//------------------------------//
// Interlude: Preparations 
// Story: World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Lyra, Trixie, and the heroes remained standing in the ruins that they had found themselves in, where all of them were staring up at Argus as they thought about what they had all gone through to make sure that the Tomb of Sargeras was sealed. Some of them considered Illidan's move to use the Sargerite Keystone to be wrong, as now the Dark Titan could literally come down from his throne and visit them directly, though his time there would be no way to seal the gaping gateway that rested between worlds. At the same time a few of the heroes knew that Illidan's heart was in the right place, as sooner or later they would have found the way to invade Argus without the Keystone, though now they had the best option to deal with the true master of the Burning Legion. The problem that everyone noticed, however, was that the only way for them to get to Argus, at this moment anyway, was the use of the Fel Hammer and only a select number of heroes were openly willing to use a Legion ship to get to Argus.

Lyra and Trixie let the heroes talk about what to do about this development, since there wasn't much for them to say the moment the Fel Hammer had been crossed off the list, to which they simply stared up at Argus... where Lyra recalled the fact that the Army of the Light was supposed to up there, fighting the Legion, and that Sargeras would soon come to claim his prize if they didn't act quickly.

"Velen, surely you have something to add to the conversation?" Khadgar asked, causing the heroes to stop talking, as they knew that the Prophet of the Draenei, who had fled from Argus when his most trusted friends joined with Sargeras and became the Eredar that they all knew, had something to say as he stared up at his homeworld.

"I always knew I would see Argus again. Our homecoming appeared time and again in my visions." Velen stated, though at the same time he definitely sounded sad, revealing that he had hoped to see Argus in a different way when it came time for him and his people to see their homeworld again, "But I never imagined this. There can be no doubt that the fates of my world and yours are intertwined. Can Argus be saved, or must it be sacrificed to stop Sargeras? My visions are clouded, uncertain. It seems we must forge our own destiny... which is why I'm glad that I have the solution to the problem you have been talking about."

"Really?" Trixie inquired, because if Velen was referring to the Exodar she was going to say that something was wrong with him, since she heard that the Draenei capital, which had been the ship they used to reach Azeroth in the first place, had been crippled years ago, "What's the solution?"

"A new dimensional ship, the Vindicaar," Velen replied, causing the few Draenei that were present to listen carefully, as they knew a little more about what the Prophet was talking about than the other heroes, "Since the attack on the Exodar, where Rakeesh and Oros were slain, I had Grand Artificer Romuul begin preparations on a new vessel, one that would allow us to travel back to Argus and wage war on the Legion. Fortunately it was completed before the attack on the Tomb of Sargeras, meaning that we have a way to travel through the space between worlds and met up with the Army of the Light, so that we can begin our final war with the Legion."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you completed a new ship within a month's time?" Lyra asked, as that was what it appeared that Velen was saying, though in reality she had no idea if she was right or if she was wrong, since she wasn't experienced in this sort of thing.

"We've had many years to gather the necessary components to build a new ship," Velen explained, as he and the rest of the Draenei had been busy gathering the various pieces needed to repair the Exodar, though when it was determined that restoring it was impossible he switched them to building a new ship in secret, waiting for a day like this to reveal itself so he could take the fight to Argus, "Khadgar, Illidan, heroes, I suggest that you all prepare yourselves accordingly and bring some troops with you, because tomorrow morning we're going to launch the Vindicaar and take the fight to Argus... and finally bring an end to the Legion."

With that said Velen pulled out a crystal and focused on it for a moment, to which he and the other Draenei vanished from where they were standing, to which Khadgar sighed and opened his magic once more, only this time Trixie stood beside him and aided him in teleporting the rest of the heroes back to Dalaran. When they arrived Lyra noticed that the people of the city were looking up at the sky with a look of fear in their eyes, meaning that the appearance of Argus in the sky was terrifying to them, since many would consider it the end times. She couldn't blame them for being terrified, because if she had been on Equus, without the power she possessed, and saw a planet like Argus suddenly appear in the sky, she would have been terrified as well... now, however, she felt the desire to save these people reawaken as Illidan headed towards the Fel Hammer's portal, intending to bring the strongest demon hunters with him. Khadgar, Trixie, and the others spread out and returned to their various Order Halls, as they needed time to gather their allies and resources before they left for Azuremyst Isle, where the Exodar was resting.

In the end Lyra followed after Lord Illidan and traveled back to the Fel Hammer, where she happily watched the Illidari prepare themselves for the invasion of Argus, as some of them would be coming along for a ride in the Vindicaar while the others remained here, where they intended to use the warp systems in this ship to attack the Legion as well. At the same time she noticed a grin appear on Illidan's face, meaning that the plan he had constructed all those years ago, back when he determined that the Illidari were necessary for the Legion's downfall, was a reality and he was happy to finally put it into action at last. While that happened she moved down to where the forge was located and simply used the souls she had gathered since the last time she was here to empower her weapon some more, though since that didn't take very long she headed up to where Light's Heart was resting and stood beside it... knowing that, when they came into contact with the Army of the Light, she and the others would return Xe'ra's core to their allies.

She was sure that Xe'ra would be happy to reunite with her companions, though at the same time she was sure that there was something about the Naaru that she didn't trust, especially when she recalled that Xe'ra had been looking for Illidan the entire time... and called him the child of Light and Shadow. She wondered, for a moment anyway, if the Naaru had the power to strip someone of a dark taint, like the fel energy, and if that was the case than this prophecy that Xe'ra spoke of might actually weaken Illidan. She said nothing about her thoughts as she watched the other Illidari work, as she was told to rest before they headed to Argus, to which she simply watched and waited, knowing that the truth would be revealed to her soon enough.





Time seemed to fly by for Lyra, as she got tired of waiting around and helped her fellow Illidari move the crates that they needed to take with them, before it was time for them to depart for Azuremyst Isle, though to get there Khadgar and the other members of the Council of Six gathered their magic together and created a stable gateway for the heroes of the Alliance and the Horde to use so they could reach their destination. The portal was designed to stay open till the moment Velen opened the way to the Vindicaar, giving them time to get their much needed items to the Exodar and have them readied for the last leg of their journey. Of course the Draenei of the Exodar weren't too happy to see that the Horde were being allowed into the crashed ship, since they were on opposite sides, but the fact that they were going to Argus made the guards appear neutral as they helped them get everything they needed into the area where Velen was working. At the same time, however, Illidan and Lyra handed over Light's Heart to the Draenei paladins that served the Prophet, knowing that it was safer in their hands... especially since they would be fighting demons the moment they reached Argus.

At the same time, however, Lyra noticed the hostility in some of the faces around her, meaning that the moment the Legion was taken care of, and the two factions went home with their soldiers, they were likely going to be fighting over Azeroth once more... to which she sighed as she followed the troops down to the area that Velen was standing in.

As they walked Lyra noticed some new faces that she hadn't seen before, heroes that had been helping the Order Halls back when they were gathering the Pillars of Creation, along with some faces that she had seen before today and remembered who they all were. Trixie whispered some of the names to her while they walked, where she discovered that the new people she was meeting were Aethas Sunreaver, Lady Liadrin, Arator the Redeemer, Vindicator Boros, Vereesa Windrunner, and a large number of Light's Chosen Draenei that she didn't bother to remember, as they barely said anything as they stood guard around Velen. There was even a Nightborne hunter and his pet walking along with them, indicating that he was there in representation to the hunters, even though their heroes were standing near him as well... but with all these people standing around her, with all their various powers, Lyra felt door about their chances at beating whatever rested on Argus.

"Fellow Draenei... champions of Azeroth..." Velen said, addressing everyone the moment they were all present, along with the necessary items they were bringing along and allowing the gateway to be closed as Khadgar and the other mages joined them, "the time has come for us to invade Argus. We will save our world and put a stop to the Burning Legion, once and for all."

"The Legion grows desperate," Illidan commented, to which he and the other leaders of this invasion force walked up to where Velen was standing, who was currently pouring some power into a bright yellow crystal for some reason, a reason that they were going to know soon enough, "We should strike now, while their attention is focused on Azeroth."

"You are right, Illidan." Velen stated, surprising a number of those that were present with the fact that he was agreeing with the leader of the Illidari, though that only made Lyra smiled a bit, as it was nice to see people putting some faith in the Illidari and their master, "This may be our best chance to gain the upper hand. Champions, everything is ready for our assault. We need only establish the beacon to transport us to the vessel. Once the beacon arrives, place your hand upon its surface to board the Vindicaar, the instrument of our retribution."

The heroes raised their weapons into the air, knowing that Velen needed a little assistance, and offered him a small fragment of their power, to which the air in front of him shimmered for a moment before a strange golden yellow object appeared in front of him... which had been triangular shaped, before the sides moved until they were touching the floor and revealed a teleport pad of some kind, one that everyone knew the purpose for.

"The way is open!" Velen declared, to which he stopped channeling his power into the crystal, which had disappeared the moment the beacon appeared, and turned towards the people around him, who happened to be focused on both him and the beacon that he had summoned, "Come, children of Argus, allies, champions. The Vindicaar awaits!"

Lyra and Trixie approached the beacon that was resting in front of them and held their hands out towards it, where the energy inside the device weaved itself around them and teleported them to the Vindicaar, which was when they appeared in a chamber that appeared to have some weapons at the ready for troops that needed to be deployed. From there the duo walked forward and took in the interior of the Vindicaar, as it appeared to be a large circular shaped interior with a level directly below them, one that Lyra could see the command terminal from. Further below them had to be the area where all the smiths were waiting, so they could repair damaged armor when it was necessary, but as the duo took all this in they noticed that the Vindicaar was resting near the entrance of the Exodar... making them wonder how they missed it, since they could have seen it from the side entrance they used to reach Velen.

As they stood there, however, the rest of their army teleported aboard the Vindicaar, where the Draenei that had built the large ship helped them store away the gear and other essentials that all the Orders had brought with them, since there was no telling what they were going to need while they were on Argus... while at the same time Illidan stood near them while Velen moved to the command terminal so he could make sure everything was running smoothly.

It took them thirty minutes to get everything aboard the Vindicaar, since there was a fair number of heroes and a decent number of crates that needed to be teleported aboard the dimensional ship, though even then Lyra was a little surprised that the earlier hostility she had seen had disappeared. She guessed that the fact that they were heading to Argus, the place where Velen and the Draenei had come from, and also now being the home of the Burning Legion, had finally clicked with many of them, making them realize that they were actually doing this and making them understand that now wasn't the time for being angry with each other. If war broke out between the Alliance and the Horde, while they were trying to fight the Legion, then Azeroth was destined to die in the vision that Xe'ra had shown Lyra earlier, something that she wanted to prevent with all of her might.

Eventually Romuul stepped out from wherever he had been standing, after teleporting aboard the Vindicaar himself, and approached Velen, who had moved to the middle of the area below Lyra and Trixie, while at the same time staring at something that had been built into the ship.

"All forces are on board and accounted for." Romuul said, though at the exact same moment he stopped beside Velen and faced his Prophet, who turned to look at him while he spoke, which was another reason why Velen was so respected among the Alliance, "The Vindicaar will be ready to depart shortly."

"Good." Velen replied, to which he sighed for a moment, as he and the others knew that this was actually happening and there was no changing what he and the others were about to do, "After we reach Argus we will meet with the Army of the Light and begin our invasion."

Before Romuul could say anything in return they heard the sound of someone walking nearby, to which they turned towards the upper area and watched as Illidan walked down the rampart, while at the same time looking at the two of them for a moment. Velen looked at Illidan for a moment, as if he was thinking about something, before he nodded to Romuul for a moment, to which the Grand Artificer returned to finishing up the last of their preparations.

"Does he understand what you're truly asking of him?" Illidan asked, though at the same time he gestured to where the rest of the heroes were gathering, who were mostly unaware of what was going on at the moment since they were finishing up their preparations, "Do any of them?"

"We follow the path of the Light no matter where it leads." Velen replied, though at the same time he turned towards the glass window that was in front of the command terminal and stared up at Argus.

"Your faith has always been your weakness." Illidan stated, while at the same time he reached the bottom of the rampart and turned towards Velen, who appeared to be in the middle of remembering what had caused him and his people to reach this point, "When your closest allies fell to darkness you didn't stop them. When the Legion swept over your world and took your people... you didn't make a stand. All you did was watch convinced you were following the Light's will. The truth is, you failed your people. Their blood is on your hands."

Illidan stopped talking as Velen tapped the bottom of his staff on the floor for a few moments, though he was pleased to see that his words, despite how harsh they might have sounded, were at least making the Prophet see that there might be some things that he never considered.

"You will never understand what I did to save my people." Velen stated, referring to the sacrifices that he and the others made to leave Argus behind, especially since some of them lost loved ones in the process of fleeing the planet.

"The Light is holding you back." Illidan replied, though at the same time he smirked, because he knew that Velen's statement was about the sacrifices he made for his people, something that he was all too familiar with, "It's time to forge your own path."

It was at that point that Romuul approached Velen again, only this time it appeared that, by the look on his face, that good news was coming and the two decided to be silent, to which Velen nodded towards Romuul, being an unspoken command to give him the report.

"Prophet, we are ready." Romuul said, though the moment Lyra and Trixie heard his words they could see that there were others getting ready for the flight to Argus, to which they walked down to the floor below them so they could get a better view, despite the fact that Khadgar and Illidan had the duo join them by the command terminal.

"Proceed." Velen commanded, to which he joined the other commanders by the command terminal, while at the same time Romuul nodded and carried out the order that had been given to him.

That was followed by the engines coming to life before the Vindicaar started to move away from the Exodar and moved into the air until it was lined up with were their destination was resting, to which another part of the ship activated and they were launched through space as they warped to Argus. A few moments later, when the Vindicaar came to a stop at it's destination, Velen peered into the distance, clearly looking for something that the others were curious about, though at the same time Lyra knew who the Prophet was looking for.

"Where is your Army of the Light?" Illidan asked, because they all knew that the powerful fighting force had to be around here somewhere, since Xe'ra had told Lyra that they were currently battling the Legion.

That was before a large flash of light, almost looking like a sun from where the group was standing, appeared in the distance, though when the light faded Velen smiled as he gazed upon the golden colored dimensional ship that looked like the Exodar, or at least before it had crashed into Azeroth anyway.

"The Xenedar..." Velen started to say, though at the same time he seemed to sense something as the ship moved towards them, which only made him confused as he stared out at the scene before him, "Something is wrong."

That was swiftly followed by Legion cannons, which they hadn't seen when they warped into the area that they were in, firing upon the Xenedar, causing the golden ship to take some critical damage in the process before it crashed onto the mainland... much to the shock of everyone that had witnessed the event unfold.

"The Legion will fire again soon!" Romuul said, knowing that it was only a matter of time until their enemies noticed that they were there and turned whatever they had fired towards them, to which he turned towards his commander, "What are your orders, Prophet?"

For a moment Velen seemed to think about that as he turned his gaze towards Illidan, who nodded his head in return, causing Velen to turn back to the scene before them as he looked down at the damaged ship and knew what they needed to do next.

"We make our stand!" Velen stated, to which he stepped forward and tapped his staff against the ground once more, only this time his action was echoed by the heroes that had joined him and the troops that they had brought with them, indicating that they all agreed with him, "The last battle for Argus... has begun."