The Blasted Lands. A fitting name for a land as desolate as this. Nothing grew here. Nothing could grow. The reason lay at the center of this twisted landscape – an enormous portal, glowing black and fel-green, held together by a massive stone structure and sitting in a gigantic crater. Outside of this crater, there was nothing but red clay and barren, rocky mesas for miles. Only the hardiest creatures could survive in this tainted wasteland – Scorpids and hyenas, ravenously hunting each other - and anything else that moved - for their next meal; Basilisks, whose deadly gaze could turn one to stone in seconds; Ogres, who organized raids on the few settlements in the area; Demons, who had once entered this land through the massive portal and sought to bring about the ruination of the world.
And of course, those who guarded the portal: The Alliance and The Horde.
“Would it kill them to share some of that shade?” Kyle Slater grumbled, glaring at the men standing under one of the only tents in the area. He wiped the sweat from his brow and rustled his short jet-black hair. A snort from his left made him turn his head to his companion.
While Kyle was not exactly short, coming in at just under 5’11, the mountain of a man next to him made him look like a Dwarf. Matthias stood at an imposing 6’5, and was covered from head to foot in shining armor, with a shield strapped to his back and a sword to his belt. “You want to swap places?” Matthias asked, a hint of playful threat in his voice. “This armor isn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to wear in the desert.”
Kyle sighed, shook his head, and returned his attention to the Portal they were supposed to be guarding. Matthias had a point – the armor of a Warrior was certainly far hotter than Kyle’s simple leather attire. Still, it was WAY too hot out in the sun. Kyle unstrapped his weapon from his back. It was a simple wooden staff, save for the sharp metal point fastened onto one end. Twirling it in his left hand, he muttered a couple of quick words under his breath before thrusting his right hand forward. A green mist shot from his hand and coalesced into a pair of orbs hovering at eye level. Matthias and Kyle both reached forward for one, and the orbs disappeared on contact with their hands.
Kyle shivered as the cool mist travelled through his body, refreshing his mind and easing the blistering heat for a moment. A glance at his brother let Kyle know that Matthias was experiencing a similar effect. A moment later, Matthias chuckled. “Tell me again why you didn’t train as a Monk before? Could’ve used those… Healing Spheres? Could’ve used those back in Tanaris.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow in response. “Because the Pandaren didn’t show up to teach us the ways of the Tushui until 5 years after Tanaris,” he said pointedly, turning his attention back to the portal they were guarding.
Matthias sighed again and shook his head. “Ease up, bro,” he said, giving Kyle a quick punch on the shoulder. “The heat’s getting to you. Water should be coming around any moment.” As if on cue, a female with long, pointy ears walked out of a nearby tent with a silver platter covered in glasses filled with a glowing blue liquid. Her long robes, along with the staff strapped to her back, identified her as a Mage. She approached the two men, who nodded and murmured their appreciation as they each took three glasses. The Night Elf walked away, and the two men sat down. Matthias took off his helmet, revealing short-cropped dark brown hair, and brought the first bottle to his lips.
Matthias gulped the first glass down in a matter of seconds, the sweat visibly drying out of his hair as the soothing liquid travelled down his throat. The liquid was not ordinary water – it was mana water, summoned by the Mage who had delivered it. This water was infused with mana – the energy from which nearly all magic-users drew their energy – and provided far more refreshment than regular water. Unlike his brother, Kyle was more conservative, only drinking a few gulps. It would be another three hours before more water came around, and Kyle was due to be replaced at any minute. His replacement would need the water in the hours to come.
Kyle looked up from his drink and glanced around the crater. Opposite them, on the other side of the steps leading to the portal, a large green-skinned Orc Warrior and a blue-skinned Troll Shaman were likewise being served water from what appeared to be a walking corpse – a Forsaken Mage. The Forsaken turned his head towards the two men and shot them a glare that would have made one of the local basilisks flee. He muttered something in a strange tongue to the two guards before returning to the tent he had come from. Kyle returned the glare to all three as the Orc and Troll began chuckling.
“Don’t see why King Varian tolerates those things.” Kyle growled. Matthias glanced at his brother, raising an eyebrow. “We had them.” Kyle continued. “We had the bastards in our hands. In the heart of Orgrimmar, all the leaders of the Horde surrounded by our armies. And what did we do?” Kyle spat onto the ground. “We let them go. They blew Theramore out of existence, burned the Vale to the ground and nearly unleashed the powers of a damned Old God, and we let them go.” Without noticing, Kyle had risen to his feet, his hands curled into fists. The Orc and the Troll were clearly less than amused by this, as they drew their weapons in preparation for an attack,
“Enough!” A stern voice barked loud enough to make Kyle jump. One of the men under the tent, decorated as a Colonel, had seen Kyle rise and walked over to the Monk. “There is a time and place to draw your weapons on the Horde,” He said disapprovingly. “But not here or now.” His voice dropped a few decibels as he shot a venomous glare at the Orc and Troll, who by now were snickering at Kyle’s situation. “Look, I don’t like the Horde anymore than you do, sergeant. If anything, I hate them even more. But the King’s orders are to continue to operate in the same way we’ve operated here since the Portal reopened. If the Burning Legion decides to try to push through again, the Alliance alone cannot hold this position. We simply don't have the numbers. Much as it pains me to say it, we need the brute strength of the Horde here to match the strength of the Legion.”
At that moment, a Dwarf in chainmail armor sporting a long rifle walked up to the trio. Seconds later, a snow-white bear walked up behind the Dwarf and sat down. “Private Firebeard reportin’ fer duty, sir.” The Dwarf announced, saluting the Colonel.
The Colonel nodded and motioned for the hunter to relax. “Sergeant Slater, go find some shade and get some rest. You’re dismissed for the rest of the day.” Kyle opened his mouth to object, but the stern look in the Colonel’s eye left no room for argument. With a sigh, Kyle nodded farewell to his brother and turned to leave.
“PORTAL!” A rough voice suddenly screamed. It had come from the Orc from before. He was pointing up the ramp. Spinning back around, Kyle saw what the Orc was pointing at, and his eyes opened wide in shock. He looked back at Matthias, confused and concerned. The Portal had been rimmed with blue while inactive. It had glowed green while connecting Azeroth and Outland.
It had never turned red before.
Kyle shook his head to clear his apprehension – whatever reason the Portal had for changing colors, it couldn’t mean anything good. Kyle growled and unstrapped his staff, running towards the portal. He grabbed one of the mana water glasses he had left behind and quickly chugged its contents, holding onto the glass. From his belt, he produced a pouch and poured a small amount of a golden-brown liquid into the cup.
As he and the rest of the camp - both Horde and Alliance - gathered at the foot of the stairs, Kyle quickly went over the battle plan in his mind. Demons were likely too much for him to handle head-on by himself, armed as he was with just his fists and a staff. However, his agility made him perfect for disorienting the more cumbersome demons, such as Felguards. All he needed to do was get up close and try to confuse…
The Orcs?!
There was a collective gasp from the entire camp as the Dark Portal produced not an army of demons, but a legion of Orcs, already charging down the ramp. These Orcs did not have the green skin of the Horde’s Orcs, nor did they have the red skin and fiery eyes of Illidan’s Fel Horde. Instead, their skin was a Dark Brown – the same color it had been before the Burning Legion had corrupted the Orcish race so many years before.
“Steady!” A thickly-accented voice called out which Kyle identified as coming from a Troll. “Hold de line!” Kyle grimaced and let out a deep breath, focusing his Chi just as he had done so many times before. As the two armies collided for the first time, Kyle drew back away from the front line. He gulped down the liquid in his glass, nearly gagging on the incredibly bitter beer. Still, he knew how much his Tigereye brew could enhance his skill, and so he forced it down. With another glance at the fighting, which was now breaking into smaller clusters, he hurled the glass at a nearby Orc. The glass shattered against the Orc’s head, causing him to stumble just as Matthias brought his sword down. The blade struck the Orc on his neck, and his head fell off in a shower of blood as the body crumpled to the ground.
An instant later, Kyle leapt into the air, his Chi and the effects of his Tigereye Brew pushing him higher than normally possible. Kyle spotted the Orc who had laughed at him earlier engaged with a foe. Kyle allowed himself to fall, extending one leg as gravity took over. With a sickening crunch, he landed squarely on the enemy Orc’s left shoulder, breaking it. The Orc howled in pain before his foe’s mace caved his face in.
Kyle then found himself standing face-to-face with the Orc from before – the same one who had been guarding the Portal opposite Kyle. His green skin glistened with sweat and was flecked here and there with blood. For a moment Kyle and the Orc looked at each other – hated enemies, forced to cooperate against a common foe. Kyle was unwilling to look away, concerned that the Orc would turn against him. The Orc then smirked slightly and nodded before leaping back into the battle. Kyle let loose a sigh and searched for his new target
It took him maybe two seconds to find it. A shaman was standing away from the majority of the fighting, hurling molten lava and bolts of lightning left and right. Kyle charged right at him. The shaman noticed Kyle and focused his lava at the Monk. Kyle easily dodged the molten rock, avoiding the final one by diving into a roll underneath it. He landed on his feet right in front of the shaman. The shaman began to form a spell on his lips. However, he found himself gagging as Kyle jabbed his throat with his left hand. A strike to the stomach with the blunt end of his staff left Kyle’s opponent hunched over in pain. Kyle finished his opponent with a Rising Sun Kick, flipping backwards as he brought his feet up to the shaman’s jaw. A crack like a gunshot filled the air as the Shaman was lifted from the ground by the force of the blow. He landed hard on the ground, his spinal cord shattered.
Kyle took a moment to survey the battlefield. Slowly but surely, the defenders were pushing the invading Orcs back up the ramp towards the portal. Kyle ducked as an arrow whistled over his head, and looked up just in time to see his attacker explode as a massive fireball slammed into him. Not far away, Matthias was engaged with an Orc wielding a wicked-looking compound bow, reinforced with spikes along the grip. Matthias swung once, and the Orc ducked, having anticipated the strike. What he did not anticipate was the shield that slammed into his face, sending him stumbling backwards. Desperately trying to recover, he raised his bow in a blocking position. It did little good as Matthias brought his blade down once more. The bow shattered under the mighty blow, and the Orc roared in pain as the blade cut through his right eye, dropping him to the ground.
A flash of light drew Kyle's attention up the stairs. As he looked, the Dark Portal seemed to be behaving erratically. For a moment it remained red, and then flashed to green before back to red. Blue, then a second of purple, then back to red. The gears in Kyle's head began to turn furiously. Green obviously meant a connection between Azeroth and Outland. Blue meant inactive. Red meant a connection to… wherever the hell these Orcs were coming from. But what did purple mean?
An angry roar was all the warning Kyle had, and was all that he needed. He dropped into a crouch, feeling the sharp edge of a war-axe whistling just over his head where his neck had been. He spun around as an armored fist slammed into his jaw, sending Kyle flying backwards. He flipped in midair and landed on one knee and one hand. He smirked slightly and spat onto the ground, his saliva laced with blood. As his foe charged right at him, Kyle easily side-stepped the first downward strike before ducking again as the second strike went sailing over his head yet again. Kyle jabbed at the Orc’s stomach with his fist, but was unable to deal any damage through his foe’s chestplate. Kyle was forced to flip backwards to avoid a strike from the Orc’s kneecap. He landed a few feet back, and the Orc charged at him. As the Orc brought his axe down once more, Kyle rammed his staff into the ground and parried the blow with his right hand. He grabbed the Orc’s wrist and pushed hard against the handle of the axe with his left hand. A second later the axe flew out of the Orc’s hand, flying off into the battle.
The Orc looked stunned for a second, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Not wasting this opportunity, Kyle grabbed his staff out of the ground and spun it around before ramming the pointed end into the small gap between the Orc's chestplate and helmet. The Orc tried to scream in pain, but only a wet gurgling could be heard as blood splattered out from under the helmet. Kyle quickly withdrew the staff and the Orc collapsed to the ground, grasping at his throat and thrashing in the throes of death. Kyle quickly spun his staff once more and brought it down, piercing the chestplate right above the Orc’s heart and finishing his foe.
“They’re retreatin’!” A Dwarf called out. Kyle looked up and found that he and the rest of the defenders had pushed the invaders back up the ramp, and that he was now standing beside his brother at the top of the ramp. Indeed, the Brown-skinned Orcs were retreating back through the red portal. “Glory to the Alliance! We are victorious!” Matthias yelled, and his cry was taken up by his companions. Nearby, the Horde was likewise beginning to cheer in their language.
A gunshot pierced the celebration, and Matthias gasped and stumbled backwards grabbing his right shoulder. Kyle looked back at the portal and saw one final brown Orc standing in front of the Portal. The gash over his once-present right eye was still flowing, but he was grinning as he aimed his newly-acquired rifle once more. Before anyone could react, the Orc fired again. The round hit Matthias square in the chest, sending him tumbling down the ramp until he landed at the bottom, unmoving.
Kyle’s vision flashed red with hatred as the Orc slowly backed into the Portal. With a war cry that made even the hardiest Tauren step back in fear, he charged straight at the portal, his weapon clattering to the ground forgotten behind him. He heard a dull roaring that he vaguely recognized one of the Commanders yelling at him to stop, but he refused to comply. He didn’t even falter as the Portal flashed green, then red again.
Another voice pierced through the haze that filled Kyle's mind. "The portal's unstable! Don't go in!" Kyle didn't even react. The words hadn't registered any meaning to him. His only thought was getting through that Portal and destroying that Orc with his bare hands. The portal flashed green again, then back to red, blue, and then purple just as he charged through…
Straight into a tree. Utterly shocked, Kyle stumbled backwards, his eyes closed in pain. A tree? There were no trees on the other side of the Dark Portal. An instant later a purple light flashed from behind him, nearly blinding him even through his eyelids. The force of the explosion flung him forward, throwing him through a bush and face-first into another tree. A flash of pain flowed through him before the dark embrace of unconsciousness consumed him
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“Come on Twilight, we’ve been at this all night,” Spike complained as he carefully descended the stairs in the tree-library, a tower of books perched precariously in his claws. “Even the other Princesses have no idea what that box is. I don’t think books are going to help us out here,” Spike and Twilight had been hard at work trying to discover the origin and contents of the mysterious box that had been presented to Twilight a week before.
Twilight didn’t even glance at her assistant as he deposited the stack of books next to her desk. On the other side of her lay an even larger pile of books. “But they might. Books can contain the answers to all kinds of questions we don’t know the answers to, or didn’t know an answer existed for, or even for questions we don’t know exist yet! I’m not taking any chances. I have to know what’s inside this box and how to open it. The fate of Equestria may depend on it.”
Twilight finished reading the book in front of her and groaned. Another book without as much as a mention of the mysterious box. She used her magic to toss the book in front of her onto the larger pile, and pulled out one of the ones Spike had brought to her.
“Twilight, you’ve barely moved since last night,” Spike said, sounding concerned. “At least stand up and stretch your legs for a bit. Get some food and rest. I don’t think an hour or two is going to make the difference between finding something out and not.”
Twilight finally looked at her friend and saw the concern in his eyes. Sighing, Twilight closed the book again and stood up. She stretched her legs and grunted as her neck popped. Spike had been right – she was getting pretty stiff from sitting in front of that desk for 12 hours. And now that he mentioned it, she was pretty hungry, and more than a bit tired.
“Alright Spike, you win.” She said, smiling reassuringly and rubbing his head for a second. “I’ll make us some lunch and then try to get some sleep. Why don’t you step outside and get some fresh air.” Spike nodded, happy that Twilight was finally agreeing with him. He walked to the door, glancing behind himself to make sure Twilight was actually getting up before opening the door and stepping outside.
Meanwhile, Twilight busied herself with preparing lunch – a pair of daffodil sandwiches. As she put the finishing touches on the sandwiches, something bright flashed in the corner of her eye and drew her attention. She looked up at the window, but quickly looked back. Surely it was just the sunlight reflecting off of something shiny as somepony walked by.
Just as she was putting the plates on the table, the door to the library burst open. Twilight spun around just in time to see a purple blur race across the library and start tugging on her mane. “Twilight!” Spike yelled frantically, his irises a quarter of their normal size.“Outside! Fluttershy! Everfree! Bright light! BOOM!” Spike mimicked an explosion, falling backwards onto the floor. Twilight merely stared at the dragon, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Spike took a second to collect himself before starting to speak again. “I was walking around outside and I saw a bright purple light coming from the Everfree Forest, near Fluttershy’s house. And then it just… BOOM!” Spike mimicked an explosion again and fell backwards once more.
Twilight sighed and shook her head. “You’ve been reading too many comics again, Spike.” She said, sounding half-amused, half-annoyed
Spike stood up, looking insulted. “Manga, Twilight. Manga.” He corrected before shaking his head as if to clear it. “And no I have not! I know what I saw!”
“You know what you think you saw, Spike,” Twilight countered. “Things don’t just glow purple and explode. What you described can only be the result of a spell, and a powerful one. There's nopony in Ponyville besides me who could do something like that, and I've been right here making lunch. Which means that what you described could not have happened.” With an air of finality, Twilight turned and picked up her sandwich once more.
Just as she was about to take a bite, the library door flew open once more and a cyan Pegasus flew in, not bothering to close the door behind her. Sighing in defeat, Twilight put her sandwich down. “Hello Rainbow Dash,” She said, walking over to the door and closing it. “What brings you here? You know that the new Daring Do isn’t going to be out for another four and a half months, right?”
Rainbow Dash nodded, but then quickly shook her head. “I’m not here for the new Daring Do book… though maybe I could borrow the latest one again?” She asked with a sheepish grin.
Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled, nodding. “Of course Rainbow. Just knock next time,” She said, walking over to the shelf to find the book.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash began talking again. “Anyway, I didn’t come here specifically for a book,” She said, trying to find words for what she was trying to say. “I saw something… really strange just a minute ago. I was flying by Fluttershy’s House and I saw a really bright… something.”
Twilight froze in place, the book she was holding with magic dropping to the floor with a loud thud. Twilight slowly turned her head to look at Rainbow Dash. “Go on…” she said quietly. “What… what did it look like?
“Well, it was purple.” Rainbow Dash began, looking confused at Twilight’s reaction. “I… don't really know what it was, but it was big. Probably as tall as this room. And then it just… BOOM!” Rainbow mimicked an explosion and fell over in the air before recovering. Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked down at Spike, who looked back with an ‘I told you so’ expression. “I don’t know what happened next,” Rainbow Dash continued. “I got away from there before anything else could happen. Magic's your specialty, not mine. I’ve never seen anything like it before, but I know powerful magic when I see it.”
Twilight furrowed her brow, trying to decide what to do. On one hoof, the occurrence was likely dangerous, and could possibly happen again. On the other hoof, this was something that she had never heard of before, and curiosity burned within her to find out what exactly had caused this explosion.
"Alright Rainbow, we're going to go check this out." Twilight said. "You head on over to Fluttershy's. I need to grab a couple of things. And don't worry about getting Fluttershy" Twilight added as Rainbow opened her mouth to speak. "I hear she has her hands full as it is, what with all the animals scared by the Plunder Seeds last week." Rainbow saluted and flew out the door once more, leaving it open in her wake again.
Twilight gathered a sheet of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink, placing them in her saddlebags. Spike climbed on top of her back, and the two headed towards the door. Suddenly, Twilight’s stomach growled. “Oops…” She murmured, sounding embarrassed as she used magic to grab the two sandwiches still on the table. “We’ll eat on the run.” She gave one to Spike and took a bite out of her own before running out of the library towards the Everfree Forest