Chapter Text
He'd loved the man for over half his life; following him through two wars and countless battles. Death and betrayal had ensured the warrior would never open up his heart again, and Khadgar accepted it. He accepted the friendship, the camaraderie, and what trust the man could manage to offer. It was all gone now, spilled out in blood and bone on the field of battle. The Lion of Azeroth was dead; caught up in a trap and slaughtered.
The cold from the marble soaked through his many layers as he sat one final watch beside his friend. Tomorrow the shell that once housed one of the best people he'd ever known would be interred. But tonight...tonight he would sit beside him one last time.
He lost himself in memories until movement caught his eye. At first he didn't know what had drawn his attention, but then one of the shadows shifted. A woman's voice spoke from the darkness, “I offer you a chance to fix what my mistake has wrought.”
He pulled power into his hands as he sat up straighter. “Who are you?”
“I was once known as Aegwynn, Guardian of Tirisfal and mother of Medivh.” Khadgar blew out a sharp breath. His mind was already running through all the implications as she continued. “I was arrogant. I made a decision...one that would ultimately cascade into a series of disastrous consequences for our world.”
Aegwynn stepped out from the darkness, her pale blond hair gleaming platinum in the torchlight. “You were to have been the next Guardian. With my son corrupted and unable to pass on the powers of the Tirisfal, the chain was broken. It was exactly as Sargeras wanted.”
Khadgar stood. “How is it that you think I can fix this?”
Now that she wasn't wrapping herself in silence and shadows, he could hear the hardened soles of her shoes clacking against the floor. “You have the power and knowledge to open portals to other times. Those portals are weak and unstable, but you can do it.” She stood directly in front of him now. “I have spent these years gathering bits of my power. I had thought to bring my son, uncorrupted, back to life with it. I realize now that it's the selfish choice.
“With your powers and mine, I can send you back to when you first met Medivh. I believe it's critical for you to be the person you were then, because that is the man who tried to save my son despite what he'd become. That's the person we need. I also believe it's crucial for you to have the knowledge of what must be done. Medivh must be cleansed and Sargeras driven out. The line of Guardians cannot end. I think I can manage to give you the knowledge and the power you need, while not compromising the young man you once were.” The woman looked away briefly and then looked back. “Garona is my granddaughter. She is Medivh's child. In this life, she's been torn between two worlds and was forced to kill a friend....your King. Prevent that, if you can.”
Khadgar studied this woman. Ultimately, her goals were still selfish in nature: she wanted to save her son. She wanted her granddaughter kept on the side of the alliance. Secondary to that, she wanted to preserve the chain of Guardians that had stretched back millennium. All else fell a distant third. He knew she's been one of the greatest and most powerful of the Guardians of Tirisfal to have ever lived; but he wondered if all the centuries of standing above people, and not with them, had erased some of her humanity. She might care about the whole, and even a select few...but the rest were tools and pawns treated with only a cursory level of empathy.
He knew why she'd picked here and now. It was just another level of manipulation. The man he loved was cold and dead behind him. If there was any time in his life that he was likely to agree to something of this nature, it was this moment. Here was an opportunity to go back and potentially spend several more decades with him- maybe even save him from this fate altogether. He suspected that's why she dangled the Guardian abilities in front of him. Even the least of them lived centuries; not only due to the power itself, but life prolonging spells they were capable of. Rumors had abounded of companions who lived as long as the Guardians, so it was likely the spells could be cast on others.
He also knew that these implied promises were all empty. If Aegwynn were removing his memories and only offering up the knowledge of what she felt he needed to know, none of this would remain. He knew that. And still he contemplated this.
If he did this, there were no guarantees. He could fail to save Medivh. Or he could succeed, but the man would still turn on them due to years of being twisted to Sargeras' will. Changing the past would have untold consequences, and he wasn't sure if the result would be any better. It could all end in total catastrophe.
...but the chance at saving hundreds of lives, of preventing the explosion of fel that warped much of the eastern continent, of saving Llane, of seeing Anduin one more time....
Well, maybe he wasn't so different from Aegwynn after all, was he?
Khadgar blinked. He'd just pulled a book from the shelf; that book was now tucked up under his robe. Right? He patted himself. Yes, there it was. He shook his head. He knew that in a minute or so, Lothar was going to come down the stairs with the Guardian. He was going to get flung from one bookcase to another and then dropped on the floor. Wait... What?
He stood there dazed and missed the footsteps and yes, there were the words he knew were coming. And yes, pinned to the bookcase. Only this time he looked down and saw Anduin. There was a rush of grief so deep that he shook with it. He didn't even notice getting flung across the room. He kept staring at the man he'd only recently met and he was filled with odd impressions and emotions. Anduin... Commander Lothar sighed and put his hand on the Guardian's shoulder. He spoke something in the man's ear and the spell holding him aloft dropped.
Again with the offer of a hand up, and again it was taken away at the last moment. Still feeling off balance, he followed them like before. Before?
They arrived in the throne room and he saw the shock on the King's face...Llane, his name was Llane...change to warmth and greeting. All of it progressed in a way that seemed familiar and all too soon he was following the Guardian, catching the greatstaff Atiesh, and...the confusion lifted like a heavy shroud being removed. He stared at the staff for a moment. Then a rock was thrown, hitting a soldier. Without thinking, power spun from his hand and hit the orc that was about to jump down and kill two men. It tumbled away from them instead, startling the horse into bolting.
Orcs came running from the trees and while the battle progressed he saved many men. The Guardian cast the spell that killed the orcs and he knew, somehow, that the sickly green energy wasn't coming just from the fel enhanced orcs. Medivh waved his hand to disperse the circle of protection. It didn't drop. He looked at Khadgar in shock, and reached for his staff. He pulled at it, and Khadgar refused to let go. “Guardian, I know what you've done.”
Medivh looked up at him, lines of corruption showing around his eyes. He snarled, stood, and cast a spell at Khadgar. It hit, flinging him up against the barrier. He struck back, throwing the Magus to the other side. He scrambled up to his feet even as the Guardian threw another spell. He cast a barrier which held back the bolt, but shattered. He dodged another bolt, this one with green mixed into the blue. When Khadgar looked up, the Guardian's face had transformed. It wasn't fully demonic, but it really wasn't human either.
A shocked noise came from outside of the circle, and both men turned to see Anduin staring at his old friend. He held a hand towards the Magus, his voice a plea. “Medihv?”
Khadgar used the distraction to pin the other man against the side of the spell circle. In the moment before the Magus could free himself, he planted Atiesh into the ground and pulled. Knowledge of what to do came to him. “From light comes darkness...” Green light flooded into him from Medivh, and the Guardian/Sargeras screamed in fury. “And from Darkness- LIGHT!”
Instead of funneling the energy outward, he channeled it tightly up. The flare of power was so bright that it made the sunlight dim in comparison. The pressure caused by the blast knocked the watching soldiers backwards. A half orc who had been watching in hiding was also picked up by the wave of pressure, and was battered unconscious against a tree. Khadgar dropped to his knees, the grip on the staff the only thing holding him up.
He lifted his head to see the Guardian, pale and shaken, rise to one knee. The Magus sucked in a ragged breath as a tear fell down his face. His gaze locked somewhere behind Khadgar, and suddenly cold steel was pressed into the side of the young mage's neck. Commander Lothar's voice was cold, “Give me one reason not to cut your head off your shoulders, spell chucker.”
“No. Anduin. Do not.” Medivh struggled to his feet and approached. He pushed the warrior's blade away from Khadgar's neck. “We owe this man a great debt.”
Still on his knees, Khadgar lifted the staff and offered it back to the Guardian. Shock crossed the older man's face. “I left the Kirin Tor. I renounced my vows.”
Medivh took the staff and paused for a moment. When he stepped away, his voice was contemplative. “My mother would think that makes you more qualified, not less.” The Magus looked to Anduin and shared a look. “I have something I need to attend to. I'll meet you back at Stormwind.”
Khadgar soon found himself being brought to his feet. Blue eyes weighed him, and then Lothar moved away as a shout rang out. The soldiers had found the half orc woman. The mage lurched forward. He had to make sure they didn't kill her.
@ # @ # @ # @
“Llane, he took on Medivh, and to me...it looked like he won.”
The two of them stood over the war table. The King looked up from where he'd been studying troop movements. “Medivh will explain when he gets here.”
“I'm just saying, this spell-chucker may be more dangerous than he looks.”
The King was saved from answering by a flash of blue. “See? Now you can ask him yourself.”
Medivh lowered his hood and smiled, more warmth in it than Anduin had seen since they'd been boys. “There's a lot to tell you.” His eyes grew clouded. “It's a dark tale and you may feel differently about me after it's told.”
What followed was a long night. Anduin had thrown a calvary figurine across the room when he found out that what woke up from the coma hadn't really been his friend anymore. The king dropped heavily into his chair when he found out the full extent of the orc invasion, and what may yet come to pass. Llane rubbed a hand over his face. “Sargeras. The Burning horde.” He shook his head. “This is... I don't know what it is, actually.”
“The most immediate problem is Gul'Dan. He wields a magic that eats life and perverts the natural order. Many of his orcs have been tainted with it. Only a few clans have held out and refused the gift.”
“So we take everything we've got, clear a path through his troops, and you deal with him.” Anduin waved his tankard.
Medivh closed his eyes. “I'm not sure that's a good idea. I've proven to be entirely too prone to…influence.”
“What are you saying?” Llane leaned forward.
“I think we need help.”
Anduin narrowed his eyes. “You mean the kid. Khadgar.”
The Guardian leaned back. “Yes. He's proven that he isn't taken by it. He's studied it enough that he knew what was going on. I think he makes a good choice to spearhead a fight with Gul'Dan.”
The warrior sat up and leaned forward. “You haven't explained what happened back there. Is this spell chucker really as powerful as you are?”
“If I weren't also carrying the power of Tirisfal, it's possible he might rival me one day.” He looked at the suspicion in Anduin's eyes. “He's talented. Amazingly so, but he caught me off guard. All he needed was a moment to cast that cleansing spell with Atiesh in his hands.”
Llane sucked in a breath. “He used Atiesh? I thought only Guardians can!”
“No, but only the truly powerful can. It is usually passed down in some form, but I suppose I technically did...”
When Llane looked confused Anduin explained. “Our Guardian here let the thing go mid-stride expecting Khadgar to catch it. He caught it, used it, and handed it back as if he were bestowing the royal crown.” The Magus gave him a look he couldn't quite decipher. “What?”
“We owe him a debt, Anduin, of that there is no doubt...more so than he even understands.”
“Where is the new mage, anyway?”
“Taria put him in a guest room somewhere. She found out what Medivh said and took it to heart.” He set his flagon down. “She also took our half orc prisoner blankets and clothes. Her only protection was one of her handmaidens! Llane, if I hadn't heard what she was up to and guarded her from the door, anything could have happened. She unlocked the damn cage and walked right in!”
Medivh sat up straight. “Half orc prisoner?”
Llane nodded. “Yes. It's rather curious, as she speaks our language. A fact that her fellow orcs seems to take exception to, according to Anduin.”
The Guardian stood. “I'd like to see her.” When both gaped at him he commanded. “Now!”
With a shrug, Anduin stood. “I'll take him.”
The King stood. “We'll all go.”
Later, when Garona had been released and whisked off to Karazhan by Medivh; who was, apparently, her father- Llane and Anduin stood there in shock. Eventually the King shook his head. “Well, that was a revelation. I'd better go inform Taria.”
Anduin groaned. “You know what this means, right?” At Llane's uncomprehending look he explained. “She's going to view the girl as a long lost niece. A niece whose mother was killed, was fatherless for most of her life, and lived as a slave- if the collar and chain around her neck is any indication.” He looked pointedly at his friend whose eyes widened.
Llane rubbed his face. “I'll have a suite permanently prepared for the girl near Medivh's, for if he ever comes back out of Karazhan with her.”
“Expect my sister to give her anything her heart desires, including weapons.”