World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind

by Blackdrag-rose

Argus: Wrath of the Prophet

Lyra and Trixie were given an hour to rest from their ordeal, despite the fact that it was Trixie that needed the break since she went through three trials and had to fight the echo of Archimonde himself, but neither one of them complained as some of the other heroes teleported back down to Krokuun or the Antoran Wastes to continue their work. The others were gathering information on whatever weaknesses they could, for the eventual attack on Antorus, and were trying to thin the numbers of their enemies, so they weren't overwhelmed. At the same time Velen seemed to disappear for a few minutes, though both Lyra and Trixie knew that he had to be settling his nerves, since this had been an emotional place for him and just staring at Mac'Aree was enough to make him pause for moments at a time. They knew the Prophet needed to come to terms with his past, something that only he could do when he was alone, and decided not to bother him, allowing him the time he needed to focus on the past and how he could overcome the terrors his old friends had committed.

What neither of them were expecting, however, was for Turalyon to approach them at one point while they were trying to recover from their ordeal, though as the High Exarch approached them the duo stood up and turned towards him, as they were likely going to be sent into battle once more.

"Lyra Heartstrings, Trixis Lulamoon, we have a problem... the Legion has come to Mac'Aree." Turalyon said, to which the duo glared at him, because it appeared that by them simply coming up here the demons decided to see what was resting on this patch of land as well, "When you claimed the Sigil of Awakening it was as if we announced our presence to all of Argus. The eyes of Antorus are firmly upon us."

"Perfect." Trixie moaned, because it appeared that Archimonde might have left the Sigil behind to power some sort of secret anti detection array that prevented the Legion from finding this place, though in her heart she knew it was dumb luck that this was happening.

"Just wait. It gets worse." Turalyon continued, causing the duo to moan, because they wondered what could be worse than the Legion coming to Mac'Aree, especially when this place had been devoid of demons for a long time, "Velen took Captain Fareeya and her forces into the Arinor Gardens area to search for the Crest of Knowledge. To my knowledge, they are all now behind enemy lines. Come with me to the Conservatory. We need to bring Velen and the others back before it is too late."

"I'm sure that the Prophet can handle himself," Lyra said, as Velen was strong enough to last this long and had one of the strongest connections to the Light, but at the same time she knew what he was carrying and understood the other part of the problem, the one that Turalyon didn't mention, "but, since he's still got the Eye of Prophecy on him, we had better secure him and the Crown fragment before something happens to either of them."

"Time is of the essence." Turalyon stated, to which he started walking towards the navigation console, causing the duo to gather their weapons before they followed after him, "We must not let the Legion capture the Prophet."

It didn't take them long to reach the navigation console, to which Turalyon nodded to Romuul, who input the command and sent the trio down to Mac'Aree's surface once more, where they appeared near the beacon that had been placed in the Conservatory, though fortune was on their side as they found Captain Fareeya standing nearby.

"Fareeya. Status report." Turalyon said, his tone slipping back into the tone he used when he was the commander that he was, as the other one was used when he wasn't sending soldiers out into battle or when he was talking with Alleria about something important.

"Baraat sent up a signal flare a short time ago." Fareeya stated, though while she said that both Lyra and Trixie noticed that the Eredar were walking around parts of the area in front of them and were setting up devices to corrupt and change the entire area, "He is alive, at least. I have heard nothing from the others."

"Then let us waste no time." Turalyon firmly said, where he turned towards Lyra and Trixie for a few seconds, who snapped their attention to the commander of the Army of the Light, while at the same time he lifted his blade, "Where the Legion is concerned, violence is always the answer. They are between us and Velen. Nothing will stop them from finding him unless we act. Now is not the time to hold back. Together the three of us we will sow chaos among their ranks."

"I will stay here with my soldiers and defend this location until we are no longer needed," Fareeya added, though at the same time she focused on Lyra, no doubt because of their shared connection to the Light, and seemed to stare for a few seconds before she said what was on her mind, "However, my soldiers are out there. I need you to find Baraat, Sorvos, and Telaamon. They were in the process of securing this area for Velen when the Legion came down on top of our heads. Inform them that their orders are to regroup with the Prophet at once. The time for subtlety has passed. There is a small army between us and them. Do what you must. Light keep you safe."

Lyra and Trixie, now accompanied by Turalyon, walked out of the Light protected area and engaged the Eredar that were channeling their fel power into the pylons that they had brought to Mac'Aree, so they could likely anchor portals to this area to bring in their full force. As Trixie stood back and fired spells at her targets, making sure to defeat some of their enemies with the arcane instead of just cutting them apart, Lyra and Turalyon charged at the demons and swung their swords through the air, while also calling upon the power of the Light to destroy those that attacked them back. The Eredar seemed surprised to see that the Army of the Light was here, for a moment anyway, before they took immediate action and charged at the group with their demonic allies, but that only made it easier for the duo to break them down and focus on their other objectives. As such Trixie spent a few seconds to shatter the various pylons and fel constructs that Lyra and Turalyon weren't focusing on, since they were actively killing demons, before she joined them again and headed further away from the Conservatory.

As it turned out Turalyon spotted Baraat on the other side of the ancient road that they were following, to which the trio headed over to where he was and quickly replayed Fareeya's orders to him, where the Lightforged hunter nodded his head and gave them his thanks before he departed from the area he was in. Interesting enough Sorvos was in the building that rested near where Baraat had been standing, who also nodded his head and thanked them for the new orders before leaving as well, allowing them to reengage the demons in the immediate area. Lyra then felt a familiar presence from the Light and looked at the one two story building in the area, one that she kept in mind as she and the others fought their way through the demons that were in front of them and eventually found the area that Telaamon had been hiding in, who took his orders and departed from the building he had been inside. As Lyra watched him she noticed that he was heading towards the building she had been staring at, and so were both Baraat and Sorvos, to which she, Trixie, and Turalyon headed towards that structure as well.

Sure enough they found the Prophet standing at the back of the main floor and he seemed to be ignoring everyone around him as he focused on something, though as they got closer they noticed that Velen was kneeling next to what appeared to be a long-abandoned child's bed.

"Velen?" Turalyon asked, as while he may not know all of the painful memories that the Prophet possessed, and the times where he had to remember what happened during his escape from this place, he knew that something had happened before their arrival.

"Forgive me, my son." Velen muttered, light enough so that anyone that wasn't paying attention wouldn't have heard it, but both Lyra and Trixie had heard it and knew that the memory of Rakeesh was one that he wanted to bury before he could move forward.

"Are you hurt?" Turalyon inquired, to which he walked forward and examined the Prophet, as while he couldn't see anything wrong he knew that the reality might be different than what he was thinking about.

"I am unharmed." Velen replied, to which he stood up and turned towards the group that had come looking for him, where he sighed as she faced Turalyon, indicating that he had some news that he needed to share, "Your arrival is timely. We must find the Crest of Knowledge before Talgath takes it beyond our reach."

"So he is here, then." Turalyon said, though both Lyra and Trixie knew why both Velen and Turalyon were annoyed by this turn of events, as Talgath had betrayed Velen all those years ago and was responsible for Velen losing his wife and his son becoming the monster they had to kill, "I was afraid of this."

"You came upon me in a moment of reflection." Velen stated," though at the same time he seemed tired all of a sudden, which was understandable considering the strain of the situation had placed upon him by recalling the past and realizing that an old foe was here, "There is no time for such sentiment. We must press on."

"I will take command of Fareeya's lieutenants and we will escort Velen to his destination" Turalyon added, to which the three Lightforged they had given orders to nodded their heads, indicating that they accepted the new responsibility that was being handed to them, especially since the threat was greater this time, "His mission must not fail. We face an old foe... one the Army of the Light has encountered on numerous occasions. Talgath will try to block us in and prevent our retreat. You must not let that happen. Find out how he is bringing in his forces and cut them off. All we need is time to get in and get out. We are counting on you."

"My friends, we must continue our quest for the Crest of Knowledge." Velen said, causing everyone to turn towards him for a moment, while at the same time he focused his attention on both Lyra and Trixie, indicating that he had something special for them to do in addition to closing some portals, "Nothing short of the whole Crown of the Triumvirate can turn the tide in the battle we face. Talgath's forces stand between us and that goal. I will need you to clear a path. We can let nothing stand in our way... not even Talgath. Make haste, my friends. Something dark and terrible stirs... and it is not our old foe."

Lyra knew that he had to be referring to the darkness that was lingering in the air, the same feeling that she had felt the moment they arrived on Mac'Aree, but instead of questioning the Prophet she and Trixie nodded their heads before they moved out of the building Velen had been in. From there they noticed a path that would lead to the side of the building Velen wanted them to head to, to which the two of the charged forward and started attacking the Eredar and the other demons that were now standing in their way. As they fought Lyra mostly focused on using her Light empowered abilities to launch bursts of golden arrows that tore into whatever she was targeting and blew them up, or loosed a burst of golden energy that tore her foes to pieces, or even simply cut them apart with her Felbreaker sword. Trixie, once more following from behind, focused her efforts on blasting the demons that Lyra wasn't focusing on, throwing them into the air in the process, while calling upon the arcane to deal massive damage to her targets, generally crippling them or outright blasting them apart.

The two of them did pause whenever they found one of the portal machines that the Eredar were using to call their forces up to Mac'Aree, on Talgath's orders no doubt, and used their combined powers of the Light and the arcane to tear every portal machine to pieces. Lyra found that it wasn't enough to kill ten or twenty demons or destroy three portals, she cut her way through every demon and smashed every portal machine she could find, with Trixie helping her as they cleared the path that Velen and Turalyon wanted them to make. She wanted to buy them as much time as possible so the others could escort the Prophet to the location that he had been heading to the entire time, where the Crest of Knowledge had to be resting, so that way Talgath didn't find them out until it was too late for him to act. It took them a few minutes to ensure that the path was safe, and that the demons had been struck down, before Lyra beckoned over to where Turalyon and the lieutenants were standing... where they escorted Velen over to the stairs and quickly ascended to the area that he wanted them to search.

When they reached their destination, three statues that appeared to be the Triumvirate, despite the fact that one of them was missing it's head, Velen stopped as he stared at something, where the echoes of Kil'jaeden and Talgath, before they became the monsters they were, appeared before them.

"Worthless. The Crest alone is powerless." the echo of Kil'jaeden said, where Lyra and Trixie noticed that he held something that seemed to be a gemstone, which had to be what they were looking for, before they couldn't see it anymore and focused on the echoes, "This relic's time has passed. Throw it in the temple with the Naaru. Let them rot together."

"At least we know where it is." Turalyon spoke up, only speaking as the echoes started to walk away and dissipate, indicating that whatever message had been left behind had been just that, information on where the third piece of the Crown was waiting.

"It is hidden in the Seat of the Triumvirate, then." Velen commented, where he looked at the structure that was behind the statues, which had to be the area that the Crest was located in, while at the same time he frowned, "I sense only darkness within."

"I sense it as well," Lyra said, knowing that there was something dark nearby and could feel it's tug, as if it was reaching out to touch the darkness in her own heart, the darkness born of the Dark Magic she used, "Should we get a move on, before our foe catches up with us?"

"Thousands of years ago, when I was young, I made a choice... a choice that allowed my world to fall to ruin." Velen replied, though at the same time he shook his head, indicating that this was important to him and that he wasn't leaving until he had done what he came to do, "A choice that made my people exiles. A choice that forever separated me from my beloved brothers. I cannot leave, not yet. Not until I have had a chance to reflect."

"Then we shall ensure that you have that moment." Turalyon stated, knowing that Velen needed the time to himself, despite the fact that they were out in the open, and prepared himself alone with his lieutenants, so that way they would be ready for whatever came their way.

"Lyra, Trixie, let me show you what I have done." Velen said, beckoning the duo forward, as he knew that they would not judge him for what he had done and wanted to show that fateful day to someone else, "Perhaps, then, I can make peace with it at long last."

Lyra and Trixie nodded as they approached Velen and placed their hands on his arms, where their worlds faded away until they were taken back to that fateful day, apparently twenty-five thousand years ago, and appeared behind what seemed like the Triumvirate, before two of them were corrupted. In front of them stood a shining god, the false form that Sargeras used when he was speaking to the people of a planet, who asked for the trio to swear fealty to him and join his cause to defeat the hungering void. Lyra and Trixie watched all of this and found the darkness that was behind Sargeras' words as it poisoned both Archimonde and Kil'jaeden's minds, turning them into accept the offer while Velen decided to down a different path. Velen had used a special crystal to reveal the truth behind the offer and made his decision, resulting in him and the others fleeing from Argus as it fell into the hands of the Legion, and caused Velen's former brothers to seek him out across the stars... until they found Azeroth, where the corrupted members of the Triumvirate finally met their ends.

A few seconds later they reappeared in front of the statues, in their own time, and gently removed their hands from Velen's arms, who seemed slightly happier after sharing that with someone, though before anyone could say anything a large portal snapped open in the area behind them.

"Make way." a voice shouted, one that made Velen stiffen for a few seconds, to which Lyra and Trixie turned around and stared at the armored and fel empowered Eredar, whose shoulder pads looked like the ones that Gul'dan had been wearing, that stepped out of the portal, "I will deal with this myself."

"Velen, not to alarm you or anything, but He's here." Turalyon said, putting emphasis on the fact that Talgath had found them, and likely wasn't going to leave until either they were dead or someone finally killed him, though at the same time he and his soldiers readied their weapons.

"Talgath. There was a time I called him an ally, a friend." Velen commented, not even turning around as he stared at the statues for a few more moments, knowing that sooner or later it would have come to this, "I put my trust in him when it came time to leave. I asked him to call out to the others who would join me. I gave him all that he needed to betray me and slaughter my followers. I do not know what brought this hatred to lurk in his heart, but his machinations repeatedly forced my people to flee world after world. He made it his mission to hunt us across the universe. This must end. Talgath must die."

"How unlike you, Velen, to stand your ground." Talgath said, while at the same time Velen turned around and stared at him, but he showed no fear on his face, as he knew something that Talgath could only dare dream of, "A welcome change of pace, to be certain."

"Talgath... we need not come to blows." Velen replied, because despite everything his former friend put him and his people through, he still felt like attempting to save him before either Lyra or Trixie got serious with the fight, "I offer you one chance: Stand down."

"Still the pacifist, I see." Talgath stated, his disgust apparent to those that were listening, though at the same time he raised his weapon and prepared himself for battle, "Face me!"

"Pacifist? No Talgath, you couldn't be anymore wrong." Velen said, to which he turned towards the two Equestrians for a moment, who nodded their heads, before turning his attention to his target, "Soon you will see why I offered you a chance to save yourself... and when you finally realize why I did so it will be too late for you."

Talgath readied his sharpened blades and dispelled the fel barrier that was around him, the greatest mistake he could have made in this situation, to which Lyra drew her blade and charged forward with the warriors and paladins that stood beside her, while Velen, Trixie, and Baraat stood back and fired at Talgath with their magic and bullets. Despite the fact that their opponent was Kil'jaeden's second, according to what Velen told them, Talgath didn't have any special powers or abilities that would have made him a dangerous opponent. Rather Lyra and Trixie quickly found that he was like Rakeesh, meaning that he was simply a corrupted Eredar that wanted to end the universe as a whole and would do everything in his power to bring an end to those that stood against him, which made them keep an eye out for any potential threats their foe could have brought with him. Talgath, for the most part, was focusing his effort on trying to reach Velen, which made sense considering that he made it his mission to kill the Prophet, but at the same time his focus on one target made it easier for the group to deal damage to him.

A few moments later, with their target severely wounded from the beating he had been taking, Talgath temporarily incapacitated the group by gathering his fel power into one of his legs and kicked the ground, releasing a wave of fel energy that stunned everyone for the moment.

"Sheet-sah, you hide behind your allies... as usual." Talgath commented, to which he turned around and started to head back towards the fel portal he used to arrive in this area, while at the same time ignoring those behind him, "We will finish this another ti..."

"NO!" Velen shouted, to which he called upon the Light for a moment and shattered the fel power that was keeping both himself and his friends stunned, before using a little more of his power to bind Talgath with holy shackles, "This is your end. If there is a shred of goodness left in you, you will help us find the Crest of Knowledge"

"Hah! You are far too late." Talgath replied, taking a moment to laugh at what Velen said, as if he knew something that the assembled group did not, though at the same time Lyra, Trixie, and the others gathered near the Prophet to be sure Talgath didn't think about escaping or attacking Velen, after breaking his portal anyway, "Nothing will escape the temple. Not even the Light itself."

"I see." Velen said, rather calmly for someone who was facing the person that had betrayed him and effectively killed his family, though at the same time the rest of the group were glad they were at a safe distance the instant they noticed Velen gathering some more of his power to him, "Safe journey, Talgath."

That was followed by Velen calling down a torrent of Holy Fire from the sky, smiting Talgath with all of his rage, anger, and hatred all in one go, where Talgath screamed as the Light tore at his fel ridden body, before eventually the screaming stopped and Velen canceled his spell, where the smoldering corpse of Talgath hit the ground and was reduced to ash.

"Come." Velen said, beckoning for the group to join him, to which Lyra, Trixie and the others followed him away from the statues, which he glanced at once more before heading to the northeast of the area they had just been in a few moments ago, "I dare not tarry here."

"Talgath's last words... were that 'not even the Light can escape'." Turalyon commented, speaking the one thing that was on everyone's mind at the moment, save for Velen by the looks of things, to which the High Exarch looked at the Prophet as they walked, "Velen, what did he mean?"

"The darkness that lingers in the temple..." Velen replied, beckoning to the structure in question for a few seconds, the same one that Lyra continued to look at every now and then, before continuing along the path he was following, "the shadow that looms over all of Mac'Aree... is L'ura."

"Impossible!" Turalyon exclaimed, as they all knew what L'ura was, though at the same time he felt the need to make sure everyone remembered that fact, "She is a Naaru! A being of the Light!"

"There is much Xe'ra did not want you to know." Velen stated, to which Trixie nodded her head in agreement, because back in the alternate version of Draenor she had seen one Naaru be twisted into darkness, which they saved, and witnessed the death of a second one as well, becoming a creature that she and some other heroes needed to destroy before it's power could be used against everyone, "What we face is not a being of the Light... but the Void itself."

Lyra didn't know much about the Void, as it was barely mentioned since she arrived in the Outlands and this was really the first time that she had found someone that really knew anything about the mysterious force, but at the same time she said nothing as a beacon landed in the ground in front of them. From there she, Trixie, and the others teleported back to the Vindicaar so they could plan their next move for the Crest of Knowledge, though as they started to board the ship once more they found that Alleria was waiting for them. From the way she was standing it was clear that she might have found out something useful, something that might aid them in the future, to which Lyra and Trixie approached her, along with Velen since he was interested as well.

"I scouted the area while you were searching for the Crest." Alleria said, though there was a look in her eyes that told them there was more they needed to know before they moved forward with any of their plans, "The shadows grip Mac'Aree more tightly than you know. I need to show you what I have seen."

Lyra and Trixie glanced at each other for a few seconds before nodding their heads and grabbed onto Alleria's hands, where their worlds faded away again and they found themselves staring at what appeared to be a darkened Naaru with an eerie dark purple core, which must have been L'ura. From there they appeared outside the Seat of the Triumvirate and watched as Ethereals, all empowered by the Void energy, stepped out of gates made of the same energy and stared at the doorway leading into the building, which was sealed off at the moment. Once they witnessed those two events, and wondered how they had no idea the Ethereals were doing something when they were close by, the duo reappeared in the area they had been in moments ago, but at the same time they let go of Alleria and knew what they had to do. It was plainly clear that, without her even saying something, she had a plan to find a way to counter the Ethereals and whatever they're plans were... and she likely needed their assistance to do so, which they were more than willing to give her, since she might find a way to defeat L'ura so they could claim the Crest.

At the same time Lyra wondered where the shadowy portion of her circlet would come from, but since the Light portion came from a Naaru she wondered if the same was going to be true as well... to which she pushed that aside and focused on the task at hand. She would have more time to ponder her unique powers later on, when they weren't stressed for time or had to worry about a personal demon coming to attack them again.

Comments

[Midnight Moon]

Talgath readied his sharpened blades and dispelled the fel barrier that was around him, the greatest mistake he could have made in this situation, to which Lyra drew her blade and charged forward with the warriors and paladins that stood beside her, while Velen, Trixie, and Baraat stood back and fired at Talgath with their magic and bullets.

Why do villains always get rid of their invincibility before attacking? That's practically BEGGING to be killed.