Six months passed since the day Lyra went through the Illidari ritual and truly joined their ranks, becoming one of the demon hunters that swore to protect the worlds of the universe, even if it meant taking a demon's essence into their body and becoming more like their targets. Word had spread that she was one of the more unique demon hunters, because of the fact that her eyes had remained undamaged while at the same time she had reacquired her tail and hooves, making her look more like a hybrid of three races. Still, most of the Illidari treated her with the same respect that they showed towards Kayn and the others, though she continued her training so she could be better prepared for whatever the world threw at her... be it another excursion to deal with some demons or something else.
Occasionally Lord Illidan would ask that she spend some time with him, where they would discuss the possible people from her home world that might have the misfortune to be teleported to this planet or Azeroth. Lyra knew that the answer had to be one of the royal sisters, who were powerful in their own right, or Twilight herself, because she was an expert with magic and had likely experimented with portal based magic at some point in time. Lord Illidan promised her that he was keeping an eye out for anyone that could match what Lyra had been before she went through the ritual, or more like her new form, just without the corrupting influence of the fel energy. Lyra knew that they would eventually find the other pony that had traveled to Azeroth or the Outlands, as it was only a matter of time until they revealed where they were, though at the same time she made sure to master her training.
It wasn't until the end of the second month that they received news that Varedis had been struck down by a group of adventurers, one that hailed from either the Alliance or the Horde, but the loss of one of their high ranking officers struck many of them pretty hard. Lyra had inquired as to who the two forces were, to which she learned everything that the Illidari knew about the two forces, which wasn't a lot at the moment. Apparently they had come charging into the Outlands because of the demon threat, though Lyra knew that, because she and the others had demons as allies, the two forces would eventually turn their attention to the Black Temple. As she came to that understanding she had to wonder when Lord Illidan would issue the assault on the place known as Mardum, because it seemed important enough for him to call the place by its name... but she patiently waited for that day to arrive.
The bad news only got worse for them, because Lady Vashj, another ally to the cause, had been struck down in Serpentshrine Cavern, along with the majority of her forces, which robbed the Illidari of a good deal of their naga forces. Time passed for some time until some additional news reached them, where Lyra heard that Kael'thas, the Lord of the Blood Elves, had been cut down inside Tempest Keep, the part that everyone called the Eye, though his death truly upset many of the Illidari. Another month or two passed before they received news that both the Alliance and the Horde was making their way through Shadowmoon Valley, though when the scout recounted the army that was coming in their direction the entirety of the Illidari, both the demon hunters and the other races, turned towards their master for direction... to which he ordered that they prepare themselves.
Lyra knew that many of the Illidari would be staying here, to hold the line until she and the other demon hunters found whatever their master wanted them to find, but even so she stood beside her master as they looked down at the forces that were gathering below them... both inside and outside the Black Temple.
"Lyra, do you feel her presence?" Lord Illidan commented, though at the same time he gestured with his left wing for a few seconds, causing Lyra to look out at the forces that were gathering in front of the Black Temple.
Lyra focused her mind for a few seconds and stared down at the army that was preparing itself, feeling the faintest hint of Equestrian magic down there, which meant that whoever had been brought here, to either the Outlands or Azeroth, was down there, preparing for the assault on the temple.
"Yes, I can tell that she's down there," Lyra replied, though at the same time she knew that now wasn't the time to go down there and stop the other pony from doing whatever she and her forces were planning on doing, "unfortunately I cannot tell which pony it is... but there are more pressing matters that we need to deal with."
"I couldn't agree more." Lord Illidan said, to which he and Lyra turned back towards the center of his meditation area, where they would patiently wait for the other demon hunters to arrive before he issued his command to all of them.
It didn't take the other demon hunters much time to reach the peak of the Black Temple, though as they arrived they made sure to recheck their armor and weapons, because they all knew that once they started this mission there was no going back... not until they found what their master wanted them to find. Kayn and the other officers gathered around the area and stared at each other, as they were curious if this was the beginning of the mission they had been training for, but they said nothing as the last of their forces arrived. When all of the demon hunters were in attendance, and were gathered around the peak of the Black Temple, Lord Illidan turned to face them all, indicating that this was what they were waiting for... which caused many of them to grip their weapons tightly.
"Illidari. My Demon Hunters." Lord Illidan said, to which he flapped his wings for a few seconds and moved himself to the edge of the peak, where he landed and looked down at the fighting that was happening below them, "With countless worlds burning in the Legion's wake, you answered the call. Yes these mortals, in their own ignorance, have come to destroy their own salvation. Our time is short and I will deal with these intruders. You must venture to Mardum and retrieve the Sargerite Keystone."
The moment Lord Illidan said the word 'keystone' he raised his hand towards the middle of the peak and a portal opened up before their eyes, indicating that he had been tracking the item in question down and had finally discovered where it was hiding.
"Now go," Lord Illidan commanded, though as the majority of the demon hunters charged into the portal he stopped Lyra for a few seconds, "Remember this, Lyra Heartstrings; should you and your brothers and sisters fail to retrieve the Keystone ALL the worlds in the universe will burn."
Lyra knew what Lord Illidan was talking about, because if they failed the acquire the Keystone, which she still had no idea what it did, then Equus, her home world, would eventually be a target for the Legion. She knew that such a thing couldn't be allowed to come to pass, because if it did then she might as well kiss her home planet goodbye, as the ponies were generally peaceful and would make for easy targets. She gripped her warglaives and nodded to her master for a second, to which she turned towards the portal he had opened and followed the rest of the Illidari to Mardum... where she knew they would begin their assault on the demons that called that place home.
When Lyra appeared on the other side of the portal she found herself in a world that seemed too much similar to Shadowmoon Valley, with the seemingly charred ground, the small rivers of fel lava, patches of ground that occasionally erupted with green fel fire, and the blackened sky. That was also when she noticed that there were several structures, or more specifically Legion structures, either floating in the sky or resting in the ground, though from what she remembered these were supposed to be gateways for the Legion to send their troops through. She also spotted what appeared to be some sort of warship in the air, as it was firing a green laser down at someplace in front of her, no doubt targeting a group of Illidari at the moment.
Once she had finished looking around the area in front of her, and knew what to expect when she spotted some demons resting on the path they would be taking, she approached Kayn and his small group, though she determined that they had to have been waiting for her to show up before they started moving.
"So Kayn, what's our first order of business?" Lyra asked, though she still found it odd that she was so eager for battle, especially when ponies were passive creatures unless threatened by someone or something else.
"We need to clear out some of the demons and take control of the demon's banner," Kayn replied, though at the same time he smiled at her as he pulled out his warglaives, "and then we'll see what needs to be done from there."
Lyra nodded, as she understood that they had no idea what to expect seeing how none of them had ever been to this world, before she gently removed her weapons from her back and charged down the pathway that was in front of the group. As she ran down she noticed that some of the other demon hunters were gliding down to a lower area of the zone they were in, to which she chuckled as she changed direction and double jumped in the air, without using her magic, and started to glide downwards. She had discovered that, after going through the ritual, that demon hunters could glide after double jumping and loosing the wings that came out of their backs, though they didn't stay in place for very long.
She glided down to a trio of Wrath Warriors, the large warrior class demons that either used either one or two weapons at a time, though the first one barely knew she was there as she cut him down with her warglaives. As the second noticed her standing there it swung his weapon at her, though she parried it with her own and ducked under the second demon's weapon. That was followed by her moving under the demon's legs, and allowing their weapons to hit the ground where she used to be standing, before she planted her weapons into one of their hearts. The final demon she fought on a more equal ground, parrying his attacks and cutting into his chest when he gave her an opening, though eventually she cut him down and began the search for some additional enemies to take care of... though she made sure to collect the soul fragments that followed the deaths of the three demons, as they, oddly enough, empowered her body and could restore her health if she was wounded.
It took her a few minutes to hunt down a decent amount of demons, as there was a fair amount of demon hunters roaming the area as well, but she eventually killed exactly fifteen different demons and made her way towards the banner, so while everyone else was busy ending the other demons she secured the 'banner'. When the banner was activated Kayn and his group moved into the area around Lyra, to which he told the others to continue the search for the Keystone while he and Lyra would deal with the gateway near them.
"Kayn, I do have one question." Lyra commented as they walked, as there was something about their mission that she wanted to know about before they got much further into Mardum.
"And that would be?" Kayn inquired, because while he was always eager to answer questions, and Lyra had asked him many when she was learning about her new abilities, he also knew that this wasn't the time to be asking too many questions, especially when there were demons to kill.
"What is the Sargerite Keystone?" Lyra asked, as that was the one thing she knew nothing about, because it seemed important and she wanted to know more about it.
"Its a skeleton key for all of the Legion worlds," Kayn replied, to which he stopped in front of the gateway and turned towards Lyra, "basically with the Keystone in hand Lord Illidan could open a portal or gateway to any of the Legion worlds, allowing us to attack them and ensure their destruction. Now then, let's see to opening this gateway and calling in some special reinforcements."
Lyra knew how these gateways worked, because they required a certain number of souls to be pulled into their activator before they could be opened, but fortunately all the dead demons in the area proved to be just the necessary number to activate the gateway. The pieces of the activator connected together and disappeared into the ground, though that was followed by the Broken, one of the allies that she and the others had, appearing and approaching her group. As the group approached them Lyra noticed some sort of fel creature, one that appeared to be some sort of cat creature that was wearing a saddle and some bone armor on its face and neck, walking beside the leader of the Broken.
"Lyra Heartstrings, I am Battlelord Gaardoun," the leader of the Broken said, though at the same time he beckoned to the cat creature walking beside him, "Lord Illidan told me that he had a present he wanted me to deliver to you once the first gateway was activated, so I present to you your very own mount; a loyal Felsaber."
Lyra looked at the dangerous cat for a few seconds and raised her hand towards it, causing everyone to look at them for a few moments, but then the Felsaber moved forward and pressed the base of its head against the palm of her hand. It was clear that the cat might have been trained by Lord Illidan himself, to respond to her alone, but she decided that now wasn't the time to ask questions. With the cat now following her, and apparently bound to her as well, Gaardoun explained that his forces were technically hers to command and that they would begin by taking the volcano stronghold, and the gateway that was being guarded by the demons.
Lyra chuckled as she climbed onto the Felsaber, because it seemed that the assault on Mardum was starting off just fine, but she focused her mind and followed the rest of the group, knowing that there were more demons to kill, potentially new abilities to learn, and a Keystone to collect.