.
"My King, there is dire news," Lucius said, stepping forward, making no move to alleviate the distressed look that crossed Varian as he registered the man's face.
"Necromancers are creeping in the darker areas of the city once more, my wife has sensed them while shopping in the Trade District," Lucius continued, "We were on our way here, when he ran into Lady Proudmoore, who says she had similar news from Kalimdor."
Varian scanned their faces, his own growing dim as he pondered their words, "I feared since their previous attack that it was only a matter of time before they returned to try and finish what they started." He turned to Jaina, "I presume that you've come with news that Warchief Thrall has noticed the same, and has some suggestions…"
"I have," she admitted, "he is stockpiling weapons and preparing ships for a full invasion of Northrend, should the need arise." She glanced at Lord and Lady Malfoy, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Dark Horde has much of the same set aside for a problem such as this."
"Could be... could be," Lucius said noncommittally, but it was more than enough to convince Varian.
"Most of our ships are tied up in shepherding the assault force up to and back from Quel'Danas," he said, thinking fast, "but I will rally what ships we have left at Menethil and Stormwind Harbors. The armories in the Keep, SI:7, and the Stockades are all well supplied, and we ought to have plenty of equipment to load on the transports for whatever force may be needed should the Scourge try once more to take our lands and people."
"The dead will not have so easy a time as they had previously to take Stormwind," Lucius said, and Jaina noted the cold rage suppressed masterfully in his voice. "I promise it, my King, you will find that our resistance, should they attack, shall be beyond anything they expect."
Even Varian seemed partially taken aback by the solemn finality coming from the man who, by all apparent accounts, had been through a moderately bad beating. "I will hold your people to that," the King said after a moment of thought, "I will subtly increase the guards in the city, and around Elywnn and Westfall, just in case. Can we send word to the Argent Dawn; have them nearby to counter the threat?"
"I can bring word to them presently," Jaina said, but Lucius was already waving the small wooden wand that every member of their people possessed. A silver bird, with a magnificently large tail soared out of the tip, hovered as the man muttered to it, and then departed through the wall and out of sight.
"Word has already been sent," Lucius said, confirming what he had done. "Whether they come or not is up to them."
"What of the Dark Horde, then," Varian asked, turning to the Malfoys, "will they be prepared for such an attack?"
"Undoubtedly," Lucius replied, "most of our forces are recovering from the siege of the Black Temple. Nobu'tan himself is not here, dealing with the problem at the Sunwell, to the last of my knowledge, but there are plenty to fight at Blackrock, and come south to reinforce Stormwind if, and only if, absolutely needed."
"I severely doubt that would be necessary, let alone practical," Varian replied, holding up his hands to stop Lucius from continuing, "It is enough to know that the lands immediately north are not likely to be overrun and become a greater threat to Stormwind."
"Then we are all in agreement," Lucius said, "Should the Scourge attack again, the three factions will assault Northrend in tandem. The Lich King will pay for all that he has wrought on this world."
Varian and Jaina nodded. The Sorceress was sure that Thrall was of the same mind as these two, and wouldn't hesitate to contribute his forces in a strategic alliance against the undead.
"With that settled, there is only the small matter of the overzealousness of SI:7 in persecuting my people, and my family in particular." Lucius added.
Varian frowned, and Jaina could tell that the King of Stormwind had not been aware of how severe the bias of his intelligence agents was against those people that had come from beyond the Nether to Azeroth.
"I will speak with Shaw when he returns," Varian said, "this matter will be settled, even though I understand his hesitation and biases."
"That is the best I can ask for at this time, Majesty," Lucius replied, inclining his head, before grasping his wife's hand, "We shall take our leave for the time being, and warn those of our people to the danger of the necromancers."
"Agreed, there is much to prepare for that unfortunate inevitability." Varian replied, and Jaina could tell that the man was already itching to get started on those important plans. Anduin seemed to sense it as well, as the young boy crossed the room to stand by Jaina, silently telling his father that he would be safe in her care, and that he could focus on the needs of the Alliance.
The silent back and forth was something that the Kul Tirian Sorceress remembered having with her own father, but she quashed the memory as quickly as it rose. "Let's go for a walk," she suggested, steering the young Prince out of the Keep, and started toward the park district. Normally she would seek the harbor, but any thoughts of her homeland were not wise at this present moment and in her current mindset.
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Teg'Ramm watched with the others as the half-dozen spikes of glacial ice, enshrined with a terrifying array of magic from both Azeroth and Terra, sparked into existence like lightning, before Nobu'tan reappeared with a flourish of magic. The Grand Warlock clearly had manipulated time itself with that last burst of arcane magic.
The bolts suddenly burst forward, converging on Kil'jaeden from all sides. Clearly, these missiles were a new powerful spell that Lord Nobu'tan had developed on his own, and while the Ogre mage was eager to see the potential power of this new offensive spell, the pure Fel that radiated from the crimson demon told him that something else was about to happen.
He was therefore unsurprised when the Eredar swung the massive scepter, and a trio of portals momentarily ripped open, swallowing a portion of the devastating spells into the nothingness beyond. Still, he hadn't been able to vanish them all. The remaining three missiles collided powerfully into the demon's back, sending his partially sprawling forward.
The scepter was dislodged from his hand, and flew across the chamber, leaving deep gouges in the ornate marble flooring. As the demon raged and righted himself, still lodged partially through the portal of the Sunwell, the blue dragon swooped over the figure hovering well above the battle, and spoke, his voice booming like those of his kind.
""You must let go! You must become what you were always meant to be! The time is now, Anveena!"
"But I'm… lost." The woman replied, although the Ogre suspected that this was no human female. The magic surrounding the being there was too great and powerful to be contained by a mere mortal. "I cannot find my way back." She said sadly, even as Kil'jaeden righted himself and slashed at Nobu'tan.
"Do not harbor false hope," the demon lord spat, "You cannot win!"
And with both hands, the Eredar slammed the edges of the Sunwell, sending out a surge of pure Fel magic. Massive orbs of Fel meteorite, the same that Infernals were carved from, spewed out from around the titanic demon, slamming into the ground with great force.
Once came straight for a knot of the unconscious Fel Elves, and Teg'Ramm had little choice but to intervene. Tapping into the dark magic that had warped his body, Teg'Ramm dashed forward, slashing the boulder with his spiked, claw-like hand. The orb shattered, raining shrapnel and chunks of internal flames all directions, but protecting the Elves.
"You, warlock, will bow to my will!" Kil'jaeden bellowed, focusing his power directly upon Nobu'tan, and Teg'Ramm turned to see the effect. A blast of enslavement magic flew at the Grand Warlock, and try as he might, his nature took the better of him.
Shadowy chains appeared around arms and legs, weaving in such a fashion as to bind Nobu'tan to the will of the Deceiver. "Now, little human puppet, eliminate your useless underlings, and finish what you pledged to do…"
"I… no I…" Nobu'tan said, falling to his knees and struggling to clutch his head with both hands, even as all illusions melted away, revealing the demonic form that was the leader of the Dark Horde's natural state.
Teg'Ramm had not seen the full effect of the Fel's transformation of his master. It was… something between horrifying and majestic.
Nearly all traces of humanity were stripped from the middle aged body. If anything, had Teg'Ramm not already known that Nobu'tan stood before them, and the ears being of a less enormous size, the Grand Warlock could have been mistaken for Illidan Stormrage himself, but far crueler in appearance. Fel green eyes blazed as his arms shakily tore away from himself, flames bursting to life as he was forces to prepare to attack servants.
Teg'Ramm threw himself in the path of the first spell, batting aside the chaotic bolt with his staff, while Ramm focused his single eye into the weavings of magic. It was a skill that the pair of them rarely let anyone witness, as the full understanding of how close the two minds were was something best left for those around Teg'Ramm to guess.
The power of the single-eyed head to focus on a singular point allowed for some interesting concepts when heightened with the arcane sight of the magic-attuned. "Coming in from the left, before a second blast straight on," Ramm whispered, and Teg reacted accordingly, leveling a shield straight ahead while side-stepping to the right, dodging the fiery bolt of Felflame, while blocking the follow-up blast of chilled wind and ice.
But keeping ahead of the far more gifted warlock was only one aspect of what Ramm's gift could accomplish. "Ethereal chains, linking Lord Nobu'tan to the Deceiver," Ramm said, "forged of Fel and powered by inborn rage, from both parties. Their hatred is literally binding them together."
"Solution?" Teg asked, whirling his staff to absorb another wild spell from Nobu'tan. Thankfully Kil'jaeden's control over the Grand Warlock was taxing for the demon lord. Not only was Nobu'tan sluggish and not nearly as clever as he would be under his own power, but Kil'jaeden clearly had to focus to maintain his control.
"Override the emotion, and have the others assault the demon to disrupt his control and break the master free," Ramm summarized.
Teg nodded, already pondering possible options. With the demon so focused on Nobu'tan, there was a good chance that the spell that had turned the Felblood against each other would be ended. Giving over control of most of the body to Ramm, Teg took the hand holding their staff, and swung it around once, pouring magic through it to cancel the magic cast to put them into enchanted sleep.
With howls of rage, the Fel Elves snapped awake, and leapt to their feet, their minds restored. "Attack the Deciever!" Teg commanded, even as Ramm pushed their body forward, charging Nobu'tan with their powerful bulk.
Spells splashed off their thickened hide, painful, but endurable as he barreled forward. Nobu'tan may be magically powerful, but even with his Fel form he was physically weak compared to the massive Ogre mage. Tackling the Grand Warlock felt wrong and against everything Teg'Ramm had sworn to do, but he knew that caring for him meant that he had to do everything in his power to protect Nobu'tan, even from himself.
The Fel Elves launched a barrage of magic at Kil'jaeden, even as Teg'Ramm pinned the arms of Nobu'tan to his side. That was when Ramm launched his attack, even as Teg forced the horned head of Nobu'tan to look the other head in the eye.
Ramm assaulted the mind of Nobu'tan, pushing in every memory of warmth and care that the Oger mage had witnessed regarding the Grand Warlock and his fierce, passionate love for the entirely of the Dark Horde.
Teg watched in fascination as the two were interlocked in the mental struggle. This had to work; otherwise there was no real stopping the combine force of the Deceiver and Lord Nobu'tan.
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Anduin could tell that Aunt Jaina was upset about something.
But any thoughts regarding what that might be were lost to him as they entered the Park District. Aside from the Harbor, this was one of Anduin's favorite places. The presence of the other, more mysterious races of the Alliance was always a source of insightful delight for the young prince, more so now that he was old enough to actually understand most of what the Night Elves, and now their newest allies the Draenei, discussed.
Magical theory, Politics of Kalimdor, as well more recently the campaign in Outland and elsewhere were all fascinating to him. His father permitted the outings, so long as he told the guards where he was going and allowed them to tail him at a respectable distance, just in case. Since the incident with Onyxia, Anduin knew that his father had been more than a little protective of him, but he tolerated it because of the demands that were regularly made of the King of Stormwind, and as his son he did not want to add to the already heavy burden.
Today however, things in the Park District were much different. Oh, the Elves and Draenei were still there, acting as though nothing was amiss, but there was something different in the air, a sense of urgency and tense expectation.
It didn't take long to pinpoint it either, even as Anduin spotted Lord Malfoy, still somewhat battered and bruised, going to and from certain houses, speaking quickly with their occupants and moving on. Most of the people that had come from the world of Nobu'tan and the Malfoys had settled in the Park District, or else outside Stormwind altogether, and every house that Lord Malfoy went to, once he had departed, seemed to shimmer as though a magical bubble was placed around it.
"It seems that the Malfoys' people are on high alert." Jaina said, also looking around, "I confess that their magic is something wholly unknown to me, but it is both beautiful and a little terrifying to behold."
"I heard that Draco used that kind of magic to defeat Prince Kael'thas in Outland," Anduin said absently, not really knowing how best to add to the topic, but wanting to feel involved.
"It was the only thing that Kael wouldn't have prepared for…" Jaina replied, her mood not improving in the slightest, despite the flow of the conversation.
"It's good to know that their power is on our side…" Anduin said, before correcting himself, "on the side of Azeroth, I mean, not necessarily the Alliance…"
"That is the one thing we can trust Nobu'tan on," Jaina said, "He is passionate about defending this world to his dying breath."
"I'd very much like to meet him, someday," Anduin commented, thinking of the man he had only seen a few times from afar. The man must have had so much knowledge.
If anything that seemed to make Jaina even more uncomfortable, "I don't know about that," she said gently, "There is going to be a lot of falling out between the factions soon, I suspect…"
"You mean over the dwarves," Anduin asked pointedly. He was no clueless child, hadn't been since his father had been taken by Onyxia. Something stirred in the young man, something that refused to be set aside. He wanted to understand what was going on, between the factions, in preparation against the necromancers, everything.
Jaina looked at him, a difference in her eyes. Maybe his Aunt was starting to realize he wasn't a little boy anymore. "Ok, but not here, too many ears that ought not to hear what is going on."
Anduin felt a rush of excitement, as Jaina led him into a secluded area of the District, and used her magic to open a portal. He had visited Theramore a few times before, but to so unexpectedly get to go there was a true treat.
The old woman, a close friend of Jaina's, was there, almost waiting for them to arrive. She raised an eyebrow as Anduin came through the portal. "Ah, so the little lion cub has come at last, ready to begin seeing the world as a man sees it…"
Anduin shrank back a bit at the gleam in the old woman's eye, something between a prowling jungle cat and a great bird of prey, but Jaina just huffed at her. "Leave him be, Aegwynn."
The old woman frowned, but let the matter drop, setting out some tea and excusing herself as Anduin and Jaina sat in the high tower. Anduin heard the slosh of the tide, and smelled the sea air that was so much stronger here on the shores of Kalimdor.
"There is a great many things you have heard of, in part, up till now," Jaina started, feeling her way into the topic, "and I am sure that Varian would willingly include you, if he was not blinded by his fatherly instinct to protect you at all costs."
"I know," Anduin replied, "it can be somewhat overbearing at times."
"Still, there are some things, about current situations, that you are not aware of completely…" Jaina continued, "The relationships between the factions is complicated, and more so with the Dark Horde than with Thrall and his Horde ever was."
"I don't see it that way," Anduin replied, "Nobu'tan and the Dark Horde have only expressed aggression toward threats to them, aside from their early conquest of Blackrock Mountain and the Arathi Highlands. Since then, they have done nothing against the denizens of Azeroth as a whole, except to preserve us from outside threats."
Jaina nodded, clearly impressed with how much Anduin already knew, which made the young prince feel a small touch of pride. His research into the matter had paid off. "That is a part of it," Jaina explained, "but you have never been there in person to see the Dark Horde and how they fight, or what Nobu'tan really is…"
She took a breath, and continued, "Nobu'tan is more demon than man, his illusion magic is very powerful, but there are times, such as fighting off the Twilight Hammer in Silithus, where his disguises have slipped, revealing him for a being filled with the Fel magic of the Legion. While I am inclined to believe as you do, that he seeks for safety and peace in our world, the issue is that the Legion can always act through him, either directly or through those around him, to potentially strike at us again."
"But it seems that Nobu'tan would rather die that permit that to happen, given his record," Anduin contested, but Jaina looked worried.
"You don't completely understand the power that the demons have over their servants through the Fel… I've seen it happen, even in a limited fashion before the Battle of Mount Hyjal. Grom Hellscream, hero of the Horde, had consumed demonic blood, and was a puppet to their power. We know that members of the Dark Horde have also drunk of the same kind of blood, as well as their Fel Orc allies in Outland. It's a continual threat, rather than something that will pass in time."
"But that would mean that, by extension, Thrall's Horde is the same kind of threat, as they are also members of that same old Horde, and their blood is tainted just as much." Anduin contested.
"It's diluted in Thrall's Horde," Jaina explained, "the Legion would have to really fight to take control of the orcs of Kalimdor, and they have surrounded themselves with allies that have had no ties to the Legion just for that purpose. The Dark Horde, on the other hand, has embraced the Fel as one of their keystones of power, and have warlocks throughout their ranks. The Legion will view their forces as a perfect staging ground to attack us all, if they have not done so already through Nobu'tan. There is a great risk in being the most powerful warlock in the world…"
Anduin frowned; he had not considered this, having little understanding in Arcane magic, let alone anything to do with the Fel of the warlocks. "It seems I have more to study and understand…" he admitted.
"That, I hope to correct, with Draco's help, very soon," Jaina said, smiling softly at Anduin.
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Nobu'tan's mind was consumed by rage. It was as though an invisible hand had reach out and crushed his mind, suppressing all rationality and forcing only the most primal emotions to the surface.
Behind his considerable issues, all of which he was well aware caused his own anger, there was something more, an all consuming rage that spanned countless years and hundreds of worlds. There was a connection there, between himself and Kil'jaeden. And rather than fight against this link and break free, Nobu'tan had a feeling that this was an opportune moment, a lightning flash that he could use to skewer the Deciever and learn important information about the Legion that they desperately did not want mortals to know.
So rather than resist, he pushed into the connection, allowing his own hatred of Kil'jaeden drive him to cause as much pain as possible.
The demon lord had little idea what he was truly capable of, and therefore as the Eredar puppeteer his body about, Nobu'tan could vaguely see that Teg'Ramm was well in control of the defenses of his forces.
Meanwhile, he reached deep into the connection, straining with the mental exertion to reach the demon's memories. He had almost grasped the edge of the Eredar's psyche, when he sensed more than felt the physical strike of something as strong as a train barreling into him.
That mattered little, Nobu'tan needed only a few more moments, and he touched the dark mind of the Deciever.
Tapped so thoroughly into the demon's rage, he knew that he would find something secret, something desperately personal about Kil'jaeden, hopefully something that he could use against him.
A vision opened, beautiful in its purity of anger. A world foreign to Nobu'tan swam in his mind, and many Eredar, red skinned and enraged, chasing after more of their kin, the blues and violets fleeing in all haste as a strong voice called for them to follow. Nobu'tan couldn't make out words, only the emotion behind them. Desperation and fear on the part of the fleeing Eredar, murderous rage on the part of the pursers.
The vision jumped, to the same groups, but now at the pinnacle of a mountain rise, on the far side of some kind of structure. The violet and blue Eredar were disappearing in pillars of Holy energy, even as a Naaru ship loomed overhead. The only Eredar that seemed to be waiting, watching the pursuit with sadness was a pristine, ivory white creature, who was significantly familiar to Nobu'tan.
A voice, Kil'jaeden's, belted out the name, but it was muted and hard to decipher from all the hatred and anger that fueled it, "VELEN!"
Nobu'tan yearned to learn more, as to why the leader of the Draenei was connected with the great sorcerer of the Legion, but then he felt power being poured into him, and his consciousness was dragged back from the Deceiver, even as a burning pain ripped through the connection.
The face of every person he had brought with him to Azeroth, and cared for as family, flashed across the surface of Nobu'tan's mind, purging the fiery rage of the demon, and returning Nobu'tan to his own mind. Only with that clarity did he see what was truly going on. Kil'jaeden had been more than aware of his feeble scrounging in the Eredar's mind, and had permitted it just as much as Nobu'tan had, using the same opportunity to start spreading searing chains in his mind, which would have turned him into a subservient slave of the Legion.
Nobu'tan inward chided himself for such foolishness, and even as his mind snapped back to the waking world, he looked up at the glowing eye of Ramm, the more magical head of his faithful servant. "You are freed, Lord Nobu'tan," the ogre said, releasing him and pulling the Grand Warlock of the Stormreavers to his feet. "Now we can defeat the Deceiver and end this." Teg added, already ushering Nobu'tan back at the Felblood launched a massive assault on the visible body of the lord of the Legion.
"Anveena, I love you!" cried the blue dragon, even as he too attacked Kil'jaeden. "Focus on my voice, come back to me now! Only you can cleanse the Sunwell!"
Apparently, love was the key to breaking any hold that the Fel enchantment that the Eredar had placed over the strange woman, and had attempted to use on Nobu'tan as well, as she finally awoke as well, and glanced down at the dragon tenderly, "Kalec…? Kalec?" she said, her eyes clearing as she shook off the spell.
"Yes, Anveena!" the dragon, Kalec, cried, "Let fate embrace you now!"
The water of the Sunwell suddenly surged with golden luminescence, even as the woman started to fade away, "The nightmare is over," she said fleetingly, "the spell is broken! Goodbye, Kalec, my love!"
And even as she faded, the power of the Sunwell magnified, and it was Kil'jaeden that was pained, twisting and turning in the golden waters as they started to burn his Fel-empowered flesh. "Aggghh!" he cried, "The powers of the Sunwell… turn… against me! What have you done? What have you done!?" he bellowed, slashing at the dragon to little effect, even as the winged beast whirled once more high into the air.
"I have channeled all I can! The power is in your hands," he called down to the assembled mortals. "Strike now, heroes, while he is weakened! Vanquish the Deceiver!"
And at that moment, Nobu'tan gave a signal. Teg'Ramm bellowed out a roar, injecting as much power into surging the Dark Horde into a bloodlust, even as the FelBlood ceased their attack and began a grand banishment ritual. They had been ordered to not attempt anything serious until this signal, and Nobu'tan showed them the real reason as to why they needed to wait for the right moment.
Nobu'tan himself joined the ritual, funneled as much Fel energy that he had stored and saved into the united circle of warlocks. Kil'jaeden lurched in the golden water, even as the whirlpool of magic trying to force him into Azeroth suddenly reversed direction, pulling instead of pushing and drawing him back into Argus.
Claws slammed downward into the marbled flooring, trying to find any purchase to withstand the magically intensified tide, even as he spat insults and threats at the mortals, their world, and their very existence, in Eredun, Common, and Orcish.
"Begone from our world, Deceiver," Nobu'tan declared, the spell already completing and drawing Kil'jaeden through whether he fought back or not, "You will never be allowed to threaten my world, and if you come against us again, I will personally end you forever."
"You will burn," Kil'jaeden threatened, but he couldn't have the last word as he desired, as he lost his hold, and fell back into the water and was thrust from their world.
Soon the room fell silent, and with a rush of wind and magic, the dragon landed and shifted back into a half-elf. "Goodbye, Anveena, my love." He said, gazing sorrowfully at the Sunwell, "Few will remember your name, yet this day you change the course of destiny. What was once corrupt is now pure."
The inquisitive face turned to look over the Dark Horde, and the magical eyes locked with Nobu'tan's, "Heroes, do not let her sacrifice be in vain."
Nobu'tan inclined his head. He was not sure what precisely the dragon was referring to, but the charge was one he had already accepted upon his shoulders. The scramble of armored footsteps turned them all toward the entrance, even as the Alliance, Blood Elf, and a third factional force arrived, and discovered the Sunwell calm and serene, if not seemingly drained of all magical power.
Nobu'tan recognized Matthias Shaw among the Alliance forces, and pointedly glanced over the man, not wanting to register his irritation at the scrutiny that the man was surely giving his true form. But it was far too late to try and hide what he had become now. The tail slapping gently against his legs was more than testament to that fact.
Nobu'tan was no longer human.
An arcane portal opened, admitting more forces of Draeni, the blue-skinned Eredar that guarded the Prophet Velen. The visionary Draenei glanced over the scene with a saddened expression, before his eyes fell on Nobu'tan.
"You have something that I require, Nobu'tan of the Dark Horde," he said, holding out a hand.