A Nerubian's Journey

Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Krivax and the rest of his group faced fewer and fewer undead the closer they approached the Temple of Five Dawns.

He could see that the Alliance had successfully secured the structure, though the Scourge continued to assault their location from all sides. They were being held off by Light wielders from all across the Alliance standing at the vanguard. Guardians of Nerub, the Order of the Silverhammer, and draenei paladins all fought off constant waves of undead. Prophet Velen made a particularly impressive spectacle, pulsing with novas of radiant Light that incinerated dozens of undead with each blast.

Keeper Archaedas towered over the battlefield in his true form, arms raised high and eyes staring off into the distance as arcane magic swirled around him. Despite his inorganic and stoic expression, Krivax could sense something within his magic that felt strained and threatening to falter. It seemed that even a demigod magical robot created by actual gods was having difficulty containing a creature as large as Shen-Zin Su.

Turning his attention back to the Temple of Five Dawns, Krivax felt his unease grow. Hed hoped that he would be able to sense the Alliances ritual once he drew closer, but that wasnt the case.

Krivax was almost certain by now that something had gone terribly wrong with the ritual to slay Shen-Zin Su, and he urgently needed to figure out exactly what that was.

Most of the group split off from Krivax and Krasus to help the Alliance fend off the Scourge. The situation was too dire and their potential contributions too significant for them to spend time doing anything but fighting. That was one of the reasons why Krivax was so concerned to sense five members of the Council of Six sitting in the Temple of Five Dawns.

The moment Krasus landed, Krivax was already jumping off the dragon and making his way inside of the structure. The interior was littered with the signs of intense battle, the corpses of demons, undead, and members of the Alliance all mixed together in a grim tableau. Krivax could sense the lingering effects of intense Fel and Arcane magic in the air, leaving no room for doubt that the Dreadlord stationed here hadnt gone down quietly.

Nobody attempted to stop Krivax or Krasus as they made their way through the temple, instead pointing them toward the room where the Council of Six was supposed to be conducting the ritual. When Krivax finally arrived at his destination, it was immediately obvious what had gone wrong.

The Council of Six had chosen to confront the Dreadlord in what appeared to be a control center where the demon commanded the Scourge, scrying mirrors all around the room showing different parts of the battlefield. Pieces of the demon himself, a single batlike wing, and one of his large horns were laying on the far side of the room. The rest of the Dreadlord was nowhere to be seen, implying that he had managed to escape before the Council of Six could inflict the final blow.

Successfully escaping from six Archmages was an extremely impressive feat, especially given the identity of the other corpse laying on the ground. Krivax had a feeling that Archmage KelThuzad wasnt exactly in a state to conduct a ritual given that the majority of his internal organs were currently strewn across the room.

The Council of Six was engaged in an increasingly loud argument with Alliance High Command through one of the scrying mirrors, attempting to decide on a path forward now that their initial plan was ruined.

How did this happen? Krivax immediately said, pulling aside Archmage Modera for an explanation as the rest of the Council continued their heated discussion. Krasus joined their side, his expression grim as he studied the corpse of his long-time colleague.

Tichondrius was far more dangerous than we anticipated, Archmage Modera admitted, her tone filled with regret. We were cautious when we entered the temple, but we didnt expect it would be difficult to defeat the Dreadlord with all of our effort combined. The demon must have thought so as well, because he didnt confront us directly at all and launched an ambush that caught us off guard

Krivax listened carefully as the Archmage explained what happened in great detail. Apparently, the Council of Six had begun their assault on the Temple of Five Dawn by sending in a wave of water elementals, golems, and other expendable forces which couldnt be turned into undead. They had rightfully anticipated the temple to be a heavily fortified location with large numbers of traps and wanted these constructs to move in before the Alliances soldiers.

That proved to be a good decision as the first wave of constructs was indeed met with magical traps filling every hallway, hundreds of undead, and many angry demons. The constructs put up a decent fight, but were very quickly overwhelmed by the Scourges entrenched forces.

After developing a decent understanding of the temple's defenses, the Council of Six decided to contribute more directly to the assault. Several dozen Kirin Tor mages were left behind to maintain barriers and anti-spatial wards that would prevent any means of escape for the Dreadlord while the Archmages entered the temple.

The battle was difficult, but there were only a handful of individuals more skilled in magic than the Council of Six. Grand Magus Antonidas in particular was a once in a generation prodigy, so they had managed to make significant headway through the temples defenses. Sadly, once they finally reached the room from where the Dreadlord had been commanding the Scourge forces, they failed to discover the demon and instead found his lieutenants and a small army of undead waiting for them.

The Council of Six managed to defeat the Scourge forces and capture a few of the more intelligent undead so that they could extract information from them. While torture was ineffective on demons or undead, tearing knowledge directly from their minds worked just as well with them as it did on mortals.

This led to them discovering that the Dreadlord, Tichondrius, had supposedly not returned to the temple after leaving Dalaran and instead went to command the Scourge from the Lich Kings fortress. The Council of Six understood how cunning Dreadlords could be and considered the possibility that this was some manner of trap, but it seemed exceedingly unlikely at the time.

The Temple of Five Dawns had been completely occupied by the Alliance, surrounded by the Kirin Tors magical defenses, and the Scourge had genuinely lost many valuable undead in its defense.

The Alliance would have normally done a more thorough evaluation before declaring the temple as having been secured, but there was a limited amount of time to perform the ritual before Shen-Zin Su managed to escape.

Therefore, they decided to take what seemed like a justifiable risk that very quickly turned into a catastrophic miscalculation.

The Council of Six began the ritual to kill Shen-Zin Su as soon as possible, trusting the Kirin Tor to guard them against any attempted disruption. Nobody anticipated that Tichondrius had managed to quietly kill one of those very same Kirin Tor guards during the assault and successfully replaced them.

Looking back, that Light-forsaken demon likely saw that the ritual was being led by KelThuzad and decided to target him specifically, Archmage Modera said, her hands white as she tightly gripped her staff. One moment we were making steady progress, and the next, KelThuzad had a Dreadlords claws impaled through his stomach and the room was engulfed in Felfire. If not for the Grand Magus, Tichondrius ambush would have killed more than just one of us.

Krivax could only imagine the consequences if that had come to pass. The Alliance was already facing an uphill battle and needed every powerhouse it could get its hand on if it wanted to defeat the Lich King.

How did the Dreadlord manage to escape after launching his ambush? Krasus asked, placing a comforting hand on Moderas shoulder that she barely seemed to notice, lost in her own thoughts. I thought the temple had been secured with wards.

Modera sighed deeply and took a moment to collect herself before responding. The demons must have been planning this since Naxxkithal appeared over Shen-Zin Su. The other Dreadlord leading their aerial defenses launched a simultaneous attack on the mages who were maintaining the wards. Enough of them were killed that Tichondrius succeeded in teleporting away before we could finish the filthy creature for good.

As Archmage Modera finished explaining what had happened, Krivax immediately understood just how much KelThuzads death ruined the Alliances plans. The ritual to kill Shen-Zin Su was one that KelThuzad had created himself while conducting his personal research into necromantic magic. The Alliance had plenty of genius mages at its disposal who could learn how the ritual worked and reproduce it, but doing so would take time that they didnt have.

From what Krivax could understand by listening to the ongoing argument happening between the Council of Six and Alliance High Command, Keeper Archaedas could likely only keep Shen-Zin Su contained for a few more hours.

It was fortunate that the Alliance Defense Force had been successful with its operation to cripple the massive turtle, or that estimate would be even shorter.

Unfortunately, the Alliance didnt exactly have any contingencies in place to deal with this situation. The Scourges attack on Dalaran was too sudden for them to have made the necessary preparations and not enough time for most plans to work.

Having received a full update on the situation, Krivax made his way over to the Council of Six so he could better hear the ongoing discussion.

Retreat is not an option that we should be considering, said High King Anubarak, his tone decisive and unyielding. We will have few opportunities in the future to end the Lich Kings threat to our people that are as advantageous as this one. While its doubtful Shen-Zin Su could escape Lordamere Lake and return to the ocean, we do not know if the Dreadlords have the means to evacuate the Lich King. If they do, then they will doubtlessly hide in some already prepared location beyond our reach.

The High Kings position was unsurprising to Krivax. Azjol-Nerub was more willing than most mortal nations to suffer significant casualties in the pursuit of its objectives. Even if every single nerubian currently on Shen-Zin Su ended up drowning in Lordamere Lake, Azjol-Nerub could replenish those numbers within a few years so long as it had enough food.

Krivax also agreed that this was likely their best possible chance to decisively deal with the Lich King without a multi-years long campaign that would cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Had Guldan chosen to keep Shen-Zin Su at the bottom of the ocean and direct the Scourge from there, it was doubtful that the Alliance would have had many options. He had spoken to Malygos about that exact scenario, and knew even the Aspects considered it a risk to face such a powerful enemy in such an disadvantageous environment.

The current situation, as difficult as it was, provided a unique opportunity that had only come about as a result of Guldans arrogance.

The one to respond to the High King was a stern, female high elf wearing armor on the other side of a scrying mirror. Krivax had never met her, but he assumed that he was currently looking at Sylvanas Windrunner, Ranger-General of QuelThalas.

Not all of us are so willing to accept losing so many of our people, said Sylvanas, equally resolute as she spoke against the High King. Unless someone can propose a reasonable method of slaying Shen-Zin Su or otherwise preventing the imminent destruction of our forces, then QuelThalas will order the evacuation of our soldiers.

It's possible that we could destroy the creatures head if we use all of our explosives and redirect our aerial forces to an offensive operation, Supreme Command Lothar said hesitantly, obviously reluctant to take that course of action. However, the undead seem to become increasingly powerful the closer in proximity they are to the Lich King. Our air force would take significant casualties if they were forced to engage the Scourge so close to the enemys center of power and away from Naxxkithal.

According to Shang Xi, the Lich King was located in what the locals referred to as the Wood of Staves. It was a grove that served as the final resting place for pandaren elders, who were buried there alongside their staves. It didnt take a genius to guess why the Lich King had chosen this location.

The Dreadlords had moved the giant ice cube in which the Lich King was imprisoned there before directing the Scourge to build a massive fortress around Guldan for his protection. Worse yet, this fortress was supposedly constructed with a type of metal alloy nearly as strong as Titansteel, which the Scourge had sourced from the Isle of Thunder. All in all, the final siege on the Lich King wasnt going to be easy once the time for it actually came.

Most importantly, the Wood of Staves was very close to Shen-Zin Sus head.

Theres no guarantee that we have enough explosives to accomplish such a mission regardless, Sylvanas immediately responded. Nor that doing so would be enough to slay Shen-Zin Su. Does an undead that powerful even need its head to function?

I once asked KelThuzas this very same question, and he explained that it depends on the nature of the undead and how it was raised, said Grand Magus Antonidas, offering his expertise as the most knowledgeable on this particular subject. Many non-corporeal undead such as ghosts, specters, and banshees are fully capable of functioning and maintaining the intelligence with no physical brain to rely on. Undead with physical bodies cannot typically do so, especially those that are sapient. Its unlikely that Shen-Zin Su is an exception.

If everything went according to plan, then the Lich King would likely be dead far sooner than anyone had ever imagined. Krivax could only hope that the inevitable sacrifices required to make that happen wouldnt be too great.

Strangely enough, Guldan couldnt remember any point in his life when he felt as calm as he currently did.

From the moment he had been born as a worthless cripple in a small village along the northern coast of Gorgrond, Guldan had known that he was destined for more than had been given to him. Every hint of power that he had ever gained was fought for with a relentless determination, driven by the knowledge that he was destined to reshape the foul world he had been born in.

Creatures like Tichondrius, who had lived for eons and always known power, could never understand what it felt like to be truly and utterly desperate. Perhaps this was the reason why Guldan felt calm while the Dreadlords who considered themselves his jailors were frantic as all of the Scourges plans seemed to fall apart.

Guldan knew that the demons blamed him for all of the Scourges recent failures, but the Dreadlords always failed to see their own faults. It was indeed Guldans decision to attack Dalaran that brought them to this moment, but it was Tichondrius weakness and hesitancy that prevented him from simply flattening the city with Shen-Zin Su once the Scourge began its assault!

Had Guldan done as he pleased, the Alliances reinforcements would have never arrived before the Scourge finished slaughtering every pitiful fool defending that city! Then Guldan could have turned their corpses into his servants and turned them against their former allies.

It would have been glorious, but instead the Scourge was left in disarray as the Alliance pushed them into a corner. Even as Tichondrius swore that he killed the only mage among the enemy forces capable of slaying Shen-Zin Su, the Dreadlord still paced back and forth in poorly concealed trepidation. Too many things had gone wrong for the demons to feel secure, regardless of how favorable their situation currently seemed.

Tichondrius seemed utterly convinced that something would happen to prevent the Scourges victory. Meanwhile, Guldan remained calm. Not because he disagreed with the Dreadlords assessment, but because Guldan was certain that this challenge was simply another step in his path to ultimate power. As far as he was concerned, every single member of the Alliance attempting to prevent the inevitable was simply a future servant waiting to join his Scourge

How much longer until this worthless creature finally escapes its prison? Tichondrius asked, his irritating voice pulling Guldan from his thoughts.

Guldan turned his attention from the battlefield to Tichondrius, who was currently glaring impatiently at his icy prison. The Dreadlord had clearly seen better days, with one of his wings having been torn clean off and a single horn missing from his forehead. His eyes carried a sort of frantic energy that had been steadily growing as each of the demons kin were cut down one after another and all of his plans continued to fail.

Tichondrius had chosen to relocate himself to the same room where Guldans icy prison was located, which was naturally the most secure part of his fortress. The Dreadlord would normally have kept his distance, rightfully assuming that Guldan would betray him at the first opportunity. However, the demon had been injured severely by the mortals and likely believed that there was little chance of conflict while they both held a mutual enemy.

How pathetic. Ill enjoy finally doing away with the shortsighted fool, Guldan thought to himself, wishing he still possessed a body so that he could sneer with disdain.

Well? Answer me! Tichondrius demanded, annoyed after being ignored for so long.

It was not yet the right moment for them to fall into conflict, so Guldan decided to answer the demons question. As I informed you when you asked mere minutes ago, it shall still be a few more hours before Shen-Zin Su escapes. The loss of his limb has severely hampered his movements and I cannot consistently empower the creature with these constant interruptions.

Cease your whining, Guldan, Tichondrius immediately responded, glaring at him even as the demon continued his anxious pacing. Your surveillance abilities are too important not to utilize. Those damnable mortals are planning something. I can feel it. Sweep the battlefield, and ensure that nothing is amiss.

Guldan would have rolled his eyes if he could, but did as he was commanded. The abilities granted to him by the artifacts that housed his soul not only gifted Guldan with immense power over death and greatly expanded his mental abilities, but hed also learned how to see through the eyes of any creature under his control. It would take but a few moments to get a full assessment over the battlefield more clear than the best scrying magic could provide.

With a flex of his will, Guldans mind expanded beyond the confines of his icy prison as he rapidly assumed control over his undead, assessed the state of their surroundings, and immediately moved on to the next undead. Much to Guldans annoyance, Tichondrius paranoia was very quickly proven to be warranted once he seized control over one of the Cloud Serpents fighting against the Alliances aerial forces.

That strange flying fortress of theirs is moving, Guldan telepathically reported to Tichondrius, causing the Dreadlord to immediately begin scrying said structure. I doubt that has been the case for long. If it had been, you would have noticed or Varimathras would have informed you.

Tichondrius barely paid Guldan any mind as opened a telepathic channel with his fellow demon and studied the flying fortress with a shrewd gaze, attempting to decipher the enemys plan. It wasnt long before Guldan noticed Varimathras redirecting his attention from his aerial battle to harassing the Alliance forces ground troops.

Guldan was no general, but Tichondrius thinking was simple enough that even he could understand it. Without the fortress there to protect the Alliance, they were in a far more vulnerable position and the Scourge could potentially deal with the creature trapping Shen-Zin Su.

After studying the frontlines of the battlefield for a while longer, Guldan felt like this was a good strategy. The Alliance had deployed a large number of reinforcements before beginning to move their fortress, but Guldan could already see that the enemy wouldnt last without a steady stream of new fighters. Nonetheless, Tichondrius didnt seem at all pleased by the enemys seemingly foolish tactical decision, and his expression grew increasingly grim with every passing moment.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Guldan decided to confront the Dreadlord directly.

What is the problem, demon? Should you not be pleased that the enemy realizes the hopelessness of their circumstances and is attempting to save their greatest asset?

I would be, if those were truly their intentions, Tichondrius responded, seemingly too distracted by his thoughts to insult Guldan as he normally would when asked a question. But there are no signs of the Alliance forces opening any portals large enough to escape from their current position, nor have the Council of Six exited the Temple of Five Dawns. I would have expected some manner of reaction by now, but theres nothing.

Guldan would be the first to call the Dreadlord weak and overly cautious, but even he couldnt deny that something strange was happening.

For the next twenty minutes, Tichondrius agitation grew as the Alliances fortress slowly flew across the sky along a path that brought it to a position closer to the front of Shen-Zin Su. It was a shame that the Scourge lacked the means to properly destroy the structure, but any undead that approached it was promptly torn apart by its cannons or gunfire from the soldiers crawling along its sides.

Still, Guldan couldnt see what the enemy could hope to accomplish with their current actions. The Alliance would have to reveal its plans soon if it didnt want its ground forces to be completely overwhelmed.

Guldan watched closely as the structure slowly flew above Shen-Zin Sus head and grew increasingly confused as it slowly began to descend, though not close enough that it was within the creatures range of attack. That confusion reached its peak as Guldan noticed the violet glow of arcane magic spreading across its base.

Guldan had no idea what he was looking at, but Tichondrius seemed to realize the enemys plan after a few moments of examination.

Guldan! Move Shen-Zin Sus head from beneath the enemys necropolis at once! Tichondrius barked, his voice filled with more panic than Guldan had ever heard from the demon.

Unfortunately, Tichondrius warning came far too late. The Alliances fortress suddenly began falling from the skies like a meteor moments after the demon finished speaking. Guldan frantically attempted to move Shen-Zin Su out of the way, but the creatures head was far too heavy and the massive structure fell far too quickly.

Guldan was forced to impotently watch the necropolis descent and the cataclysmic impact that followed.

The structure collided with Shen-Zin Su so hard that it caused the ground beneath the creature to crack and shatter, a deafening explosion echoing across Lordamere Lake. Shen-Zin Sus skull stood no chance against the immense force that fell on top of it and was immediately crushed under the fortress weight. A massive cloud of dust flew into the air as the creatures head was smashed into the ground and its body shook hard enough that both the Scourge and Alliances forces were staggered by the tremors.

Guldan could only stare as the cloud of dust slowly dissipated and the aftermath of the Alliances devastating attack gradually became visible. He had already felt his connection to Shen-Zin Su disappear immediately after the impact, but the magnitude of the destruction was beyond Guldans expectations. The Alliances fortress had smashed through the Shen-Zin Su skull and was currently nestled neatly in the creatures decaying brain matter, with most of its physical and magical defenses active.

Worse yet, nerubians were spilling out of the structure and racing up Shen-Zin Sus neck toward Guldans fortress as quickly as they could, hundreds of them weaving a road made of silk as they advanced. The Scourges forces were far too out of position to stop the Alliances surprise attack from this unexpected vector and it likely wouldnt arrive until the enemy were frighteningly close to his fortress.

Guldan turned his attention to the other front of the battle and saw that there were no good signs there either. Now that the Keeper no longer needed to keep Shen-Zin Su contained, he was single handedly reversing all the progress made by the Scourge as he buried countless waves of undead under the earth.

He could tell from Tichondrius utter silence that the demon was also shaken by what had happened, frantically scrying and searching for some way to turn back the tides. However, Guldan had no intention of allowing the Dreadlord the opportunity to fix his failures. It was clear to him that Tichondrius had outlived his usefulness and no amount of Dreadlord trickery would extricate them from this situation.

With Tichondrius distracted, injured, and still surprised by the Alliances unorthodox tactic, it was now the perfect moment for Guldan to launch the plan hed been working on since hed been sent to Azeroth. To his credit, Tichondrius only hesitated for a few moments after one of the Scourges most powerful mages erected an anti-spatial magic ward around the room and undead began streaming in.

Those few moments were enough to seal the demons fate as Tichondrius failed to escape before being completely surrounded by undead.

There were two main reasons why Guldan had never been able to overcome his jailors before this moment. The Dreadlords had meticulously planned their defenses against him and he needed to worry about Burning Legion retaliation. The Dreadlords were never all within his reach at any given moment and were always vigilant, ensuring that Guldan could not exploit a single moment of weakness. He could have launched an ambush before, but it would have never been successful if Tichondrius was not both injured and preoccupied.

But this ambush was successful, and Tichondrius was slowly dragged through the ruined room toward Gul'dan's icy prison after destroying several dozen of his most powerful undead.

What is the meaning of this, you fool? Tichondrius shouted as he was dragged across the floor by an undead naga, his body covered in wounds and his last remaining wing lying on the other side of the room. Even someone like you must understand that I am the only one who can plan a strategy that will overcome the Alliance. Without me, youre nothing but an incompetent husk stuck within a block of ice. This senseless betrayal will cost you everything!

Guldan paid no heed to the demons bellowing, and instead focused all of his power on the ice that kept him contained. It had taken him constant effort since the moment he arrived on Azeroth to slowly weaken his prison in preparation for this moment. Kiljaeden had done well when he created it, and Guldan hadnt made nearly enough progress to escape completely, but he had managed enough to enact the next phase of his plan.

Tichondrius fell into horrified silence as the sound of cracking echoed throughout the chamber and Frostmourne was slowly pushed from the ice and clattered on the floor.

Your problem, Tichondrius, is that you care too much about your clever little strategies and believe your quick mind makes you untouchable, Guldan said with cold triumph as one of his undead took hold of Frostmourne and pressed it into the Dreadlords hands. The time for subtlety is over, and the time for me to fulfill my destiny has arrived. Be grateful that you are allowed the opportunity to take part in it.