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// Vault: Awakening 
// Story: World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Maiev had spent the last seven years guarding the Vault of the Wardens with some of the strongest Wardens that she had trained over her long life, while the others were sent out on hunts or tasked with protecting certain people from their enemies. As such when the Dark Portal had connected to the past version of Draenor, before the world had been shattered and became known as the Outlands, she had chosen Cordana to travel with Archmage Khadgar and protect him from the Shadow Council, because she had known that Gul'dan would want him dead at some point in time. She had heard, from one of his brief visits back to this timeline, that an attempt had been made on his life and Garona, the assassin in question, was being held near his tower. That told Maiev that the Archmage wanted to break Gul'dan's hold on the half-breed assassin and turn her against the foul warlock... to which she wished him luck in his endeavor and went back to watching over the prisoners she had captured over the years.

She had heard from Khadgar only one other time, after they had defeated Archimonde and prevented the new version of Dreanor from being destroyed, where she learned that Cordana might have betrayed them and joined Gul'dan... but at the same time she silently hoped that it was a ploy and that the other Warden was planning on killing the orc warlock when his back was turned.

Maiev let out a small sigh, one that the other Wardens would be hard pressed to hear unless they were in the area around her, as she turned her gaze to the green fel crystals that lined the walls of the final chamber that she and the others had built all those years ago. She had reserved this portion of the Vault for the Betrayer, who had his own room that was sealed with the strongest sealing spells that she knew, and the Illidari that had willingly joined him, who had been caught after their assault on a Legion world. Most of the demon hunters had surrendered the moment the Betrayer and his second in command were beaten, but at the same time she couldn't deny the power of Illidan's chosen second, who could potentially beat her if she had more than six months of training.

She let out another sigh as she pushed open the door to the chamber she had been walking towards, where she found five sockets lining the walls, though while two of them were empty at the moment the other three had someone resting against the wall. On her right was the prison of Altruis the Sufferer, who she had assumed was one of the commanders when the demon hunters had been captured, while on her left rested the prison that contained Kayn Sunfury, who had told her about the one person she wanted to know about. The crystalline prison in front of her, which was the main reason she had come down here to begin with, was the prison of Lyra Heartstrings, the second in command of the demon hunters.

Maiev wasn't surprised to find that there were a large number of cracks in the prison, as they were the main reason she had refused to leave the Vault whenever something raised its ugly head and attacked Azeroth... because she wanted to keep this one demon hunter chained in her prison.

"Leave us." Maiev commanded, not even turning to the two Wardens that had been tasked with protecting this one chamber when she walked the other chambers, who nodded their heads and walked outside the chamber, where they closed the door behind them.

Maiev stared at the shadowy form that was reflected from the inside of the prison, taking in the empowered demonic form that Lyra had taken on when she had attacked her and the other Wardens, which had sealed her fate in the end. She had been locked in this form for seven years, but at the same time Maiev knew that the prisoner had been trying to escape by using her energy, which was where the cracks had come from. She had underestimated the power of Lyra when they had first fought each other, where she had dodged the demon hunter the entire time, and she was still underestimating her power to this day. Had she known that Lyra was this powerful, with the low amount of training she had been given, she would have constructed a special prison for her... but the crystal appeared to be enough at the moment.

She stood there for an hour, allowing herself to remain lost in her thoughts while ignoring the outside world that waited outside the door behind her, before she felt a change in the Vault... one that could only happen when one of the Wardens opened the main door to the Vault, which they were under orders to leave closed at all costs. She and the others generally entered the Vault by using either the front door, which they kept sealed after the Betrayer and his demon hunters were transported here, or by asking trusted mages to open portals for them to use. That was how Cordana managed to get out of the Vault and head to Draenor with Khadgar, they opened a small portal and she passed through it... though the opening of the seal meant that someone had betrayed them, which confirmed her worst fears.

"Lady Maiev, the Legion has broken the seal and are entering the Vault." one of the Wardens said, to which the door opened and the two Wardens faced her, which confirmed what Maiev was feeling at the moment, though at the same time she already knew that they needed to do something to stop Gul'dan, "What are your orders?"

"Gather the other sisters and defend the Vault," Maiev commanded, handing out their orders immediately, though at the same time her eyes never left the crystal in front of her, as she noticed that the cracks seemed to vibrate for a moment, as if Lyra had heard that the Legion was here, "There is something I need to do before I join you."

The two Wardens nodded their heads and charged out of the room with their weapons drawn, which made sense considering that they were going to attack whatever demons were summoned into the Vault, but at the same time Maiev decided not to focus on that... which was why she was staring at the prison of Lyra Heartstrings.

"Illidari," Maiev said, though while she spoke to all of them her main focus was on the one in front of her, to which she raised a hand and tapped the fel crystal with her sharpened tips of her gloves, which was something that would stir the person that was inside the crystal, "I have spent my entire life as keeper of the wicked, be they demons of the Burning Legion or elementals from the four elemental planes. For thousands of years, my only solace was knowing that the world was safe from your kind. But, given recent circumstances, I would do anything to save Azeroth... even if it means releasing all of you!"

With that said Maiev raised her weapon into the air and slammed it into the fel crystal that was in front of her, cutting a long gash into the crystal structure, but it was at that moment that she actually cursed the fact that she had used the blood of Lyra's empowered demonic form to bind her... as the harder crystal meant that it would be harder for her to break. She then raised her arm to strike the crystal again, but before she could do so there was a flash of energy inside the crystal, to which she felt the energy of Lyra Heartstrings awaken... which was followed by the cracks enlarging as the demon hunter started to tear her way out of her prison.





Cordana led her new master though the halls of the Vault, allowing the demons of the Burning Legion to attack her former sisters as she and Gul'dan made their way towards the one room they were looking for. She counted herself fortunate that the door to the Betrayer's room was never sealed, otherwise they would have to spend a few minutes breaking the seal. This way was better for them, as it allowed them to assess the body of Illidan Stormrage and steal it before the other Wardens were able to stop them, as the demons would be able to keep them occupied until it was time to sound the retreat. Even if the Wardens released the Illidari, on Maiev's orders, they would be weak from their imprisonment and would pose no threat to their plans... and maybe open the doors for some to be corrupted in the future, once they realized who was winning this war.

Before she could actually open the door to the room holding the Betrayer's body, and hand it over to the Legion, she felt a strong amount of fel energy suddenly awaken in the nearby area... one that she hadn't felt since the fateful day that the demon hunters had been captured and locked inside their prisons.

"She must be desperate if she's letting HER out of her prison..." Cordana commented, though at the same time she turned her head in the direction of the energy, where she wondered how the prisoner could be putting off so much power after being locked away for seven years.

"Her? Who is this her you are referring to?" Gul'dan asked, because he knew that Cordana's tone indicated that she was referring to one of the prisoners that were locked away down here, one of the Illidari by the sounds of it, but he wanted to know what she knew, as it could change the course of their mission, "And what is this energy I am feeling?"

"Lyra Heartstrings." Cordana stated, though even as she spoke she opened the door and led her master inside, but once they were on the other side Gul'dan sealed the door with a powerful seal, one that only Maiev would be able to break through once she had studied the seal, "Back when the Betrayer was defeated, and my sisters and I locked the Illidari in their prisons, we discovered a powerful demon hunter that could only be contained with the blood of her empowered demonic form. Lyra was strong, but her anger clouded her judgement, allowing Maiev to capture her and lock her down here with the others... but even after that I heard whispers that if she had more training, even a years worth, she might have been able to take out Maiev and secure the freedom of her kind."

"Really? She sounds interesting." Gul'dan said, to which he finished working the seal on the door and started walking towards the crystal in front of them, where the cold body of the Betrayer waited, "With the power she seems to be putting out she would do wonders as a warrior under either Kil'Jaeden or even Sargeras himself."

"I doubt that it would be that easy to convince her to change sides," Cordana replied, causing her master to turn his head towards her, though it appeared that he was interested in hearing what she had to say, "I was there when Maiev confronted Lyra, and the demon hunter stated that she and her kind existed to destroy the Burning Legion and their masters. Unless we could shake her reality, and make her think that everything and everyone on Azeroth is out to get her, I don't think we'll be able to corrupt her into a powerful weapon for the Legion to use against the other worlds of the universe... but if we could change her mind, and turn her to our way of thinking, we could create a powerful general that might rival Archimonde himself."

Gul'dan smiled as he started working his spells into the surrounding area, where he would summon three portals at the back of the room so the two of them could leave and set a trap for anyone that came looking for the Betrayer's body. This would be the perfect instance to test the power of the demon hunter that was in the process of waking up, because either his forces would kill her and damn her soul to be grabbed by his masters, which he would prefer, or she would cut her way through every demon in the Vault and increase her power... until the point where he and his masters corrupted her soul with all the demonic power she would be fighting against.

He had to admit, he was a tad bit excited to meet this Lyra Heartstrings, but at the same time he had a task to complete... and might be able to set the perfect trap for her fall, if she sprung it in the future.





Maiev watched as the fel crystal shattered into a thousand pieces and fell to the ground, though at the same time Lyra collapsed on the ground and remained that way for a moment, making Maiev wonder if something had happened to the demon hunter since she had been placed in the prison. Before she could step forward, and see what was wrong, she watched as one of Lyra's wings twitched for a few seconds, though that was before Lyra raised a hand and placed it on the ground. Maiev silently watched as Lyra pulled herself off the floor and raised herself to her full height, allowing Maiev to see that every inch of her empowered demonic form had remained since the day she had been placed inside her prison... which made her look like a female version of the Betrayer, though the only differences between the two were that Lyra had a third horn in the middle of her forehead, her feet were permanently hooves in both of her forms, and she had a pony tail that was the same color as her hair.

"You... you released me..." Lyra commented, taking a few seconds to take some deep breaths while she looked down at her Havoc Form, as she was surprised to find that she was still locked inside this form, before she turned her attention back to Maiev, "Why?"

"The Legion has returned to Azeroth and is beginning their third invasion," Maiev replied, though at the same time she moved over to a nearby stand, one that had a pair of warglaives resting on it, where she rested a hand on the weapons and faced Lyra, "Lyra Heartstrings, you told me that the Illidari were created with the sole purpose of hunting down the demons of the Burning Legion and killing their leaders, Archimonde, Kil'Jaeden, and Sargeras himself. The Legion is here, on Azeroth, and they seek its utter destruction once more... so tell me, will you help us defend our world?"

Lyra stared at Maiev for a few seconds, as she was stunned to hear that the Warden wanted her assistance in releasing the other demon hunters and turning the tide against the Legion, especially after sealing her and the others in those crystal prisons for so long. If they had been left to their own devices, and not captured, she knew that she and her friends would have attacked a large number of worlds and cut the Legion's forces down quite a bit, but there was no going back and changing the past. As much as she hated Maiev, for helping defeat Lord Illidan and capturing all of them, she let out a sigh and focused on the task at hand, because there were demons to kill, allies to awaken, and a Vault to escape.

"Maiev, I don't trust you after what you did... but that has nothing to do with my answer," Lyra said, to which she held a hand out and beckoned to the Warden, where she hoped that she wouldn't get put back in the prison once the Legion was defeated, "Hand me my warglaives... there are demons to kill."

Maiev nodded and pulled the warglaives off the rack, to which she tossed them over to Lyra, who immediately caught them with her hands, spun around for a few seconds, and swung her hands to be sure that they felt right... to which she frowned at Maiev for a moment.

"Yes, those aren't the warglaives you had when you left whatever Legion world you invaded," Maiev commented, though at the same time she turned towards the door and braced herself, because now was the time for them to get out of here and start killing demons, "You were the only one who wasn't sealed away with your warglaives, so we smelted them down and forged them into something more reasonable for someone that's supposed to be the Betrayer's second."

Lyra eyed the sharpened edges of her new warglaives, noticing that her new weapons appeared to be a combination of what she and the other demon hunters used, the form of the warglaive, with some pieces of the Wardens added to the section that protects her hands. She could tell that her new weapons were designed to do massive damage to her enemies, the demons of the Burning Legion for the most part, but while she was annoyed that her old weapons had been smelted down and reforged, however, she was glad to have something in her hands once more. Once she was done looking at them she returned them to the holder that was on her back, where she approached Maiev and waited to hear what the Warden's plan was.

"The two of us won't be enough to take out the demons that are between us and my sisters," Maiev stated, telling Lyra that she had little faith in her own abilities and the abilities of a powerful demon hunter, to which she beckoned to the walls around them, "I know that you can see the four slots in the wall that were designed to hold your kind, though only two of your allies were placed in this room... Altruis the Sufferer and Kayn Sunfury. Free them and add their strength to our group... and then we can focus on securing the Betrayer's body."

Lyra nodded for a second and approached the two levers that were near her, which activated some sort of opening sequence that shattered the crystal prisons, where Kayn and Altruis took a few seconds to regain themselves before they walked out to where Lyra and Maiev were standing. That was quickly followed by Altruis asking how many years they had wasted inside those crystal prisons, and piqued Lyra's curiosity, Maiev told them that they had been locked away for seven years, which annoyed all three demon hunters. Once both of her companions had regained themselves, and had collected all the pieces of their gear that happened to be resting in front of their prisons, they faced the door and nodded to Lyra.

Lyra smiled as she pressed a hand on the lever that would open the door that was blocking their way, because it was time to do what she and the other demon hunters had been trained to do before the assault on Mardum... it was time to kill the demons attacking the Wardens, awaken the rest of their forces, and show the Legion what they were up against.