"He's finally gone." Trixie spoke up, though as she did so she looked at the other heroes who had fought alongside her on the Broken Shore, where they all suffered a painful defeat and lost some loved ones, and smiled when she saw that they were all pleased with what had happened, "We're finally rid of Gul'dan and his foul plans."
"Yes... and this was a most fitting end for him," Khadgar added, though at the same time one of the paladins walked over and took Light's Heart from him, because now that it had served it's secondary purpose as the vessel for Illidan's soul it was time to take it back to Dalaran, "The battle is won, but the war is far from over. In order to stem the tide of demons flooding into Azeroth, we must use the Pillars of Creation to seal the Tomb of Sargeras. The Eye... might be difficult to carry. Perhaps I can use the power of the Eye itself to teleport it to Dalaran. I suppose there is only one way to find out!"
"Are you sure that Thalyssra is okay with us just taking the Eye of Aman'thul?" Lyra asked, because while she knew that this was part of the reason why they had invaded the Nighthold, and battled the Lord of the Shadow Council for Lord Illidan's body, she didn't know if the Nightborne would be okay with them taking the Eye like this.
"Yes, she is perfectly fine with us taking possession of the Eye," Khadgar said, though he couldn't fault Lyra for asking the question, since it was actually never openly discussed with her while she was recovering from her ordeal in the Emerald Nightmare, "I am perfectly aware that taking the Eye might have some serious side effects for the Nightborne and the entirety of Suramar City, something that Thalyssra agrees with, but with Shal'Aran producing fruit that will free the Nightborne from constantly needing mana, they won't need the Nightwell in the future."
"Good." Lyra replied, as she honestly didn't want to hurt the Nightborne by taking the Eye, but since it appeared that this had been thought out while she was recovering she could accept it, though at the same time she stood beside her mentor and smiled, "Lord Illidan... it's good to have you back."
Illidan turned towards her and remained silent for a few moments, to which the other heroes stopped what they were doing and watched, as they knew Lyra's story, thanks to what Trixie had told them, and knew that she had been purposely handpicked by Illidan to be his successor, something that had surprised her when she learned about it... though that was before the legendary demon hunter smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"It's good to be back, and to see you again," Illidan said, though even as he said that he noticed that something was missing, as his spare hand went to his horns for a few seconds, before he turned towards the assembled heroes, "So, how many of you were in the group that toppled me in the Black Temple?"
Three fourths of the assembled heroes raised their hands, because they knew that it was best if they didn't upset the newly resurrected Illidan, especially since he had owned Gul'dan without his mighty warglaives, though they all suspected that there was a specific reason behind why he had asked this question.
"Yes... I recognize some of you now," Illidan continued, though the smile didn't fade from his face, making some of them worry for a few seconds, but Lyra's smile caused the heroes to hold their ground, "I'm sure that one of you, or one of the other heroes that were at the Black Temple that day, took the Warglaives of Azzinoth into your possession once I was defeated. I would like my weapons returned to me before I start my hunt... if you wouldn't mind."
Lyra found it amusing that the heroes that had toppled three Old Gods, several powerful dragon Aspects, and even Archimonde himself, were terrified of Lord Illidan, but her mentor did make a valid point; he was going to continue his war with the Legion and he needed his weapons back, though she was sure that the Illidari would have a way to upgrade them to the level of her own Twinblades. A few seconds later, however, Khadgar coughed and brought the attention of the group back to him as he approached the Eye of Aman'thul, which was simply resting in the floor, waiting for something to happen or someone to use it. Khadgar stepped into the center of the Eye and started channeling the spell that would allow him to take the Eye back to Dalaran, to which Trixie and the other mages joined their magic with his, where the arcane energies wrapped around the Titan artifact for a few seconds, causing the rings to move once more.
A few moments later Khadgar and the Eye vanished, though that was followed by Trixie and the other mages opening portals back to Dalaran, allowing the other heroes to step through and head back to an area that would allow them to rest after such a long series of fights. Trixie, on the other hand, personally opened the portal for Lyra and Illidan to step out onto the island that would allow them to access the Fel Hammer, to which Lyra smiled as she and her mentor walked through it. Sure enough they appeared on the floating island that rested near Dalaran, though the two Illidari that guarded the portal took a moment to stare at Illidan, to be sure that they were seeing his familiar fel energy, before they saluted their master. Lyra smiled as she led Lord Illidan into the portal and reappeared on the landing of the Fel Hammer that the other side of the portal was on, where the Shivarra that were powering the portal stared at the duo in pure shock, before Lyra proudly walked forward and stopped in front of the control terminal.
"ILLIDARI!" Lyra shouted, causing the assembled mass of demon hunters, both elves and demons alike, to turn towards her in surprise, as they weren't expecting her to return from the Nighthold so soon, "BEHOLD, LORD ILLIDAN HAS RETURNED TO US!"
Illidan stepped out into the light and stared down at the assembled members of the Illidari, where he smiled at them and raised a hand into the air, to which they stared cheering as they realized that Lyra was not joking, that their master was actually standing in front of them once more. From that moment onward the Illidari made sure that Illidan was welcomed back into the fold of his army, since they were used to Lyra being their commander in his stead, though not five minutes later one of the guardians of the portal returned to their base and presented a package to Illidan. That particular package came from the rogue that had walked off with the Warglaives of Azzinoth seven years ago, keeping them as trophies to remember the battle of the Black Temple, though Illidan was happy to see his old weapons... even though they were in desperate need of some fixing since they had been out of use for seven long years.
Fortunately there were enough supplies in the area where the forge was located for Illidan to restore the weapons to their former glory, and potentially even make them stronger in the process, though Lyra went down there with him, in the off chance that he needed help with the forge... and she needed to use the demon souls she had acquired to empower her Twinblades even further.
"I see that you have found the other Equestrian that came to Azeroth," Illidan commented, as he hadn't said anything about Trixie while he was getting used to the feeling of being alive again, though now that the two of them were together, with some of the Illidari nearby to fetch him anything he might need, he felt like talking, "I am, however, surprised to see that she's part dragon as well. Surely there is a story behind that?"
Lyra nodded and started explaining how Trixie had gone from being a simple unicorn, who had originally had the same form that Lyra had before she became a demon hunter, and became a powerful dragon hybrid that could change between her forms at will. Trixie had received a special necklace from the Nexus Vault, from a blue dragon, who was called Azuregos, that happened to be guarding that vault when she went looking for her artifact weapon, Aluneth, though she returned to Dalaran with a new weapon and a new ally. Lyra then went on to say that the two of them, accompanied by a curious Azuregos, traveled to Azsuna to search for the first Pillar of Creation, the Tidestone of Golganneth, where they eventually had to deal with an upstart Nightborne 'prince' that used his arcane construct to hit Trixie into the large mana pool that had been near them at the time.
That was, of course, followed by Trixie merging with the dragon essence that had been housed in the necklace she had been wearing, transforming her into a blue dragon in the process and gave her the strength to smash the prince, before she succumbed to her injuries... only for her to accept her new form when she woke up, which was why she always wore her hybrid form, instead of reverting to a pure mortal form.
While Lyra talked Illidan nodded every now and then as he worked, strengthening his weapon, sharpening them to the point they had been seven years ago before his defeat, and infused them with the demon blood that the Illidari had on hand, awakening the ancient power that was sleeping at the moment. Illidan was interested in what Trixie was able to do over the years, as she and her allies had gone on to defeat the Lich King, an evil dragon Aspect called Deathwing, three Old Gods, and Archimode himself. He was pleased that the heroes of Azeroth had grown stronger since his battle with them, even those that he distinctly remembered killing, which meant that they would be ready for the incoming battle on the Broken Shore, which would be coming much sooner than everyone thought it would be. He also listened to Lyra as she explained that she and Trixie had personally collected two of the Pillars of Creation, stood up to Queen Azshara's forces, were outwitted by Xavius, and saved Maiev... before heading into the Emerald Nightmare to destroy Xavius, which he seemed to recall seeing part of since his soul had been sticking close to Lyra.
During the course of their conversation Illidan noticed that the blades of his warglaives had transformed from their original forms and morphed into living flames, representing the inner fire that was inside them, though it actually looked more like two blades that had been forged from the felfire... and they stayed in the shape they had been before the transformation, to which he imagined the damage they would do against the demons in the future.
Before they could get into discussing their next plan of attack, so they could bring about the end of the Legion, Kor'vas walked into the forge area and stated that Khadgar was calling the chosen leaders of the Class Halls, such as Lyra and Trixie, as well as their representatives, like Kor'vas had been for the Illidari and Meryl for the mages, to gather on Krasus' Landing in the next few minutes. Lyra sighed and would have followed Kor'vas out immediately, though she insisted that Lord Illidan came with them, since he was still the true leader of the demon hunters, to which Illidan nodded and sheathed his warglaives, by magically storing them inside his large horns. Lyra had never figured out her mentor's trick, where he was able to hide his weapons inside his horns, but seeing that action again made her smile as the duo followed Kor'vas back to the portal, before heading back to Dalaran.
When they arrived at Krasus' Landing, however, Lyra wasn't surprised to see Trixie and Meryl already standing nearby, though it appeared that they were the last to arrive by the looks of the assembled group in front of them. Maraa and Alonsus Faol, the priest representative, stood to Khadgar's left, followed by Taneil Starblade and Emmarel Shadewarden for the hunters. Beside them stood Tulredal Starbane and Risstyn Flamecowl, standing for the warlocks, Kurost Skullcleaver and Havi for the warriors, and Xinyi Windfall and Iron-Body Ponshu for the monks. There was an empty spot between where the monks were standing and where Valen, who was standing opposite of Khadgar's position, was standing, to which Lyra nodded and walked forward, where she, Kor'vas, and Lord Illidan took their position.
Before the meeting got started Lyra took stock of the remaining leaders of the Class Halls that rested to the right of where Khadgar was standing, though she was still surprised that it wasn't Trixie and Meryl standing there, but fortunately it appeared that Trixie wasn't upset by the arrangement. To Khadgar's immediate right was Arnold Pinkerson and Jorach Ravenholdt, standing for the rogues, followed by Monoskah Windhorn and Rensar Greathoof for the druids, along with Angan Sternheart and Duke Lankral, the death knights. They were followed by Trixie and Meryl for the mages, though next to them stood Volza and Farseer Nobundo for the shamans, and bringing up the rear were Landan Nash and Maxwell Tyrosus for the paladins.
This was likely one of the greatest gathering of heroes that Lyra had seen since we joined the Alliance and the Horde in their battle against the Legion, but at the same time Khadgar tapped his staff on the ground and five arcane images appeared in the middle of the area between the various classes... images that Lyra immediately recognized as the Pillars of Creation that they had painstakingly recovered over the last month and a half.
"Champions, your victory at the Nighthold has granted us the key to ending this war." Khadgar said, though there was a smile on his face as the heroes and their representatives cheered for a moment, even though Valen and Illidan remained silent for the moment, "With the Pillars of Creation assembled, we finally have the power to cut the demons off from our world. Gul'dan failed, and so shall the Legion!"
"Gul'dan... was merely their pawn," Valen stated, though he tapped his staff on the ground as well and cut the cheering off, while at the same time the image of the Pillars disappeared as quickly as they were made, "Until victory is assured, we must remain vigilant... for the Legion's true masters have yet to reveal themselves. Among them... the monster that hunted my people across the stars... Kil'jaeden!"
Before anyone else could say anything, however, Lyra felt a spike in fel energy and turned around so she could face the Tomb of Sargeras, where several Legion ships were warping into the area above the Broken Shore, causing the other heroes and representatives to turn towards it as well. Lyra would have been shocked that Kil'jaeden was starting his invasion already, but it made sense to attack them while they were still recovering from their fight in the Nighthold, even if their foe wasn't firing at them yet. She knew that sooner or later the Deceiver would issue the attack order and the ships would move out towards their target, though that meant that they had to act fast before their true foe came to claim the prize his Legion was fighting for.
"So, Kil'jaeden is making his move," Illidan commented, though at the same time he grinned, as he was eager to fight some demons after seven years of his body being trapped inside a crystal prison, and his soul wandering the Twisting Nether while escaping from the demons.
"It's sooner than I would have liked," Khadgar said, staring at the ships for a few seconds, though he remained calm as he turned towards Trixie and the other heroes, who turned and looked at him as well, "Champions, the time has come for us to act. Assemble the Armies of Legionsfall... it's time for us to assault the Broken Shore once more."
Lyra felt that the name for the combined army of the twelve Order Halls was retarded, and the look on Trixie's face indicated that she didn't like it either, but the name didn't honestly matter in the long run, not when their enemy had made their first move and was preparing their next attack. They may not have had a lot of time to relax and recover from their attack on the Nighthold, but now that Lord Illidan was back in the game, and the five Pillars of Creation were in their possession at long last, she knew that they would be able to stand against the Legion... and, eventually, bring Kil'jaeden down and seal the Tomb of Sargeras once more.