Aria's Story

by Ariathina

Chapter 3: The Minotaur and the Time Lord

Chapter 3: The Minotaur and the Time Lord

Helvansing stood beneath a large statue in Orgrimmar's Valley of Honor. It had been 8 days. 8 long days since their victorious return from Wyrmrest Temple, but for Helvansing, there was no true victory. This statue exemplified that.

“No. I know you too well. It takes a lot more than one blast to put you down.”

He had been telling himself this for days, hoping that cocksure smiling elf would come waltzing up once more. She never came.

“Heh, ya know, you haven't missed much. With the last major threat to Azeroth dealt with they've had little use for us, aside from mercenary work. Vyce wandered off one day, said he needed to find himself, what life really meant aside from the constant strife. Raven and Exitus decided to join the Horde War-machine. They'll be campaigning for the Horde proper now I guess. Falvore returned to Dalaran. He decided to go continue his studies. I guess I'm all that's left of our little troop here. Aside from Blitzen, but he's busy training the new recruits at the Academy.” Helvansing let out a loud sigh. “Look at me. Once the most powerful warrior in all of Azeroth, now standing around talking to a hunk of shaped rock!” He let out a masking laugh. Sadness quickly returned to his face. “Its not the same without you: the jokes, the laughs, the discussions, they just aren't the same without you!” He slammed his fist down in both anger and grief. A small pendant fell from his belt pouch, a letter remained in the now open pocket. “Why....why....hmm? Wait, this pendant...” Helvansing immediately pulled the letter out and opened it. It read:

“My most Trusted Friend,

I write this in the hopes it is never read. However, if your are reading this then my game is over. That pendant I gave you is more than just a symbol of our friendship. You can use it to open my lockbox in my chambers aboard the Skybreaker. Show this letter to the crew with your pendant and Captain Johnson will allow you entry. He still owes me a favor.

Your Friend always,

Aria

P.S. That magnataur with the Kobolds still counts as 1!

“Hehe, she never let that go did she? After all this time too.” Even after she was gone she still made him laugh. “But the Skybreaker? That's an Alliance ship.” He wondered how his friend had gotten a lockbox kept under guard on an Alliance ship, but she did have a knack for finding strange and wild adventures.

“Well, off to Icecrown it looks like. That's the last place I remember it being stationed at least.”

He pulled a small white stone from his pocket. It was called a “Hearthstone”, they were magically enchanted stones carried by heroes and adventurers to return to locations they were attuned to. Helvansing activated his and in an instant found himself standing at the Horde Inn of Dalaran's Sunreaver District. He departed the inn and headed for Krazus' Landing. From here he summoned his both massive and intimidating proto-drake, Ironscale. He was different from the other types of proto-drakes. This one was tamed as the sole survivor from the condemned clutch of Razorscale of Ulduar. Like his mother before him, he was void of the “Curse of Flesh”. His entire body, scales and all, were made of a strong metal alloy. And he was massive. A mount befitting of Helvansing as the Tauren towered above even the tallest of Dreanei or Worgen. He climbed onto the saddle of his mount and took off on his flight north, to the forsaken Icecrown Glacier.

“My lord, we have pin-pointed the location of the anomaly”

“Where?”

“Icecrown Glacier, Sir. Aboard the Skybreaker to be exact. Its a faint readout, but its there.”

“Its her. I'm certain of it.”

The land below look no different from the Icecrown Campaign almost 2 years ago. The effects of the undead were still felt, small units of scourge still lurked around, the path cut back to Icecrown Citadel still littered with the debris of battle: Corpses, shrapnel, spent mortar shells rounds, destroyed siege weaponry. It was a wasteland.

“But we still keep up the vigil...” Captain Marcus Johnson said quietly to himself. He furled the large mustache on his weathered, reserved face. He was a powerful 6'2” and was very well respected as a decorated war hero, even to the Alliance's more exotic allies. No easy feat for your average human.

“Sir, our lookouts have spotted what looks like a Tauren riding Razorscale!” Corporal Thompson called to the Captain.

“A Tauren on Razorscale? Preposterous! Give me that Spyglass!” He grabbed the spyglass from the Corporal. “Wait. I know that Tauren.” He pulled a photo from his pocket. It showed a young blood elf girl standing next to the largest Tauren the Captain had ever seen. He flipped it over to read a note on the back:

“If you ever see this Tauren, grant him aid in the fashion we agreed. Once he departs, your debt is clear.

-A”

“Motion him to board. And do not antagonize him. Relay that to the rest of the crew.” Johnson barked.

The Tauren landed on the ship and his dragon took off and disappeared into the mountains. The Captain greeted the mighty Tauren as if they were old friends.

“Well now I never thought I'd meed you in person. Though I doubt my meeting you is for a pleasant reason.” his face grimaced. “Why don't we return to my quarters and you can fill me in.”

The two returned to the Captain's Quarters. Helvansing had to squeeze through the door due to his height. Over a hot cup of Northshire cocoa, Helvansing told the Captain the fate of his friend.

“So something finally got the best of her. Never thought I would happen, at least, not while I was still alive.” He let out a hearty laugh to soften the mood. “But you're here for the lockbox she left me. Well, here it is.” He pulled a small lockbox from beneath his desk.

The keyslot of the small green chest had an intricate mechanism that was shaped exactly like the pendant.

“Well aren't you going to op...” The Captain stopped mid sentence. Everything stopped. Everything Except Helvansing and the chest had lost its color and turned a faded gray.

“Do not be alarmed, but what you hold is of extreme importance.” A mysterious but familiar voice called out.

Suddenly, who else but Nozdormu the Time Lord himself appeared in the room with a burst of yellow light.

“I did not expect you to be the one to find this, however, it is not entirely unexpected. Whatever is in that chest is of Time Magic origin, and it is powerful.” The Time Lord announced. “You hold the key to whatever secrets your friend hid from even Time itself.”

Helvansing took a long look at the chest. Whatever was in it, Aria went to a lot of trouble to hide it. He decided that by what the letter said, he needed to know what was in it. He set the pendant in the slot and pressed it in. With a faint glow the chest popped open. Helvansing and the Time Lord leaned in to find a small hourglass and a note. The pair read the included note:

“My friend,

We have known each other a long time. We grew up together, We fought together, We were always there for each other. But now, it seems that isn't possible anymore. I know I'm not usually the sappy type but I'm sure you have noticed the small hourglass. Its called a Time- Flux. It uses the sand of the Hourglass of Time to open a one-way portal through Time and Space. This one is special. It can be manipulated to send you across any timestream that has ever existed. The Time Lord reading this with you should be able to help. Enjoy your Vacation!

You're Eternally Loyal Friend,

Aria.”

A tear ran down Helvansing's face. “That crafty girl, no matter what, could find a persons weak point.”

The Time Lord pondered a moment before realizing. “WAIT! Hero, we can find your friend. I do no believe she is dead!”

“Are you mad? You were there, you saw what happened to her.” Helvansing retorted.

“Yes, but she activated some sort of Time Magic to do what she did. After the battle, I noticed a very faint flux in the Timeways, but I thought little of it until now.” The Time Lord said, pondering the small hourglass. The faint hope he had held for this small anomaly being what he thought solidified what he felt after the Deathwing fight.

“So there's a chance she?”

“Indeed.”

Helvansing felt hope flood every vein. His friend may very well be alive somewhere.

“Now allow me to attune the hourglass to the timeway she was flung across.” The hourglass floated up and after a few moments began to glow a bright pink.

“It is done. The trip is one way, but it will take you to wherever she was flung. You mostly likely will not be able to return.” Nozdormu warned.

“I'm alright with that.” Helvansing replied. With the last threat to Azeroth being war between the Horde and Alliance, Helvansing didn't see a reason to regret leaving it all behind him.

He reached out and touched the hourglass. A bright light enveloped the room. When it receded, the hourglass faded to dust which flowed back into Nozdormu's shoulder plate.

“Farewell and good luck hero.” Nozdormu said before teleporting away.