As the Fel Hammer returned to Mardum, and the Illidari settled down after warping out of the area before they were gunned down by any ships Kil'jaeden could have sent at them, Lyra was still amazed that they were able to get away with invading a Legion world and kill every demon that called Niskara home. Varedis and Caria were dead, their army shattered and unable to come back, and they had officially pissed off Kil'jaeden more than he already was, which told her that their opponent was going to make mistakes in the future because of what they had done. Lyra was pleased to find that her forces were overjoyed to see that they had succeeded in their mission, though at the same time she knew that it was only a matter of time until they had to declare war on the other Legion worlds that Sargeras controlled.
While she stood by one of the openings, which allow her to look out over Mardum, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her from behind, to which she found Kayn walking towards her.
"We have won the day!" Kayn said, though despite the fact that he usually controlled his emotions Lyra could tell that he was excited about what they had just done, "Caria and Varedis are no more, and we have sent a clear message to the Burning Legion that they are vulnerable, even on their own worlds. It is about time that we celebrated, but there is something else we need to do first. I think you already know what I am going to tell you, especially with what we've been doing so far, but I believe that it is time to make Allari and Jace the last of your champions. The two of them were instrumental in the planning and preparation for the invasion of Niskara. They have earned it and you would be hard pressed to find better champions anywhere."
Lyra nodded, because now that she thought about what Kayn had said she realized that it made perfect sense to elevate both Allari and Jace to the rank of champion as well, especially after everything the two of them had gone through to make sure that their war against the Legion was successful. Once she knew what Kayn wanted, and she agreed with him, she made her way down to the part of the Fel Hammer that Jace remained in, no matter what she and the other Illidari were doing. Sure enough she found him standing beside one of the controls and was focusing on it, though when she walked into the area Jace turned towards her.
"Jace, I had a question for you," Lyra said, though at the moment she smiled, because she knew that her friend would be overjoyed when he heard the question, "How would you like to become one of my champions?"
"Me? You want me to be one of your champions?" Jace asked, clearly showing that he was shocked by the fact, though at the same time Lyra nodded as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Yes, of course. A million times, yes! Just tell me where you want me to go, what you want me to do, and consider it done."
Lyra nodded and headed up the ramp that was behind her, where she spotted Allari already hard at work torturing another demon so they could get more information out of it, no doubt trying to figure out where Gul'dan had taken the body of their true master. As much as Lyra actually enjoyed leading the Illidari, and striking fear into the hearts of her enemies when they heard that she was coming, she knew that Illidan Stormrage would always be the leader of the Illidari and that she would easily return his place to him if they could bring him back to life. A few moments later she pushed that thought away and approached Allari, who stopped torturing the unfortunate demon that she and the others had captured some time ago and turned towards Lyra.
"Allari," Lyra said, knowing that she had no idea what to expect from Allari, because while the others had been easier to guess what their reaction could be Allari was a tougher nut to crack, "the time has come... how would you like to become one of my champions?"
"Very astute of you to have saved the best for last." Allari commented, though the playful smirk that appeared on her face told Lyra that she was already considering what she had said, "But in all seriousness I am deeply honored that you have chosen me to join the ranks of your champions. Something tells me that the worst is yet to come, especially after we pissed off Kil'jaeden like that, so we must remain vigilant if we're going to bring an end to the Burning Legion."
Lyra was pleased to hear that Allari was so willing to accept the position, in her own words anyway, to which she turned around and walked towards the ramp that would allow her to walk up to the first floor of the Fel Hammer, though at the same time she noticed that everyone was starting to gather around the star map. It appeared that there was going to be some sort of announcement in the next few minutes, to which she walked over to Kayn with the intention of finishing their business before something else demanded their attention.
"It is good to see that Jace and Allari accepted joining the ranks of your champions," Kayn said, to which he gestured to the assembled group with a brief nod of his head, indicating that something important was going to happen soon, "There is just one thing left to do. Lyra, we have all gathered here to honor you for your leadership, successes, and sacrifices."
Lyra had been expecting Kayn to say that they were here to celebrate their victory over Varedis and Caria, like a small party or something like that, though at the same time she had to wonder what he meant when he said that he and the others were going to 'honor' her.
"Illidari! Servants of Illidan! Hear me!" Kayn shouted, his voice echoing throughout the entirety of the Fel Hammer, to which Lyra watched as everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around the first floor of the ship, "We gather here today to pay tribute to one who has served with both honor and distinction as our indomitable leader. We have regained the Sargerite Keystone. We have defied Kil'jaeden and invaded a Legion world. And we have vanquished our nemeses, Caria and Varedis Felsoul. For this and countless other successes, we bestow one of our highest honors, the title of Slayer, to Lyra Heartstrings!"
The moment Lyra's name left Kayn's mouth the entirety of the Illidari, including the Broken and the Shivarra, cheered for Lyra and the successes that she had obtained since they had awoken from their slumber in the Vault of the Wardens, though at the same time Lyra smiled and rubbed the back of her head. She remembered when Lord Illidan told her that one of the highest honors of her order was the rank of Slayer, something that he only bestowed on demon hunters who proved themselves to him. When she first learned about this rank she often thought about what she would feel if she ever got the chance to obtain it, as she never considered that she would actually get to this point, but now that she was a Slayer all she could do was stand there and wave at the Illidari.
At that moment she wondered if Lord Illidan was looking down on them, from wherever his soul was resting at the moment, and hoped that if he was that he would be pleased in what she and the rest of the Illidari had done.
"Your leadership has provided us with victory after victory." Kayn said, causing Lyra to turn towards him for a few seconds, while at the same time the rest of the Illidari started returning to their various tasks, "We gladly serve and will sacrifice everything in your name, just like we swore to do for Lord Illidan. However, now that you have reached the rank of Slayer, there are two more things we have to do before we start the next stage of our master's plan; your weapon needs to be further empowered and you need some armor befitting your position as a Slayer. Falara Nightsong can help you with the armor, though I would recommend that we deal with your weapon first."
Lyra nodded and followed Kayn back down to where the forge was located, while at the same time wondering what would happen when they empowered her Twinblades, though when they arrived at the forge Kayn stood to the side and had her stand in front of the forge. At Kayn's urging Lyra raised the Twinblades into the air and watched as the energies of the forge struck her weapons, though that was before the weapons started to change shape in front of her eyes. The horns that existed on her weapons became longer and curled back towards where her arms would rest, while the already sharp edges of her blades became even sharper before her eyes. The Twinblades of the Deceiver had transformed into a pair of blades that would strike fear in the hearts of her enemies, to which Lyra smiled as she stared at them... before she and Kayn walked back up to the first level of the Fel Hammer.
When she arrived at her destination, and Kayn walked away from her, Lyra approached Falara and found that an armor stand had already been set up ahead of time, meaning that in the event of their success she had the armor prepared for Lyra. The shoes of the armor had been modified to fit over her hooves, how Lyra didn't know considering that she and Falara hadn't been near each other since the Fel Hammer had been connected to Dalaran, but she was happy to see that it actually fit into place. There were some engravings on the armor that looked like terrified mouths or something, which had to be terrified demons in Lyra's opinion, though the one thing that she disliked was how revealing the chest piece was, as it barely covered the upper part of her chest.
Despite the fact that Lyra disliked the chest piece, however, Falara promised her that she would soon find that her speed, damage, and ability to dodge attacks would be boosted while wearing this armor, to which she sighed as she moved to a more private area and changed into her new armor. When she came back out, and showed Falara how she looked, she discovered that Falara was pleased with what she saw and urged Lyra to continue with whatever task she had to focus on next... though Lyra wasn't sure what to do next. The other heroes were already searching for the Hammer of Khaz'garoth and the Aegis of Aggramar, which meant that she and the others should focus on finding Gul'dan... but before she could get started on something she noticed a shimmer in the air and watched as a small crystal ball appeared near where she was standing.
It appeared that Khadgar, as that was who was on the other side of the crystal ball, might have some information for her and was contacting her so he could either tell her something or have her come visit him.
"Lyra, I may have found a 'key' to unlock Light's Heart." Khadgar said, to which Lyra glanced over at the object that was sitting in her Order Hall, where she reflected that it had been a terrible idea to take such a thing to a location that Kil'jaeden had been present in, though she kept that to herself as she focused on the orb, "I was going through some ancient cosmology tomes when I stumbled upon a passage indicating that the Prime Naaru may have been created by Elune during the great ordering of Light and Shadow. If Elune did create Xe'ra, then it stands to reason that we could use the Tears of Elune to unlock the secrets of Light's Heart. I know that it's a long shot, but we've got nothing left to lose. Meet me in Dalaran as soon as you can, I will have the Tears of Elune ready for your arrival."
Lyra immediately moved towards the portal and headed back to Dalaran, where she quickly made her way through the city and approached the citadel that Khadgar would be waiting in, though when she arrived she found him standing near the doorway with the Tears of Elune waiting next to him.
"Here, the Tears of Elune," Khadgar said, allowing Lyra to take the Pillar of Creation for a moment, knowing how she must feel to have it in her hands again, "Hopefully this works out... we desperately need whatever information Xe'ra tried to send us."
Lyra nodded and decided that now wasn't the time to be wasting time, to which she turned around and headed back towards the portal to the Fel Hammer, while at the same time making sure that the Tears were hidden inside her bag so that any Legion spies couldn't see it at all. When she returned to the Fel Hammer she carefully made her way towards Light's Heart and pulled out the Tears, to which she stopped beside the object and touched the tip of the two objects together, as it was the only thing she could think of at the moment. She held the Tears in that position for a few seconds, trying to determine if there was anything else she could do to awaken Light's Heart, before she felt herself fade away and collapsed on the ground with the Tears in her hand.
When Lyra regained herself, which she suspected was only a few seconds after hitting the ground, she found a spectral form of herself floating in the air near a planet that immediately stopped her in her tracks. The planet was colored green, fel green to be exact, though parts of the planet looked like they were dead while she could see that there were pieces of earth floating away form the planet's surface. Lyra could feel the fel energy practically radiating from the planet she was staring at, along with the presence of something terrible that made her skin crawl, something that she could only describe as the presence of Sargeras himself. Her eyes widened as she realized what planet she was staring at, because this planet could only be Argus, the one that Velen and the Draenei had fled from when Archimonde and Kil'jaeden joined the ranks of the Burning Legion.
A few seconds later she felt the presence lighten as a golden colored Naaru appeared near her, to which she turned to her right and focused her attention on Xe'ra, as that had to be who had appeared before her.
Do not be alarmed, mortal. the Naaru said, though while her voice was powerful she could tell that it was kind as well, as it seemed to ease Lyra's being away from staring at Argus, Your consciousness has been projected to my astral presence in the Great Dark Beyond. I am Xe'ra, one of the first Naaru to be forged here during the great ordering of the cosmos. You have come to the crucible of all creation in search of answers. Listen then, and find enlightenment. In a time now long past, a great battle was fought that would determine the fate of all worlds. It was in that final battle that the all-powerful titan Pantheon fell to one of their own: Sargeras.
Lyra's eyes widened when she heard that bit of news, as everyone on Azeroth had assumed that the Titans had been busy trying to save the universe from Sargeras and his Burning Legion, but now it appeared that the seemingly powerful Pantheon had been completely destroyed.
After the fall, none were left to oppose the will of Sargeras. Xe'ra explained, apparently doing her best to give Lyra some comfort despite the fact that she was slightly afraid for their chances now, Unfettered, the dark titan and his Burning Legion would go on to annihilate countless worlds in their Burning Crusade. From the ashes of those ravaged worlds, survivors arose to stand against the demons. They became known as the Army of the Light. But now, the Golden Army teeters upon the precipice of oblivion as their campaign on Argus nears its terminus. Should they fall, the Legion will initiate a new Burning Crusade, and with it the cosmos will tremble. I am here now on a mission of desperation. I seek the child of Light and Shadow: the boy destined to end the age of demons.
Lyra had absolutely no idea that the Army of the Light was so close to being destroyed, so soon after she and the people of Azeroth had learned of their battle against the Legion, but even as she heard that bit of news she had to focus on what Xe'ra was telling her... and who she was searching for.
I seek the one called Illidan Stormrage. Xe'ra said, noticing the look on Lyra's face despite the fact that they weren't actually face to face with each other, Before you go, I will share this warning with you...
Lyra's gaze shifted from Argus and went flying back to Azeroth, though as she came to a stop she spotted a massive storm cloud of some sort that looked like it could cause some serious damage to the planet if its storm was allowed to go off. That was before a colossal creature, one whose body appeared to have the appearance of charred ground that had cracks of fire under the earth, pulling itself free from the storm cloud, giving Lyra a chance to see the creature's massive wings and curved horns that reminded her of the same ones that Illidan had. The creature wasn't wearing a chest piece of any kind, though he was wearing two shoulder pieces and two gauntlets, while at the same time Lyra could see that the creature's beard appeared to be made out of pure fire and its eyes were filled with a burning hatred for all sorts of life.
Lyra's eyes widened for a third time when she realized that she was staring at Sargeras himself, whose upper body seemed to be the same height as Azeroth itself, before the fallen Titan held a hand out and a terrifying sword, one that looked deadly enough to install fear into whoever saw it, appeared out of thin air. That was followed by Sargeras bringing the massive sword down on Azeroth and splitting the entire world in two, cleaving it like a knife cutting through butter, before the entire world died in a fiery explosion before her eyes. Lyra would have assumed that seeing the death of Azeroth, even in a vision, would have been the end of everything, but that was before she spotted a second planet in the vision... to which her eyes widened even more when she realized that she was staring at Equus and watched as Sargeras cleaved her home world in half as well.
The shock of seeing her home world being cleaved in half, even if it was just a vision, snapped her out of whatever she was trapped in and she bolted awake, finding herself resting in some sort of infirmary that happened to be in Dalaran, though this time it was night time at the moment... to which she brought her hands to her face and wiped off the sweat that was rolling down the side of her face. There was only one thing she could do at that moment, which was her voicing her concerns while no one was around and hope that she was proven wrong.
"We are so screwed."