Two weeks had passed since Lyra and her companions had returned from the demon camp that they had scouted out, where they had witnessed the beginnings of a force that could potentially become an army if it wasn't nipped in the bud. Once Lyra had seen what the Illidari were up against, thanks to the massive Pit Lord that she had seen around the demon camp and the amount of demons that it commanded, she knew what she needed to do. She started training with the other initiates that wished to join the ranks of the Illidari, some of which were blood elves that had served Prince Kael'thas, while others were night elves that had seen the devastation the Burning Legion had brought upon their world. She trained with them because there was another world, one connected to the Outlands by a magical gateway called the Dark Portal, that was in constant danger of the Legion returning... and they were likely the only force that could permanently destroy them.
She trained with them because there was someone else from her home world of Equus that was currently roaming the lands of Azeroth, unaware of the danger that he or she was in if the Legion attacked the planet again. She purposely exposed herself to the harshness of the Illidari training, and that of her various instructors, so she could eventually leave the Black Temple with the rest of Lord Illidan's forces. She planned on finishing her training, find the pony that had traveled to Azeroth by accident, rescue them and the world from the Burning Legion, and then they could go home... once they figured out how to do that last step. She knew that she had plenty of time to figure out how to contact Princess Twilight once she had saved the day with the rest of the Illidari, so she decided to focus on the first few steps of her plan.
That also included swinging her edge of her right warglaive into her opponent's shoulder and knocking him to the floor, though she made no move to kill her sparring partner.
"I see that you have improved over the last two weeks," Kayn commented, picking himself off the floor, before he dusted of his armor and collected his own warglaives, "Kor'vas will never admit it, but she once told me that you didn't have what it takes to reach this level in our training... yet here you are, standing before me like a capable member of the Illidari."
"I had some excellent trainers." Lyra replied, bowing her head slightly as she spoke, "If not for the training that you, Kor'vas, and Varedis put me through, and had the patience to keep at it until I got it right, then I doubt I would have reached this point as well. I feel like I have the potential to keep pace with some of the lesser demons right now, though I think something like a Pit Lord might be beyond my ability at the moment."
"At least you know that training to be an Illidari doesn't make you invincible." Kayn said, though he nodded his head back a bit, in the direction of where Varedis was standing, "One of him is bad enough, two would be horrible for everyone here."
Lyra really didn't mind Varedis' attitude most of the time, mainly because he seemed to be one of the oldest Illidari at the moment and that usually meant he had some bragging rights. She actually didn't care that he spent some time with Lord Illidan over the last two weeks, where he was sent out to the various regions of the Outlands that she hadn't had the chance to explore yet. Every time Varedis left to do his master's bidding he seemed to return stronger than ever each time, leading her to wonder if there was something that he wasn't sharing with everyone else.
She was sure that Lord Illidan knew what was up with Varedis, considering that he was the master of all the Illidari, so she didn't bother with speaking her mind at the moment. She opened her mouth to saw something to Kayn, but then stopped when she noticed Kor'vas walking their way... with Varedis walking behind her.
"Lord Illidan has called for us." Kor'vas said, as if there was no need to elaborate on what they were been called upon for, before she turned to Lyra, "He also wants you to join the three of us."
Lyra nodded her understanding and slipped her weapons onto the straps that were thrown over her back, as that was how each and every Illidari carried their warglaives around when they weren't being used. Truth be told it still hurt her shoulders and back when she carried her weapons like that for an extended period of time, but it was getting better every day for some reason. She assumed that, in time, she would be able to carry her weapons like this and feel nothing, just like the others did when they slipped their weapons into their holders. Though once that thought was finished she had to wonder what Lord Illidan wanted to tell them, though she had the suspicion that it had to do with the demon camp they had seen.
They quickly made their way through the Black Temple, making sure to stay out of the way for their various allies, before they reached the summit, where they found Lord Illidan waiting for them in his usual spot.
"Good, you have arrived." Lord Illidan commented, turning to face them as they stopped behind him, "As you know there is a new demon camp in Shadowmoon Valley... one that is too close for comfort. From what I have been able to gleam from the various reports that the other Illidari have given me, and all of your accounts from when you scouted the camp the first time, the demons wish to take the temple for their own schemes. We cannot afford to have our enemy preparing to march on us... so I want you four to take some of the other Illidari and lead the assault on their main base."
"Would you like us to capture any of the demons that we'll be fighting?" Varedis asked, just so they all could know exactly what they were doing ahead of time.
"No..." Illidan replied, though he turned to Lyra for a moment, "Initiate Heartstrings... I would like a word with you before you leave the Black Temple with the others. The rest of you are dismissed for the moment."
Kayn, Kor'vas, and Varedis bowed their heads to their master before they made their way back down to the training grounds, where they would acquire the rest of their invasion force. Lyra, on the other hand, remained where she was standing, because she was wondering what the Lord of the Outlands wanted with her this time.
"The others clearly think that I shouldn't be sending you back to the forge so soon," Illidan said, though a small smirk appeared on his face for a second, "I know otherwise. You have embraced the training that one must go through to become an Illidari and have become an icon for those that are unsure of what they are doing here. I have heard several mentions on how some of the new recruits are inspired by your... dedication... to our training methods, leaving them to being inspired to do the same. You are almost like Varedis, though you lack some of his reckless behavior... which is better in the long run."
"I may not have seen what the Burning Legion is capable of doing to the worlds that they conquer, but I can take a guess based on what you've told me so far." Lyra replied, keeping her eyes leveled with Lord Illidan, "I wish to fight the demons that threaten this world, the world that this one is connected to, and my home world, so that way no one has to suffer like the people of this world have. Now that I've seen demons, and have seen what they do to the land around them, I would gladly give my life to fight them and make sure they never touch another world. And there is still the matter of finding who went to Azeroth, because they are, like you said, not prepared for the horrors that the Burning Legion will throw at them."
"I can see that a fire has been awoken inside of you," Illidan commented, "Go then, Lyra Heartstrings. Cut down any demons that you find at their forge and make them regret showing their faces in the Outlands."
Lyra bowed her head to Lord Illidan, before turning around and heading out of the summit so she could join whoever was coming along with her, Kayn, Kor'vas, and Varedis. She knew that if the Pit Lord was still there, and she suspected that it was, they were going to have a bad time on their hands, but also figured that they would have rough days every now and then. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was eager to be in battle for the first time, something that she shouldn't be eager for because of the peaceful life she had lived before coming to this world.
She shook her head as she walked down the hall, knowing that she had to focus her mind and ignore any stray thoughts that might interrupt her when she reached her destination.
As it turned out there were ten of them when they left the Black Temple, as all three of Lyra's companions had chosen two allies to take with them, though she was fine with who they had. The other Illidari seemed surprised that she was even coming along for this mission, likely believing that she wasn't ready for this sort of thing just yet, but she ignored their stares and walked along side Kayn and Kor'vas. She did her best to ignore the dead landscape around the exterior of the Temple, while imagining what the other areas of the Outlands had to look like. She was sure that there was some life left in this world, otherwise the Illidari and their allies would have been unable to sustain themselves in the long run.
Personally, she didn't like Shadowmoon Valley very much, but she walked down the road that had been built so long ago with the rest of her companions, still silently wishing that she could go home.
Eventually they reached the camp where they had originally spotted the demons, though when they approached the edge of the camp they stopped where Lyra and the others had spied on them the first time. From what Lyra was able to tell the sheer number of demons had doubled since the last time they had been here, but that was why they had brought some of the most skilled Illidari with them. There were quite a number of demons that she was familiar with, such as the infernals and the imps, while there were some that she had only read about in her spare time, like the dark gas-like creatures that were called voidwalkers.
Fortunately there was no sign of the Pit Lord that was in command of this camp, which meant that they could overrun it and clear the demons out before their leader even realized what was happening.
"Okay, here's what we'll do," Kayn commented, beckoning to an entrance on the other side of the camp, "Varedis and Kor'vas will attack from the camp's second entrance, while Lyra and I attack from this position. With any luck our surprise assault on their base will make them retreat to wherever they came from, but if not then we can kill those that decide to fight us. Let's go and show those demons the price they'll have to pay for setting up a camp so close to our base."
Lyra drew her warglaives out of their straps as the others moved towards the second entrance, though her focus was on figuring out who was leading the demons at the moment. The Pit Lord was nowhere to be seen, though from her studies she knew that there were other demons that were capable of leading large groups of demons in their master's name. One such demon was an eredar, though from her studies she knew that they were the original owners of the Planet Argus... before two of their leaders joined the Burning Legion willingly. She was still shocked that anyone could consider joining the Legion and actually go through with it, but none of the people she spoke to could tell her what happened to the third leader of the eredar, leading her to assume that he or she was likely dead.
Kayn beckoned to one of the demons that was approaching them, allowing Lyra time to snap out of her mind for a second, before the four of them jumped out of their hiding spot and cut down the imps that had been walking their way. They were the easiest demons to kill, Lyra knew this, but she also knew that it would take some time to maneuver around the tougher warriors that were waiting in the camp. As they entered the camp the felguards noticed them and drew their weapons, though that was before two of them were cut down from behind as Varedis and his group appeared.
The moment the fighting started Lyra noticed that the infernals that had been silent the entire time had suddenly become active, forcing some of the Illidari to switch their focus to them while the others dealt with the felguards. These demons had armor on their legs, feet, arms, and wore a helmet, but for some odd reason they opted to leave their chests bare, which the Illidari were more than willing to use against them. They also carried massive two handed weapons, usually massive axes, so Lyra and the others had to be sure that they dodged the weapons whenever they came close to hitting them before they could retaliate. Even the voidwalkers got in on the action, forcing the Illidari to focus on three different demons while making sure that none of them were overwhelmed.
As they were fighting, however, Lyra noticed a sinister green portal snap open in the back of the camp, though instead of the Pit Lord arriving she watched as a more human sized creature stepped out of the portal. The creature was easily eight feet tall and had a crimson tinted skin, though its feet ended in hooves and had some horns on its head that went well with the sinister green eyes that it had. It was carrying a staff in its right hand, one that appeared to be twisted by the fel energy around them, though the being carried no other weapon on his body... as far as Lyra could see anyway.
"I see that my minions aren't enough to deal with the likes of you," the eredar commented, flexing its open hand and summoning flames around it, "Come then, Illidari, and face the power of Lord Terraxas! I will enjoy presenting your heads to Kil'jaeden when I am through with you."
Lyra cast a glance at the rest of their forces, wondering if ten of them could deal with what she assumed was a high ranking demon in the Legion's army, considering that he was 'Lord' Terraxas. Kayn met her glance and nodded his head for a few seconds, as if telling her that they were going to attempt to beat the demon anyway, so she gripped her weapons and waiting for the first attack to be thrown. Lyra knew that the demon they were facing was a spell caster, the staff kind of gave it away, but she had no idea what a mage could do when they were empowered by the sinister fel energy. The ground around Terraxas caught on fire as he stepped towards them, though it was with a sinister green flame and not the usual colors that Lyra was familiar with.
One of the Illidari charged at the demon and swung his warglaives at him, only to strike nothing as the demon took a step back for a second before smacking him upside the head with his staff. It was at that point that Lyra realized that the eredar in front of them wasn't a mage, but was actually one of the warlocks that commanded demons and charred the land around them. She had heard stories from the other Illidari about some of their friends taking a liking to the power they controlled and willingly joined the Legion, though they became warlocks that were later killed by their former friends.
She growled at the demon and charged in with the rest of their forces behind her, each one of them swinging from a different direction in the hopes of catching Terraxas off guard. The annoying thing she had learned about demons was that they could only be permanently killed in the Twisting Nether, or the space between worlds. That meant that every demon they killed would only come back until they could kill them in that dimension, which was actually much harder than it sounded. There was a silver lining to living in the Outlands, as she had been told that the world had been broken a long time ago and that what remained of it was surrounded by the Twisting Nether... which was directly behind Terraxas at the moment.
A horrible idea formed in Lyra's mind, one that could easily get her killed in the process if she wasn't careful enough, but it could very well bring about the end for this particular demon.
"Kayn, can you and the others push him back towards the Nether?" Lyra asked, knowing that they could still kill the demon if he or the others said no.
"It shouldn't be too hard to do," Kayn replied, switching one of his weapons to his back so he could signal to Varedis, before pulling his weapon back out again, "I take it you have a plan for getting rid of this demon?"
"Sort of." Lyra answered, spotting a coil of rope out of the corner of her eye, "Just keep him distracted long enough, otherwise he might see through what we're doing."
Kayn shook his head and the Illiari, including the one that had been knocked down and had gotten back up, charged at the demon, though they were intentionally missing so they could see what insane plan Lyra had thought up. Lyra, on the other hand, sheathed her warglaives for the moment and picked up the rope that she had seen, to which she tied one end of it around a support structure for the camp. She made sure that it was tight enough to withstand breaking, though once she was sure of that she wrapped the other end of the rope around her chest and made sure that the second end wouldn't come undone. The moment her preparations were finished she turned around and faced the demon, though she kept herself at a safe distance to be sure that the first part of her insane plan would even work.
After a few steps towards the Nether, and away from the camp, Terraxas seemed to catch onto what they were doing, because he forced those in front of him backwards with his magic and glared at them all.
"Did you really think that you could beat me with such a pitiful plan?" Terraxas shouted, fel energy gathering around the top of his staff, indicating that he was preparing something major, "I will enjoy bringing an end to all of you!"
Lyra charged through the group of Illidari, threw herself into the air, and struck the demon in the chest with all the might she could put behind her attack, allowing the tips of her warglaives to dig into Terraxas' skin. She used the momentum that she had created to push the demon backwards, forcing him to take the stop off the edge of the area they were standing on and drop into the Twisting Nether. A look of pure rage overtook Terraxas' features, as if he couldn't believe that he had been tricked in some manner, but Lyra paid it no mind as she pulled one of her warglaives out. She then cut the demon's heart free from his body, ensuring that he was dead in the Twisting Nether, though she hoped that the stories were right about it being the permanent death for them.
Once the deed was done she pulled the other warglaive out of the demon's body and let it fall into the abyss below them, while the rope finally caught and stopped her fall altogether. She winced as the rope cut into her skin a bit, but she decided that a little pain was worth getting rid one of the demons that threatened the rest of the worlds. A few seconds later she heard Kayn shout something at the other Illidari and watched as they pulled her back to where the camp was located, though she was sure that some of them were surprised by her sudden and reckless plan.
"Next time, tell us that you'll be doing something stupid." Kayn commented, after finally heaving Lyra onto solid ground once more, "Though now that the demons have been routed we had best return to Lord Illidan... and share the good news with him."
Lyra smiled a bit at that statement, because she was sure that the Lord of the Illidari would be somewhat pleased what the death of a high ranking demon... whose heart she happened to be carrying at the moment. She had no idea why she was still holding onto the heart, but decided to let Illidan decide what to do with what remained of Terraxas... and with her as well.