"Okay, now that we're free I need to ask something," Lyra said, to which she and Trixie separated from each other, though at the same time she glanced at Khadgar, who was staring at the two of them, "what is your plan for dealing with the Legion and their foul masters?"
"Gul'dan has accessed the Tomb of Sargeras and opened a portal for the Legion to enter this world," Khadgar commented, to which he pointed his staff in the direction that was behind him, where Lyra and the other Illidari noticed something in the distance, "Now this portal is allowing many of the powerful demons we have killed over the years, with great sacrifice at times, to return from the Twisting Nether to wage war against us once more, along with their personal armies. The combined forces of the Alliance and the Horde launched an assault on the Broken Shore, but many of their soldiers were defeated and some important rulers were slain in the process... though the majority of their armies were able to flee before they were overrun.
As the two factions are recovering from their loss at the Broken Shore, and are trying to figure out how to overcome this loss with something good as the outcome, Trixie and I have started researching ways to seal the Felstorm and close the portal that Gul'dan has created... though we both know that its only a matter of time until he has amassed enough power to summon Sargeras himself to Azeroth."
Lyra knew the name of the fallen titan that ruled the Legion, as Lord Illidan had told her the name when he was teaching her the names of the three demons she would need to watch out for when she joined the battle against the Legion, at least until she had enough power to match them. Sargeras, from what she knew, was supposed to be some sort of twisted creature that had originally created Mardum, years ago anyway, before shattering the world and creating the Legion that they were fighting today. She knew that allowing their enemy to come to Azeroth, before they were ready, would result in the instant destruction of the world and the deaths of thousands of people... which was one of the reasons that she had joined the Illidari in the first place.
As she remembered what she knew on the master of the Legion, however, she cast a glance in the direction that the Archmage had been pointing in a few seconds ago, where she noticed a beam of fel energy surging into the sky, creating what appeared to be a maelstrom of fel energy... the Felstorm. From what she knew she could already determine that the Legion had brought in a few of their ships and were no doubt infesting the land around the Tomb, which she would have to ask about when they had time. At the moment she knew that she and the others would have to travel to the main cities of the Alliance and the Horde, because if one of their leaders had recently died than they should be holding some sort of funeral for them... which would be the perfect opportunity for the Legion to cut down their leaders while their guard was down for a few seconds.
The moment the thought came to mind, however, Lyra let out a sigh as she cast a glance back at Kayn, who seemed to agree with what she was thinking based upon the nod he was giving her... to which she turned her attention back to Khadgar and Trixie.
"Before we catch up on what we've been doing since we came to this side of the universe, there's something we need to do first," Lyra commented, to which she noticed that Khadgar was raising one of his eyebrows while Trixie seemed interested in what she had to say, "You just said that one of the leaders, for both the Alliance and the Horde, died on the Broken Shore, which means that the two factions are going to have their own funerals for their fallen friend and leader... which is something that the Legion won't miss, especially if all of the leaders, for both factions, will be present at their respective funerals."
"She's right," Trixie said, to which she brought a hand to her face for a second, as if she couldn't believe that she had missed something so important, before turning to her mentor, "the Legion's no doubt getting their forces ready for an assault on the leaders of the Alliance and the Horde, which means we need to act fast before something happens to them... and we have an advantage they won't be expecting."
"True, we have the Illidari on our side now," Khadgar said, though his tone indicated that he was agreeing with his apprentice, but at the same time he started moving his hands around as magic started to gather around them, "It is a good thing that I sent a message to some friends in both the Alliance and the Horde, because they are fully expecting me to teleport some of the Illidari to their cities to help defend against an immediate attack by the Legion. Lyra Heartstrings, I take it that you are the leader of the Demon Hunters that are standing behind you?"
"That is correct." Lyra replied, though at the same time she had the feeling that he was about to ask her to command them like they were her personal soldiers, which in some cases was right considering that she was filling Lord Illidan's shoes at the moment.
"Good, then I need you to pick some of them out and prepare them for a brief journey to Orgrimmar and Stormwind," Khadgar stated, which immediately told Lyra that the magic he was gathering was for a portal of some kind, one that would allow them to travel to the two cities he had mentioned, "The funerals of King Varian Wrynn and Warchief Vol'jin will be happening within the next thirty minutes, to allow their cities to grieve before the factions prepare themselves for all out war with the Legion. Your chosen champions will travel to those two cities and help establish themselves with the new faction leaders, unless you would prefer to travel to Stormwind yourself."
"Why can I only travel to Stormwind?" Lyra asked, because she didn't understand why she would go to one of the two cities and not go to the other one, as she felt that it would be in her best interests to be sure that her chosen champions completed their tasks, "Why can't I travel to Orgrimmar?"
"Because Stormwind is the capital city of the Alliance," Trixie explained, though she had to wonder how Lyra didn't know about the races that belonged to the two factions, to which she silently determined that she would explain everything to her fellow Equestrian later, "Here, let me explain something to you; Night Elves, like yourself, are allied with the Alliance, while the Blood Elves, like your friend Kayn, are allied with the Horde. Since they are grieving at the moment the Horde will likely attack if they see a night elf walking in the area, so its better if you send some blood elves in your stead."
Lyra thought about that for a moment, remembering the old reports about how the two factions generally hated each other and attacked each other on sight at times, and decided that it made sense, despite how she believed the two factions should not be fighting each other when the Legion was still a threat. She then turned to the demon hunters that were standing behind her, waiting for her to give them their orders in regards to saving the new leaders of the two factions, before deciding who needed to go to which city.
"Allari, I want you to gather a few of our blood elf brothers and sisters and head to Orgrimmar," Lyra commanded, though she hadn't expected Allari to actually salute her the moment she gave her a command, to which she mentally sighed at the fact that she was ordering around her former mentors before moving towards her next target, "Jace, I want you to do the same thing with the night elves and head to Stormwind. Archmage Khadgar, is there someplace where the majority of my forces can gather and survey the situation, so we can better plan where to attack the Legion?"
"There is a small patch of land near Dalaran that could be used by your forces," Khadgar commented, though at the same time he snapped three portals open, which caused Lyra to raise an eyebrow as she noticed the number of magical gateways in front of them, "The portal to my right is for those that are going to Orgrimmar, the one on my left is for those that are heading to Stormwind, while the one in the middle is for those that aren't going to either city, so I've opened a portal to Dalaran. I'm sure that those of you that won't be going out to fight, so soon after being released from the Vault, will enjoy the opportunity to explore a new area, talk with some citizens, and maybe learn a profession while you wait for the others to come back."
"Great, then those that aren't selected will go to Dalaran and survey what the Legion is doing," Lyra said, continuing to issue her commands to the others, as she knew that some of them were interested in hearing what she wanted them to do, "Kayn, I want you to head to Dalaran as well and start searching for some way to turn the tide against the Legion... and hopefully you'll have something once Stormwind and Orgrimmar are safe."
Allari nodded and gathered her selected blood elves, though at the speed that she had done it at told Lyra that she had started picking her group the moment she was selected, before the group of seven walked through the Orgrimmar portal. Kayn also nodded to Lyra and walked through the middle portal, though he was followed by the other blood elves that weren't selected as they entered the portal as well, leaving Jace to choose five other night elves and allowing the remainder to head to Dalaran as well. It made Lyra wonder why he had only selected five demon hunters to follow him, especially since Allari had selected six, but she was sure that there was a reason behind his decision.
Once those that were heading to Orgrimmar had gone to the main city of the Horde, and the other blood elves were gone as well, Khadgar closed that portal and turned towards the others... as both he and Trixie were wondering what was going through Jace's mind at the moment.
"Commander, would you accompany me and my forces to Stormwind?" Jace asked, surprising Lyra and the two mages for a moment, because none of them were actually expecting him to ask Lyra that question, "I know you have faith in my abilities, if you chose me to represent our forces in the main city of the Alliance, but I have the feeling that we might need your assistance in the city... though personally I hope I'm wrong."
"You and I can spend twenty-five minutes catching up before King Wrynn's funeral," Trixie commented, though at the same time Lyra detected that she must have had a decent relationship with the former king, because she detected a hint of sadness in the other Equestrian's voice, "and then, once the funeral is over, we can get back to work... whether our work involves catching up some more or planning the downfall of the Legion."
Lyra glanced between Jace and Trixie for a moment, wondering if the two of them had accidentally given her the opportunity to explore Stormwind and see if she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary before heading to the funeral of the King of the Alliance, before she let out a sigh and nodded her head. It was clear that Trixie wanted to spent some time with her, especially since she had been locked away with the rest of the demon hunters, so she decided that she might as well use this opportunity to learn the layout of the city for the future. She would also learn what Trixie had been doing for the last seven years, because based on what she had seen she knew that the other Equestrian had faced some hardships while she had been locked in the Vault.
She was also sure that something would happen inside the city, so she wanted to be there when the event happened so she could help contain and stop whatever the event was.
"Well then, we should head to Stormwind," Khadgar commented, drawing the attention of the small group to him, while at the same time he closed the portal to Dalaran, "I'm sure that all of you are interested in leaving the Vault behind and starting a new chapter of your lives."
Lyra nodded and followed Trixie into the portal that was waiting before them, because she was interested in seeing the city that Trixie could have been calling home for the last seven years... to which she smiled as she stepped into the portal and headed towards the main city of the Alliance.
When Lyra stepped through the other side of the portal she immediately noticed the seemingly pristine white city that was resting in front of her, as there appeared to be marble structures and statues all around her. In front of them stood a small bridge that could be raised to seal off the keep, where the new king and his trusted allies were no doubt preparing for the funeral of the previous king. She could also tell that there was a canal that could potentially go throughout the entire city, while at the same time she swore that she heard the sound of a bell ringing, which had to be for some sort of ship that was in a nearby harbor. Lyra was sure that there was more to Stormwind than what she was currently seeing, especially if it was the main city of the Alliance, but she was sure that she would see it all at some point in time.
Jace and the other demon hunters joined her a few seconds later, to which Khadgar told them that they would find the king in the keep in front of them, though he also recommended that they mention that their master was here... just in case the new king wanted to speak with Lyra instead. Once Jace knew that he and his forces walked towards the building, leaving Lyra and Trixie with Khadgar for a few seconds, though at the same time Lyra knew that the Archmage might be needed somewhere else.
"Trixie, if you'll excuse me, I am needed back in Dalaran," Khadgar said, to which Trixie nodded for a second, as if she had been expecting something like that to leave her mentor's mouth, before he turned towards Lyra for a moment, "Lyra Heartstrings, I will ensure that the citizens of Dalaran welcome your forces with open arms and don't attack them... and then I'll start searching for ways to turn the tide against the Legion."
Lyra nodded and watched as the Archmage drew in some more magic before teleporting himself to the mysterious city he had mentioned many times in the last few minutes, though once he was gone she turned to Trixie, as she knew what they were doing better than she was.
"Hey Lyra," Trixie commented, though at the same time she beckoned for Lyra to follow her, to which they started to walk away from the keep, "you wouldn't happen to have a mount you can use, do you?"
"I have one, but he's back on Mardum," Lyra answered, to which she noticed that Trixie was looking at her with a slightly confused look on her face, where she determined that she needed to tell her about the prison planet, "Mardum was the demon world that my forces and I were sent do while the forces of Shattrath City and Azeroth were attacking the Black Temple. Lord Illidan had prepared a special Felsaber for me, in the event that we opened the first gateway to summon some of our forces to the shattered planet, and he carried me across the world without question. Of course when we attacked the main ship I had to leave the Felsaber back at our main camp, so he's either still trapped on Mardum or he's been killed by our enemies."
"And you don't have a way to call your Felsaber to you?" Trixie asked, as if it was common sense in this world to have some special way to call a mount to you, though Lyra was familiar with the mount staying in a safe area before being called back to their owner.
"Not that I'm aware of," Lyra said, to which she shrugged for a few seconds, as she wasn't familiar with how most of Azeroth worked, but she was sure that she would learn those facts in the next few hours.
"Well, that rules out my personal mount for the time being," Trixie commented, to which she fingered a different ring that she was wearing, though this one was almost as important as the ring she and her mentor had created, "Lyra, I should inform you that I picked up a pair of professions over the last seven years, ones that actually paid well despite me not knowing that fact. I am an accomplished herbalist and alchemist, which means that I pick herbs and mix them together to create potions, poisons, and all sorts of elixirs that my friends use to aid them in battle... as well as a good portion of the Alliance itself. It actually feels good to be useful to someone, despite the fact that my friends and I have stopped the Lich King, a large dragon called Deathwing, Archimonde the Defiler, and three Old Gods..."
"Wait a second," Lyra said, because she wanted to be sure that she had heard Trixie right, as it seemed strange when she heard one of the names, "you and your friends killed Archimonde, one of Sargeras' most powerful followers?
"Yeah, though I'll have to tell you about the circumstances that led to the fight happening some other time," Trixie replied, though at the same time they turned a corner as Trixie brought them to a park area, one that seemed large enough for a decent sized beast to rest in, before she turned to Lyra, "Anyway, I said that I was an alchemist, and one of the things that are in high demand, thanks to the holidays, are transformation type elixirs, though unfortunately there aren't many recipes of that variety in the world. There is one elixir that a friend of mine showed me the recipe for and helped me gather the components so I could create it... though instead of describing the effects I'll just show you what the elixir did, as its a permanent effect I can use whenever I want."
Lyra watched as Trixie tapped the ring she had been touching a few seconds ago, which was followed by the sand around them kicking up for a few seconds as it created a vortex around Trixie. For a few seconds she could see Trixie as clear as day and then a few seconds later her vision was obscured, though when she was able to see the other Equestrian again she stared at Trixie in shock. What was resting in front of her was a large dragon, like the ones she had seen the orcs ride when she had been walking around the Black Temple, though this one happened to have an earthy texture to its scales... along with what appeared to be yellow crystals on its tail, its wings, and its head.
Oddly enough Lyra noticed that there was a saddle on the dragon's back, which meant that it could be ridden by someone, and some armor that rested on its head and back, though she had no idea what was going on at the moment.
"So, what do you think?" the dragon asked, though Lyra's eyes widened for a moment, because while she was shocked that the beast could talk she was more shocked that it was speaking with Trixie's voice, which happened to sound more like a dragon's voice.
"T... Trixie?! Is that you?" Lyra said, though at the same time she carefully approached the large beast and ran a hand over its scales, finding that it felt like a real dragon and not some sort of illusion.
"Yes, though this is the form of the Sandstone Drake," the dragon replied, to which Trixie lowered herself to the floor for a moment and beckoned to her back with her head, as if she was inviting Lyra to climb onto her back, "The elixir I mentioned is known as the Vial of the Sands, which allows the user to transform into this state whenever they want... provided they drink the elixir first. The Vial of the Sands is an expensive elixir to make, as some of the components are hard to find and the location of one ingredient is known by only one man, so its hard to make so many of them. I've only sold four of them to this date, which means that I have made five of them; two of which I sold to the greatest champions of the Horde and the other two I delivered to two of my friends in the Alliance."
"How much do they sell for?" Lyra asked, though she wasn't interested in buying one, especially since she had next to no gold at the moment, but she was interested in the price so she could determine how much gold Trixie had earned over the last seven years.
"The Vial of the Sands sell anywhere from thirty-five thousand to sixty thousand pieces of gold," Trixie stated, to which she noticed the surprise on Lyra's face, which was followed by a chuckle escaping from her, "Trust me, if the ingredients were easier to come by I might have stopped being an adventurer and become a full time alchemist that sells to both factions. My mentor Khadgar once told me that, if I ever wanted to stop going out to save the world every time a disaster struck Azeroth, I could become one of the greatest alchemists the world has ever seen... though I was determined to find you and make sure you were safe. If not for the fact that there was another Equestrian stranded somewhere on Azeroth, or the Outlands in your case, I would have become an full time alchemist... but that's something for another time.
Now tell me, Lyra Heartstrings, how would you like a tour of Stormwind City, before we head to the keep and see how Jace is holding up in establishing relations between your forces and the leaders of the Alliance?"
"I would love to have a tour of the city," Lyra replied, though at the same time she carefully climbed onto the back of Trixie's dragon form, as while she was amazed by how real the transformation felt she didn't want to cause Trixie any pain, "So, where to first?"
"I'm going to head through the Dwarven District, show you Stormwind's harbor, and then head to the Mage District," Trixie explained, though once Lyra was in place she rose to her full height and started to flap her wings, to which the two of the rose into the air and started flying over the city while giving Lyra a view over everything, "then we'll circle back to the Trade District, Cathedral Square, and then Old Town... though once we're done we'll have to stop at the keep and see how everyone is doing. We'll talk about our adventures later, so for now why don't you enjoy yourself?"
Lyra chuckled as they started to fly over the city, because while she knew that they needed to focus on the threat that the Legion posed to Azeroth, especially when they had a portal on the Broken Shore that was trying to bring Sargeras to this world, but she wanted to enjoy herself for an hour or two... because she knew that she would be killing some demons before the day was even over.