//------------------------------//
// Argus: Locus-Walker's Plan 
// Story: World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

"Alleria," Trixie said, though at the same time she and Lyra looked at where the strange Ethereal that had saved them had been standing earlier, as they were curious about who he was and how he got the powers he had, "who was that?"

"That was Locus-Walker. He taught me all that I know about the Void, and he still has more to teach me." Alleria replied, though at the same time she appeared to be thoughtful, meaning that something important was going to be happening and that Locus-Walker was likely involved in it, "If he is here, then the Ethereals' presence only intrigues me further. I had thought him the only one of his kind, but now that I have seen another tangling with the Void... come, we must play his game if we want to learn what he knows. He appears to have gone toward the Umbra Hollows to the north."

Lyra and Trixie glanced at each other as they followed Alleria to the north of where they were standing, leaving the structure they had been standing in behind and walked down the narrow path that awaited them, before heading to the northeast of where they landed... which brought them right to where Locus-Walker was standing, with a Void portal floating in the air behind him.

"I have something I want to show you," Locus-Walker said, beckoning to the portal for a moment, meaning that they needed to return to the plane they had fought Arkhaan in earlier, for a shorter period anyway, before he stared at Alleria as they came to a stop, "but we mustn't be seen. Follow."

"Explain yourself first." Alleria insisted, as she was more interested in why Locus-Walker was here and what he was planning, as that would allow her to properly plan their own attack on the Ethereals that she had seen while she was scouting the area earlier.

"Such impatience." Locus-Walker commented, to which Lyra and Trixie had to agree, as they were actually surprised that Alleria was being impatient when they were gaining information on their enemy's movements, "I believe you will find the answers you seek on the other side."

With that said Locus-Walker turned around and walked into the Void portal, though before they could be left behind Lyra and Trixie followed after him, causing Alleria to sigh as she headed into the portal as well, where the three of them appeared in the Void plane once more. As they appeared in the Void plane they discovered that the area had a number of Ethereals that couldn't see them, save for some sentries that were positioned at specific areas throughout the Umbra Hollows. Lyra discovered that it was rather easy for them to avoid the sentries, especially with Locus-Walker leading the way, though as they followed the path in front of them Trixie studied the dismantled portal that was laying on the ground for a few seconds before catching up to them. After that they gathered on a rock for a few seconds, one that allowed them to look at the Ethereals and their work, before Locus-Walker decided to move once more, causing the trio to follow after him so they didn't get left in his dust.

"How industriously they work." Locus-Walker said, though at the same time there was no emotion in his voice, which meant that he didn't really care about the other members of his race all that much, seeing them as something to be studied before they fell, which told Lyra and Trixie to keep him away from Equus, "A pity they will be overtaken."

"I sense a little disappointment." Alleria spoke up, to which she stared at Locus-Walker as they moved through the Umbra Hollows, while at the same time the Ethereals had no idea that they were walking through their defenses, "Was I really your best student?"

Lyra and Trixie paused for a moment when they spotted an image of an important looking Ethereal giving commands to his soldiers, though instead of touching it, and activating it like usual, it continued speaking and they got some information before they moved onward.

"I will not give Locus-Walker the satisfaction of disrupting our efforts. Capture him at all costs." the Ethereal stated, his command being heard by many of the Ethereals in the area, though at the same time Lyra and Trixie had to resist the urge to chuckle, as they had no idea where their target was located, "Do what you like with the fleshling and her allies. They are of no concern."

With the knowledge that the Ethereals' main target being Locus-Walker, and that the two of them and Alleria were essentially kill on sight, the duo headed along the path that their companions had been following and found them standing nearby, and had no doubt heard the Ethereal's command... and they all started moving once more, heading closer and closer to the exit area that Locus-Walker had chosen for them.

"I had hoped to find at least one promising soul on this rock." Locus-Walker commented, though considering that Alleria had apparently been his student at one point both Lyra and Trixie understood what he was referring to, even if he didn't think they knew.

"I have not turned away from that path." Alleria stated, causing her companion to turn towards her slightly, as if he thought that she was joking or something, but said nothing, once more revealing that there was more history between them than what Lyra and Trixie knew about, "You know why I resisted."

Lyra and Trixie then broke away from them once more, as they found some sort of forge that appeared to have been created with the Void in mind, meaning that the Ethereals likely were attempting to channel the Void into weapons and armor for whatever mission they had in mind... and they listened to the Ethereal that was speaking at the moment.

"Our work is nearly complete." the Void Ethereal said, to which his companions nodded their heads in agreement, indicating that all of them were on the same page, even though he was going to say it anyway to make sure they understood what they were doing, "Soon, all of Argus will fall to darkness!"

As Lyra and Trixie caught up with the duo again they realized what the Ethereals were doing, they were trying to harness the power of the Void that was Argus for themselves, so they could spread the Void's influence and likely claim the Titan Soul that Sargeras was corrupting... though, when they thought about that, a Void Titan sounded even worse than a Fallen Titan, which was what Aggramar was.

"I need to finish what I started, Locus-Walker." Alleria said, not even noticing Lyra and Trixie's arrival, though it appeared that Locus-Walker did, as he started moving and the trio followed after him as they neared the exit he had created for them.

"Can you, though?" Locus-Walker inquired, though at the same time they approached the Void portal that was their exit and walked through it, to which the trio followed after him and appeared in a whole new area, back in the normal plane that they were used to, "With your... attachments?"

"What are you talking about?" Alleria asked, as she was genuinely interested in what Locus-Walker was talking about, while at the same time Lyra and Trixie stared at them as they waited for the conversation to be over, especially since Lyra could sense that this area was full of Void energy.

"Why, your mate of course." Locus-Walker said, as if that was the obvious person he had been referring to, which Lyra and Trixie guessed made since considering that Turalyon served the Light, the polar opposite of the Void, "How does he feel about your choices?"

Lyra and Trixie stood there for a few seconds, looking at the fact that Alleria and Locus-Walker were staring at each other and said nothing, before Trixie coughed and shattered the illusion, to which Alleria sighed and turned towards them, which was what Locus-Walker did a few seconds later.

"I think I understand what he was trying to show us." Alleria said, where she avoided the gaze of her former teacher, because she was more focused on what they needed to do and what she had felt while they were walking through the Umbra Hollows, "I feel a surge of power building ahead. They must be cultivating the Void, calling it here. We need to stop them before they plunge this entire city into shadow. Find the source and cut it off by any means necessary. Locus-Walker and I have unfinished business to attend to."

"As you have surely gathered by now, a certain subset of my people have tragically succumbed to the call of the Void." Locus-Walker added, to which the duo glanced towards him, as they were interested in what he wanted to tell them and figured that it involved killing Ethereals, "I had hoped to find more who possess the necessary strength of mind. I am disappointed to find such an utter lack of resistance. It cannot be helped. To advance your cause, and mine, we will need to eradicate these weak-willed beings."

Lyra and Trixie nodded, as they understood the fact that Locus-Walker was asking for the deaths of his own kind while Alleria was asking that they shatter the devices that the Ethereals had set up around the Void infused city they had discovered, before they completed their terrible mission.

"Turalyon trusts me to make hard decisions, and I him." Alleria stated, to which she turned back towards Locus-Walker, indicating that she wanted to finish the conversation before they got underway, especially one that was so important for the two of them.

"I am not talking about trust." Locus-Walker replied, revealing that there was something more important to the conversation than trust, where he seemed disappointed once more, as if Alleria's answer was making him reconsider something that he had been thinking about, "How can you expect to embrace the Shadow with the Light shining so brightly at your side?"

"Without the Light there is no Shadow, teacher." Alleria answered, though at the same time Lyra nodded her head, as she understood that better than anyone, as she could use the Light in addition to Dark Magic, even if she hadn't attempted to merge the two together yet.

As Alleria and Locus-Walker headed their own direction, to accomplish their own tasks, Lyra and Trixie advanced into the Void infused city and prepared themselves, as the Ethereals that commanded this area, and had established their own bases in the area, didn't take too kindly to them invading their fortifications. This time around Lyra wasn't playing around, as while Trixie headed for the Ethereals' machines she started channeling her Light based powers and hurled Light arrows through the air, where they struck several of her targets and blew them backwards. Those that got close to her suffered more than their ranged allies, as the Light that wrapped around her blade severely damaged those that came at her, as all of them seemed to be more interested in trying to kill her while Trixie went about her business. Lyra had to smile as Trixie, deciding not to waste any time, roared as she morphed into her pure dragon form and the magic in the air radiated at her call... and Lyra's grin only widened as the magic formed arcane constructs, born of pure magic, that smashed into the Ethereals that were all over the area and tore apart the machines she was targeting.

Lyra remembered what the Azurewing had told them, that Trixie's new dragon form had made her much stronger than she had been before the transformation, so now it appeared that she would have been classified as an Aspect if they still existed... as her powers now seemed to control the magic in the air and she could weave new spells into existence at a whim, which she used to devastating effect as she shattered the devices around them.

For a moment she wondered what Velen and the other commanders were thinking at the moment, as they were no doubt watching over them while they fought the Ethereals, because Trixie's new abilities, which must have come from her contact with the Sigil of Awakening, were unlike anything they had seen so far. She was also curious about how long her friend had been planning on keeping this a secret, as it was apparent that her battle through Archimonde's trials had done something to her, but right now she didn't care. The Ethereals, used to dealing with smaller dragons back in the Outlands, weren't used to dealing with a large dragon that was Trixie's other form, though Lyra had to smile as Trixie raised one of her claws into the air and crushed an eager Ethereal that tried to rush her, before using her tail to smash several that were trying to approach her from behind. Her arcane constructs also made sure to avoid the pure pools of Void energy, but they surged into the devices that the Ethereals had set up and overcharged them, shattering them into a thousand pieces before they came back to reality and continued their assault.

A few minutes later, when they had decimated the force that was in their immediate area, Trixie dismissed her constructs and reverted back to her hybrid state, to which she and Lyra grouped up and returned to where the duo was standing, though as they discovered that Alleria and Locus-Walker had returned to the same area they had been in a few minutes ago they found that Alleria was shocked... and that her teacher, on the other hand, was even more interested in them than he had been earlier.

"After some consideration, I have decided to allow Alleria another opportunity to pursue her destiny. I suppose you want to know what that means, mortal." Locus-Walker stated, though while his tone told them that he was definitely interested in them down, since their powers were foreign to him, his mind was focused on Alleria, "Meet us deep in the Shadowguard camp ahead... my brethren are preparing a summons that will provide adequate energy for Windrunner to  begin again. Witness what happens when you harness the Void's power."

Normally Lyra and Trixie would have been surprised by that statement, but considering that Lyra had access to both the power of the Light and the power of Dark Magic, and that Trixie was essentially the Spell-Weaver reborn, nothing could really surprise them at this point... though they were definitely interested in this process, that much was true.

"Well, Windrunner? What say you?" Locus-Walker inquired, to which Lyra and Trixie turned their heads towards Alleria, because this was an important decision she was going to make and they were interested in what she was going to say.

"Show me the path." Alleria said, though at the same time she took her bow and locked it into place between her back and her quiver, before turning and facing her teacher with a look of determination on her face, "I am ready to walk it."

"Right this way." Locus-Walker replied, to which he turned around and waved a hand, where a Void portal opened up behind him, one that he and the group walked into so they could find the creature that he had been located.

When they approached on the other side of the portal Lyra and Trixie found three of the Shadowguard in the process of summoning the creature they were here for, though the area they happened to be in was the far left side of the first area they had attacked together. As they focused on the summoners, however, Locus-Walker nodded towards the two of them and the duo charged forward, to which they separated from each other and started beating up the summoners that were in front of them. At the same time they restrained themselves, as their full power might be enough to break the summoning and would likely make Locus-Walker cross with them, but their current states were more than enough for them to take out the summoners without anything terrible happening... though once all three of them were dead, and the duo returned to Alleria and Locus-Walker, the Void energy surged and a creature appeared before them.

Trixie raised an eyebrow for a moment, as the Void creature that was in front of them reminded her of a Void revenant, a being that referred to itself as a demi-god, and she knew that this was more than enough for whatever Locus-Walker had planned for Alleria... to which she and Lyra prepared themselves for a great battle.

"Yes, this specimen will do." Locus-Walker stated, sounding a little pleased with what the dead summoners had been able to call into this world, even though Trixie and Lyra knew it's power was more than he might know, "Prepare yourself, Alleria. Your friends here will hold its attention."

The moment Locus-Walker said that Lyra and Trixie lashed out at the creature, using the lowest level of their powers this time around so they didn't outright kill the Void revenant with the sheer weight of their power, as that would defeat the purpose of their new ally's plans. At the same time, while Lyra commanded the creature's attention, Alleria braced herself and started channeling whatever power she was supposed to be using, where a faint Void aura seemed to wrap around her for a few seconds as she got to work.

"That thing... Nhal'athoth..." Alleria said, her voice sounding different this time around, which made sense considering what she was doing at the moment, while at the same time Lyra and Trixie focused on their target, "it's... calling to me!"

"Focus your mind." Locus-Walker stated, though he stood off to the fight and observed what was happening, while at the same time commanding Alleria around while she did this task, "Remember your training."

"Arator?" Alleria mumbled, her voice strained at the moment, meaning that there was some effect to what she was doing, one that might not be the desired effect, "Turalyon?!"

"The Void shows only half truths." Locus-Walker commented, speaking a truth that Lyra and Trixie had started to discover once they had reached this area, though they hadn't acknowledged it since they were busy running all over the place to help their war against the Legion, "Trust your instincts."

"I can't... I... Argh!" Alleria growled out, though that was when she began to succumb to the Void, which was the exact opposite of what Lyra, Trixie, and Locus-Walker wanted at this exact moment.

"Fight, curse you!" Locus-Walker commanded, though even as he said that, and the two Equestrians paused as Nhal'athoth became unfocused for a few seconds, the aura around Alleria shifted a few seconds later, indicating that she was stronger than what they were seeing.

"I won't let you!" Alleria shouted, to which she snapped out of what was happening to her and rapidly pulled out her bow, where she pulled out an arrow that was empowered with Void energy, "I am not yours to claim!"

In the following few seconds Alleria loosed her Void arrow, which flashed through the air and struck Nhal'athoth in it's chest, causing the group to watch as the creature collapsed on itself and left a floating sphere of Void energy behind, which was essentially the heart of a demi-god.

"Begone, wretched darkness." Alleria said, to which she fell to her knees for a moment and huffed, indicating that the pressure she had been under had been more than what she was expecting, but at least she was okay.

"Be sure to collect our prize." Locus-Walker stated, looking at Lyra and Trixie for a few seconds, revealing that since he didn't refer to them as 'fleshlings', like the rest of his kind, he found some value to their existence, "I will tend to Alleria."

Lyra and Trixie nodded as they turned towards the floating sphere, though instead of Lyra taking it, as she was a little worried that if she touched it the sphere would morph into a lesser half of her circlet, especially when it wasn't hers to take, before Trixie claimed the Void energy and turned towards the duo that was standing behind them.

"The heart of a demi-god. This is no mere token, Alleria." Locus-Walker commented, staring at the item that Trixie was holding onto, as she silently agreed with what was going through Lyra's mind at the moment, before turning towards his student, "Take it, and you will be one step closer to your destiny."

"I understand." Alleria said, to which she stood back up and turned towards Trixie, who carefully set the heart of the freshly slain demi-god in her hands, "Thank you, all of you."

Alleria stared at the heart for a few seconds before focusing her mind, where both Lyra and Trixie watched as a good deal of the Void energy that had been inside the heart surged into Alleria's body, where a Void aura wrapped around her and stayed there for a few moments, though this time it didn't seem to disappear, meaning there was more she needed to do before her training was complete.

"That was... an intense experience. It is difficult to focus. I need you two to return to Velen. Give him this." Alleria said, to which she held her hand back out and deposited the nearby depleted the heart in Trixie's hands, meaning that it still had some power left inside it, before she backed up a few steps, "I feel as though he should have it, though I am not sure why. Tell him all that we have learned. I am sure Romuul will have been watching our progress. With any luck, a beacon is already headed our way."

"How do you feel?" Locus-Walker asked, revealing that he was still interested in what had happened to his student, even though he clearly had a vast understanding of what happened, meaning that each experience like this was different from the one before it.

"My head is... swimming." Alleria admitted, though at the same time Lyra and Trixie nodded their heads in agreement, as they had felt the same when they first took their new powers into their bodies, even though it wasn't as intense as what she was feeling at the moment.

"Remember... So long as your mind is your own, you command this power." Locus-Walker said, repeating something that Lyra, Trixie, and a vast number of the heroes had learned over the many years they had been trying to protect Azeroth from the forces that wanted to destroy it, "It does not command you."

"How did you do it by yourself?" Alleria inquired, revealing that Locus-Walker might have done this same thing by himself, which seemed strange considering what they had seen earlier, but Lyra and Trixie said nothing as the two continued their conversation.

"Ah, well. Perhaps I will tell you one day." Locus-Walker replied, though at the same time he backed away for a moment, which meant that he was getting ready to leave, while he also stared at Lyra and Trixie as he spoke, "Until then, I will be keeping an eye on your progress. Farewell for now."

It was in that moment that Locus-Walker took his leave, disappearing as quickly as he had first arrived in their lives, though at the same time Alleria sighed as she turned towards the duo, who turned to look at her while they listened to what she wanted to tell them.

"You should return to the Vindicaar and share what we have learned." Alleria said, though before either of them could do anything she glanced in the direction of the Seat of the Triumvirate, where the Crest and L'ura rested, "My path takes me into the Seat of the Triumvirate... to whatever fate awaits me there. I am certain Velen will understand."

Before Lyra and Trixie could say anything Alleria charged off into the distance and disappeared, leaving them to wait for a few seconds before the beacon appeared, to which the two of them chuckled for a moment as they teleported back to the Vindicaar. When they arrived they discovered that some of the heroes, those that remained and hadn't been assigned a task on the other areas of Argus, stared at them in shock for a moment, revealing that they had seen Trixie's power. At the same time one of the Lightforged Draenei lead the way to where Velen was standing, which happened to be in front of the Netherlight Crucible, where he turned to look at them when they walked up to him.

"What is it that you brought with you?" Velen asked, though at the same time Trixie made sure he could see the heart of the demi-god, where a look of interest appeared in his eyes, "Intriguing..."

"The drained heart of a demi-god," Trixie explained, to which a new level of interest appearing in Velen's eyes, though she knew that it would only increase when she revealed the rest of it's nature, "a Void demi-god, to be exact."

"I see. The darkness within this essence is palpable." Velen stated, to which he glanced at the second pedestal on the forge, one that was opposite of where Xe'ra's essence rested, where he understood what was going on, "In the past, I might have shunned such power, even denied its very existence. But what have we learned throughout our long struggle,  if not that Light and shadow must coexist? This may prove to be exactly what we need to bring balance to the Netherlight Crucible. To give us the edge we need against the Legion. Infuse this essence into the crucible, champion. Draw one step closer to realizing the full potential of all our weapons."

Trixie nodded and held her hand out, where the heart of Nhal'athoth surged forward and formed a shadowy version of the essence that was on the opposite side of the Crucible, though with that done she stepped back and stared at it as she understood their next step... they had to tackle the Seat of the Triumvirate, take out L'ura while helping Alleria, and see if Lyra found the remaining half of her strange circlet. Things were about to get very interesting, though how interesting she had no idea, and she couldn't help but feel that everyone, even their enemies, would be surprised when they came back with the missing Crest.