World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind

by Blackdrag-rose

Argus: Invasion

Lyra and Trixie stood there for a few moments, staring at the downed dimensional ship that had been the command ship for the Army of the Light, though at the same time Lyra knew that they must have played into the Legion's hands somehow. Their enemies had been carefully waiting for this chance to reveal itself and took full advantage of the fact that they and their allies wanted to meet together, though they were fortunate that the Xenedar had simply crashed into the area it had crashed into and hadn't been destroyed. The reasoning behind that was because Lyra was sure that Xe'ra's main body was somewhere on the ship, which meant it was going to be an objective at some point in the future, but first they had a more immediate concern that they, and the other heroes, had to take care of before they did anything else.

"Champions," Velen said, to which he turned towards the heroes as they turned towards him, though all of them were focused on the task at hand, despite the fact that they didn't know what to do first, "we will suffer the same fate as the Army of the Light if the Legion fires that infernal weapon upon us. We must descend into the siege camp below and destroy it while we still can! Romuul, send our vanguard to establish a front!"

"Of course Prophet," Romuul stated, to which he turned towards the command terminal and moved a few icons around, where he smiled as something happened inside the Vindicaar, "Activating transport array."

The next thing Lyra, Trixie, and the heroes knew the familiar light, the same that brought them aboard the Vindicaar the first time around, wrapped around them and teleported them down to the surface of Argus, where they appeared near a ruined building. Instead of questioning what happened, as none of them had been told there had been a teleport array installed inside the ship they were in, the heroes drew their weapons and followed the path in front of them, allowing them to head right towards the small cliff that overlooked the siege camp. It also gave all of them a chance to see the mutated landscape that was now Argus' default look, which contained an immense amount of felfire and fel spikes that were scattered everywhere. It reminded Lyra of how Mardum looked, only Argus was even more demonic than the prison planet she and the other Illidari had claimed, though she and the others came to a stop at where their allies were standing... to which she and Trixie wondered how Illidan, Khadgar, and Velen got ahead of them, but decided that, since they needed to concentrate on something else, namely the cannon that the demons used to blast the Xenedar.

Lyra didn't see anything that looked like a Legion cannon, based on what she had seen over the course of her encounters with the Legion, but there was one around here somewhere and it was only a matter of time until she and the others found it and destroyed it.

"Welcome to Argus, homeworld of the Burning Legion." Velen told them, sensing that the heroes had arrived at what was going to be their temporary front, where they could coordinate their attack and tackle the demons that were in from of them, and their ammunition caches as well, "The devastators bombarding our forces prevent us from advancing any further. I can only protect us from their blasts for so long. Champions, you must pierce their lines and remove the barriers protecting the devastators. If you can destroy the anchors that maintain the shields, I can cleanse them from afar."

"We will find no sanctuary on this world." Illidan stated, though Lyra found that her mentor was focused on the demons in front of them, though the look on his face said that sooner or later he was going to join the battle and start cutting down the demons that stood against them, "Even now the full might of the Burning Legion rises to defend Argus. The siege camp below overflows with demon filth that stand between us and the weapon trained on the Vindicaar. They must be dealt with before it can fully charge, or Argus will be our grave."

The assembled group of heroes headed down the path in front of them and engaged the demons that were gathering around the devastators that they were preparing for more attacks on the Vindicaar, where Lyra and Trixie noticed that there were three of the weapons in question. As the majority of the force charged forward, however, both of the Equestrians stopped beside a wounded Broken, one that appeared to be native to Argus, and focused their attention on him, while at the same time Maraa joined them. Maraa called upon the power of the Light and mended some of the Broken's wounds, allowing him to stir and gaze at them for a few moments, to be sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him before he did anything else.

"My people... enslaved... Beaten... within death's grasp..." the Broken weakly said, to which he weakly raised his arm, revealing that he was holding a small liquid skin, which he handed to them and gently released it the moment Trixie was holding onto it, "Help... us..."

Lyra noticed that there were a number of Broken area the area, already being liberated by the heroes that were killing the demons around them, to which she and Trixie approached the already freed Broken and used the contents of the liquid skin to heal their wounds. At the same time the Broken that had given the skin to them, after a few moments of healing, got up from where he had been resting, thanked Maraa for her assistance, and departed while saying that he hoped they crossed paths again. While Trixie healed some of the Broken, and aided them in fleeing the area, Lyra cut down the demons that were coming at her, while noticing that the shields surrounding one of the devastators had been smashed, where Velen unleashed a pillar of light that tore the cannons to pieces and left nothing behind. Despite the fact that these demons were types that none of the heroes had ever seen before, indicating that Sargeras kept the strongest demons on Argus until he was ready to use them, the heroes were more than prepared for the demons that they were facing... especially since all of them had prepared for a war with the Burning Legion, even if they hadn't even thought about attacking Argus this time around.

Fortunately the siege camp was smaller than what they were expecting it to be and they had killed all of the demons that had been guarding this area, devastated the devastators, and healed the various Broken prisoners once they had been freed from their enslavement... to which the heroes, along with Velen and Illidan, approached the weapon that had shot the Xenedar out of the sky, while being cautious since the Eredar commanding it was nowhere to be seen.

"The Army of the Light will not have fallen in vain." Illidan said, to which he and the others turned towards the weapon, where it was clear that they were wondering how best to destroy the weapon before it could be used against them in the future, "Our forces will assault the main encampment while we destroy their siege weapon. This will be but the beginning of our vengeance."

That was followed by the siege weapon moving, on it's own, before the upper body of a large demon pulled itself out of the ground in front of them, revealing that the weapon had been mounted on it's back and that it buried itself in the ground to prevent enemies from seeing it's true form. As the heroes prepared themselves the demon also pulled out it's legs and stood over the entire group, to which the heroes started attacking the massive demon as Illidan joined them and Velen used the Light to summon barriers around them from time to time, protecting them from the major attacks the demon had for them. The demon also used an attack that was essentially a number of fel beams being fired at a number of random targets, but since the heroes were used to that, thanks to the various demons that used marks, they adapted to the situation and continued their assault. Lyra, on the other hand, was more than happy to fight alongside her mentor once more, as she and Illidan danced around the demon's feet with their enhanced speed and cut into his legs, while also boosting each other into the air so they could do the same to it's back.

It wasn't long before the demon had collapsed on the ground and stopped moving entirely, to which the group remained on edge, which made since considering that they were on Argus and there was no telling what sort of horrors waited them this time around.

"It seems we underestimated the Legion's cunning." Illidan commented, referring to the cannon that had been mounted on the demon's back, meaning it could be a valuable soldier when the Legion attacked a planet and a weapon to fire at ships from afar, two for the price of one.

"Our forces sustained some losses defending the Vindicaar... we require allies." Velen stated, to which the heroes nodded their heads in agreement, as this wasn't the sort of battle that they could fight on their own, not when they were fighting on Argus itself, "The Army of the Light was known to take in survivors of the Legion's crusade to bolster their ranks. We must do the same. I sense the presence of the Legion slaves you freed nearby. I suspect that they have carved out a resistance against their masters. Lyra, Trixie, I would appreciate your company, as a smaller group is best... and it allows the others to retreat for a time, until they're needed again."

Most of the heroes were in agreement to that statement, as most of them wanted a chance to study the area that they were attacking before they actually did so, though Kurost insisted on accompanying them, to which Lyra and Trixie chuckled, as they both knew that the orc wanted to cut down every demon he came across. The three of them followed Velen out of the ruined settlement that had become the siege camp, while the other heroes and soldiers retreated to the portal Romuul had used to teleport them down into the area in the first place, though at the same time they kept their hands at the ready, in case they needed their weapons. It didn't take them long to reach the entrance of a cave, one that was clearly visible and made for an interesting hideout since there were demons in the various areas all around it, but after some time Velen stepped forward and entered the cave, to which the trio followed after him... and listened to Velen as he mentioned that the Broken were likely watching them.

It took them a few moments to reach the center of the cave, where a fire had been made in the floor, though Lyra and Trixie noticed some areas that looked like small homes and storage areas, which made since considering that the Broken couldn't live comfortably without alerting the Legion to where they were hiding.

"Show yourselves!" Velen said, his voice raised a little bit, though at the same time there was a hint of the leader that he was known as, because Lyra detected a bit of power behind the Prophet's words, meaning that he was encouraging their hosts to reveal themselves... and see if they couldn't come to an agreement.

One by one the Broken that they had saved from the siege camp, and those that had been in hiding the entire time since their arrival, materialized from the shadows and stared at them, though while Kurost gripped his swords Lyra and Trixie merely stood there as they waited for something to happen.

"Velen." a voice said, to which Lyra and Trixie watched as the first Broken they had encountered, the one who had given them the skin with the healing liquid that they gave to the rest of the enslaved Broken, stepped out of the shadows and stared at them, or rather stared at Velen, "At long last, you return to the home you abandoned."

"Hatuun?" Velen replied, though his voice faltered for a moment, meaning that this particular Broken, who had once been a peaceful Eredar before Velen and his 'Draenei' were forced to flee from Argus, had some connection to the Prophet, "How did you survive this hell for so long?"

"We changed, just as Argus did." Hatuun stated, to which Lyra and Trixie nodded their heads in agreement, as they had been forced to adapt and change as they appeared in an entirely new world with a new body that was similar to what they had left behind, while they also noticed a hint of bitterness in Hatuun's voice, which made them worry about a fight breaking out, "We endured... What choice did we have?"

"I have no wish to fight you, Hatuun." Velen said, though he gripped his staff all the same, because he sensed that something was going to change and wanted to be prepared in case that something was the Broken attacking them, "But I cannot allow your bitterness to impede our war against the Legion."

"You turned your back on your people, Prophet. On your world." Hatuun replied, though there a slight emphasis on 'world', meaning that Hatuun was upset that Velen had done nothing and left them all to the mercy of the Legion, even though some of them lived to see another day, "Such betrayal should be answered with death... but your allies have saved many of us from the Legion's grasp. Perhaps you have changed."

"That's enough!" a new voice said, though this time Lyra detected that whoever was speaking was definitely a leader of some kind, as there was a stronger sense of power coming from the new arrival.

Lyra, Trixie, Kurost, and Velen turned their heads to the right and watched as a man emerged from one of the smaller holes in the wall, serving as a small home of sorts, but what caught their attention wasn't the fact that it was a human standing before them, rather the armor that he was wearing. The man was wearing plate armor that made Lyra think of what Draenei paladins, and other paladins, wore all the time, only his armor had sections that seemed to glow with the power of the Light, while at the same time his greatsword seemed to have the same effect. The other thing that she and Trixie focused on was the fact that the man's voice sounded familiar, before they realized that he had been the person who spoke to them when they first recovered Light's Heart; Turalyon.

"Stay your weapons." Turalyon commanded, though while he seemed to be speaking to everyone Lyra and Trixie knew that he was actually speaking to the Broken, since they were able to attack the instant Hatuun gave the command to do so, "The Prophet and his allies are not our enemies. We must stand together, all of us, if we are to have any chance at defeating the Legion."

"High Exarch Turalyon, we meet at last." Velen said, to which he gave Turalyon a respectful bow, something that Lyra, Trixie, and Kurost repeated, since they didn't want the Broken to think any less of them then they already did.

"There is much to be done before this nightmare can end," Turalyon continued, though as he nodded his head, the sign for them to stop bowing apparently, he pulled out what appeared to be a golden crystal, the same one all the heroes empowered to summon the first beacon, and offered them a small smile, "but we need to regroup before we draw more attention from the Legion. I managed to retain a signal crystal during the crash used to call transport beacons from the Xenedar. With luck, we should be able to use it to establish a link between here and your forces as well."

"What happened to the soldiers from the Xenedar?" Lyra asked, as she figured that it was a decent question to ask, since one could assume that since the commander was alive there had to be more soldiers living, especially since all of them followed the Light and it's mysterious powers.

"They hold the ground around the crash site, fighting for their lives." Turalyon replied, which explained why he was the only one here, since he was likely looking for assistance from those that had been on the Vindicaar, to which he handed the crystal over to Velen.

Velen nodded and moved to the area blow them, where he put the crystal down and connected it to the Vindicaar, though a few seconds past before the crystal disappeared and a beacon appeared in it's place, allowing them to use this location as a teleportation point in the future. That was soon followed by Lothraxion, the only Dread Lord to have been infused with the Light and join the side that fought against the Legion, teleporting down to where they were standing and walked up the small path as he stared at Turalyon.

"Turalyon!" Lothraxion said, though the way he said the High Exarch's name made it sound like they were old friends or acquaintances, which could be possible considering how long Turalyon had been missing from Azeroth, "I am pleased that you continue to thwart the Legion's best efforts to kill you. What of Alleria? Is she..."

"The last time I saw her she was on the Xenedar," Turalyon replied, though that was when Lyra noticed a bit of anger in the High Exarch's voice, meaning that something had happened on the Xenedar before Lyra, Trixie, and the others came to Argus, "She was still... under guard. Though I'm sure that she's out there right now, fighting demons as we speak. But thousands of demons stand between us and our allies. We must thin the Legion's ranks to have any hope of reaching the Xenedar alive."

"Then that is exactly what we will do, High Exarch." Lothraxion said, though the smile on his face told Lyra and Trixie that he was most eager for the battle to begin, or at least one of the many battles to come anyway.

Turalyon nodded his head in agreement, something that the trio felt like doing as well, though at the same time he looked at Lyra and Trixie for a few moments, studying their appearances, which made sense considering that he had never seen anyone like the two of them before today. Lyra wondered what he thought of the fact that a demon hunter, who was also part pony in addition to part elf and part demon, was standing next to a mage that was part pony, part elf, and part dragon. Their individual powers were so strong that they could topple some impressive creatures and truly become leaders if they so desired, but Lyra was happy to be a soldier in the war against the Legion, as being a leader had been exhausting and she never wanted to do it again. She also had no idea if Trixie liked being the leader of an Order Hall, her own force of soldiers, because she never said anything about it, but she figured that Trixie enjoyed it since she had seven years of experience backing her every action.

"I will speak with the two of you later, once we have regrouped on the Vindicaar," Turalyon said, beckoning to Lyra and Trixie for a moment, indicating that he was interested in their appearances, since they weren't something that he was used to, despite the fact that he fought demons for a living, "but for now, walk with me as we begin preparations for the next phase of our plan."

Lyra and Trixie followed after him, eager to hear what he had to tell them as Kurost walked beside them, but they knew that there was something even more dangerous about Argus that they hadn't discovered yet... something that would likely rock their worlds once they discovered whatever secret Sargeras had brought to this planet.

Comments

[Midnight Moon]

Lyra and Trixie followed after him, eager to hear what he had to tell them as Kurost walked beside them, but they knew that there was something even more dangerous about Argus that they hadn't discovered yet... something that would likely rock their worlds once they discovered whatever secret Sargeras had brought to this planet.

Oooh, I can't wait to see their reactions when they find out...

[Blackdrag-rose]

8858158 Personally, I was shocked when the secret of Argus was revealed... that's going to be fun when we reach that part of the story.