“The Order is already stretching its resources and influence to its limit, Hadix,” said the figure of Seer Ixit being displayed through the scrying crystal. “We have few enough resources and trusted personnel in the Eastern Kingdoms as it is. We can scarcely afford to send someone to go investigate the Horde at this time.”
“If our colleagues cannot afford to offer me support, then they should cease their incessant demands, Ixit,” Hadix said gruffly, more than a little annoyed.
The Order had been asking for some time that Hadix take on a mission to examine the Horde for the Void’s influence while refusing to understand that such an endeavor would take more time than he had available. This had been going on ever since some analyst had reviewed the reports that Stormwind had made on the Horde’s magic.
Unfortunately, there was only so much that Krivax could do to provide him an alibi during his absences, so such a mission was completely out of the question. Besides, given that Hadix had been detecting an increase in the amount of Void energies in Capital City recently, his time was better spent where he was.
“I understand your frustrations, Hadix, but you are one of the most powerful mages in the Order,” said Ixit, attempting to persuade Hadix. “We do not have any assets in the Eastern Kingdoms more well-suited to this task than you are.”
“Then that seems like something that we should change,” Hadix said adamantly. “I am well aware of my worth, but the Order is more than capable of assembling a team capable of accomplishing what you are asking. Why have we not done so?”
“The risks simply outweigh the benefits,” Ixit admitted, sounding reluctant. “The High King has grown increasingly suspicious as a result of some of the Order’s more overt manipulations recently. I’ve even begun to notice that Elder Nadox is treating me with suspicion.”
Hadix found himself slightly surprised by his colleague's words. Much like his student, Krivax, Elder Nadox was one of the few Viziers he had met that was unfortunate enough to be burdened with an overabundance of empathy and sentimentality. If Nadox was truly beginning to suspect Ixit, someone who Nadox had taken on as an apprentice the moment he had joined the Circle of Viziers, then matters must truly be growing dire.
Hadix had already reached the conclusion that it would be nigh impossible for the Order to hide itself or the existence of the Void given the current circumstances, but it seems things were progressing faster than even he had expected.
Damned fools…
Hadix was, contrary to what his own student might think, among the portion of the Order who believed that their extreme secrecy hurt their efforts more than aided them. Ignorance was rarely a strong defense against threats after all, but he was in the minority.
“I see. I suppose then that it must be difficult to transfer more of our members to the Eastern Kingdoms without providing the High King with a good explanation,” said Hadix as he considered the situation. Most Viziers of his skill and power were individuals with important positions in Azjol-Nerub and couldn’t be transferred easily without a good excuse. “Still, I am unable to spare the time to investigate the Horde, for all of the reasons that I have already explained.”
Ixit sighed before nodding his understanding, “Very well, Hadix. While you are here, I may as well update you on our investigation into Dalaran and the Kirin Tor.”
“Please do,” said Hadix, suddenly feeling far more interested in the conversation.
Hadix spent the next thirty minutes speaking with Ixit about the Order’s various interests in the Eastern Kingdoms. Given that many of the Order’s leaders were influential individuals with busy schedules, it was rare that they would have the chance to have a large meeting. Therefore, Ixit was the one who was generally responsible for keeping Hadix informed on current events.
After Hadix has been obligated to leave Dalaran and return to Capital City, thus ending his investigation into the Kirin Tor, the Order sent one of their best investigators to replace him. Hadix was confident that they would be able to uncover Dalaran’s secrets. After all, keeping and uncovering secrets was a skill that the Order of Kal’tut had been perfecting for millennia.
According to Ixit, their investigation made it fairly clear that the humans were aware of the Void to a certain degree, referring to it as ‘Shadow magic’. The investigation had not yet been completed, and would not be completed for quite some time, but there was no indication that Dalaran knew about the Old Gods.
Hadix wondered how it was possible for them to be aware of the Void, yet remain ignorant of the Old Gods.
Was that a sign that the influence of the Old Gods was lesser in the Eastern Kingdoms when compared to Northrend? Did that imply that the Eastern Kingdoms did not house a prison similar to Ulduar? If so, then what did that mean for the effectiveness of Ulduar if the evil entity that it imprisoned was still able to spread its influence to the nearby lands?
Too many questions. Too many implications. It was impossible for Hadix to reach a conclusion without gathering more information, yet with the stakes so high it was difficult to stop his mind from running away from him.
Hadix had known deep within his soul the threat that the Void posed to the world for nearly his entire life. From the moment that Elder Yel’rin had betrayed him and the Order had taken him in, Hadix had promised himself that he would dedicate his life to fighting against the influence of the Old Gods.
There was a time that Hadix had believed that the Order was winning that fight, but with every new discovery he was starting to believe that he had been woefully naive.
Hadix tiredly turned his attention back to Ixit; the Seer had stopped speaking and was looking at him expectantly.
Ah, I must have been lost in my thoughts.
Hadix cast a quick spell that would allow him to recall the auditory information of the past few minutes before responding to Ixit, “Kalimdor? No. I have not heard any mention of such a place. Why do you ask?”
“I thought not. Kalimdor has come up an unusual number of times during our investigation as some kind of mythical land west of the Eastern Kingdoms,” Ixit explained. “There is little evidence that it actually exists, merely many ancient human legends, but the Order is not willing to dismiss the possibility out of hand after we failed to know about the Eastern Kingdoms. If you hear anything about Kalimdor, make certain that you inform us.”
“Understood.”
Hadix wasn’t certain how he would react if there was yet another troublesome continent out there filled with unknown threats. The Eastern Kingdoms alone already made his life far busier than it had been in centuries, however, Hadix wasn’t too worried. After all, it was far more likely that Kalimdor was merely some manner of human legend.
How many unknown continents could possibly exist in one world?
“Aside from that, the only other subject of interest that we have uncovered are vague references to demons and something that the humans refer to as ‘Fel magic,’” said Ixit, stumbling slightly over the Common words. “One of our colleagues believes that the description of this Fel magic matches something from our historical records around the time of the Great Sunderings. If you hear anything about Fel magic, we would like to hear about that as well.”
Hadix nodded his affirmation. It had become common practice that the Order would keep him apprised of the topics that they were researching when it came to the Eastern Kingdoms. There was no telling when some throwaway comment made by some mage or noble would be of interest, so it was best that Hadix knew what to listen for.
Just as he was about to ask for more information, Hadix paused as his attention was drawn away as he noticed Krivax passing through his wards.
“I’m afraid we shall need to continue his conversation later. My apprentice is returning from his clandestine meeting with Stormwind’s leadership,” Hadix announced.
“Oh, Vizier Krivax? What do you think the humans wanted?”
“I have no idea, but if I know Krivax, then it’s likely something that is going to make my life more troublesome than it already is,” said Hadix, already resigning himself to whatever irritating matter Krivax was about to present to him.
Life was easier when his days were spent hunting down fools who had been corrupted by the Void and watching over other Viziers with too much ambition and not enough good sense.
Hadix put away the scrying crystal and turned to wait for his student to arrive. When Krivax walked through the door carrying documents with a pensive expression on his face, Hadix immediately knew that his predictions were about to become true.
"Vizier Hadix! Stormwind shared some important information during the meeting."
His expectations were quickly validated as Krivax explained what happened during his meeting with Stormwind’s representatives.
How is it that you always manage to find yourself in these kinds of situations?
Thankfully, this situation was not as drastic as the time his student upended nerubian society by discovering an unknown continent. Still, receiving confirmation that a human was using magic—almost certainly Void magic—to manipulate the minds of his fellow humans was not a small matter. Many of his peers in the Order were already reaching the conclusion that it would be extremely difficult to hide information about the Void, especially after they discovered that the Kirin Tor already knew more than they would prefer.
Discovering that the Void was being used in such a flagrant manner would not make anyone in the Order happy, to say the least. This would simply be yet another matter that should be investigated by an entire team of Viziers, but would end up being handled by Hadix alone.
"We were already aware that someone in Capital City was working against us," said Hadix as he looked through the documents that Krivax had passed to him. The humans had been surprisingly thorough in their investigation. "However, this is significantly more dire than we had expected."
Hadix knew more about the Void and its capabilities than most of the poor fools who attempted to wield it. While it was true that the Void was an insidious force that was well-suited to corrupting the thoughts of others, certain manipulations were easier than others. It was extremely difficult for an aspiring Void cultist to compel someone to do something that was explicitly against their nature; it was far easier to nudge the victim into doing something than outright control them.
There were many people who would have had an extreme interest in offering aid to Stormwind during the First War, either due to having close business ties or family members that were living there. The fact that someone had managed to manipulate so many people across all of the nations in the Eastern Kingdoms made it clear to Hadix that this was an extremely serious situation.
He sincerely doubted that a single individual was capable of such widespread manipulation. If so, then they would have to be the most powerful Void cultist that Hadix had ever seen in his life.
“Given what we know so far, it is likely that we are dealing with a powerful and well-established cult,” Hadix announced once he was finished looking through the evidence. “This ‘House Prestor’ has most likely been corrupted and compromised by the Void. House Ravendolt seems to merely be responsible for providing them the more mundane criminals and assassins.”
Krivax seemed surprised for a moment before he nodded and replied, “That makes sense, but how do you think we should handle this, Vizier Hadix? I don’t think it will be very easy to deal with this, especially without drawing attention.”
He’s not wrong…
If this was Azjol-Nerub, then Hadix would simply do some amount of investigation to discover who had been corrupted by the Void before killing them. However, it was unlikely that he would be able to get rid of an entire cult without drawing attention, especially given the Order’s lack of influence in the Eastern Kingdoms.
No, Hadix would need to handle this in a discreet manner, and he would only be able to count on himself for support… and also Krivax.
“We will start by evaluating the supposed victims of this cult for mental manipulations,” said Hadix after a moment of thought. “Even if these humans were incapable of detecting anything, that does not mean that I cannot. It is important that we actually verify what we are facing, even if all of the evidence points to one conclusion.”
“Do you intend to meet with Prince Wrynn? I was unable to offer them any commitments by myself, so they are very interested in speaking with you, Vizier Hadix.”
“I suppose that I must,” said Hadix, pushing aside his reluctance. He barely enjoyed speaking with most nerubians, let alone some human hatchling, but sacrifices must be made. “We will cooperate with them. They have done adequate work so far, and their assistance might be of use when it comes to gathering more evidence.”
It was a simple truth that humans understood other humans in a way that Hadix would always be unable to replicate, so some amount of cooperation was necessary. He was well aware that he did not possess that natural empathy that seemed to come to his student so easily.
“Vizier, I have a suggestion,” said Krivax.
Hadix turned his focus to his student. Krivax did not usually prevaricate unless he was about to say something that he believed Hadix would not want to hear.
“What is your suggestion?”
“I believe that we should make contact with the Kirin Tor and seek their help with this,” Krivax said hesitantly.
Hadix instantly understood what was going on in his student’s mind, “You are worried that I would oppose this course of action due to the need for secrecy. However, we have recently learned that the Kirin Tor is already aware of the Void. Seeking their cooperation would not be a great risk.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” said Krivax, sounding relieved. “Does that mean we’ll do it?”
Hadix considered the proposal for a moment before responding, “Explain why you believe this to be the best course of action, and explain to me why Stormwind has not already done so.” He could already see the benefits of cooperating with Dalaran, but he wanted to hear his student’s justification.
“Unlike us, the Kirin Tor has enough political influence in the Eastern Kingdoms that they do not need to be cautious when confronting the human nobility,” Krivax quickly explained. “Not only that, but it's always a good idea to foster trust when the opportunity comes. As for why Stormwind hasn’t been willing to bring this to the Kirin Tor, it might seem strange but they have very little influence with Dalaran, even when compared to us.”
“Oh? Why is that?” Hadix asked curiously. It made little sense to him that a relative newcomer such as Azjol-Nerub would have more influence with Dalaran than a long-established human kingdom like Stormwind.
Hadix knew that his student was much more interested in the surface races and their history than he was, so he assumed that Krivax would have an answer.
“To be more clear, Stormwind and Dalaran have never had a close relationship,” said Krivax, a hint of enthusiasm creeping into his tone as he began speaking on a subject that interested him. “Unlike the other kingdoms, Stormwind has always gone out of its way to train its own mages rather than sending them to Dalaran. They even dedicated a large portion of their capital city just for this task.”
Hadix nodded his understanding. It was easy enough to understand that Dalaran would not appreciate having the strange monopoly it held on magical training outside of Quel’thalas challenged.
“Relations between the two grew worse because of Medivh, who was closely associated with Stormwind.”
Medivh was a name that Hadix had grown more than a little familiar with during his time in the Eastern Kingdoms. Apparently, he was once a close friend of Stormwind’s former king before he betrayed everyone and opened the Dark Portal. Hadix wished he could have had the opportunity to meet the man.
It was absurd that a human who was barely a few decades old had grown powerful enough to open a portal to another world. Even if the entirety of Azjol-Nerub dedicated itself to replicating such a feat, Hadix doubted that it would be able to succeed.
So much about the Eastern Kingdoms made little sense, and Hadix wanted to know more.
“Are the humans of Stormwind incapable of putting aside their pride? I do not see why they should be so concerned with their poor relationship with Dalaran when the situation is so serious,” said Hadix.
“Prince Wrynn does not believe that anything would come of it given the evidence that they have available,” said Krivax, sounding disappointed. “The bad blood between them is significant, especially since Dalaran was one of the parties that failed to offer Stormwind aid, and they cannot use magical manipulation as an excuse in their case.”
“I see,” Hadix said thoughtfully. Human history was not the most interesting of topics, but it was undeniably useful in this instance. “I suppose that given those circumstances it would make sense that Azjol-Nerub might genuinely have more influence in Dalaran than Stormwind. They have been purchasing a large number of beasts from us, after all. Very well then. You may approach the Kirin Tor and inform them of the problem.”
Krivax was the one who had the most frequent contact with Dalaran, therefore it would be wise to have him be the one to present this situation to the Kirin Tor. Hadix had always known when it was appropriate to delegate work, and this was one such moment.
“Thank you, Vizier. I believe it would be best to do so in a few days from now,” said Krivax. “I’ve recently been informed by Archmage Runeweaver that the Council of Six has received word that Archmage Krasus intends to return to Dalaran soon.”
Hadix failed to see any problems with waiting for a few more days. It would be to their benefit if the entire Council of Six was present in Dalaran when Krivax informed them of the situation, while also giving him more time to gather information.
Hadix discussed the matter with his student for several more minutes before sending him away. He had many preparations that he needed to make if he wished to properly dismantle the cult that had been foolish enough to target his kingdom.
As Hadix had told Krivax, the first thing that he would be doing would be examining the supposed victims. And then after that, he would begin looking into the cultists themselves, starting with its most likely member, Lord Daval Prestor.
Korialstrasz took a moment to stretch out his wings as he entered the Chamber of the Aspects at Wyrmrest Temple. Normally non-Aspects like himself would never be permitted to enter the Chambers, but the other Aspects had not yet arrived and his beloved had given him permission since he would be required to explain the source of information that led to recent events.
It was from there that he and the other consorts held their meetings while Alexstrasza was gone, attempting to gather her siblings.
After the run-in with Deathwing and the confirmation of him having his claws on the Dragon Soul and assisting the Horde against the peoples of the Eastern Kingdoms his beloved and all her consorts were in agreement that something had to be done in their capacity as the guardians of life on Azeroth. The question of what was much more complicated.
First, his Queen stated that she must inform the other Aspects of Deathwing’s survival and thus she and most of her consorts flew north for Wyrmrest Temple. Alexstrasza made it clear that while she would do her best to get her siblings to spring into action there was truthfully little the Dragonflights could do directly so long as Deathwing’s latest pawns held the Dragon Soul without risking enslavement or worse.
They would likely have to wait for the right opportunity to strike, something that Korialstrasz was to help with by gathering as many of their dragonsworn agents as he possibly could, their mortal beings the only ones who could potentially be used to help take the Dragon Soul back and leave Deathwing open for the Aspects to strike against.
They had even directed the Red Dragonflight to aid the Alliance in their mortal forms in any way that they could, to hide from Deathwing’s eyes and less likely to be a direct target of the Dragon Soul should it be brought onto the battlefield. As a natural consequence of their long lives, many of their members were powerful and influential, so their aid would be no small boon to the Alliance, even in their less directly powerful forms.
There was still much to do, but Korialstrasz would soon have to return to his duties as one of Dalaran’s leaders. It was important that he was there to help make certain the Kirin Tor did what it could to fight against the Horde, especially now that they understood Deathwing was using the Horde to further his own goals.
It was a shame that they could not simply inform the Council of Six of the Dragon Soul and have them aid in securing it. Korialstrasz knew his colleagues well and understood that there was too much risk that one of them would seek to use it, likely to a much greater effect than the Horde.
Many dragons believed that if mortals had their hands on such power they would not easily part with it, seeking to use it to raise themselves up on their strength. When Korialstrasz thought of how Kel’thuzad would likely react to such an artifact, even if he didn’t believe the man capable of enslaving others against their will, he found it difficult to fault them for their assumptions.
Still, that did not mean that it would be impossible to leverage the mortals to their advantage. Wielding the Dragon Soul properly took some amount of training, so there was little danger as long as the mortals remained ignorant of the artifact's true nature.
Korialstrasz was interrupted from his thoughts as he sensed a sudden flare of magic which indicated that the Chamber’s portals were being used. Korialstrasz could feel his mood lifting as he saw his queen passing through the portal and making her way into the chambers.
“I’m glad to see you, my love,” Korialstrasz said warmly as she approached. “How was your mission? Did everything go well?”
“It was difficult, but my efforts have borne fruit,” said Alexstrasza, sounding tired yet satisfied. “My fellow Aspects have agreed to join forces in order to confront Deathwing. Malygos was hostile to my approach at first, but he agreed once he understood the situation.”
Korialstrasz was not surprised. There was likely not a single soul on Azeroth who hated Deathwing more than Lord Malygos.
Any further conversation was put on hold as the portal began to flare up again and the other Aspects started arriving one after another.
The first was Ysera, Aspect of the Green Dragonflight and Mother of Dreams. Krasus had not seen her in millennia, yet the feeling that he felt while in her presence was not one that he could ever forget. Korialstrasz felt as if he was standing in a peaceful and verdant forest, slowly drifting off to sleep as a sense of tranquility permeated the Chambers.
In another situation, Korialstrasz would be glad to allow himself a peaceful nap, but the business in front of them was obviously too important for such a thing.
Turning his attention away from Ysera, Korialstrasz glanced at the Aspect that followed behind her.
Nozdormu, Aspect of the Bronze Dragonflight and commonly referred to as the Timeless One was someone who Krasus had not seen since the War of the Ancients. Korialstrasz could understand why the man was rarely seen outside of the Caverns of Time. Responsible for protecting Azeroth’s timestream, it was not uncommon to rarely see any bronze dragons out and about, let alone their lord. Out of all the Aspects, he was likely the one who was the most consistently busy.
The last to enter the Chamber should have looked regal, powerful, the picture of wisdom and intelligence among all the Aspects… but Lord Malygos looked anything but. Malygos, Aspect of the Blue Dragonflight, looked as if he had not seen fit to take care of himself in millennia, which he likely hadn’t. The dragon that many had once called the ‘Guardian of Magic’ walked into the Chamber of Aspects with eyes that held an equal measure of pain, apathy, and hatred.
Ever since Deathwing had used the Dragon Soul to annihilate most of the Blue Dragonflight, along with his mates, Lord Malygos had not been the same…
What few remaining members of the Blue Flight beyond their lord had struggled for millennia to fulfill their duties while he wallowed in his grief within the Nexus. Korialstrasz found it difficult to blame him; he could not imagine how he’d be if his own beloved was taken away.
But the fact he was here was a hopeful sign, no matter his current state.
Korialstrasz cut his thoughts off as the Aspects gathered around the center of the Chamber, taking their places in specific spots that had been left open, and it wasn’t long after that his queen saw fit to begin the meeting.
“Welcome, and thank you all for heeding my call,” said Alexstrasza, her voice echoing throughout the chamber. “We have gathered here today because of a grave threat that has come back to plague Azeroth. Deathwing has returned, and he is once more in possession of the Dragon Soul. I do not believe it is necessary to explain to you all the consequences of this.”
“No, you do not, sister,” said Ysera, sounding more grave than she had sounded since the War of the Ancients. “As long as Neltharion is in possession of the Dragon Soul, not only are all of our Flights in danger, but the entirety of Azeroth is at risk as well.”
“Thankfully, the spell that we placed on the Dragon Soul millennia ago prevents him from wielding the artifact directly,” Nozdormu pointed out. “Unfortunately, he will have little trouble having his mortal agents use it in his stead. If the Horde, these servants of the Burning Legion, succeed in conquering the Eastern Kingdoms, then he will likely point them to the rest of the world as well.”
“His madness is truly great if he believes the Legion will stomach him using their agents for his dark masters once they return,” Malygos muttered hatefully.
“How do we know that the Horde are servants of the Burning Legion?” asked Ysera.
“Oh, we know because of the mysterious letter that was delivered to Korialstrasz,” said Nozdormu, chuckling with amusement.
“Do you know where this ‘mysterious letter’ came from?” Malygos asked with annoyance, directing his question to Nozdormu rather than Korialstrasz. “You have that irritating look in your eyes that you get whenever you know something that the rest of us don’t.”
Korialstrasz glanced at Lord Nozdormu’s eyes. He didn’t look any different than normal as far as he could tell.
“You know me well enough to understand that I’ve already said as much as I wish on the subject,” Nozdormu said dismissively. “When I wish to say more, then I will do so.”
Malygos let out a deep growl but did not pursue the matter. Korialstrasz had the feeling that this was a conversation that they had had many times before.
“I believe that we should focus our conversation on Deathwing and how we intend to confront him,” said Alexstrasza, putting the meeting back on track. “Our most important goal must be securing the Dragon Soul so that we are able to attack Deathwing without risking being controlled. The Red Dragonflight has already begun organizing our mortal agents for this endeavor, and I ask that you all offer your aid as well.”
“My Flight has very few mortal agents outside of Kalimdor, but you will have whatever support we can offer,” offered Ysera.
“There have been many temporal anomalies in recent times, and I’m afraid I cannot spare many to offer aid, but I myself will be available during this time,” Nozdormu said evenly.
“I… am uncertain as to the state of the dragonsworn among my Flight,” Malygos grudgingly admitted. “I will need to consult with them, but you will have their support regardless.”
“Thank you,” Alexstrasza said gratefully. Korialstrasz knew that the Aspects had not had much communication in recent times and that his beloved was glad for this opportunity to work with them closely again, regardless of the circumstances. “If we wish to succeed in securing the Dragon Soul, then there are many things that must be done. The first of which is locating it…”
Korialstrasz listened carefully as the conversation continued, offering his own opinions when it was appropriate to do so. He knew more about the current state of the mortal world than most other dragons, so his contributions were essential.
He could only hope that they would be enough…
“Of course, we must now consider what our fallen brother intends to do now that his original plan to capture our sister has failed,” Nozdormu pointed out. “He never did like it when his plans did not pan out exactly as he wished, after all. He was hiding his presence before so as not to alert us, but now that he knows we are aware of his return he will likely act more boldly and openly.”
“He, like his depravity, will not lack options,” Malygos stated.
As the Aspects all nodded and stared into the empty space in the Chamber, Korialstrasz could only dread that they would likely see the answer soon enough.