World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind

by Blackdrag-rose

Mardum: Inferno Peak

With the gateways open, and all of their forces moving towards the camp that was no doubt waiting near the lair of the Brood Queen, Lyra urged her Felsaber down the pathway that was in front of her. The Shivarra and the other allies of the Illidari were already moving as well, though she could tell that some of them had stayed behind to take care of any additional eredar that might have been missed. Lyra was thankful that the Illidari and their allies were so thorough in their war against the demons of Mardum, as they had killed the majority of the demons that had been standing in the area that Beliash had been commanding. Lyra also noticed that there were a few demon hunters that were coming towards the pass between Beliash's section of Mardum and the area that his queen commanded... where she noticed that the Legion ship, which was hanging almost overhead at the moment, was firing at the path she needed to take.

She understood that the soldiers aboard the ship didn't want them to reach the lair of the Brood Queen, but that didn't stop Lyra from sighing and urging her Felsaber through the rocky path, while at the same time using her empowered sight to help her mount dodge the charges that the ship was firing at them. Thankfully she only had to ride forward for a few minutes, as it didn't take her long to get out of range of the ship, which she found hard to believe but didn't argue with, before she spotted the camp that her friends had set up. The demon hunters were basically in the middle of the camp, while the naga were standing guard near the entrance, the Shivarra were standing at attention near her friends, and the Broken stood on the other side of the camp, where their shamans healed the wounded.

As Lyra brought her Felsaber to a stop near where Kayn was standing, with the other high ranking demon hunters, she noticed that there was a second Legion ship floating in the middle of Inferno Peak... though the front of it was facing towards the atmosphere, but she knew that it was out of reach at the moment.

"With Doom Commander Beliash dead, and the rest of our forces summoned to Mardum, we can focus on taking the fight to Brood Queen Tyranna." Kayn said, though he only started talking the moment Lyra climbed off her Felsaber and told him the news of what she had done, "All that is left is to deliver your orders to our Illidari captains. As you can see the mightiest of the Legion's forces have arrayed themselves within the volcano, but they will not remain on the defensive for long. We must strike first and we must strike hard. Once we destroy them, we can fly up to the command ship, defeat Brood Queen Tyranna, and take the Keystone for our own. Lord Illidan will be pleased once we bring him news of our success and present the Keystone to him."

Lyra nodded for a moment, but at the same time she was shocked that she was the one that was supposed to give the orders to the captains she had met after activating the three gateways. She had to wonder why she was the one that was supposed to give the orders and not someone like Kayn or Kor'vas, as they had much more experience than she did. Sure, Lord Illidan had asked her opinion on several of the missions he was planning on sending some of their forces on, which she guessed might be considered training by the other demon hunters, but that still didn't make her a commander. She waited for the briefest of moments, to see if Kayn was messing with her or something, but when he didn't say anything to tell her differently she let out a sigh.

Lyra turned towards the areas in Inferno Peak and took in everything that she could see at the moment, mentally remembering everything that she knew about the three forces she had summoned to Mardum and the layout of the various enemies she could see. She spotted what appeared to be a fortress full of spider demons, a machine that was called a Soul Engine, and a forge like area that reminded her of the one in Shadowmoon Valley... though once she finished looking at those areas she came up with a basic plan that could potentially allow them to destroy a good portion of Tyranna's forces and win them the Keystone. With the ideas rolling around in her mind, and the various abilities of their three groups of allies, Lyra climbed back onto her Felsaber and made her way to the naga, or more importantly their leader, Lady S'theno.

"I see you, Lyra Heartstrings." Lady S'theno said, bowing her head towards Lyra for a few seconds, though that unnerved Lyra for a moment, as she wasn't used to such a thing happening to her, "So, what's our plan of attack?"

"My Lady S'theno," Lyra politely replied, knowing that some of the Illidari leaders liked politeness and some didn't care for it, though she assumed that the naga liked it, "I would recommend that you and your forces head north and disrupt the ritual that the demons are performing on their Soul Engine."

"A fine task for the Coilskar to take care of," Lady S'theno stated, to which she looked back and noticed that several of the naga behind her, no doubt her advisors, were nodding, before she looked back at Lyra, "I am in agreement."

Lyra smiled and headed towards the Shivarra, noticing how the Matron Mother, who happened to be called Malevolence, was staring at the demons that were on the other side of the peak, as if she was gauging who needed to be killed and whatnot.

"Ah, the young commander graces us with her presence," Matron Mother Malevolence said, turning to face Lyra and her Felsaber, though at the same time Lyra knew that she was more interested in the demons she had been staring at, "How might I be of service to you today?"

"Matron Mother," Lyra replied, taking a brief moment to gather her thoughts on the other areas of the peak before responding, "I want you to take your Shivan across the gap to the Forge of Corruption and attack the demons in that area."

"We shall make them suffer!" Malevolence stated, though her tone told Lyra that she was eager to finally cut down additional demons and help out the cause in her own way, but before Lyra could depart she noticed that the demon was looking at her, "I would urge you to move fast, as the Black Temple is still under attack."

Lyra hated being reminded of that fact, because she had no idea how powerful the attacking band of adventurers was or how many of them had managed to get into the temple itself, which meant she had no idea if the guardians could stand against the force that was coming their way. As the Shivarra started to move out Lyra turned to the Broken that were standing nearby, to which she let out a sigh and approached Gaardoun, who saluted her as she stopped in front of him.

"Lyra Heartstrings," Gaardoun commented, once against causing Lyra to be a little shocked by how respectful the captains were to her, when they were technically her seniors, "We await your orders, ma'am."

"Gaardoun, you and your forces should assault the demons in the nearby fortress," Lyra said, beckoning to the spider infested fortress that was sitting nearby, "you should be able to stop the mass of their army from attacking us while we take out their leadership in the other areas of the peak."

"It will be as you say," Gaardoun replied, to which he turned towards the Broken soldiers that were standing behind him, "Ashtongue, with me!"

Lyra let out a sigh as she watched the three forces move out of the foothold she and the other demon hunters had created, as she was still recovering from being hailed as a commander by almost everyone around her, before she turned her mount around and headed back to Kayn. Hopefully this was a one time thing and that she wouldn't have to order people around again, because she didn't think that she had the talent to be a commander, not like Lord Illidan anyway. When she returned to Kayn and the others she could see that her teachers were pleased with her progress, though she had the feeling that something else was coming at her.

Before Lyra could leave, so she could begin her assault on the demons of Mardum, Kayn looked at her like he had something else he wanted to tell her, so she remained where her Felsaber was resting and waited for him to tell her exactly what was on his mind.

"Jace swears that he felt a demonic presence in a nearby cave and took some of the Illidari with him," Kayn told her, to which he let out his own sigh for a few seconds, "I'm sure that they'll find nothing in the cave, but would you go to him and give him some guidance... and, more importantly, your enhanced spectral sight?"

"Sure. I'll go see if Jace is right or not." Lyra replied, somewhat surprised that this was what Kayn wanted to tell her, but seeing how simple the task was she guessed that it was okay to take a few minutes to help a fellow demon hunter out, to which she turned her Felsaber in the direction of the cave and headed to Jace's location.

Lyra made her way up the path to the right of the camp's entrance she had been directed to and immediately noticed that there were four other demon hunters that were hanging out with Jace, though they were all staring at the ruined rock wall in front of them. She also spotted a few Broken shamans, two of the Shivarra standing near Jace, and at least three naga pointing their weapons at the rocks, leaving Lyra to wonder if they knew the demons were in a hidden cave and were trying to figure out how to enter their hiding spot. Or maybe they were being paranoid, as this was one of the demon worlds they were planning on invading and there was a lot of fel energy in the air, but she decided to approach Jace and see what he had to tell her.

"Lyra, its good to be in your presence again," Jace said, though at the same time he returned his focus to the rock wall in front of them, while Lyra climbed off her Felsaber, "I know that there is something powerful inside this cave, but because of the immense fel energy that permeates Mardum I cannot be certain. My vision, as some would say, is clouded by the fel energy. If there is anything inside this cave we cannot afford to ignore it, especially after what Beliash was planning on doing under Tyranna's orders."

"So what would you like me to do?" Lyra asked, because while she knew that Kayn wanted her to use her Spectral Sight to help Jace out, and she suspected that it would help them out, she wanted to be sure of the instructions before she did anything different.

"Your mastery of the Spectral Sight is second to none, save Lord Illidan." Jace replied, causing Lyra to rub the back of her head with her right hand, "Your empowered Spectral Sight should be able to cut through whatever is sitting in front of us... where we can determine if there are demons here or if the fel energy is making it hard to see the truth."

Lyra nodded and faced the cave wall, though this was the first time she had heard of her Spectral Sight being second to none, as she was sure that six months was barely any time to master the complicated technique that came with absorbing the fel energy into one's body. It was completely strange that all of the Illidari, be they the demon hunters or the other races, felt that she was just as skilled as Lord Illidan and acted like she was the second in command. She couldn't understand what was going on with everyone, as she had no skills in leading a force that was as complicated and as diverse as the Illidari.

Lyra let out a sigh and closed her eyes, allowing the fel energy to gather around her for a few seconds, before she activated her empowered Spectral Sight... where she discovered a large number of demons hiding behind the rock wall that the others were staring at, which confirmed Jace's suspicions.

"Jace, there's definitely demons inside that cave," Lyra said, though at the same time she opened her eyes and pulled out her warglaives, because she already knew what was coming.

"I knew I sensed something foul up here," Jace replied, to which he smiled as he pointed at the cave, which told the others that they were preparing to charge into the hornets nest, "Now that you have confirmed my suspicions I can sense the demons as well... including a powerful Fel Lord whose power would serve you well. We will attack the Fel Lord's forces and occupy them, allowing you to take out their leader."

Before Lyra had a chance to nod her understanding Jace beckoned to the demon hunters standing around them and they opened fire on the rock wall, loosing their own Eye Beams for a few seconds and tearing apart the rocks that were blocking their way. Once the demon hunters were done with their attack the way was clear, to which Jace called for them to rush the unsuspecting demons, allowing Lyra to see them all charge into the cave and start tearing into the enemies that were waiting for them. A few seconds later Lyra followed her comrades into the cave, where she followed the trail of dead demons until she spotted an area that had a large portal at the back of it... though in front of it stood a large demon that resembled a Felguard, only Lyra could tell that it was more powerful and more deadly than the counterpart she had encountered in the past.

"Greetings worm, I am Fel Lord Caza," the large demon declared, swinging its massive axe around for a few seconds, while at the same time Lyra held her warglaives at the ready, "I will enjoy breaking you and your forces!"

Lyra grunted as Caza brought down his axe on where she was standing, though she used her common sense to dodge the attack and deliver a strike to the demon's left leg. Caza growled and swung at her multiple times, to which Lyra forced herself to increase her speed to avoid the attacks, where she could pick and choose when to strike back. After a few seconds Caza jumped to one side of the chamber and raised his axe, indicating that he was preparing to throw it at her, though instead of allowing it to hit her Lyra dashed forward and used her Eye Beam to damage the Fel Lord's chest area. That was followed by her opponent tossing his axe where she had been standing after he had moved away from her, but now that she wasn't standing there he decided that he might want it back, as he raised his hand and summoned his weapon back to him.

Lyra took the opportunity that presented itself and delivered another powerful strike to her opponent, to which Caza let out a scream of agony as he fell to the ground... though that was followed by his essence flowing into Lyra's body, where she determined that the Fel Lord's power had been the ability to throw his weapon, which she might be able to apply to her own weapons at some point in the future.

With the Fel Lord taken care of, and his forces routed, Lyra walked outside the cave and mounted her Felsaber, though while Jace and the other Illidari charged into the beginnings of the war Lyra decided it was time to return to Kayn and report her success to him. When she returned to where Kayn and the others were standing she found that they were all pleased to hear that she and Jace had dealt with the demonic threat that could have hit them from behind, while at the same time sounding happy to hear that she was even stronger than ever... which was thanks to the essence that she had taken from Caza.

"Well then, its time that we get this war started in earnest." Kayn commented, drawing the attention of them all to him for a few seconds, which Lyra was thankful for at the moment, "We can focus all of our energy into destroying the Legion's forces and taking Brood Queen Tyranna down... and then we can take the Keystone for ourselves and return to Lord Illidan, where we can repel the invaders together."

Truth be told Lyra was getting a little tired, as there had been no break since they had arrived in Mardum, but she knew that time was of the essence, especially since they were running out of time. She wanted to get back to the Black Temple and stop whoever the other inhabitant from her home world from making a grave error... which meant that the Brood Queen needed to die. Lyra let out a sigh as she petted her Felsaber's head, because she was hoping that they could cut through the demons fast enough to return to Lord Illidan's side and save the day, but she decided to focus on the task at hand, which meant that she needed Kayn and the others to tell her what she needed to do first.

She had the feeling that this was going to be a quick war, but even so she knew that there were going to be some tough fights ahead of her and the others... but this time she was ready for anything that the Legion could throw at her and her fellow demon hunters.

Comments

[Ze1a7in]

It seems like Lyra is being groomed for a certain position among the Illidari. Her own mount, already giving orders to allies, being allowed to kill the boss demons and open portals to summon allies.

[Anachronon]

Lyra nodded and faced the cave wall, though this was the first time she had heard of her Spectral Sight being second to none, as she was sure that six months was barely any time to master the complicated technique that came with absorbing the fel energy into one's body. It was completely strange that all of the Illidari, be they the demon hunters or the other races, felt that she was just as skilled as Lord Illidan and acted like she was the second in command. She couldn't understand what was going on with everyone, as she had no skills in leading a force that was as complicated and as diverse as the Illidari.

This is WoW parody gold at its finest. Because it's so true!

No matter what race or class you play in WoW (like in every other MMORPG) your character is just "in the right age" or "born" (as a forsaken for example) to tackle the world. As a complete scrub at the place where everything started for you. And the characters masters challenges, solves mysteries, survives dungeons, temples, raids and battles of epic proportions, finds secrets, defys the Old Gods -or in Lyra's case- leads armys with nearly no experience at all to your name. And many more things.

People and ancient beings who train, fight and lead since years, decades, centuries or even eons are suddenly bowing their heads to some greenhorn or value the persons opinion like it was gold. And Lyra displays the exact reaction every sane person, without a god complex or other mental conditions, should have. The: "What the fuck is going on here!?" reaction. Like Lyra came originally from a peaceful land and all demons, Illidari, naga, and whoever else listen to her every word like it was gospel.

But as funny as that is, please don't use this act during Lyra's time on Azeroth and beyond ALL the time. Reading that suddenly all people in Azeroth are retarded and their intelligence succumbed to "NPC Level" would just make it extremely awkward at one point.

[the other sans]

as they made killed the majority of the demons that had been standing in the area that Beliash had been commanding

1. Extra Made.