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Chapter Text

Karabor. Three months before the fall of the Black Temple.

Illidan

It's been eons since Illidan Stormrage felt this elated. Not since the creation of the second Well of Eternity did he want to break into a dance and scream from the top of lungs that he is the best - "In your face Malfurion...haha!" - He did it, he destroyed a core Legion world with his Demon Hunters. Not a backwater planet, nor a lunar or asteroid outpost, but an actual important and powerful main Legion planet, home of one of the most powerful and feared demonic races. The Nathrezim. Not only did Illidan and his Demon Hunters invaded their world and stole a very powerful artifact, but they also destroyed all their historical records and their world. The first ensured that from henceforth it would be as if the Nathrezim never existed and the latter obliterated their ranks and saw to their punishment for destroying countless worlds. Nathreza was no more. He felt like a celebration was in order, he had already seen that his Demon Hunters were well taken care of at the Den of Mortal Delights, but he was reluctant to join them. It did not feel appropriate. As their superior, he could not be seen by them indulging in carnal pleasures. He could always have a courtesan sent to his chambers as he often did, but today he felt like something special was in order. He needed to see to his new prisoner before he had a Blood Elf, Night Elf or Human female sent to him.

'Or all three, one from each kind', he sniggered inwardly. 'They can wait. I will deal with Maiev now. She will regret keeping me locked up for so long, hunting me like an animal and trapping me at Hellfire Peninsula. Those traps hurt a lot. The pain was excruciating, she must really be a sadistic bitch to want someone to suffer so much. I may have killed thousands of enemies, both demons, and mortals, but I never once caused them any kind of suffering. I always delivered nice clean deaths to all of them. I was even prepared to do the same to Arthas, had he not cheated and gravely injured me. Maiev needs to pay for what she has done, however, torture is not my style. Elune knows that she deserves a good beating, but I never raised a hand on a female, and I will not start now. Such behavior is beneath me and so is forcing myself on her. I cannot do that to a female, even if said female is Maiev. The strike I dealt at her head this morning was only meant to knock her out so that she be moved to her cell and nothing more. Perhaps I should just go there to intimidate and taunt her. Even gloat about my victory. Yes I should just do that and leave, but not before informing her about what's in store for her from now on and threaten her about her coming disembowelment, so that she can just stew on that.', he grinned and casted himself at the Warden's Cage as he named her prison this morning.

"Leave us", he barked at the Ashtongue Deathsworn guards as he walked past them towards Maiev's cell, and the Broken Draenei were quick to obey his order. As he approached the cell, he discovered that she was stripped from all of her armor, she now stood there barefooted wearing only her leggings and chest bindings. Even the strip of leather that kept her very long hair in a high ponytail was gone. It now fell down her shoulders and ended at her hips. This was the first time he ever saw her face, not in ten thousand years did she allow him to see her or the other wardens without their helms and armor, never giving him the comfort of looking at another person's face, especially a female's one, and he hated them for that.

'Mother Moon, she is beautiful. Even more so than Tyrande. It's shocking that she never found a mate to settle down with, she would have been quite a catch for those imbeciles I once called brothers. But I suspect that as soon as she opened her mouth they run away from her screaming. Even now, the way she looks at me. The defiant glare, the sneer in her lips, the upturned chin, daring me to approach and confront her. Well, challenge accepted, Warden. You will finally be put in your place.', he growled in anger and blinked into her cell.

Warden's Cage. Three months before the fall of the Black Temple.

Maiev

Maiev woke up with a groan. Her head where the Betrayer struck her throbbed in pain and everything around her was spinning. She closed her eyes and waited for the world to become stable again. When it did, she opened them and looked around her. The light was dim, but she could still make out the details. The walls, ceiling, and floor were made of stone, moss hung from the walls and water dripped down from them, creating a small pool at one of the corners. Clearly, she was underground. She was lying on a hay bed covered only with a thin blanket. Slowly and painfully she threw it away and stood up.

'Well at least I'm not naked.', she sighed in relief as she looked down at her leggings and chest bindings. 'But they're not mine and I smell of soap. They must have bathed and clothed me while I was unconscious. I wonder who did that and why I don't believe for a moment that the Betrayer would go to any lengths to see to my personal hygiene. And if it was not him, then who? Definitely not the Orcs under his command, most of them smell awful anyways. It must have been the Blood Elves, perhaps my blood and sweat covered scent offended their delicate senses. Or the Broken Draenei.', anger roused in her as she thought of Akama. He betrayed her, all of her Wardens and allies were dead because of him. And now she was at the mercy of the Betrayer and whatever he had in store for her.

'And it won't be nice, considering the blow he dealt in my head. However, it was the kind of blow one deals to render the opponent unconscious. The same kind I dealt on his head after he got caught in one of my traps six years ago. Only then, I struck him with the flat of my weapon and not my fist, giving him a severe concussion and not just a mild headache. He bled from his ears for days and kept calling for Malfurion and Tyrande to get rid of his damned headache, promising that he will never again indulge in Arcwine, no matter how much Elisande and Thalysra insisted, whoever those were. It was quite amusing actually, we laughed for days until the Blood Elves and the Naga found us and deprived us of our fun. ', she scoffed as she traced her fingers across her new "outfit".

"In case you're wondering, it was my clan sisters who tended to your wounds, bathed and changed your clothes. Yours were in tatters underneath your plated armor. It was the least we could do.", Akama's raspy voice filled the cell. Maiev's nostrils flared at the sound of his voice, she whirled around and bolted to the cell door, one arm outstretched pass the bars in an attempt to grab his throat, while the other gripped the bar with all her strength.

"AKAMA, YOU TREACHEROUS WORM, COME CLOSER SO I CAN SQUEEZE THE LIFE OUT YOU. ALL MY SISTERS ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU AND SO ARE MY ALLIES. MOST OF THEM WERE YOUR OWN PEOPLE, YOU OWN CLAN. HOW CAN YOU EVEN BARE TO LIVE WITH YOURSELF AFTER WHAT YOU DID?", she roared at the Broken chieftain, her teeth bared, ready to rip the jugular vein from his throat.

"I had no choice. His spymaster, Veras Darkshadow was on my trail from the very beginning. The Betrayer knew our every step and bid his time until the time was right. He tore part of my soul to keep an eye on me and threatened to slaughter my entire clan if I did not deliver you to him. I did not expect that everyone was going to die. I thought that you would have surrendered as soon as you realized that his forces outnumbered yours. But you all fought to the bitter end. ", Akama said.

"Of course we would all fight to the bitter end, our worlds' fates rested in our hands, we had to stop him and his demon masters.", Maiev scoffed.

"He is fighting the Legion as well, he told me that everything he has ever done was part of a plan to destroy the Burning Legion once and for all. He and his Demon Hunters have destroyed a considerable number of minor Legion worlds and outposts and today they destroyed Nathreza.", Akama informed the Warden.

"Do you believe that he did such a thing? Did he really destroy those worlds?", Maeiv scoffed again.

"So he says. Perhaps he did, perhaps he didn't. I was not there to witness it.", the Broken Priest shrugged.

"I don't believe for a second that he hates the Legion. I'm certain that all of this is merely a struggle between him and other Legion Overlords for dominance over different domains. Illidan always sought great power and the Legion was always eager to provide it to him.", the Warden sneered.

"Perhaps it is as you say. Only time will tell. But we cannot sit around and wait to discover the Betrayer's true intentions. When the time comes be prepared to strike him down.", he bowed his head at the Night Elf and turned around.

"I will never trust you again, Akama.", Maeiv called out to him.

"You have no choice.", Akama called back and disappeared into the shadows. Maiev sighed and begun to pace her cell. Nine steps between the walls.

'Of course, the Betrayer would add this little detail, he's determined to replicate his cell and have me experience what he did. He forgets of course that his punishment was Malfurion's and Tyrande's choice, not mine. I voted for a nice clean death for him, not eternal imprisonment.' A flash of light and a crack made her stop in her tracks. She knew that sound, someone had just teleported here. Loud hooved footsteps echoed from the corridor outside her cell, and a deep voice barked an order that the Broken guards outside her cell were all too eager to oblige. She looked up and stared at the face of the Betrayer as he approached her cell with large strides.

'Oh, this can't be good. Goddess knows what he has in store for me, is he going to torture, beat, rape me?', she shuddered inwardly at the thought of that.

'Whatever he is planning to do to me, I will not give him the satisfaction of screaming and begging.', she lifted her chin and stared into the "eyes" of the Betrayer with a defiant look on her face. Illidan growled and blinked into her cell right in front of her. She took a step back, he took one forward. She backed towards the wall while he mirrored her every step with a smirk plastered on his handsome face. 'Damn him, why does he have to look so good even now when he's turned into a half demon?', her back touched the wall, there was no escape for her.

'Mother Moon, give me strength.', she prayed as she stared at his large chest, not daring to look up. He was big, he always was, and so was she. They were almost the same height before his transformation, now he was more than twice her size and her head barely reached his shoulders. Illidan's body was almost touching hers now, his heat enveloped her, his left hand rested on the wall next to her head, while the right one lifted her chin so that she would stare into his blindfold.

"Like your new accommodation, Warden?", he mocked her.

"An accurate replica of your previous lodgings, however, they lack the main component.", she replied.

"Pray tell, and what would that be?", Illidan raised an eyebrow at the Warden.

"You, pacing its length and brooding", Maiev retorted. Illidan actually laughed at that, his hot breath warmed her face. She expected that he would reek of fire and brimstone, that his breath would be rancid, but was surprised to discover that he smelled of mint and sandalwood like most Kaldorei males.

"Oh, but I found a much better replacement, little Warden. You will experience everything I experienced while in your care. You will feel eternal hunger and thirst but you won't die because my spells will take care of your biological needs. You will never become ill, and any injury you apply to your body, should you decide to take your own life, will be immediately healed. Prepare to spend an eternity in this hole. Perhaps I will just leave you here to rot and never visit you again. Perhaps I will come on occasion and punish you for the pain you inflicted on me when I fell into your trap. I haven't decided just yet. Just expect the unexpected from now on, Maiev.", he smirked as his thumb stroke her cheek.

'Now why did I do that?', he wondered while his thumb traced her bottom lip. 'Illidan, stop that.', he ordered himself but he couldn't stop staring at her beautiful face. 'Why is she having such an effect on me? It's not that I've never been around a beautiful female before, quite the contrary. I've been warming the bed of gorgeous women since long before the Sundering. Tyrande, Elisande, Thalysra, Vashj, and Azshara the most notable of them all. So why am I acting like a love struck fool with the Warden?.', he continued to run his thumb over her lower lip as Maiev's silver eyes grew larger and her cheeks flushed. 'She's enjoying this?', he stared in astonishment as a warming sensation enveloped his lower abdomen.

"I wasn't the one who sentenced you, chose the place of your imprisonment or cast those spells on you, Illidan. Your brother and his wife did.", Maiev whispered as she stared at the face of the Betrayer, startled by his bizarre behavior, though quite aroused by his ministrations. 'You enjoy his touch? What is wrong with you, Maiev? He is the Betrayer, he maimed your brother, escaped from your prison, dropped a ceiling on your head at the Tomb of Sargeras that resulted in the death of Naisha and the others and obliterated your army, so why are you acting like a silly schoolgirl with her first crush?', she chastised herself. To no avail, her breathing and heartbeat quickened and she arched her back at him, as he continued to trace her cheek and lower lip with his thumb.

"But they're not here, Maiev. You are!", he replied more huskily than he intended to. He couldn't believe the effect she was having on him. He was taken by surprised by her natural beauty, the heat radiating from her body and her sweet scent was absolutely intoxicating. And the fifteen thousand-year-old demon Elf gave into his primal instincts.

"Oh fel!", he growled and crushed his lips on Maiev's.

'Oh fel, indeed', Maiev moaned and ravaged Illidan's lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Illidan lifted her off the ground and pinned her against the wall, one hand tracing her spine, while the other slowly traveled the length of her body and unfastened her top. The bindings found the floor, and he eagerly cupped her breast and traced her nipple with his thumb. His mouth left hers and traveled slowly down her neck until it grabbed her other nipple. Maiev whimpered and arched her back at him, her hands stroking his hair and horns.

'Now how did she know that the horns are a major erogenous zone for demons?', Illidan wondered as his hands continued to expertly explore her body eventually reaching her nether regions and tracing them over the thin fabric, discovering them wet from his ministrations. Maiev moaned and arched her back at him begging for more and he was more than eager to oblige. He cast a spell and her leggings materialized next to her bindings. Her naked body was now wrapped around him, her hands busy trying to free his member from the confines of his leather trousers. As soon as it was, she gasped.

"Yes, Maiev. It's that big. It always has been. A pity that you didn't discover that ten thousand years ago, my imprisonment wouldn't have been so dull and boring for either of us.", he chuckled and with a swift thrust, he entered her to the hilt before she had the chance to retort.

'Oh, Mother Moon", the both cried out. Maiev's heated core engulfed Illidan, for a moment he feared that she would burn him whole, he stared into her eyes and saw that her thoughts mirrored his own. Those silver orbs spoke of shock and disbelief but also of pure ecstasy. He captured her lips once more to reassure her that what they were doing right now was not wrong, but rather the conclusion of their story. He didn't move for a while, allowing her to adjust to his size and slowly increased his pace with each thrust.

Maiev could not believe that this was happening. Illidan Stormrage, the Betrayer, was making love to her. He was not just fucking her to assert his dominance over her as her jailer and new "master" but was actually gentle and considerate. He ensured that she was ready for him, his kisses were slow and sensual as well as passionate, his clever hands were setting her soul on fire, he allowed her time to adjust to his size and even now he was taking his sweet time to increase his pace, bringing her pleasure threshold up to new heights with each thrust. She felt as if she was about to spontaneously combust from the heat and ecstasy, she never felt this way in her fifteen thousand years, none of her previous lovers were that skilled. She stared at him In amazement, as her hands explored the rippling muscles of his shoulders, arms, and chest, reveling at their splendor.

"So exquisitely beautiful, so delightfully deadly. The perfect female!", Illidan growled without even realizing it as he increased his pace. He couldn't get enough of her beautiful form. He drunk in her soft lavender skin, flushed and wet from his ministrations. He marveled at the perfect shape of her face, the large almond shape silver eyes, dark with lust at the moment, the delicate nose and jaw, the sensual lips and the blade shaped tattoos that extenuated her beauty even more so. Her rich long white hair felt like silk under his hands, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, her locks smelled like mageroyal mixed with her intoxicating musk. She was exquisite in every possible way.

"So devilishly handsome, so fiercely powerful. The perfect male", Maiev panted before she could stop herself. Her cries of passion echoed throughout the abandoned dungeon as she climaxed three times before Illidan sank his fangs into her neck in an attempt to suppress the bestial roar he wanted to unleash on the world when he came. To no avail. He sank to the floor, still holding Maiev in his arms and licked the trickles of blood coming out of the twin punctures of her neck to seal the tiny wounds. He realized that biting a lover's neck during sex was a sign of love and commitment for the Elves and that frightened him.

'Am I in love with her? Do I want to commit myself to her? She's Warden Maiev Shadowsong, the Huntress. She commits to no one but her order and their strict rules and values. She loves no one but her goddess and her sisters. No, it was because this was the best sex I ever had that made me do that to her and to suppress my roar of course, unsuccessfully I might add. Perhaps the Deathsworn guards will think that I roared in anger at Maiev. But the reality of the situation remains. I did not have to bite her neck. I could have bitten her shoulder or my own arm. My tongue even. Elune knows what she's thinking right now. She didn't even return the gesture, she's probably stunned by this, clearly, she doesn't want to be mated with a beast like me who spent ten eons hating her and her kind. Well, I'll just make this easier for her.', he decided and gently unfolded her from him, lifted her up and placed her on the ground as he stood up. He cast a spell that washed their intermixed juices off them and replaced their clothes without looking at her. Maiev was confused by his sudden shy behavior but remained silent.

"Er... I never meant for this to happen, Maiev. I was surprised by your looks, I did not expect you to be this beautiful underneath all that armor. This will not happen again, you are my prisoner, not my concubine, you are here to pay for your crimes against me, and not to entertain me with your body. I have no such need for that, there are plenty of females in Karabor very eager to assume that role. As a matter of fact, take back your armor and wear it at all times, it's better that way. If you had such an effect on me, Elune knows what you'll do to the rest of the male population. I am certain that you don't wish for the Broken guards to lust over you. Goodbye, Warden.", he whispered without sparing her a glance and teleported out of Maiev's life leaving her completely stunned.

'But...", she whispered and jumped out of her skin at the sound of a large bang behind her. She whirled around and found her armor piled on the floor, oiled and polished. She shrugged and put it back on, piece by piece.

'If that's the way you want to play it, Betrayer, so be it!', she placed her helm on her head and started to pace her cell, having nothing better to do anymore.

Meanwhile, the general store at the Black Temple was filled with Elves demanding from the Broken Draenei owner to sell them more of that special mageroyal soap bar she introduced to them a week earlier. It turned out to be a very powerful aphrodisiac. One that affected both the user and any person in close proximity. All one needed to do was smell the intoxicating scent of said fragrance to turn both of them into rabid worgs in heat. The elder female shook her head. She should have known better than to trust an Ethereal to sell her anything. There was always a catch with those creatures. Now everyone wanted that soap, and that Ethereal was going to make a fortune.

Chapter Text

Sunstrider Isle, one month before the fall of the Black Temple

Thalia

Councilor High Priestess Thalia Lightcaster stepped out to her porch and sat on her rocking chair with a steaming cup of peacebloom tea, ready to enjoy the sunset. It's been a long hard week for her, or more correctly, it's been a long hard century. First the Troll skirmishes, then the Orc invasions, then the plague, then the Scourge, then the pointless campaign to discover a cure for their addiction and now the reports about the Prince's betrayal. The Horde was convinced of this, the Alliance even more so. She didn't care what the Alliance dogs believed, they could all jump into the Blackrock volcano and straight into Ragnaros' mouth for all she cared. It was what the Horde leaders believed that saddened her so.

Lor'themar, though concerned about the prince's actions did not believe for a second that he has sided with the Legion. And neither did the rest of the council. Sylvanas may have clashed heads with Kael'thas many times while she was still alive and the Ranger-General of Silvermoon, but even she wasn't convinced of his guilt. The other Horde leaders, however, had no qualms whatsoever to charge the crown prince of Quel'Thalas for treason and order his execution. They never met Kael'thas Sunstrider, to them he was just another spoiled bratty prince just like Arthas Menethil.Thalia felt a lump form in her throat at the thought of the Death Knight. Her Paladin Prince, her friend, her lover, her worse nightmare and everlasting shame. 

Τhe Priestess shook her head and took a sip of her tea that was meant to soothe her nerves. She returned a week earlier from a month long trip to all the Horde Capitals. She spoke with the racial leaders, toured their realm with them, but besides Sylvanas, none was convinced of the Elven Prince's innocence. How could they, it had only been six years since they defeated the Legion here in Azeroth at the expense of the Night Elves' immortality. Even suspecting that someone had any sort of association with the devils was enough to burn said individual to the stake nowadays.

Superstitious bunch, the lot of them, she expected no better from Vol'jin who listened to the counsel of the Loa, beings that demanded blood and sacrifices and were mainly responsible for the suffering of most of the Troll tribes. Cairne was an old fool, a Shaman of all things and the Elements refused to grace him with a definite answer, no matter how nicely he asked the. So by default, he decided that Kael'thas joined the Legion. However, Thrall's attitude was what surprised her the most. He deferred to Cairne's judgment about the matter since the Tauren Chieftain was the senior Shaman. Since the Elements didn't answer his question, he decided to agree with the elder Shaman that no answer meant that the Elements were angry with the prince. 

So Thalia returned to Silvermoon empty handed, or more correctly, with the execution order for Kael'thas, his lieutenants and all those who had willingly joined the Legion in Outland. The execution order also included Illidan Stormrage and all his followers as well. Everyone believed that the Demon Hunter served the Legion, though Thalia saw no evidence of that. She remembered well the only time she ever saw the "Betrayer".

 Ruins of Dalaran. Six Years Ago

Standing in front of an altar, Illidan Stormrage was casting a spell that would have destroyed Icecrown and probably half of Northrend. His back was turned to them. Call it overconfidence in his abilities, call it lack of foresight, but he was alone. His Naga were nowhere to be seen. He looked more demon than Night Elf, Illidan now resembled the Nathrezim Dread Lord Malganis with the horns, bat-like wings, hooves and larger than normal size, but that was where their similarities ended. Illidan was very handsome, Thalia discovered that a few moments later when he turned his head towards them, his horns were larger and twisted and he had very long luscious black hair waving behind him as he chanted in a deep baritone voice in what she could only assume was a demonic language. The Eye of Sargeras in front of him began to glow fel green and pulsed. He was moving his large arms in rhythm with his chanting, the muscles of his biceps and back rippled at his every move. His skin looked even more purple as it glistened in sweat and the arcane tattoos in his arms glowed bright green. Thalia was mesmerized.

'That was of course until "fucking Malfurion", yeah, that's right, not "Shando Stormrage" like the Wardens addressed him in reverence or "Malfurion, my love" like that cock – teasing doe-eyed moon priestess whimpered at him in a breathless sexually depraved voice, fucked up the Sorcerer's spell by trapping him in thorns while that bat shit crazy Maiev charged at him.', Thalia watched as the Demon Hunter turned his head startled and sneered upon the sight of his brother and his Warden.

"What is the meaning of this? Don't you realize what I'm trying to do here, you fools? The undead menace will end here and now, Azeroth will be safe from the Scourge.", he spat at his brother and the Warden who was now struggling between Malfurion's and Kael'thas' iron grip.

"Let me kill him, he must pay for his crimes. Naisha and the others are dead because of him. Justice must be served!", Maiev hissed at the two Elves.

'To what cost, brother? The land of Northrend screamed to me in anguish, you were going to destroy it. Thousands of innocent souls would have perished had I allowed you to complete the spell", Malfurion replied, ignoring Maiev's yelling.

"Not if I was successful and you hadn't interfered. Only the Frozen Throne and the immediate surrounding area would have been flooded and the Lich King menace would have ended. You would all have been safe from the undead.", Illidan cried out in exasperation.

"The undead have already claimed Tyrande's life, brother. She was torn apart by them.", Malfurion hissed at his little brother.

"What? How could such a thing happen?", Illidan whispered as absolute devastation settled upon his features and fell to his knees.

"Begging your pardon, lords Stormrage, but lady Whisperwind was only swept away by the river. Isn't it premature to assume that the undead found her and tore her apart?", Kael'Thas interjected.

"Silence, Kael", Maiev hissed at the gorgeous blonde.

"You lied to me, Maiev. Now, who's the Betrayer?", Malfurion shouted at the Warden and trapped her in thorns just like he did with Illidan.

"Brother, despite all our differences, you know that I would never do anything to harm Tyrande. Allow me to search for her. My Naga will be able to find her faster than any of your scouts could.", Illidan pleaded with his brother, and Malfurion nodded and set him free. Without sparing a glance at the trapped Warden and her equally immobilized sisters, they took off, Illidan flew away while Malfurion turned into a bird and followed his little brother, while Maiev yelled at Kael'Thas for spilling the beans.

"Oh hush already, lady Shadowsong. You know very well that it was a blatant lie what you told your sovereign. No matter what differences you may have with the High Priestess, she is still your leader and you should have deferred to your court's judgment about what she did to your watchers rather than resorting to vigilante justice. Now no one will ever listen to you and take your side again.", Kael chastised Maiev and cast a silencing spell on her and her sisters who had joined their leader in shouting abuse at him.

"By the Sunwell, who would have thought that our ancestors would be so high maintenance!", he whispered to Thalia and Rommath and all three of them chuckled. Thalia half listened to Kael's and Rommath's humorous comments about their new Kaldorei friends, her eyes were fixed on the flying figure on the horizon as it became smaller and smaller.

'No one who loves so deeply can ever be the monster that these Kaldorei have portrayed Illidan to be. The look on his face and the sound of his voice when he thought that Tyrande was dead was absolutely heartbreaking. It was as if his entire world was just destroyed. Poor soul, to live most of his life "chained" under a mountain, be condemned to such fate by his own flesh and blood and the love of his life, to be scorned and hunted by the both them after an eternity of imprisonment, I wonder how can someone survive such disappointment and devastation without going completely mad. Well, I hope that things will fair better for him from now on. Shorel'aran, Illidan Stormrage.', Thalia sighed and turned her hawkstrider towards Lordamere lake, ready to return to the Sindorei camp for the night.

Sunstrider Isle. Present Time. 

Thalia was brought out of her reverie by the sound of someone teleporting outside her house. She looked up and saw Grand Magister Rommath approaching her porch. 'Well, that's odd. I only left them two hours ago to start my vacation away from petty politics. What could have possibly have happened to bring Rommath to my house? Unless he's not here on official business.', she stood up to greet him.

"Rommath, what brings you here at this hour? Did something happen?", she smiled as she kissed his cheek, took his hand and led him to her parlor to pour him a glass of Suntouched special reserved. Rommath gave her a bitter smile and shook his head.

"No, my dear. Nothing has happened since you left this afternoon. It's just that I've been thinking a lot since the day you returned from Orgrimmar with the execution order. It just doesn't sit right with me, Thalia. You and I have known the prince the longest. There is no way in fel that he would serve the Legion. This must be some kind of mistake. Kael hates the Legion, he would do everything within his power to destroy it. We must discover what happened. We must find him, talk to him and his lieutenants. Or better yet, talk to Lord Illidan. He should know what happened to our prince. Someone must travel to Outland and speak with all of them. No one must know of this, to talk to either of them constitutes treason. It should really be me taking this trip, but I'm closely watched by our Horde allies. They don't trust me, they are certain that I will do everything in my power to protect my best friend and prince. Lor'themar and Halduron can't know either, nor should Veline and Liadrin for plausible deniability reasons. Forgive me for asking this of you, Thalia, but it has to be you. You have already booked a month long meditation session at the Shrine of the Eternal Sun in Quel'Danas. The moment you lock your self in there, no one will think to follow you because they know that there is only one exit and any kind of magical transportation to and from there is impossible. Or so they think. ", Rommath smirked at that and removed a runestone necklace from his pocket.

"One does not spend two centuries of his life following Kael'thas Sunstrider, without having some of his brilliance and ingenuity imparted upon him. I have discovered a way to by pass the barriers. This runestone carries the sigil of Illidan Stormrage himself, no one in Karabor will dare harm you while you carry it. It will transport you right at the Temple Summit close to his quarters. He will be surprised, but he won't consider you a threat to him or his Illidari if you show this to him. He gave it to me, he will recognize it and will know that I sent you. Please ask him, discover what happened to our prince. He must know. Will you do that, Thalia?", Rommath looked at Thalia with big puppy eyes. Thalia sighed.

"Of course I'll do it, Rommath. I'd do anything to prove our prince's innocence, even if it means betraying our new allies. Tomorrow night, I'll be dining with the Lord of Outland and he will stir me towards the right direction. We will save our Prince.", she smiled at the gorgeous raven haired Mage and caressed his stubble. "So is this the only reason you called on me, Rommath?", she whispered suggestively.

"Of course not. No self-respected red blooded male would ever call on the lady Thalia Lightcaster and not take the opportunity to worship her and revel at her stunning beauty. May I please have the extremely rare opportunity to warm your bed tonight, my lady?", Rommath bowed at Thalia and kissed her hand, the warmth of his breath sending chills up her spine. The mage's lips traveled to her wrist and moved closer to her wrapping his arm around her waist. When his mouth found Thalia's, they both moaned. It's been years since they have come together like this. Not since decades before the first war did Rommath even dared to spare a lustful glance at Thalia, let alone touch her. The reason for that was that the then newly appointed Quel'dorei High Priestess of Dalaran met with the Prince for the first time since she was a little girl, and they both became enamored with each other and started an exclusive relationship that lasted for almost a century, until Kael became infatuated with Jaina Proudmore and Thalia with Arthas Menethil. Their brief reunion after the destruction of Dalaran and Quel'Thalas by the Scourge kept Rommath away from her and only now did he finally built up the courage to approach her again. He did not expect that Thalia would make the first move, never before had she ever been this bold in her romantic liaisons, she would usually have the male grovel and beg for her affections and that included Kael'thas and Arthas. Rommath couldn't help but feel honored and privileged by this and vowed to not make Thalia regret her decision.

It was no secret that Thalia fancied Rommath. She had a schoolgirl crush on him when she was still a novice Priestess and welcomed his advances when he expressed his interest towards her. Their romance lasted for over two decades until she met Kael'Thas in Dalaran and became completely smitten by him. Rommath was graceful enough to step down, but Thalia always felt guilt for leaving him in favor of the prince. So she was more than eager to make it up to him. She led him into her bedroom and asked him to sit on her bed. She then started to remove her clothes slowly, piece by piece until there was nothing left. Rommath watched her like a hawk, his breath quickening, and his heart racing.

'A strip tease for me, finally!', he grinned and his member jerked when Thalia removed her hair pins and shook her long black mane, allowing her hair to fall down her hips. She turned around and slowly walked to the other side of the room, where a large red pillow was tossed to the corner. She deliberately bent over to pick it up, providing Rommath with ample view of her rear and glistening wet nether regions. Rommath's trousers became painfully tight, but before he leaped up and taken Thalia right there and then, she stood up with the pillow in her hands and returned to him. She placed it at his feet and knelt in front of him. She grabbed the hem of his robe and pushed it upwards, Rommath helped her by taking it off completely leaving only his leggings on. Thalia grinned at the sight of his torso, for a Mage, he was well buffed and his blood tattoos made him look even more desirable. She slowly moved her hands from his ankles to his inner thighs tracing his legs all the way up there, while planting kisses as she closed into his crotch. When she reached the hem of his trousers she tried to pull them down with her teeth, but Rommath became impatient and cast his pants away, freeing his swollen member from their confines. Thalia grinned again, he was just as big as she remembered him to be. She gently grabbed his rod and blew at the very tip, stealing a painful moan from Rommath. She then kissed the tip and allowed her tongue to lick around the head, causing Rommath to whimper. She took pity on him and took him in her mouth.

"Oh, Thalia...my goddess!", Rommath hissed as he gently grabbed hold of her hair and pushed her head in a rhythm of her movements. He watched in awe as her other hand slowly traveled down her body and teased her nipples and then moved further south and played with her nub. As she approached her climax, her other hand left his shaft and played with his balls, gently squeezing them. That was Rommath's undoing, with a howl he came into her mouth. He tried to push Thalia away to spare her from filling her with his seed, but she had none of that. She kept him in place and swallowed him whole, reaching her own climax in the process. She looked up at him, he had collapsed on her bed with a huge goofy grin plastered on his handsome face. She laid beside him and nuzzled his shoulder.

"Did you enjoy that, gorgeous?", she asked.

"Enjoy? Honey, that was the best fellatio I ever had. You are amazing, I never thought that you would be that skilled in oral sex matters.", he leaned over and kissed her.

"One doesn't bed the crown prince of Quel'Thalas daily for almost a century, without learning a few tricks to spice things up, my dear.", she kissed him back.

"Well now that you took care of my urgent need, allow me to show you what I have learned.", Rommath chuckled and proceeded to worship her body from head to toe, rediscovering every nook and cranny and setting it on fire. Thalia's whimpers and moans echoed throughout the room, but Rommath was relentless, by the time his lips touched her nub, she exploded all around him with a scream. That didn't stop him, he proceeded with bringing over the edge again within a matter of minutes. Before she could recover he entered her and started to move inside her, with slow but powerful thrusts, making her moan and whimper with every move. He lifted her legs over his shoulder, one at a time and reached new depths, her moans became louder as she arched her back and came again. But Rommath was not done yet, he pulled out rolled her over and lifted her bottom high in the air. Thalia was now on prostrate position, waiting for Rommath to enter her again. She looked over her shoulder and eyed him questioningly. He grinned at her mischievously and winked as he pinched her buttocks.

"What is it that you want, sweetheart?", he asked her huskily.

"Why to fuck me three ways from Tuesday of course.", she replied with an equally mischievous grin on her face.

"Good girl!", he growled and with a playful smack on each cheek he entered her again, stealing even louder moans from her. He pushed her head down on the pillow and moved faster with more powerful thrusts. Thalia rested on her elbows and grabbed the sheets of her bed reveling in the sensation of Romath's hands grabbing her buttocks and squeezing them, as his member reached new depths and hitting her special spot. She couldn't take it anymore, she arched her back, threw her head up and screamed her ecstasy to the world, as Rommath followed suit and roared to the world that Thalia was his again. As the last spasms left his body, he had the sense to whisper a contraceptive incantation. Having children with Thalia was something he wanted to discuss with her first, after, all it was their duty to Quel'Thalas to have as many children as possible to repopulate their species. He collapsed next to her and pulled her into his arms.

"I know that this might kill the mood, sweetheart, but have you considered having a child with me? The people want their leaders to have as many children as we ask of them.", he whispered as he nuzzled her head.

'I thought about it myself, honey and I agree. Why don't we start trying as soon as I return from Outland.? But for now, I just want to get reacquainted with your body.", she whispered as straddled his and begun to explore his body, tracing his tattoos with her lips and tongue. "Thoroughly", she added and they both grinned.

Early the next morning Thalia stepped into the shrine as the door locked behind her. 'Here goes nothing', she shrugged put on the necklace and activated the runestone. A flash of fel green light enveloped her and she felt the all too familiar pulling sensation of teleportation. The bright red and golden marbles around her disappeared, only to be replaced by the dark green stones and metal of an alien building under a dim green sky. Thalia looked around trying to take in her new surroundings and came face to face with the Lord of Outland.

"Wow!", she whispered in awe.

Chapter Text

Karabor, The Temple Summit. One month before the Fall of the Black Temple

Illidan

Illidan never felt so weak in his entire life. His mission in Auchindoon took a very heavy toll on him, his power was nowhere near as close to what it was before the Draenei necromancers and their sinister forces attacked him and his fel orcs. A full day has passed since lady Malande discovered him unconscious in his chambers and he still felt like the first few days after he survived Frostmourne. Of course, he didn't admit any of that to the priestess, the last thing he wanted, was to admit to one of his subordinates how weak he felt nowadays. Especially since said subordinate was a beautiful female who more than once has made her true intentions towards him quite clear. He wasn't blind to her advances and not as uninterested as he appeared to be. He just felt that it would be inappropriate for him to become involved with a member of his inner council. So he continued to pretend that he didn't notice that she was flirting with him. He shrugged and paced the terrace. Nice steps either side, of course.

Things were not going as well as he had expected. Kael'thas had arbitrarily ordered an assault on Shattrath in his name! When did he ever expressed the desire to sack the city of a potential ally? When did he order Kael to do such a thing? Why had he not contacted him in two months? The last communication he had from the prince was that he discovered an abandoned crystal fortress in the north, established a base of operations and begun to harvest mana. He had also discovered numerous Legion outposts there and has sent two third of his forces under the command of Voren'thal the Seer to dispatch them. And today he discovered that he pulled them all from their successful campaign, and sent them to destroy the Draenei capital in Illidan's name.

The Demon Hunter was furious. He casted himself to where Akama was at the Warden's Cage and the Broken Priest informed him that rumor had it that Kael was talking to Kil'Jaeden, so Illidan ordered him to send someone to kill A'lar, Kael's Phoenix as a warning. He knew that the bird's death was only temporary, it should be reborn again in a few weeks time, he only wanted to let Kael know that he was watching him and that he should remember who their true enemy was. He glimpsed towards Maiev's cell, she had stopped her pacing for a moment to look at Illidan and then turned her back to him like a disgruntled lover. Oh, how he longed for her touch, how he wanted to feel her all around him once again and hear her cries of passion. It didn't help that since that fateful night, all of his dreams were about her. Only the setting was sometimes different. She was not his prisoner here at the Black Temple, but rather he was hers at Mt. Hyjal. And it felt just as real as THAT night. That puzzled him, because never in the ten thousand years of his imprisonment did he ever touch her. But the dreams were so vivid, he could smell her, taste her, feel her as if it was a real encounter and not just a wet dream. Now, as he looked at the billowing green cloak and the long white ponytail that reached the small of her back, he wanted nothing more than to help her out of it and run his fingers through her long silky hair. He almost ordered everyone to leave so that he could run to her cell and pull her into his arms. But he caught himself at the last moment and callously asked about the prisoner's condition. He heard her indignant scoff at his question as Akama informed him that she was fairing well, and grinned inwardly. He grunted and teleported back to the summit at great cost of his stamina.

Illidan spent the rest of the day sitting on a ledge trying to regain his strength. Only now, did he feel well enough to begin pacing again, thinking over the events of the last few months and making plans for the future. On his hundredth set, a flash of light and a bang forced him to turn around startled, ready to draw the glaives of Azzinoth and impale whoever dared to invade his inner sanctum, only to have the most beautiful Sin' dorei female he had ever seen in his life almost fall into his arms. The rune jewel dangling from her neck assured him that she was a friend and not a foe, he remembered giving the artifact to young Rommath years ago and concluded that she was sent by him to deliver a message.

“Wow”, she whispered and then bowed to him, Kaldorei style.

'Well that should really be my line, gorgeous!', he smirked.

“I formally request an audience with the lord of Outland, master Stormrage. I am lady Thalia Lightcaster, High Priestess of Quel'thalas and member of the new Silvermoon Convocation.”, she addressed him in Darnassian.

'She speaks my language, very impressive', he smiled at her despite wanting to look more austere. But her beauty and aura made him act quite at ease around her even though he only just met her. Well officially, that is. He was certain that he had a brief glimpse of her before he flew out of the Dalaran ruins in search for Tyrande.

“Welcome to Outland, lady Lightcaster. What brings you here so far away from Quel'Thalas? I must say, that I'm surprised to see you again after Dalaran.”, he cocked his head to her.

“You remember me, my lord?”, Thalia was surprised that the Demon Hunter noticed anyone besides his brother and Maiev back then.

“I never forget a beautiful face, young Thalia. You could be hiding in a sea of a thousand of masqueraders, and any full-blooded male would still spot you in an instant.”, Thalia blushed bright red at that, she never expected a compliment like that from the "Betrayer". Her blush earned her a grin from Illidan.

“I am honored, my lord”, she grinned back at him. “As you may be aware already, a vast army is amassing, ready to march against you and my prince. They believe that you both serve the Legion. Especially after the failed attack against Shattrath. They have issued an execution order for the both of you and all those who follow you.”,Thalia informed the Demon Hunter.

“I did not order the attack on the Draenei capital, young one. Why would I want to make an enemy out of the enemy of my enemy? It would have been a very foolish move on my part and extremely counterproductive. My enemy always has and always will be the Burning Legion and not the natives of this land, nor the inhabitants of Azeroth. It was your prince who arbitrarily ordered the attack in my name and lost most of his forces as a result since they defected. Even they saw the foolishness of such a move. Kael'thas left Karabor three months ago to explore Netherstrom. I haven't heard from him in two months, I have no knowledge of what he is up to. I would go to investigate my self, but unfortunately, I am very busy at the moment with my preparations for different Legion campaigns. I will, however, send one of my Demon Hunters tomorrow to investigate Tempest keep and your prince's dealings. Telarius Voidstrider has a talent in stealth and a keen and penetrating mind. He will get to the bottom of this. Perhaps you should join him, he will provide you with ample protection and will detect any threats, especially demonic ones.”, Illidan informed the priestess.

“That would be amazing, my lord. I am very grateful about this.”, she bowed her head at the Master of the Illidari.

“It's the least I can do for your kind, young one. Your prince and your people here in Outland trusted me and followed me in my campaign against the Legion and the Lich King. Hundreds of them offered to become Demon Hunters, and many others are bolstering my forces here in Shadowmoon Valley and at Terokkar forest. I couldn't have accomplished so much these past six years, had it not been for their constant support and dedication. We will get to the bottom of this and we will save your prince and your people even if is from themselves.”, Illidan promised Thalia.

“You've been training more Demon Hunters, my lord?”, Thalia's scientific curiosity perked up. She wondered how her people made the decision to train and become Demon Hunters and how they fared during their training. 'Whatever it was, I'm certain that it wasn't pretty.'.

“Yes, I have hundreds of Demon Hunters under my command now, both Sin'dorei and Kal'dorei who agreed with my views and sought me out. The training is extremely difficult and quite often lethal, but none suffered more than I had when I became a Demon Hunter ten thousand years ago. They can now deal with any demon that dares to cross their path quite easily. Together we have dealt devastating blows on many Legion's worlds, destroying them and depriving them of powerful artifacts and resources. The most notable of them all was Nathreza, two months ago.”, Illidan informed the Priestess.

“You destroyed the planet of the Dread Lords? The home of Malganis is no more?”, Thalia squealed and clapped her hands like a little girl. Illidan chuckled at her reaction and nodded.

“Indeed we have. It was not an easy feat, many good Elves died that day, but I promise you that the home of the Nathrezim is now floating into the Twisting Nether in pieces. I am not certain whether Malganis or Tichondrious were there when it happened, but I can only hope that we were that lucky. Would you like a tour of Karabor and meet some of my Demon Hunters, young Thalia?”, Illidan offered his arm to the gorgeous Priestess, who wrapped her arm around his elbow and looked up at him.

“I would be honored, my lord!”, she smiled.

Illidan led her down the stairs to the Elven quarter, dozens of Sin'dorei and Kal'dorei residents were lounging on benches under trees or around the numerous ponds and fountains that adorned that part of the temple. It was very strange to find gardens in the Black Temple, but Thalia discovered that Karabor was adorned with a great number of them. All the Elves smiled, jumped to their feet and bowed to their lord, eyeing Thalia curiously. Illidan nodded at them and led Thalia further into the bowels of the Temple. The priestess was very impressed by how the Blood and the Night Elves were so much at ease with each other, they appeared to be friends and that was extraordinary since in Azeroth they were sworn enemies. And that was not only because they belonged to different factions, but also because even though it has been eight thousand years since the Highborn were exiled from Kalimdor, the Kal'dorei still did not trust anyone associated with the arcane. On the other hand, the Sin'dorei were enraged that they were still not allowed anywhere near the Well of Eternity, something that would have alleviated their withdrawal symptoms. But it would appear that here, all of that did not matter. They were here to fight the Legion, so any petty differences were cast aside.

"The Kal'dorei you see are here to train as Demon Hunters, they sought me out over the years and now I have a good number of my kin bolstering my Illidary. Most of my Demon Hunters are Sin'dorei at the moment, so for the past three months, I've focussed on recruiting only Kal'dorei, giving your kin a break for a while. The Blood Elves you just saw are my elite non-Demon Hunter forces here in Shadowmoon Valley, my last line of defense should everything else fails. They are all very experienced and extraordinary fighters, a testament to your peoples' excellent fighting skills and your Prince's unwavering trust in them. He could have taken them with him but chose to leave them in my care. For that, I am grateful.", Illidan explained to Thalia. The Lord of Outland led Thalia through the Den of Mortal Delights, he explained to the priestess that none of the residents were here against their will and that they were handsomely compensated for their services. Thalia understood the soldiers need for comfort and since none of the scantily dressed people she saw sprawled on ottomans and pillows appeared to be here against their will and she did not detect any will dominating spells, she did not judge the troops for hiring their services. The Demon Hunter and the Priestess walked into the Sanctuary of Shadows, where Thalia heard the most beautiful yet most haunting music in her life. It was a chorus of female and male voices accompanied by a medley of melodic instruments. Though Thalia did not understand the words, she was captivated by the raw emotions the music and lyrics stirred in her, she could feel the sadness, the desperation, and the anguish of the composer. Illidan saw how captivated she was and decided to explain what she was hearing.

"You feel it, don't you? Though this song was composed long before I was even born, it captures the heart of everyone who hears it because it speaks to each person's soul and relates to his or her's personal anguish. It was written and composed by a Draenei Priestess as she and her people fled Argus. I don't speak their language, but I was told that “Chronakai Kristor!”, roughly translates into “The Legion will fall”. My Illidary are the performers, Lady Malande and Gathios the Shatterer lead the chorus. I believe that they are excellent so I tasked High Nethermancer Zerevor to enchant these halls so that this song can be constantly played here, but Akama claims that they have slaughtered it.”, Illidan shrugged at his last comment.

“I think it's wonderful, my lord, never has a song captivated me so completely!”, Thalia closed her eyes and enjoyed the last verses of the song, that in her mind promised salvation.

“Perhaps Lady Malande can teach it to you when you return. Legion themed songs always remain contemporary. I could have sung it ten thousand years ago or just last night, and it would still stir people's hearts.”, the Lord of Outland led Thalia up a set of stairs heavily guarded by Orcs who saluted Illidan as the two Elves passed by them.

Instead of continuing up the next set of stairs, they walked towards the wall on the other side. He waved his hand and chanted something in demonic. Runes flashed green in an intricate pattern and a gate appeared. As soon as they walked through it, it disappeared. Sconces lit up as they walked down a large flight of stairs that led into a semicircular cavernous chamber bustling with life. A large atrium was lined with smaller chambers. On the left side, there were several lecture halls, while on the other side there was an infirmary, a dining hall, and a library. Several Demon Hunters, Sin'dorei and Broken healers and Magi were sitting on the benches around the garden, while others hurried towards the infirmary, the lecture hall or the library. On top of these chambers, overlooking the atrium were several rooms that Thalia concluded were dormitories for the Demon Hunters as a good number of them were either entering them or were running down towards the other end of the atrium that opened to the training grounds. They all stopped what they were doing and bowed to Illidan who nodded his head and continued towards the training area with Thalia still wrapped around his arm. Hundreds of Demon Hunters Kal'dorei and Sin'dorei, male and female, big and small, young and old were sparring with each other, exercised or trained with an instructor following his or her orders to the letter or hung to their every word as they lectured them as if their life depended on it.

'And it probably does', Thalia concluded as she watched Azeroth's greatest hope train for the inevitable Armaggedon that the Legion will eventually unleash upon their world. 'Correction, All worlds'.

“This is all amazing, my lord. You have done wonders with my people and your kin. These Elves are the last best hope for Azeroth. Without them fighting the Legion and you leading them, all worlds will burn”, she looked up at the master of the Illidary.

“We need more of them and more ways to destroy the Burning Legion. I've been working on several projects and soon we will have a way to attack other core Legion worlds directly. Perhaps we could get to Argus itself. But first, we have to ensure that the Legion does not destroy us instead, by infiltrating my ranks and corrupting my highest ranking officers. And you and Telarius are going to ensure that. TELARIUS!”, Illidan bellowed the name of his Demon Hunter, and a tall Night Elf with long dark hair and a pleasant face glided in front of his master and bowed to him.

“At your service, my Lord.”, he rasped.

In the past few moments that she was surrounded by the Demon Hunters, Thalia noticed that when they spoke, their voice was very raspy as if they had a heavy cold. 'Or as if they screamed for hours. Even Lord Illidan's voice was raspy, though not as much as theirs. But he had ten thousand years to recover from whatever caused him to scream so much.', Thalia shuddered inwardly thinking about the horrors Illidan and his Demon Hunters must have gone through during their transformation.

“This is Lady Thalia Lightcaster, the High Priestess of Quel'Thalas and a member of the New Silvermoon Convocation. She is here to determine whether Prince Kael'thas has joined the Legion or has just finally succumbed to his addiction and we are going to help her. I want you to accompany her to Eclipse and Firewing points and retrace the Prince's steps from here to Tempest Keep. I have the utmost faith in you, my Illidary and I am confident that you will both get to the bottom of this and will keep the Lady safe from harm.”, Illidan gave his subordinate his mission and the Demon Hunter was all too eager to accept it.

“I will not fail you, master.”, he saluted his mentor and bowed his head to Thalia before he scurried off to his quarters to prepare for his mission.

“There you go, Thalia. You will soon discover the fate of your Prince and I will know whether he has betrayed me or not. We have a very difficult road ahead of us and we cannot lose anyone to the Legion. Especially someone so powerful and talented as Kael'thas. Not to mention all of his troops and resources.”.

“You're right, my Lord. We can't afford to lose anyone and great measures need to be taken. As well as precautions. As amazing as this place is.”, she waved her hand around the Illidary training compound, “aren't your Demon Hunters exposed from the sky?”, she pointed at the open space over them and the glass dome over the atrium.

“Actually, they are not. The entire compound is magically enchanted to look, feel and be scanned as solid rock. My Illidary are safe from any external threat. Well now that I have assigned Telarius his mission, why don't I tell you all about my campaign against the Legion over dinner?”, Illidan felt very relieved that the beautiful Elf came into his life when she did, she would provide the perfect distraction from thinking about Maiev. He was determined to erase every memory of the Huntress on the Priestess' gorgeous body, he was certain that he will accomplish that tonight.

'One way or another, no matter how many times I bring us over the edge, I will wipe Maiev's image from my mind once and for all.' he vowed to himself and escorted the Priestess back at the Temple Summit where a dining table was set up for them.

“Resources are not so easily available in Shadowmoon Valley. The fel has corrupted all the plant and wildlife here. Even the water is undrinkable. Everything is brought in from Terrokar Forrest and Nagrand, and with the increased number of attacks against my outposts there it has become even more difficult to have fresh meat and vegetables every day. So I've decreed that food should be rationed till further notice. Thankfully, my enemies have not yet discovered the underground aqueducts that provide Karabor and the rest of my outposts with water so we have plenty of that, and the cisterns all around Karabor are full. So you will have to understand that our dinner will be very light.”, Illidan was not the type to apologize about anything but he hoped that the priestess would be understanding.

“You should not be concerned about trivial things such as food, my Lord. Ever since Arthas ravaged my land, I have learned to forgo creature comforts and live off rations. Only during the past year has Quel'thalas been able to find some semblance of a normal life that included more than one meal a day. Anything you might have to offer me will be greatly appreciated.”, Thalia smiled gracefully and took a bite of the unidentified meat on her plate and was surprised that it was quite delicious. And so were the vegetables and the Draenei flatbread. The wine was not Suntouched special reserved, but rather a local Draenei reserve made from Nagrand berries, but it was quite pleasing.

“I am pleased that you enjoy this meager dinner, Thalia. Rest assured, that should you return at a future time, a proper feast will be set up in your honor and Kael'thas will be here, along with all his people. And together, we will bring the Legion to its knees. To the fall of the Legion, then!”, he raised his goblet to her and Thalia clanged her goblet with his.

It was a pleasant dinner, Illidan possessed a devilish charm and the young Priestess became enthralled. Before Thalia knew it she was sprawled on his bed writhing and moaning under him while he moved on top of her in wild abandon. His clever fingers played her body like a well-attuned music instrument, he kissed nipped and licked every nook and cranny and brought her over the edge more times than she could count. He was like a man possessed, it was like he just couldn't get enough of her, as soon as he would spill his seed inside her, he was ready for more. He took her in every surface of the room, both vertical and horizontal and in every position possible, Thalia was certain that she will be sore for days after her body was bent and twisted in awkward positions for what seemed to her like hours. Not that she complained about it. She enjoyed every second of their lovemaking, so much so, that she even forgot to cast a contraceptive spell on her. It was way past dawn when they collapsed in each other's arms spent, and late afternoon when they finally woke up. With an embarrassed look on his face, Illidan escorted Thalia at the Temple summit where Telarius was waiting for them since early morning. He appeared to be unfazed and unconcerned despite waiting for them for so many hours, but Talia caught him flaring his nostrils and smirking when she stood next to him waiting for Illidan to open a portal for them to Eclipse Point.

Chapter Text

Outland, One month before the Fall of the Black Temple

The Shadowmoon Blood Elven outpost was based on an old Draenei ruin. It was a strange place, mostly due to the fact that although Shadowmoon Valley was bathed in fel green and black in its entirety, the ruins of Eclipse point held a deep blood red haze. Grand Commander Ruusk, an old acquaintance of Thalia, was both surprised and pleased to see her but could not give her any insight into their Prince's recent activities.

“I'm afraid that the last time I saw the Prince, was three months ago when he ordered me to remain behind with my forces and aid Lord Illidan in his missions. Since then, all we've been doing is raiding Demon Hold along with him and the Demon Hunters and defending Shadowmoon Valley from any threats. And lately, such threats included attacks from the Sindorei of the Sanctum of the Stars base, the Wildhammer Dwarves, the Shattari Draenei, and the Shadowmoon Village Horde troops. Even the Sindorei within their ranks are harassing my forces. Why would they do that? I understand the Scryers' behavior, they are blood traitors who fell victim to Voren'thal's lies, but why would the rest of our kin attack us? Don't they understand what we're trying to do here in this Sun-forsaken place? Have they lost faith in our Prince? All he ever did was try to find a cure for our affliction and fight the Legion. Why are they attacking us?”, the Commander pored some more wine in Thalia's and Telarius' goblets.

“They are all convinced that our Prince has betrayed us all and is serving the Legion now. They believe the same about Lord Illidan and his Illidary. Our mission is to find the Prince and prove everyone wrong. You should know Ruusk, that there's a bounty on your head. The rest of your forces as well. As a matter of fact, everyone under Lord Illidan's and Prince Kael'thas' banners have a price on their head. You should inform your troops, everyone in Karabor knows about it already, Lord Illidan should have informed the Illidary council by now, and Telarius and I will inform everyone else from Firewing Point all the way to Tempest Keep. Please be careful. Thank you for your hospitality.”, Thalia gave the Commander a peck on his cheek and stepped through a portal an Eclipsian Battle Mage opened for her and Telarius for Firewing point.

They stepped out into a massacre. Everyone was dead, either stabbed shot or hit by a magical spell. Others were maimed by a beast, either a hunter's pet, a feral or guardian druid. The entire outpost was set aflame and the two Elves could see a Calvary riding towards Shatrath city in the distance.

“A raiding party.”, Telarius rasped, “those cowards attacked our people, sacked the outpost and stole anything of value. I can spot different kinds of races among them, it was a joint attack from both Horde and Alliance races. Aww, how endearing, bitter enemies united against a common “foe”. Fools! Our people could not have died more than an hour ago, Lady Thalia. Do you think that you can revive them?”, the Demon Hunter's sightless gaze fell upon the Priestess with a hopeful look on his face.

“I can sure try, Telarius. And please call me Thalia. We are partners in this mission, I'm not your superior officer.”, Thalia lifted one hand in the air, while she stabbed the ground with her staff and begun to chant a prayer to the Light. A beam of Light came down from the sky and connected with her outstretched arm. She glowed gold, her hair, robe, and cloak billowed behind her as the Light reached her staff. Dragonwrath glowed white in turn and the beam of Light extended like an umbrella all over Firewing Post, covering it completely.

“ANAR'ALAH BELORE ANARAL SHINDU SIN'DOREI!”, Thalia roared and the fallen children of Quel'thalas rose to their feet, alive and well. “Telarius, Magi, get everyone out of the burning buildings before they are burned to a crisp”, the Priestess bellowed as she casted additional healing spells to those whose fatal injuries were more gruesome. Soon all the mass resurrected Sindorei and their leader Sharth Voldoon were gathered at the outpost's square and were updating Thalia and Telarius about the sneak attack that was most likely orchestrated by no other than Voren'thal the Seer himself.

“He came to us a week ago, Lady Thalia. He informed us that the Prince has betrayed us all and is not serving Kil'Jaeden. He demanded that we should defect from the Illidary immediately and pledge our allegiance to the Scryers and the Horde. Naturally, we refused to denounce our loyalty to the Prince and Lord Illidan and asked him to leave Firewing point and never return. So a few hours ago, they attacked us from all sides. Horde, Alliance, Scryers and Aldor, fell upon us like locust, screaming something about me ordering the detonation of a mana bomb at the Cenarion Thicket and constructing another one in my “secret lab”. It's no secret that Pathaleon the Calculator sent me the schematics and codes to create a mana bomb, but it was going to be used against the Legion, not against the druids of the Thicket, nor Shatrath city. Why would we want to destroy the home of a bunch of weed smoking, tree hugging hippies who just want to heal this world? Until recently, we considered the residents of Shatrath as potential allies and thus a friendly party. The attack against the Druids took place a day ago. And the Scryers believing that it was us attacked us, though we had nothing to do with all that mess. Not that they would have believed me if I told them that. I was not here when the attack began. I was returning from Shatrath city where I spent five days buying supplies and listening to what people were saying about us. I must admit that I was shocked by the lies those treacherous Scryers have spread about the Prince and those of us loyal to him. I pretended to be a pilgrim, a simple charm concealed my true identity. The shopkeepers and the patrons at the “World's End” tavern were trying to “convince me” to not travel to Tempest Keep, but rather bring my family to Shatrath and pledge allegiance to the Scryers. Ha...as if! Anyhow, I teleported back here, right in the middle of the massacre. As I was trying to defend my people from those vermin, a group of mercenaries run out of my tower and informed their commanding officers that they had just killed me right after they witnessed a secret communique between my self and Lord Pathaleon that proved beyond doubt that we were behind the attack on the Cenarion Thicket. I was still under a disguise, they did not realize that they had just killed a doppelganger, probably a Dreadlord who staged that whole charade to incriminate the Sunfuries for something we didn't do.”, Sharth Voldoon explained as Thalia casted Light spells on him trying to purge the poison that coated the daggers of the Gnome Rogue who sliced his heels, causing him to fall to the ground writhing in agony thus giving his attackers the opportunity to close in and finish him off with their swords and arrows.

“It is horrible what happened to you, and what makes it even more horrendous is the fact that you were attacked by someone who until recently was one of your leaders, a father figure, a protector, one that you went to for comfort and counsel. And he betrayed you in the most heinous of ways. He will pay for what he did, this I promise you. I will speak with Kael'thas about it, and his punishment will be swift and very painful. So when was the last time you saw the Prince or had any contact with the Sunfuries, Sharth?”, Thalia smiled at the Blood Knight as she gave him a blood replenishing potion.

“Less than three months ago on his way to Netherstorm. He was in good spirits, confident, optimistic and very eager to explore the land that potentially holds the key to our salvation. He ordered me to defend this outpost against the Legion to the best of my abilities, obey Lord Illidan's commands and protect the people under my command. They then portalled out of here. He did not inform me whether he would be making any other stops. I honestly do not know what happened up there, Lady Thalia, but one thing's for certain. I will not pass judgment on our Prince until I have all the facts. I want to know the reason why he ordered an attack on Shatrath, and whether he is truly serving Kil'Jaeden. Until then, I will remain a loyal subject of the Sunstrider royal line and I will lay down my life for my Prince.”, Sharth brought his fist over his heart in a Sin'dorei salute.

“I know that you will, Commander. I know that all of you will and the Prince will be very touched and proud when he hears about how bravely you defended this outpost and his honor.”, Thalia saluted back and turned towards the rest.

“Is anyone missing? Are you all accounted for? We need to decide where you all shall go now.”, the Priestess feared that being so close to Shatrath city, the Firewing Point Sunfuries were at great risk of being attacked again once the Scryers and rest discovered that they were still alive. The Priests within the Sunfury ranks informed her that everyone was present.

“I believe that it would be best if you all returned to Karabor and inform Lord Illidan about what just happened. He needs to know and prepare against the local and Azerothian forces. It would be best if the Firewing Sunfuries bolstered the Karabor and Eclipse Point's forces.”, Telarius rasped and Sharth and the rest of his forces nodded their heads in agreement.

“Well then, in that case, the magi should begin opening portals to the Black Temple and perhaps open one for the Coilscar Reservoir for us”, Thalia decided and several magi opened portals to Karabor and one for the Priestess and the Demon Hunter in the end. Soon there was nothing left at Firewing Point but the smoking ruins of a once powerful outpost.

The hot and steamy air of the Serpentshrine Cavern hit Thalia like a ton of bricks. She had heard all about what the Naga leader was doing to the marsh by Rommath and did not agree with her plan to coerce the Outland inhabitants into joining forces with them by controlling all the water supply. Rommath assured her that neither he nor Kael'thas agreed either, but every time they had tried to inform Illidan about what Vash was really doing at the marsh, he would reply that he had the utmost faith in Vash and all of his commanders. He trusted them so much so, that he did not feel the need to breathe down their necks at all times. They all had free reign to do anything that would bring the end of the Burning Legion. So the two Sindorei would shrug and go about their business. It wasn't that what Vash was doing had any real impact outside Zangarmarsh. Nagrand had its own independent source of water and so did Terokkar Forest, Blade's Edge Mountain and some parts of Netherstorm. It was Hellfire Peninsula and Shadowmoon Valley that suffered from aridity, but the latter got it's water supply from elsewhere, while the former was so sparsely inhabited, that the drop of the lakes' water levels had no real impact on the inhabitants. As for Zangarmarsh itself, Vash felt confident that the Draenei and the other local's resolve would soon falter and they would pledge their allegiance to the Illidary. Thalia felt that at another time she would have voiced her opposition to the Naga's plans, but her Prince' s fate was more important now. So she smiled at Vash and asked her about Kael.

“I have not ssseen young Kael in three monthssss, young Pristesss. I know nothing about hisss planssss. Lord Illidan never told me anything about what he isss doing up there, and I never bothered to asssk. I have more presssing mattersss to deal with, forcesss are amassing, both Horde and Alliance, ready to ruin my plansss, but I will not allow this. They will bow down to me and the Naga.”, the sea sorceress hissed at Thalia.

“Don't you mean that they will bow down to Lord Illidan and the Illidary?”, Thalia raised an eyebrow.

“Yesss, of course. That'sss what I meant. Now if there iss not anything elsse you need young one, I'll portal you to the edge of the marsssh to speed up your journey north. I cannot do more than that, I need to reserve my power to bolssster our defencesss. Essshnu Falah' Nah to the both of you.”, Vash raised two of her hands and teleported them at the opening of the cave that connected Zangarmarsh to Blade's Edge Mountain.

“But I had more questions.”, Thalia protested, but it was too late. Telarius shrugged and pointed towards the entrance of the cave.

“It's a two weeks trek to Gruul's Lair, Thalia. The sooner we get there, the faster we can get mounts to fly us the rest of the way.”, he rasped and walked into the cave. Thalia sighed and followed him.

The cave was large, filthy and crawling with hundreds of different creepy crawlers of many different sizes, but Telarius' “Eye Beam” took care of them before Thalia could even raise her hands to cast a Smite. To say that she was relieved to see the daylight at the other side of the cave two days later, was an understatement. Not that the rest of the journey was easier. When the natives of the land did not attack them, the Horde and the Alliance forces did. Thalia remained in Shadow Form at all time, lest the Sin'dorei Horde troops recognized her. That delayed their journey further, the two Elves reached Gruul's Lair twenty days after they entered the cave at Zangarmarsh. Only to discover that it was littered with the bloating corpses of the Ogres that used to call Gruul's lair their home. The two Elves covered their faces to mask the smell of death and approached Gruul's cave, but stopped abruptly a few yards away from it and gagged by the stench emanating from inside. It did not require a genius to realize what had happened there. The Horde or the Alliance attacked Gruul and managed to kill him.

“We need to find mounts and get out of here fast. Times's running out for me. I only have ten more days to discover what happened to Kael, before they realize that I'm missing from Quel'Danas.”, Thalia looked at Telarius and was shocked to discover that he was grinning. And soon, she knew the reason why. High above them alone Netherdrake was circling the carnage scene that was once Gruul's lair, probably searching for his dead master. With a high pitched whistle, Telarius called the great beast to the ground. He approached it slowly and extended his hand to it. The drake sniffed it and licked it. The Demon Hunter patted his head and the beast began to purr like a kitten.

“You seem to have a way with animals, Telarius”, Thalia grinned and approached them, cautiously.

“I was a drake tamer another lifetime ago, Thalia”, Telarius shrugged and mounted the drake, extending his hand at Thalia.

“Well let's get going”, Thalia secured her self behind the Demon Hunter and hugged his torso as the drake kicked off the ground. The Shadow Priestess inhaled sharply and closed her eyes as they crossed the great void between the two continents. Telarius had opted to fly north of the small strip of land that connected the two large land masses, in order to avoid detection from Horde or Alliance patrols. Netherstorm was an even more unwelcoming continent than Hellfire Peninsula and Blade's Edge Mountains. Bereft of all plant life, only scavengers and rogue Elementals roamed the barren land. The two Elves spotted a large structure close to their position and flew towards it. As soon as they landed on a small hill behind it they saw that it was occupied by dozens of Blood Elves who were scurried about working on something that neither of them could understand. Thalia made to go and greet them, but Telarius stopped her.

“They're not Elves.”, he hissed, “My spectral sight revealed their true identity. They are Nathrezim of all shapes, sizes, and genders.”

“But what happened to my kin then?”, She whispered devastated.

“I believe I can answer that, Priestess”, a deep voice made both Elves jump. Telarius drew his glaives and Thalia shifted into her shadow form as they both turned around to face the new perceived threat. Thalia gasped at the sight of the creature. He seemed to be made of mist, as a matter of fact, the only indication that he actually had a form was the large strips of gauze that were wrapped around him from head to toe. Even his “face” was concealed by the cloth.

“Wh...what are you?”, the Priestess whispered.

“An Ethereal. A species residing in Outland, but it's not of this world.”, Telarius answered her question.

“Correct. Like the Draenei, we lost our world to a devastating foe. Only in our case, it was not the Legion, but the Void. It not only took our home, but it stole our corporeal bodies as well, damning us to wonder the Cosmos in our spiritual form forever.”, the Ethereal sighed.

“I'm sorry to hear that. You have the Sin'dorei's sympathy for what has happened to your species. Can you please tell me what has happened to mine here in this Light-forsaken place?”, though curious to learn more about this new species, Thalia was more interest to know what happened to her before she had the luxury to satisfy her own scientific curiosity.

“It all started about six months ago. Back then, this continent was a large and luscious rainforest, until the Legion came and begun to enslave the locals and corrupting the land. Then three months ago, the Elves came and begun to push them back. They had almost annihilated the devils, but all of a sudden the entire army withdrew, leaving only a handful of fighters at the outposts all around this land. Soon, another Elven army came and attacked them. The defending Elves seeing that their magical defenses crumbled before the might of their kin, escaped by means of portals, to where? Only the Void knows. The new Elves built these monstrosities all over this continent and begun to harvest the chaotic magical energies of this land, stripping it of all of its resources and damning it forever. These Elves are responsible for the current state of this continent. Only two small pockets of vegetation remain, my people had created two oasis' in order to preserve whatever flora and fauna remained on this continent.”, the two Elves were speechless as the Ethereal concluded his narrative.

“You should know, that none of the residents of that “mana forge” are Sin'dorei. They are Nathrezim who took my kin's form for Light knows what purpose. That's what we' re here to discover.”, Thalia explained to the Ethereal.

“Be that as it may, they must be stopped. I'm afraid that my people have no army to spare, but I've heard that the Horde and the Alliance are amassing strike forces to destroy these abominations. Here are the coordinates of the other “mana forges”, should you wish to inspect the damage they have caused to this land. They're yours in exchange for those lovely emerald earnings dangling from your pretty ears, my Lady. “, Thalia could sense that the Ethereal would have grinned if he still had a face. Like goblins, these creatures didn't give anything for nothing. She shrugged and removed them. They meant little to her, she bought them years ago at an open market in Stormwind, a day after the crowning of King Llane. Thalia and Kael sneaked out and explored the city alone without any guards to bother them. The merchant was very old and senile and did not realize the true value of the earrings, thinking that it was just green crystal. When Thalia realized that they were emeralds, she tried to find him and pay him the difference, but he was already gone. Now she handed the earrings over to the Ethereal and he gave her the crystal with the coordinates. With a quick nod, Telarius climbed on the Netherdrake and helped Thalia climb behind him. The Priestess activated the crystal and told him the coordinates. The drake kicked off and headed towards the east. Thalia was saddened to hear from Telarius that the Elves there were all replaced by Dreadlords. The same motif repeated it self several more times as they visited all of the mana forges. They noticed that all of them had large pipes leading towards the southeast, so they decided to follow them and see where they ended. A majestic crystal fortress came into view days later, surrounded by three smaller ones. They were all suspended high up in the air at the edge of the Netherstorm continent.

“We have to move with caution, Thalia. Every place we visited so far was infested with demons, we should not expect anything different here.”, Telarius rasped as they approached a small Goblin outpost underneath the fortress.

“I need to see for my self if my Prince has been replaced by a devil and discover his fate, but you're right. We need to be careful. They can't know that I came with you, they will think that Lord Illidan sent you. I must appear to be alone. Is there a way for you to remain hidden?”, she gasped as a column of shadow replaced the Demon Hunter and he vanished.

“I'll take that as a yes, then.”, she chuckled and moved to the front of the drake as Telarius jumped up and glided behind her.

“They'll never know I was there and should they attempt to harm you, they will taste the wrath of my blades.”, he whispered in her ear as he wrapped his large tattooed arms around her. Moments later the drake landed on the platform of the largest of the crystal structures. Four warriors were guarding the entrance, two females and two male, clad in red and black plate armor. A black tabard with a double-headed red phoenix covered their chest.

'The Mark of the Sunfury Elves, Kael'thas' loyal forces who blindly followed him here from the Scourge ravaged and of Quel'thalas just to meet their end in this Light-forsaken land. All stunningly beautiful and all blond of course, just like their leader.', Thalia stopped at her tracks when all four of them raised their weapons at her.

“Halt. Who goes there? How dare you so brazenly walk into our Κing's domain unannounced? Identify your self at once.”, the leader of the four ordered her. 'They don't recognize me, though they should. I was their prince's consort for almost a century, they know me by name and so do I. All of them. Clearly, they're impostors, I don't need Telarius' spectral site to confirm it. Better play along and pretend that I don't know them either.'

“I'm Lady Thalia Lightcaster, High Priestess of Quel'thalas and member of the Silvermoon Convocation. I respectfully request an audience with the Prince.”, Thalia lifted her chin and sneered at them, assuming the role of a snobbish, spoiled noble.

“His proper title is the “Sun King” now. See that you remember that when you address him, lest you wish to be reduced to cinders, my Lady.”, the leader sneered back at her as she waved her hand to open the gate.

It was a majestic place, there's no denying that. Thalia was in awe. Gleaming red metal walls of various shades merged with gray metal floors, sheer purple ceilings, and large bay windows, giving this place an out wordly hue. It was no wonder that Kael'thas was so taken with this place when he first discovered it, it was absolutely stunning. And Elves are known for their love fr everything beautiful and elegant. Thalia nodded at the guard who was dispatched to escort her to the throne room and followed three steps behind her as it was customary for high-ranking guests. Her breath hitched at the sight of A'lar, she hasn't seen him in years and she missed him so. She recalled how Kael would summon him, lift her up into his lap wrapping his arms around her as they flew around Hillsbrad foothills and the Eversong Woods in supernatural speeds, soaring through the clouds chasing the sun or the moon and landing on remote mountaintops where they would make love till sunrise. There were also occasions where they made love on top of A'lar as he flew through the sky. Now the great bird sang to her mournfully but did not approach, sensing the direness of the situation.

'Bless him, he knows that something's amiss and does not want to blow my cover, Phoenixes are truly amazing beings', Thalia gave A'lar as a small smile and continued to ascend the platform leading to a corridor on her right. Warriors, Blood Knights, Rangers, Magisters, Priests and common folk walked past her or huddled together on corners talking not sparing her a glance and she continued her ascent towards the throne room. Thalia recognized the majority of those people and she was certain that even those she did not know should recognize her since she had been a very public figure for over a century.

'What happened here? Where are my people? What have the devils done to them? Oh blessed Light, let them be safe wherever they are. Please don't let them be dead or worse.', the Priestess silently prayed as they approached the arch leading to the throne room.

'Blessed Light, give me strength.', Thalia took a big breath and walked into the throne room.And there he was. At the far end of the cavernous chamber, surrounded by his trusted advisers, looking more regal and stunning than ever, stood Kael'thas Sunstrider. The Sun King. 'By the Light, the title suits him well, he shines brighter than the sun.', the priestess marveled at her former lover's splendid physique. At six foot five, he towered over his subordinates clad in red and golden robes as was customary for Highborn royalty. Robes that instead of concealing the fact that he had a body of a god, they emphasized his broad shoulders and large arms. Arms that used to to wrap around her lovingly and protectively as he brought her to new levels of ecstasy each time they met in lust. Waist long golden hair fell down his shoulders and three verdant spheres circled his head, their greenish glow doing nothing to overshadow his beautiful facial features. As if chiseled by the finest craftsmen of Quel'thalas, the “King's” face looked as if it belonged into a painting at the wall of a museum where thousands would come and marvel at its splendor, rather than being hidden here in this Light-forsaken desolate land. In her lifetime, Thalia had been in the company of many gorgeous men, but none them held a candle over Kael'thas. Not even Arthas, though he was much broader and bigger than the “Sun King”. Despite being overwhelmed by his appearance, Thalia realized that the man before her was not Kael'thas Sunstrider. The moment he turned is head and locked eyes with the Priestess, Thalia knew that she was not approaching her Prince, but rather an impostor. There was no sign of recognition in those fel green almond shaped eyes, just curiosity. The curiosity of a predator stalking its prey. The Priestess pushed her feelings of dread deep down, smiled and bowed at the impostor, as her escort announced her.

“High Priestess Thalia Lightcaster of the New Silvermoon Convocation”, the “Sun King” raised an eyebrow at that.

“Welcome to Tempest Keep, Lady Lightcaster. What brings you here, so far away from Quel'thalas? I do not recall ordering the presence of a Priestess out here, nor do I need a member of the council to pester me with useless advice. You better have a valid reason for your presence. I will not suffer such nonsense when there's important work to be done here and back home.”, even his voice was the same, though it lacked the warmness and kindness Thalia was accustomed to hearing whenever the Prince spoke. All she heard now was malevolence and cruelty.

“All hail to the Sun King, your majesty. I humbly apologize for disturbing your important work here in Netherstorm, but I needed to bring to you in person important news from home”, Thalia continued to bow low before her “king”, showing him the back of her neck as a sign of complete submission to his authority in order to prove to him that he has fooled her and she truly believed that he was her sovereign. And it worked like a charm. 'Stupid, vain devils', she smirked inwardly.

“Rise then Priestess and inform me.”, the fake Kael flicked his wrist in a bored manner and stared at her intently.

“As you well know sire, after the way the Humans treated us in Dalaran we seceded from what was left of the old Alliance. After we have proven our worth and in order to maintain Sylvanas' continuous military support at the Ghostlands, we joined the Horde.”, Thalia noticed the flicker of surprise in the impostor's eyes, that he quickly masked with an eye-roll and a bored nod. 'So he didn't know that we serve the Horde now'. She smirked again.

“Of course I know about all that. Get to the point, Priestess.”, the false king growled.

“Well, after the defection of that treacherous worm, Voren'thal, Warchief Thrall became convinced that you and your forces had joined the Legion and has ordered your executions. I came to warn you all about the impending danger. The High King of the Alliance has also ordered your executions, so you should expect a joined attack. The same execution orders extend to Illidan Stormrage and his followers at Shadowmoon Valley. They have already wiped out Firewing Post, they massacred your forces there and they are now heading towards Shadowmoon Valley and here. Gruul is already dead and Lady Vash is fortifying her defenses at the Coilscar Reservoir. Both Azerothian factions have decided that you and Illidan pose a threat to them and the Draenei and wish to wipe you all out from the face of existence.”, Thalia deliberately omitted the fact that the Firewing Post forces were alive and well back at Karabor, he would have demanded to know the reason why they did not come with her to Tempest Keep.

“You have indeed provided me with very useful information, Lady Lightcaster. Know that from this day forth you have the Sun King's favor. Now go, return to Quel'thalas and continue your noble work. I'm afraid that we are very busy at the moment and extremely overstaffed, so there's no space to accommodate your needs. I suggest that you fly down to the Goblin outpost and spend the night there before you begin your long journey back home. Give my regards to the council. Shorel'aran, Priestess.”, the “Sun King callously dismissed her and turned towards his advisers. Thalia was quick to bow to him again and head back towards the exit as fast as she could without raising any suspicion. The moment she climbed up on the Netherdrake and felt Telarius' arms around her, she breather a long sigh of relief. She commanded the drake to kick off and soon they were standing on solid ground, south of the goblin outpost. The Demon Hunter materialized in front of her with a grim look on his sallow face.

“Well, now we have all the proof we need, Thalia. Your Prince and all of his people have been replaced by Dreadlords.”, he rasped.

“But where are the real Sin'dorei? Where is my Prince? What have those devils done to them?”, Thalia was on the brink of tears. She was certain that they all died horribly at the hands of the Dreadlords.

“I believe I can answer that, Elf”, a menacing voice hissed behind her. The two Elves jumped around and came face to face with “Kael'thas” and his council. Telarius growled and removed his warglaives while Thalia shifted into her shadow form.

“I have to admit that you had me fooled, clever little Priestess. I honestly believed that I had pulled the wool over your eyes and you believed that I was your Prince. But luckily for me and very unlucky for you, my loyal minions searched the records and discovered that you and the Prince are not strangers. In fact, you were his concubine for almost a century, a position you will soon resume after I break you.

“I was his consort, demon. Not that filth such as you can recognize the difference. What have you done to my Prince and my kin?”, Thalia growled at the impostor.

“Not as much as I hoped to do unfortunately. It only took us a day to overwhelm the forces of Tempest Keep. Your Prince though very successful in decimating our ranks here in Netherstorm while researching its magical energies, he worked himself and his people to exhaustion. All we needed to do was possess an overworked engineer as he repaired a conduit outside the keep, to give us access inside. He unknowingly deactivated the wards of the fortress and we fell upon your kind like felfire. Arcatraz, the Mechanar and the Botanica fell in a matter of hours. The Magi amongst their ranks seeing the futility of their situation, teleported everyone at the Eye to join your Prince in defending his last bastion. We had them cornered at the bridge, where he and his Magisters magically barricaded and sealed the two entrances. By the time we broke through, they were gone. The cowards had portalled out of Netherstorm. To where? Only Sargeras knows. But one thing's for certain. They could not return to Shadowmoon Valley or anywhere else in Outland. As a matter of fact all of Azeroth is also blocked from their magic. We made sure of that, after you brethren was quick to abandon their posts and teleported or portalled at the Eye. “Live to fight another day.” Isn't that your motto? They are now wondering the Great Beyond with no way to return home. We made certain of that. Kael'thas may have robbed us from the opportunity to break him and your kin to our will, but we had robbed him from the chance to ever see his home again. They would have served us well with their powerful magic and ingenuity. They were all cunning warriors of different specializations and talents, led by a genius, whose power can only be surpassed by that of the Betrayer's. I must admit, your Prince was indeed a force to be reckoned with. No matter though. The damage I failed to inflict upon him in person, I accomplished by destroying his reputation. You see, he pledged allegiance to that mongrel Illidan and by doing so, he sealed his fate. He aided him into sealing our portals to this world, he allowed many of your kind to become Demon Hunters, bolstering thus the Betrayer's forces. He assigned a significant amount of his forces to that mongrel who were utilized to decimate our ranks in Shadowmoon Valley and used the rest to do the same here. But your Prince's biggest crime, was his part in the destruction of our world. Had he not allowed so many of your kin to become Demon Hunters, the Betrayer would not have succeeded in destroying Nathreza. Now he and everyone else will believe that Kael'thas has betrayed them all and joined the Legion. Whatever is left of your keen will be treated with distrust and disdain and I will plunge them into civil war as an added insult. Your Prince's name will be known in infamy, it will become synonymous with betrayal and your kin will curse him until the end of their days. And that end will come sooner than later, for I will ensure that what Arthas failed to do six years ago, the Horde and the Alliance will in a few months. They will exterminate your kind for your “betrayal”, we will incriminate your council, by making it appear as if they were all complacent to Kael'thas' plans. Two of your council have already incriminated themselves by using Mu'uru 's power to fuel their magic and create those fake Paladins you call Blood Knights. I had agents placed within the Exodar disguised as Blood Elves who wreaked havoc at the Draenei's new home on Azeroth. And that mongrel Illidan will pay for his insolence and for failing our lord Kil'jaeden twice. What the Betrayer built these past six years in Outland has already crumbled to dust and in a matter of days he will have lost everything he has fought for. Gruul is dead, Vashj is dead”, Thalia raised her eyebrows in surprise at that.

“Didn't you know that, little Priestess? The Horde and Alliance fools attacked her stronghold and left none alive. The Betrayer is now left without any allies. “Kael'thas” has betrayed him and will “perish” soon and all the mortal forces of Outland and Azeroth are marching against him, lead by those vile Naaru creatures. And when he is finally dead, he will face eternal torment at the hands of our master, Kil'jaeden. Perhaps he will turn him into a wraith like he did with Ner'zul. Who knows. Whatever he's planning for him will not be pleasant. And the destruction of our world will finally be avenged.”, the fake Kael'thas grinned, causing Thalia to push down the bile that was threatening to come out her mouth.

“Your plans will fail, demon. I will warn Lord Illidan, A'dal and the whole Azeroth about your vile plans. And you will fail once again.”, Thalia hissed and called upon the powers of the Void to Vanquish the foul demon who orchestrated the annihilation of her entire species. “Kael'thas” laughed malevolently and transformed before their very eyes into his true form, his minions following suit.

“I am the Dreadlord Mephistoph, gaze upon me and despair”, he cackled and took a step towards the Priestess. Only to be stopped at his tracks by Telarius' “eye-beam”, as Thalia set mind benders upon the demon and his minions, followed by consecutive “pain” spells that summoned dozens of shadowy apparitions from the void who fell upon the demons like locust. Dread lords were no strangers to the void, being creatures of the shadow realm themselves, so Thalia's spells had no real impact on them. They merely brushed off their effect and moved towards her laughing. 'Crap, I forgot about that', Thalia bit her lip and shifted out of her shadow form and called upon the powers of the Light, while Telarius “fel-rushed” Mephistoph and performed the “Blade-Dance”, a maneuver which dealt significant damage to the demon lord as well as his minions. But that did not slow their advance enough. With a growl of frustration, he performed a “Vengeful Retreat” while Thalia casted a “Holy Nova”, that caused significant damage on the lesser Dreadlords, but not Mephistoph. They were two against five, and more demons were approaching their position, the two Elves realized too late the direness of their situation. Not only there was no chance in fel to vanquish Mephistoph and his minions, but odds of escaping with their lives were slim to null.

“Thalia, you need to go. Warn Lord Illidan and the others, I'll hold them off. Trust in Lord Illidan's plan, he is our only hope. Eshnu' Falah' Nah, sister.”, he rasped and summoned the Netherdrake with an ear piercing whistle. The great beast landed hard on the ground flapping its wings at the dread lords and throwing them away from Thalia. Before the Priestess could protest, Telarius lifted her off the ground and placed her on the back of the drake. He slapped the beast's hide and it kicked off the ground with great speed. With an ear-splitting roar, the Demon Hunter “Fel-Rushed” at the advancing Nathrezim, and casted another “Blade Dance”, in order to keep them away from Thalia and the drake. He realized the futility of his attempt, but he had to give Thalia a chance. And against all odds, Fortune smiled upon the two Elves that day. Portals, the likes of which he had never seen before opened behind the Nathrezim. Unlike the Arcane blue or the fel green portals he was used to, these ones were pitch black as if all light ended in there and died. And out of the maws of those Void pockets came armed Ethereals, who promptly began to attack the Nathrezim.

“These vile creatures destroyed this land. We may not be able to destroy them all today, but we can at least thwart one of their plans, their leader roared, and Telarius recognized him as the Ethereal who spoke to Thalia and him when they first came to Netherstrom.

“You are all most welcome to join the fight, brother. Thank you. Let's teach these creatures a lesson they will never forget in the ages to come.”, the Demon Hunter grinned and “Fel-Rushed” the demons again.

Approaching the edge of the world fast and Thalia needed to make a choice. Should she steer the great beast East and return to the Black Temple via the Blades Edge Mountains and Terrokar forest, or cut through the terrifying void that separated Netherstrom and Hellfire peninsula?  'The stakes have never been higher, I need to cross the Void or die trying, the fate of my race is in my hands.”, the Priestess bit her lip took a deep breath and urged the drake to move forward and fly into the void. She knew that if she continued into that heading, she will eventually reach Hellfire Peninsula. What she didn’t know was how long she would have to fly into the absolute darkness of the void to reach the “Throne of Kil'jaeden”. There was no turning back anymore, the land behind her disappeared and she was now enveloped into the shadows of the Dark Beyond. She could only move forward now. As the darkness thickened and embraced her and the Netherdrake, Thalia could only do one thing. Repeat the same mantra:

“Blessed Light, give me strength, guide me through this darkness and deliver me to safety so I can save my people...”

Author's Note: OK, I know that I've stirred from canon a lot, but it just doesn't sit right for me that Kael'thas suddenly turned evil after Warcraft 3, became KJ's bitch and did all those things. So I decided to go with that scenario. As for the Elves of Eclipse and Firewing Points, this is from their POV, so of course, they would seem nice. After all, think about who gave us the quest to kill them all. Voren'thal and some Ashtongue Deathsworn at Shadowmoon Valley that I can't recall his name. Akama's tribe. So forgive me if I just don't believe those two guys.

I don't remember where I read it, but someone said that the destruction of the Cenarion Thicket was a result of pieces of the Exodar falling from the sky, as the Draenei were fleeing Outland, so I chose to blame its destruction on the Dreadlords instead of Kael, Pathaleon, and Sharth Voldoon.

We don't really know if it was Illidan himself that ordered Vashj to drain the all the water at Zangarmarsh, or it was by her own initiative, so I chose the later.

“ANAR'ALAH BELORE ANARAL SHINDU SIN'DOREI!”, roughly translates into "By the Light of the Sun, rise fallen Children of Blood...well, at least in my books. And if Anduin can mass-ress the entire Alliance army, so can Thalia...lol

Chapter Text

Karabor, 24 hours before the fall of the Black Temple

Malande

Lady Malande dragged her feet out of the council chamber and headed slowly towards her inner sanctum. Her legs felt like lead, her head was spinning and buzzing. She felt like she was kicked in the stomach and her heart was ripped out of her chest. The news she just received, what they all received, was devastating. Tempest Keep has fallen. The seat of her beloved prince’s power was no more. It fell prey to the treacherous Scryers, their Aldor allies and a band of mercenaries.

'Wretches, all of them!', she sneered. None was left alive in their wake. Hundreds of Sin'dorei Blood Knights, Rangers, Magisters, members of the Clergy, engineers and pioneers. All fell prey to the swords, arrows, and spells of those wretches. Five hundred souls lost to the whim of a self-righteous crystal being of “Light”. Panthelyon the Calculator, High Botanist Freywinn, Commander Sarannis, Lady Capernian, Lord Sanguinar, and so many other Sin'dorei patriots died a week ago.

What distressed her the most was that the prince, her beautiful, brilliant and valiant prince was gone, presumed dead. How could such a thing happen? How was it even possible? How could Archmage Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider, one the most powerful mages of his age, whose skill could only be surpassed by Illidan Stormrage himself, switch sides and then fall to a bunch of pillaging mercenaries and their Scryer\Aldor masters? Had his magical addiction crippled him so much in the end that it rendered him vulnerable to Kil'Jaeden's whispers and the mercenaries' attack? Could he no longer distinguish between right and wrong?

 Kael'thas didn’t look well at all a few months ago when Malande noticed the changes on his body as he roused from her bed and walked to the window to inspect the amassing of his troops for the long journey to Netherstorm. He had lost a lot of weight; she could count all his ribs under the dim Shadowmoon light. Their coupling was frantic the night before, so desperate, that in their drunken haze of passion she failed to notice the changes in his physique. Now, the unforgiving sun rays revealed the changes. He was pale as a ghost, and when he turned towards her, she noticed that his eyes were brimmed with dark circles. His smile, still the same, “thank the Sunwell', faltered when he saw her frown.

“What’s wrong, Malae?”, he whispered as he moved towards her, ready for round two.

“You’ve lost a lot of weight, Kael. It also appears like you’ve been ill for a very long time. Why didn’t you tell me? What is it that you’ve been doing all these months, what did you discover past the Blade's Edge mountain range that made you decide to return and collect the majority of your army?”, she opened her arms and held him as he kissed her.

“It’s like I told you last night, my sweet. I fortified Eclipse and Firewing Points, aided Vashj with her little project and checked on Gruul. My scouts reported surges of unlimited arcane power past Blade’s Edge, and I’m determined to collect it all for our people. As for my health, you' re correct, I have been unwell these past few months. Not only did I contract the Laughing Skull flu, but I also suffered from three bouts of withdrawal shakes and fever. Care to nurse me back to health, my beautiful Priestess?”, he whispered between kisses.

Melande sighed, smiled at her sovereign and laid back allowing him to continue his ministrations. His lips traveled down her jaw to her neck where he nipped and sucked her favorite spot. His clever hands cupped her breasts and rolled her nipples between his fingers and were rewarded with a moan. He grinned and flipped her over. He hovered over her and moved her long blonde hair away from her shoulders and back, reveling at the beautiful curve of her spine as it gave way to the twin peaks of her perky backside. He traced his hand from her shoulder blades, slowly down to the curves of the rear and squeezed them before playfully smacking each cheek a few times, stealing more moans from her. He spread her legs apart with his knee, placed an arm around her waist and lifted her rear up before penetrating her with a growl. Malande's moans turned into cries of passion with every thrust and Kael increased his pace, until she eventually screamed his name as he roared her's when they climaxed. An hour later, he and his army stepped through the portal to Blade’s Edge, close to the bridge that connected that continent to Netherstorm.

'I should have pressed the issue, I should have insisted that he should postpone his campaign until he fully recovered, but I was outvoted. Even Lord Illidan, though concerned with Kael's faltering health, decided that the campaign could not wait. Now, not only they've all been branded as possible traitors, but they also died horribly, while we're at the mercy of the Sha'tar, the Azerothian joint forces and their Naaru masters. Light, what will happen to all of us here and our people back home? This temple will not hold for very long no matter what Lord Illidan believes, it will eventually fall, and we will all become prey to those wretches. We're cut off from the rest of the world, all our strongholds have fallen and our allies and forces outside this temple are either dead or prisoners of war. No one can fly out of Karabor without being shot down, and even our magi are no longer able to create portals.’, she sighed.

‘Only Lord Illidan still can, and even he is conserving all his strength and energy for the big assault against Argus, whenever that may be. Will he even be able to do that on time or are we going to starve to death long before that? He’s been so weak since the mission to Auchindoon. He lost all the Fel Orcs he took with him and barely escaped with his own life. Light knows what would have happened to him if I hadn't sensed his distress and run to his chambers only to find him sprawled on the floor unconscious. All my mana was spent that night trying to stabilize him. He finally admitted to me just the other day when I checked on him that his strength and power, though slowly replenishing is only a fraction of what it once was and it would take weeks, perhaps months before he recovers to full strength. What if our enemies break through before that? What if the mercenaries find a way in? I don't trust Akama and his tribe, I know that he is up to something, he betrayed Lord Illidan before, he will do so again given the chance.’, the Priestess let out another sigh.

‘Light! Everything is falling apart, so many people I knew and loved are gone, our home is destroyed, we journeyed to another world chasing waterfalls, we lost so many good people in Northrend and here, Kael'thas is gone and now the rest of us will not last the month. Is this it? Is this the true end of the Highborn? The end of the Sunstrider line and Dath'remar's legacy? Quel’thalas has fallen, Silvermoon lies in ruins, the Sunwell is destroyed and now the last Sunstrider is presumed dead. After eight thousand years of growth and prosperity, it has come down to this. The last true defenders of the Sin'dorei will fall to the swords of their kin and their allies. Anar'alah Belore ...', Malande whispered the last two words as she sat at the edge of the fountain in her private garden, a poor replica of her majestic garden back home.

For years she stayed strong for the sake of her people, for years she offered a sympathetic ear and provided comfort to all who needed it. Now though, it was she who required it, and none was left alive or had the time and energy to do so. Her small shoulders sagged and for the first time in a hundred years, she cried. She cried for her destroyed home, she cried for her dead family, friends, and comrades. She cried for her beautiful fallen prince, whom she followed for over a century wherever he went without question. What distressed her the most now, was the fate of all the residents of the Black Temple. She knew without any doubt that there will be no mercy for them. The Sin'dorei, the Orcs, the Naga, the Broken Draenei, and the demons within Karabor were fiercely loyal to Lord Illidan and will fight to the very bitter end. They were all going to die, far away from home and will be remembered and hated for the things they did in this land in their quest for magic and power. None of the outsiders knew that everything they did was a means to an end in order to destroy an enemy that can never truly be destroyed unless Lord Illidan's mad plan worked. She cried for what seemed like hours in that small garden until she run out of tears. And then, as she recalled the events that brought her to this time and place she began to sing the lament that described her people's tragedies to the letter: “Anar'alah, Anar'alah Belore.....”

 Illidan

Illidan sat in silence as he listened to Veras Darkshadow's report on the Tempest Keep massacre. All dead, Kael'thas missing in action. Most of his forces all around Outland were dead or prisoners of war. The “Axis of Stupid”, as Nethermancer Zerevor called them, was very efficient in leaving nothing standing in their wake. Lady Vashj, once the “Queen Bitch's” handmaiden, and now the Lord of Outland's fiercely loyal left hand. Kargath Bladefist, ruthless and bloodthirsty, yet determined to blame and punish the Legion for the destruction of his planet and the loss of most of his people. Gruul, inherently stupid, yet extremely powerful and useful along with his numerous offspring. The brave and loyal Orcs of the Dragonmaw, Bonechewer, Laughing Skull and Shadowmoon clans. All dead or prisoners of war! And now his right-hand man. His best friend, one who over the years Illidan had come to think of as a little brother or possibly the son Tyrande and he could have had, had she not chosen Malfurion over him. The son he always wanted, one just as talented and brilliant as him was when he was Kael's age. And now, he's not only gone but was in the service of Kil'Jaeden for Elune knows how long, thus betraying him.

'This cannot be right. Young Kael would never willingly serve the Legion. The Lich King served the Legion, Arthas served the Lich King, and Arthas was responsible for the destruction of Quel'Thalas. Ner'Zhul was Kil'Jaeden's puppet both in life and death, the Deceiver created the Lich King, so why would Kael serve the one who created the destroyer of his home? Has his addiction twisted his mind so much that he thought that it was a good thing to surrender to the Legion?’, Illidan wondered.

‘Was it really him and his people at Netherstorm doing Elune knows what with the demons, or were they all replaced by impostors? I know for a fact that the Eredar, Nathrezim, Succubae and Doom Lords can shapeshift or use charms to assume the form of mortals and wreak havoc. Could they all be replaced by demons? Kil'Jaeden knew that such an act of betrayal would create a great rift between Kael and me, and believing that the crown prince of Quel'Thalas has joined the Legion would convince the Sin'dorei and the Horde to join forces with the Alliance and the Sha'tar to  attack all my forces and allies, thus weakening my hold of Outland.’, he reasoned.

 ‘I realize that this is all wishful thinking from my part, but I just cannot accept that Kael would turncoat in a mere matter of months. Why would he order his forces to attack Shattrath in my name, even though I never authorized it? Why would he antagonize the only faction that probably hates the Legion more than I do? It sounds more like something the Deceiver would do and not Kael, even in his maddest days. He would never willingly serve Kil'jaeden, that must have been an impostor. But I have no evidence to prove my theory and I cannot go and determine that myself now. Not with the entire might of the Horde,  and the Sha'tar breathing down my neck. Perhaps after I deal with them I can go and have a good look at their corpses, most demonic shapeshifting, and charms persist beyond death, but my spectral sight will reveal the truth since only a Demon Hunter can see past the disguise.’, he decided.

‘If only Telarius and Thalia had returned with Veras. He found no trace of them among the dead. And he wasn’t even supposed to be there. Thank Elune that he decided to follow the Sha’tar and Alliance army to Tempest Keep after he discovered that they were marching against Kael from his contacts in Shattrath. Telarius' spectral sight would have discovered the impostors, was that the reason why he and my beautiful little Priestess disappeared? Were they slaughtered the moment they uncovered them? Did they dispose of their corpses before Veras arrived there? Did I send them to their deaths? I would like to think that Telarius is clever enough to not confront them head-on, but rather take Thalia and return straight to me, or go into hiding until it was safe for them to come and report their findings. But I cannot know for certain about their fates until I finish dealing with the mortals surrounding my citadel', he stood up and paced the chamber, nine steps either side of course. Old habits die hard. Especially ten-thousand-year-old habits.

'Perhaps I should have revealed our involvement during the Horde and Alliance’s successful establishment of their very first foothold here in Outland at the Dark Portal. They would have all been slaughtered had we not slain Kruul and his forces. Perhaps I should have made our presence known and explained to their leaders my true intentions concerning the Legion. Perhaps I should have visited Shattrath and talked to A'dal myself about my plans instead of just ignoring them and allowing Vashj to hoard all the water of Outland in the hopes that they would be forced to cooperate with us. Perhaps I should have tried to convince Maiev that my enemy always had and always will be the Legion and not her, our people and the rest of our world or worlds, instead of locking her up in that hole so that she can feel what I felt for ten thousand years. After all, she wasn't the one who sentenced and left me there to rot, Tyrande and my brother did that. She just watched over me. Perhaps I should just go to her cell and release her right now and express my newly discovered feelings for her. Focus, Illidan, she will just laugh at your face, and you have larger fish to fry right now. You will go to her after you have dealt with the enemies at your doorstep. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to Akama's dealings, reinforced my strongholds and supported my subordinates when they truly needed me the most.’ Illidan sighed.

‘I thought that they were doing fine, that they had things well under control while I trained my Demon Hunters, attacked minor Legion worlds with them, destroyed Nathreza and prepared for our campaign against Argus and the rest of the core Legion worlds. So many mistakes, one would think that a fifteen thousand-year-old individual would be wiser and more careful, but I have always been like that. I became too wrapped up in my own goals, that I left everybody else to their fates. Oh well, as the humans say, there's no point crying over spilled milk. I will deal with these ignorant mortals after I send my demon Hunters to Mardum to retrieve the Sargerite keystone. With that in my possession, I will have access to all the Legion worlds, and I will destroy them one by one. But I cannot send my Illidari just yet, the stars will be in perfect alignment tomorrow evening for the portal, and it appears that the mortals at the gates are just throwing themselves at my forces and are dying like the fools they are. Perhaps I should rest as much as I can to conserve and replenish my strength until the time comes to invade Argus or in the unlikely chance, the mortals infiltrate my fortress. My generals have everything under control, they all seemed to be amused by how many soldiers the “Axis of Stupid” is losing to my demons and the Dragonmaw Netheriders. Well if they think that attacking my citadel was a colossal mistake now, wait till I order my Fel Orcs to join in the attack tomorrow. Fools, they should be attacking the Legion strongholds and not me. They're only reinforcing Kil'Jaeden right now.’, Illidan smirked and looked at his lieutenants.

Gathios was pacing the chamber as well, shouting curses and oaths against those who slew their people, vowing vengeance upon them, Zerevor had his face in his hands and was shaking his head, while Veras played with his daggers, obviously wishing that he could slit the throats of as many mercenaries' necks as possible. What concerned Illidan the most was Malande's behavior, she hadn't spoken a word since Veras brought them the dreadful news. She just sat there staring into space with a blank look on her beautiful face. The only indication he had that something was wrong with her was how pale she has become suddenly. He was not surprised that the news distressed her, she and Kael were very close, being friends for over a century and occasional lovers for the past six years, ever since Thalia returned to Quel'Thalas after the events at the Dalaran ruins.

It was not an uncommon practice for Elves to bed their closest friends of the opposite sex or sometimes the same if both were inclined that way. Illidan had bedded Tyrande often before she chose Malfurion as her lifemate, banning thus the then young Sorcerer from her bed forever. He did notice that over the years all three male members of the Illidari council had warmed Malande's bed on occasion and Kael'thas did not mind at all. In fact, all four of them visited the Den of Mortal Delights quite often, while Kael's personal chambers were situated right in the middle of it. Illidan, on the other hand, preferred a female sent to his chambers rather than having to go down there and chose one himself while the other visitors watched. And visit they did, quite often, as a matter of fact, to relieve the stress of dealing with the hardships Outland offered, that was the reason why the entertainers of the Den were paid so highly for their services. There were almost as many males there as females, ready and willing to pleasure female Elves. Even humans had joined the ranks of the den's entertainers during the past six months preferring to bed beautiful Elves rather than killing them and be generously compensated for it of course.

'Focus, Illidan. Your concern is lady Malande's distress, not the sexual practices of your subordinates. She really doesn't look well, perhaps I should dismiss them all and let them rest for a while before the real battle ensues if the “Axis of Stupid” manages to break through the gates.', he chastised himself again.

“You're dismissed, get some rest, we will reconvene at the crack of dawn. The demons and the Dragonmaw fliers would have decimated their ranks by then, perhaps the mortals would be more inclined to parley or just leave us be.”, he ordered them and watched as Lady Malande silently stood up and left the chambers like the walking dead. He almost shuddered at that thought, he remembered all too well the undead Elves at Suramar ten thousand years ago, and the undead Humans at the ruins of Dalaran and Northrend a few years back and how they tore at the flesh of the living.

' I really should talk to her, she looks unwell.', Illidan turned towards the exit, when Gathios called after him.

“Lord Illidan, I have a few ideas about the defensive. May I discuss them with you before I relay them to my lieutenants should they meet your approval?, Illidan nodded and spent the next half hour listening to the Shutterer's suggestions. He approved and dismissed him. Zerevor had already left for his post, while Veras went to his..., 'where did Veras go when he was in the Temple?'

Illidan headed towards the High Priestess' inner sanctum. As he approached her garden he heard a sweet but extremely sad female voice singing a millennia-old and very familiar lament. The language may have slightly changed over the eons, the words may be altered along with the events, but the theme remained the same. It was that of an enemy about to break through the defense lines. The enemy used to be the Legion, then it became the Scourge and now it's the Sin'dorei's own kin along with the rest of the Azerothian forces and the Sha'tar. 

 'So Malande believes that we are going to fail. I will have to convince her otherwise then.', he stood at his tracks and watched as the blonde Priestess sang sitting by the edge of the fountain one hand on her lap while the other swirled the water beneath her, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Anar'alah,

Anar'alah belore

Sin'dorei

Shindu fallah na

Sin'dorei

Anar'alah

Shindu Sin'dorei

Shindu fallah na

Sin'dorei

Anar'alah belore

Shindu Sin'dorei

Shindu fallah na

Sin'dorei

Anar'alah belore

Belore”  

Illidan waited until the Priestess had finished her song before he made his presence known.

“Lady Malande?”, the Priestess jumped on her feet and wiped her tears.

“Lord Illidan, is there something I can do for you?”, she bowed before her leader.

“I was wondering if I could do something for you, instead, my Lady. You’ve been taking care of all us nonstop for the past six years, now you are the one in distress and I will do my best to ease your troubled soul. I don’t need to ask you the reason for your distress, the news we just received was devastating, many good people died, people, you’ve known, cared for and loved. I must admit that I feel like I just lost a brother, Kael was a good person and a good friend, and I don’t believe for a second that he turned coat. It’s not in his character to betray his friends and family like that, and trust me, he considered all of us as family. Your people suffered devastating losses at the hands of the Lich King, the Scourge, and Arthas. And all of them are Kil’Jaeden’s creations. Kael knows that he would never knowingly bend the knee to the Legion. My theory is that Kael and the rest of his forces were replaced by Legion agents. I sent two agents of my own to investigate this theory as soon as I heard about the rumors and if they do not return by the time we defeat the intruders, I will go there myself to examine the bodies. My spectral sight will reveal the impostors. Perhaps my agents will also know the true fate of your people, and if they don’t, I swear to you, that I will not return to the Black Temple until I discover it. But knowing Kael, I bet that he managed to outwit the Legion and escaped them with all of his forces intact. And they will turn up here eventually, hopefully, sooner than later, we could really use them right now.”, Illidan placed a reassuring hand on Malande’s shoulder.

“You really think so, my Lord?”, Malande looked up at his blindfold with a hopeful look on her face.

“I know so, my dear”, he smiled. The priestess felt relief wash over her and hugged the Lord of Outland, overstepping her boundaries. But Illidan didn’t mind at all, on the contrary, he welcomed her affection and went a step further by hugging her back and stroking her golden hair. Malande relaxed in his arms and moments later, she lifted her head to thank him.

It was always hard to read Illidan’s face because of his blindfold, but his expression told Malande that something has changed. And a heartbeat later, she knew what that was. Illidan lowered his head and kissed her. It was a soft kiss, it barely brushed her lips, as if asking for permission to continue. And Malande granted him permission by kissing him back. Their kiss deepened, Illidan held her tighter and trace his hands along her body over her white silk robes.

“Your chambers, or mine?”, he asked her between kisses. 

“Mine. They are closer.”, she answered, and he chuckled, as she led him to her chambers. ‘Finally, after six years of trying, I will finally get to bed the Lord of Outland. I hope I conceive tonight, I’m on my fertile days, any child sired by him is bound to bring glory to the Sin’dorei. I may have been unable to produce an offspring with Kael, he was adamant that he was more than content with the children Thalia gave him and did not desire anymore, but I’m confident that it will happen tonight. I just hope that I will survive the invaders to have and raise my child or children.’, any more thoughts were lost in the throes of passion, as Illidan’s lips and hands explored every nook and cranny of her body after he lowered her to the bed.

Malande’s robes were slowly removed as Illidan’s hands and lips traveled down her body. His mouth captured her nipple, while his fingers played with the other one. His other hand helped her get rid of her robes the rest of the way and then proceeded to play with her nether regions over her silk panties. Malande moaned and arched her body, asking for more, and Illidan was quick to oblige. He helped her remove them and got rid of his pants.

Illidan lifted Malande’s legs over his shoulders and proceeded to pleasure her with his mouth, enjoying the time where his mind wandered away from Maiev. He managed to forget about the Warden during his frantic coupling with Thalia a month ago, he was hoping that the same will happen with Malande too, if only for a little while.

Malande’s cries of passion brought Illidan back to reality, he never thought that he could bring a female to a state of ecstasy, while he thought of another one. ‘Focus, Illidan. You are not being fair to Malande. She deserves more than that. You need to concentrate on her and stop thinking about Maiev and whether Thalia is still alive or not. And Telarius for that matter.’, Illidan entered Malande slowly, capturing her lips. His pace increased along with her cries, and by the time she wailed his name as she came, his mind had gone blank as he spilled his seed inside her, roaring a name…

“MAIEV…”

Chapter Text

Maiev

Maiev threw up for the second time that morning. A very painful ordeal since she hadn’t eaten anything for the past three months and bile was the only thing coming out. She stood up from the corner she threw up in and wiped her mouth as she watched the waste disappear.

‘How can I be sick when the Betrayer’s spells are supposed to keep me healthy and alive no matter what? It’s not that he is useless as far as magic is concerned. Whatever spell he cast is bound to prevent any kind of diseases native to Draenor. Unless….’, she cast a diagnostic spell on herself.

‘Mother Moon, I’m pregnant! Of course, I missed my cycles. That impetuous, insufferable, infuriating Demon Hunter got me pregnant, now that I am planning on killing him. Or at least, that’s what Akama is planning. I just want to bring him back to Mt. Hyjal and keep him there for all eternity. I know that he should pay for the death of Naisha and the others, but ever since that night, I just can’t bring myself to even think of a world without him.’

Every waking moment, every hour she slept, her thoughts and dreams revolved around him. The way he touched her, the way he kissed her, the way he moved inside her, it was as if he held her in reverence, that he was in awe of her. She could feel his hands exploring her body, his lips setting her soul on fire, even her dreams were plagued with images of them in the throes of passion. And those dreams were not only about their time together at the Warden’s Cage, but they also gave a face to the black-haired man who’s been visiting her dreams for the past two thousand years. The man who made love to her for hours on end one night deep beneath Mount Hyjal, though she had no memory of anything like that ever happening. She would discuss it with him if he ever bothered to come to her cell, but he only came once and kept his distance, though he did ask about her state.

‘But then again, how do you think he would react if you told him, Maiev? He said so himself, he never meant for that to happen, and there are plenty of females in Karabor ready and willing to bed him, why should he care if I was developing feelings for him. He would laugh at my face if I told him about my dreams, about my constant hunger for his touch. Why should I experience such humiliation? No, it’s better that he kept his distance’.

“Are you ready, Warden?”, Akama’s voice brought Maiev out of her reverie.

“Ready for what?”, she hissed at him and sneered beneath her mask. She hated the Broken former Priest, she blamed him for the death of her sisters as much as she blamed the Betrayer.

“To strike at the Betrayer, of course.”, Akama scoffed, oblivious to the hatred that was emanating from Maiev in waves.

“You are coming with me. The Aldor and the Horde have been attacking Karabor for over a week, they may not have been very successful in their campaign so far, but they will be soon. My kin has been opening a secret passage inside the temple for months, and by tonight, they will reach the outer wall. We will guide you straight to the Betrayer, his reign will finally be over. Come, I will take you to the Horde Commander. A curious little thing she is, that Blood Elf. A Hunter, who spends half her time cooing at her pets, and the other half finding potential victims for them to maim.”

Akama opened the cell and Maiev stepped out. She followed the former Priest vowing to kill Illidan aloud, while quietly devising a plan to bring him back home alive and well. It was fortunate that there was hardly any sunlight in Shadowmoon Valley, there was a reason why the Shadowmoon Orcs called it so. The large moon above it was in a geosynchronous orbit with the planet, staying thus in the same spot on the sky and casting its shadow over the valley forever, keeping it in perpetual twilight. Maiev was grateful for the dimness, it was easier for her eyes to adjust.

The Horde Commander was very kind, she offered Maiev plenty of food and water and a tent to rest and recuperate until the time of the final assault. When the time came, Maiev was ready. She followed the Commander and the rest of the Horde champions but parted with them as soon as she entered the sewers with the excuse that she will find her own way to the Betrayer. She wanted to determine for herself whether Illidan was truly fighting the Legion. And the only way to do that was to break into his chambers and search for clues. The Horde Commander had shown her a map of Karabor and Maiev was quick to memorize it. She was very careful avoiding detection from the temple’s residents, but as she crossed the Illidary training grounds, she came face to face with a Demon Hunter.

‘Vandel, his name is Vandel, I remember him from three months ago, it was he who managed to disarm and deliver me to his master.

“Well done, Vandel", ‘Illidan said before he knocked me out’

“What are you doing here, Warden?”, the Demon Hunter rasped.

“I have important business to attend to, Demon Hunter, and you’re in my way.”

Illidan may have been fighting the Legion all along, but until she was certain about his true loyalties, she wasn’t going to let her guard down. As far as Vandel was concerned, she was his enemy and as far as Maiev was concerned, she was going to treat him as such.

“I am not your enemy, Warden. We are all fighting the Legion here. Just stand down. I will not fight you and I will not take you back to your cell. We have bigger fish to fry.”, Vandel tried to reason with Maiev.

‘I can’t be certain of that, young one. I must reach your master’s chambers to determine whether he guilty or not. I can’t let my guard down now that I am so close to my goal.’ Maiev frowned beneath her helm, she didn’t want to fight the young Night Elf, but she wasn’t ready to trust him either.

“Why don’t you stand aside and walk away, Vandel”, the Demon Hunter raised his eyebrows in surprise at that, he never expected the Warden to remember his name. “I was not born yesterday; I will never trust anyone who willingly took the Fel in his blood.”

“And turn my back on you so that you can trap and kill me? Just lay down your weapon and walk away. Leave Karabor, leave Shadowmoon Valley and go back to Mt. Hyjal where you belong, Warden”.

“Lay down my weapon and willingly turn my back on a Demon Hunter? I think not”, she hissed and attacked him.

‘I have to fight him; I can’t be certain of their true intentions until I have real evidence in my hands. Perhaps I won’t kill him, but rather maim him a little. Just enough to buy me enough time to search the Betrayer’s chambers'. And with that, she threw the first blow.

“I don’t want to fight you, Lady Maiev”, Vandel pleaded.

‘Neither do I, Vandel.’

“Then lay down your weapons and fly away, Vandel”, she continued to strike.

‘He may be telling the truth, perhaps I should stop’.

‘She just won’t see reason, I will have to scare her away’, Vandel metamorphosized into his demon form, roaring. He charged at her, with no intention of striking at her.

A feign from Maiev tricked him into moving towards the left, leaving the back exposed to her, giving Maiev the chance to embed her Umbra Crescent into his skull. She knew that in his demon form, his skull would be much thicker, and she wouldn’t’ cause any serious damage to the Night Elf. Only enough to incapacitate him so that she could escape.

Maiev was tempted to finish him off when he turned into a demon because it confirmed to her that his true intentions were to harm her. Now she stood over him as he turned back to his Kal’dorei form. Her Umbra Crescent caused more damage than she expected, when she pulled her weapon from his skull, a fountain of blood sprayed her armor.

‘Oh well, he shouldn’t have turned into a demon, if he truly didn’t want to harm me. Now I have no choice but to leave him to die, I have more important matters to attend to. It’s in Elune’s hands now. Though being a Demon Hunter, I’m certain that he has powerful regenerating powers, just like the Betrayer.’

She turned her back on the injured Demon Hunter and run. Karabor was vast, it took her hours to reach the Temple Summit where Illidan’s quarters were situated, next to the terrace he loved to spend most of his time at. Breaking into Illidan’s quarters was ridiculously easy. It wasn’t even locked. She just turned the handle and walked in.

‘Typical Betrayer, in his overconfidence, he can’t even imagine that someone would dare break into his quarters’, she chuckled and proceeded to ransack his chambers. And there they were, his battle plans, his journals, his maps. All about attacking the true enemy, the Legion. There were maps of Legion worlds, obliterated already by his forces or with detailed plans about how they would invade them, who and what they were expecting to find and how they would destroy the target or retrieve it. He even had plans to invade Argus and kill Kil’jaeden himself and all of Sargeras’ lieutenants. His only real concern was how he could take on Sargeras himself, he was a former Titan after all. He planned to send his Demon Hunters to Mardum to retrieve the Sargerite keystone, an artifact that opened the way to all the Legion worlds, including Argus.

Nothing about working for the Legion. Nothing about conquering and subjugating Azeroth and Outland. Not even exacting revenge against those who have wronged him in his journals. Only forgiveness. Even for her. Especially for her. His dreams and thoughts were plagued with her images, she is always on his mind, no matter how hard he tried to forget her.

Even though he stated out loud to everyone who would listen that he was planning on executing her in the most gruesome of ways, he was planning on releasing her and expressing his feelings for her. He was going to give her a place at his side if she reciprocated, and train her as a Demon Hunter himself if she wished it. After all her skills are extraordinary, she would have made a very powerful Demon Hunter, perhaps almost as powerful as him. Or he would just allow her to leave Karabor if she rejected him. After all, he was used to being rejected by Tyrande, his brother, his family, his people, Azeroth and Outland. Despite the way they treated him, he only felt love for Tyrande and Malfurion and sadness for their disdain towards him.

“I know that I cannot make amends with them now, but I can make things right with Maiev. I will go to her as soon as the intruders are defeated, and my Demon Hunters return from Mardum…” was his last entry from this morning.

‘Mother Moon, he is truly fighting the Legion. I was wrong, we were all wrong. He may have very dangerous plans that might bring the destruction of this and our world, but his intentions are pure. He was trying to protect us all from the Legion and not sell us out to them. He shouldn’t be executed as a traitor today, but rather be contained and stand trial for the deaths he caused on his mad quest to destroy the Burning Legion. His plans are truly mad. He’s been poking at the “hornet’s nest” for years, and this will bring the entire might of the Legion on our head. Perhaps after he serves his sentence, I will make him see reason and he may just prepare for another Legion invasion rather than causing one. And he has feelings for me, just like I do. I must stop the champions. They can’t kill him and his followers, they are just misguided, reckless and potentially dangerous allies against the Legion.’ She run out of Illidan’s chambers and headed towards the terrace. The sight of Akama stopped her in her tracks.

“Akama, good. We must stop the champions, they cannot kill Illidan, he’s been fighting the Burning Legion all along. His intentions may be mad, but they are pure. We need to arrest him and his people, not kill them. They must see reason and just prepare for a Legion invasion rather than provoke one. I cannot kill him now that I know all this. I cannot murder in cold blood the father of my child!”, she blurted out while touching her belly.

‘Oh, I shouldn’t’ have said that. Mother Moon, why did I just tell him that?’

“So, not only did you change your mind, but you also spread your legs for him, like the whore that you are. I should have known that all Elves are alike, I haven’ met one of you, who is not wicked to the bone. Night Elves, Blood Elves, Naga. All the same, just as wretched, just as corrupted as him. You have no choice in the mater, whore. You will help the mercenaries and you will kill him. Karabor will become mine again, one way or another.”

Maiev didn’t have time to reply, let alone defend herself, Akama lifted a small tube in his mouth and blew in it. A dart flew out of it and struck her neck. Her knees gave way, and she fell on the floor. “Not to worry, whore. I will not kill you. You have work to do. I just injected you with a powerful potion that stuns you and weakens your mental barriers. In other words, it will make it a lot easier to mind control you. You will go to him, say terrible things to him and you will kill him. And you will spend the rest of eternity with the knowledge that you killed the father of your child and the Betrayer will die believing that you hate him. He loves you; you know. He may not realize it just yet, but he does. It’s your name he cries out when he beds other females and it’s you, he always dreams about. I know this through the Shade. Soul binding can go both ways. And since I’m mind controlling you now, I know that you love him too, though you too you don’t know it yet. This will be your punishment for bedding and loving him. The mercenaries are already there fighting the Betrayer, they think that I am fighting his minions, but in fact, I will be controlling you. Now go, whore. Do Akama’s bidding and kill the Betrayer.”

Maiev’s mind went blank, she stood up and walked towards the terrace to kill Illidan.

Chapter Text

Illidan, earlier that day.

Illidan sat up from his desk. After he left Malande’s chambers, he felt the need to write in his journal. He thought that a night with the beautiful Priestess would bring him comfort, that he would forget about Maiev if only for a moment, but alas, not only did he roar her name every time he came, but now he felt guilty as hell for using Malande. He also felt that he cheated on Maiev, though that was a ridiculous notion since they never were together. ‘It is as if she bewitched me. One would think that a fifteen thousand old individual would have better control of his thoughts and emotions.’, he sighed and closed his journal. ‘Time to crush the intruders.’

He spent the entire day coordinating the defense at the command room along with his lieutenants. Things appeared to be going well, the intruders had failed time and time again to storm the gate and their numbers were dwindling. By nightfall, they had retreated to their previous position. ‘Finally, it’s time to send my Demon Hunters to Mardum’, ‘he looked up from the command table.  

“Keep monitoring their movements and prevent any attempts to reach the main gate. Gathios, you are in charge. I have important business to attend to that are crucial to our cause. Keep me appraised if anything changes.”, he turned heel and walked out of the Command Room.

‘Come to me, my Illidary’, he commanded his Demon Hunters telepathically as he approached the terrace. He sat on a ledge and waited for his Demon Hunters to answer his call. Moments later, they started to fill the terrace. Kayn was the first to appear, he bowed to him and sat on the floor. He was quickly followed by Jace, Allari, Korvas, Belath, and Asha who quickly bowed to him and sat around him. Soon the terrace was filled with Demon Hunters. Four were missing, however. Loramus Thalipedes, Telarius Voidstrider, Feronas Sindweller, and Vandel. He knew the reason why the first three were not there, he sent them days ago on different missions. Vandel, however, had no reason to be missing. ‘He better has a good explanation of why he failed to answer my summons. There’s no time to wait for him, they must leave now.’

“Illidary…”, he addressed them, his voice filled with pride for them. He sat up and flew towards the edge.

“My Demon Hunters...”

“With countless worlds burning at the Legion’s wake, you answered the call. And yet these mortals, in their ignorance…”, he refrained from saying “stupidity”. “Have come to destroy their own salvation…”.

“Our time is short. I will deal with these intruders. You must venture to Mardum and retrieve the Sargerite keystone”, he conjured an image of the object they needed to find with his right hand while he opened a portal with his left.

“Now go. But remember. Should you fail, all worlds will burn...”, he said the last phrase while looking at one of the newest recruits, a beautiful, feisty Blood Elf with a long red braid falling down her hip. She had passed all her trials with flying colors, she showed great potential, and this was her first off-world mission. Her name was Atia but preferred to be called Nemesis, the deity of righteous vengeance. She lost her husband to the Scourge, the servants of Kil’jaeden and the Legion. Arthas himself raised the fallen warrior as a Death Knight at the Sunwell. Nemesis swore to their children that she will avenge their father and love of her life. When the portal closed behind her, Illidan summoned Guldan’s skull and monitored his people’s progress, through its magic. 

Thalia, Six hours before the Fall of the Black Temple

The darkness of the Twisting Nether was slowly diminishing for the second time in two days as the Priestess flew towards Shadowmoon Valley. She never thought that she would ever reach Hellfire Peninsula a week ago, but there she was now, alive and well but half-starved, perched, and sleep-deprived. She could not tell whether the journey through the Twisting Nether was more perilous or flying over Shadowmoon Valley. While the eerie darkness was very frightening, the Nether drake was very skillful in flying them straight to his birthplace at Shadowmoon Valley. Flying over Hellfire Peninsula proved to be more dangerous for Thalia since she had to avoid being detected by the Demons, the Mag’har Orcs, the Alliance, and even the Horde. But in the end, she managed to leave the continent without any of them being the wisest. She now breathed in relief as she reached the edge of the dimly lighted continent. And a new challenge arose. To get past the Sha’tar camp and the Horde army undetected.

As if sensing her feelings, the drake flew high into the clouds and only shot out of them, when they were on top of the Black Temple. Thalia screamed in terror as the beast spiraled down towards the Summit while dodging shots, arrow and spells cast from the enemy army. She helped as much as she could, casting shield charms over them, and sighed in relief when they landed safely on the Temple’s Terrace, only a few paces away from Illidan, who curiously, was down on one knee staring at an Orc’s skull.

As soon as Illidan sensed that intruders have breached his sanctum, he jumped to his feet, glaives ready. He put them away right away as soon as she recognized her and rushed towards them, helping her off the drake. Thalia collapsed in his arms, exhausted.

“Illidan, thank the Light that I reached you on time!”, Thalia rasped since she hadn’t spoken in days.

“Thalia, you smell awful!”, at the rise of her eyebrow, he rephrased, “I mean, it must have been quite an ordeal for you, I am happy and relieved that you survived. I expected the worse after Veras returned and reported a massacre and no sign of you and Telarius. I thought that you were both dead. What happened? Where is my Demon Hunter? Is he dead?”, he helped her sit on a bench and conjured water and refreshments, while he barked an order at a Deathsworn Broken who appeared out of nowhere to tend to the brave drake.

“Illidan, it was awful.”, Thalia explained between bites. “Everything was taken over by the Nathrezim. There were no Sin’dorei left up there. They were all replaced by those devils, Kael’thas included. It was Mephistoph, he wants to avenge the destruction of his world, by destroying you, Kael, your work, your reputation and everything you built here. He was behind everything. He staged the campaign against you and convinced everyone that you and my Prince were working for the Legion.” Thalia spent the next hour informing Illidan about everything that happened during her journey towards the North.

Illidan was left speechless. He was relieved that Kael did not betray him, but also furious that Mephistoph destroyed everything he worked for these past six years. And he had no proof to convince the Horde who was now pounding on his door that he was being framed. Mephistoph made sure of that. His only hope now lay with the success of the Mardum mission. If his Illidary returned on time with the keystone, he could deploy them against the Horde and the small band of mercenaries who have managed to breach the Temple and were attacking his people from the inside. He needed to continue to monitor and coordinate his Demon Hunters and ensure their safe return faster than planned, he just hoped that the mounts and reinforcements he provided them with were helpful. He explained the mission to Thalia who nodded and leaned against the wall, trying to recover from her own ordeal, too exhausted and weakened to be of any help to the residents of the Temple. Illidan returned to the center and knelt as he conjured the skull again.

“The Lay lines at this spot are at their strongest. I am in direct contact with my Illidary here through Guldan’s skull, an immensely powerful relic. Let us hope that they succeed and return on time, Thalia.”, he explained the awkward position he had to assume for hours, understanding how strange he must look to others, one knee bent, crouched and staring at a skull like a fool. Thalia smiled at him and closed her eyes. She was soon lulled into a peaceful sleep, giving in to her exhaustion. When she was nudged awake by Illidan she felt like she only slept for a few minutes.  Illidan had a grim look on his face.

“Forgive me, my dear, but there’s no time. Alas, the intruders have managed to overcome the last line of defense of the Temple. My Council has been defeated and soon they will flood the Summit to claim my head. You cannot stay here any longer, they will kill you if I am defeated. And it pains me to admit it, but there is a strong possibility that this may happen. My last mission has taken a great toll on my power. It is not even a third of what it was two months ago. I am getting stronger by the day, but it’s not enough. I need to hold them off long enough for my Demon Hunters to arrive. We can demolish them then. But for now, you need to take this secret passage, it will lead you to the Dragonmaw Fortress through the sewage system. From there, you can make your way back to Azeroth or try to use the pendant. It should be near its time again. Now go, my beautiful little Priestess, and take good care of our children”, Thalia gasped in surprise, “my spectral vision revealed to me two tiny little lifeforms with my magical signature forming inside you.”, he placed his hand on her abdomen and then helped her up and guided her towards to the wall. His demonic chanting revealed a secret door. Thalia stood but did not move any further.

“I’m not leaving you, Illidan. I was not able to help Kael, but I will help you. I am a Shadow Priestess; I can melt people’s faces when I will it. My power is great, together we can defeat them. Please let me stand by your side.”, she placed her small hands on his large torso, hot tears streaming down her eyes. Illidan smiled grabbed her hands and kissed them.

“No, little one. I will not risk yours and our children's lives. You must go. Now. Live to fight another day.”, his thumbs wiped her tears as he leaned down and gave her a searing kiss gently pushing her through the passage.

“The enchantment will hold as long as I live. Go, now! I need to call my Illidary and warn them. Go, Thalia. Please.”, he flew back to his spot and knelt holding the skull. Thalia stood at the entrance and made no move to climb down the stairs.

“You may not want me to fight by your side, Illidan. But you will not stop me from healing you until your Demon Hunters return to you.”, she “Fortified” his health and stamina and waited for the Horde party to make its appearance.

Illidan, the Fall.

Before he was able to contact his Demon Hunters, the mercenaries filed the summit. Orcs, Blood Elves, Trolls, and Tauren, looking for blood. His blood. All led by the traitor Akama.

‘Too late, I can’t contact them anymore. No matter. I hope I can hold them off until they return.’ He stood up and let the skull drop. He did not need it anymore. He turned towards Akama and sneered at him.

“Akama, your duplicity is hardly surprising. I should have slaughtered you and your malformed brethren long ago.”, he growled at the Broken Draenei.

“We’ve come to end your reign, Illidan. My people and all of Outland shall be free”, Akama replied.

‘Filthy liar, I never subjugated Outland and your people. Just you and your clan, because you betrayed me, after I freed you from Magtheridon’s tyranny. Not that these imbeciles would believe me if I told them.’, he felt anger rising inside him.

“Boldly said. But I remained unconvinced”, he said instead.

“The time has come! The moment is at hand!”, Akama urged the mercenaries to strike at Illidan.

“You are not prepared”, Illidan sneered at them and summoned his glaives. The battle has begun. He would succeed, he must succeed if they had any hope of defeating the Legion once and for all. He needed to be quick, kill as many as he could now, before his strength fails him again. He had captured a few Imps during one of his training raids at the Legion Hold a few months ago and trained them on his free time and decided to unleash them upon Akama. 

“Come, my minions. Deal with this traitor as he deserves!”, he set the Imps against the Broken Priest, who run down the stairs luring the little demons with them.

“I will deal with his minions, champions. Strike now, strike at the Betrayer!”, he yelled as he led the minions to the Deathsworn Broken and disappeared from Illidan’s view.

‘Coward!’, Illidan sneered and spat on the floor as he turned towards the champions and incinerated the ones closest to him with his Eye Beam. The rest fell back sporting burns at several parts of their bodies. There was no mercy for them, a Blade dance cut down several more of them.

“Who shall be next to taste my blades!”, he taunted them, and “Fel Rushed” the ones foolish enough to respond to his taunt.

“This is too easy”, he chuckled, enraging the mercenaries who grouped up and attacked him again. They were not as useless as he thought in the beginning, they were led by a very capable commander. A Blood Elven Huntress, with two large black Sabertooth panthers, coordinated the attacks and was able to succeed dealing several serious blows on Illidan. He was now sporting several cuts, burns, bruises, and bites, not serious enough to disable him, but painful enough to slow him down. Just as he managed to incinerate another group of warriors and Paladins two arrows pierced his back, right between the wings. He turned around and saw the shock on the face of the commander.

‘She didn’t expect to wound me!’ he thought and was shocked when she mouthed ‘sorry’ at him.

‘Sorry? Is she insane? The fel addiction must have really meddled with her mind. No matter, she will die along with the rest of her team if she does not stop her attack, though I would have rather trained her. She would have made a decent Demon Hunter. The wounds she dealt are deep, I’m losing blood, I must end this soon.”, just then he felt a rush of calmness as Light engulfed him and healed his wounds, and the two arrows fell on the floor.

‘Thalia! She is still here. Why?’, Illidan sighed and continued his attack more determined than ever. He must succeed for the sake of his unborn children, cursing Thalia’s loyalty and devotion to him, though she barely knew him.

“Well, that’s not entirely true now, she knows me quite intimately. But she does not know the real Illidan. Alas, no one does. Focus Illidan! For Fel’s sake. You are about to die, and you decide to become philosophical?’, Illidan doubled his efforts, enjoying the occasional surges of Light healing his body, courtesy of his beautiful little Priestess. He flew up into the air and threw his glaives on the ground. Two Fel Elementals spawned and attacked the mercenaries.

“Behold the Blades of Azinoth. Stare into the eyes of the Betrayer”, he taunted them and enjoyed a few moments of respite, before the elementals were vanquished, taking several mercenaries with them. Only half of them were left. Illidan transformed into a demon and attacked them with greater fervor.

“BEHOLD THE POWER…OF THE DEMON WITHIN”, he roared and obliterated a third of them before transforming back to his original form and performing a Vengeful Retreat in order to gain momentum and Fel Rushed them again, taking out all who stood in his way. Another Fel Rush and a vengeful retreat slew several more before he gained enough fury to transform into a demon again, taking out over half of them.

“You’ve wasted too much time, mortals. Now you shall fall”, he informed the remaining forces as his Blade Dance killed the two remaining Paladins and three warriors. Only an Orc Shaman, a Troll Druid, an Undead Priestess, and the Sin’dorei Huntress remained alive. They were horrified to the core of their being but stood their ground.

“IS THIS IT, MORTALS? IS THIS ALL THE FURY YOU CAN MUSTER?”, he roared more out of curiosity, rather than spite. He was ready to accept their surrender, and by the Huntress’ look she was about to lay down her weapon and bend the knee to him. And the rest of her party would have followed suit. He was hovering over the little Elf who was kneeling over her dead pets, stroking their heads.

“We never wanted this, Lord Illidan. Most of us don’t even understand the reason why we had to listen to that Naaru and attack you. We were just following orders.”, the girl whispered, tears brimming around her eyes. The other three females nodded in agreement. “We surrender…”, all four of them said and bent their knees to him.

“Then go, young ones. Go back to your leaders and tell them that Illidan spared your lives and has no quarrel with them. They can come and speak with me when they are ready to act like adults and not as the mindless puppets of a talking floating chandelier.”, the entire conversation only took a few seconds and was only heard by Thalia who stood right behind the champions, concealed by Illidan’s enchantments. It was not heard by the mind-controlled Maiev coming up the stairs, who only heard his previous taunt.

“Their fury pales before mine, Illidan.”, she hissed. “We have some unsettled business between us.”, Illidan turned around and his back arched in shock. Maiev out of her cell, prowling towards him, her cloak and white ponytail billowing behind her, ready to strike him down. But that was not what shocked him. It was the tiny little lifeform with his magical signature forming inside her. A male. Twice, within the span of a few hours, he discovered that he was going to be a father. From two different females. Just when he thought that the fel in his blood has made him completely sterile. He could not process all of this anymore. He had to know.

“Maiev, how is this even possible?”, he breathed. ‘How can she possibly know, you idiot? She may be a former Priestess, but she has no clue how the fel works, and by the looks of it, neither do you!’.

“Ah, my long hunt is finally over. Today, justice will be served.”, she hissed, baring her teeth, pure hatred emanating from her every pore, her aura black…

 ‘With fury? No, fury is red, not jet black. What is wrong with her? I have known her for ten thousand years, never in all this time did her aura ever turn black. She may be a narrow-minded fanatic, but she is not evil. Everything she has ever done was for the greater good. For her sisters, the Kaldorei, Azeroth. Never have I ever sensed anything malevolent in her, until now. It is as if something has possessed her, something sinister, something evil. Full of hatred for me. Perhaps I can snap her out of it.’, he decided and moved towards her to talk to her in private.

But Maiev had different plans. Every step he took towards was another one of her traps he would fall into. ‘When did she had the time to set them? Can she do that if she is possessed? Who knows?’ Painful as they were, he was able to break free. But they took a heavy toll on him. His lower torso, thighs, and legs were filled with deep cuts and he could feel different poisons running through his veins now.

‘Poison? Really Maiev? Or whoever the fel is controlling you?’, he was now standing face to face with the object of his newfound affections.

‘Maiev, snap out of it, please. You are being controlled. Fight the coward and come back to me so we can talk. Please, my beautiful Huntress…come back to me!”

“Don’t you dare speak to me like that, Betrayer. You have no right. Do not believe for a single second that I gave my consent when you violated me. You mind-controlled me, there is no chance in fel that I would ever become intimate with you. You disgust me.”, she spat.

“You know very well that I had nothing to do with that, Maiev. It was the soap they bathed you with and it was its scent that made us become intimate that night. It was a wrong way for us to become close, but I don’t regret a single moment of it, because it made me realize that I have feelings for you.’

“Those feelings are not reciprocated by me, demon. You disgust me, you always did. There can be nothing between us other but hatred.”, she hissed and attacked him. Illidan blocked her Umbra Crescent and took a step back.

“I will not fight you, Maiev. I will not hurt you or our unborn son.”, he whispered as he stumbled backward the poisons taking full effect weakening them and clouding his mind.

“He will never see the light of day, Betrayer. I will abort this unwanted pregnancy as soon as I slay you and rid all worlds from your corrupting presence. And your Demon Hunters, all your minions will have the same fate. There will be nothing left of your legacy, nothing from your work. I will make sure of that. We will be finally free of your disgusting kind.”, she spat and attacked him with greater fervor.

Illidan saw red, he growled in rage and attacked back, the poisons taking complete effect over his mind, making him forget what has trespassed between them. Instead, he regressed back to the Burrows Den, where he was chained with Arcane shackles from head to toe, being carried to his new cell by Dath’ Remar Sunstrider and his soldiers. Maiev was standing by the cell, enchanted locks in her hands, gleefully informing him how will spend the rest of eternity there, away from everything he ever loved, away from the Well of Eternity, away from sunlight, moonlight, the grace of Elune, forsaken by his family, his friend, his brother, the love of his life.

“Tyrande is disgusted by you, Betrayer. She wants nothing to do with you anymore. She will spend the rest of eternity in your brother’s arms, living in blissful happiness, sparring not a single thought about you.”, she laughed as he was shoved into his new home.  

Present-day Illidan was enraged by the memory he recalled, courtesy of Akama, who thanks to the Shade and the poisons he laced Maiev’s traps with was able to invade his mind and bring that particular memory to surface, forcing Illidan to fall back to the hatred he felt for Maiev in the past.

“Feel the hatred of ten thousand years”, he roared as he fel rushed her. Maiev sidestepped and slashed his side, earning another roar of rage from Illidan. Unfazed, she slashed the back of his thigh and backed away from his glaives. Illidan’s primal instincts kicked in. He transformed into a demon roaring in rage. He flew up in the air, ready to fel rush her and rip her into pieces. Maiev was faster though, she threw her Umbra Crescent like a boomerang and slashed deep at his chest, wounding his heart severely. Illidan screamed and transformed back into his usual form midair, falling to the ground crushing his knees, causing him tremendous pain making him scream again as he fell at Maiev’s feet. 

“Ah, it is finished, you are beaten.”, she gloated.

“You have won...Maiev. But the Huntress is nothing without the hunt. You are nothing without me.”, he rasped, in his mind, he was young Illidan speaking to Maiev of the past. He turned around and fell on his back, looking at the side, his mind regressing to a memory of the past, where he was arguing with Cenarius who was telling him that he knew nothing of sacrifice. Tyrande was there looking straight at him, and not the Illidan of the past, a sad look gracing her youthful features. And then Illidan finally understood.

He sacrificed his love for her in order to accomplish his goals to destroy the Burning Legion once and for all. There was never a chance for them to be together, they were different, opposites, completely incompatible. He was not good for her and she was not good for him. It was a good decision to sacrifice his love for her, there never was a future for them, just a dream of a naïve boy. That was his ultimate sacrifice…

“Tyrande…”, he whispered and drew his last breath, the shadows of the Twisting Nether claiming him. A final thought crossed his mind, his Demon Hunters, more particularly one Demon Hunter who he felt he was nearby. Vandel.

‘You must be prepared…’, he whispered in the young Demon Hunter’s mind and allowed the Twisting Nether to claim him.

Chapter Text

Maiev

The moment her Umbra Crescent mortally wounded Illidan, Maiev was released from Akama’s mind control. Illidan’s words cut deeper into her soul than her weapon cut into his heart. His final word cut even deeper than the previous ones…

“Tyrande…"

She couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t feel anymore.

“He is right, I feel nothing, I am nothing without him”, she heard herself say to the four remaining Horde troops.

“Farewell, champions.”, she whispered and fled the scene. Eager to be everywhere but there. On her way down the stairs she reached beneath her armor and pulled out a leather-bound stone. She begun chanting in a language more Ancient than her native tongue and then rubbed it.

The world around her twisted disappeared and reformed into a green rocky meadow. It’s been six years since she set foot in this place. For millennia she believed this entire region was lost under tons of water. But arriving at the Broken Isles in hot pursuit of Illidan proved her wrong. The Ancient Order of the Wardens survived the long years of isolation from the rest of the world and thrived. When she managed to escape after Illidan collapsed a good portion of the Tomb of Sargeras on her’s and her sister’s heads, she was surprised to be greeted by a Watcher she had never met before, Sira Moonwarden. She informed her about the existence of her order and brought her and her surviving sisters to the Vault to introduce them to the others. They provided them with supplies and promised to come to their aid whenever they needed them. They gave Maiev the necklace and some instructions on how to use it. It was not an ordinary hearthstone. It was an amulet that when someone chanted an ancient incantation, it bound the stone to that place and the bearer can return to that place after she went to them to get reinforcements. 

Maiev did just that. She stood in front of the gates of the Vault and knocked at the door. Sira answered and Maiev explained the situation to her. At least the essential parts. Sira immediately gathered her sisters and they all returned to the Black Temple. They found the Summit empty save from Illidan’s corpse. Forcing back her tears, Maiev enclosed him in a large crystal created by his own fel blood. Her explanation was that it was to keep his spirit trapped in there so that he can suffer for all eternity. But that was not true. She didn’t even know whether Illidan’s soul still lingered there, but she did know a few fundamental facts about demons. Upon death outside the Twisting Nether, their soul returned to that realm and a new body was slowly reformed. And Illidan was a half-demon. She was not sure whether he would be given a new body or whether he was even in that realm or traveled to the Shadowlands, but she was certain that is wasn’t in his body. She felt it leave this world. What Maiev really wanted to do, was to give Illidan a proper burial. To give him a tomb, where she could visit and beg for his forgiveness.

As she was contemplating all that, a green portal was formed, and hundreds of Demon Hunters jumped out.

“No, Lord Illidan has fallen”, a gorgeous black-haired Sin’dorei Demon Hunter rasped.

“Illidary, avenge the master.”, an extremely young Kal’dorei yelled, and all of the Demon Hunters “Fel Rushed” them.

But Maiev was ready. All of them were trapped and enclosed in similar green crystals their master was, in order to be tacked away from the world before their antics caused another war with the Burning Legion. Some of the Watchers, the ones standing close to where the portal were hurt, but not seriously. The Deathsworn Broken quickly tended to them.

“Take them to the Vault.”, she ordered her new sisters. “There they can be with the Betrayer. Forever!”, she turned to the closest Broken and asked for Akama’s whereabouts.

“He left, my Lady. He traveled to Shatrath to confer with A’dal and the Aldor about the restoration of Karabor.  He will be gone for a few weeks.”, one of Akama’s “brothers” informed her. ‘Coward! Hiding from my wrath, under the skirts of his fellow Priests and that talking-floating chandelier.  No matter, I have pressing matters to attend to, I will deal with him in due time.

“Time to go, my sisters.”. She twisted her hearthstone again and they all vanished into thin air. In order for all of them and the Demon Hunters to be transported to the Vault, one touched her shoulder, while the other touched a crustal that was in turn touched by another watcher, placed between two crystals, forming a long chain in order to include everyone. At the Vault the Demon Hunters were placed in separate cells, still trapped in the crystal, while Maiev placed Illidan’s crustal in a separate chamber. A chamber where she spent the following years visiting daily, and wailed her sorrow, pounding on the crystal.

Unbeknownst to her, Illidan was indeed trapped in that crystal, his spirit fled the Twisting Nether in order to resurrect his body, just like his Demon Hunters did when they died in Mardum. Alas, Maiev’s spell trapped him in a state of limbo within his body for all of eternity, or until someone could shatter the crustal from the outside. He saw her every time she came to him and wished that he was able to hold her and wipe her tears away, reassuring her that he knew that she was mind-controlled and not responsible for his death. Death can give one clarity and he or she can see things that were normally hidden. Like Akama’s evil actions towards both of them. Between her visits, Illidan slept and entered his Lucid Dream, a dream world he created millennia ago during his incarceration underneath Mount Hyjal that was like the Emerald Dream. And just like then, it kept his sanity intact.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Maiev. After giving birth to their son, she was forced to give him away to a Kal’dorei couple at Val’sharah, because Illidan’s death put her into a state of crippling depression and she eventually lashed out at the Magic-wielding Highborn Kal’dorei that were welcomed back into the Night Elven society after millennia of exile in the city of  Dire Maul at the lush green forests of Feralas. Malfurion Stormrage almost paid for that decision with his life, and only through Jarod’s Shadowsong timely intervention, he wasn’t tortured to death by Maiev, though he was seriously injured.

Maiev fled Teldrassil and returned to the Broken Isles, where her sisters discovered that she was corrupted by the whispers of an old god, while she visited Illidan’s tomb. Thankfully, a cleansing ritual was performed by the Priestesses of the Temple of Elune in Val’sharah that healed her soul and cleansed the tomb from the old god’s presence. And life continued for Maiev, who was now able to visit her son on an almost daily basis, wishing that she were able to do the same with her long lost daughter until the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth from the Tomb of Sargeras. 

Thalia

Despite her best efforts, despite giving all she had in her, Illidan laid dead a few yards away. Thalia drained all her mana trying to resurrect him, but alas, it was not enough. Illidan’s weakened state, Maiev’s poisoned traps, and the Priestess’s own exhaustion prevented her from bringing the Lord of Outland back to life. Thalia wanted to collapse to the floor and wail on her failure, twice in a matter of a month she failed to save the two most important people who lead the fight against the Burning Legion. And one of them used to be the love of her life and father of four out of six of her children.

But she had to think of her unborn children now as well as the ones she had left behind back in Quel’thalas, so she decided to leave before she was discovered. The enchantment still held, but fearing that it could fail at any moment, she stepped through the door and closed it behind her. She noticed earlier that night there was no door handle on the outer part of the door and was certain that no one out on the Summit will notice that there was a door there. The moment she started to climb down the dark stairwell, sconces lit up on each side of the stairs. She run down the stairs as fast as she could and hoped that they would lead her to safety. As soon as she reached the end and was about to enter the tunnel before her, she was petrified to hear another door open. Only to reveal the bruised and battered face of Lady Malande who was followed by a large group of people, including Gathios, Zerevor, and Veras.

“Malande!”, Thalia exclaimed in relief and hugged her old friend and school mate. “You survived!”

“Oh, Thalia, quite a lot of us did. I anticipated the outcome, and even had a vision in the early hours of the morning about the incoming slaughter of all of us and took several measures. Like lacing the incense burners of the civilian and medical wings with powerful hallucinogens that were lit by a specific incantation. I had several of my acolytes placed around those areas to chant the incantation as soon as the mercenaries breached those areas. I provided all our people with an antidote and instructed them to take it as soon as they heard them chanting. Not everyone accepted that. Most Orcs refused, they said that they will fight to the end, it was their way. So did the demons and Teron Gorefiend, but that was sheer arrogance. The Naga took the antidote and told me that their sorcerers will take care of the rest and so did the Ashtongue Broken. I didn’t even bother to speak to the Deathsworn Broken, I could smell their treacherous intent from my quarters. As soon as the mercenaries appeared, my acolytes chanted the incantation, the incense was lit, and they thought that they were fighting defenders, when in fact, they fought no one from the entrance of the harem all the way to Mother Shahraz. This gave all the civilians the chance to escape and gather to the chamber behind this door. I did the same when they came to fight the rest of us. We held them off for as long as we could and then we lit the incense. Most of our people were severely injured, including me. We only used this last measure at the very end. I almost lost a lot of people. I sensed that Lord Illidan has fallen, there is nothing left for us now, we need to leave Shadowmoon Valley post haste.”, Lady Malande explained.

“Is everyone here now, Malande? Can we go now? Illidan instructed me to follow the tunnel that will take us to the Dragonmaw Fortress. From there, the Magi of our groups can create portals to wherever we need to go. There is still too much interference here, I can sense it.”, Thalia squeezed Malande’s shoulder.

“Then let us go.”, Gathios took charge and walked towards the tunnel. “Lady Thalia, you went to Tempest Keep. Please tell us what happened.”, he unsheathed his weapon and shield ready to defend the rest of the party. He was followed by Ruusk, Sharth Voldoom, and all the warriors, and Paladins still able to wield a weapon.

“Yes, we can do that. To be honest, I was not that surprised to see you here, Thalia. Sharth and Ruusk told me about your encounters and your search for our Prince. Tell us all about it, please.”, Zerevor pleaded and followed the melee fighters. Thalia spent the rest of the trip recounting her adventures, and Illidan’s last fight. She noticed th diversity of the group. Though the majority was comprised by Sin’dorei, there were Kal’dorei who never got the chance to become Demon Hunters,  Humans who served as hired pleasure companions for the Elves, Orcs who chose life over death, Ashtongue Broken that were loyal to Illidan, Naga that were stranded at the higher floors of the Temple and some demons who escaped the mercenaries’ wrath, mostly Shivarra and Succubi, accompanied by some Imps. A Mana’ri Eredar couple was at the end of the line ensuring that no one was following them. She was informed by Malande that the rest of the surviving Naga fled through the sewers and used the underwater rivers and lakes to get out of Shadowmoon Valley.

“So that was when I rushed down the stairs and found you.”, Thalia concluded her story.

“Fascinating,” Ruusk said. “I wish I were able to hold the line longer at Eclipse point. But after those cowards maimed me and left me for dead in the middle of the road, there wasn’t much I could do, but sound a retreat and follow the rest through the portal and back into the Temple. The big question now, is what to do? Where to go? Surely, we won’t be welcomed back to Quel’thalas.”, he sighed.

“Or Kalimdor”, a Kal’dorei Huntress sighed as well.

“There is no place for the Dragonmaw and the Fel Orcs in Shadowmoon Valley any more or the rest of Outland for that matter. Where should we go?” an Orc Warrior asked.

“The Twilight Highlands on Azeroth is home to many Dragonmaw Orcs. I can create a portal for you now if you want.”, Nelia, a Sin’dorei Mage offered, and all the Dragonmaw agreed. The Sorceress lifted her arms in the air and created one as soon as they reached the Dragonmaw Fortress. “I’m afraid that the rest of the Dragonmaw will not accept you in their ranks. But you are more than welcome to come with us wherever we go.”, she informed the red-skinned Orcs.

“We will create a portal and return to Azeroth too, but we will not return to Nazjatar and Azshara. We will not serve an old god again. Perhaps the coast around the Dragon Isles is the best choice for a new home. It’s the last place old god minions would go for some reason. But first, we will go to Zangara and retrieve any Naga survivors we can find.”, said a Naga Sorceress.  

“I heard that the Swamp of Sorrows in Azeroth is a Prime location for our kin, can any of you who has been there open a Portal for us please?”, a Broken Shaman asked. Nelia opened a portal for them as well.

“The Blasted Lands are awfully close to the Swamp of Sorrows, and they are home to many Orcs, including Fel Orcs. The southwest is also home to rogue demons, perhaps you will find a home there.”, she informed the Fel Orcs and the demons, who nodded and stepped through the portal. That left the Kal’dorei and the Humans.

“I can create a portal to Booty Bay for you and from there you can find a way to wherever you want. They don’t know about your involvement here, so you will be safe.”, Nelia offered again, and both parties agreed.

“So now it’s just us. Five hundred pariahs with a price over our heads.”, Veras sighed.

“Don’t be so pessimistic. old friend. There is still hope for us. I will create a portal to Tempest Keep, yes, I know where it is, the Prince needed me for a project and brought me there. I can port us to the Bridge, it should be abandoned by now, you said that they plunged it for days, is that correct, Veras?”, Zerevor asked the spymaster who nodded. “Good. From there I can track where our Prince and our people fled, and I can create a portal to that place. Together with the Prince, we will find a way back to Azeroth.”

“And that leaves me. I must return to Quel’thalas, they will be expecting me to resume my duties after a month of vacation. Zerevor, can you have a look at this amulet and activate it for me, please? They will be expecting me in three days, and I need to clean up and compose my self before I come out from the meditation shrine.”, Zerevor nodded and examined the amulet. He chanted an incantation, and it glowed blue.

“There you go Thalia, you are ready to go in five minutes. Plenty of time to say goodbye to all of us.”, he hugged the Priestess and she gave him a peck on the cheek. She did the same with Gathios, Veras, Ruusk, and Sharth. She hugged Malande and curtsied at the rest of the group, who bowed to her as if she was still their Prince’s consort.

As soon as she stepped out of the portal, Thalia run to the bath chambers and spent hours cleaning herself, after she threw the clothes, she was wearing to the garbage incinerator. She then spent three days in deep meditation trying to heal herself from the emotional wounds of her adventure.

Thalia met Rommath as soon as she stepped out of the Shrine and she informed him about everything that happened in Outland, including the night she spent with Illidan and the pregnancy that resulted from that. Rommath was not happy about it, but he supported her during the months that followed. She had absolutely no proof about the Prince’s innocence, but at least they knew about his innocence. Eight months later, Thalia gave birth to the twins, a female and a male with her colors and features, so no one suspected them of being half Kal’dorei and a quarter demon. 

True to her promise and her duty to Quel’thalas she became pregnant again by Rommath and through genetic manipulation black haired twins were born, one of each, The same process was repeated twice more and Thalia gave birth to ginger-haired and white-blonde haired twins by Halduron and Lor’themar, who also had twins by Liadrin and Veline. One of each, in order to replace those who had fallen. It was the only way; the council set the example and many followed suit and began procreating. But not all of them, old habits die hard. When one lives as long as Elves do, he or she does not feel the need to procreate. It took all the Council’s patience and persuasion and at least two decades to convince those Elves to take a mate and have at least two children. One of each.

Thalia’s career spearheaded forward. She rose through the Horde ranks during the years and wars that followed and became a General and a Warlord during the Draenor campaign where she led the expedition and became the Commander of the Horde Garrison. Unfortunately, it was her involvement in the events that took place in Outland and more specific the Black Temple that got her demoted and exiled from the Horde by Vol’jin. That didn’t deter her from fighting against the Legion Invasion, years later and becoming the High Priestess of the Netherlight Temple, acting as a key element in Illidan’s return and the final fall of the Legion.

Thalia did not complain about her life. She had survived wars, demonic invasions, plagues, and genocides and lived to tell the tale. Many were not so lucky. Many never got to grow old, to have a mate, children, and grandchildren, while others had them, but never got to see them again. She had that luxury and she thanked the Light for that every day. The Legion took many friends and loved ones from her, but at least Illidan returned to set things right again. And he did just that. But that was another story…

The End